Hunter's Association Chairman's Office. The expression on the personal physician examining Ko Geon-Hee was not a good one. The physician removed the stethoscope from the Chairman's chest.
"Chairman." "No. You don't have to say it. I can tell just from your face."
Ko Geon-Hee chuckled as he fastened the buttons of his unbuttoned dress shirt one by one. The physician couldn't bring himself to speak.
*'Chairman Ko Geon-Hee... at this point, the fact that he can even walk around is a miracle.'*
And yet, he hadn't reduced his vigorous activity in the slightest. That was how little time he had to visit a hospital — he'd gone so far as to have his physician come to his office instead.
"Let me tell you something."
Chairman Ko Geon-Hee slipped his arms into his suit jacket.
"When Healers appeared and Healing magic came about, I thought I could reclaim my youth, that I could finally say goodbye to this tired old body of mine. That's what I believed."
Ko Geon-Hee chuckled once more.
"But that wasn't the case." "Was there no improvement?" "Old age isn't something even the Healing magic of high-rank Hunters can fix, apparently."
If the magic of Healing-type Hunters could cure all diseases, every hospital in the country would have shut its doors and every doctor would have ended up on the streets. But fortunately — or unfortunately — that didn't happen. Healing magic's limit was making external wounds vanish, helping with regeneration. It could regrow a severed arm like a miracle, but it couldn't bring down the fever of a sick child.
*'At least I've avoided unemployment...'*
The physician watched Chairman Ko Geon-Hee, who was already preparing to leave.
*'Someone like the Chairman — even borrowing the power of magic, he should be fully cured...'*
But neither Healing magic nor modern medicine was of much use at this stage. All he could offer was advice.
"You must take absolute rest. You need to rest, even if only a little." "I'd like to, too."
But what would become of the Hunter's Association if he did? Ko Geon-Hee answered the unspoken words with a laugh.
*'An Association without me, Ko Geon-Hee.'*
The large Guilds were growing larger at every moment, backed by enormous financial power. Their strength already rivaled the military of most nations. Even so, the Association could still exert its influence not because of the government behind it, but because of Ko Geon-Hee above it. The moment the Association lost its power, the Hunters would become untamed colts.
*'Not yet... not yet.'*
It was still too early to retire. Right now, the Association was the only leash that could control them. Without any alternative in place, he couldn't afford to step away.
*'To show that the Association is still standing, I have to be here.'*
An S-rank above S-rank. The name Ko Geon-Hee was needed. Until then, he had to hold on somehow...
"Ugh!"
Ko Geon-Hee let out a pained groan. His hand, clutching his chest, crumpled the once-pristine dress shirt.
"Chairman, here..."
The physician silently prepared painkillers and water.
"Thank you."
Once the painkiller kicked in, he finally felt like he could breathe again. That was when it happened.
*'Hm?'*
A signal sounded from the phone. He had told them not to call him under any circumstances while the physician was here. Ko Geon-Hee furrowed his brow and picked up the receiver.
"I'm in the middle of a check-up."
From the other end, the urgent voice of his male secretary came through.
-I'm sorry, Chairman. It's very urgent news. "Did Japan contact us again?" -We did receive contact, but that's not why.
In an instant, Ko Geon-Hee's eyebrow twitched.
*'A problem bigger than the Jeju Island ants?'*
What on earth could it be?
"What is it?"
Just before Ko Geon-Hee's patience ran out, the secretary answered in the nick of time.
-We received a report from the Screening Division. "The Screening Division?"
The Screening Division's job was to assign grades to Gates and Awakeners. It wasn't exactly a department that tended to cause major problems.
'Or could it be...'
Had they made another Gate measurement error? Recalling the recent friction with the Baekho Guild, Ko Geon-Hee knitted his brows. But the displeasure was brief. What the secretary told him was far beyond the category of "problem" Ko Geon-Hee had anticipated.
-Just now, the Screening Division reported... an Awakener of unmeasurable rank has appeared.
***
"Hunter's Association Chairman Ko Geon-Hee?"
Had he really heard that correctly? Jin-Woo doubted his ears. The man called South Korea's greatest Hunter had chased him down to the hospital at this hour, just to meet him alone?
*'That makes no sense...'*
While Jin-Woo was half-doubting, Woo Jin-Cheol pointed behind him and drove the final nail in.
"The Chairman is here."
Woo Jin-Cheol's anxious eyes awaited a response. This was no atmosphere for jokes.
*'...Looks like it's real.'*
Why would someone like Ko Geon-Hee be looking for him? Jin-Woo felt a strong sense of doubt. The only thing he could think of was the result of his grade reassessment...
*'To recruit me into the Association?'*
But the Association was a nonprofit organization. The Chairman had no reason to move around with a Surveillance Division officer just to bring in one Hunter. And his own re-measurement wasn't even finished yet. The more he thought about it, the more curious he became about the Chairman's intentions.
"Fine."
Jin-Woo accepted. Woo Jin-Cheol's face brightened so quickly it was almost as if the tension moments before had never existed.
"Thank you!"
Sincerity was evident in his voice.
*'So that stern-looking guy can make an expression like that.'*
Jin-Woo marveled and followed behind Woo Jin-Cheol. Turning the corner, he could see an old man sitting in the stiff chairs of the hospital waiting room.
*'That man...'*
Jin-Woo swallowed hard. The heavens of heavens — the S-rank Hunter known as the sky above the sky, Chairman Ko Geon-Hee. With a rustle, Ko Geon-Hee rose from his seat upon spotting Jin-Woo.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?"
Despite being well over eighty years old, he was a man of imposing stature. His build reminded one of a retired wrestler or sumo wrestler. Yet there was no condescending attitude whatsoever.
*'Unexpected.'*
Judging by his bearing and his position, Jin-Woo had expected him to carry himself with great gravitas, but rather than that, the aide beside him had a far more intimidating expression.
"I'm Sung Jin-Woo."
Jin-Woo answered. Ko Geon-Hee smiled warmly and extended his hand.
"A pleasure. I'm Ko Geon-Hee."
The two shared a brief handshake. Ko Geon-Hee pointed to the waiting room chairs, which he had already rearranged so they could face each other.
"Please, sit and let's talk." "Thank you."
Jin-Woo sat first, and then Ko Geon-Hee settled into his own chair. Jin-Woo's gaze caught the gold pin on Ko Geon-Hee's suit lapel. A man who was simultaneously a sitting member of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Hunter's Association.
*'On top of that, an S-rank Awakener.'*
Ko Geon-Hee was not someone who would meet just anyone simply because they asked. Business and political leaders, of course, but also heavyweights from abroad — the number of people who wanted a meeting with him was beyond counting. That made Jin-Woo even more curious. Why had someone like Ko Geon-Hee come looking for him in such a rush? Come to think of it...
*'After Choi Jong-In, it's Ko Geon-Hee?'*
Two people in a single day, each worthy of the title "greatest" — and he hadn't even been confirmed as S-rank yet. Just then, Ko Geon-Hee spoke.
"Congratulations on becoming an S-rank Hunter."
Jin-Woo tilted his head.
"The re-measurement results are still pending."
At that, Ko Geon-Hee shook his head.
"Actually, the re-measurement is rather meaningless." "Excuse me?"
Seeing Jin-Woo's puzzled expression, Ko Geon-Hee offered a gentle smile.
"The precision measuring device is a machine that refines measurement results. It is not a tool for measuring beyond the measurement range." "Then why..." "You're asking why we created the procedure of re-measurement?"
That was exactly right. If the result was going to be the same either way, why go through the trouble of adding more steps? Ko Geon-Hee's answer was clear.
"It's a grace period." *'A grace period...?'*
Before Jin-Woo could even ask, Ko Geon-Hee continued, almost shyly.
"It's the minimum amount of time we can buy to meet people like Hunter Sung Jin-Woo first."
Ah — Jin-Woo understood perfectly what the Chairman was trying to say.
"As you may know, the Association does not have many outstanding Hunters the caliber of Division Chief Woo Jin-Cheol, despite its size."
Because of the large Guilds.
"Because the large Guilds exist."
As expected. Jin-Woo nodded.
"If joining a large Guild guarantees income and fame, who would want to come to the Association?"
The Association Hunters' income was not insignificant. But compared to what they could earn at a large Guild, it was truly pocket change. The same went for fame.
"There are plenty of people who can rattle off the names of elite strike team members from the large Guilds, but almost nobody knows Division Chief Woo Jin-Cheol's name."
The mention of elite members reminded Jin-Woo of Kim Chul, the former A-rank Hunter. Sensing stats allowed one to gauge another's ability. In Jin-Woo's judgment, Woo Jin-Cheol's skill was definitely a cut above Kim Chul's.
*'Same A-rank, but different levels of ability.'*
Jin-Woo looked back at Woo Jin-Cheol. Woo Jin-Cheol, seemingly embarrassed by both the Chairman's praise and Jin-Woo's gaze, lowered his head with a flushed face.
*'But...'*
If Kim Chul had debuted as a Hunter without issue, he would have earned far more money and become far more famous than Woo Jin-Cheol. That was the difference between an Association Hunter and a Guild Hunter.
"So we devised a small trick, in preparation for the day when truly exceptional Awakeners visit the Association."
So that was what the re-measurement was?
*'Come to think of it...'*
If the measurement results had been announced and spread everywhere, could the Association have approached him this openly? It was a convincing method.
"Allow me to cut to the chase."
Before long, the smile had vanished from the Chairman's face.
"We are not a corporation, so we cannot promise you large sums of money. However."
Ko Geon-Hee, who had been fidgeting near his chest, thrust a clenched fist forward.
"We can help you in a different way." "What do you mean...?" "What I mean is, we can nurture Hunter Sung Jin-Woo in a different direction."
The clenched fist opened. On Ko Geon-Hee's palm, the gold pin gleamed.
*'Power... is it?'*
But Jin-Woo regarded him with a puzzled look.
"I don't follow." "Hmm?" "Is there really a need to go this far for me?"
A reasonable question. A peculiar light flickered in Ko Geon-Hee's eyes as he looked at Jin-Woo.
*'He's neither intimidated by my background nor swayed by the benefits in front of him — instead, he calmly raises his own doubts...'*
Did I rush this too much? Someone once said.
*'Patience thins with age.'*
It wasn't wrong. Ko Geon-Hee swallowed a chuckle inside and continued.
"You know of the Five Great Guilds, I presume?"
How could he not? Jin-Woo nodded silently.
"Right now in South Korea, five dinosaurs are barely maintaining a balance."
The Hunters, Baekho, and Sages in the capital region. Myeongseong and the Knights in the provinces.
"If you join any one of the five Guilds, the balance will break and the landscape will shift dramatically."
Even now, the influence of the large Guilds pierced the sky. And if one of them acquired yet another S-rank Hunter and used that as leverage to surge upward — would the Association's word still carry weight then? The Association had to serve as the stabilizing force between Hunters using strong power.
"Laws, institutions, ordinary public authority — they are all insufficient to keep Hunters in check."
Jin-Woo had had the same thought before. Monsters weren't only the creatures from the Gates. Hunters, too, were monsters on par with those creatures. When it came to raw "power," the Hunters were more dangerous monsters than any creature.
"That is why the Association is necessary."
Ko Geon-Hee's face turned solemn.
"And the Association needs Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
Someone who possesses strength like yours. Ko Geon-Hee's gaze sharpened.
*'I'll have to keep him close and watch him to some extent, but...'*
As long as Sung Jin-Woo agreed, Ko Geon-Hee had every intention of throwing the Association's full support behind him. S-ranks were the kind of people who deserved that treatment.
*'That should be explanation enough.'*
And so — for the first time in a very long while — tasting a feeling that was half tension and half excitement, Ko Geon-Hee asked in a low voice.
"What will you do, Hunter?"