Sung Jinwoo was currently in the Underworld.
If before he had agreed to work as an employee mostly for benefits and backing, now he was genuinely starting to care.
After all, he wasn't an ungrateful wretch. His relationship with Castorice was less a partnership and more like she was his patron.
He owed Castorice a great debt.
Not only that, his future, his sister's, his mother's, and his missing father's—their final resting place would all be here.
Sung Jinwoo naturally didn't want the place where he and his loved ones would live to be a dump.
This could be considered preparing for the future.
When Castorice arrived, she found him reading documents while contemplating his next steps.
Interrupting someone's work wasn't very polite, especially when it was originally her own job.
But Sung Jinwoo's senses were far beyond ordinary. Castorice hadn't tried to hide her arrival, so he noticed her immediately.
Upon learning that Castorice needed some high-level gear, Sung Jinwoo didn't hesitate.
He spent points in the store to acquire some equipment and weapons. Their stats might not be the highest, but their effects were definitely rare.
Despite Castorice's attempts to decline, Sung Jinwoo insisted on giving them to her as a gift.
Knowing that further refusal would make him uneasy, Castorice didn't say more.
She then packaged the items, sending half to Hei Ta and the other half to Amber, before returning from the Underworld to Earth.
But the moment her feet touched the ground, her phone vibrated several times in quick succession.
This late... was it Han Song-Yi?
Puzzled, Castorice opened her phone. The lock screen showed two missed calls and a message displayed as asterisks before unlocking.
Was it from the Hunter Association's Woo Jin-chul?
Sensing something might be wrong, Castorice unlocked her phone.
Woo Jin-chul: [Hunter Castorice! Call back immediately upon seeing this message!]
Two minutes later.
Woo Jin-chul: [Hunter Castorice! An intense magical reaction detected at Rihua Apartments! Please proceed to support immediately!]
This was from ten minutes ago.
Rihua Apartments... Castorice remembered that was where Cha Hae-in lived?
If it was there, wouldn't calling Cha Hae-in be better? Wait...
Even she could think of that, so the Hunter Association couldn't have missed it.
Since they called her despite knowing this, it meant either Cha Hae-in happened to be away, or Cha Hae-in couldn't handle it...
The chance of her being away was very low, as she'd returned to her apartment after they parted ways.
Yet, Woo Jin-chul's message didn't mention Cha Hae-in at all. This led Castorice to a third possibility: Cha Hae-in was also in trouble.
At that thought, Castorice immediately leaped from the balcony into the sky.
The Death Dragon, very aware of its role as transportation, instantly appeared beneath her feet. Castorice then dialed the number.
The other side was clearly waiting for her reply. Woo Jin-chul answered the instant the call went through. "Hunter Castorice! Where are you right now!?"
"I just left my apartment and am on my way to Rihua Apartments."
"Please stay where you are, Hunter Castorice. Rihua Apartments have been temporarily sealed off."
"Why?"
A bad feeling settled in Castorice's heart.
"Approximately fifteen minutes ago, an intense magical reaction was detected in unit 1704 on the 17th floor of Rihua Apartments. The Hunter Association dispatched personnel to the target location immediately..."
Woo Jin-chul's tone betrayed little emotion, but based on Castorice's understanding of the Hunter Association, the personnel sent were undoubtedly him.
After all, the Association truly didn't have many high-level personnel to spare.
"Frontline personnel witnessed... Hunter Cha Hae-in engaged in combat with two... unknown entities. She was then pulled into a gate, after which the gate closed..."
"You're saying Senior Cha was taken by some unknown 'entities'?"
Castorice's voice, for once, was tinged with emotion. It was the first time Woo Jin-chul had heard such anger in her tone.
Beneath that anger was clear self-blame.
Woo Jin-chul felt he should try to soothe her.
"Strictly speaking, she was drawn into the gate during the engagement. Hunter Cha Hae-in was knocked back by a spell and fell directly into the gate."
Though meant to comfort, this was also the truth.
It didn't comfort Castorice. Instead, it made her feel worse and stoked her anger even more.
Anger directed not only at the unknown entities but also at herself.
"I'll be right there."
She didn't give Woo Jin-chul a chance to dissuade her, hanging up directly.
Woo Jin-chul could only sigh.
He knew Castorice and Cha Hae-in were close. Cha Hae-in's team report for the A-rank dungeon raid she had won at auction included Castorice.
The fact that she bid on an A-rank dungeon under her personal name, bypassing guild conveniences, and took only Castorice along spoke volumes.
They were also alumni from the same school.
Woo Jin-chul pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression complex as he looked at the scene before him.
This empty spot by the roadside used to hold a blue gate, but now it was gone.
It had vanished after Hunter Cha Hae-in was knocked into it, followed by the two humanoid entities that resembled magical beasts.
What was going on here?
Were those two elderly figures and the young man really magical beasts?
Why did they appear on Earth without warning?
Why did they attack Hunter Cha Hae-in? How could they open and close gates so casually?
If magical beasts possessed the ability to control gates, could our current understanding of gates really hold?
Question after question filled Woo Jin-chul with growing dread and immense unease. It wasn't until the purple-clad lady descended from the sky and appeared before him that he was pulled from his thoughts.
Castorice was typically a very rule-abiding hunter.
For her to make such a 'transgressive' move now was enough to show her state of mind was anything but calm. Woo Jin-chul could certainly understand.
Moreover, when it came to transgression, other S-rank hunters each had their own arrogant ways.
Hunters like Castorice and Cha Hae-in, the 'good girls,' were rare specimens among S-ranks. Compared to the others, Castorice's little 'transgression' was completely insignificant.
But... that was really fast. Less than two minutes from the call, and she was already here.
Knowing how anxious she must be, Woo Jin-chul didn't hesitate to walk towards her, thinking about how to start.
'There's a residual gate aura...'
But Castorice hadn't landed in front of Woo Jin-chul just to talk urgently. She had sensed the lingering magical energy here.
"Hunter Castorice, right here just..."
"My apologies, Director Oh. Please step back a bit."
Castorice had no intention of wasting time. She directly summoned her scythe.
Aware of the danger of Castorice's abilities, Woo Jin-chul didn't hesitate for a second, retreating over ten meters.
Then, the massive scythe became wreathed in purple light. A violet gate, as if reflecting a sea of stars, instantly opened along the arc traced by the scythe.
Without even a moment for a second word, Castorice vanished from Woo Jin-chul's sight.
Woo Jin-chul: ...
Come to think of it, in that video I saw before, there was also a clip of Castorice cutting open something like a gate... So that really was a gate?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.