Two rookie hunters take down a Grade-2 Erosion Source. And not only that—the Erosion Source they deal with is on Tsushima Island. If things go well afterward, there's even talk that, thanks to me and Han Sang-ah, Korea might end up taking Tsushima.
Add to that the growing expectations around me as the broadcast spreads, plus poking directly at national sentiment—it's the perfect combination. And on top of that, we rescue fishermen who were captured alive?
I can't think of another path to becoming famous in Korea so quickly and cleanly that's as wide open as this one.
"—Alright. I can't be certain, but we'll prepare. Even if the whole thing falls through, we can just pretend it never happened."
"That's exactly what I meant."
The relationship between Taebaek and the Association President is… peculiar. This phone call probably won't be passed on to Yoon Seong-hyeon.
After ending the call, I stared at the fog a bit longer, then clicked my tongue.
"Looks like it's going to be a bit of a hassle."
Tsushima is a fairly large island—roughly twice the size of Geoje Island. Finding and smashing a Grade-2 Erosion Source there is going to take quite some time.
"And we can't rule out the possibility of other Grade-3 or unranked Erosion Sources either."
Han Sang-ah, who had finished packing and come outside, stood next to me and spoke.
"That part's fine."
I had something to rely on too. Brushing over the gloves on my hands, I answered confidently. If I draw on the mana stored in these gloves, I'm confident that for exactly five minutes, I could at least avoid dying—even against Lee Se-eun.
"According to the testimony, the fishermen are being held at—"
The place where the people are being held is a shrine. There are two shrines on Tsushima Island: one is Gajin Shrine, and the other is Watatsumi.
In terms of distance, we head to Gajin Shrine first. If it's not there, then we go on to Watatsumi.
"They're about 50 kilometers apart. It's not an impossible round trip."
For hunters, that kind of distance can easily be covered back and forth within a few hours. Of course, that's assuming there's no interference.
"The problem is that after rescuing the captured fishermen, we have to bring them back here."
Going there, our hands are free. Coming back, we'll be carrying cargo. Han Sang-ah pondered my words. Watching her, I spoke.
"Let's unload all the supplies we brought."
I was changing the plan. At my words, Han Sang-ah gave me a puzzled look.
"What are you thinking?"
"We take a medium-sized van and drive the road without any supplies."
We blitz straight to the shrine—whatever shrine it is—wipe out the monsters there, rescue the people, and cram them into the vehicle.
An eight-seater should be enough. There are about fifteen missing people. Even in an eight-seater van, if you really squeeze them in, they'll fit.
"And then we floor it back here."
Once we arrive, we unload the people and contact the Coast Guard to send a boat. When the boat arrives, we put them on board and send them off.
"…Do you think that'll work?"
"What's so impossible about it? It's surprisingly simple."
Get a car and drive to the shrine. Wipe out the monsters there. Load the survivors into the car. Step on it like crazy and come back here.
A grand operation consisting of only three steps.
"It's too dangerous."
"Did you come here thinking this would be safe?"
At my words, Han Sang-ah muttered quietly.
"I didn't think it'd be dangerous in this way. Anyway, fine."
"Can you drive?"
At my question, Han Sang-ah nodded.
"My grandpa even complimented my skills."
Well, then…
"What kind of compliment was it?"
She answered.
"He said he was worried about my driving, so he rode in the passenger seat once. After that, he never got in again."
"That doesn't sound like a compliment."
Did he experience something that made him fear for his life? At my words, Han Sang-ah shook her head.
"If someone who was worried about my driving never gets in again, doesn't that prove my skills?"
"Yeah, in a lot of different ways, your driving skills do seem… proven."
Right? Han Sang-ah replied calmly, and I scratched my head. It'd be ridiculous to start talking about safety now.
"Driving's easy. There's nothing for me to do."
"What do you mean by that?"
Han Sang-ah answered proudly.
"If I drive, other drivers just get out of the way on their own."
Why? Because they don't want to die? I almost said it, but decided to hold back.
People do value their lives, after all. I don't know how she drives exactly, but it seems she has the remarkable ability to make other drivers think, If I don't move, I might die.
What do you even call that? Considering how it makes others not even dare to stay nearby…
Aggressive defensive driving?
Didn't someone say the best defense is a good offense?
"If you don't like it, you can drive."
"No thanks. I'm more efficient at dealing with monsters right now."
I'm much better at handling monsters or ghosts that might latch onto the car.
"Agreed. Then let's get the car ready."
We got into the car. And that's when I truly learned what Han Sang-ah's aggressive defensive driving was all about.
"Uh, we're over 150 kilometers per hour."
"Yeah. Is it too slow?"
I clicked my tongue. No wonder her grandpa doesn't want to sit in the passenger seat. I can't tell whether I'm in a car or riding a palanquin straight to the afterlife.
She's not a bad driver. The problem is that she's way too rough.
"They're starting to move."
"I see them too. Want to try moving?"
I double-checked the climbing rope tied to the tip of my spear. They said it could handle about three tons. I wonder if that's true.
Guess I'll find out once I use it.
Panting with excitement, I targeted one of the monsters chasing the car at a speed bordering on madness and threw the spear with the rope tied to its end.
The spear flew like a harpoon and pierced straight into the skull of one of the corpses. Snap—when I yanked the rope, I felt it go taut, and the spear came free with a sharp pull.
"Ah, yeah. No problems."
That confirmed it. Once I trusted the rope's reliability, there was nothing holding me back. I took on the role of a harpoon gun mounted on a speeding vehicle.
"It feels like sea fishing!"
Is this why people come to Tsushima?
As the spear flew through the air, I spotted a corpse leaping up from the side of the road with a sharp bang, lunging toward the van we were riding in. I snapped my upper body forward and swung my fist.
The corpse that had charged in so boldly went flying across the road, its chest bones shattered with a dull crack.
"It smells awful."
A curt assessment from Han Sang-ah. When I punched rotten flesh with my bare hand, decayed blood, bits of meat, and pus-like sludge clung to my fist.
"I know. Just endure it."
Or wear a mask or something. And for the ones positioned awkwardly for me to handle, Han Sang-ah took care of them using her own abilities.
"We've got more fans than I expected."
"Those aren't fans—they're monsters."
The number of monsters chasing us had reached nearly several hundred.
"Honestly, that ghost ship was stronger."
Each individual monster was weaker than the corpses and ghosts we'd faced on the ghost ship at sea. On the island, it seemed they were pushing us with sheer numbers instead.
The ghost ship had spatial constraints, so it relied on quality over quantity. The island didn't have that limitation, so it was going all-in on volume.
When you think about it, the greatest advantage of the undead is numbers. They just keep getting back up, no matter how many times they're killed.
The sea stretched out alongside the winding road. If we lost control even a little here, the car we were in would be hurled straight into the ocean.
"Hahaha."
Is she… laughing right now?
But apparently, none of that mattered to Han Sang-ah, who was driving beside me.
As she stomped on the pedals, eyes gleaming, wrenching the steering wheel back and forth, I finally realized there was something like indescribable madness dwelling inside that woman.
"You pretended to oppose this plan when I first suggested it, but were you actually excited inside?!"
I shouted the question at Han Sang-ah while hurling spears like a bombardment at the charging corpses.
"It is dangerous."
As she said that, my body suddenly lurched hard to one side. I immediately grabbed the window frame and let out a strained groan.
Kiiiiiiik—!
With a screech, the car's center of gravity tilted precariously. Black tire marks streaked across the road like ink brushed onto paper.
"This is insane."
Even so, I kept working nonstop, dealing with the corpses and wandering spirits clinging to us.
The car's speed pushed past 150 and into the 170 range. The distance was about 50 kilometers—if we could keep this speed, we'd theoretically arrive in 20 minutes.
Assuming we didn't crash into something before then!
"I may not look it, but I've never had an accident."
"Don't lie."
"I'm serious. I couldn't drive for about three years because my grandpa asked me not to, but before that? Three months without a single accident."
Am I supposed to be impressed that she drove like this for three months without an accident?
Or terrified that she was back behind the wheel for the first time in three years?
"What kind of lunatic woman are you?"
"That's a compliment, right?"
"Yeah, you blooming flower of insanity!"
Shouting that, I shot her a raised middle finger and harpooned three charging corpses and two ghosts in one go.
"There's one clinging to the back of the car."
"Oh, that's fine. Just keep driving."
There was nothing I needed to do. When the car sharply changed direction again, the corpse stuck to the rear couldn't withstand the force and was flung away.
"Trusting the driver's skills like that really gives me energy."
"Sure. You drive so well that if an elderly or weak person rode along, they'd sleep soundly—forever."
I couldn't trust this woman's driving at all. It wasn't trust—it was just confidence that even if we crashed, I'd manage to survive.
Still, as if to prove her claim of three accident-free months, the car we were in eventually made it to the destination.
"So? How was it?"
"Well, should I praise you or something? Stick to the plan. Don't stop here—"
Before I could say anything more, the car suddenly roared again, spewing exhaust like diarrhea as it surged forward.
"Yeah, keep going. You're doing great."
The plan we'd refined on the way to the shrine went like this:
Normally, the path up to the shrine has stairs, and along those stairs stand several torii gates—you know, those structures that look like doors you'd expect to see at a Japanese shrine.
We smash those door-like structures.
"One, two. Hit it."
Just like now. Boom—the car smashed straight through a torii gate and kept charging forward.
Four wheels trampled over stairs meant for human feet. The car shook violently as it climbed the mountain. Driving like this would definitely shave years off a vehicle's lifespan, but…
It's not our car anyway.
"You're doing great. Keep the pedal down."
By continuing upward like this, smashing through the torii gates on the way to the shrine, we'd arrive in no time.
"I see them—there! The people who were captured!"
Speed was everything. There were simply too many corpses chasing us. Clearing them all out and then safely rescuing the captured fishermen?
If we had, say, twenty people with us, it might be worth considering. But not now.
"I'm stopping."
With Han Sang-ah's words, the car briefly went airborne, then screeched to a halt in the shrine's courtyard, kicking up clouds of dirt.
"Rescue the people!"
The moment I finished speaking, I swung my spear wreathed in black flames, blocking the corpses that had chased us into the shrine.
"I'll leave a mystery behind at this shrine."
Muttering that, I slammed my spear into the ground.
The paradoxical black flames coiling around it spread outward along the surface.
As the corpses sprinting to catch us stepped into the area engulfed by black fire, they slipped, fell flat on their backs, and skidded helplessly.
"What did you do?"
"Secret."
What the paradox flames burned away was friction. From now on, unless the entrance to this shrine was completely torn up and rebuilt, it would remain a place where friction was permanently close to zero.