Kim Seo-jun spent his first day in this new world doing absolutely nothing.
Up until now, he had always spent each day worrying about his family and comrades, focusing only on his training, but just for this day, things were different.
He slept in until nine in the morning and, even after waking, didn’t get out of bed.
With his mind emptied of thoughts, he just rolled around on top of the covers.
He didn’t spare a single thought for cultivation.
He wasted the entire day, lazing about as if there were no one in the world lazier than him.
When he got sleepy, he dozed off; when he woke up, he’d just stare blankly out the window.
Time passed, and when midnight arrived, he finally shook off his laziness, sat up cross-legged on the bed.
‘Ugh. Who knew doing nothing could be this hard?’
It was an even harder day than sweating buckets while dedicating himself to training.
Kim Seo-jun had spent the day like this to clear away the jumble of thoughts in his mind and breathe new life into his tired body.
Yet somehow, he felt even stiffer than usual.
‘As expected, resting just isn’t in my nature.’
For Kim Seo-jun, who’d pushed his body relentlessly for over twenty years in his previous world, laziness and idleness were actually harder to adjust to.
As the clock struck twelve, Kim Seo-jun returned to his usual routine, practicing the Solar Yang Art and regulating his internal energy until late into the night.
Perhaps it was because he had given his body a long rest?
As he began circulating his qi, a sensation more refreshing than ever before swept through his whole body.
Giving himself over to that feeling, Kim Seo-jun savored the rising euphoria throughout the night.
The next morning.
Though he’d slept only two hours, Kim Seo-jun felt refreshed. After telling his parents he was going to the academy’s training program, he left home with a light step.
His parents seemed completely unaware that Kim Seo-jun had become a Yeager cadet and was participating in special training.
Feeling relieved, Kim Seo-jun took the subway and headed to his destination.
9:42 a.m.
Just as he arrived at Gapyeong Terminal, a message came in on his special phone.
[Notice]
1) Cadet No.10, Kim Seo-jun’s final destination is the ‘Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area.’
2) You may use any means of transport to reach the destination except for private vehicles.
3) No matter what, arrive by the designated time (12:10 p.m.).
4) Use only the minimum necessary expenses.
After briefly checking the message, Kim Seo-jun looked up the bus schedule inside the terminal.
On the large posted timetable, there was a dedicated bus route going directly to his destination, the Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area.
‘It’s almost as if they want me to take this bus.’
There were many recreation areas nearby, but only Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area had a direct bus route. It all seemed rather unnatural.
‘The surveillance has probably already started, hasn’t it?’
Just in case, he glanced around, but didn’t notice any suspicious gazes.
But Kim Seo-jun knew.
That middle-aged man sitting up ahead reading a newspaper, the young lady selling tickets at the booth, even the curly-haired woman making dalgona in the shabby corner store—they could all very well be Yeager agents.
Kim Seo-jun adjusted the straps on his backpack, which held some clothes and personal items, and purchased a ticket for the bus to Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area.
The bus was scheduled to depart at exactly 10:05.
While sitting in the waiting room, Kim Seo-jun noticed on a digital display that the bus was already preparing for departure before 10:05, so he immediately headed for the boarding gate.
Stepping outside, he saw an old-fashioned bus parked, radiating an air of nostalgia.
He handed his ticket to the driver standing at the front door and boarded.
Finding seat 42 by the window, as indicated on his ticket, he slumped into it.
The bus departed right on the dot at 10:05.
There were 14 passengers in total, including Kim Seo-jun.
Feigning tiredness, Kim Seo-jun rubbed his eyes and activated his inner sight.
As a wave of magical energy spread out from him, the information of everyone on the bus became clear to his senses.
‘Ha. Just as I thought.’
All 14 people, including the driver, were Hunters possessing magical power.
Their magic levels ranged from 11 to 19.
Every person on the bus was at least E-rank—clearly agents moving under Yeager’s orders.
The one with the highest magical power was the driver, a burly man appearing to be in his late 30s.
He behaved so naturally that he must’ve been driving buses for at least ten years.
“Attention, passengers. This is a direct bus to Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area, and we’ll be traveling nonstop for about 40 minutes. If you really have to go, just do it and deal with it. Have a pleasant trip.”
After his cheerful announcement on the mic, the driver turned on some lively trot music and even did a little shoulder dance as he drove.
The passengers, each scattered among the surplus of empty seats, stared out the window or pulled out rollable phones to watch movies—everyone focused on their own business.
Since Kim Seo-jun knew these were Yeager agents, he paid them no mind and gazed out the window.
About twenty minutes passed like that.
Screeeeech—
The bus came to a sudden stop, making most of the passengers lurch forward.
Thanks to the automatic seatbelts, no one was thrown or injured, but everyone started murmuring in surprise.
Kim Seo-jun, however, didn’t react at all and kept his gaze outside the window.
Bang! Bang!
Someone was pounding roughly on the bus door.
“Open up right now!”
At the automatic bus door up front stood four men, all armed with various weapons.
And about five meters ahead, a large SUV was parked across the road, blocking the way.
“What’s going on? Is there a Rift? Why are you blocking the road?”
The driver cracked his side window just a sliver and called out loudly for everyone to hear.
One of the men, who was leaning against the SUV and smoking, struck a pose and approached the driver’s side.
“Excuse me.”
What he showed the driver was a ‘Certified Hunter Badge,’ something only given to Hunter detectives of the National Police Agency.
On his phone screen, the words SWAT HUNTER appeared along with his photo.
The driver flinched at the sight.
“Ah, um… What brings SWAT Hunters here all of a sudden…?”
“We’ve received intel. The word is, there’s a vicious villain on the bus headed for Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area.”
“Huh? That can’t be right. All these people are regular passengers. We already checked everyone’s ID before boarding.”
“We understand. But please open the door. Our team just needs to do a quick ID check.”
“Sigh… What in the world is going on…”
With no choice, the driver opened the automatic door.
Bzzz—
As soon as the door slid open, two of the men hurried aboard, glancing tensely at each passenger and comparing their faces to photos on their phones.
Kim Seo-jun, seated in the very back.
Watching this unfold, he couldn’t help but smirk inwardly.
‘Does Yeager not teach acting? Their skills are decent, but their acting is so bad.’
From Kim Seo-jun’s perspective, every word and action by these people was all according to a script.
If you weren’t paying close attention, it might not be obvious, but to him, it was all clumsy and fake.
Either way, it was clear why they’d stopped the bus and were going through these clumsy motions.
*****
[Arrive by the designated time (12:10 p.m.) no matter what means necessary.]
*****
One of the notices that had popped up on the special phone from Detective Choi Kyung-moon.
‘If I don’t arrive on time, I’ll get points deducted, huh.’
In that case, there was no reason to play along with their charade.
Since the message explicitly said ‘by any means necessary,’ Kim Seo-jun was free to do what he needed to.
Kim Seo-jun slid himself down, lowering his body below the seat.
Then, from his spatial pouch, he pulled out a Cloaking Mask.
‘No reason to waste time with these guys.’
As soon as he put on the mask, his figure vanished into thin air.
There was no trace of Kim Seo-jun’s presence anywhere.
After confirming that the mask’s cloaking feature was working properly, he quietly rose from his seat.
As silently as possible.
So that no one could detect his movements.
As expected, none of the men who boarded the bus noticed Kim Seo-jun’s actions.
On the other hand, Kim Seo-jun, using his inner sight, could read not just the magic levels of the SWAT Hunters on the bus, but also those of the Hunters outside.
*****
[114/Elite]
[108/Normal]
[126/Normal]
[115/Elite]
[133/Normal]
*****
Not a single SWAT Hunter had magical power under 100.
At least B-rank by Hunter standards.
Their magical power was high enough to deserve the title of Korea’s strongest special force.
They were on a whole different level from the E-rank Hunters on the bus.
‘Good, none of them have a magic stone in their heart.’
Kim Seo-jun was only human, after all; whenever he encountered someone with a magic stone embedded in their body, he couldn’t help but be on edge.
He quietly moved to another empty seat.
Just then, one of the men glanced toward the back and frowned deeply.
“Hey, wasn’t there another person sitting over there?”
His slightly raised voice drew everyone’s attention.
All the faces were startled.
There definitely had been a young student sitting in the very back, but now there was only an empty seat.
“What the…? Where’d he go?”
“He was there, right? I’m not imagining things, am I?”
The two SWAT Hunters exchanged baffled looks.
Just then, the man who’d introduced himself at the window beside the driver walked along the side of the bus and knocked on the window.
“What are you guys doing in there? Finished with the ID checks yet?”
At his words, one of the Hunter detectives opened a window.
“Team Leader. Something’s off. There was definitely a young guy on the bus, but now he’s nowhere to be seen.”
“What? Are you kidding me? In broad daylight, with all of us wide awake, how could someone just vanish without a trace? If he’s a villain, be careful and check again!”
Despite the situation, the team leader kept his cool and assessed the situation calmly.
Following his orders, the two men searched the bus thoroughly.
Even for seats that appeared empty, they swept the air with their hands and feet to check if someone was using some sort of concealment skill.
But there was nothing.
Even if someone used a concealment technique, they couldn’t erase their existence entirely, so they should’ve felt something.
Soon, more Hunter detectives climbed aboard, herding all the passengers to one side and scanning every inch of the bus.
Even then, there was no sign of Kim Seo-jun.
That was only natural—he was now perched right next to the dashboard at the front of the bus, making it impossible for anyone to find him.
As time went on, even the passengers began to look for Kim Seo-jun.
Now, as if they had given up on hiding it, the Hunters divided up roles and checked every seat and space without missing a spot.
This went on for about ten minutes.
Eventually, unable to find Kim Seo-jun, everyone gave up.
“Man… Seriously. How does someone just vanish completely in front of so many Hunters? Not a single person saw where he went?”
The person who muttered bitterly was a man in his forties who’d appeared last.
He was someone who’d been fishing in a small stream beside the road. His body was chubby and his impression was that of a friendly neighbor—no one would have suspected him of being a Hunter.
But on Kim Seo-jun’s inner sight, the number 131—a high magical power—was floating above his head.
‘They say you have to be wary of those who look the most harmless. Guess it’s true.’
Watching the seemingly naïve fisherman, Kim Seo-jun clicked his tongue inwardly. Then, a thought occurred to him and he checked the time.
*****
[11:24]
—–
There were still nearly fifty minutes left until 12:10.
‘I’ll be able to use the Cloaking Mask comfortably until I reach the destination.’
Since the mask consumed 2 magic power per minute, Kim Seo-jun, with his reserves, could use it for over an hour.
The time left to Seokryongsan Valley Recreation Area was about thirty minutes.
As soon as the bus started moving again, there would be no problem.
‘Come on, just give up and let’s get going.’
Sitting next to the dashboard, Kim Seo-jun quietly observed the unfolding situation.