A strange sea otter doll stealing(?) a magic stone in the living room.

The dim dawn light only made the atmosphere more awkward.

After freezing for a moment, Jung-woo found the answer to this unprecedented situation in his status window log.

【Slot 2 Unlocked: Acquiring Sea Otter Grand Magician (S).】

【Summoning Sea Otter Grand Magician (S)!】

‘Ah, the quest was cleared while I was asleep.’

It seemed he had slept soundly, unaware that the summon had been automatically called forth afterward.

Jung-woo examined the otter’s appearance.

‘Grand Magician? A magic-type summon?’

From its conical hat onward, the outfit was quite blatant about it.

Since it wasn’t a combat situation, just like with Bear Hero, it merely looked like a giant, silly plush—especially as it struggled to somehow shove the special magic stone inside a clam doll.

Ppok! Ppok! Ppok!

No matter how much it had been processed, a special magic stone was large.

It was slightly smaller than a child’s head, and its smooth outer surface meant there was no way it would fit securely in the clam doll’s mouth.

Yet there was the otter, grunting and straining, determined to make it work.

Jung-woo watched quietly before asking.

“Want me to help?”

It was immediate.

Ppok…!

The otter hugged the clam doll and the special magic stone, hiding them from Jung-woo’s sight.

Its eyes were like buttonholes, making its emotions impossible to read.

However, he could at least tell that this was its way of declaring, “This is mine.”

A realization dawned on him.

‘Each summon has a completely different personality. It doesn’t seem to follow the strict top-down command hierarchy of normal summons either.’

He could have taken it by force, but Jung-woo let it go.

‘Because Affinity would drop.’

It was one of the invisible metrics that modified a summon’s abilities.

Since it was already a proven theory, there was no need to go against it.

Besides, if the otter preferred things like clams and pebbles, it was better to just let it play with them to its heart’s content.

‘Didn’t they say sea otters get depressed if you take away their attachment clams?’

He roughly understood it in that way.

Right then.

“Uuum…”

“Ah, Se-gi, you’re awake?”

Stumbling groggily, bicheokbicheok, Se-gi rubbed her eyes and walked out into the living room.

She looked ahead with unfocused, sleepy eyes…

thunk—!

She froze like a stone.

Se-gi’s eyes blinked.

Her previously dazed, unfocused eyes became crystal clear, soon beginning to sparkle.

Her mouth dropped wide open.

“Sea otter…?”

ppok?

“Sea otter! Sea otter! Sea otter!”

ppok!?

“You’re so cute!!!”

Se-gi, plunged into a frenzy of excitement, charged at the otter.

Seeing a sea otter doll larger than herself sitting right there wearing a conical hat seemed to rush blood to her head.

Without a hint of suspicion, just pure joy, she ododo toddled over and dove right in.

In response, the otter supported her hips so she wouldn’t slip.

It treated the child, who was burying her face in its chest and squealing, kkyak kkyak, with utmost care—and then, incredibly, handed over the magic stone it had been so fiercely guarding to Se-gi.

The difference in treatment was stark.

‘It was so wary when I tried to touch the magic stone.’

A heartwarming scene, and a piece of information.

‘It also prioritizes Se-gi.’

Whether due to the aptitude’s influence or something else, just like Bear Hero, the Sea Otter Grand Magician held Se-gi’s priority exceptionally high.

His suspicion edged a little closer to certainty.

‘As expected…’

This Perfect Caregiver aptitude.

It seemed like an ability focused more on Se-gi than on himself.

It might have been a leap in logic, but the fact that the sea otter from the song Se-gi was singing had appeared as a doll didn’t seem like a coincidence.

What exactly was this aptitude?

The question he had pondered multiple times resurfaced once more, eventually circling back to the immediate problem at hand.

Jung-woo tilted his head.

‘So, what are its abilities?’

The Hunter Interface was an unfriendly system that required users to figure out everything beyond names and categories themselves, so there was no way to find that out right now.

He decided to analyze it later and focus on the present.

“Se-gi. Let’s get ready for daycare.”

“Okay! What about the sea otter?”

“It has to go help Daddy with his work.”

“Wow! Good sea otter!!!”

Ppok!

Let’s start with the daily routine.

The Abnormal Disaster Countermeasure Bureau headquarters was currently the hottest potato in the hunter world.

There were two reasons.

First, South Korea’s first Born S-Rank hunter had chosen it as his nest. Second, the steps he had taken since establishing himself there were incredibly unconventional.

Even from the outside, all sorts of stories were popping up.

One theory claimed that because he was an orphan, he fiercely hated magical beasts and joined the Bureau to eradicate them completely.

Another suggested the Bureau was the result of his scheming to suck up corporate magic stones without worrying about taxes.

If not that, there was even a baseless rumor that he had infiltrated the Bureau because his biological parents who abandoned him were there.

Such trends were particularly prominent in the hunter community, which required verification to join.

[Special Grade Chef: The Countermeasure Bureau hit the jackpot. Their influence grew thanks to this.]

└ Lonely Wolf Baek Geun-ho: Kya~ As expected of Mr. Jung-woo~

[Strongest in Gangbuk: They’re probably racking their brains internally. Someone who knows nothing about the Hunter world suddenly dropped in as upper management, so there must be a mountain of things to teach him, right?]

└ Anonymous: Real lol

└ Anonymous: Allow me to introduce our new colleague, Staff Member Shin Jung-woo. Assistant Manager Shin Jung-woo, please introduce yourself. Let’s all make sure not to pressure Section Chief Shin Jung-woo…

└ Lonely Wolf Baek Geun-ho: You think Mr. Jung-woo wouldn’t be able to handle that? They’re just whining behind his back, kkungsireong~ kkungsireong~ lol

└ Strongest in Gangbuk: Worry about managing your own guild. You’re always on the verge of a deficit.

└ Lonely Wolf Baek Geun-ho: Yes sir, Mr. ^FailedDocumentScreening^ ^GoddessOfTheGate^ ^ThreeGreatGuildslol^ ^^7

└ Strongest in Gangbuk: (This comment has been deleted for violating community guidelines.)

└ Anonymous: Geun-ho is really the emperor of the community… Even an S-Rank can’t win against him lol

└ Special Grade Chef: His skill at needling people while dodging the rules is already S-Rank;;

He didn’t bother addressing the baseless rumors, but in practical terms, their deductions were reasonable.

While his combat prowess had expanded the Bureau’s influence, the opinion that he would cause various internal administrative headaches was something anyone who had even slightly experienced the paperwork of the hunter industry could deeply sympathize with.

However, as is usually the case with rumors, the probability of them reflecting reality was extremely low.

The people actually watching Jung-woo process his work.

In other words, the staff of the Bureau’s command center were living in daily astonishment.

Lunchtime.

Among the command center staff who had gathered amicably to finish their meals and drink coffee, Administrative Officer Chae Da-ye spoke up.

“That man. Don’t you think he’s on his second playthrough of life?”

“Out of nowhere?”

“No, his paperwork is just too pristine? His processing speed is several times faster than anyone else’s. Above all, there’s almost no learning curve.”

“Ah, well, that’s true.”

It wasn’t just idle talk.

It had only been a little over a week since Jung-woo started working, but even in that short period, there was something distinctly special about him.

Typically, hunter industry documents were notoriously difficult, requiring detailed refinements due to complex related regulations.

It took a raw rookie at least half a year to become completely familiar with them; even people who had learned it beforehand at an academy or similar place struggled for a whole quarter before getting the hang of it.

Yet Jung-woo had adapted perfectly within his first day.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to do and floundered on his first day; rather, it looked as if he merely needed a process to adapt to ‘the Bureau’s way of doing things.’

Unable to comprehend it at all, someone had subtly asked why he adapted so quickly, and the answer they got was:

—I studied.

A short, unconvincing statement.

But not believing it wouldn’t change anything.

After all, he was far too young to have done hunter work somewhere else, and his past history was already quite well-documented.

In the end, the conclusion became the infinitely plausible yet entirely unbelievable deduction that ‘Shin Jung-woo is a second-playthrough hunter.’

Joo Gi-yoon, the officer in charge of the Data Department, chuckled and adjusted his glasses before speaking.

“Isn’t that a good thing? Actually, if the rumors on the community are true, he’s going to be our boss soon.”

“That’s true. He’s an S-Rank, his track record right now is incredible, and even the Bureau Chief seems to have that in mind, receiving separate personal reports from him.”

Pyo Haeng-seo, the audit manager who was chewing on chicken breast, ugeok ugeok, added.

“Is the Deputy Bureau Chief position finally getting filled? The Bureau Chief left it vacant all this time because he hated nagging.”

“Please. I’m begging you.”

A murderous glint flashed in Da-ye’s eyes.

“Every time I see him slacking off when I go to report documents to the Bureau Chief, I get so furious I could die. At this point, I’d rather Mr. Jung-woo go all the way to Bureau Chief and get these damn documents approved on time! On time! Please! Just approve them by the deadline!”

She vented her anger over her long-standing source of stress for a good while.

When lunchtime ended and everyone returned to work.

Da-ye massaged her stiff neck and looked at the documents she had to process in the afternoon.

Seeing the documents Jung-woo had already finished and processed for approval, she felt a sense of relief.

While smoothly skimming through them, she noticed a few missing documents and headed toward Jung-woo’s desk.

“Mr. Jung-woo, the Gwanak-gu related documents…”

“Ah, I just finished them.”

“Thank you? You’re really fast…”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Was he really some kind of paperwork monster?

Feeling a renewed sense of awe, Da-ye casually glanced at the materials Jung-woo was reading.

Whenever he finished his work like this, he spent his free time on personal study.

‘Usually, they were papers on gate-related incidents or generation principles.’

Was it the same today?

Thinking that, she took a peek, and her head tilted.

“Magic-type? Did you have an interest in magic-type hunters, Mr. Jung-woo?”

“Ah, I just had a few personal questions.”

Jung-woo said with a bright smile.

It was truly something she couldn’t just let pass by.

“I got a new summon, and it seems to be a magic-type.”

Ttuk—!

The command center office froze.

Even Gi-yoon and Haeng-seo, who had been eavesdropping out of curiosity, stiffened, and a silence fell so profound that you could hear a pin drop.

Right at that moment.

Bureau Chief Ho-jong, late as always as if it were the most natural thing in the world, walked into the office and rolled his eyes, deguldegul.

“What’s this? What’s with the atmosphere?”

Gi-yoon spoke.

“Mr. Jung-woo says he got his second summon.”

Ho-jong took a gulp of his Americano—horok—then fell silent for a moment.

Then he asked Jung-woo.

“Another doll?”

“Yes, a sea otter.”

“Should we sell merchandise too?”

“Out of nowhere?”

“I saw the internet going crazy over a sea otter? Even my first grandchild likes your bear, Mr. Jung-woo.”

Da-ye was so dumbfounded she had to ask.

“Is that important right now? With Mr. Jung-woo’s growth rate being like this?”

Ho-jong replied as if he didn’t see the problem.

“Even so, we have to do what we have to do.”

Da-ye felt slightly dizzy.

The efficiency of every skill varies depending on the user’s understanding of its mechanics.

As such, from the Millennium Shock era until now, hunters have invested astronomical sums into researching hunter skills and the interface.

Thanks to this process, quite a bit was known among hunters about magic as well.

‘Another attack type. How is a parenting skill this murderous?’

In the interface, the term ‘magic’ did not mean a ‘mystical phenomenon’ but rather an ‘ultra-realistic means of attack’.

There was also a clue to infer what level it was at.

The same rank as the Bear.

A sub-category within the same skill tab.

Generally, when categories were grouped like this in a summoning skill and there was no other rank-based support system, the capabilities of the two summons would run at a similar level.

It might look like a silly sea otter doll only greedy for magic stones, but it meant the creature was also a summon boasting monstrous attack power rivaling the Bear.

‘The flaw is that I won’t know until I see what kind of magic it uses…’

But if there was one fortunate thing amidst all this.

That curiosity wouldn’t last long.

“Bureau Chief, I’ll be heading out to the field.”

“Hm? You’re not sending the Bear today?”

“Yes, a direct dispatch request came in. It’s for a gate in the Yeouido area of Yeongdeungpo-gu.”

Who on earth would request his dispatch?

If asked, the answer was:

“Seunghyeoldan.”

The guild managing Yeongdeungpo-gu.

That is, Seunghyeoldan, which managed Yeouido where the National Assembly Building was located, had a deep history and many problems.

Founded by a core group of 1st generation hunters, it was currently deeply colluding with the Management Bureau—to the point of also serving as a laundry for their slush funds, perhaps that would explain it.

It was beyond simply lobbying hard.

Among Seunghyeoldan’s elders were many political hunters who had already made a huge fortune in politics and retired.

In other words, Seunghyeoldan was an organization directly involved with political hunters, along with the Management Bureau.

And from there, a field dispatch request had come for Jung-woo.

Both Ho-jong and Jung-woo knew exactly what this meant.

It was their first move.

“Looks like they set a trap.”

“Yes, I’m thinking they might have done something inside the gate.”

“Will you be alright?”

“Whatever it is, it’s true that the density threshold has been exceeded there. Besides…”

Jung-woo smiled brightly.

“I happen to have something to test out. It’d be nice to see if I can launch a counterattack while I’m at it.”

The timing was perfect.

He had just gained a card the opponent didn’t know about.

And it was an S-Rank force, called the pinnacle of the current establishment, confirmed as a combat summon.

If they had laid a trap, wasn’t this a situation where he could use it against them and catch them off guard?

It was a chance to overturn the stagnant checkmate.

Thus, as anticipation swelled within him,

‘Is the otter surprisingly a close-combat type?’

The time of verification was approaching.