The Minotaur is quite a famous monster, known by nearly everyone in both the Association and among civilians.
Even before the Great Rift, it frequently appeared in legends, myths, and various subcultures like games, so it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know of it.
Generally speaking, the Minotaur is an average B-grade monster.
It’s a small humanoid with tremendous strength that walks on two legs, but its horns, bones, muscles, and even its meat are sold at high prices as they are not only delicious but also said to be great for stamina, making it quite popular.
Of all the Dungeon monsters, the first to be approved for consumption was, of course, Minotaur meat.
It’s even said that A-grade Hunters enjoy great wealth mainly because they hunt Minotaurs for their meat.
That might sound like a half-joke, but there’s a grain of truth to it, as Minotaur meat has become quite a delicacy in modern Hunter society.
Naturally, the higher the monster’s grade, the stronger the inherent mana within it, and the better the taste becomes.
The meat of a B-grade Minotaur holds a quality equivalent to a 1+ grade when assessed based on intramuscular fat, color, texture, and maturity.
Occasionally, the meat of A-grade Minotaurs or variants like the Minokentaurus boast even higher quality.
And then there’s the Black Minotaur, an S-grade Dungeon boss.
Known as the nightmare of Dungeons, a manifestation of destruction, and the grinder of A-grade Hunters.
It is the most frequently appearing monster among S-grade Dungeon bosses and can inhabit every environment except snowy fields, making it highly likely for Hunters to encounter it first.
Because it appears so often, it also plays a significant role in the emergency dispatch of S-grade Hunters.
And the Black Minotaur possesses an unmatched strength compared to regular Minotaurs.
While A-grade Hunters might capture a normal Minotaur for cash, here we see the Black Minotaur smashing A-grade Hunters’ heads to decorate its cave.
The size of the Black Minotaur is about three times that of a regular Minotaur.
Just considering its size, it’s the level of a walking building, and its charge speed has been observed at up to 180 km/h. Not only can it propel that massive mass at impossible speeds, but its mana and muscle power, tightly compressed, can smash the ground with a single punch. Anyone who even brushes against the Black Minotaur’s charge is likely to end up missing their own funeral.
While long-range bombardment and cooperative tactics among multiple A-grade Hunters have been known to work, it’s generally difficult for even S-grade beings to face the Black Minotaur 1:1 in some cases.
By the way, the Black Minotaur meat consumed by only a few affluent or S-grade Hunters reportedly exceeds 1++ grade quality.
“Hehe…”
Gulp!
And today, Yeonhwa never imagined she would be cooking Black Minotaur meat in her life.
Sizzle, sizz…
“…..”
Chik, sizzling… sizz, sizzle… Yutain…
By the way, this part is called “upjinsal.”
Upjinsal refers to the muscle covering the cartilage part located from the lower part of the 7th to the 13th ribs of a cow, excluding the brisket part, simply put, it’s the lower belly fat.
Also known as “woo-samgyeop,” this part has layers of fat and muscle that create a glorious marbling, and though it has coarser fibers, it has the juiciest flavor among beef cuts.
Despite the significant differences in anatomy between cattle and the Black Minotaur… they’ve sliced the lower abdomen at the ribcage area, so it should be upjinsal.
But why upjinsal, you ask?
Other parts have already been devoured by the white-haired woman drenched in blood, leaving this comparatively intact piece.
She wasn’t the only one. The horrific teeth protruding from the woman’s back, her tentacles, mercilessly tore into the Black Minotaur, leaving no intact parts.
‘But why am I suddenly cooking meat…?’
Yeonhwa couldn’t fathom why she had told the blood-soaked woman, busy tearing into a Black Minotaur, to cook the meat for her without a hint of fear.
Was this all just a surreal scene, or had she lost her sanity?
No, that must be right… it has to be.
Her grandmother always said to win over people, you must offer them food…
This was another strategy to win over…
“…Hehe, the smell is good…!”
Regardless of everything else, who is this woman?
As Yeonhwa wiped sweat from her brow, watching the white-haired woman gazing with a smile at the meat sizzling on the clean stone slab, she felt uneasy.
The woman seemed to be devoid of thought, yet Yeonhwa was not.
What was that savageness she displayed earlier?
To think that the S-grade Dungeon boss, the Black Minotaur, was running away screaming because of this woman?
If it were her grandmother, the living legend Yeonseo, she could easily defeat a 1:1 confrontation with a Black Minotaur.
But then again, the Black Minotaur is proud, intelligent, and even possesses dignity.
There’s no way it would turn its back and flee in a fight against someone stronger. It’s the Black Minotaur that fights back, even screaming in terror against opponents more powerful than itself.
The scene of the Black Minotaur becoming scared and losing its rationality to run away was something no Hunter, including Yeonhwa, had ever seen or even dared to imagine.
‘Who on earth is that woman…? A Returnee?’
Yeonhwa carefully examined the blood-drenched woman who was savoring the smell of the cooked Black Minotaur meat.
She was quite tall.
Around the mid-170s.
She was at least a head taller than Yeonhwa, and though her hair was stained with blood, it was actually well-maintained and glimmered like silver.
It wasn’t clearly visible because of all that blood, but she had a bright smile, and just looking at her, Yeonhwa thought that if she cleaned her face a little, she would easily be seen as beautiful by anyone.
‘Her muscles… She doesn’t appear to have powerful muscles at first glance, but having pinned a Black Minotaur to the ground with one hand… Is she using mana or some ability to enhance her strength? Or is it just brute force…?’
While there were some fine muscles visible, overall she had a graceful and attractive figure.
And her breasts were significantly… no, to be honest, extraordinarily larger than Yeonhwa’s.
This was the first time Yeonhwa had seen such large breasts.
Remarkably, they didn’t sag at all and retained their shape.
She didn’t seem to be a Hunter.
No, she didn’t resemble a hidden foreign Hunter either, and if she were a newly emerging S-grade Hunter, Yeonhwa would’ve been aware of it.
After all, Yeonhwa idolized her grandmother, the first S-grade Hunter, Yeonseo.
Having referenced many combat styles and training methods of S-grade Hunters in her journey to become stronger, Yeonhwa knew the faces of nearly all S-grade Hunters worldwide.
Yet, this woman was someone Yeonhwa had never seen before.
“Um…”
“Yes, yes!?”
Distracted in her thoughts, Yeonhwa jolted in surprise when the woman suddenly spoke.
However, this also caused the stone slab where Yeonhwa was cooking the meat to wobble.
“Ah…!”
As the stone slab was about to tumble, Yeonhwa hurriedly reached to grab it with her chill.
Isn’t it better to save the meat even if the fire goes out?
Thud!
“…W-What are you doing!? You’re grabbing that with your bare hands!?!!”
“It’s fine. It’s not hot.”
As the woman grabbed the stone slab that had just been sizzling in the heat with her bare hands, Yeonhwa cried out in astonishment.
Even after touching the stone slab directly heated by the flames, the woman’s expression remained calm.
‘Not only is she strong, but she also seems resistant to heat and possesses substantial durability…’
“Be careful.”
“Y-Yes, yes…”
The woman, smiling softly, returned the stone slab to its original position and sat down with her knees brought together.
“…What’s your name?”
“…”
Typically, A-grade Hunters would receive a Hunter name.
For F-grade to B-grade Hunters, there are many possibilities, and one can rise through experience and time.
However, the hurdle to becoming an A-grade Hunter is far more daunting.
Getting the A-grade title proves incredible talent and is the first step toward the non-human territory of S-grade.
So, A-grade Hunters are granted a Hunter name by the state and numerous benefits.
Yeonhwa, who recently achieved A-grade, didn’t have an official Hunter name yet but decided to blurt out one she had thought of in advance.
“Icicle… Icicle Nine, my real name is Yeonhwa, please call me Yeonhwa.”
“……..?”
The white-haired woman tilted her head at that.
She seemed to be lost in thought about something.
“…..Binggu (氷九)… right?”
“…….”
Yeonhwa immediately frowned at that.
“No, it’s not!!”
Sizzle, sizz
“Binggu? You seem eager to give that a try…”
“Not Binggu… ah, black! Black Minotaur meat…!”
Just by eating the Black Minotaur meat, unconfirmed rumors suggest recovery effects and permanent mana and strength enhancements for Hunters, so Yeonhwa understood that this was precious.
She had burned it a bit, but it wasn’t fully ruined.
The densely concentrated protein and fat would serve as fine cuisine for average people, but the meat of the Black Minotaur, with its contained mana, would offer an exquisite taste for Hunters.
“Hehe… that looks delicious…”
Yeonhwa felt an insatiable appetite and greed emanating from the woman drooling as she stared at the Black Minotaur meat.
“I-It’s okay to eat first.”
“…Really?”
Despite drooling at the corners of her mouth, the woman still sought Yeonhwa’s permission first.
Covered in blood and dripping from her chin, it was like a scene from a horror movie, but Yeonhwa found herself no longer scared of the woman.
When the woman attempted to grab the meat off the stone slab with her bare hands, Yeonhwa extended chopsticks made of her frost.
“Oh, thank you…”
“Do you know how to use chopsticks?”
“Uh… yeah… maybe…?”
“Just as I thought…”
Having hardened them firmly, they should remain intact for the duration of the meal.
And if they melted or broke, she could always make more.
‘Could she possibly be a Returnee…?’
Realizing the woman seemed to have experienced picking up chopsticks for the very first time, Yeonhwa entertained the thought that she might indeed be a Returnee.
As Yeonhwa savored the sizzling steak with her ice chopsticks, she gazed at the woman whose face lit up in bliss while she ate.
A Returnee.
Many individuals who went missing after the Great Rift were, for the most part, declared dead, and some corpses or fragments were recovered.
Yet some of the missing vanished entirely without a trace and returned to the modern world unpredictably and without adhering to the laws of time and space.
The first Returnee came back just ten days after going missing when the Great Rift began.
He reported having lived in a world filled with swords, magic, and black magic, with an abundance of steam and magically powered machines for a full twenty years.
He was named Yujin, the first Returnee, and he continues to serve as an S-grade Hunter today.
Some Returnees returned after ten years, but claimed to have spent only a month or so in their world.
Returnees landed in various worlds, and occasionally several fell into the same universe.
Some returned from entirely different worlds plagued by dragons and demons, while others reported coming from a world with more advanced technologies than our own.
Conversely, there were survivors who fell into harsh environments akin to primitive Earth, indicating that Returnees had fallen into every conceivable parallel universe.
The length of time spent there and experiences varied greatly for each individual, with cases where their bodies were switched entirely.
Initially, Hunter Associations and governments worldwide welcomed Returnees.
Returnees brought newfound powers and knowledge not present in our world, ensuring the safety and prosperity of the citizens while enhancing the Hunters’ abilities.
Even the many tools and systems of the current Hunter Association, including Hunter-supporting AI drones assisting Yeonhwa, were built based on the knowledge and technologies of Returnees, among numerous other advancements. As a result, the Hunter death rate, which had nearly reached 40% in the 2030s, has plummeted to below 1% today.
However, one incident occurred.
In China, there was a female Returnee.
She claimed that modern society, after the Great Rift, looked like paradise compared to the horrific apocalypse she had survived.
She referred to herself as a prophet, a Saint.
Indeed, the woman possessed significant healing abilities and skills to support her party like a true saint.
Since Hunters’ powers often vary based on individual skills, support and recovery Hunters are rare.
Thus, the female Returnee was welcomed not only in China but also in other countries.
However, one day, she was arrested by Chinese security.
The pretext was that she was causing fractures in social order as an undesirable element.
In reality, she used all the money and achievements she made to aid laborers and the poor, living a very modest life while her popularity soared both inside and outside of China.
After the Great Rift happened, China continued to maintain a dictatorship centered around the Chairman, so the existence of the Saint likely upset the high-ranking officials of the Communist Party.
The arrested Saint, believing that if she resisted, many innocent lives would be at stake, went peacefully along. After that, nobody saw her again for a long time.
The incident sparked worldwide criticism, shaking not just China but abroad as well, but it seemed it only led to a few months of condemnation statements with no substantial measures taken regarding the Saint’s fate.
Then, a year after the arrest, there was an incident where a laborer working in a large dump discovered the remains of the Saint.
Or rather, it wasn’t exactly a corpse but her brooch and clothing.
The Saint’s brooch and clothes, imbued with immense blessings, were items so tough they couldn’t be easily destroyed even if someone tried.
However, with the Saint’s clothes found discarded in a dump, the anger of every government in the world, especially among Returnees, reached its peak.
Afterwards, rumors circulated claiming that the authorities coveted the Saint’s healing powers and abilities to buff multiple Hunters, seeking to kidnap and dungeon her into mass production.
With the Saint incident, the ire of Returnees began to simmer. In some extreme cases, certain Returnees declared they would create bodies to escape governmental control, forming organizations in defiance.
After numerous events, public opinion on Returnees gradually began to divide.
They were both a beacon of hope for humanity, wavering in the aftermath of the Great Rift, and beings possessing power that could threaten humanity, given some extreme cases. And among these, governments realized from the events surrounding the Saint incident in China that excessive pressure could provoke significant backlash.
Thus, today’s guidelines for managing Returnees were established as a directive from the government distributed across various departments.
This was consistent worldwide, as not just Korea, but other countries tweaked their methods of managing Returnees in light of the Saint incident.
And the woman presumed to be a Returnee…
After some clumsy attempts, it seemed she had finally recalled how to use chopsticks as she awkwardly twirled them around before grabbing a piece of meat.
“…Excuse me, are you a Returnee?”
“A Returnee?”
“Do you know about the Great Rift?”
“No, I don’t.”
Yeonhwa thought the woman was indeed a Returnee.
After all, if she didn’t even know the term “Great Rift,” it’s clear she must be someone who went missing during the first Great Rift.
“It’s delicious…”
While Yeonhwa’s mind kept racing, Shia was merely enjoying the exquisite meat with a blissful smile.
Juices burst forth, and unlike when she tore at it raw, the moment she bit into it, she felt the heavenly umami as it melted in her mouth, prompting Shia to well up with tears.
“It’s too good…”
If only Menelapie could share this too, or Teresa… If only they could all eat together…
Suddenly shedding tears startled Yeonhwa, who urged, “There’s more, so don’t cry.”
“Uh, okay. Thank you… you eat too.”
“Ah, yes.”
Sniffle, sob… then again, it’s fine as long as I’m not eating alone.
This Binggu… I mean, Yeonhwa is a good person… Those who cook beef can’t be bad people…
For a while, the sound of a campfire crackling and the sizzling of meat being cooked on the stone slab filled the air.
And the two continued to share the silence, gulping down the meal together.
Certainly, consuming such high mana concentrated food as the Black Minotaur’s meat seemed to alleviate the pain in Yeonhwa’s right hand.
Trying to gently move her fractured right hand, she sadly realized that it was still unfit for battle.
“Your hand…”
“Yes?”
At that moment, Yeonhwa felt a chill run down her spine from a piercing gaze.
It wasn’t an illusion; the feeling of a predator watching her was real, and those beast-like, golden eyes were fixed on her broken right hand.
‘Beasts see injured beings as prey, don’t they!?’
The tentacles protruding from the white-haired woman’s back were still in the process of tearing apart the Minotaur, writhing and twisting, leading Yeonhwa to have a delusion that this Returnee might devour even humans should she snap.
After all, Returnees who came back from man-eating worlds were not unheard of.
“Show me your hand.”
“…Yes!?”
“Trust me.”
“……..”
Yet, amid her beast-like golden gaze, Yeonhwa found an inexplicable sense of humanity and kindness.
She couldn’t understand why she felt that way.
Without realizing, she extended her ice-encased right hand towards the woman, who possessed healing abilities.
[Miracle – Great Healing]
“Ah!?”
And within less than a second, a white mystical aura enveloped her right hand, swiftly melting away the ice that had been placed to keep the bones aligned, restoring her broken hand to its normal shape.
This woman was a Returnee blessed with the rare healing ability among Hunters!
‘Not only did she defeat a Black Minotaur bare-handed, but she also possesses healing powers…?’
“By the way, I didn’t get to introduce myself… gulp.”
After healing, the woman casually resumed stuffing her mouth with Black Minotaur’s upjinsal as she spoke.
“My name is Shia. In the year 2024… I’m 21.”
“…Ah… then should I call you Shia unnie…?”
“Well, do as you like.”
And once again, they ate in silence.
There was plenty of upjinsal from the Black Minotaur. They lost track of time roasting and eating meat without saying a word.
“Hey, Binggu.”
“It’s not Binggu, it’s Yeonhwa… Hah, what is it..?”
“Your hand must’ve hurt a lot, huh?”
“……”
“You came all this way alone?”
It hurt so much.
Of course, it hurt a lot.
She thought she might die.
She was terrified.
Words rushed to her throat, but Yeonhwa merely bit her lip.
“You did well. I’m proud of you.”
“….!”
Hearing a kind compliment from someone she had just met, Yeonhwa felt her eyes dampen.
What was it about?
Was it the moment when her life was in danger, Shia unnie coming to save her?
Or was it because Shia unnie saving her reminded her of Yeona unnie saving her long ago?
Who knows?
Even now, Yeonhwa couldn’t explain those feelings.
“Good job. You did well.”
“……”
Of course, Yeonhwa didn’t cry.
Why would she at this age?
Yeonhwa hadn’t cried since Yeona unnie made the ultimate sacrifice for her.
But looking at Shia, who brightly smiled while patting her shoulder, she couldn’t react at all.
Unable to chew and swallow the meat, she simply stared into Shia’s eyes shining with a blood-smeared smile.
“…Thank you.”
“Sure, this time I’ll grill the meat. Shall we try tearing off another part?”
On the day of the Dungeon Overbreak,
Yeonhwa, who hadn’t opened her heart to anyone since her sister’s death, formed her first bond with a Returnee.
