"Hng... hng..."
The students huddled close to their crying friends, holding their breath. The footsteps drew ever closer. Step, step, step. Thus, the orcs scattered throughout the school heard their kin's screams and converged on the third-year classroom.
* * *
Signals were coming in. The High Orc warriors assigned to guard his sister were sending out powerful signals. 'Has something happened to Jin-A?' "Sung Hunter?" Jung Ye-Rim continued to call out to Jin-Woo, her voice laced with concern. "..." Jin-Woo kept his mouth shut and walked right past her. She tilted her head. 'Why is he acting like that?' The demeanor of Sung Jin-Woo, Hunter, who had been so relaxed just moments ago, had shifted abruptly. Judging by his expression alone, she might have believed he was someone else entirely. 'Wait a minute...' Sung Jin-Woo was an S-rank. And he had just turned around with a reaction that was anything but ordinary. Could it be that he had spotted something along their path that they had failed to notice? She began to feel inexplicably uneasy. 'Hm?' Jung Yoon-Tae turned at the sound of someone approaching and spoke. "Big bro. The Hunter is heading this way." "What?" Park Jong-Soo stopped in his tracks. When he halted, the entire attack team naturally came to a stop. 'Why is Sung Jin-Woo Hunter suddenly—?' Casually turning his head, he met the gaze of the approaching Jin-Woo and barely swallowed a gasp. Jin-Woo's aura was completely different from just moments ago. 'What's going on?' In that brief instant, he frantically searched his memory for anything that might have provoked Jin-Woo. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't think of a thing. 'Then...' How was he supposed to explain that stony face and those murderous eyes? Park Jong-Soo swallowed hard, newly reminded of what it felt like to deal with a powerful individual in a foul mood. They were inside a Dungeon. Anything could happen in here. Park Jong-Soo's demeanor grew considerably more cautious. "Hunter, is something bothering you?" Jin-Woo, anxious and in a hurry, cut straight to the chase. "Something urgent has come up, and I need to step out." Park Jong-Soo was dumbfounded. This was far more serious than he had anticipated. Getting to this point had been relatively easy. The raid had been so smooth that one might wonder why they even needed to bring Sung Jin-Woo along in the first place. But Park Jong-Soo was one of the people who had been working as a Hunter since the very beginning. He was not so naive as to not know that accidents always happened when you let your guard down. Precisely because nothing had gone wrong so far, all the more reason to be cautious. The possibility that their strongest asset might leave in a situation where they had no idea what dangers lay ahead was a bitter pill to swallow. Park Jong-Soo's expression darkened. "Without you, Hunter Sung, we could be in serious danger. You know that as well as anyone, don't you?" Park Jong-Soo tried to dissuade Jin-Woo as diplomatically as he could. He was well aware that pushing Jin-Woo any further would be far more dangerous than clearing this Dungeon without him. Jin-Woo's expression was that grim. '...' With his heart in his throat, as if walking a tightrope at dizzying heights, Park Jong-Soo watched Jin-Woo for any sign. Just as his lips were starting to crack from the tension, Jin-Woo spoke. "Then let's do this." "Yes, yes." Park Jong-Soo nodded before even hearing the proposal. "I'm going to summon a friend you can trust just as much as me right now. From here on, he'll handle things." Park Jong-Soo's ears perked up. A Hunter whose abilities were vouched for by none other than Sung Jin-Woo himself was on his way here right now? 'Who could it be? Choi Jong-In? Or Cha Hae-In?' Come to think of it, he remembered seeing a document containing Cha Hae-In's profile in Jin-Woo's office. 'If it's Hunter Cha, that should be more than enough.' With no way to stop Jin-Woo from leaving, Park Jong-Soo's face brightened, even if only slightly. Anyone was welcome, so long as it wasn't that infamous Ma Dong-Wook. "If you could do that for us..." Park Jong-Soo's eyes sparkled. Just how strong was this Hunter that they could stand in for Sung Jin-Woo himself? Where anxiety had receded, anticipation rushed in. Park Jong-Soo was not the only one. Every Hunter listening in looked at Jin-Woo with eyes half-filled with hope and half with doubt. Without hesitation, Jin-Woo summoned the strongest soldier from the Shadow Army. 'Beru.' The king of the ants, wreathed in black steam from head to toe, answered his master's call. 'My King...' Beru burst forth from the shadows and knelt respectfully, bowing his head. "Wh-What!" "Whaat!" Because Beru had not hidden even a sliver of his terrifying mana, the Hunters recoiled in horror and backed away. An identical appearance with an equally terrifying mana signature. "That... could it be...?" "No way! How is that possible!" The Hunters recognized Beru's identity at a glance. He was unmistakably that monstrous ant who had toyed with S-rank Hunters in the ant hill on Jeju Island. Park Jong-Soo asked, stunned. "H-Hunter, is that... that monster ant that appeared on Jeju Island?" Jin-Woo nodded. Being high-rank Hunters, they recognized Beru, which saved him from having to explain everything at length. The entire nation had witnessed Beru's power, after all. "From now on, this guy will be taking my place." "What?" Park Jong-Soo's eyes went wide. Jin-Woo could guess what he wanted to say. But there was no time to address each concern right now. Ignoring the flustered Park Jong-Soo, Jin-Woo issued his orders to Beru. 'Protect the humans.' 'It shall be done.' Having given his brief reply, Beru raised his bowed head. 'Then, my King. What should be done about the beings other than the humans?' Jin-Woo, who had briefly glanced toward the far end of the cave, issued another command to Beru. 'Do as you wish.' In that instant. The bloodlust Beru had been suppressing all this time twisted into euphoria and spread through his entire body. KIEEEEEEEEE-! Beru's roar, unleashed as he rose to his full height, shook the cave to its foundations. A shudder ran through them. The Hunters trembled involuntarily, even though the roar had not been directed at them. 'R-Right now... we're supposed to raid alongside that thing?' Cold sweat trickled down Park Jong-Soo's back. But paying no attention to the Hunters' reactions, Jin-Woo released about twenty ant magic beast soldiers to assist Beru.The request was rejected because it was considered high risk