Park Jong-soo, the Guildmaster of the Knight Guild, couldn't believe what he was seeing. A seemingly unscathed foreign man was leisurely walking out of the entrance of the ant nest. It was impossible.
'The news of the ants being wiped out should still be top secret.'
Park Jong-soo was standing on a literal fortune, mountains of the highest-grade mana stones lay scattered under his feet.. In order to prevent any looting of the stones, the Association decided to hide the fact that the eradication of the ants was complete until countermeasures could be prepared. Therefore, only a small number of people knew that there were no more magic beasts on the island.
'At most, the soldiers who were assigned to us, the service people at the Association, and…'
Hunter Sung Jinwoo. That should be about it. However, Park Jong-soo would bet his entire fortune that the man standing at the entrance to the ant nest was not Sung Jinwoo. How could he forget his face? He was Korea's most talked about hunter and was the number 1 priority on the Knight's recruitment list, a very distinguished person.
So Park Jong-soo asked once more.
"What were you doing? Why are you coming out of there?"
The man just smiled, Park Jong-soo couldn't tell if the foreigner didn't understand him or if he was purposely avoiding the question. The Knights' Deputy Guildmaster, Jung Yoon-tae, stood next to Park Jong-soo with a troubled look on his face.
"Hyung-nim, that's a human, right?"
"I… I'm not even sure."
He couldn't feel any mana, so it definitely wasn't a magic creature or a hunter but… he exuded a strange aura. Jung Yoon-tae, who was quick on the uptake, also sensed the ominous energy, and watched him warily.
However...
The soldiers couldn't sense it like the hunters could.
Clink, clink-
Soldiers, finally catching up to the Guildmaster and his Deputy, immediately raised their rifles at the mysterious foreigner. Seeing their reaction, Park Jong-soo hastily called out to the soldiers to avoid unnecessary deaths.
"Hey, hey! Don't shoot! It's not a magic beast!"
"Then, is he human?"
"It… could be."
Park Jong-soo nodded with an astringent expression.
'If it's not a magic beast, the only other possibility is human, right?'
Park Jong-soo's lack of imagination led him to this simple conclusion. The commander gave a curt nod, and spoke up.
"Got it. We can take it from here"
"Is that necessary? Aren't we just here to retrieve the body of hunter Min Byung-gu?"
"We were ordered to retrieve the corpse of Min Byung-gu hunter and to also control the situation on Jeju Island."
Park Jong-soo conceded. There was no reason for the Knights Guild to interfere if the opponent was not a magic creature or a hunter. If he didn't become involved, he wouldn't get tangled up in unnecessary business.
The commander yelled out to the man.
"You're now in a restricted zone. If you don't follow our commands, we will not hesitate to fire."
"..."
The man just continued to smile, seemingly unphased by the tense situation he was causing.
Gulp-
'Do I really have to shoot him?'
The soldiers thought, anxiously.
It was a natural reaction, as this was the first instance they had to prepare to shoot a person. In this modern era of peace, the soldiers were more accustomed to shooting magic creatures than humans. The Hunters' expressions were tense. There was something off-putting about the strange man smiling in such a situation. Then the man put his hands in his pockets.
'Is that… really a real person?'
'How can a man remain so relaxed with a gun pointed at him?'
Park Jong-soo's face froze.
Clink, clink!-
When the man hid his hands in his pockets, the tension among the soldiers neared its breaking point.
"Don't shoot! Do not shoot! Not yet!"
A thick vein bulged on the Commander's neck as he shouted at his men.
However…
"Commander!"
A soldier near the Commander drew his attention back towards the foreigner. The strange man in front of them had slowly started to speak.
"...?"
It opened its mouth to speak, but the language was foreign to the Korean team. To be more accurate, it was not that the language was unrecognizable to the Koreans; rather, the language did not exist on Earth.
"What?"
"What are you saying?"
While the military men were at a loss for words, Park Jong-su suddenly uttered without realizing,
"L-language of the magic creatures?"
It had sounded similar to something he had heard from intelligent magic creatures that had populated a high-level dungeon he raided a while back.
"Wait, but then that means -"
Before the commander could speak and ask if the strange man was a magic creature, the strange man took one of his hands out of his pocket, letting it hang loosely by his hips.
Taaang~!
The tension had reached a boiling point, and the movement, however slight, was too much. A nervous special forces squad member reflexively pulled his trigger when he saw the strange man's hand move.
Ping!
A collective gasp of astonishment rose from the soldiers as they saw the bullet bounce harmlessly off the man's forehead and fall to the ground. The man stopped smiling and a cold expression formed on his face.
"M-m-magic creature!"
"That's not a human, open fire!"
Before anyone could act, the man's eyes turned red. Soldiers and hunters alike fell to their knees, clutching their chest in pain.
"Ah -!"
Someone tried to scream, but no sound came out. The man snapped his fingers and they all collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. [1] The strange man turned back. A middle-aged man appeared suddenly, standing behind him.
"You didn't have to make a commotion."
The middle-aged words were spoken in a language not from this world.
"...yeah."
The strange man tried to act apologetic, but was unconvincing. The middle-aged man looked into the ant den and asked.
"Did you check it?"
The strange man nodded.
"It's definitely his powers."
"What a strange turn of events."
The middle-aged man's gaze turned to the fallen hunters and soldiers.
"I don't know why he's helping humans."
"Who knows what his real intentions are. If you're so curious, why don't you go and ask him?"
"... I'll pass."
The middle-aged man shook his head and continued.
"The hunt starts as scheduled. Nothing has changed."
"I see."
The middle-aged man waved gently and opened a portal in the air, which was perfectly sized for him
"Oh yeah, one more thing."
The strange man spoke up and the middle-aged man's glanced back at him.
"One seems to be here."
"In Korea?"
"How about we take care of him while we're here?"
Information psychically flowed from the strange man directly into the middle-aged man's mind. But still, the middle-aged man was unwilling to follow his plan.
"Leave this area... in his hands."
"You don't want to get involved?"
"You can interpret it that way, think about it."
The middle-aged man's voice was barely audible as he stepped through the portal, which closed immediately behind him.
SSSsss-
"You coward."
The strange man turned back to look at the soldiers and hunters sprawled out on the ground. They were simply asleep, and would wake up soon unharmed.
"Hmm."
The man hummed and stretched out his hand towards the humans, but then stopped.
'...'
As if to remind himself of the middle-aged man's words, he quietly chided himself.
"Let's try to not cause a commotion"
The strange man's voice lingered in the air, fading along with him as he entered a portal of his own.
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It was late in the night. Jinwoo was sitting on the floor at home and inspecting "The Demon King's Dagger". It played a pivotal role in the fight against the Ant King, who he had named Ber when he added him to his shadow army.
[Item: Demon King's Dagger]
Rarity: S
Type: Dagger
ATK +220
A dagger from the Demon King Baran. Equip both of the Demon King's Daggers to gain the set effect.
Set effect 'Two to One': Adds the total of one's strength stat to the attack power of both daggers.
The attack power of just one dagger was already eye-catching enough without even considering the set effect. Jinwoo couldn't recount the number of times he'd checked this weapon's stats. Baruka's Dagger was an class weapon and it only had an attack power of 110. Jinwoo had been looking through the System's store for awhile, but it was hard to find anything with more than 200 attack power, even among the S-class daggers sold there.
'There's also the effect Two to One...'
He liked the fact that if you took out both Demon King's Daggers to complete the set, then your strength stat would be transformed into attack power. Already, his strength was approaching 250 and it would keep increasing as he leveled up. By simply adding his strength to the total attack, he would be able to dish out 4 times the damage of Baruka's Dagger.
"They did feel a lot deadlier when cutting and slashing with them."
If the other hunters knew the abilities of his items, they'd throw themselves at his feet in hopes of obtaining even one.
'Then, how about the longsword?'
[Item: Demon King's Long Sword]
Rarity: S
Type: Long Sword
ATK +350
A longsword infused with the power of the Demon King Baran. When wielded by the user, "Storm of White Flames" activates.
Effect "Storm of White Flames": Creates a storm of white flames that is constantly raging within an area.
It only seemed natural that the long sword had a much higher attack power than the daggers. You could hold only one long sword, but the daggers could be dual wielded. However, the sword's effect was overkill, even by Jinwoo's abnormal standards.
"You can just swing and launch a wide-area attack?"
A weapon perfect for multiple enemies. In fact, when Jinwoo recalled how his entire shadow army had been stunned by Baran's magic attack, it still sent chills down his spine. It was not on the same level as Baran's own magic, but it was still more than satisfactory.
"If it wasn't for my dagger-specific skills, I would definitely use this longsword."
Jinwoo was about to swing the sword around without thinking, but managed to stop himself in time.
'...'
It's was late. He would wake everyone up if he created a storm in the middle of the house.
He couldn't scare his mother anymore. Jin-woo put down his long sword.
'Still...I'm glad"
'Because Mom didn't stop me.'
After the events of Jeju Island, Jinwoo returned home and told her all about his situation, only keeping the existence of the System hidden.
He happened to be an S-class hunter by chance and he wanted to continue to be a Hunter.
His mother, who had seemed to be worried for a while, eventually decided to support him.
"Mom wants you to do what you want to do. However, don't overdo it."
That was the only condition his mother gave him.
'But if it's a situation that might be unavoidable for me...'
His thoughts ran wild and grew morbid for a while, and Jinwoo shook his head to clear his thoughts. Then suddenly, something else his mother had told him before came to mind.
"Did he come to visit?"
"Who?"
"When I was asleep in the hospital, I heard your father's voice."
"What did he say?"
"Well…"
Until then, she said she'd never heard or dreamt of someone's voice.
'Of course, my mother still hasn't forgotten my father.'
Nevertheless, supporting her son who wants to become a hunter is evidence of how much she believed in her child. Jinwoo had no intention of disappointing his mother. Survival. It was always his top priority. Even in a life threatening situation, he was able to become this strong because he never gave up, even to the bitter end.
'...okay.'
With the concerns of his mother no longer hanging over him, Jinwoo was now free to conquer dungeons once again. Create a guild, raid, defeat the high class dungeons, and raise his level even further.
Jinwoo's heart pounded with anticipation.
'I have another reason to raise my level, more than just getting stronger.'
Srreuk
Igris, who was summoned by Jinwoo, appeared before him. He was the soldier who Jinwoo had been with for the longest time.
'And .'
He was the only Knight-class soldier the system had provided. In other words, Igris was the closest to the inner-workings of the current System among Jinwoo's soldiers.
"You'll be able to talk to me when you get a higher rank, won't you?"
Jinwoo had many questions, especially for Igris.
Of course, no response came from Igris just yet.
"...."
He stood in silence, as usual.
'If silence were a sound, maybe he was the noisiest soldier in the world?'
Jinwoo chuckled and scratched the side of his head while picking up the Demon King's weapons..
'Inventory.'
Something flashing caught Jinwoo's attention as he was about to place the weapons into his inventory.
'What is this?'
Jinwoo's eyes widened.
One item that he had forgotten inside his inventory was now glowing.
[1]: Look it's Overlord
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