66 - 71

Chapter 66: Chapter 66

Park Hui-Jin had realised something back then.

And that would be the level of terror an upper-ranked dungeon could possess, and how powerless she was in front of such overwhelming odds.

'It's like, I'm the one who ended up learning what Mister Seong Jin-Woo wanted to teach Hahn Song-Yi….'

It was kind of embarrassing, but what could she do? Pretending that terrifying things weren't terrifying was an exercise in foolhardiness and stupidity.

The experiences she had back in the Red Gate were enough to make her skin crawl. However…

However, just because of her fear, she couldn't give up on all the sweet treatment and the status enjoyed by a rank B Hunter.

The sky-high annual salary!

The plentiful societal benefits!!

And finally, the public recognition!

If one disregarded the inherent danger, then being a Hunter was pretty much the perfect career. Precisely because of the high-risk factor, the return on 'investment' was equally huge.

But now, Park Hui-Jin had figured out a sure-fire way to decrease the risk associated with her job.

'And that is to go on a raid together with the team leader Seong Jin-Woo.'

The one person Park Hui-Jin was utterly envious of back in the Red Gate dungeon was none other than Hahn Song-Yi. There was only one reason for that.

And that would be the promise Seong Jin-Woo made towards Hahn Song-Yi.

I brought you here with me, so I will take full responsibility and protect you.

If you analyse those words in a different way, then he was trying to say that he had no reason whatsoever to protect other team members besides Hahn Song-Yi. No, they were just baggage.

So, she was constantly worried that those two folks would abandon the group and sneak away unnoticed.

But on the sixth day….

Seong Jin-Woo really did clear the upper-rank dungeon all by himself and took Hahn Song-Yi home, safe and sound.

He had kept his promise.

Seeing that, Park Hui-Jin became sure of one thing. And that would be…

As long as she was working for him during the raids, she'd never find herself in danger.

The moment she realised this, her heart began pounding uncontrollably. And the level of her excitement hadn't cooled off even until now.

His calm and cold decision making.

His excellent abilities.

And not only that, his sense of responsibility, too.

She really wanted to go on a raid together with Seong Jin-Woo. That was why she came up with that term of hers.

'They must put me in the team leader Seong Jin-Woo's raid team, no questions asked.'

Baek Yun-Ho and Ahn Sahng-Min chatted to each other. And a little bit later….

"We accept your terms."

Baek Yun-Ho smiled genially.

"In that case, Miss Park Hui-Jin, act together with Chief Ahn for the time being."

"Thank you very much, sir."

However, she was well aware that scouting that man wouldn't be easy. Seong Jin-Woo was more than well aware of his own true worth, after all.

'Even during the Red Gate, he was always so full of confidence.'

indeed, making him 'move' would be one hell of a challenge.

'Still….'

She now had another chance to meet him again. An imperceptible smile formed on Park Hui-Jin's lips.

Baek Yun-Ho was pondering something until then, before opening his lips in some difficulty.

"Chief Ahn."

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like to know Mister Seong Jin-Woo's contact details."

"Guild Master, that is…."

Ahn Sahng-Min decided to tell everything regarding on why he had to conceal the matters regarding Jin-Woo until now.

Baek Yun-Ho wordlessly listened to it and gravely nodded his head.

"It's understandable that he wishes to remain anonymous, what with him possessing such incredible abilities. After all, there are enough people in this world who wish to stay out of the limelight, too."

But then, such a guy did reveal his powers in front of quite a few eyewitnesses. Sure, the situation back then might have been urgent, but it was also likely that he felt more or less okay about letting the world know of his powers.

"As long as the matter isn't blown out of proportion, I'm sure Mister Seong Jin-Woo won't blame you, Chief Ahn."

Ahn Sahng-Min nodded his head.

Of course, no one present in this room wished to leak this story beyond these walls. Never mind for Seong Jin-Woo, it would not be a good thing for both the Association and the White Tiger, as well.

"That's that, but…."

Ahn Sahng-Min was worried about something else, though.

And that would be his boss rushing things and ending up screwing everything up because he didn't know of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's rather decisive character.

He dearly wanted to prevent that, at least.

"Sir. I think… you directly contacting him is a bit…."

Baek Yun-Ho quickly figured out what Ahn Sahng-Min was trying to say here.

"Ahh, don't worry. I'm not trying to contact him in regards to the recruitment."

"Pardon me? But then, why….?"

"It's as Mister Seong Jin-Woo said last night."

Baek Yun-Ho realised something after listening to Park Hui-Jin's debriefing. Seong Jin-Woo was the White Tiger Guild's benefactor.

He had saved three new recruits of the Guild. Not only that, but he also took care of the Red Gate, thereby ensuring that the honour of the White Tiger wasn't tarnished.

Even though the Association's people made the blunder, just how bad would the impact on the Guild's public image have been if this news got out, and everyone learned of them losing almost all of their new recruits?

Just imagining it gave Baek Yun-Ho nightmares – enough to have a total freak out, almost, right here.

'And there I was, trying to stop that person no matter what just to get to the bottom of the incident….'

He could now understand the reason why the youth was feeling quite grumpy at that time.

If he didn't know the circumstances, fine, but now that he knew, he simply had to do a certain thing as a living, breathing human being.

"As the representative of the White Tiger Guild, I'd like to officially express my gratitude to Mister Seong Jin-Woo. And to properly apologise for yesterday's incident, as well."

'Ahh, if that's what he means, then….'

Ahn Sahng-Min could understand now.

With Beak Yun-Ho's straight-forward, no-nonsense personality, he wouldn't bother Seong Jin-Woo with the matters of recruitment under the pretext of thanking the youth.

And well, he also wanted to convey his gratitude as well.

"I understand."

Ahn Sahng-Min pulled his phone out and found Seong Jin-Woo's numbers rather quickly.

"What is his number?"

Baek Yun-Ho also pulled his own phone out to save the contact number.

It was then.

"His number is…."

Just as Ahn Sahng-Min was about to read the phone number, he felt something was off, and turned his head to his side.

"Uhm, excuse me. What are you doing, Park Hui-Jin Hunter-nim?"

"Ah, well, I…."

With an awkward smile on her face, Park Hui-Jin sneakily hid her phone away, its screen still displaying "Add new contacts".

Inside the number one Guild in Korea, the Hunters.

A rather interesting piece of news found its way to the owner of the Hunters and the currently-active rank S Hunter, Choi Jong-In.

"This… has this been confirmed?"

Would anyone knock on their bosses' doors with unconfirmed information?

Chief of the recruitment department, Joh Myoung-Ki, nodded his head.

"Yes, Sir. We received this info earlier today from the Association."

Every major Guild had one or two informants inside the Association.

It might not be a kosher thing to do, but this was the only way to stay one step ahead of the competition, contacting an exciting new talent first if one were to emerge out of nowhere.

However, earlier today, the Hunters' informant had leaked a pretty strange story. And after lengthy deliberation, Joh Myoung-Ki decided to come to his boss's office with this news.

'Why? Because, the White Tiger Guild is on a roll nowadays, and they are large enough to threaten us, the Hunters.'

So, he figured that this information was worth reporting to the boss man. Exactly as Joh Myoung-Ki had suspected, Choi Jong-In displayed great interest in the matter right away.

"From a Red Gate that killed one rank A and six rank Bs, two rank Cs returned alive? Not only that, they managed to clear the dungeon, too? That is pure nonsense."

….Even if there was one rank B among them, there was no way that this was true.

Choi Jong-In shook his head as he continued to read the memo.

"Without a doubt, there was someone else helping them out. Someone not mentioned in here."

Choi Jong-In was certain of this. His extensive experiences in raiding dungeons told him as so.

Joh Myoung-Ki replied.

"Looks like the Association also suspects that, Sir. However…."

"However?"

"It seems that the White Tiger isn't saying anything."

"So, is the Association planning to overlook it, then?"

"I heard that they don't want to conflate the matters any further, since their fault in this incident is already too significant, Sir."

"H-mm…."

Choi Jong-In rested his hand against his chin. It was a habit of his whenever he fell into deep thought.

It was understandable from the Association's point of view, but why was the White Tiger keeping quiet on this matter? There could be only one reason.

"The White Tiger must've received help from someone they don't want others to know about."

"I also thought the same thing, sir."

The opinions of the two people present matched.

Choi Jong-In's brain rapidly kicked into gear.

'A nameless helper who can rescue lower ranked Hunters from a dungeon that's difficult enough to kill most of the higher ranked Hunters….'

He could barely hold himself back from the curiosity now.

'A newbie who hasn't gone through the rank assignment test? Or, maybe a convict whose identity can't be revealed?'

Either case was okay with him.

If it was a newbie, then the Hunters must bring that person to their fold. If it was a convict, on the other hand, then he'd be able to throw some mud in the White Tiger's direction.

Choi Jong-In's eyes began sparkling.

"Looks like we need to find out who was there."

"Have you thought of a good way, sir?"

"If you want to catch a hidden racoon, you have to set the racoon's hole on fire first."

Joh Myoung-Ki's eyes grew extra round.

"Are you planning to set the White Tiger Guild on fire?!"

"You think I'm crazy?? Why should I set someone else's perfectly fine organisation on fire??"

"Ahh, my apologies, Sir. Since you are such an excellent magic-type Hunter and all, I, uh….."

His nickname wouldn't be 'the ultimate weapon' for no reason, now would it? If Choi Jong-In got serious and used his powers in full, then blowing up a building would be as easy as pie.

In any case, Choi Jong-In continued on.

"Not that. We just have to create a hot mess."

"So, it was fire….."

When Choi Jong-In began glaring at his underling, Joh Myoung-Ki hurriedly shut his mouth.

"We leak this to the media."

'That is…!'

Joh Myoung-Ki's eyes widened.

"The big mistake of the Hunters' Association, a massacre of the large Guild's members, and finally, the ensuing mystery that got buried underfoot. The media just loves that kind of stuff. Wouldn't you agree?"

Joh Myoung-Ki's head automatically went up and down in a nod.

Choi Jong-In chuckled slyly.

"Once they get bombarded by the non-stop barrage from the media, the White Tiger will grow too fed up and in the end, reveal the identity of this mystery helper."

"So, there was a method like that!"

Joh Myoung-Ki also began smiling as well.

This was a great chance to sucker-punch the persistent White Tiger that dared to chase after the Hunters Guild.

The ends of Choi Jong-In's lips arched up.

"Call the reporters right away."

[You have entered a dungeon.]

As soon as he stepped foot inside the dungeon, Jin-Woo took in a deep breath.

'Hmm.'

After being 'confined' to an open-field type dungeon for a few days, the air inside the cavern-type dungeon felt new and refreshing.

Yu Jin-Ho followed him into the dungeon soon afterwards.

"Hyung-nim, I wonder just what kind of monsters would come out in this dungeon."

"Yeah, me too."

'I can sense their presence close by, though.'

Indeed, they were quite close, but they couldn't spot any.

But, when Jin-Woo took one step forward…

The floor of the cave began rising up here, there, and everywhere.

Crumble…

Rumble….

Humanoid monsters with skins made out of rocks appeared. Yu Jin-Ho quickly recalled their name.

"Hyung-nim, it's the Stonemen."

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

These b*stards were known to possess the toughest exterior out of all the monsters that appeared within lower ranked dungeons. Common sense was to use magic when one was to hunt down a Stoneman, but….

"Hold this for me, will ya?"

Jin-Woo entrusted the cylindrical vinyl package to Yu Jin-Ho and walked towards the monsters.

'Heok!!'

Yu Jin-Ho flinched grandly, thinking that the content was a weapon, but nothing particularly noteworthy happened.

'It wasn't a weapon?'

Meanwhile, Jin-Woo stood before the Stonemen and summoned both the 'Baruka's dagger' and 'Knight Killer'.

Slice!

In the blink of an eye, the head of the Stoneman in front of the pack rolled to the ground.

Jin-Woo looked at the 'Baruka's dagger' and smiled in satisfaction.

'It's pretty good.'

Then, suddenly, the smiling Jin-Woo disappeared from the spot.

Tab.

Just as Jin-Woo reappeared past the group of the Stonemen, all ten-plus of them collapsed to the ground.

Rumble – crash!

'My body has gotten a step lighter and faster after the Red Gate thing, hasn't it?'

But, of course it would have.

His current level was 60. His level had risen up by nine from 51 after killing all those Ice Bears and White Phantoms. And now, the rank C monsters felt like those Goblins from the rank E dungeon to him.

'At this rate, I don't even need to use my weapons.'

Now that he had warmed up nicely….

'Should I increase the hunting speed, then?'

Time to summon his shadow soldiers.

With an excellent timing, another group of Stonemen was slowly lumbering towards his position from the deeper part of the cave.

'Summon.'

As soon as he issued an order, the soldiers confined to Jin-Woo's shadow rapidly revealed themselves behind him.

And sure enough, there was a loud scream accompanying that, too.

"Uwaaaak!!"

Oopsie.

Jin-Woo facepalmed and turned around.

'I forgot he was here with me.'

He got way too excited and completely forgot about Yu Jin-Ho for a moment there.

"H-hyu-hyung-nim!!"

While plopped on his a*s, Yu Jin-Ho pointed his trembling finger at the shadow soldiers standing right in front of him.

"W-w-what are these??"

"It's a bit complicated to explain… well, it's my skill."

"You, you can summon these things as your, your s-skill?"

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

Yu Jin-Ho's jaw remained slack and didn't want to close.

"Ahh…"

Him and hyung-nim had entered dungeons together eleven times already. He thought that he wouldn't get shocked anymore, but he was proven wrong once more.

As expected, hyung-nim was an existence that easily exceeded one's imagination.

Gulp.

Yu Jin-Ho laboriously swallowed his saliva as his eyes took on the black-armoured soldiers emitting a blood-chilling aura.

Meanwhile, Jin-Woo shifted his gaze away. The lumbering Stonemen had already arrived near their vicinity.

Jin-Woo pointed at them with his chin.

"Go."

As if they were waiting for that, the soldiers silently rushed forward.

Rumble!!

The floor of the cave shook hard as the forty-odd armoured soldiers all ran at the same time. For sure, with the addition of Iron and the beast soldiers, the overall weight of the group had increased by a lot.

'It's like I'm looking at a fleet of tanks, isn't it?'

Jin-Woo formed a very satisfied expression.

What with the shadow soldiers sweeping through everything, the dungeon got cleared in the proverbial blink of an eye.

The only things remaining on the floor were the scattered and broken bits of Stonemen that resembled cookies made out of dirt.

A rank C dungeon was destroyed in no time at all, in other words.

"Hoh…"

Jin-Woo exclaimed in admiration.

'At this rate, we might get to mop up the rest of the raids pretty quickly, no?'

It seemed that the remaining eight raids would not take that long to finish up.

As soon as the battle ended, the shadow soldiers retrieved the magic crystals and stood before Jin-Woo in orderly columns. Igrit and Iron stood in front of them.

The two knights stepped to the front and knelt down.

Once the soldiers stopped moving, Yu Jin-Ho finally sneaked in closer to Jin-Woo's side.

"Hyung-nim, here…."

He then returned the mystery vinyl package back to Jin-Woo.

Jin-Woo wordlessly took out the tumbler contained with the vinyl pack and began sucking on the straw.

"Hyung-nim, what is that?"

"It's veggie juice."

"Oh…."

"I kinda like its taste, actually."

Slurp, slurp….

After he almost completely drained the tumbler, Jin-Woo asked Yu Jin-Ho.

"Hey, Jin-Ho. How many Gates did you book today?"

Yu Jin-Ho was in the middle of cautiously reaching out to touch the fur of one of the beast soldiers, but he quickly pulled his hand back and turned back to Jin-Woo.

"Four Gates, hyung-nim."

With four today, only five would remain. He didn't see any reason to waste any more time on this.

"In that case, let's finish up everything by tomorrow. It doesn't matter if a Gate is a bit far away, anyway."

"You mean, tomorrow?"

Inexplicably, Yu Jin-Ho took a look around him. Seeing all the broken wreckage of Stonemen littering the floor, he couldn't help but slowly nod his head.

'For sure, with this kind of speed….'

"Understood, hyung-nim. By the way…."

Yu Jin-Ho hesitated slightly, before opening his mouth with some difficulty.

"Can I be the one to retrieve the magic stones?"

"….Why?"

"I'm kinda upset because it feels like my role's been stolen by these guys, hyung-nim."

Jin-Woo burst out into a soft chuckle.

'Yup, this kid really is a weird one.'

And a day later….

Jin-Woo finished the 19 raids he had promised Yu Jin-Ho.

Chapter 67: Chapter 67

"Hyung-nim! Now that the raids are over, how about we celebrate with a hearty meal?"

As they were driving back home, Yu Jin-Ho cautiously asked.

"Celebrate? But, there's no one with us, though?"

The raid team was disbanded as soon as the last raid was completed. Even Hahn Song-Yi said that she had someplace she had to stop by, so there were only Jin-Woo and Yu Jin-Ho in the van.

Yu Jin-Ho spoke as if he was embarrassed by something.

"I've been receiving your help all this time, hyung-nim, so like, I just wanted to treat you to a good meal, at least."

Why was he having so much trouble saying the words "Let's have a meal together"?

Jin-Woo chuckled wryly.

Since the kid was implying that he wanted to splurge on a grand feast, there was no reason for Jin-Woo to refuse the invitation, now was there?

"Alright."

Yu Jin-Ho's expression brightened considerably as soon as Jin-Woo said okay.

"Hyung-nim! Should I take you to this restaurant in a certain hotel that I know? They know how to make a mean steak, you see."

"No, not something like that."

Unless such dishes came out in public engagements he simply had to attend, Jin-Woo would rather prefer to eat a simpler meal in peace with Yu Jin-Ho in an easy-going, relaxed atmosphere.

What a good timing it was, since he spotted one such place that fit the criteria.

The tip of Jin-Woo's pointing finger pressed on the van's window.

"How about that place over there?"

"Ahh, you wanted to enjoy 'han-wu', hyung-nim?" (TL: han-wu – Korean beef. Much more expensive than imported beef.)

"No, the place next to that one."

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes narrowed to a slit.

A restaurant next to that one…. He could only see a common diner there.

[Day of Flower Blooming on Pork Belly – thinly-sliced pork belly specialists]

"By any chance, are you talking about that pork belly place, hyung-nim?"

"What, you don't like pork?"

Yu Jin-Ho grinned refreshingly.

"Not at all. I also love pork belly, hyung-nim."

They parked the van in the nearby parking lot and went inside the diner, only to find the place was packed to the brim with patrons, as well as part-time workers busy moving around without a moment of rest.

Right now, it was seven in the evening. No wonder the diner was so full.

"Welcome. How may I help you?"

One of the part-time workers walked over with a smile and engaged the two men.

"How many customers will we be serving this evening?"

"Us two."

"Please follow me."

After hearing Yu Jin-Ho's answer, the part-time worker guided the two men to a spot in a secluded corner.

However…

"Hold on for a second."

Yu Jin-Ho took a look around, and pointed towards the empty table by the windows.

"Can't we sit over there?"

"I'm sorry, sir. That table has been booked already…."

A large group must've made a booking, because several tables had been brought together. Currently, they were all empty.

Yu Jin-Ho stared at the empty tables with a rueful expression and shook his head. In the end, the two of them had to occupy the most secluded, out of the way spot in the diner.

Yu Jin-Ho lowered his head in shame.

"I��m sorry, hyung-nim."

"There's nothing for you to apologise for. I was the one who suggested that we come here, anyway."

"Even still, I should've taken you to a bit better spot than this one."

Jin-Woo smirked and lightly patted Yu Jin-Ho on the shoulder.

"Don't sweat over such things and enjoy the food, okay?"

Actually, Jin-Woo was inwardly worried about a scion of a chaebol finding the taste of such cheap meat to his liking or not.

'Also, even though I didn't say anything, but well….'

Jin-Woo scanned his surroundings.

He could see people, and then, more people.

He spent quite a lot of his time in a silent apartment with no one in it, so he kind of enjoyed this hustle and bustle.

"Here are your orders of three portions of pork belly, and two bottles of soju." (TL: Soju – Korean distilled spirit.)

Soon, the part-time worker brought out their orders.

Sizzle—

The thinly-sliced portions of pork sizzled enticingly on the heating plate. And sure enough, pieces of meat began disappearing real fast. Fortunately enough, Yu Jin-Ho seemed to like it.

"Well, the thing is, me and my friends frequent pork belly diners whenever we have the chance, hyung-nim."

"Oh, really? Friends from the university?"

"Yes, hyung-nim. It's just that, I seem to mix better with friends from my university rather than the classmates from the expensive private schools I went to."

Jin-Woo smirked slightly and nodded his head. If it was Yu Jin-Ho, then that sounded about right.

"Here, let me pour you a glass, hyung-nim."

"Yeah, you too."

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

They filled their glasses with soju, clinked them a little and one-shotted them.

"Kyaha."

Unlike Yu Jin-Ho, who was immensely enjoying the bitter taste of soju, Jin-Woo could only frown deeply in unhappiness.

"Mm? Hyung-nim, is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing…."

Jin-Woo could only stare at the empty glass with a bitter expression on his face. He had forgotten one crucial fact about his body, what with him being so busy lately and all.

Tti-ring.

[Harmful substances have been detected.]

[Effects of 'Buff: Detox' will now commence.]

[3, 2, 1…. Detoxification has been completed.]

'I forgot that I can't get drunk anymore. D*mn….'

It was the same story regardless of how many glasses he knocked back.

Tti-ring, tti-ring, tti-ring…..

As long as the buff 'Good health and Long Life' was in effect, soju would remain as only slightly bitter-tasting water and nothing more. Jin-Woo angrily spat out a cuss in his mind.

'God d*mn it.'

Rather than drinking bitter water like an idiot, he decided that it'd be infinitely better to order a soda, instead.

"Excuse me."

A part-time worker hurriedly came over to their table.

"I want to order two more portions of pork belly, as well as a bottle of Sprite, please." (TL note at the end.)

"Okay, please wait for a moment."

After the waiter left, Yu Jin-Ho began tilting his head.

"Hyung-nim? Why didn't you order more alcohol?"

"I'm not that good with alcohol, you see."

Jin-Woo replied, his expression not even changing slightly, but as usual, Yu Jin-Ho didn't quite catch that. Instead, a loose smile crept up on his alcohol-tinged reddened face.

'Hyung-nim still has a humane side, like this one….'

Yu Jin-Ho kept on giving him a strange but meaningful look, but Jin-Woo simply ignored him outright.

'It's not as if he started acting strange all of a sudden just today or anything….'

Actually, he was getting curious about something else here.

"What are you planning to do from now on?"

When Jin-Woo asked in a serious voice, Yu Jin-Ho sat upright like a job seeker waiting for his job interview to start.

"As soon as I complete a simple written test at the Hunter's Association, they should issue my Guild Master licence right away, hyung-nim. I'm planning to negotiate with my father with that licence in hand."

Determination flooded in Yu Jin-Ho's eyes. He had invested a lot of his own moolah for this purpose, and there was no room to retreat now.

'Besides, I also made a promise with hyung-nim, too.'

The Guild building he promised to Jin-Woo. That part of the bargain could be upheld only after Yu Jin-Ho successfully persuades his father, Yu Myung-Hwan, to install him as the new Guild Master.

On the other hand, Jin-Woo was feeling rather liberated.

'Sure, it'd be nice to get my hands on that 30 billion Won building.'

But well, that would only be an added bonus to him. His real purpose had always been levelling up. While entering all those rank C Gates, he had reached a far higher level than he initially bargained for.

In other words, he had achieved his goal.

And the results of his frantic levelling up spree?

One punch from him, and the rank A Hunter with a guaranteed annual salary of billions of Won, Kim Cheol, lost his consciousness. Just like that.

���At the bare minimum, I can make more money than that guy now.'

If one possessed excellent abilities, wealth was sure to follow. There was no need to feel nervous at all. And his relaxed mindset could clearly be seen on his demeanor.

Jin-Woo began reminiscing about the last few days and smiled to himself. It was at this moment that Yu Jin-Ho asked him a question.

"What are your own plans now, hyung-nim?"

"Oh, me?"

Did I ask something that I shouldn't?

Yu Jin-Ho thought like this and flinched slightly. But he breathed a sigh of relief after spotting Jin-Woo's relaxed expression.

"I'll be out of reach for a while, actually. There's this place I have to go to, you see."

That one sentence caused Yu Jin-Ho's face to harden visibly. After forming an expression of an abandoned puppy, Yu Jin-Ho emptied the soju glass in one go.

Tap.

He then placed the empty glass on the table, filling it up back to the brim. After knocking back another glass, he began to open his mouth with some difficulty.

"Hyung-nim. Please tell me straight if I've been bothering you. If that's been the case, I shall make sure never to bother you again in the future."

'This idiot….'

The moment Jin-Woo said that he'd be out of reach, this idiot must've misunderstood his words again.

Jin-Woo scratched the side of his head and asked a question instead of a proper reply.

"Hey, Jin-Ho."

"Yes, hyung-nim?"

"What do you think of me as?"

"Well, I…."

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes rolled around this way and that as if he couldn't come up with a good enough answer, before he raised his head.

"Hyung-nim, I have a brother who's over ten years older than me."

Jin-Woo remembered hearing that from somewhere.

The firstborn son of Yu Myung-Hwan, Yu Jin-Seong.

"My brother doesn't really like me, so I think, the time I spent with him is far shorter than what I've spent with you, hyung-nim. Compared to him, you have saved my life, helped me out with my dream, and…."

Yu Jin-Ho stared straight at Jin-Woo.

"To me, you're more like my real brother than him, hyung-nim."

He was still a bit scared of Jin-Woo, though.

Still, he'd never, ever forget these past few days following around Jin-Woo for the rest of his life. Indeed, his respect was far greater than fear of Jin-Woo at this point.

"If you see me as your brother, then…."

Jin-Woo smiled deeply.

"I'll think of you as my younger brother as well."

"Hyu….. Hyung-nim…."

The tip of Yu Jin-Ho's nose reddened and he began to get teary-eyed all of a sudden. If that was all, it'd have been fine, but then, he tried to get closer to Jin-Woo out of nowhere.

"Hyung-nim! I want to give you a big hug! It's fine, right?"

"Hey, hey!! You're drunk, dude!! Stop it!"

"No, that's not true! Hyung-nim, I've never been this clear-minded in my life before! Hyung-niiiiim!"

"Say that with your eyes open, will ya?!"

"Waaaail~~!"

Either he was far too moved by his emotions, or he just was a bad drunk, Yu Jin-Ho collapsed over the table and began crying his eyes out, prompting Jin-Woo to pat him on the shoulder.

Soon enough, Yu Jin-Ho fell asleep and the table had quietened down now.

"Hah-ah… what a helpless kid…."

Jin-Woo leaned back on his seat and lightly clicked his tongue.

Yu Jin-Ho.

He was a troublesome kid in many ways, but for some reason, Jin-Woo didn't find him dislikeable at all.

Next up on the bulletin.

Jin-Woo heard that voice and shifted his gaze over to its source.

A TV mounted on the wall of the diner was showing a news bulletin.

'Is it nine in the evening already?'

He thought like that and stared the screen, only to spot someone rather familiar appearing there.

'Huh?'

Jin-Woo's eyes widened.

It was none other than Baek Yun-Ho, and he was being bombarded with an unending stream of questions from the reporters as he exited from the White Tiger's headquarters.

"Is it true that there was a huge incident during the training of your new recruits?"

"Is it also true that only the lower ranked Hunters returned alive while all the higher ranked ones had perished?"

"What do you think about the rumour of a mystery person allegedly aiding the survivors during this incident?"

Baek Yun-Ho was doing his best to ignore the reporters, but in the end, he had no choice but to respond.

"This incident has been investigated by the Association already. It was true that there was an incident, but there was no mystery helper at the scene. No, the White Tiger Guild's proud Hunters combined their powers and managed to clear the upper-rank dungeon. And many Hunters lost their lives or got injured during the process. That is all."

Another reporter quickly fired in a follow-up question.

"If that's the case, why are you forbidding us from interviewing the survivors?"

"Those folks managed to avoid death's doorstep by a hair's breadth. So, why do you wish to speak to those people regarding this deeply traumatic event? That's as far as I'm prepared to answer you people."

Baek Yun-Ho made a quick getaway from there after climbing into a car.

Jin-Woo's eyes remained wide-open.

'They were talking about me, right?'

A little while ago, somewhere in the Eastern United States of America.

A shrill scream exploded out inside a certain dungeon.

"Uwaaaahhhk?!"

A Hunter named 'James' plopped down on his butt.

His legs had lost all strength and he could only crawl on the floor to run away. But when he realised that he only managed to corner himself against a wall, despair quickly dyed his expression.

"Oh, dear god!"

The rank for this dungeon was estimated to be 'A'. And in order to clear this Gate, suitable Hunters were recruited to form a raid team.

However, every single one of them was annihilated. Technically speaking, they weren't dead, but unconscious on the floor, though.

'I can't believe this!'

James leaned against the wall and breathed heavily before roughly shaking his head around several times.

Today had been a series of truly unbelievable events.

When the raid team entered the dungeon, they could not find a single monster. Because there was seemingly no monster inside.

A dungeon without monsters?

Can such a thing even exist?

If that was the case, where did the magic power emission that the measuring equipment had picked up outside the Gate, come from?

The Hunters came up with all sorts of theories by themselves.

This was already a hard-to-believe phenomenon, yet something even more shocking was waiting for them by the boss room.

When they entered it, they did find a single 'monster'.

And it looked exactly like a human being.

Indeed, there was only one, but….

From that monster's single attack, every raid team member lost their consciousness. This creature proved to be far, far too powerful for them.

Only James had somehow escaped from the boss room.

'Wait, could it be that all the magic energy emission detected on the outside of the dungeon is coming from that thing alone??'

The measurement took place far away, from outside the Gate itself, yet its magic power was already exceeding the level of a rank A?

James shook his head again.

'That's just f*cking impossible!'

But then….

"Hah…. This, really now."

That lone 'monster' walked out from the darkness and stepped into the light.

James began screaming once more after he saw the approaching creature.

"U, uwaaaahk?!!"

"Uh-whew. That hurts my ears, you know."

The monster – no, an Oriental man with long, unkempt hair and a bushy beard roughly scratched the top of his head.

"Ah, aaaah…."

James no longer screamed but began leaking out scared gasps instead.

The mystery Oriental man stood before James and placed his hands on his waist.

"What the hell?! So, who told you to attack first without warning?! I told you that I'm not a monster, but a human being. I'm a human!"

Unfortunately, James could not understand a single word of this strange language. Naturally, his complexion progressively worsened.

The Oriental man stared at the terrified American Hunter with a troubled expression on his face.

Eventually, he spat out a long, long sigh.

"Dang it. What a pain, trying to talk to these big-nosed foreigners…."

In any case, he tried to initiate another conversation one more time.

He squatted down low enough to match the American's eye level and did his best to sound as friendly and non-threatening as possible.

"Hey, hey, man."

He could recall a few English words. With such a poor grasp in that language, he couldn't really tell if he was making any sense at all, grammar-wise.

"I, am, a, Korean."

So, he tried to enunciate every word to the best of his ability.

"I, want, to, go, home."

(TL: Originally, the raw said our MC ordered "cider", but the thing is, in Korea, all non-alcoholic soda-like beverages with clear colouring, like Sprite, are colloquially referred to as 'cider'. Not sure how that came about, though. So, if you hear/read about someone ordering cider in other forms of Korean media, such as Kdramas or other KR novels, don't be surprised, as there is no alcohol involved.)

(TL: In case you haven't noticed it yet, the mystery Korean man had been speaking in Korean, while "James" was speaking/thinking in English.)

Chapter 68: Chapter 68

An event of an unprecedented scale!

A trapped person walked out of a dungeon, alive!

The US Hunter Bureau went into overdrive right away.

The deputy director of the Bureau personally came down to the interview room after hearing this news. Beyond the one-way mirror, he could see an Oriental man quietly sitting on a chair, with a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

"Is he that man?"

"That's correct, sir."

"He looks like a regular civilian, doesn't he?"

"Yes, sir."

It was as he said; once that man's unkempt hair and the messy beard were taken care of, his facial features would be that of an average middle-aged Oriental male commonly found everywhere.

"Have you found out his identity yet?"

"He has repeatedly stated that he's a Korean Hunter."

"South Korea?"

"Yes, sir."

"How can a South Korean Hunter come out of a dungeon on the other side of the world?"

"He says that he was trapped inside the dungeon for the past ten years after the Gate closed on him."

"And when he reopened his eyes, he's in America? Is that it?"

"That's what he'd been saying until now, sir."

The deputy director massaged his forehead. How was he to explain this to the director? He felt a migraine beginning its vicious assault on his head.

"If that's the case, then what are you guys waiting for? Why aren't you in there, trying to get more information out of him?"

Never mind his director, the deputy was worried about having to report directly to someone even higher than that. Or worse, someone much, much higher up the food chain.

In other words, there was no time to wait around sucking on thumbs like this.

Too bad, the section chief in charge of information did not share his sentiment.

"Sir, we're currently focusing on the possibility of this man being a monster who possesses a human's memories, instead."

"Okay, so?"

"If it suddenly reveals its true intentions during the interview process, the entirety of Washington could be in danger."

That made sense.

A raid team consisting of several rank A Hunters proved to be utterly helpless against that man, after all. They could not afford to be careless here.

"Looks like we'll have to get a powerful Hunter to continue on with the investigation, then."

Preferably, a rank S, too.

The section chief nodded his head in agreement.

"There is a rank S Hunter who can converse in Korean residing nearby."

The deputy director's expression brightened.

He was none other than the deputy director of the Hunter Bureau. He had memorised back to front the list of all rank S Hunters living in the States already.

"Mister Hwang! Is he coming here?"

"Yes, sir."

One of the main Hunters of the Scavenger Guild, Hwang Dong-Su.

Just how much effort did the Hunter Bureau have to put in, in order to bring that man here and naturalise him as an American citizen?

'If it's him….'

Even if something bad did happen, it'd not be too much of a big problem. The deputy director smiled deeply.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot."

A question belatedly formed in his head. If he were to make a report to the higher-ups, he at least needed to know the subject's name.

"What was the name of that man?"

It was a difficult-to-pronounce name, that's for sure.

The section chief confirmed it on the report submitted to him by one of his underlings and spoke up.

"His name is Seong Il-Hwan, a Hunter from South Korea."

Hwang Dong-Su had no time for such things as mercy. Especially if it was against monsters.

He lost his parents to a dungeon break many years ago and grew up with only his older brother as the sole surviving family member. That was why when he Awakened as a rank S, he knew this was his heaven-sent opportunity.

'The opportunity to rip apart and kill as many monsters as I can!'

Perhaps that was the reason why the glare of Hwang Dong-Su as he entered the interview room was icier than usual.

A man who came out from a dungeon – even the magic energy wavelength this man emitted apparently had a similar pattern to that of a monster.

'If a monster is pretending to be a human….'

Then, he'd kill this abominable creature right here, right now.

His glare met the man's gaze.

'.....'

'.....'

They silently exchanged their gazes.

Hwang Dong-Su put the file with this man's information down on the table, pulled the chair out to sit, and opened his mouth.

"It'll be better for you to cooperate with me. One word from me will determine how others will see you: a human or a monster. Got that?"

"Understood."

Before he got started, though, a deeply personal question floated up in Hwang Dong-Su's head.

His older brother who died inside the dungeon – was there any possibility that Hwang Dong-Seok could return alive?

He wanted to know about that first.

"Is there any chance of other Hunters returning from a dungeon, just as you have?"

The man shook his head.

Hwang Dong-Su's brows quivered just then.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because… I'm well aware of the reason why I came back."

"The reason? What is it?"

"Let me ask you something before I answer that."

"….I'll be the one asking questions here."

Hwang Dong-Su's eyes narrowed to a slit. However, the man continued on with what he wanted to say regardless.

"The Gates, monsters, and dungeon breaks. How much do you know about them?"

"…"

If this man had asked a stupid question, Hwang Dong-Su might've used force to shut this man up right away. But, he couldn't do that right now.

Because that question was something that countless tried to answer ever since the first Gate opened and Awakened people began appearing ten years ago.

This very moment could be when the answer finally revealed itself.

"Deputy director…."

"Shush."

The agents of the Hunter Bureau all nervously swallowed their saliva as they stared into the one-way mirror.

Hwang Dong-Su asked.

"Are you saying that you know?"

"Dungeons, Gates, monsters… all these are merely preludes to a true war about to happen soon. And recently, a being that will become the greatest calamity ever seen has opened its eyes."

"So, the reason why you returned here is…?"

"In order to stop that calamity."

"And what is, or who is, this 'greatest calamity ever seen'?"

"…..That, I can't tell you."

Hwang Dong-Su smirked derisively.

"A man who came here to stop a calamity can't talk about what it is? I don't know what that thing could be, but surely, rather than trying to stop it all by yourself, wouldn't it be better to work together with others?"

The man shook his head.

"The number of people means nothing when facing this being. Doesn't matter whether lots of amateurs decide to work together or not, they will only become its prey and become its pawns, instead."

"So, you are saying that only you can stop it?"

The man nodded his head.

Hwang Dong-Su inwardly clicked his tongue.

'This guy's gone off the deep end.'

It wasn't that hard to understand, though, if this man had been truly trapped inside a dungeon for ten years.

Or, alternatively, there had been some kind of an error, a mistake, during the process of the monster trying to copy a human's memories and consequently, its brain had melted somewhat.

In any case, Hwang Dong-Su decided to humour the other party for the time being, and see where this thing would go.

"You must be awfully confident of your skills, then."

"Let's just say that, besides my skills, I've other factors in my favour."

"Well… if you say so."

Just what kind of information could he even extract from a madman?

Hwang Dong-Su decided to stop the questioning here.

Instead, he opened the man's case file, thinking of finishing up the Bureau's request, which was to investigate the man's background.

"Your name is Seong Il-Hwan….."

The photo supplied certainly matched the man's face.

'Rather than ten years, though, it's like only a couple of weeks, maybe months, have passed by, instead.'

However, Hwang Dong-Su decided not to mind it. He heard that high-ranked Hunters could even skirt past the ageing process.

"Your records as a Hunter look pretty good. You could have earned quite a lot of money these days."

Seong Il-Hwan didn't respond to that.

Back then, there was no proper system of Hunters in place. Hell, there wasn't a ranking system for Hunters, even!

Hwang Dong-Su began reading the file.

"Your spouse, Park Gyung-Hye. Two children. The son's name is…."

As he read down the names of the children with no emotion on his face, Hwang Dong-Su's eyes opened up slightly wider for a moment.

'….Seong Jin-Woo?'

But, it only lasted for a truly brief second. Hwang Dong-Su did his best to remain calm and continued on.

"…..Seong Jin-Woo. And the name of your daughter is?"

"Seong Jin-Ah."

"Okay. Next."

It happened, then.

"Wait."

Before Hwang Dong-Su could flip to the next page, Seong Il-Hwan stopped him.

Hwang Dong-Su raised his head. And he found Seong Il-Hwan's glare had become as cold as his own.

"Why did you emit a murderous intent when mentioning the name of my son?"

"…"

Hwang Dong-Su placed the file on the desk between them. And then, killed the mic feed to the outside of this room.

"I told you that I'll be the one asking questions."

"I'll have to hear your answer, first."

"What if I'm not interested in answering you?"

"I'll use force, if necessary."

Seong Il-Hwan's eyes began gleaming coldly. He didn't even show any hints of backing down. Which prompted Hwang Dong-Su to smirk deeply.

"I got it. So, you were a monster, then."

How dare a measly little monster threaten a Hunter?

An intense hostility directed to him – now that was enough of an evidence to label this man as a monster.

'No, wait. This could be my second heaven-sent opportunity.'

Hwang Dong-Su decided as such, and switched the mic on again.

Click, beep.

"Deputy director? This guy is a monster. Evacuate immediately, because he might start attacking very soon."

"What? H-hold on!"

Beep.

People panicking beyond the one-way mirror quickly ran out of the room. And soon, a loud wail of a siren resounded within the building.

Meanwhile, a silver light began emanating from Hwang Dong-Su's hands.

"I'm planning to visit South Korea soon."

After getting ready, Hwang Dong-Su threw an insidious smile at Seong Il-Hwan.

"So, what last words from his father should I deliver to your son?"

The TV was still talking about the Red Gate incident.

Jin-Woo scratched the back of his head.

'This thing is getting out of hand.'

Still, he didn't feel all that troubled. It was like, he felt a bit weird, instead?

He found it rather odd that some people who didn't even know anything him were trying their darnedest to find more about him. Especially when he wasn't even there….

But, what if they find out about him?

Didn't matter, really.

'Well, I've already levelled up to the point I was aiming for, anyway.'

The reason why he decided to keep his abilities hidden in the beginning was that he had a lingering fear that he might end up being used by some unscrupulous b*stards.

But now, the story was different.

Even when the Guild Master of the White Tiger, as well as a rank S Hunter, Baek Yun-Ho had grabbed his arm, Jin-Woo could yank his arm free without a problem.

He wouldn't have even dreamed of achieving such a feat in the past.

'Surely, I'd have wet myself just from meeting eyes with that man.'

An imperceptible smile formed on Jin-Woo's lips. In times like this, he should've been enjoying the drunken bliss, with reminiscence serving as the perfect side dish, but then….

Tti-ring.

[Harmful substances have been detected.]

[Effects of 'Buff: Detox' will now commence.]

[3, 2, 1…. Detoxification has been completed.]

What a regretful thing it was, his wish couldn't be granted.

Jin-Woo smiled rather ruefully. But, his facial expression became serious and determined, more than ever before as he put the soju glass down.

'I don't have any plans to stop here, though.'

Jin-Woo summoned his Status Window.

Tti-ring.

[Name: Seong Jin-Woo]

[Level: 61]

[Class: Shadow Sovereign]

[Title: The One Who Overcame the Adversity (extra 1)]

[HP: 13,001]

[MP: 1,677]

[Tiredness: 0]

[Stats]

Strength: 142

Endurance: 101

Agility: 121

Intelligence: 89

Perception: 103

(Available Stat points to distribute: 0)

Reduction in physical damage: 46%

His level was 61.

Thanks to investing all of the points he earned via Daily Quests in Intelligence, that stat was getting ever closer to the '100' mark.

'I've got a long road ahead of me, though….'

But, he knew he could climb even higher. To an even higher place.

To a place that possibly no one else could get to. That possibility made his heart palpitate.

And the beginning of this climb would be at the Demon's Castle.

'The System definitely said that's the one item I wanted more than anything else.'

He recalled the time he got the blessed random box.

[Blessed random box]

Presents the Player with the item he wants.

And he got the key to the instant dungeon, Demon's Castle, from it.

The monster he ran into had a high level, and the rewards were top-notch, too. He had confirmed these two facts before exiting from there.

He had no idea what might come out on the higher floors, but it'd not deviate too much.

And so, it was now the time to go and reap his rewards. He was planning to enter there and spend a good few days inside.

Jin-Woo's only worry was…

'Once I'm inside, I won't be able to contact the outside.'

What should he tell his little sister, then?

Deciding to come up with a suitable excuse on his way back home, Jin-Woo got up from his seat.

Tap, tap.

"Hey, Jin-Ho.��

Tap, tap.

"Yu Jin-Ho."

"Slurrrp~."

Jin-Woo shook and lightly tapped Yu Jin-Ho, but the kid had completely blacked out. What should he do now?

'And he's supposed to go to the Association tomorrow to take the written test, too….'

Well, taking a test was one thing, but the most urgent thing to worry about right now was sending him home safely from here.

Jin-Woo pulled out Yu Jin-Ho's phone.

"Obviously, I can't call either the Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan or Yu Jin-Seong…."

Just who should he call here that would inflict the least amount of harm on Yu Jin-Ho? Jin-Woo pondered his choices, before spotting a name on the contact list.

'Yu Soo-Hyun?'

Unlike with his father or his older brother, Yu Jin-Ho had exchanged quite a few messages with this person.

It had to be a woman, judging from the name….

Jin-Woo deliberated for a while on whether to call this woman or not, before putting the phone down.

'Wait a minute.'

He quickly confirmed his Store just in case.

And sure enough, there was a certain item he was thinking of.

He found it!

[Item: Status recovery potion]

Rarity: E

Type: Consumable

A liquid potion that can recover one's status. Once consumed, undesirable status ailments will be cured. Can be stored in your Inventory, but it can't be handed over to someone else.

As soon as he confirmed the purchase, a yellow potion vial suddenly materialised on the top of the diner's table. It was of a noticeably brighter colour than the healing potion's deep red colour or the blue of the MP recovery potion.

Jin-Woo took a look around him to make sure no one was looking before he quickly tipped Yu Jin-Ho's head over and poured the status recovery potion down the kid's throat.

It was then.

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes snapped open.

"Hyung-nim?!"

"Are you awake now?"

Yu Jin-Ho's head was tipped backwards. And hyung-nim was staring down at him from above.

"….Hyung-nim, what are you doing there?"

"….."

Jin-Woo couldn't come up with a good enough explanation right away. In times like these, pretending that nothing had happened was for the best.

"Let's go."

"Oh. Yes, hyung-nim!"

Yu Jin-Ho stood right up from his seat, before tilting his head slightly.

'Uh? Why do I feel so refreshed?'

Yu Jin-Ho moved his body this way and that, before a refreshing smile formed on his face as he followed after Jin-Woo.

And as they left the diner, the news continued on.

[This is next item on the bulletin. The American government has continuously delayed releasing any official statement on the mysterious explosion that rocked the headquarters of the American Hunter Bureau….]

Chapter 69: Chapter 69

On the first light of the day, Jin-Woo headed to the Daesung Tower.

'It sure is really big.'

Trying to look up at the top of this 100-floor-tall skyscraper from nearby made his neck hurt.

'But, why are there so many people around here?'

Unlike the last time, there were way too many people coming in and out of the Tower. The difference in foot traffic between the nighttime and daytime was far too huge.

Not only the building's entrance but the streets surrounding it was packed full as well.

'It'll probably get real noisy if a person suddenly vanishes in a place with so many people in it, right?'

Not only that, the media was casting a spotlight on this mystery helper or whatever, so there wasn't any reason for him to go out of his way and draw attention to himself, was there?

'Obviously not.'

Jin-Woo wasn't someone who enjoyed the attention, to begin with.

He made his way to an area with not much foot traffic and pulled out the key to the Demon's Castle from his Inventory.

It was a long, slender, golden key. At a casual glance, it even resembled a fancy decorative item.

'No one's around me, right?'

After scanning his surroundings, Jin-Woo nodded his head.

'Let's enter from here.'

Jin-Woo activated his 'Stealth' skill.

Shururuk…

After vanishing from view, he returned to the main street and walked closer to the Tower while brushing past the countless passersby.

Tap.

Tap.

As befitting the busy street in the middle of the city – and during the daytime, no less – the distance he had to walk wasn't far but he still ended up bumping into quite a few shoulders as he blended in with the crowd.

However, not one person noticed it.

'If I were to abuse this Stealth skill, I can do pretty much anything, no?'

He even thought that this had to be the reason why high-ranking Hunters possessing the Stealth skill were closely monitored at all times.

His aimlessly wandering mind didn't stay like that for long. Just like the first time he came here, the surrounding view suddenly transformed as soon as he stepped across the invisible boundary.

Rumble….

'I can already hear the sounds of flames burning from this far away, so just how hot is it in there?'

The giant tower enveloped in flames – the Demon's Castle, replacing the Daesung Tower, filled up his entire view.

The thing was, though, humans were supposedly capable of quickly adapting to their situations.

'Well, it's not as bad as the first time.'

For sure, he didn't feel as nervous as the first time he saw the Demon's Castle.

No, maybe…

'Maybe, it's because I have levelled up sufficiently enough.'

Jin-Woo stored the key to the Demon's Castle in his Inventory, and summoned an ash-coloured key, instead.

[Item: Key to the Castle's Gate]

Rarity: A

Type: Key

The key to unlock the gates of the Demon's Castle. Can be acquired only after killing the Gatekeeper.

It was the key he got after killing the gatekeeper, the Cerberus. Back then, he didn't even dare to use it after getting almost bitten to death by the Cerberus, but now, he could use it.

Shururuk…

Next up, he summoned his weapon.

On his left hand, the key; and on his right hand, the Baruka's Dagger. Jin-Woo cautiously approached the front gate of the Tower.

He couldn't see the Cerberus.

'Could it be that monsters don't respawn in the Demon's Castle?'

He couldn't be sure, but there was some possibility that it might be, just like with the Cerberus.

'In that case….'

In that case, the layout of this dungeon could be very different from other instant dungeons where monsters always respawned.

Jin-Woo expanded his Perception to the limit.

Thump, thump, thump!

By expanding his Perception Stat that had broke past the 100 mark, he could even hear his own heart beating as loudly as thunderclaps.

'However, I'm not scared at all.'

Unlike before, he was certainly feeling a lot more confident, knowing how strong he was currently. Maintaining his vigilance and shivering from fear were two very different stories, after all.

Tti-ring.

When he stood before the castle's gate, a new message popped up.

[Will you use the Key to the Castle's Gate to enter?] (Y/N)

'….You think I'm going back home after coming this far?'

Jin-Woo snorted at this nonsensical question and chose 'Yes'.

Creeaaaak….

He didn't even do anything, yet the huge pair of doors began moving as the hinges issued loud creaks.

Slam!

'Huh….?'

Jin-Woo was flustered next.

He had had his Perception expanded to the max, yet he couldn't sense a single presence of monsters from beyond the castle gates.

'There are no monsters??'

Jin-Woo had been worried about precisely the opposite situation happening to him.

He had even thought about going through a special training by deliberately entering the penalty zone to fight against those desert centipedes or whatever, in case monsters crazily rushed out as soon as the castle gate opened up.

'But, what the hell….'

What the hell was the meaning of this?

All his effort so far seemed to be in vain.

The interior was utterly devoid of any life.

'Huh…. Well, this is…."

Feeling somewhat dumbfounded, Jin-Woo stored 'Baruka's Dagger' back to his Inventory and entered the Demon's Castle.

It happened, then.

Tti-ring.

As soon as a mechanical beep rang inside his head, he immediately summoned both of his daggers. But, that beep was nothing more than an alert to let him know that a new message had arrived.

'Uh?'

[A new quest is available.]

'A new quest, is it?'

It wasn't a Daily Quest?

Well, it'd be strange if it was, since Jin-Woo made sure to complete the Daily Quest and pocketed the rewards before coming here. Meaning, this had to be a regular quest….

And that would be his first, ever.

'Well, yeah, I've been getting only the Hidden Quests or Emergency Quests until now, so….'

Excluding the Daily Quests that showed up every day regardless of how he felt, of course.

Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly and confirmed the contents of the message.

'Confirm.'

Then, the information on the quest appeared before him.

Tti-ring.

[Normal Quest: Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)]

Demons are everywhere within the Demon's Castle. Kill the demons and collect their souls to receive special rewards.

One soul can be collected from a single demon, but on higher floors, there are demons with multiple souls.

Quest generation condition:

Entry into the Demon's Castle

Quest clear condition:

Collect 10,000 souls.

Rewards:

Any one item available in the Store

+20 bonus Stat points

An unknown reward

20 bonus Stat points!

That was the very first thing that attracted Jin-Woo's attention – the Stat points.

'I can raise my Intelligence by 20 points!'

A smile instinctively formed on his face.

He'd been feeling his lack of MP for quite some time now.

'I need lots of Mana if the shadow soldiers need to regenerate.'

And, was Mana his only problem? He had already confirmed that the number of shadows he could extract, as well as the number of soldiers he could store, increased when his Intelligence Stat also improved.

So, for him, increasing the 'Intelligence' Stat was a must.

'There always has been a limit to increasing that Stat through level-ups and Daily Quests, but now….'

If he could get his hands on that 20 points via the completion of this quest, then his problems would be solved in one fell swoop.

Gulp.

He was salivating already.

'Not only that….'

Jin-Woo's gaze landed on other rewards.

[Rewards]

Any one item available in the Store

+20 Bonus Stat points

He was feeling grateful for the bonus Stat points, but now, he could even choose one item from the Store, too?

'Can I really choose anything?'

Jin-Woo recalled those ultra-expensive items he saw in the Store's menu.

'I definitely saw….'

There were some S-rarity items that cost billions, hell, even tens of billions there. Well, those billions weren't the real-world currency but Gold that only existed within the System, though.

Still, just how amazing was this?

The 'Knight Killer' he'd been using so nicely until now cost only three million Gold.

'A three million B-rarity item already possesses this high quality and attack power, so just what will those costing billions be like?'

His curiosity had been stoked for sure.

Never mind the mystery third reward, just from looking at those two rewards alone, he knew right away that he couldn't let this quest slip through his fingers.

'For this kind of rewards, killing one or two monsters is a walk in the park.'

Jin-Woo was genuinely elated now and thought about finishing this quest real fast to receive those rewards, only for his eyes to bulge out after confirming the quest clear condition.

"Ten thousand?!"

He gasped out in sheer shock.

This was already far beyond the notion of killing one or two monsters.

'What the hell, what kind of slave labour is this?!'

He had no idea what kind of a monster these demons could be, but hell, ten thousand was a scary-high number, indeed.

Still, a smile crept up on Jin-Woo's face.

'Well, that would have been, if I was alone.'

Currently, the number of shadow soldiers he possessed was 50.

If each one killed 200, this quest would be cleared. If he pushed his soldiers to work hard, surely this sort of quest would prove to be nothing but a cakewalk.

[Will you accept the 'Normal Quest: Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)'?]

'Of course.'

He had no reason to refuse.

[You have accepted the quest.]

The penalty for failing this quest would be him wasting a bit of time, that'd be all.

'Compared to other quests, uh-whew…..'

Without a doubt, this was truly a wonderful quest when compared to the Class Change Quest or Emergency Quests where his life was on the line.

Jin-Woo raised his head.

'I wonder, is that thing supposed to display my progress from now on?'

As soon as he accepted the quest, a counter he hadn't seen before appeared in the air, just above his line of sight.

[Collected souls of demons: 0/10,000]

'Ten thousand… so far away….'

A bitter chuckle leaked out of his mouth once he got to physically confirm the number that had been floating inside his head as nothing but a vague notion until now.

It was then that he discovered a different counter to the left of that one.

'Huh?'

[Exp. needed for the next level up: 60,000]

There it was, sixty thousand clearly displayed via the holographic display.

As soon as he met that, he'd level up, or at least that's what was written there.

'Even my experience points are being displayed now?'

However, he had never seen anything like that prior to his entry into the Demon's Castle.

'Maybe….'

To make sure, Jin-Woo took a step backwards and left the Demon's Castle.

Sure enough, both the counter for souls and experience points disappeared. When he stepped back inside, they showed up again as if they had never disappeared in the first place.

'Yeah, they only show up inside the Demon's Castle.'

Although it was unfortunate that he couldn't see them outside the castle, but at the least, it'd be quite convenient to have them inside, that's for sure.

If he looked at it from another perspective….

'Does this mean that it'll take a long, long time for me to conquer this place?'

That was a distinct possibility.

Jin-Woo carefully read through the quest details one more time and closed the message windows.

'That should be enough preparation, I think.'

Finally, he had some leeway to take a closer look at the interior of the Demon's Castle.

'Heok?!'

Jin-Woo's eyes widened immediately once he did.

Wuuuuu-….

Inside of the castle was…. a ruined city. Quite unexpectedly, it was a field-type dungeon.

'What is this place? Is this Seoul?'

If everyone in Seoul died and a hundred years had passed by, would the city look like this?

Within this lifeless, ash-grey cityscape, only the lonesome street lights flickered as if they were having a seizure.

'I never expected it to be a field-type dungeon, though….'

Not only that, a dungeon created to look like the metropolis of Seoul.

This was the kind of scale that utterly disallowed any comparison to other instant dungeons that were based around a special location such as subway stations or department stores.

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed to a slit.

'So, like, where should I go now?'

Where should be his destination?

Jin-Woo's gaze scanned the surroundings and the distant horizon. Thankfully, his dilemma didn't last for long.

In the far-off distance, in the direction where the famed Namsan Tower should have been, there stood a massive pillar of light stretching beyond the sky.

'Let's head over there.'

Jin-Woo began walking in that direction. He also made sure to memorise the surrounding area of the castle's gates in case he got lost on the way, too.

However….

His steps had to come to a stop not long after.

"Kekeke."

"Kekekek."

Monsters with smallish physical sizes began creeping out from the gaps of ruined buildings, one by one.

[Low-Ranked Demon]

Jin-Woo immediately recognised what they were from the dark-red name floating above their heads.

'They look like….'

These creatures reminded him of Gargoyles, but without wings. There were a total of eight of them.

Seeing them, the corners of Jin-Woo's lips arched up.

'Well, for starters, I got myself eight souls.'

Right away….

Kwajeeck!

The 'Baruka's Dagger' pierced deeply into the forehead of one of the demons.

[You killed a Low-Ranked Demon.]

[You have earned 100 experience points.]

[You have collected (1) Soul of Demons.]

"Kiaahk?"

"Kiieehk?"

The moment the demons' attention had shifted to the one with the dagger stuck to its forehead, Jin-Woo rapidly approached another one to separate its head from its body.

Slice!

[You killed a Low-Ranked Demon.]

[You have earned 100 experience points.]

[You have collected (1) Soul of Demons.]

This one also gave him 100 EXP.

'And I need sixty thousand experience points….'

If he hunted down 600 Low-Ranked Demons, then he'd get to raise his level.

The remaining demons were taken care of in the blink of an eye.

"Kiiiiehhk?!"

"Khek!!"

He had collected eight souls, and the experience points earned were eight hundred.

'Hey, this is not too bad.'

And they said that the journey of a thousand miles started with the first step – Jin-Woo's eyes began sparkling brightly as he began searching for his next prey.

Inside the office of the White Tiger Guild's Guild Master.

Baek Yun-Ho was browsing through several documents he had been neglecting in the past few days because of his busy schedule.

Beep-!

He picked the phone up after hearing that beep.

"Master, Min Byung-Gu Hunter-nim wishes to speak to you. What should I do, sir?"

"Let him through."

"Yes, sir."

A short while later, a familiar voice came from the phone's speaker.

"Baek Hyung, why did you switch your mobile off?"

Baek Yun-Ho spat out a long sigh.

"Because of the d*mn reporters. I was thinking of being out of the public's eye until this whole thing dies down."

"Ahh, that! The Red Gate incident! Yeah, I saw the news here in Japan, too. Hyung, I had no idea that you were that photogenic, you know?"

"Stop riling me up, man. I'm not in the mood to kid around. If I find out just who leaked it to the media, I'm gonna…"

"Hyung, don't sweat over it too much. The whole thing's gonna get buried soon, anyway. You see, there is going to be bigger news, soon."

"Big news, is it? From Japan?"

"Yes. This is going to be a bigger issue than you can imagine. You'll most likely hear about it soon in Korea, too."

"What happened?"

About a week ago, the Japanese Hunter's Association secretly contacted several of Korea's large Guilds. They said that they needed advice from the Korean Hunters.

And so, two days after that, a few of Korea's elite Hunters travelled to Japan. The Hunter Min Byung-Gu was one of them.

Baek Yun-Ho had been curious about that matter for a while now.

"Stop building up the suspense and tell me what happened already. This was the first time the Japs have asked for advice from us. What made them do that? What did those prideful b*stards want?"

"Baek hyung….. I'm sure you still remember the ants of Jeju Island, yes?"

Four years ago, a rank S Gate opened up on the island of Jeju. Ants came out of there.

There had been three separate subjugation operations since then, and all of them ended in failure.

In the end, the Korean government gave up on the island, and it was now a barren land ruled by monsters.

"How could I forget? I nearly died back then."

"Well, looks like there's been some kind of a mutation."

"A mutation, is it? But, what does it matter to us? Aren't they just going to fight among themselves while being confined to that island?"

"Well, the thing is…."

The voice coming from the phone sounded rather troubled.

"The Japs found a corpse of a winged ant on the coast of Japan, actually."

Chapter 70: Chapter 70

[You killed a Low-Ranked Demon.]

[You have earned 100 experience points.]

[You have collected (1) Soul of Demons.]

…..

…..

[You have earned 100 experience points.]

[You have collected (1) Soul of Demons.]

For the next two hours, he madly hunted down every Low-Ranked Demon he could find.

Afterwards, Jin-Woo confirmed the number of souls he managed to collect.

[Collected Souls of Demons: 309/10,000]

He had now completed about 3% of the quest. If he could continue hunting at this speed, then according to his calculations, he could level up in another two hours.

His current level was 61.

In the past, he needed experience points from nine rank C dungeons in order to level up from 60 to 61. And the time spent was around two days, too.

But here, he could already think about levelling up only after four hours?

'This is crazy.'

A thick smile formed on Jin-Woo's lips.

Just how long had it been since he could hunt this enthusiastically?

'Is this the first time since then?'

He couldn't really remember ever being in a similar situation since he went to the Hapjeong subway station and repeatedly cleared the first two underground floors until his level didn't want to rise anymore.

"Kkiiieeehk!"

Whenever Jin-Woo's dagger flashed, one Low-Ranked Demon fell without exception.

"Kiiaahk!"

"Kiiehk."

"Keehhgehk, khek!"

Sometimes, even several of them, too.

In the blink of an eye, Jin-Woo killed twenty more Low-Ranked Demons.

'This is a gold mine.'

Both his experience points and the number of souls continued to rise as he continued to hunt down the demons. Not only that, there was the added bonus of loot drops, too.

A bright smile formed on Jin-Woo's face as he collected the loot.

'Their horns come out almost all the time, don't they?'

[Item: Low-Ranked Demon's Horns]

Rarity: None

Type: Miscellaneous

Two horns attached to the head of a Low-Ranked Demon. Demon's horns are used as base ingredients for high-grade magic spells and therefore can be sold at a high price.

The japtem 'demon's horns' – selling it in the Store would net him two hundred thousand Gold.

'Each of those fangs of Cerberus or whatever got me 150 grand each, but this… well, monsters of the Demon's Castle are really generous, aren't they?'

After experiencing the usefulness of the Store multiple times recently, these japtems no longer remained japtems in Jin-Woo's eyes. All the Gold earned through here would eventually become his flesh and blood later.

'I can't throw anything away.'

Feeling really chuffed, Jin-Woo sold off what could be sold and stored what should be stored as he rummaged through the remains of the demons.

In the midst of this…

'What's this?'

He found an item he hadn't seen before. And the thing with its end poking out from the busted gut of a demon was….

[Item: Entry Permit]

Rarity: ??

Type: ??

A permit allowing you to enter the 2nd floor of the Demon's Castle. Can only be used on the 1st-floor floor-transfer magic circle. (TL: I'll use the North American way of counting floors from here onwards.)

….It was a document scroll, tightly rolled up.

'An entry permit?'

When he unfurled it and took a look, he found all sorts of undecipherable drawings and letters adorning its surface. In the end, the only thing that helped him understand its purpose was the item explanation.

'An item that lets me go up from the first floor to the second, is it….?'

Could it be?

Jin-Woo took a look around.

This place was inside the Demon's Castle, but at the same time, he was also inside the Daesung Tower. If the Demon's Castle was also divided into floors like the Tower, then he'd be on the first floor.

'Since this place looked like a field-type dungeon, I didn't expect there to be different floors….'

Could it be that, just like the Daesung Tower, there were 100 floors here, too? Jin-Woo was left agape by the sheer scale of this particular dungeon.

'….It can't really be 100 floors, can it?!'

There was only one way to confirm this. And that would be to locate that transfer magic circle and see for himself.

'Now, where would this floor-transfer magic circle thing be in this place….?'

Jin-Woo's wandering gaze stopped at the pillar of light piercing the sky.

'Well, that has to be it.'

Getting there was his initial goal, but his attention got robbed by the hunting of the Low-Ranked Demons and before he knew it, he had moved further away from his destination than before.

'Should I head there now?'

He thought that this might be a good time to think about heading there. Also, he had hunted down all of the Low-Ranked Demons nearby, too.

Jin-Woo grinned brightly.

'Summon.'

The shadow soldiers stored inside his shadows via the Shadow Storage skill didn't require any chanting or whatever to summon them, unlike when he was trying to extract shadows.

Shururuk….

In front of Jin-Woo, the giant beast soldier extracted from the leader of the Ice Bear pack appeared silently.

"Growl…."

And it was a giant monster-ish bear standing on its hind legs. It was as large as a house. But to Jin-Woo, it was not much different from a mild-mannered lovable puppy.

"Get down."

"Growl."

When the shadow beast soldier laid down on the ground, Jin-Woo lightly jumped on top of its back.

"Giddy up!"

As soon as Jin-Woo lightly tapped the side of the beast with his leg, the shadow creature rushed towards the pillar of light with a frightening turn of speed.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!!

The massive creature also possessed incredible agility as well, and before long, the distance between him and the destination rapidly closed up.

Of course, they still encountered obstructions every now and then.

"Kiireek!"

"Keek, keek!!"

Roar!!

One thunderous swipe from the beast soldier, and the situation normalised right away.

"Ho-oh."

Jin-Woo formed a deeply impressed expression.

'I only decided to ride it for fun, but isn't this actually pretty cool?'

Thinking that he should utilise this means of transportation often from now on, he even named his new ride right there and then.

"From now on, your name shall be Tank."

"Roar!!"

The beast soldier, no, Tank, roared out while raising its head high up.

Was it trying to say it liked it, or hated it?

What with its incredibly powerful vocal cord, Jin-Woo couldn't really tell which was which.

In the meantime, the light pillar got closer and closer. Tank gradually slowed down and eventually, stopped before the light pillar.

"Nice work."

Jin-Woo got down to the ground and patted Tank once, before storing the big guy back into his shadow. Then, he turned around to face the magic circle. The familiar mechanical beep rang inside his head as soon as he did.

Tti-ring.

[You have discovered floor-transfer magic circle.]

There was a magic circle carved on the ground. The light shooting out from it was reaching into the sky. Without hesitation, Jin-Woo stepped inside.

'.....'

….Nothing happened.

Jin-Woo tilted his head this way and that, before taking a few more steps to stand in the middle of the circle.

Only then another message popped up in his view.

[No floors have been opened.]

[Which floor would you like to transfer to?]

"How many floors are there?"

Of course, there was no reply.

'Is there no other way to find out how many floors are there, except for finding out for myself?'

Jin-Woo pondered for a moment.

There wasn't that much left for the experience points, so should he stay and raise his level before going up, or should he just go up and level up there?

'Unlike other instant dungeons, there is no monster respawn in this place, so staying on one floor will be inefficient in the long run.'

Besides, the System said that demons with more souls existed on upper floors as well. He concluded that, for both his experience points and to clear the quest, it could be more advantageous to get to higher floors as quickly as possible.

'Fine.'

Let's go up, then.

Jin-Woo spoke up.

"Second floor."

[You need the entry permit.]

Jin-Woo summoned the scroll as per the instruction. As soon as it appeared, it dissolved into the light.

[The second floor of the Demon's Castle has been unlocked.]

[You are transferring to the second floor.]

Buzz…..

An even stronger ray of light began rising up from the magic circle. At the same time, Jin-Woo realised something.

'Ah…. So that's how it works.'

As it turned out, this whole thing was just an elevator.

The moment he realised what this pillar of light actually was, Jin-Woo was immediately transferred to the second floor, along with the blinding explosion of light.

Second floor, third, fourth…. and eventually, the 27th floor. That was the result of grinding for two days straight.

He told Jin-Ah, his little sister, that he'd be on a week-long trip.

'I have five more days.'

Considering his gradually-increasing clearing speed, he began to think that it might be doable to get to what he assumed to be the last floor, the 100th floor, within the next five days. Maybe even sooner than that.

Jin-Woo took a look at his surroundings. It was still a ruined city.

'I can't tell which city this floor is based on anymore.'

Every floor was modelled off on a different city.

However, the higher he climbed, the state of destruction the city was in got worse and worse, and on this 27th floor, he found it hard to tell whether this place used to be a city or not.

Would a city look like this after having experienced a concentrated carpet bombing?

Jin-Woo quickly threw away useless thoughts and shook his head.

'I shouldn't be wasting time like this.'

He checked the time with his wristwatch, and it was already 11 in the evening.

There was no daytime or night inside this dungeon. So he needed to rely on his watch to keep time. 11 would be a good time to get some shut-eye if he wanted to continue clearing this dungeon tomorrow with a refreshed body and mind.

But before that….

'Should I check the result of my hard work first?'

Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to the quest progress window.

[Collected souls of demons: 2,116/10,000]

'Over 2,100, is it….'

Meaning, he had hunted down over a thousand demons in a day.

He had killed quite a lot during the last two days, that's for sure.

It was still a long way off from the goal of ten thousand souls, but he was betting on the demons of the upper floors that allegedly possessed multiple souls.

'Right, getting to higher floors should remain as my priority.'

Next up, his level.

"Heok!!"

Jin-Woo's eyes opened wider.

[Level: 67]

His level had climbed to 67 even before he had noticed it.

He'd been hunting Low-Ranked Demons worth 100 EXP for a while, but then, his levelling up speed exploded upwards after he began hunting Mid-Ranked Demons that gave out 300 EXP each.

'My level is climbing up real nicely, too.'

Lots of monsters, rich experience points, and the perfect level of difficulty.

The Demon's Castle was the best level-up zone one could ever hope for.

His level wasn't the only thing experiencing a rise, either. Jin-Woo's proficiency with his various skills was also rising up, as well.

Currently, the 'Knight Killer' was floating above Jin-Woo's palm. He was using the skill 'Ruler's Reach'. The power that allowed him to physically manipulate objects without actually touching them.

Even when he was doing nothing, like right now, he devoted himself to increasing his proficiency with the skill.

'Well, this Ruler's Reach skill doesn't require any Mana, to begin with.'

It was a bit tiring mentally because he had to constantly focus on the skill, but compared to the potential uses this skill had, a small little headache was a cheap price to pay.

With a nice timing, a good piece of news arrived before his eyes.

[The level of the skill, 'Ruler's Reach' has increased!]

'Nice!'

Jin-Woo grinned brightly and leaned against a wall. He felt safer and more content as he became stronger bit by bit. His eyelids slowly closed.

'Now that I think about it, the Guild Master licence must've been issued by now.'

Was Yu Jin-Ho doing well?

Perhaps because it had been a while since he acted alone, he couldn't help but recall the mug of Yu Jin-Ho who used to follow him around.

The successful first-born who had become an excellent entrepreneur, and the second born with the qualification to become a Master, but who was still a university student. The fight between them would not be easy.

'Do your best, Yu Jin-Ho.'

After cheering Yu Jin-Ho on in his mind, Jin-Woo slowly drifted off to a deep slumber.

Yu Jin-Ho entered a luxurious traditional Korean restaurant with a determined face. He chose this place after taking into account his father's taste.

"Has the Chairman arrived yet?"

"Yes, he's waiting for you."

Yu Jin-Ho swallowed his saliva after hearing the maître d'hôtel.

"Please, this way."

He was guided to the private room where his father, Yu Myung-Han, was waiting for him.

The traditional sliding paper door was opened and immediately, Yu Jin-Ho's nervousness increased by several folds after seeing his father's face.

He wondered if he was getting weak-kneed again, but Yu Jin-Ho hardened his resolve and settled down on the opposite side of his father.

"What's the occasion? You even called me first for this meeting."

"Father, before I begin, I'd like you to take a look at this first."

"And this is….?"

"This is my Guild Master licence, as well as the records of the raids I've been in so far."

"Your Master…. licence? Yours?"

When Yu Myung-Han formed a disbelieving face, Yu Jin-Ho nodded his head with a smile.

"Yes, Father."

Yu Myung-Han wordlessly took a look at the documents his son had handed over. And then, a certain light began gleaming in his eyes.

"….."

While his father maintained a weighty silence, Yu Jin-Ho's heart was beating so madly that he found it hard to even breathe properly.

"And so…."

Yu Myung-Han carefully placed the documents on the table and continued on.

"….You wish to run the Yujin Guild, is that right?"

"That's correct."

"H-mm…."

It was at this point that a hint of a dilemma, alongside the emotion of shock, appeared on Yu Myung-Han's face.

'To think that father is pondering between me and my older brother��.'

Yu Jin-Ho was genuinely moved inside. The fact that his father was thinking about this matter was a big win for Yu Jin-Ho.

If it was in the past, he'd be satisfied with this much. However, he had no desire whatsoever to back off now.

"As you know already, Father, giving the position of the Guild Master to an outsider carries too much risk…."

"Enough."

Yu Myung-Han raised his hand.

At the same time, Yu Jin-Ho's mouth stopped moving.

Father's 'Enough' was one of the most absolute commands that no one in the Yu household could go against.

"There is someone I want you to meet."

"Pardon me?"

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes went round at that. He was the one who called and asked for this meeting, yet, his father wanted to introduce him to someone?

Who could it be?

Just as Yu Jin-Ho's curiosity peaked, the door opposite to the one he used to enter the room slid open.

"Ah…. Hello, there."

Was he in the late twenties? Or early thirties? A man around that age group awkwardly greeted Yu Jin-Ho as he entered the room.

Who was this man?

Yu Jin-Ho couldn't recognise this man at all.

When Yu Myung-Han signalled with his chin, this unknown man settled down next to him.

"This here is… Hunter Goh Myung-Hwan."

'Goh Myung-Hwan?'

Yu Jin-Ho tilted his head.

He had never heard of this name before.

Father nodded his head as if he had expected this already, and continued on.

"He is one of the survivors from the White Tiger Guild's Red Gate incident, the one that's been making so much noise lately."

Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Yu Jin-Ho was taken by surprise.

'….The Red Gate?'

Why was the story of the Red Gate brought up here, out of the blue?

Since the incident had been talked about non-stop in mass media, even Yu Jin-Ho knew what had happened. But, this timing was suspiciously coincidental and so, he found it difficult to figure out where his father was going with this.

'And this man here…'

A man who was supposed to be a survivor of that incident.

Why did the survivor that the media was madly scrambling over to find appear here? Yu Jin-Ho's curiosity continued to balloon greatly.

After staring at his son for a little while, Yu Myung-Han slowly opened his mouth.

"Looks like you haven't heard of it yet."

"Pardon me?"

Yu Myung-Han disregarded the still-confused Yu Jin-Ho for the time being and shifted his gaze over to Goh Myung-Hwan, sitting there in nervousness.

"Mister Hunter."

"Yes, Chairman."

"Please inform my son who was there besides the White Tiger Guild's new recruits on that day."

"Understood."

Goh Myung-Hwan's stare now was directed to Yu Jin-Ho.

Unintentionally, Yu Jin-Ho met Goh Myung-Hwan's gaze, and a question mark floated up on his face.

Goh Myung-Hwan opened his mouth.

"There was a young female Hunter who looked to be a high schooler, and….."

'A young female Hunter?'

Even then, Yu Jin-Ho couldn't imagine just whose name would pop out from Goh Myung-Hwan's lips.

"….And, Mister Seong Jin-Woo."

Tumble.

Yu Jin-Ho thought that he could hear his own heart fall to the pit of his stomach.

'H-hyung-nim was there at the Red Gate incident?'

What was going on here?

He was already feeling quite confused, but now, his thought process devolved into an even more complicated mess. In the middle of his confusion, he suddenly remembered something.

'Wait. Now that I think about it, a few days ago….'

….Hyung-nim was conversing with such familiarity with Hahn Song-Yi, someone whom he didn't even share a casual greeting before that day.

"Do you still remember the name of that female Hunter, by any chance?"

"It was Miss Hahn Song-Yi."

How can this be?

Yu Jin-Ho's jaw dropped to the floor.

To think, there was such a secret to the mysterious relationship between those two people…..

'Wait, if that's the case, then…?'

Then, the identity of the potential helper the news outlets were talking about was….

As if he knew what Yu Jin-Ho was about to ask, Goh Myung-Hwan quickly confirmed the truth.

"We, the members of the White Tiger Guild and Miss Hahn Song-Yi, could escape from the Red Gate all safe and sound thanks to Mister Seong Jin-Woo."

'Hah, haha, ha…'

….Hyung-nim, just what did you do in there?

Yu Jin-Ho formed an expression comprised of half surprise and half joy. He even forgot that he was in front of his father, and asked out loud.

"What happened inside the Red Gate?"

Goh Myung-Hwan glanced to his side, to the head of the dining table.

Yu Myung-Han nodded his head.

Goh Myung-Hwan carried a face of a man dying to open his mouth until then, and as soon as the permission was given, he began to tell his story with great relish.

"So, what happened was…."

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes twinkled as he listened.

"At first, everyone was taken back somewhat, after learning that a pair of rank E Hunters were coming to observe the new recruit training process. But then…."

Goh Myung-Hwan began describing what happened that day with a hyped-up voice reminiscent of a little kid proudly showing off to a friend the brand new toy he got as a gift.

However….

"He did what to a rank A Hunter??"

Goh Myung-Hwan wasn't the only over-excited person in the room.

"Exactly!! With his palm, he went like, Pah!! He smacked the back of Kim Cheol's head, and…."

"Huh…."

As he listened to the exploits of hyung-nim, Yu Jin-Ho's heart beat faster as if he was there, experiencing everything personally.

'As expected of hyung-nim….'

To him, hunting down high-ranked monsters was nothing. Well, he could knock out a rank A Hunter with a single slap, after all.

Yu Jin-Ho felt so moved and proud at the same time after realising that such an incredible person had been standing by his side until now.

Meanwhile, Goh Myung-Hwan continued on with his story.

"….I really thought that we'd die for sure when dozens of Ice Elves showed up. But then again…."

Was he paying too close an attention to the story? Time flew by really quickly. The definitely-not-short story of that day's events was finally coming to its end.

The excited Goh Myung-Hwan's voice became louder.

"So, what I'm saying is, this whole thing is just too unfair. Mister Seong Jin-Woo saved our a*ses back there. He's my life's saviour."

Yu Jin-Ho unconsciously nodded his head in agreement. He could understand where Goh Myung-Hwan was coming from. He also had received similar help before, too.

"But then, I'm not supposed to reveal the existence of Mister Seong Jin-Woo? I find it difficult to accept the decision of the White Tiger Guild. However, Chairman Yu has given me a call out of the blue, and so, here I am."

It was at this point that Yu Myung-Han stopped Goh Myung-Hwan in a dignified manner.

"Goh Myung-Hwan Hunter-nim."

"Yes?"

"I believe that should be sufficient."

"Ah. My apologies, sir. I got carried away."

Goh Myung-Hwan embarrassedly lowered his head.

Yu Myung-Han's stare then shifted over to his son, Yu Jin-Ho.

"In the process of investigating more about Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, a name that I never expected to hear popped up."

At the ends of Yu Myung-Han's pointing finger….

His index finger pointed to a piece of paper with Yu Jin-Ho's name written on it. And it was none other than the raid records Yu Jin-Ho handed over to his father.

His index finger pointed lower and stopped at the three words 'Seong Jin-Woo' next.

The raid leader, Yu Jin-Ho. The raid member, Seong Jin-Woo.

This was irrefutable evidence.

'….I'm busted.'

The truth about hyung-nim helping him out during the process of acquiring his Guild Master licence was now out in the open. Yu Jin-Ho's expression hardened.

"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo aided you greatly during your attempt to earn the Guild Master licence. Do you acknowledge this fact?"

"…..Yes, Father."

"Is there anything else you want to add?"

"…"

Yu Jin-Ho's vision darkened.

Now that the matter of hyung-nim lending aid was out in the open, it was impossible to convince his father that he was the right person to take on the position of the Yujin Guild's new Master.

'.....'

He sensed his father's strict eyes bearing down on him. In the past, being subjected to that withering glare, Yu Jin-Ho would lose all strength in his legs.

'However!'

He couldn't give up like this. For the first time ever, Yu Jin-Ho summoned his courage in front of his father.

He lowered his head and raised his voice.

"Can you entrust the Yujin Guild to me, Father?"

"I will."

"Eh?"

At that refreshingly simple answer, Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly raised his head.

"I shall entrust the Yujin Guild to you."

"But, why….?"

"Didn't you say it yourself? It is too risky to entrust the Guild to an outsider. With you here, is there a reason to take on that risk now?"

"B-but, I tried to deceive you, father."

"You thought I'd scold you and kick you out because of that?"

What was going on here?

Yu Jin-Ho thought that his father was smiling, for some reason. But, Yu Myung-Han's lips would always remain in a straight line, no matter what the occasion was. So, how come?

"If you entered the dungeons without any plans whatsoever, then I'd have done just that. Because I don't remember raising an idiot son like that."

Yu Jin-Ho's face became hot at that moment.

'If I hadn't met hyung-nim, then I'd be getting scolded by father right about now….'

No, wait – he'd be dead long before that.

Yu Jin-Ho spat out a sigh of relief inwardly.

"However, I have a condition."

"Yes, Father."

"This Hunter Seong Jin-Woo… can you bring him over to Yujin?"

Yu Jin-Ho's eyes opened wider.

"You mean, hyung-nim??"

'….Hyung-nim?'

The light within Yu Myung-Han's eyes flickered a little just then. But that didn't last for long.

"That's correct."

Yu Jin-Ho became speechless, then.

'Groan…'

Even a snot-nosed brat would know that now was the right time to confidently say something in order to leave behind a positive impression. However, the one they were talking about was none other than hyung-nim.

Yu Jin-Ho could ask, sure, but he wasn��t confident of anything else besides. So, he replied honestly.

"I can't be certain."

"Very good. There is no meaning if the challenge is too easy for you."

The Chairman Yu Myung-Han took a sip of water and lightly wiped the corners of his lips with a handkerchief.

"If you fail, I shall hand over the Guild to your brother. So, how about it? Will you accept?"

Yu Jin-Ho's expression became grave.

'This is the shot I struggled so hard to get….'

If he backed out now, then he wouldn't be able to show himself in front of hyung-nim, who helped him right until the end for this opportunity.

Yu Jin-Ho became deeply earnest as he replied.

"I accept, Father."

"Good."

With that reply, the negotiation between a father and a son had come to a conclusion. Yu Myung-Han wordlessly nodded his head, and Yu Jin-Ho stood up, bowed his waist, and left the room.

Yu Myung-Han took the handkerchief away from his lips. It was getting harder to suppress the smile trying to form on his lips.

'This kid….'

This boy wanted Yujin Guild.

He suspected something was up when they agreed to meet today, but he didn't expect his son to be this daring.

'Indeed, a tiger's cub is still a tiger at the end of the day.'

The smile finally began to spread on Yu Myung-Han's lips.

'….That famous Chairman Yu Myung-Han is actually smiling!!'

Goh Myung-Hwan's eyes were growing large as he witnessed everything.

The widely-known nickname of Chairman Yu Myung-Han was 'Pokerface'. He was famed for never showing any emotion whatsoever, whether it be a joyful occasion or a sorrowful one.

When Goh Myung-Hwan continued to stare utterly mystified, Chairman Yu Myung-Han turned to him and asked.

"Hunter-nim. Was there anything you wanted to add?"

Suddenly finding himself on the receiving end of that stare, Goh Myung-Hwan got flustered and hurriedly shook his head.

"N-no. Not at all."

….47, 48, 49, 50.

With a frightening clearing speed, Jin-Woo climbed up the floors.

[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]

[You have earned 300 experience points.]

[You have acquired (1) Soul of Demons.]

…

….

....

[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]

[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]

He didn't feel tired at all when looking at the total experience points and the accumulated number of souls climbing up higher every time he hunted a monster down.

[Collected Number of Souls: 4,388/10,000]

'It's not even at the halfway mark yet, huh.'

He had been endlessly hunting demons down ever since entering this place, but as expected, the wall of ten thousand souls was indeed high, and difficult to overcome.

However, what about his level?

[Level: 69]

In the space of one day, it had risen by another two.

The levelling up speed had slowed down compared to the beginning, but it could still be considered as blistering when looking at the rate of collecting the required souls. Even now, the experience points were quietly piling up.

"Kiieehk!"

[….Killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]

[You have earned 300 experience points.]

[You have collected (1) Soul of….]

"Whew!"

After finishing off the last demon still standing before his eyes, Jin-Woo stretched his back and scanned his surroundings. Beneath the confidence-inspiring shadow soldiers standing around him, the countless corpses of mid-ranked demons could be seen littering the ground.

Clap!

Jin-Woo smiled deeply and clapped his hands.

"Nice work."

The soldiers who fought hard for him all returned to his shadow in an instant. The magic crystal could be collected by them, sure, but loot had to be manually collected by Jin-Woo.

[Will you take…..]

Well, he had to manually click 'yes' on every System message that popped into his view, that was why.

'This is a bit cumbersome, isn't it.'

So, that was why when there weren't that many demons, he took care of them himself real fast. And, when there were in a big group like this time, he fought together with his soldiers.

As soon as the battle was over, he'd start collecting the loot right away.

'Just what's so fun about this that Yu Jin-Ho insisted on doing it?'

Jin-Woo extracted a piece of loot from the dead demon and smirked to himself.

There was one more cumbersome thing about this place; it was impossible to extract shadows inside the Demon's Castle.

Didn't matter whether it was a mid-ranked or low-ranked, the black fog-like thing that denoted if he could perform the shadow extraction or not didn't rise up from the demon's corpses.

'Even when I'm staring at the remains, too.'

[This Mana is tainted.]

[It's impossible to perform shadow extraction.]

Nope, he only got some messages saying that he couldn't extract shadows because Mana was supposedly tainted.

'Is there anything I can do about this?'

Just as Jin-Woo scanned the remains of the demons with a helpless expression on his face, a new message popped into his view.

Tti-ring.

[You have discovered 29 'Item: Horns of Mid-Ranked Demon'.]

[Will you take them all?]

Jin-Woo grinned brightly.

'Of course!'

Jin-Woo quickly shook away the regret he felt over the shadow extraction problem, with the help from the abundant loot falling on his lap.

'Nothing I can use directly among the pile, eh.'

In that case, sell them all!

As soon as he sold off all the japtem, more Gold got neatly deposited into his bank balance.

[Current Gold: 914,690,772]

'Heok!!'

Jin-Woo checked his Inventory without thinking too much, only for his eyes to shot open real wide. The amount of Gold sitting pretty in there had shot past 900 million already.

'Well, each pair of demon's horns are worth about 200,000, and I hunted down well over 4000, so….'

Not to forget, he also sold off other unnecessary japtem on his way here as well, so it was understandable that Gold would accumulate at a frightening pace.

'Should I buy a rarity S weapon or armour?'

Before long, though, Jin-Woo shook his head.

He wasn't in a need for one, so no real need to force himself to spend money just because he had some.

'Right, there will come a time when I need to splurge on something.'

Jin-Woo closed the Inventory window and lightly dusted his hands.

He was done with cleaning up his surroundings.

He had procured the important entry permit for the 51st floor a long time ago. So, the only thing remaining was to get to the floor-transfer magic circle and go upstairs, but….

Jin-Woo's sight shifted towards the pillar of light. More specifically, a short distance in front of that pillar.

And a massive demon, plus scores of high-ranked demons, were standing there, waiting.

Jin-Woo raised his sight up higher.

And he could see the giant demon's name, floating in the air in a deep crimson hue.

[The Sovereign of the Lower Floors, The Avaricious Vulcan]

That thing consisted of a huge mess of fatty flesh that must've weighed dozens of tons. No, maybe even several hundred, instead. And then, the massive club this thing was holding in hand looked rather horrifying as well.

However, a smile was etched on Jin-Woo's face.

'So, that's the mid-boss of this place, huh?'

He held only the nicest memories of the bosses found inside the instant dungeons. They all gave him plenty of experience points as well as wonderful items.

Compared to the boss-level monsters found in regular dungeons that required lots of hard work to kill but little reward to show for it, these boss monsters of instant dungeons were more like boxes of gifts, all nicely wrapped up.

So, then. What items would that guy cough up?

Gulp.

Jin-Woo smiled brightly and began drooling.