When a fire breaks out in a building, if it’s not quickly suppressed in the early stages, the flames gradually spread wider. Furniture in each room on every floor begins to catch fire one by one.
And especially when the fire spreads to a mountain or mine, firefighters have to stay even more alert and make full use of the pump.
Boom—!
Another explosion echoed from inside the building. The fire spread more fiercely, and inside, Byung-ho Lee, holding a child, glanced around cautiously.
In this situation, where the flames had expanded so greatly, it was extremely difficult to find a way out through the fire.
He put the gas mask on the crying child in his arms and sent another radio message. The exterior walls of the building were also engulfed in flames, making it impossible for the ladder truck to reach the windows with ease.
The child had to be saved somehow, but they were completely surrounded by the fire. The smoke was growing denser and suffocating.
Crack, bang—!
With the worst possible scenario unfolding, the ceiling collapsed, causing the fire to spread even further. Byung-ho bit down on his teeth and held his breath, keeping the gas mask tightly on the child.
“It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay.”
The child had to survive. Byung-ho struggled to calm the child down while working to extinguish the flames on the building’s outer wall with the ladder truck until his fellow firefighters could reach them through the window.
“No matter what, you’re going to live, so don’t worry.”
At that moment.
“Team Leader!”
A familiar voice rang out. It was Hosoo Baek’s voice—the same one who had been responding to calls alongside Byung-ho just six months ago.
Hosoo was steadily dousing the flames and approaching from behind, bringing a sense of relief mixed with brotherly concern.
Beside Hosoo were their old comrades, their determined faces visible.
They had come all this way, fighting the fire together.
Byung-ho first took the gas mask from the child and started breathing again. He had already inhaled too much smoke and felt like he might collapse.
Thud!
He collapsed after handing the child to Hosoo, who was supported by their comrades. They quickly moved to extinguish the fire and head toward the window. Just then, the ladder truck arrived at the perfect timing.
Boom—
The ceiling completely caved in.
“Is this how it ends?” Hosoo gritted his teeth. He, too, wanted to save the child at all costs. Like he had prayed that morning, he desperately wanted to save the little one.
He prayed once more with all his heart. Please, just one more chance.
Hosoo hoped the Hunter Firefighting Squad would arrive soon. In large fires, only the Hunter Squad was dispatched.
Usually, they sent healers or water-element hunters. Once they arrived, most fires were quickly suppressed with minimal casualties.
However, those were busy people and quite rare, so Hosoo desperately wished for the Hunter Firefighting Squad to come this time.
Though knowing it was unlikely, he hoped anyway—because people in danger do just that.
At that moment.
Crash!
Eric and Jinwoo burst through the front door. Using their stealth and teleportation skills, they had entered without anyone noticing.
Jinwoo sighed in relief as he used his Water Shield skill on the firefighters collapsing one after another.
(Voice 1): Water Shield’s really effective.
(Text Message from Jeongha): Proud of you, descendant!
(Rain and Sun God): Use my skill a little too!
(Farmer Fire’s Father): Jinwoo, are those fallen people going to be okay?
[Willban-class Constellation, Farmer Fire’s Father has provided Ice Binding Potion.]
Not long ago, when I was in Gangneung, I received the Ice Binding Potion from Farmer Fire’s Father.
And now, he gave it again. For the firefighters collapsing in the fire and the child trembling in fear.
[C Item, Ice Binding Potion]
— Description: A herb gathered with the help of nature spirits by Farmer Fire’s Father.
— Effect: Quickly cools down food. Also helps those with fevers by relieving chills and reducing heat.
“Thank you.”
I gave the Ice Binding Potion to everyone.
The faces of those inside the Water Shield relaxed considerably after taking it.
With Eric’s magic and my skills combined, putting out the fire became easier. And in the process, I also gained critical hits from my fire-element skills.
(Voice 1): Are you a sponge? I keep getting new insights.
(Rain and Sun God): Definitely. Definitely all genius.
(Farmer Fire’s Father): Didn’t you say you were a hunter with no talent? That sounds like a total lie now.
(Freed Swordsman): Everyone discovers their talents differently. Some are clumsy until one breakthrough, then suddenly become geniuses.
“Eric.”
I called out to Eric. At that moment, the fire that had flared up again completely vanished.
(Voice 1): Eric’s magic skills have really improved.
Living as a Spirit Hunter seems to have strengthened his abilities quite a bit.
Thanks to Eric, I could suppress the fire a bit more comfortably. Just then, the ladder truck arrived, and we quietly left the building using stealth skills.
After Jinwoo and Eric secretly resolved the situation and left, South Korea was once again in chaos.
[Taebaek Villa Fire, Who Extinguished the Flames So Quickly?]
[Newly Revealed Fact: The Fire Contained Mana]
[Who Suppressed the Fire Started by the Villain?]
[Two Mysterious Hunters Who Saved the Firefighters and Child Trapped in the Villa]
[The Two Hunters Who Secretly Put Out the Fire Were Not from the Hunter Firefighting Squad, Who Are They?]
The news spread rapidly.
Hosoo, Byung-ho, and the other firefighters, upon regaining consciousness, all said the same thing.
“When did we call the Hunter Firefighting Squad?”
It happened so suddenly that their memories were fuzzy, but seeing that they were alive, it was clear someone had come to save them.
In other words, those who saved them were definitely hunters.
“Didn’t we only call the Hunter Firefighting Squad? Team Leader, wasn’t it a radio message?”
It wasn’t the Hunter Firefighting Squad.
That was everyone’s first surprise.
And the second.
It was later confirmed that the fire at the villa was mixed with mana.
Meaning, the hunter had deliberately set the fire themselves. Using skills externally like that can be a crime in certain situations.
Setting a fire by skill use is definitely a crime.
Those who thought this was the work of the rising villain called Villain even speculated that the two mysterious hunters who saved people were the villain in disguise.
Because the news spread so quickly, within an hour of the fire being put out, such rumors began to circulate.
The Fire Department and Police Department began investigating the villa’s surroundings.
The investigation ended sooner than expected. It was revealed that a novice hunter who had recently graduated was nervous and accidentally used their skill.
Of course, there are still people who believe it was the villain’s doing, but at least the culprit was identified.
[Who Are the Mysterious Hunters?]
Reporters began searching for the hunters who had subdued the fire, but Jinwoo and Eric did not reveal their identities.
However, just because they remained hidden did not lessen the gratitude everyone felt.
The five surviving firefighters gathered to drink together.
They reminisced throughout the night about that day they barely survived. They cursed the rookie hunter who caused the fire by mistake, and expressed gratitude for the unknown hunters who saved them.
They even recalled the smile of the child who was saved, raising their glasses in prayer.
During the chatter, Hosoo explained why he became a firefighter.
“Ten years ago? No, now it’s been 15 years. I lived in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and there was an apartment fire back then. It was a pretty big incident, and many could have died… But the firefighters who saved me looked so cool. That’s when I decided to become a firefighter.”
“That’s right,” Byung-ho said with a bright smile.
That was Byung-ho’s story from when he worked in Chuncheon 15 years ago.
In other words, Byung-ho and Hosoo had a connection from long ago.
The two looked at each other with grateful expressions.
Meanwhile, on the night of the fire,
Jinwoo had dinner at a well-known Samgyetang restaurant in Taebaek before returning to the camping car.
(Last Night Snack): It was way better than I thought, thanks, Jinwoo.
Last night, Rolliman savored the Samgyetang Jinwoo had chosen after much thought and sent as a tribute. The medicinal herb-filled Samgyetang from Taebaek was quite a delicacy.
Afterward, Jinwoo returned to the camping car, excited at the thought of receiving a reward.
Having perfectly completed the hidden quest to save the fire victims, it was only natural to expect something.
[Hidden Quest Cleared]
(Voice 1): The reward was 227 bosam, right?
(Rain and Sun God): Yeah, that’s right.
(Voice 1): I’m really curious… What kind of reward will it be?
(Rain and Sun God): But it probably won’t be anything special.
(Text Message from Jeongha): Yeah, I think so too. It’s probably nothing amazing.
(Farmer Fire’s Father): Jinwoo always helps people anyway. You could say he just got lucky with the reward. Probably not something big.
(Voice 1): The system’s always like that.
(Last Swordsman): Still, I believe in the system.
(Endless Waiting): Believing in the system is the worst, but you do it anyway.
(Last Night Snack): Now that I think about it, Endless Waiting’s situation is just like mine.
(Waiting Without a Break): Yeah, we got screwed over by the system’s prank.
(Freed Swordsman): I was the boss monster at stage 58.
(Voice 1): But Evan, at least you got your revenge. Listening to all your voices, I waited for my reward.
[As a hidden quest reward, you have received a Mid-grade Spirit Stone!]
[812 Item, Mid-grade Spirit Stone]
— Description: An ore imbued with spirit affinity.
— Effect: When used by a spirit mage, grants a large amount of spirit affinity.
(Rain and Sun God): Better than I expected.
(Voice 1): Yeah, for Jinwoo, who uses magic, spirit arts, and sword skills, this is a very good item.
(Farmer Fire’s Father): Definitely. Spirit stones are rarer than item grades. Even if it’s grade 8+, they’re hard to find.
(Text Message from Jeongha): Descendant, having a fire-element spirit orb now, this kind of item is extremely valuable.
I nodded.
Indeed, I hadn’t heard much about spirit stones. Since they’re rare, I remembered reading once in a news article how they’re mostly used as brain boosters.
And the recent spirit orb I obtained.
I was hoping to absorb the fire attribute orb and hatch the fire spirit, but it’s taking longer than expected.
“If the spirit affinity increases, will the orb hatch the spirit faster?”
Since Eric had entered the pendant, I asked the constellations, and they all gave positive answers.
(Voice 1): When spirit affinity rises, many things improve. Naturally, spirit skill power increases, orb hatching accelerates, and magic interpretation gets better. Spirit arts are an academic field spanning various domains.
Without hesitation, I absorbed the power of the spirit stone.
Surge, strike, critical—!
Then, the spirit orb quietly held inside the camping car began to crack bit by bit.
It was the moment the fire spirit hatched.
Bell rings
— Little brother!
Beli and Baekgu cheered and gathered around.
— Bbieh!
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