'The news of the ants' annihilation must still be top secret.'
Everything beneath their feet was top-grade mana crystals. To prevent opportunists from swarming, the Hunter's Association had decided to keep the subjugation's completion hidden until a plan was formed. Therefore, only a select few knew there were no magical beasts left on the island.
'At most, it's just the Association and soldiers who assigned us the mission, and...'
Someone like Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, the one involved. But Park Jong-Su would bet his entire fortune that the man standing at the ant nest entrance wasn't Sung Jin-Woo. How could he forget that face? The most talked-about Hunter in Korea right now, the number one priority on the Knight Guild's recruitment list. So Park Jong-Su asked again.
"I asked who you are! What are you doing coming out of there?"
The man either didn't understand the words or had no intention of answering, simply grinning from ear to ear. The Knight Guild's vice-master, Jung Yoon-Tae, approached Park Jong-Su with a puzzled look, standing beside him.
"Hyung-nim, is that a person?" "I... I don't know either."
They could feel no magical power from the man, so he was clearly neither a Hunter nor a magical beast, yet he somehow emanated a strange aura. Jung Yoon-Tae, who was quicker with his fists than his words, also sensed the ominous energy and cautiously looked around. However, the soldiers lacked the Hunters' heightened perception. *Clack. Clack.* The soldiers, who had just noticed the man, raised their rifles. Worried about unnecessary casualties, Park Jong-Su hurriedly stopped them.
"Hey, hey! Don't shoot! He's not a magical beast!" "Then he's a person?" "That's... probably."
Park Jong-Su nodded with a grim expression.
'If he's not a beast, he must be human.'
With his limited knowledge, that was the extent of his judgment. The commander gave a short nod.
"Understood. We will take custody of the man from here on." "What? Weren't you here to recover Hunter Min Byeong-Gu's remains?" "We also received orders to control the situation on Jeju Island alongside recovering Hunter Min Byeong-Gu's remains."
Park Jong-Su stepped back as if he understood. Since the other party wasn't a Hunter or a magical beast, there was no reason for the Knight Guild to step in. Stepping back like this and watching would keep them from getting tangled up in unnecessary trouble. The commander shouted at the man.
"You are currently in a restricted area. If you do not comply with our instructions, we will open fire." "..."
But the man kept smiling with an expression devoid of any tension. *Gulp.*
The soldiers, thinking 'Do we really have to shoot?', swallowed hard. It was a natural reaction, as they had never pulled a trigger against a human before, only magical beasts. The Hunters also looked tense. The fact that this bizarre man was still smiling in this situation made them think something was definitely up. Just then, the man put both hands in his pants pockets.
'Is that... really a person?'
How could a person be so composed with a gun pointed at them? Park Jong-Su's face hardened. *Clack! Clack!* When the man's hands disappeared from sight, the soldiers' tension peaked.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Not yet!"
Thick veins stood out on the commander's neck as he looked at his subordinates. But then.
"Commander!"
At the urgent voice, the commander turned towards the man, who slowly opened his mouth.
"...?"
It was a completely incomprehensible language. Not that they didn't know it, but the pronunciation and voice sounded like a language that didn't even exist in this world.
"What is it?" "What is he saying?"
As the soldiers, in an unprecedented situation, were at a loss, Park Jong-Su's mouth opened of its own accord.
"Be... beast language?"
It sounded similar to the language used by intelligent magical beasts occasionally encountered in high-rank Dungeons.
"Then that means—"
Before the commander could even ask if it meant the man was a magical beast, the man's hand shot out of his pocket. *BANG-!* A deafening roar echoed through the area. The reflexive trigger pull of a well-trained special forces member, responding to the man's suspicious movement.
'Gasp!'
The commander's startled eyes snapped to the man. The bullet that couldn't penetrate the man's forehead fell to the ground with a *tink*. The smile had already vanished from the man's face.
"It's a beast!" "It's not human!"
The shout was short-lived. At the same moment the man's eyes turned red, both the Hunters and soldiers felt a crushing pressure that constricted their hearts.
"Ah, aah—!" "Aah..."
There was no time to scream. *Snap!* With the sound of a finger snapping, they all collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. The man looked back. A middle-aged man had appeared and was standing behind him.
"No need to make so much noise."
The language the middle-aged man spoke was also not human.
"...Right."
The man seemed reluctant but accepted readily. The middle-aged man looked back into the ant nest and asked.
"Have you confirmed?"
The man nodded.
"His power is certain." "Strange."
The middle-aged man's gaze now turned to the fallen Hunters.
"I don't understand why he helps humans." "Who could fathom his mind? If you're curious, why don't you go ask him yourself?" "...I'll pass."
Shaking his head slowly, the middle-aged man spoke.
"The hunt proceeds as planned. Nothing has changed." "Understood."
With a light wave of his hand, the middle-aged man opened a black hole in the air, large enough for a person to enter. A Gate.
"Oh, right."
At the man's voice, the middle-aged man turned back briefly. The man continued.
"One of them seems to be here." "In Korea?" "While we're at it, how about dealing with him first?"
The middle-aged man closed his eyes slightly. The information the man spoke of flowed into his mind. But he was clearly reluctant.
"Leave this area... to him." "Meaning you don't want to get involved?" "You could interpret it that way. Think what you like."
After the middle-aged man's voice disappeared beyond the Gate, the Gate also closed. *Whoosh.* The man, having confirmed the Gate was completely shut, muttered.
"Coward..."
His gaze fell upon the sprawled humans. They were merely asleep for a moment and would soon regain consciousness. *Hmph.* The man snorted and reached a hand toward the humans.
'...'
But he quietly withdrew it again.
"No need to make noise, I suppose."
The man's voice, hovering in the air, soon vanished into another Gate.
***
Late at night. Jin-Woo, sitting on the floor of his room, was examining a dagger. This was the 'Demon King's Dagger' that had proven its worth in the fight against the giant ant, now the Shadow Soldier 'Beru'.
[Item: Demon King's Dagger] Acquisition Difficulty: S Type: Dagger Attack Power: +220 A dagger obtained from the Demon King Baran. Using two 'Demon King's Daggers' activates a set effect. Set Effect 'As One': Attack power equal to the Strength stat value is added to each dagger.
The attack power and additional options were truly mind-boggling. He couldn't count how many times he'd re-read this item's information after first seeing it. After all, the 'Baruka's Short Sword', which had an acquisition difficulty of A-rank, only had an attack power of 110. Just in case, he'd scoured the shop, but even among the S-rank daggers sold there, attack powers exceeding 200 were hard to find.
'And on top of that...'
He particularly liked that wielding both 'Demon King's Daggers' converted his Strength stat into attack power. His Strength was already over 200, approaching 250. And all of that high stat value could be used as attack power? Even just adding them simply, omitting the digits, gave a staggering figure four times the attack power of 'Baruka's Short Sword'.
'No wonder each swing felt so satisfying to cut with.'
It was an item that would make other Hunters foam at the mouth and rush in if they could see its stats. And then there was the greatsword.
[Item: Demon King's Greatsword] Acquisition Difficulty: S Type: Greatsword Attack Power: +350 A greatsword imbued with the power of the Demon King Baran. Each swing triggers the 'Plumeflame Storm' effect. Effect 'Plumeflame Storm': Summons a storm of continuous lightning within a certain area.
It made sense that the greatsword, which could only be wielded one-handed, had a much higher attack power than the daggers, which could be wielded in both hands. But the sword's special effect wasn't something to take for granted.
'I can do a wide-area attack just by swinging it?'
A weapon whose value shone when facing multiple enemies. Thinking back to when Baran's magic attacks had the entire Shadow Army struggling made his spine tingle even now. Of course, it couldn't compare to the magic Baran used, but it was still a highly satisfying level.
'If it weren't for the dagger skills, I might consider using the greatsword...'
Jin-Woo, about to try a swing inside his room on impulse, stopped.
'...'
No matter how late it was, who wouldn't wake up if lightning struck right next door? He couldn't frighten his mother again. Jin-Woo obediently set the greatsword down.
'Thankfully, she's not against it.'
Since his mother wasn't opposed. That day, when he returned home, Jin-Woo explained everything about his situation except for the System. He told her about how he'd coincidentally reawakened and become an S-rank Hunter, and how he wanted to continue working as a Hunter. His mother, who seemed worried at first, eventually decided to support him.
-I want Jin-Woo to do what he wants.
On one condition: don't overdo it. That was the only stipulation she made.
'But if a situation comes where I might overdo it...'
Jin-Woo shook his head, as if terrible imaginations would follow if he kept thinking about it. Then, he suddenly remembered something his mother had said.
-Did that man show up knowing something like this would happen? -That man? -When you were asleep in the hospital, I heard your father's voice. -What did he say? -Well...
Before that, and after that, she said she hadn't heard anyone's voice or had any dreams.
'Mother probably still hasn't forgotten Father.'
Yet the fact that she didn't stop her son from becoming a Hunter was proof of how much she trusted him. Jin-Woo had no intention of disappointing his mother in the slightest. Survival. That was always the top priority. It was because he clung to life and struggled to the very end, even in dangerous situations, that he could reach this point.
'...Alright.'
With even his mother's opposition, which had been a worry, gone, there was nothing stopping him from entering Dungeons. Create a guild, monopolize high-rank Dungeons, and quickly Level Up. Jin-Woo's heart raced.
'Because there's now another reason I need to Level Up.'
*Whoosh.* Iggrit, summoned by Jin-Woo's command, appeared. He was the soldier who had been with him the longest.
'And...'
He was also the only Knight-grade soldier the System had provided. In other words, Iggrit could be considered the soldier closest to the System among all of Jin-Woo's forces.
"When your rank goes up, you'll be able to have a conversation, right?"
He had many things he wanted to ask Iggrit in particular. Of course, no answer came.
'...'
The guy responded, as always, with silence. If silence were sound, this guy might be the noisiest soldier in the world? Jin-Woo smiled faintly and scratched the back of his head, then picked up the Demon King's weapons.
'Inventory.'
As he was about to place the weapons, a glint of light reflected into Jin-Woo's eyes.
'...What's that?'
Jin-Woo's eyes widened. An item he had long forgotten, stashed away in his Inventory, was sparkling.
=