Wrapped in his blanket like a lazy burrito, Lee Aseok lay on the sofa, his long hair spilling around him like a curtain of night. His reddish-brown eyes stared at the bright screen where cartoonish voices shouted about saving the world and defeating evil with the power of friendship.

  “…Idiots,” he muttered flatly, again.

  And yet, he didn’t change the episode.

  He was hooked.

  Between shonen shows, isekai nonsense, and high school dramas that made no sense, Lee Aseok was strangely… content. He hadn’t stepped outside in weeks, not even for his usual midnight walks.

  Which was a win, really.

  He didn’t have to risk running into them.

  Meanwhile, across the road...

  A month had passed since their "relocation" to the west zone.

  Although Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun continued handling external missions and attended meetings when required, they always returned here, this half-dead neighborhood no one else dared to enter.

  Seo MinHyun stood near the crumbling corner of their two-story base, hands on his hips, glaring at the familiar five-story building across the street.

  “I’m starting to think that guy might’ve turned into a skeleton by now,” he muttered.

  “No smell of decay,” Park Taegun replied calmly as he passed by, reading a report.

  “Not the point!”

  As always, Mu Yichen said nothing. Instead, he stood quietly in front of the five-story building’s entrance, placing a carefully packed meal box at the doorstep.

  He had done this every two days. Sometimes three meals. Sometimes sweets. Sometimes simple snacks.

  They were never touched.

  The boxes always remained untouched until the wind or time took them away. But Mu Yichen still brought more. Without fail.

  Inside, Lee Aseok had noticed. Of course, he had.

  He even watched once, from the fifth floor, peeking through a gap in the curtains.

  He had stared at Mu Yichen’s retreating back, the man’s silver hair swaying gently in the wind, the box left behind like some quiet offering.

  Then he walked back to his couch and turned on another episode.

  Out of sight, out of mind.

  Or at least that was the idea.

  But now…

  Lee Aseok stared into his fridge.

  It was empty.

  Completely.

  His freezer?

  Also empty.

  Even the emergency ramen stash under the sink had been depleted in a late-night binge session during an anime marathon.

  He sighed.

  Staring at the pale white emptiness, he closed the fridge with a quiet thud and shuffled to his laptop. Within minutes, he ordered everything he needed, vegetables, frozen meals, snacks, tea, batteries, and, of course, more anime DVDs.

  He set the delivery to his usual warehouse drop-off, as always.

  Still, it meant he had to leave the house.

  Lee Aseok stared at the door for a long moment, then slowly sighed again.

  “…Troublesome.”

  The next day, a miracle occurred.

  Lee Aseok, hermit of the west zone, professional shut-in, certified anime addict, stepped outside.

  He opened the door with the expression of someone marching to his own funeral, sighed dramatically, and trudged into the sunlight like it was a hostile, unfamiliar planet.

  Park Taegun had just returned from his morning patrol.

  He didn’t expect to see anything unusual.

  But then, just as he was about to walk past the five-story building, his eyes caught something unbelievable.

  That long, unruly hair.

  That gloomy, sluggish walk.

  That expression is like he’d rather be dead than awake.

  Lee Aseok… outside?

  Park Taegun froze.

  He blinked once. Then again.

  And when the vision didn’t vanish like a mirage, he did the only reasonable thing.

  He immediately called for backup.

  Mu Yichen and Seo MinHyun were inside their makeshift west zone base at the time, sipping tea like two war generals plotting against the nation’s increasing absurdity.

  “This is getting ridiculous,” Seo MinHyun complained, lounging dramatically across the broken couch. “The government’s throwing tantrums because the chosen one still hasn’t appeared.”

  Mu Yichen nodded calmly, his silver lashes casting shadows over his unreadable gaze. “They’re rushing the prophecy. The sword hasn’t responded again.”

  Before Seo MinHyun could complain further, Mu Yichen’s phone rang.

  One glance at the caller ID made his eyes narrow slightly.

  He picked up.

  “…Yes?”

  A beat.

  Then another.

  “…I see.”

  Seo MinHyun sat up immediately, sensing the shift. “What? What happened? Did the holy sword explode? Did a gate open in the HQ again?”

  Mu Yichen’s voice was calm, but his words made the temperature in the room drop.

  “Lee Aseok is outside.”

  Seo MinHyun’s jaw dropped. “What? You mean outside as in.. outside outside?!”

  Mu Yichen didn’t respond. He was already walking.

  Seo MinHyun scrambled to his feet, grabbing his jacket. “Oh no. What kind of crazy stunt is that lunatic planning now?”

  The two of them quickly made their way down the road and found Park Taegun standing stiffly beside a broken wall, arms crossed, gaze locked on something in the distance.

  Following his line of sight, Mu Yichen and Seo MinHyun turned their heads.

  And there he was.

  Lee Aseok.

  The long-haired madman himself.

  Wearing a loose hoodie, black joggers, and an expression that looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a decade, Lee Aseok was casually walking across the street.

  Alive.

  Breathing.

  And outside.

  Seo MinHyun stared like he was witnessing a solar eclipse. “Did… did the sun rise in the west today? Did reality break while I was sleeping?”

  Mu Yichen remained silent, his gaze quietly locked on the figure moving farther down the road.

  Park Taegun didn’t speak either, but his fingers twitched slightly.

  None of them said anything as they watched from a distance.

  Lee Aseok, on the other hand, was very aware of the three stalkers shadowing him like nosy neighbors.

  He didn’t care.

  Let them follow.

  He was hungry.

  And he had a warehouse to reach.

  Without sparing them a glance, he continued his walk at a pace that could only be described as "grandpa on a weekend stroll." Eventually, he arrived near a hidden storage area tucked behind several abandoned buildings.

  There, behind a rusted fence and broken-down gate, was his truck.

  An old, beaten-up vehicle that looked like it had been pulled straight from a zombie apocalypse movie.

  Lee Aseok opened the driver’s door, climbed in slowly, and turned the ignition.

  The truck rumbled to life with a dramatic growl and a puff of black smoke.

  Then, without so much as a backward glance, he drove off.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Back in the shadows, the three famous hunters watched in silence.

  The sound of the rattling truck engine faded into the distance.

  “…Was that a truck?” Seo MinHyun finally asked.

  Mu Yichen’s lips twitched. “Yes.”

  “Aren’t those banned from inner zone operation?”

  “Yes,” Park Taegun said flatly.

  “…Did we just get shown up by a long-haired anime zombie driving a monster truck?” Seo MinHyun looked genuinely offended.

  No one answered.

  They simply stood there, trying to figure out what they had just witnessed.

  And silently wondering…

  What kind of person was Lee Aseok, really?

  The truck rumbled down the cracked road, a cloud of dust trailing behind it.

  Lee Aseok, behind the wheel, wore an expression of deadpan calmness, his eyes half-lidded as if driving a two-ton metal beast through ruined streets was just another Tuesday chore.

  Behind him, unseen and unheard, three shadows followed.

  Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun.

  None of them brought a vehicle.

  After all, it was easier to stalk someone unnoticed when you weren’t riding a roaring engine through an empty zone.

  Besides, with their rank and skills, it wasn't even a challenge.

  “Why… a truck?” Seo MinHyun whispered, eyebrows furrowed as they darted from rooftop to rooftop in sync with the vehicle’s movement. “That thing belongs in a junkyard museum.”

  Mu Yichen didn’t reply. His eyes were focused, thoughtful.

  Park Taegun, of course, remained silent as always, though even he seemed confused.

  Eventually, the truck rolled to a stop in front of an isolated, rusting warehouse near the very edge of the west zone. It was a place so forgotten even the GPS might hesitate to locate it.

  Lee Aseok casually climbed out.

  The three observers, crouched low on a nearby rooftop, stared in absolute silence.

  “…Is he running an illegal black market?” Seo MinHyun whispered, suspicious. “Maybe that truck’s full of drugs. Or stolen magic artifacts. Or…something dangerous.”

  Park Taegun frowned deeply but said nothing.

  Mu Yichen’s gentle smile didn’t falter. “We came this far. Let’s at least see what he’s doing.”

  Naturally, they didn’t barge in like amateurs.

  Seo MinHyun raised a hand, channeling a wind spell to silently cut open a neat circle in the rusted tin roof above.

  A moment later, all three of them were peering through the hole like nosy squirrels.

  What they saw made all of them freeze.

  Inside the warehouse,

  There were boxes. Hundreds of them. Stacked in neat, labeled rows.

  Toilet paper.

  Canned food.

  Soap.

  Laundry detergent.

  Cat food?

  Even feminine hygiene products in bulk.

  And in the middle of all this domestic glory stood Lee Aseok, lazily dragging a cart and tossing packs of tissues and noodles onto it like he was grocery shopping.

  “…Are we witnessing a domestic supply run?” Seo MinHyun blurted, eyes twitching. “In a haunted warehouse. That looks like a villain’s lair.”

  Mu Yichen, for the first time in a while, looked genuinely amused. “Apparently.”

  Park Taegun stared down with a blank expression.

  Lee Aseok yawned, picked up three types of shampoo, scanned the labels and tossed only one into the cart.

  Then he pulled out a little flip notebook and made a checkmark.

  Seo MinHyun almost fell off the roof.

  “What is this guy…? He keeps toilet paper stock in a warehouse like a mafia boss but shops like a picky housewife!”

  Mu Yichen stifled a chuckle.

  Park Taegun finally spoke. “…He’s doing weekly restocking.”

  Silence.

  Then Mu Yichen, ever composed, nodded. “He is efficient.”

  Seo MinHyun threw up his hands. “We followed him thinking he’d be selling monster limbs in the black market or running some underground gate deals, and instead, he’s hoarding canned beans in bulk!”

  Just then, Lee Aseok looked up.

  All three of them froze.

  But he only squinted, mumbled something under his breath..“Birds?” and went back to shopping like nothing happened.

  The trio breathed again.

  “Alright,” Seo MinHyun whispered. “Forget chosen ones and holy swords. This guy’s real talent is making my brain hurt.”

  Lee Aseok casually tossed packets of dried seaweed and multipacks of ramen onto a cart, humming faintly under his breath like an overworked convenience store clerk.

  Seo MinHyun squinted through the hole in the roof. “...That’s... That’s really just toilet paper, right? I’m not hallucinating?”

  Park Taegun didn’t respond. He was already calculating weight distribution and logistics subconsciously, his soldier mind strangely impressed.

  Mu Yichen, as always, smiled gently. “So he orders everything online... then picks it up here. Efficient.”

  It made sense. A warehouse near the abandoned edge of the zone, rarely patrolled. Perfect for someone who didn’t want human contact.

  Someone who hated people.

  And apparently adored bulk discounts.

  “Is it just me or...” Seo MinHyun whispered. “...does this confirm he really doesn’t like humans?”

  “Mm,” Mu Yichen hummed in agreement, watching the man toss an entire box of chocolate-covered almonds into his cart.

  Then—CRACK.

  The rusted steel beam they’d been leaning against gave way with a shriek of protest, and all three fell straight through the warehouse roof.

  They landed, heroically and unharmed, of course but directly in front of Lee Aseok.

  The air froze.

  The cartwheel gave a soft squeak as it rolled a few inches forward.

  Lee Aseok stared at the three hunters now standing in a shameful heap near his shopping cart.

  His dull eyes slowly blinked.

  Seo MinHyun froze. “...This isn’t what it looks like.”

  Mu Yichen rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle.

  Park Taegun straightened his shirt like nothing happened.

  The silence stretched on awkwardly.

  Then, Lee Aseok tilted his head ever so slightly upward... toward the ceiling hole they’d just fallen through.

  No words.

  Just a quiet glance.

  All three of them immediately understood.

  If you say a word, I will jump. Again.

  Mu Yichen gently rubbed his temples with a sigh. Talking to this person was like defusing a live bomb while being blindfolded.

  Lee Aseok turned away, pushing the cart as if nothing had happened.

  Not angry.

  Not annoyed.

  Then he continued shopping.

  The three top hunters, feared across the world, stood there like kids who got caught snooping around in a stranger’s shed.

  Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun all exchanged a glance.

  “…Why does it feel like we’re the villains?” Seo MinHyun muttered.

  Mu Yichen didn’t respond.

  Park Taegun folded his arms. “...We kind of are.”

  Soon after, Lee Aseok finished packing up, loaded his supplies into the back of the dusty old truck, and drove off without a single backward glance.

  Seo MinHyun stared after the truck, defeated. “Did we just get emotionally wrecked... by a recluse with toilet paper?”

  Mu Yichen let out a soft laugh, his first in a while.

  Without a word, Seo MinHyun used his magic to neatly fix the hole in the roof. “This never happened.”

  Mu Yichen rubbed his brows and sighed gently.

  He never thought it would be this difficult just to say a single word.

  Lee Aseok had the unique ability to make even the calmest SSS-rank hunter feel like a rookie fumbling over basic communication. And all without lifting a finger.

  “Humans are unpleasant” Lee Aseok said flatly, and without another glance, he turned and walked away.

  Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun stood there in stunned silence, each of them wearing the same expression: an unspoken what did we do wrong?

  “…This feels really unfair,” Seo MinHyun muttered as they watched the long-haired youth load his truck like nothing happened.

  “Unreasonable,” Park Taegun added with a calm nod.

  Mu Yichen said nothing. His expression remained gentle, but his eyes were stormy. This strange youth, this Lee Aseok, was like a mystery that refused to be solved.

  After Lee Aseok drove off, Seo MinHyun looked at the roof behind them and sighed. “If he wasn’t so pretty, I’d have already blasted the sky,” he grumbled as they followed the truck once again.

  But Lee Aseok didn’t return to his building.

  Halfway back to the west zone, his truck came to a slow stop beside a cracked stretch of pavement where broken concrete lined the roadside like shattered bones.

  Mu Yichen and the others blinked in confusion.

  There, not far ahead of them, hovered the soft shimmer of a newly formed gate. Faintly pulsating, warped like heat on asphalt. A typical D-rank, by the looks of it.

  Nothing to panic about.

  Except...

  The youth they’d been tailing jumped down from his truck, sat on the edge of the broken sidewalk, pulled out a small packet of shrimp crackers, and began to eat.

  He didn’t even look concerned. In fact, his expression was even more bored than usual, if that was possible. Like someone watching a documentary on the migration of snails.

  Mu Yichen’s eyes twitched. Park Taegun frowned.

  What shocked them wasn't just the appearance of the gate.

  No, Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun had seen far worse.

  What shocked them was the long-haired youth sitting cross-legged on a chunk of concrete near the gate, casually eating snacks and sipping from a thermos like he was at a picnic.

  His reddish-brown eyes, gloomy and half-lidded, were fixed on the slowly pulsing portal as though it were a mildly interesting commercial on TV.

  Mu Yichen let out a slow sigh. “He’s… really something.”

  Seo MinHyun rubbed his temples. “Tell me I’m not the only one seeing this.”

  “Unfortunately,” Park Taegun replied coolly, “we’re all seeing it.”

  Seo MinHyun narrowed his eyes. “Why is a supposedly non-awakened civilian just sitting there?!” He took a step forward, frustration bubbling up like boiling water. “Does he have a death wish?!”

  “Don’t,” Park Taegun warned in his usual even tone. “You know how he is.”

  But Seo MinHyun had already stormed over.

  Lee Aseok didn’t even flinch.

  “Hey! Crazy long-hair!” Seo MinHyun shouted. “This is a gate! A real, functioning, monster-spawning gate! Do you want to die or something?! If a dungeon break happens, you’ll be the first to…!”

  Crunch.

  Lee Aseok calmly popped another chip into his mouth and stared at the gate like Seo MinHyun didn’t exist.

  Crunch.

  The silence that followed was deafening.

  “...Are you ignoring me again?!” Seo MinHyun shouted, arms flailing.

  But Lee Aseok simply yawned, not even bothering to look at him anymore.

  Seo MinHyun nearly lost it on the spot.

  “I swear..I’ll kill some monsters just to vent this out!” he hissed, turning to glare at the gate like it was responsible for all his emotional trauma. “You better hope this gate breaks. I need something to punch.”

  Back behind the truck, Park Taegun noticed Lee Aseok’s eyes shift, not toward the gate, not toward Seo MinHyun, but toward a tall building nearby.

  Then Aseok looked at them, just one look, and back at the rooftop.

  The message was crystal clear.

  Stay any longer, and I’m jumping.

  Park Taegun exhaled and closed his eyes. “He’s serious.”

  Mu Yichen, watching the whole scene unfold, silently reached for the hilt of his sword.

  Moonlight Sun, an elegant, silver-forged weapon said to cut through illusions and darkness alike, slid from his waistband with a low hum.

  “I agree,” he said, smiling gently. “That gate really is an eyesore.”

  Without another word, Mu Yichen walked past Seo MinHyun, past Lee Aseok, and calmly entered the gate.

  Seo MinHyun blinked. “...Wait, seriously?”

  Then Park Taegun followed with his usual quiet steps, adjusting his gloves.

  Seo MinHyun stood there, mouth open, watching his two teammates disappear into the shimmer of the portal.

  “Am I the only sane person left?!”

  From behind him, Lee Aseok took another sip of his drink.

  Seo MinHyun whipped around. “You…!”

  But the moment his gaze met those lazy, lifeless eyes, he paused.

  Because despite the expression, despite the silence, something about Lee Aseok’s calmness unnerved him.

  Like the eye of a storm that refused to move. Like someone who had already walked through fire and come out… hollow.

  Seo MinHyun clicked his tongue and turned away, muttering, “I need therapy.”

  He jumped into the gate with a burst of wind magic, vanishing in a swirl of dust.

  And for a few heartbeats, only the gate and the quiet wind remained.

  When Mu Yichen stepped into the gate, his grip on Moonlight Sun remained loose, but his thoughts were heavy.

  The moment the blade had left its sheath, Lee Aseok’s eyes had changed. Just for a second.

  He noticed.

  Park Taegun entered a moment later, silent as always.

  Then Seo MinHyun exploded into action, destroying everything in sight.

  “RAHHHH! Damn it, why do I feel like this?!” Seo MinHyun screamed, hurling a fire-infused punch at a lizard-type monster and reducing it to ash.

  He didn’t care about the danger. The dungeon’s flames only fueled him more. Rage was pouring out of him like water bursting from a cracked dam.

  Mu Yichen and Park Taegun, by comparison, moved like blades through silk. Calm. Efficient. Deadly. They didn’t speak, didn’t comment on Seo MinHyun’s storm of chaos. They simply cleared the monsters methodically.

  The gate was only D-rank, after all.

  It stood no chance.

  on the other side...

  The moment Mu Yichen disappeared through the gate, something in Lee Aseok shattered.

  The blade.

  That sword.

  That sword should not be in Mu Yichen’s hands.

  Not now.

  His breath grew shallow. His limbs started to tremble. A soft rustle of the snack bag fell from his lap, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were still on the space where Mu Yichen vanished.

  That sword, Moonlight Sun, should have stayed with Mu Yichen until that fateful day. also until that regretful day.

  The day when everything ended.

  The day when the Holy Sword chose him instead.

  Lee Aseok clutched his head as memories surged forward like a tidal wave.

  “No... Forget it. Forget it..” he whispered, his voice hoarse, barely a breath.

  But his body didn’t listen. It refused.

  Agony. Betrayal. Pain. Blood.

  People calling him “hero.”

  And him wishing to die.

  The swirling pain of that moment, the weight of the sword in his hands as the world screamed his name, came crashing down in a single, unbearable instant.

  His vision dimmed.

  The sky spun.

  And then..

  Silence.

  Lee Aseok collapsed beside the truck, unconscious.

  Inside the Dungeon

  Seo MinHyun was furious.

  “Damn it all!! That crazy bastard nearly jumped again! What the hell is wrong with him?!”

  A fireball exploded against the lizard-like creature lunging toward him, incinerating it on impact. He didn’t even flinch as the flaming corpse dropped beside him.

  Mu Yichen moved quietly, cutting down enemies in one sweep of Moonlight Sun, leaving silver arcs of light in his wake. The flames hissed in his presence.

  Park Taegun’s movements were clinical..no wasted energy, no emotion, just swift elimination.

  But Mu Yichen wasn’t focused on the monsters.

  The image of Lee Aseok’s frozen expression when he saw the sword… it had been a crack in that usual indifference.

  And that crack terrified Mu Yichen more than any monster.

  Soon the dungeon core was shattered. Flames dimmed. The world inside the gate started to crumble like shattered glass.

  Outside the Gate

  When they stepped out again, Mu Yichen instinctively scanned the area.

  Empty road.

  Empty truck.

  Collapsed snack bag.

  Then..he saw it.

  A limp figure lying beside the truck.

  Long dark hair spread over the concrete. Fingers curled inward. Eyes shut tight, body unmoving.

  Mu Yichen’s mind blanked.

  “…Lee Aseok?”

  He rushed forward before either of the others could process what they were seeing.

  “LEE ASEOK!!”

  every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Yes, every week!