# Chapter 188
## 16. The Making of a Hero
“Today around 4 PM, Sano-nim received an emergency mission call. Kim Jongchan went with him to assist.”
The scenery outside the window passed by quickly. The luxury sedan was the same model as the one he’d ridden in before. The leather seats, smelling of money, were soft and plush, but there was no time to enjoy such sensations. Seated in the passenger seat, Iyeon listened attentively to Jonghee’s explanation.
“The mission is to eliminate a Level 2 variant, Dumugwi.”
“Dumugwi, is that the one that looks like an insect?”
He had heard the name before. It was a giant species, he thought… Jonghee added a detailed explanation as if to resolve Iyeon’s question.
“Yes. It has a giant leech-like body with two heads and countless long, thick tentacles attached to it. It uses those to catch and eat living creatures.”
“…It eats them.”
Iyeon responded with an involuntarily disgusted expression. Variants were monsters that could survive without consuming Earth’s organisms, so they might kill but rarely ate their prey. This meant it had high intelligence and a nasty disposition on top of that.
“We don’t know how long the Dumugwi has been there. However, people in the nearby village have vaguely been aware of its existence for a long time. Since the concept of variants was unfamiliar then, it seems it was treated as an urban legend. Something like ‘there’s a monster that eats people, so never go in there.’ That’s probably why they didn’t realize it was a variant. The first reporter was actually a hunter performing a mission in the area. Fortunately, since it’s not in an urban area, the Superpower Management Office is strongly requesting that it be eliminated right where it is without relocation.”
“But you said there’s a village nearby?”
“The village and the Dumugwi’s location are quite far apart, so it’s fine. Our investigation shows that the legend has been circulating in the village for about 20 years.”
“I guess they thought the possibility of the Dumugwi moving to attack was low, since the village has been safe for such a long time.”
“Yes. Still, we’re prepared to evacuate all village residents if necessary. It’s an undeveloped area with only that one village, and the population is only about 200 people, so it’s not that difficult.”
Small villages tend to be closed off, so news from inside doesn’t spread well to the outside. That’s probably why the Superpower Management Office didn’t know about its existence.
In a country where shamanism is deeply rooted, having such urban legends wasn’t unusual. In remote areas with rough terrain, it would be easy to link occasional unfortunate disappearances to them, whether they were actually caused by the Dumugwi or not.
“However, since the Dumugwi is a Level 2 variant, if the final goal is elimination, there’s a high possibility it will turn into a long-term mission.”
Long-term missions for high-ranking hunters weren’t as simple as those for lower-ranking ones. The mid-to-high level variants they usually faced weren’t leisurely beings that could be dealt with while maintaining a regular work schedule and proper sleep. If necessary, they might have to camp out for days, weeks, or even months to hold their position. All to prevent further damage while they were away.
Moreover, for top-tier variants like the Dumugwi, each individual required a certain level of superpower to defend against attacks. Random, inadequate people simply wouldn’t do.
That’s why high-ranking hunters who primarily took on long-term missions often moved in teams of five or more. It was common for all team members to be hunter rankers. Iyeon knew several famous hunter teams known for such missions well enough to name three or four of them.
Rather, hunters like Sano or Hyeseong who operated alone were much rarer cases. Even then, Hyeseong often joined temporary teams for missions, but Sano never did. He always took on missions alone and solved them alone.
“Since Sano-nim rarely takes on such long-term missions, we didn’t expect him to accept it. Of course, Sano-nim must have his reasons…”
No one knew what variables might arise when fighting a variant that wasn’t well-known, and no matter how monstrous he seemed, Sano was still human. A person who needed rest when his gi-ryeok was depleted after recklessly using his superpower.
That’s why Sano was usually deployed in very urgent situations, mainly when high-level variants appeared within the city or when massive casualties from variant attacks were imminent. Even then, most were short-term missions with temporary measures, where Sano would initially subdue the threat, and then other hunters would be additionally deployed to stabilize the situation.
“But why did he take it?”
Emergency mission alerts are basically sent to all qualified high-ranking hunters. Even if it wasn’t the kind of mission Sano usually took, he would have received the alert as a top-tier Mugunghwa 5 hunter. Given his characteristic of frequently taking short-term missions, Sano was included in the target list for almost all emergency mission calls.
Of course, with it being a Level 2 variant with the vicious trait of eating humans, the number of hunters called would have been significantly less than usual. Still, alerts would have gone to at least ten teams, and it was unlikely all of them would unanimously refuse in less than a day.
In other words, Sano taking this mission meant he had voluntarily claimed it for himself.
“Jung Iyeon-ssi.”
However, instead of answering that question, Jonghee glanced at Iyeon, taking advantage of a red light.
“Why did you volunteer for this?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you kick yourself out because you disliked being with Sano-nim?”
“…Did he say that?”
“No. But since you didn’t deny being fired…”
“…”
Sano, who had been rampaging on private property all through dawn, only left that land when the day was faintly brightening. Greeting Sano as he walked out from behind the fence were Jongchan and Jonghee, neatly prepared. Jongchan opened the back door on Sano’s side. Whether Sano got in that car or not, the two always kept the door open.
‘Where would you like to go?’
Recently, Sano had consistently replied that he didn’t need it to that question. Then he would turn around and seep into the ground, disappearing.
Both secretaries knew where he was returning to. When Sano disappeared without a trace like that, the secretaries would close the empty back door, fill the driver’s and passenger’s seats, and leave that place.
That was the routine, but…
‘Anywhere.’
Sano got into the car without hesitation. For a moment, Jongchan and Jonghee’s eyes met, but soon they sat down as if nothing was unusual and departed immediately.
‘Let’s have a meal first. Is Korean food okay?’
‘What happened to what I asked?’
‘Pardon?’
Sano’s voice was dry as he buried his back deeply into the seat. The two had not heard this voice in a very long time.
‘I asked what Jung Iyeon has been doing.’
It was the Je Sano from before finding Jung Iyeon.
Jonghee unconsciously checked Sano in the rearview mirror. His smooth face seemed similar to usual, but was strangely sensitive and cold. Even without that, it was clear he wasn’t in a calm state just from looking at the private property he had just turned upside down several times.
‘That…’
Neither Jongchan nor Jonghee could answer properly. The time Sano had contacted them was late dawn. Now it was early morning. In just two or three hours, especially during a time when people weren’t active, it was nearly impossible to analyze Iyeon’s recent traces and accurately determine the reason for his actions.
Sano probably knew this fact as well.
‘We’ve only found out Jung Iyeon-ssi’s recent visiting locations. If you could wait a little longer, we could get more detailed information…’
‘Forget it.’
Sano closed his eyes. His slowly lowering eyelids contained a faint fatigue.
‘Skip the list and just continue with what you were doing.’
He didn’t say anything else. Neither secretary could ask him anything either.
That was the end of the conversation about Iyeon. Sano didn’t bring up the same topic again after that.
“Are you testing me?”
As Iyeon grumbled, feeling guilty, Jonghee immediately apologized, saying she was sorry. Her excessively polite attitude made his anger suddenly disappear.
“We are not in a position to interfere with Sano-nim’s personal relationships.”
“For someone who says that, you make an awful lot of phone calls.”
Jonghee subtly pretended not to hear that comment.
“However, since the part where Jung Iyeon-ssi followed me overlaps with the official mission, I behaved rudely thinking it would be good to know the situation accurately. I apologize.”
Jonghee bowed her head and asked again.
“I wanted to confirm whether helping Jung Iyeon-ssi and Sano-nim meet would be good for Sano-nim.”
“That’s…”
Suddenly, the last image of Sano came to mind. The scene of him staring endlessly with an extremely annoyed expression before abruptly turning his back was still vivid. Iyeon’s words trailed off sharply.
