Osaka, Japan, in front of the Permanent Gate.
The massive temporary control base was packed wall-to-wall with Hunters and government officials who had flocked in from various countries.
A space enclosed on all sides by concrete and barbed wire.
The stress of the Hunters forced to wait indefinitely inside had already reached its breaking point.
"Your country's half-destroyed and struggling, yet you still managed to crawl all the way here?"
"Ha, they can barely keep themselves afloat and yet their mouths are still running."
"What a fucking rude bitch."
"Try me, asshole."
Hunters from rival nations—countries that had requested military support during the Gate Shock crisis when their very survival hung in the balance, only to be coldly refused under the excuse of domestic defense.
Crammed together in this confined space, the murderous intent they radiated was enough to explode into a bloody brawl over something as trivial as a shoulder bump.
"Fighting means immediate revocation of entry rights! Stop this instant!"
The faces of the Japanese Self-Defense Force members physically blocking these uncontrollable Hunters had turned deathly pale.
The tension of standing on a precipice, never knowing when the sparks might fly their way.
Just then, a dry male voice echoed throughout the entire base.
— Mic test, mic test.
— As of this moment, there will be a briefing regarding the Osaka Gate. All national delegations are requested to gather in the briefing room.
"Ha. Finally calling us. Kept us cooped up in this cramped place forever."
"Just because it opened in their backyard, they're really throwing their weight around."
Leaving their grumbling behind, the Hunters gathered in the massive briefing room.
A Japanese government agent standing at the podium gripped the microphone with a severely tense expression.
"As you'll have seen in the pre-distributed documents, the primary objective of this entry is not combat, but exchange."
The agent swept his bloodshot eyes across the audience.
"Unauthorized departure from designated zones to collect items, or any acts that harm the sapient beings of the Otherworld, are strictly prohibited. If discovered, the relevant nation and Hunter will face permanent banishment from the Otherworld."
At the harsh warning, the Hunters' expressions twisted strangely.
"Additionally, the leader overseeing this multinational Hunter entry team will be Hunter Kang Tae-ho of South Korea."
A subtle murmur rippled through the hall. The heavy pressure that came with the title of Earth's strongest.
"He will conduct direct negotiations with the Elven Queen as Earth's representative. Should the Elven side request it during these negotiations, you may be deployed as support forces for monster subjugation."
The agent checked his watch and concluded the briefing decisively.
"Entry time is tomorrow at 1 PM. Precisely 1 PM tomorrow. That is all."
Having received their orders, the Hunters from each nation quickly filed out of the briefing room, calculating how to maximize their national interests.
* * * * *
At the same time, in a penthouse in South Korea.
I was enjoying a perfect and comfortable 200% unemployed lifestyle in my room.
On the screen, monsters were being swept away amid flashy effects.
Three years ago—that exact sensation of raking in money through game currency from the comfort of my room, proudly calling myself a beneficiary of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Others disparaged this as "rice-eating," but that was purely jealousy toward someone making money from their room.
That damned game I'd been forced to quit during the Gate Shock when monsters smashed the data centers had recently relaunched with the tag "Classic" attached to it, bold as ever.
If there was one difference from back then, it was that now I had an inexhaustible black card in my pocket that I could swipe endlessly.
If in the past I'd ground away time to earn money, now I held the perfect power to buy time with overwhelming capital.
This sensation of running hunts all day long, bathed only in monitor light except when eating or using the bathroom.
"Ahh, this is the life. Feels like I've returned to the past."
Just as a smile was spreading across my lips—
— Bzzzzzzt.
The smartphone I'd tossed in a corner of my desk spat out an obnoxious vibration without reading the room. Caller: [Association President Park Jin-cheol].
An ominous call pouring cold water on my perfect dopamine party, signaling the end of my rest.
Letting out a deep sigh, I took my hand off the mouse and pressed the call button.
"Yes, old man. Looks like you finally reached a conclusion?"
— Yeah. To put it simply, tomorrow at 1 PM, Osaka Gate entry.
"How many burdens am I dragging in?"
— One Hunter representative from each country, plus one government official each. Even this is after cutting down the Americans and EU bastards who wanted to shove in dozens.
The old man's voice through the receiver was thick with fatigue.
"I can tell just from your voice. You've had it rough. Well then, I'll pack and see you tomorrow."
— Yeah. See you tomorrow.
The old man let out a deep sigh that could sink the earth, then hung up.
"Ugh."
I stood up from my chair and stretched.
Cracking my stiff neck side to side, I headed to the living room to share the news.
Weekend evening. My family was huddled together on the living room sofa watching a variety show.
As I walked out of my room, three pairs of eyes turned toward me in unison.
"It's out. The schedule."
At my single sentence, the air in the living room froze for an instant.
"Oppa, when are you going?"
Ha-eun was sprawled on the sofa, her butt claiming a vast territory.
I nudged her plump rear with my toe and squeezed into the empty space.
"Tomorrow at 1 PM entry. Probably need to leave after dinner to catch the flight."
"Oh my! What kind of last-minute notice is this! I haven't even fed my puppy a proper piece of delicious meat!"
Before I'd even finished speaking, Mom shot up from her seat.
Grabbing her coat, she looked ready to raid the department store meat section right then and there.
Dad watched Mom with barely concealed anxiety, gauging my reaction.
"Son... you're sure it's okay, right? Nothing really dangerous will happen, right?"
Dad's voice dripped with worry.
I fiddled with the remote and replied as casually and matter-of-factly as possible.
"It's safe, Dad. Don't worry. I'm not going to crack monster skulls or anything—just getting called as Earth's representative to stamp some diplomatic documents and come back."
"Oppa! You didn't forget about taking pictures of Elves, right? Huh? Huh?"
Ha-eun, who'd been rolling around beside me, poked my arm with sparkling eyes.
My own flesh and blood cared more about photos of pointy-eared Elves than her brother heading off to distant lands and potential danger.
Did she hit her head hard falling off the bed as a kid?
...Though considering she got into one of Korea's top corporations and diligently works overtime, it probably wasn't an intelligence issue.
As I looked down at this orangutan wearing my sister's skin with pitiful eyes, she started shoving my body with her massive rear.
"Ahh— Oppa! I'll be good! Pictures, okay?"
"Fine, fine. I'll take them, so move that smelly butt."
Irritation rising, I smacked her rear with my palm hard enough to make a sound.
Only then did Ha-eun curl up giggling.
* * * * *
I was lying on the sofa next to my sister, blankly watching a mindless variety show.
As the exaggerated laughter of celebrities on screen filled the living room, the cheerful friction sound of the door lock opening rang out.
— Beep-click. Clunk.
The heavy front door opened and weighty footsteps approached the living room.
Dad entered carrying bulging large mart shopping bags in both hands.
Thick beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his breathing was rough.
The appearance of someone who'd faithfully performed the roles of driver and pack mule, pushed along by Mom's fierce back-smacking.
The shopping bags hit the living room floor with successive thuds.
"Why'd you buy so much?"
I asked indifferently, propping my upper body up at an angle from the sofa.
Dad rotated his stiff shoulders and answered with a sigh mixed in.
"I don't know either. Your mom said she had to stuff you until you burst before sending you off, so she swept up the whole department store."
I clicked my tongue softly at the spilling groceries.
Starting with premium Korean beef sets with densely marbled fat, then live octopus, live abalone, and even massive wild eel.
A suffocating quantity. If I tried to cram all that into my small stomach, I'd end up in the emergency room before even entering the Osaka Gate.
I reached down to pick up rolling onion nets and mushroom packs from the floor.
"Oh my! Puppy, don't touch anything! Go rest. Mom will handle all this."
Mom, who'd followed through the entrance, gasped and smacked my hand.
Then she forcibly pulled me up from helping with the groceries and shoved my back toward my room, telling me to go play games.
— Bang.
Pushed into my room.
The firmly closed door.
Since trying to help would only earn me nagging anyway, I decided to comply obediently.
I sat back down in my computer chair and gripped the mouse.
After mechanically repeating hunts for a while, the savory smell of sesame oil and rich grilling meat wafted in from beyond my door.
"Tae-ho! Dinner's ready. Come out quick!"
Mom's cheerful summons.
The moment I opened the door and stepped into the living room, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks.
A massive mountain range covering the large dining table in the center of the living room. Braised short ribs, grilled beef, seasoned grilled eel, butter-grilled abalone, and various side dishes and stews.
The dishes were precariously stacked in layers, lacking space to place more side dishes.
"Mom... how am I supposed to eat all this?"
"If there's leftovers, Dad can mix it all up and eat it for breakfast tomorrow. Hurry and eat."
My grumbling didn't work at all.
Mom was already holding a spoonful of meat right up to my mouth.
I couldn't ignore the care she'd put into preparing this full table out of worry for me.
I climbed onto the chair and accepted the heavy spoon.
* * * * *
"Haah..."
The long and brutal meal had ended. Or at least, I desperately wanted to believe it had ended.
I sprawled out spread-eagle on the living room sofa.
The loose training pants drawstring was constricting my abdomen, so I loosened it.
With each breath, my excessively distended belly rose and fell prominently.
As I lay there pot-bellied, blankly staring at the ceiling—
Ha-eun, who'd set down her chopsticks at the table, approached me.
Her gaze locked precisely on my belly. A very annoying expression with the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Wow— look at that belly. Oppa, someone might think you're pregnant."
My closed eyes snapped open.
It was already irritating that my body had changed, and now she was going on about pregnancy.
"What, you little—?"
Just as I was about to rise with chilling murderous intent—
My sister instinctively sensed the threat I was radiating and bolted to her room like lightning.
— Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut roughly.
And her giggling laughter leaking from beyond the door.
A thick vein bulged on my forehead.
Someday I would absolutely fix that orangutan-like brat's manners.
Making that firm resolution once more, I sprawled back on the sofa clutching my swollen belly.
A peaceful digestion time. My eyelids gradually closed due to my heavy stomach. Just as I was about to sink into the swamp of drowsy sleep—
"Puppy, if you're done eating, let's have fruit. I bought expensive ones."
Mom's voice as she walked out from the kitchen.
What was thrust before my eyes was a massive fruit platter.
Inside, strawberries piled like a mountain and large Shine Muscat grapes gleamed with lustrous shine.
"Ah..."
A short, desperate sigh escaped between my lips.
There wasn't even space for a sip of water in my stomach yet. I let out a hollow laugh looking at the sparkling fruits.
Round 2 of the raid had begun.
