The day I was dragged into another world was the day the world changed.
Things called Gates, the kind you'd see in hunter novels, started opening up.
And apparently, chosen humans tasked with protecting the world from them appeared – Awakened individuals with supernatural powers.
And in that world, I...
might just be an Awakened with powers that rank among the strongest.
However, having gone through all sorts of things in the other world, I didn't want my abilities known, so I tended to hide them as much as possible.
I just wanted to live quietly now.
So, from the moment I returned to the modern world, I lived as quietly as possible, trying not to cause trouble, but I always wondered.
Why wouldn't the world just leave me alone?
Of course, I couldn't find an answer.
Anyway, now, five years after returning to the modern world as a woman, I'd been kicked out of the house and was currently being forced to walk towards a dungeon to smash it.
*
"Haaah, seriously, really."
Jinwook's head was throbbing.
If asked who was responsible, he could answer confidently.
His head hurt because of the woman he'd just kicked out of the house, and lately, he couldn't stop sighing.
Just earlier, seeing her try to shove her hand through the door in the brief moment it was open, whining about not wanting to go out, made his head ache automatically.
[ Next up is the news. It has been three months since the number of Gates stopped increasing or decreasing, and concerns are being raised across various sectors as the number of new Awakenings has also dropped sharply recently. In response, the government has announced measures such as requesting Hunter activity from Awakened individuals who are currently enjoying daily life without registering as Hunters..... ]
He blankly flipped through channels before turning off the TV when the news report came on.
Hunters were dying in dungeons just the same, but fewer new Awakenings meant the total number of Hunters was decreasing.
But who didn't know that?
"Ah, here we go again."
Jinwook, sitting in a chair rubbing his forehead, grumbled in annoyance as his phone vibrated with an incoming call.
Yoo Hayoung.
The name belonged to the handler for our household freeloader, who'd naively gotten hooked by the Association's smooth talk and registered as a hunter, and also the name of a poor soul who might go bald because of her NEET antics.
Of course, thanks to her calling him every time our freeloader ignored a dispatch request, just seeing those three syllables of her name was enough to irritate him now.
"Hello."
[ Uh, um, Jinwook.... Is Hunter Hwang Eunha perhaps at home...? ]
"I just kicked her out, so take note of that. Hanging up now."
He coolly ignored Yoo Hayoung's desperate voice calling his name from the other end and pressed the end call button.
The one named Hwang Eunha.
Even if she was a freeloader, maybe kicking her out was a bit too harsh, especially since she was a woman now.
'Ah, whatever. That girl needed to be kicked out at least once. And what's gonna happen anyway?'
But he quickly shook his head.
Woman, my ass.
Every time he saw that kid, who used to be a guy, acting all high and mighty now that she was a woman, irritation welled up inside him.
People who didn't know the truth might pay attention to her acting like that, but...
'Agh, did I really mess up kicking her out?'
Anyway, after mulling things over, Jinwook ran a hand through his hair and quickly threw on some clothes to go out.
He'd kicked her out because he couldn't stand seeing her lounging around the house like that after he got back from school.
But now that she was out, he was worried she might have run off somewhere strange, so he couldn't just sit still at home.
*
"Jerk."
I sighed, cradling the finger I'd pinched in the door gap earlier.
Seriously, no matter how I acted at home.
How could he kick me out like that when, at least on the outside, I look like a woman now?
If some bad guys jumped me out here and something happened, would *he* take responsibility?
"Ah, right."
Muttering such nonsense, I remembered my phone was in my padded jacket pocket and quickly turned it on.
He told me to either check in for school attendance or clear a dungeon.
I didn't have the guts to go to school dressed like this, just a long padded jacket over sweats.
So I figured I'd just clear an easy dungeon somewhere and head back.
'What? Only 10 percent battery left?'
But seeing the low battery.
I quickly opened the Hunter app, picked the nearest random dungeon, and hit the request to join the clear party.
Normally, blindly joining any party without checking the conditions is something to avoid.
But I couldn't help it; if the phone died while I was fussing over conditions, I really wouldn't be able to get back home.
"Huh?"
And was that choice the right one?
As if mocking the 10% battery reading, the phone instantly flickered and died.
Must've been a battery display error or something...
"Sigh."
I let out a small sigh and started walking towards where the map had shown the dungeon.
Hold on.
Did I remember to bring my Hunter ID?
Hmm, can't enter a dungeon without a Hunter ID, can I?
'Agh, seriously. How could I forget to ask for my wallet...'
Realizing my wallet wasn't in my pocket, and annoyed by the rapid succession of frustrating events.
I ruffled my hair nervously and cursed, "Ah, damn it."
But going back home seemed impossible; Jinwook really wouldn't open the door...
'If worse comes to worst, I guess I can just call Yoo Hayoung.'
Sighing again, I started walking towards the dungeon location anyway.
If I don't have my Hunter ID, I'll just show them my powers instead. No one can complain then, right?
"Halt. This is a dungeon emergence zone; only Hunters are permitted entry....."
"S-rank Hunter Hwang Eunha."
And just as I expected, a soldier cooperating with the Hunter Association to guard the dungeon zone blocked my path.
But I lifted two trucks parked behind the soldiers without touching them, giving them a look that said, 'Still think I can't go in?'
"H-Hunter Hwang Eunha. Still, without a Hunter ID....."
"Hey, if that thing turns into a dungeon break while you're holding me up, are you going to take responsibility?"
"Th-That....."
"Shut up and move. Or I'll flip these trucks and slam them into the ground."
I just want to go home quickly.
Seeing the soldiers blocking my path, I made a slight threat while performing the feat of flipping trucks in mid-air.
The two soldiers couldn't help but make way for me, albeit reluctantly.
"Thanks for moving."
I gently set the trucks down so they wouldn't break, offered my thanks.
And walked towards the party members – whose ranks I didn't even know – who were staring this way with blank expressions.
"Hello, party members. I'm Hwang Eunha, S-rank Hunter."
*
The party members couldn't close their mouths, watching the bizarre feats performed by the black-haired woman who had just shown up wearing only a long padded jacket.
Wasn't she tearing up the cave floor, reshaping it at will, and then launching it like ammunition to obliterate everything ahead?
Effortlessly swatting aside the swarming insect-type monsters – usually quite tricky opponents – with her power.
Then throwing stone fragments like buckshot, turning the insects into meat paste?
"Party Leader. What can low-ranked people like us possibly do?"
"We're useless here, might as well grab some popcorn."
All they knew about psychokinetics was that they were offensive magic-type Hunters who used surrounding objects as weapons for aggressive support.
Even then, psychokinesis was rare; it was said that lifting a 1-ton truck would earn a B-rank. The applications were endless, but psychokinetics were few in number, and their upper limits weren't considered that high.
But what was this scene before them?
That woman, Hwang Eunha, had definitely introduced herself as a psychokinetic.
Did that mean everything they were seeing now was her demolishing the dungeon itself with psychokinesis?
"But, does really no one know her? She said she's S-rank."
"No way, is she lying?"
"I don't know. There's no way the country would just leave someone that strong unknown, right?"
"W-well, that's true."
The way Hwang Eunha wrecked the dungeon was so thorough, it was more fitting to say a martial combat Hunter had smashed through everything in their path.
The scars left throughout the cave and the corpses of the monsters were utterly pulverized.
As if she were venting her stress on the monsters.
The party members were soon overwhelmed by the sheer destructive power she displayed, far beyond anything they had seen in their own hunting activities.
"Excuse me?"
As they were blankly discussing amongst themselves whether psychokinetics were always this strong, how much power it would take to wreck a dungeon like this, etc.
They flinched momentarily upon hearing the voice of the very person who had destroyed everything before them.
They thought she'd only speak after demolishing the entire dungeon, as if possessed.
"Party Leader?"
"Ah, yes, yes!"
"You can keep the mana stones, just split the dungeon clear reward and make sure my share gets distributed to me. Got it?"
Anyway, they couldn't ignore the words of someone who had given them such an effortless carry.
The party leader looked up and only then realized they had reached the boss room.
He and the party members trailing behind Hwang Eunha wore expressions of utter exhaustion at her call.
"Yes, yes. We'll do that."
"And this guy will die if you stab it a couple of times, and even if you don't, it'll die on its own soon anyway, so recovery... well, just do it quickly or however you see fit."
"Huh? You're not finishing it?"
"Uh, I have somewhere urgent to be. Well then, I'll leave it to you."
Given that the monsters rushing out earlier were insect-types, they had expected the dungeon boss to be formidable.
But the boss they thought would be difficult was beaten to a pulp, already half-dead, needing only a few stabs to finish it off.
*
Yoo Hayoung was on edge.
She, who normally never budged even when requested for dispatch, had for some reason put in a dungeon clear request.
The issue wasn't anything else, but the news that she, who hated moving so much, had actually gone herself.
She already lived far from the field sites.
What if something happened to her inside the dungeon?
No matter how coolly she ignored the Association's requests, no matter how delinquent a hunter she was, registered but doing no activities.
Her power alone was immense; as one of the nation's few S-rank Hunters, they couldn't afford to lose her so pointlessly.
"H-Hunter-nim?"
"What."
"Are, are you okay?"
"Of course, I'm okay. Why, worried something might have happened?"
Of course, that worry turned into a blank expression when she saw me emerge without a speck of dust on me.
I tilted my head, seeing Yoo Hayoung looking at me with a strange expression.
"N-No, it's not that, but just in case."
"What's this, worrying about me? That's unlike you. Not that it's bad."
Saying so, I gave a slight smile and walked past her.
My phone was dead so I couldn't check, but having smashed a whole dungeon, they wouldn't be able to nag me for a while...
"Huh? Jinwook?"
Speak of the devil.
In the distance, I saw Jinwook walking towards me, panting, "Huff huff, damn, she's fast..."
"Hey, clearing the dungeon was just an option! I sent you out to go to school, and you immediately come to smash a dungeon?"
"Le-Let go o' me... (Le-Let go...)"
"I told you not to do dangerous things unless necessary, didn't I? Huh? Why are you so disobedient?"
While Jinwook pulled my cheeks.
The party members who emerged behind us, dragging bundles of mana stones with dazed expressions, handed them over to the Association handler, saying, "H-Here you go..."
What on earth had happened in there?
After complaining for a moment, Jinwook let go of my cheeks and turned around.
"Let's go."
"Huh? Where?"
"Where do you think? Aren't you going to check in for attendance? You'll really get an academic warning."
"That university didn't accept me for my grades anyway. They only took me through special admission to use me for publicity."
"Still, since you got in, wouldn't it be good to attend diligently?"
I lightly grabbed the edge of Jinwook's sleeve with my fingertips and shook my head.
This guy, he clearly doesn't even care what state I'm in right now.
"Why."
"Let me just change my clothes..."
"If you go home, you'll just say it's too much bother and refuse to come out again, won't you?"
"No, I'll definitely come out."
"Yeah, like I haven't fallen for that once or twice before?"
But Jinwook seemed to have absolutely no intention of letting me go home.
I sighed and considered using psychokinesis to force my way home.
But still, using my powers on a friend just because he wouldn't do what I wanted didn't feel right, so I gave up the idea.
"Hey, didn't you at least wash up?"
"Bullshit. You're the one who dragged me outside and kicked me out, and now you're spouting nonsense?"
"Ugh, gross."
"I'll seriously kill you. Wanna get hit by an S-rank Hunter?"
Somehow, we headed home anyway, but for some reason, Jinwook insisted.
I just wash up at home and throw on some casual clothes before coming out, so I had no choice but to put on jeans and a hoodie.
Even though my closet still had several outfits bought for me that I hadn't worn yet due to my laziness.
"Hey, is this the right way to school?"
"Why."
"Just feels like the direction we're heading is weird."
But Jinwook just shrugged at my question.
Without getting an answer, I was led by my friend's hand to a place.
A place I normally would have found incredibly annoying and questioned why we'd even come – the shopping street near the school.
And not just any street, but one filled with clothing stores I'd never visit.
* * *