After the Dungeon Shock, South Korea forged especially close diplomatic ties with one particular country—Singapore.
In this world, there had once been a vast and troublesome gate known as the Ice Palace. It appeared exclusively in Singapore and South Korea. As the two nations exchanged personnel and information in order to conquer the dungeon, a natural spirit of cooperation developed between them.
South Korea and Singapore had never been on bad terms to begin with, but the Ice Palace incident certainly brought them even closer.
Their relationship had grown so close that whenever a particularly troublesome gate appeared in either country, they would urgently dispatch Hunters to one another.
The Hunter dispatch system between the two nations.
The most famous example was Jung Haseong's conquest of the White Tower. The next most notable was the dragon hunt undertaken by a certain individual named Choi Jin.
Singapore had long been notorious for the frequent appearance of dragon-type monsters.
'A dragon hunter.'
Choi Jin, a leading member of the 'Faith' Guild, headquartered in Chuncheon.
She was said to be a first-generation Hunter who had played a major role in the Northern Seoul reclamation battle. Some even claimed that she had hunted more dragons than anyone else.
In any case, there were all kinds of extravagant rumors surrounding this Hunter, but none attracted as much attention as this one.
[The Top 90% Tears of the Awakened...
The Story of How She Transformed Into an 'A-Rank Overnight' Jeongseong Ilbo: 20XX-12-22]
As the article from several years ago showed, she was the first known case of an Awakened whose innate rank had changed.
'Oho.'
I kept my eyes on the Awakened approaching from the opposite direction.
A stylish short haircut that left her ears completely exposed.
A large scar running across her jaw.
And a woman dressed in a kizariman leather outfit that wrapped tightly around her neck.
Given the circumstances, she was probably either the sort of person who hated wasting time or simply someone too lazy to bother with unnecessary things.
An A-rank Hunter earned more than enough money. If she still hadn't bothered removing an old scar, inconvenience was about the only plausible reason.
And if that assumption was correct, her short hair could probably be explained the same way.
"Noona! Over here! Over here!"
The moment Ahn Yoonseung spotted her, he raised his hand high and waved.
That's right.
Today, I had borrowed the strength of this A-rank Hunter.
It had only come up once before, almost in passing, but apparently Hunter Ahn here was actually cousins with the Dragon Slayer standing over there.
'What an impressive bloodline. To think so many exceptional magicians could come from the same family.'
The woman approached, the heels of her loafers clicking against the floor.
As she drew near, I greeted the Awakened politely.
"Hello, Hunter Choi Jin."
At that, Choi Jin stopped only a few steps away from me.
"Hmm."
So this was what someone looked like while [Dragon's Heart] was active?
I carefully examined the person standing before me.
There was no doubt about it. Her heart was radiating an extraordinary amount of magical power, enough for me to notice it at a glance.
'This is less like a dragon hunter and more like...'
Half-human, half-dragon.
That particular phrase came to mind as I studied the woman.
But then, from the corner of my eye, another figure suddenly appeared.
"Hello!"
A long-haired Awakened who looked as though she had taken all the hair Choi Jin lacked and attached it to herself.
Her sharp fangs were especially striking. With her arms linked around Choi Jin's, she practically clung to her while peeking out from beside her.
"I'm Choi Jinhee!"
"Choi Jin, you said...? Do the two of you have the same name?"
"No. It's Choi. Jin. Hee."
Why had their parents given their children names that were so easy to confuse?
Anyway, the two looked alike, and they shared the same surname, so this woman was probably the Awakened I'd seen people talking about online. 𝘳₳Ŋǒ𝐛ЁS
"She's my younger sister."
It was already common knowledge in the industry that Choi Jin worked alongside her sister.
After hearing the introduction, I belatedly introduced myself as well.
"Yes. Choi Jinhee-ssi. Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Gi Ryeo."
But the moment I extended my hand for a handshake, Jinhee's eyes suddenly widened.
Red eyes like crushed pomegranate seeds.
Come to think of it, could an Earthling's irises naturally be that color?
"What?!"
Tuk.
Jinhee abruptly seized my wrist and shouted.
"Why does it look so delicious? Wow, it really looks so tasty... Amazing. Can I just have one sip?"
"Huh? What?"
"My goodness. Oppa, your blood looks incredibly delicious!"
"What are you..."
"Jinhee-ya! Stop it!"
Just as I was beginning to panic at the sudden turn of events, Hunter Choi Jin reacted immediately.
She grabbed her younger sister and pulled her away from me.
"It's rude to act like that toward someone you've just met. Have you already forgotten the scolding you got last time?"
"No..."
"What is wrong with you? Seriously!"
Choi Jin seemed genuinely flustered by her sister's sudden behavior.
As I silently watched them, Ahn Yoonseung hurriedly began explaining the situation.
"H-Hyung, I'm sorry. I heard Hunter Jinhee has an urge to drink blood because of her awakening ability. But it's definitely not dangerous..."
"Awakening ability?"
"You didn't know?"
Sharp teeth and red eyes.
As an alien, I hadn't found those physical differences particularly strange, but apparently they were actually part of her unique ability.
"Jinhee Noona is an Awakened shapeshifter. It's like having two different forms, sort of like a werewolf?"
"Aha."
"Although in practice, she looks exactly like a vampire."
So transformation magic existed here as well.
As an alien, I found myself rather intrigued by the idea of a magician capable of imitating beings from fantasy.
But just as I focused my gaze on her for a closer look, a murderous pressure slowly began to seep toward me from across the way.
'Huh?'
Hunter Choi Jin was glaring at me.
Surely there was nothing wrong with briefly looking at her younger sister.
So why was she staring at me like that?
"Hunter Kim Giryeo, I apologize for the interruption. Anyway, you said there was something you wanted to ask me today."
Intimidated by the Dragon Slayer's gaze, I held my breath and stayed quiet.
But then a sudden sound broke through the silence.
—Ding— Ding—
It was the alarm from Choi Jin's smartwatch.
"Oh, tsk."
A call from the guild?
"I told them to double-check everything properly. Why are people still being sent back and forth...?"
Choi Jin checked the message she'd received and frowned.
Then she apologized, explaining that something work-related had come up and that she needed to step away for a moment.
"Ahn Yoon-seung. Take good care of your sister until I get back. Don't leave her alone, got it?"
"Yes!"
With that, Choi Jin turned and walked away.
And in that brief moment, she threw me one last glare for good measure.
How strange.
I had absolutely no idea why that Hunter was so hostile toward me.
'Is she just hot-tempered or something?'
Well, meaningless little power struggles like this had been part of everyday life on Alphauri, so it wasn't anything new to me.
We decided to wait in the nearby lounge and get something to drink until Choi Jin returned.
By the way, this was the lobby on the first floor of the Faith Guild building.
And Earth had one particularly wonderful custom.
Most guilds of this size had vending machines inside their buildings.
***
We finally arrived at the break room.
—Clink, clink. Rattle!
Giryeo took his soda from the vending machine.
Next, Ahn Yoonseung pressed the button for the sweet coffee he wanted.
"Oh my!"
"Why?"
But before the coffee he'd bought could even finish pouring into the paper cup, Ahn Yoonseung suddenly cried out.
"Just as I thought, I really did leave my phone in the car."
"Is that so?"
"Hyung, I'm sorry, but could I run down to the parking lot for a moment?"
"Why are you asking me for permission? Go ahead."
Slurp.
After Yoonseung left the room, Giryeo retrieved the coffee from the vending machine and sat down at the table.
Choi Jinhee, her fine, straight hair falling around her face, was already seated at the round table.
"Hmm."
Now he had somehow ended up alone with someone else's relative.
In the awkward silence, the woman fidgeted with her empty hands.
Watching her, Giryeo suddenly found himself thinking.
'Transforming the body and fixing it into an entirely different form is an extremely complex spell. How could a mammal be born naturally possessing magic like that...?'
Was she a genius?
Giryeo regarded the other person's talent quite highly.
But before long, the loud voice that followed interrupted his thoughts.
"Excuse me!"
For a moment, Jinhee hesitated, carefully choosing her words.
Giryeo wondered what could possibly be making her so reluctant to speak.
"I haven't eaten lunch today."
"Yes?"
"So I'm feeling a little weak. Could I please have just one sip of blood?"
"Blood?"
"I'm really hungry. Seriously."
Gulp.
The modern-day vampire masquerading as an Awakened was now staring at him with drool gathering in her mouth.
'Is there some kind of scent coming from me?'
Naturally, anyone would feel uneasy if someone suddenly started looking at them like food.
Giryeo lifted an arm and checked whether his body was giving off some unusual smell, but as expected, there was nothing noticeable.
That only made the situation more puzzling.
Why was she asking specifically for his blood when she hadn't asked Yoonseung for any?
"Is it because Yoonseung is family, so you don't drink his blood?"
"Yes!"
Since there wasn't anything else to do anyway, Giryeo decided to use the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.
"You kept saying earlier that my blood looked delicious, so I was wondering what your criteria are..."
The shapeshifter answered immediately.
"I don't know."
It was a rather anticlimactic answer.
"But I just have a feeling that it'll taste good? Everyone feels different. Yoonseung, for example, is really bad."
"Bad..."
"My sister says I seem to prefer higher-ranked people. But last time, there was a B-rank who actually tasted better."
The woman lowered her head.
"It's hard to explain. Anyway, I'm sure Oppa's blood will definitely taste good."
It wasn't exactly a flattering compliment.
Before long, she puffed out her cheeks and began muttering to herself.
"Ah, but seriously, can't I just have one sip? Ugh, ever since that scary old man... my sister keeps scolding me all the time."
She was almost talking to herself, but in such a quiet room, her voice was still perfectly audible.
"Scary old man?"
Giryeo had been about to take a sip from the canned drink he'd bought from the vending machine, but the name that followed stopped him cold.
"The Awakened named Changho."
The shapeshifter continued.
"I met him once! He gave off this delicious feeling I'd never experienced before in my life. So without even thinking, I bit his arm."
"No way."
"I got beaten up badly."
Of course.
That man wasn't the type to simply let a Hunter bare her fangs at him and walk away without consequences.
"And Oppa is just like Changho!"
But Giryeo hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn.
"The same?"
"I can't hold myself back in exactly the same way."
"Ugh, just to make sure—do you feel the same way about Jung Haseong or Esther?"
"Jung Haseong? A little. And I don't know who the person you mentioned after him is."
Apparently, just as Choi Jin had guessed, it wasn't necessarily related to rank.
Jung Haseong, who stood at the lower end of S-rank, only provoked a mild reaction, while Kang Changho, who was similarly stuck near the lower end of S-rank, received a dramatically higher evaluation.
It was difficult to understand.
Then again, people's tastes were always unpredictable.
After briefly considering the vampire-like creature's preferences, Giryeo decided to change the subject.
"Well, people should be able to eat what they want."
He could no longer ignore the sorrowful gaze she'd been directing at him for some time.
"Hunter Choi Jinhee, could you show me your wallet for a moment?"
The request was unexpected.
Jinhee hesitated briefly, but eventually pulled out her wallet.
Yellow banknotes peeked out from inside the leather.
One, two, three...
About 150,000 won in cash.
"Let's see. If you give me all that cash, I'll let you have one sip of blood."
"Yes?"
"You could consider this me providing you with food. In that case, you should pay for your meal."
Giryeo was highly skilled in restoration magic, so losing a little blood was no problem at all.
However, he wasn't the type to let an opportunity for profit pass him by.
He had been pouring nearly all of his earnings into magical tools lately, and these days, even the cost of lunch was something he needed to be careful about.
"I'll buy beef with it."
Giryeo decided to accept the modest payment while showing her a little sympathy.
Naturally, Choi Jinhee was delighted to accept the offer.
To a B-rank Hunter, 150,000 won was hardly a significant sum anyway.
It was a small price to pay.
"Really? I can actually drink it?"
Choi Jinhee's eyes lit up as she rose from her seat.
Seeing that, Kim Giryeo nodded and rolled up his sleeve.
A magician sacrificing his own body for the sake of the hungry.
Up until this point, it almost looked like a heartwarming scene.
"Go ahead and bite as hard as you can. I'm having a little trouble adjusting my defense right now."
For reference, Article 3 of South Korea's Blood Management Act strictly prohibits the sale of blood.
However, since he was an alien, he might not have been familiar with the country's laws.
"Whaa, thank you!"
Again, selling blood was illegal in this country.
Anyone who violated that law could face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Unfortunately, there was no one present at that moment to point this out.