The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 10

Hana hurriedly brushed off her clothes.

 

Her eyes and nose tickled, making her sneeze continuously.

 

Sniffling with a reddened nose, Hana felt something was strange.

 

A message saying ‘The test has ended’ should have popped up like when she dealt with the slime, but nothing appeared.

 

More importantly, the monster was still sprawled out on the ground. 

 

“It disappeared earlier. Why isn’t it disappearing?”

 

Could it be that it wasn’t over yet? 

 

As Hana cautiously tried to approach the monster—

 

Bzzzt—.

 

Sparks suddenly flew from a machine labeled ‘Simulation Room Rank Evaluator’.

 

The numerical gauge on the evaluator’s measurement window was rapidly soaring.

 

99.9… 120… 358…

 

The needle, which had been climbing steadily, gave a violent shudder, and the evaluator’s monitor began to flicker intensely while emitting error sounds.

 

“Uh, huh…? What’s wrong with the machine?”

 

Flustered, Hana grabbed the monitor.

 

[System Error Occurred] 

[Preliminary registration information and practical evaluation information do not match.] 

[Double registration attempt detected. Error, error! Normal data processing is impossible.]

 

Sizzle.

 

Sparks flew even more violently from the wires connected to the monitor, and soon, with a poof- sound like air escaping, the screen turned off.

 

Along with one final message.

 

[F-rank Production Class, ‘Yoon Hana’. Hunter registration has been completed.]

 

Just then.

 

K-booooom!

 

Dust poured from the ceiling and vibrations rang in Hana’s ears.

 

What was that sound?

 

The moment Hana turned around.

 

The metal door at the entrance of the simulation room, which had been firmly locked, split in half amidst a shower of sparks. 

 

Through that gap, a man lowered his sword and slowly walked in.

 

A greatsword shimmering with a red aura.

 

As the flame burning at the tip of the blade brushed against the floor, its heat caused the monster’s sticky corpse to burst into flames.

 

Thanks to this, even the spore seeds that had stuck to Hana like maggots evaporated in an instant.

 

The man casually flicked his sword and pressed the button on his radio.

 

“Hyung. What’s the status of the Gate?” 

 

—It’s closing! Boss monster raid complete! What about the person in the simulation room?

 

“She’s safe.”

 

Only then could the man’s face be seen clearly.

 

Seo Kanghyun.

 

The guild master of the ‘Haechi’ guild, and an SS-rank Hunter.

 

Neat features. Sharp eyes.

 

Wearing a neat black combat suit engraved with the ‘Haechi’ guild mark, Seo Kanghyun looked like a high-ranking Hunter to anyone’s eyes.

 

Kanghyun’s gaze turned toward the monitor.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Kanghyun asked formally, without even looking at Hana. 

 

“Eh, uh, yes. I’m… okay?”

 

Standing there bewildered while holding the monitor, Hana nodded unconsciously.

 

Then, feeling a twinge of guilt, she pulled her hands away from the monitor.

 

“Uhm, I wasn’t the one who broke this. Really!”

 

At that aggrieved voice, Kanghyun finally turned his head.

 

The moment his emotionless gray eyes turned toward Hana, Kanghyun’s body flinched violently.

 

Soon, the sharp corners of his eyes trembled minutely.

 

Over the petite frame and familiar silhouette, the image of ‘1’ flashed past.

 

“Sun… bae?”

 

“Huh? Sunbae?”

 

Hana blinked, wondering if he was talking about her.

 

Kanghyun approached her.

 

His coldly sunken gray eyes wavered narrowly.

 

“If you were alive, then why on earth—!” 

 

His voice choked.

 

Kanghyun’s Adam’s apple trembled as he let out a choked voice.

 

It was because the light brown eyes looking at him were imbued with a look of unfamiliarity.

 

It was a gaze directed at someone seen for the first time.

 

“Sunbae, you—.”

 

“Uhm… I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else, haha.”

 

Hana awkwardly scratched her head towards Kanghyun.

 

Then, as sparks rose from the machine again, she made a tearful face.

 

“Excuse me, I really didn’t do this to the machine. Please believe me…!”

 

At that sight, Kanghyun’s brow narrowed minutely.

 

A low voice, calmer than a moment ago, flowed through his teeth.

 

“What is… your name?”

 

“Uh… Me?”

 

Briefly flustered by the sudden request for her name, Hana soon answered bravely.

 

“I’m Yoon Hana.”

 

“Yoon… Hana.”

 

No. This person is not Sunbae.

 

His head cooled down instantly, as if he had been doused with cold water.

 

Kanghyun didn’t know ‘1’s real name.

 

‘1’ was that kind of person.

 

Though she normally went about so carefree that one couldn’t find a trace of wariness in her, she absolutely did not tolerate others intruding on her private life.

 

Therefore,

 

If it were ‘1’, she would have answered the question asking for her name like this.

 

‘What, what are you going to do with my name, Hoobae-nim? Identity theft? You’re a scary person, aren’t you!’

 

Kanghyun could be certain.

 

Because this was something Kanghyun had heard numerous times over the years he spent with ‘1’.

 

His expression naturally crumpled at the thought of ‘1’s ridiculous, frivolous joke.

 

Funnily enough, Kanghyun didn’t know not only her name, but even what ‘1’ liked and disliked.

 

Because apart from the parts that couldn’t be hidden, like habits, ‘1’ never let him know anything.

 

So he didn’t know.

 

Regardless of the time they had spent together, the line ‘1’ had permitted him was exactly that far.

 

Swallowing a bitter smile, Kanghyun’s gaze dug into Hana a little more persistently.

 

Looking closely, even her appearance was different.

 

It wasn’t the long, straight hair that was always tied back tightly regardless of the situation, but light brown short hair.

 

The light brown irises with a transparent hue, not the pupils that were as black as the deep night.

 

She was different. From ‘1’.

 

Upon recognizing that difference, Hana’s attire caught his eye one by one.

 

“……Checkered pattern.”

 

A pink plaid shirt so bright it hurt the eyes.

 

If he had probably offered such clothes to ‘1’, who insisted only on black combat suits, she would have thrown a fit saying she would rather die than wear it.

 

If nothing else, she was a person who got motion sickness just looking at checkered patterns.

 

Above all, ‘1’ was not the type to speak with a tearful voice.

 

Because transparently revealing her emotions was never her way.

 

“…Hah.”

 

With a low sigh, Kanghyun swept his hair back.

 

“I apologize. I mistook you for someone else.”

 

The woman in front of him is not ‘1’.

 

However, even while drawing that conclusion, Kanghyun’s gaze did not easily fall away from Hana.

 

Even though all of Hana’s actions were completely different from the ‘1’ he knew.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile,

 

The moment the ‘Gunshot of Clear Sky’ was activated.

 

On the other side of the globe.

 

A loud notification sound rang out at the server center managing the World Hunter Database.

 

[SYSTEM ALERT] 

 

[Hunter ‘1’ ONLINE status detected.]

 

* * *

 

「Hunters’ Hideout_99th Floor Underground」

 

-Free Board Real-time Trending Post #1-

 

[Breaking] Did anyone see Hunter ‘1’ log in??

 Nickname: NewbieHunter_145

 

Is it true that ‘Hunter 1’ just popped up as online in the Hunter Central DB??

A sunbae who used to be an agent took a screenshot and showed me;; 

They said it popped up briefly and disappeared, is she really alive??

 

(138 Comments) 

⌎ Anonymous 1: Lol crazy what are you saying. It’s been ages since ‘1’ died 

⌎ Anonymous 2: Hey, I got that screen capture too. It says online status appeared in the official DB. omg 

⌎ Anonymous 3: 1 is really alive? Wow f*ck is that possible? 

⌎ Anonymous 4: Then did she not die during that explosion incident?? 

⌎ Anonymous 5: Wow insane. The Association is gonna blow up over this 

⌎ Anonymous 6: Blow up my ass. The Association probably won’t even care. They don’t do work in the first place 

⌎ Anonymous 7: Fr lol And the ‘cherry tomato’ listing just came back up. It’s trending on the exchange let’s go

 ⌎ Anonymous 8: No but tomatoes in the middle of all this lolol 

⌎ Anonymous 9: But if ‘1’ is alive why isn’t she showing up? What is she doing and where 

⌎ Anonymous 10: Didn’t she lose her memories and is plowing a field somewhere? 

⌎ Anonymous 11: Go run a raid if you’re gonna spout nonsense

 

* * *

 

“There are no injuries anywhere. Your bones, muscles, and mana flow are all normal. You’re very sturdy.”

 

Inside the Association’s examination clinic, the nurse said apathetically.

 

Yoon Hana smiled awkwardly.

 

‘But this is a bit burdensome.’

 

Hana slowly lifted her head and looked at the two men surrounding her on both sides.

 

One was Yoon Taegyeom, who introduced himself as the vice-guild master of ‘Haechi’.

 

And the other was…

 

‘Seo Kanghyun.’

 

Yoon Hana’s lips parted unconsciously.

 

Interviews, news, community boards, and even on the virtual reality hunter training simulators.

 

There was nowhere the face of the man in front of her wasn’t plastered.

 

That was how much of a star hunter Seo Kanghyun was, practically the face of South Korea.

 

Enough that even Hana recognized him at a glance.