Engravings take inspiration from countless myths, legends, and folktales.
“Among them, the majority are based on legends and folktales. Engravings inspired by mythology are rare because the knowledge and power within them are far beyond what an ordinary human body can withstand.”
However, there were rare exceptions—cases where individuals awakened engravings based on mythological beings.
“If we’re talking about Hunters you know, there’s someone right beside you—my little sister.”
“Seo-ha noona?”
Si-woo’s eyes widened at the unexpected name.
He had known for a while that Yoo Seo-ha had once been an A-rank Hunter, one of the few to reach such a level.
But there were too many unknowns about her past for him to claim he truly understood her.
“Yeah. Back in the day, she was quite famous.”
“I never really looked into it.”
Back then, he had been curious, but Seo-ha had never brought it up herself.
He had never bothered searching online for her history.
After all, he knew firsthand how unpleasant it felt to be investigated behind his back.
If it had been a complete stranger, he might have looked into it.
But Seo-ha was someone he wanted to get along with, and he refused to dig into her past without her consent.
Even if the information was publicly available, Si-woo believed it was something Seo-ha herself should share—not something he should pry into on his own.
“Hmm, you two seem closer than I thought.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just getting one-sided devotion shoved onto me.”
Seo-ha turned her gaze away as she spoke.
Si-woo smirked, taking a sip of his latte. She was still just as terrible at dealing with direct confrontation.
Deciding to change the subject, he said:
“Let’s drop the topic about Seo-ha noona.”
“Since you’re the one asking, I’ll oblige.”
Kang Hong-yeon responded, then once again reached into her subspace magic.
“There are countless myths involving demons. They’re practically the embodiment of the concept of ‘evil’ itself. As the antithesis of divine beings, demons appear in everything—from mainstream mythology to the most obscure legends.”
Heroes, angels, divine beasts, and even gods themselves had all served as engraving motifs throughout history.
“And yet, isn’t it strange? Not a single Hunter in the world has ever awakened an engraving based on a demon—except for you.”
Si-woo stiffened.
“…Are you saying that, besides me, there really hasn’t been a single case?”
“Yes. Whether it’s an innate engraving or one acquired later through an Engraving Book, any engraving that has been assessed should leave a record in the database.”
Even if they couldn’t access the contents, a hacker would at least be able to confirm the existence of such records.
However, in the entire database of Hunter Associations worldwide, including South Korea, there wasn’t a single engraving linked to demons.
“The only exception is that some engravings related to angels mention abilities that help in hunting demons.”
“It’s that rare?”
Si-woo’s uncertain tone made Kang Hong-yeon and Yoo Seo-ha exchange puzzled glances.
“Are you really that surprised to hear your engraving is special?”
“Haven’t you already felt it yourself? Compared to other charm-based engravings, yours is exceptionally powerful.”
Si-woo shook his head slightly at their questions.
They weren’t wrong—he was aware that his Symbol of Allure was unique.
So he had no issue agreeing that his engraving was unusual.
However, the idea that demons themselves were special?
That part made him tilt his head in confusion.
“Uh, but… the engraving I just obtained is also demon-related?”
“…What did you just say?”
“…Are you serious?”
Before either of them could process what Si-woo had just revealed, a Hunter Association staff member called out from the distance.
“Kang Si-woo, your engraving assessment is ready!!”
Kang Hong-yeon’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Meanwhile, Yoo Seo-ha let out a deep sigh, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
Watching their reactions, Si-woo remained calm and made an offer.
“Would you like to see the results together?”
After all, there was no point in sending them away—they were going to investigate him either way.
‘Might as well get some free information out of this.’
It wasn’t every day he got a chance to extract valuable insight from a world-class researcher.
After all, Si-woo now possessed a total of four engravings.
<Engraving Name: Symbol of Allure>
<Rank: S (Growth-Type)>
<Motif: Incubus or Asmodeus>
Transforms the body into one with high yang energy.
Optimizes the user’s appearance and physiology to be most alluring to women, similar to an Incubus.
Stimulates the instincts of charmed women.
The first engraving needed no further explanation.
“Wait, something weird just got added to the motif.”
“Doesn’t seem that strange to me?”
At Yoo Seo-ha’s response, Si-woo struggled to find the right words.
Instead, he just rubbed his throbbing temples in silence.
Incubus alone was bad enough—but now Asmodeus too?
‘No wonder my charm ability keeps getting stronger…’
At this rate, he was seriously worried that S-rank Hunters might start falling for him too.
<Engraving Name: Snow White’s Blossom>
<Rank: B>
<Motif: X>
Emits high yin energy.
Grants natural talent for ice-based abilities.
Provides cold resistance.
<Engraving Name: Indomitable Will>
<Rank: C>
<Motif: X>
Temporarily eliminates pain and physical limitations when reaching one’s limit.
Side effects may include fainting or collapse after use.
The next two engravings were ones that Baek Eun-seol had prepared for him.
Snow White’s Blossom was to suppress the effects of Symbol of Allure.
Indomitable Will was a gift from an Engraving Book he received as an entrance gift.
Both were incredibly useful for a Hunter’s life.
‘Even if Indomitable Will is low-rank, it’ll still be incredibly valuable.’
The ability to push past pain and exhaustion, even for a short time, was invaluable.
In the endless labyrinth of gates, Indomitable Will was far more useful than Symbol of Allure.
After all, charm only worked on women.
Unless he was fighting monsters with a specific gender, like a Yuki-onna, his charm alone wouldn’t keep him alive in a gate.
Since his Symbol of Allure was completely useless against monsters without a gender or male monsters, Si-woo had no choice but to rely on other means of survival.
Or at least, that’s what he wanted to believe.
With that thought, he turned to the fourth engraving he had acquired from Glacia’s story—the one connected to the Yuki-onna’s Mansion.
<Engraving Name: Mark of Demon Hatred>
<Rank: SS>
<Motif: ???>
An artificial engraving created solely for the purpose of killing demons.
Steals power from demons.
Weakens demonic abilities.
Identifies weaknesses of demons.
Enhances physical abilities when fighting demons.
“Wow.”
Kang Hong-yeon let out an impressed exclamation as she read the details.
The SS-rank alone was enough to be shocking.
But the effects of the engraving were so absurd that they momentarily overshadowed its rank altogether.
“It definitely lives up to its name.”
An engraving created exclusively to kill demons.
Just like Symbol of Allure, it existed for one sole purpose—with no room for anything else.
Si-woo let out a deep sigh.
‘Why are demon-related engravings always so extreme?’
Every effect was designed purely to kill demons.
And in that instant, Kang Hong-yeon’s earlier claim was completely disproven.
Until now, she had believed no one else had ever awakened a demon-related engraving—yet here was an engraving specifically meant to counter demons.
Her smile widened as she read through the effects.
“Ha… This is exactly why the world beyond the gates is so fascinating.”
“My hypothesis just got completely overturned.”
With a gleam of intense curiosity in her eyes, Kang Hong-yeon suddenly snatched the assessment results from Si-woo’s hands.
Si-woo and Yoo Seo-ha both grimaced as they watched Kang Hong-yeon rapidly skim through the lower section of the assessment report—filled with technical jargon only experts could understand.
‘Damn… this crazy woman.’
‘I know I shouldn’t say this, but… she’s seriously not normal.’
If engravings had a will of their own, then this one had truly found the perfect host.
Kang Hong-yeon’s eyes sparkled as she absorbed the engraving’s details.
Her expression was a mix of childlike excitement and obsessive determination—the face of someone who had just discovered a brand-new toy to play with.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of danger, Si-woo instinctively took a step away from her.
Clench—!!
“Hik!!”
But before he could escape, Kang Hong-yeon suddenly grabbed his hand.
The moment Si-woo met her gaze, he knew—something was seriously wrong.
“Kang Si-woo, right?”
“Yes… but why are you asking all of a sudden?”
A terrible sense of unease crept over him.
He wanted to run away right this second.
Before Yoo Seo-ha could react, Kang Hong-yeon made her proposal.
“How about joining an S-rank gate raid?”
A proposal that went beyond reckless.
Something that should never be asked of an Academy student.