SSS-Class Hunter Goes On Vacation (4 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 15

[Title: Today I’m Spilling the Tea on What Daphne Witnessed; (2)]

I’m the one who wrote the Daphne eyewitness account. I just got back from the restroom, so I’ll keep spilling the tea.

I was sprinting like my hair was falling out from stress when government officials suddenly rushed in, took their positions, and locked eyes with me.

One of the female officials looked at me and, with eyes that clearly said, “Why is this kid here causing trouble?”, promptly escorted me away.

They say South Korea’s civil servants have an insane rescue rate—and it’s true. Unbelievably fast and precise. I wasn’t the only person out there at that ungodly hour; they gathered up everyone who was lingering around.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

In my opinion, the predicted origin point of the Wave seems to have been slightly off. Anyway, everyone who’d been at the designated evacuation spot had already been evacuated—but just beyond that… the secondary evacuation zone, right? That’s where the Gate actually opened.

Every Gate I’ve seen up until now appeared exactly at the predicted coordinates, so this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.

Anyway, the officials seemed flustered too—they exchanged a few words and then bolted toward the new location. Honestly, I couldn’t see clearly; they moved way too fast.

But there was one kid who hadn’t managed to evacuate in time. I couldn’t make out the details, but they looked like a student.

Probably, like me, came out at dawn for some dumb “morning exercise.”

The kid got sucked straight into the mouth of a monster that suddenly burst out.

Honestly, I’d never seen a monster that huge before. You know the deep-sea creature called a blobfish? Well, this thing looked exactly like that—but with legs. Unbelievably disgusting and terrifying. I didn’t even see how it ate.

Even the officials running toward it stopped dead in their tracks at that moment.

They’d clearly decided it was beyond saving.

That’s when it happened.

Blobfish… sorry, I don’t know the actual name of that monster that looked like that fish. Anyway, the damn huge thing—must’ve been about 10 meters tall—suddenly had its mouth ripped wide open horizontally… and vanished completely.

Everyone was dumbfounded, wondering what the hell had just happened, when Daphne appeared—not in official uniform, not even in Hunter gear, just wearing what looked like plain training clothes.

She was carrying the boy who’d been swallowed, holding him effortlessly in one arm despite him looking at least 50 kilograms. Though I guess that’s only natural for her?

Anyway, the kid seemed completely out of it, but judging by how the medics immediately took him away, he appeared to be okay.

Probably?

And then, after watching the medics take the kid, she exchanged a few words with one of the officials.

I couldn’t hear most of it clearly—only one sentence came through perfectly:

“I just happened to pass by, so I dropped in for a moment.” So cool;;;.

I swear on my life—if this is a lie, I’ll never eat fish-shaped bread again.

You know how sometimes, when you see someone really good-looking or pretty, they seem to glow?

At that moment, Daphne alone looked like she was shining intensely.

Seriously, so damn cool…

My heart pounded like crazy—just from how awesome she was;

Maybe that’s why I forgot the rule about not making noise in the evacuation zone, and shouted out like a total idiot; honestly, I don’t even know why I did it; I probably yelled something like, “I’m your fan! I always cheer for you!”—so damn embarrassing;

It’s not like she’s a celebrity—what’s the point of having fans?

Still, as Daphne turned to leave, she glanced my way and gave me a smile.

I’m ready to die now.

That monster must’ve been the main one, because normally during Waves, tons of monsters burst out all at once, but this time things wrapped up pretty quickly.

Afterward, an official scolded me for shouting near the Gate zone, so I apologized profusely and begged for forgiveness until it was over.

Thinking back, I still can’t believe I yelled right next to an active Gate—what was I even thinking? Though I don’t regret it. But I was definitely in the wrong.

That’s the end of my story, and I don’t have any proof to back it up—but since a lot of people have been curious about Daphne lately, I figured I’d share this as one of her fans. Others probably saw it too, so more accounts should surface soon.

└ Whoa

└ Daphne… I’m so relieved to know you’re doing well…

└ Can Gate predictions really be that off? This OP is full of crap.

└└ Didn’t you see the news article about today’s inaccurate Gate prediction? Do some fact-checking before spouting nonsense.

└└└ Sorry;;

└ Wow, if this is real, a news report should drop soon;

└ There’s already an article; (article link)

└ Holy crap, it’s legit

└ Damn, OP, I’m so jealous… you actually saw Daphne in person

└ Geez, the article just dropped; look at that timing;

└ Goddess Daphne… please come back…

└ Guess she’s just taking a break from Top activities…

└ Seriously though, she’s on another level… For a B-rank Gate, the dispatched officials and Hunters were probably A-rank or even AA-rank. Yet even the Hunters who’d mobilized ahead of time couldn’t act—and she just saved him like that;;;

└└ No wonder other countries aggressively recruit S-rank+ individuals for immigration; they’re practically running sales pitches.

└└└ Exactly. How does she rip the monster’s mouth apart without even touching a single hair on the victim?

└ Looked up what a blobfish looks like out of curiosity.

(blobfish image)

└└ Ugh, nightmare fuel;

└└ The newspaper didn’t specify the monster’s exact name either. But now I kinda get what kind of creature it was.

└ But Goddess Daphne, why are you so quiet even though you’re active? What have you been up to lately? Please come back…

[This is the timeline separator]

This was how Su Ji happened to pass through that location.

She was simply heading out, without much thought, to get an item appraised.

Since the ‘Appraisal’ skill could only be learned if one randomly received the ‘Talent’ for it, there were only about four people in all of Seoul, South Korea, who specialized in appraisals.

Their clients were Hunters who owned rare enough items to require professional appraisal, so appraisal shops were typically located near Hunter exchange markets.

Thus, even taking the shortest route, the trip to get an item appraised was still quite far.

Having ended her month-long seclusion, Su Ji was stepping back into the world—even if just briefly—and walked with considerable haste.

“Oh, I need to get back quickly.”

She’d tried board games and found them surprisingly fun. Since they rarely got to compete on equal footing, even a simple game turned into a battle of bluffing and bickering over fake money.

It was even more entertaining watching Elaine, who was absolutely terrible at bluffing.

And above all, every moment spent with people who genuinely cared for her was precious and joyful.

“I wonder if I could try playing Mafia sometime. Maybe I should’ve asked Aunt Yeon Ju to gather enough players.”

Just as she muttered this while hurrying along, Su Ji suddenly sensed a subtle shift in the air. She stopped near the Han River and looked around.

‘This feels like the sign of a Gate opening…?’

As she passed by, senses on high alert, she spotted government officials rushing toward the area.

At that moment, her status window flickered.

[Νύμφη is watching your actions.]

‘A stalker? Or what?’

Could it possibly be trying to warn her to be careful?

But with officials already on-site, there was no need for her to intervene—the situation would surely resolve itself. These days, the warning systems were excellent, and evacuation drills were practiced as routinely as eating meals, so everyone would handle it fine.

Thinking it wasn’t a big deal, Su Ji shrugged and resumed walking.

Then—

Everything happened in an instant. The air rippled, a Gate formed, and a massive, grotesque entity burst forth, instantly pouncing on a human. The person vanished as if sucked into its mouth.

‘…What just happened?’

[〈(Enraged) Man-Eating Deep-Sea Fish〉 AA

Swallows prey whole and digests it.

Strength: 309 | HP: 19,000

‘Status Ailment’: Excitement (Enraged)]

In the Hunter system, monsters defeated over 100 times allowed access to detailed data.

Furthermore, the more times a monster was slain, the more its ‘Status Ailments’ became visible.

Thus, Su Ji, who practically lived in the Tower, could easily pull up data on ordinary Wave monsters.

As she scanned the information appearing before her eyes, she frowned, noticing something odd.

‘Wait—why does this monster, which just emerged from the Gate, already have a ‘Status Ailment’?’

That wasn’t normal. Not at all.

But she had no time to ponder deeply.

Su Ji immediately activated every movement-speed-related skill she had and leapt forward. In a flash, she closed the distance and swung 〈Bracelet of the Vanquished〉, cleaving the monster’s head clean off.

“…Whoaaaaah!”

“Wooooah!”

Clap clap clap clap!

Applause and cheers erupted.

Though the Gate hadn’t fully closed yet, so the crowd was trying to keep their voices down, Su Ji heard them clearly.

This was a completely unfamiliar atmosphere—back in the Tower, after slaying a monster, teammates would only quietly reassure each other.

She hadn’t planned to stay secluded forever, but she’d intended to pass through quietly without drawing attention. Now, feeling oddly bashful, she carried the boy over to the officials and set him down gently.

“…Hunter Name: Sabre! S, SSS-rank H-Hunter! I—I have the honor of meeting you, Lady Daphne!”

From the official’s perspective, she must’ve seemed like an unimaginably high-ranking superior. The official introduced themselves with extreme formality and even gave a crisp salute.

‘…Why is the discipline so strict here?’

Su Ji returned the greeting politely to the official, who appeared older than herself.