What Jin-Woo pointed at was a pillar. Pillars going up alongside Kamish's corpse. It was proof they were constructing a building to store the remains. His eyes lit up the moment he saw it. This was a monster that had died eight years ago. The higher the rank of a monster that came out of a Dungeon, the more valuable it was—and the moment a corpse was obtained, it would be dismantled piece by piece and put to use wherever it was needed. That was why he hadn't expected Kamish's corpse to still be around. Countries, corporations, and research institutes looking to purchase the remains would surely have lined up out the door. But in the photo, Kamish's corpse was completely intact. Traces of the fierce battle could still be seen, but there was no artificial damage—the body was remarkably well-preserved. The moment the thought crossed his mind that Kamish's remains might actually still exist, Jin-Woo's heart pounded.
"Could it be that the United States has been storing Kamish's corpse all this time?" "W-Well, yes, that's true, but..."
Adam couldn't understand Jin-Woo's reaction. They had been talking about rune stones—the kind of thing every Hunter in the world would drool over—yet Jin-Woo had shown zero interest in the rune stones, only to suddenly fixate on the corpse. But Jin-Woo's attitude was far too serious to try and steer the conversation back. Jin-Woo held up the photo once more.
"Where is this? Let's go there first." "Excuse me?" "I generously gave my time to the Hunter Administration Bureau. Surely this much is a reasonable ask?" "Ah..."
Adam hadn't expected things to go this way, and he couldn't hide his bewilderment. But—to be blunt, this was far from a bad development. Between Sung Jin-Woo and the U.S. Hunter Administration Bureau, the side that desperately needed the other was clearly the latter. The Bureau wanted to win Sung Jin-Woo's favor. That was why they had first tried to use Mrs. Sellner's ability, and when that fell through, they had tried to use Kamish's rune stone to pique his interest. Instead, an unexpected spark had ignited. For Adam, this was both a crisis and an opportunity.
*'They said any method was fine, right?'*
Adam recalled what the Director and Deputy Director had said when they gathered the Bureau's agents. Use whatever means necessary to win Sung Jin-Woo's favor. To increase the chances, even slightly, of him coming to America. If what Jin-Woo wanted was something the Hunter Administration Bureau had, they were more than willing to provide it for the sake of their relationship. Gaining his favor—that was the most important objective of all. Reminding himself of this, Adam cleared his throat and spoke.
"Actually, I don't know where Kamish's corpse is located either. All I have access to is information that's been approved from above."
Jin-Woo nodded. Adam White certainly looked too young to know every last classified detail of the organization he worked for. Yet despite what he had just said, Adam continued in a confident tone.
"But if Sung Jin-Woo is making the request, I imagine upper management will approve it quickly. I'll need to file a report, so could you wait for my contact?"
Jin-Woo's expression brightened. The longer a target had been dead, the higher the probability of Shadow Extraction failing. Kamish was a monster that had died a full eight years ago. The odds of success were slim. He might end up tiring people out and making everyone come all this way for nothing. But how would he know if he didn't try? Even if the chances were razor-thin—if by some one-in-ten-thousand, no, one-in-ten-million chance the extraction succeeded—he would have the most powerful monster in history as a shadow soldier. Just thinking about it made his heart race. Even if he failed, all he would lose was a small amount of time. Compared to the potential payoff, it was a gamble worth taking. Whether America would agree was another matter. Jin-Woo asked.
"Aren't we headed to the Hunter Administration Bureau right now?" "That's correct." "Then instead of waiting around, let's just go wait together." "Huh..."
At Jin-Woo's intense interest, Adam wore an expression that couldn't decide whether he should be happy or worried.
* * *
A similar expression appeared on the face of the U.S. Hunter Administration Bureau Director. When he glanced sideways, the Deputy Director sitting beside him looked as though a mirror would show the same look on his own face.
"So you're saying Hunter Sung is here right now?"
The Director confirmed the facts once more, and Adam nodded silently.
"The rune stone? Did he not mention the rune stone at all?"
They had made the decision that Kamish's rune stone could be handed over if it was enough to draw Sung Jin-Woo to America. An American Hunter growing stronger was no different from America growing stronger. But—
"Yes. He barely mentioned the rune stone at all on the way here." "Huh… well, I'll be."
At Adam's answer, the Director wiped his face with his hand. Thomas, and now Sung Jin-Woo. At this point, it was clear that the Hunters standing at the pinnacle were all equally unpredictable. It almost made him wonder whether becoming a top-ranked Hunter changed the way you thought compared to ordinary people.
"So he really just wants to see the corpse, and nothing more?" "Yes."
Adam nodded with a face full of confidence. He didn't feel bad about it. Adam's goal from the start had been to get Jin-Woo to the negotiating table. And since Jin-Woo had come to the Hunter Administration Bureau of his own volition, the mission upper management had assigned him was already fulfilled. The rest was up to management to choose their negotiating cards. The Director, who held the authority to decide, pondered for a moment before speaking to Adam.
"I'll need to have a separate talk with the Deputy Director. You're dismissed." "Understood."
Adam stood up from his seat and left the office. The Director turned to the Deputy Director with a troubled expression.
"So—what do you think his reason is for wanting to see Kamish's corpse?" "I'm not sure… but one thing is clear: he's no tourist. It seems that to him, Kamish's corpse holds even greater value than Kamish's rune stone."
The value of skills was limitless. Top-tier Hunters spared no expense on purchasing rune stones they needed. Tens of billions, hundreds of billions, sometimes even hundreds of billions of won. It wasn't that they had so much money they didn't know what to do with it. Skills were a Hunter's power, and power was directly tied to one's life.
*'Yet he's saying that looking at the corpse once could be more beneficial than obtaining a skill…?'*
The Director's thoughts were given voice by the Deputy Director.
"It seems to be related to Hunter Sung's ability." "…"
The U.S. Hunter Administration Bureau operated on an entirely different level from any other organization in the world when it came to gathering information on Hunters. Naturally, they had accumulated substantial intelligence on Jin-Woo. That was why they had been willing to bet on both Mrs. Sellner's ability and Kamish's rune stone.
"Wasn't his ability limited to the monsters he personally defeated?"
When he dispatched ant-type monsters, ant soldiers appeared. When he took down giant-type monsters, giant soldiers appeared. With every battle, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo grew stronger. That was why the Bureau wanted to make Jin-Woo their Hunter by any means necessary. But—if he could summon and command even the corpses of monsters he hadn't defeated, monsters that had been dead for a long time—
"Oh my God…"
The Deputy Director's eyes went wide.
"He's planning to make even Kamish his summon!"
His voice trembled. To think he intended to make humanity's worst catastrophe his summon. No wonder a rune stone meant nothing to him. The Director shook his head firmly.
"That absolutely cannot be allowed. No single person should become that powerful." "But if we refuse his request, it'll be difficult to maintain a friendly relationship with him."
The fact that he had come all the way to headquarters and was waiting for an answer showed how much he expected of them. It was simple logic. When you refused someone's request because you didn't trust them, trust inevitably crumbled.
"Hmm."
The Director furrowed his brow deeply, lost in thought. If their speculation was correct—if Hunter Sung Jin-Woo really could resurrect Kamish as a summon—his power would reach a level that no nation or organization could control. Hadn't his summons regenerated quickly after being destroyed? What if Kamish, with his infinite regenerative ability, appeared as an enemy? The risk was too great to shoulder just to maintain a friendly relationship with a single Hunter. Before making his final decision, the Director asked one more question.
"We still have Thomas Andre at the level of a national power, and nearly fifty S-rank Hunters gathered from around the world. Is he really worth us clinging to this hard?" "Actually…"
After a moment of hesitation, the Deputy Director brought up a report he had withheld because it hadn't yet been verified.
"There's a possibility that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is a newly emerged national-power-level Hunter." "What?"
The Director shot to his feet.
"A week ago, Agent White filed a report. Hunter Sung Jin-Woo was able to use telekinesis." "…!"
National-power-level Hunters—with the sole exception of the healer—were the only four people in history who could exert force on objects without touching them. Before and after them, there had been many strong individuals, but those who possessed this ability numbered only four in all of recorded history. The Hunter Administration Bureau was the only organization that knew their common thread, and they considered that power a criterion for national-power-level status. And now that same power had been discovered in Hunter Sung Jin-Woo? A thought flashed through the Director's mind: perhaps Hunter Sung Jin-Woo was a gift from God to America, which had just lost its powerful weapon, Christopher Reid. God bless America. God's blessing had always been with this nation. The Director's expression changed.
"Do you believe he can be trusted?"
Evaluation of ability was objective, but whether someone could be trusted relied entirely on subjective judgment. The Deputy Director spoke about what he had observed in Jin-Woo.
"What if someone pointed a gun at China's Liu Zhigang or Thomas Andre? What would happen to them?" "Just the thought is terrifying."
Both Thomas and Liu Zhigang showed no mercy to their enemies. That person would have lost their life, or at best, if they were lucky, the arm holding the gun.
"But Hunter Sung Jin-Woo didn't do that. Even in urgent situations, he was someone who could be reasoned with."
The Director lowered his gaze and nodded. The Deputy Director continued.
"And there's the matter of Japan as well. Without asking for anything in return, didn't he single-handedly resolve the Dungeon break in Japan when no one else was willing to step forward?"
This stood in stark contrast to Russia's Hunter Yuri Orlov, who had demanded ten billion won per day from the Japanese government.
"…"
The Director's deliberation didn't take long. After pressing his lips tight for a moment, he rose from his seat.
"I'll guide him personally. It might be a good opportunity to verify his ability firsthand."
The Deputy Director's face brightened considerably, and he stood up as well.
"But Director, where exactly is Kamish's corpse kept?"
The Director grinned.
"Have you ever wondered why our building has twenty floors underground?"
* * *
Jin-Woo stepped into the elevator under the Director's guidance.
"I'd like to have a more thorough conversation, but… I imagine you'd prefer this, Hunter?"
Adam translated the Director's words into Korean in near real-time. Jin-Woo nodded. The elevator, carrying the Director, Deputy Director, and Adam, descended rapidly underground.
*'Building the Hunter Administration Bureau right on the spot where Kamish was defeated.'*
Call it typically American if you like. In the spirit of never forgetting the lives of the Hunters who had sacrificed themselves to stop humanity's worst catastrophe, and their noble spirit of sacrifice, Kamish's corpse was to be stored permanently beneath the Hunter Administration Bureau. Ding. The elevator doors opened on the twenty-fourth basement floor. Administrators who had been waiting stepped out and greeted the four.
"Director." "Director."
The Director nodded to the staff—who appeared to be military personnel—bowing politely, then gestured for Jin-Woo to follow.
"This way."
Jin-Woo swallowed hard. Multiple layers of heavily secured doors swung open, and a cold chill brushed past his cheeks.
*'No—that's not a chill.'*
Faintly, mana was mixed into the air. He didn't even need to think about whose mana it was. Thump, thump, thump. His heart raced at the thought that the possibility might not be zero after all. If this much mana still lingered after eight years, how powerful would the shadow soldier be once the original was revived? Jin-Woo calmed his pounding heart and followed behind the Director.
"Here we are."
The Director stopped before a vast, brightly lit cavern of enormous size. There stood Kamish. Preserved exactly as it had been—after slaughtering hundreds of the finest Hunters, only to be killed by the last five remaining national-power-level Hunters. The red dragon! At its overwhelming form, Jin-Woo held his breath.
"Actually, all the power used in the Hunter Administration Bureau building comes from Kamish's mana crystals."
The Director proudly explained where the energy to preserve Kamish's corpse in its original state came from. But Jin-Woo's ears no longer heard the words. His gaze was locked on the corpse. Seeing that look in his eyes, the Director finally realized the moment had come.
"…Hunter. Are you satisfied now?" "Step back, please."
When Jin-Woo turned to the others and spoke, the administrators began to murmur.
"Director, what is that man trying to do?" "Kamish's corpse belongs to America—it's our treasure!"
But the Director silenced them in a loud voice.
"I have permitted it!"
In an instant, all noise vanished. Everything had been settled before coming down here. Jin-Woo had given the Director his word. That he would do nothing to harm the corpse. Just as the Deputy Director had, the Director chose to trust Jin-Woo.
"All of you, stay and watch. See what happens."
As Jin-Woo instructed, the people obediently retreated to a safe distance. Jin-Woo extended his hand toward Kamish. Then he spoke quietly.
"Arise."
As if it had been waiting, a message appeared with a *ding*.
[Shadow Extraction has failed.] [2 chances remain.]
Jin-Woo's expression didn't change. Calmly, he attempted a second try.
"Arise."
He wanted the strongest monster. His voice, carrying that earnest wish, echoed through the cavern and shook it to its core. Arise— The ceiling lights flickered, and from somewhere a cold gust of wind blew. KRAAAAA—! A dragon's scream, so powerful it was impossible to pinpoint the source, drove everyone to cover their ears. Amid the chaos, the only person who hadn't lost his composure was Jin-Woo himself. He spotted Kamish's shadow spreading across the floor.
'Success… did it succeed?'
Just then, Jin-Woo's eyes went wide. Something was slowly rising from the shadow. Shrouded in dark mist, it was—unmistakably—the form of a dragon.
"W-What?!" "What… what is that?!"
The administrators stumbled backward in terror. Even the Director and Deputy Director, who had already guessed at Jin-Woo's ability, froze for an instant. KRAAAAA—! The roaring dragon spotted the human beneath its feet and ceased its scream.
[Are you the one who called me forth, O King of the Dead, Shadow Monarch?]