[Entry Time: 14:00:00.] [Clear Time: 14:00:45.] [Casualties: 0.] [Potions Used: 0.]
Choi Jong-In intentionally and unapologetically leaked the Association's highly classified, official timestamp data directly to the press.
During a prime-time television interview, Jong-In adjusted his glasses and delivered a quote that completely broke the internet:
"We didn't send an elite Strike Squad into that A-Rank Gate to protect him. We sent them to carry his bags. As of today, the Hunters Guild is no longer a combat organization; we are simply a logistics company operating under Kim Min-jun."
His words sounded like an arrogant joke, causing many reporters to laugh. Yet, for the seasoned veterans and rival Guild Masters who knew how to read between the lines, the terrifying underlying message was crystal clear:
He doesn't need you. He doesn't need your training, your crucibles, or your discipline. You would only limit his growth.
When the rival Guilds had desperately tried to convince the public that Choi Jong-In was just a businessman who would waste Min-jun's combat potential, Jong-In utterly destroyed their narrative with cold, hard data.
The public reaction was absolutely explosive.
"No way... forty-five seconds?!"
"But the Association timestamps are verified!"
"This is insane! He's a god!"
"KIM MIN-JUN IS THE TRUE HERO OF KOREA!"
"THE HUNTERS GUILD IS UNDISPUTED!"
In the span of a single afternoon, all the vicious mockery, the corporate smear campaigns, and the desperate coping mechanisms from the rival Guilds were entirely forgotten by the masses.
Even if the other major Guilds boasted S-Rank Masters with devastating physical combat power—unlike Choi Jong-In, whose Mage class left him relatively fragile in hand-to-hand combat—it no longer mattered. The Hunters Guild's dominance was now forged in absolute iron. Nobody could challenge them. With three S-Rank pillars holding the roof—Choi Jong-In, Cha Hae-In, and the anomaly, Kim Min-jun—they were the ultimate superpower.
Meanwhile, the karma for the rival Guild Masters was brutally swift.
Lim Tae-Gyu, previously hailed as the one and only S-Rank Archer in Korea, watched his entire corporate empire begin to crumble. The moment Min-jun debuted, massive corporate sponsors, luxury brands, and athletic endorsements immediately started breaking their contracts with Tae-Gyu's Fiend Guild.
Why wouldn't they? If a marketing executive had to choose between an aging, middle-aged man with standard S-Rank skills, or a devastatingly handsome, flawlessly intelligent SNU student who could casually speedrun an A-Rank Gate without breaking a sweat... the choice was painfully obvious.
While many executives were still locked in desperate denial, praying that Choi Jong-In had somehow faked the footage, Baek Yoon-Ho of the White Tiger Guild knew the war was over.
"It's over..." Baek murmured, staring blankly at the ceiling of his office.
He knew that losing Min-jun to Jong-In meant the White Tiger Guild would never claim the number one spot. "No... I can't give up." Yet, even Baek, with his straightforward fighter's spirit, was stubbornly trying to deny the inevitable.
Inside the highest office of the Korean Hunter Association, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
"Is this real, Chairman? He isn't being manipulated by camera tricks? Cha Hae-In didn't step in to help him off-screen?" a high-ranking Association official asked, sweating nervously.
"Impossible," Go Gun-Hee replied, his voice a low, heavy rumble.
Chairman Go wasn't as small-minded or steeped in denial as his panicked subordinates. "The truth is exactly what you saw on the screen. He possesses the absolute power to stand at the apex. That is an undeniable fact."
As the most respected Hunter in Korea, Chairman Go had recognized Min-jun's terrifying potential the moment they met. Even though it hadn't even been a full week since the boy Awakened, Go knew that some people were simply born to break the rules of reality. Min-jun was an anomaly—a walking glitch that could not be measured by human common sense.
However, unfortunately...
If Min-jun was willing to serve the government, Chairman Go could have finally rested his weary, failing heart, knowing a new pillar was there to hold up the sky. But Min-jun had slipped through his fingers.
No. I can't give up on him yet, Chairman Go thought, his eyes narrowing. Even if the boy didn't respect the government's authority, this country desperately needed his firepower. If Chairman Go had to swallow his pride and literally beg on his knees, he would do it. He needed a successor.
"Chairman, should we launch an official inquiry to check the validity of the footage?" the corrupt official pressed, clearly looking for an excuse to harass the Hunters Guild.
"No. Leave it alone," Go Gun-Hee snapped, glaring at the man with absolute displeasure. "Why are you so eager to harass him? Do you want him to view the Association as an enemy?"
"But Chairman, if we do nothing to regulate this, the Guilds will fall into chaos! We must intervene!"
"Intervene?" Chairman Go's voice dropped to a terrifying, icy whisper. "And do what? Attempt to put him in prison? Because if you try to do that... I will kill you myself."
"...."
The entire room froze.
Chairman Go leaned forward, unleashing a wave of pure, suffocating killing intent that made the air in the room feel like lead. "I don't know which Chaebol or politician's payroll you are currently sitting on. But if I find out that you—or anyone else in this building—attempts to intentionally antagonize that boy and make him hate this Association... believe me, I will personally crush you and the shadow you work for."
"...."
Go Gun-Hee was not bluffing. He was perfectly aware that civil servant salaries were barely a drop in the bucket compared to private Guild money. He knew many of his officials accepted bribes and engaged in quiet corruption. He usually turned a blind eye to it, because that was simply the realistic, ugly nature of the world.
But if they crossed this specific line and threatened the absolute survival of South Korea? He would gladly remind them why he was known as the strongest. Chairman Go might be a celebrated hero, but surviving this long meant he was also intimately familiar with how to eliminate a threat.
"I am not joking," Chairman Go growled, his eyes glowing faintly with raw mana. "Pass that warning to the cowards hiding behind you. Tell them I have a thousand different ways to destroy their empires."
"Y-Yes, Sir..." the official whimpered, trembling violently.
"I couldn't hear you. What is your answer?"
"YES, SIR!"
"Get out."
The terrified officials practically scrambled over each other to flee the office. The only person left behind was Chief Woo Jin-chul, who let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Do you really have that much confidence in the boy, Chairman?" Jin-chul asked quietly.
"I do," Chairman Go nodded, the terrifying pressure finally leaving his shoulders. "He is different from everyone else in this industry. He is even different from me. That is exactly why I can never give up on him."
"Achoo!"
Min-jun suddenly sneezed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Are you okay?" Cha Hae-In asked immediately, stepping closer, her sharp gray eyes filled with genuine concern.
"I'm fine. Probably just someone talking behind my back," Min-jun sniffled, adjusting his glasses.
"I think they definitely will be," Hae-In noted softly.
"You're probably right."
"....."
Cha Hae-In was left entirely speechless. Of course people were talking about him! He had just casually cleared four A-Rank and B-Rank dungeons in a single afternoon!
If he hadn't finally announced that he was bored and wanted to go home, she knew with absolute certainty he could have cleared ten more. He didn't even look slightly fatigued. His breathing was perfectly steady, his Void-Weave suit didn't have a single drop of sweat on it, and he still smelled like crisp, refreshing morning air.
He had simply told the Guild extraction teams that he wanted to "digest what he learned," but in reality, she knew he just wanted to go home and relax. Before his Awakening, his daily schedule had been a brutal cycle of endless studying, recording video streams, and collapsing from exhaustion. Now that he had unlimited wealth and power, he just wanted to splurge on a ridiculously expensive dinner and finally enjoy his life.
As they walked out of the Guild's private debriefing facility, Min-jun stretched his arms, ready to head back to his apartment.
But suddenly—
"Um... Min-jun-ssi?"
"Yes?" Min-jun turned, his calm eyes meeting hers.
Despite having faced down massive, terrifying S-Rank Boss monsters without flinching, Cha Hae-In suddenly felt her heart hammering against her ribs. Her palms were sweating. The sheer, overwhelming intensity of this social interaction felt infinitely more terrifying than any dungeon she had ever raided.
She tightly gripped the fabric of her jacket, gathered every single ounce of her S-Rank courage, and finally spoke the words racing through her mind.
"D-Do you... want to get dinner together?"