I woke to chaos outside the motel.

  Si-hyun was already up.

  "What's going on?"

  "Hmm, looks like a news crew showed up."

  What? News crew? I got up and looked out the window.

  Seriously...? I searched the station name online, it was a local broadcaster.

  "Why are they here?"

  "Probably yesterday's incident."

  "Yesterday? Just because we caught a Monster?"

  I was confused. Wasn't it normal for Hunters to capture Monsters?

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Doesn't look easy to slip away."

  I told Si-hyun to handle it and went to wash up.

  When I finished, Si-hyun wore an impatient expression.

  "They want a brief interview."

  "Ugh, what a hassle."

  We stepped outside to immediate crowding. Expected, but still stressful.

  The questions were repetitive. Si-hyun handled most responses while I provided supporting comments.

  The interview began.

  -How did you find the courage to step forward?

  "As a Hunter, it was natural."

  -Weren't you afraid?

  "With my partner here, there was nothing to fear."

  -What brings you to this area?

  "Just traveling during the long holiday."

  -Don't you think military and Hunter support arrived too slowly?

  "If they'd appeared during the chaos, coordination might have failed."

  -Any final words?

  "I understand everyone wants to protect their homes, but please follow police or civil servants' directions during emergencies. That lets Hunters act without restraint."

  -Are you two dating?

  That question flustered me. Si-hyun turned to look.

  Si-hyun declined to answer.

  We tried to leave after the interview, but civil servants stopped us with awards and Brave Hunter certificates.

  We declined citing prior commitments, but they persisted.

  Two hours wasted with reporters and civil servants before we escaped.

  Only in the car did we shake the annoyance.

  "Rough morning."

  "You had it worse, Si-hyun."

  True, I just stood there while Si-hyun handled everything. Though accustomed to solo work and conversations, this scale overwhelmed me.

  -

  En route to our next destination, we detoured to another town to return the Magic Stone.

  After an hour leaving the County, we reached another Magic Stone Management Department.

  While Si-hyun processed the return, I waited in the lounge and saw something shocking.

  Si-hyun's interview played on television, footage from earlier.

  "Ugh!"

  I froze. Not just from the awkward scenes, but how strange I looked on camera.

  Was that really me? The segment kept replaying. Why!

  There I was, clinging to Si-hyun to avoid attention, visibly uncomfortable.

  My cheeks burned with shame.

  The footage showed me gripping Si-hyun's left hand while he shielded me, calmly answering questions.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Seeing his profile and back from the front, he looked incredibly handsome.

  What's this? My heart started pounding wildly.

  I took deep breaths to calm myself and fled the scene.

  "Finished."

  "!!"

  Si-hyun suddenly speaking startled me.

  "What?"

  Looking directly at him made me intensely embarrassed.

  I sharply turned my head away to avoid his gaze.

  Si-hyun apparently hadn't seen the TV yet and didn't know we'd been on the program.

  "Stop spacing out and let's go."

  "Uh, yeah."

  He reached out his hand toward me. While I hesitated about taking it, Si-hyun directly grabbed my hand and started walking forward.

  My face felt burning hot. Was it because he saw my embarrassed expression earlier?

  Even after getting in the car, I couldn't recover my composure. Sitting beside Si-hyun kept me unsettled.

  Throughout the journey to Mungyeong City, I couldn't stop thinking about Si-hyun.

  Once I started paying attention, even old memories surfaced, making my head ache more.

  Especially recalling that time I'd pleasured myself while calling out Si-hyun's name.

  Because of this, I couldn't bring myself to look at his face now.

  -

  After hours of chaotic thoughts, we unexpectedly arrived at our destination.

  It was the same Gate where the Great Elephant had appeared last time.

  "Are you running a fever?"

  Worried about me, Si-hyun pressed his hand against my forehead to check my temperature.

  Already thoroughly embarrassed, this touch made me blush even more intensely.

  "You seem a bit warm?"

  "Ah, it's nothing!"

  "Don't push yourself."

  "Really! I'm fine!"

  Si-hyun's gaze as he watched me with concern was unusually gentle.

  My heart raced like crazy, my cheeks burned, what was happening to me!

  To avoid Si-hyun, I grabbed some equipment and headed toward the changing room.

  "I'm going crazy..."

  I couldn't understand my own heart. I didn't know what these feelings were.

  Whenever I saw Si-hyun, my heart went out of control. Had I ever experienced this emotion before?

  I think I had... that time was because of Si-hyun too.

  But what was this feeling that felt even stronger than before?

  Not understanding the meaning of these emotions frightened me.

  What exactly was this feeling that was changing me?

  Taking deep breaths again to calm down, I gradually regained my composure.

  Once I changed into my gear and returned to the car where Si-hyun waited, I could probably act normally again.

  Thanks to the imminent Gate entry situation, I could mask my previous emotions with a different kind of tension.

  I was quite familiar with the Otherworld through one of the City's Gate.

  Having been here once before, I brought a mask for the dry, sandy winds and prepared ample water supplies.

  "Let's go."

  "Okay."

  Huu, Seeing Si-hyun almost made my heart race again, but I restrained myself.

  The Otherworld inside the Gate remained as desolate as before.

  Surprisingly, we didn't encounter other Hunters.

  As expected during the holiday season, everyone must have gone traveling.

  I confidently challenged the Great Elephant alone.

  Though I'd enhanced my attack power with the Light Blade and couldn't finish it as cleanly as Si-hyun, I still won the one-on-one battle.

  I could physically feel how much stronger I'd become since last time.

  Witnessing my capabilities, Si-hyun began praising me, and strangely I felt both elated and happy.

  Apparently, receiving Si-hyun's recognition mattered greatly to me.

  Excited, I threw myself more actively into combat.

  Then, just like last time, we encountered a herd of Great Elephants.

  This group was considerably large, ten total, with three bearing tusks.

  "A chance to make a fortune!"

  "But isn't this too many?"

  "It's fine! I can fight properly now!"

  Si-hyun looked at me with concern, but I deliberately ignored him.

  Right now I was overflowing with confidence.

  "Alright, how about you take seven and I take three?"

  But would the herd obediently split up like that?

  "Will they separate so conveniently?"

  "Good point."

  We started planning our tactics.

  Though it could hardly be called a plan.

  Lure them with a Javelin Throw, let Si-hyun disrupt the herd, then I would handle the smaller group.

  The javelin that signaled the start of combat struck the Great Elephant's body, and I retrieved my spear.

  Meanwhile, Si-hyun had already circulated Mana throughout his body, ready to charge.

  The charging Great Elephants and Si-hyun rushing forward, followed by the loud crash of their collision.

  Four of them ignored Si-hyun and advanced toward me.

  These were the elephants unaffected by Si-hyun's charge.

  "Four of them..."

  I felt a bit nervous. Taking on one alone was manageable, but four?

  They were definitely much stronger than Skeleton Soldiers, especially in size and power, there was no comparison.

  This was also Si-hyun's first time fighting six at once. How long would it take him?

  I activated my Light Blade and calculated.

  Taking their attacks head-on was too dangerous.

  I needed to trust my enhanced agility and Mana, adopting a hit-and-run strategy.

  Thinking this, I moved toward the approaching elephants.

  I had to instantly kill one to reduce the pressure.

  Dodging the lead elephant's attack, I slashed its belly with my spear.

  The strike split the elephant's stomach open, guts and blood gushing out.

  I should have retreated immediately, but focused on attacking the other elephants, I got drenched in blood.

  That was a mistake.

  Blood blurred my vision, everything gradually turning red.

  Panicked, I leaped back with all my strength to create distance, only to bump into something behind me.

  I didn't need to think, there couldn't be a wall on this plain.

  It had to be another elephant.

  The sound of a swinging trunk whistled past my ear, then I felt myself lifted into the air.

  "Ugh!"

  I couldn't breathe.

  Fortunately, the impact created distance, and I wasn't pursued.

  Gritting through the pain, I tore off my mask and wiped the blood from around my eyes.

  My vision cleared somewhat, but not enough.

  Instead, sand from the mask made my eyes sting.

  Through the blurry vision, I saw the elephants closing in.

  At least I hadn't lost my spear.

  After dodging an attack, I stabbed one of them and created distance again. Two left.

  "Haa..."

  My breathing grew heavy. The pain intensified. Wind-blown sand made it hard to keep my eyes open.

  Thick blood mixed with sand burned my eyes, making it difficult to even keep them open.

  Like a Madman, I threw my spear, activating the Light Blade would definitely take down one.

  Thinking this, I hurled the spear and ran toward where Si-hyun was.

  Though I couldn't see clearly, thanks to my Mana enhancement and Artifact-boosted agility, I wasn't caught like last time.

  But my luck was terrible.

  Failing to see ahead was a problem. I tripped over the trunk of a Great Elephant I had taken down earlier and fell.

  Running at considerable speed, I tumbled several times across the ground. Thankfully, I protected my face with my hands as I fell.

  "Cough."

  My head spun as I rolled. Every part of my body hurt terribly.

  A sound like ringing echoed in my ears.

  A buzzing noise kept reverberating. What was that sound?

  The pain made my consciousness start to fade.

  -

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