10 minutes ago.
Gong Se-hee requested a spar with Dok Jong-sik. He initially declined, but upon her polite insistence, he willingly nodded.
It seemed she wasn’t one to easily give up, and since it wasn’t particularly difficult, Dok Jong-sik nodded his head, just as he did when facing Min-meori.
It was a signal to come in. Gong Se-hee narrowed her eyes at the gesture.
“Are you a martial artist? If not, you should be holding a weapon.”
“Not necessary.”
“I see those lying over there…”
“So, are you not going to do it? Well, if you don’t like it, you can quit.”
‘Wasn’t it an attitude of unparalleled arrogance? ‘
Gong Se-hee had never been treated like this before. She gritted her teeth and turned her wrist.
Boong, boong –
The well-forged blade gleamed as it reflected the light shining through the gap in the window.
“You’ll regret this.”
With those words, Gong Se-hee rushed forward.
Swish! Clang! Swish!
He was clearly unarmed. But why did it sound like he was striking solid metal? Her hand holding the sword tingled.
However, regardless of that, Dok Jong-sik’s lightning-fast sword strikes were blocked, barely missing a thread of his clothing and meeting only empty air.
It was only then that she realized. The reason why this man didn’t hold a weapon.
‘An invisible sword! How can this person…’
What she had vaguely dreamed of was right in front of her. Her pupils shook uncontrollably.
Jong-sik didn’t miss that moment.
A condensed energy surged towards her. Startled, Gong Se-hee quickly stepped back.
As she retreated, Jong-sik advanced one step further. Gong Se-hee was clearly in a disadvantageous position.
‘How on earth is Gong Se-hee being pushed back like that?’
The scene, unseen so easily, left Jang-nae silent. They watched Jong-sik and Gong Se-hee intently. Some furrowed their brows, squinting their eyes. Why wouldn’t they? Jong-sik was simply taking steps forward, yet Gong Se-hee seemed to be panicking and retreating.
‘What on earth is happening here?’
Doubt crept into their eyes. Meanwhile, Gong Se-hee, the main character, was in a state of urgency. Her mouth was dry, and her back was damp with sweat.
Then, as if determined, Gong Se-hee made a decision.
‘Get a grip, Gong Se-hee. It can’t end like this so anticlimactically.’
She had to struggle, at least. For a moment, a black light shimmered on the white blade. It was a sword aura. She leaped again.
Gong Se-hee became a fluttering butterfly in the air. Her sword strikes became faster and fiercer.
Bang! Bang!
Nevertheless, there was no reversal. Jong-sik dodged the raining sword strikes like flowing water.
And then, in that moment, Jong-sik’s form disappeared.
Shortly after, Jong-sik appeared behind Gong Se-hee.
He declared the end of the spar, revealing the form of his sword to help her understand.
“It seems to be over.”
Gong Se-hee closed her eyes tightly, looking at the crimson blade pointed at her neck. And she thought.
‘If I had shown my weapon from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been defeated so easily…’
No. Even if she had, the result would have been the same. Her mind said so. But her heart cried out for ‘one more time.’
She opened her mouth, holding out the sword in her hand.
“Can we have another match? I’ll show my sword like this time…”
But she couldn’t bring herself to say the rest. Because someone had appeared.
The meeting room was a complete mess.
It was all because of the spar between Dok Jong-sik and Gong Se-hee. Though the exchange of blows itself was short, the aftermath was significant.
Min-maeri and the others lay scattered on the floor, while tables and chairs were strewn about disorderly.
Yet, the belated arrival of the chairman was met with nonchalance. With a calm voice, as if such incidents were nothing out of the ordinary, he spoke.
“We seem to be done with the introductions. Let’s tidy up and start the meeting. It seems a bit difficult to continue here. Let’s move to another room.”
He dismissed the situation with a light greeting. Quite the optimistic individual, isn’t he? Anyway, with the chairman’s appearance, the situation was resolved for now.
‘It’s a pity, but we must separate work from play. There will be another chance.’
Hunters, including Gong Se-hee, followed the association staff to another meeting room.
“Hello, everyone. You probably already know, but we should still greet each other, right? I am Hunter Association Chairman Nam Woo-jong. Also, I have been appointed as the supreme commander for the upcoming joint operation between Korea and the United States.”
Nam Woo-jong stepped onto the platform. He was someone who needed no introduction. If you were a hunter, you couldn’t not know Nam Woo-jong, the towering senior.
Such a person had been appointed as the supreme commander for this operation. A stir arose among the hunters. At the same time, they could sense the significance of this operation.
“It seems like everyone is quite surprised.”
“We never imagined that the chairman would personally brief us. What on earth is going on?”
‘There was no substantial information about the operation. They only knew about the collaboration with the United States. Some of us didn’t even know why they had to collaborate with us. ‘
Gong Se-hee couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked directly.
Everyone, including Jong-sik, waited for the chairman’s response. He pressed a button on the remote control in his hand and spoke.
“But before that, let’s start with this.”
The lights in the meeting room went out, and a large screen descended from the wall. The video that played depicted a thin Caucasian man.
“The power of darkness has revealed itself there. Hoo! Flesh will rot, and the ground will melt away. Keueeck. Infinite glory shall shine upon those who stand and fight!”
The Caucasian man’s eyes rolled back, and his body trembled. Despite this, his mouth didn’t stop moving. It was the kind of bizarre content that conspiracy theorists and fanatics loved.
Jong-sik frowned as he watched the video.
‘That guy seems to be obsessed with dark magic.’
The power of darkness, flesh rotting away.
It all sounded familiar for some reason.
Because of this, Jong-sik immediately thought of the Dark Magic Circle.
Of course, the only way to be sure was to confront it directly.
The seeds of doubt had already been planted.
Meanwhile, Chairman Nam Woo-jong pressed the remote control to pause the screen.
“The man in the video is named Ramus. He is a dimensional being discovered in the United States, known there as a figure referred to as the Prophet.”
“Wait a minute. Ramus? Where have I heard that name before… Ah!”
‘Come to think of it, it seemed vaguely familiar from the list provided by Pyeong-ari. It was written there, the dimensional being. Beyond that, there was no additional information, according to Pyeong-ari.’
It seemed that Ramus was receiving meticulous care from the United States. “What a Prophet.” Jong-sik muttered incredulously.
At his words, the hunters glanced momentarily at Chairman Nam Woo-jong. Why wouldn’t they? He was questioning their superiors’ words! Clearly, there was a hint of rebellion in the air.
‘Things might get tense.’
‘It could turn out to be an interesting situation.’
However, contrary to their expectations, Chairman Nam Woo-jong kindly added an explanation. The reason was simple.
There had been no directive from higher-ups to give a bad impression to Jong-sik.
“It’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s the truth. They say Ramus has the ability to predict the appearance of Gates. That’s why he’s called the ‘Prophet’. It’s a pity he wasn’t discovered in Korea, rather than crossing dimensions.”
One of the hunters, who had been cautiously observing the situation, raised his hand. He would take advantage of this opportunity to ask something he was curious about.
“Is his ability verified?”
Until now, there had been no one who could predict the appearance of Gates. Of course, artifacts were the same. They appeared after the gate did. That’s why he asked the question.
“Of course. According to the information sent from the United States, the accuracy rate is said to be as high as 98%. Not only that, but it seems he also knows quite a bit about strategies to deal with unknown monsters. Thanks to that, recently, the United States has seen a significant decrease in casualties related to Gates.”
“It’s a shame. If he had been discovered in Korea, he would have been more highly valued…”
“I think the same. But that’s not the important thing right now.”
Nam Woo-jong once again explained the details of the operation. The gist of it was this: Ramus, treated as the Prophet, predicted the appearance of the Gate a few days ago. Moreover, it was a warning of the emergence of a release-type A-grade Gate.
However, the problem was that the location of the Gate’s appearance was not in the United States. Moreover, according to the Prophet, it was said to be a Gate where one could obtain “infinite glory.”
As a result, the US government requested cooperation from the Korean government. Of course, the Korean government had no choice but to accept the proposal from the US government, in order to minimize unavoidable casualties.
“So, they’re saying they’ll come onto our turf under the pretext of providing information.”
“That’s correct. Since what they want is in our country, they requested cooperation.”
“Then, is this so-called Prophet going to come along too?”
“Of course. They say he accompanies dungeon exploration as well. It must be to secure hidden treasures.”
‘They were truly going to interfere in other people’s affairs. That’s what it meant. And they planned to take the leftovers too.’
“So, your mission is more crucial than ever. We can’t let what’s rightfully ours be taken away, especially after offering up the front yard. We must make sure to claim any loot that can be obtained from the boss monster.”
When it came to shared spoils, distribution was inevitable. That’s why they meant to monopolize the boss monster at any cost.
The hunters thought it would be quite a challenging operation.
Meanwhile, Jong-sik was still thinking about Ramus, the so-called Prophet.
“What’s he up to, anyway?”
Dark wizards were undoubtedly dangerous individuals. Jong-sik had experienced it himself. It was when he had been sold to a dark wizard for experiments.
For that reason, Jong-sik harbored a strong, intense hatred towards dark wizards. Whether it was back then or now.
Thus, Jong-sik was looking forward to the upcoming meeting with Ramus. He didn’t know what scheme he had to come to Korea, but whatever it was, Jong-sik was determined to thwart it.
“I’ll smash whatever scheme he has, no matter what.”
With that thought in mind, he managed to suppress the rising hatred. In the meantime, the Chairman’s words continued.
“It seems like everyone understands. Then, I’ll stop here. The team sent from there is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow, so make sure to prepare yourselves and bring your skills to the highest level. Oh, have you decided on the mission commander?”
All the hunters’ gazes turned to Jong-sik at Chairman Nam Woo-jong’s words. It was clear that the hierarchy had been firmly established after the recent incident.
Without needing to be said, it was evident that the position of mission commander belonged to Jong-sik.
Of course, Jong-sik could also feel the gazes directed towards him.
“Seems like everyone’s on the same page. Hunter Jong-sik. No, from now on, we should call you Captain Jong-sik. That should be alright, right?”
‘Being the one in control is definitely more comfortable than being controlled, right? And having a title might not be a bad idea, just in case.’
After a brief moment of consideration, Jong-sik nodded his head. However, he added one condition.
“I don’t want a mere title. If I lead the operation, everyone must follow my orders without question. Do you all have confidence in that?”
In other words, could they follow orders to the point of sacrificing themselves if necessary? That was the gist of it. It was a clear demand for obedience. Naturally, the four members of the dungeon exploration team, including Baek Ho-dam, vigorously nodded their heads in agreement.
But what about the others? Silence hung in the air. This was why starting anything was difficult. They knew their capabilities, but speaking up was another matter entirely. Some even glanced nervously at Gong Se-hee. And why wouldn’t they? That position should have been hers by right.
In such a situation, Chairman Nam Woo-jong watched with keen interest. It was understandable. Self-proclaimed top-tier hunters were hesitating in the face of a statement from an A-rank hunter.
It was an uncommon sight.
But it wasn’t just a simple matter of watching and speaking.
“S-rank hunters are also looking down. That means his abilities must exceed those of an S-rank.”
Nam Woo-jong had made this conjecture with certainty.
How much time had passed by then? Finally, someone spoke up. It wasn’t just an ordinary person. If it weren’t for Jong-sik, he would have taken the position of mission commander.
“I’ll follow. No matter the order.”
It was Hunter Gong Se-hee. She answered while meeting Jong-sik’s gaze. With her breaking the ice, others began to speak up one by one.
“I’ll follow too.”
“I won’t disobey.”
“I’ll address you as Captain.”
And so, Jong-sik assumed the position of mission commander.
