Chapter 139. Kagoshima Dragon Raid (2)
Clang.
The Association President turned the metallic doorknob halfway to exit the meeting room.
But suddenly, a feeling of dread sank into his heart.
This sensation that could make an ordinary person drop to the floor must surely be—
‘S-Class Hunter’s magic?’
Thoughts didn’t linger long.
Immediately, the door to the meeting room swung open, revealing the figure of the opponent.
“Huh!”
Dorr— a green eye resembling that of a reptile slowly rolled toward the Association President.
Standing at the door was none other than S-Class Awakened Kang Chang-ho.
“Y-you, Hunter Kang Chang-ho?”
The Association President was momentarily flustered by the sudden appearance of the new S-Class, when a voice from behind interrupted him.
“Oh, President. By the way, that person is also going on this expedition.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re participating under the condition of having that person with them. You knew that.”
This cheeky guy, who wouldn’t listen even to the queasiest of orders from the Hunter Association, just decided to head to Japan all of a sudden?
‘W-w-what the heck is going on!’
Questions deepened.
Why did Kim Gi-ryeo agree to the summons? Why did Kang Chang-ho show his face at the Association?
The President had no clue about anything, but—
One thing he was certain of was that this Fourth S-Class was no ordinary person.
*
Dragon Raid.
First thing, I usually have two means to call upon in battle.
One, the unique-grade equipment [Scream Stake].
Two, the wide-area stun item [Surprise Box!].
However, both of these weapons are kinda missing a screw, making them not ideal for dragon hunting.
The [Scream Stake] has a short attack range, and getting close would likely result in me getting smashed.
Using it like a poisoned needle also has its limits.
So how about [Surprise Box!]?
I’m not too keen on using that either. Because this item stuns everyone except me.
‘If the Hunters who are supposed to catch the dragon go down, what can I do alone…?’
No. These tools aren’t even epic-grade, and being unique-grade means they probably won’t work on S-Class monsters either.
Anyway.
The enhanced defensive ring received from Gu Seo-hyeong, and about 3 billion worth of slush funds in my bank account—
So far, I had nothing to use against a dragon with this power I amassed.
That’s why I decided to use new means for this S-Class hunting.
“Hmm.”
I had no use for it up until now, and it was shoved in a corner, but truthfully, I obtained this reward during the last capture of Su Ye-hwi.
[Infinite Power Core x 5]
Five cores, worth hundreds of millions each!
These were the cores seized from the hideout where Su Ye-hwi was hiding.
I had sneaked and swiped the contents from the brainwashing magician’s item box.
Yeah, it’s only fair for the Great Mage to be compensated for cleaning up evildoers on behalf of the nation.
‘Speaking of which, Esther mentioned she’d sell the recovered items to help the victims from the Nachalsawon… well, I never agreed to that, so let her handle it with her share.’
Multiple magical power sources.
Originally, I brought them to maintain the barrier in my studio, but plans have changed.
I was going to use the [Infinite Power Cores] recovered from Su Ye-hwi’s hideout to set a trap for the dragon.
‘With 5 Infinite Power Cores, catching a lizard should be easy!’
Now that I’ve figured out how to contribute to dragon hunting, I just needed to solve a minor problem…
A few minutes later.
Korean Hunter Association.
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
I stood up, organizing the materials provided by the Association.
“Are you really planning to go to the S-Class Gate?”
In the quiet meeting room, only two Awakened ones remained after the Association employees left.
One was me, standing up from the table. The other was that “stalker” leaning against the door.
Kang Chang-ho was looking down at me with his arms crossed, tilting his head as he continued questioning.
“You really have to risk your life to go to places like that.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s not just the feeling of A-Class Hunters fighting A-Class Monsters. Especially the S-Class bosses… they’re incredibly powerful enough to disrupt the world’s balance.”
That meant last time, the Ki-simche had terribly failed at adjusting the difficulty.
I listened to Kang Chang-ho’s words with interest, and a little doubt arose.
“I’ve always thought, but you really seem to know the level of S-Class monsters pretty well, Hunter Kang Chang-ho.”
“Hmm.”
“Have you ever been to Hawaii?”
It wasn’t hard to get an answer. Kang Chang-ho explained casually, as it wasn’t much of a secret.
“Yeah. When the S-Class Dungeon Break happened in America, I was there too.”
“Ah.”
“It wasn’t anything formal, just personal matters.”
He must have been vacationing abroad, given his wealth.
“But do you know what I saw back then?”
“What was it?”
“An S-Class Hunter doing pretty well in America got smashed to bits by a single roar from [Nuckelavee].”
…
“He got hit from up close, but seeing that made me think twice about going after a boss.”
Ugh!
Hearing such vivid experiences made me feel nervous. If a top-tier American Hunter could get sliced in half by that colossal monster, it must have been terrifying.
‘Wait, should I call the Association President now to pull out from going to Japan?’
But Kang Chang-ho was describing a Dungeon Break from four years ago in Hawaii.
And I was heading to a Japanese Gate, which had a lower difficulty.
I wrapped up my thoughts and asked again from my contractor with whom I made a Knight’s Pact.
“However, as I mentioned earlier, I’m not directly going to capture the S-Class.”
…
“I’ll be as careful as possible, so would you consider coming with me? Of course, if it looks dangerous, I’ll back out immediately. Besides, I won’t even step into the front line.”
Though it was risky, this was indeed a tremendous opportunity.
Dungeons where dragon breed appeared were rare enough; if the Gate was located overseas, it would practically be a once-in-a-lifetime chance!
‘Dragons are highly valued, so they let domestic Hunters in first. Cases like Japan begging for a visit are rare.’
I cautiously watched for Kang Chang-ho’s reaction.
“Fine.”
But what’s this?
I hadn’t even started flattering him, and he suddenly agreed.
“If you’re that confident, then I should just let you go. After all, as I just said, it’s a condition for me to accompany you.”
…!
“Moreover, you mentioned something like that before.”
What kind of story?
“I said I can’t enter an S-Class Gate ‘right now.’”
Sorry, but no matter how genius a Mage you are, you can’t remember everything you say.
So I didn’t even recall if I had actually said that.
It was then that, sensing my continued silence, Kang Chang-ho relaxed his posture and looked directly at me.
“Kim Gi-ryeo, can I ask you something?”
Nothing’s stopping me, I guess.
“Your earlier statement, and even now, you don’t seem too nervous about heading to Japan. You act like someone who’s experienced S-Class Gates before.”
…
“Have you ever defeated another S-Class Monster besides ‘Unavoidable Malice’?”
An unnecessary misunderstanding.
I quickly denied Kang Chang-ho’s suspicion.
There’s no benefit in lying here, anyway.
“No.”
But that S-Class Hunter just kept rolling his Dragon’s Eye in silence, refusing to accept my claim outright.
It seemed there was a reason for his hesitation too.
“Let me change the question.”
“What?”
“Actually, Nuckelavee could have wiped out the Hunters in America easily.”
…
“It was that strong of a monster.”
…
“But suddenly…. a nameless Hunter appeared and sliced that demon apart. By the way, that mysterious Hunter quietly vanished after the raid was complete.”
Thup, thup.
Kang Chang-ho approached me and scanned me up and down as if he was verifying something.
“If it weren’t for that Hunter, Nuckelavee would probably still be alive in Hawaii.”
I asked from pure curiosity.
“What’s your point?”
S-Class slowly replied.
“Nothing much. That Hunter who defeated Nuckelavee was wearing a dark mask that looked like a beast’s head.”
‘A mask?’
“Plus, they had black leather all over their clothes and shoes. In the end, I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.”
Kang Chang-ho even tapped around his eyes as he added more details.
During the Hawaii Dungeon Break, he hadn’t obtained the Dragon’s Eye yet, so he couldn’t distinguish people by their magical power.
“But looking back now, I do remember one thing.”
Swish.
Kang Chang-ho lightly rested his palm on my shoulder.
“Yeah.”
Something was being pondered.
“When I think about it, that Hunter had a similar build.”
Kang Chang-ho whispered softly.
To summarize, he’s suspicious that I’m the Hunter who killed Nuckelavee, huh?
An interesting theory, but sadly, there’s no chance of that.
I appreciate everyone being too gullible, but the body he possesses is merely a pathetic F-Class.
“That’s just a coincidence.”
When I said that confidently, Kang Chang-ho fell silent for a moment before stepping aside.
“Alright. Then prepare for your departure.”
“Yes.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what skills you’ll show.”
“You know you’ll have to wait ten years to see anything, right?”
After I left the meeting room, Kang Chang-ho said something behind me, but it wasn’t worth responding to.
“It’s now nine years.”
*
Japanese Airport.
Today, a massive crowd had gathered here.
An unprecedented event where an S-Class Gate had formed on Japanese soil.
While many countries feared losing their own Hunters and ignored the requests for help, only one nation finally expressed their willingness to cooperate in the dungeon raid.
“We’re here!”
Click, click, click, click.
As the entry gate opened, multiple cameras went off simultaneously with flashes.
I pushed forward, following the dazzling lights.
“Wow, they really came…”
“Here come Korea’s rankers!”
The crowd erupted in cheers as the top-tier Hunters from the nation made their entrance!
At first, there were plenty of skeptics about Korea sending Hunters. Many people online were also throwing sarcastic comments.
[Isn’t there some shady plan not to help?]
[They probably don’t intend to help at all.]
[Do those Hunters from that country even help?]
But with just one announcement from me, those criticisms vanished like smoke.
-I will not receive any compensation from Japan unless the boss monster is defeated.
I wrapped a straightforward contract clause neatly, presenting the image of the ideal S-Class Hunter that the citizens wanted to see.
All I could actually do at the S-Class Gate was to contain one boss monster, and it wouldn’t make sense to receive any pay if I failed at that.
“Wow!”
“Welcome to Japan!”
But those unaware of the truth likely saw this as just a refreshing display of confidence.
“Welcome.”
After the flurry of flashes settled,
someone approached us.
With a slicked-back hairstyle and a rather stern demeanor.
He was an S-Class Hunter of Japan and the Awakener who runs the ‘Imabari’ Guild representing this country.
“Nice to meet you. S-Class members from Korea, I am Moritake Ito.”
I lightly shook hands in response to Ito’s request for a handshake.
