Staring out the window as Lee Haneul drove them away from the slum and into the heart of the city, Sua couldn’t help but be slightly amazed by how large Seoul was.

Despite calling the city her home, there was no denying that Sua barely knew the first thing about what happened outside the edges of Guryong Village. Earth was never the subject of her bedtime stories in the Abyss, so she had no real base of reference for how things worked beyond the slum.

The streets were full of cars, but cruising in a far lane reserved for licensed hunters, they sped past all the other vehicles at a pace that made it look like everything else was sitting still.

“First time outside the village?” Haneul asked, sounding more curious than anything else.

Sua nodded, glancing over at the other woman briefly before her attention was caught by the video billboards: advertisements flickering in bright colors, showing off mouth-watering food, colorful fashion, and video games that made her wonder how to get her hands on one of the gaming consoles.

Her response was absent-minded as she tried to take everything in, “I’ve never been through the rest of the city before.”

“Did you have any internet or television access in your home?”

That got a soft laugh out of Sua, “No. I was more worried about trying to find something to eat.”

“It’s not every day I find a talented hunter completely cut off from the rest of society,” Haneul mused.

Sua could feel an assessing edge to Haneul’s stare even if she didn’t react to it. It wasn’t exactly something to be surprised by, the combat knowledge that filled Sua’s muscles wasn’t exactly a thing that could be self-taught, or that one stumbled into.

She settled for a slight shrug and a gamble: one based on how Changmin had spoken about the village, “It’s not like people do any scouting in the slums.”

“That’s true. Even the planned development got halted when gates started appearing. From what I understand, there’s been a good number of people moving to Guryong Village after getting displaced by other gate breaks.”

That explained the changes, to some degree: although the real focus of her confusion had nothing to do with the population of a slum. It was more about the 'monsters roaming the streets of Korea' problem.

“It’s definitely more crowded than it was when I was a child.”

“Well, between what the other hunters said and what I saw of you in combat, you’ll probably get offered contracts from a handful of guilds. That’ll give you more than enough money to move into a proper apartment. Although, I do hope you consider working with the Association.”

In realms where faction conflict was common, Sua had seen plenty of guilds fighting for power. Those guilds focused on recruiting powerful fighters to strengthen their ranks, and it seemed like the concept was being mirrored on Earth by the hunters.

As for the Association that kept being mentioned… Sua glanced at Haneul again, “The Association is with the government, right?”

“Exactly. I’m not going to pretend I’m not biased, but we do good work at the Association to keep civilians safe. Since the work isn’t as glorious, it’s become rare for a hunter B-rank or higher to sign a contract with us.”

The car began to slow down as they pulled up to a multi-building a complex, the sign over the entrance listing it as the Hunter’s Association.

A pair of guards waved the car forward after a glance at the seal stuck on the front window near the driver’s side, Haneul driving up the roundabout and pulling to a stop in front of a valet counter.

Haneul slipped out of the car, passing the keys to the waiting valet as she waved for Sua to follow her onto the complex's walkway. “From what I saw of your fighting, you have the potential to be at least a B-rank. We could use the help of someone like that.”

“I’m not familiar with the ranking system,” Sua commented, taking in the complex with curiosity.

It was a beautiful campus: a fountain trickling water in the center of the roundabout with a flourishing garden dotted around the fountain and smaller patches of garden rising in stone beds every few meters along the walkway. Trees stood tall between the three buildings, stretching back into a thick park behind them.

For the most part, everyone walking around them seemed to be members of the Association: some were in suits, others wearing lab coats, and a small handful in what could only be combat armor, unit markers wrapped around their arms in a band just like Haneul's.

Standing out from the Association members were a handful of reporters camped out by the building furthest to the left of the complex. A large entrance of glass doors was labeled ‘Evaluation Center’, the press all crowded next to it.

Situated just a few steps away from the entrance was a sizable digital monitor showing what looked like the scores for the day—a total of ten names already listed with a handful sectioned off in a queue. Sua’s eyes lingered on the top of the board, where the highest rank of the day was listed as 'D'.

Her guide noticed the direction of her stare with a small smile. “From what you’ve said about yourself, I’m not surprised you weren’t spending time hunter-watching. I’ll walk you through the ranks, it’s easy to pick up.”

Sua managed to curl up the corners of her mouth in the slightest smile for Haneul, ignoring how foreign the sensation felt on her face. “Could you just explain everything about being a hunter to me? I know some details, but I don’t want to miss anything important now that I'm going to be one.”

“Of course,” Haneul led the way into the building on the far right side of the complex, guiding Sua through the entrance with a nod to the guards who greet her. “If I say anything you already understand, just let me know and I’ll move on.”

Haneul began her explanation as they rode the elevator up several floors. “Hunter is the name for a human that’s awakened supernatural abilities and uses them to defeat the monsters that exist in gates. These abilities are the only things capable of doing so.”

“And what are the gates? Do they usually look like a tear in reality?”

"In some ways you could say that, yes. But gates look much more like an open archway than a break does."

Leading the way off the elevator, Haneul walked down a corridor that only had a handful of doors and just as many narrow hallways stretching back on each side. Turning down one such hallway, she unlocked a door with her name on the plate beside it.

Sua took it all in with mild curiosity, "Could you describe what you mean?"

“A normal gate is usually circular and wide enough for at least two people to stand side-by-side: its borders do mimic that torn look. However, they all tend to appear in areas of traffic, like a hallway or an actual street. If you’re not paying attention on a familiar route, you could walk right into one.”

That seemed... incredibly dangerous.

Sua frowned slightly as she stepped inside to Haneul’s generously-sized office, its view facing the front of the complex. “Does that happen often?”

“Not anymore,” Haneul laughed, waving Sua towards a comfortable chair before turning to fix a pot of tea. “The public is all aware of that danger for the most part. It seems we're not as thorough in getting that information to the slums. Although, the Association almost always finds gates before they cause problems."

"And these gates all take people to different worlds? Or is it the same place every time?"

"Gates are essentially portals into slices of other worlds, they can look differently depending on certain circumstances, but there are always monsters inside. If they stay open for too long without the boss monster being killed, a break can happen. Although, those are pretty rare in Korea these days.”

“I see.” As much as she wanted to ask when the hell such things became normal, Sua bit her tongue on any questions that would make it obvious she had less knowledge than the bare minimum. “So everyone who awakens abilities attacks the gates to keep them from breaking?”

“No, not quite.” Haneul brought the tea over, pouring them both a cup before sitting across from Sua. “About 38% of people awaken with E-rank powers, which is the lowest possible ranking. While it’s possible to increase your rank by one or two levels with hard work and even better equipment, E-ranks have to raid E-rank gates. The rewards in them are only a little better than working for minimum wage.”

“So why risk your life on it when you could go work somewhere safe?” Sua mused, taking a sip of the tea and blinking at the sweet taste. The last time she'd had tea it had tasted remarkably like dirt. “… this is good.”

“Thank you, this is from my special stash. I can send you home with a few bags as a bribe~” Haneul winked around a sip of her own cup.

Sua huffed a little laugh into her tea cup, "With the hunters, does everyone higher than E-rank usually raid gates, then?"

“No, not every hunter is suited for combatant. About 5% are classed as Creators, which includes alchemists who make potions and scrolls, blacksmiths and tailors who create mana-infused weapons and armors, and engineers who can fuse modern technology with the otherwordly supplies found in the gates. 10% of hunters are in the Supporter class, which includes people with skills related to gathering supplies or breaking down monster corpses: they may go into gates but usually at the rear where they’re protected and can focus on their positions.”

The mention of mana caught Sua’s attention, her eyes flicking up from her tea to consider Haneul, recalling the stories she heard from the shadows about an energy source not used on Earth. Its presence here would certainly explain most of the odd things that seemed to have become normal since she left.

“Is it rude of me to ask what rank you are, Lee-ssi?”

Haneul laughed softly, “No, it’s common practice to ask, and the rankings are all public record. I’m an A-rank hunter.”

Considering how proud Seoyeon and Changmin had been about potentially becoming B-rank, it had to be an impressive ranking. “How many are there in Korea?”

“A hundred-fifty, give or take. About sixty who awakened as an A-rank in the last two years signed contracts for other countries, a dozen or so more have died since the start of the year.” Haneul’s smile took on a solemn edge at the mention of the casualties. “I was originally awakened at B-rank, so this will likely be as high as I climb.”

“So there’s a rank higher than A?”

“S-rank, yes. There are two in Korea: Byun Kang-Dae and Park Jae-sung.”

Halfway through another sip of tea, Sua just narrowly avoided choking on it. The heat burned her throat as she swallowed rapidly, ignoring the pounding of her heartbeat.

After all... it could just be a coincidence.