Chapter 387

"Huh?"

 Not just one, not two, but a staggering 128 calls had come in while the phone was turned off.

"What... is this?"

It was the kind of information that inevitably made one think. But calling back every number piled up in the missed-call list one by one would be awkward.

"Did something happen overnight?"

To figure out what was going on, I first opened a video-sharing app. And on the YTV channel I usually watched, this broadcast was playing.

"No, what kind of lunatics are these? What are they doing to a mammal who's supposed to be resting right now?"

A young man in his late twenties, mild burns covering his entire body, was being interviewed.

Of course, Jung Hayeong wasn't wearing a hospital gown, but he was still far from fully recovered.

"More importantly, I know exactly what condition he's in. I'm the one who personally carried those two S-ranks all the way to the hospital."

So I nearly became furious at the tyranny of people blinded by rank.

But the content that followed left me speechless.

On the screen, Jung Hayeong actually looked somewhat relieved. His expression was bright, and on top of that, he answered the reporter holding the microphone like this.

[Reporter Nam OO: Citizens are interested not only in the resolution of the S-rank dungeon break, but also in the new abilities you displayed during the incident. How have you been training your superpowers all this time?]

[Jung Hayeong (S): The reason I've been able to reach this level is largely thanks to Hunter Kim Giryeo's help...]

The moment those white letters appeared against the blue background, cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

At least, judging from the full interview, he had kept the fact that I personally gave him intensive training a secret, just as we'd agreed.

After all, with Esther already involved from the beginning, they couldn't carelessly create another competitor.

First of all, it was commendable that he hadn't revealed the details of the tutoring, just as stipulated in our agreement.

But if he went around praising me like this on national television, didn't that defeat the whole purpose?

[Jung Hayeong (S): Hunter Kim Giryeo didn't directly teach me anything, but because he's such an outstanding ability user, there was a lot I could learn simply from working alongside him.]

[Reporter Nam OO: By any chance, did renting a hunter-exclusive gym for sparring over the past year °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° also help?]

[Jung Hayeong (S): I can't say the training had no effect. Honestly, top-tier awakeners rarely get opportunities to spar with someone stronger than themselves, so...]

On the screen, Jung Hayeong looked genuinely cheerful.

Analyzing the situation with the SSS-rank intellect of the Archmage of Alphaur, he was probably swept up in several complicated forms of joy at once.

Defeating the dungeon beast without anyone else's help.

Finally succeeding in a new technique whose completion had long seemed uncertain.

And the relief of ultimately protecting South Korea's security.

Things like that.

Honestly, that black-haired young man had accomplished more than enough to hold his head high.

So, perhaps because he was in such a good mood, he had ultimately decided to give credit to the people around him as well.

And thus an alien, who had been quietly minding his own business and merely breathing, soon found himself in danger thanks to that uniquely Korean sense of humility.

[YTV Rebroadcast ● Interview on the Gate No. 1614 Incident]

That insane interview, in which he practically declared that everything had been thanks to the fourth S-rank Hunter's help, had already aired an entire day ago.

"So that's why there were 128 missed calls."

It wasn't difficult to understand what had happened.

"The teacher who made Korea's No. 1 S-rank Hunter realize his true potential has been revealed—of course my phone would explode."

I didn't even need to call the unknown numbers back to know what they wanted.

If I were an ordinary pyromancer on Earth, I would've tried at least once to contact the person who had turned Jung Hayeong into such a monster.

"Then how the hell did my number get leaked? Should I call the Association right now and rough up whoever's in charge of storing contact information?"

The moment I understood the general situation, cold sweat began running down my back.

If I had my way, I'd punish the S-rank Hunter who leaked information about his teacher, but of all possible times, this had happened immediately after he resolved a major incident.

I couldn't exactly torment someone who was already suffering.

What a headache.

Ting!

At that moment, a message written in Korean—apparently run through some portal site's translator—arrived on my phone.

The instant I read it, I had a feeling my worries had just become reality.

[New Message: Hello! I am Ambre Borne from France. With the help of our country's Association, I cautiously ask—are you still accepting sparring requests?]

Anyway, what kind of bolt from the blue was this, striking the moment my day off began?

Only a few hours after the break at [Gate No. 1614] had been resolved, Korea became noisy over yet another issue.

Hunters from all over the world had begun sending sparring requests to Kim Giryeo.

And the wave of enthusiasm was so intense that one famous Hunter from France even flew to Korea in a private jet loaded to the brim with gifts.

Nice to meet you, everyone!

This is insane.

I ignored her text, and then she actually came in person...

So this is the country I've heard so much about—the land of Kim Giryeo?

No. Our country's president is Mr. Namgung.

Even though they were both S-rank awakeners, making this much of a fuss merely to strike up a conversation with someone was absurd.

But across all times and places, great treasures had always come at great cost.

So they want to spar with me in hopes of awakening some new skill like Jung Hayeong did?

Hm.

If that's the case, I could knock them unconscious in three seconds so they'd never think of coming back, then take their gifts and resell them...?

Unfortunately, the Hunters who came from overseas weren't fools either.

Most of them wanted long-term collaborative sparring over the course of years, not just a single match. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

They had all concluded that gains like Jung Hayeong's could only be achieved through prolonged face-to-face training.

A year?

The problem was that the alien involved absolutely hated that idea.

Why should I waste all that time beating up some primitive caveman?

Honestly, sparring once or twice wouldn't have been a big deal.

But the more often it happened, the more tedious the whole thing became.

And since the visiting Hunters were asking to spar with him regularly, just as Jung Hayeong had done, an inevitable reaction surfaced.

Even if they paid me, I'm not working for another year!

Kim Giryeo rejected them coldly.

And thus began the world's talented Hunters' long-term competition to win him over.

***

Tak, tak, tak.

One morning, someone sat in an office tapping away at a laptop keyboard.

[Free Bulletin Board]

Thanks to the pen-style mechanical keyboard they were using, they could gather information relatively quietly.

[Title]

Finally Knelt Before Kim Giryeo: Famous French Celebrity < < < - gif

Of course, she was begging again today, so she knelt on her own.

But wasn't that Hunter supposed to have a really tough image??

Doesn't she even have a goblin tattoo on her back??

Yet seeing her suddenly collapse in front of Samsook's lunchbox is hilarious > > >]

[Comments 60]

[If you don't know the context, this picture looks like a proposal]

[Ah, that girl... I always thought she was perfectly normal... and now she comes all the way from overseas asking to be eaten...]

[Only A-rank, yeah]

[Get beaten by Kim Giryeo and become strong like Jung Hayeong vs. Just survive]

[Definitely survive][Definitely survive][Do you know even people can be destroyed when enhancement fails?]This site, that site—everywhere.

Anyway, this person named Giryeo must have accomplished something truly extraordinary.

These days, mentions of him online hardly ever seemed to stop.

[Association staff: Real-time status] We're currently receiving overseas calls every 10 seconds asking for Hunter Kim Giryeo's number.]

Of course, around the same time, the person at the center of all these incidents couldn't help feeling resentful.

"Jung Hayeong did all the work, so why am I the one suffering through this chaos...?"

[Geonhan Daily] [Exclusive Breaking News] "If I can't reach you by phone, I'll come in person"—Famous American fire-attribute awakener joins the influx of arrivals]

But the world's elites didn't care about that.

After all, Jung Hayeong's remarkable achievement was merely the result one would expect from years of effort.

Wise adults often taught children who had experienced failure that the process mattered more than the result.

Yet despite such wisdom being passed down from generation to generation, truly process-oriented people were rare in this world.

Even so, was Jung Hayeong really that strong?

What on earth was his secret?

Those who didn't understand might think, "He's already an S-rank. Why is he struggling so desperately?"

But in reality, it was precisely because they stood at the top that they hungered even more fiercely for knowledge.

Kim! Please come to the dungeon with me!

Please spar with me!

That was why all this chaos had erupted.

[Free Bulletin Board] ************

[Title]

[Wow, insane. A Bold Street Vendor Overcharged an Overseas S-Rank Who Followed Kim Giryeo < < <...][Any anime recommendations for the first quarter of this year?]

Views: 1,140

***

What the hell is this little p*rtard doing?

***

While the alien named Giryeo was suffering from embarrassment, Koreans browsing internet communities were thinking something entirely different.

"In this tiny country, an Awakened being named Kim Giryeo was born."

Since the dungeon shock, hunting had become a new form of entertainment.

In an age when threats to human life had become increasingly common, there weren't many subjects people could enjoy without reservation.

That only made public enthusiasm gather around this one all the more.

[ID: Autumn Baseball's Strongest Myth]

[Hey, OO player's name...]

You...

Just take that damn bat and go into a dungeon instead...

If someone from Korea were at least out there clubbing monsters with it, that'd be something.

If you swing at a monster several times bigger than the bat, at least you won't miss, right?

Unless you're aiming for some p*** eye hole?

Of course, interest in sports culture hadn't disappeared completely.

But when newly awakened superhumans were stronger than elite athletes who had dedicated their entire lives to training, reality hit people hard.

As a result, demand for various sporting events had declined somewhat, and all that surplus attention naturally shifted elsewhere.

"Come to think of it, did they ever restrict sales of that Hunter's club?"

But this man named Giryeo—

What a talent perfectly suited to the times.

A certain blond S-rank awakener had already raised the country's prestige countless times over.

[Koreans, don't you ever get tired of talking about 'Haseong' all the time? -]

At one point, some foreign netizens had even mocked them by saying, "Besides your number one, you've got nothing to show the world."

Most ordinary citizens didn't care very much about national prestige.

Still, when something so openly praiseworthy appeared before them, it was true that they couldn't help feeling a little pleased.

"Kim Giryeo hit the jackpot again..."

Click.

The person who had been browsing the web muttered this while moving the cursor.

Lunch was coming up soon anyway, so they decided to stop wasting time on trivial things and slowly make their way toward the cafeteria.

"What did you just say?"

But at that moment, a coworker in the same office, apparently having overheard the muttering, asked aloud.

"No, I was just thinking it's impressive that Hunter Kim Giryeo hit it big again this time."

"Ah."

"Anyway, what kind of training does that person normally do to stand out so much on his own? Even the other S-ranks acknowledge him."

"Probably just his awakening stats. Well."

"But Neo's Ahn Yoonseung too—all those arrogant top-tier Hunters seem to follow him around like he's their elder..."

What kind of person did Hunter Kim Giryeo have to be to receive treatment like that?

"Just like the rumors say, he's actually pretty nice in private."

For reference, this was the second floor of the Hunter Association's main building.

In other words, the person speaking was an ordinary civil servant working there.

The employee stretched and soon made a suggestion.

"Anyway, what do you want for lunch? Everyone else is out running errands, so it's just the two of us today."

"I'm getting a little tired of the Korean buffet. How about the Chinese restaurant next door?"

"Phew, sounds good."

But barely ten seconds after they started walking briskly down the hall, they stopped again.

"Huh?"

It was because they had encountered the following scene in the Association hallway.

"It's Kim Giryeo!"

His magical power was concealed so perfectly that they had nearly failed to notice him.

"Is that... really Kim Giryeo?"

Despite working in a profession where getting splattered with monster blood was practically inevitable, he wore a nearly spotless black suit.

And simply passing beside him gave the impression that one might be cut by an invisible blade.

Such was the distinctive presence surrounding him.

"There were always rumors that he came to the Association often, but I've never actually seen him in person... Wow, he's seriously terrifying up close!"

Since the speaker was an ordinary civil servant who hadn't awakened, opportunities to see Hunters from close range were rare.

So even though a celebrity they'd only ever seen online was standing right before them, the initial surprise soon faded into a strange sense of fascination.

"Hmm?"

But when they took a closer look, something even more interesting than the fourth S-rank Hunter's appearance caught their attention.

"I know someone."

Kim Giryeo was currently talking with one of their colleagues.

A civil servant with fairly long hair that reached her waist and who, because of the nature of her abilities, always chose to wear pantsuits.

"Huh? Come to think of it, the community said Hunter Kim Giryeo visited an ordinary Hunter Association office this morning..."

The conversation didn't seem as though it would last long.

Kim Giryeo gave a brief nod in farewell, then disappeared down another corridor.

"Investigator Seonwoo!"

"Ah, hello, Officer Seongsik. And Officer Yiseo."

The S-rank Hunter who had drawn their attention was already gone.

But precisely because he had left, their curiosity only grew stronger.

Could Investigator Seonwoo actually be acquainted with an S-rank Hunter?

Still, asking what they'd been talking about during a precious lunch break felt a little too intrusive.

"Then enjoy your meal today..."

Normally, that would've been the moment for the usual clichéd farewell.

"But now that I think about it, Investigator Seonwoo always steps forward to handle Hunter Kim Giryeo personally, doesn't she?"

A question came from behind.

They weren't in the same department as the woman with long black hair, but after passing each other from time to time, one of the civil servants had become somewhat familiar with her.

"Wow, you're lucky. People like us who haven't awakened get dragged into facility preparations the moment a top-tier awakener shows up, so we never get the chance to deal with them face-to-face like that."

"Isn't it a good thing if your workload gets lighter?"

"Oh, come on. Opportunities to meet an S-rank are rare. If you're an Association employee and you get to meet a top-tier Hunter face-to-face, and then somehow even end up dating them, wouldn't that be a complete victory in life? Investigator Seonwoo, haven't you ever thought about something like that?"

At those words, the other employee walking beside him paused in thought.

'What the...? Is this guy insane?'

Seonwoo Yeon herself remained silent, yet why was he speaking in such an obviously provocative tone?

The man in question suddenly began rambling at length about "marrying a top-tier Hunter by taking advantage of one's position as an Association employee."

"Huh? Are you upset? No, I'm only saying it because I genuinely think it's a shame."

"-_-"

"Besides, people have been saying behind your back lately that they're jealous of you, Seonwoo Yeon."

"-_-"

"Just looking at it, it's obvious Hunter Kim Giryeo comes here pretty often..."