"Oh my God!"

At the same time, a giant pterodactyl flapped its wings and slumped down, having been struck in the uvula by the blade. The pterodactyl's neck, which resembled a bird's but had an unpleasant valley in it, was twisted as surely as a chicken's neck is twisted by a double-edged blade.

Before entering the rift, my stomach was churning and my vomit was rising, but after beating a few monsters, it calmed down a bit. I can't feel any signs of life, so I'm pretty sure I'm done killing the monsters around me. I piled the dragon carcasses in a corner and dusted off my hands.

Fortunately or unfortunately, all the people who had been swept away by the cracks seemed to be scattered. Thanks to this, I was able to kill the charging monster without being seen. I stood in front of a dead pterodactyl and rubbed my chin.

It doesn't seem like a dangerous crack, but... I need to reduce the number of monsters.

It would not be possible to save people openly because I would have to hide my identity, but I could indirectly ensure their safety by killing monsters. No innocent person should be harmed because I did not do what I could. I bent down, changed my shoes, and walked.

And after a long walk, I smashed 24 pterodactyls and 3 herds of horned bison, then found an office chair with two of its wheels blown off, a half-split desk, and the life-size statue of Lee Sa-young half buried in the ground.

I examined the life-size statue with a doubtful expression. It was made of sturdy planks, but not broken.

"Throw this away or not..."

After a moment's hesitation, I recognized the face of Miu and Gouna, no, I recognized the gas mask. I've seen them so many times in public service announcements that I'm almost starting to think they look familiar.

Recently, even Ha-eun imitated Lee Sa-young's strange hand movements, and I felt the fear of the media's influence on children.
 

Finally, I plucked the hated figure like a radish and tucked it into my side. And after placing the muddy life-size figure upright in the shade under the tree, I tactfully sat down on a broken chair. My body slumped, but my neat face looked quite serious.

The rescue team... will they come?

This is a crack in a temporary surveillance station in the middle of the city. If you think about it in common sense, the rescue team will come. Probably.

Since I have dealt with most of the monsters, the safety of the other survivors is assured, and there is no need for me to go and clear the rifts at this time. All I have to do is sit quietly with Lee Sa-young's life-size statue and wait for the rescue team.

But just waiting for the rescue team... I had a very big problem.

"What about the business tonight?"

The answer is simple: the Haejang-guk has to open at 5 pm.

In addition, I had a very real and important concern. In order to make clear broth, the air bubbles should be continuously removed, but leaving it unattended for longer than expected was more likely to cause off-flavors. I didn't even bother to take the broth off the heat, even though it was over low heat....

What if it caught on fire? I got dizzy just thinking about it.

I turned on my cell phone. The clock stopped at three twenty-five after entering the rift. Since the electronic device was not working, I could not contact my grandmother or check the current time.

"No.

At this rate, I'll lose my pride in the accident-free and honest operation of Haejang-guk House!

A situation in which the shop and my heart were on fire while waiting for the rescue team. I shook my legs nervously.

Actually, it was the prospect of meeting the rescuers that was the problem. The plan Min-ki had come up with, and I had agreed to, was for me to register and return as an ordinary hunter on the streets, minimizing contact with other hunters.
 

However, there was too much of a variable involved, as they were caught in a rift in the middle of Seoul, even with a temporary registry. Presumably, the rescue team consisted of various hunters from the Rift Management Agency, the Awakening Management Bureau, and hunters from the guilds who responded to the call for help.

And the Haejang-guk house was a hunter's mill. Hunters of all kinds came and went.

If there's a hunter on the rescue team who's been to Haejang-guk House. What if he's a regular? He'll recognize me the moment he sees me.

What are you doing in this rift?

'I know...'

Of course, they will talk about all kinds of things, starting with questions, and no matter how much I hide, they will inform the world that I came to register as an Awakener and unfortunately got swept away by the rift. At least the regulars at Haejang-guk House will know everything. Just the thought of it chilled my blood.

The Haejang-guk house where I got a job to live quietly is a hunter's restaurant, so I kept running into hunters, meeting Lee Sa-young, the consequences of the mana stone and J's survival being exposed to the whole world, and getting caught in the rift when I came to register for the hunters.

As the bad news piled up, I remembered a myth I had picked up somewhere.

Shit... Am I this year's Samjae?

I can't even ask Nexby because I'm in a rift. My life, which was already pretty messed up, had been spiraling downward for the past few weeks. It was obvious that it was being twisted from somewhere. I decided to sprinkle salt all over the place when I got out of here.

Anyway, Samjae or no Samjae, I couldn't let my quiet life fly away like that. Of course, thanks to Ma-seok and Lee Sa-young, it is already half torn, but I have to hang the banner "Our Quiet Life is Open for Business"... I had to protect what was left.

I rose from my chair and craned my neck.

Let's make a plan.

The hunters would come to rescue those trapped in the rift, but they were not a rescue team for themselves. So it was much better to assume that there were no rescue teams. For a moment, the insolent face of Very Small Miracle flashed through my mind, but I shook it off.

He's not coming.

At times like this, it's better not to have the slightest hope. Everything can be dealt with in an unexpected way only by drawing and planning the worst situation. That was the truth I had learned from my experience.

I let out a long sigh, washed my face, and drew a picture on the floor with my sneaker nose. I had to make a plan to escape here with maximum efficiency.

The rift will not disappear until the Rift Master in the center has been dealt with. Since the rescue team's first priority is to save all survivors, it's common for them to put off dealing with the master until the next step. If they do that, I'll be late for the store opening.

So while the rescue team goes in and rescues the survivors, I elude the rescue team and kill the master alone. It's perfect.

I rubbed off the image with the soles of my sneakers. The survivors are all scattered anyway, and the search will take time. When they ask me where I was after the rift disappeared... I'll tell them I was hiding in a corner.

Kill the master as soon as possible, then escape and return to the shop, make the broth, and sell dinner.

I took a short, deep breath as I worked out the plan in my mind and took it out of my hood pocket beforehand. It was a Buddha statue that I had taken out of the glove compartment of the car earlier.

Even if your clothes get dirty when you fight with your bare hands, it will interfere with opening your clothes on time. If you don't have a tooth, you have to use your gums. I closed my eyes.

Please cooperate, Buddha.

<Tracker's eyes!>

The eyes that opened were blue. Flames fluttered and rose above the flat floor. The number of monsters did not seem to be large, perhaps because I killed them once. Seeing the shape of the person everywhere, the survivors seemed to be hiding well.

After identifying the location and number of survivors, I turned my eyes to the other direction. In the middle of the rift, a huge green flame was fluttering.

"That's him."

<Soundless footsteps!>

A gust of white wind swept around my feet, obscuring my movements. I began to walk silently toward the flame.

Yang Hye-jin, an A-rank hunter from the Rift Management Agency, stood in front of the former temporary registration office in Gwangjin-gu, her face full of dark circles. The place where the container used to be had been swallowed by the rift, leaving it in ruins.

She definitely liked it when she went to work this morning because she was free, but she didn't expect such a big accident to happen.

That's why you can't say you're free... There'll be an accident right away.

A fluorescent vest with white safety letters fluttered pathetically in the winter wind. Snorting, she lit a cigarette and muttered.

"Ha... What kind of rupture does it take to break out in the temporary center? I'm really unlucky."

Another B-rank hunter, who was staring at the rift entrance with flashing safety bars in both hands, also held his head.

"That's right. Still, it's lucky that most of the people involved are Awakened. We have some time to spare."

"Who has time to spare? They're all low-ranking, white-collar Awakeners, so they won't be able to fight, so you'd better hope they're hiding well..."

"Senior! Senior!"

The newcomer who had gone to check the surroundings after interrupting the half-worried conversation rushed over. Hye-jin blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke.

"Do you know? How many reporters are here?"

"Uh... there were about six people! Maybe more will come."

"It can't be helped. What about the support staff? I heard they come from the government offices."

"Well, they are. Oh, I'm here to tell you that!"

The new employee who was in a hurry shouted with his back to me.

"Lee, Lee Sa-young is here! To attack... the rift."

Hearing the newcomer's last words, Yang Hye-jin took another drag on her cigarette and paused. The newcomer was still standing, even though Hye-jin did not answer. Yang Hye-jin's face was colored with embarrassment as she received the report.

"Did I make him work too hard?"

She stared blankly at the newcomer with a cigarette in her hand and unconsciously began to think about herself.