[My King... I humbly apologize for the imposition, but I have something to request of you.]
A sudden summons from Beru. What could the strongest soldier—the one fighting farthest away while leading the ant legions—possibly have to say?
'What is it?'
Jin-Woo asked inwardly. Beru then cautiously sought his master's permission.
[Could you drive the prey toward me?]
Drive the prey toward him? The prey Beru was referring to were the magical beasts currently roaming outside their dungeons due to the Dungeon Breaks. Beru was saying he would slay them all by himself. There was no way his subordinates would stage a rebellion against Beru—a being so fearsome that even Grid, who held the same General-grade rank, couldn't meet his gaze. Jin-Woo spent a moment pondering the reason, and then something flashed through his mind.
'Could it be...?' [The more prey I kill, the more a sensation similar to when I undergo molting courses through my body.]
He knew it! His guess had been right. Molting. In other words, growth to the next stage. Beru had always been at the very forefront since joining the Shadow Army, fighting more enemies than any other soldier, and at last the possibility of advancement had opened up for him. If Jin-Woo recalled how much stronger the higher-ranked soldiers like Igrit and Iron had become through their own advancements...
'News worth celebrating.'
Before becoming a shadow soldier, Beru had already been a soldier capable of toying with S-rank Hunters. His rank was also the highest among all existing soldiers.
'So does this mean he'll be able to see what lies beyond the General grade now?'
Jin-Woo was already curious about what kind of result would emerge if Beru's stats soared through advancement. He spoke to Beru, who was no doubt waiting anxiously for his answer.
'Fine.' [Thank you, my King. Then I will immediately recall the ant soldiers to your location.] 'No.'
Jin-Woo grinned. Of course, Beru was tens of kilometers away and couldn't possibly see his expression.
'Shadow Army.'
At Jin-Woo's call, the now twelve-hundred-strong soldiers—far exceeding a thousand—all sent back signals. Igrit leading the knights, Keen leading the high orcs, Gima leading the nagas, No. 6 leading the giants, Tank leading the ice bears, and Grid commanding all the remaining soldiers. He could almost hear their battle cries. Every last one of them focused all their attention on Jin-Woo's summons. He could feel the tension radiating from them as well. Savoring a pleasant rush of exhilaration, Jin-Woo issued his command.
'Recall everyone.' [...!] 'All of you, come back.'
The moment the order was given, the entire Shadow Army began to move. The soldiers, having returned to their shadow forms, converged from all directions toward Jin-Woo's location at remarkable speed.
[My King... why are you recalling all the soldiers?]
Jin-Woo smiled at the bewildered Beru and replied.
'From now on, the two of us will handle the remaining magical beasts together.'
The best way to accelerate Beru's advancement. Just like a high-level player power-leveling a low-level one in a game, he would fight alongside Beru to maximize their hunting speed and funnel all the experience his way. This was what was commonly known as 'power-leveling.' There were still many areas where Dungeon Breaks were occurring, so the two of them roaming together would let them level up quickly. Since the areas were so vast, mobilizing all the shadow soldiers to sweep every location would have been more efficient, but Beru's advancement took priority above all else.
[My King...]
Beru's voice was overcome with emotion, and he couldn't finish his sentence. This fellow—his voice was growing more expressive with feeling by the day, which meant it was almost certainly because he'd been hiding in the shadows and watching TV nonstop when Jin-Woo had told him to protect his mother and Jin-Ah. As the shadow soldiers were nearly all back, Jin-Woo asked.
"By the way, is there any other soldier besides Beru who feels like their advancement is just around the corner?"
Of course, no answer came. Advancement wasn't that easy, and one would need an exceptional sense of things to know when their timing was right. The sole reason Beru—the only one among all the soldiers—had been able to sense his own advancement timing had its reasons. Just as his thoughts reached that far, another shadow soldier rose up beside Beru, who had been waiting in anticipation of a solo hunt with his master. While a look of disappointment flickered across Beru's face, Jin-Woo's lit up with pleasure.
"Good."
Igrit knelt politely, as he always had. Jin-Woo had once found his excessive formality burdensome, but seeing it again after such a long time, it was oddly welcoming. Igrit's advancement—that, too, was something he had been looking forward to for a while.
"Then let's begin."
Jin-Woo summoned the 'Demon King's Dagger' and smiled. Their reproductive ability was truly remarkable. Sprouts were already emerging from the charred, tree-like carcasses of the magical beasts.
"Keeeeek!" "Keeeeek!"
Aside from here, there were still forty locations where Dungeon Breaks were ongoing. Every single second counted if the three of them were going to clear them all.
* * *
Ahjin Guild Office. In an office that had become more comfortable to him than home, Yoo Jin-Ho was enduring a moment where a single minute felt like an hour. His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. 4:10 PM. More than two hours had passed since 'he' had arrived at the office. He swallowed—hoping the sound of his gulp wasn't too loud—and stole a glance at the uninvited guest. Through those sunglasses, 'he' met Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes and flashed a pleasant smile. Yoo Jin-Ho forced his stiff facial muscles into something resembling a smile and quickly turned his head away. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. He picked up his phone to try calling his boss again, but it was in vain. Ring-ring... ring-ring... For the second straight day, his boss wasn't answering his calls.
"..." "..."
Yoo Jin-Ho set the phone down and pressed his lips tightly together. The other employees were no different. The talented staff who had joined Ahjin Guild believing in its potential were so overwhelmed by the oppressive atmosphere that, as if by prior agreement, everyone kept dead silent. But. It wasn't their fault. No—anyone in the same situation would have reacted just the same. The man sitting in a chair in the corner of the office was one of the strongest Hunters in the world, and simultaneously one of the most ill-tempered Hunters in the world. To make matters worse, it was their very own boss who had beaten that man into a hospital stay. Who could possibly laugh and chat in front of such a person? Thomas Andre. The world's top Hunter had come to Ahjin Guild in person to meet Jin-Woo. Thanks to that, Vice President Yoo Jin-Ho and the entire Ahjin Guild staff, who had to receive a guest who showed up with zero notice, were completely miserable. As Yoo Jin-Ho was deepening his dilemma over whether to call his boss one more time, the automatic office door slid open. Every head, Yoo Jin-Ho's included, snapped toward it at once. Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes went wide. Leaping to his feet in relief, he let out a voice filled with the desperate feelings of every employee in the office.
"BOSS!"
* * *
'I was wondering why there were reporters all over the place...'
Jin-Woo looked at Thomas, who was sending him a smile. There was no visible grudge lingering on his face, but what had brought him all the way out here? Before Thomas could speak, though, Yoo Jin-Ho greeted Jin-Woo first.
"Boss! Why haven't you been reachable?" "I've been busy." "Come to think of it, your clothes are..."
Yoo Jin-Ho trailed off. Jin-Woo's outfit bore countless signs of battle, as if he were looking at his boss right after the giant hunt had ended.
'If the boss was so busy fighting that he couldn't even contact anyone for two days...'
How many magical beasts had lost their lives to the boss's dagger? The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine. Just then, Thomas leisurely rose from his seat and strode over. Given Thomas's enormous stature, it took only a few steps to close the distance. He stopped in front of Jin-Woo.
'Uh-oh...' 'Those two aren't going to fight right here, are they?'
Employees who still didn't know the full story between the two men swallowed hard. The sound of their heartbeats was so obvious that Jin-Woo's ears practically hurt.
"Mr. Sung."
Thomas extended his hand. Jin-Woo smiled and clasped it. The two men exchanged a brief greeting. But then, the smile on Thomas's face quickly faded. How?
'How is this possible?'
For some reason, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo felt different from before. Only slightly, but he was undeniably not the same Sung Jin-Woo Thomas had met before. Was it a change in appearance? Indeed, his clothes were in disarray compared to when they had first met or when they had seen each other at the banquet. But beyond that, he exuded a solidity that had nothing to do with his attire. He was firm. The Sung Jin-Woo Thomas had known before had been firm, but the current one was even more so. Still.
'Could such a thing even be possible...?'
It shouldn't be. At least not within Thomas's frame of reference. Thomas's keen senses had picked up the change in Jin-Woo stemming from the difference in their levels, but he lacked the knowledge to interpret what exactly it meant. While Thomas stood there puzzling over this, the handshake ended, and Jin-Woo asked.
"What brings you to Korea?" "Oh."
Thomas finally snapped back to his senses and smiled again.
"Did I not promise? Once my hand healed, we'd have a meal together."
Thomas waved his fully healed left arm.
"And also..."
Jin-Woo's eyes darted to the clock on the wall. It was around 4:30 PM. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner.
"Still plenty of time before dinner... so excuse me for a moment."
After apologizing to Thomas, Jin-Woo hurried over to Yoo Jin-Ho. Now that he knew Thomas had no urgent business, he decided to prioritize the more pressing matter first.
"Can you find me the largest Gate currently active in Seoul?"
Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes widened at the request.
"Does size matter, or...?" "Booked Gate reservations are fine too. Go with the highest rank you can find." "Right away, Boss."
In a flash, Yoo Jin-Ho's fingers flew across his keyboard and found the information he needed. His face brightened.
"There's one dangerous one among the A-ranks, Boss." "Really?" "But the Hunters Guild has already claimed it."
However, contrary to Yoo Jin-Ho's expectations, Jin-Woo showed no signs of disappointment.
"That's fine."
He had no interest in who held the raid clearance rights. If it was the Hunters Guild, he actually knew people there, which would make things easier—a smile crept onto his face at the thought. Jin-Woo turned to leave the office with light steps, then doubled back to say goodbye to Thomas.
"I've got something to take care of, so I need to step out for a bit. Let's talk about dinner again later." "..."
Leaving the bewildered Thomas behind, Jin-Woo vanished like the wind. Thomas stared blankly at the door Jin-Woo had exited through, then let out a dry laugh.
"Hah. Well, what can you do?"
It was harsh for a guest who had come a long way, but it was Thomas himself who had shown up unannounced without an appointment. A Hunter of Sung Jin-Woo's caliber would naturally be busier than him—he should have anticipated that.
"Then... here's how to reach me."
Thomas left the contact information for his hotel with Yoo Jin-Ho and departed.
"Haaah..."
Yoo Jin-Ho let out a sigh of relief at the empty seat where Thomas had been, then flinched at the presence beside it.
"Whoa. You were still here?"
Renaat Nierman, who had arrived long before Thomas had even set foot in the office, unfortunately spoke no Korean. But he could clearly tell that the Ahjin vice president had forgotten he was even there.
"I came all the way here with an appointment..."
Realizing that he—who received VVIP treatment in Germany—could be made to feel this insignificant, Renaat bowed his head. But what could he do in an office where even the great Thomas had departed so meekly? Magical beasts and Hunters alike—everybody only had one life.
"..."
Renaat rose listlessly and wrote his own contact information in tiny letters next to the note Thomas had left behind.
* * *
When Jin-Woo appeared, the eyes of the Hunters Guild's elite attack squad—who had been busy preparing for a raid—all turned toward him. Murmurs rippled through the room. Only Cha Hae-In, who had received prior notice, managed to maintain her composure.
"You're suddenly asking to borrow a dungeon? What's going on?" "Exactly as I said—if it's possible, I'd like to borrow one."
Jin-Woo smiled, happy to see a familiar face after so long. After all that time with no contact, he shows up and asks to borrow a dungeon right before a raid? Cha Hae-In, who had been about to get angry, turned away at the warmth radiating from Jin-Woo's smile. While she hesitated, unable to find the right words, Choi Jong-In came running over—he had been waiting for Jin-Woo.
"Hunter Sung!"
The explanation was already finished. No Guild Master would refuse a proposal to enter the dungeon and kill only the magical beasts while leaving the boss completely untouched. Choi Jong-In had been anxiously worrying about injuries given the dungeon's high rank, so he welcomed the offer with open arms. Of course, the attack squad members were privately pleased too, even if they didn't show it openly. Jin-Woo headed toward the gate. Someone tugged at his sleeve from behind, and he turned to find Cha Hae-In with flushed cheeks, speaking in a lowered voice.
"What are you planning to do in there?" "I have something I want to test. My summons have changed a little."
Jin-Woo's summons. Cha Hae-In recalled the two summons she had faced at the Hunter's Association gym—Igrit and Beru. Monsters too powerful to be called mere summons—beings that could threaten the life of an S-rank Hunter like herself. What kind of change had occurred that he wanted to test them? Growing curious, she asked in an even quieter voice.
"Then... could I go in with you?"
Jin-Woo immediately shook his head at the question that carried just a hint of personal desire.
"It would be dangerous. I plan to let them go all out."
Jin-Woo's eyes were deadly serious as he said this flatly. Cha Hae-In nodded and quietly stepped back. With the disappointment still visible in her gaze behind him, Jin-Woo entered the gate.
[You have entered the dungeon.]
The familiar message appeared. Jin-Woo summoned Beru, who was waiting in the shadows.
'Come out.'