Chapter 1085 - 120 - 124

Chapter 120

"All communications with Goto and his team have been cut off?!"

The Association President Matsumoto Shigeo's complexion became ashen. The Association employee next to him presented a receiver and asked politely.

"Would you like to hear the last communication, sir?"

Matsumoto Shigeo snatched the receiver away from the employee's hand and put it on his head, before nodding once.

Soon, the recorded sound clip began playing.

"An ant…. You seem to possess a pretty strong aura."

"You are… the king?"

"That's right. I'm the king."

"Goto-san!!!"

"Uwaaahk?! Uwaaahk!!"

"Keok!!"

"Euh, euhhh…."

"You, you!! What, what the hell are youuu?!"

Beep.

"That's where the communication ends, sir."

Matsumoto's face, as he took off the receiver, was as hard as a rock. The creepy noises and the horrible screech the monster made in between the chatter – he couldn't picture any other situation where those sounds would come out of.

'An ant monster using a human language? And Goto Ryuji was killed by that thing?!'

Such an eventuality was not within his calculations. He and his compatriots had definitely planned everything out, and made preparations for every eventuality, so why….

The ends of Matsumoto Shigeo's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

"….Sir?"

Only after he realised that the gazes of his employees were focused on his trembling fingertips did Matsumoto Shigeo carefully hide his hands. He quickly changed the topic.

"Where is the monster that…. No, where is the talking monster, right now?"

He couldn't bring himself to say the words 'the monster that killed Goto Ryuji'.

"It's disappeared, sir."

"What do you mean, disappeared??"

It was a creature capable of killing Goto Ryuji. So, how could the satellite equipped with the magic energy detection camera keeping a close eye on Jeju Island not pick up on such a powerful monster?

The employee seemed to have figured out what his boss was about to say, and he pointed at the monitor once more.

"That spot of light is the magic energy emitted from the monster at that moment."

The magic energy detection camera displayed the emitted magic energy as spots of lights. The bigger the spot of light appearing on the monitor, the more powerful the existence was.

Once spots of lights belonging to Goto Ryuji and the Hunters around him disappeared, the larger, brighter light vanished quickly, as well.

"Oh, my god…."

Matsumoto Shigeo spat out a shocked gasp. The unknown enemy was in perfect control of its magical energy.

'That was why…. Because it was such a monster, that….'

That was why the research team failed to notice the creature before.

It was, without a doubt, a perfect failure. And as a punishment, Japan just lost ten of her elite Hunters. Among them, the best Hunter in the country. For a result of a single oversight, it was very, very painful price to pay. Even worse, the price most likely hadn't been fully paid yet, either.

'When that nonsensical monstrosity crosses the ocean and enters the country….'

Even though Matsumoto Shigeo tried to shake them off, the horrifying images continued to fill up his head. It was then.

"We found it! The b*stard has reappeared again!"

Matsumoto Shigeo's eyes shot open wider.

"Where is the creature?"

"It's inside the ant queen's chamber, sir."

"…."

Only the ants returning to the ant tunnel, as well as the Korean Hunters facing off against them, remained in that place. They must be fighting with everything they had, but unfortunately, their opponent this time easily exceeded everyone's imaginations.

'In the end, even the Koreans will be finished for good.'

That's what he believed, but then, Matsumoto Shigeo's brows shot up instantly.

'…..???'

There was another spot of light that suddenly appeared right next to that horrifying monster.

���W-what's the meaning of this?!"

Matsumoto Shigeo gasped out in sheer astonishment and quickly looked at his employees. One of the employees, affiliated with the research team, urgently shook his head.

"It, it's also our first time seeing this, sir."

That spot of light was as big and bright as the monster's. No, maybe it was even bigger than that.

What was even more astonishing was the fact that there were hundreds of smaller light spots swirling around that large one.

Even the head researcher of Japan's research team, who had been analysing the spy images for many years now, had never seen such a phenomenon before.

'Ah….!'

Seeing the mesmerising sight of the sea of lights repeatedly separating into tiny pieces before gathering back together, all those present couldn't help but gasp out in admiration.

However, Matsumoto Shigeo didn't have the time to leisurely stew in his emotions right now.

"The Korean team! They must be broadcasting the raid even now, aren't they??"

If the Korean team was still strutting around like that, that could also mean that the broadcast was still ongoing. Matsumoto Shigeo was beset with curiosity and wanted urgently to find out just what was going on here.

"The Korean team's broadcast!! Bring that up to the main monitor!!"

When he shouted out, the super-large screen in the middle of the Japanese mission control centre was immediately filled with the image of a certain young man having a stare-down with an ant monster.

After seeing that man's face, Matsumoto Shigeo nervously swallowed his saliva. The lone strand of sweat trickled down his temple and pooled on the bottom of his chin.

'That man…. That man is the source of that massive light spot??'

And then, the giant ant monster standing in front of that man. That thing was at least over 1.5 times larger than regular ant monsters. They were only looking at the thing through the monitor, yet the sheer pressure emanating from that thing managed to quicken their heartbeats.

'…..'

Matsumoto Shigeo's expression hardened even further.

It was then.

The ant monster made its move.

The ant king's fist powerfully slammed into Jin-Woo's face.

SLAM!!

Jin-Woo's back nearly bent backwards, but he stomped down and withstood the hit.

'….!!'

The ant king had struck with all of its might behind that punch, so it couldn't help but get taken by surprise.

"You can… withstand my power?"

The ant king struck out with a simple plan to kill this puny human in one hit, but instead of sending him flying away, the whole thing simply ended with his head turning slightly away.

Too bad, there was no time to remain surprised, because Jin-Woo's own fist flew in afterwards.

Swish-!!

SLAM!!

The ant king was smacked right in the middle of its face, and it flew away to crash into the wall on the far side of the cavern.

Kaboom!

As if a meteor had collided there, the wall caved in deeply. Although it was only for a short while, the impact force was powerful enough to shake the entire ant tunnel.

"What kind of an ant talks this much?"

When the 'live' broadcast got suddenly cut off, and the static screen showing the message of about the station encountering 'technical difficulty' appeared on their TV screens, countless viewers were left devastated and stunned by what they saw.

"The Hunters…. What's happening to the Hunters??"

"What was up with that ant just now?!"

"What the hell! How can you cut the broadcast off right there?!"

The scenes of an ant monster suddenly appearing without warning, and then, it proceeding to systematically dismantle the Hunters one by one….

The viewers celebrating after the death of the ant queen felt like a bucket of cold water was poured down on them by that horrifying scene. Not too long afterwards, the static screen with the 'technical difficulty' message went away and the emcee appeared there, instead.

"Ah…. everyone, this news just came in."

With a sorrowful voice, he relayed the death of Hunter Min Byung-Gu. And he also added that the safety of the Hunters remaining in the ant tunnel couldn't be guaranteed, either.

"God d*mn it!!"

"They got the ant queen, so why are they dying now?!"

"What about Japan?"

"Isn't it supposed to be a united team or something? Where are the d*mn Japanese?!"

Some people raged on, some people worried about their safety, while some others grieved.

The news of the Hunters risking their lives potentially meeting with a grisly fate spread out like an uncontrollable wildfire. Weirdly enough, the audience rating actually rose up higher than ever before, even though the raid broadcast had been cut off for a while now.

"Ah!!"

The emcee's expression brightened considerably after receiving an urgent message.

"I just heard the news that an unknown Hunter has appeared on the scene right at this moment! We will immediately recommence with the broadcast right away."

Those words were more than enough to inject much-needed vitality into the fatigued eyes of the viewers staying put in front of their TV screens.

Soon, the live feed was restored, and….

"What the heck?"

"This…!!"

The viewers were greeted by the black soldiers filling up their TV screens, and they all shot up from their seats.

They then saw those black soldiers fighting tooth-and-nail against the waves upon waves of ants flooding into the ant queen's chamber. The camera moved around to take in the unfolding events, before locking onto a single young man.

He was too far away and it was hard to see what he looked like.

"The armoured soldiers are apparently the creatures summoned by that Hunter on your screen. Also, I just heard that most of the Hunters are alive and safe, as well!"

The viewers watching on with nervous tension all cried out in elation from that news. And then, they began cheering for that unidentified Hunter.

"Yes!! Go and smash them all!!"

"You're doing great!! Push them back!!"

"Let's go!!!"

And finally….

When that unidentified Hunter summoned an even greater number of soldiers to completely massacre the ants….

Woooooaahhhh!!!

People punched the sky with their fists and celebrated wildly.

Those who had lost their families and friends to the ants and sought revenge shed tears as the cathartic moment played out in their screens. As if he was waiting for the perfect timing, the emcee's heightened voice came out from the speakers just in the nick of time.

"Ah!! We finally identified the unknown Hunter!"

The eyes and ears of every single viewer out there were now turned towards their screens.

Just who was that man?

Just what was the identity of a man capable of rescuing rank S Hunters from a place crawling with rank S monsters?

"He's the tenth rank S Hunter of South Korea, Seong Jin-Woo!! He's a Mage-type Hunter specialising in summoning magic!!"

And so, the viewers grew even more cheerful from the fact that a Hunter possessing such an incredible ability was not a Japanese, but a Korean like them.

Countless ants were soon taken care of in no time at all.

Just as the Hunters were getting ready to escape from the ant tunnel, yet another wave of ants appeared.

"Uh?! Uhhh??"

"Isn't that…?"

The ant monster that appeared just before the broadcast got cut off the first time was now leisurely walking forward while pushing past the swarm of ants. Since there weren't that many ants with wings to begin with, and the shape of its face was different from everything else, it wasn't that hard to tell that monster apart.

The viewers were instantly thrown into confusion.

"What the hell? I thought that b*stard was already dead?!"

"Why is that thing appearing again?!"

The winged ant monster stood before Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.

Those viewers who understood a bit about the compatibility of different abilities grew deeply anxious when the two stood face to face.

"Aigoo! He's going to get killed here!"

"Why would a Mage-type give up on the safety of distance like that??"

"It's not too late, so run away!"

That monster was strong enough to blow away Hunter Cha Hae-In, a melee-type Hunter, with a single blow. They thought that it was beyond obvious how things would turn out now.

It was already distressing enough to see those two glare at each other in close proximity, but then, the d*mn ant monster suddenly grew larger and larger as well.

Every viewer watching their TV screens cried out in shock.

And then…

Pow!!

Those with weaker constitutions squeezed their eyes shut at that moment. They thought that the moment the monster's punch found its target, the Hunter's head would explode.

However, contrary to their expectations, the Hunter was fine.

'Huh??'

'A Mage withstood a punch strong enough to knock out the Tanker Mah Dong-Wook in one hit?!'

The eyes of the viewers grew wider and wider.

And then….

SLAM!!

The ant monster got shoved deeply into the cave wall.

"….."

"...."

Most viewers required a little bit of time to process what just transpired.

But when the camera zoomed in on the ant king half-buried in the cave wall…..

Waaaahhhh!!!

Yet another round of loud cheering exploded out.

"Heok!!"

The cameraman's jaw fell to the floor.

When Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was struck by the ant's fist, he flinched in surprise. Even Cha Hae-In lost her consciousness from that hit.

But then, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo blew away the ant monster, instead. The very same monster, that toyed around with six rank S Hunters as if it was nothing. No wonder he'd gasp out a "Heok!"

'Were the rank S Hunters that weak?'

No, of course not.

The Korean Hunters bravely fought and managed to defeat the rank S boss, the ant queen.

So, the mutated ant monster that made an utter fool out of those Hunters was the weird one. And Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, who blew away that weird mutated ant, was an even weirder one.

Gulp.

The cameraman suppressed his agitation and swallowed his dry saliva.

The reactions of other Hunters weren't all that different, either.

While everyone was staring at Jin-Woo with excited eyes, only Choi Jong-In began looking around in his vicinity. And he could see mountains of ant corpses. He initially thought that those were the result of the Hunters working together while he was out cold. But now, having witnessed Jin-Woo's power, his thoughts had changed.

'Can it… Could it be…. Mister Seong Jin-Woo alone was responsible for….?'

After taking a rough count of the dead ants, Choi Jong-In's eyes began trembling non-stop.

Kiiieeehhhhk!!

A beastly screech exploding out without warning caused his head to snap back.

The ant king extricated itself out of the wall and displayed its rage. The air within the ant queen's chamber was quivering noticeably.

'Ho-oh?'

Jin-Woo stared at the ant king with a genuine surprise. The damage he dealt was far less than he thought.

'Is it because… of the exoskeleton?'

The black, tough shell covering the entirety of that b*stard – whatever that thing was, it had already exceeded being a normal organic matter.

In that case, he'd use brute force to shatter that shell. The thing that could break one's armour wasn't a sword or a spear. No, it was a hammer.

Jin-Woo's shoulder and arm muscles expanded, thick veins bulging visibly on his skin. The air grew thicker and heavier as it descended all around him.

The ant king stopped screeching and shifted its horrifyingly crumpled expression towards Jin-Woo.

"You dare!!"

As the two of them walked closer, the distance between them shortened faster and faster. Soon, Jin-Woo and the ant king stood right before each other again. And then, without a hint of hesitation or mercy, they began exchanging countless attacks, each thumping hit carrying all their might.

Slam!!

Kaboom!!

BOOM!!

The Hunters watching from the sideline were all stupefied into silence.

The shock wave from the collision of magic energy whenever Jin-Woo and the ant king exchanged blows rocked the ant tunnel itself. It was so severe that these top-ranked Hunters, renowned for their mastery over wielding their magic energy, felt their innards tumble.

"Woo-wuoop…"

"Are you alright?"

"I, I'm fine."

The cameraman was only a rank A, but he still tried his best to suppress the contents of his stomach from rising up. He was even experiencing vertigo, too.

'Woo-wook….'

Even then – even as his complexion paled greatly, he could still maintain his smile all because….

Slam! Slam!! Slam!!!

'How can a lone Hunter do that against such a monster….?'

….Because, he saw a ray of hope.

Kwa-boooooom!!

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo might be getting wounded from that exchange, but the outer shell of the ant king was definitely being broken as well.

Chapter 121

The ant king quickly sensed the 'changes' taking place on the body that it felt so proud of.

Crack.

Crack….

Its outer skin, most likely tougher and hardier than any known metal on this planet, began developing cracks all over the place. On the other hand, the enemy was easily withstanding the ant king's attacks.

'It can't be.'

An impossible hypothesis quickly entered the ant king's head.

'I… I'm losing out on physical strength?!'

Not only that, to a human less than half its size?

But, right at that moment….

CRACK.

It realised that the fresh wound on its waist from that powerful hit felt 'wrong'. Even the sound coming from there was not too good to hear.

The exoskeleton lacked pain receptors, so the ant king had to divert its attention for the briefest of moments to confirm the status of its shell down there.

Sneak.

The result was rather shocking to behold.

'….It's cracked open!'

The small crack that was no more than just a nick had spread out to everywhere and was growing larger and larger. It was the same thing as a warning sign, telling the creature that there wasn't a lot of time left.

The ant king quickly turned its head around. However, even if it was only for a brief moment, Jin-Woo wasn't some amateur who'd miss this golden opportunity.

Ka-boom!!

The king's face spun to its side.

'…..??'

The ant king staggered unsteadily for a second or two from the ridiculous impact force that ignored the ant king's forged steel-like shell on its face.

It managed to regain its balance before it took a step back, but by then, the follow-up punch was already closing in from below.

KWAHNG!!

The ant king's chin shot upwards.

'How dare a human, who's inferior than a bug…!!'

While its head still pointing up at the ceiling, the ant king shot a glare full of murderous rage down below.

The power this human possessed – it was indeed great. However, unlike this human, who only had his physical strength to fall back on, the ant king possessed a variety of other powerful means at its disposal.

Such as….

The ant king's head snapped back down, and at the same time, it fired a poison needle out of its mouth. A tip coated in deadly poison attached to the tongue-like tentacle shot out like a bullet.

It was an unavoidable attack aimed at the enemy's face in this point-blank range.

Swish-!

The human deftly tilted his head out of the way to dodge the needle, but a smile still crept up on the face of the ant king as the result of its attack became clear. The needle still managed to scratch the human's cheek and left a small wound there.

'It's done!'

That alone was more than enough.

Once, the ant king devoured a sea snail and somewhat coincidentally, absorbed a skill called 'Paralysis Poison'.

One of the most fatal poisons secreted by the known lifeforms in this world had been transformed into an even more deadly substance within the ant king's body after it became a concentrated mix that contained the magical energy of the host creature.

It was indeed the worst poison imaginable, evolved forcibly by the skill, 'Gluttony'.

'You've really given me so much trouble, you human b*stard.'

Even the slightest scratch would result in complete paralysis in one's nervous system within seconds; the victims would lose all sensations in their bodies and lose control of themselves.

The only thing remaining would be to systematically destroy the resistance-less enemy.

"….?"

As if the poison was doing its thing, the human formed a flustered expression.

"This is the power of the true king!"

The ant king smiled widely and smacked the human's face. However….

Kwahng!!

The human raised his left hand and blocked it.

'…..??'

The question of how he was still able to move lasted only for a second.

Ka-booooom!!

The human's right fist flew in from the other side and struck the ant king so hard that the monster was shoved down to the ground rather unceremoniously.

"Kiiiehk!!"

For the first time ever, a pained yelp shot out from the king's mouth.

Tti-ring.

Jin-Woo confirmed the System message popping up in his view as that familiar mechanical beep rang out.

[Detoxification has been completed.]

'I was wondering why it was celebrating all alone, but huh, is this why?'

Maybe that was the case because, for some reason, he could sense that the ant king showed much more panic when he moved without a problem just now.

What a mystifying thing this was.

He wasn't talking about the all-powerful Buff getting rid of the poison, no, but the fact that he could actually sense the insect-like monster's emotions.

Before he had realised it, he could sense what other monsters were feeling about.

'Wait, was it from around the time I fought those High Orcs?'

Back then, he thought that he was able to decipher what those creatures were feeling by looking at their facial expressions and their gestures. However, that ant monster wasn't even what you'd classify as a humanoid creature.

Indeed, that thing had no other facial expressions other than crumpling it in anger.

'Is this because of my Perception?'

Just as his Stat values had all increased by so much lately, his Perception Stat also had increased by a lot, too. It was possible that some other unknown, hidden abilities to his Stats were unlocked when they went past a certain threshold.

However….

'….Now isn't the time to think about that, is it?'

Indeed, his priority lay with killing this thing and getting out of this place. Jin-Woo sprinted towards the ant king trying to push itself off from the ground.

'…..!!'

He could definitely feel the ant king's nervousness on his skin now. His continued pounding resulted in the creature's exoskeleton almost being cracked open. Just a little bit more now!

He thought like so and closed the distance in the blink of an eye, before jumping up slightly in the air. And then, he kicked down.

Kwa-boom!!

However, the ant king had already vanished from the spot. Only the poor ground caved in from the impact.

"Where did it go?!"

"It disappeared??"

While the other Hunters hurriedly searched for the ant king, Jin-Woo calmly looked above him. The monster was flying in the air using its wings.

'Well, I guess this is convenient.'

Jin-Woo smirked to himself.

What with him being able to sense the monster's fluctuating emotions, searching for its presence had become a step easier now. The emotion of confusion felt had changed to fear, before it changed once more to happiness.

The ant king had changed its strategy now.

'If that human's speciality is his strength, then there's no need to face him head-on.'

The ant king's true weapon was its speed. Even that foolish human who lied and said he was the king of humans, couldn't even react to the ant king's movements and lost his neck.

From the onset, the reason why the creature wanted to use physical strength to suppress the human was a type of desire to show off its kingly powers.

But, right now, the ant king had decided to throw away that selfish reasoning and focus all of its being in this battle from now on.

Shushushuk….

The enlarged body reverted back to its original size, while the claws in its hands grew even longer and sharper, like well-honed blades.

'Its claws….'

Jin-Woo studied the changes taking place in the ant king and realised that the creature would change how it attacked from here onwards.

Shururuk….

Two shortswords he summoned from the Inventory landed in Jin-Woo's hands.

Swiiiish-!!

The airborne ant king shot down towards Jin-Woo. Its speed was incomparable to only a minute ago.

'…..!!'

Jin-Woo focused his senses.

Time slowed down, and every single movement the monster made entered his vision. In all honesty, Jin-Woo felt most confident when it came down to the contest of speed. He easily deflected the ant king's claw slashing down from above with his shortsword.

The follow-up attacks from the ant king landing on the ground, as well as from Jin-Woo spinning around, clashed violently.

Clang!! Claaaang!! Clang!!

As they exchanged offence and defence countless times, the ant king was now completely beset with unbridled shock.

'How can this be?!'

The enemy was actually matching its speed. No, it wasn't only that – as the seconds ticked by, his movement speed was actually picking up as if his muscles had finally loosened up sufficiently enough.

'How… How can such a….'

The ant king had been pushed back during the contest of raw strength, and now it was also being gradually pushed back in the contest of speed, too.

One step, another step….

As the number of retreating steps taken increased, so did the wounds appearing on the exoskeleton. The greater the monster's retreating distance became, the more confident Jin-Woo grew.

'I can finish this.'

The mental shock this monster, this so-called ant king felt right now, it was being transmitted in full to Jin-Woo. Right now, that monster was greatly shaken up.

Compared to the Demon King Baran, this monster's strength, speed, and abilities fell some ways behind. No, maybe, it was on the same level as the dead Demon King, or even exceeded it in some regards.

Unfortunately, the current Jin-Woo wasn't the same as the Jin-Woo of back then.

Indeed, he had stepped up into a far higher realm with the rewards he had received after completing the Demon's Castle dungeon.

'Here's the fruit of all my labours.'

Jin-Woo got to fully experience just how much his Stats had grown through this particular opponent. Along with the satisfaction derived from knowing that his Stats had been greatly enhanced now, even more stirring emotions welled up from deep inside his chest.

When the ant king took another step back, Jin-Woo took two steps forward. And then…

'Vital Spot Targetting!'

Jin-Woo's skill stabbed straight into the ant king's torso.

The 'Vital Points Targetting' was a skill that inflicted additional damage if he had managed to stab the enemy's weak spots. With the monster's exoskeleton broken in several places, it was not an exaggeration to say that the creature's entire body was now the so-called weak spot.

Pa-ba-bak!!

Dozens of 'Vital Points Targetting' landed on the hapless monster.

['Skill: Vital Points Targetting' will now be upgraded to the ultimate version, 'Skill: Violent Slash'.]

'….Violent Slash?'

Having unlocked a new skill, Jin-Woo promptly used it.

It was then, his shortswords immediately sought out all of the ant king's openings and, literally in the blink of an eye, slashed out dozens of times.

Tadadadadada!!

"Kiiiieeeehhckkk?!"

The ant king screamed out.

As the creature writhed around in pain, Jin-Woo swung his shortsword once more and sliced off its arm.

Slice.

The monster's long, black-coloured arm fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Kiiehhk!"

By now, the ant king lost all semblance of pride or desire for revenge, and hurriedly fled to the air. Its instinctive desire to survive overruled everything. Unfortunately for it, Jin-Woo didn't allow for one moment of respite.

Sensing the approach of another being, the ant king took a look behind.

'A human… is flying?!'

Jin-Woo flung himself up using the 'Ruler's Reach' skill and proceeded to cut off one of the ant king's wings.

Plop!

The ant king crash-landed in an unsightly manner. During that short time of its fall, the ant king constantly thought about a way to escape from this incredibly dangerous predicament, even though confusion and fear threatened to paralyse it.

'I, I need to come up with something to overwhelm the enemy!'

Physical strength, speed, and even its hidden trump card, 'poison' all failed to work. It couldn't come up with anything.

Did it not possess anything that was better than what that human possessed?

Just before the despair set in, the ant king finally arrived at the right answer. It recalled the one thing that it held an advantage in over the enemy.

And that would be…. the headcount.

There was only one enemy. But the ant king possessed thousands of soldiers. Indeed, didn't it have brave warriors waiting for its orders by the entrance of the chamber right this moment?

The ant king staggered back to its feet, before pointing at Jin-Woo with its one remaining arm.

"Kiiiieeeehhhkk-!!"

As if they were waiting for that rage-filled screech, the waves upon waves of ants began flooding into the chamber.

'Take this, human!!'

"Kiiieeehhk!!"

The king continued to screech out. It was to restore its crushed pride, and also to rouse the fighting spirit of its countless soldiers, as well. And so, as it confidently glared at the impudent human….

"…?"

From that side, a black 'wave' was rushing out now.

'Go!'

Jin-Woo issued an order to his Shadow Soldiers.

The 'Sovereign's Territory' he had activated prior to the battle was still active. The Shadow Soldiers, enhanced a step further by this skill, marched towards the ants at a frightening speed.

Dududududu….!!

The loud footsteps reverberated throughout the ant tunnel.

'And then…. You come out, too.'

Finally, Jin-Woo summoned Fangs out, as well.

As if it was feeling sheepish for being summoned all alone, Fangs looked around himself and scratched the back of his head. Jin-Woo handed over the Bead of Avarice and warned him in no uncertain terms.

"Aim only at the ants. Only at them. If even a single lick of flames land on the humans sitting over there, I will never summon you out ever again."

Fangs enthusiastically nodded his head as if he was confident of doing exactly that.

Soon, Fangs grew super-large with the 'Song of the Giant' and spewed out that enormous pillar of flames.

Kuwaaaaaaahhhh-!!!

Although he had seen that plenty enough times by now, Jin-Woo couldn't help but feel impressed by the sight regardless.

'It's kinda like his flame pillar is getting bigger every day, isn't it?'

Was it because his level was also rising up?

Only Jin-Woo could come up with such a reaction since he had seen this spectacle before, but well, other people were thinking of entirely different things.

The Hunters hiding in the far corner holding their breaths while witnessing the battle between Jin-Woo and the ant king could only gasp out in pure astonishment at the emergence of this new 'monster'.

A rather severe reaction also came out from their midst, too.

"T-that is his summoned creature?! What?! That's a summon?!"

Im Tae-Gyu pointed at Fangs and raised his voice.

As for the other Hunters, no one could respond to him as their jaws were still resting on the ground at that moment. However, everyone was thinking of roughly the same thing.

How could that thing be classified as a mere summon??

From the way it looked, or the powers it possessed, that thing no longer looked like a simple summoned creature, but a demon king that had descended to this earth.

Whatever the case may have been, that totally nonsensical pillar of flames roasted the swarm of ants like there was no tomorrow.

The ant king began shuddering once more.

'These… These are that human's soldiers….??'

Less than one minute later, hundreds of the ant king's soldiers were evaporated into ash and dust. It wasn't some metaphor, either. The ant monsters coming into contact with that strange pillar of flames really did evaporate where they stood.

For the first time ever….

The ant king felt true terror towards another being for the first time in its life.

It also sensed an unscalable wall. The ant king finally learned that there was an enemy that couldn't be overcome, regardless of what power it tried to use.

This was a complete defeat, in every sense of the word.

But, how could such a thing be…?

'I was born to fight against the strong humans, so why….'

That was its sole calling. It hurried with its growth for that purpose. It even absorbed human's powers in order to facilitate that goal.

But to think, it still couldn't win against this one human….

The ant king began shivering and turned around to run. It just had to run away far, far away from this human. At least in this very moment, the thoughts of its glorious kingdom and its soldiers had completely disappeared from the ant king's head.

Using the healing skill taken from one of the dead humans, the ant king quickly regenerated its lost wing and took to the air again.

'Even if it's only a little bit further away…..'

But, it happened then.

Khu-woong!

Out of the blue, a powerful force pushed it down and planted the ant king flat on the ground.

"Kiiieeehk!!��

It spat out a mouthful of bodily fluid.

Having utilised the skill 'Ruler's Reach' like a flyswatter, Jin-Woo quickly walked over to where the downed ant king was.

'I can't let this guy escape, obviously.'

It was a strong monster. He wanted to turn it into his Shadow Soldier no matter what. But, in order to do that….

'Killing it comes first.'

After discovering Jin-Woo approaching it, the look of sheer terror filled up on the face of the ant king, so much so that the creature looked almost pitiful to the onlookers.

"Kii, kiieeehck!!"

In the end, the ant king began crawling on the ground to get away from him. That arrogant, dignified appearance it displayed back when it proceeded to toy around with the Korean Hunters – it was now long, long gone.

"Now you look like a proper insect."

Jin-Woo closed in quickly, took aim at the back of the ant king, and activated his skill, 'Vital Points Targetting' – no, 'Violent Slash'.

That brought up the message window.

Tti-ring!

[You have killed your enemy.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

'Niiice!'

Jin-Woo clenched his fist. But his celebrations lasted only for a short while.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!"

He quickly turned around after Baek Yun-Ho called out to him, and found the latter's complexion to be extremely poor. Jin-Woo quickly ran over to him.

Other Hunters rejoicing at the defeat of the ant king stopped and shifted their gazes over to Baek Yun-Ho, as well.

Meanwhile, Baek Yun-Ho continued to speak to Jin-Woo.

"Hunter Cha Hae-In is…."

Just as his unfinished sentence implied, Cha Hae-In's vitality had declined so much that it was hard to even sense it now. The situation had deteriorated even further than before.

Jin-Woo's expression quickly hardened.

Time had almost run out.

Even if he rode on Kaisel, just when would he arrive in his destination and just how long would he take to find a Healer to heal her?

'I need another way….'

After some brief pondering, Jin-Woo came up with a method to save Cha Hae-In.

He finished checking her complexion and stood back up. He then turned towards the cameraman.

"Can you switch off the camera for a minute or two?"

Chapter 122

"Excuse me? The camera?"

"Yes."

The cameraman looked at Jin-Woo with a flustered expression. But, Jin-Woo's face was solemn, deeply serious, and unmoving.

"But, why the camera, all of a sudden…?"

Jin-Woo remained silent at the flustered cameraman's question.

"…."

The cameraman couldn't come to a decision here. Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was indeed his saviour. He'd gladly heed that man's request, especially when he was also saving the lives of others here, too.

'However, to ask me to switch the camera off….'

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every South Korean citizen must be watching this broadcast, right now. As a broadcaster, he found it hard to press the 'off' button on his camera under the current situation.

When he began hesitating like that, Jin-Woo chose to not waste any more time, and spoke up.

"If you don't, I'll just break it."

Hearing Jin-Woo's icy tone of voice, the cameraman flinched grandly. If Hunter Seong Jin-Woo decided to break the camera, then would the combined efforts of the Hunters present here even be enough to stop him?

The 'why' no longer mattered as he was left with no choice in the matter anymore.

"I-I understand. Hold on."

The cameraman removed the head-mounted camera and switched the device off. After confirming the 'power' light of the camera was gone, Jin-Woo took Cha Hae-In back from Baek Yun-Ho.

'I didn't want to scare the cameraman, but….'

It couldn't be helped if he wanted to save Cha Hae-In.

While holding her, Jin-Woo quickly scanned his vicinity. He then took a couple of deep breaths and closed his eyes.

'What is he trying to do now?'

The attention of the Hunters were all gathered on him now. Soon, he opened his eyes. Finding the location of what he was searching for, Jin-Woo suddenly turned around and headed deeper into the ant tunnel.

His steps were brisk, but he never broke into a full-blown sprint in consideration of Cha Hae-In's current condition. Others dazedly stared at his back, before quickly recovering their wits to run after him.

Finally, Jin-Woo came to a stop and cautiously put Cha Hae-In down. He then began removing the pile of ant corpses from around her.

"Heok!!"

Discovering something rather unexpected, the cameraman was the first one to gasp out in surprise.

"Mm…."

Other Hunters also let a stunned gasp to leak out from their mouths. Because, the cold, headless body of Min Byung-Gu was there. It was a gruesome sight to behold, where there was literally nothing above his neck area.

Only then did they venture to guess why Hunter Seong Jin-Woo demanded for the camera to be cut off. No one out there would want to witness that horrible scene, after all.

"Keuk."

The closest person to Min Byung-Gu out of everyone present here, Baek Yun-Ho, squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. But then…

'Wait a minute…'

He suddenly thought of something.

'How did Hunter Seong Jin-Woo find where Byung-Gu was among all these dead monsters?'

The answer arrived soon enough in his mind.

Without the aid of a special skill, such a thing wouldn't have been possible. The magic energy emission coming from humans and monsters were minutely different, but Jin-Woo was able to differentiate between the two and managed to locate Min Byung-Gu's corpse before the emission from him completely dissipated.

If true, then that could only be described as an astonishing sensory perception. Such a task would be impossible even for Baek Yun-Ho's 'Eyes of the Beast', which was supposed to be a specialised trait meant for that kind of job.

After his thoughts reached up to this point, Baek Yun-Ho shifted his head back in the direction of Jin-Woo. Even at the risk of the final appearance of Byung-Gu being deeply etched in his nightmares, Baek Yun-Ho wanted to witness with his own two eyes just what would happen next.

'Hunter Seong Jin-Woo…. Just what are you trying to do?'

Cold sweat drops formed on his forehead as he alternated his gaze between Jin-Woo, Min Byung-Gu, and Cha Hae-In.

In the meantime, Jin-Woo took a closer look at the status of Min Byung-Gu. The black smokes were rising up from the corpse. Meaning, it was possible to perform the 'Shadow Extraction' on it.

And, sure enough���.

Tti-ring.

[It is possible to perform Shadow Extraction on the selected target.]

The familiar mechanical beep and the System's message informed him in such a 'friendly' way that what he wanted to do was, well, doable.

Of course, Jin-Woo was cognisant of the fact that Hunter Min Byung-Gu could be turned into a Shadow Soldier the moment he heard of the latter meeting an unfortunate fate.

Only that he didn't feel like doing it.

To turn a blameless guy into an undead and use him as a soldier…. Even if the corpse belonged to a rank S Hunter, he'd still reject the idea outright. That was not something a human being should do. However…

Jin-Woo stared at Cha Hae-In's gradually paling face.

'….This is the best way.'

What if, in a situation where every second counted, he could entrust the gravely injured to the best Healer in South Korea? What was there to even think about here?

If the decision was left up to Min Byung-Gu himself, he'd have made the same call 100 times out of 100. Jin-Woo formed a solemn expression and issued an order to the shadow.

"Rise up."

However, the end result was different from what he expected.

Tti-ring!

[The Shadow Extraction has failed.]

Confusion and anxiety began entering Jin-Woo's expression.

Was this because the skill level was too low compared to the target's Stat values? Or, was it because he wasn't really feeling it with this particular Shadow Extraction?

Jin-Woo quickly shook off all distracting thoughts. And then, spoke up once more, his voice now containing his will.

"Rise up."

The desirable changes took place, then.

Uaaaaahhhh—!

A low, heavy sound that could be described as either a victorious roar or a scream resounded out from the distant somewhere, and an eerie wind suddenly swept past everyone. The eyes of the Hunters were shot open in shock as the creeping chill crawled down their spines.

"Oh, my god!!"

"That, isn't that…?!"

From Min Byung-Gu's shadow, a black hand rose up. As if it didn't want to go back inside the shadow again, the black hand powerfully grabbed the ground. And then, it began pulling itself out from the darkness.

'How, how can this be?!'

Baek Yun-Ho felt as if his heart would explode from what he was seeing right now. Other people might not see it, but his eyes clearly captured everything.

Min Byung-Gu's magic energy rising up from his shadow was slowly solidifying into the shape of a person. More specifically, a soldier decked out in jet-black armour.

And soon, the so-called 'summoned' creature finally revealed itself.

"…."

The Hunters were rendered utterly speechless and dazedly stared at the new summoned creature of Jin-Woo. And from this creature, they could sense the kind of magical energy that could only be felt from a top-ranked Hunter.

'No, wait a minute…?'

The quick-witted Choi Jong-In flinched grandly in realisation as his brows shot up.

As everyone watched with bated breaths, Jin-Woo's calm eyes were studying the shadow of Min Byung-Gu. When their gazes met, the new Shadow Soldier nodded his head.

The moment a shadow was transformed into one of his soldiers, it would immediately form a mental link with Jin-Woo. They would know what their sovereign wanted from them. Without needing any further orders, Min Byung-Gu's shadow knelt down and began casting healing magic on Cha Hae-In.

Wuuoonngg…

As soon as the warm rays of light escaped from the Shadow Soldier's hands, Cha Hae-In's pale complexion began recovering gradually. This was the top level healing magic at work.

'I knew it!!'

Choi Jung-Hoon was properly freaking out now. He was completely sure of his guesses, now that he had seen those lights heal Cha Hae-In. The identity of that black 'soldier' was none other than Min Byung-Gu!

By then, other Hunters were also beginning to realise what was going on here.

Mah Dong-Wook hadn't been able to shut his slack jaw from the moment that black hand rose up from Min Byung-Gu's shadow, but now, he was able to collect himself enough to finally express his astonishment.

"Instructor Seong, you… weren't an ordinary Summoner, I see."

Jin-Woo neither agreed or denied it.

However, just what kind of people were they, to begin with? Every single one of them was an excellent Hunter who each represented the largest Guilds in South Korea. They didn't need to hear a confirmation to understand the gist of it.

"By any chance… Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, you can utilise the powers of the deceased?"

Choi Jong-In asked with a nervous tension writ large on his face.

Jin-Woo simply nodded his head, once. Now that he found himself here, there was no more reason to hide his powers, nor did he want to mask it with lies, either.

'Well, it's not like these folks will fall for some random lies I cook up on the spot, anyway.'

Actually, he felt as if a load was taken off his shoulders now that he had revealed his powers to someone else.

Other people might fear it, but to Jin-Woo, he'd feel eternally grateful towards this power for helping him get to where he was. He was proud of the power of the Shadow Sovereign.

Seeing that confident look on Jin-Woo's face, other Hunters began to fear the extent of his powers.

'He can summon creatures using the powers of the deceased??'

'Wouldn't he become stronger and stronger as the battle becomes fiercer? What a scary ability this is….'

'I don't even know what to say anymore.'

To these Hunters, having bore witness to Jin-Woo's ability today, this revelation left different types of impressions.

However, Baek Yun-Ho was privy to one more piece of secret info that others didn't know.

'Not only can his own powers continue to grow stronger, but he can also even control his vanquished enemies as his own summoned creatures. Wouldn't that mean…..'

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's current level of power had already reached an unfathomable degree. But when Baek Yun-Ho thought about the kind of strength the youth would possess in the future, his entire body began shuddering uncontrollably.

Suddenly, the cameraman spoke up as if he remembered something just then.

"Ah! Then the reason why you requested the camera to be turned off was because…."

This power was capable of making the nation's top Hunters scared. Anyone could've easily guessed the reason why Jin-Woo didn't want to reveal such a power to the rest of the country.

It was around then that Min Byung-Gu's shadow stood back up. The treatment process must've been finished, because there was a hint of crimson colour gently glowing on Hunter Cha Hae-In's face.

'Whew-woo….'

After confirming her status, Jin-Woo sighed out in relief. Although she was still unconscious, her breathing and her heartbeat had returned to normal. As a matter of fact, her wounds were completely healed now.

Jin-Woo patted the shoulder of Min Byung-Gu's shadow. That was the gesture of appreciation for the job well done.

'...'

Jin-Woo guessed what kind of person Min Byung-Gu must've been when he was still alive, from the gentle eyes of the Shadow Soldier looking back at him.

Jin-Woo slowly took his hand away from the shoulder, and then…

'Extraction cancellation.'

With a slight smile on his lips, he let the shadow return to the abyss.

No matter what, he didn't possess the right to lord over this man as one of his soldiers, when Min Byung-Gu even sacrificed his life to fight against the monster threats. Indeed, he thought that such an act was not fitting for a fallen hero.

'…Let's get out of here.'

Putting aside the slight regret in his heart, Jin-Woo picked up Cha Hae-In from the ground.

After losing their two leaders – the queen and the king – the ant monsters scattered and fled to the ends of the island in order to hide from the Shadow Soldiers. The ant tunnel, once filled to the brim with ants, was now completely empty.

Jin-Woo took several steps forward before looking behind him to speak to other Hunters.

"Let's get going."

Their bodies and physical fatigue might have been recovered to some extent from the potions they ingested, but their mental fatigue had almost reached a breaking point by now. So, when they heard his suggestion, the expressions of the Hunters brightened up considerably.

It was now finally over.

Their smile-filled faces perfectly expressed their current emotions.

After they safely got out from the ant tunnel, they found a helicopter hovering in the air, having arrived in their location just now with an exquisite sense of timing.

"There they are! Hunters are coming out!"

"Yes!! Well done!"

The helicopter carefully descended and landed on the ground after its occupants discovered the exact location of the Hunters. The tired Hunters entered the vehicle one by one until only two people remained.

They were Jin-Woo and Baek Yun-Ho.

Jin-Woo was standing closer to the helicopter. He carefully handed Cha Hae-In over to Baek Yun-Ho.

"What are you doing, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"

"I still have some unfinished business to take care of on this island."

Hearing that, Baek Yun-Ho could only smirk softly.

There were still plenty of ant monsters that had escaped death roaming around on the Jeju Island. If some other people said that they wanted to remain here, then Baek Yun-Ho would've questioned their sanity, but the man in front of his eyes was definitely not included in that group.

To fight monsters, you needed a monster.

Baek Yun-Ho thought that he wouldn't get surprised anymore regardless of what Jin-Woo was planning to do on this island.

"Excuse me."

Before leaving the island, Baek Yun-Ho threw out one last question.

"Byung-Gu…. No, wait. What will happen to the summoned creature that came out from Byung-Gu? Will he… stay as your soldier and continue to fight on?"

Jin-Woo shook his head.

"I've cancelled the summoning. It won't be possible to see him again."

Baek Yun-Ho nodded his head and formed a content smile.

"That's a relief."

"Pardon?"

"That guy, he… really hated fighting, you know? I'm sure that he's thanking you right now, wherever he is."

And so, the six warriors and one cameraman who had bravely fought on finally left the island of Jeju.

Their fight was over. However, it was merely another beginning for Jin-Woo.

'I need only one more level up to hit 100.'

He'd get there no problem, considering the number of remaining monsters on this island. And besides, there were plenty of shadows waiting to be extracted back inside the ant tunnel, as well.

So, then – should he get started now?

'First of all, I should take care of the ants that had run away….'

Jin-Woo formed a deep smile and summoned Kaisel out.

Inside the Japanese Hunter's Association.

The Association President Matsumoto Shigeo switched the giant TV screen off, his expression one of deep sorrow and defeat. A monster strong enough to instantly annihilate ten of the best Hunters from Japan, was killed off by a single Hunter from South Korea.

'How come, why, what is….?'

Matsumoto Shigeo's trembling hands began tearing at what little hair remained on the side of his head.

A completely illogical event had unfolded in front of his eyes just now.

Thanks to that, Japan's total combat potential had declined by over half, and even his position as the Association President was under threat now. If the Koreans also failed, then he might have tried to come up with some vague excuses to gloss over this whole thing, and then ask the international community for their help, but….

Not only had the Koreans managed to kill the ant queen, they even escaped safely from the clutches of the thousands of ant monsters as well as that mutated freak of an ant, too.

Seong Jin-Woo.

That one Hunter was responsible for smashing everything apart.

'Seong Jin-Woo… Seong Jin-Woo…..'

Inexplicably, the contents of the phone call he shared with Goto Ryuji while the latter was still in Korea played back in his mind.

["In South Korea…. There's an incredible Hunter in South Korea."]

["More than you?"]

["More than likely, sir."]

["….."]

["I think there's a need to modify our plan a little bit, sir."]

If only.

If only he paid attention to what Goto Ryuji was saying back then.

Wasn't he the most knowledgeable person when it came to understanding the differences of strength in Hunters? For the first time ever, such a man had assessed a Korean Hunter as "incredible", yet why did he…..

'Why was I so arrogant….?'

If they had completely analysed the capabilities of Seong Jin-Woo beforehand, they might have cooperated with the Koreans in good faith, and resolved everything without a single problem.

No, wait. Even if the Japanese didn't do anything, the Koreans might have stepped forward themselves to take care of the problem, instead.

But then, he ended up digging his own grave just because he resorted to underhanded schemes.

"A-Association President? Sir?"

Seeing how wane his face had become, the Association employee next to him began asking in a worried voice. However, Matsumoto Shigeo didn't bother to raise his head and simply waved his hand to dismiss the employee.

The employee bowed his head and left the office as if he was running away.

Matsumoto Shigeo's expression crumpled unsightly.

'There can only be one way out of this for me.'

And that would be to raise the Japanese Association back on its feet, and make it stronger than ever before. In order to do so, he needed just one man.

'Seong Jin-Woo….'

No matter what, he must reel that man in. With Goto Ryuji dying in vain like that, there was only one way to revitalise the Japanese Hunter's Association.

The entirety of Korea's citizens would have witnessed live the grand feats of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo so it would not be easy, but well, there was already precedence of a top Hunter abandoning South Korea, which meant there was still hope.

'What should I do to reel Hunter Seong Jin-Woo over to this side?'

Matsumoto Shigeo's brain, momentarily frozen from despair, began spinning rapidly again.

The Eastern United States.

Ringgg…. Ringgg…. Ringgg….

The phone rang endlessly off the hook.

Unable to endure that racket any longer, David Brennan angrily snatched at the receiver.

'Which insane motherf*cker is calling me at this time of the night?!'

He was the director of the most powerful organisation in the States, the Hunter Bureau. Promising himself to find the son of a b*tch regardless of the method or cost and throw him in a jail cell if this turned out to be a prank call, he answered the call in a testy voice.

Click.

"Who is this?"

"Director, it's me."

"Deputy….?"

David Brennan's sleep flew away the moment he heard that familiar voice and he raised his torso up.

"It's already pretty late. What's the matter?"

"There's a video you must see. Right now."

"A video…?"

When he checked his mobile phone, there were seven missed calls as well as a video file. It seemed that he missed them all because he had muted the phone before going to bed.

"I understand. I'll give you a call after watching the clip."

"No need, director."

"…..What do you mean by that?"

"I'm already in front of your house, sir."

"What?"

David Brennan jumped up from the bed and took a look at the alarm sitting on the bedside bureau. It said '04:12 AM'.

He discarded the phone on the bed and ran towards the bedroom window to take a look, and indeed, the deputy director was waiting for him outside the front of the house with his car parked right there. Once their gazes met, the deputy director nodded his greeting.

David Brennan stared back somewhat dumbfounded, his head tilting to the side, before turning around.

'What's going on?'

Sensing that something big must've happened, he picked his phone up, the video clip still waiting to be played on the device.

Chapter 123: Chapter 123

The video clip finally finished playing on the phone.

"…."

The footage of a raid taking place in a small nation to the Far East left a pretty hefty mental shock to David Brennan, the director of America's Hunter Bureau.

"What do you think?"

The deputy director cautiously asked his boss. And the director was quick with his reply.

"Never mind what I think, aren't you here in these early hours because you already know what I'm about to say? Am I right?"

That was indeed true.

It was already an uncommon occurrence for the director of the mighty Hunter Bureau and his deputy to have a meeting at four in the morning, but then, their meeting place also happened to be the kitchen of the director's private residence, as well.

A heavy silence descended between two men sitting opposite side of the dining table.

Puff, puff….

The director replayed the video one more time as he sucked on his cigarette. He was still getting shocked by what he was watching. Especially when he got to the part where the Hunter summoned out black 'soldiers' to sweep away the swarm of ants, the director's entire body shuddered noticeably.

'....'

What could anyone say after viewing this crazy video?

And so, as he continued sucking on another cigarette in silence….

The director's wife came down from the upstairs bedroom in search of her missing husband, and called out his name after spotting the light in the kitchen.

"Dave? Is everything alright?"

When the director wordlessly gestured with his hand, the wife looked at him worriedly for a moment or two before going back to the bedroom.

Exactly three cigarettes later, the director quietly opened his mouth.

"What a waste of talent to be confined in a small country like South Korea."

"I agree."

"What do we know about him?"

The deputy director readily brought out a file containing all the pertinent information related to Seong Jin-Woo. The director scanned the files and formed a satisfied smile.

"Very good."

It had been less than an hour since the raid came to an end on the island of Jeju in the country far, far east, yet the related data was already in his hands. Not only that, the file contained everything from that Hunter's type as well as his close associates and relatives, too.

Now, this was the power of the United States, the Hunter 'superpower' in the world.

On the other side of the table, the deputy was smiling inwardly to himself.

'We got lucky on this one.'

Sure, the swiftness of the American intelligence network was one thing, but luck played a big part, as well. To be more precise, the 'Seong Il-Hwan' incident.

An existence that could either be a human or a monster in disguise exited from a dungeon and claimed that he was a Korean Hunter. The data compiled back then still remained in the database of the Hunter Bureau.

In the current situation where no other nation even knew what his name was – with the exception of South Korea, of course – the Americans were able to get two steps ahead of everyone else.

'God bless America.'

Indeed, if this wasn't the heavens helping them out, then what was?

However, it wouldn't do to get all worked up over a minor lucky coincidence like this one. No, it all depended on the abilities of the individuals involved when it came to turning a lucky coincidence into a genuine opportunity.

The deputy formed a pretty serious expression.

"His father went missing in a Gate, but he still hasn't received any proper compensation until now."

"H-mm…."

"And also, before he went through a Re-Awakening process, he risked death countless times to pay for his mother's hospital fees."

"….What an inconceivable tale that is."

How could they treat the wife and the son of a hero this badly, when he lost his life fighting against monsters all for the sake of his nation? Such a thing was completely unimaginable in the US.

"And well, this isn't confirmed information, but…"

The director lifted his gaze off from the files. The deputy took his time to build suspense and finally murmured out.

"Apparently, he hasn't signed up with any Guilds yet."

"…..!!"

Now that piece of news managed to perk up the director's ears even more. He closed the file with a sombre expression on his face.

"This is a different matter altogether from Hwang Dong-Su's case."

When that familiar name was mentioned, the glint in the deputy's eyes changed.

"Taking away two rank S Hunters from a single country…. That'd be akin to declaring that we are turning our backs on that particular nation."

South Korea and America had been allied nations for a very long time. What the director was implying here was that the impact of this matter would mushroom into something rather substantial in the near future.

However, the deputy replied with a confident tone of voice.

"Even still….. Don't you think he's a talent worth all that trouble?"

"…"

Of course.

The director couldn't deny that. So, he answered with a question, instead.

"Can you do it?"

The deputy answered with the exact same words he used back during the Hwang Dong-Su's case.

"I'll do my best."

Because of those four words, the deputy was able to quickly climb the career ladder to get to where he was now. As for the man that the deputy director had locked his sights on…

The United States of America already boasted two of the most powerful Hunters in the world, the so-called 'Special Authority-ranks' in their roster, but even then, the director David Brennan wanted to naturalise that youth as an American citizen.

The director placed his fourth cigarette of the morning in his lips and spoke in a grave tone of voice.

"Regardless of what conditions he puts forth, you will bring him over to this side."

Jin-Woo rode on the back of Kaisel to hunt down and kill every single ant monster his Shadow Soldiers missed the first time around.

Kiieeehhk!!

Yet another ant fell after getting struck by the skill, Dagger Throw. Jin-Woo didn't bother to step down from Kaisel and simply used the skill, Ruler's Reach, to easily retrieve his shortsword.

'I must be pretty close to levelling up now.'

There weren't that many ants left to be found on the island. Jin-Woo really preferred that he'd get to level up by killing the remaining ants in this place.

First of all, just a single level up would take him to level 100. For Jin-Woo, who loved to see numbers ending in the multiples of five, 100 was such a fantastic level that he simply had to get there as soon as possible.

Since he hadn't booked any Gates, once he leaves Jeju Island he wouldn't have any other avenues to earn experience points for a while. As long as he didn't get lucky and another key to an instant dungeon popped out of the random boxes, or a dungeon break occurred near where he lived, of course.

'Wait, it's not cool to think of a dungeon break as being lucky, is it.'

If a dungeon break occurred, then that meant one or more teams had failed in their raids. So, to him, it was far more preferable to get to level 100 in this place.

And, if there was another reason for doing so, then….

He ended up recalling a painful memory while trying to extract Hunter Min Byung-Gu's shadow.

The leader of the White Phantoms, Baruka.

After failing three times to extract his shadow, Jin-Woo couldn't convert him into his Shadow Soldier.

When he failed in his first attempt earlier in the day, his heart fell to the pit of his stomach, as the thoughts of 'Am I going to have another episode like that' filled his head.

'Well, I did manage somehow to succeed on my second try, but still…'

Wasn't this the case of 'A burnt child fears fire'?

There was no guarantee that the same thing as Baruka wouldn't happen later when trying to extract the ant king's shadow. That guy's Stat values were so high that comparing Hunter Min Byung-Gu to that monster was a time-wasting gesture.

Even if it was by a small margin, Jin-Woo wanted to increase his odds of successfully extracting that guy's shadow by raising his level. He was sure that, although there was only one level difference, it would definitely help out his cause.

'….Uh?'

After discovering something on the ground, Jin-Woo ordered Kaisel to land.

Kiiahhk!

Kaisel flapped its wings and lightly landed on the ground. Jin-Woo climbed down from his back and scanned his surroundings.

'It was around here….'

He rummaged through the tall grasses, before discovering the corpses lying there hidden. A deep frown immediately formed on his face. He had discovered the bodies of the Japanese Hunters, lying here and there. There were several with their heads missing, but there was also one that got mangled beyond recognition, as well.

Jin-Woo took a closer look at the bodies.

'Pretty strong magic energy….'

Without a doubt, these people were strong. They didn't look like they would die in this place in such a manner. The fact that they did die so gruesomely could only mean that an extremely powerful 'something' had paid them a visit.

'Probably the handiwork of that mutated ant….'

He was unconvinced that something else was responsible for this massacre. Well, when he was struck for the first time by the ant king, his jaw stung pretty sharply, didn't it? If it were any other Hunters, they wouldn't have been able to endure it even once.

Jin-Woo looked around the ground while feeling somewhat bitter, before his steps came to a halt on a certain spot.

'This aura….'

Jin-Woo crouched down and took a closer look at the ground. The soil here was all muddy and sticky from a prodigious amount of blood having soaked the earth. A faint trace of magical energy emanated from the wet ground. He had encountered this magic energy emission once before.

'…..Goto Ryuji.'

Jin-Woo searched his vicinity again. Goto's magic energy could still be felt, but his remains were nowhere to be seen. Most likely, he had been completely devoured by the mutated ant monster.

"Tsk, tsk."

Jin-Woo could only tut to himself at the ultimately meaningless death of Japan's strongest Hunter, before standing back up again. With excellent timing, the Shadow Soldiers he dispatched to the all corners of the island reported back to him that the remnants of the ant monsters had been completely exterminated.

'….In the end, I killed them all, huh.'

Every Korean citizen would 100 times out of 100 cry out in elation from that news, but Jin-Woo could only lick his lower lip in disappointment. Because, his level didn't go up in the end.

Now that there were no more monsters remaining, he figured that the only thing left to do would be to go back inside the ant tunnel to extract the shadows of the mutated ant and the queen. But then….

….His steps came to an abrupt halt.

'Wait a second… there are still monsters remaining?'

His extended senses picked up the presences of monsters from nearby. Not only that, there were so many, too!

A smile quickly bloomed on Jin-Woo's face to replace the look of disappointment. He lightly jumped back up on Kaisel.

"Let's go!"

Just as expected….

Jin-Woo's expression brightened greatly as soon as he stepped inside the nursery area. There were countless eggs lining up the floor, pillars, and even the ceiling.

Seeing that there were wiggling movements from underneath the semi-transparent shells, these things were definitely monsters, too.

'Not sure how much experience points I will get here, but…'

But then again, with this many monsters here, he was sure of making up for the lacking amount of experience points. Jin-Woo summoned out the Shadow Soldiers specialised in wide-range attacks.

"Gather around."

Fangs and three Magic Soldiers stood in line, according to their grades.

Jin-Woo handed over the Bead of Avarice over to Fangs, and studied each of the four soldiers in turn.

"You all understand what you need to do, right?"

The Magic Soldiers all nodded their heads in unison. Jin-Woo pointed at the eggs.

"Begin."

Right away, Fangs grew to an incredible height and spat out the horrifying flames at the eggs. The other Magic Soldiers finished chanting their magic and began chucking large balls of flames here and there as well.

Kuwaaahahhh-!

KWABOOM!!

Boom!!

Eggs had no means of resisting, and in no time at all, began to burn up and explode one by one.

Kiieehhhk!

Jin-Woo took a closer look at one of the dead ant larvae leaning against the corner of the broken egg. He discovered the corpse of an ant, near adulthood, just below the melted-down shell of the larva. As it turned out, every single one of them he saw sported a pair of wings, without exceptions.

'If these things reached maturity and crossed the ocean with that mutated ant in the lead, then….'

Even though the queen was successfully subjugated, both South Korea and Japan would've suffered tremendous losses.

What a relief that he was able to stop that from becoming reality.

BLAM!!

Boom!!

Jin-Woo noticed that his boys were breaking out in buckets of sweat, and summoned the Demon King's Longsword out from the Inventory.

'Should I have a go with this one?'

Every time he moved this cool-looking blue-coloured longsword, arcs of electricity crackled up from the blade itself. He had stored it inside the Inventory after defeating the Demon King Baran back in the Demon's Castle. There was a reason why he brought this longsword out instead of his main weapons, the daggers/shortswords.

….Because of the added magic attribute of the longsword.

Swish-!

When Jin-Woo energetically swung the sword….

Bzzzzz-!!!

Lightning crackled boisterously all over the place and caused the blue-coloured storm to kick up.

'Ohhh!'

A wide smile formed on Jin-Woo's face.

Although he couldn't recreate the destructive might or the added 'Stun' effect as displayed by the Demon King, it was still more than enough to burn these ant eggs, that's for sure.

'Isn't it too wasteful to leave inside the Inventory?'

Because he was already far too familiar with the daggers, he would probably never use this sword again in the near future, but still, he felt that this weapon was too good to be left forgotten inside his Inventory.

And so…. just how long did he spend wrestling with these eggs?

Eventually, he got to hear the familiar and very welcoming mechanical beep.

Tti-ring.

[Level up!]

'Finally!'

Jin-Woo cried out in elation. Inwardly, of course.

He immediately returned the Demon King's Longsword back inside the Inventory and headed straight to the ant queen's chamber, leaving the mop-up operation to his Shadow Soldiers.

He found the mutated ant monster still lying dead on the same spot. Jin-Woo stood next to it.

His heart was already pounding hard from his intense desire to turn this mutated ant into his Shadow Soldier.

However….

He had learned that the power of concentration was critically important during his attempts to extract Hunter Min Byung-Gu's shadow.

'I gotta calm down.'

Gradually, Jin-Woo's gaze grew colder, and his breathing regained its usual calmness as well.

'…..Okay, good.'

His condition was now back to its peak.

Jin-Woo's gaze shifted lower to the ground. Thicker and greatly more ominous black smoke compared to other monsters were oozing out of the mutated ant's corpse.

Was this because the creature was so extraordinarily strong? So strong that Jin-Woo didn't even know who to compare it to?

While thinking like that, he calmly extended his hands out towards the rising black smoke.

"Rise up."

Chapter 124

Right at that moment….

The light within the ant queen's chamber suddenly dimmed and brightened back up over and over again, as if it was being illuminated by a dying fluorescent light bulb.

Jin-Woo raised his head. The large ball of light that Choi Jong-In floated up on the ceiling to help with the ant queen raid was flickering noticeably now.

'Is the magic about to come undone?'

At first, he absentmindedly thought like that.

However, it hadn't even an hour since the Korean Hunters stepped foot inside this chamber. So, how could the spell be dissipating already? Not only that, wasn't it a spell cast by a rank S Mage so he and his colleagues could safely carry out this potentially deadly raid?

There was no way such a thing could be true. In that case….

'…..Could it be?'

Could the Shadow Extraction he performed on the mutated ant be the cause? Just as this thought entered his mind….

Paht-!

The surroundings became completely dark.

He'd still be able to see around him thanks to his Perception Stat if there had been a sliver, a trace of light coming in from somewhere. But this all-encompassing darkness didn't even permit that.

It must've been a second or two later.

The darkness lingered on only for a briefest of brief moments before receding away – to reveal the mutated ant standing right in front of his eyes.

'…..!!'

Jin-Woo flinched grandly and took a step back.

If it weren't for the System message saying "Shadow Extraction was a success" appearing almost at the same time, he might have lashed out while thinking that the ant had come back to life or some such.

"Whew…. That surprised me."

Jin-Woo spat out a sigh of relief.

Now that he calmly took another look at the creature from a step away, it sure did look a bit different from when it was still alive. From its body, streams of black smoke were continuously rising up.

'So, this is that ant monster's shadow….'

He couldn't tell just how much of its original Stats had changed, but at least, the ominous aura it gave off seemed to have gone up a few levels. Jin-Woo stood before the ant's shadow. He could clearly feel its enormous magic energy reserve.

The mutated ant becoming his soldier finally felt real to him now that he could stand right before the creature and sense its magical energy like this.

'Hmm….'

He wanted to remain calm, but the corners of his lips continued to curl upwards.

Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!

His heart was pounding away madly like a child who got his hands on a toy he so badly wished to own.

Soon, the shadow's information popped up in his view. Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed to a slit as he read the info floating above the shadow's head.

[?? Lv.1]

Commander grade

Jin-Woo began clenching his fists tightly after confirming its grade. A new one just made its appearance. Which could only mean this guy possessed the kind of power that was on another realm compared to his other soldiers.

'Well, that's obvious when considering its original abilities while it was still alive….'

Just the name of the new grade alone implied that this soldier was not your average, common soldier. This was the fruit of his labour for having worked so hard to own this shadow. It was then.

Shu-wook.

The shadow knelt down after meeting his gaze with Jin-Woo's. Without a doubt, the 'absolute loyalty' that affected all the other Shadow Soldiers also applied to this guy, as well.

'Nice.'

Next stop, the ant queen.

Jin-Woo formed a satisfied smile and turned around. But, then….

"Oh, my king…."

Jin-Woo's steps came to an abrupt halt after he heard that voice coming from behind him. He never thought that he'd got scared that easily, but at least in this moment, he did feel like his heart had taken a nasty tumble down to the pit of his stomach.

….Could it have been auditory hallucination?

Jin-Woo looked behind him. Even without doing that, he could tell with his acute senses that there was nothing there besides the ant's shadow. That shadow was still kneeling on the ground, his head deeply bowed.

'....'

Jin-Woo studied the shadow as he slowly turned around.

"Was it you?"

The shadow opened its mouth as if he was waiting for this moment.

"Please grant me… a name….."

Although it sounded a little inarticulate, the ant's shadow was definitely speaking back to him.

***

The helicopter containing the Hunters headed straight back to the city of Seoul.

Tatatatatata-!

The Association President Goh Gun-Hui had been anxiously waiting for their arrival, so when the helicopter landed on the landing pad located on the Hunters Association, he quickly went over personally and opened the vehicle's door.

"How is Cha Hae-In Hunter-nim's condition?"

The gazes of the Hunters all shifted towards where Cha Hae-In was. She still hadn't recovered her consciousness yet, and was lying on top of a blanket laid out on the helicopter's floor.

"Hurry! This way!"

Two rank A Healers, waiting just outside the landing pad, hurriedly sprinted forward as soon as Goh Gun-Hui issued his order. But, when they began checking out her condition,

"…??"

"…??"

They exchanged puzzled glances with each other.

"What's going on?"

When Goh Gun-Hui asked them, they answered almost at the same time, making it hard to tell who was the first to open his mouth.

"She's not injured anywhere."

"She's perfectly normal."

"Are you saying that there's no need to treat Hunter Cha now?"

The Healers nodded their heads. They also explained themselves a bit further.

"Not sure who did it, but truly incredible healing magic was cast on her. Because of that, we don't need to do anything here, sir."

Goh Gun-Hui was feeling genuinely flustered now.

When he last confirmed Cha Hae-In's condition through the live broadcast, her injuries looked quite severe. And also from a report he received, her condition was so bad that she failed to regain her consciousness until now.

That was why he had urgently searched for and found a couple of rank A Healers, and had them on standby here. But now…

'There's no need to heal her?'

Goh Gun-Hui swept his gaze all over the unmoving Cha Hae-In. For sure, her complexion didn't look so bad. It was almost as if she was fast asleep.

Just what transpired after the camera was turned off?

Goh Gun-Hui tilted his head in confusion.

'They didn't have a Healer over there, too….'

After all, their sole Healer, Min Byung-Gu, met with a grisly fate, didn't he?

Goh Gun-Hui asked the team leader, Mah Dong-Wook.

"Just what happened back there, Hunter Mah?"

"That is…."

As Mah Dong-Wook fell into a dilemma, wondering how he should go about explain this situation, one of the Healers hurriedly shouted out.

"She's waking up!"

Everyone's attention was focused on her in an instant. Goh Gun-Hui carefully sat down near her head and asked her.

"Cha Hunter-nim, can you hear me?"

Cha Hae-In slowly opened her eyes.

"Where….?"

"You're inside the helicopter. Currently, it's landed on the Hunters Association, and we are planning to escort you to the hospital very soon."

"A hospital…."

Cha Hae-In briefly looked around her, before taking a deep breath. The scent of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo had permeated throughout her body. She stared at Goh Gun-Hui with unfocused eyes.

"….Did Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim show up there?"

She was supposed to be unconscious all this time, so when she mentioned Seong Jin-Woo's name, other Hunters were all inwardly taken by surprise. Instead of a verbal answer, Goh Gun-Hui slowly nodded his head.

A thin smile formed on Cha Hae-In's face.

'I knew it… it wasn't a dream.'

Cha Hae-In had briefly woken up, but she fell back into a deep slumber again. After confirming that her breathing was stable, Goh Gun-Hui ordered his subordinates to take her to the hospital, so she could get some much-needed rest.

Only then did he notice that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo wasn't in the helicopter. He shifted his gaze back to Mah Dong-Wook.

"By the way, where is Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"

Having heard that question from the side, Baek Yun-Ho quickly butted in to provide an answer.

"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, he… chose to stay behind."

"What do you mean, stay behind?"

Goh Gun-Hui formed an expression of someone who couldn't understand. As far as he knew, this helicopter fitted with the magic energy engine flew non-stop from Jeju Island to get to this place.

It didn't make any pitstops in the middle of the trip, so exactly where did that man chose to stay behind? Goh Gun-Hui asked again.

"Where did he choose to stay behind?"

"He told me that he still had business to take care of on Jeju Island."

"….Are you saying that he didn't even get on the helicopter in the first place?"

While Goh Gun-Hui asked, sounding quite flustered, Baek Yun-Ho smiled sheepishly and nodded his head.

"Yes."

***

"How is it that you're able to talk?"

"I just…. can."

The ant's shadow kept answering Jin-Woo's questions, but regretfully, none of them were much of a help.

The ant monster could talk as a shadow because it knew how to talk when it was still alive – could that be it?

'…No, wait.'

Jin-Woo shook his head.

Before he was turned into the now-trustworthy knight 'Iron', the former Hunter Kim Cheol not only knew how to speak, but he was actually a human being in the first place. Even then, having a conversation with Iron was still impossible.

It was the same story with Min Byung-Gu. He was unable to say a single word before he returned to the void. And then, Fangs also shut his mouth for good after becoming a Shadow Soldier, even though he used to be such a chatty monster while still alive.

So, how come…

How come only this guy could talk?

There was only one obvious difference between this guy and those who couldn't talk.

'Grades….'

Unlike his other soldiers with grades of 'Elite Knight' or simply 'Knight', this guy came with a new grade called 'Commander'.

It was possible that one would be able to talk after reaching a certain grade. As he didn't have any solid proof yet, this was the most plausible explanation he could think of.

'That means, my boys will all start talking as soon as they level up high enough….'

It seemed that yet another reason was added to the list of 'why the levels of soldiers must be raised up higher'. Jin-Woo thought for a little while, before throwing that one question to the ant's shadow, the one he always wanted to ask his soldiers before.

"I'm the one who killed you."

"…"

"Yet, you still wish to serve me?"

"I….."

A completely unexpected reply came from the ant's shadow.

"I didn't die, but… through the power of my liege… I am reborn."

The shadow then raised his head. And while meeting Jin-Woo's gaze, it continued on.

"Within me… elation… overflows. I shall follow my liege… for eternity."

Ba-dump!

Why did it happen? Was it because he felt the shadow's true feelings?

Jin-Woo's heart pounded powerfully right at that moment when the ant's shadow swore his eternal loyalty. He placed his hand on his chest to somehow calm his wildly beating heart. It quickly regained its usual calmness.

It was then, the ant's shadow lowered his head again and pleaded with Jin-Woo once more.

"Oh, my king….. Please, grant me… a name…."

The talk had reverted back to the beginning.

This sure came across as a rather different experience to Jin-Woo, now that he was hearing the plea of the subject directly from itself, rather than from some prompts of the System.

A name, a name…..

From the get-go, he didn't pay all that much attention to the naming of his soldiers, but….

'But even then, it's a bit too much to call it ant this and ant that, right?'

There were already hundreds of similar ants like him now in Jin-Woo's army, so it wouldn't do for a Knight Commander to be saddled with a name like 'Ant', now would it?

That was why…..

Jin-Woo pondered for a little while, before a smirk formed on his face.

"….Beru."

He recalled the name of an author who became famous through the novel called 'Ants'. (TL note at the end)

He readily made up his mind after only thinking about it for a very short time.

"You name will now be Beru."

After Jin-Woo granted him the new name, Beru lowered his already lowered head even further to the ground as if he was truly moved by the gesture.

"I am grateful… my liege."

The information floating above Beru's head had already been amended by then.

[Beru Lv.1]

Commander grade

'It's done.'

Feeling genuinely pleased with his choice of the name, Jin-Woo turned towards the queen's corpse. Now, it really was the turn of the queen to get her shadow extracted.

Maybe he got a confidence boost from successfully transforming Beru into his Shadow Soldier – because, the queen's Shadow Extraction turned out to be a rather painless affair.

"Rise up."

Kiiaaahhhhk-!

Accompanied by the scream that sounded like the death throes, the Beast Soldier resembling the ant queen emerged out from the shadow.

"Nice!!"

Jin-Woo expressed his delight at the continuous successful extractions, but then, began tilting his head after discovering something rather odd.

'What's this?'

His connections to the Shadow Soldiers who were originally ant monsters suddenly grew fainter after the queen's shadow materialised. It almost felt as if a pale grey fog was covering up the threads connecting them.

"Beru."

Even before he finished calling it, Beru had already approached Jin-Woo's side.

Step.

If it weren't for his Perception Stat that had climbed past the 200 mark, Jin-Woo would never have followed that movement properly with his naked eyes alone. Such a creature was one of his loyal soldiers now. Jin-Woo felt his confidence soaring up even higher from that realisation.

"You know what's going on here?"

Jin-Woo asked while pointing at the queen's shadow with his chin. Beru knew everything there was to know when it came to the inner workings of the ant army so it made sense to ask him.

He politely made his reply.

"The ruling of the ant army… it's the queen's innate ability."

'Aha.'

So, did that mean the authority to control the army of ant shadows would automatically be handed over to the queen?

'But, that is a bit….'

Even though the queen was subservient to him, he thought that it wasn't okay to entrust the control of all of his ant soldiers. Because, he'd have to issue orders through the queen every single time.

Jin-Woo scratched his chin for a bit, before asking Beru again.

"Okay, what about the reason for the decrease in the queen's magic energy?"

"Most of the queen's magic energy… is for propagation. Propagation is impossible…. without a body, that is why…"

Jin-Woo cut him off there.

"That's why it only has half of its original magic power?"

"That is correct… my liege."

By piecing together what Beru had said, the queen didn't seem to have much of a use for Jin-Woo. After a short deliberation later, he decided to cancel the summoning altogether. He didn't have any reason whatsoever to keep around a subordinate who had no use but only continued to drain his limited resources, now did he?

Kiiieeehhhk-!

The queen's shadow instantly became smoke and scattered in the air.

[Number of stored shadows: 570/570]

His shadow was now packed to the brim with soldiers, so….

'….So, the only things remaining here are the magic crystals.'

Jin-Woo took a look around him. Top grade magic crystals only seen within rank S Gates were rolling on the floor like common pebbles.

Since there was no one watching here, and he was the one who killed the majority of them, he could have swept them all up if he wanted to do so. However, Jin-Woo gave up on that idea.

He heard that these crystals would be used to compensate the victims, as well as to rebuild the Jeju Island to its former glory. Jin-Woo wasn't exactly hurting for cash, so he wouldn't covet after other people's stuff.

'Still, I'm sure no one will mind me taking this one.'

Jin-Woo took out the magic crystal from Beru's original body. It was a beautiful pitch-black magic crystal that resembled a gemstone. After pocketing the magic crystal, Jin-Woo summoned out Kaisel.

Kiiaaahjk!

Kaisel flapped its wings and finished getting ready to fly in an instant. Jin-Woo lightly jumped on his back and took one last look at the queen's chamber.

The place once filled with unbridled chaos was now enveloped in this eerie silence.

'....'

The Jeju Island expedition was now over.

Jin-Woo's gaze shifted away from the interior of the chamber and towards the exit.

"To home."

And then, Kaisel powerfully flew up in the air.