183 - 187

Chapter 183: Chapter 183

What were the odds of finding a familiar face occupying a seat next to yours after boarding a plane?

Jin-Woo was guided to the first class cabin by the stewardess, but before he could take his seat, he could only stare vacantly at his temporary neighbour. He then spoke in a rather exasperated voice.

"I hope you aren't going to blame this one on coincidence."

"I'd be happy, very much so, if you did, but… yes, it does sound like a bit of stretch, doesn't it?"

Listening to a blue-eyed foreigner speak such fluent Korean still remained a rather disharmonious experience to Jin-Woo. He didn't take his eyes off the man as he settled down on his seat.

"We meet again, Mister Adam White."

"It's an honour to speak to you again, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

The Senior Agent from America's Hunter Bureau, Adam White, still carried that amiable smile as he bowed his head, just like the first time they met.

Jin-Woo scanned the rest of the first-class cabin.

'Ah, so that was why….'

He was wondering why there were two pretty strong Hunters present in the first-class cabin, but now he could venture a guess and say that they were also affiliated with the Hunter Bureau.

Two men kitted out in black business suits met Jin-Woo's drifting gaze and silently nodded their heads as their greeting.

Here was the thing, though – including the people of the Monitoring Division from the Association as well as these two, why did these 'agents' of something or rather all walk around wearing black business suits as if that was their uniform?

Were they trying to show off the fact that they were agents of some organisation?

Jin-Woo studied those two men with such needless thoughts swirling in his head. In the meantime, though, Adam White was letting out a sigh of admiration.

"We've only met once briefly, yet you still remember my name. I'm honoured."

"Well, let's just say that our first meeting had been too memorable not to remember."

"I'd like to offer my apology about that day's events. We certainly didn't expect there would be a Hunter Madam Selner's abilities couldn't reach…."

Jin-Woo lightly waved his hand about.

Because, as far as apologies were concerned, he heard plenty from the deputy director himself until he felt almost fed up on that very day. He didn't feel like bringing that subject back up again.

However, he was still curious as to why the agents of the Hunter Bureau, who seemed to have cleanly given up on reeling him in, had appeared before him like this.

"I thought our negotiation had broken down completely?"

Jin-Woo's voice became lower. It was at that moment the amiable smile disappeared from Adam White's face.

"We're aware that seeking you out like this without a prior heads-up is quite rude, but an urgent situation had developed and we had no choice but to contact you."

Jin-Woo abruptly recalled the news of a rank S Gate appearing somewhere in the eastern US.

"Could it be that you guys also failed to handle that rank S Gate….?"

"Mm? Ah, no. Not that. We took care of that one, no problem."

If this wasn't about the rank S Gate, then what other problem could there be? Could this matter be somehow related to him killing the King of Giants?

When Jin-Woo displayed his clear interest, Adam White didn't waste any more time and pulled out a notebook PC.

A video clip came up on the computer's screen and it showed thick rising plumes of black smoke as if a wide-scale wildfire had broken out somewhere. Adam handed the laptop over to Jin-Woo so that the latter could watch the clip.

He could see that the firefighters were struggling mighty hard to rein in the flames that were clearly getting stronger and stronger. Those flames definitely contained magic energy.

– What is up with this fire? We can't put it out!

– They can't be a normal blaze!

– Heeey! Over there! Get away from there! You'll turn into charcoal if you get brushed by the flames!

The firefighters were clearly in a panicked state. They seemed to be trying all sorts of methods but the raging inferno showed no signs of weakening at all.

No, it was actually only getting stronger and began to slowly box them in, instead.

A scorched tree toppled over, hitting another tree in the process and transferring the flames; it was a chain reaction giving birth to the unending inferno.

The billowing flames crashed forward like an angry tidal wave.

– Oh, my god!!

– Where is our back-up?!

– When are they arriving?!

It was right then. A helicopter arrived in the nick of time and several Mage-type Hunters disembarked from the vehicle. And they proceeded to pour out water-type magic on the flames.

After magical water spray slammed into the fiery forest dozens upon dozens of times, the inferno gradually was brought under control.

Jin-Woo carefully studied the video.

'All these guys… are top-class Hunters.'

Judging from the strengths of the magic spells used, there was little doubt that they were top-ranked Hunters for sure.

Flames that could only be barely put under control after several top-ranked Hunters had to combine their forces together – this fact confirmed that the cause of the fire itself had to be one hell of a Hunter, as well.

– Oh, Mister Hunters!

– We, we're saved….

– Thanks for your help, Hunters!

The firefighters continued to express their admiration as they gradually killed off the fire that lost most of its power. If the Hunters had arrived only a second later, there could have been a costly human tragedy unfolding in that location.

– Let's go in deeper!

– The fire is dying out!

– We've done it! We've put out the fire!

The video clip was nearing its end. Seeing that there wasn't much time left in the video's duration, Jin-Woo felt it strange and had to ask.

"Why are you showing me this?"

Sure, it had been an interesting viewing experience, but people coming to see him because of some wildfire in the US didn't make much sense to him at all.

Adam White reached out and skipped forward to the last part of the clip.

"Here… please watch the end."

The guy shooting the video broke past the thick black smoke still rising up and continued to venture deeper into the scorched forest until the footage could capture the origin of the inferno.

There must have been an incredibly powerful explosion, judging from the radius of things being swept away.

And in the centre of that radius…..

A single corpse was lying face down there.

There was no need to confirm if the victim was still alive or not. There was a wide hole in his chest and that should have been the exact spot where his heart used to be.

"In order to put out the fire this man caused, over 1800 firefighters and 14 Mage-type Hunters had to be mobilised."

Not only that, they were all top-ranked Hunters, too.

14 high-ranking Hunters had to give their all just to put out a fire lingering around after the one activating it had died already? Just from that alone, Jin-Woo was able to make an educated guess at the identity of the corpse lying face down on the ground.

"Could it be, is he….?"

As Jin-Woo looked up at him, Adam White replied with a melancholic expression.

"As I thought, you have recognised him. Indeed, it was Christopher Reid Hunter-nim."

The previously-unsure Jin-Woo's eyes widened in shock.

But, this didn't make sense. A Special-Authority Hunter, one of the world's very best, had been murdered by someone else?

"We also don't want to believe it, but he had definitely been assassinated."

Right at the end of the video playback, one of the firefighters flipped Christopher Reid's body on its back. With that, one could see the state of the corpse far more clearly.

Not just a hole in his chest, no, there were several horrible wounds inflicted all over his body, too. They were definitely traces of an intense battle.

"And finally, these are…."

Adam White pulled out several photos from his inner pocket and spoke up.

"These are the photos of the being we at the Hunter Bureau strongly suspect to be the culprit in this case."

'….The being?'

Jin-Woo could only feel confused from the way Adam White said his words, as he didn't sound like he was talking about a man or a woman – as if he wasn't talking about a human but a 'thing', instead. Soon, though, the Korean's gaze lowered down to the photographs.

There was no need to even take them for a closer look. Jin-Woo simply stood up from his seat and beckoned with his finger, and that caused Adam White to rise up automatically from his seat, as well.

"Uh, uh?!"

Adam White's eyes opened up wide in surprise.

Jin-Woo used his 'Ruler's Authority' to drag the American agent in closer and grabbed hold of the latter's collars.

"Keo-heok!"

Now that they were close enough for their noses to touch, Jin-Woo spoke in a voice a few octaves lower than before.

"If this is your way of trying to play some kind of a trick… you, all of you, won't walk out of here alive."

He was not making an empty threat here, either.

Jin-Woo's cold eyes were gleaming like a wild, ferocious beast as he genuinely emitted a murderous intent.

Adam White, although his collars were held tight, still managed to cry out.

"Don't! Don't do it!"

Of course, he wasn't shouting at Jin-Woo.

His desperate dissuasion managed to stop just in time the movements of the two high-ranking Hunters about to descend on Jin-Woo.

Having successfully stopped the actions akin to pouring oil into the fire, Adam White then pleaded with Jin-Woo next.

"That being in the photo walked out from a dungeon! He's most likely not the person you know!"

"A dungeon….??"

Jin-Woo's grip on Adam White's collars relaxed just a tad. Being able to breathe just a bit easier now, the American hurriedly added more explanation.

"The magic energy emission from that guy was a match to that of monsters, and he suddenly began attacking our rank S Hunter, as well."

Jin-Woo's gaze lowered down to the photos that fell out of Adam White's hands. The person being photographed by the CCTV cameras was…

None other than Jin-Woo's father.

'My dad came out of a dungeon, and started attacking other Hunters?'

As Jin-Woo began falling into confusion, Adam White quickly clarified himself.

"Do you still remember the accident that happened a few months ago in the HQ of Hunter Bureau? That explosion?"

How could Jin-Woo forget? That incident caused quite a bit of clamour around the world, after all.

All sorts of wild conspiracy theories were flung about, such as – the explosion being the result of a secret experiment gone wrong, a high-ranking Hunter running amok, or even two rank S Awakened fighting each other, etc.

"Are you telling me that was the handiwork of my father?"

Adam White nodded his head.

"He beat down one of our Hunters and vanished into thin air. We at the Hunter Bureau continued to chase him in secrecy, but as if he had disappeared from this world, we couldn't find any traces of him.

"…."

Jin-Woo wordlessly listened to Adam White's explanation.

"I understand how you feel, Hunter-nim. However, that person fits the profile best for this particular crime."

For one, he had the precedence of attacking another Hunter, he was strong enough to easily exceed a rank S Awakened, and finally, his whereabouts were a complete mystery. It would not be all that strange to see the Hunter Bureau designate the 'being claiming to be Seong Il-Hwan' as one of the main suspects.

However, even if he took what Adam White said as 100% truth….

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed down to a slit.

"What is your reason for showing me those pictures?"

"The International Guild Conference."

"…??"

"During the International Guild Conference, where the representatives from the world's leading Guilds will gather in one spot, the higher-ups of the Hunter Bureau are planning to distribute that person's pictures."

Meaning, they would no longer keep the investigation a secret.

It also meant that the American government had become really enraged by the loss of an invaluable asset called a Special Authority-rank Hunter and they would fully mobilise every resource at their disposal in tracking down and apprehending the party responsible.

In that regard, there would be no better timing than the International Guild Conference.

The assassination of a Special Authority-rank Hunter – quite obviously, gathered Guilds would pay extra attention to this topic, and the announcement from the Hunter Bureau would certainly intensify their interest.

"We at the Hunter Bureau would like to continue maintaining our amicable relationship with you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

"So, you came to inform me first before the public announcement takes place, is that it?"

Adam White managed to move his still-restricted head up and down with some difficulty.

"I-if you attend the gathering only to be confronted by the images of your father, you'd no doubt become shocked and confused by it, wouldn't you agree?"

Even if it was unknown whether that thing was really his father returning from the dungeon or a fake that simply looked like him.

From the death of a Special Authority-rank Hunter, to the existence of a being calling itself Seong Il-Hwan, and finally, even about the warrant itself – these were the Hunter Bureau's way of showing consideration, as they had rated Jin-Woo's abilities very highly and didn't want to become his enemy.

'....'

Jin-Woo's silence continued on.

He could sense truthfulness from the pleading eyes and voice of Adam White. That came from an emotion borne out of friendly intentions.

Jin-Woo was thinking of not holding back the moment he sensed even a minute level of hostility here.

However, there was the photographic evidence of the being that resembled his father stepping on the neck of the Korean Hunter with American citizenship, Hwang Dong-Su.

He was unable to rebut the assertion of the Hunter Bureau that the person in these photographs couldn't be a human being at all.

"We'd like to ask you for your understanding on why we had no choice but to do this."

Only then did Jin-Woo let go of his collars. The red-faced Adam White coughed and wheezed heavily to the side.

Meanwhile, Jin-Woo picked up the photographs from the floor. No matter how hard he looked, the person in these pictures was definitely his father. His heart madly pounded away as he peered deeper.

Around at that time, the announcement from the pilots came out of the PA system.

[Ladies and gentlemen, the plane will land shortly.]

Even though a commotion broke out in its first-class cabin, the plane still managed to land without any further incident on the runaway of the Incheon International Airport.

Using the skill 'Stealth', Jin-Woo escaped from the eyes of all the reporters waiting for him there. The first thing he did after making his getaway was to call up Yu Jin-Ho.

– "Ah, hyung-nim! You arrived back in the country!"

Perhaps because his father had recovered fully, Yu Jin-Ho's voice sounded even happier than before as he welcomed his hyung-nim back.

However, Jin-Woo was in no mood to smile right now.

"Looks like I'll have to travel to the US next week, after all."

– "Pardon? Are you talking about that International Guild Conference thing? Didn't you say you weren't interested in going, hyung-nim?"

"Situation has changed."

He needed to find more information.

He needed to know more.

He needed some kind of proof so he could determine whether that being was really his father or something else.

In order to meet his goal, he had no choice but to attend this International Guild Conference.

"Can you book me the plane ticket, then?"

When he asked, an unhesitating reply came right back at him.

– "In that case, I shall book two return tickets immediately, hyung-nim!"

***

Adam White couldn't stand back up again for a long while even after Jin-Woo had left the plane. He tried to get up, only to stagger unsteadily on his feet. The Hunters escorting him quickly asked.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, more or less. Just that I'm a bit exhausted right now."

Adam White sounded more like he was trying to console himself, instead. The Hunters helped him to stand up straight again.

Because his major was in criminal psychology, he got to interrogate his fair share of rather horrible human beings so far. But still, this would be his first time being terrified of another person to this degree.

He could still recall Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's quiet yet cold eyes seemingly tightening around his neck like a noose.

Adam White knew full well that the Korean was not going to come back to harm him, yet just from remembering those eyes, he felt his bowels tighten.

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo before and after the photos was like two different people altogether.

'A person can switch that much, huh.'

However, the truly shocking thing was something else. Adam White asked the Hunters for the confirmation.

"I need to confirm with you both since it happened too quickly for me. Just now, didn't Hunter Seong Jin-Woo somehow move me without touching me at all, right?"

The two high-ranking Hunters, who wouldn't lose out to anyone on the matters of excellent eyesight, nodded their heads as their reply to Adam White's question.

'I thought as much…!'

The American agent was now properly freaking out now. He definitely hadn't seen it incorrectly. That Korean man, he could use psychokinesis.

Up until now, he was under the impression that the psychokinesis was the exclusive ability only available to the Special Authority-rank Hunters. However, Hunter Seong had used it without so much as batting an eyelid.

Adam White felt goosebumps breaking out all over his skin.

Seong Jin-Woo was the first one discovered to possess the psychokinesis skill outside the five Special Authority-rank Hunters.

'There is no time to waste.'

His trembling hand picked up his phone. The ringtone went for a little while before the deputy director answered the call.

Adam White did his best to calm his trembling voice.

"Deputy director… I just discovered the sixth one."

Chapter 184: Chapter 184

The American Hunter Bureau released the list of the Guilds invited to the conference.

[Sicario Guild, Alron Diaz (Mexico)]

[Ah-Jin Guild, Seol Jin-Woo (South Korea)]

[Ira et Vitae Guild, Fabio Garco (Italy)]

...

The International Guild Conference.

It was an important event where Guilds representing their nations were invited over to discuss the current trends and future prospects of the Hunter community at large.

And 'Ah-Jin Guild' had been chosen to represent South Korea. Its participation in the conference became the hot topic of conversation for both the local and international mass media.

The thing was, Jin-Woo was the sole high-ranking Hunter affiliated with that Guild as well as its Master. This invitation was no different from the American Hunter Bureau publicly acknowledging that this single Hunter was in no way inferior to any of the very best Guilds in the world. Guilds that countless high-ranked Hunters worked for.

However – no, perhaps unsurprisingly – not one person raised a voice of discontent. Because, was there really a need to discuss whether that lone Hunter was qualified or not in this case?

Jin-Woo already possessed the records of solving two massive crises on the level of bringing their respective nations down to their knees in South Korea and Japan. Most importantly, all by himself, too.

Quite obviously, no one now dismissed the capabilities of the Ah-Jin Guild, or more precisely, the core of the Guild itself, Jin-Woo, and his abilities.

No, even more than that – quite a few people around the world were getting rather hyped up from the prospect of a brand new super-powerful Hunter participating in the gathering, where the strongest Awakened scattered throughout the world would stand on one stage.

Whenever the international mass media talked about the Japanese dungeon break incident, they also mentioned Ah-Jin Guild planning to participate in the International Guild Conference in the same breath as if it was the most obvious thing to do.

South Korea was no exception.

As the local interest in the International Guild Conference heated up, one of the TV stations requested the Master of the Hunters Guild, Choi Jong-In, for an interview.

He knew that the station couldn't ask Jin-Woo for one and had sought him out as an alternative, but still, he readily said yes.

And so, the interview being broadcast live to the nation took up the time slot of the eight in the evening, the one seen as the most important hour just before the watershed.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Choi Jong-In, and I'm the person in charge of the Hunters Guild."

His handsome visage and the inviting smile made sure to shake up the hearts of many ladies watching the broadcast.

Currently, the comments section of the TV station's website was inundated with complaints from the female viewers at home. They all said that it should've been the Hunters Guild getting the invite for the conference, instead.

"Thank you for coming, Chairman Choi."

The female interviewer lowered her head as a greeting and began asking the prepared questions.

"The news regarding Ah-Jin Guild has attracted a great deal of interest from many people around the country. But, what are your thoughts regarding this issue?"

Choi Jong-In didn't even hesitate for a second before he made his reply.

"I believe that the American Hunter Bureau made the right choice."

"It's not 'you understand the reason why', but you believe it was the right choice?"

"Yes. I definitely believe that's the case."

"But, it's not an exaggeration to say that the Ah-Jin Guild is basically a one-man show, is it not?"

"Let's not forget that that one-man show is currently being run by none other than Hunter Seong Jin-Woo."

Choi Jong-In replied with an amiable smile on his face, and the interviewer also broke out in a smile, as well.

Before her smile could end, though, Choi Jong-In smoothly continued on.

"If you define the Guild staff members as personnel that could be mobilised in a combat situation, then you could say that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo already possesses hundreds of Guild staff members."

"Are you referring to Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim's summons?"

"That's correct. I believe that Ah-Jin's overall combat potential won't lose out to anyone, even when compared to some of the very best Guilds around the world."

"Just because of Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"

"Yes, because of him."

Noisy, noisy….

Choi Jong-In's firm, unwavering reply caused an outbreak of low murmurings from the audience members in the studio, but the man himself remained calm in his demeanour.

He had witnessed Jin-Woo's feats both directly and indirectly, so he was absolutely certain of this. Even now, his feelings hadn't changed.

Every time he recalled Jin-Woo creating a path in that siege of ant monsters, all the back hair on Choi Jong-In's neck would stand up and goosebumps quickly enveloped his entire body.

'Just who out there would believe that, in the past, he used to be a rank E Hunter?'

Choi Jong-In didn't hold back and acknowledged the difference in strength between his Guild and that of the Ah-Jin Guild, and that elevated the atmosphere of the TV studio to an even hotter degree than ever before.

The interviewer smiled in satisfaction, before cautiously studying Choi Jong-In's response.

"Even still, the Hunters Guild can't be too happy about this situation. After all, It was your Guild that had been participating in the Conference for the last several years."

"Yes, it indeed hurts a little that our dream American trip had to be cancelled this year. I mean, we have all renewed our passports and been waiting for the invite to arrive in the mail, you see."

Choi Jong-In joked around good-heartedly and that prompted a burst of laughter from the audience members.

"However, the pride I feel easily trumps any pain in my gut."

Choi Jong-In's smile that had been constantly fixed on his face was suddenly replaced by something much more earnest. The laughter from the audience members died out gradually. Meanwhile, the light within the interviewer's eyes also became earnest, as well.

Words spoken from now on would be the main topic of this interview – such atmosphere emanated from the expression Choi Jong-In was making right now. Quite naturally, the gazes of the audience members were directed towards his lips next.

Choi Jong-In had appeared in TV shows quite often and knew how to play the crowd. He built up some suspense to get everyone psyched up first before opening his mouth.

"Please, think about it. Even if monsters my powers aren't good enough to deal with appear before us, we now have a Hunter we can completely place our faith in."

His words spoken from the depths of his heart carried a certain weight that no simple description could adequately convey. That weight from one man's opinion bore down on the studio, leading to the interviewer and the audience members to forget what they wanted to say and simply stare at Choi Jong-In.

As silence filled the once-noisy filming venue, he quietly spoke up.

"In all honesty, my Guild members and I, not to mention countless other people affiliated with other Guilds, managed to survive all thanks to Hunter Seong coming to lend his aid."

Choi Jong-In scanned the audience members. He wasn't trying to achieve this effect, but still, the atmosphere had become quite sombre somehow.

In order to brighten up the mood, he formed a warm smile and finished what he wanted to say.

"I am genuinely proud of the fact that Hunter Seong has been chosen to represent South Korea."

When he did, thunderous clapping exploded out from the audience members.

***

Choi Jong-In successfully concluded the interview and was about to leave the TV station when he received a call on his mobile phone.

Vrrr…. Vrrr….

'Mm?'

He lifted up his vibrating phone to find the number belonging to his advisor in the Guild, manager Joh Myoung-Ki.

"Hello, this is Choi Jong-In."

– "Sir, we got the raid permit for the Gate that appeared this morning in the suburb of Suseo-dong. It's a rank A, but the actual measurement value apparently isn't that high, sir."

"That's good news."

Choi Jong-In formed a smile after hearing that piece of good news before tilting his head a little.

"By the way, did Ah-Jin Guild not apply for the raid permit again?"

– "Yes, sir. Now that you mention it, it's been spookily quiet from them lately."

It had been four days since Hunter Seong Jin-Woo had returned from Japan. And during that time, four high ranking Gates had opened up. Basically, it was at the rate of one a day.

The rate of high-ranked Gates being generated had gone up quite rapidly, yet the Ah-Jin Guild – or, more specifically, the entirety of Ah-Jin Guild itself, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, hadn't shown any signs of movement at all.

But well, the major Guilds located in the Capital had been in a constant state of celebration day after day due to these events.

All because the destroyer of the monsters, the god of destroying dungeons who rushed in like crazy whenever a new Gate appeared so he could completely root out all monsters within, had not shown himself for the last few days.

However, Choi Jong-In felt a certain strange sense of discord whenever Seong Jin-Woo wasn't there at the location of a Gate, and that made him feel a bit concerned.

'I'm different from Baek Yun-Ho of the White Tiger or Im Tae-Gyu.'

If you didn't care about anything else and simply felt happy about an apple suddenly falling from a tree, then what made you any different from a simple-minded ape?

Some would begin drooling at the prospect of free apples, while some others would start thinking about the laws of gravity.

Choi Jong-In thought that his class hadn't fallen low enough to simply celebrate this sudden slice of good fortune. It was at that moment he got to hear the bright, innocent-sounding voice of manager Joh Myoung-Ki coming from the phone.

– "Nevertheless, our profit has gone up by nearly 40% after not experiencing any competition from Ah-Jin Guild, sir!"

"Well, here's an ape….."

– "Excuse me?"

"Ahh, never mind. It's nothing."

Choi Jong-In quickly changed the topic.

"Did the Association say they know what's going on here?"

– "They believe that he's at home, resting. The way I hear it, he hasn't even shown up all that much in the Guild offices, either."

"H-mm…."

– "Sir, I don't think there's a need to overcomplicate this. Couldn't he be taking a bit of break in preparation for the International Guild Conference?"

Choi Jong-In shook his head.

"I don't think that's the case."

Just what kind of a person was Hunter Seong Jin-Woo? Choi Jong-In spoke up his explanation.

"Before his ranking reassignment test, he cleared three to four lower-ranked Gates in a day. And after he became a rank S, he began intruding into the territory of other Guilds, and only a few days ago, he went to Japan and sorted out a rank S dungeon break all by himself. That's who Hunter Seong Jin-Woo is."

Having heard all heard that, even Joh Myoung-Ki became curious as to why Ah-Jin Guild had suddenly gone quiet recently. Didn't Hunter Seong always show up in a place crawling with lots of monsters? He couldn't have been fatigued from the Giant monster raid, right?

He now thought that his boss getting puzzled by the Ah-Jin Guild's lack of activity was not so strange anymore.

– "Now that you mention it, sir, it does sound odd."

"Oh, by the way. Wasn't the Ah-Jin Guild supposed to interview the prospective employees today? But, he still didn't show up there?"

– "Yes, sir. Seong Hunter-nim was nowhere to be found in the interview location. It was just that Vice Master, Yu Jin-Ho doing everything by himself."

"…."

A short bout of silence flowed between the two men. Choi Jong-In eventually broke the silence first and spoke in a relatively calm voice.

"And how do you know that, manger Joh?"

***

– "I might really die at this rate, hyung-nim."

The moment Jin-Woo answered the phone, Yu Jin-Ho began bitterly complaining. He couldn't help but grin a little.

It must've indeed been tough staring at the faces of the applicants the whole day. Although the number of hopefuls had been carefully filtered and trimmed down, didn't it still shoot past several hundred?

The kid might have been young, but he was doing his job as the Vice-Master of a Guild and the proxy of Jin-Woo admirably well.

'Is this why the wise elders say you are your father's child?'

Sure, his 'dongsaeng' might come across as a bit naïve and dopey, but within Yu Jin-Ho's body flowed the blood of the natural-born business tycoon Chairman Yu Myung-Han.

And thanks to that, Jin-Woo could simply leave the running of the Guild to Yu Jin-Ho and freely pursue what he wanted to do.

"Thanks. You worked hard."

– "No, not at all, hyung-nim. By the way, how are things on your side?"

"Here?"

Jin-Woo looked behind him. The JSDF soldiers on standby sent him a signal as if the preparations had been completed. Seeing that, a smile floated back up on his lips.

"Well, it's the same old story. I guess things could get delayed a bit here, so close up shop without me."

– "Got it, hyung-nim."

Yu Jin-Ho's polite goodbye signalled the end of the phone call.

An employee working for the Japanese Hunter's Association hurriedly ran towards Jin-Woo and received the phone as well as his luggage. Having handed over his stuff for safekeeping, he slowly loosened his neck and shoulder muscles.

This state of heightened feelings he'd get while lightly stretching his muscles before a raid always served to relax his mind.

As if to provide a conversation partner while Jin-Woo was stretching his body, or maybe he was just curious about something, the Japanese Association employee suddenly asked a question.

"If you let the world know that you're busy closing the Gates being generated in the disaster areas, your fame would skyrocket even further, so if I may ask, why are you keeping it a secret?"

Jin-Woo's reply to that was pretty simple. He finished his light stretching exercise and grinned brightly.

"I like peace and quiet, you see."

Humility was one of the highest praised qualities in Japanese society.

Tears began welling up in the eyes of the Association employee as he took Jin-Woo's "peace and quiet" answer as the latter being modest in his actions.

"If you need anything, please let me know immediately! I shall absolutely do everything in my power to make it come true, even if that means I must die!!"

….Well, this guy seemed to be clearly mistaken about something, but as long as the end result was good, all's well. Jin-Woo could only smile awkwardly and lightly patted the Japanese man on the shoulders before walking nearer to the Gate.

The JSDF soldiers stepped aside to create a path and saluted Jin-Woo.

This Gate was ranked at 'A'. Jin-Woo had been travelling from Korea and Japan every day to monopolise all the high-ranking Gates the Japanese couldn't handle by themselves.

He should thank the Japanese spy satellite that could detect magical energy, as well as his movement skill, 'Shadow Exchange', for this venture.

Jin-Woo stood before the Gate and looked up. Indeed, it was a pretty d*mn big thing that totally fit its rank A status.

He didn't need to spend a heap of cash trying to book high-ranking Gates here, and the Japanese government even promised to waiver all related taxes.

However, the financial side of the things was not the biggest merit for him – no, it'd be the fact that he got to monopolise every single high-ranked Gates appearing within the breadth of Japan, a large country that had lost the functionality of Guilds after the dungeon break disaster.

'Demon King's Shortsword.'

Shururuk….

"Heok."

A young soldier witnessed a pair of shortswords suddenly materialising in Jin-Woo's hands and reflexively gasped out in surprise. And then, as if he got embarrassed by that outburst, he quickly bowed towards Jin-Woo.

He simply smirked as a reply and began walking towards the Gate.

'Four days left until the International Guild Conference.'

Jin-Woo told himself that he couldn't afford to waste a single day and jumped straight into the Gate. Along with the mechanical beep, he was also greeted by the familiar voice in his ears.

Tti-ring.

[You have entered a dungeon.]

***

"Will this be fine, sir?"

Woo Jin-Cheol cautiously asked his question. The Association President Goh Gun-Hui showed no signs of agitation as he received a report.

"Regarding?"

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim…. Recently, he has been frequently visiting Japan."

The Hunter's Association could use the Hunter-issue smartphones to trace the current whereabouts of individual Hunters. And they had been feeding disinformation to those asking for Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's whereabouts as ordered by the Association President Goh Gun-Hui.

"What if Seong Hunter-nim decides to simply stay put in Japan…."

South Korea would be losing the greatest Hunter ever while sucking on their thumbs doing nothing. This would be Woo Jin-Cheol's worry in a nutshell.

For some reason, though, President Goh Gun-Hui didn't seem to be all that concerned regarding this event, even though he probably held the highest evaluation of Jin-Woo out of anyone alive.

That appearance certainly caused some amount of frustration in Woo Jin-Cheol's heart.

Perhaps finding the anxiety-ridden expression of his younger subordinate a bit pitiable, Goh Gun-Hui chuckled gently and finally spoke up.

"You don't need to worry."

"By any chance, do you know something, sir?"

"You see, he came to see me before he went over to Japan to hunt down those Giant-type monsters."

That sounded quite logical. After all, it was precisely the Association President Goh Gun-Hui who announced the story of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo planning to hunt those Giants to the world.

Goh Gun-Hui recalled the memories of that meeting.

"I, of course, tried to dissuade him. I told him that, compared to the risk, he'd be earning far too little from this venture. It wasn't as if he was promised a huge amount of cash like Yuri Orlov in the first place."

Woo Jin-Cheol nodded his head.

Jin-Woo demanded the rights to the corpses of the monsters and that was all. For the price of saving an entire country, that was far, far too small.

'Of course, that didn't mean there was enough spare time to negotiate a deal with a country busy losing several cities in a day….'

One should say that the matters couldn't be helped back then.

The Association President should be protecting the Hunters of his own nation, so it was already an odd thing for him to let Hunter Seong go this easily.

"But then, he told me this."

Goh Gun-Hui recalled the conversation back then and formed a deep grin. Woo Jin-Cheol couldn't win against his curiosity and asked back first.

"What… did he say?"

Goh Gun-Hui happily replied to that.

"He said, he wanted the Ah-Jin Guild's territory to also include Japan."

"Keo-heok!"

A shocked gasp jumped out from Woo Jin-Cheol's mouth. Goh Gun-Hui's initial reaction after hearing that declaration from Jin-Woo himself wasn't all that different, either.

"Japan's major Guilds lost most of their strength from the losses incurred on Jeju Island, as well as from the attacks of the Giants. He told me straight that his Ah-Jin Guild will fill the void left behind by them."

"Huh-uh…."

Woo Jin-Cheol couldn't shut his slack mouth.

Was it the young man's confidence or simply an excellent head on his shoulders that allowed him to think that far ahead, even before he got to hunt down a single Giant? Regardless of what it was, Jin-Woo still got to achieve his objective.

After all, wasn't this story something the Japanese would welcome with wide open arms?

"After hearing that, how could I not permit him going there?"

While the major Guilds were busy bickering among themselves over the comparatively small territory of Seoul, he'd go and make the entirety of Japan his own.

One of the qualifications to become a true Hunter was the talent to choose his own hunting spot. And as he even possessed the necessary power to handle whatever his prey turned out to be, one could definitely call Seong Jin-Woo as someone born to become a Hunter.

Goh Gun-Hui let the opinion stewing in his mind, as well as a sigh of admiration, escape from his mouth.

"He sure is one incredible fellow."

"….I agree wholeheartedly, sir."

Woo Jin-Cheol definitely agreed with that sentiment.

Putting aside the incredible power of travelling between Korea and Japan in an instant without the aid of an aeroplane, the fact that he also possessed enough abilities to make that nonsensical goal into reality, could only bring about a sigh of admiration from both men.

With excellent timing, the TV that was left switched on began showing the clip from Choi Jong-In's interview.

["I am genuinely proud of the fact that Hunter Seong has been chosen to represent South Korea."]

The Association President Goh Gun-Hui leaned against the couch as a genuine chuckle left his mouth, and spoke back to Choi Jong-In on the screen.

"I also think the same as you."

Chapter 185: Chapter 185

Goh Gun-Hui switched the TV off. As it turned out, it was already nine in the evening, a bit too late to say that now's a good time to get off work for the day. However, it seemed that Woo Jin-Cheol still had something else to say.

"The Chinese have requested for information on Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

"Information? You mean, his personal information?"

"No, sir. It's not that."

"What do they want, then?"

"The requested information is Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim's raid records as well as any official reports related to them."

That seemed about right; unless the Chinese were truly dumb, they probably knew they wouldn't be receiving any personal information of a rank S Hunter – no, someone who may greatly exceed that category altogether.

The question was, why were the Chinese showing their interest in Hunter Seong Jin-Woo at this belated stage? After all, they must've heard his decision not to entertain any love calls or scouting offers from other countries, which included China.

"The one requesting the information wasn't the Chinese government, sir."

"Really?"

"It's actually from a single individual."

"An individual?"

The Hunter's Association representing a country would never release information to any individual Hunters. But to think, this request was made by a person?

Goh Gun-Hui thought it'd be the obvious thing to refuse that request outright, so he was puzzled by the fact that the issue had been brought up at all. Woo Jin-Cheol quickly added some additional explanation.

"It seems that China's Seven Star-ranked Hunter, Liu Zhigeng, has taken interest in Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

Liu Zhigeng!

With the mentioning of that unexpected name, Goh Gun-Hui became somewhat lost for words.

China didn't accept the global standard in ranking Hunters and used its own unique ranking system. The higher the number of 'stars' in front of your ranking, the better Hunter you were. And for them, 'Five Star' was the highest attainable rank.

However, only one person was separated from that ranking system. Only Liu Zhigeng was ranked as the Seven Star. And rather obviously, the treatment he received was on another realm compared to the ordinary Five Stars.

Of course, not one person was brave enough to raise a fuss regarding the fact that he, a well-known 'Special Authority-rank' Hunter, was receiving preferential treatment.

He possessed abilities that deserved such recognition, and China herself respected that fact greatly as well.

'That Liu Zhigeng has taken an interest in Hunter Seong Jin-Woo?'

The thirst of Goh Gun-Hui's curiosity was then quenched by Woo Jin-Cheol's reply.

"Sir, didn't Liu Zhigeng fight the Giant-type monster? I'm quite sure that's why he's interested in knowing more about Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, who had hunted down every other Giant."

That sounded logical. Goh Gun-Hui nodded his head.

Not too long ago, a single Giant-type monster escaped from Japan and swam towards China. And it had been reported that the creature was ably dealt with by Liu Zhigeng at the Chinese coastline.

"The truly strong can recognise another strong being, is that it?"

Goh Gun-Hui formed a slightly mischievous grin.

The American Hunter Bureau that invited the Ah-Jin Guild. And China's greatest Hunter Liu Zhigeng, beginning to show his interest in Jin-Woo.

Both America and China had finally recognised the true worth of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo. For someone like Goh Gun-Hui, who knew that man's true value from the very beginning, this development certainly made him feel rather good about himself.

Even then…

'Even then, that doesn't mean I'll hand over any information, just like that.'

Was there a need to advertise how excellent Korea's genius was to those craving after other people's geniuses?

Sure, a Special Authority-rank Hunter would get quite annoyed by it, but so what?

'We have Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, after all.'

Goh Gun-Hui made up his mind and let out a genial, hearty chuckle.

"That request? Deny it, please."

***

Dungeons had changed.

That was Jin-Woo's overriding impression as he cleared all the high-ranked dungeons being generated throughout Japan.

As he scanned the interior of this particular dungeon, his glare became even sharper than before. He could definitely sense the presence of monsters, but his eyes couldn't detect them.

If his sensory perception or experience had been lacking somehow, this situation would've been enough to cause some consternation. Fortunately, Jin-Woo lacked neither of those.

'Is it up, this time?'

Jin-Woo stopped walking and raised his head up. Sure enough, some type of thick liquid dropped in the spot just a bit up ahead and began melting the ground.

Chi-jiiiiek…..

Thick smoke rose up from the ground as it melted down by what was clearly an acidic substance. Perhaps inevitably, the stink was rather atrocious, as well.

Naturally, Jin-Woo's expression crumpled unsightly.

When he showed no inclination to come forward anymore, the large blobs of something attached to the ceiling dropped down to the ground, instead.

Thud, thud, plop….

These blobs then began assuming humanoid shapes next.

He was now confronted by a strange type of monster whose face was covered in a white mask, while the rest of its body was made up of blackish liquid. These bizarre creatures had never been seen before up until now.

Twelve of them were blocking his path. Jin-Woo quietly called out the name of his old pal.

'Knight Killer.'

Then, a single dagger suddenly appeared in his hand.

In the not too distant past, this guy used to be his main combat weapon alongside 'Baruka's Dagger', but it had been collecting dust in the corner of the Inventory after he got his hands on the pair of 'Demon King's Shortswords'.

However, he found a good place to use it for the first time in a while. Jin-Woo briefly felt nostalgic from the familiar grip, before throwing the 'Knight Killer' at one of the monsters approaching him.

'Dagger Rush!'

Swiiiish-!

The dagger flew in a straight line while issuing a hair-raising screech and landed directly in the chest of the monster. Unfortunately, it simply flew right through as if to mock his accuracy and stabbed deeply into the wall behind the creature.

That wasn't all, either.

The black liquid coated the dagger as it went through the body of the monster and began melting the weapon down.

Chiii-eeek- Chiiieeek….

The dagger soon turned soft and malleable in no time, before transforming into an unrecognisable substance and slid down from the wall.

'I thought as much.'

His expectation of regular physical attacks not working against this monster was on the money.

It was then. The monsters didn't even give him enough time to eulogise the passing of his old comrade, 'Knight Killer', and pounced on him at the same time. They were surprisingly nimble, as well.

However, Jin-Woo simply greeted them back with 'Ruler's Authority'.

Ka-boom!!

The monsters were attacked by the unseen hands and were immediately flung away all at the same time.

Tumble!

The bodies of the creatures were ripped to shreds as they tumbled back down to the ground, but then, they coagulated back again and returned to their previous state.

"Huh."

Jin-Woo chuckled wryly at that gob-smacking level of regeneration. He was almost tempted to summon out his Shadow Soldiers and start a competition of who possessed better regenerative powers, but….

'….Be patient.'

Physical damage, whether it be tangible or not, didn't seem to work. So, then. What should he do next?

Jin-Woo relaxedly dodged the outpouring of monsters' attacks and pondered this quandary for a bit, before realising that a particular creature among them was moving around unnaturally compared to the others.

'Mm?'

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed to a slit.

Now that he took a closer look, one of that particular creature's arms wasn't regenerated, and also, the corner of the white mask covering its face had been cracked to a noticeable degree. It must've been broken off when the monster was flung away by the 'Ruler's Authority' earlier.

'Oh, so that was your weak point?'

A smirk floated up on Jin-Woo's face. As long as he knew how to attack these things, killing them would be a piece of cake.

Swish, swish!

Jin-Woo continued to easily evade all the punches thrown desperately by the monsters and summoned out his current comrades.

'Demon King's Shortswords.'

Once he got to tightly grasp the shortswords in each of his hands, cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Crack!

A monster powerlessly crumbled to the ground as the 'Demon King's Shortsword' stabbed its forehead.

Plop.

That was just the beginning. Jin-Woo moved as if he was performing a slick dance routine and in no time at all, destroyed the white masks of all the monsters present.

Crack!

Kwahck!

And eventually…

Crack!

The mask of the sole remaining monster was split in half. The creature reverted to being pure liquid and lost its overall shape as it crumbled to the floor.

Easily taking care of all twelve of them, Jin-Woo returned the 'Demon King's Shortswords' back to his Inventory.

If it wasn't him, but some other people finding themselves in this situation, what would've happened?

Without a doubt, several of them would've met their end before someone finally figured out that regular attacks didn't work. And then, a few more would have been sacrificed until they figured out the monster's weakness.

Or, even worse – the whole raiding party could have lost their lives before finding out the weakness. Even if that party happened to be made up of elite Hunters.

That was how strong, nimble, and dangerous these d*mn things were. Unfortunately, this was not his first time running into creatures this strong.

'For sure…. dungeons have changed.'

On that day, after the King of Giants was killed by his hands, Mana Stones had disappeared from the dungeons appearing throughout the world.

The ores that used to suck up most of the magical energy leaking out from the dungeon itself were now all gone and so, that magic energy with nowhere to go had all become part of the monsters, instead.

Meaning, even if the ranking of a dungeon remained the same as in the past, the conditions had become far more dangerous.

'And on top of that, monsters as dangerous as these ones have begun showing up, too….'

Jin-Woo's frown grew deeper.

If a run-of-the-mill raid party entered a high-ranked dungeon willy-nilly, then they would not be able to avoid running into a serious accident inside.

As a matter of fact, he had been hearing some news of several 'accidents' happening from all over the world lately. He already assigned the protection of his family to Beru, as he was feeling anxious about these developments.

If it was Beru, then he'd be able to resolve most crises by himself even if a dungeon break happened nearby.

'But, then again…���

It wasn't all necessarily a bad thing for the rate of Gate generation to go up, as well as the monsters in the dungeons to become stronger. At least, for Jin-Woo, that was.

Because, it'd be easier to raise his level this way. For instance, this dungeon was still full of monsters he hadn't disposed of yet. He could feel on his skin a large number of monsters hiding deeper in the dungeon while emitting overwhelming magical energy.

A smile now floated up on Jin-Woo's face.

'Well, I'm now familiar with how to deal with these strange monsters. I guess it's time to start the hunt properly, isn't it?'

The warm-up exercises were now over. And the proper subjugation was about to begin.

"Come out."

Shururuk….

The Shadow Soldiers stopped hiding in Jin-Woo's shadow and appeared behind him in full force. He told them how to deal with the monsters, so they shouldn't be experiencing any difficulty in dealing with the enemy.

Jin-Woo sent out the signal with his eyes. Igrit was now entrusted with the command of the entire army, since Beru had become the guard dog protecting his home, instead. The black knight issued the order for the troops to advance.

Dududududu-!!

The entirety of the huge cavern began rocking loudly from the marching footsteps of the Shadow Soldiers.

***

The world's best Hunters began landing on US soil one by one before the International Guild Conference began. Among them were, of course, the Special Authority-rank Hunters.

However, Thomas Andre's interest was solely fixated on one single person.

'Tomorrow's the day Seong Jin-Woo enters the US….'

He had confirmed Jin-Woo's arrival schedule earlier, and on the day before that fateful date, he summoned Hwang Dong-Su into his office.

"Did you call for me, sir?"

Hwang Dong-Su cautiously studied Thomas Andre's atmosphere. It had been a few years since he started working in the Scavenger Guild, but even now, he found it rather difficult to speak to its Master.

Because, that man wielded incredible strength, was cursed with a hard-to-fathom personality, and finally, was even beset with an extreme case of possessiveness, as well.

Hwang Dong-Su might be a rank S Hunter, but before Thomas Andre, he became an utterly insignificant being.

"Mister Hwang."

Thomas Andre went to the main topic right away.

"Do not ever provoke Seong Jin-Woo."

Hwang Dong-Su's eyes grew larger. He formed an expression that seemed to ask 'How did you know' before his gaze drifted towards Laura, standing behind Thomas Andre.

She simply responded with her eyes that said, she only did what she had to do.

"Che."

Hwang Dong-Su let a dissatisfied grunt escape from his mouth. Meanwhile, Thomas Andre continued on.

"I know about your brother and Hunter Seong Jin-Woo. I'm sure you feel suspicious of some things, and also want to know what happened back then."

Hwang Dong-Su's older brother, Hwang Dong-Seok had entered a dungeon along with Seong Jin-Woo, only to go 'missing' and never came back out.

The eight fixed members of Hwang Dong-Seok's raid party were all dead, yet the two people who walked out from that dungeon alive had formed a Guild together.

So, quite obviously, he had plenty of things to ask Seong Jin-Woo. Naturally, his dissatisfaction seeped into his expression.

"But…."

Before he could properly say something, though, Thomas Andre raised his finger up and waved it around. His lips below the sunglasses arched up. He was actually smiling.

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak, Mister Hwang?"

Keep your mouth shut and just listen – that was the message of a clear threat.

There wouldn't be all that many people capable of issuing a true warning to a top-ranked Hunter in this world. One of them just so happened to be Thomas Andre.

Hwang Dong-Su was well aware of the gap between himself and his boss, so he obediently kept his mouth shut.

Thomas emphasized his point again.

"Do not ever provoke Seong Jin-Woo. During the duration of the Guild Conference, take some time off and relax at the Guild's getaway villa in the countryside. So, how about it? Are you willing to humour my earnest plea?"

"….."

"Mister Hwang?"

Hwang Dong-Su nodded his head, unable to hold out any longer.

"…..I shall do as you say."

"Good to hear. You can go now."

Hwang Dong-Su's expression stiffened hard as he quickly made his escape from the Guild Master's office. Meanwhile, Laura asked her boss in a worried voice.

"Will this be enough, sir?"

Thomas Andre's own expression had hardened as well as he shook his head.

"No."

He definitely read the signs of ill intent flickering within Hwang Dong-Su's expression just now. That fool still couldn't let go of this matter, it seemed.

"Laura?"

"Yes, sir."

"Until Seong Jin-Woo leaves US soil, place Mister Hwang under strict surveillance."

"Will he…. take that lying down?"

Although he had been suppressed by the aura of Thomas Andre, Hwang Dong-Su's original personality was as stubborn as it could get, as well.

However, Thomas wasn't worried. No, rather, he knew that this matter wasn't simple enough to sweat over something as minor as Hwang Dong-Su's disgruntlement.

Thomas Andre scratched his chin before making a nonchalant reply.

"Well… being frustrated should be better than being dead, right?"

Chapter 186: Chapter 186

"Why are there so many reporters here?"

Germany's best Hunter, Lennart Niermann, set foot inside the American airport after disembarking from his plane. He immediately let a surprised gasp escape from his mouth from the view greeting him.

As befitting the Master of the 'Richter' Guild representing Germany, he got to attend the International Guild Conference every single year, but even then, he had never seen this many reporters camping out in the airport before.

As he stood there in shock, the Vice-Master of the Richter Guild tried to solve the riddle for him.

"Well, that Korean Hunter everyone's been talking about is scheduled to arrive today."

"Aha."

Lennart understood it right away.

Even if you were a rank S Hunter, it was incredibly difficult to resolve a dungeon break from a rank S Gate. And, what if the creatures popping out from that rank S dungeon just so happened to be Giant-type monsters?

The Hunter capable of solo-clearing a dungeon break that no one else wanted any part of, was about to step on the U.S. soil for the first time in his life. So, how could the mass media remain silent on this momentous occasion?

Perhaps he too got infected by the enthusiasm from all the reporters here, as even Lennart himself grew interested in this matter now.

'So, he's coming today?'

With excellent timing, the passengers of the plane inbound from South Korea began pouring out into the airport. The Vice-Master pointed to the side over yonder.

"Ah! There he is!��

The Vice-Master was also a rank S Hunter. He may not be as good as Lennart, his boss, but still, his perception was capable enough to easily suss out Jin-Woo's face among the crowd of people.

Lennart Niermann's eyes gleamed brightly just then.

"Should we go and say hi?"

"Pardon?"

"We've got nothing to lose by being acquaintances with a strong Hunter, right?"

"Well, yes. That's true."

The Vice-Master agreed with that idea.

The personal connections built up in such a manner would prove to be rather beneficial if an event requiring international cooperation or the aid of another Guild happened in the future.

This was, in essence, what the whole International Guild Conference was originally conceived for, where the best Hunters from the world were asked to come and exchange pointers, as it were. Especially when it was quite difficult for these Hunters to actually meet one another like this.

Lennart tidied his attire and approached Jin-Woo's travelling group. No, he tried to.

However, he came to an abrupt halt after taking only a couple of steps. Even his complexion was gradually paling, too. The Vice-Master ended up walking a step ahead because of his boss's sudden stop. He turned around and asked in confusion.

"Aren't you going to speak to him?"

Lennart's expression hardened instantly as he replied.

"That… can't you see that??"

"Excuse me?"

It seemed that the Vice-Master could not see it at all. However, Lennart was one of the very best Hunters in the entire world and he could clearly sense it. He muttered to himself in complete disbelief.

"Instead of summoning his creatures from some other dimension, he's been going around with them all this time?"

"Eh?"

What was he even talking about?

The Vice-Master was taken aback with surprise from Lennart's reaction and quickly took a look in the direction Jin-Woo was walking in from. But, let alone a single summon, he couldn't even spot a hair of the summoned creature anywhere near the Korean man.

"He's with his summons?"

"That's right! So many of them, too!"

Lennart could pick up on the presence of the Shadow Soldiers hiding within Jin-Woo's shadow. One hundred. Two hundred. Three…

No, could he even finish counting them all?

He hurriedly swallowed his saliva.

'From that number alone, I'd have believed it if someone told me that man came here to wage war against America.'

He stood there shivering while thinking that, if he were tasked with the role of inviting people over to his nation, he'd never, ever invite someone like 'that'.

There could be one of two reasons. Either the American Hunter Bureau had no clue the true depths of that Korean Hunter's power, or they were completely sure that such a power would never be used against them.

The incredible pressure Jin-Woo emanated grew stronger and stronger as he got nearer the German Hunter. Such a sensation could only be felt from those Hunters labelled Special Authority-rank, such as Thomas Andre or Christopher Reid.

'.....'

Lennart's head faltered lower even before he realised it just as Jin-Woo walked right past by him. He simply didn't have enough courage to meet that man's eyes at all. His instincts had dictated his actions.

After Jin-Woo's group had completely walked past them, the Vice-Master shot a quizzical look at his boss acting strangely and asked a question of concern.

"Master? Are you feeling unwell somehow? Your complexion…."

"N-no… it's not that."

Lennart Niermann wiped the cold sweat off his brows.

You could only see as much as you know; being able to decipher the gap between yourself and the opponent was also a part of one's abilities.

But, at least right in this moment, he felt quite envious of his Vice-Master, or for that matter, the throng of reporters, who weren't scared off by the presence of a truly, nonsensically powerful Hunter.

***

Jin-Woo tilted his head this way and that, prompting Yu Jin-Ho to take a look behind him and ask.

"Did you spot someone you know, hyung-nim?"

"No. It's just that, some foreigner was looking at me over and over again."

Yu Jin-Ho chuckled as if such a thing was nothing to fret about.

"Hyung-nim, your stories have spread out far and wide to the rest of the world, so surely, you must have lots of fans by now. Maybe he wanted your autograph, hyung-nim."

Well, that guy seemed to be too exceptional a Hunter for someone 'hunting' around for autographs, though.

Jin-Woo smirked and continued on with his steps.

Beside himself and Yu Jin-Ho, two more people were accompanying them during this overseas trip – Section Chief Woo Jin-Cheol coming along as the show of support from the Korean Hunter's Association, as well as a female Association employee tagging along as an interpreter.

"Uh! There he is!!"

"It's Seong Jin-Woo!"

The reporters finally discovered Jin-Woo and his gang.

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click-!!

Bright flashes of light exploded from the cameras wielded by the throng of reporters. Woo Jin-Cheol quickly yanked out his sunglasses from his inner pocket and put them on, before scanning the crowd with a pair of very sharp eyes. Seeing how tense he was, Yu Jin-Ho decided that now would be a good time to ask him.

"Now that I think about it some more…. Why are you even here, Chief Woo?"

Without a doubt, the Chief of a department located in the Seoul branch of the Korean Hunter's Association was not exactly what you'd call an ordinary job.

It was pretty much the same thing as you being responsible for an entire department.

Sure, Yu Jin-Ho felt grateful that the Association helped them out with an interpreter situation. His question, though, was with why someone as important as Woo Jin-Cheol would be accompanying them like this.

Woo Jin-Cheol briefly studied Jin-Woo's reactions and replied, his face reddening slightly.

"I am tasked with… providing security to Seong Hunter-nim."

He worked up lots of courage to make that reply, but regretfully, his words were drowned out by the noise within the airport itself and couldn't reach Yu Jin-Ho's ears. So, the latter cupped his ear and asked again.

"What did you say?"

"….Bodyguard…. of him…."

"Who did you say you're guarding now?"

Jin-Woo could see that even Woo Jin-Cheol's ears were getting red now. So, he wrapped his arm around Yu Jin-Ho's shoulders and put an end to that conversation.

"Hyung-nim?"

Jin-Woo pointed with his chin to a rather familiar face over yonder.

"Over there. Looks like they are here to escort us."

Adam White was standing near the entrance of the airport sporting a cool business suit with his blonde hair slicked back, his face full of a bright, welcoming smile. As if to prove that Jin-Woo's guess was correct, the American agent quickly made his way over to the group.

The two burly guys following after him were the same men from the plane back then. These two met Jin-Woo��s gaze and quickly lowered their heads in apparent embarrassment almost simultaneously.

It seemed that they ended up remembering the time inside the plane when they tried to protect Adam White by attacking Jin-Woo, having completely forgotten about the differences in their strengths.

And well, they were carrying expressions of someone who might really ask for some autographs given half a chance. Jin-Woo hurriedly swallowed back his laughter. He greeted the two burly guys with a simple nod and grasped the extended hand of Adam White.

The American agent spoke with a cheery voice.

"We were waiting for your arrival, Seong Hunter-nim."

"I seem to remember hearing that you were responsible for the Asia branch of the Bureau. Was I wrong, Mister White?"

"Ahaha."

Adam White scratched the back of his head and continued on.

"I was, until recently. Now, I'm responsible for matters involving you, Seong Hunter-nim."

Adam White used his good-natured smile to greet the others and guided Jin-Woo's group outside the airport.

"Let's get going, shall we? We have cars waiting for us outside."

There were two vehicles prepared for them. The two Korean Association people were guided to the vehicle in the back, while Yu Jin-Ho naturally headed towards the car in front. However, Adam White blocked his path.

"….??"

Jin-Woo and Yu Jin-Ho both were puzzled by this. Adam White spoke in a serious tone of voice.

"Excluding Seong Hunter-nim, the remainder of your group will be guided to your hotel."

Adam White then shifted his gaze over to Jin-Woo.

"And, do you mind accompanying us to a different location for a little while, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"

Was this about his father?

Jin-Woo's glare became icy cold in an instant. Adam White must've felt the temperature suddenly drop, because he quickly waved his hand around.

"It's definitely a story that'll benefit you, Seong Hunter-nim. Haven't we already clarified what the Hunter Bureau's opinion regarding you is?"

They wanted to maintain a good relationship with him. That's what he said in the past.

They did try to help him out, and even now, Jin-Woo couldn't sense any malice from the other party. If they were thinking of doing something dodgy, then his ultra-sharp Perception Stat would definitely catch onto that.

Didn't he discover the loophole in the proposed alliance with the King of Giants that way?

Jin-Woo calmly asked his question.

"Are the topics we'll be discussing a secret?"

Adam White glanced at Yu Jin-Ho watching and listening to this conversation with bated breath and formed a somewhat awkward smile.

"A few topics to be discussed indeed fall under the 'top secret' category, yes."

Yu Jin-Ho heard that and backed off without complaining.

"Hyung-nim? I'll see you later at the hotel."

"Alright."

Jin-Woo confirmed that Yu Jin-Ho had entered the waiting vehicle in the back, and climbed into the car in front along with Adam White. The driver didn't need any other commands and he got the vehicle moving as soon as Jin-Woo settled down on his seat.

As if their destination was not the same, the two vehicles went off on different directions from the word go. Before long, the other car couldn't even be seen anymore. Deciding that he had been waiting long enough, Jin-Woo began asking his questions.

"So, where are we going now?"

"We're heading straight to the Hunter Bureau's HQ."

The Hunter Bureau?

Everyone knew that the International Guild Conference would be held at a rented venue near the hotel. So, that could only mean that this car had a different purpose than the Conference itself.

Jin-Woo asked again.

"Isn't it fine to tell me already?"

Adam White pressed a certain button inside the vehicle as if he was waiting for this moment.

Click.

When he did….

Shuwiik….

A clear pane of window rose up behind the two front seats and proceeded to completely separate the front and rear cabin. And just above the clear window, the English word 'Soundproofed' appeared as a hologram and blinked constantly. The words were actually floating in thin air.

When Jin-Woo didn't display much of a reaction from that hologram message, Adam White felt incredibly awkward and sheepishly asked a question.

"This is the latest available technology, but… You aren't surprised?"

"Well, I've been seeing something similar every day, so…."

"…."

Adam White must've been looking forward to this moment because he instantly began pouting ever-so-slightly in disappointment. Soon, though, his original smile popped back up again on his face.

"Please hold on for a second."

Knock, knock.

He leaned forward to knock on the divider to confirm before picking up on the conversation where they left off.

"In all honesty, we're currently under serious pressure at the moment."

One of the two American citizenship-carrying Special Authority-rank Hunters had been met with an untimely, grisly death – Christopher Reid.

The American Hunter Bureau had been hurting far greater than Jin-Woo could ever imagine.

"Christopher Reid Hunter-nim was one of the pillars of the United States' strongest combat potential. Because of this, the Hunter Bureau has become even more desperate to fill the void in our fighting power. For now, things are calm on the surface because we haven't publicly announced the murder of Christopher Reid yet. But soon, we'll start the process of securing other Hunters who can substitute for him. And spare no efforts in doing so."

"Am I one of the candidates you're thinking of?"

Adam White nodded his head.

Jin-Woo liked the fact the other party was being open and honest here. Of course, that didn't mean he'd entertain the once-refused offer one more time. He displayed a rather uninterested reaction.

"I thought that part of the conversation has concluded for good?"

"Yes, of course."

However, the light in Adam White's eyes showed that it was far from over. In fact, he pulled his mobile phone out and began showing Jin-Woo several of the stored images on it.

"This is a completely different offer, however."

In the photos, there was…

The worst calamity in the history of mankind.

The raid that no one wished to remember in history.

The Dragon, 'Kamish'.

Indeed, these photos documented the process of the raid of the first and the last Dragon ever to appear on this planet.

The world's best Hunters had gathered and fought a battle to their death, and only five managed to survive until the end. Those survivors were now referred to as the Special Authority-rank.

Adam White stopped flipping through the photos. The photo he stopped at showed several first-class Mage-type Hunters extracting a Rune Stone from the corpse of Kamish.

"As you know, the value of a Rune Stone is proportional to the power of the monster the stone was extracted from."

He tapped on his phone's screen one more time to bring up the next photo. And it showed a Rune Stone sleeping quietly inside a glass case surrounded by layers upon layers of walls and security.

It was none other than Kamish's Rune Stone.

Rather obviously, that was an item where its value couldn't even be imagined in monetary terms, never mind getting one's hands on it, regardless of the price one was willing to pay.

It might possess possibly the greatest skill ever to exist!

"We're currently searching for a new owner of this Rune Stone."

Magic energy, skills, or even magic – Adam White didn't possess any of those, yet even he felt his heart palpitate when he saw that Rune Stone.

He was already feeling this excited, so how would Hunter Seong Jin-Woo feel when he was a Mage-type, to begin with?

Adam White sneaked a glance at Jin-Woo's direction.

Sure enough, the tense expression was clearly visible on Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's face. He was someone who didn't even blink an eye when the latest technology the American Hunter Bureau possessed was displayed before him, but now…

'We did it!'

Adam White clenched his fists tightly. But then, Jin-Woo's demand proved to be somewhat off his expectation.

"The photo… can you go back, please?"

"Excuse me?"

"I want to see the photos before this one."

Adam White tilted his head slightly, but still, he scrolled back to the previous photos as per Jin-Woo's request.

"Right there."

Adam White's flipping hands came to a stop over a certain photo. Jin-Woo pointed to the corner of this particular image and spoke in a low, hushed voice.

"Where is this?"

Chapter 187: Chapter 187

The 'thing' Jin-Woo pointed to was a pillar of a building. More specifically, several pillars being constructed alongside the body of Kamish.

It was evidence as good as any that they were building a structure to house the dead body of the Dragon.

His eyes shot open incredibly wide after seeing that.

Sure, the monster had died eight years ago. The higher the ranking of a dungeon, the greater the value of the monsters that came out of it. The monster corpses would be dismantled into pieces and be used up where they would be deemed most needed.

That was why he didn't hold any hopes of Kamish's corpse remaining intact until now. Because, various countries, corporations and/or laboratories willing to buy the Dragon's corpse would've formed a proverbial long-a*s queue around the corner all those years ago, or so he thought to himself.

But then, the remains of Kamish, as seen on the photograph, were in an utterly pristine state. There were traces of the intense battle it had been involved in, yes, but the corpse was pretty much free of any artificial, after-the-fact damage.

The moment he thought of the possibility that Kamish's corpse could still be around…

….Jin-Woo's heart began madly pounding away.

"Could it be that America has been storing Kamish's intact corpse until now?"

"W-well, yes. We have, but…."

Adam White couldn't really understand Jin-Woo's current reaction at all.

They were talking about a Rune Stone that all Hunters alive in this world would drool over non-stop, yet he didn't show any interest in such a valuable article and began talking about a dead monster, instead.

However, Jin-Woo's attitude was far too serious to steer the topic of this conversation back on the right course.

Jin-Woo pointed at the photo again.

"Where is this place? Let's go there right away."

"Pardon me?"

"I've been willing to humour the requests of the Hunter Bureau until now. I'm pretty sure that I have the right to demand this much from you."

"Ah…."

Adam White didn't expect the situation to go down in this direction and couldn't hide his fluster anymore. However, he also realised that strictly speaking, this was not a bad result at all.

Between Hunter Seong Jin-Woo and the Hunter Bureau that Adam was working for, anyone could figure out that the party desperately needing the other side's cooperation was, of course, the latter.

The Hunter Bureau was trying to attract Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's interest. That's why they tried with Madam Selner's ability initially. And when that fell through, they resorted to using Kamish's Rune Stone to rouse the young Korean Hunter's interest.

But then, the spark was lit from an unlikely source, instead. This was at once a crisis and an opportunity for Adam White.

'….They said I was free to use any method, didn't they?'

Adam White quickly recalled what the director and his deputy said after they had gathered the agents working for the Hunter Bureau.

They said – 'do whatever it takes to get on Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's good side.'

In order to increase the odds of him moving to the States, even if only by a little. If the Hunter Bureau was in possession of something Jin-Woo wanted, then for the sake of the relationship between them, that thing should be offered up immediately regardless of what it was.

….So they could get into this young man's good books.

Adam White remembered this incredibly important end goal and cleared his throat so he could speak up.

"Actually, even I do not know where Kamish's corpse is being stored at the moment. The extent of my knowledge is what the higher-ups are prepared to let me know, unfortunately."

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

For sure, Adam White seemed a bit too 'young' to know every single secret the organisation he worked for might keep. But, he sounded far more confident as he spoke, which seemed to contradict the contents of his words from a second ago.

"However, if it's you making this demand, then I believe the higher-ups will give the go-ahead pretty easily. I'll have to make a report anyway, so do you mind waiting for their reply for a little while?"

Jin-Woo's expression brightened instantly.

The odds of the skill 'Shadow Extraction' failing would increase proportionally to how long the target had been dead for. And Kamish was killed off eight years ago. The odds of failure were just simply too high.

The possibility of bothering a lot of people, not to mention wasting their precious time for what could ultimately turn out to be nothing was pretty high, too.

However, how should he know without giving it a shot in the first place?

Even if the odds were extremely low, even if there was only a chance of ten thousand in one, no, ten million in one, the moment he somehow succeeds in extracting the Dragon's shadow, he'd end up with possibly the most powerful Shadow Soldier ever in history.

Just thinking about it made his heart madly pound away.

Even if he failed, the only thing he'd lose would be his time. When compared to what he stood to gain if he succeeded, well, this was one gamble worth taking, that's for sure.

As long as the Americans permitted it in the first place, of course.

Jin-Woo quickly asked Adam White.

"We��re on our way to the Hunter Bureau, right?"

"That's correct."

"Since I'm going to wait anyway, why don't I go there and wait, instead?"

"Huh…."

Jin-Woo's overly passionate interest caused Adam White to form an expression of a man not knowing whether to rejoice or be saddened.

***

The Director of the Hunter Bureau also formed a similar expression, as well.

He shifted his head to the side just in case, and sure enough, his deputy right next to him was also forming the same sort of an expression. So much so that the director couldn't help but wonder, if he were to look into a mirror now, wouldn't his face look like that?

"Okay, so. Seong Hunter-nim is in the building with us?"

The director had to confirm it one last time. Adam White wordlessly nodded his head.

"But, what about the Rune Stone? Didn't he say anything about it?"

They decided that using up Kamish's Rune Stone was worth it if it meant they got to reel Seong Jin-Woo into the US of A.

Well, a Hunter with an American passport getting stronger was pretty much the same thing as America getting stronger, at the end of the day. But, now…

"No, sir. During our trip, he almost never spoke about the Rune Stone once."

"Huh-uh… this is troublesome."

The director could only rub his chin after hearing Adam White's answer.

Both Thomas Andre, as well as Seong Jin-Woo – it always proved to be so difficult to predict how these Hunters standing at the apex would behave next.

He even thought that possibly, one's way of thinking would undergo a drastic change after becoming a top-ranked Hunter in the world.

"So, what he really wants is to view the Dragon's corpse?"

"Yes, sir."

Adam White nodded his head, his expression full of confidence.

He wasn't feeling bad at all at the moment. From the get-go, his role was to bring Jin-Woo to the negotiating table and have him take part in it.

And with Jin-Woo willingly walking into the Hunter Bureau HQ, Adam White had pretty much fulfilled the role he was tasked with. As for the rest, it'd be up to the higher-ups holding the deck full of negotiable items at the ready.

The person with the final say in the matter, the director carefully pondered this quandary, before speaking to Adam White.

"I wish to discuss this matter with the deputy director first. Please leave the office for a little while."

"Understood, sir."

Adam White stood up to leave from the office; once he left, the director turned around and spoke to his deputy with an awkward expression.

"This… What do you think is the reason for that man wanting to see Kamish's remains?"

"I wonder…. Well, one thing we can be sure of is that he's not a tourist. It's likely that Kamish's remains possess a greater value than its Rune Stone to him."

The value of a skill was truly unimaginable. Many Hunters at the top flight would not hold back on their cash reserves in order to purchase a Rune Stone they needed.

Even if it cost tens of thousands, hundreds, even millions of dollars.

It wasn't as if they had too much money and didn't know where to spend it, so they were walking around showering their surroundings with cash.

No, a skill was basically the strength a Hunter possessed, and that strength was directly linked to said Hunter's survival.

'Even then, seeing that corpse once is much more beneficial than getting his hands on a Rune Stone, is that it….?'

The thoughts forming inside the director's head was then articulated into words by his deputy.

"It seems likely that it's related somehow to Seong Hunter-nim's ability."

"….."

The Hunter Bureau proudly boasted the best information-gathering network of any organisation on Earth. So, rather obviously, they had gathered quite a hefty amount of info on Jin-Woo.

And that was the reason why they could leverage both Madam Selner's ability and now, even Kamish's Rune Stone. That was why they thought that….

"Wasn't his ability only applicable to monsters he killed himself?"

After he killed ant monsters, ant soldiers were added to his arsenal, and after he hunted down the Giant-type monsters, Giant soldiers made their appearance next.

The more battles he fought, the stronger Hunter Seong Jin-Woo would become. That was precisely the reason why the Hunter Bureau wished to make Jin-Woo an American Hunter at any cost.

However – what if he could create summons out of corpses of monsters that had died a long time ago, and more importantly, the ones he didn't even kill in the first place?

"Oh, my god…."

The deputy director's eyes grew extremely large.

"He's planning to make Kamish into one of his summons!"

His voice trembled uncontrollably.

That man was thinking of turning the worst calamity humanity had faced into his summoned creature. No wonder he couldn't care any less about a Rune Stone.

The director resolutely shook his head.

"That cannot be allowed. We simply can't let one individual wield that much power."

"But, sir, if we refuse to accept his demand this time, it'd become far harder to maintain an amicable relationship with him moving forward."

Jin-Woo being in the Hunter Bureau's HQ to wait for an answer easily showed how high his expectation was.

It was simple logic, really – if one refused the other's request because one couldn't trust the other party, then the relationship of trust would break down completely.

"H-mm."

The director's forehead creased up greatly as he fell into deep contemplation.

If their guesses were correct and Hunter Seong Jin-Woo did really make Kamish into one of his summons, then his powers would become impossible to control for any one nation or organisation.

His summons revived right away even after getting destroyed, didn't they? What if Kamish possessing the infinite regenerative power appeared as an enemy?

Indeed, the associated risk was simply too heavy for a chance to maintain a good relationship with a lone Hunter. The director asked one more question before he could make his decision.

"We have Thomas Andre, a Special Authority-rank Hunter, as well as nearly fifty rank S Hunters recruited from various parts of the globe. Is there really a reason why we should continue pursuing Seong Jin-Woo?"

"Actually, sir…"

The deputy hesitated for a little bit before making up his mind. He had been delaying making a report because its content was not verified yet, but he decided to bring it up anyway.

"There is a good chance that Seong Jin-Woo is a brand new Special Authority-rank Hunter. Sir."

"What was that?"

The director shot up from his seat.

"Agent White made a report about a week ago. Hunter Seong Jin-Woo can use psychokinesis."

"…..!!"

With the sole exception of the lone Healer-type, four of the five Special Authority-rank Hunters all possessed an ability to exert physical change to objects without actual physical interaction.

Many strong people had appeared before and after those five had entered the world stage, but even until now, only four people possessed that power.

The Hunter Bureau was the only one to have figured out that similarity among the Special Authority-rank Hunters, and the organisation had even designated that power as the prerequisite for being labelled as one of the Hunters exercising rights equalling a nation.

But now, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was discovered to possess that power, too?

A certain thought suddenly fleeted in and out of the director's brain. He wondered if Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was a gift from God to America, now that she had lost one of her strongest weapon, Christopher Reid.

'God bless America.'

God's blessing always seemed to accompany the United States of America.

Soon, the director's expression changed.

"Do you see him as someone worthy of our trust?"

One's abilities could be assessed subjectively, but the issue of trust would always be viewed from an objective perspective. The deputy spoke up of his opinion on Jin-Woo, which was formed from what he had witnessed so far.

"Can you imagine what would've happened if someone pointed a gun at China's Liu Zhigeng or Thomas Andre?"

"It'd be horrific."

Both Thomas Andre and Liu Zhigeng showed no mercy towards their perceived enemies.

That someone in the hypothetical situation would either die or, at a bare minimum, lose the arm holding the gun if luck was on their side.

"However, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo wasn't like that. He was someone you could still talk to and defuse a tricky situation without violence."

The director lowered his gaze a little and nodded his head. Meanwhile, the deputy carried on with his explanation.

"Also, let's not forget about the matter of Japan. Didn't he solve the dungeon break crisis that no one wanted any part of, all by himself, while not making much of a demand from the Japanese?"

It was a complete contrast to Russian Hunter Yuri Orlov, who demanded an exorbitant sum of ten million dollars a day from the Japanese government.

"…."

The director's decision-making process didn't last for long.

His lips remained tightly shut in a straight line for a bit longer, but he stood up from his seat.

"I shall guide him personally. This could be a very good opportunity to witness and observe his ability from up close."

The deputy's expression brightened up a notch as he also stood up from his seat.

"By the way, where exactly is Kamish's remains stored, Director?"

Hearing that question, the smirk formed on the director's lips.

"Have you ever wondered why our HQ has twenty underground floors?"

***

Jin-Woo climbed aboard the special elevator with the guidance of the Bureau's director.

"I wished to speak to you in a more relaxing environment, but… I'm sure this is what you want, yes?"

Adam White translated the director's words into Korean almost at the same time. Jin-Woo nodded his head to say yes.

The elevator carrying the director, his deputy, Adam White, and finally Jin-Woo himself speedily climbed down to the basement floors.

'To think, they'd build the Hunter Bureau's HQ on the very spot where Kamish had been killed….'

Should Jin-Woo chalk this one up to America being, well, America?

In any case, he was told that the remains of the Dragon Kamish would be stored intact forever in order to honour and remember the lives of every Hunter who valiantly sacrificed themselves to stop the worst calamity in human history.

Ting.

The elevator finally opened its door on the 24th basement floor. The staff members waiting for their arrival greeted the four guests to this floor.

"Director."

"Sir."

They must've been soldiers originally, judging from the dignified manner of their salutes. The director nodded his head to greet them back and continued to guide Jin-Woo further in.

"Please, this way."

Jin-Woo inwardly swallowed his saliva.

When the door with several layers of strict security finally opened up, a chilling breeze brushed past his cheeks.

'No, that wasn't a cold breeze.'

Although faint, he could feel magical energy infused in the air. There was no need to even wonder just who this magic energy belonged to.

Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump!

His heart palpitated hard upon realising that his odds were not zero, after all.

Even though it had been eight years, the remains still emitted some amount of magic energy. So, just how incredible would its power be after turning into a Shadow Soldier?

Jin-Woo calmed his heart that was racing fast enough to explode and wordlessly followed after the Director.

"It's here."

Eventually, his steps came to a halt in front of the truly massive open dome brightly illuminated by countless spotlights overhead.

And there it was, the remains of Kamish.

The body was perfectly preserved as it were – exactly as it was from that day it managed to kill several hundreds of elite Hunters before also getting killed off by the five remaining Special Authority-rank Hunters.

The Red Dragon!

Even Jin-Woo momentarily forgot to breathe at the creature's truly overwhelming presence.

"Actually, all electricity used in the Hunter Bureau's HQ comes from Kamish's Magic Crystal."

The director proudly explained where all the energy used to preserve Kamish's remains came from.

However, Jin-Woo's ears were not picking up on any of his words. His gaze was already firmly fixed on one spot.

Seeing that fervent gaze, the Director realised that the moment had come.

"….Hunter-nim. Are you satisfied now?"

"Everyone, back away."

Jin-Woo spoke to the people behind him, causing the staff members to raise a noisy fuss.

"Director, what is that man trying to do?"

"Kamish's remains is our country's national treasure!"

Too bad for them, though, the director loudly reprimanded them right away.

"I already gave my permission!"

In that instant, all unnecessary noises disappeared.

Before they came down here, they had concluded their conversation. Jin-Woo made a promise that nothing would happen to the remains. And just like how the deputy had done, the director decided to trust Jin-Woo's words, as well.

"Let us observe what will happen next."

As Jin-Woo had instructed, the crowd retreated to a far away distance. In the meantime, he extended his hands out towards Kamish. And then, he quietly spoke up.

"Rise up."

As if it was waiting for that, a message popped up in his view along with a 'Ting!'

[Shadow extraction has failed.]

[Two more attempts remaining.]

Jin-Woo's expression didn't change. He calmly moved on and attempted the extraction for the second time.

"Rise up."

He wished to take control of the greatest monster there ever was. His voice, now containing his desire, echoed and reverberated throughout the interior of the underground dome.

Rise up…

When that happened, all the spotlights located on the ceiling suddenly began flickering. And from somewhere unknown, a streak of brilliantly chilling wind blew in.

Kuwaaaaaahh-!!

Screams of a Dragon roared out from some place that was impossible to locate and caused almost everyone present in the dome to cover their ears in a hurry.

The only person who didn't lose his cool in this chaos was Jin-Woo, and no one else. He quickly spotted Kamish's shadow spreading wide on the floor.

'Did I…. Did I succeed?'

It was then – his eyes opened super-wide.

A certain something was slowly rising up from the shadow. The rising shape enveloped in the rising plumes of black smoke was…. undeniably a Dragon.

"Uh?! Uh, uh!!"

"What, what the… What the hell is that?!"

The staff members freaked out and took several steps back. Even the director and his deputy, who already had a pretty good idea on what Jin-Woo's ability was like, forgot to breathe in that moment.

Kuwaaaah-!!

The Dragon loudly roared into the air before discovering the human by its feet and stopped its bellowing.

[Were you the one summoning me? Oh, King of the Dead, Shadow Sovereign.]