Chapter 11

A single remark that pierced through Siyoon’s trail of actions.

His mind instantly grew complicated.

‘How does she know that? Did she have me followed?’

Siyoon had taken great pains to conceal his identity, even going so far as to be careful when selling byproducts.

He had even calculated his routes and outfits so they would never overlap.

“Just as I thought.”

The woman looking at Siyoon narrowed her eyes with a smile.

At that moment, Siyoon realized his mistake.

His reaction had been no different from a silent admission to her words.

Sure enough.

The woman offered a deeper smile.

“It seems I’ve come to the right person.”

“…Who are you, and why are you looking for me?”

“Ah, I’m late with my introductions.”

She smiled softly and handed him a business card.

Like her beautiful appearance, the card was clean and elegant.

“I am Agent Min Seolah.”

True to her words, the card read ‘Agent’ alongside her name.

“This isn’t the place to have this conversation. Shall we relocate?”

“…Let’s.”

Siyoon accepted her proposal.

There was much he wanted to interrogate her about right then and there.

But as she said, this wasn’t the right place.

‘I need to follow her first and figure out her motive for approaching me.’

He had been as careful as possible to avoid standing out.

The fact that she had found him anyway meant his tail had been stepped on.

He needed to know for certain to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

“I know a place nearby. Let’s head there.”

Keeping his gaze on her as she continued to speak, Siyoon began to walk.

* * *

Bu-woong―

Siyoon fell into thought, watching the scenery blur past the window.

‘Haa, what the hell is going on?’

He had only stepped out to go hunting.

He never expected an agent to get tangled up in this.

‘I don’t even have a clue where the information leaked from.’

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

Siyoon had thoroughly hidden his identity.

Even at the Hunter Association, he had called himself a Gunner.

And he only ever used a pistol as his weapon.

‘The most likely culprit is, after all, that news article.’

The incident that had recently become a hot topic due to Siyoon’s gunfire.

The attack trajectories and gruesome magic beast corpses left scattered across the beginner hunting grounds.

Of course, it had quickly blown over as the work of a high-rank hunter.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

A voice came from the driver’s seat.

When he turned his gaze forward, he met Min Seolah’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“It’s nothing.”

“I’m not so sure. From my perspective, it looks like you’re wondering how I found you, hunter Siyoon.”

Spot on.

How on earth did she know?

As Siyoon stared at her, she flashed a grin.

“I didn’t say a word, though.”

“There are things you can know without words being spoken. For example, the fact that you obediently got into the car I prepared.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Usually, when I visit someone directly without prior notice, their reactions vary quite a bit.”

Her tone implied this wasn’t her first time doing something like this.

Even her way of speaking seemed highly skilled and practiced.

‘Does she possess some sort of tracking-related skill?’

Regardless of his curiosity, Min Seolah continued.

“Some have been flustered yet pleased, while others have been offended and angry.”

Siyoon didn’t reply.

Meanwhile, the vehicle entered a tunnel.

Lights spaced at regular intervals swept past the interior of the car in alternating flashes.

“But you, hunter Siyoon, obediently accepted my proposal. Rather than displaying displeasure or bewilderment, I’d say you placed more value on resolving your ‘questions’.”

“……”

It felt as if his thoughts were being read like an open book.

How she had found him, and where the information had leaked from.

These two were the reasons Siyoon had gotten into the car.

“Ah, we’re almost there.”

Bright light filtered in simultaneously with her words.

The short tunnel section ended, revealing the cityscape.

Under the clear sunlight, blue trees planted on either side.

A forest of towering buildings rising between them.

Kkiik.

Pulling into the parking garage of one of the buildings, she turned off the engine.

Siyoon silently stepped out and followed Min Seolah into the elevator.

“This is my office. I figured you’d be uncomfortable in a public place easily exposed to the surroundings.”

“I see.”

An obvious lie.

He wasn’t stupid enough not to know.

‘This is better than going to a cafe.’

The reason she brought him to her office was likely to avoid the eyes of other agents.

For Siyoon, who needed to hide his skill, this wasn’t bad.

At the very least, their conversation wouldn’t leak out.

Tting―

Upon reaching a specific floor, the doors opened with a chime.

The interior gave off a strong impression of a well-organized office.

Siyoon didn’t reveal any emotion.

‘There’s no need to show discomfort and hand over control of the conversation.’

Siyoon was unfamiliar with both this kind of space and this kind of situation.

But control of a conversation stems from composure.

Besides, the upper hand currently belonged to Siyoon.

Min Seolah was an agent.

She had approached him targeting Siyoon, a hunter.

Talkak.

Opening the innermost door revealed a neat office.

Various documents were sorted by type and stacked like towers on the desk.

“Shall we start talking now?”

Siyoon nodded.

It was time to ask how she had figured out who he was.

* * *

A guest table sat to one side of the office.

Sitting across from her on the plush sofa, Siyoon asked point-blank.

“So, how did you find me?”

This was the most important issue.

It was also what he had been pondering all along.

‘Did she catch me off guard?’

Siyoon had put considerable effort into hiding the true nature of his skill.

Of course, in the beginning, he had unknowingly turned the beginner hunting grounds into a shambles.

But since then, he hadn’t done anything that would leave a trail to be caught.

“I figured you’d ask that first.”

Min Seolah said as much, setting her tablet down.

A faint smile had remained on her neat face the entire time.

There was extremely little change in her expression.

‘It’s like she’s wearing a mask.’

Even with the smile, there wasn’t a single opening to be seen.

Siyoon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Min Seolah.

An agent who had achieved great success on her own at the young age of twenty-something.

During the car ride, Siyoon had secretly searched her name.

Several articles had popped up as related search terms.

What particularly caught his eye were hunter contract cases.

There were a few famous hunters associated with her.

Her ability to scout talented hunters seemed exceptional.

‘Impressive. Is this what it takes to shine in the agent market?’

He hadn’t imagined someone like her would visit him in person.

That was the reason he hadn’t recognized her when he first saw Min Seolah.

Anyway.

Min Seolah had sought him out and was now facing him.

The fact that she possessed such outstanding ability was reason enough to hear her out.

“I found you by reverse-engineering your trail, Mr. Siyoon.”

While Siyoon was analyzing her, Min Seolah spoke.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, because it was ‘me,’ I was able to find you, Mr. Siyoon.”

Her smile deepened.

At her incredibly confident words, Siyoon was at a loss.

To say she could do it because she was at her level.

At first glance, it sounded like a statement slathered in narcissism and confidence.

“But just telling you this must make you curious.”

Min Seolah swiped at her tablet a few times before showing it to Siyoon.

A news article was displayed on the screen.

“The ‘Beginner Hunting Ground Magic Beast Massacre’ that happened a few days ago. Do you remember it?”

The Beginner Hunting Ground Magic Beast Massacre.

An incident that had appeared on the news and briefly stirred up the hunter community.

“Yes. I remember.”

This was Siyoon’s doing.

It hadn’t been intentional.

It was merely an accident that occurred while he was testing his skills and items.

Since no one was actually harmed, it had quieted down quickly.

“But what of it? That incident was concluded as a prank by a high-rank hunter.”

Siyoon decided to brazen it out.

Without knowing Min Seolah’s motives, there was no need to readily admit to it.

‘And I’m curious how she deduced it, too.’

Siyoon had never been directly exposed in the media.

At most, the incident Min Seolah had just mentioned.

He had also gone to dungeons alone without forming a party, so there were no witnesses.

‘It wasn’t for nothing that I chose the unpopular Krakto’s Domain.’

There were truly only a handful of parties that challenged it in a year.

Even fewer unless they needed Krakto’s byproducts for a special commission.

It was an F-Rank dungeon to begin with.

Hunters of a rank capable of easily hunting Krakto found other dungeons far more efficient.

Moreover, strictly speaking, it was less efficient than other F-Rank dungeons of the same level.

Since hunting Krakto was difficult, the income naturally decreased.

“That’s correct.”

Min Seolah, who had quietly listened to his words, nodded.

“Some hunters exhausted by high-rank dungeons and magic beasts come to low-rank hunting grounds to relieve stress, so it’s certainly a possibility.”

She tapped the tablet screen twice.

The article expanded, showing detailed photos of the scene.

“But I knew it was the work of a novice hunter just by looking at the photos of the scene. Why do you think that is?”

“……”

“It’s the application and proficiency of the skill. In the case of novice hunters, while the power is strong, these two things are lacking.”

Juuk.

Her finger moved.

The photo expanded further.

Then, the scars vividly revealed on the trees and the ground became visible.

Bushes and trees that looked as if they had been pierced in circles.

The edges, hollowed out as if gnawed away, left behind charred black marks.

The ground also bore round, crater-like marks that continued for a certain distance.

Min Seolah pointed right at those spots.

“Firepower strong enough to sweep the surroundings without specifying a range. There’s a lot you can learn from seeing this.”

Her finger emphasized the pierced trees and the bushes swept away.

Several such photos were lined up simultaneously.

“For example, if you compare these photos, it’s closer to being torn off by something swept up rather than sharply cut. The range is also nearly consistent.”

“So?”

“The skill used is closer to an area-of-effect skill rather than a single-target one, and the fact that the traces are consistent suggests it’s more plausible that it enhances something to increase output, rather than a skill whose output varies depending on intuition, instinct, and condition.”

A seemingly complex explanation.

But Siyoon understood the core of it.

‘Enhancement-type skills are less affected by external factors, so the traces are relatively consistent.’

Cold sweat ran down his spine.

He maintained his composure, but inwardly, he was extremely surprised.

‘She figured it out this accurately with just a few photos?’

The parts Min Seolah pointed out were areas Siyoon hadn’t even paid attention to.

He hadn’t even thought it was possible.

Who would care about what happened in a beginner hunting ground?

Even the Association and the police had quickly concluded their investigation.

It was something Siyoon couldn’t have even imagined.

But the story didn’t end there.

“When you eliminate the possibility of it being the work of a high-rank hunter, what’s left is the possibility of a new hunter emerging.”

“…Hmm.”

“Despite going around the hunting grounds and slaughtering multiple beasts at once, there were no traces of magic at the scene.”

This was also true.

Siyoon’s ability was, after all, ‘Enhancement.’

It was completely separate from magic.

“For a novice hunter to move quickly and leave such traces, a close-combat type would be difficult. It would have to be a long-range type skill using a gun or a bow…”

Min Seolah’s calm, settled gaze met Siyoon’s.

“You recently registered as a hunter at the Association as a ‘Gunner,’ correct?”

“That’s right, but.”

“And your skill was ‘Firearm Enhancement’.”

“…That’s correct.”

Since he couldn’t readily reveal ‘Enhancement.’

Siyoon had registered his skill as ‘Firearm Enhancement’ at the Association.

Hunters who enhanced firearms weren’t common, but there were quite a few.

“I thought so.”

Min Seolah said.

“According to the information I’ve gathered, there was only one F-Rank hunter who recently purchased bullets or arrows in bulk. It was you, Mr. Siyoon.”

“Hmm. Isn’t the logic a bit thin to pin that on me?”

“No, an individual F-Rank hunter usually can’t easily buy that many arrows and bullets.”

“What?”

“They’re poor. Still.”

“Ah…”

“Furthermore, witnesses to the incident testified that several sounds similar to gunshots rang out.”

What should he do?

To be honest, he was impressed enough to let out an exclamation.

‘Her ability to gather, connect, and deduce from information is incredibly outstanding.’

There was a common misconception.

Recognizing an incident, and piecing together fragmented information to uncover it.

People thought they were similar, but the actual difficulty between the two was like heaven and earth.

Analytical skills. Deductive skills. Critical thinking.

Combined with outstanding observational skills.

Not a single one was missing, all harmonizing perfectly.

However.

“You’re missing the most important thing.”

“Pardon?”

“Everything you’ve presented so far is just circumstantial suspicion, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t as if there was no way out.

Just like right now.

“So where is the definitive ‘physical evidence’ that I did it?”