Jung Bin examined the boy's face. Beneath the fierce expression, there was a hint of wariness.
'It seems like calming his wariness should co first.'
He would have to stay with the boy until his powers stabilized. The faster they built trust, the better. Jung Bin calmly pulled out a laptop from his inventory and spoke.
"Let first explain the situation. I'm Hunter Jung Bin from the Awakened Managent Bureau. I heard there was a facility where people were being kidnapped for experints, and I went there. You were the only survivor, so I rescued you and brought you here."
"..."
"I have many things to tell you and many questions to ask, but..."
Jung Bin cautiously asked.
"First, let ask you one thing. Did you happen to see a white, square window?"
The boy, who had been silent, slowly nodded. Seeing the system window ant that the boy had been chosen by the system, aning he was an Awakener. It was as Jung Bin had expected.
"You've awakened. Do you rember when you first saw it?"
"...Not long ago."
It was a vague answer. Jung Bin tapped on his laptop and made eye contact with the boy. The wariness still hadn't disappeared.
Through the slightly open door, there was a sharp, rhythmic sound of sothing being struck. Bae Won-woo was diligently splitting the dry wood he picked up from sowhere with his bare hands. While Jung Bin was choosing his words, the boy spoke first.
"...You said you're with the Bureau."
"Yes. Ah, if you don't know about the Awakened Managent Bureau, I can explain..."
"I know."
The boy stared at Jung Bin, then asked again.
"So, what about the rift?"
It seed like he needed to address the boy's questions first before moving on. Jung Bin opened his laptop and asked,
"Can you explain which rift you're talking about? If I know the location, it will be easier to find."
The tension in the boy's shoulders eased a little. The boy, who had been observing Jung Bin, tersely responded.
"I don't know."
"Pardon?"
Jung Bin's eyes widened in surprise. The boy added nonchalantly.
"I don't know. The location."
"Hmm... Do you have any other information? Like when it might have appeared? Even a rough estimate would help."
"I don't know."
The boy's tone was awkward, but his insistence on not knowing was clear. His violet eyes drifted towards the laptop bearing the Awakened Managent Bureau's logo. He tilted his head slightly.
"It could be a dungeon..."
"..."
"Anyway, they said it would take a long ti."
"A rift or dungeon that takes a long ti..."
It wasn't exactly good information. The aning of "takes a long ti" wasn't clear. Jung Bin rubbed his chin with his thumb. The boy turned his head away.
"I don't know... That's all I can tell you."
"Understood. I'll look into it, but..."
As the amount of information increased, so did the possibilities. It might be easier to just search for all rifts and dungeons. As Jung Bin began to scroll through the list of rifts and dungeons stored on his laptop, sorted by date, the boy, who had been watching him, suddenly muttered,
"...No, asking like this..."
"Sorry?"
"You are definitely with the Bureau, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know J?"
"What?"
Hearing J's na again, Jung Bin looked up.
Could the boy have had so kind of relationship with J? Or perhaps he idolized J, seeing him as a role model. After all, J was a national hero. The boy, with a puzzled expression, sat with his knees up, resting his chin on them, and stared at Jung Bin.
His dry lips moved slightly.
"They said J was dead."
Jung Bin's hands, which had been typing quickly, suddenly stopped.
J's death. It was already a well-known fact, but it seed it wasn't to the boy.
It took about three months to confirm J's death. If he could get the boy to talk a bit more, he might be able to estimate when the boy was kidnapped by that research facility. As Jung Bin made that judgnt and was about to speak, the boy blinked. Biting his pale lips, he closed his eyes. A fleeting emotion crossed his usually expressionless face. With his eyes tightly shut, he asked in a trembling voice,
"How much ti has passed?"
The emotion in his voice was unmistakable.
"..."
It was an overwhelming and profound despair.
Jung Bin couldn't bring himself to say anything and just closed his mouth. What could make such a young boy feel such deep despair? But before he could figure out the answer, the boy suddenly stood up, staggering. Jung Bin hurriedly set down his laptop and stood up to follow. When he grabbed the boy's arm,
"Get lost!"
Bang! With a sharp tug, the boy broke free and ran out the door barefoot. Bae Won-woo, who had been stacking firewood in the yard, looked confused as he pulled the wireless earphones out of his ears and shouted.
"Hey! Where are you going without your shoes? I left so slippers out!"
Of course, there was no reply. The boy disappeared into the dense greenery. Should he go after him? No, if the captain wanted that, he would have yelled to catch him. Bae Won-woo grumbled to himself as he went back to stacking the firewood. Then suddenly,
Thud!
"Huh?"
There was a loud crashing sound. Bae Won-woo quickly turned around. And there,
"Oh my god."
He gasped. Jung Bin was standing still, his face pressed against the top of the door fra. A crack had ford in the thick wood, as if it was broken.
Only the lower part of his usually calm face was visible, and his lips were tightly pursed, which was unusual. The ceiling of the house was low, and Jung Bin was too tall, resulting in this unfortunate incident.
Bae Won-woo stamred,
"W-what... what happened, Captain?"
"..."
"Wait... did you interrogate the kid or sothing?"
"I didn't do anything like that. I just..."
Jung Bin sighed and rested his forehead against the door fra again.
"No... no, it must be my lack of ability..."
"What?"
It was so rare to see the normally composed captain so out of sorts that Bae Won-woo didn't know how to react. He stood there awkwardly, waiting for instructions. After taking a deep breath, Jung Bin suddenly looked up.
"...Hunter Bae Won-woo, do you have any siblings?"
"What? Well, I have a younger brother."
It was a reassuring answer. Soone with siblings would likely be more adept at handling a temperantal kid. Jung Bin pointed towards the forest where the boy had disappeared.
"Can you go after the target? Don't force him back, just ensure his safety and stay with him."
"Yeah, I can do that, but..."
"Then... I'll leave it to you. I have sothing to look into."
Jung Bin whispered gloomily before stumbling back into the room. The door clicked shut. Left with this unexpected responsibility, Bae Won-woo had no choice but to head towards the mountain.
In the misty light of dawn, Bae Won-woo, holding a pair of green rubber slippers, walked through the tall grass, surveying the area.
The mountain was remote, with no clear hiking trails or even paths made by people. There should be so traces left behind. However, Bae Won-woo wasn't skilled in tracking or delicate tasks, and he worried that taking too long might lead to danger.
"No choice..."
Sotis, you just have to do what you're told. He cupped his hands around his mouth and took a deep breath. Then he shouted loudly.
"Hey! Where are you!!"
You... you... you... The shout echoed through the densely packed trees, causing a few startled birds to flap their wings and take flight. There was no response. Bae Won-woo shouted again.
"Hey! The mountain is dangerous! Even if you've awakened!"
As the echo faded, he took another deep breath to shout again. But before he could, a voice filled with annoyance ca from behind him.
"Stop it. You're too loud."
Bae Won-woo quickly turned to where the voice had co from. The boy was sitting on a thick tree branch. How he had climbed up there was a mystery. Bae Won-woo scratched his head.
"Whew, I'm glad you're safe."
"..."
"Why did you run out without your shoes on?"
The boy turned his head away, clearly not wanting to listen. Regardless, Bae Won-woo kept talking.
"We're not bad people. We're hunters from the Awakened Managent Bureau. We're here to help you."
"..."
The boy, seemingly uninterested, just swung his legs back and forth. Despite wandering through the forest, his pale feet were still clean. The captain, Jung Bin, had told him to stay with the boy, but...
'Anyway, we need to bring him back to base.'
He understood what that really ant. Jung Bin had wanted him to coax the boy back.
How could he persuade the boy to co back? As Bae Won-woo pondered, he suddenly looked up. He had heard the boy's first words in the ruins. J.
'Even though J is dead... well, nobody dislikes hunters these days.'
"You've only just awakened, right? You're probably still clumsy with your powers and don't know much about the system window. The captain and I can help you with that."
"..."
"And you seem pretty strong. You could even beco a hunter like or the captain."
"...A hunter?"
"Yes, a hunter."
The boy stared down at Bae Won-woo. Good, it seed like he had taken the bait.
After a mont of silence, the boy slowly spoke.
"If I beco a hunter."
"Yeah?"
"I can enter rifts, right?"
"Rifts? Oh, yeah, you can. You can fight monsters, enter rifts, and dungeons too."
"Then, if I enter a rift..."
The boy took a deep breath and tilted his head.
"Can I find the people who went in before?"
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