7

ALL EYES ON JINWOO

Kaisel landed in front of the Hunter’s Association Headquarters.

Kreeee!

The Hunter’s Association was a busy hub for hunters. Shocked members of the association ran out of the building as a huge magic beast appeared in the middle of Seoul and landed right in front of their workplace. Surveillance Team hunters had tracked the approach of a being with magic power and so were ready with weapons brandished.

Everyone was astounded to see Jinwoo dismounting from the beast.

Return.

Kaisel melted back into Jinwoo’s shadow at the order.

People recognized him immediately.

W-was that Hunter Sung’s minion?

A magic beast like that is also under his control?

They’d seen on TV what Jinwoo was capable of. In their minds, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to be commanding a magic beast as well.

Jinwoo approached someone he recognized, a hunter from the Surveillance Team who usually accompanied President Go.

“I would like to see the president.”

President Go wasn’t a man someone could meet with on a whim. Even members of the government had to wait at least a week to see him. But how could you say no to this man, a hunter who had suddenly popped up in the middle of a raid he wasn’t assigned to and dispatched a magic beast that was slaughtering S-rank hunters?

Besides, the president of the Hunter’s Association was bound to want to meet with him as well.

The subordinate informed him, “The president is currently at the hospital.”

“Is he ill?”

Jinwoo recalled that President Go’s health wasn’t the best. His heart condition might have been exacerbated by the raid broadcast.

“No, he went to check on Hunter Cha.”

Jinwoo nodded. He realized he might not get to see President Go today.

The subordinate stopped Jinwoo before he could walk away. “I’ll contact him for you. Please wait a moment in the reception room.”

“Great, thank you.”

Jinwoo was relieved. He had something he wanted to tell President Go as soon as possible.

Haein had been admitted to the official hospital of the Hunter’s Association. President Go was waiting to hear from the doctor.

“How is she doing?” the president asked as soon as he saw the doctor.

“We haven’t done a thorough examination, but…she seems to be stable. She’s sleeping comfortably now.”

“I see…” President Go nodded. Nothing he didn’t know.

Haein’s current condition was confusing to the doctor as he, too, had been watching the raid right next to President Go.

“Her face was pale from the loss of blood. How was Hunter Cha able to recover to this extent?”

“……”

The president had received a detailed report from her fellow hunters, but he didn’t share it with the doctor.

Even if I told him the truth, would he believe me?

Would the doctor believe that Jinwoo had treated Haein by using the power of a deceased healer? Besides, Jinwoo had asked for the camera to be turned off so as to keep this ability of his hidden, so President Go knew better than to spread the information around. Naturally, the other hunters had agreed with this decision.

“The A-rank healers I had on standby treated her.”

“Her condition looked quite critical, but…I’m glad they made it.”

Fortunately, it appeared as though the doctor believed President Go.

“Oh.” The doctor recalled something. “About Hunter Sung…”

Jinwoo’s name got the president’s attention.

“What about him?”

As President Go’s eyes sharpened, the doctor spoke quickly.

“You’re aware that his mother was hospitalized here, right?”

“She had the Eternal Sleep Disease, no?”

“Yes.”

President Go had read up on Jinwoo’s family and relationships when the association investigated him. He imagined the worst-case scenario, and his face hardened.

“Did…did she pass away?”

The doctor shook his head. “Just the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“She woke up from her coma and was discharged immediately.”

“Are you serious?”

“Everyone was in an uproar about that. It wasn’t officially announced, but it happened in this very hospital, so…”

The hospital personnel had also watched the livestream, so naturally, Jinwoo’s name was on everyone’s lips. That was how news of Jinwoo’s mother had reached the doctor’s ears.

“She was cured of the Eternal Sleep Disease? Is that even possible?”

“As far as I know, this is the first case.”

“When did Hunter Sung’s mother wake up?”

“I think…” The doctor went over the date in his mind. “It should have been about five days ago.”

“……”

President Go finally fit all the puzzle pieces together. He had invited Jinwoo to join the raid team around the same time that his mother had recovered.

Hunter Sung’s father went missing in a gate, didn’t he?

She’d lost her husband during a raid, so it would have been difficult for Jinwoo to leave his mother and participate, especially since it was an extermination mission that had previously failed three times.

President Go reflected on his failure to look into Jinwoo’s situation more thoroughly.

That’s why Hunter Sung passed on joining the raid.

Between Jinwoo’s home situation and his performance in the mission, the potential misunderstanding had been fully cleared.

President Go was extremely pleased. Jinwoo was a rare young man, a type one would be hard-pressed to find these days, and President Go had come to favor him quite a bit.

At that moment, an association employee approached.

“Sir.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Hunter Min’s family isn’t answering our calls.”

“You mean his mother?”

“Yes.”

That was understandable. Her son’s death had been announced on national TV. Her voice had trembled when she’d called the association. They’d had no choice but to gently confirm his death to her.

“I will visit her myself.”

“You’re going to see her personally?”

“A mother lost her son, and a funeral will be held without his body. Do you think she’s in the right state of mind to answer a phone call?”

“T-true, but…”

“I’ll personally go and give her my condolences as well as news about the raid.”

“…Understood, sir.”

The somber employee was about to leave when their phone rang. It was a call from the association, so they answered it with President Go’s permission.

“Pardon? Someone wants to see President Go? What?! He does?”

President Go shook his head. “I don’t want to see anyone today.”

The employee covered the phone receiver with their hand.

“Sir, the person who wants to see you is…Hunter Sung.”

“Hunter Sung?” President Go’s eyes widened, and he retracted his previous statement.

“Tell them I’ll be there right away.”

An employee escorted Jinwoo to the president’s office.

Jinwoo took a seat.

“Would you care for a drink?” asked the employee.

Jinwoo was going to decline, but he suddenly realized how thirsty he was. Thinking back, he hadn’t had a sip of water after all that fierce combat.

“Some water, please.”

“Thank you!”

“……?”

What was the employee thanking Jinwoo for? The nervous employee’s face flushed at the mistake. They set a small bottle of water in front of Jinwoo and bowed.

“Please let me know if you need anything else.”

“Okay.”

The employee seemed more attentive and cautious than the last time Jinwoo had been in this room.

I bet it’s because of the broadcast.

Jinwoo guessed that most people would look at him or treat him differently because of it.

Soon, the president of the association entered.

“Hunter Sung!”

Jinwoo was about to get up, but President Go stopped him.

Jinwoo had just come back from Jeju Island. He’d fought a terrifying magic-beast ant that almost killed all their S-rank hunters. Jinwoo was the VIP of VIPs now. After Jinwoo had saved all those hunters’ lives, President Go wanted to treat Jinwoo as an equal.

He sat opposite Jinwoo instead of at the head of the table.

“I heard what happened in the ants’ cave.”

“Oh, yes.”

Then this conversation would go fast. Jinwoo was glad to hear it.

President Go continued. “And I also heard how you got here.”

Many people from the association had seen Kaisel, so there was no way it hadn’t reached the ears of the president of said association.

“Did you ride that beast to Jeju Island?”

Jinwoo had traveled to the island using Shadow Exchange, but there was no need to reveal all his cards.

Jinwoo chose his words carefully. “Something like that.”

He had basically confessed that he was the culprit behind the magic beast seen in the skies over Seoul a few days ago, but this would let him ride Kaisel more freely in the future.

“I see.” It was as President Go had thought. He nodded.

Jinwoo could utilize the powers of dead magic beasts. If he had slain a magic beast capable of flight, it made sense that he could use it to get around.

With his curiosity satisfied, it was now time for President Go to get down to business.

“I was told you wanted to see me…”

“Yes.”

“May I ask what about?”

“I got rid of the ants on Jeju Island.”

“Pardon?” President Go sprang up from his seat. “Are you saying you killed every single one?”

“Yes,” Jinwoo answered firmly. “You can go to Jeju Island with no problem.”

“How…?”

But President Go had an inkling of how Jinwoo had pulled it off. Hundreds of Jinwoo’s minions had been captured on camera. They would be capable of scouring the entirety of Jeju Island and annihilating the ants in a short period of time.

People were able to set foot on Jeju Island now. That meant they could collect Byunggu’s dead body resting in the deepest recesses of the ant cave.

President Go had been rather unhappy that they wouldn’t be able to recover Byunggu’s body until the ants naturally died off within the next year, so tears welled up in his eyes at the prospect of recovering it sooner.

“Thank you, Hunter Sung,” President Go said with all the sincerity in the world.

Due to the news of the Jeju Island raid exploding, no one had noticed that the strongest hunter in the world was staying in a suite at one of Korea’s grandest hotels.

Thomas turned off the TV special recounting the raid. He had already watched the actual footage three times.

Laura, a woman who was accompanying him on this trip, asked, “What do you think?”

“I mean…it’s as you’ve seen.”

Thomas leaned back on the couch and put his feet up on the table. The man had blond hair and a sharp nose, wore sunglasses indoors, and had a permanent smile etched on his face.

“So was that the guy Mr. Hwang was investigating?”

“Yes.”

“And didn’t Dongsoo also ask what would happen if he killed a man in Korea?”

“Yes.”

Thomas had secretly looked into Dongsoo Hwang and Jinwoo Sung on his own after receiving the reports from Laura. There was only one connection between the two—Dongsoo’s older brother, Dongsuk. Dongsuk and Jinwoo had gone into the same dungeon, but Jinwoo had come back out alive while Dongsuk had gone missing. Everyone knew that strange things happened inside dungeons.

“Revenge?”

“Looks like it.”

“I didn’t think Mr. Hwang had any family. He never mentioned anything.”

“I hear Mr. Hwang’s older brother hid any connections between them on his end.”

“That means he was probably involved in something dirty.”

It had to be something scandalous enough that it would damage Dongsoo’s reputation if it came to light. Laura’s agreement was clear by her silence.

But then the Jeju Island raid had occurred.

“Because of this, it’ll be even harder to get a meeting with Jinwoo Sung.”

“I’d say so,” Laura softly answered.

Thomas was one of the top hunters in the world and the guild master of the renowned Scavenger Guild. He had even used his personal vacation days to visit this tiny country because of Jinwoo Sung. Or to be exact, he wanted to gauge what might happen if Dongsoo fought Jinwoo. His excuse to the managers of the guild was that he was here to recruit an S-rank Korean hunter.

“That’s too bad. I really wanted to meet him,” Thomas wistfully mumbled.

Laura addressed him cautiously. “Wouldn’t it be better if Mr. Hwang never met Hunter Sung?”

“Well…” Thomas smiled as he rubbed his chin. “Korea saved Mr. Hwang’s life.”

South Korea had refused to let Dongsoo back into the country, since he’d abandoned his mother country for America when he first became an S-rank hunter. This had been an international incident in the making, so Thomas had come to Korea to see the situation for himself. Unfortunately, Dongsoo Hwang wasn’t the type of person to give up just because he was barred from returning to Korea, especially if his motivation involved revenge.

Thomas was quite a flexible person. He had no intention of incurring ill will by stopping Dongsoo from avenging the death of a family member. But Dongsoo’s power was also important to the Scavenger Guild. Since he and Jinwoo were both S ranks, Thomas wanted to assess Jinwoo’s abilities in advance just in case. After all, it would be troublesome if Dongsoo was defeated.

Thomas was rather relieved that they’d gotten to see Jinwoo in action.

“We can’t let Mr. Hwang set foot inside Korea. Those two cannot meet.”

“I understand. I’ll cease all legal action as well.”

“I’ll talk to Hwang. I’ll make up some excuse, since he’s quite the persistent fellow.”

Laura took meticulous notes on everything her boss said. There was one thing she was curious about, though.

“If…those two ended up having a fight despite our best efforts, what would you do?”

“Laura, don’t you know me?” Thomas smirked. “Mr. Hwang is an asset to the Scavenger Guild. And the Scavenger Guild is mine.”

His mouth was smiling, but the eyes behind his sunglasses were humorless. He always kept his sunglasses on in order to hide his piercing gaze.

Thomas lowered his voice as he sat upright on the couch.

“No one puts their hands on my assets. Not even the American government.”

Thomas Andre, one of five national-level hunters. The man was the power of a country personified.

“We’ll escort you home, Hunter Sung,” President Go quickly told Jinwoo as the other man made to stand up.

“Pardon?”

“If you wait a moment, one of our men will bring a car around. Why don’t you let us drive you back to your place?”

“……”

Jinwoo felt the Hunter’s Association’s and President Go’s appreciation for what he’d done, but he didn’t want them going out of their way for such a small matter. His apartment wasn’t that far, and it certainly wasn’t worth the trouble of borrowing a car. Besides, he’d get home quicker by riding Kaisel or sprinting, so Jinwoo politely declined the president’s offer.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

President Go shook his head. “I think…it’ll be more convenient if you took the car.”

“What do you mean…?”

The president walked over to the window instead of answering him.

“If you would…?”

Jinwoo joined him. That’s when he saw what was waiting for him.

The entrance of the association’s headquarters had been quiet just an hour ago, but now it was absolutely crawling with people.

“All those people came after hearing of your visit.”

Jinwoo didn’t have to ask how they knew.

I rode Kaisel to get here, didn’t I?

Everyone had at least one camera on them these days. Footage of Jinwoo dismounting Kaisel at the Hunter’s Association had quickly spread on social media, and those pictures had naturally reached the eyes of journalists.

It had taken a single sentence. The article wasn’t even that long.

The article stated that the magic beast didn’t seem like an ordinary monster and was black like a shadow, and when compared to the minions summoned by Jinwoo, there was a high possibility it belonged to the new S-rank hunter. Some of the people waiting in front of the association had come to confirm the rumor, and others had come to see Jinwoo himself.

Jinwoo felt a range of emotions after seeing the crowd.

President Go quietly looked down at the people before speaking calmly.

“As you well know…we Koreans have hungered for a victory.”

The great tragedy had occurred four years earlier. Because of the dungeon break on Jeju Island, Korea had become the only country in the world to have been forced to cede land to the magic beasts. Many countries had publicly expressed their condolences but laughed derisively in private at the incompetence of the Korean hunters.

After three different extermination missions had failed, public morale reached its lowest point. Two years passed as people lived in shame.

Then came the news of the fourth attempt with Japan. Some criticized Korea for being unable to deal with the magic beasts without outside help from Japan. But that was the truth of the matter.

But when Japan, with its twenty-plus S-rank hunters, turned their backs on Korea and retreated from the raid, Jinwoo had shown up with his army of shadow soldiers.

It was only natural that people were obsessed with Jinwoo. For people so thirsty, he was an oasis in a desert. The public had taken to the streets because they couldn’t contain their joy at home. Then they’d heard Jinwoo was in the vicinity and had rushed over.

“Of course, you can ride the magic beast home,” said President Go with a gentle laugh. “But could you please consider going down there for them? Those people…they need a hero.”

Jinwoo pushed open the glass door of the association building. The noisy crowd instantly quieted. Silence fell as everyone gazed upon Jinwoo.

“……”

“……”

Jinwoo’s clothes showed traces of his battles. There were stains from the bodily fluids of magic beasts as well as rips and tears made by the Ant King. But no one dared to laugh at his appearance. All sorts of emotions swelled from deep inside their hearts.

As Jinwoo and the crowd regarded one another, a heavy stillness settled between them.

“Mr. Hunter Sung, please come this way.”

Jinchul Woo, who was in charge of escorting Jinwoo home, broke the quiet. Members of the Surveillance Team walked ahead of Jinwoo, asking people for their cooperation. Those in front quickly made way for him.

However, there was always an exception. As Jinwoo neared the car waiting for him, an elderly man approached.

“Mr. Hunter…”

One of the Surveillance Team members went to intervene but stepped back as Jinwoo stopped him at the sight of tears streaming down the elderly man’s face.

The old man called out to him as he choked back his sobs.

“Mr. Hunter… Because of you…my son can rest in peace.”

The elderly man almost collapsed as his legs gave out, but Jinwoo was quick to catch him. He clasped Jinwoo’s arm and bowed again and again.

“Thank you, Mr. Hunter…truly…”

“I simply did what was necessary. Please stand up.”

Jinchul, who had also been supporting the old man, left him in the care of a subordinate. He then whispered in Jinwoo’s ear.

“Hunter Sung, more people are gathering. We should go now…”

“Understood.” Jinwoo nodded.

Jinchul opened the back door for him. Jinwoo looked back at the crowd one last time.

No one knew who started it, but someone in the crowd made eye contact with Jinwoo and gave a quick bow of the head as a gesture of appreciation. Others soon followed. Everywhere Jinwoo looked, people were bowing to show their sincere gratitude.

“…Hunter Sung.”

Jinwoo finally slid into the car seat at the slight anxiety in Jinchul’s voice. Another Surveillance Team member got in behind the wheel, and Jinchul sat in the front passenger’s seat. The car slowly pulled away from the association.

Jinwoo wordlessly gazed out the window.

The crowd watched the car intently, not turning away until it was no longer in view.

Only then did Jinwoo face forward and gently place his hand on his chest.

Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!

His heart was pounding with delight. Jinwoo had felt troubled when President Go asked him to greet the people, but now Jinwoo was glad he’d done as suggested. The happiness radiating from every gaze had been its own reward.

But then…

“Oh.”

Jinchul urgently looked back at Jinwoo. “What is it, Hunter Sung?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Jinwoo massaged his temples as he remembered that he’d purposefully broken the TV in an attempt to protect his mother from the truth.

How can I explain this to her?

And just as he’d expected…when Jinwoo turned on his phone, he had thirteen missed calls from home.

The Internet was an absolute mess, as one would expect. The Jeju Island mission was Jinwoo’s first official raid since he’d been reevaluated as an S-rank hunter. It was his public debut, so to speak.

The man had defeated the fearsome Ant King as his minions swept away the endless hordes of ants. In the same way sports fans poured out into the streets after a match, people who watched the broadcast gathered online.

Since the raid had been the talk of the town, it flooded all the online forums, and Jinwoo’s name was brought up in every conversation.

In particular, fans who kept close tabs on hunters passionately debated the extent of Jinwoo’s abilities.

Of course, some people weren’t all too happy with him.

The statement offered the following reason: Although Jinwoo was an official S-rank hunter, he had no previous experience with high-rank dungeons, so the association had decided to keep him nearby in case of emergency and insert him as needed, rather than making him part of the official raid team.

Although this statement from the association was a rush job, it was good enough to assuage the public.

This is all I can do for Hunter Sung.

With this quick response, President Go managed to both protect Jinwoo’s privacy and shield him from any blame. While some criticized the association’s incompetence for not recognizing Jinwoo’s abilities, none of the backlash was directed at Jinwoo himself.

Instead, Jinwoo’s reputation increased. As far as the public knew, he’d jumped into the fray without a single complaint even when the Korean team was facing annihilation and the Japanese team, who was supposed to buy them time, had withdrawn.

Despite having applied to seal his records, Jinwoo was taken aback at having unexpectedly become the most famous hunter in South Korea because of this raid.

Two days later, an army unit and several hunters landed on Jeju Island in order to retrieve Byunggu Min’s body.

Even though the Knights Guild of the Yeongnam area was a top-five guild, it wasn’t able to participate in the raid because it lacked S-rank hunters. Thanks to them volunteering for this mission in order to give their reputation a much-needed boost, things were progressing smoothly.

The specially trained soldiers hesitated as the hunters led the way.

“C’mon, keep up.”

“We told you, we don’t sense any mana. Seriously, you don’t believe us?”

The hunters walked far ahead of the soldiers, waving at them to hurry along. The soldiers finally followed them with extreme caution. Though frustrating for the hunters, the soldiers’ trepidation was understandable.

Ordinary people couldn’t detect mana, nor could they defend themselves against magic beasts. An abundance of caution was all they had at their disposal.

“Tsk.” The guild master of the Knights Guild clicked his tongue as he scanned their surroundings with his hands on his hips.

Ooh…

His jaw hit the ground.

The closer they got to the ant cave, the more dead ants they saw littering the ground. Corpses were even piled up in hills in some places.

The vice master of the guild, who was also a close friend and longtime colleague, shook his head.

“Boss…do you see this? Can you believe one hunter did all this on his own?”

“……”

The Knights Guild had participated in the third Jeju mission, so they knew firsthand how terrifying the ants were.

“To see those creepy-crawlies in this state…”

“Yeah…that dude, Jinwoo Sung or whatever his name is, is definitely on another level.”

The vice master continued to marvel.

“How was he able to exterminate every single ant in an area this large?”

“Right?”

The elite members of the Knights Guild had their fair share of experience with magic beasts, yet they were amazed by what they saw. They continued to be impressed as they made their way to the entrance of the ant tunnels.

“Boss, is that it?”

“Yeah.”

The hunters stopped just outside the entrance to the ant cave and waited for the soldiers to catch up. The guild master lit a cigarette, since he had nothing else to do to pass the time. Likewise, the vice master also raised a cigarette to his lips.

However…

Tup.

The guild master frowned as he watched the cigarette fall from the vice master’s lips.

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

“B-boss!” The vice master urgently tapped the guild master’s shoulder and pointed straight ahead. The guild master finally sensed something wasn’t right and turned around.

“Whoa!”

A human’s shadow was visible at the entrance to the caves.

The shocked guild master raised his voice.

“Y-you… Who are you?”

Jongsu Park, the guild master of the Knights Guild, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A seemingly normal foreign male walked out of the entrance to the ants’ cave. But that wasn’t possible.

This mission is top secret, isn’t it?

The ground was covered with the highest-quality essence stones. The association had decided to delay announcing the end of the mission until they figured out a way to prevent a mad rush to collect them. Therefore, very few people knew that there were no longer any magic beasts on the island.

Only the association, the soldiers, and…

And the one who’d exterminated the beasts, Jinwoo Sung.

But Jongsu was willing to bet every earthly possession he owned that the man standing in there wasn’t Jinwoo. How could he forget Jinwoo’s face? He was the most talked-about hunter in Korea right now, and his name was on the very top of the Knights Guild’s recruitment wish list.

Jongsu addressed the figure again. “I asked who you are. What were you doing in there?”

Jongsu wasn’t sure if the man couldn’t understand him or simply didn’t want to respond, but the only answer he received was a smile.

Yoontae Jung, the vice master of the Knights Guild, inched closer to Jongsu and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Boss, are you sure that’s a human?”

“I—I don’t know.”

They were certain he was neither a hunter nor a magic beast, since they couldn’t sense any magic power coming from him, but…the man gave off a weird aura. Yoontae was usually one to punch first and ask questions later, but the ominous energy emanating from the stranger gave him pause.

However, unlike the hunters, the soldiers had no way to perceive mana.

Ch-chk, ch-chk!

As soon as they noticed the man, the soldiers cocked their guns. Worried they might kill someone, Jongsu quickly stopped them.

“Hey! Don’t shoot! He isn’t a magic beast!”

“Then…is he human?”

“That’s… Probably.” Jongsu nodded, but his expression was uncertain.

If he isn’t a magic beast, then he should be human.

With his limited knowledge, that was the only conclusion he could draw.

The commander of the army unit nodded shortly. “Understood. We’ll handle it from here.”

“Pardon? Aren’t you guys just here to collect Hunter Min’s body?”

“We also have orders to supervise the situation on Jeju Island.”

Jongsu nodded and withdrew. If an opponent wasn’t a hunter or a magic beast, there was no need for the Knights Guild to interfere. Jongsu thought it would be best to stand down, observe, and not get involved.

The commander shouted at the man. “You have entered a restricted area. If you do not follow our instructions, we will open fire.”

“……”

The man’s smile didn’t budge.

Gulp!

The soldiers swallowed hard.

Should we shoot?

Considering they’d never fired a gun at a human before, their reactions made sense. The hunters were tense as well. They were starting to think that the strange man might be hiding something, since he just stood there grinning.

The man then put his hands in his pants pockets.

Is…he really human?

How could a person be so relaxed with so many guns trained on him?

Jongsu’s expression turned grave.

Ch-chk, ch-chk!

Not being able to see the man’s hands was making the soldiers tense up even more.

“Don’t fire! Don’t fire! Not yet!” A thick vein strained on the commander’s neck as he yelled at his men.

But then…

“Commander!” A soldier’s shout had the commander turning his attention back to the mystery man just in time to see him opening his mouth.

“……?”

He spoke a language they couldn’t understand. Not only that, but his voice and pronunciation sounded like he was speaking something otherworldly.

“Huh?”

“What’s he saying?”

The soldiers were unsure of what was going on, because they’d never experienced this before, but Jongsu stuttered.

“Th-the language of magic beasts?”

Hunters sometimes encountered intelligent magic beasts in high-rank dungeons. The man spoke in a similar language as them.

“Then that thing is—”

Before the commander could finish his sentence, the foreign man took his hands out of his pockets.

Blam!

An ear-piercing sound reverberated through the air. A well-trained special-forces soldier had reflexively pulled the trigger at the man’s suspicious movements.

Ack!

The startled commander spun toward the man. The bullet hit him in the forehead and fell to the ground uselessly. The man’s smile had vanished.

“M-magic beast!”

“It’s not human!”

The shouting didn’t last long. As soon as the man’s eyes glowed red, hunters and soldiers alike felt a tightening in their chest.

“Ah, ahhh!”

“Argh…”

But then…

Snap!

At the sound of fingers snapping, the humans went limp and collapsed to the ground like marionettes whose strings had been cut.

That wasn’t the man’s doing. He turned around to address someone else.

“What are you doing?”

A shorter middle-aged man appeared behind him.

“There’s no need to cause trouble. I just put them to sleep.”

This new man also spoke in the otherworldly tongue.

“…You’re right.”

The first stranger acquiesced, though he seemed disappointed. His middle-aged companion stared into the cavern.

“Did you check?”

The first man nodded. “It’s his power for sure.”

“How odd.” The middle-aged fellow looked at the unconscious hunters. “I don’t know why he’s helping the humans.”

“Who knows what he’s thinking. If you’re so curious, why don’t you go ask him yourself?”

“…No, thank you.” The middle-aged man shook his head. “The hunting will start as planned. Nothing has changed.”

“Got it.”

The elder of the pair lightly twirled his hand, and a black hole, a gate, big enough for a single person appeared in midair.

“Oh, right.”

The middle-aged man briefly looked back as his acquaintance continued.

“It looks like one of them is here.”

“In Korea?”

“How about getting rid of that one first, since we’re already here?”

The elder man narrowed his eyes. Soon, the information the first had mentioned flowed into his mind, but he was unwilling to follow his companion’s suggestion.

“I think…we should let him handle this area.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to get involved?”

“I guess you can say that. Think what you want.”

The middle-aged man’s voice followed him through the gate, and it closed behind him.

Vmm…

After making sure the gate was completely gone, the remaining stranger mumbled, “Coward…”

He looked at the humans lying helplessly on the ground. They’d wake up soon.

Hmph.

The man snorted and reached a hand toward the humans.

……

He quietly retracted his hand. “Well, I guess there’s no need to cause trouble.”

The enigmatic figure soon disappeared through another gate.

Later that night, Jinwoo sat on the floor in his bedroom inspecting a dagger. It was the Demon Monarch’s Dagger, which had performed excellently during the battle against the Ant King.

The attack power and extra buff were incredible. Jinwoo reread the dagger’s information screen multiple times. His reaction was understandable, as his former weapon of choice, the A-rank Barca’s Dagger, had an attack power of only 110.

Jinwoo searched the shop but was unable to find another S-rank dagger with attack power over 200. To add to that, he was very pleased that his strength stat would be added on to the attack power when he used both daggers together. His strength had already surpassed 200 and was going on 250, so to have that amount of power tacked on?

At a rough estimation, the attack power of the Demon Monarch’s Daggers would be four times higher than Barca’s Dagger.

No wonder they felt so great to use.

Other hunters would go crazy over these daggers if they knew what they could do.

And what about the sword?

Considering the logistics of a sword versus a dagger, it was a given that the sword would have a higher attack power than a single dagger. However, what was unusual was the sword’s buff.

I can attack a wide area just by swinging it around?

It would be a very useful weapon when dealing with multiple enemies. In fact, Jinwoo still got goose bumps when he remembered how difficult the sword had been for his shadow soldiers to deal with. Its strength now wasn’t comparable to Balan’s actual magic, but it was still very impressive.

If it wasn’t for my dagger-related skills, I’d use the sword more…

Jinwoo was about to swing the sword in his room but stopped himself in time.

……

Despite the late hour, having lightning strike in the next room would wake anyone, and he didn’t want to give his mother more reasons to be stressed.

He gently lowered the sword.

Speaking of, that’s a huge relief.

His mother hadn’t objected to his job. When he’d returned home, Jinwoo had spilled everything to his mother except for details regarding the system. He told her that he’d become an S-rank hunter after being reawakened by chance and that he wanted to continue working as a hunter.

She had been worried at first but eventually gave Jinwoo her blessing.

“I’d like for you to do whatever you want to do, Jinwoo.”

Her one condition was to not overdo it.

Though if a situation ever arises that I can’t easily handle…

Jinwoo shook his head to stop any dark thoughts.

Then he remembered something his mother had said.

“Is that why he appeared?”

“Who?”

“I heard your father’s voice when I was asleep in the hospital.”

“What did he say?”

“That’s…”

She then explained that she had never heard anyone’s voice in her dreams before then, nor had she heard any after.

I guess Mom still misses Dad.

Despite that, she hadn’t stopped her son from becoming a hunter because she trusted him. And so Jinwoo had no intention whatsoever of disappointing his mother.

Survival—that was most important to Jinwoo. He’d gotten to where he was today, despite all the setbacks, because he’d never given up.

…Okay.

There was nothing stopping him from raiding dungeons now that he had his mother’s full support. He could establish a guild and quickly level up by sweeping all the high-rank dungeons.

Jinwoo couldn’t wait.

And I have another reason to level up.

Vmmm…

Jinwoo summoned Igris, the shadow soldier who had been with him the longest.

Plus…

He was also the only knight-rank soldier provided directly by the system. In other words, Igris was closely linked to the system, more than any other soldier.

“You’ll be able to talk to me once you rank up, right?”

Jinwoo had so many things he wanted to ask Igris.

Of course, he didn’t receive an answer to his question.

“……” Igris was silent as usual. If silence were a sound, Igris would be the noisiest soldier in the world.

Jinwoo chuckled and picked up the Demon Monarch’s weapons.

Inventory.

As he stored his weapons away, something sparkling caught his eye.

…What’s that?

Jinwoo’s eyes widened. One of the items in the inventory was gleaming.