Chapter Text
16/
Live and Learn
Hae-In wasn’t the only hunter to breathe a sigh of relief when the gate closed behind them. Everyone had made it safely back outside, along with the essence stones, mana crystals, and all the monster remains they’d been able to salvage apart from the boss itself. That was a disappointment, but compared to the rest of the haul from an A-Rank dungeon with some of the strongest and most valuable monsters, it was a rousing success.
Or it would have been, but no one appeared to be very interested in celebrating.
In spite of the ongoing rain soaking their ponchos, the police manning the cordon were happy to watch the gate whirl in on itself and vanish. More than a few offered congratulations as they started preparing to disassemble the barricades in order to reopen the intersection. The hunters acknowledged them distractedly, leaving the street for the sidewalk and the sheltered awning of a closed storefront, where they had stashed their extra gear and supplies before entering the dungeon. It was out of the rain, clear of any pedestrians, and about as private a spot as they could expect to find for the moment.
“Ma’am, we’re not guildmates anymore,” Son Ki-Hoon said. “That means we won’t have the usual post-raid debrief, so I’m afraid I’ll just have to ask you this here and now.” Always so polite and level-headed, he looked to be struggling to keep his voice from rising into a shout. “What the hell were you thinking?!”
Hae-In managed not to flinch. She dipped her head, taking a moment before trying to meet the looks of disappointment and concern surrounding her. They were all coming from people with whom she was at least professionally acquainted, if not quite friends.
After a steadying breath, she looked up at Captain Son. “I had to make a snap decision. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t safe. I know that. I didn’t have a safe call to make.”
Ki-Hoon was frowning at her. “The whole country watched your fight against the ant queen online. Most of us here have seen you take down dozens of bosses. You always make sure either the tanks have an enemy pinned down or you’ve disabled it yourself, before winding up for the big final blow. I have never – never – seen you sell yourself out for an attack like that. It was reckless.”
If she hadn’t been wearing metal gauntlets, Hae-In would have pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to settle for another deep breath. “In a normal raid, I’ve never had to. Letting the battle drag on was too much of a risk. I was the only one capable of landing an immediately decisive blow.”
Ki-Hoon scowled. Most of the others looked frustrated. Jin-Ho looked awkward, like a kid stuck at a friend’s house watching someone else’s parents have a fight.
“I won’t say you’re wrong,” said Gina, glowering a little less intensely than the others, “but are you really sure that’s the only reason?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to tell you,” Hae-In said. She wished she did. Ki-Hoon was right: she had been impulsive. It had almost gotten her killed. Anything she said would be an excuse, because she didn’t even know the real reason why, herself. What could she say? That she had risked her own life because Jin-Woo had promised Choi that all of his people would be safe? It didn’t even have the ring of truth inside her own head.
“That’s it?” Hunter Seo asked. Her arms were folded across her chest as she glowered.
Hae-In sighed. These weren’t her subordinates any more. In a way, that meant she owed them even more for what they’d done, following her into battle. If she couldn’t tell them why, she could at least be frank about what had happened. “I had to take a risk. I decided on a sacrifice play. You’re right, trading myself for the sure kill was rash and stupid. But I decided that was better than any of you getting hurt in a battle you should never have been asked to fight.”
They were all experienced enough hunters to understand. They didn’t look happy, but it was something that any veteran raider had to acknowledge. Even when she or Choi had accompanied a raid, no one would have thought it was a good idea taking on an A-Rank dungeon boss with a half-strength strike team. People who wanted to survive dungeons didn’t fight when they could not afford anything to go wrong. It was suicidal.
“That just brings us to the other problem,” Bora said, frowning. “Hunter Sung.”
Hae-In couldn’t quite meet the other woman’s eyes, fierce behind the frames of her glasses. “He had a good reason.”
“He abandoned the raid,” Bora replied flatly.
“That’s not true. He left all his shadows fighting with us,” Hae-In argued.
“Leaderless. And without that buff he was using to turn them and you into even more of a powerhouse,” Ji-Woo countered.
“I’m sure Boss wouldn’t have done that under any other circumstance,” Jin-Ho protested. He looked at Hae-In. “You said it was his sister, right?”
She nodded. “Something attacked her. Something strong enough to defeat an A-Rank shadow he’d left with her as a bodyguard.”
“I get it,” Gina said. The blonde was rubbing fingertips against the side of her temple. “I really do. His family in danger, against a bunch of people who are practically strangers. And you’re right, he didn’t just pack up all his toys and go.”
“None of us is going to fault him for rushing to save his sister. But he left an understrength strike team to deal with a boss. One he didn’t have a full measure of yet,” Ki-Hoon said.
“Now wait a second,” said Jin-Ho. “Look, I know all of you have more raid experience in just your little fingers than I do. Yeah, the fight sucked more than it had to. I know Boss’ll beat himself up over that, especially what happened to Hunter Cha,” he said, gesturing to her. “But all we’re doing here is standing around complaining about someone who isn’t here to defend himself.”
Captain Son sighed. “You have a point.”
Hae-In was feeling torn. “I’d call him, but his phone was left out here along with everyone else’s. I don’t even know where his sister goes to school. Do you?” she asked, looking at Jin-Ho.
He frowned, rubbing at the back of his head. “I think Miss Han mentioned the name once, but I can’t remember. Sorry.”
“I don’t want to put it this way,” said Bora, “but if it’s bad, we could check the news.”
“For all we know, the summon got attacked by some trigger-happy hunter who thought it was a normal monster,” said Ji-Woo.
“We’re not doing anyone any good standing around guessing,” said Hae-In, trying not to snap. She was tired, sore, worried sick, surrounded by people who smelled worse than wet dogs, and feeling more than a little angry at herself for the foolishness of her recent decisions.
“The Association might know something,” Gina said. “An S-Rank’s sister would be eligible for Surveillance Team protection as a minor.”
“That’s a good thought, but they won’t tell us anything. You might have better luck, ma’am,” said Ki-Hoon, looking at Hae-In. “Which means it’s probably a good time for us to get out of your way and get out of this rain.”
“Let us know if you hear anything?” Se-Mi asked. “I know we’re all hoping Hunter Sung’s sister is okay.”
Hae-In nodded. “I can do that. Thank you for your healing, and I’m sorry again that this raid ended up the way it did.”
Gina shrugged. “Hunters live and learn. Step one’s the hard part, just don’t forget step two.”
“There’s one other thing,” Hunter Seo said. “I found this on the boss when I was getting the essence stone. I don’t know what it is, but it looked important.” She held up a smooth, ovoid rock, turquoise in hue and big enough that it just fit into her hand.
Hae-In felt surprise creep to the forefront of her jumbled emotions. “That’s a rune stone,” she said. “They give hunters a skill that was known by the monster that dropped them. They’re extraordinarily rare.”
She could count on one hand the number that she’d seen in the last two years. The problem was figuring out what the skill was before the rune stone was used. There were countless skills, but only a few dozen runes had been translated. A hunter could end up with a skill that was of limited use, or worse, a complete mismatch for their class.
“I think we should let Guildmaster Choi and Hunter Sung discuss an item like that before it’s used,” Captain Son decided. “I don’t feel comfortable just claiming it as part of the split of dungeon drops.”
“You can hold on to it for now,” Hae-In offered. It felt like an olive branch, even if it was a small one. She glanced at Jin-Ho. “We should try to get in touch with Jin-Woo.”
Ki-Hoon nodded. “Go ahead. I need to call our collection team and let them know we’re ready for them to pick up our share. I doubt the police want to leave this intersection choked off with naga corpses any longer than they have to.”
-_-_-_-
With the boss dead, Jin-Woo set himself the grim task of clearing the remaining orcs from the rest of the school, and escorting Jin-Ah and her group to safety. There was still some hope he might find more survivors than the dozen or so who had made it to the fourth-floor classroom with his sister and Song-Yi.
That hope wasn’t in vain, but the orcs had been deadly efficient hunters. Jin-Woo tried not to count the bodies as he led everyone through the halls. Clearing out monsters was a matter of brutal efficiency, flung daggers and Ruler’s Hand ensuring that no monster made it within ten meters of the group he was escorting. Leaderless, they charged in ones and twos, too preoccupied by the opportunity for more slaughter to realize just how outmatched they were until it was too late.
Searching for survivors was trickier, and they found far, far too many still, red-stained figures wearing familiar uniforms who had tried hiding in other classrooms, offices, bathrooms, and closets. Some people had managed to flee the building; Jin-Woo could spot them amongst the emergency personnel outside. Ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and more than a few black Hunters Association sedans were visible through the upper floor windows, crowding the streets outside the school.
A few lucky souls had managed to hide well enough, for long enough, to evade the orcs. They had made half a dozen additions to the group, all terrified but grateful, by the time they reached the school’s main entrance. Those were the only bright spots in an otherwise long, grisly trek. Jin-Ah was clinging to his arm as he shepherded everyone out of the building, and he had no intention of telling her to stop. If he had taken any longer to arrive...
He wasn’t so preoccupied that he didn’t feel guilt at leaving Hae-In and the others behind. Even a cursory look at his storage screen showed an alarming amount of shadows had returned to his inventory after being defeated. The number still active among the raid force was shockingly low, but at least it had stopped dropping. He noted that Beru and Igris were still around. Between those two and Hunter Cha, he had no doubt that the raid had succeeded without him.
Jin-Woo would never be sorry for saving his sister’s life, but he probably owed them all an apology for leaving when he did, mere seconds after engaging the boss. The timing couldn’t have been worse. If nothing else, he wouldn’t let Hae-In take the heat alone just because she’d made the snap decision to tell him to go.
He owed her for that. More than he could properly process at the moment. If she had hesitated, or argued, and if that had in turn made him hesitate, Jin-Ah would be dead.
When the large group exited the school, the reaction from the emergency personnel was instantaneous and professional. EMTs and firefighters with blankets hustled over to guide weeping survivors into ambulances. Two dozen police officers prowled the outer edge of the group, herding everyone towards safety. The looks on their faces were desperate and stricken; Jin-Woo knew they would have charged into the school if there had been any hope of that accomplishing anything. He couldn’t imagine how helpless they must have felt, stuck outside while monsters rampaged within.
There were more than a few hunters present. Not just ones in suits with Association lapel pins, either. It looked like a pickup raid had been rallying, but it was clear why they hadn’t tried intervening yet, any more than the police had. There were a few C-Ranks, along with a dozen D’s and E’s. Against an orc dungeon break, they would have been hopelessly outmatched.
One notable exception was just climbing out of a newly-arrived black sedan. Go Gun-Hee didn’t even wait for the car to brake before he was getting out of it. The S-Rank chairman could have stopped the vehicle himself just by planting one foot in the ground. He towered over everyone milling about the scene, and spotted Jin-Woo at once. He walked over, looking calm on the outside, but his fists were clenched at his sides and his aura radiated agitation.
“Hunter Sung. I’m not surprised to see you here. I came as soon as the Surveillance Team notified me.”
Jin-Woo kept his reply simple and clinical, all while running a comforting hand along his sister’s arm. “Most of the monsters are dead. There might still be a few left. I was more worried about searching for survivors and getting my sister and her group out of the building than doing a more thorough check for enemies.”
“Good.” The chairman almost wilted in relief, rubbing a hand against his forehead. “They were orcs, correct?”
Jin-Woo’s nod was grim. “Yeah.”
“We suspected. A few calls made it out to the Association hotline and emergency services, but we couldn’t be sure,” Go said. “We heard nothing from the initial response group, or the Surveillance Team personnel who were assigned to your sister today.” He glanced at Jin-Ah, and appeared to deliberately not state the obvious conclusion.
Jin-Woo didn’t have to guess. The Association dealt with the E- and D-Rank gates that most guilds wouldn’t bother with. They didn’t have B-Rank or higher hunters to spare, and anything less would have been no match for orcs without numbers on their side. It was likely that everyone that had tried getting into the school had suffered the same fate as many of those inside.
Despite his size and scarred visage, Go’s demeanor managed to be somehow soothing when he turned to Jin-Ah. “Miss Sung, forgive my manners. I’m Go Gun-Hee, Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association.”
While one arm remained firmly wrapped around Jin-Woo’s, she did manage to offer the other hand for Go to gently clasp, as well as a tremulous sort of smile. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, a little shakily.
“I’m very sorry for what you had to go through today, but I’m relieved to see you’re safe.”
Jin-Ah’s expression fell. “I was lucky. Song-Yi said she felt something. She grabbed me and ran. The teacher was yelling at us for disrupting class, right before we started to hear the screams.” She shuddered. “I don’t think anyone else from the first or second floors made it, unless they got out when it first happened,” she said. She looked around at the other students scattered through the crowd, probably searching for familiar faces.
Go glanced at Jin-Woo. “Song-Yi?” he asked. The question was no more than a whisper. He didn’t want to disturb Jin-Ah, who was looking distressed just from recounting a few details.
“An E-Rank. Jin-Ah’s classmate,” Jin-Woo explained. He turned his head, following the familiar mana signature until he recognized a head of short black hair. She was sitting on the back bumper of a nearby ambulance, swatting aside any fussing paramedics who made the mistake of getting in the middle of her sightline to Jin-Ah. He gave her a nod, which merited only a green-eyed glare and a scowl in response. She looked more frustrated than angry.
“I see,” Go said, obviously taking note but making no further comment.
Another familiar face made an appearance just then. Manager Woo wove his way through the crowd. His expression was hidden behind his sunglasses, but he exuded tension and anxiety. “Mr. Chairman. Hunter Sung, Miss Sung,” he said, with a nod to each of them in turn. “Sir, I have a response team ready to enter on your go-ahead for a room-by-room search.” Behind his sunglasses, his eyes went to Jin-Woo for just a moment. “I assume the greatest danger is over, but we should be thorough.”
“Do you want help?” Jin-Woo offered. At his side, Jin-Ah whimpered a little. He gave her a reassuring look, never taking his arm from around her shoulders. “I can send some shadows in with you. They’ll be able to follow basic instructions, even without me.”
“I wouldn’t say no,” Manager Woo replied. He looked around. “Perhaps you shouldn’t summon them right here, however. It might cause a panic.”
“Yeah. Just let me know before you go in.”
There was the buzz of a phone on silent. Woo pulled his out of a pocket. His brows furrowed momentarily. “Is there a reason why Hunter Cha would be calling me?” he asked, with a pointed look at Jin-Woo.
He sighed. “I came here straight from a dungeon. My phone is in Mapo-Gu right now. With her, I imagine.”
The manager nodded and accepted the call. “Woo speaking.” A short pause. “Yes, as a matter of fact he’s with me now. Should I put him on?” After another beat, he offered his phone to Jin-Woo. “It’s for you,” he said dryly.
Jin-Woo took the phone with his free hand. “Hello?” he said.
“Thank goodness,” Hae-In’s voice said. Even scratchy and muffled, the concern in her tone was palpable. “Is Jin-Ah all right?”
“She’s okay,” he replied. “What about you? I’m sorry for ditching you all in the middle of a boss fight.” He didn’t fail to note the expressions from Chairman Go and Manager Woo when they heard that. It was a mixture of shock, amusement, and resignation that might have been funny under other circumstances.
There was the tiniest hesitation on the other end. He could have just chalked it up to signal delay, except Hae-In’s tone was a little strained when she spoke again. “We won. Everyone is fine now, and the gate closed.”
His brow furrowed a little at the implications of the “now” in that statement, but he let it pass for the moment. “That’s good. Things are a little crazy here, but I shouldn’t be much longer. I need to get Jin-Ah home, but I’ll have to meet up with you and Jin-Ho to get my stuff.”
Jin-Ah’s grip on his side tightened yet again at the mere implication of him leaving her. It tore straight at his heart.
“Do you want to meet us at the guild headquarters later?” Hae-In asked.
He glanced down at the top of his sister’s head. “I think it might be better if you come to my apartment. Jin-Ho has the address. You’re both more than welcome to stop by.”
“Are you sure? I’m sure Jin-Ho could…” Hae-In’s voice was oddly hesitant, before trailing off.
“Tell her to come, oppa,” Jin-Ah mumbled against the side of his chest. Her voice was quiet but firm.
He gave a small snort of laughter. “Your presence has just been requested,” he said. “Could you do me one other favor?”
“Of course,” she said.
He gave her a phone number. “That’s my mom’s cell. Please give her a call. Let her know Jin-Ah and I are okay and will be there soon.” If what had happened at Jin-Ah’s school had made it to the local news yet, he could only imagine the state she would be in.
“I will,” Hae-In assured him. There was a brief pause. “I hate to bother you with this, but the Hunters Guild collection team is here now gathering everything. Jin-Ho and I can handle our share of essence stones, but I don’t know what you want us to do with the mana crystals and monster remains.”
Right. Without Jin-Woo and his bottomless inventory there, he couldn’t expect the others to lug several hundred kilos of crystals and a bunch of naga corpses around via the Metro. He frowned. “Keep the stones. Give the rest to the Hunters Guild. We can sort it out with Choi later.”
“Of course. Sorry,” Hae-In said.
“Stop saying that. I’m the one that bailed and left you in the lurch,” he reminded her. “I’ll apologize when we meet up later. Right now Manager Woo is starting to glare at me like I’m using up all his minutes.”
Jin-Chul snorted. “I am doing no such thing,” he muttered.
“Okay. Please tell Jin-Ah we’re all glad she’s all right.”
“Pretty sure she’s been listening the whole time, but I will. See you soon.” He hung up, and handed the phone back to its owner.
Go was looking like he had enjoyed that little distraction from the recent disaster. Even so, his smile didn’t quite manage to reach his eyes. “Hunter Sung, we won’t keep you. You should see your sister home safely.”
Jin-Woo nodded. “Thanks. I think we’ll need to talk about some things. But later.”
The chairman nodded grimly. “Later,” he agreed.
-_-_-_-
Hae-In returned her phone to the side pocket of the backpack holding her clothes other supplies she kept handy whenever she went into a gate. Fortunately, the Sungs’ mother hadn’t heard anything about what had happened. Being told her daughter was safe had only caused mild confusion until Hae-In explained in what little detail she possessed. Knowing her children were both fine and on their way home had been enough. Her calm was enviable, especially given how Hae-In was feeling right now.
Still crouched down by her backpack, she looked up at Jin-Ho. “We should find a place to change,” she said. Showing up in their raid gear would be… impolite. Even without the fact that one of the legs of Hae-In’s pants was rather conspicuously missing. She was still decent, but could only imagine what sort of first impression it would make. “How long is the trip to their apartment from here?”
Jin-Ho thought for a moment. “Thirty minutes or so by train.” He pointed down the street. “There’s a boutique over there. You can probably use their changing rooms.” He only had a few pieces of armor to remove, overtop a normal outfit of casual clothes. “I can carry the rest of our stuff.” His gear and Jin-Woo’s small pack weren’t much. The bag full of essence stones was a bulky, but manageable addition to what they’d arrived carrying.
Hae-In nodded. “I’ll let the Hunters Guild crew know to take our share of the loot for now, and meet you there.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were on a metro platform and waiting for the next train. Hae-In felt better to be out of her raid gear. Her baseball cap was pulled even lower than usual. The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was being recognized.
Jin-Ho was quiet, and Hae-In had never been the type to offer to fill silences, even awkward ones. In early afternoon, the metro wasn’t too crowded for them to find seats and places for all their bags. She listened to the rattle and clack as their train pulled out of the station, arms folded and legs crossed. Knowing Jin-Ah was okay had been an immense relief, but Hae-In hated how unsettled she still felt about everything else.
She had been hurt on raids before. Seriously so, once or twice early on, before she’d gotten more accustomed to her abilities. Jeju Island had been the first time she’d come close to dying, however.
Today had been the second, and she didn’t have the same excuse. The ant king had been an overwhelming opponent for all the S-Ranks, save Hunter Sung. The naga boss had been formidable, but not so much so that Hae-In would have expected to receive a mortal blow in the course of a typical raid. She had made a mistake, and paid the price for it. Even so, left to her thoughts as the train rolled along, she still couldn’t come up with a solution that wouldn’t have placed the other hunters in greater danger. Even with perfect execution and help from Igris and Beru, one or many of them could have ended up seriously injured. And if one of those happened to be Se-Mi, the consequences might have been disastrous.
How had Hunter Sung managed to do this for months on his own? His power was incredible, but she couldn’t imagine he’d made it out of all his fights without incident. He’d done at least twenty C-Rank dungeons with Jin-Ho, she knew, in the pursuit of qualifications for a guild master’s license. Even Jin-Woo was bound to slip up once or twice in that many battles. This wasn’t some video game, where over-leveled characters could walk around early areas with impunity. S-Ranks weren’t invincible, even against inferior monsters.
“Won for your thoughts?” Jin-Ho said, quietly interrupting Hae-In’s musings.
She blinked, glancing at him. He offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry,” she said. “I was just wondering… you’ve spent more time with Jin-Woo in dungeons than I have. Have you ever seen him get hurt?”
He looked thoughtful. “Scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious,” he began. Then his expression went a little shuttered. “Except for the time we met. He wasn’t as strong then, I guess, and…” Jin-Ho trailed off, looking reluctant.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Hae-In forced herself to say. “I was just curious.”
He gathered himself. “No, I just… There was a spider boss. He took some hits. But as soon as the fight was over, you wouldn’t have known it to look at him. Even through the spots where his clothes got torn, or splashed with acid… he was fine. I was too new to being a hunter to notice at the time, among… other things,” he said. There was a look in his eyes that spoke to volumes of understatement in those words.
Hae-In considered. Hunter Sung had been untouchable against the high orcs. She’d been unconscious for his fight against the ant king, but her fellow S-Ranks had told her secondhand that he hadn’t gotten through it completely unscathed. “The others told me, after Jeju Island, how he used the shadow of Hunter Min to heal me. And how he gave them all potions that did the same thing.”
Jin-Ho shook his head. “I’ve seen him use those a few times, too. They actually make sense, or at least as much as any of his abilities do,” he said. “No, what really got me when I thought back on it was what happened after the spider boss.”
“Oh?” Hae-In prompted, when he again seemed reluctant to continue.
“There was… another fight,” he said. Jin-Ho looked like he was picking through his words with great care. “I can’t tell you many details. But he did take one big hit early on. He was bloody. But after, the wounds just… It was like they had never been there at all. No potions. No healing. Just fixed.”
That was curious. But in the end, Hae-In wasn’t any closer to answers for her own problems. She didn’t want to think it, but she was worried that her new strength when fighting alongside Jin-Woo might be going to her head. Could that have been what made her take such an awful risk against the naga boss? Was she already so full of hubris from the boost his skill gave her that fighting as her “normal” S-Rank self left her acting impetuous and irresponsible?
The next stop was being called over the train’s PA. Jin-Ho looked up. “We’ll need to transfer here. It’s just one more stop to Boss’s apartment, though.”
Hae-In nodded and helped him gather their bags. The crowds were getting thicker when they went to change lines, as afternoon inched towards rush hour. Schools were starting to dismiss for the day.
One had gotten out earlier than most, but Hae-In tried not to think about that. The news had started picking up the story, and even the initial estimates being reported were enough to turn her stomach. A few headlines were already claiming that it was the worst dungeon break in Korea since Jeju Island.
Jin-Ah was okay. So was the raid team. Everything had turned out… not perfectly, but at least not as tragically as it might have. What was it that Gina had said? “Hunters live and learn.”
Hae-In wished she could get rid of the nagging feeling that she was missing the real lesson.