The following web novel series is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 1

Prologue

“Thank you. Come back soon!” a worker called cheerfully as the automatic door slid open.

A boy in a gray hoodie exited and walked toward the bus stop. He carried a bag patterned with strawberries and full of groceries.

He encountered an unfamiliar scene on his familiar route. A figure in a yellow construction hat wearing a neon green safety vest over his suit blocked the intersection, waving a flashing red security baton.

“A gate has appeared in the intersection, and traffic is being restricted,” he said. “We appreciate your cooperation.”

A glowing blue portal undulated behind him, and there were monsters crawling out of it. Hunters engaged them in a desperate fight.

“Aaah!”

“Ergh! Still?”

“Just a bit longer...!”

A lizard the size of a car let out a fierce snarl and brandished its thorny tail. The hunters managed to block its attack with their shields, which only seemed to enrage the lizard. It raised its tail as if it was going to topple the entire troop.

There was a thump, then another. One hunter barely managed to block the lizard’s endless attacks with his shield.

“F*ck!” he swore. “I’ll kill you! Fireball!”

A bright red flame wrapped around the lizard. Another hunter took that opportunity to fire an arrow at its eye. The lizard screamed and began to sway.

“Kree!”

“Wow, I’m going to piss myself.”

“Please don’t stand near the barricade!”

“This would be perfect as a Utube short.”

“I know; I’m already on it.”

Spectators watched and took videos a short distance from the barricade. The boy was not among them. He rapidly walked away, the strawberry bag swinging against his thigh.

He entered an empty alleyway and was halted by a large form blocking his path. A strange purple toad was rummaging through a pile of garbage when it sensed his presence and turned toward the boy.

A long green tongue snaked out of its mouth, grabbed a plastic bottle, and threw it. It was clear that it had come out of the fissure.

“Those idiots,” the boy muttered in annoyance. “They can’t even do their job right.”

He put his hand in his grocery bag and pulled something out, a gesture not unlike pulling a sword from a scabbard. The object he retrieved was long and straight, with a firm bulb at the end.

He raised the fresh leek.

The toad gurgled as it moved toward the boy. The entire alleyway quaked with every step of its thick legs. The boy carefully set his grocery bag down and twirled the leek once, then fixed his grip.

He leaped from the lid of a trash can, flew up like a butterfly... and slammed the leek down on the toad’s head.

Thwack!

The resounding impact rang through the alley. The frog’s eyes rolled up as it cowered in fear. Its head now had the distinct imprint of a leek.

The boy let out a breath and wiped his hands together. All the movement caused his hood to slide off, revealing his apathetic face.

“Leeks are expensive... What a waste.”

Crouching in front of the toad, he stuffed the remainder of the leek into the toad’s mouth before taking out his phone to make a call. After a moment, someone picked up.

“E-excuse me... There’s a dead monster in this alleyway,” the boy said in a trembling voice. A hunter must have killed it and left it behind...”

He even sobbed a bit like he was scared stupid. In contrast, his hand movements were confident.

“This is... um... an alleyway around Dugero Mart... Oh, the monster? It looks like a toad, I think... I can’t look at it too closely because it’s so gross. Please do something. Yeah. No, you don’t need to contact me again. Oh, in five minutes? Thank you. No. Yes, thank you...”

The boy sniffled, then hung up the phone. He continued to sit there, pushing the toad’s lolling tongue back into its mouth with the end of a leek. Despite his words, he seemed to have no issue with facing the aforementioned gross toad.

There were five minutes until the hunter arrived.

An encounter would be a hassle.

The boy stood up and wiped off his footprints from the trash can lid. There were no external marks other than the leek-shaped imprint on the toad’s head—not enough evidence for anyone to pursue whoever had killed the monster.

Now, it was time for him to go. He took up his grocery back and jogged in place for a couple of steps. He reflected on his call.

Should I have sounded more scared while making the report? Well, it’s too late now.

The boy easily leaped over a wall that was much taller than him.

* * *

A few minutes after the boy had disappeared, a man and a woman wearing neon vests over their shirts appeared on the scene.

“Is this the alleyway?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The anxiety on their faces disappeared as soon as they caught sight of the dead toad.

The woman—Hyejin Yang, a class A hunter from the Department of Fissure Management—arrived first.

“Whoa, what in the world?” she exclaimed when she saw the toad.

“What is it? I... Whoa.”

The man, a rookie in the workforce, hid behind his superior and spoke in a whisper. “Wow... Is it possible to kill a swamp toad this cleanly, ma’am?”

“It’s not,” she said. “But you can tell that they got it in one shot. This toad can spray a potent acid that melts buildings and people alike. If you’re a moment too late, it causes all sorts of chaos.”

“That’s incredible,” the rookie exclaimed in admiration while straightening his yellow safety hat.

Hyejin’s sharp gaze flicked around the area. “Check for any remaining traces,” she said. “If they could do this, they’re not just some average person.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The rookie rummaged through the trash cans and the litter lying around. “Whoever did this... did such a nice job that the cleanup will be easy, ma’am.”

“I know,” Hyejin replied sardonically. “The monster’s in such good condition that it can be sent to the research team. Why did someone so skilled neglect to dispose of the corpse?”

She pulled on a pair of white gloves with a snap, then pried open the toad’s mouth.

Toad monsters were difficult to deal with; they swallowed anything their tongues touched and spat out a toxic acid. There were no nice toads. As such, the toad could have swallowed humans after escaping the gate and getting all the way here. Such possibilities had to be ruled out.

Hyejin took a flashlight from thin air and beamed it into the toad’s mouth. Fortunately, there were no human parts inside, only a half-melted plastic bottle. She sighed in relief.

“I don’t think it ate any humans.”

Meanwhile, the rookie scanned the alleyway with a radar device.

“Ma’am, they must’ve been a pro,” he called glumly. “There’s no trace of them at all.”

Hyejin dusted off her hands as she got up. She tilted her head to one side. “But they must have used an ability. There must be some trace of one. Be thorough.”

“I am, ma’am! The detector isn’t catching any marks at all, not even from an ability. There’s nothing.”

“What? Did they take down this giant with their bare hands?” Hyejin shook her head.

She had no way of knowing how close she had come to the truth.

“Ugh, it must have been another stealth talent,” she muttered. “I don’t know why so many hunters hide their talents. All these stupid comics and novels have ruined kids these days.”

She clicked off her flashlight and stood up. The rookie’s detector disappeared into thin air.

Hyejin stretched her tired body. “Anyway, we should be glad that a class-4 monster got out but didn’t harm anyone or destroy anything. Let’s take the toad and head back. You write today’s report.”

“Yes, ma’am. Who should I put down as the slayer?”

“We have no choice but to say they’re unidentified.”

“Yes, ma’am. But also...”

“Yeah. What?”

The rookie looked uneasy. “Do you smell leeks?”

“You’re... right.” Hyejin sniffed the air, then shrugged. “The toad must’ve eaten a leek someone threw on the ground. Whatever. Dinner after work?”

“Yes, ma’am. The usual place?”

“Yeah. The hangover soup place.”

* * *

Meanwhile, at the hangover soup restaurant, which appeared to be at least a few decades old...

“I’m opposed to this marriage!”

“Father! How could you?!”

“The truth is... you two are siblings!”

“Oh my...”

A rerun of Marriage Clinic: Love or War was playing on the old CRT television set. A figure was in the restaurant’s prime television-watching spot, his eyes fastened to the screen as they peeled garlic cloves.

“Abeom! Don’t speak like that to them! It’s not like you’ve done much better!”

“Madame, don’t stop me! My kids are marrying each other!”

“I was going to keep this a secret from you all my life, but now that it’s come to this, I have no choice. The truth is... you and I are also siblings!”

“The mother-in-law and son-in-law are siblings?!”

The garlic bulb dropped from the two busy hands. When he looked up, a balding lawyer was saying, “I will see you in four weeks,” declaring the court date.

His hands were still frozen in place. It was only after a few commercials went by that they began to move busily again. A decent pile of papery garlic skins had formed. He got up.

“Time to~ throw out the traaash~” he hummed in a pleasantly deep voice while searching for the trash can.

He was much taller than average but had no problem walking through the hallway even though he barely cleared the ceiling.

The boy tossed the peels into the trash and then glanced at the clock. There was still some time until the restaurant opened for dinner. He scowled when his eyes landed on something in one corner of the restaurant.

“Ugh, I should have used something else to hit it...”

The boy sighed, cleared the table where he had been peeling garlic, then went toward the front door. He took the break time sign off the sliding door and threw it into the corner.

The plastic sign read: Closed for preparations between 2 and 5 p.m.

Beneath it was an empty and wrinkled grocery bag with a strawberry pattern.