Chapter 2

“Aaaah!”

The situation couldn't have been worse. Screams rang out everywhere. Emergency evacuation announcements blared incessantly. The Mist Burns, which had multiplied in an instant, continued claiming new victims.

“At this rate, we'll all end up like them!” Im Dogyun screamed.

A Mist Burn was not a monster someone of his level could take down. Worse still, of all the monsters it could have been... Mist Burns dredged up his most painful trauma.

He bolted.

“Huh? Mr. Im! Where are you going?”

Suho was stunned. The only hunter here was running away! Narrowly dodging a Mist Burn's attack, Im slipped out of the exhibition hall alone.

Should he follow him?

After a moment's hesitation, Suho moved—but in the opposite direction. He ran to a corner of the exhibition hall and snatched up a fire extinguisher.

'I don't know if this will work...'

He couldn't bring himself to abandon everyone else. Extinguisher in hand, Suho ran toward the cluster of Mist Burns.

FSSSSSH!

White powder erupted from the nozzle, engulfing the Mist Burns.

[“Grrroooar!”]

Of course, an attack without mana behind it would do no meaningful damage. But it was enough to temporarily suppress their flames.

'That's worked for now.'

Relieved to see that the extinguisher was effective, Suho kept sweeping its nozzle around, spraying the other Mist Burns as well.

FSSSSSH!

[“Grrroar!”]

[“Raaaaar!”]

He took the opportunity to look around. Spotting a friend on the floor, Suho helped him up.

“You okay?”

“Ugh.”

His friend's face was smeared with tears and snot.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

Suho shook him, but his eyes remained dazed and unfocused.

SLAP! SLAP!

Suho resorted to slapping his cheeks to force him back to his senses.

“S-Suho?”

At last, his friend's eyes regained their focus.

Suho glanced down.

'Did he sprain his ankle?'

“Let's get out of here first.”

He hoisted his friend onto his back.

The extinguisher had temporarily slowed the Mist Burns down. If they were going to escape, this was their only chance.

“S-Sob... Wh-where's Mr. Im?” his friend asked tearfully from his back.

Everyone in the painting department knew their teaching assistant was a hunter. Yet now, in a real emergency, he was nowhere to be seen.

“He was asking the Hunters Association for backup earlier.”

There seemed no need to mention that he'd fled afterward.

'He's scared enough as it is.'

At Suho's words, the friend on his back let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

They made it out of the exhibition hall. But that was far from the end of it. If anything, the chaos outside was even worse.

WHOOSH!

[“Grrroooar!”]

'They weren't just in the exhibition hall.'

Suho bit his lip. It seemed the entire art museum was full of Mist Burns.

'They said these magic beasts multiply. This is seriously nasty.'

He'd thought they only needed to get out of the exhibition hall.

“Aaaah!”

“H-help...!”

“When are the hunters coming?”

People huddled together here and there, trembling.

There were only so many routes through Hankuk University's art museum: the stairs and the elevators. But Mist Burns flickered at every one of those access points.

'Everyone's in danger if this keeps up.'

Suho quickly assessed the situation. All escape routes were blocked, and the magic beasts kept multiplying. There was no telling what the terrified people might do. Jumping out of windows would be bad enough. If they rushed out blindly and turned into more magic beasts, that would only make matters worse.

'Maybe giving them some way to defend themselves would help.'

Suho raised his extinguisher high and shouted, “Everyone! Look over here!”

A few of the frightened people looked at him.

“There's a way to fight the monsters!”

“...!”

At that, even more people turned toward him—and spotted the extinguisher in his hand.

“O-oh, of course!”

“Right! With a fire extinguisher...!”

“We can kill the monsters!”

A light returned to their bewildered eyes.

Suho felt awkward.

'Uh, it can't actually kill them. But I guess that doesn't matter?'

He'd given them hope. That was what mattered for now.

People scattered, desperately searching for extinguishers.

“I-I found one!”

“Me too!”

Those who found one cheered.

Meanwhile, those who hadn't turned deathly pale. There couldn't possibly be that many extinguishers on a single floor to begin with. But this was enough.

Suho shouted to them, “Not everyone needs an extinguisher! Those of you who have one, follow me!”

“Eek!”

The people holding extinguishers looked dismayed. Only now did they realize that they were the ones who would have to fight on the front line.

Taking the lead, Suho aimed his extinguisher at a Mist Burn.

FSSSSSSH!

It was time for action, not words.

[“Grrroar!”]

The Mist Burn's flames visibly weakened. At the sight, the people's faces brightened.

“I-it's working!”

“All right! Me too!”

FSSSSSH!

Their confidence restored, they began spraying their extinguishers.

“Good! Let's keep pushing forward!”

Suho kept charging ahead, driving back the Mist Burns. Behind him, the others took advantage of the opening and carefully made their way down the stairs.

That was when it happened.

[“Raaaaar!”]

The problem was that Mist Burns were attacking from behind as well.

“Aaaah!”

“They're behind us too!”

The people, who had only just begun to calm down, panicked again. They surged down the stairs, terrified and jostling to get ahead.

Suho gritted his teeth.

'We're almost there.'

At this rate, they were all going to tumble down the stairs in a heap. He set his friend down.

“You can make it on your own from here, right?”

“Huh? What are you going to do?”

His friend stared at him in alarm. His expression grim, Suho shouted to the people with extinguishers.

“I'll cover the rear! Those of you at the front, clear a path!”

“U-understood!”

In the end, Suho turned around and climbed back up the stairs.

'I don't even know what I'm doing.'

Here he was, someone who hadn't awakened, suddenly playing hunter. But he couldn't help it. His body moved before he could think.

FSSSSSH!

[“Grrroar!”]

Suho sprayed the Mist Burn attacking from behind.

Then the spray abruptly stopped.

“... Huh?”

[“Grr?”]

The powder that had been gushing so vigorously suddenly cut off. Suho and the Mist Burn, which had been helplessly driven back until then, found themselves awkwardly staring into each other's eyes.

“Ha.”

Suho gave a hollow laugh.

“I'm screwed.”

[“... Raaaaar!”]

The Mist Burn lunged at him.

WHOOSH!

Blue smoke swallowed Suho. And it was about to turn him into yet another Mist Burn...

That was when it happened.

SHWAAASH!

[“...?!”]

In that instant, the Mist Burn came face-to-face with the deep, unfathomable abyss sleeping within Suho.

* * *

Born from remnants of mana, a Mist Burn was a weak creature driven solely by instinct. At the same time, it was a troublesome magic beast that could grow endlessly stronger and create unlimited copies of itself, provided it had enough fuel.

What, then, was the best fuel?

Living creatures.

Humans in particular, brimming with life force, made excellent fuel that burned as readily as dry firewood. In that sense, Suho was the perfect prey for a Mist Burn.

And yet.

SHWAAAASH!

The moment it engulfed Suho's body, the Mist Burn plunged into the pitch-black abyss hidden inside him and was swallowed whole.

[“... Raar?”]

Bewildered, the Mist Burn looked around. Everywhere it looked was an endless, bottomless pit. Yet someone was watching it from the deepest part of that abyss.

Its blue smoke bristling, the Mist Burn growled fiercely.

[“Raaah! Raar! Raar...?”]

But no matter how much it barked, only hollow echoes answered.

Then it suddenly realized. It wasn't someone inside the abyss looking down at it. It was the entire vast abyss surrounding it. And it was drooling, as though eyeing a delicious meal.

[“Kyaaah?!”]

As the horrified Mist Burn tried to flee, the abyss opened its mouth wide.

GULP.

* * *

HISSS.

“... Huh?”

Suho looked puzzled. The Mist Burn attacking him had suddenly dispersed into the air.

CRUMBLE.

The human body that had served as its wick collapsed into a pile of ashes on the spot.

Then it happened.

[You have defeated a Mist Burn.]

[You have met the completion requirements for ‘Secret Quest: Courage of the Powerless.’]

“... What?”

Suho's eyes widened at the messages that had suddenly appeared before him.

[You have leveled up!]

A dazzling flash of light enveloped Suho's entire body.

* * *

Suho's friend Kim Daehyun barely managed to escape the art museum. The moment he made it outside, his limping legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground. Sitting helplessly in front of the museum, Daehyun instinctively searched for Suho.

“Wh-where's Suho? Has anyone seen Suho?”

“Who's that? Oh, that young man from earlier?”

People remembered the student who had led the way, fighting with an extinguisher. But Suho was nowhere to be seen.

Someone spoke up hesitantly.

“He went back up, saying he'd cover the rear.”

“N-no way...”

“He still hasn't gotten out?”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

Someone murmured hopefully, “Still, he's a hunter. Won't he be okay?”

“Suho isn't a hunter!” Daehyun shouted urgently.

That revelation was even more shocking.

“What? He's not a hunter?”

“He's not even a hunter, and he did all that...!”

They all turned toward the museum. Suho... still hadn't made it out.

Just then, hunters arrived in response to the emergency call.

“Over here!”

Im Dogyun, who had been the first to flee, had brought them.

Seeing the people who had escaped the museum safely, Im breathed a sigh of relief.

'Oh, thank goodness. Looks like everyone managed to get out somehow.'

He'd convinced himself that he'd made the best possible choice as an E-rank hunter. But now that he saw them, he felt guilty for his cowardice.

“But how did you all get out?”

The hunters who had accompanied Im looked at the survivors in puzzlement. Mist Burns had appeared in an enclosed space like that, yet so many people had survived? It was fortunate, certainly, but they wanted to know how it had happened.

“More importantly, someone's still trapped inside!” Daehyun cried urgently. “Suho still hasn't...!”

“Suho? Suho's still in there?”

Startled, Im turned toward the museum.

“We'd all be dead if it weren't for Suho!”

At Daehyun's tearful words, every survivor's face fell.

Puzzled by their reaction, the hunters asked, “Is this Suho a hunter? What rank?”

“... He's an ordinary civilian.”

“What? How could a civilian...?”

They were about to ask for more details when it happened.

RUMBLE!

An ominous roar came from the art museum.

“...!”