Jin-Woo left, and the elite Hunters of Hunters all rushed into the dungeon one after another without anyone needing to tell them twice.
"Hey, don't push!" "It's not like the dungeon's going anywhere, so there's no need for everyone to run like that!"
Thump, thump— What was Sung Jin-Woo, the greatest Hunter in the world, trying to test in an A-rank dungeon that had seen a sharp spike in difficulty recently, to the point of borrowing someone else's Gate? The Hunters who set foot inside the dungeon swept their curious eyes across every inch of the interior. But soon, their gazes turned to shock. It was nothing short of a river of blood! The mangled carcasses of monsters formed a path of gore. The trail stretched endlessly into the darkness deep within the cave. The Hunters were too stunned to venture any further and lost all words.
"Th... Look at that."
One Hunter nudged the person next to him with an elbow. The Hunter who absentmindedly turned to look in the direction he was pointing gaped at a scene beyond imagination. How could monsters be embedded in the dungeon ceiling in such grotesque shapes? Considering that the material composing the dungeon was incomparably harder than ordinary cave rock, it was truly an astonishing sight.
"Dinner's already served, huh..."
The Hunters with relatively weaker constitutions turned pale at the scene of the monster massacre. The truly shocking fact was that the monsters of a top-tier A-rank dungeon had been reduced to this state in under ten minutes. A female Hunter muttered to herself, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo... He doesn't look like it at all, but he's incredibly..."
The deeper they went, the more evident became the overwhelming proof of violence. Seeing dungeon walls so thoroughly smashed and torn apart was something none of them had witnessed in their entire careers as Hunters. A male Hunter looking around the interior nodded in agreement at her words.
"What do they call it? Inner beast? Something like that?"
But Cha Hae-In shook her head. Hunter Sung hadn't done this. Having watched Jin-Woo fight up close on several occasions, she was certain. The Jin-Woo she knew was a Hunter who dealt with his enemies more cleanly than anyone else. Art. The first time she witnessed his fighting, she had been captivated by the beauty of his seamless chain of techniques. Then.
'Among the Commander's summons, the one capable of something like this...'
That was it. The image of a monster ant with its mandibles spread wide in a deafening roar flashed through Cha Hae-In's mind, and a chill ran down her spine. That creature was the pinnacle of savagery! Jin-Woo had said that a change had occurred in his summons. What had changed about the monster ant? Leaving behind her companions who were still reeling from the traces Beru had left throughout the dungeon, Cha Hae-In dashed outside to resolve her question. But. Jin-Woo, who had stepped out of the Gate just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
"How is he so fast..."
Cha Hae-In looked around and let out a discontented sigh. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. There would be another chance, surely.
She sighed so softly that even a butterfly perched right in front of her wouldn't have been chased away, then offered a faint smile and slowly turned away.
* * *
Jin-Ah crept up toward her mother, who was washing dishes as quietly as a cat, barely making a sound. Clank, clank. Whether her mother didn't hear her footsteps or simply pretended not to notice, she paid no attention to her daughter closing the distance from behind. Until finally—when Jin-Ah had drawn close enough that her breathing was audible, she threw her arms around her mother.
"Mom!"
But her mother didn't flinch in the slightest and spoke in a warm, gentle voice.
"Our little girl bored?" "Mm-hm. Bored. Oppa won't come home, and Mom won't play with me."
When their mother had been hospitalized, Jin-Woo had stood in her place. To let Jin-Ah focus on her studies, he took on not only the earning of money but all the household chores as well, doing everything he could. Jin-Woo was Jin-Ah's brother, parent, and friend. That was exactly why. Her brother, now so busy she could hardly see his face these days, was someone she found herself missing more and more often. There wasn't a person in the country who didn't know his face and name anymore, but what good was that if the person herself couldn't see him? Jin-Ah tried to comfort herself in her mother's embrace to fill the void Jin-Woo's absence left behind.
"I'm just so glad you're here, Mom."
Jin-Ah buried her face in her mother's back and smiled happily. Even though her mother couldn't see behind her, she wore the same expression as Jin-Ah as she continued wiping the dishes. After clinging to her mother's back like a cicada for a while, Jin-Ah finally spoke.
"Mom, let's move."
Her mother flinched. She paused her hands for just a moment, then resumed washing the dishes with a smile.
"You want to move, dear?" "Yeah." "What should we do? I still like this house." "What's good about this old apartment?"
Despite Jin-Ah's reproach, her mother just smiled and kept her hands busy. In truth, Jin-Ah knew the reason her mother didn't want to leave the old apartment. Even though her brother had already earned more money than ordinary people could touch in a lifetime, he still paid rent to stay here. Their mother was still waiting for their father, who had gone missing. She was holding out hope that he might come looking for them here. To Jin-Ah, who barely retained any memories of her father at all, it seemed like a futile effort—but after hearing their mother's reasons, Jin-Woo had never raised the subject of moving again.
"I still like this house, though."
Once again, when her mother quietly tried to convince her, Jin-Ah puffed out her cheeks and turned around.
"Tch." "Don't be too hard on... Oh!"
Her mother turned to Jin-Ah with a look as though she had just remembered something. Come to think of it, she had mentioned it might rain tonight.
"Would you be a dear and bring the laundry in from outside?" "You only call me pretty when you want something."
Jin-Ah headed out to the balcony where the laundry was hanging, humming a tune to herself—perhaps not entirely displeased to have been called pretty after all. Accustomed to the times when her mother wasn't around, Jin-Ah moved with practiced hands as she gathered the clothes into the basket. But. The hands that had been swiftly collecting the laundry suddenly froze. The sky had turned dark without her noticing.
"Huh?"
Had massive storm clouds rolled in all at once? Jin-Ah absently lifted her gaze to the sky and her eyes went wide. The basket slipped from her hands.
"Mom! Mom!"
* * *
His palms kept sweating. Chairman Woo Jin-Cheol looked down at his damp hands and then rubbed them against his perfectly innocent suit pants. When was the last time he had been this nervous? Walking into a Gate moments before a dungeon break would have put his mind more at ease than this.
"There's no need to be so nervous, Chairman Woo Jin-Cheol."
The government official who had summoned Woo Jin-Cheol to the Blue House flashed an oily smile. How could he hold a proper conversation with someone this jittery right before meeting the President? The official understood the weight of bearing such a responsibility at a young age, but he sincerely hoped this meeting would go without a hitch.
"My apologies."
Woo Jin-Cheol returned a somewhat stiff smile and nodded. The official patted the back of his hand a couple of times in encouragement. The door to the adjoining room then opened, and the man they had been waiting for entered with his entourage.
"Mr. President!" "Mr. President."
Woo Jin-Cheol and the official rose to their feet at the same time.
"Oh, please, sit down. I'm fine. No need to act like someone important has arrived."
President Kim Myung-Cheol broke the tension with a light quip and took his seat. Once he sat, the official and Woo Jin-Cheol followed in turn. The President's gaze settled on Woo Jin-Cheol.
"You must be incredibly busy with Association matters these days, Chairman?" "Ah... Not at all."
He said no, but the dark circles under Chairman Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes were expanding with each passing day. He wondered how former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee had managed to handle all this work with an ailing body. Woo Jin-Cheol, the current Chairman, held his predecessor in ever-deepening respect even after the man's passing. Perhaps that was why. Woo Jin-Cheol just wished this uncomfortable meeting would end as quickly as possible.
"So... what is the reason you've summoned me, Mr. President?" "Oh my, this man!"
The official tried to signal Woo Jin-Cheol for jumping straight to the point, but the President waved it off.
"It would be discourteous to keep the Chairman here any longer than necessary, given how busy he is."
The conversation moved quickly. The points were kept brief. President Kim Myung-Cheol had no objection to a fast pace.
"Then let's get right to it. The reason I've invited the Chairman here is none other than..."
In that very brief moment, Woo Jin-Cheol, with the honed senses of a top-tier Hunter, caught the President glancing at him—and sensed what was coming. A deeply awkward request was being prepared. Sure enough, President Kim, clearly uncomfortable himself, spoke with an embarrassed smile.
"I hear that Chairman Woo Jin-Cheol and Hunter Sung Jin-Woo are on very good terms."
Woo Jin-Cheol immediately set the record straight on the inaccurate rumor.
"I wouldn't say I'm on bad terms with Hunter Sung, but it's not that deep of a relationship either." "Oh my. Is that so?" "Yes. It was former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee who was on very good terms with Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
Woo Jin-Cheol recalled former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee, who used to say how nice it would be to share a drink with Hunter Sung, and nodded to himself. President Kim mulled over something for a moment before continuing.
"Still, you do maintain contact with Hunter Sung, correct?" "Ah... Yes." "Then let me ask a favor of Chairman Woo."
Just as expected. Woo Jin-Cheol thought to himself—it's come at last—and asked in a reluctant tone.
"What favor would that be?" "Given the extraordinary reputation of Hunter Sung, I was thinking of making use of him as a goodwill ambassador. Something along the lines of 'A Safer Korea, Built by Hunter Sung Jin-Woo.'"
The President chuckled as he spoke. He was a Hunter on the level of national power who had knocked out the Master of Giants and moved the U.S. Hunter Administration Bureau. Korean politics could not afford to ignore his movements. Kim Myung-Cheol intended to leverage his position as President to bring Jin-Woo to his side faster than anyone else. Starting with the goodwill ambassador role. Building a personal connection with him. As the Hunter's fame rose to its peak, such a relationship would become more powerful than any card in his hand. Chairman Woo Jin-Cheol was to serve as the stepping stone for that. Of course, Woo Jin-Cheol was no dense enough to be oblivious to President Kim's true intentions.
'So this is why you dragged me all the way here.'
His spirits sank. And then, a surge of anger rose in him over why he had to be embroiled in this kind of noise the moment he took the chairmanship.
'...They think I'm a pushover.'
Because he was not former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee. With the man who had served as the Association's bulwark for so long gone, the political world had immediately turned its sights on him. Do our bidding, it demanded. But. Woo Jin-Cheol found that even as his anger grew, a sense of relief was rising within him as well. Former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee had said it many times. The Hunter's Association must create an environment where Hunters can focus on what Hunters do. And that wasn't just for the Hunters themselves—it was something absolutely necessary for those who weren't Hunters, too. Thinking about it this way, his mind eased and a natural smile surfaced. President Kim, misreading Woo Jin-Cheol's expression, smiled along.
"Ho ho ho, our Chairman Woo is so much easier to talk to than some people. Very well. I'd like Chairman Woo to cooperate. It's not as if this benefits me alone."
Different from some people. It wasn't difficult to figure out who that referred to. Woo Jin-Cheol clenched his teeth silently and spoke.
"Former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee was truly a gentleman." "Yes, yes. But for all his gentlemanliness, he was far too inflexible." "I am very different from Chairman Ko Geon-Hee." "Ho ho ho. Indeed. The Hunter's Association must evolve as well. How long can we remain bound by the ways of the past?"
Woo Jin-Cheol smiled coldly and fixed the President with a hard stare.
"If I were to act, how long do you think it would take for me to kill everyone in this building, bodyguards included?" "Wh-What is this—"
The official shot to his feet, but the killing intent radiating from Woo Jin-Cheol froze him instantly. For a mere civilian—not even a low-rank Hunter—an A-rank Hunter was a threat more terrifying than any wild beast. A human being who would be helpless against a tiger or a bear, how could they possibly hope to stand against an A-rank Hunter?
"A few hours? No. Not even a few minutes."
As the people before him blanched under his killing intent, Woo Jin-Cheol continued in a calm, measured tone.
"Then how many people would it take to stop me from going on a rampage? Hmm. If every police officer and soldier in Seoul were deployed to hold out until my mana ran dry, perhaps they could manage to stop me."
The President's fear only deepened at the matter-of-fact way Woo Jin-Cheol discussed such horrific scenarios.
"You... What on earth are you..."
He wanted to say something—anything—but the crushing killing intent kept his lips from moving properly.
"But what if the one on a rampage were Hunter Sung? How many people would you need to stop Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?"
Was it the killing intent radiating from Woo Jin-Cheol that did it? The mere thought of Hunter Sung Jin-Woo—the one who hunted down Giants—turning his hunting instincts on humans instead of monsters sent chills cascading down his spine. Deciding he had instilled enough fear, Woo Jin-Cheol withdrew his killing intent.
"That doesn't happen because all Hunters remain focused on what Hunters ought to do."
Hunters in their domain. Politicians in theirs. Letting the world run the way it should—that was the creed of the Hunter's Association, no, the creed of former Chairman Ko Geon-Hee. Looking into the terrified eyes of President Kim, Woo Jin-Cheol spoke firmly.
"I have no intention of sullying the spirit of the Hunter's Association that Chairman Ko Geon-Hee built. I trust, of course, that the President will cooperate as well."