Chapter 191
Thomas Andre’s brows quivered slightly.
If some insignificant Hunter said that to him, he’d have ripped that fool into tiny bits and shreds immediately.
After all, the United States government wouldn’t be able to prosecute him, a Special Authority-rank Hunter, that easily. He was someone possessing rights equal to that of a country.
As the reward for rescuing 300 million American lives from the worst calamity in human history, Thomas Andre got to wield absolute power. This power allowed him to do whatever he pleased.
However, even if that was the case, he couldn’t immediately make his move. Because his opponent this time was none other than ‘Seong Jin-Woo’.
Thomas Andre couldn’t completely suppress his temper and his hands moved for a blink of an eye. He managed to reel himself back in, though. He glared at Hwang Dong-Su and gritted his teeth.
‘And I told him not to provoke that man….’
As expected, Seong Jin-Woo was not an easy opponent to face. Seeing him personally confirmed this fact. If Thomas Andre had to describe this feeling into words, then it was like trying to step into a quagmire.
Dark and ominous magical energy oozed out from Seong Jin-Woo’s entire body, and Thomas Andre felt as if he’d not be able to escape once he took a wrong step forward here.
Unfortunately, even he could not back away now. An ace Hunter of the Scavenger Guild was currently being manhandled by that man, and most importantly, his pride as a Special Authority-rank Hunter was at stake, too.
With his expression viciously crumpled, Thomas Andre threw out a question.
“….You, by any chance, don’t you know who I am?”
Jin-Woo curtly responded.
“Doesn’t matter who you are.”
It was then – Hwang Dong-Su somehow regained his consciousness and shouted out after discovering Thomas Andre.
“Master! Kill this son of a b*tch! Hurry!”
Boom!
Jin-Woo’s fist struck Hwang Dong-Su, causing the man to black out and go limp again. Meanwhile, veins bulged on Thomas Andre’s forehead.
“You dare….”
‘….You know who I am, yet you dare to do something like that in my presence?’
His expression was already crumpled into something unsightly before, but now, it distorted even more to resemble a devil’s face.
Through personal experience, his body knew how one should deal with an opponent who didn’t want to submit.
‘White trash; a low-class white man.’
Thomas Andre grew up in a poor immigrant family.
The school located in the poorest ghetto filled with African youths proved to be a hostile place for a lone white kid who knew no one and had no friends or acquaintances.
Everywhere was filled with enemies. Just from meeting eyes did the fights break out. And often, his opponents carried around dangerous weapons, too. The moments when he had to fight off multiple enemies happened frequently, as well.
However, the heavens saw fit to bestow a certain gift that could only be described as unprecedented unto this white kid who seemingly possessed nothing.
The overwhelming talent for physical power – the power that allowed him to trample on others!
Paradoxically, the boy’s surroundings became just about a perfect playground for him to confirm his own talents. Through the endless, continuous fights, the boy got to confirm the heaven-gifted talent he possessed.
He clearly witnessed how his powers would change all those holding hostile feeling towards him. And so, he reigned like a king.
Power – the authoritative power, financial power, and physical power. He got to learn quite early on that the many types of power existing in this world could turn a man into either a king or a slave.
And when a completely different type of ‘power’ manifested into this world, he grasped the opportunity and ascended to the status of a true king.
If an opponent was unwilling to listen, then he’d use power to make them submit. Someone blocking his path would be destroyed without mercy.
And he’d make all those looking down on him kneel on the ground, defeated. Physical power was the truth!
Thomas Andre stayed true to what he knew, to what he was familiar with.
Time seemed to freeze up. Thomas Andre, now full of malice and a destructive desire, pounced forward. The distance between the two men disappeared in an instant.
His eyes met Jin-Woo’s, as they closed in enough for their noses to touch.
‘Blame your own ignorance!’
Thomas Andre reached out with his hand. He was planning to grab Jin-Woo’s head.
His incomprehensible gripping power was one of his many hidden talents. Even if his opponent happened to be a top-ranked Hunter, he’d easily shatter that person’s skull.
Now that the fool was within his attacking range, victory was as good as his. The corners of Thomas Andre’s lips curled up.
Too bad, though…
‘Wha….?!’
In that instant, there was a flash of light before his eyes.
***
With fortunate timing, the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild arrived at the location. And they all got to witness something peculiar. They got to witness ‘something’ breaking past a wall of the disused factory at an alarming speed.
Boooom-!!
That ‘something’ destroyed the wall and crash-landed on the ground. Even then, it continued to slide away for a long, long time.
Chuwuuuuk…
And when that ‘something’ finally stopped sliding right before their eyes, the Hunters recognised its identity and couldn’t hide their extreme astonishment from exploding out. No one could tell who cried out first.
“Thomas Andre?!”
“Master, are you alright?!”
Just who managed to blow away the Goliath like this?
They simply couldn’t believe it.
The force of the impact was so great that hot steam was still rising up from Thomas Andre’s entire body.
But then again, the skin on a regular person would’ve been torn to shreds as he slid on the ground like that. No, before that, his body would’ve broken into many pieces after slamming into the wall, instead.
However, Thomas Andre was perfectly fine. Should one say, as befitting of a tanker who managed to survive Kamish’s Breath with nothing but his bare body?
It was just that the expression he was making as he stood back up was not perfectly fine at all. His face hardened like a surface of a boulder as he stood up. He then took a sweeping look at his Hunters.
Even though they were on the same side, these Hunters paled instantly after being subjected to the murderous glare of a Special Authority-rank Hunter.
“…..”
Without saying anything else, Thomas Andre walked back into the abandoned factory he flew out from. A dizzying amount of killing intent erupted out from his entire body.
Step, step.
The Vice-Master staring at that sight in a daze hurriedly regained his wits and urged the Guild’s Hunters.
“What are you all doing? Get a move on, now!”
One hundred or so top-ranked Hunters all rushed into the abandoned factory at once.
***
After blowing Thomas Andre away, Jin-Woo clenched his fist tighter.
Just a second later, and Yu Jin-Ho’s life would have been in grave danger. It felt like his blood would boil over when he saw Hwang Dong-Su slamming the kid’s head to the floor through the eyes of the High Orc soldier.
But, that man wanted what now?
He’d pretend that none of this happened if Hwang Dong-Su was released? What a stupid suggestion that was.
Jin-Woo pushed himself to the absolute limit and continued to grow further and further so he’d not get pushed around by powerful beings. So, such a dumb demand wasn’t even worth his time to consider.
But then, the response from Thomas Andre was an attack filled to the brim with the intent to kill.
This battle was far from over.
Thomas Andre might have been flung away to a far off distance, but he made his way back with an even stronger intent to kill than before. Jin-Woo discarded the still-unconscious Hwang Dong-Su to a corner of the factory. And then, summoned Kaisel and Igrit out.
Shururuk…
A black Sky Dragon and a black knight revealed themselves. Jin-Woo carefully lifted up Yu Jin-Ho and handed the kid over to Igrit.
“Take Jin-Ho to the nearest hospital. Make sure he gets the necessary treatment. Got it?”
Igrit bowed to display his understanding and jumped on the back of Kaisel to fly out of the factory.
Kii-ahk!
Thomas Andre didn’t give a d*mn about the escaping Sky Dragon. No, his glare was firmly locked on Jin-Woo and Jin-Woo alone. Likewise, Jin-Woo’s glare was redirected to the American, as well.
And he got to see the crumpled expression of Thomas Andre and top-ranked Hunters rushing inside beyond his shoulders. Their number was around one hundred.
It seemed that this guy mobilised and brought along all the elites of the Scavenger Guild, often referred to as the best Guild in the world.
The thing was, though….
‘…If you want to compare the number of soldiers, then I too have more than enough.’
Jin-Woo immediately called out his Shadow Soldiers hiding within his shadow and waiting for his commands. The darkness slowly spread out from beneath his feet, and one by one, the Shadow Soldiers rose up from the ground.
Thomas Andre’s steps came to a halt after he discovered all those soldiers. The number was somewhere near one thousand. The abandoned factory was completely filled up in an instant, but even then, the columns of soldiers extended well beyond to the back as well.
Thomas Andre narrowed his eyes.
‘It’s not just the incredible numbers, either.’
He even spotted several summoned creatures that were easily on a similar level as rank S Hunters. Such as the knight holding a massive shield, or the Mage wearing a black robe, and even those Giants occupying the backline, too.
Their magical energy emission didn’t lose out to some of the highest-ranked Hunters out there.
Indeed, these were truly excellent summoned creatures that even the entirety of the Scavenger Guild participating could not guarantee a victory against.
Shiver, shiver….
Seeing Seong Jin-Woo’s common sense-breaking summons in the flesh, Thomas Andre felt this powerful shudder run up through his entire body. At the same time, he was feeling genuinely happy.
‘That’s right.’
Wouldn’t he truly get to enjoy the fight now that the level of his opponent was this high?
A smile broke out on Thomas Andre’s face as he licked his lips. That fool Hwang Dong-Su no longer mattered in this fight.
There was only one way to restore his damaged pride. And that would be to…
‘….Kill that impudent b*stard….’
But, before he did that, Thomas Andre made his final offer of mercy.
“If you admit to your mistakes and back off, I promise I’ll spare your life.”
Instead of a verbal answer, Jin-Woo simply flipped him a bird.
“…..”
Thick veins bulged all over on Thomas Andre’s forehead.
“You f*cker, right until the end….”
Riiip!
Thomas Andre ripped his shirt off – a shirt made out of top-class material extracted from the monsters was ripped into pieces like a sheet of cheap paper.
And then….
Wududuk-!
Wuduk!
The muscles in his entire torso ballooned up and hardened like armour covering his whole body. Magic energy so vast that it raised goosebumps from the people nearby leaked out from beneath his feet. It was so vast and powerful, in fact, it looked as if gold-coloured steam was slowly rising up from his shoulders.
The world’s greatest Tanker had released his full might once more.
Jin-Woo wordlessly watched Thomas Andre’s transformation before unleashing his own magical energy as well.
Shuwahaahk-!!
The magic energy emitted from two monsters occupying wholly different realms forced the surrounding elite Hunters to hold their breaths.
‘Heok!’
‘I was wondering just who it was that blew away the Goliath, but now….’
Their gazes were directed to one location – to Seong Jin-Woo.
For sure, that feat sounded plausible if it was Seong Jin-Woo, who managed to hunt down all those Giant monsters in Japan.
The Hunters of the Scavenger Guild nervously swallowed their saliva as they stared at Jin-Woo.
Unlike them and their heightened state of tension, though, Jin-Woo was completely calm and collected. He felt that this was the perfect opportunity to test out his growth up until now. He was now facing an opponent that he could definitely go all out against.
Abruptly, Jin-Woo recalled what Kamish the Dragon had told him.
‘There are four people borrowing the Rulers’ powers, right?’
Could it be that those four were among the five survivors of the Kamish raid – the four of the Special Authority-rank Hunters?
If that was true, then the odds of Thomas Andre being a human borrowing the Rulers’ powers were very high.
Jin-Woo made the first move.
“Advance.”
Almost immediately after their Sovereign issued that command, the Shadow Soldiers rushed forward with rather scary vigour.
Thomas Andre also cried out loudly.
“They are coming!”
One man versus one Guild; nearly one thousand ‘summons’ and almost one hundred elite Hunters collided violently on this day.
Boom-!!
Thomas Andre blew away Iron standing at the front of the pack and quickly searched for Jin-Woo’s whereabouts as a bright glare shot out from his eyes.
He spotted someone rushing towards him at an incredible pace.
‘Over there-!!’
Thomas Andre turned around, but Jin-Woo was faster. The latter dug into the former’s defence in an instant and stabbed at the waist with the ‘Demon King’s Shortsword’.
Unfortunately, the blade failed to break past the hardened skin of Thomas Andre.
‘….!’
Jin-Woo’s eyes widened.
Pow!
The American blew his opponent away with his elbow as a smirk formed on his face.
This was the true power of the Special Authority-rank Hunter. Jin-Woo might possess a pretty decent turn of speed, but there was no way he’d be able to exceed Thomas Andre’s defences.
‘Feel my power and taste what true despair is like!’
Thomas Andre judged that the advantage was now with him. He didn’t stop his attacks there and reached out with his hand.
Wuuonng-!
When he did, a powerful pulling force was generated from his hand and quickly reeled back the flung-away Jin-Woo.
The ‘invisible hand’.
This was Thomas Andre’s ability that managed to drag Kamish the Dragon from the air to the ground.
Jin-Woo was brought back closer to Thomas Andre at a frightening turn of speed, but then, his eyes shot open again.
‘Ruler’s Authority!’
Koo-woong!
Thomas Andre’s shoulders quivered from the unseen force slamming down from above.
‘What?!’
He was left utterly stunned after confirming with his entire body that his opponent also possessed the power only the Special Authority-rank Hunters possessed.
Jin-Woo didn’t miss that opening; his punch slammed into Thomas Andre’s face for the second time today.
Ka-boom!!
And for the first time ever after becoming a Hunter, the man nicknamed Goliath spat out blood from his mouth.
“Keo-heok!!”
***
The Hunter Bureau wasn’t sitting back sucking on its fingers either. Dozens of vehicles belonging to the Bureau carrying Hunters were on their way to the same destination as the members of the Scavenger Guild.
However, the two cars right in front of the pack suddenly came to a halt not too far from their destination.
The deeply-anxious Adam White had been watching the passing scenery and was caught unprepared from the sudden stop.
“Wha-what is going on?”
The vehicle’s driver looked back at Adam White. He was the sole rank S Hunter affiliated with the Hunter Bureau.
“Agent White. I think it’s time you explained to us what’s going on here.”
“We don’t have time for me to explain everything in….”
Adam White couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because he saw the complexion of the rank S Hunter growing pale rather quickly at that moment. It was the first time seeing such an expression forming on the face of a man who famously possessed a steely heart, formed after experiencing all sorts of close shaves in his life.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Realising that something quite serious had happened, Adam White quickly asked.
“Did…. something happen up ahead?”
The rank S Hunter replied with a frozen-stiff face.
“If we continue on, all of us will have to risk our lives.”
Chapter 192
The corners of his lips bust open from that hit.
While being forced away from the impact, Thomas Andre was reeling from the shock of the freakish power that smacked him in the face.
‘How could… how could such a power be…?!’
That punch was heavy enough for his head to shake around. But, that wasn’t all.
That man also possessed the ability to apply physical power with nothing but his thoughts. Even then, he didn’t resist against the pulling force and willingly got himself dragged in.
Who’d have thought of such a thing?
Unexpectedly, not only did he not use his version of the ‘invisible hand’ to resist the pull, he instead used it as a distraction to divert the attention of his opponent, and then threw the real attack that couldn’t be easily avoided.
The acceleration from the pull became the double-edged blade cutting into the one activating the ability and ended up causing even bigger damage. Now that was a shockingly well-tuned instinct for battle.
‘Just how many fights did he go through to even come up with a tactic like that?’
Thomas Andre had been looking down on Jin-Woo as some random kid even though he willingly acknowledged the Korean’s powers. But now, having been struck twice in the face, his thoughts had gone through a rapid change.
Thomas Andre stopped bouncing away and landed back on his feet.
Kwa-jeeeek, kwa-jeek!!
The friction destroyed the cement floor below and threw up pieces of broken-off pebble and a dust cloud into the air.
As expected, Jin-Woo didn’t give the American time to recover and dashed towards him. That was the sight of an experienced hunter. It seemed as if he had aimed for that moment before his target had regained the balance. However, his prey was the quicker of the two to react this time.
Thomas Andre discarded all arrogant thoughts from his head. He also realised that he might lose today if he continued to fight while being considerate towards his surroundings.
His opponent this time was far, far tougher than his initial expectation.
“Reinforcement.”
When he muttered out those words, his body, armed with muscles that had transformed into solid armour, suddenly ballooned up explosively.
Shu-wahck!
His near two-metre-tall physique transformed into a monster over three metres tall in the blink of an eye.
“Uwaaaaah-!!”
Thomas Andre roared out like an angry beast and raised both of his arms, now as thick as a marble pillar, high above his head. All of this happened way too fast!
‘…..!’
Jin-Woo, in the middle of his sprint, sensed danger up ahead.
‘What could it be?’
His brain fell into a dilemma. The thing was, not once did his instincts lie to him in moments of great peril. Jin-Woo hurriedly stopped his forward movement and almost at the same time, jumped backwards.
With the difference of a millisecond, Thomas Andre’s massive fists pounded on the ground below.
Kwa-kwang!!
Everything caught within the radius disintegrated from the horrifying shock wave.
His skill, ‘Demolition’.
That incredible might forced Jin-Woo to take several more steps backwards, even though he had already escaped to a safe zone.
Tumble….
Debris flung up into the air fell down like raindrops.
As befitting a Hunter who subjugated a Dragon, his sturdiness and destructive power were second to none. But, there was no time to remain stunned. Another loud roar exploded out from Thomas Andre’s mouth.
“Capture!”
A powerful gravitational pulling force with Thomas Andre as the centre began yanking everything within the range towards him. It was as if he had become a black hole. Shadow Soldiers and Hunters all got into a messy tangle and flew towards his position.
Jin-Woo might have been one of the targets of this skill, ‘Capture’, but he used ‘Ruler’s Authority’ to repel away the pulling force.
And when he finally managed to break free from that powerful force and jumped rearward one more time….
….Thomas Andre’s ‘Demolition’ skill burst forth yet again.
KWA-JEECK!!
Not just the Shadow Soldiers, but even the Hunters of the Scavenger got swept away by the shock wave.
“Uwaahk!!”
“Euh, euh….”
Screams rose up from here and there.
The Vice-Master had discovered this horrifying situation rather late and yelled out at the top of his lungs.
“Get away from the Master! Now!!”
Three, four fleet-footed Hunters quickly retrieved their injured colleagues and escaped to the back. Meanwhile, Thomas Andre and his emotionless face viciously dashed towards Jin-Woo’s location.
A rank of ‘Special Authority’ implied one was afforded the same level of rights as an independent nation. That was why he needed to demonstrate what the punishment for disobeying the king was like.
Thomas Andre arrived in Jin-Woo’s location in no time at all and threw a powerful punch forward.
Vuuoowoong-!!
His fist scythed the air.
He already knew it all too well.
He knew better than anyone that he was too slow to land a punch on this b*stard possessing the nimbleness of a wild beast. Especially so, when he was in his reinforced state.
His strength and defence would be enhanced to an unimaginable degree, but at the same time, his speed would drop proportionally. Fortunately enough for Thomas Andre, though, he possessed a skill that could easily cover for that drawback.
He extended his hand out to Jin-Woo who was rapidly creating distance between them.
‘Capture!’
Once more, a powerful, incredibly attractive force activated between the two men. The American knew he’d not miss his prey now.
With his body fortified through the ‘Reinforcement’ skill, his attention wouldn’t be stolen away from some measly diversionary tricks.
As expected, Seong Jin-Woo was yanked back in with ease.
Leaving his extended left hand as it was, Thomas Andre pulled his right hand back and clenched it into a tight fist. An enormous amount of magical energy, enough to smash the torso of a top-ranked Hunter apart into a gory mess, gathered into his right fist.
Skill, ‘Power Smash’.
Thomas Andre’s fist, carrying a gob-smacking level of destructive power, slowly moved forward. But then, it happened.
‘…..??’
His eyes opened wider. He saw Jin-Woo’s own right arm muscles suddenly expanding greatly in size.
‘Could he be… thinking of directly confronting me?’
Finding this incredulous, Thomas Andre increased the pulling power. However, Jin-Woo didn’t try to evade it but actually used his ‘Ruler’s Authority’ to further increase his momentum, instead.
The American cried out in shock.
“D*mn it!”
Jin-Woo approached far quicker than Thomas Andre had anticipated and threw a punch a little quicker than his counterpart could. At the same time, he lowered his head and lightly evaded the American’s own belated punch.
Kwa-boom!!
Thomas Andre saw a flash of light before his eyes and finally realised it.
‘The first attack he hit me with was….’
The attack he failed to see back then was precisely this one.
BOOM!!
Thomas Andre flew away like a rocket, demolished the wall of the disused factory and rolled around on the dirt for quite some time. The deep and lengthy pit left behind on the ground by his sliding body resembled furrows on a field.
“Keu-heuk.”
He hurriedly pushed himself off the ground, but Jin-Woo was already standing before him by then. Thomas Andre roared out and threw countless punches.
“Uwaaaah!!”
Every time his fists flew past, the ground exploded and the air was split seemingly into pieces. Each hit was ferocious enough to utterly destroy a person’s body from just a light touch.
Unfortunately, none of those could actually touch Jin-Woo.
He simply dodged all of Thomas Andre’s fists and accurately landed every one of his counters on the American’s vital spots.
Kwang!! Ka-boom!! Kwahng!!
Little by little, blood pooled in Thomas Andre’s mouth.
“Keo-heok!”
How could this be….?
‘How can a Mage-type Hunter be this powerful and this fast?’
The more confused he got, the greater the physical damage he suffered.
‘Am I… Am I losing?’
But, that couldn’t be happening.
No, that must not happen.
His ability to overwhelm his enemies with pure physical violence was the sole reason for his existence, the only thing proving that he was him and not someone else.
Thomas Andre gritted his blood-soaked teeth. His eyes under the arched-up brows emitted a maddened glow.
“Uwaaahh-!!”
He punched with everything he had, but Jin-Woo evaded that again and smacked the American’s chin.
Puh-geok!
Thomas Andre shook his head hard to get rid of the impact force ringing in his head. But, in that brief gap, Jin-Woo had dug in until he was right below the American’s nose and attacked consecutively and without mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
“Keo-heok!!”
Thomas Andre, who once resembled a towering fortress, now began faltering around.
He unsteadily tottered about as he backed away. He somehow managed to regain his balance and cried out venomously.
“I am none other than Thomas Andre!! You think you can bring me down with only that much?!”
“That’s why I told you before.”
Kwa-boom!!
Jin-Woo punched Thomas Andre’s chin upwards and spoke.
“It doesn’t matter who you are.”
Thomas Andre’s head was shot up towards the sky, but he stopped it from going any further. Enraged beyond himself now, the Goliath raised his tightly interlocked fists up high above his head.
“Demolition!!”
BOOM!!
The ground exploded and quaked violently as he slammed down with all his might. Too bad, Jin-Woo was no longer there.
“Where…?!”
Thomas Andre’s glare hurriedly wandered around to find Jin-Woo.
It was then.
He belatedly realised that a lump of incredible magical energy was falling from above him.
He quickly looked up.
Jin-Woo had leapt up before the skill ‘Demolition’ was activated and now, he was descending towards his American target.
His elbow powerfully slammed down on Thomas Andre’s face.
KWA-BOOM!!
***
Dozens of vehicles stopped almost all at once in a location fairly far away from the abandoned factory. It was decided that getting any closer would be dangerous for them.
The folks climbing out of the vehicles were elite Hunters affiliated with the Hunter Bureau. Every single one of them was a distinguished, excellent Hunter in their own right.
However, despite being with such great Hunters, Adam White couldn’t feel reassured at all right now. But, that was understandable when these people were being compared to Hunters Seong Jin-Woo and Thomas Andre, plus the entirety of the Scavenger Guild’s elites.
The rank S Hunter tasked with commanding the Bureau’s own Hunter forces, a man named Brent, could only shake his head with a stiff facial expression.
“Oh, my god…..”
Just what kind of monsters were fighting right now to emit this much magical energy?
His feet didn’t want to budge from the spot, but Adam White was right behind him, waiting to be guided forward with a pair of pleading eyes. Brent had no choice but to give up and spoke in a resigned voice.
“It’s over there. However, it truly is dangerous, so my advice is, you need to be dead sure about this.”
Adam White nodded his head.
KWA-BOOM!!
It was at that moment something shot up high in the air along with a loud, explosive noise, before crashing back down to the ground.
“….??”
Adam White looked in the direction of that noise, before quickly shifting his gaze back to Brent. The rank S Hunter couldn’t bring himself to close shut his slack jaw.
Adam White urgently asked him.
“W-what was that just now?”
“If, If I haven’t made a mistake, then that was…..”
How could Brent, a rank S Hunter, make a mistake with his identification? Even then, he hesitated greatly before carrying on.
“It was Mister Thomas Andre falling from the air.”
“What was that?!”
“Even I can’t be sure….”
Adam White’s eyes grew incredibly large as he hurriedly shouted out.
“Hurry! We need to go there right now!”
Brent watched Adam White run over there and gestured to other Hunters to follow them.
The Hunter Bureau’s group soon arrived at the location where two gigantic masses of magic energy were colliding against each other. And then, they all saw it.
“Heok.”
They saw the scene of the one and only Thomas Andre being pummelled into a rag by a lone Asian Hunter.
Pow! Pooow! Powww!
Brent freaked out and pointed at that sight.
“T-Thomas… Mister Thomas Andre is being beaten up by Hunter Seong Jin-Woo!!”
“I can also see that!”
Adam White repeatedly stamped his feet on the ground in pure vexation. Even from this far, he could tell that Thomas Andre’s condition as he was getting beaten to a pulp by Jin-Woo didn’t look so good.
Brent hurriedly asked with an expression of someone not knowing what to do.
“What should we do now?”
“We need to stop them! Are you planning to stay back and watch a Special Authority-rank Hunter get beaten to death?!”
“You want us to stop that?? You mean, stop that man?!”
Brent stared dumbfoundedly at the Asian Hunter emitting a truly nonsensical amount of magic power – it was so enormous, in fact, he didn’t even want to go anywhere near that maelstrom if he could help it.
But, before he had a chance to say those words out loud, Adam White dashed forward.
He might be a Hunter Bureau agent, but still, he was a regular person. He could lose his life simply by coming into contact with magical energy being emitted from a top-ranked Hunter.
Brent’s expression crumpled as he weighed options, but eventually, he spat out a pained groan and chased after Adam to run towards Jin-Woo.
“Agent White!”
***
Thomas Andre’s face was stomped on by the elbow and he knelt down to the ground. Both of his hands dug deep into the earth below.
“Euh, euh….Uwaaaah!!”
He somehow managed to raise his upper torso up and continued with his attacks. Unfortunately, he had sustained too much damage to his physical body and his fists couldn’t attack with the same level of destructive force anymore.
Jin-Woo saw those now-sluggish punches and re-confirmed the tide of battle turning towards his favour. These powerless flailing arms of Thomas Andre now only contained the losing man’s ultimately meaningless rage and desire to kill Jin-Woo.
The Korean Hunter smoothly and easily evaded those punches and counter-attacked once more.
Kwang!! Ka-boom!!
Unlike Thomas Andre’s attacks, Jin-Woo’s hits constantly raining down aimed precisely at the American’s vital spots and as a result, the poor man couldn’t even regain his wits anymore.
“Keo-heok!”
Every time Thomas Andre’s head snapped in one direction or to the other side, blood spat out from his face. He lost his balance and tottered around unsteadily. Jin-Woo remained merciless as he kicked the American man.
Ka-boom!!
“Keok!”
The colliding magic energy exploded and Thomas Andre’s body rocketed up into the sky.The primary upload of this chapter happened on N0v3l/B1n.
‘Ruler’s Authority.’
He yanked at the American man flying up endlessly into the air, causing his victim to crash-land back down to Earth with no resistance whatsoever.
BOOM-!!
“Cough!”
Thomas Andre lay sprawled on the ground and vomited out a mouthful of blood. Jin-Woo mounted on top of him.
And just like when he was fighting against the demon king Baran back in the Demon’s Castle, he grasped Thomas Andre’s neck and slammed down with his other fist.
Pow! Slam!! Boom!
He could sense Thomas Andre’s resistance weaken gradually.
Pow! Boom! Pow!
And finally – just as Jin-Woo raised his fist high up to land the finisher, he heard a certain someone’s desperate cry.
“Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim! Please, stop! I beg you, stay your hand, please!”
Jin-Woo disinterestedly stared at Adam White running towards him before clenching his fist tightly again. A horrifying amount of magical energy roiled around his greatly-expanded shoulder muscles and his fist.
“N-no! Stop!”
Just before the fist could slam down on the target…
As Adam White cried out, his hand reaching out in desperation…
….Thomas Andre finally opened his mouth.
“….I lost.”
Whoosh-!
Jin-Woo’s fist stopped millimetres away from the American’s nose.
As if he had used up all of his energy just to surrender, Thomas Andre lost his consciousness right afterwards and went limp.
Only then did Jin-Woo withdraw his fist and wordlessly got back up.
Soon afterwards, Hunters affiliated with the Bureau cautiously filed in around him and Thomas Andre on the ground.
***
“What the f*ck… What the hell is this? Did this really happen? Seriously?!”
A certain reporter was muttering to himself as he continuously snapped one photo after another.
Originally, he planned to snap a few shots of the Scavenger Guild Hunters getting ready for a raid. But now…
All he did was to simply follow after the Hunters who inexplicably cancelled the raid and began moving to somewhere. So, how on earth could he explain this?
The reporter initially thought that there was a dungeon break happening somewhere. But the spectacle unfolding before his eyes easily exceeded his wildest imaginations.
He used the zoom function to confirm the face of the man lying sprawled on the ground once more time.
That was a rather familiar face, that’s for sure.
Without a doubt, that face belonged to the Special Authority-rank Hunter, Thomas Andre.
‘Oh, my god…. Just who can beat Thomas Andre up like that?!’
The reporter spat out a shocked gasp as he scrolled through the images he had taken so far.
And at the same time, his heart trembled in excitement after realising that the photos contained within this little camera would net him a huge wad of cash.
Chapter 193
Adam White urgently confirmed the signs of life on Thomas Andre.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump….
He pressed his ear to the chest of the unmoving man and heard the faint beating of the heart. He even brought his hand near Thomas Andre’s nose and felt for his breathing, too. Fortunately enough, he was still alive.
However, he was barely hanging on. He might be alive but, he didn’t resemble a living man right now. That’s how bad his condition was.
‘To think, he’s capable of reducing the one and only Thomas Andre to this state….’
Just how many Hunters in the world would be capable of doing this? No, was there anyone even remotely capable of doing that, to begin with?
If this news got out, then the entire world would be turned on its head almost instantly. Adam White even felt an emotion similar to awe at Jin-Woo’s strength that had easily exceeded the Hunter Bureau’s expectations.
Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to stand around in awe.
“Hurry!”
Adam White gestured towards the Hunter Bureau’s Healers.
One of the top-rated Healers quickly ran over and settled down next to the patient on the ground. After confirming Thomas Andre’s condition before the healing could properly commence, the Healer clicked his tongue and spoke up.
“Every bone in his body is broken. Haemorrhaging is quite serious, as well. I alone won’t be able to heal him. It’ll be better for everyone to participate at once.”
Following the Healer’s suggestion, more of his colleagues were added to the process of healing Thomas Andre.
But then, could anyone fill up a lake with water from a tap? Because of how vast Thomas Andre’s overall health reserve was, one needed to expend a great deal of effort in order to heal him.
As the Healers sweated profusely and focused on healing the American Hunter, Adam White stood back up from the ground to survey the landscape. He saw the Hunters from the Bureau keeping themselves busy by pulling out the injured from the abandoned factory.
“Euh, euh….”
“My leg, my leg!!”
The state of the Scavenger’s elite Hunters were wretched, to say the least. It was unknown how they ended up in such a miserable state, but it was not that hard to guess just who was responsible for them looking like that.
One man versus one Guild.
Just one Hunter managed to utterly destroy one of the top Guilds in the entire world.
‘Seriously…’
Adam White was utterly flabbergasted by the incredibleness of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, and his abilities that played a key role in this display of incredibleness.
‘…Uh?’
Now that he took another look, he couldn’t see Hunter Seong Jin-Woo anywhere. Adam White searched around to locate the Korean Hunter, but before he could locate his query, a rather familiar ‘song’ entered his ears, instead.
It was the ringtone coming from his phone.
“This is White.”
– “Agent White, we discovered Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim’s current whereabouts.”
The call came from the Hunter Bureau. Out of all the stories he heard today, this had to be the best one so far. Adam White’s gloomy-looking expression brightened up once more.
“Really? Where is he now?”
The caller informed him that the grievously-injured Hunter Yu Jin-Ho was discovered in front of a major hospital nearby, and his life was no longer in danger after having received a timely emergency medical treatment.
“I’ll head there right away as soon as the matters this side are sorted out.”
– “Understood.”
Adam White ended the call and sighed in relief.
“Whew…”
He had no idea how he’d go about dealing with Hunter Seong Jin-Woo’s wrath if something really bad happened to Yu Jin-Ho. Just thinking about it made him dizzy.
Spilt milk couldn’t be saved, anyway. Should he say that the glass holding the milk not breaking was a silver lining among the sea of storm clouds?
A small load was taken off his mind and soon, he got to hear yet another piece of good news.
“We’re finished.”
The Healers tasked with mending Thomas Andre stood up from the ground. Adam White asked them for a status update.
“How is he? Is he alright?”
“For now.”
“For now…? What does that mean?”
“His injured body has been healed, but he did suffer many grievous wounds and it will take some time before he regains consciousness.”
“Oh.”
Magic from the Healers might be able to restore one’s physical wounds, but they were unable to lighten one’s psychological trauma.
And since Thomas Andre no doubt suffered a huge mental setback this time ’round, his hospital room would have to be closely monitored. Adam White could only look on at the unconscious face of the Special Authority-rank Hunter with a look of pity. Still, the Healer did find words that provided a bit of comfort and delivered them.
“Even then, it was because it was Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre that he got to survive this long. If it was any other Hunter being on the receiving end of this much punishment, that person would have died ten times over by now.”
“What a reli….”
Adam White nodded and was about to say something suitable as a reply, but then, his words came to a stop.
Only because it was the Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre, he could survive this event?
If so, what about Hunter Hwang Dong-Su who must’ve been subjected to the one-sided outpouring of Seong Jin-Woo’s rage?
Was that man around here, as well?
Carrying a hardened expression, Adam White quickly made his way into the abandoned factory as more injured were carted out. Once inside, he took a look around and heard someone call out to him.
“Agent White! Over here!”
That urgent voice quickened Adam White’s thought process. He tried to calm his pounding heart and ran towards where that call came from.
One of the Bureau’s Hunters with a serious expression on his face was standing in front of a person lying on the floor. Adam White recognised who it was and whispered out the name of the man like a groan.
“Hwang Dong-Su….”
That prompted the Hunter next to him to speak his findings.
“This man is not breathing, sir. His heart is not beating anymore.”
***
“I hope you ain’t gonna waste my time by telling me some bullsh*t story about you kidding around or making a mistake here.”
It was already getting pretty late. The editor of a certain publication had come out to meet a freelance reporter after the latter gave him a call. Understandably, the editor’s glare was icy.
Just who was he?
He was none other than the editor of the newspaper boasting the highest circulation figures in the eastern United States.
Originally, someone like a freelancer wouldn’t be able to summon him out for an impromptu meeting like this. But then, he had no choice but to make this trip after hearing the contents of the phone call.
The editor told himself that, if this freelancer was going to waste his time with a fairy tale, then he’d make d*mn sure that this guy ended up in jail with a fake crime he came up with. That was his thought process as he hurriedly put back on the clothes he wore during the day at work for this meeting in the dark.
The reporter quickly waved his hands around after being subjected to the editor’s suspicious glare.
“It’s d-definitely nothing like that. This thing is 100% real. I thought you only liked stories that are real?”
“Hmph….”
“So, how much are you willing to offer?”
“Let me see the photos first.”
The reporter looked around his vicinity as if he was scared of something and began pulling out one photograph after another from his bag. The editor took them with an expressionless face and began flipping through them, but then, his hands came to an abrupt halt.
And an almighty earthquake erupted in his eyes next.
‘H-how can this be?!’
The editor’s astonished gaze naturally shifted over to the reporter’s face next.
His expression clearly was asking, ‘Where did you get these pictures?’ and that made the reporter feel like he was on the top of the world. He quickly shrugged his shoulders as his reply.
The editor continued to flip through the pictures with trembling hands.
They were exactly as the reporter had described over the phone.
‘Thomas Andre passes out after getting beaten to a pulp a day before the International Guild Conference?’
Not only that – the face of the man leisurely turning around to leave after defeating the American was captured within these pictures.
Wasn’t that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo??
This was a huge scoop.
No, hang on – that word ‘scoop’ wasn’t adequate enough to fully describe this incredible jackpot. The editor’s breathing became really rough and heavy now.
Meanwhile, the reporter peered at the picture the editor was looking at and added some of his explanation.
“That’s the man who beat up Thomas Andre. If you can investigate and uncover that guy’s identity in an expose, I think you’re going to create one hell of a firestorm, Mister Editor.”
What a moron this guy was!
Allegedly, Westerners had a problem telling Asian faces apart. Maybe because of that, the reporter had failed to recognise Seong Jin-Woo’s face.
In times like these, the editor felt rather thankful for being an Asian American. And at the same time, he began cooking up the headlines that would dominate the front page of tomorrow’s paper.
[The man who brought down the Dragon, bitten & brought back to earth by an Asian dragon.]
[The Hunter of Giants, Seong Jin-Woo – now even hunting down the Goliath?]
[The stronghold of a Special Authority-rank Hunter, collapsing under the new rising star of South Korea?]
Didn’t matter what headlines he decided to use, this news would attract the attention of the entire world. Most importantly, his paper would have the exclusive.
There were dozens of real photographic proof prepared as well, so how could there not be a huge commotion rising up in the world come tomorrow?
The actual worth of these pictures could not be estimated at all. The editor felt his heart quiver.
Having discovered the trembling light within the editor’s eyes, the reporter quickly snatched the pictures back.
The editor could only lick his lips in wistfulness.
“Now that you have confirmed the veracity of these pictures, let’s talk about my price. How much are you willing to pay me?”
“This…. Well, it’s a bit difficult for me to come out with a price for these pictures.”
The editor hesitated greatly before asking the reporter as he carefully studied the other party.
“Why don’t you quote me a price you think is fair? So, how much do you want for them?”
The reporter pondered his options for a while, before unfurling all five of his fingers on his hand. The editor nodded his head.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at N0v3l–Biin.
“Fifty grand? Good. We’ll go with that.”
“No.”
The reporter immediately corrected the editor on the price.
“It’s five million dollars.”
“F-five million?!”
Five million U.S. Dollars is a huge amount of money equalling as much as 6,000,000,000 Korean Won.
Quite obviously, the expression on the editor’s face hardened instantly.
“If you think the price isn’t right, then I’ll just go somewhere else.”
The reporter shoved the pictures back inside the bag and tried to turn around. However, the editor hurriedly stopped him.
“No, hold on!”
Images of a celebrity couple’s baby would sell for millions of dollars nowadays, so was there a reason not to spend five million on a scoop of this magnitude?
Once this news gets out, all the TV stations and other newspapers would be talking about this story non-stop for the next few days. He simply couldn’t let this opportunity slip through his fingers!
Having arrived at his decision with some difficulty, the editor opened his mouth.
“Fine, you got a deal. However, I want not just the pictures but the originals, too. And you’ll have to swear never to leak this out to anyone else. How about it?”
With that, the deal was made.
The reporter had been working as a freelancer and had to wallow at the bottom of society all this time. He thought about being able to see his parents again for the first time since leaving his hometown. His voice trembled slightly as he made his reply.
“….Let’s do it.”
***
The hospital room where Yu Jin-Ho was currently admitted to.
He had made it out from death’s doorstep, but he still hadn’t regained his consciousness.
Yu Jin-Ho was still breathing out heavily in pain. The pain-suppressing morphine didn’t seem to be all that effective for him.
A little bit of time later, after the doctor doing the rounds confirmed Yu Jin-Ho’s current status and left….
….A humanoid shape rose up from the blob of shadow sneaking into the hospital room.
Shururuk….
It was Beru, who swapped locations with Jin-Woo via ‘Shadow Exchange’.
He reached out to heal Yu Jin-Ho, as ordered by his liege. From the tip of his hands, gentle blue light slowly spread out in this darkened room.
Yu Jin-Ho’s expression, scrunched up from pain and discomfort, softened in no time at all.
Beru already possessed powers incomparable to regular rank S Hunters, so it was quite obvious that his healing magic would be unmatched, as well. The former ant king diligently healed his target’s wounds so he could also mend Yu Jin-Ho’s psychological trauma at the same time.
Wuuonng….
Yu Jin-Ho stopped tossing around in the bed after sensing the warmth wrap up his entire body, and eventually, creaked open his heavy eyelids.
“Uh….?”
The first thing he saw was a giant ant head right in front of his face. On top of that, that giant ant head placed a finger to its mouth and went “Shh.” as if to tell him to keep quiet.
“….Oh, so I’m still dreaming.”
Yu Jin-Ho closed his eyes shut and went back to sleep with a happy expression etched on his face.
“…..”
In the meantime, Beru wordlessly concentrated on healing the kid.
The night wore on.
***
Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
There was a 14-hour difference between here and the eastern United States. It may have been in the middle of the night over there, but it was in the morning in Korea.
The current location was a deserted children’s playground.
A black knight with his head pressed tightly on the ground next to a swing set asked.
“Oh, my king. How long should I stay in this position?”
Jin-Woo, currently sitting quietly on the swing and waiting for Beru’s signal, replied disinterestedly.
“I guess…. Until Beru reports back to me that he’s done with Jin-Ho’s treatment?”
“….”
Perhaps the knight recognised his faults in this matter because he kept his mouth shut and maintained the ‘Wonsan bombing raid’ posture. (TL note at the end)
Jin-Woo wordlessly stared at the knight before his gaze abruptly landed on his hands.
The back of his hands were all messed up. There were several bruises and he could spot traces of blood as well.
That Thomas Andre, he was truly one nonsensically sturdy dude. Just from Jin-Woo beating the living crap out of him, his hands ended up getting bruised to this degree.
Of course, such wounds would be gone without a trace after a good night’s rest all thanks to the passive buff, ‘Good Health and Long Life’, but still.
‘….I’m sleepy.’
He felt a bit of fatigue rush in. A chaotic day was finally drawing to a rather subdued close.
The knight, staying quiet for a while, suddenly addressed Jin-Woo again.
“Oh, my king….”
“What is it?”
“Please, bestow unto me a new name, my king.”
Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to his brand-new Shadow Soldier.
[?? Lv.1]
Knight Commander grade
‘Right, I guess you also need a name, don’t you?’
Jin-Woo pondered this dilemma for a little bit before forming a wry smile as he spoke.
“Since you died because of your greed, how about I call you ‘Greed’?”
Chapter 194
Next day.
Almost every TV station and newspaper under the sun was talking about the Hunters arriving in the United States before the International Guild Conference began. However, only one newspaper from the east of the country dared to carry a rather different sort of headline on its front page.
[Thomas Andre loses consciousness!]
There was not one American who didn’t know the name of Thomas Andre. So, they couldn’t quite believe that their Special Authority-rank Hunter had lost consciousness.
Did he contract some kind of illness?
The passersby were immediately drawn in by that simple-yet-attention-grabbing headline. They reached out to grab their copies of the paper and gladly paid the asking price.
But then, steps of the curious buyers came to a stuttering halt after they unfurled their papers and read the article within. That rather boring headline didn’t prepare the readers adequately enough for the bombshell hiding within the article itself.
It was unknown why the fight happened, but regardless, the article went to detail the event of a lone Hunter clashing against Thomas Andre and his Scavenger Guild the night before.
And the aftermath was laid bare for all to see with several pages’ worth of large photographs.
They showed bloodied and battered Thomas Andre, as well as many injured Hunters being carried out from a disused factory.
If someone who didn’t know any of these people saw the images, that person might have said that they were victims of a terror attack. That’s how severe the scenes depicted were.
However, weren’t these people all top-ranked Hunters in this nation?
Especially for Thomas Andre – he was the Special Authority-rank Hunter who survived the ‘Kamish’ raid, referred to as the worst calamity in human history.
Every single person reading the article couldn’t hide how shocked they felt. Their breathing became rough and heavy, just like the editor back when he first laid his eyes on these images.
And when the identity of the man who drove the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild to this wretched state was revealed, the readers focusing on the article cried out in pure shock and astonishment.
“What in the world….”
“Jesus Christ!”
Why was there an image of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo in this article? Wasn’t he the current darling of the international media after he stopped a massive-scale crisis taking place in Japan not too long ago?
The contrast between Thomas Andre lying sprawled on the ground, and Jin-Woo turning around to leave with an emotionless face, was so great that it left the readers with an indescribable level of mental shock.
As almost all of the mass media was focused on the International Guild Conference, the ripple caused by the article was even greater than it might have been otherwise.
Rather than traditional media outlets breaking the news, though, the story first gained traction in South Korea through social media, instead.
[ROFLOL. Thomas Andre beaten to a pulp by Seong Jin-Woo was real? Link to the article.]
[Holy cow, it’s real. LOL Thomas Andre showed up with Guild members and still got ransacked like nobody’s business?]
[Bullsh*t. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Makes no sense. One guy wrecked a Special Authority-rank Hunter + super-top-number one Guild?]
└ [Go read the linked article. All true.]
└ [Why did they fight, tho?]
└ [No one knows. No reason provided.]
[LOLOL Yankee bros yapping on about Special Authority this and that, but now, boom! Maybe, these fools were nothing but hot air?]
[It’s not Thomas Andre being useless, it’s Seong Jin-Woo being incredible.]
[Yup, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is the pride of South Korea.]
└ [Kyah~! Barmaid! Time to get drunk! Bring me a tall glass of patriotism!]
Most of the Korean commenters expressed their surprise at this event, but on the other hand, the comments filled with pride quickly appeared on various Japanese social media accounts.
[It’s only obvious that even Thomas Andre was no match for Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.]
[Maybe the U.S. didn’t help us because they were afraid of exposing the truth behind their Special Authority-ranked Hunters…]
[We need to be grateful that such a Hunter came to lend us his aid.]
[I’ve been trying to send a thank you gift to Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim for a little while now. Where should I send it so he can receive it?]
[You can send it here. The address is….]
└ [Hey, dude, why U writing your own address?]
└ [wwwwww What a crazy b*stard.]
Jin-Woo was already the hero of Japan.
The wounded pride of the Japanese people was restored when Jin-Woo, a man who rescued their country from the brink of destruction, defeated the hero of America.
Perhaps inevitably, the attention of the world – not just America’s, where the incident took place – was laser-focused on Jin-Woo once more, after a short period of peace since the Giant subjugation.
Why did he do it?
Why did Hunter Seong Jin-Woo pummel Thomas Andre and his Guild members into near-oblivion?
Did something irreconcilable happen between the two men?
Public opinion and mass media were burning up from the flames of speculation. Everyone that learnt of this incident could only wait in desperation for some clarity on the situation.
***
Jin-Woo woke up in the assigned hotel room. He took a look outside the window and saw the sea of reporters camping outside the hotel’s entrance and clicked his tongue.
“Where did all these people show up from?”
Sure, it wasn’t as if he had no clue why these reporters had gathered outside the hotel. No, he simply got surprised by the fact that the news had spread out this fast, that was all.
Even then, he had no plans to shy away from them. Wasn’t this a good opportunity to let the world know what would happen if someone tried to mess him?
It was not against the law to shoot down someone aiming a gun at you in America. Especially more so, with laws being amended recently, after the appearance of the Hunters.
The issue might have gotten out of hand if he kept attacking the unconscious Thomas Andre. But, he wisely stopped right away the moment his opponent lost the will to fight.
It should be a similar story with Hwang Dong-Su, too. Once people learn about what he did to Yu Jin-Ho, not many would point their fingers at Jin-Woo.
So, he stayed calm and waited for Agent Adam White to contact him. Sure enough…
Knock, knock.
He opened the door after hearing the knock to find Agent Adam White standing on the corridor with two other Bureau-affiliated Hunters.
Jin-Woo asked with absolutely no nervousness in his voice.
“Are you here to arrest me?”
“No, not at all.”
The American agent shook his head and hurriedly continued on.
“We’re here to escort you to the Guild Conference venue because we are expecting quite a big fuss to develop during the day. And also….”
Adam White quickly fixed his attire and politely bent his waist 90 degrees forward, totally out of the blue.
‘…..?’
Feeling puzzled by that gesture, Jin-Woo looked on. However, Adam White showed no signs of straightening himself and spoke while maintaining the current posture.
“Also, I’d like to express my gratitude, as well.”
Jin-Woo combed through his memories briefly just then, but he failed to recall any moments that warranted a thank-you from the Hunter Bureau.
All he did yesterday was – he lost Kamish’s shadow, wandered around searching for the kidnapped Yu Jin-Ho, encountered Thomas Andre coincidentally and beat his a*s down to the ground. That was all.
‘…….’
Recalling the events of yesterday managed to sour his mood by a notch.
The American agent probably wasn’t expressing his gratitude to Jin-Woo for showing him the process of extracting a shadow. So, why was he saying his thanks for?
Fortunately enough, Adam White opened his mouth just in time, right before Jin-Woo’s confusion had the chance to grow any bigger.
“If you hadn’t stopped right then, the United States of America would have lost both of her Special Authority-rank Hunters.”
‘Ahh, so that’s what he was talking about.’
Jin-Woo nodded his head as he recalled the scene of Adam White crying out and trying to dissuade him the night before.
For sure, yesterday’s result might have been entirely different if the American agent didn’t show up and Thomas Andre remained stubborn right until the end.
The U.S. had already lost one of her Special Authority-rank Hunters. So, the government would’ve done everything in order to prevent the loss of her second, regardless of the cost.
Jin-Woo could more or less understand now where Adam White and his bowed head was coming from.
Meanwhile, the American agent carried on.
“We at the Hunter Bureau will do our best to ensure that you’re not unduly troubled by this incident, Seong Hunter-nim.”
With those words, Adam White stood upright again. He looked dead tired, though.
The Hunter Bureau held a night-long emergency meeting on how to deal with this event. Naturally, Adam White had to attend the meeting, seeing that he was in charge of chaperoning Jin-Woo around.
The conclusion of that meeting was….
– Do not provoke him.
The higher-ups decided to do everything in their power to make Jin-Woo’s stay in the country that much more comfortable. His feat of defeating Thomas Andre only served to improve the Hunter Bureau’s evaluation of him.
The organisation definitely didn’t want to see their relationship with Jin-Woo souring because of the Scavenger Guild’s wrongdoings. Most importantly, Thomas Andre wasn’t dead, now was he?
Adam White was ordered to carry on as scheduled and so, he came here to escort Jin-Woo. He stared at his charge for a little while before swallowing dry saliva.
Gulp.
‘This man alone managed to defeat the Scavenger Guild….’
The normal image of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was a man of power for whom common sense still prevailed.
But then, Adam White got to personally witness the kind of spectacle the Korean Hunter’s wrath could bring about. And so, he was genuinely envious of Yu Jin-Ho after realising that such wrath was solely reserved to protect the people close to Jin-Woo.
“Oops. It’s already this late.”
Adam White confirmed the time and formed a smile.
“Well, then… Shall we get going?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Jin-Woo was escorted out of the hotel with the guidance of Adam White and his fellow agents. The group broke past the wall of the fervent reporters and climbed aboard the waiting Bureau-supplied vehicle.L1teraryHub hosted the first appearance of this chapter at N0vel.B1n.
Click, click, click, click, click-!!
Meanwhile, the reporters continuously and tirelessly took photos even as the vehicle carrying their query gradually disappeared from their views.
On their way to the conference venue, Adam White explained the current situation.
“We have secured the testimonies of Hunter Hwang Dong-Su’s accomplices. The Bureau will soon release a statement containing the full account of what happened.”
He then went and strongly emphasized that ‘Hunter-nim’ would not be inconvenienced in any shape or form. It was a welcome piece of news for Jin-Woo, of course.
The reason why he decided to travel to the States had to do with the ‘monster’ possessing the appearance of his father. He wished to gather information through the International Guild Conference.
He asked the newly Shadow Soldier-ified Hwang Dong-Su, but even that guy didn’t know much about this creature who could possibly be his father.
According to the former rank S Hunter, that creature came out of a dungeon all alone, and its magic energy emission was identical to other monsters. When the issue with the being’s son was brought up, it became hostile and a fight broke out afterwards.
That was all.
‘Just what was its real identity….?’
There was a good chance that it might not be his father, after all. If that thing was really him, then quite obviously, the first thing he’d do was to come and see his family.
The more Jin-Woo looked into this matter, the greater his questions became. To confound the matters even further, several more questions were added on top of the already-existing ones.
It all started off with the final words of Kamish, just before the Dragon disappeared for good.
[Oh, my king. There are four humans who have borrowed the powers of the Rulers. Please, you need to be wary of them.]
Five Hunters survived the Kamish raid. Which meant that the odds of the four among the five Special Authority-rank Hunters borrowing the powers of the Rulers were very high.
‘But then… one of the Special Authority-rank Hunters was killed by someone recently.’
That man’s name was Christopher Reid.
Just who was he fighting that a Hunter as powerful as he was had to resort to burning down his mansion and the surrounding forest?
Could it be possible that the Sovereigns mentioned by the King of Giants were finally making their move?
If that wasn’t it, did the sudden changes dungeons went through recently have anything to do with it?
As several thoughts fleeted in and out of Jin-Woo’s head, he could see the venue for the conference getting nearer and nearer.
***
The moment Jin-Woo stepped into the lobby of the venue, the conversations and welcoming greetings being shared among the crowd all came to a sudden halt.
Gazes of curiosity and fear came flying at him from pretty much all directions.
He was that Asian Hunter responsible for utterly destroying Thomas Andre, who had been reigning over other Hunters like a king.
Noisy, noisy….
Quite a few Hunters kept whispering the stories related to Jin-Woo even now, but none of them dared to approach him. Because they still didn’t know why he went and wrecked the Scavenger Guild to that extent.
Seriously now, what if the reason for that unholy mass beat-down turned out to be nothing more than Thomas Andre staring at him for too long? If so, wouldn’t one get marked for death simply by trying to say hello to Jin-Woo?
Even though all these people were ace Hunters that subjugated scary monsters for a living, they found it hard to meet Jin-Woo’s gaze right now.
After the cordial lunch prepared by the Hunter Bureau came to an end, the participating Hunters began filling up the seats facing the rostrum in the conference venue.
Afterwards, the conference got going, and several topics were discussed.
Unfortunately, none of those really warranted Jin-Woo’s complete attention nor his sustained interest. Most of the things being talked about were similar in nature to status updates and so on.
‘If only Jin-Ho was here. I’d not be this bored….’
All Jin-Woo could do was to wake up his super-human patience and wait until the topic he might be interested in came around.
Quite a while later…
Although it was not the information he was waiting for, a topic did manage to grab his attention.
“Everyone, you should be aware of the fact that the number of Gates being generated has shot up recently, and the fact that stronger monsters have made their appearances, too.”
Initially, it sounded like something everyone knew only too well.
Since quite a few scientists had appeared before this man to speak their theories regarding this topic already, the atmosphere in the venue came across as lukewarm at best.
“However, there should be almost none of you who have realised that unusual activity has been detected in the skies above us.”
The scientist named Belzer emphasized the word ‘skies’ and the Hunters finally began showing signs of interest. Of course, Jin-Woo was included among those Hunters, as well.
“The truth of the magical energy concentration found in the planet’s atmosphere getting greater – we all know of this fact since it has been widely reported.”
Now that he was being showered with the interested gazes of the Hunters, the clearly-happy scientist carried on.
“I’d like to use a different term to denote the magic energy found in our atmosphere. Until another more suitable word is invented, how about we use the term, ‘magisphere’?”
The scientist gestured with his hand, and a huge map was displayed on the screen behind him. It was the atlas of the world that contained all of the continents – no, all of the countries existing on this planet.
The scientist used a laser pointer to highlight several spots on the map.
“Did you know that the magisphere has begun gathering and concentrating on the skies of several nations at present?”
Noisy, noisy….
The noise level among the Hunters gradually rose up. The scientist implored his audience to quieten down and listen to him for a little bit longer, before continuing on with his explanations.
“There are a total of nine spots in the world where the magisphere has begun gathering into a large mass. My purpose today is to reveal the locations of the nine spots.”
Doctor Belzer then calmly read off the names of the nine countries on his list.
“….Province of Alberta, Canada. And finally, this is the spot with the highest magisphere concentration. City of Seoul, South Korea.”
The moment those translated words of the scientist came out from the earpiece Jin-Woo wore – for some reason, every single Hunter sitting inside the venue shifted their gazes in his direction all at once.
Chapter 195
Jin-Woo had read the article featuring his feat on his way here.
After seeing the gazes of other Hunters locking onto him because of a completely unrelated matter, though, he had to concede that the ripples created from that article were far greater than he anticipated.
Jin-Woo scanned the Hunters and they quickly withdrew their gazes.
‘Come on now. This is just….’
He discovered palpable fear within their eyes and could only let out a helpless sigh in his heart.
‘Looks like these people are really, seriously mistaken about something here.’
All he could do now was to wait for the Hunter Bureau to release that promised statement.
And so – just as the atmosphere within the venue was getting a bit weird, Doctor Belzer looked in Jin-Woo’s direction and cracked a joke.
“I’ve also read this morning’s article. But folks, you shouldn’t be looking at Seong Hunter-nim that way. If he was capable of causing all this magisphere in the air like that, then obviously, he’s no longer a Hunter, is he?”
Hahaha….
Awkward laughter came from here and there. Doctor Belzer smiled refreshingly and carried on with his explanations.
“As you might have guessed, we couldn’t discover any tangible similarities between the locations I have mentioned.”
Since there were no similarities, it was hard to figure out the cause for this change. And since there was also no precedence, it was equally as hard to tell what might happen next.
The scientist then brought up another image on the giant screen.
“This here is a shot of the skies above the aforementioned nine spots.”
He then added that his team had enhanced the footage with special effects so that the image taken by the magic energy detection camera on the spy satellite could be deciphered far more easily for the audience members.
Just as the scientist had explained, large magisphere lumps could be seen gathered above, in the skies of the nine spots, like some kind of storm clouds.
Since ‘special effects’ had been added to the image, the reality might not be as severe, but still, those things didn’t look like natural phenomena, all things considered.
“Huh….”
“Mm.”
Hunters began leaking out shocked groans after confirming the contents of the giant screen. It was definitely bad news that no one could figure out the reason for this suspicious phenomenon, or what would come out of it.
The skies above Seoul looked to be especially bad.
Jin-Woo studied the satellite image of Seoul, which seemed to have become the eye of the storm made up entirely of magisphere, and wondered why there were nine spots in the world, to begin with.
‘Is it related somehow to the number of the Sovereigns? Because there are nine of them?’
To call it a mere coincidence, it just left that vague uncool aftertaste in his mouth. And also, now that the King of Giants was slain by him, that number nine should not hold significance anymore.
It was then – Doctor Belzer shot him a very quick and sneaky glance. Their gazes met in the air. Unlike the last time this happened, though, there was not a hint of a smile on the good scientist’s face.
“Our current situation is that, since we don’t know the cause, we also don’t know how to respond to this phenomenon.”
The scientist’s lengthy presentation was about to come to its conclusion.
“However, let me make it clear. The assertion of being unable to respond does not mean there is no need to make plans. It’s eminently possible that our world will experience yet another seismic shift soon.”
***
As the conference was drawing to a close, the director of the Hunter Bureau took to the stage. His reason? To make an important announcement.
Since this wasn’t in the schedule, Hunters naturally became noisy from his unexpected entrance.
Noisy, noisy….
Was the Hunter Bureau about to make an official statement related to the events of the night before?
While being showered by the curious, interested gazes of the Hunters, the director politely requested his audience to quieten down before he could proceed.
“I have something important I must inform you about, everyone.”
Every single Hunter gathered here today were the elites of the elite within their respective nations. The citizens of those nations would recognise who they were just from their names alone.
Indeed, these people were not some unruly immature kids or a ragtag bunch of misfit soldiers.
“….”
“….”
Just one sentence from the director, and in an instant, the venue was enveloped in an eerie silence.
This was their superhuman-level ability to focus in full display; the high degree of concentration that no regular human could ever possess was deeply ingrained like instinct within the highest-ranked Hunters present in this venue.
The director nodded his head as he found the current atmosphere much to his liking and scanned the faces of the Hunters. Eventually, his gaze met Jin-Woo’s.
‘Hunter Seong Jin-Woo….’
The director had been fully informed of everything that transpired yesterday. He sent his acknowledgement in Jin-Woo’s direction with a brief nod.
He was expressing his gratitude for letting Thomas Andre live.
Unfortunately, other Hunters had no clue on the ins and outs of that situation, so they could only begin murmuring their theories to each other when the director of the Bureau shared that greeting with Jin-Woo.
After a short while of unease later, the director finally addressed the crowd.This chapter was originally shared via NOvel–Bi(j)n.
“My heart is heavy as I deliver this unfortunate news to you all.”
Finally….
Jin-Woo sensed that the moment he was waiting for had finally arrived. The director spoke in a low, gloomy voice.
“About two weeks ago, Hunter Christopher Reid was murdered by unidentified assailants.”
***
‘….!!’
The gathered Hunters were all astonished by the revelation.
One of the top Hunters in the world was murdered by someone?
Their level of shock transcended what Jin-Woo felt when he heard the news first. This issue was well beyond the realm of who won the fight between two powerful Hunters.
The director brought up the relevant information on the giant screen behind him.
First, the remnants of flames that didn’t want to die out; the ashes of the mansion; and then, Christopher Reid’s dead body with a hole in his chest.
Hunters confirmed the death of the Special Authority-rank Awakened via the provided video footage as well as the several still images on the screen, and reacted by gasping out in shocked moans.
Not one person present was able to dispute the fact of that man being dead now.
As expected, the surprised Hunters began their outpouring of questions, but the director firmly shook his head, instead.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll answer your questions only after this presentation comes to an end.”
There was a far more important matter still to be carried out instead of answering the questions. The director glanced at Jin-Woo from the corner of his eyes. The young Korean Hunter and his gleaming eyes displayed no reaction as he sat quietly in the corner of the conference venue.
His calm attitude managed to rouse up several complicated emotions in the director’s heart.
However, there was no more time to hesitate. He pressed a button on the remote controller and the image on the screen behind him changed again.
“We strongly suspect this man as the perpetrator of this crime.”
A man’s face now filled up the entirety of that giant screen. Almost immediately, the gathered Hunters realised that something was amiss.
That Asian man’s face, wasn’t it uncannily similar to someone else sitting inside this conference venue?
But then, these Hunters also recalled what happened to Thomas Andre, and none of them could voice the thoughts bubbling up inside their minds.
“…..”
Jin-Woo too, closed shut his mouth.
The photograph must’ve been taken moments after ‘he’ had arrived at the Hunter Bureau for identification purposes. That face definitely belonged to his old man from his memories no matter how many times he took a look.
Jin-Woo eventually bit his lower lip.
‘How come it’s my father….’
Dungeons were supposedly the territory of the Rulers.
He couldn’t tell why they sent a monster with the outer appearance of his father. Regardless of what their intentions were, though – Jin-Woo could still feel the bubbling pit of rage slowly building up its intensity deep within his heart.
Too bad, Hunters nearby completely mistook that rage for something else and they did their absolute best to not look at his way.
‘Do not look back. Do not look back!!’
‘They just look similar, that’s all! Just similar, and nothing else!’
‘Asians all look alike, right? Right??’
‘But still, that is just so….’
The director branded ‘Seong Il-Hwan’ as ‘Suspect S’ and began explaining who this man was. From where he was discovered, what happened during that discovery, and finally, what transpired afterwards.
Hunters were taken by yet another surprise from the revelation that this person actually defeated Hwang Dong-Su during the interrogation to make his escape.
Just who was Hwang Dong-Su?
The Hunter Bureau acknowledged his powers early on and offered him a sweet deal, prompting him to emigrate to the States right away. Moreover, he was also one of the aces in what many believed to be the best Guild in the world, the Scavenger Guild.
The shock these Hunters felt was great, perhaps because the news of his demise hadn’t been publicised yet.
They were now thinking that, if multiple assailants possessing similar levels of strength pounced on their target simultaneously, even a Special Authority-rank Hunter wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
They understood the reason for the Hunter Bureau suspecting this mysterious ‘Suspect S’ for this crime.
“Several human-type monsters possessing that level of power escaped from dungeons and attacked Hunter Christopher Reid at the same time – we at the Hunter Bureau feel that this is the likeliest explanation.”
As the director continued on, the image of ‘Suspect S’ pressing down on Hwang Dong-Su’s neck with his foot popped up on the giant screen next.
The scene clearly exhibited the extraordinary power of the creature capable of subduing Hwang Dong-Su like some kind of an insect – even though he was a Hunter easily exceeding the regular rank S classification.
Hints of pure astonishment flashed past within the eyes of the Hunters watching the footage on-screen. For Jin-Woo, though, that video clip didn’t come across as all that surprising.
This ‘Suspect S’ was an existence the Rulers had created for some unknown purpose. And they possessed unimaginable powers, enough to generate dungeons, didn’t they?
‘So, obviously, it’s not weird to see Hwang Dong-Su getting defeated by that creature.’
No, besides that – Jin-Woo was more concerned with what that ‘Suspect S’ was trying to do. It was engaging Hwang Dong-Su in a conversation.
‘It’s trying to… talk to him?’
Jin-Woo’s brows shot up. He concentrated hard, like when he would do during battles, and time slowed down instantly. His sharpened senses began reading the lip movements of the Suspect S.
– “….in the country. This isn’t for my son, but for your sake. Even after death, you’ll not be able to close your eyes.”
Ba-thump!
Jin-Woo’s heart pulsed powerfully just then.
Those last words….
‘….Even in death, not being able to close his eyes?!’
If his lip-reading proved to be correct, then that meant that ‘Suspect S’ knew about his existence. Thankfully, he knew of a way to easily confirm the contents of that little chat those two had shared.
Jin-Woo suppressed his wildly-pounding heart and called out the name of the brand-new addition to his Shadow Army.
‘Greed!’
Greed already knew what Jin-Woo wanted to know through their shared mental link, so he immediately made his reply.
[It is as you suspect, my liege.]
‘….!!’
While the thoughts in Jin-Woo’s head were getting more and more complicated and confused, the lengthy explanation of the director was coming to an end.
“We’re planning to ask you, the Guilds of the world, to help us track down and apprehend this ‘Suspect S’. If you discover this man’s whereabouts, please, give us a call immediately. That is all.”
The end of the director’s words signalled the incoming flood of questions that the Hunters had been holding back until then. They impatiently raised their hands into the air.
“Yes, the sir over there.”
The director pointed to one of the raised hands, prompting that Hunter to throw his question out, as if he couldn’t wait anymore.
“Do you have any proof that this ‘Suspect S’ isn’t a human?”
“We have perfectly matched his magic energy emission to that of monsters. Next question.”
“That creature insisted that he was someone who went missing inside a dungeon. However, did a Hunter like that really exist?”
“Yes, that Hunter did really exist. Next.”
“If that’s the case, why haven’t you revealed the identity of that Hunter?”
“Oh….”
The director hesitated greatly, but eventually replied while doing his very best to avoid looking in Jin-Woo’s general direction.
“We’ve decided not to reveal that information because the suspect is related to one of the Hunters currently attending this conference.”
That brought about a prompt and sudden end to the barrage of questions. The ‘maybe’ changed into ‘as expected’ in that instant.
The director scanned the suddenly-silent conference venue and decided he’d wrap up things here.
“Are there any other questions?”
It was then – someone sitting at the end of the audience seats at the back raised his hand. Even before the director could call out his name, this guy opened his mouth first.
“Even then, don’t you think it’ll be better to release the identity of that person, if you really want to arrest ‘them’?”
Hunters didn’t have to turn around to see who asked that question in that weighty voice. It was spoken in Chinese, and it came from a certain middle-aged man.
He was none other than China’s Seven Star-rank Hunter, Liu Zhigeng.
One of the Special Authority-rank Hunters was looking straight at the director with a sombre expression on his face. Dozens upon dozens of China’s top Hunters, including his own Guild members, sat to his right, left, and front.
The director seemed to be at a loss, but Liu Zhigeng continued to press on.
“Don’t you agree, Mister Director?”
Although it had been urgently decided earlier in the day to seal the information on the identity of ‘Suspect S’, the director realised that he didn’t have much of a choice now and begrudgingly brought up it on the screen behind him.
Beep.
One press of the remote button and the information on Seong Il-Hwan filled up the giant screen. Soon, surprised gasps came out from several of the audience members.
To think, the very first human-shaped monster to appear in dungeons possessed the exact same countenance as Hunter Seong Jin-Woo’s missing father!
How could there be such a coincidence?
The once-quiet interior of the conference venue was buzzing with the hushed voices of the Hunters.
Liu Zhigeng quietly stared at the screen before raising his hand again. The director had to point to the Chinese Hunter once more.
“….Hunter Liu.”
“This time, I have a question I want to ask Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.”
The director shifted his gaze to Jin-Woo. The latter lightly nodded his head at the former and turned around in his seat to stare at Liu Zhigeng in the distance.
Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Hunter’s heavy, bassy voice resounded out within the interior.
“What will you do if this ‘Suspect S’ really turned out to be your long-lost father, and the Hunters of the world were trying to hunt him down?”
Jin-Woo pondered that for a little bit before making his reply.
“If that creature is nothing but a monster, then I’ll kill it with my own hands. However, if it’s not a monster, but really is my father, then….”
If it was really his father?
The gathered Hunters became intensely curious as to what he might say next and began swallowing their saliva. Disregarding them all, Jin-Woo firmly declared his intentions for all to hear.
“I shall protect my family, even if that means every single Hunter in the world becomes my enemy.”
Chapter 196
The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via n(0))vel(b)(j)(n).
“What you said in there – were you being serious?”
Adam White, waiting outside the conference hall, threw that question out.
Even though Jin-Woo wanted to ask back, “What are you talking about?” he said only one thing inside the conference hall, didn’t he?
So, he simply grinned as his reply.
“Yup.”
“Haha….”
Although this was no time to laugh, Adam White ended up chuckling after seeing Jin-Woo’s grin, anyway.
Just who were the folks inside the conference hall?
They were 500 or so of the top-ranked Hunters from around 120 countries, who were invited by the Hunter Bureau to attend this conference. In other words, they were the top elites humanity had to offer.
But then, this man went and said to them, ‘Even if it means every Hunter in the world becomes my enemy’.
Any ol’ tough guy wouldn’t even dare to imitate what Jin-Woo had done. What’s more surprising was the fact that not one person ridiculed him for making that claim.
Even Liu Zhigeng, renowned for his vicious personality, simply kept silent and stared at Hunter Seong Jin-Woo. He made no complaints whatsoever towards the Korean’s declaration.
Not just the Hunters inside the conference hall, but even the agents watching the proceedings through various monitors couldn’t shut their agape mouths. Adam White was among those agents, obviously.
He sighed in admiration and spoke up.
“Most likely, there should be only two people in this whole wide world, including you, who could say something like that in there, Hunter-nim.”
Jin-Woo became slightly curious about who the other guy might be.
“Who is this other person….?”
“Well, he’s in the hospital right now.”
Jin-Woo saw Adam White’s wry smile and immediately realised who that mystery ‘other guy’ could be. It could only be Thomas Andre.
For sure, that guy would do something just as crazy, what with that arrogant personality of his.
‘But, it’s unknown whether he’ll still behave that way or not.’
Jin-Woo recalled the last expression Thomas Andre made as he admitted to his defeat, and formed his own wry smile.
In the meantime, Adam White quickly explained the itinerary for the rest of the day.
“A dinner party has been scheduled to take place this evening. Since we at the Bureau went all out to prepare this grand feast, how about sharing a cordial meal with other Hunters if you don’t have anything urgent to….”
Jin-Woo shook his head right away.
“I’m planning to stop by at a hospital.”
“Excuse me?”
Adam White’s brows shot up.
Did he get injured somewhere last night? No, hang on. Maybe that was an inevitable result. The Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre suffered such grievous wounds that he still couldn’t recover properly after receiving concentrated healing from several top-class Healers. That attested to how violent and fierce the fight was.
So, even if it was Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, he must have suffered one or two injuries….
“I’m worried about Yu Jin-Ho, you see.”
“Oh….”
So, he was talking about ‘that’.
Having realised that it was unnecessary to worry about Jin-Woo, even for a little bit, Adam White could only reflect on his hastiness in silence. Still, he couldn’t let go and asked one more time, just in case.
“Uh, maybe your shoulder or wrists have been aching since last night….?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing…”
While Adam White was getting more flustered than ever before…
….Hunters that had been gathered in small groups of two and three to chat among themselves suddenly parted ways and stood to either side of the hallway. Naturally, both Jin-Woo’s and Adam White’s attention shifted over there, as well.
And that’s where they spotted Liu Zhigeng.
China’s Seven Star-rank Hunter was flanked by the ‘Liu Zhigeng Squadron’ – made up entirely of his direct subordinates – as he made his way towards Jin-Woo.
As if he already had a destination in mind a long time ago, the Chinese Hunter walked in a straight line until he was standing right before Jin-Woo’s nose.
‘Heok…!’
‘W-what are those two up to now?’
Hunters all stopped talking right there and then.
The taut tension flowing between Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng managed to utterly silence the surroundings. The palpable feeling of unease rapidly filled this place up.
Hunters hurriedly looked around in anxiety.
‘Why is Liu Zhigeng behaving that way?’
‘Is it because of what Hunter Seong Jin-Woo said back in there?’
‘Yup, I was wondering why he was keeping quiet back then….’
Without a doubt, what Jin-Woo said could be interpreted as a provocation towards other Hunters. And the person who asked him the question even happened to be none other than Liu Zhigeng.
First, it was Thomas Andre. And now, it was the turn of Liu Zhigeng?
Hunters paid close attention to the changing expressions of these two men, as even more anxiety clouded their own faces, wondering what would happen next.
In the meantime, Adam White found himself stuck between these two titans by sheer bad luck and his own expression paled almost instantly.
“E-excuse me, Hunters….”
Before he could finish saying something, Liu Zhigeng took another step forward and opened his mouth first. His weighty voice flowed out next. Jin-Woo listened to him and a sombre expression gradually formed on his face.
‘…….What on earth is he saying? I can’t understand a single word.’
He had never even gone anywhere remotely close to China before, so there was no way he’d know a lick of Chinese.
Since the other guy was speaking in a serious expression, he too decided to form a similarly serious one, but as it turned out, listening to words he couldn’t understand proved to be a rather uncomfortable and arduous task.
Just as he began thinking that the Chinese Hunter probably wasn’t making fun of him with such a grave expression on his face, Adam White whispered something in his ear.
“He’s saying that he hunted down the Giant monster you missed during your trip to Japan on the Chinese coast recently, Seong Hunter-nim.”
A look of surprise spread all over Jin-Woo’s face.
“You even know Chinese?”
“Well, I was in charge of the Asia branch, after all. I can speak a few Asian languages. Ah, also, I can speak a little bit of Russian, Spanish, Arabic, as well as German….”
Jin-Woo very briefly thought that it’d become a whole lot more convenient for him if Agent Adam White became one of his Shadow Soldiers. Of course, he quickly admonished himself for even entertaining such a thought.
Maybe he still had lots more things to say? Liu Zhigeng continued on with his words in the meantime.
“Please, keep translating for me.”
“Alright.”
Adam White nodded his head and, with a determined expression, began his temporary role as an interpreter.
“He says that he got surprised from how unexpectedly strong the Giant monster was. And he also says that it was a difficult battle as he had to fight the monster on the ocean’s surface.”
Jin-Woo remembered being surprised himself by the strength of those Giant monsters, back when he was hunting them down. They had such huge bodies yet they also moved around nimbly like wild beasts, too.
Since Liu Zhigeng said he fought the monster over the water, which imposed a greater restriction on one’s movements, his surprise should have been greater when compared to fighting the creature on dry land.
As a fellow Hunter, Jin-Woo could pretty much understand where the Chinese man’s fluster stemmed from.
The longer Liu Zhigeng’s words got, the brighter Adam White’s expression became.
“Ever since that encounter, he says, he’s been meaning to meet you. He has been really curious to learn more about the person capable of easily hunting down all those powerful monsters. That’s what he said.”
In the same breath that Adam White finished translating, Liu Zhigeng formed a bright smile and reached his hand out for a shake.
It seemed that the previous serious expression came from his nervousness.
Jin-Woo looked at that offered hand for a bit, before shaking it with a smile of his own. He had absolutely no reason to refuse a greeting offered up first by one of the best Hunters in the world.
Adam White had figured out what was going on here and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Whew….”
Forming a bond between fellow Hunters – this encounter certainly stayed true to the original intention of the International Guild Conference.
As they shook hands, Liu Zhigeng said some other things with a smile. Jin-Woo looked at Adam White again.
“Sounds like he’s making a joke, so what is he saying?”
“Ah…”
Adam White briefly formed a lost expression, before the corners of his lips arched up.
“He says that he’s really happy about you teaching Thomas Andre Hunter-nim a lesson. He doesn’t even have to take a look to know that it was Thomas who instigated the whole thing first….”
Jin-Woo grinned at that one.
The Chinese Hunter initially came across as an irritable and rude uncle, but he turned out to be a rather interesting person. Now that the greeting was over, their hands parted ways.
But then, Liu Zhigeng’s complexion darkened somewhat.
Likewise, the smile on Adam White’s face was wiped off as well. He quickly translated what the Chinese Hunter was saying.
“That is why he will now pray even harder that ‘Suspect S’ isn’t actually your family member. He says that he doesn’t want to fight against you, no matter what.”
Jin-Woo wordlessly nodded his head.
“Both of you are here.”
Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng shifted their gazes in the direction of that voice. Although they felt this person’s presence, they knew he wasn’t a Hunter since he didn’t emit any magic energy.
Sure enough, that voice belonged to the Hunter Bureau’s Director. He alternated his gaze between Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng before asking both men. He sounded rather tense as he did so for some reason.
“Can both of you clear some time in your schedule, please?”
Jin-Woo looked at Adam White for confirmation, but the latter man shook his head. Meaning, this wasn’t in their itinerary.
What did he want from them, then?
Before making his reply, Jin-Woo pushed his Perception Stat to the extreme first and analysed the movements of every single Hunter within the conference venue.
‘Two people with a huge concentration of magical energy….’
Two very powerful Hunters were heading towards the same destination under the guidance of several escorts. Seeing that both he and Liu Zhigeng had been called upon like this, that event couldn’t be chalked up to being a coincidence.
‘Did something happen somewhere?’
When Jin-Woo looked as if he was hesitating somewhat, Adam White remembered something and quickly answered for him.
“Ah, that’s right. Sir, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim said earlier that he’d go visit Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim at the hospital….”
However, Jin-Woo placed his hand on the American agent’s shoulder to stop him. When their gazes met, he shook his head before turning around to face the director.
“Alright, I will.”
The director’s expression brightened immediately and he looked at Liu Zhigeng next.
“How about you, Hunter Liu Zhigeng?”
“I’m in.”
“Very good. In that case, please, follow me.”
The director’s expression was as bright as a salaryman who managed to pull off a difficult negotiation. He then took the lead and guided the two Hunters away.
***
Funnily enough, the destinations for the two were not the same.
Liu Zhigeng was guided by other agents and went down the corridor on the left, while Jin-Woo followed the director and continued down their original path.
‘Isn’t this strange….?’
With the addition of Liu Zhigeng to the ranks of those two powerful Hunters he sensed earlier, three beings with rather enormous magic energy had gathered in one spot now.
Jin-Woo thought he’d be escorted to that place as well, but seeing that he was being led to a different destination altogether, he began cooking up several likely reasons for this. He gave up in the end, though, and asked the director.
“Why am I the only one going to the different room?”
“Ah….”
The director pondered his answer for a little bit before deciding to delay it altogether.
“There is someone waiting for you, actually. She will explain everything to you once we get there.”
“….”
As a matter of fact, Jin-Woo could sense a certain person’s aura coming from a room located at the end of this corridor.
‘Uh? Doesn’t this magic energy belong to that….?’
Jin-Woo’s eyes grew wider since the person waiting for him was someone he didn’t expect to see here. As a matter of fact, he never thought they would meet each other again any time soon.
“Looks like you have figured out who she is.”
He must’ve been feeling really nervous because cold sweat drops were visibly forming on the director’s forehead.
“We do our best to not to expose her location if we can help it. But then, this issue being what it is, we didn’t have much of a choice….”
“Does that mean the Hunter Bureau demanded her to come?”
“No, not at all. It was she that demanded to be here. She specifically wishes to meet you.”
Clunk….
The director opened the door to the room and Jin-Woo got to meet the gaze of a certain African-American woman waiting patiently for him there.
“It’s been a while, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.”
“Likewise, Madam Selner.”
It was none other than the ‘Upgrader’, Norma Selner, the Awakened possessing a unique ability.
He wondered if she had calmed down now that a bit of time had passed since their last encounter, but unfortunately, the light shining in her eyes was the same as before. She still looked quite terrified of him.
He definitely sensed her strong fear of him from the way she stared at him. Despite that, she wanted to meet him for some reason. Just what could make her move in spite of her fears? Jin-Woo’s curiosity had definitely been stoked now.
“I didn’t expect you to seek me out first, ma’am, so….”
Jin-Woo settled down on the seat opposite hers. Adam White, once more assigned as an interpreter, stuck close to Jin-Woo’s side.
Madam Selner politely bowed her head.
“I’d like to apologise for that day. Back then, my mind wasn’t in the right place to….”
Jin-Woo raised his hands and stopped her.
He wasn’t planning to talk about back then just so he could hear her apologise. She sneaked a glance at the director, only to see him nod his head with a hardened expression.
Madam Selner hesitated greatly before her lips parted with some difficulty.
“I’ve been having the exact same dream every day.”
Jin-Woo was not confident about reading people’s dreams. And even he could tell that they didn’t ask for him to be here for that purpose, either. Still, he asked her so he could get some clarification on the topic.
“What kind of a dream was it?”
“In my dream, I watch the scenes of top Hunters being hunted down by a group of unknown people.”
A group of unknown people hunting down powerful Hunters, she said. Almost immediately, Jin-Woo realised that this matter had to be related to him in some capacity.
“And a few days later, that dream becomes reality.”
“Could you be talking about… Christopher Reid?”
Madam Selner nodded her head.
The director took over the explanation from there on.
“We had warned Mister Reid ahead of time, but he wasn’t interested in hearing us out. The end result was… well, you know what happened already.”
Indeed, Jin-Woo had seen and heard enough of Christopher Reid’s fate.
Madam Selner continued on with a trembling voice.
“Powerful Hunters supporting this world will continue to die. Those hunting the Hunters will not stop what they are doing.”
“So, what you’re saying is….”
Jin-Woo collected his thoughts and cautiously opened his mouth.
“….You also wish to warn me of the dangers….?”
“No, that’s not it.”
She resolutely shook her head.
If she didn’t want to warn him, what did she want then? Jin-Woo looked at her with a puzzled expression. Madam Selner then spoke with desperately-pleading tone of voice.
“Please, I beg of you. Protect these Hunters.”
Chapter 197
‘I lost.’
Thomas Andre slowly opened his eyes as his head kept repeating those two words he never thought he’d say ever again.
He found himself inside a hospital room.
‘When was the last time I stopped by at a hospital?’
Jin-Woo might have frequented hospitals as if they were his second home during his early years as a Hunter. However, Thomas Andre didn’t, and he couldn’t recall a single instance of staying in a hospital even once, ever since becoming a Hunter.
Just who would’ve expected to see this kind of a result from a fight between a Hunter who used to be the worst even among the rank Es, and a man who started his career at the very top?
Of course, Thomas Andre didn’t care about Jin-Woo’s past. He was still deeply flustered with this result, though.
‘I really… did lose.’
Thomas Andre slowly sat up with a dazed face of a man whose soul had abandoned him.
Tap, tap….
The sound of someone lightly tapping on a keyboard came to a halt. He shifted his gaze in that direction and found the main manager of the Scavenger Guild, Laura, sitting in a location not too far, but not too close, either.
Perhaps she was in the middle of her work because her slender fingers were still hovering above the laptop’s keyboard.
“You’ve woken up.”
“….Looks like it.”
Thomas Andre withdrew his gaze and rubbed his chin.
One could estimate just how much time had passed, with the length of one’s beard. Should he say he felt relieved, then? Because… his beard wasn’t as long as he feared.
“About… one day, is it?’
“Yes.”
Laura affirmed it for him with a short answer, before continuing on.
“The first doctor to examine you suggested that I should prepare for the worst case of you waking up several weeks later.”
That was how terrible Thomas Andre’s conditions were last night.
But then….
….She found it bit difficult to decide whether him waking up after only one day was rather befitting of Thomas Andre’s capabilities, or the fact that he even blacked out in the first place was unbecoming of him, instead.
Laura felt this conflict of emotion as she stood next to her boss’s bed.
“Should I call for a doctor?”
“No, not yet.”
Thomas Andre massaged his aching temples and shook his head.
The impact force he felt when that man punched him in the head still remained vivid even now. What a horrible pain this was. So much so, he no longer wanted to recall yesterday’s event if he could help it.
A doctor wouldn’t be able to do much anyway, even if one was summoned here. Besides all that, though – wasn’t there something else he should confirm first?
Thomas Andre quickly asked.
“What about Mister Hwang?”
Laura’s lips parted for a moment, but she couldn’t verbalise her answer and simply shook her head.
“….Is that so.”
He pondered for a little while longer, before asking a different question with an unconcerned tone of voice.
“What about other losses?”
“We have incurred many injured personnel, but thanks to the timely response from the Hunter Bureau, everyone has fully recovered.”
Thomas Andre had been maintaining his calm until then, but he couldn’t stop his voice from going up an octave.
“There were no other casualties?”
“Yes, sir.”
“…..”
His shock soon morphed into astonishment. He began gasping out inwardly.
Even though the fight had been truly intense, not one person was killed. It could only mean that his opponent went easy on them.
This was a clear sign of an overwhelming defeat.
When a person tastes such a complete defeat, one would often lose any notion of getting angry at the result. That’s how Thomas Andre felt right about now.
He was also awestruck, as well. Jin-Woo had defeated not just Thomas Andre, but all the elite Hunters the American had gathered, all by himself. That made Thomas somewhat fearful of the young Korean Hunter. No, his emotion had gone beyond that and almost into the territory of pure respect.
Thomas Andre always told himself that being powerful was justice, so the mental shock he felt right now was rather immense.
However…
However, why was he being like this?
He tasted an ignoble defeat yet he didn’t feel so bad at all. Maybe, he had no regrets because he got to confirm the gap between him and his opponent?
He didn’t feel like getting angry at the person who defeated him. Nor was he thinking of avenging his loss, either.
‘Instead, it’s more like….’
As several thoughts began crisscrossing in his head, Laura suddenly presented him with a small but lengthy box. It was a case for glasses.
‘….?’
Thomas Andre accepted this case while sending her a puzzled stare. She solved his curiosity right away.
“Your sunglasses were recovered from the location, but they were too damaged to be repaired.”
Click.
He opened the case to find a new pair of sunglasses with the same design as before that he liked to wear. Thomas Andre broke into a smirk and put them on.
“Looks like I keep ending up owing people.”
Laura was inwardly worried that her boss would start going off on a rampage the moment he woke up, but his response brought about a sense of relief in her and she sighed inwardly, before forming a gentle smile.
“It’s my job, sir.”
Thomas Andre wordlessly stared into the distance, before quietly opening his mouth.
“Mister Hwang…. Make sure you hold a proper funeral for him. He was still one of our own, after all.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and also….”
And also?
Laura stopped jotting down Thomas Andre’s orders in her memo pad and raised her head.
“Tell Hunter Seong Jin-Woo that the Scavenger Guild will…. No, wait. Scratch that. Send him a message that I, Thomas Andre, will offer an official apology.”
***
Protect the Hunters.
Why did Madam Selner say something like this? Jin-Woo formed a puzzled expression.
“….Why me?”
She seemed to be unsure of where to start her story but eventually, opened her mouth rather laboriously.
“While the dream kept repeating itself, I tried my best to memorise the faces of those hunting down the Hunters. However, it was all for nought.”
She explained that all she could remember after waking up were faces covered in veils of darkness.
“And so, I decided to use another method. Even if it was just a dream, I’d use my ability to look into their true nature, their true form.”
“Was that why you looked into my eyes last time?”
“Yes, correct.”
Madam Selner readily admitted to how her ability worked.
Ba-thump.
Jin-Woo’s heart began racing again.
Back then, what did Madam Selner discover inside him that made her shiver in fear like that? Unfortunately, her story hadn’t finished yet, so he had to suppress the rising tide of curiosity and concentrated on her voice.
“What I found within those people was limitless power. But, when I locked gazes with ‘that thing’, I had no choice but to wake up from my dream.”
Jin-Woo’s gaze momentarily drifted lower and saw her fingertips tremble imperceptibly.
“When my eyes looked into it… I can still clearly remember the words and voice of ‘that thing’ even now.”
Jin-Woo slightly raised his head back up again. Both the director listening in, as well as Adam White translating from the side, carried deeply tense expressions.
Jin-Woo asked her in a calm voice.
“What did that thing say to you?”
“It said that I should… quietly go back and wait for the war.”
Madam Selner began shuddering in horror after finally recalling that memory. The voice she heard in her dream was far more vivid than any other sound she heard in reality.
Unlike the frightened woman, though, Jin-Woo was focused on the word ‘war’, instead. That was his clue.
‘It’s similar to what the King of Giants told me, isn’t it?’
The battle between the Rulers and the Sovereigns – didn’t the King of Giants say it? That ‘they’ were gearing up for war? Most likely, the Rulers weren’t the only ones preparing for this upcoming battle.
If that was the case, then, just which side did the b*stards hunting the Hunters belong to?
Although he felt curious about this, he still hadn’t heard a reply to his original question. So, he asked again.
“How does that relate to you asking me to protect other Hunters?”
“….Because, I saw the same power sleeping within you.”
Her cautiously-mouthed words slapped wide awake Jin-Woo and in the face. The power of the Shadow Sovereign – that’s what she saw on that day, hiding deep inside of him.
Since she saw the same type of power from the assassins in her dreams, their identity had to be….
‘….Sovereigns.’
Jin-Woo’s expression hardened.
Madam Selner detected the rapid shift in Jin-Woo’s expression and quickly added more explanation.
“They are existences above the Hunters, and in order to stop them, we need you who possess the power that equals theirs, Hunter-nim.”
The director quietly listened up to here and finally entered the conversation.
“In all honesty, I wasn’t convinced by the claim that no one can protect the Hunters besides you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, but, well….”
The reason why this meeting had been hastily arranged was…
“….My fight with Thomas Andre yesterday changed the way the Hunter Bureau thinks, am I correct?”
The director replied awkwardly after the truth was accurately pointed out.
“Yes, you’re correct.”
Thanks to the matters of the day before, the Hunter Bureau finally learned of the difference between Jin-Woo and other Hunters. That event might have been a big incident, yes, but it also helped the organisation to discover a new ray of hope.
Beings capable of murdering Special Authority-rank Hunters, and a lone Hunter possessing powers equal to those beings.
The Hunter Bureau was in desperate need of Jin-Woo’s help more than ever. The United States had already lost one of her Special Authority-rank Hunters. And from their perspective, Thomas Andre had to be protected at any cost.
“Of course, we don’t expect a Hunter as excellent as you to help us without any suitable compensation.”
Anything he wanted, it’d be made available. And that included the greatest treasure Kamish had left behind, its Rune Stone.
The new proposal coming from the Hunter Bureau wasn’t about scouting him. Rather than annoy Jin-Woo by pushing forward the already-rejected offer, they’d rather borrow his power to protect America’s greatest combat force. That was the response the Bureau had decided to go with regarding the current events, post-Christopher Reid’s death.
“…..”
Jin-Woo shut his mouth and fell into a bit of a dilemma.
Madam Selner came clean on what she saw in order to help him make up his mind.
“There are Hunters enjoying powerful blessings in this world. They have supported this world with their powers. If they are gone, this world will not be able to hold on for much longer.”
Jin-Woo finally replied to them after his lengthy deliberation.
“….I’m sorry.”
His firm refusal that didn’t leave any room for reconsideration caused the director’s brows to shoot up high.B1nRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
“I-is it because of some unresolved emotion towards Thomas Andre Hunter-nim….??”
Jin-Woo quickly shook his head before people jumped to wrong conclusions.
“No, not at all.”
There was only one reason why he made this decision.
“It’s only because I don’t know anything about the enemies I’ll be facing.”
Even if he had a rough idea about what their identities were, he hadn’t encountered them once yet. It was only obvious that he’d not make any promises on protecting someone else when he had no clue on the enemy’s capabilities.
Jin-Woo wasn’t some amateur who’d readily make promises when he wasn’t sure whether he could keep them in the first place.
‘I’ll observe the situation for the time being.’
And then, he’d take care of those things he could handle, first.
His collected ways of thinking hadn’t changed at all from that day he entered the dual dungeon for the first time all those months ago.
Thankfully, Jin-Woo possessed several Shadow Soldiers who’d accurately convey information to him in real time. By leaving behind his boys in the shadows of all the Hunters the Bureau was concerned about, he’d be able to respond to those b*stards in time if they made a move.
“Well, then….”
Jin-Woo began thinking up a suitable response when the time comes as he stood up from his seat to leave.
***
In the president’s office of the Korean Hunter’s Association.
The Association President Goh Gun-Hui was spending yet another busy day.
Why, of all possible things under the heavens, did Hunter Seong and Thomas Andre have to fight a day before the International Guild Conference?
He was worried about things going wrong on the other side so he sent inquiries through all available channels and finally, received a reply from the Hunter Bureau not too long ago.
Their investigation had found that the Scavenger Guild was at fault for the incident and that Jin-Woo wouldn’t be unduly inconvenienced in any shape or form moving forward, according to the message from the United States.
“Whew….”
Association President Goh Gun-Hui finally could get this load off his shoulders and plopped down on his chair like a man feeling greatly relieved. No one could imagine how worried to death he was as he thought about Hunter Seong getting locked up in an American prison.
But then again…
‘Hang on a minute.’
….Just who would be capable of locking Hunter Seong up?
Even Thomas Andre had lost consciousness, didn’t he?
Goh Gun-Hui broke into a chuckle after his thoughts finally reached there, long after the dust on the matter had settled down.
‘In a way… I was worried about something totally unnecessary.’
“Huhuh….”
Goh Gun-Hui chuckled for a while before feeling a bit of thirst creeping in. He searched for something to drink and found a bottle of water located on top of the coffee table a bit of distance away from the President’s desk.
‘…..’
Goh Gun-Hui wordlessly stared at the water bottle before extending his hand out. That prompted the bottle to fly into his hand.
Grab.
He expertly snatched the bottle up and while unscrewing the cap, formed a thin smile.
‘Looks like I’ve got yet another story to hear from Chief Woo once he comes back.’
Huhuh….
Goh Gun-Hui felt quite pleased, knowing that he made the right choice to forcibly send Section Chief Woo Jin-Cheol to the U.S.
Chapter 198
“Hyung-niiiim!”
Jin-Woo lightly evaded the tearful Yu Jin-Ho’s attempt to bear-hug him. Then, he coolly addressed Woo Jin-Cheol in the same hospital room, who had volunteered to look after the kid during the conference itself.
“What’s gotten into him?”
“Well, I showed him this when he woke up, and now….”
The Chief of the Monitoring Division picked up the newspaper he was reading.
The front page of the folded newspaper was plastered with the photographs of Jin-Woo’s beatdown victims, the utterly wrecked Scavenger Guild’s members, and that of the bloodied and unconscious Thomas Andre’s face.
It might have been something obvious to him, but the same couldn’t be said about Yu Jin-Ho who now had seen the article in its full glory.
Just who in this world would clash head-on against the world’s most powerful Guild in order to rescue him? Not only that, when that Guild’s Master, ‘Goliath’ Thomas Andre was involved in the shenanigans, too?
Yu Jin-Ho was shedding thick tears of heartfelt emotion after reading the article, so when Jin-Woo arrived in the hospital, he began expressing his happiness with his entire being.
“Hyung-niiiiim!!”
Unfortunately….
Jin-Woo’s agility had surpassed far beyond what rank S Hunters were capable of by now. In spite of Yu Jin-Ho concerted efforts, the target for his manly affection kept slipping out of his heartfelt hug.
Jin-Woo slipped past yet another attempt of the kid trying to embrace him, and pointed a thumb at the stumbling Yu Jin-Ho’s back.
“Are you telling me he read an article written in English?”
“Oh, that. I figured that it’s really uncool to let our employee get paid without doing a single thing, so I told her to translate the article for him.”
“Aha.”
The end of Yu Jin-Ho’s nose reddened as if he found Jin-Woo constantly dodging his attempt at skinship rather cold-hearted.
“Hyung-nim!”
“Here.”
Yu Jin-Ho took the tissues Jin-Woo handed over and blew his nose on them.
Sniffle~.
Of course, Jin-Woo knew how the kid felt. Even then, he couldn’t walk around with a snot stain on the expensive suit he especially picked for the International Conference, now could he?
Wiping his tears away seemed to have done the trick and calmed Yu Jin-Ho down. He asked in a more even-sounding voice.
“By the way, hyung-nim, since when did you learn to speak English?”
It seemed that the kid must’ve heard Jin-Woo conversing with Thomas Andre back inside the disused factory, even though his consciousness was wavering in and out.
“Well, you have a lot of free time as a low-ranked Hunter, you know.”
A Hunter without a raid to go to was basically an unemployed bum. Jin-Woo studied English whenever he had time, trying to prepare for the eventuality of him quitting the life of a Hunter someday.
‘I didn’t know it’d come in handy in that sort of situation, though.’
He felt a bit reminiscent of the times back when he was studying the language. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that the first time he used the language he self-taught to converse was during the fight against Thomas Andre.
“Oh…”
Yu Jin-Ho recalled that Jin-Woo was a low ranked Hunter once upon a time and nodded his head in understanding.
When he thought about his hyung-nim’s past in relation to yesterday’s events, he became even more moved by Jin-Woo’s loyalty that propelled him to confront the Scavenger Guild and its entire catalogue of elite Hunters just for his sake.
Yu Jin-Ho began tearing up again as he emotionally declared his intentions.
“Hyung-nim! I’ll definitely trust you and follow you till the ends of the earth!”
His eyes reddened again and snot once more drooped out from his nose tip, which was cleaned barely a minute ago.
Jin-Woo was grinning outwardly, but too bad…
‘….Having a high Perception Stat isn’t always useful, is it?’
Thanks to his supernatural-level of senses that allowed him to read every little minutiae of Yu Jin-Ho’s emotions, even Jin-Woo’s nose began stinging a little bit now. He deliberately avoided meeting the kid’s gaze and shifted his attention over to Woo Jin-Cheol.
“Looks like there’s no problem for him to get discharged, doesn’t it?”
“Agreed. As a matter of fact, the doctor in charge was quite surprised that Mister Jin-Ho had completely recovered from his injuries in just one night.”
“In that case, let’s just go through with the discharge process and return to the hotel. We even have transportation lent to us by the Hunter Bureau, so might as well.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll get ready too, hyung-nim.”
Jin-Woo quietly stared at the still-swollen-eyed Yu Jin-Ho packing up his stuff to leave and felt grateful for the fact that the kid was safe now. And at the same time, his anger towards the culprit responsible for this whole chaos ballooned up in an instant.
‘Greed, when we get back to the hotel, you know what you have to do, right?’
[….I understand, oh, my king.]
As he was leaving the hospital room, Jin-Woo inwardly ‘comforted’ Greed with an assurance that all the former rank S Hunter would have to do was to plant his head on the floor for around two hours, which was neither too long or too short in his opinion.
***
There were two vehicles prepared by the Hunter Bureau.
Since Jin-Woo had something private to discuss with Adam White, he got in the car in front where the American agent was waiting for him, while Yu Jin-Ho and the two Korean Association employees climbed into the vehicle at the back.
When Jin-Woo opened the rear passenger door with a loud clunk, Adam White flinched awake from his short nap taken while leaning against the window frame and urgently shook his head to chase away the drowsiness.
“You’re here, Hunter-nim.”
The American’s face was haggard, to say the least.
Unmistakable dark circles thickly coated the spots below his eyes. He was utterly exhausted from the breakneck-pace of all the events taking place, as well as the packed itinerary, of the past couple of days.
Jin-Woo looked on at him with pitying eyes, but Adam White didn’t even notice that and simply ordered the driver to start the vehicle.
Now that they were moving again, Jin-Woo got down to the main topic.The debut release occurred at N-ov3l-Bin.
“Can you get me the list of the Hunters you people wanted me to protect?”
Those words seemed to have chased away all traces of sleep from Adam White’s mind because his expression brightened in an instant.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“No, but I’m curious about something else.”
“Oh….”
Adam White struggled to hide his disappointment.
He got his hopes raised up before being shot down. Still, he didn’t think this was all bad news. Because it indicated that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was still interested in this problem one way or the other.
Adam formed a smile and replied back.
“I shall draw up a list as soon as I get back to the Bureau.”
As soon as he got back, he said. Jin-Woo snuck a glance at the time. It was already nine in the evening.
He briefly wondered whether he made a mistake or not when he saw Adam White’s complexion waning just a little bit more after the poor man was asked to perform yet another task.
Not surprisingly, the American agent tried hard to keep his sleepy eyes wide open to make sure he’d not drift away to dreamland in front of the Hunter he was supposed to escort.
‘Tsk, tsk.’
Jin-Woo couldn’t watch on any longer and reached out toward him.
“Uh? Uhh?”
Adam White’s panicky voice cracked up a little when Jin-Woo’s left hand covered his eyes.
“H-Hunter-nim?!”
Too bad for him, though, just a couple of words from Jin-Woo and he was petrified in the spot.
“Will you just stay still?”
A normal person doing something similar would send creeping chills down the hapless victim’s spine. However, the one doing it right now was Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, arguably the man most far removed from a ‘normal’ person.
He even beat the living crap out of Thomas Andre until the latter was almost dead.
Gulp.
Suddenly having his vision blocked by the hand of a rank S Hunter, Adam White could only swallow dried up saliva of nervousness.
Jin-Woo leaned the American agent’s head back with his left hand and with his right hand, poured the healing potion he just bought from the Store down the now-open mouth.
‘W-what is this?!’
Adam White was obviously very tense from forcibly swallowing the unidentifiable liquid while his vision had been blocked. But even he was able to feel that, as more and more of this liquid slid down his throat, his stamina seemed to recover more and more.
‘But, how can something like this….?!’
By the time Seong Jin-Woo withdrew his hands, Adam White realised that the deluge of drowsiness plaguing him was completely gone.
No, hang on. Was that all?
He felt so refreshed and airy as if he had been asleep in a comfy bed the whole night and was roused from his slumber by the gentle warmth of the morning sun.
As if his fatigue had been a lie, he couldn’t feel a single trace of it anywhere on his body.
“H-Hunter… nim?”
‘….How did you do that??’
That was the question Adam White’s look seemed to be asking, but Jin-Woo simply shrugged his shoulders as a reply.
“It’s a trade secret, so….”
“Oh. I see.”
Since it was such a mystifying event, Adam White found it somewhat easier to accept. He moved his body this way and that to confirm and expressed his admiration in a shocked-sounding voice.
“You are… well, how should I phrase this…. It feels like, you’d have greatly succeeded regardless of what you chose to do, even if that was unrelated to being a Hunter.”
Although this praise seemed a bit excessive when coming from a ‘special agent’ of the Hunter Bureau, someone so highly educated that he was capable of speaking ten different languages according to himself, Jin-Woo still formed a content smile regardless, after seeing that look of satisfaction on Adam White’s face.
With this, it’d be easier to ask for the next part of the favour. Indeed, asking for the list of the Hunters was just the beginning of his plan.
“And also, can you organise an opportunity where I can meet the ones found on that list?”
Now was his chance.
Since all the powerful Hunters from around the world had gathered in one place, just by him inserting his Shadow Soldiers in their shadows would allow him to respond quickly to the attacks of the Sovereigns when they happened.
However, Adam White began shaking his head, instead.
This was what Jin-Woo was worried about. Even if the Hunter Bureau was a powerful, influential organisation, it should still be quite difficult to mobilise that many top-ranked Hunters of the world.
Jin-Woo’s expression hardened gradually.
“As I thought… I guess it’s too difficult.”
“No, not at all. On the contrary, I meant to say that there’s no reason to organise such an occasion in the first place, Hunter-nim.”
Adam White grinned refreshingly and explained the itinerary for the final day of the International Guild Conference.
“Don’t forget, there is the ‘Night of the Hunters’ still left.’
He suddenly spoke of a combination of words that would’ve worked well for a video game’s title. For some reason, he seemed quite hyped up over it, too.
“There is a big party organised by the Bureau. All the Hunters attending the Conference are invited. If you wish to meet them, you can most likely do that there, Hunter-nim.”
A party, was it?
Was there a better occasion to meet the Hunters ‘naturally’ and attach Shadow Soldiers on them than a party? Jin-Woo clenched his fist tightly.
‘This is good.’
Through other Hunters, he’d get to meet these mysterious Sovereigns. And from that encounter, he’d get to learn who his real enemies and allies were, and also, how he should go about fighting them, too.
“I will do that, then.”
Jin-Woo smiled and leaned against the back seat.
The night sky of America was getting darker beyond the window of the speeding vehicle.
***
The ‘Night of the Hunters’.
The world’s top Hunters and related parties began flocking towards a gigantic banquet hall, capable of housing nearly 1,500 people.
“Wow….”
Yu Jin-Ho’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets as he soaked in the sight of the legendary gathering of Hunters that he only got to see through TV screens.
Funnily enough, though, the gazes of other Hunters staring at Jin-Woo were quite similar in nature to Yu Jin-Ho’s reaction. The moment he stepped into the banquet hall, everyone’s attention was laser-focused on him in an instant.
“Look, isn’t that….”
“Yes, I saw.”
“He’s right in front of us, but I can’t even feel his presence.”
“He’s on a completely different level.”
And with all the attention being poured on him, it was only natural that even Yu Jin-Ho would be subjected to their intense scrutiny, as well.
“In that case, the Hunter next to him must be….”
“He fought Thomas Andre in order to rescue that young fella?”
The situation had settled down somewhat by now after the Hunter Bureau had released the public statement.
On one hand, every Hunter in here was deeply shocked by the fact that Jin-Woo was willing to clash against the entirety of the Scavenger Guild for the sake of his rank D Hunter comrade. But on the flip side, they were also getting a heavy case of goosebumps, knowing that the declaration he made towards the end of the conference’s first day was not a bluff at all.
[“I shall protect my family, even if that means every single Hunter in the world becomes my enemy.”]
The photographs accompanying the article clearly demonstrated what had happened to the Scavenger Guild. No wonder everyone in this room was dearly praying that what he said wouldn’t come true.
In any case – now that the Bureau had cleared up the air, lots of Hunters were beginning to seek out a chance to engage Jin-Woo in a conversation, busy waiting for the right moment to strike.
This was the result of his public image going through a revamp of sorts, going from a monster capable of pummelling the freakishly strong Goliath, to that of a monster who’d not hesitate at anything to protect his comrades.
The thing was, though – the very first person to pluck up his courage and made his approach was not a Hunter, but a chairman of a very famous global corporation specialising in dealing with monster remains.
“It’s my honour to meet you like this, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.”
The businessman introduced himself first, and then…
“We’d like to purchase the remains of all the Giant-type monsters you have hunted down in Japan. Do you have some time to discuss this matter in greater detail?”
Giant-type monsters most of the time appeared as bosses in rank A Gates, so it was very rare to find a completely intact corpse of such creatures.
This man’s desire and acute business acumen led him to make his move a step faster than anyone else present in the banquet hall.
‘This is a good opportunity.’
Jin-Woo grinned affably and introduced Yu Jin-Ho next to him to the businessman.
“I’m in charge of the raid aspect of the Guild. I usually leave all the business-related discussions to my trusted Vice-Master over here.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Yu Jin-Ho became far bolder than ever before from Jin-Woo propping him up like that. He straightened his back proudly and extended his hand out.
“I’m Yu Jin-Ho, Vice-Chairman of the Ah-Jin Guild.”
“Ahh, yes. Hello. It’s a pleasure.”
“I don’t usually discuss business-related matters in occasions such as this one, but if it’s you, Mister Chairman….”
Jin-Woo watched on as Yu Jin-Ho expertly guided the businessman to somewhere better suited for a conversation like the one they were about to have, and formed a satisfied smile.
‘This kid. He’s finally acting like a proper Vice Chair now.’
But, Jin-Woo’s eyes sharpened almost instantly afterwards. Now that the pair of potential obstructions went away, the real thing would begin now.
Adam White got close to Jin-Woo.
“Here is the list you asked for.”
The screen of the tablet PC he handed over displayed the ten names of the Hunters who could all legitimately be called the world’s best in numerical order.
“We at the Bureau had taken all the feats each Hunter had achieved and converted them into points so we can assign them numbered rankings. These ten people are the ones with the highest amount of ‘Hunter points’ in the world.”
The ‘Hunter points’, he said.
Jin-Woo was intrigued by the fact that the feats and achievements of a Hunter were represented through a points system. He then realised that his name wasn’t on the list and asked Adam White.
“Where am I on this list?”
“If we were to include your feat in hunting down the Giant-type monsters in the points tally, then… you should be around here.”
The American agent pointed in the spot between 3rd and 4th. The names of Liu Zhigeng, Thomas Andre, and Christopher Reid occupied the spots above.
The mere fact that he was already located beneath those three when he hadn’t been a rank S Hunter for long attested to all the incredible feats he managed to achieve so far.
‘The 4th place is… India’s Siddharth Bachchan. And the 5th spot is….’
The first five spots naturally belonged to the five surviving Special Authority-rank Hunters. As for the spots below, they were also occupied by some of the most decorated, celebrated Hunters in the world.
It was then, Jin-Woo stopped reading the list and raised his head after he heard a bit of commotion rising up.
Noisy, noisy….
An unexpected appearance of a certain guest had thrown the party goers into confusion and chaos. Confirming who this guest was, Jin-Woo handed the tablet back to Adam White.
“H-Hunter-nim….”
“You don’t need to worry.”
As he expected, this guest displayed not one hint of hesitation as he strode straight towards Jin-Woo.
He even proceeded to step aside Liu Zhigeng trying to dissuade him in the middle of the way and stopped right in front of the Korean Hunter, before removing his sunglasses.
Jin-Woo mouthed the man’s name.
“Thomas Andre.”
Jin-Woo didn’t lose his relaxed demeanour even when Thomas Andre was standing before him. However, the same couldn’t be said about pretty much all of the onlookers staring at him, and the American with his arm wrapped in bandages. They were getting properly freaked out now.
The burly American looked at his Korean counterpart, who was at least a good head shorter than he was.
“Hunter Seong Jin-Woo… I want to ask you a question.”
Chapter 199
He wanted to ask a question?
Jin-Woo was puzzled by that, but he didn’t pick up any ill intent within the light gleaming from Thomas Andre’s eyes so he nodded his head to say yes.
As soon as the answer was given…
“My arm….”
….Thomas Andre raised his left arm, currently wrapped tightly in bandages.
“I heard that the damage from the magic energy attack left behind on this arm was so great that Healers were unable to fix it. Doctors told me the same thing. They said that, although it’s healing bit by bit, it’ll take a long time before I can use my arm properly again.”
He used his left arm to block Jin-Woo’s fist lugging around a considerable amount of magic energy. Right after the fight ended, the bones in the arm disintegrated into a fine powder and there was a chance that he’d never get to use his left arm ever again.
Healers and their immediate response, as well as his own excellent regenerative power, had significantly improved his chances, but even then, his condition was still this bad.
That attack was truly, nonsensically powerful.
Traces of bitter battle left behind all over his body gifted him with all sorts of aches and dull pains. However, the pain also gave him the clarity of mind to think about what happened, and then, think some more.
But he failed to arrive at an answer, and having no choice, he decided to seek Jin-Woo out like this.
Even though the Korean Hunter was staring back at him with a look that more or less implied, ‘Is he here to boast about his injuries or something?’ Thomas Andre still asked him the question in his mind.
“If it was you, you’d have no problem finishing me off, or any of my Guild members.”
The ones who kidnapped the Korean’s comrade in this foreign land, and proceeded to attack him when he came to rescue the captive, were Thomas Andre and his underlings.
Just as the statement released by the Hunter Bureau had alluded to, even if Jin-Woo decided to kill every single Scavenger Guild member, he would have escaped any punishment from the U.S. government.
‘Of course, they wouldn’t have any means to prosecute him in the first place….’
However, Seong Jin-Woo took the lives of no one, save for Hwang Dong-Su.
What if Thomas Andre found himself in a similar situation? He’d not let anyone walk away alive. He possessed enough power to do so, and he’d even be backed up by a clear pretext, too.
So, why did Seong Jin-Woo choose to not kill anyone? For the past two days, this thought occupied a big chunk of space inside Thomas Andre’s mind and didn’t want to leave him alone.
“Back then… why did you let us all live?”
Of course, he knew that he was the one who admitted to his defeat and begged for mercy in his own way. However, Jin-Woo was the one who made the final decision in the end.
Not to forget, none of the Guild members had been killed even after being schooled by his summoned creatures. Thomas Andre was really dying to know the ‘why’ of it all.
Too bad for him, Jin-Woo’s answer was so simple that it instantly rendered his deep pondering of the past few days utterly pointless.
“Because none of you committed a crime worthy of death.”
Jin-Woo found it hard to overlook Thomas Andre’s arrogant attitude, but still, the American only showed up back then to protect one of his own Guild members, Hwang Dong-Su.
It was the same story for the rest of the Scavenger Guild members, too. They were in the wrong to start attacking him, but they had fully paid for their indiscretions.
That was what Jin-Woo thought as he withdrew the final attack aimed at Thomas Andre’s head that evening.
Once the American Hunter heard that answer, though, his eyes quaked greatly for a second there.
“….So, that’s how it was.”
Thinking back to the final fate of Hwang Dong-Su who had committed a crime worthy of death as punishment, that answer didn’t seem like a lie.
To think, the reason was a pretty simple one all along.
Thomas Andre’s thoughts were even more complicated than before he heard the answer, but on the flip side, he felt much more refreshed and could form a relaxed smile now.
“I’d like to treat you to a good meal after my arm heals up. Can you leave your contact detail with my manager lady over here, so I can call you later?”
Thomas Andre sounded cautious as he bade goodbye and turned around to leave. Laura was on standby behind him until then and lightly bowed her head.
Her boss didn’t even take a second look behind him and exited from the banquet hall. Every time he took a step forward, the partygoers parted to the side as if he was Moses and they were the Red Sea.
Laura watched his distancing back before shifting her gaze over to Jin-Woo.
“My Guild Master was expressing his gratitude towards you not killing any of his Guild members just now, Hunter-nim.”
Jin-Woo was instantly struck speechless from those words. Just how should he go about interpreting what that man said to arrive at that conclusion??
As if she found Jin-Woo’s confusion not that surprising, Laura quickly added further explanation.
“He might look that way, but in reality, he is far shier than you think.”
“Oh, uh… I see.”
Well, if she said so, that must be it, then.
Thanks to the other side showing up like this first, Jin-Woo got to save time on searching for Thomas Andre and sticking one of his soldiers in the guy’s shadow. So, he just nodded his head to say everything was cool.
Laura, now that her job of interpreting her boss’s particular way of saying goodbyes was complete, pulled out her memo pad and got ready to jot the information down.
“Hunter-nim, if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask you for your contact details? Ah, and also….”
The blonde beauty with her hair tucked up neatly into a bun formed an arresting smile.
“Guild Master wishes to express his gratitude with a gift of some kind. If there is anything you need or want, please tell me.”
“Oh. Thank you, but I don’t need any.”
Jin-Woo politely declined the offer.
Laura quickly formed an awkward smile as if she was troubled by that reply and asked him to reconsider his decision.
“My Guild Master is…. Well, his desire to emerge on top is quite strong, so if he thinks he’s owing someone, he will probably go crazy before long. It really doesn’t matter at all what the item is, so please, tell me what you’d like to have.”
Jin-Woo was about to decline again but stopped resisting after listening to Laura’s recommendation.
He figured that, although he didn’t really need anything, it was against etiquette to reject the other side’s show of goodwill again when they were willing to go this far.
His sole problem remained the same, though.
‘….I can’t think of anything I need right now.’
Money? He already had a considerable amount of that after the last few successful raids.
Besides, the Ah-Jin Guild had made more than what a decently-sized major Guild would make in a year simply by selling off all the remains of the Giant-type monsters. And Jin-Woo was the boss of that Ah-Jin Guild, too.
He knew that the financial might of his Guild would be incomparably small next to the Scavenger’s, but he wasn’t cheap enough to ask for a handout from the American, either.
‘I’m pretty sure there won’t be a moment in the future where I need to ask for help from Thomas Andre or the Scavenger Guild….’
He changed his mind again, thinking that he should probably decline this offer. But then, an idea flashed by in his head.
‘Wait a minute. If it’s the Scavenger….’
This Guild was the gathering of the world’s top elites who continued to work tirelessly every single day.
It was impossible to count all the dungeons they had cleared so far, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the wealth of artefacts they had recovered from those dungeons should be rather sizeable, too.
There was a chance that a useful ‘item’ might be tucked away within the storage facility of the Scavenger Guild. Jin-Woo forced himself to make his reply.
“If it’s a useful shortsword or a dagger….”
He had run into quite a few opponents with incredible defences recently, and the pair of ‘Demon King’s Shortswords’ was proving to be ineffective against them.
He thought that it might not be a bad idea to swap his weapons for something else with the aid of the Scavenger Guild. Even if no useful item came out from this deal, he’d have nothing to lose, anyway.
“Shortswords or daggers… I see. Thank you, Hunter-nim.”
Laura smiled brightly after hearing his reply. She finished jotting down on her memo pad and also left the banquet hall.
Adam White was scared sh*tless with worry, wondering whether the Goliath’s unexpected visit might lead to yet another incident or not. But now that everything ended without a problem, he breathed out a long, long sigh of relief and approached Jin-Woo.
“Hunter-nim. Are you going to meet the Hunters on the list now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“In that case, allow me to be your guide. Our agents are positioned in several places within the hall, so we should be able to locate them very quickly.”
“No need,” replied Jin-Woo with a grin. “You don’t have to do that.”
He had already instructed his Shadow Soldiers to roam around the party venue. He knew pretty much where all the Hunters were by now. All he had to do was to meet them one by one.
Adam White didn’t know what was going on, obviously, and could only stand there with his eyes going round from confusion.
“Excuse me?”
Instead of a reply, Jin-Woo asked him a question.
“By the way, there’s one person missing, isn’t there? I don’t see the 6th person on the list in here.”
“But, how did you….?!”
Jin-Woo shrugged his shoulders, and Adam White nodded his head as if he understood.
‘Ah, right. Trade secret, was it…’
The American agent continued on.
“We lost all contact with that person a few days prior to the conference, unfortunately. The Brazilian government is searching for that person’s whereabouts in secret, but they haven’t found any concrete leads yet.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
He got to attach a shadow on the no.2 of the list, Thomas Andre, just now. The 3rd place Christopher Reid and the 6th Brazilian Hunter were not around.
‘Which means there are seven people left.’
Jin-Woo spoke to Adam White.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Alright.”
The two of them walked around the banquet hall and greeted the Hunters on the list one by one.
He did ask Adam White to organise opportunities to meet them earlier on, because he wanted to learn a bit more about these people he was about to attach the shadows onto. He started off from the first on the list, Liu Zhigeng, and moved on down to the tenth.
‘Uh??’
‘Is Hunter Seong Jin-Woo networking using this occasion?’
‘But, aren’t the Hunters he’s talking to….?’
The Hunters scanned the faces of those people Jin-Woo approached first to share greetings with, and began hoping that just maybe, he’d also stop by and say hello to them as well.
‘He’s coming this way….!’
‘I knew it. Of course, I’m the next one he wants to talk to.’
Hunters waiting anxiously to talk to Jin-Woo would drop their heads in disappointment and wistfulness once he walked right past them.
In no time at all, his ‘operation’ came to an end. Jin-Woo successfully stuck Shadow Soldiers on the Hunters found on the list before leaving the banquet hall along with his entourage.
“Ah….”
The tenth Hunter on the list cleared his throat and began talking in a louder voice, his back straightening even more. On the other hand, the 11th and below could only knock back their glasses of booze without saying another word.
On that day.
The Hunter Bureau, the organiser of the ‘Night of the Hunters’ banquet, had to work extra hard in order to find out the reason for a sudden, unprecedented spike in the consumption of alcohol during the party.
***
“So, tomorrow’s the last day, isn’t it?”
The deputy director pushed forward a cup of coffee over to Agent Adam White, currently slouched in an office chair. The younger man sat upright immediately and cautiously took the cup.
“Thank you, sir.”
The deputy director lightly tapped Adam White’s shoulder and settled down next to him.
“I thought I’d faint when I heard the news of Goliath clashing against Hunter Seong, but… it’s a relief that you worked hard to avoid a catastrophe. You did excellent work there.”
“You’re praising me too much, sir….”
He might be saying something like that, but who on this planet would continue to disagree with his superior officer when he was genuinely being praised?
A bright expression formed on Adam White’s face.
The deputy director looked on in contentment at his junior officer’s earnest response and took a sip of his coffee, before asking a question.
“So. What is your opinion on Hunter Seong, now that you had opportunities to observe him from close by?”
Adam White thoughts for a little while, before making his reply.
“Deputy director. Did you know that Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim still exercises every single day, without rest?”
“Exercise?”
“Yes, I confirmed it personally. Every morning, he runs ten kilometres, does 100 push-ups, and also, never forgets to perform sit-ups as well as squats, too.”
“Really??”
The deputy director’s brows arched up.
Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, who could legitimately be called the world’s most powerful Hunter, was still performing such basic exercise routines every single day?
Just what kind of an effect would jogging in the morning have on a physique that had surpassed the limitations of the human body by an unimaginable degree?
Adam White saw how confused the deputy director looked and quickly continued on with his thoughts on the matter.
“Sir, I think his exercise routine isn’t about improving his physique, but more to do with his mental discipline.”
“Training his mind, is it….”
Adam White nodded his head.
From his cool-headedness at not being surprised by the technology exceeding what the current level of science could offer, to his diligence of not even missing out on a single day of training – and not to forget, his mysterious ability to recover a fatigued body and mind in an instant.
From Adam White’s perspective, Jin-Woo was a walking, talking bundle of surprises.
The deputy director listening to those tales with a sombre expression wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment.
“Indeed, he… he is truly an amazing fellow.”
How wonderful would it have been if such a man was an American Hunter? He was envious of South Korea for having a Hunter like that as one of their own.
‘Mm? Did coffee taste like this before?’
The coffee the deputy director was drinking alongside his envy and admiration suddenly tasted quite bitter for some reason. In the end, he couldn’t finish it and left behind about half a cup.
***
There was a well-known saying in Korea.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.
If you wanted to know where the President’s office was located in the Korean Hunter’s Association building, just look for the very last window with the lights switching off.
Even today, Goh Gun-Hui was staying behind in his office till late hours to finish up the remainder of his work.
The cases of accidents and incidents were happening more frequently lately as the monsters got stronger, and the number of newbie Awakened increased.
From the perspective of the Hunter’s Association charged with managing such situations, it had been a constant parade of one headache after another.
“Hmm.”
Goh Gun-Hui put the document down on his desk and rubbed his tired eyes.
‘….This is strange.’
For some reason, his heart didn’t want to stop trembling for the last few days.
Ba-dump, ba-dump!
His problematic heart had been plaguing him for the last couple of years, so he wasn’t too bothered by this, but still, his condition didn’t feel right even compared to the past.
‘Is this…. the limit?’
His personal physician warned him that, if he didn’t stop working right away, he’d die within the next half-year or so. But, time continued to tick on for another year. Then, the second year came and went, too.
And he still found himself in this office after all this time.
‘If this is as far as I can go, then there’s nothing much I can do about it. It’s already something else that I managed to carry on this far.’
Goh Gun-Hui formed a thin smile.
“Huhuh.”
Why did he feel like this, anyway? In the past, he’d try to push himself even further, wanting to endure for a little while longer. But nowadays, he didn’t feel as anxious as back then.
‘What has changed?’
What was different now compared to the past couple of years?
Goh Gun-Hui intently deliberated on this subject matter, before a smirk leaked out of his lips after realising how obvious the answer was.
‘Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.’
Finally, South Korea possessed the power to combat a rank S calamity. Just his presence alone, and the status of this country transformed for the better.
‘Right. That’s why my heart’s probably….’
Did his body carry on so he could meet that young man? A bitter and lonely chuckle escaped from Goh Gun-Hui’s lips.
“Look at me, busy talking about some nonsense….”
The Association President’s lonely muttering echoed around the empty office.
‘Now that I think about it, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo is scheduled to return tomorrow, isn’t it?’
Just thinking about how he’d get to hear the eyewitness account of Hunter Seong’s feats from the mouth of Chief Woo Jin-Cheol, Goh Gun-Hui’s anticipation began shooting up through the roof.
It was then.
Ringggg…. Ringgg….
His phone suddenly went off unexpectedly.
‘Who’s calling me at this late hour?’
Hopefully, there hadn’t been yet another big scale incident taking place somewhere. Feeling quite anxious, Goh Gun-Hui quickly picked up his phone.
– “Dear, nothing bad happened today, yes?”
The call was actually from his wife.
“….Oh. Hi, dear.”
The wife was calling to find out her husband’s status since he hadn’t come back home yet, even though it was already so late into the night. Her voice managed to gradually soften the stiff face of Goh Gun-Hui.
“What do you mean, something bad? I was on my home anywa…”
It was then.
Along with a soft ‘chijeek!’ the phone suddenly lost its signal.
“….Hello? Hello?”
Obviously, he could no longer hear his wife’s voice.
Did something happen? Goh Gun-Hui tilted his head and put the phone down, before shifting his attention to the outside of the window unconsciously.
‘…..!!’
He forgot to breathe, then.
Everything that should be visible through the window was all gone. Various buildings, the roads, even people – all of them.
The only thing remaining was the pitch-black darkness that defied all attempt to decipher how deep it was. Only a blink of an eye later, the scenery outside his window had changed to something else entirely.
An event like this couldn’t happen.
“But… But, how can this be?”
The Association President Goh Gun-Hui gasped out in pure shock and was about to get up from his chair, but then…
….But then, he realised that there was someone else in the office right this moment. Someone he had never even seen before.
That man was sitting on the couch as if he had been there for a very long time, too.
‘A human….? No, this isn’t the aura of a human being.’
It wasn’t just the aura, either.
A face as pale as a corpse; long, silvery-white hair; pointy ears, and silver eyes gleaming brightly like a pair of gemstones.
It was an Ice Elf. Also known as the White Phantom.
Somehow, Goh Gun-Hui had failed to sense its approach, as well as its entrance into the office.
He slowly placed the phone’s receiver back into its cradle and quietly threw out a question.
“Who…. are you?”
Chapter 200
Would talking to ‘it’ work?
The Association President Goh Gun-Hui quietly observed the uninvited guest.
“…”
However, the creature didn’t say anything.
Different from other monsters, though, it didn’t immediately bare its fangs. No, it just sat there in silence while ignoring the owner of this office altogether.
As this uncomfortable silence persisted for a brief period, Goh Gun-Hui found himself with an opportunity to study his new opponent in detail.
‘It looks exactly like an Ice Elf.’
An Ice Elf, often referred to as the White Phantom, was a monster commonly seen within upper-ranked dungeons. The unique appearances of these creatures were well known among the Hunters by now.
Strangely enough, although this uninvited guest’s countenance did possess all the general features of an Ice Elf, there were a few clear differences present as well. That made him question whether this creature was actually from the same Ice Elf race or not.
‘It’s as if….’
….If the Ice Elves were trees that formed part of a forest, then this silent guest of his was like an aged tree guarding a desiccated forest all by itself.
Its skin was cracking up like the bark of a tree; its fingers were bony; a tangled, messy beard on its chin and two deeply-sunken, hollow-looking eyes.
If an Ice Elf managed to live for hundreds, no, thousands of years, then it might look like this guy. It was that kind of face.
The unusual points didn’t end at the creature’s face, though.
Gulp.
Goh Gun-Hui swallowed his dry saliva, unbeknownst to even himself.
‘Its presence… I couldn’t sense its presence at all.’
An uninvited guest had entered in complete silence and settled down on the couch, yet he had failed to sense its approach until he got to confirm the truth with his own two eyes.
His ultra-sharp senses wouldn’t have missed this creature’s arrival if it was nothing but an ordinary monster.
‘….This is not an opponent that I can deal with.’
Goh Gun-Hui quickly assessed his situation, and then, very softly flipped his smartphone up to glance at the screen in order to signal for help.
When he did that, the monster shifted its gaze over to him.
[All contacts with the outside world have been cut off in this space.]
Flinch.
Goh Gun-Hui confirmed that the smartphone had no signal, just as the creature had said, and put the device down.
“Am I dreaming a bad dream right now?”
Not only did a monster intrude into the HQ of Korea’s Hunter’s Association right in the middle of Seoul, it even began speaking in Korean, too. If this wasn’t the very definition of a bad dream, then what else could be?
It was then.
“Keuk!”
Goh Gun-Hui felt a sharp pain brush past his left shoulder and quickly grabbed it tight.
‘Something’ happened the moment this monster pointed at him. He cautiously lifted his hand away to discover a cut wound on the shoulder, as if something sharp had sliced him up.
The truly mystifying thing was, even though his flesh had been sliced open, not a drop of blood came from the wound. Instead, the area around the cut had been frozen solid and white frost had settled around it.
‘Just… how??’
Goh Gun-Hui dazedly stared at his wound before raising his head back up. The monster was still sitting relaxedly on the same spot in the couch.
[Do you think that pain is also a part of your dream?]
Goh Gun-Hui nodded his head.
“I see. So, this is reality. In that case, let me ask you again. Just what are you?”
[I wanted you to recognise me first, but, in the end, you were just a simple human.]
“Just a human….??”
The monster slowly stood up from the couch.
At the same time, couches, the coffee table, and other furniture nearby the creature were shoved violently away and crashed into the walls.
Kwa-du-duk!!
The furniture froze up in an instant and got stuck on the walls.
‘Oh, my god….’
Goh Gun-Hui’s eyes opened wider.
The goosebumps-inducing chill slowly permeated into the office of the Association President.
[I don’t have a habit of toying around with a weakling. Reveal yourself, Fragment of the Brilliant Light.]
Just who would dare to label Goh Gun-Hui as a weakling in this world?
However, he realised that he couldn’t dispute that claim. The creature before his eyes possessed this Mt. Tai-like authoritative power, and whenever it opened its mouth, its voice reverberated and exploded like a thunderclap.
[Hurry up!]
This thing was on another realm compared to him.
He possessed incomparably excellent senses, so he could instantly figure out the differences between his and his opponent’s power level.
Cold perspiration soaked his forehead.
[Are you worried about your vessel breaking? Even if it was not you, your vessel’s lifespan is almost over, anyway.]
The monster then added, [But, if you’re hiding away because you’re scared, then…] before flipping both of his palms up to face the ceiling. Right away, spine-chilling cold air began condensing there.
[….Then, there is no point in talking to you anymore.]
“…??”
Goh Gun-Hui fell into an extreme case of confusion from the indecipherable utterance of his opponent, but in the meantime, that incredibly cold air flew out from one of the monster’s hands.
KWA-BOOM!!
A powerful explosion swept away the spot where Goh Gun-Hui had been standing on.
White smoke created from the extreme coldness rose up like a veil of fog and covered the surroundings until it was impossible to see anything.
But then, a pair of flames emitting pure light began burning brightly within this smoke. Those were a pair of eyes glowing in a golden hue.
The monster confirmed the colour of the light oozing out from the screen of whiteness and formed an eerie smile, before throwing the remaining clump of cold air in its other hand.
“Hmph!”
Goh Gun-Hui swung his arm and swiped that cold air away. It was flung away and crashed heavily against the wall.
Boom!!
The cold air exploded and the entirety of the wall was blown away. Through the gaping opening, one could see a space filled with endless pitch-black darkness.
The white smoke obscuring the view slowly dissipated, and the unhurt Association President Goh Gun-Hui was revealed in full. Not just his two eyes, but his whole body was enveloped in this stupendous golden aura that wavered around gently in the air.
“You separated the President’s office and hid it in between dimensions. Quite impressive.”
A completely different voice than how he normally sounded came out from Goh Gun-Hui’s mouth. The monster began speaking again.
[Finally… finally, we get to meet each other. Oh, Fragment of the most Brilliant Light. I’ve wandered around for a long time to locate you. But, who’d have thought that you were confined in a broken vessel and couldn’t even wield your own powers.]
Unlike the tone of voice that sounded emotional, the monster’s expression remained unchanging. With a frozen-stiff face, it continued to speak.
[We have already located the whereabouts of your other seven comrades. And we have destroyed two fragments by now.]
This time, it was Goh Gun-Hui’s expression’s turn to harden. Not only him, but the locations of all the Rulers had been exposed, and two had already lost their vessels, as well?
Such a counterattack was out of the Rulers’ expectations.
[That look on your face.]
The monster formed a creepy smile.
[I always wished to see the panic and fluster in that arrogant, haughty expression of yours. And now, I can destroy your vessel with no regret.]
“Do your worst, Sovereign of Frost!!”
Goh Gun-Hui roared out thunderously!
The wavering golden aura surrounding his body intensified by a step, before transforming into a figure emitting this bright light from his entire body. The darkness filling up the space beyond was illuminated brightly in an instant.
However, even though it was being subjected to this incredible power, the Sovereign of Frost didn’t bother to wipe that ridiculing smile off its lips.
[Are you planning to resist me? How foolish.]
Ice-cold white light oozed out from the Sovereign’s eyes. At the same time, the floor beneath its feet began freezing up.
Just like how the bright golden light was enveloping Goh Gun-Hui, the intense and bitterly cold air surrounded the Sovereign’s entire figure. And then, the creature bared its fangs.
[You merely borrow a human’s body, while I have taken over mine. Do you believe that you can even touch a hair on my body?]
At this moment, when the Sovereign had let down its guard – Goh Gun-Hui instinctively realised that this could be his only chance and dashed forward like an arrow to pounce on the Sovereign.
Unfortunately, the opponent’s reaction was definitely not slow, either.
KWANG!!
The golden light and the cold air got into a messy tangle and caused a series of intense explosions.
Boom!! Kwahng! Kwa-Boom!!
But, as the battle became protracted, Goh Gun-Hui’s movements visibly dulled. Compared to his enemy, the injuries on his body continued to accumulate. As his actions got harsher and heavier, more and more white steam leaked out from his panting mouth.
“Hah-ahk.”
The length of time a patient at death’s doorstep could fight while stuck in such coldness was at best, two minutes tops. Just as the Sovereign had alluded to, the result of this fight was already set in stone.
His stamina had already reached its limit.
Goh Gun-Hui had already expended more than the permitted amount of magical energy his body could handle. His eyes became bloodshot, and blood began leaking out from the corner of his lips.
Too bad, all of his efforts were for naught.
Stab!
A sharp ice spike stabbed directly into his chest and emerged out his back.
“Keo-heok!”
Goh Gun-Hui spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Sovereign of Frost inflicted a mortal wound on its opponent with an ice spike shooting out from the tip of its hand. Seeing the status of its victim, the creature clicked its tongue as if to lament this situation.
[Is that as far your vessel can go? How pathetic, oh, Fragment of the Brilliant Light.]
Goh Gun-Hui’s head was lowered as he breathed and wheezed painfully. The Sovereign of Frost looked down on him.
[How long will you take to find new vessels? One year? Two years? Unfortunately for you, our armies have already arrived in this world.]
Everything in this world would be destroyed and gone well before the arrival of the Rulers’ soldiers.
[It was your mistake trying to save the denizens of this world. Did we look like such weak opponents that you thought you could win even when diverting your attention to something else?]
The Sovereign of Frost formed a victorious smile.
[Well, then….]
To put the icing on this cake, the Sovereign raised its other hand and got ready. Cold aura began condensing in this raised hand.
The final attack to end the life of the human acting as a Ruler’s vessel was taking its shape. But, then….
“Ku-hot. Ahahaha-!!”
Out of the blue, Goh Gun-Hui’s blood-soaked lips broke out into hoarse laughter. The Sovereign’s hand stopped moving.
[….?]
Goh Gun-Hui panted heavily as he intensely glared at his enemy.
“You think I, cough, fought you without a plan?”
His left hand powerfully and tightly grasped the Sovereign’s wrist just beneath his chest.
“Just like how we didn’t expect you to imitate our ways, a huge variable has occurred that exceeds your expectation.”
[….A variable?]
The eyes of the Sovereign grew wider as it studied the expression of confidence on Goh Gun-Hui’s face.
A bluff? No, it couldn’t be – his expression was too loaded with hidden meanings for that. Just as the Sovereign’s thoughts arrived at that point…
….The creature had to hurriedly tilt its head to the side.
‘…..!!’
Truly by a paper-thin margin, an incredible amount of magical energy shot past the location where its head was only a millisecond ago. The attack was so powerful that it even burnt away Goh Gun-Hui’s right arm after firing it.
The magic energy crashed into the opposite wall of the separated space and caused a ginormous explosion.
KWA-BOOM!!
The entirety of the separated space trembled from the sheer power.
If such an attack found its intended target, just what might have happened?
‘….That was dangerous.’
Too bad for the human, the Sovereign had sensed the enemy’s intention in that instant and as a result, was able to dodge it at the very last possible moment. The Sovereign stared at Goh Gun-Hui, who must’ve exhausted all of his remaining energy from that attack, and formed a smile.
[Was that your final hidden card?]
That smile was clearly one of ridicule. However, Goh Gun-Hui was smiling along, as well.
“That’s right.”
The Sovereign discovered that smile floating up on the pale, waning face of the human and began feeling this puzzling sense of encroaching ill omen.
How come…
How come it was being overwhelmed by this creeping chill, even though victory was at hand? Its puzzlement didn’t last for long, though.
Crack-!
‘….??’
The Sovereign’s gaze quickly shifted to its rear.
The barrier separating this space from the outside was crumbling into pieces after that enormous magical energy slammed into it.
‘Was this his original intention?’
Even then, didn’t this act ultimately a meaningless resistance?
[Nothing would change just because the wall between the dimensions break down.]
It was then, the consciousness of the Ruler dwelling within the old man’s body raised the corner of his lips.
“Will it… really be that way?”
Crash-!!
Soon, the barrier shattered completely and the space regained its original appearance.
Lights from the other buildings; cars on the streets below those buildings; and the President’s office, too. Everything returned to their original place.
Which meant…
Goh Gun-Hui summoned up the last of his strength and shouted at the ground beneath him.
“Now!”
From beneath his feet, a blob separated from his shadow and rapidly transformed into that of a certain ant. This creature avoided the Sovereign altogether and, while screeching out loudly, jumped outside the window.
Kiiehhk-!!
The Sovereign quickly shifted its gaze over to that creature. It couldn’t understand why a denizen of the chaos world suddenly appeared here.
However, it was just that, a lone denizen. It was just a weakling of a soldier that submitted to the King of Insects. That was all.
Even then – the Sovereign couldn’t rip its eyes away from that ant getting further and further away.
‘…Could it be??’
Eventually, the Sovereign’s brows shot up higher.
‘Ah, ah!’
It should have realised the truth from the beginning.
It should have realised that the reason why the Fragment of the Brilliant Light poured out enough power to shatter the barrier even at the heavy cost to the human’s body, when the Ruler always chose to conserve its strength, worried that the vessel would break sooner if it went all out.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.
Indeed, the b*stard hadn’t been resisting so bitterly in order to escape from the barrier. There was yet another reason behind his actions.
‘No!’
The Sovereign of Frost belatedly realised the identity of that ant and its eyes grew even wider than before.
Pah-bahk!
The Sovereign hurriedly discarded Goh Gun-Hui and leapt in the direction where that ant had run off to. Cold air coalesced in its hand and froze up to create an ice sickle.
The creature instantly arrived at the ant’s location and slammed down with its ice sickle. But then…
Grab!
The wrist wielding the sickle was immediately grabbed by someone’s hand. The grasping power was so great that the Sovereign couldn’t retract its arm at all, no matter what.
But, even before the creature had any time to be surprised by that power, its neck was grabbed hard, too.
[Keok!]
The Sovereign of Frost confirmed just who appeared in the spot where the ant had disappeared from and felt its heart tumble to the pit of its stomach. And then, it asked in a disbelieving tone of voice.
[But, you… Why?]
Meanwhile, Jin-Woo grasped the neck of this Sovereign of Frost tightly so it wouldn’t be able to escape, and shot it a puzzled look.
“An Ice Elf?”
-------------------------------------------
⌚Every ★Saturday / Wednesday ★-------------------------------------------
---------Ads----------