(Chapter 26)

Soon, they reach the office of their Guild-soon-to-be.

And the phone of Sung Jin-Woo rings at the right time.

"Hello, Mr. Chairman."

"Can you be discreet? Your summon gave panic again to some areas but most importantly, a video is now spreading with Shyrveen on the internet."

"... Sorry, about that. I need to get Shyrveen for something urgent but it was dealt with now. And a video?"

"Yeah, most people are trying to found out the identity of the man that you fetch up and all they can get was the record of being an E-Rank Hunter in this association's records... And I can't get these things that you both are talking about in the video..."

"... Well, you better prepare for him to jump ranks like what I did but I don't know when, just soon... And, it's about personal things, Mr. Chairman..."

"... Alright. Another awakened to be S-Rank again huh?..."

The end calls there and Sung Jin-Woo meets Shyrveen's eyes.

"Sorry about that, Hyung-nim. I put other people's attention to you..."

"... It's fine. I know you got worried about me..."

Yoo Jin-Ho was confused after listening to his idol and the new person beside Sung Jin-Woo.

'Hyung-nim call that man 'Hyung-nim'?... Another awesome Hunter?... Wait, I remembered that Hyung-nim mention someone last week... Is it him?...'

But Yoo Jin-Hoo didn't dare to interrupt for what they're talking about and just saw Sung Jin-Woo and the man went inside the conference suite, leaving him outside, while crying in his inner heart.

'I wish I can walk, side to side with them, and not just following them at the back... Wishful thinking... Haa...'

Inside the conference suite.

Cha Hae-In was confused after seeing the stranger that seems so closed with Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, and she tried to measure's his strength only comparable to A-Rank's magic power.

'... More or less 2000 Magic Power units.'

What she doesn't know that what she was sensing was the energy emitted by Geno Points inside of Shyrveen's body via the mediator, Beast Soul.

Shyrveen Yñiguez: Not evolved

Status: None

Life span: 200 Years

Required for evolution: 100 Geno Points

Geno points gained: 100 Ordinary Geno Points, 59 Primitive Geno Points, 23 Mutant Geno Points, 11 Sacred Geno Points

Beast souls gained: Ordinary Black Beetle, Ordinary Illusionist Snake, Ordinary Azure-Tailed Eagle, Mutant Crimson Iron-Bone Fish, Sacred-Blood Obsidian Dragon (4 Stars)

Shyrveen put the thing about the (4 Stars) beside his Sacred-Blood Beast Soul in the side of his mind for now after seeing it while taking his shower a few minutes ago.

'Should be exclusive only for me... I need to ask Irveen about all of this, most related to Beast Souls... Haa... I only have theories, but I'll still need to be sure...'

"Hunter Cha, this is my friend that I was planning to be the third founder of the Guild."

"... Still, I want to join your guild."

'So it wasn't that I was doubting my hearing earlier... But why?...

Cha Hae-In was the Vice-Master of South Korea's top Guild, and her skills were ranked to be among the very best, but she willingly walked into a Guild that hadn't even taken its first baby step yet...

Unless she was being threatened into coming here, how could this situation make any sense? But then again...

Uh, well, just who'd be brave enough to threaten her?...'

Sung Jin-Woo decided to bring up the one person with enough clout to potentially threaten her in South Korea after thinking severe things.

"Did the Association's Chairman order you to do this?"

Cha Hae-In formed a confused expression, evidently not understanding why Go Gun-Hee was being brought up in this discussion.

"Why would he?..."

It was Sung Jin-Woo who couldn't understand what was going on here, so why was she making that face even though she was the reason for all this confusion.

'No, hang on. Let's calm down.'

But only to felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Shyrveen.

"Hyung-nim..."

"... I think I need to get out of this thing first before we move on to what we deal from the past... But before I go out, let me check something..."

Shyrveen thought that this conversation between Sung Jin-Woo and Cha Hae-In is like a personal thing and something clicks on his mind.

Put his face in a position with Sung Jin-Woo's and stared at Cha Hae-In which was looking back at Shyrveen and Sung Jin-Woo's face, alternatively.

Then Shyrveen pats the shoulder of Sung Jin-Woo.

"... Good luck, Jin-Woo..."

"What do you mean, Hyung-nim?..."

But didn't got an answer from Shyrveen that soon closed the door and Sung Jin-Woo looked back at Cha Hae-In more confused.

While at the other side of the glass, Shyrveen took a seat beside Yoo Jin-Ho and greeted him.

"Hello..."

"Hi... Hyung-nim?"

Yoo Jin-Ho was a little curious and a little bit scare around this man.

"Yeah?"

"Err... If you don't mind me asking, but are you like Hyung-nim?"

"... Please, elaborate."

Yoo Jin-Ho scratch his head and explained to Shyrveen what he feels.

"Uhmm, well... I look up to your records and I found out that you're an E-Rank, but... You're emitting much higher magic power than that only E-Rank should have..."

"... A False-Ranker or Reawakened?"

"Maybe both?..."

"Then we should set this into the latter, what do you say?"

"... Alright... And, can... Can I ask if you're really the one from the Philippines?..."

Yoo Jin-Ho tried to find a word that won't trigger something in Shyrveen that might cause him to be angry.

"Well, yeah. I'm that one... You scared?"

Shyrveen answered and asked him normally like what the others asked him in the past too.

"N-No!"

Yoo Jin-Jo hurried waved his hands to gesture his denial.

"You sure? I'm the harbinger of Dungeon Breaks..."

"... That!... D-Don't worry! If that happens, Hyung Jin-Woo is so strong!"

'Yeah! With Hyung-nim here, I won't worry about Dungeon Breaks.'

Yoo Jin-Ho tried to hypnotize himself that all is fine since he imagines the latest Dungeon Break that involved Shyrveen in the Philippines might suddenly happen any minutes now.

Shyrveen smiled bitterly in his mind and reached out his hand.

"By the way, nice to meet you. Shyrveen Yñiguez."

"Nice to meet you too. Yoo Jin-Ho..."

That accepted by two hands of Yoo Jin-Ho as he greeted back.

"We will have a lot of interaction after the Guild is established, but just put my position into like some, messenger, carrier, courier, or something like that since I'll bring some materials to Jin-Woo. So don't be so tensed up, talking to me won't break the Dungeons so suddenly, you know."

A wry smile was painted on the face of Yoo Jin-Ho after hearing it and looked at Shyrveen that was staring at the sack that full of magic crystals.

Shyrveen stands up and thought.

'What if...'

Then he went to get the caged beast and said.

"Can I borrow one piece?..."

"Ah?... Ahh, well..."

Shyrveen feels his stare without a surety what to say about it and decided to pick one crystal and wave it to let Sung Jin-Woo see.

That raised one eyebrow and Shyrveen waved the crystal again and pointed at the caged beast.

Which made Sung Jin-Woo facepalmed and hurried open the glass door.

"Hyung, that might cause an unknown effect, better go with us to the Hunter's Gym to try that, it has a big facility if something happens."

"Alright, and I know. That's why I only wave the crystal and didn't feed it."

Sung Jin-Woo sighed in relief since for his perspective, this Hyung is too much a knowledge seeker and doesn't care about the surrounding.

'Not that he really doesn't care but... Whew...'

Shyrveen picked up the cage and the one crystal and went inside the conference room again.

"I bet you both settled things?"

"No, not yet, that's why we will go to the Hunter's Gym to test her..."

"Got it."

Cha Hae-In stands up and intended to leave to go to the Hunter's Gym but was stopped by Sung Jin-Woo.

"I have a quicker way of getting there, actually."

"Excuse me?"

"But, I must be touching you if I'm to use this method, so will it be alright with you?"

"Oh….."

Cha Hae-In recalled what Baek Yun-Ho told her about the situation back then.

He said that, as all the members of the Korean assault team found themselves in a life-or-death situation, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo suddenly popped up behind him.

'Is he trying to show me that skill?'

She quickly swallowed her dry saliva and looked up at Sung Jin-Woo's face that was now much closer than her initial expectations.

"Sorry about this."

Sung Jin-Woo lightly embraced her.

He thought that such a light hug wouldn't mean anything to her since he had carried her unconscious frame around inside the ant tunnel, but Cha Hae-In's face was rapidly dyeing in a beet-red color.

Shyrveen decided to shut up and holds the shoulder of Sung Jin-Woo tighter while trying to lessen his presence as lower as much as possible.

'... Yang Manli wasn't this shy... Eh?... Why I suddenly thought her?...'

That Sung Jin-Woo felt the familiar hand on the same shoulder and didn't say anything anymore to Shyrveen.

'... He knows my ability to teleport... Well, not exactly but I bet he has the thought already...'

However, Cha Hae-In didn't struggle or try to get out of his embrace.

'... He has a nice scent.'

While her face was getting progressively redder and redder, Sung Jin-Woo cautiously held her to make sure they wouldn't get separated and finished getting ready.

'Okay, all done.'

There was this thing he wanted to confirm. And he wouldn't find as good an opportunity as this one in the future.

"It might get a little dizzy."

Well, he felt that the first time, so there.

Cha Hae-In only then wrapped her arms around Jin-Woo and whispered her reply.

"Okay."

Jin-Woo raised his head up to his front and issued a command in his mind.

'Shadow Exchange.'

That at the same time, Yoo Jin-Ho was left behind with his jaws dropped while seeing a High Orc instead of the three people inside the conference suite that is scratching its head and he blinks his eyes just to see there's no High Orc anymore.

'B-b-but, I definitely!... Hyung-nim is so awesome!!!'

While at the gymnasium, three people appeared and triggered the overhead lighting system that sensed the magic energy from them and the bulbs came on one by one, brightly illuminating the gymnasium's interior.

Cha Hae-In opened her eyes after sensing the brightness through her closed eyelids.

"But, How?..."

And looked at Sung Jin-Woo while her brows shot up as she failed to hide her astonishment. They were already in a familiar place.

"You..."

She had so many things she wanted to ask, but in the end, she couldn't open her lips to voice any of them.

The first reason for that was because she didn't even know just where to start her questions, and secondly, their distance was far too close for a spot of civilized conversation.

"It's safe now, so…."

Sung Jin-Woo lightly grasped her wrists and unwrapped her arms around his waist.

"….You don't have to hold on to me anymore."

Cha Hae-In lightly rubbed her wrists he had grasped and wordlessly nodded her head.

"Okay. Let's get started."

Sung Jin-Woo walked out of the corner the High Orc Shadow Soldier was probably hiding in, and strode towards the center of the gymnasium.

"Alright."

Cha Hae-In followed him and did their things.

While Shyrveen that still in a mob mode.

Silently, he went to the side and put down the caged and stared at the magic crystal, then stared down to his own shadow and glanced at the back of Sung Jin-Woo which made him shakes his head, and smiled in his mind.

'Now... Since the gym is so big... No matter what happened to you, you won't have a chance to cause an uproar...'

He said to the caged beast and put the crystal down near its mouth and waited for it to eat it.

Shyrveen saw how the beast cautiously sniffing and slowly crawling to the crystal until its eyes widen and gulp down the crystal in one scoop.

The beast fell on the ground in an unconscious state and its black fur started to change noticeably to a bronze color then it didn't stop there until it turned completely purple and shiny as if it had been polished.

Even its size evolved further into the thrice of the size of the domestic cat.

Then the eyes of the beast snaps and stand up hurriedly and pounce to Shyrveen. Trying to break from the small caged now with it's sized.

Shyrveen summoned the blue feathered arrow and melded with the Mutant Arrow and even resorted to summoned the six-foot-long Obsidian Dragon for safety measure.

He ignored the stares of stunned two people with one shadow that holding a sword in the center of Gymnasium.

'... It evolved faster in just a few seconds...'

He summoned the melded bow, pull its string, and fired the melded arrow.

The caged beast died after being pierced through its forehead, and Shyrveen heard a voice that the first time said something strange.

'Sacred-Blood creature Unknown was killed. No Beast Soul gained.'

'... Unknown?... But it was determined to be a Sacred-Blood one?... And there's no indication of eating its meat to gain Geno Points... Contaminated?... Monsters...'

Shyrveen thinks it over so deeply until he glances at Sung Jin-Woo to ask.

"Jin-Woo... What kind of magic crystals in those sacks in the Guild? Specifically, from what gate?"

Sung Jin-Woo with Cha Hae-In, both felt the disturbance of the mana in the air or accurately, around the beast near Shyrveen, and Sung Jin-Woo answered normally while having the confusion on his face.

"B-Rank Red Gate, why?"

"I see... That's why it evolved faster... Because of the Mana from those high-quality magic crystals are too dense...

But, it contaminated the creature to be like the usual monsters, but it's still possible to obtain Beast Soul from it. While the bad news, 'it' doesn't know the creature anymore once the creature evolved from using the magic crystals...

This won't do... Better stop this nonsense and stick to the common sense...

I wish I brought back so many creatures in the first place..."

Shyrveen stands up and sighed, and massages his forehead while looking down at the wasted corpse...