The phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Woo Jin-chul pulled it out and glanced at the screen, wondering who could be calling at a time like this—only for a flicker of surprise to slip through the eyes hidden behind his sunglasses as he recognized the name.
He answered and brought the phone to his ear.
"You went out of your way to call—what is it, Guild Master Choi?"
Woo Jin-chul assumed Choi Jong-In wanted to discuss the winged ant monsters.
Not long ago, they had received reports of winged ant corpses found on islands near Jeju Island—news that inevitably drew their minds back to the S-Rank Dungeon whose Gate had appeared there.
South Korea had organized three large-scale raids against that Dungeon, swarming with ant monsters. All three had failed, and precious S-Rank Hunters lost their lives. In the end, they'd been forced to abandon Jeju Island and focus on recovery.
It was only because those ant monsters couldn't fly or swim that they'd remained trapped on Jeju Island.
But if those ants had evolved wings, enabling them to fly, then ignoring them—as they'd done before—would no longer be possible.
Just recently, Choi Jong-In had spoken to him about that very intel. Woo Jin-chul had made it clear the Hunters Association would officially summon all guilds, and Choi Jong-In had stated his position clearly—the Hunters Guild would fully cooperate in the matter.
Only this time, Woo Jin-chul's guess was off the mark.
"Hunter Sung Jinwoo's... master?"
Cha Hae-In had already informed Choi Jong-In that Scáthach was Sung Jinwoo's master. Sung Jinwoo hadn't joined any guild; he was effectively a free Hunter and wasn't affiliated with the Hunters Association—but every Hunter still had basic records with the Association.
Thus, Choi Jong-In wanted to know if Woo Jin-chul had ever heard of someone named Scáthach.
The overwhelming strength Scáthach had displayed in the Dungeon, her profound knowledge, and Sung Jinwoo's abnormal rate of growth lately—none of this could be ignored.
Unfortunately…
"I'm sorry. Hunter Sung never mentioned having a master."
"…I see. So that's how it is."
Choi Jong-In had expected this answer, yet disappointment crept in regardless.
Even without confirmation from Woo Jin-chul, Scáthach could still be Sung Jinwoo's master. Either way, only Sung Jinwoo himself knew the truth.
"Even if we can't confirm whether she truly is Hunter Sung Jinwoo's master, we may have other information related to her. Could you tell us her name and distinguishing features?"
"…"
When Choi Jong-In spoke the name over the phone, Woo Jin-chul froze—his shock visible even behind his sunglasses.
"Scáthach…"
Quickly regaining composure, he confirmed her physical description. Only then did he realize for certain—she was the woman he'd seen earlier at the construction site, where the A-Rank Gate had appeared.
"Another existence I can't read…"
Staring at the now-ended call, Woo Jin-chul bitterly chuckled, tipping his head toward the ceiling.
"I'm beginning to believe she really is Hunter Sung Jinwoo's master."
He quickly steadied himself, as though nothing had happened.
Today, a very important guest—more accurately, a guest they couldn't afford to offend—was coming to meet him and Chairman Go Gunhee.
One of the National Level Hunters.
The strongest Hunter in the United States—
Thomas Andre.
At first glance, he made a simple impression: massive and tall.
Hard, sharply defined muscles like sculpted stone. Golden hair and a beard like a lion's mane.
He dressed carelessly—an open beach shirt and shorts, with vicious black tattoos crawling along his arms.
Thomas had swaggered directly into the chairman's office at the South Korean Hunters Association as if he owned the place, brazenly pressuring Go Gunhee and Woo Jin-chul in overt and subtle ways alike.
Besides Thomas, only Go Gunhee and Woo Jin-chul were in the room. No one else could face Thomas's ferocious presence while keeping their composure.
Woo Jin-chul was an A-Rank Hunter—among the best of the A-Ranks.
And Go Gunhee…
Few knew this, but the elderly man always sitting behind a desk was, in truth, South Korea's greatest fighting power. Even S-Rank Hunters like Cha Hae-In and Choi Jong-In fell slightly short of him.
When Cha Hae-In first met Sung Jinwoo, she'd even mistaken him for Go Gunhee—since, in her memory, only Go Gunhee possessed such sharp, overwhelming presence.
Woo Jin-chul and Go Gunhee fully understood why Thomas had come to South Korea.
That was precisely why it was such a headache.
"Your English is good," Thomas remarked, arms crossed as he lounged arrogantly on the sofa. "But I didn't mishear, did I?"
"You're saying you don't know where South Korea's tenth S-Rank Awakened—Hunter Sung Jinwoo—is?"
Yes.
Thomas Andre had come for Sung Jinwoo.
And he'd come with malicious intent.
It began with a C-Rank Hunter named Hwang Dongsuk—a man of rotten character who frequently formed temporary parties, then betrayed teammates to steal their raid spoils.
Though Hwang Dongsuk was merely C-Rank, his younger brother, Hwang Dongsoo, was S-Rank—and Hwang Dongsoo had joined the United States' Scavenger Guild, Thomas's guild.
With that backing, and without decisive evidence proving Hwang Dongsuk's crimes, the Hunters Association had never been able to punish him.
Until the day Hwang Dongsuk sought death by attempting to murder Sung Jinwoo.
Hwang Dongsuk and his accomplices were killed by Sung Jinwoo. Then Sung Jinwoo, imitating Hwang Dongsuk's usual tactics, publicly claimed that Hwang Dongsuk's party had been killed by monsters.
Yet far away, in the United States, Hwang Dongsoo began to despise Sung Jinwoo for it.
Even without proof that his brother had died at Sung Jinwoo's hands—even if the truth matched Sung Jinwoo's version—Hwang Dongsoo swore he would kill him.
Some time ago, Hwang Dongsoo had traveled to South Korea, only to return to the United States without ever finding Sung Jinwoo.
Now, due to an unexpected complication, Hwang Dongsoo couldn't come himself—
So someone far more troublesome had arrived in his place.
Even a fool could tell Thomas had come to back up his subordinate. He was here to pressure the Hunters Association into handing Sung Jinwoo over.
Obviously, Chairman Go would never allow it.
Had Sung Jinwoo still been what he used to be—an E-Rank Hunter at the bottom rung—there might've been room for negotiation.
But now Sung Jinwoo was a precious S-Rank Hunter—not just any S-Rank, but one of the elite.
That changed everything.
Handing over an E-Rank Hunter might be bearable.
But if they couldn't even protect their own S-Rank Hunter, South Korea would never again be able to lift its head in front of other nations.
Woo Jin-chul stood at Go Gunhee's side, hands clasped behind his back. Facing Thomas's intimidating pressure, he spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Hunter Sung Jinwoo has always been elusive. Even our Surveillance Team can't track him."
"Hm… And why should I believe that?"
"Because South Korea's Hunter authorities aren't foolish enough to lie to a National Level Hunter."
The air thickened, each breath heavy with tension. Around Thomas, even the light appeared distorted; shadows crouched at his feet like living creatures.
He sat there exuding violence like something physical—a towering mountain forcing his presence into everyone's awareness by sheer will.
"Fair enough."
Thomas suddenly laughed, apparently satisfied by Woo Jin-chul's answer.
"Oh, right. I heard our Hunter Hwang Dongsoo caused a bit of trouble when he visited your country?"
Go Gunhee lifted his gaze slightly, eyes shadowed as Thomas spoke with casual ease.
"As an S-Rank Hunter, he has his pride. We didn't say anything to him."
It sounded like an apology or submission—except only a fool would interpret it that way.
Thomas's meaning was obvious: pressure.
Turn a blind eye to whatever Hwang Dongsoo had done.
We didn't reprimand him, so you have even less right to criticize or punish him. That was what he meant.
"Our Hwang Dongsoo…"
Go Gunhee's eyes sharpened instantly, a cold glint flickering in their depths.
When the meeting ended, Go Gunhee and Thomas rose and shook hands.
Go Gunhee was already considered tall—but next to Thomas, he seemed like a child, barely reaching the other man's shoulder.
"I'm heading to the airport."
Thomas waved as he spoke, bending as he passed through the doorway—he was so tall that if he hadn't ducked, his head would have struck the frame.
"May a Surveillance Team accompany you?" Woo Jin-chul asked.
"Do as you like." Thomas shrugged. "Oh, and I'd prefer our conversation stay private."
Only after Thomas's figure had completely vanished did Woo Jin-chul finally release a long breath.
Even S-Rank Hunters felt pressured when facing Thomas—let alone an A-Rank like himself.
Being trapped in the same room as Thomas had felt like imprisonment in a small, dark cell… or endlessly sinking into a bottomless sea.
But Woo Jin-chul's heart, barely settled, lurched again at a single phone call.
"What happened, Chief Woo?" Go Gunhee asked, turning toward him.
He couldn't imagine what news could make Woo Jin-chul's expression turn so dreadful—even worse than when facing Thomas.
Woo Jin-chul's next words shattered Go Gunhee's composure instantly.
"Chairman! Hunter Sung has appeared out on the street!"
"…What did you just say?!"
...
"Whew… leveled up again. These demon nobles really do give a ton of experience."
This was the Demon Castle—an instance Dungeon only Sung Jinwoo could enter.
For him, it was the perfect place to grind levels. And there was even a chance he could find what he still lacked to wake his mother.
That urgency drove him to push himself harder.
The Dungeon had a hundred floors. Ascending required keys.
Below the eightieth floor, keys were usually held by each floor's Boss. But after reaching floor eighty, Sung Jinwoo found that every higher floor had a demon noble who "managed" it—and the keys belonged to them.
These demon nobles weren't like other demons. They communicated, possessed intelligence, lied, and set ambushes. On each floor, they had built their own castles and towns.
Standing atop the wall and looking at the demon corpses scattered below, Sung Jinwoo's eyes—burning with ghostly blue flames—held a trace of regret.
"A shame… these demons can't become shadow soldiers…"
He'd tried extracting their shadows, but the [System] notified him that the demons' mana was contaminated and couldn't be converted into shadow soldiers.
He didn't even understand what "mana contamination" meant.
"But the shadows I already had have grown stronger."
He turned toward Igris and the giant bear beside him.
Compared to when he'd been in the Land of Shadows, both shadow soldiers had visibly changed—more imposing in appearance, with auras at a completely different level.
They had gained enough experience to successfully rank up.
Igris had advanced from Knight Grade to Elite Knight Grade.
The giant bear had advanced from Elite Grade to Knight Grade, and Sung Jinwoo had named it Tank.
Having another absolutely obedient S-Rank combat asset under his command put him in a good mood. Previously, only that monster fish of his had reached S-Rank.
Speaking of which, he'd named the fish Water Tiger because it resembled a piranha.
By now, the demon noble of this floor had been defeated, and the key was secured. Sung Jinwoo prepared to advance to the next floor.
The key was stored in his [Inventory], so he attempted to open the [System] interface—only to find, after several attempts, that it stubbornly refused to appear.
"What's going on? Why's it playing dead again, like in the Land of Shadows?"
As he frowned in confusion, a purple Gate suddenly opened before him.
"Ha! I knew you'd be here, little Jinwoo."
Sung Jinwoo froze on the spot as Scáthach stepped through the Gate and waved at him.
"Shi… Shishō?! B-but—how did you get into the Demon Castle?!"
No wonder the [System] was acting dead again. Scáthach had entered the Demon Castle.
That also completely confirmed Sung Jinwoo's suspicion—the [System] wasn't afraid of the Land of Shadows.
It feared Scáthach herself.
"Listen to you," Scáthach said, eyes narrowed. Her gaze shaved across him like a blade, making Sung Jinwoo reflexively tense. "Even the boundary between life and death can't hinder me. With a world this vast, where can I not go?"
"And making such a fuss in public—how disgraceful. Your training still isn't sufficient. It seems you need more discipline."
~!!!
Hearing those words, Sung Jinwoo felt the star of death flashing frantically above his head.
---
T/N: DISCIPLINE ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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