Creak. A black sedan pulled over to the side of the road. Sunglasses and a black suit. The man who stepped out of the driver's seat was Woo Jin-Cheol, head of the Hunter's Association Surveillance Division. Three more men climbed out of the passenger seat and the back seat. All of them were Hunters from the Surveillance Division.
"Sir, weren't we heading back to the Association?" "I have some business here."
Woo Jin-Cheol turned his head to look at the Gate in the distance.
*An A-rank Gate is just as terrifying no matter how many times you see one.*
He furrowed his brow. If the door to that massive hole were to open and monsters poured out all at once... just imagining it made him shudder.
*But why would that man apply as a miner in a place like this?*
Not for one day, but two. Even without Chairman Go Gun-Hee's personal request, it was something he would have wanted to look into at least once.
*Background investigation is... impossible.*
The target was an S-rank awakener. As a mere A-rank, it was realistically impossible for him to secretly investigate an S-rank without being detected. So he had just come openly. There happened to be business nearby anyway, so he figured he'd drop by, introduce himself, and ask a few simple questions.
*He won't think it's strange that I'm asking, right?*
If a Hunter confirmed as S-rank was digging dirt in a Dungeon, anyone would be curious about the circumstances. Besides, wasn't Sung Jin-Woo the one drawing the full attention of the Hyeon-Tae Hunter's Association? In particular, the Chairman seemed to have taken a liking to him and was keeping close watch on his every move.
*I'm the one who's not being weird here.*
Being curious was natural. Asking was the normal thing to do. Woo Jin-Cheol repeated this to himself as he sought out a staff member of the Hunters Guild.
"I'm looking for the mining team." "Who... are you?" "I'm from the Association."
The Guild employee confirmed Woo Jin-Cheol's identity and pointed with a fingertip toward the area where the mining team was waiting.
"You can head over that way." "Thank you."
The four Surveillance Division Hunters paid a visit to the mining team. Team leader Bae Yoon-Seok came rushing out, perhaps having been notified in advance.
"Oh my, what brings the Surveillance Division Hunters all the way here?"
A flash of tension crossed the faces of the mining team Hunters who had been resting comfortably. The word "Surveillance Division" carried immense pressure for Hunters. They were the ones who arrested Awakeners that public authority couldn't handle, reformed them, and sometimes even eliminated them. That was the "Surveillance Division."
"What's going on?" "The Surveillance Division Hunters are here." "The Surveillance Division? Here?"
Something must be going to happen. The mining team Hunters grew curious and gathered one by one around Team Leader Bae. Woo Jin-Cheol removed his sunglasses.
*...*
After scanning the area for Sung Jin-Woo, Woo Jin-Cheol finally asked Team Leader Bae about his whereabouts.
"Where is Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?" "I knew it!"
Suddenly, one man burst out from among the Hunters. It was Lee Seong-Gu, the one who had bumped shoulders with Sung Jin-Woo in the Dungeon yesterday. He spat and launched into an impassioned speech.
"That guy turned around and flashed me this grin, I'm telling you, it was the look in his eyes—he could've eaten a person alive! Ugh, my guts went cold, even just thinking about it now gives me chills."
Woo Jin-Cheol's brow creased slightly.
*The look in his eyes that could eat a person alive?*
What on earth had happened? Murmurs rose around them. Woo Jin-Cheol ignored the noise and asked Lee Seong-Gu.
"What happened?" "Ah, well..."
Lee Seong-Gu opened his mouth to answer, then realized he hadn't done anything noteworthy and waved his hand dismissively.
"That's not really important, but that man's eyes were seriously scary." "..."
Woo Jin-Cheol's gaze returned to Team Leader Bae.
"Where is Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?" "Mr. Sung is... he just went inside the Gate."
Sung Jin-Woo had gone into an A-rank Gate that was currently being raided? Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes widened.
"Why would Hunter Sung Jin-Woo be in a Dungeon?" "The porter didn't show up today. Since nobody volunteered to go in his place, Mr. Sung signed up and went in as the porter." "..." "But it really is strange." "What do you mean?" "Well, it's nothing major... just now, Hunter Cha—no, Hunter Cha Hae-In was looking for Mr. Sung and followed him into the Gate? I just thought it was really strange..."
Team Leader Bae tilted his head as he said this. Woo Jin-Cheol's mind grew complicated as he listened.
*Cha Hae-In, the vice president of Hunters, is looking for Sung Jin-Woo? And on top of that, she followed him into the Dungeon?*
He had no idea what was going on. He had only come to check on Sung Jin-Woo, but it felt like things were spiraling.
*Let's head to the Gate first.*
That seemed to be the best he could do right now.
"I'll take a quick look at the Gate before I leave." "Sure, go ahead."
Team Leader Bae nodded with a chuckle. Woo Jin-Cheol was about to turn around with his subordinates when Lee Seong-Gu hastily grabbed him.
"Hey, Hunter!"
Lee Seong-Gu asked with an expression full of expectation.
"Did that guy, Sung Jin-Woo, cause trouble? Did he maybe kill someone? He sure looked like the type who could."
Woo Jin-Cheol furrowed his brow. Suddenly, he thought he understood why Sung Jin-Woo had given this man such a terrifying look.
*The kind of guy who'd go flying if Sung Jin-Woo so much as sneezed...*
Still, there were too many eyes around here. As a Hunter belonging to the Association, he couldn't just snap at people. This was the trouble with being a public figure. Woo Jin-Cheol let out a heavy sigh and answered as politely as he could.
"If you watch the evening news tomorrow, you'll find out."
Whether that was the answer he wanted, Lee Seong-Gu raised his voice, saying he knew it all along.
"See? I told you! That guy was suspicious." "He didn't seem that way to me..." "Right? And he worked so diligently, too."
Lee Seong-Gu paid no attention to his colleagues' lukewarm responses and went on at length about how keen his instincts were.
*Tch.*
Woo Jin-Cheol gave him a pitying look and led his subordinates toward the Gate. But then. He stopped. A few steps from the Gate, Woo Jin-Cheol instinctively halted.
"Sir?"
His subordinates looked at him with puzzlement at his suddenly frozen expression.
*How can this be... this makes no sense.*
Woo Jin-Cheol pulled out his phone. He accessed the Association's information system and pulled up the data on the A-rank Gate that Hunters was scheduled to clear today. His eyes widened.
*Why is the mana reading so low?*
His head shook involuntarily.
*The measurements are wrong.*
Not all A-ranks were created equal. Woo Jin-Cheol was among the highest-tier A-rank Hunters. His senses were telling him that the mana reading was off. Woo Jin-Cheol quickly issued an order to the subordinate beside him.
"Mana detector."
Sensing that his superior's expression was far from ordinary, the employee sprinted to where the car was parked and returned. The compact mana detector used by the Surveillance Division was on an entirely different level from the standard equipment used by regular Association staff. Built with a top-grade mana crystal worth around a billion won, it was virtually free of errors or margins. Whir. The results came out.
*Just as I thought...*
There was a clear discrepancy from the Association's readings. If they had assembled a strike team based on the official announcement, a major crisis could have occurred.
*Two S-ranks went inside, so there probably won't be any issues, but...*
Just as Woo Jin-Cheol reached for the detector on the ground to stand up—whuumm—the Gate pulsed. A sudden, violent mana wave surged outward, and Woo Jin-Cheol, along with his three less-sensitive subordinates, flinched and shuddered.
"S-Sir?" "What is this?"
Woo Jin-Cheol looked at the youngest member, whose face had gone pale.
"You alright?" "Y-Yes, I'm fine."
The young man answered, then cautiously glanced at the back of his hand. Goosebumps had risen like tiny grains. Woo Jin-Cheol got to his feet.
"We're going inside." "What?" "You mean inside... there?"
Woo Jin-Cheol was resolute.
"Anyone scared can stay behind."
He was the only one who knew the measurements were wrong. He had to find some way to warn the Hunters inside. Managing, watching over, and assisting Hunters with their work—that was the duty of Hunters who belonged to the Association.
"No, I'm not scared." "We'll go with you."
Woo Jin-Cheol nodded.
"Youngest, stay here and report the readings to the Association." "Yes—what?" "You can do that, right?"
When Woo Jin-Cheol gave his shoulder a pat, the still-frozen young man managed a strained nod.
"Y-Yes, understood."
Woo Jin-Cheol turned. The Gate was there. Despite its already excessively high ambient mana, yet another massive mana tsunami had just crashed outward from inside.
*What on earth is happening in there?*
Starting with Woo Jin-Cheol, two Surveillance Division Hunters threw themselves into the Gate at the same time.
***
At that moment. Cha Hae-In was tracking the raid party's trail inside the Dungeon.
*That's strange. Why aren't there any traces of the monsters?*
In a normal Dungeon, monster corpses should be scattered from the entrance all the way to the boss room. Were the monsters gathered in one spot? As she pondered this and continued walking—
*Huh?*
She finally spotted corpses. Tap, tap, tap. True to her status as an S-rank combat Hunter, Cha Hae-In reached the scene of battle in the blink of an eye.
*How is this possible!*
Her eyes went wide. The corpses were all High Orcs. With their red skin and long fangs, they were easy to distinguish from ordinary orcs.
*How could Son Ki-Hoon's team have beaten this many High Orcs?*
And that wasn't all. There wasn't a single casualty. Of course, if there had been any, the raid party would have retreated on their own without her needing to track them down like this.
*Did I underestimate A- and B-rank Hunters too much?*
Maybe she had. Looking at the scene, the battle had been completely one-sided. But then—
*This is...?*
Cha Hae-In spotted something and crouched down to examine a corpse. Her eyes widened further. She stood and began quickly inspecting the other corpses one by one.
*Here too... and here too...*
Her suspicion steadily turned into certainty.
*How is this...?*
Almost every High Orc corpse bore marks of having been struck by a short, sharp weapon.
*The blows weren't fatal enough to kill them outright, but...*
The force was clearly enough to incapacitate them. In the end, the other Hunters had merely set spoons on a fully prepared meal. One single Hunter had single-handedly massacred twenty High Orcs. Only two of them had died in different ways—one had its neck torn off with brutal force, and the other had been killed by a blunt blow to the head.
*So excluding these two, one person reduced all the remaining orcs to the brink of death?*
Was that even possible? Even she, who prided herself on speed, couldn't guarantee she could do the same under identical circumstances. And as far as she knew, Son Ki-Hoon's team didn't have any assassin-type Hunters who used daggers or short swords.
*Daggers?*
At that moment, a scene flashed through her mind. The man who had been standing in front of the boss room yesterday. Sung Jin-Woo had definitely been gripping something short in both hands.
*Could it be him?*
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Cha Hae-In's head whipped toward the depths of the Dungeon. Her expression hardened. Deep inside the Dungeon, a mana wave unlike anything she had ever experienced—or rather, a mana *vibration*—was surging. The air trembled.
*No!*
Cha Hae-In bit her lower lip. If this was the mana of a boss-level monster, Son Ki-Hoon's team wouldn't have a single survivor. She broke into a full sprint toward the boss room.