David didn’t move.
For several seconds, he simply stared at Jenna.
"The Upper Side?"
The words came out quieter than he’d intended.
Jenna gave him an unimpressed look.
"Yes."
"You mean the Upper Side?"
"How many Upper Sides do you think there are?"
David’s mouth opened, then closed again.
Fair point.
He had heard plenty about the Upper Side before.
Everyone had.
The Upper Side wasn’t simply another neighborhood. It was the part of the city where the wealthy lived, where the biggest companies had their headquarters, where private security was practically everywhere, and where ordinary people rarely had any reason to go.
It was separated from the rest of the city by more than money.
There were barriers.
Checkpoints.
Private roads.
And, most importantly, people like David didn’t belong there.
Yet Jenna had just casually told him that whatever Hunter organization she belonged to was located there.
’What the hell is going on?’
He glanced at Nicole.
She seemed completely unfazed by the conversation.
That bothered him almost as much as Jenna’s answer.
’So Nicole knows about all of this too?’
David’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His neighbor had just dropped out of the sky.
Literally.
And apparently, that wasn’t even the strangest thing about her.
She had also casually admitted to knowing about magical energy, dungeons, and Hunters.
Yet yesterday, she’d been sitting beside him while they played games.
’My neighborhood is fucking weird.’
"Are we walking there?" David finally asked.
Jenna raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not."
She turned around and started walking toward the mouth of the alley.
"There’s a car nearby."
David followed after her, but his pace slowed slightly when he noticed Nicole falling into step beside him.
Lion remained behind them.
Still watching.
Still close enough to grab him if he tried anything.
David glanced sideways at Nicole.
She noticed.
"What?"
"You know, considering what I just found out about you, I’m starting to have several questions."
Nicole smiled.
"Only several?"
"A lot."
"That’s understandable."
"Like how the hell did you just fall from the sky?"
She laughed.
"That?"
She pointed upward.
"I jumped."
David stared at her.
"You jumped."
"Yep."
"From where?"
"The roof."
"Why?"
"Because Lion called me."
David blinked.
’That’s her explanation?’
He looked toward Lion.
The giant man simply shrugged.
David slowly turned back to Nicole.
"You jumped off a building because he called you?"
"Technically, I jumped off the building because I was already on the roof."
"That doesn’t make it better."
Nicole laughed again.
David wasn’t sure how she managed to make something like that sound so ordinary.
She had jumped off a building.
A building.
And apparently the only thing she found strange about his reaction was that he was asking questions about it.
For someone who had apparently been dragged into whatever secret supernatural world this was, she seemed far too cheerful.
David wasn’t sure whether that made her trustworthy or terrifying.
Probably both.
They finally stepped out of the alley.
A black vehicle was parked a short distance away.
It wasn’t flashy.
That was what immediately caught David’s attention.
No expensive sports car.
No ridiculous limousine.
Just a dark sedan with tinted windows.
Jenna walked toward it without hesitation.
Nicole followed.
Lion opened the rear door.
David stopped beside the vehicle.
He looked at the open door.
Then at Lion.
Then back at the door.
’This is definitely how people get kidnapped.’
He glanced around the street.
Nobody was paying attention.
That didn’t make him feel better.
He looked at the vehicle again.
’Well, if they wanted to kidnap me, I suppose they’ve already done the difficult part.’
David sighed.
He climbed inside.
’Nothing. Just accepting my kidnapping like a reasonable citizen.’
Nicole entered after him while Jenna took the passenger seat.
Lion got behind the wheel.
The engine started.
And just like that, David was officially leaving everything he knew behind.
For the first few minutes, nobody spoke.
David sat against the window, watching the city pass by.
The familiar streets gradually disappeared.
Small stores became larger buildings.
Crowded roads became cleaner.
Old apartment blocks gave way to modern offices and expensive residential towers.
Even the sidewalks looked different.
Cleaner.
Quieter.
More controlled.
David frowned.
’So this is the Upper Side.’
He had expected something more dramatic.
Maybe massive gates.
Maybe armed guards.
Maybe some kind of magical barrier.
Instead, it looked like an ordinary wealthy district.
That was somehow more unsettling.
It was almost too normal.
The people walking along the sidewalks looked like everyone else. Businessmen. Students. Couples. People carrying shopping bags.
Nobody looked like they were secretly fighting monsters in underground dungeons.
David stared out the window.
’Maybe everyone really is just pretending nothing weird is happening.’
"You’re disappointed."
Jenna’s voice came from the front.
David looked toward her.
"What?"
"You were expecting something more impressive."
"I wasn’t."
"You were."
"I wasn’t."
She glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
"You’ve been staring out the window for ten minutes."
"Because I’ve never been here."
"Obviously."
David clicked his tongue.
"Can you stop acting like you know everything?"
"I know enough."
"That’s exactly what someone who knows everything would say."
Nicole snorted from beside him.
Jenna looked at her.
"What’s funny?"
"Nothing."
"You laughed."
"I breathed funny."
David covered his mouth, barely holding back a laugh.
Jenna’s eyes narrowed.
"You two are annoying."
Lion suddenly spoke from the driver’s seat.
"She’s right."
David looked at him.
"You’re agreeing with her?"
"You’re annoying."
Nicole gasped.
"Wow. Lion actually spoke."
"Shut up."
David couldn’t help it.
A small smile formed on his face.
Despite everything, the exchange made the situation feel slightly less threatening.
Only slightly.
Because the questions were still there.
And none of them had been answered.
He looked at Jenna through the gap between the seats.
"So..."
Jenna sighed.
"Here we go."
"What exactly is a Hunter?"
"Someone who hunts."
David stared at the back of her head.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"That’s your answer?"
"What else do you want?"
"Something useful."
Jenna was silent for a moment.
Then she answered.
"Hunters are people capable of entering dungeons, fighting monsters, and dealing with supernatural incidents."
David’s expression became serious.
"So there really are monsters?"
"Yes."
"Dungeons?"
"Yes."
"Magic?"
"Yes."
David leaned back.
’Okay.’
His mind struggled to process the simplicity of it.
Everything he’d thought was fiction was apparently real.
And somehow, he’d been living right beside it without noticing.
He looked at Nicole.
"So you’ve known about this the whole time?"
Nicole nodded.
"Pretty much."
"And you never thought to mention it?"
"You never asked."
David stared at her.
"How exactly was I supposed to ask?"
Nicole shrugged.
"I don’t know. ’Hey, Nicole, are monsters real?’"
David rubbed his forehead.
"Right. I’ll remember that for next time."
"There won’t be a next time."
"That’s somehow worse."
Nicole smiled.
David turned back toward the window.
The city continued moving outside.
He couldn’t help wondering how long this world had existed without him knowing.
Were there Hunters everywhere?
Were there monsters hiding beneath the city?
How many people knew?
How many people didn’t?
And if dungeons were real, why hadn’t ordinary people noticed?
The thought bothered him.
Then again, the answer was probably obvious.
People only believed what they had a reason to believe.
Until yesterday, David had never had one.
"Then what’s an Awakened?"
This time, Nicole answered.
"Someone who has awakened magical energy."
David immediately glanced at her.
"And that’s what you think I am?"
"No."
Nicole shook her head.
"That’s the problem."
Her cheerful expression faded slightly.
"You shouldn’t be able to see a dungeon without magical energy."
David’s eyebrows pulled together.
"So you don’t think I’m Awakened?"
"I don’t know what you are."
That answer was far more honest than he expected.
Nicole looked at him thoughtfully.
"But if you really saw Jenna entering the dungeon..."
She paused.
"Then you’re definitely not normal."
David looked away.
’Great.’
That was exactly what he needed.
Another person telling him he wasn’t normal.
He’d spent most of his life trying not to attract attention.
Now he’d somehow managed to become a mystery to people who apparently fought monsters for a living.
David’s hand slipped into his pocket.
His fingers brushed against his phone.
For a brief moment, he considered checking the system.
But he stopped himself.
Not here.
Not with all three of them around.
He still didn’t know what they could see.
More importantly, he didn’t know what the system would do if it detected them.
The notification from earlier had already been strange enough.
[Lust Bond Gaze has now been deactivated.]
At least that problem was gone.
Now he needed answers.
Real ones.
He looked at Jenna.
"How long have Hunters existed?"
"Long enough."
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the answer you’re getting for now."
David frowned.
"You people are really bad at explaining things."
"We’re not here to give you a history lesson."
"Then why am I here?"
Jenna looked back at him.
"Because you saw something you shouldn’t have."
David’s expression hardened.
"So I’m a problem."
"I didn’t say that."
"You didn’t have to."
Jenna turned forward again.
"We’re trying to figure out what you are."
David didn’t respond.
That answer should have made him nervous.
Instead, something else bothered him.
They were genuinely curious.
Not just suspicious.
Curious.
That meant whatever was happening to him wasn’t something they had encountered often.
Possibly ever.
’
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