Chapter 92

< Lizard >

Song Tae-won had already evacuated the people inside the breeding facility and completed emergency contact with the surrounding buildings, including the adjacent building and the Hae-yeon Guild. Seeing his quick handling of the situation, it seemed this wasn't the first time he had dealt with such an incident.

When he said it was now safe and apologized for the trouble, his calm response that there was no such thing as wasted effort in such situations was reassuring. "There's always a possibility, so prevention is best."

"I'll come over tomorrow to handle the agreement, so please stay put until then. Got it?"

"Yes, I'll wait."

Noah nodded obediently. In a hurry, he was dressed in a spare tracksuit from the duty room. The clothes he had been wearing were not dungeon items, and even if they were, they had their limits in adapting to the wearer's body. Therefore, special processing was needed for hunter equipment with full-body hydration skills.

Normally, a hunter with full-body hydration skills wouldn't appear for a long time, and there would be no place to get special processing yet. I might have to look into it myself. What were the materials again?

After sending Noah off with Song Tae-won, I only brought Piyak with me. Blue was already asleep, and with Yoo Hyun showing no signs of returning and Peace being a problem, it was better to let them rest and introduce them during the day. During the day, Comet would be more well-behaved, and the impression would be better than in the chaotic night.

-Grung

Peace, who had shrunk again, approached with a red egg in her mouth. She had taken good care of it and not lost it.

"Peace, while you were away, we moved. It's much bigger now, so you'll be more comfortable."

It's a bit tight for full adulthood, but it's spacious enough for sub-adulthood. The lower floor is spacious enough for full adulthood, and you can always go out to the rooftop garden. There's no need to feel cramped like before. ...Although both places need to be renovated.

I lifted Piyak onto my head and picked up Peace. Yoo Hyun, who had been leading the way as if it were his own home, opened the door. I had given him the front door key, but when did he get the portal key? Did Kim Sung-han come and go while I was sleeping?

I let Peace explore the house and then checked Erim's SNS. We were supposed to meet today to talk about Noah, but with Yoo Hyun showing up, I couldn't even contact her.

'Looks like she met Kang So-young.'

A photo of a tower of slice cake on a plate was posted, and a bowl of shaved ice was visible next to it. It seems she had bulgogi and yaksam for lunch. She's a staunch meat lover, but she eats well regardless of what side dishes are served.

'...Even S-grade hunters shouldn't stand on a moving motorcycle to take a selfie.'

Even though it's just for show, she wasn't wearing a helmet. While high-level hunters aren't subject to safety equipment regulations, they are an exception for vehicle use during dungeon breaks. It's inefficient to drive to a monster sighting, calmly unbuckle the seatbelt, and get out. A motorcycle helmet would also be cumbersome.

Erim is a victim, so we need to go together tomorrow, but is she asleep? What time do kids these days go to bed? It's probably better to contact her tomorrow.

"......Jeongwon."

At that moment, Yoo Hyun mumbled.

"Hmm?"

Following Yoo Hyun's gaze, I turned my head. The large front window, or rather, the screen, showed the half-reconstructed rooftop garden. Despite the dark night, the intact streetlights revealed the broken trees and excavated ground.

"It seems more serious than I thought."

"Are you the one to say that? The affected area is smaller. The ground was excavated because of the poison."

I was planning to start training with Blue's skill from tomorrow, but he broke the training room wall. The inner facilities should be safe, though.

"You said you were sleepy. Go to sleep. The left bedroom is used by Myung-woo, so use any other room."

"Is Hunter Myung-woo here?"

"He's here and not here. He's so busy that he occasionally shows up."

Although he said he would use a bedroom, I don't remember seeing him sleep in the past few days.

"He seems to be making something, but it's a secret. If you run into him, be nice this time. With S-grade weapons appearing, it wouldn't be strange for an SS-grade to appear."

I picked up the egg Peace had dropped and placed it on the table. Peace had already climbed to the mezzanine, chewed on Blue's cushion, and jumped down, grumbling and heading towards the monster living room. She then brought Comet's nest and threw it in front of my feet.

-Khun

She must have smelled something unfamiliar. She doesn't look happy.

"There's a new one, but I'll introduce you tomorrow. Comet is a black baby dragon. Come here, Peace. How about we sleep together for the first time in a while?"

Despite her grumpy tail, she snuggled up obediently. It's natural that she wouldn't like the constant influx of unfamiliar monsters. But what can I do, it's my job to raise them.

"Did you feed Peace properly?"

"She hunts on her own."

"Looks like she's fully grown."

What should I do? Should I bring a live monster for her?

At that moment, Myung-woo appeared suddenly, as usual, with a burst of heat. Yoo Hyun immediately blocked my front, and Peace perked up her ears in surprise.

"......What's that?"

"It's Myung-woo."

"No, it's not an ordinary flame."

Is that so? It's a bit warm, but not enough to hurt a person. Myung-woo's lips curled up at Yoo Hyun's words.

"The flames of Ismuar are quite remarkable. There's no fire in this world with such a high purity of magic."

Yoo Hyun's expression showed a slight hurt pride, but he didn't argue, so it must be different.

"Then what's that?"

Myung-woo pointed behind me. Turning my head, I saw the egg on the table. A red egg with a crack.

......Why is it cracked? It was known for being unbreakable. Reflexively, I tried to pick it up, but Yoo Hyun's hand was faster.

"Don't touch it. We don't know what might come out, and it could be dangerous."

He stepped back. The egg trembled slightly in Yoo Hyun's grip. The crack widened, and a small gap appeared. Inside, a small flame flickered.

It flickered again, licking and melting the eggshell as if swallowing it.

Whoosh!

It burst into flames. I was a bit surprised, but thanks to my fire resistance, it didn't seem hot.

The fist-sized flame soon subsided, and a small lizard appeared inside. A small lizard made of fire climbed up Yoo Hyun's hand and wrapped around his wrist.

Perplexed, I used the Seed Skill.

[Fire Elemental ? F-grade

Contractor: Yoo Hyun]

"......Fire Elemental?"

At my mutter, Yoo Hyun and Myung-woo looked at me simultaneously.

"A Fire Elemental? Are there such things?"

"Ismuar said there are no elementals in this world?"

There weren't. No elementals appeared until five years later. There were only mysterious eggs.

Could those eggs have been elemental eggs?

"......There were no changes in the egg until you appeared. You said the heat earlier was from Ismuar?"

"Yeah. I need strong flames from Ismuar for what I'm making, so it overflowed...... Did that cause it to hatch?"

"Maybe. It might only hatch when touched by the same elemental power."

That explains why the mysterious eggs didn't budge no matter what we tried for years. There are no elementals in this world.

Yoo Hyun was looking curiously at the small lizard circling his hand. He then created a small flame on his fingertip. The lizard stopped moving, and the red flame turned black as he watched. When the flame turned completely black, the lizard opened its mouth wide and swallowed it.

"It seems to be completely immune to fire. It might not be very useful, though."

"Why, if you raise it well, it could become as strong as Myung-woo's Ismuar. It was born from an SSS-grade egg, after all."

"Such a small one?"

Myung-woo said disapprovingly. He must have gotten close to Ismuar.

Anyway, if it can only hatch with the power of the corresponding elemental, the other colored eggs will remain a mystery. That's a shame.

When I woke up, it was past ten in the morning. Without Blue or Comet, I must have slept soundly.

-Grung

As I got up, Peace rubbed her head against me. Piyak rustled in the basket. It seems he had been awake for a while but didn't urge me to get up. Good boys.

I took Piyak out of the basket and went to the living room. It felt a bit empty without Blue.

Yoo Hyun had already returned to the guild. He must have a lot to do after being away for a few days. He probably needs to go to the association too. I should have woken up earlier to make breakfast.

-Piyak Piyak

Piyak climbed the pet stairs and pressed the remote control button to turn on the TV. He looks very comfortable sitting and watching TV. Soon, he might be using his wings to pick up snacks from a bowl and watching VOD movies.

Looking at the TV, I saw a breaking news alert at the bottom.

Seosung Guild recruits S-grade Hunter.

"......Hold on, Piyak."

I changed the channel. On the hunter-specific channel, more details were shown. Seosung Guild successfully recruited an overseas S-grade hunter. Evelyn Miller, a long-range specialized S-grade freelance hunter, was expected to arrive today......

"......Sooner than expected."

In the previous timeline, Evelyn Miller was also recruited by Seosung Guild, but not this quickly. Did they expedite it because of the increase in S-grade hunters in Hae-yeon?

'Evelyn Miller was a woman with a gentle personality, even among S-grade combat hunters.'

Although she didn't get along with Moon Hyun-a. It's a good condition for a keyword, though.

'Forget it, I won't use it on Awakeners anymore.'

Noah is the last. I don't want to step on a landmine again by trying to raise an S-grade hunter. I should go get Blue and Comet.

----------------------

Evelyn Miller, with her long golden-brown hair and large round glasses over her brown eyes, appeared at the airport exit, and the gathered reporters immediately flashed their cameras.

Evelyn waved slightly at the TV cameras and started walking. She headed towards Seosung Guild's guild master, Sung Hyun-je, who was standing in a neatly dressed suit.

"Thank you for your hard work in coming such a long way."

"It's my pleasure. I'm grateful for your warm welcome."

Her gentle smile was met with a friendly one.

Sung Hyun-je opened the car door for Evelyn and went to the driver's seat. As the car started, Evelyn spoke as if she had been waiting.

"I heard the news. Noah seems to have done something strange, right?"

"He even called this morning to say he wants to go back to being a freelance hunter."

Sung Hyun-je's words made Evelyn look surprised.

"Really? I thought he wouldn't give up Mr. Riet's protection. It must be frustrating."

"It's like a dog that finally finished training and got a name tag, but then ran away. Of course, it's frustrating, especially with the full-body hydration skill being exposed."

Sung Hyun-je sighed dramatically.

Noah was useful in the dungeon with various auxiliary skills and as an S-grade hunter, but he was even more useful outside the dungeon.

Most importantly, the existence of the full-body hydration skill was still unknown to the public. It meant that even if he committed a heinous act in broad daylight, it could be passed off as the work of a monster from a burst gate.

"Noah isn't that strong, but he could have handled a couple of them with his poison. It's a shame."

Even if he couldn't handle other S-grade hunters, sweeping away the lower ranks could weaken any guild for a period. It would be even easier against the ordinary power holders supporting the guilds.

"But why did he do it? Is it the Korean air?"

"I don't know the full details yet, but it's probably related to Han Yu-jin."

"That monster tamer? Did he tame Noah by half-monsterizing him?"

"Who knows. It would be interesting if that were the case."

Evelyn tilted her head and studied Sung Hyun-je's expression.

"You don't seem too upset about Noah running away, Mr. Sung."

"I was thinking of complaining to the new owner to return the runaway dog."

"I would pretend not to know and say it's his problem. You said his stats are F-grade, right? Maybe he's scared and crying."

Evelyn's words made Sung Hyun-je chuckle.

"He's more adorable than that."

He then took out his phone and made a call. After a while, a voice that wouldn't greet anyone warmly came through.

[What do you want, Seosung Guild Master?]

"Are you free tonight, Han Yu-jin?"

[Tonight? I'm not busy, but what for?]

"It's nothing serious, just a date request."

A moment of silence, then a clearly annoyed voice answered.

[Do you have nothing better to do, being a guild master? I'm busy raising your kid, so I'll hang up now.]

The call was cut off ruthlessly. Sung Hyun-je held up his phone as if to show it.

"See?"

"......F-grade stats, right? A bit...... unique? You said he went to the dungeon with you, but how can he be like that?"

Sung Hyun-je smiled again at Evelyn's confused words.

"He's even more unique in other ways. You can look forward to it."

< Lizard > End

ⓒ Geunseo