Blue House underground bunker, South Korea.
Breaking the heavy silence, the Minister of Defense slammed his fist on the conference table.
"Absolutely not! Sending Hunter Kang Tae-ho overseas? Didn't we just agree at the national level to keep him here as our strategic reserve? What if an S-Rank Gate opens in the middle of Seoul while he's gone?"
The minister's face flushed red as he barked out his objection.
But the voice of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs sitting across from him was cold and resolute.
"It's true that Hunter Kang Tae-ho has kept our nation's backbone intact, but South Korea's economy is currently no different from an isolated island. The global maritime trade network has collapsed, and we're running out of resources to run our factories and imported food. Look at the compensation package China and neighboring countries have proposed. Exclusive mining rights to rare earth deposits, guaranteed safety for West Coast trade ports, and trillions of won in cash support plus free infrastructure. If we kick this offer away, our economy will suffocate from resource depletion without a single shot being fired!"
The Deputy Prime Minister swept his bloodshot eyes around the conference room.
"If we reject this proposal, we'll starve to death. Even if Hunter Kang Tae-ho protects us from monsters, if the nation goes bankrupt next year, we'll be stuck in bomb shelters sucking our thumbs!"
Voices rose in the conference room.
The President, seated at the head of the table, raised his hand while pressing his throbbing temples.
The room instantly fell silent.
The President's gaze turned to the large screen filling the wall.
The screen showed a real-time satellite feed of China's barren border region.
There, crouched like a mountain range, was a monstrous aberration.
Its upper body had the massive trunk and tusks of an elephant, while its lower body took the sleek and ferocious form of a lion—a grotesque creature.
"Early in the Gate Shock. An out-of-spec entity that emerged from an unexplained mutation."
The Director of the National Intelligence Service flipped through the briefing materials, adding his dry explanation.
"Our mistake was failing to suppress it early on. That monster feeds on metal and grows. Bullets, missiles, tank armor plating—even the special alloy swords wielded by Hunters—it devours them all and increases its mass."
On screen, the monster swung its elephant trunk and chewed up an abandoned Chinese military armored vehicle like jelly.
The ministers swallowed hard at its brutal appetite.
"Currently, China and neighboring countries have deployed millions of troops along the border, playing hot potato for three years trying to push that monster into each other's territory. Conventional weapons don't work, and even when they deploy S-Rank Hunters, it just eats their weapons—there's no solution."
"So you're saying the only means to kill that metal-eating monster is Hunter Kang Tae-ho here in South Korea?"
"Yes. His ability is thoroughly non-metallic. He's an out-of-spec force who condenses pure Mana itself to strike."
Heavy silence descended on the conference room again.
They feared crossing Kang Tae-ho. But if things continued this way, the nation's backbone would crumble.
The President let out a long sigh and reached his conclusion.
"Chief of Security. Send our top agents to the penthouse immediately."
"Mr. President!"
"This isn't an order or coercion. Since the nation's survival is at stake, bow your heads and ask politely. If he refuses, we'll withdraw cleanly—but stake the fate of South Korea on persuading him."
As the order fell, black-suited agents who had been on standby grabbed their radios in unison and filed out of the conference room.
* * * * *
Buried deep in the living room sofa, I took a sip of hot instant coffee from a paper cup.
As the sweet, chalky creamer taste flowed down my throat, a faint sigh escaped.
The tedious, languid boredom of a weekend afternoon—a stark contrast to the fierce battlefields I'd been rolling through.
This was the perfect rest I loved and craved most.
"Oppa, the black card in your wallet."
Ha-eun, lying on the sofa next to me staring at her smartphone, suddenly held out her hand.
"Where are you going?"
"I made a reservation at an omakase place in Cheongdam-dong with friends tonight, but my card's maxed out from this month's shopping."
I picked up the black card rolling around on the table and flicked it at her forehead.
"Come home early. Dad said he's grilling pork belly tonight."
"Yes! Thanks. Oh, and Dad said he's stopping by the oriental medicine clinic after work to pick up more tonic for you."
"I'm going crazy. I haven't even finished the black goat tonic from last month."
As I shuddered, Mom, who was peeling an apple while watching a trashy drama across the living room, scolded me.
"Just take what you're given. After working so hard out there, you should be taking tonics regularly. I'll heat up some red ginseng extract for you later, so drink it."
"Yes, yes. Got it."
I answered half-heartedly and lay down on the sofa.
On TV, a clichéd scene played out where a mother-in-law threw an envelope at her daughter-in-law and splashed water on her.
It wasn't particularly entertaining, but I had no will to change the channel either.
—Ding-dong.
Just then, a short notification sound rang from the intercom on the living room wall.
"Huh? We're not expecting anyone. A delivery?"
Ha-eun tilted her head. I set down my paper cup of instant coffee and got up.
"I'll get it. Stay seated."
I shuffled toward the front door in my slippers.
On the intercom screen, three men in black suits stood with stiff expressions.
National Intelligence Service badges on their chests. Squared shoulders in military posture.
I immediately recognized they weren't delivery drivers.
"Ah, seriously. On my day off."
Fatigue washed over me. I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
"What is it?"
As soon as the door opened, I spoke in an indifferent voice.
The three suited agents reflexively bowed deeply upon seeing me.
"Hunter Kang Tae-ho. We sincerely apologize for visiting on your day off."
"Skip the preamble. Just the main point. I'm tired."
I leaned crookedly against the doorframe and gestured with my chin.
The team leader-level agent swallowed dryly and carefully held out a secure tablet.
"This is a direct order from the President. We've come to humbly request your deployment to subjugate a super-massive mutant Magical Beast that has appeared in China's outer border region."
My eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Deployment? Overseas?"
The agent nodded urgently.
I let out a laugh of disbelief.
"That's funny. The people who usually worry themselves sick that I might go outside—what's this about? Now you want me to play mercenary?"
"N-no, that's not it! This is absolutely not mandatory! It's just..."
The agent moistened his dry lips with a stiff face.
"South Korea's economy is currently isolated and withering. The subjugation compensation package China has offered is so extraordinary it could change the nation's fate, so we have no choice but to cling to you shamelessly. Even if you refuse, there will be no disadvantages whatsoever. The decision is entirely yours, Hunter."
A voice dripping with the desperation of a nation with its back against the wall.
Even if I refused and shut the door right now, they couldn't say a word and would just leave.
But if the higher-ups were prostrating themselves this much, it meant the national crisis they faced wasn't trivial.
"Fine. Leave it."
I plucked the secure tablet from the agent's hand.
"I'll take a look at how much of a mess the situation is, so go."
Without waiting for a response, I shut the front door.
I walked back to the living room with the tablet tucked under my arm.
"Who was it? Did a delivery come?"
At Mom's question, I slipped the tablet into my training suit and replied.
"Yeah. Useless promotional material. Let's watch something else."
The channel changed, and a news broadcast filled the living room.
I drained the rest of my cold instant coffee and lay down on the empty sofa.
* * * * *
Time passed to late afternoon.
In my room.
Lying face-down on my bed, I powered on the secure tablet the government agent had left.
After biometric authentication, densely packed military classified documents appeared on the screen.
[Location: China's Outer Border Region]
[Special Notes: Mutant entity that appeared in the early Gate incident. Feeds on all forms of metal to grow. Nullifies physical/conventional strikes.]
Horrific battlefield photos taken by satellite appeared one after another.
A massive monster with an elephant's upper body and a lion's lower body.
For years, it had grown to the size of a mountain range by devouring Chinese military tank armor and Hunters' super-alloy swords.
"That's why they still haven't caught it. Charging at a metal-eater with swords is like setting up a buffet."
I muttered dryly, chin propped up.
From a military perspective, it was a complete tactical failure. If metal weapons don't work, you have to change the fundamental nature of your attack.
I conjured a small blue Mana flame at my fingertip.
A crystallization of 100% pure energy that moved at my will, unmixed with any element existing in this world.
"If it eats metal, just beat it with something that doesn't contain a single gram of metal."
A crooked smile spread across my lips.
This brutish Mana-optimized body the System had granted me.
Compress a pure Mana mass to hundreds of tons and drop it on its head—done. For me, it was simple prey, nothing complicated.
I scrolled to the last page.
It was a list of compensation packages the government could offer to Kang Tae-ho personally.
Massive cash, a private bunker, comprehensive support treaties.
I turned off the screen and rolled over on the bed.
I stared at the ceiling, organizing my thoughts.
Going overseas to kill a monster. Annoying.
But if South Korea's economy collapsed, prices would skyrocket immediately, and my perfect slacker infrastructure—like imported beef and the latest game consoles—would crumble.
The nation needs to be wealthy and peaceful for my unemployed lifestyle to remain comfortably maintained.
Besides, if I made a solid impression when the government bowed this low, I could legitimately ignore most annoying summons going forward.
An opportunity to build a perfect, permanent breakwater for myself.
"Well, the cost-benefit analysis checks out."
I got up.
A short, intense business trip to protect my peaceful daily life and rest didn't look bad. The realistic calculation of a battle-hardened veteran was complete.
