Jin-Woo wasn't the type to be particularly conscious of other people's gazes, unless it was an extraordinary situation. As long as they didn't bother him, he didn't really mind if his face became known. So he didn't much care whether people recognized him and whispered among themselves. But.
'At least they should be able to tell time and place.'
Jin-Woo furrowed his brow. Wasn't this a place to mourn the sacrifice of Hunter Min Byung-Gu? Not wanting the funeral venue — which should have been solemn — to become noisy because of him, Jin-Woo briefly opened a portion of his mana — no, to call it a portion would be generous; it was an exceedingly minuscule amount.
'...!'
That was more than enough. The air in the vicinity settled instantly, creating a hush. Even the mourners' breathing became cautious.
"..." "..."
The people who had been chatting moments ago all shut their mouths at once, as if by some trick.
'Good.'
Having created a satisfactory atmosphere through a silent show of power, Jin-Woo resumed his previously paused steps. But before long, a middle-aged woman — too young to be called grandmother but old enough to be called auntie — stepped in front of Jin-Woo. It was Hunter Min Byung-Gu's mother. Seeing the two of them standing face to face, the crowd murmured.
'Huh, huh?' 'Isn't he about to get chewed out and chased away?'
But what people had worried about didn't happen. The reason was simple.
"I see you've come." "Yes."
Because the one who had earnestly asked Jin-Woo to stop by was none other than Hunter Min Byung-Gu's mother.
"I wanted to tell you this in person, so I reached out. I hope I haven't been a bother." "Not at all." "I heard you were the Hunter who eliminated all the monsters there so my son could be brought back."
Min Byung-Gu's mother paused, looking up at Jin-Woo, as if wanting to confirm what she had heard.
'...'
There were multiple reasons Jin-Woo had hunted the Jeju Island ants. But it was also true that he had clearly not been able to stand the thought of letting Hunter Min Byung-Gu's body rot in the deepest reaches of the ant colony. So Jin-Woo nodded.
"Yes." "For saving my son from having to rest in that dark, cold place..."
Min Byung-Gu's mother continued, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Thanks to you, Hunter, I was able to see my son again, even like this. Thank you so much, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
What words could possibly comfort a parent who had lost a child? As Jin-Woo stood with a mournful expression, his mouth closed, Min Byung-Gu's mother's relatives approached and carefully guided her inside, unable to continue speaking. Even as she was led away, she bowed her head repeatedly, conveying her gratitude.
'...'
Suddenly, Min Byung-Gu's mother's face overlapped in Jin-Woo's eyes with his own mother's face from ten years ago — upon receiving the news that his father had gone missing inside a Gate. His heart ached.
'Even so.'
Just as his father had sacrificed his life to save many comrades, Hunter Min Byung-Gu's death was not in vain. Without his dedicated healing, the Hunters there would have had difficulty escaping the ant colony alive. And even in death, he had used his power to save another Hunter's life. Min Byung-Gu's shadow looked on with relief as Hunter Cha Hae-In's face gradually regained its color. Jin-Woo could feel the sincerity in his concern for his comrades. Just then, as Jin-Woo was heading toward the portrait to lay flowers, Cha Hae-In's face came into view in the distance. Their eyes met, and Cha Hae-In flinched, looking flustered.
'So they all came together.'
The Korean team Hunters around Cha Hae-In greeted Jin-Woo with a nod, while Cha Hae-In wore a look as though she didn't know what expression to make.
'Huh, so even she makes that kind of face?'
He couldn't recall ever seeing her with any expression other than a blank one — you really do learn something new as time goes on. Jin-Woo turned his head and stood before the portrait. Hunter Min Byung-Gu in the photo was smiling brightly, without a care in the world. Placing the flower he held in front of the portrait, Jin-Woo closed his eyes briefly.
'May you rest in peace.'
After offering his prayer, he turned to leave, when a familiar face approached.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
The owner of the low, deep voice was Chairman Go Gun-Hee.
"Chairman." "I was actually about to reach out to you, and here we are." "Reach out to me?"
The Association summoning a Hunter was hardly unusual. With the thought that a place to Level Up might have come up, Jin-Woo sent a hopeful glance — but Go Gun-Hee chuckled and shook his head with a look of regret.
"It's not the kind of business you're hoping for." "Ah, right."
Just my luck. Jin-Woo smacked his lips internally in disappointment.
"So I'd like to talk for a moment, if that's all right?"
Jin-Woo had already been planning to stop by the Association regarding the Guild Master license issue, so he agreed readily.
"I have business at the Association anyway, so let's talk there." "You have business at the Association... whatever for?" "I need a Guild Master license." "Pardon?"
A question mark appeared on Go Gun-Hee's face.
"Why would someone with an S-rank Hunter's license need a Guild Master license?" "Can an S-rank Hunter establish a guild without one?" "Indeed."
Go Gun-Hee continued with a kindly smile.
"If you wish to form a guild, all you need to do is make a single phone call to the Association. We'll take care of the rest." "..."
It was a rank he hadn't even dreamed of belonging to just half a year ago, so Jin-Woo had been underestimating the perks that came with being an S-rank Hunter. Learning something he hadn't known caught him a bit off guard at first, but—
'In the end, this worked out for the best. I should take this chance to learn more about the benefits of being an S-rank Hunter.'
And with direct access to Chairman Go Gun-Hee, it seemed like forming a guild would be easy once he met the requirements. This must be what they meant about needing to be on the right side to succeed. The Chairman of the Hunter's Association — someone most people could never hope to meet even once — had already become a reliable backer for Jin-Woo. Go Gun-Hee continued.
"And it's not a long enough conversation to warrant moving somewhere else."
Jin-Woo nodded. Go Gun-Hee then asked, as if he had been waiting.
"Did you, by chance, place a barrier or something on Jeju Island?" "What do you mean?"
A barrier spell, out of the blue. Had something happened after he had dealt with the ants and left Jeju Island? Go Gun-Hee calmly explained the situation.
"During the process of recovering Hunter Min Byung-Gu's body, an incident occurred where all the soldiers and Hunters present at the same location lost consciousness. Ah, rather than saying they 'lost consciousness' in this case, it would be more accurate to say they fell asleep."
All of them fell asleep at the same time? Jin-Woo tilted his head.
'From what I hear, it sounds like an area-of-effect status ailment spell.'
Just like how his Shadow soldiers were all stunned when caught in Demon King Baran's lightning attack. But the problem was that the Hunters there were no ordinary Hunters.
"Weren't the elite members of the Knights Guild who went to Jeju Island...?"
At Jin-Woo's question, Go Gun-Hee nodded.
"They were all upper A-rank Hunters or B-rank Hunters close to A-rank."
Putting dozens of such Hunters to sleep simultaneously — not just one, but dozens — was something even a competent S-rank magic-type wouldn't dare attempt, let alone pull off.
"That's why I thought to ask you, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo. I wondered if perhaps you had placed a barrier and simply forgotten about it."
That was how highly Go Gun-Hee and the Hunter's Association regarded Jin-Woo. But status ailment barrier magic was not Jin-Woo's area of expertise, and the possibility that he had cast such a powerful spell and then forgotten about it was even more unlikely. Jin-Woo shook his head.
"No. I've never done that." "As I thought... probably not."
A shadow of worry fell over Chairman Go Gun-Hee's face. He realized that his most hopeful prediction had been off the mark.
"What have the Hunters been saying?" "Well..."
Go Gun-Hee, who had been wearing a conflicted expression as though finding it difficult to explain, spoke with some difficulty.
"Not only the soldiers, but even the Hunters have absolutely no memory of what happened just before they lost consciousness."
Then, in a slightly hollow voice, he added.
"In truth, we can't even determine whether they were struck by magic or not." "..."
If it were only the civilian soldiers, it might be one thing, but given that even physically superior A-rank Hunters had been affected, it couldn't have been something mundane like sleeping gas.
'Don't tell me there was some kind of trap left behind by those ants?'
Jin-Woo wanted to summon Beru right then and ask him, but—
'...'
Doing so would turn this funeral venue into a bloody raid scene. Just glancing at the high-ranking Hunters in front of him, there were easily more than a few dozen. Of course, Jin-Woo wasn't worried about Beru. He was worried about the Hunters who would have to deal with the monster ant. Just then, a young man who appeared to be an Association employee approached and whispered something to Chairman Go Gun-Hee. Go Gun-Hee turned to Jin-Woo with a regretful look.
"I'm told my guest has arrived earlier than expected, so I'll have to excuse myself. Thank you for your time." "Not at all."
After a brief farewell, Chairman Go Gun-Hee quickly disappeared with his employee. With his business at the Association now taken care of, Jin-Woo headed toward where he had parked his car to go home. But.
'Huh?'
For a while now, a peculiar presence had been trailing behind him. Jin-Woo tilted his head.
'Normally, shouldn't someone who's tailing you at least try not to get caught?'
More to the point — a normal person wouldn't even consider tailing an S-rank Hunter to begin with. *Thud, thud.* No sound of a camera shutter, so not a reporter — and they weren't even trying to conceal their presence. Curious to see how long this presence would follow and what they intended to do, Jin-Woo silently walked to his Bongo. Naturally, the presence kept trailing behind him the whole time.
'Well, I'll be...'
Jin-Woo was exasperated. He realized for the first time that when your opponent was this sloppy, you couldn't even muster the motivation to take them seriously. But then, the moment Jin-Woo grabbed the handle to open the Bongo's door—
"Are you Mr. Sung Jin-Woo?"
A voice came from behind. Jin-Woo turned around with a smirk, thinking, 'So you finally show your true colors.'
"Yes, that's me."
As Jin-Woo checked the other person's face, his pupils wavered — for just an instant.
'A foreigner?'
Because the Korean pronunciation had been so fluent that the thought of them being foreign hadn't crossed his mind. The young Western man, dressed in a suit that went beyond neat to refined, flashed a bright smile that matched his blond hair.
"I'm this kind of person."
The man pulled a business card from his pocket and smoothly offered it. On the card were printed — in large lettering — the name of the organization he belonged to, his name, and a phone number.
[United States Hunter Management Bureau, Senior Agent Adam White.]
'Hunter Management Bureau?'
What business did the elite agent of America's most powerful agency have with me? No — if the Hunter Management Bureau was involved, there could only be one reason. When Jin-Woo raised his head, the agent introduced himself in a clear voice.
"Please feel free to call me Adam, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."