Auto Hunting

Glare and dispersion.

When a charged pulse breaker exploded, the intense light it emitted could be seen outside. At that point, the crack was practically closed, but a blue-colored Aura would appear in its place.

It was like the scab on a healed wound.

Then the blue Aura would scatter into tiny particles and disappear.

However, those two expected sights did not appear.

Instead…

Jiii-!

The sky was crumpling. The crack’s opening was getting narrower and narrower.

“How is that…” someone muttered in confusion.

It was as if the crack was being forcibly closed. Now, the hunters behind the blocking line began raising their cellphones and action cams.

They wanted to capture the strange phenomenon.

Yoo-seong was working inside the crack. The world beyond it was a jungle environment, typical of cracks in the Korean peninsula.

Yoo-seong was jumping between the tops of the massive trees in the jungle.

Tatatak-!

In his right hand, he held a metallic rod. Its length was about that of a baseball bat.

It was thick enough for him to grasp it comfortably. It looked like a giant needle. This was the real prize of his six-month journey.

Jin Wei-baek had asked him to find something specific inside the crack. The needle was something else Yoo-seong had found alongside it.

It was not part of Jin Wei-baek’s request.

The Sky Needle.

Yoo-seong leaped high enough to reach the top of the crack. Then he poked the tip of the needle just into it.

Howook-!

Surprisingly, the tip of the needle disappeared. Then it appeared again.

It was as if it had gone through the invisible fabric of the sky itself. After that, Yoo-seong allowed his body to fall once more, bringing the needle with him.

A thick Aura thread dragged behind him, coming out of the Sky Needle’s eye. It was purple-colored, different from the usual blue-colored Aura.

Yoo-seong landed at the bottommost part of the crack and repeated his prior action, poking the needle through the air, then leaping up, tightening the thread.

He did it repeatedly, forming a zigzag pattern of purple thread to close the crack. Amazingly, the crack was getting narrower as the thread itself tightened!

After finishing the stitching from one end of the crack to the other, Yoo-seong paused. He was breathing heavily.

‘This is no joke,’ he thought.

It was his first time using the Sky Needle. He hadn’t even known that the tool was designed to work that way. He only knew it was something used to close cracks. In fact, he even brought a pulse breaker in one of his slots, just to be safe.

Yoo-seong looked at the crack he had sewn.

‘Similar to my Ki threads… but thicker.’

The threads Yoo-seong used for the Spider Web were so thin that they had practically turned invisible. This was also the reason he was able to extract a huge amount without exhausting his CE.

However, the threads used by the Sky Needle were almost as thick as chains.

If it weren’t for the training he’d had with Sung-wook, Yoo-seong would never be able to do this without using his button. On top of the amount of Aura required, maintaining its length and strength also required tremendous skill.

However, in the case of Yoo-seong, his body had already experienced a higher level of control through his constant practice of Parasitic Bees and Spider Web.

Yoo-seong decided he could do this without using the Auto-Hunt and was trying to control the thick threads by himself. The result was as Yoo-seong had guessed.

‘Even with just my own skill, I can fully control it.’

Of course, since he had Auto-Hunt, he didn’t have to learn this. Still, Yoo-seong wore a satisfied smile.

He was proud he was able to do it with his own power. Suddenly, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

At this, he quickly turned.

“Ha!”

The jungle was dense with high trees, but he couldn’t see a hint of green leaves in the background. It was all red behind him.

-Kiek!

-Keek!

Hundreds of Wildfire Birds were perched on the trees, hungry eyes staring at him.

-Kii!

They rushed at once toward Yoo-seong, who had been caught unprepared. He immediately leaped away.

Bang-!

His direction was not toward the Wildfire Birds. It was toward the crack he had threaded.

Guwooong-!

Although the crack was getting narrower every second, there was still enough space for Yoo-seong to squeeze through.

Before long, Yoo-seong was back in his world.

Flick-!

He pressed the button and then fell backward, facing the crack.

The Wildfire Birds were right behind him. It was a horrifying sight to see hundreds of them trying to squeeze their heads out of the crack.

As he stared at them, Yoo-seong recovered all the Spider Webs he had spread in the operation area. There were no more ground monsters for him to catch.

Once all that Aura was back in his body, he concentrated it in his right hand.

Go-oh-oh-oh!

In the blink of an eye, his upper-body muscles had grown.

Meanwhile, one of the Wildfire Birds had managed to squeeze out of the crack.

Yoo-seong used the Sky Needle he was holding along with the concentrated Aura in his hands.

Huwoook-!

He pulled the threads of the crack closed. For a moment, it seemed as if the whole sky crumpled. The blue rift, the hundreds of Wildfire Bird heads squeezing through it-

They all disappeared in an instant.

Just then, Yoo-seong landed gently on a rooftop.

-Kiee!

The lone Wildfire Bird that had escaped felt confused. It hovered in the air, looking around the unfamiliar environment.

Then…

-Kiiik!

A Spider Web wrapped around its body, a tremendous force pulling it down. The beast’s instincts sensed death as it struggled against the fall.

-Kiyaaaak!

The monster flapped its wings desperately. It helped it stay in the air, but strangely, it could not climb further away.

“It’s good,” Yoo-seong muttered. “The safety of hunters and civilians is secured. The capture of the prey would be the next priority.”

Auto-Hunt helped him capture the monster alive. Although he really didn’t need it, it was still nice to make more money from the solo operation.

Quietly humming, Yoo-seong returned to the ground, pulling a helpless Wildfire Bird behind him.

…

“It doesn’t make sense,” Jin Chang-hoon declared.

As soon as he arrived at the temporary camp, he began checking the Gung-on medical certificates.

“Combat fatigue? Whether it is combat stress response (CSR) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not even clearly stated,” he explained.

“And even so, isn’t it too soon to diagnose them with these?” he added.

“No,” the Gung-on doctor began to reason out. “These hunters have displayed such symptoms even before now, so…”

“Are you kidding me?” Jin Chang-hoon cut him off.

“Stress, trauma, whatever it is, it requires medical treatment. Afflicted hunters are like time bombs. So why aren’t they getting taken care of in medical facilities?”

“Well, that’s…” the Gung-on doctor was at a loss for words.

“If this is the case, and you are not taking care of them properly, you’ll need to consider suspending your license. You cannot just write these down with just your assumptions.”

Jin Chang-hoon was pressing hard. To him, it looked like the Gung-on doctors were tricking the medical officers.

“Anyway, this makes no sense,” Jin Chang-hoon turned to a Special Defense agent.

The agent was also someone the Agency had sent to verify Gung-on’s claims. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that if he agreed with Jin Chang-hoon, not only the Gung-on doctors but the company itself would suffer.

“Well… I really don’t know what to say. Obviously, we must consider disciplinary action…”

He was looking at the head of Gung-on’s medical team as he spoke. The head doctor was almost crying.

The Special Defense agent considered his next words. Gung-on was currently at the top of the 2F4T. This scandal would hit them hard.

Just as he hesitated, someone appeared.

-Kiik!

Dragging a Wildfire Bird behind him, Yoo-seong arrived at the temporary camp.

The bird was now completely helpless and unable to move, tied down by Yoo-seong’s invisible threads.

“You are working hard. Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Yoo-seong.”

“Oh… hello.” The agent’s voice trembled without him knowing.

Only then did he understand perfectly.

Before he left his office, Yang Chang-guk had called him.

“It’s simple,” the director had told him. “Take the side of the bigger one.”

Gung-on was a large company. Now, with more than thirty Platinum-grade hunters, they were considered the nation’s top organization.

Those who belonged there were among the top 1% in Korea.

However…

“So… how is it going?” Yoo-seong began. “I called a doctor I know for verification, but I understand if you require further investigation.”

“I was the one who raised a complaint, and I have to take responsibility,” he added.

The agent had goosebumps on his arms.

The man now in front of him had just returned from hell, where he had stayed for six months. Even today, he closed the crack single-handedly.

The man in front of him was a hero.

A hero against a big company.

Although it seemed hard to compare them, the answer was clear to the agent.

“No, I think I could judge it now, based on what we know.” The agent’s voice was clear.

“Gung-on is definitely at fault here. I will report it immediately and notify you of how the disciplinary action goes.”

The agent looked at Yoo-seong expectantly. He knew that it was childish, but he couldn’t help it.

He anticipated a small reward.

“Thank you for the concise and accurate judgment.” Yoo-seong smiled at him widely.

That alone was enough for him. Even if he held a high position in the Special Defense Agency, he was still a young man in his late twenties.

Of course, he was Yoo-seong’s fan.

…

“I can’t believe it!”

Jin Chang-hoon kept laughing as he looked Yoo-seong up and down.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it! Even if Sung-wook was firm that you would return… wow!”

Yoo-seong held out his hand, and Jin Chang-hoon took it.

“How’s Sung-wook?” Yoo-seong asked. “Is he doing well?”

Yoo-seong had been curious about him since his return. However, Jin Chang-hoon was silent.

“Chang-hoon?” Yoo-seong was a little worried.

Then Jin Chang-hoon smiled. He summarized how Sung-wook was in one short word.

Yoo-seong’s response when he heard it was:

“Oh my God.”