Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kaisel touched down gently. A halo of dust and debris expanded outward from the gusts
generated by his massive wings.
Kiaak-
The enormous magic beast had parked itself on the doorstep of the Hunter Association
Headquarters of all places. People streamed out of the building, trying to get a better look.
Sensing the approaching presence of a powerful mana source, the Hunters on duty stormed out
of the building with weapons at the ready. Anxious alarm turned to stupefaction when they saw
Jinwoo casually dismount the shadowy beast.
‘Return.’
At his command, Kaisel slipped back into the Stygian darkness of Jinwoo’s shadow, vanishing
without a trace.
They had all witnessed the extent of Jinwoo’s power through the TV broadcast. The idea of him
having such magic beasts at his disposal, while still shocking, was not an entirely foreign
concept for them.
Jinwoo approached a familiar face among the Hunter Association surveillance team, it was the
assistant who was almost always accompanying the Chairman of the Association.
The Chairman of the Association wasn’t an easy person to meet. Even if it was a minister-level
official making the request, they would have to wait a week or more for a face-to-face.
This hunter - who hadn’t even been a member of the original raiding party - had come out of
nowhere to subdue the monsters and save the S-class hunters from being exterminated
themselves. It amused the assistant to think that at this moment, there was likely no one who
the Chairman would want to meet more.
Jinwoo recalled that the Chairman’s health was a matter of some concern.
‘Maybe watching the raid broadcast was too much for his heart to handle.’
“No, he's there to observe the progress of Hunter Cha Hae-in's recovery.”
Jinwoo nodded.
He was about to turn around and leave when the employee hastily amended his previous
statement.
“I'll get in touch with the head of the Association. Please wait a moment in our lobby.”
"Alright."
Jinwoo thanked the gods of fortune were smiling down on him. There was something he wanted
to tell Go Gun-hee as soon as possible.
-----
Cha Hae-in had been admitted to one of the larger hospitals affiliated with the Association. The
Association Chairman was sitting in the office of the doctor in charge of overseeing Cha Hae-
in’s care. He was waiting on the results of a preliminary examination of the hunter’s condition.
Adrift in thought with brows furrowed in concern, the Chairman almost didn’t notice the doctor
return.
“How is she?”
“I didn't do an exhaustive examination, but...all signs point to her being in perfect health. She's
just sleeping at the moment.”
“I see...”
The Chairman of the association nodded, trying to unpack the ramifications of what had just
heard.
The doctor had watched the raid broadcast alongside the Chairman. The reason for Cha Hae-
in’s current state was also a mystery to him. Even though he was the only one in the room with
any formal medical training, he couldn’t help but ask aloud.
"How did Hae-in, who was knocking on death’s door due to excessive blood loss, made such a
full recovery?"
“...”
The Chairman had already heard a detailed account from the members of the Korean team
during their debriefing, but kept his mouth shut.
That Hunter Sung Jinwoo solicited the services of the dead Hunter Min Byung-gu and healed
Cha Hae-in? Hunter Sung Jinwoo asked for the camera to be turned off because he wanted to
keep his ability under wraps.
The Chairman of the Association was not foolish enough to betray the confidence of such a
man. The other Hunters felt the same way.
“I had several A-Rank Healers on standby. They healed her as soon as they touched down.”
"It looked pretty serious ... I'm glad it wasn't too late."
“Ah.”
The doctor remembered something he had been meaning to discuss with the Chairman.
Noticing the sudden change in the Chairman’s demeanor, his doctor spoke quickly.
“Yes.”
The Association President had spent time in the past few weeks using his information network
to gather as much information as possible on Korea’s newest S-Rank Hunter. He was familiar
with the details of Sung Jinwoo’s family relations. Fearing the worst, the President’s face
stiffened.
“The opposite?”
“Yes, it caused quite the commotion internally. We never made a public announcement, but it
happened right here at our hospital.”
Officials at the hospital had also watched the raid today. The name ‘Sung Jinwoo’ was
whispered everywhere throughout the wings and corridors of the hospital, but none dared to
speak and leak the information about his mother to the outside.
“Are you saying that she was cured of ‘Eternal Sleep’? Is that even possible?”
“As far as I’m aware this was the first recorded instance.”
“Let’s see...”
The doctor turned his gaze upwards as he tried to recollect the exact date.
“...”
A wave of realization washed over the Chairman. Jinwoo had been asked to join the team at
around the same time his mother woke up.
Let alone the ‘Jeju Island Operation’ that had already failed three times before.
The Chairman reflected on how rude he had been in hindsight as a result of his ignorance of
these circumstances.
In any case, given the way the Raid unfolded and this new information coming to light about
Sung Jinwoo’s mother, the Association President was confident that any misunderstandings
were now behind them.
His quiet lamentation was interrupted by a young female clerk from the Association staff
entering the office.
“Association Chairman.”
“We’re having trouble getting in touch with Hunter Min Byung-gu hunter's family.”
"His mother?"
“Yes.”
Her son's death was broadcast on TV during the raid. She had called the Association to confirm
and the Association had no choice but to disclose the truth. It pained the President to remember
her quivering voice. Denial was all that had been holding back her tears and towards the end of
the call all he could do was sit and listen to her choking sobs.
“I will go myself.”
“Would you want to find out over the phone that you are going to have an empty casket at the
funeral for the son you just lost?”
“Th-that, that is, well....”
“...Okay.”
The clerk was in the middle of giving a firm nod when suddenly her phone rang.
It was a call from the Association. He asked the chairman to excuse him before taking the call.
The clerk turned to look expectantly at the Chairman. Go Gun-hee shook his head.
The clerk covered their cell phone with her hands to blocked their voices.
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Jinwoo, who was about to sit down, suddenly realized how thirsty he was. Come to think of it, he
hadn’t drank a single drop of water since that fierce fight.
“Just water.”
“Thank you!”
“...”
The nervous staff member grabbed a small bottle of water from a cabinet nearby and put it
down in front of the Hunter and bowed his head.
“Okay.”
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere the last time he was here, everyone around him seemed
to be on edge.
Jinwoo guessed that he was going to have to get used to people behaving a little differently
around him in the future.
Jinwoo tried to stand up, but Go Gun-Hee motioned for him not to bother. This man had just
returned from Jeju Island. Among the ants he subdued, there was a monster that nearly
annihilated the entire team of S-Rank Hunters.
It was Go Gun-hee who did not want to disrespect him after he had saved the lives of the other
S-Rank Hunters. Instead of seating himself at the armchair behind his massive desk, Go Gun-
hee moved to sit on one of the guest chairs opposite Jinwoo.
Jinwoo was happy to hear that the President had been briefed.
Go Gun-Hee continued.
“As for the matter of how you arrived back in Korea...”
Several people from the Association had seen Kaisel before Jinwoo returned him to his shadow.
It was no surprise that the President knew.
Jinwoo had gone through “Shadow Exchange”, but did he really need to show his entire hand?
“That’s correct.”
He’d basically confessed that he was the one responsible for the monster sighting in the middle
of Seoul a few days ago. This would make it convenient for him to move around more easily in
the future using Kaisel.
-----
“I see.”
The President of the Association nodded. They’d established that Jinwoo was capable of
commanding the powers of dead monsters.
‘If a Hunter could command a magic beast capable of flight, then it stands to reason that he’d
ride it.’
“Yes.”
“What?”
“How...”
He slowly sat back down, remembering the endless waves of shadowy minions he had seen on
the screen. If they had scoured Jeju Island with such overwhelming force, it wouldn't have been
a problem to wipe out the ants in such a short period of time.
It meant that the body of Hunter Min Byung-gu could be recovered from the heart of the ant
nest. Go Gun-Hee's eyes welled with tears knowing that the body of Hunter Min Byung-gu
would not be desecrated by those insects.
-----
<Until recently, Korea has been stifled by difficult problems like the ‘Jeju Island Operation’, but
now it has become one of the strongest countries in the world.>
Thomas turned off the video of news coverage of the Jeju Island raid.
Laura, his attendant who was always by his side, tried to gauge his reaction.
He leaned back into the sofa and stretched his legs out onto the coffee table. He had a high,
sculpted nose and a head full of blonde hair. Even though it was indoors, his sunglasses never
left his face, and neither did his toothy smile.
“Isn’t that the man that Mr. Hwang was investigating?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Laura, who had secretly investigated the relationship between Hwang Dong-soo and Sung
Jinwoo, proceeded to brief Thomas on what she had been able to dig up.
There was only one thing that linked the two of them together: Hwang Dong-soo's brother,
Hwang Dong-seok.
He and Sung Jinwoo had entered a dungeon together. Sung Jinwoo came out and Hwang
Dong-seok was never heard from again. Anything could happen in a dungeon. This was a
commonly accepted notion throughout the world.
“I think so.”
“I thought Hwang didn't have any surviving family members. I was never told about a brother.”
"Apparently Mr. Hwang did everything he could to conceal his relation to his brother."
"Sounds like he was trying to leave that life behind him, huh?”
If Dong-seok’s ‘hobby’ ever came to light, then his brother’s reputation would have been ruined.
“After all this with Jeju Island, it’s going to be much harder for Hwang to meet Sung Jinwoo.
Much harder for anyone, really.”
“I think so too.”
Thomas, the world-renowned Hunter and Master of the Guild Scavenger, had even put in for
special leave to visit such a small country because of Sung Jinwoo. Specifically, his goal was to
determine what would happen if Mr. Hwang were ever to meet Sung Jinwoo.
But now guild officers from everywhere were clamoring to recruit the Korean S-Rank Hunter.
Thomas couldn’t help but lament bitterly.
“I had wanted to meet him, but now this happened.”
“It would be better if we don't have Mr. Hwang and Hunter Sung Jinwoo meet either, right?”
“Well...”
South Korea refused entry to Hwang Dong-soo who had left the country long ago to go to the
U.S. Thomas himself had risked a diplomatic crisis by choosing to come to Korea. But Mr.
Hwang was not one to give up even though Thomas had warned him.
Thomas wasn’t exactly righteous either. He had no intention of stopping Hwang from taking
revenge for his family.
However he was an important member of Scavenger. So in the spirit of protecting his own
interests, Thomas decided it’d be prudent to learn more about Sung Jinwoo’s abilities.
And now, Thomas’ impression of Sung Jinwoo was that he’d be the heavy favorite in the
matchup.
“Never let Mr. Hwang enter Korea. Then they won't even meet.”
“I'll have a little chat with Mr. Hwang. He’s got a bit of a temper, so it’s better if I personally make
sure we don’t have any problems.”
Laura carefully wrote down her employer's words without fail. A chilling thought entered her
mind.
"If...on the off chance you aren’t able to get through to him, what would you do if the two of them
were to fight?"
Thomas grinned.
“Mr. Hwang is the Scavenger Guild’s property. The Scavenger Guild is my property.”
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not smiling at all. He always wore sunglasses
because one look in his eyes was often enough to make the average man’s knees buckle in
terror.
Thomas lowered his voice, straightening his back against the sofa.
“I won't forgive anyone who damages my property. Even if it's the U.S. government.”
It was a level of self-assuredness wielded by only a few people in the world. Here was a man
whose power was equal to that of an entire country.
Thomas Andre.