Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“…Where am I?”

These were the first words I uttered as I opened my eyes, unable to ignore the persistent noise coming from outside my house. 

The scene that I had casually dismissed as a mistake in my drowsiness was now unfolding before my eyes.

The place was filled with tropical grasses rarely seen in South Korea, and dragon-shaped monsters flew in the sky. 

A violet slime clung to my window.

The slime, with its large and sparkling eyes, stared at me intently, making strange noises before falling off the window.

‘…It looks like inside the gate.’

How could I forget the scenery I saw every time I woke up and went out to work? 

Yet, accepting this situation as reality was difficult.

“Well, it can’t be true… Let me try opening the door. I still feel a bit groggy, either from alcohol or lack of sleep…”

I, trying to maintain composure, went out into the living room in my pajamas. 

Through the living room glass, the yard came into view. And I almost collapsed right there.

I never imagined seeing a horned beast-like monster writhing in my yard.

To my knowledge, the level of that monster was at least A-level or higher. If the monster outside the house decided to hit the window with its big feet, the window would shatter like glass.

‘Oh, no. This is bad.’

Instinctively realizing that my life had taken a turn for the worse, I hastily opened the system window, keeping my presence hidden.

Countless system windows that had piled up overnight unfolded before my eyes.

‘Why are there so many… Let’s examine them one by one.’

Only then could I find out where my house had ended up. 

No, more precisely, I needed to face reality. 

I checked each one with my hands.

[Danger! Danger! An unidentified level gate is forming!!] 

[Danger! Danger! A gate of immeasurable level has been created! 

Location: Below Seo Yeon-oh’s private residence. Please avoid quickly!]

[An abnormal reaction is occurring in the gate!]

[The gate is absorbing Seo Yeon-oh’s private residence!!]

The system window enthusiastically informed me that an urgent situation was unfolding. 

I had just fallen asleep without checking due to being intoxicated with soju. 

‘Haha… No wonder I felt extremely lucky with my subject.’

Having such a good house at a cheap price…

But wait a moment. Did the owner who sold me this house know that such a thing would happen? 

If so, it was truly chilling. 

“…Did they intentionally scam me?”

Real estate agents are shady characters, after all. 

Now that I think about it, there were many strange things. 

‘Why did my complexion look so unhealthy…’

For now, I decided to put these thoughts aside and focus on the situation in front of me. If I let my guard down now, I might die.

Firstly, my current situation inside the gate-enclosed house was more urgent! 

I took a deep breath and checked the remaining system windows.

[Error! Error! Error! Error!

An unknown error has occurred! The system is undergoing reevaluation. 

Required time: Approximately two hours.]

[Reevaluation complete.

Seo Yeon-oh’s system has been restored. The system is returning to normal!]

[You have achieved an impossible achievement! Rewards will be given.

Seo Yeon-oh has had the peculiar experience of having her house absorbed by the gate! Of course, you were deeply asleep and missed all of this! It’s a shame you couldn’t witness this amazing experience!

Reward: Obtained Hidden Title and Hidden Skill]

“What, what is this!”

Was the system always this talkative? 

Normally, systems are characterized by brief descriptions and unfriendly explanations, but now it was blaming me.

There was something wrong during the reevaluation. However, that wasn’t the most important thing right now. 

Whether it’s the system or me, what’s important now is…

“They’re giving me Hidden Titles and Hidden Skills…?” 

Those things that are supposed to be extremely difficult to obtain?

Well, I appreciate the rewards, but… it didn’t feel so sweet to receive compensation after my house was completely swallowed by the gate. Especially since the whole situation was close to being impossible.

I wished they could just return the house to its original state instead of giving me rewards. 

How much better would it be if, as a reward, they just returned everything outside the gate?

“Haah….”

I let out a long sigh. 

While for others, obtaining Hidden Titles and Hidden Skills might be something to proudly show off in the neighborhood, for me, it was an unwelcome gift.

“Haha, I still can’t believe it….”

Wow, is this for real? 

Waking up inside a gate, and the system gives me Hidden Skills and Hidden Titles as rewards? 

Did all of this happen overnight?

I checked outside again, shook my head vigorously, and pressed down on the reward menu with the determination of a general leaping into enemy territory.

“…But I should still check it.”

Perhaps this disappointment could be filled by the rewards.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Hidden Title!

Hidden Title: Owner of the Safe House Inside the Gate (SSS), Shabby Homeowner (S), Guardian of XXX (Immeasurable level)

Hidden Skill: Safe House Inside the Gate (SSS) (Passive)

You can check the title through the status window.]

I opened my eyes wide enough to pop them out. 

My whole body was trembling. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“…Not just one, but three?” 

And the level is SSS…?

This was a reward not commonly given. 

Other hunters would undoubtedly be thrilled to receive such rewards.

Normally, Hidden Skills and Hidden Titles were highly coveted because merely possessing them bestowed formidable abilities. 

However, I couldn’t be entirely happy about it.

These kinds of abilities were supposed to bring honor and prosperity when possessed by S-level hunters or healers. But for someone like me, an FFF-level, having an SSS-level Hidden Title was the beginning of misfortune.

If it became known that someone almost like an ordinary person, an FFF-level, possessed an SSS-level Hidden Title, the likelihood of getting involved in all sorts of troubles was high.

‘I’m even a government-affiliated hunter.’

The government could use me.

Why wouldn’t hunters from S to C levels willingly join the government? The reason was simple.

The government-controlled hunters while taking their sacrifices for granted.

No matter how high the level, hunters had to follow the control of government-affiliated politicians rather than acting independently. It had been one of the most significant sources of dissatisfaction among hunters to date.

‘Politicians who have never entered a gate sitting at their desks, dictating orders, inefficient and using us politically whenever they can.’

They even resorted to retaliation if their demands were not met.

There had been instances where a hunter was banned from entering gates simply because they didn’t comply with a politician’s demands.

Furthermore, government-affiliated hunters were often overworked day and night due to the government deeming gate-related materials essential for the country.

Some hunters even died from exhaustion rather than monster attacks during these times. 

The government was a double-edged sword. 

As hunters, we could secure a stable income and pension, but at the same time, we were strictly controlled.

So.

‘I need to keep this fact hidden. And before I become a pawn, I should resign.’

No one knew how long I had to keep the Hidden Title a secret.

Even mentioning the absurd incident of my house falling into the gate could lead to immediate suspicion.

Before any problems arose or before the revelation of my Hidden Title and Hidden Skill, I had to leave the government affiliation.

And.

‘I need to join a guild that can protect me.’

That was the only way I could survive. 

As long as my house remained inside the gate, joining a guild was a necessity.

The problem was.

“The issue is whether there’s a guild that will accept me.”

It would be ideal to hide the fact of obtaining the Hidden Title when joining a guild, but if I concealed this fact, there was no chance a guild would accept someone merely of FFF level.

Still, a guild was better than the government. While the government would protect only my life, a guild would thoroughly safeguard my abilities as well.

“Ah, my head hurts.”

Let’s check the Title and Skill first. 

I opened the status window. The usually empty status window was now filled with text.

[Status Window 

Name: Seo Yeon-oh 

Age: 26 

Level: FFF

Title: Owner of the Safe House Inside the Gate (SSS), Shabby Homeowner (S), Mana Detector (F), Guardian of XXX (Immeasurable level)

Skills: Safe House Inside the Gate (SSS) (Passive), What’s Yours is Mine! What’s Mine is Yours! (A) (Passive), Mana Bullet (D), Mana Detection (F), Swift Feet (F)

Stats

Mana: 23 (+10)

Health: 30 (+10)

Strength: 10 (+10)

Agility: 15 (+10)

?Currently receiving the Title ‘Guardian of XXX,’ raising basic stats by 10 each.

?The Title ‘Owner of the Safe House Inside the Gate’ restores abnormal conditions. Also, it increases basic stats by 50%.]

“…This is insane.”

Having checked the status window, I hadn’t opened the detailed information about the title yet, but my jaw was already dropping. 

If the stats increased by 10 each and the additional bonus applied, I could at least aim for the early stages of F level, if not higher.

Moreover, there was a 50% increase in stats. Although it wasn’t reflected in the stat window, it was a boost.

“If an S-level obtained this title, they could have become the strongest.”

I stared blankly at the status window. 

At this point, checking the title became frightening. Although my level remained the same, the other stats had become world-level. 

Instead of joy for the newfound abilities, fear took precedence.

When I was frozen in fear, 

Quaaaang!!

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed right in front of the door… 

Quaaaang!

Once again, with another loud noise, the front door of the house was destroyed. It was a front door made of steel.

Reflexively, I crouched down and tightly closed my eyes. As the loud noise subsided and the surroundings became quiet, I opened my eyes to assess the situation.

Amidst the pitiful fragments of the shattered door and the smoke that entered the house…

There was a well-dressed man who seemed to be the culprit, lying unconscious.

“…What in the world is happening…”

No, can’t you leave me alone…?