IRTPTA 10

Episode 10

“(Breaking News) Donghae’s Ifado! Landing in Seoul!”

“The second-ever S-Rank Hunter in South Korea, Ifado, has been spotted landing at Gimpo Airport. The scheduled ranking tests for tomorrow have been canceled, which indirectly confirms that his destination is the Hunter Association. However, further details are still unknown.
Meanwhile, Korea’s first S-Rank Hunter and the hero who single-handedly defended Seoul, Association President Yoon Byung-geun, remains silent…”

It was an article about Ifado, the Guild Master of the largest guild in Busan, visiting the Hunter Association.

‘He’s here.’

This was the news Saebyeok (Dawn) had been waiting for.

She looked closely at the photo in the article.

Next to the huge, muscular Ifado stood a cute young girl.

She looked a bit like him but also didn’t. That was his only daughter.

‘Today is March 28. The incident happens on April Fool’s Day…’

She already knew the date, but she double-checked anyway.

The incident she wanted to stop wasn’t directly connected to <Destruction>,
but it would affect things later.
If she didn’t prevent it, it would cause serious trouble down the road.

‘Stopping it is fine… but how do I handle things after?’

As her thoughts deepened, a wrinkle formed on her forehead.
Seeing this, Kim Ihan leaned closer.

“Why are you making such a serious face?”

He peeked at her phone screen.
At that moment, Saebyeok had an idea.

Why was she worrying about this alone?

“Hunter Kim Ihan.”

Right in front of her was a Guild Master of a major guild,
doing everything he could to get her attention.

“I’ll tell you the information about your title that you’ve been curious about.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“But… there’s a condition.”

“Tell me.”

“A date tonight.”

* * *

Evening, at the foot of Bukhansan Mountain.

Saebyeok leaned against a tree, wearing a light leather armor she had bought earlier.
She was busy tapping on her phone.

‘Good. Everything is going as planned.’

She was checking the news.
An article had just been posted:
Ifado and the Association President were meeting at a high-class Korean restaurant.

Ifado usually never left the Yeongnam region,
so the reason he came to Seoul had to be important—
and it wasn’t about his guild.
It was about the actual East Sea (Donghae).

‘He came to warn about strange energy in the eastern sea.’

In her previous life, the Association President dismissed this as nonsense.

Ifado wasn’t good with words.
All he said was vague stuff like “The signs are strange. The waves feel different.”

The Association thought he was trying to get more benefits,
so they sent him away.

But that was a huge mistake.

Because the strange sign was the start of the <Scenario>.

The thing that drove the world toward destruction.

The first Scenario started in Busan.
Actually, it began in the Pacific Ocean, passed through Japan, and reached Busan.

The event was called <Monster Invasion>.

Technically, it wasn’t a Scenario but a Tutorial.
But it was deadly nonetheless.

Five different monsters appeared in the five oceans of the world.
Each monster attacked a different land.

The Kraken-like monster in the Indian Ocean attacked Peru.
A killer whale-like one went to Russia.
America and New Zealand also faced their own monsters.

The one in the Pacific Ocean was a massive turtle, bigger than most cargo ships.

It moved west and first reached Chiba Prefecture in Japan.

Japan failed to stop it and even lost one of its S-Rank Hunters.

After destroying Chiba, the monster returned to the sea
and a few days later appeared at Busan Port.

Learning from Japan’s mistake,
the Korean Association tried to mobilize all S-Rank Hunters at once.

But one Hunter ignored the order.

Ifado.

Born in Busan. Guild Master of the Donghae Guild.

Why did he ignore it?

Because he was looking for his daughter.

At that time, his daughter had gone missing in Seoul.
He searched the city like a madman.

It turned out she had been kidnapped while visiting a club with a friend.

People said, “She’s a college student, maybe she just stayed out.”

But Ifado insisted that wasn’t like her at all.

He searched the area thoroughly
and finally found CCTV footage showing her being kidnapped.

But even after three months, he couldn’t find her.

And when he did… she was already…

‘I must stop the Lee Cheong-hae Kidnapping Incident.’

This time, she had to make sure Ifado joined the Scenario fight.

To do that, she had to stop the kidnapping.

While Saebyeok organized memories of her past life, she heard footsteps.

“So… what kind of special date needs such a dark and secluded place?”

Kim Ihan appeared, whispering playfully in her ear.

Their eyes met, and he smiled brightly.
Even in the darkness, his clean-cut looks seemed to shine.

“You really came?”

Saebyeok was a little surprised.
Part of her thought he might not show up.

“Well, I was too curious not to.”

He gave a teasing smile.
Saebyeok let out a small laugh.

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know. Didn’t think it might be dangerous?”

“Investment is always high-risk, high-return.
Besides, I got some insurance.”

He held up his phone.

“Jin Seong-chul: I have a raid team on standby.”

It was a chat with the Vice Guild Master.

A warning—if anything happened to Kim Ihan, the Glory Guild would act immediately.

Saebyeok found his bluff amusing.
But she only smiled slyly and said:

“Good. Then shall we go?”

She pulled out a neat, medium-length branch she had picked up earlier.

“Your role is simple, Kim Ihan.
Hide and give me buffs.
Don’t interfere or make things messy.
When it’s all over, I’ll give you all the credit.”

He tilted his head, unsure what she meant.
But she didn’t explain further.

“<Glimmer>.”

As she softly spoke, small white lights appeared at the tip of the branch
and scattered like tiny glowing orbs.

Skill: Glimmer (C→E)

Everyone faces dark times.
But even a faint light can be a lighthouse for a lost ship,
or give strength to a weary traveler.

Like fireflies, the little lights softly illuminated the dark mountain.

“Twenty-one billion won. I’ll make sure it’s worth it. Promise.”

With the faint glow shining on her face,
she smiled playfully—
a sight tempting enough to charm even Kim Ihan,
who had been trying to seduce her.

* * *

Saebyeok had no intention of giving him credit out of kindness.

It was pure calculation.

First, giving him credit would make him feel indebted to her.
Later, she could ask for favors more easily.

Second, it was a chance to observe his buff abilities more closely.

She had only heard rumors before.

In her previous life, when <Destruction> struck Korea,
Kim Ihan was the first S-Rank to fall.
That meant his buff ability had serious weaknesses against <Destruction>.

This time, Saebyeok wouldn’t let him fall.

Future Scenarios

For the future <Scenarios>, Kim Ihan needed to become stronger.

That was one reason Saebyeok brought him here.
She wanted to see his skills in action and study them beforehand.

The last reason, however, was selfish.

She simply didn’t want to clean up the mess herself.

“Here we are.”

As Saebyeok dismissed the <Glimmer> light, she pressed her body against a sheer rock wall.
Kim Ihan crouched beside her.

“There.”

Saebyeok pointed beyond the rocky path.

There stood a roughly built wooden shack, surrounded by several tents.
Armed guards were patrolling, creating a chilling atmosphere.

“That mark… Scavenger Guild?”

“You recognize it?”

Surprised, Saebyeok looked at him.
He answered with a small nod.

“Seong-cheol said he’d been seeing black light around that guild lately, so I kept an eye on them.”

“The Vice Guild Master can see black light too? Not just silver or gold?”

Kim Ihan replied easily.

“I’m not sure what it means yet. At first, I thought black light showed evil intent,
but the worst criminals don’t always have it. Still figuring it out.”

It seemed he was offering information as thanks for bringing him here—a small trade.

“Anyway… what’s going on over there?”

He narrowed his eyes toward a wagon entering the hideout.

For once, the playful smile was gone from his face.

It was understandable.

The wagon wasn’t only loaded with crates of potions and weapons—
there were people tied up inside like cargo.

“Human trafficking? Or… drugs?”

“Neither. A cult.”

“A cult?!”

“Yes. The Scavenger Guild just delivers sacrifices to them.”

The people kidnapping Lee Cheong-hae weren’t just random criminals.

They were part of a fanatical religious group.