Aware of my incredibly light body, and that the pain from just moments ago had completely vanished, I couldn't help but writhe in joy once more at the fact that I had become a 'Neo-Human'.
With that, I gently grabbed the demon and carefully stuffed it into my pocket. Since the situation had been settled for now, I was thinking of exiting the Gate.
But....
"It's gone."
The Gate that should have been there was nowhere to be seen. At the very end where the traces of the armored vehicle's furious charge remained intact, the Gate that should have been there was missing.
"Hey, are you kidding me? Are you lying? I'm alive, you know?"
I muttered to myself in an unbelievable situation, but all that returned was a hollow echo. And yet, there was a Gate.
The red Gate that the demon in my hand had walked out of. It was a Gate of a never-before-seen form, and though there had never been any reports of such a creature existing either, I didn't have the slightest desire to let any spirit of adventure carry me beyond that red Gate.
Dumbfounded, I sat down on the ground and spaced out in dejection for a while, when I saw a herd of Tairons running past nearby.
"Damn it."
If only I hadn't come here to catch those fucking Tairons?
This ability I had obtained now, an ability of a kind never reported before—a situation where I could be certain of its nature. Wouldn't I have been celebrating with my parents after obtaining this special ability, this ability I was sure could place me in the top 0.1%?
The average daily wage of an 'Ant' was 500,000 won. But if I hadn't fallen completely for Namiryeong's words about having to work overtime until late today and the sweet temptation of a 50% additional deposit, wouldn't I have not come here...?
Wouldn't I have avoided being abandoned like this?
As I was having such thoughts, these damned Tairon bastards, gathered in a herd, were shitting right in front of my eyes.
"Ha, you sons of bitches, you're shitting a lot. Really shitting a lot."
My grumbling sigh and the *splat splat* of Tairon feces. I thought that at least one thing was certain: the situation had truly gone to 'shit'.
Never having dreamed that they would seal the Gate, I was dazed and devastated, and to make matters worse, I was hungry.
"What a miserable state I'm in..."
No matter how much I thought about it, this wasn't a situation to die peacefully in. Maybe that was why? I felt that I couldn't just stay like this. And fortunately, I realized weapons existed, and prey was plentiful before my eyes, so I thought it was somewhat lucky.
So, with the thought of recovering weapons first, I went back along the path the armored vehicle had charged down, but I realized that reality was a cesspool.
Spears that were broken, or bent.
It was a situation where curses welled up to the tip of my throat. Moreover, I recalled the fact that a C-rank Gate's lifespan was one week, and I wondered what would happen to me here after a week, but the red Gate visible in the distance kept catching my eye.
I took the demon out of my pocket and asked it a question.
"If it were you, you'd tell me to go in there, right?"
Since it was a demon, I thought it would obviously say so. The illusion of a demon nodding its head furiously.
Not wanting to even look at its face, I stuffed it back into my pocket and sat down.
Then, the bent spear I'd thrown on the ground caught my eye.
"Damn it, this is no fucking help at all!!"
It was the moment I picked up the spear and put my strength into it.
With a screeching sound, the spear made of a special steel alloy bent.
"No way!"
Just how much do abilities need to be raised to make such a bullshit thing possible with just 1%? I looked down at the incomprehensible reality.
So I tried applying force here and there, straightening the spear as much as possible, but I felt disappointed that I couldn't completely flatten the bent part.
"But still, this is better than nothing, right?"
The fact that I now had a spear when I had nothing was secretly a welcome situation. Moreover, seeing the herd of Tairons in the distance that only ran and shit, my empty stomach growled loudly.
Honestly, I had skipped breakfast, and I had been working. It was a situation where I couldn't help but be hungry. But seeing the Tairons, no different from 'cattle', jumping and running around alive, I couldn't help but think of 'wagyu' or 'Hanwoo', and my mouth watered.
Not that I had any skill to make fire, so after hunting, I would have to eat it raw. But since it was 'cattle', I thought it might be fine.
And remembering that there were gourmets on Earth who occasionally sought out 'Tairon' meat, I thought it definitely wouldn't taste bad.
Gripping the spear tight, I got up and moved my steps toward a nearby Tairon.
Combat? I had never thought of such a thing, nor had I ever tried it. But could I really hunt a Tairon, a C-rank monster?
Having such thoughts, I thought that maybe it might be possible, and I steadied my breathing.
"I can do this. Definitely. It's no different from butchering. It's just alive, that's all..."
While having completely unhelpful imaginations and closing the distance, the Tairon I had chosen looked at me with a nervous expression and began to be on guard.
What did Namiryeong do at times like this?
Thinking that, I took a stance. I had seen through long experience that Tairons definitely observed their guarded target and charged if they thought it was worth trying.
And just as I was taking my stance, thinking that the one I was trying to catch would also charge at me after being on guard.
"Puru-ruru-ruru!!!"
Letting out a loud cry unique to it, it turned around and ran off.
".....?"
An incomprehensible situation. But the problem was that at its cry, all the Tairons nearby began to move away from me. At this unexpected deviation from reality, I was left speechless and could only stand there blankly. But the problem was that I was very hungry right now.
"Hey, you bastards!! Stop right there!!"
The situation had completely reversed! I had to run. When I started sprinting with all my might, an unbelievable speed kicked in, and I quickly caught up to the fleeing Tairon's rear, soon reaching a distance where I could touch it if I reached out.
The more I recognized this reality, the more I felt it was bizarre and a bit thrilling. But now was not the time to be swayed by emotions.
Rather, swayed by instinct, I swung the spear.
I had swung it just to swing, but the moment the spear lodged into the Tairon's spine, its back, the creature that had been running well suddenly collapsed with a thud, its legs folding as it slid forward and tumbled as if bouncing.
The Tairon cried out as if in pain, as if begging for its life. Looking closely, I could see that its front legs, which bore most of the weight, had bent backwards from a single strike.
"In one hit?"
I recalled the demon again and scratched my head. Other Tairons were looking at the one that had collapsed at my hands with pitying eyes. However, I had no intention of showing mercy.
"I bestow upon you the glory of entering my stomach."
I immediately straightened the spear and, just like Namiryeong had done, thrust it relentlessly into the Tairon's nape. The blade dug in cleanly, and unlike with Namiryeong, the Tairon's breath was cut off in one go without any special resistance.
It was clear that Namiryeong hadn't been unskilled. It was just that the power I had obtained was special. Looking at the Tairon that had collapsed and was gushing warm blood, I pulled out the spear.
Then, using the blade, I began cutting out the thigh part of the creature, and it was certainly easy.
"If Mister Cheoljong saw this, he'd be in tears."
Mister Cheoljong, who could be called a master of Tairon butchering without shame, came to mind briefly. But since resentment came unbidden along with it, I quickly dismissed the thought, removed the hide from the cut-out thigh, sliced off a thick piece of meat, and held it in my hand.
"Ugh..."
Tairon meat with steam rising from it. The average body temperature of a Tairon was around 44 degrees Celsius, so because it had been quickly butchered, steam seemed to be rising.
But this really had something that turned a person's stomach.
Moreover, the fishy smell of blood. When doing 'Ant' work, one usually becomes accustomed to the smell of blood and grows numb to it. But for some reason, right now the smell of blood felt even more nauseating.
But thinking that I would starve to death if I didn't eat, I quickly began hypnotizing myself.
'If you don't eat, you die!' It was a simple hypnosis, but as I repeated it for a while, I could feel the piece of meat cooling down and growing cold.
And the texture gradually toughened as it grew colder. Unable to help it, I slowly, leisurely brought the meat to my mouth and bit into it.
"I-it's sweet."
It wasn't really a sweet feeling, but it felt as if I was chewing on premium Hanwoo beef tartare.
Was this why gourmets sought out Tairon meat?
With the thought that this meat would fetch a good price, I took another bite, savoring the nutty flavor and chewing earnestly. The blood was a bit fishy, but since the meat quality itself was top-notch, it was a satisfying situation in its own way.
I looked around and surveyed the Tairons.
"I won't have to worry about starving to death, will I?"
I said this while chewing Tairon meat repeatedly, and seeing the Tairon that had met my eyes hastily retreat and flee, I felt laughter bubbling up.
It was bitter. Would I have to share life and death here with the Tairons, unable to return to Earth? As I was letting my imagination run wild with such vague thoughts, the red Gate stood out particularly in my sight.
Looking at that portal that seemed to sway as if telling me to hurry and enter, I took out the demon figurine(?) and examined it this way and that as I asked.
"What the hell are you?"
No matter how much I thought about it, the information in my head contained nothing about its identity. Perhaps a high-ranking 'Neo-Human' might know what it is, but thinking that I couldn't return to Earth for now, I immediately gave up on identifying it and traced back the memories related to 'Neo-Human' that had come to mind.
"Collector..."
'Collector', which could be called a gatherer—that was the ability I had obtained, and the meaning of my existence as a 'Neo-Human'.
The given abilities were five in total.
One was literally 'Collection', and the ability related to this was the ability to organize collected items into a 'Collection'.
"Collection."
At the simple command, a display case soared up before my eyes.
"Wow!"
Looking at the grotesque-shaped display stand, I could think of a 'Witch', but thinking that this display case had its own kind of style, I examined it this way and that. Then, taking out the demon figurine and placing it inside the display case, I thought it suited it quite well.
And thinking that I would place a 'Tairon' next to this guy so it wouldn't be lonely, I gripped the spear tightly and got up, but the Tairons that should have filled the surroundings were all gone.
"Where the hell did they all go?"
I remembered that a C-rank field was approximately 5km in radius on average. Given the Tairons' size, they should be distinguishable from afar, but they were nowhere to be seen.
They had all disappeared during the short time I was worrying and taking out the display case, but there was one suspicious place.
The red Gate visible in the distance.
"....They all went there? Really?"
When faced with a truth lacking in reality, one's mind goes blank. And the demon sitting alone in the display case seemed to be mocking me particularly harshly.
It felt as if it were saying, 'If you have the guts, why don't you go?' and 'You're worse than a Tairon.'