The footage was shocking. It was video recorded from a traffic surveillance camera on the road. A quiet stretch of highway. Even when played back at high speed, barely a handful of cars passed by—it was that desolate a road. The footage had the feel of something filmed out in the countryside or some remote area with virtually no foot traffic. Soon the fast-forwarded playback began to slow down. That was when a single sedan appeared at the edge of the frame. The car was speeding. Even in slow motion you could sense its velocity. But in the blink of an eye—a dark figure stepped out in front of the moving car. It was a black creature standing upright on two legs, like a human. Caught off guard, the driver couldn't reduce speed in time. Yet the car and the creature never collided. Just before impact, the car was flung upward into the air. The black creature had grabbed a midsize sedan barreling straight at it and hurled it aside with one hand. It then pulled the unconscious occupant from the overturned vehicle and began eating from the head down. Crunch, crunch—if that surveillance camera had audio, that was almost certainly the sound it would have made. The footage cut out there. Jin-Woo pulled his eyes away from the large TV that covered an entire wall of the Association Chairman's office and looked across at Association Chairman Go Gun-Hee. Go Gun-Hee quietly set the remote down on the table.
"Three hundred."
Unlike some others, he did not speak lightly of another nation's tragedy.
"That is the number of people that one ant killed." "Was Japan's response too slow?" "That is not the case."
Go Gun-Hee shook his head.
"They say it took less than thirty minutes for the Hunters to reach the scene. And in that short time, an entire village disappeared."
Japan was one of Asia's most advanced nations when it came to the Hunter system. And yet even Japan had suffered this level of devastation. What would have happened if the ants had flown to Korea? Go Gun-Hee had watched the footage multiple times, yet it still made him feel dizzy.
'I need to wipe out those ants before it's too late.'
The operation would begin in four days. The Japanese side had been requesting the final roster of Korean Hunters participating in the operation for some time now. But Go Gun-Hee, in his capacity as the Korean representative, had postponed the announcement of the final list. For a single reason. He had been unable to get in touch with Jin-Woo. After a long wait, the moment had finally come to finalize the roster. Go Gun-Hee spoke with a trembling heart.
"We will go to Jeju Island and eliminate those ant bastards."
Then, with an earnest look in his eyes, he added.
"To do that, we need the help of Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
Go Gun-Hee's face was tense. Even if Jin-Woo refused, there was nothing he could do. Jin-Woo was not affiliated with any guild, nor did he have any obligation to fulfill the Association's requests. The decision rested entirely on Jin-Woo's will. After a moment of deliberation, Jin-Woo opened his mouth.
"I—"
***
Having finished his meeting with the Association Chairman, Jin-Woo started to rise from his seat, then paused and turned his head.
'What is that?'
A clash of mana was occurring nearby.
'A Dungeon Break?'
At first he thought some Dungeon Break had occurred somewhere, but he quickly realized that was not the case. There was no trace of monsters—only the mana of Hunters was surging.
"Is something wrong?"
Association Chairman Go Gun-Hee had already risen to see Jin-Woo out and was standing near the door. He turned around.
"It's nothing serious, but… it seems there are Hunters fighting nearby." "That can't be."
Go Gun-Hee let out a hearty laugh. What kind of reckless Hunter would dare start a fight near the Hunter's Association headquarters? Impossible.
'Wait… the direction Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is looking?'
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Right now, the S-rank Hunters are warming up in the gymnasium. Could you be referring to that?" 'Warming up?'
If that was indeed what it was, the continuous yet restrained mana clashes made sense. Jin-Woo nodded.
"I see."
A look of surprise was written across Go Gun-Hee's face as he gazed at Jin-Woo.
'He can sense that from this distance?'
The Association's gymnasium had been designed to minimize any mana leaking outside. In fact, Go Gun-Hee himself couldn't sense a thing. Yet Jin-Woo had not only noticed the mana emanating from there, but had correctly guessed that it was caused by mana colliding.
'I can't even fathom how extraordinary his mana perception must be…'
He simply couldn't begin to estimate.
"Oh, Hunter—would you like to go have a look?"
Go Gun-Hee offered casually. It was rare for so many S-rank Hunters to gather in one place. Experiencing the capabilities of other S-rank Hunters up close would be a valuable learning opportunity for Sung Jin-Woo, who had only recently reached S-rank himself.
"Mr. Goto Ryuji is there as well."
Jin-Woo had been about to accept lightly, figuring he might as well go watch, but he froze.
"Goto Ryuji—the one who—?" "Yes."
It was a name that anyone, Hunter or not, would have heard at least once. Japan's strongest Hunter.
"That is indeed the same Goto Ryuji. He has been staying in Korea to coordinate between the Japanese and Korean Hunter delegations. He says he leaves tomorrow, so today is your only chance to meet him."
The nation's finest Hunters all in one place, plus Japan's strongest?
'I can't let this opportunity slip by.'
Jin-Woo accepted Go Gun-Hee's invitation with an interested look on his face.
***
At that same moment, Goto was desperately suppressing a yawn.
'So this is the level of Korea's best?'
Pathetic. No—insignificant. "Pathetic" was an objective assessment; "insignificant" was the result of mixing pity into that assessment.
'If this is the nation we're entrusting our safety to, wouldn't we be better off under Japan's protection?'
Goto smiled bitterly and surveyed the Hunters around him. There was exactly one—out of all the S-ranks he had met in Korea—whom he considered worth a damn.
'Cha Hae-In, was it?'
But even she was roughly on par with Japan's top-tier Hunters. She fell far short when compared to Japan's best members.
'Well, I suppose it can't be helped.'
Korea was a small country with a limited population. And the person who had awakened to the greatest power there just so happened to be an aging man with not much time left to live, too frail to even fight.
'Go Gun-Hee would be a decent match even against our best members, but still…'
From Korea's standpoint, there was no other word for it but bad luck. Goto had finished his rough assessment of the Korean Hunters' capabilities. The real objective of his stay in Korea had been accomplished.
'If we pull out during the raid, they won't last even five minutes.'
Deciding there was nothing more to see, Goto turned to leave—when he noticed someone approaching from the entrance.
'Hm…?'
Goto's eyebrow twitched. He hadn't realized anyone was walking toward him until they were this close. Even now, with his eyes on the person, he detected not the faintest trace of their presence.
'An assassin-type Hunter?'
Goto turned to the Association staff member beside him who was serving as interpreter.
"Who is that person?"
The staff member fiddled with his glasses, stared for a while, then finally recognized the face and smiled.
"Ah, that is the newly registered S-rank Hunter." "I see…"
The awakener whose information was virtually nonexistent. While staying in Korea, Goto had been wanting to dig up intel on him as well, and now was the perfect chance. He put on a broad smile and asked.
"He must be a rather exceptional assassin." "Excuse me?"
When the staff member looked at him with a puzzled expression, Goto too looked confused.
"Did I say something wrong?" "No, it's just that—"
The staff member pointed toward Jin-Woo, who was heading back toward the entrance.
"He is a magic-type Hunter." 'No way?'
With a look of disbelief, Goto personally accessed the Hunter's Association website and checked the S-rank Hunter list. A translation program let him read the Korean Hunters' information right away.
[Sung Jin-Woo, S-rank, magic-type.]
It was real. The profile photo matched the man's face.
'So he really is magic-type?'
Goto's jaw dropped in shock. By then, the man had already drawn right up to him.
***
'So this is Goto Ryuji?'
Jin-Woo recognized Japan's strongest Hunter at a glance. A tall man with a sharp, polished style. Neatly trimmed beard. From a quick look, he gave off the impression of a Japanese actor.
'But why does he keep staring at me?'
Just as the fixed gaze was starting to feel unpleasant, the man gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen the face before. Jin-Woo, thinking nothing of it, returned the nod casually. He then looked around the gym. In the center of the room, a shirtless Baek Yoon-Ho and a massive middle-aged man were sparring. Everyone except Goto watched the match with interest. Shh—! Baek Yoon-Ho deflected the man's lightning-fast strike and twisted his lower body into a powerful low kick. Thwack! But contrary to expectation, it was Baek Yoon-Ho who grimaced.
'Oh ho.'
Jin-Woo could tell. In that split second, the enormous man had used an enhancement skill to defend with his leg. Judging by his size and skills, he appeared to be a tank-type, yet his agility stat also seemed to exceed the ordinary level. S-rank to the core, one might say. The giant man grinned.
"Master Baek! A young man shouldn't be this weak." "I'm not a master, Master Ma."
The enormous man called Master Ma chuckled and grabbed the drawstring of his gi. With a frame suited for sumo wearing a judo uniform, he cut a rather awkward figure.
"Then—"
After briefly adjusting his gi, the giant charged ferociously again, and Baek Yoon-Ho released his mana and counterattacked. Both men wore expressions of enjoyment. Master Ma pressing forward, Baek Yoon-Ho being pushed back—both looked thrilled. It seemed that since opportunities for S-ranks to meet one another were rare, they were venting the power they normally held back and having a great time.
"Still, if Baek Yoon-Ho fought at full strength, Ma Dong-Wook wouldn't be able to hold up."
Choi Jong-In approached and spoke. Jin-Woo turned, and Choi Jong-In bowed. Jin-Woo returned the greeting. The conversation continued.
"That man in the gi is the famous Ma Dong-Wook."
Ah. The name rang a bell—he was the Master of the Mythic Guild. Jin-Woo nodded and casually asked.
"But he doesn't seem weak enough that Baek Yoon-Ho would need to hold back, so why hide his strength?" "With so many people watching, it's a bit much to go all out. President Baek turns into a real monster when he fights."
Red Gate. Jin-Woo had seen the beast-like look in Baek Yoon-Ho's eyes back then.
'So it wasn't just his eyes that changed.'
Like Baek Yoon-Ho's transformation ability, some top-tier Hunters occasionally possessed unique powers. Truly monstrous abilities. They must appear just as strange to others as others appeared to them.
'One turns into a monster, and the other summons monsters.'
The thought that he probably seemed just as freaky to them as they did to him brought a faint smile to his face. But. He had only found it interesting that Baek Yoon-Ho could transform into a monster. The actual contest between Baek Yoon-Ho and Ma Dong-Wook wasn't particularly worth watching.
'Slow.'
He could read every exchange between them without even focusing. Just then.
"Hm?"
Baek Yoon-Ho, having noticed something, stopped moving. At the same time, Ma Dong-Wook froze as well. Their eyes locked onto Jin-Woo in unison, as if rehearsed. Had it been too obvious that he was bored?
'…?'
But it couldn't have been just that—too many people were now looking his way. Jin-Woo quickly figured out why.
'Not me—behind me…'
He turned his head. There stood Goto. His gaze was anything but casual. The interpreter beside him relayed Goto's words.
"Hunter Goto Ryuji says he has something to say to you."
Jin-Woo had known Goto was approaching, but hadn't expected him to actually speak to him. He gave a puzzled look.
'This guy has been giving me a strange look since earlier…'
Perhaps Jin-Woo's discomfort had been felt. Goto spoke quietly.
"Might I have a match with you?"