The Commander put down his quill and rose from his desk, heading swiftly toward the western gate of Astera.
But before he even arrived—
The lantern-like Firefly Cage at his waist began to vibrate.
A moment later, the Scoutflies within burst free.
Only—
They weren't glowing the usual green.
Every last one of them shimmered blue.
And not just his—across the entire base, other hunters' Scoutflies lifted from their cages, spiraling upward in unison.
The air filled with countless streaks of azure light,
gathering together into a luminous ribbon that snaked its way across the sky—
all of them converging toward the west gate.
The hum of the base fell silent.
Every hunter, every smith, every scholar stopped what they were doing and looked up.
Scoutflies—those miraculous creatures capable of sensing scent, life, and energy—
were something the Commander himself had discovered and cultivated when they first came to the New World.
The hunters knew their meanings well.
Green—tracking.
Yellow—target found.
Blue—
Blue meant power.
Blue appeared only before Elder Dragons,
or before monsters that had surpassed even the natural order—Arch-tempered Kings.
The Commander's brow furrowed deeply.
"...This signal."
He didn't hesitate.
"All hunters, to the west gate! Evacuate all support personnel!"
By the time he arrived, the gate was already surrounded.
More than a dozen hunters stood on the parapets, tense hands gripping the hilts of their weapons, gazes fixed outward.
The Commander pushed through the line.
And then—
He saw it.
A knight in heavy armor,
walking calmly down the main path.
Trailing behind him, bound by thick jungle vines,
was a massive Great Jagras, its bulk dragging deep grooves through the dirt.
At his side padded a small, pink, catlike creature the size of an Ailu.
It chirped and hummed curiously at the sight of the fortress.
But the most shocking thing wasn't the dragon—
It was the blue halo of Scoutflies swirling around the knight.
The Commander felt his throat tighten.
He was the one who had studied Scoutfly behavior.
He knew exactly what this light meant.
"That man… his vitality—or his combat potential—rivals an Elder Dragon's!"
More hunters gathered by the moment.
They whispered among themselves, their instincts screaming danger.
And then—
The luminous blue cloud suddenly shifted hue.
Red.
The light flared and vanished in an instant.
Every hunter froze.
They knew what red meant—
Scoutflies turned red when they sensed mortal danger.
Which meant—
"He's hostile!?"
Several hunters jumped from the ramparts without hesitation, drawing their weapons.
The clang of steel rang through the air as they took their stances.
The New World's fortress—forty years in the making—could not fall here!
Bai Chen blinked, staring at the disappearing glow.
Then he glanced back—
The Great Jagras had begun to stir.
Its eyes snapped open, burning with fury.
"Wait—!" Bai Chen shouted quickly.
The hunters tensed—
And then, before anyone could move, Bai Chen stepped forward.
He raised his right fist high—
BAM!
The blow landed square on the Jagras's skull.
A thud echoed across the field as the beast's body slumped again, out cold, a small trickle of blood seeping into the dirt.
The hunters gawked, speechless.
"...He just… punched it unconscious?"
A wyvern's skull was its hardest point of defense; no sane hunter attacked there directly.
Yet this man—
He had struck it barehanded.
And won.
"That kind of strength… not even the Commander of the First Fleet…"
Bai Chen turned toward the tense line of hunters.
He pulled off his helmet, wiping away a bead of sweat, and sighed.
"Relax—it's me."
The entire wall went silent.
A beat later—
"...The Mushroom Hunter?"
"Wait—the Mushroom Hunter!?"
Even the Commander blinked in disbelief.
"Bai Chen?"
Bai Chen grinned sheepishly and waved.
"You guys sure make an entrance. Oh—by the way, anyone got a spare Capture Net?"
The hunters stared, dumbfounded, before one finally snapped out of it.
"Here—use mine."
"Thanks."
He turned, shoved the capture net into the Jagras's gaping mouth, and waited for the soft chime of the system.
[Quest Complete.]
Satisfied, he dusted off his hands.
"Done. So, Commander, should I drop this one off in the Research Wing or release it?"
The Commander didn't even know where to begin asking questions.
But the beast was captured—letting it go now would be wasteful.
"Send it to the Ecological Research Division," he ordered.
The nearby Ailu and hunters moved to drag the stunned Jagras inside.
With the tension fading, the gathered hunters swarmed Bai Chen.
"How did you trigger a blue signal?!"
"Do you realize you made every Scoutfly in the base freak out?"
"Gone for a month and already causing chaos!"
Others were more distracted by his gear—
and his tiny companion.
"Who's this little cutie?"
"She's adorable!"
"This is my partner," Bai Chen replied vaguely, smiling at the flustered smith.
The male hunters leaned in, eyes gleaming with envy.
"That armor—pure steel?"
"And those blades? They don't look like any smithy's work I've seen!"
A flood of questions came all at once—
until the Commander's voice cut through the noise.
"Bai Chen. My office. Now."
"Yes, sir!" Bai Chen saluted, apologizing quickly to the others.
"We'll talk later—I owe you all a round at the canteen."
He squeezed through the curious crowd and followed the Commander inside.
The corridors buzzed with gossip as they walked.
Support staff peeked out from behind crates, murmuring.
"They said it was an Elder Dragon attack…"
"And it turns out it's just him?"
"He scared the whole base half to death!"
Bai Chen's ears burned slightly.
"Didn't think my blood would freak out the Scoutflies that bad…"
He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"When I got Elder Dragon Blood before, they didn't even blink…"
Inside the Commander's office, the air was quieter.
The swordmaster—usually seated in the corner—was nowhere to be seen, likely out on a hunt.
The Commander sat across from him at the wide oak table, expression steady.
"Let's start simply," he said.
"That peculiar creature beside you—what is it?"
Bai Chen was ready for this.
"Commander, this is my new companion," he said smoothly.
"A master smith from another world—calls herself Smithy.
She's traveling the world chasing her dream of becoming the greatest blacksmith alive.
The armor and blades I'm wearing? All her handiwork."
The Commander studied the little creature—
her hammer, her pink fur, the faint glow of craftsmanship that clung to her like heat.
Her shape wasn't like Ailu's. Not even close.
He nodded slowly.
"I see. Truly… an otherworldly being, then."
Smithy tilted her head, blinking.
"Yama?"
Bai Chen chuckled under his breath.
"Don't worry. He's just impressed."
The Commander smiled faintly—but his eyes stayed sharp.
"Welcome back, Bai Chen," he said.
"You've only been gone a month… and yet somehow, the entire base knows your name again."
Bai Chen scratched his cheek.
"Well… guess I'm just good at making an entrance."
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