“No!”

I desperately ran forward to block Teddy.

“Huh.”

The man’s sword stopped right in front of me, and I faced him directly.

A few strands of hair were cut and fluttered in the air. Through them, I could see sharp eyes and distinct facial features.

His black pupils were remarkably clear and large. For a moment, he didn’t seem human.

Apart from being handsome, he felt bizarrely eerie, giving me goosebumps.

“Are you a hunter?”

“Y-yes! This monster is one I’ve tamed!”

I blurted out urgently, having been frozen in place.

“The Blue Starlight Bear?”

The man knew about Teddy. His pupils, which had dilated, noticeably contracted again, whether from excitement or not.

‘Somehow, I feel like I’ve seen this phenomenon somewhere before…’

Trying to recall the sudden sense of déjà vu, I searched my memory, but couldn’t quite place it.

“A taming hunter?”

“No, not exactly…”

Generally, hunters don’t reveal their class or exclusive skills to each other. It could expose their weaknesses.

If they do, they broadly classify themselves as combat, crafting, healing, etc. But ‘campsite owner’ didn’t fit into any of these categories, so I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Um, I run a campsite here!”

I gestured towards the somewhat shabby but clearly labeled sign. My fingertips trembled with tension.

He looked at the sign but still seemed confused.

“A campsite in a dungeon.”

“Yes… If you stay at the campsite, you can receive special buffs. Would you like to try using a tent?”

He spoke more politely, with a somewhat softened demeanor. I gathered my courage and made a suggestion.

I thought it would be better for him to experience it rather than just hear about it.

The tents had buffs generated in them, so experiencing it would prove that my words were true.

“But to use a tent, you need to pay with coins. Teddy, how much is it to rent one for a day?”

“300 coins! The tent key should be in the owner’s inventory!”

Opening my inventory, there really was an item I hadn’t seen before. When I took it out, it was a bracelet with a blinking red light.

‘This seems to be the tent key. But 300 coins for a day’s rental? Isn’t that too expensive?’

While I was hesitating due to the unexpectedly high price, the man asked with a furrowed brow.

“Isn’t a shelter a public area, not anyone’s property? Are you saying you’re doing business in a shelter?”

“No, that’s…”

He spoke again in a stern tone. I knew it too.

Shelters were designated public areas in demilitarized zones where weapons and military activities were prohibited, with no limit on the number of people or rank restrictions, so anyone could use them.

However, sometimes unscrupulous hunters would occupy shelters first and trade coins for their use. Of course, this was illegal and would be sanctioned if reported to the Hunters Association.

“Don’t you know you’ll be arrested immediately if reported to the association?”

It was true, but the man was seriously misunderstanding.

“I know… But because of my class, this shelter has no time limit and won’t disappear.”

“That’s right! The shelter will only disappear if the owner dismantles the campsite.”

Teddy, who had been watching the situation from behind, chimed in.

‘It disappears if dismantled? I didn’t know that.’

Despite hearing our explanation, the man’s furrowed brow didn’t relax. He looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“If you’re doubtful, you can check the shelter’s time limit in the system. If you look closely, you’ll see my name listed as the owner.”

The man seemed to be checking the time limit, manipulating his system window. My heart shrank even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

After staring intently into space for a while, the man continued with an expressionless face.

“So you’re saying I need to pay an entrance fee to enter this shelter?”

“There’s no entrance fee, you just need to rent a tent. You can receive special buffs just by being on the campsite grounds, but you’ll get even better buffs if you enter a tent!”

“…”

“Since you’re our Spring Campsite’s first customer, if you’re hungry, we’ll even provide drinks from the vending machine as a service!”

“…”

“Or how about a breakfast service where we bring the tent directly to you…?”

My voice gradually became smaller due to the man’s increasingly stiff expression. I tried to lighten the mood by creating services that didn’t exist, but it wasn’t easy.

“That’s enough. So 300 coins will do?”

“…Are you really going to rent it?”

“Isn’t that what I’ve been asking about all this time?”

“That’s right! Here you go!”

I was momentarily stunned, then quickly handed over the tent key before he could change his mind.

As it touched the man’s hand, the bracelet’s light turned blue.

My eyes widened involuntarily at the shameless price, even upon reflection. It was far too expensive.

“Where should I go?”

“I’ll guide you!”

Teddy led the guest to the tent. As he followed Teddy, the man looked around the unremarkable campsite.

The reason he readily paid seemed less about believing my words and more about checking if this place was really not illegal.

“Owner, that guest seems a bit scary…”

Teddy, who had returned after guiding the guest, elongated the end of his words. He was trembling, apparently startled.

I grasped Teddy’s hand.

“To be honest, I’m scared too. It seems we’ve received quite an extraordinary guest from the start, don’t you think?”

“Do you know him by any chance?”

“Yes. Although he doesn’t know me…”

As soon as the man entered the tent, he zipped up the entrance. He must have turned on the lamp inside, as shadows were cast on the fabric.

“But how do you know him, owner?”

“In our world, he’s a hunter so strong that there’s no one who doesn’t know him.”

The shadow grew larger as if he had moved away from the entrance.

Eventually, the shadow shook threateningly, like a horned demon.

“He’s Chae Dong Hwa, the rank 1 hunter.”

* * *

My brother was lucky enough to awaken as an S-class combat hunter in his second year of high school.

Despite my protests, he entered the dungeon following our father to search for our mother.

“Can’t you work in an office instead, elder brother?”

After awakening, my brother practically lived in and out of dungeons. While everything was smooth sailing thanks to his innate strength, I often couldn’t hide my anxiety.

“How can a combat class work in an office?”

“Dad is already searching, so you don’t have to.”

I wanted to find mom too. But I didn’t have the courage to take such a risk.

Because disappearance in a dungeon is close to death.

If my brother were to disappear in a dungeon too…

That possibility made me anxious.

“Dad’s rank is low. It’s dangerous for him to enter dungeons. It’s better if I go in with my higher rank.”

Dad may have had a low rank, but he was a genius who had been called a prodigy since childhood. While my brother gathered information inside the dungeon, dad conducted investigations outside.

The two divided their roles inside and outside, focusing on finding mom.

“Dungeons are dangerous regardless of rank.”

Mom was SSS-rank and told us not to worry, but she ended up disappearing. High ranks no longer reassured me at all.

“There’s Chae Dong Hwa. Leave it to him.”

“How do you know about Chae Dong Hwa?”

“Wouldn’t a Korean citizen who doesn’t know Chae Dong Hwa be a spy?”

Chae Dong Hwa was also an S-rank hunter belonging to Reconnaissance Team 7. With less than 10 S-rank hunters in South Korea, it was impossible not to know him.

Moreover, Chae Dong Hwa was famous for another reason. No one could find out what kind of life he had lived before becoming a hunter.

Information about his age, what he did before becoming a hunter, whether he had family, etc., didn’t exist.

His handsome appearance and mysterious aura were enough to attract intense public interest.

“Dong Hwa is still far behind.”

“What are you saying? I heard rumors lately that you’re falling behind.”

“Who’s spreading such false rumors? Your brother is still going strong.”

And Chae Dong Hwa was known to be an ardent fan of my brother. There were even rumors that he joined Reconnaissance Team 7 because of my brother.

It was strange in the first place that he, an S-rank hunter, was affiliated with the association.

Unlike my brother who was tied by family relationships, high-ranking hunters usually join guilds where they can earn more money.

“That guy just seems tough because he’s blunt. He’s actually not much.”

“Maybe he’s letting you win because you’re close.”

“What are you talking about? I’m definitely not close with Chae Dong Hwa.”

My brother denied it with excessive alarm.

‘Didn’t he just call him ‘Dong Hwa’ without his surname earlier… And what’s with the ‘definitely not close’?’

“So don’t talk to me about Chae Dong Hwa.”

He spoke in a firm voice, even hardening his expression unlike his usual self.

Strange. I thought there were tons of photos of them together circulating.

“If you ever happen to run into Chae Dong Hwa, make sure to hide that you’re my sister.”

“What? Are you ashamed of me, elder brother?”

By this point, it seemed there was a different intention.

My family had hidden our relationship since I was young to avoid negative influences on me, an ordinary person, but they had never explicitly told me to hide it like this.

“It’s not like that… Anyway, there’s a reason. Make sure to avoid him if you see him. He’s a weird guy.”

My brother was unusually strange that day. He was wary as if Chae Dong Hwa was some great dangerous person.

Even without him saying so, I had no intention of revealing it to anyone.

I had avoided everything related to hunters since mom disappeared in the dungeon.

“Alright, I’m off then.”

“Okay.”

That day was when my brother was going on a dungeon expedition.

An expedition was the work of clearing more than 50% of the vast dungeon. Apparently, that way the monsters wouldn’t come out of the gate for a while.

The association selects guilds to go on expeditions considering the difficulty of each dungeon.

There was also an attack team within the association that participated in expeditions, and my brother, being in the reconnaissance team with a high rank, often received support requests.

“Aren’t you going to ask which dungeon I’m going to?”

“Why should I know? You do whatever you want anyway.”

Expeditions were different from regular raids. Sometimes they would take over two weeks to return.

So, on top of my displeasure with my brother doing hunter work, my spite doubled.

“It’s a place with those fruits you like. I’ll bring back a lot.”

“Forget it. I don’t like those things anymore.”

Because I had fantasized about dungeons after hearing stories from mom. Because I had expected gifts that mom would bring.

Because I had come to like dungeons and mom might have lost her sense of caution.

That thought tormented me constantly. So I decided to lose all interest in dungeons now.

“Okay. Listen to dad well while I’m gone. I’ll be back soon.”

In truth, I wanted to tell him to be careful, to remember that I would be waiting outside the gate.

But knowing that my brother wouldn’t listen anyway, I could only express myself in that way.

My brother enjoyed his hunter work, and that appearance resembled mom’s so much that it made me even more anxious.

I hoped it was needless worry, but in the end, my brother disappeared in the dungeon just like mom.

The dungeon that once brought excitement and joy now left only despair and hatred.