Jin'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.
While in the air Jin neutrally didn't forget about the most important thing, he was just waiting to do with Jeju Island now he was free it was one most existing thing for him.
He cracked his knuckles and prayed to the RNGesus he was in the air now free of all negative influence a slight breeze caressed his body as if the messiah of Luck was listening to his prayer. Now it had to be in there!
Ding…
Jin's mind was also finally ringing with the system's beep!
{Detecting that the host has successfully reached LV :150
You have completed this system release task!
Quest Complete [Weak no longer]
Objective : Reach Level 150 in 40 days.
{Now start handling out mission rewards according to hosts performance and time it took!
{Reward 1: Skill Dark Wisdom
[Learn skills by performing a live sacrifice; however, the sacrificial subject must already possess the skill intended for acquisition.]
Reward 2: Strong Constitution Perk,
New Perk Added
[Strong Constitution]
[Doubles HP/SP Gained from STR]
Hidden Objective Complete : Reach Level 150 in less than 20 days
Reward 1 : Skill Blessing of the Grim Reaper(Weak).
[Blessing of the Grim Reaper(Weak).]
[Any slash imbued with the Blessing of the Grim Reaper(Weak). power leaves a curse wounds that is unable to be healed. "Each slash empowered by the Blessing of the Grim Reaper (Weak) inflicts a cursed wound that is unable to be healed. The potency of this curse intensifies with proximity to the target, allowing the host to even reopen wounds inflicted by them if near enough. Furthermore, if the wound expands in severity, so too does the skill's effect. However, should the wound be remedied—such as by amputation—the curse dissipates. Additionally, the curse vanishes upon the death of either the opponent or the host.
Furthermore, should the host and target be distanced too far apart, the severity of the skill's effect diminishes progressively. If this distance is maintained for an extended period, the potency of the curse wanes, gradually losing its impact only leaving a small scar.]
Reward : Serendipity Shard
[The "Serendipity Shard" is a one-time-use golden ticket that grants its holder the rare opportunity to journey between parallel universes. Upon activation, the shard transports the traveler to a random world, determined solely by luck. Adding to the unpredictability, the shard will also randomly teleport the traveler back to their original universe after a random number of days or hours, a time limit the holder which the user will know upon time limit. The traveler has no control over when they will be returned. Each use of the Serendipity Shard is a thrilling gamble, with the multiverse revealing its wonders and dangers at the whim of chance.]
{All rewards have been successfully distributed, please check by yourself host!
The system rewards are as generous as ever! And RNGesus are as wonderful as ever and I am wholeheartedly grateful for it.
First there is the Dark Wisdom allowing me to have one more way to gain overpowered skill.
Also with Doubles HP/SP Gained from every STR point I can finally not die if someone truly strong breathes too hard in my direction. This has been a wonderful day, now I just need to get stronger, strong enough to survive most of the worlds and grinding will be far safer with the ability to actually take some hits without being a glass cannon.
'Nice'
Jin was satisfied to the extreme with this wave of levelling up!
It also gave him more than enough confidence for the next world jump!
Then look at the last two rewards.
SSS- Rank skill
This skill is supposed to allow one to inflict wounds that couldn't be healed. Which is just op as it's the perfect answer for anyone who relies on their regenerative healing factor to think they are invincible or immortal.
And I could think of many characters like that. In fact at least there is one character like that in every Universe in the vast Omniverse.
And then there is the thing I wanted the most. and now I know it's name
It also a great reward especially know I know how it's works
Overall this time system rewards were still very satisfying for Jin…
So with the great mood of Jin soon Kaisel landed in front of the Hunter's Association building.
Kiiaaahk-!
Naturally, stunned folks of the Association all came running outside when a massive monster suddenly descended in the middle of Seoul – not only that, right on the front lawn of the Hunter's Association, no less.
Hunters of the Monitoring Division, normally tasked with detecting the approach of all beings possessing magical energy, also ran outside with various weapons in their hands.
But, their complexions all lost colour after Jin hopped off from the back of the creature.
'Return.'
Kaisel heeded Jin-Woo's order and immediately disappeared into his shadow.
Meanwhile, people gathered here began recognising who he was.
'W-was that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's summoned creature?'
'Can even control a monster like that, too??'
All these people had seen Jin's ability through their TV screens. So, it didn't come as much of a surprise that he could control a monster.
Jin walked over to an Association employee he recognised and addressed him. This person was a Hunter working for the Monitoring Division and was often seen accompanying the Association President.
"I'd like to speak to the Association President."
You wouldn't normally get to meet the President just because you wanted to. Even a government minister had to wait for a whole week for a meeting with Goh Gun-Hui.
However, who here was brave enough to tell that to the young man in front of their eyes?
A Hunter, who wasn't originally a member of the raid team, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and easily disposed of the ant monster – a monster so powerful that it toyed around with several rank S Hunters.
So, wouldn't the Association President be dying to speak to this man more than anyone else right now?
The Association employee quickly replied.
"The Association President is in the hospital at the moment."
"Is he feeling unwell?"
Jin asked while remembering that he hadn't. fully healed the Association President's health, to begin with. It was possible that he somehow worsened his condition because he watched the raid broadcast.
"No, not at all. He went over to observe the situation with Hunters."
Jin nodded his head. Did that mean it'd be hard to meet him today?
Just as he was preparing to leave, the employee continued on.
"Let me call the President on the phone. If you will, please wait for a little while at the reception room."
"Got it."
Jin felt relieved. There was something he wanted to tell the President as soon as possible, actually.
***
The Hunters were in the largest Association-designated Hunter hospital there was. Goh Gun-Hui quietly waited for the examination results, and soon, his personal doctor approached him with some news.
The Association President hurriedly asked.
"How do they look?"
"We haven't performed an in-depth examination yet, but… they seem to be 100% normal, especially Hunter Cha Hae-In condition seems to be more than fine at least outwardly speaking. They all are resting comfortably at the moment."
"I see…."
Goh Gun-Hui nodded his head, thinking 'I thought as much' to himself.
The doctor was alongside Goh Gun-Hui when they watched the raid together. Cha Hae-In's current condition was as much of a mystery even for him.
"Ah!"
The personal doctor opened his mouth again after recalling something just now.
"Sir, it's regarding Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
Goh Gun-Hui's ears perked up after Sung Jin-Woo's name was brought up.
"What about Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?"
The doctor was quick to continue, having seen the light glinting in Goh Gun-Hui's eyes change like that.
"You know that his mother was a patient in our hospital, yes?"
"The Eternal Sleep disorder, right?"
"That's correct."
Goh Gun-Hui did get to read up on Jin-Woo's family back when the investigation to the youth's background was still ongoing. He suddenly thought of the worst possible scenario and asked, his expression hardening rapidly.
"I heard that she actually woke up from the 'final sleep' stage and was discharged recently."
"Are you telling me the truth?!"
"Those in the know are in a huge uproar over this whole thing, sir. We may not have made any official announcement, but well, it did happen in our hospital, so…."
The higher-ups of the hospital naturally saw today's raid, as well. And that meant they continued to talk about Sung Jin-Woo's matter, and eventually, even Goh Gun-Hui's personal doctor got to hear about it.
"But, Eternal Sleep was cured? Was that even possible?"
"I believe this is the first time ever in the world, sir."
"When did she wake up?"
"Most likely…."
The doctor confirmed the date in his head.
"About eleven days ago."
"….."
Now it made sense.
The day he asked Jin-Woo to join the raid, and the day the youth's mother woke up, were almost the same.
'Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's father went missing inside a Gate, didn't he?'
A wife who lost her husband to the Gate. Hunter Sung Jin-Woo would've found it very hard to leave such a mother behind all alone to participate in the Jeju Island raid. Not to mention, to participate in the subjugation operation that had failed three times in the past as well.
Goh Gun-Hui reflected on his carelessness for failing to check upon his situation.
'That's why he couldn't participate in this raid.'
Jin-Woo's situation, and the feats he performed today, combined to wash away the misunderstanding that almost managed to block up his chest. Goh Gun-Hui's heart began racing once more.
He really liked this young man. Such a man was a rare breed, indeed.
It was then, an Association employee approached him.
"Sir."
"Did something happen?"
"We couldn't get in touch with Hunter Min Byung-Gu's family."
"You mean… His mother?"
"Yes, sir."
That was to be expected. She learnt of her son's passing through a d*mn TV. She then called the Association on the phone, her voice trembling non-stop. The Association had no choice but to be honest with her.
"I'll go and see her personally."
"Sir, you're planning to go there personally?"
"A parent is about to hold a funeral for her child without his body. You really think she's in any state of mind to pick up a phone?"
"B-but, sir."
"I'll go and speak to her personally and inform her of everything that happened. And I'll express my condolences as well."
"….Understood, sir."
The employee turned around with a hardened face. But then, his phone began ringing quite noisily and made him stop.
He saw that the call came from the Association, so he got permission from the President to answer it.
"Mm? There's someone who wishes to speak to the Association President? What?! It's him?"
Goh Gun-Hui shook his head.
"Tell them I'm not meeting anyone today."
The employee covered the phone with his hand and quickly spoke up.
"Sir, the person who wishes to speak to you is… Hunter Sung Jin-Woo."
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo??"
Goh Gun-Hui opened his eyes wide and retracted what he said just now right away.
"Tell them I'll be there shortly."
***
Jin got to the Association President's office under the guidance of an employee. He was then asked rather affectionately as soon as he settled down on the couch.
"Would you like something to drink?"
Jin was about to decline the offer, only to feel a bit of thirst creeping up on him. Now that he thought about it for a sec, He hasn't had a drink of water for the last two days.
"Water will be fine."
"Thank you very much!"
"…?"
What was he so thankful about?
The employee's face reddened after blurting his words out from sheer nervousness. He placed the bottle of water in front of Jin and deeply bowed his head.
"If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call me."
"I will."
Jin thought the employee's attitude was far more cautious and sincere than the last time he came here.
'It's probably because of the raid broadcast.'
He guessed that the attitude of many people, as well as the way they looked at him, would change greatly from now on. Not too long afterwards, Goh Gun-Hui entered the office.
"Sung Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!"
Jin-Woo tried to get up, but the Association President Goh Gun-Hui dissuaded the youth from doing so.
Jin just returned from Jeju Island. And he even fought a mutated ant monster that almost annihilated a team of rank S Hunters.
So, the current Jin was a VIP among all VIPs.
Goh Gun-Hui was definitely not planning to treat with disrespect a person who saved the lives of South Korea's rank S Hunters even if he only played a minor part in it.
Goh Gun-Hui settled down on the couch opposite to Jin, rather than in his usual spot at the seat of the honour.
"I've heard what transpired inside the ant tunnel."
"Ah, I see."
In that case, this talk should proceed quite swimmingly, then. Jin felt that this was for the better. Goh Gun-Hui continued on.
"Also, I've been informed on how you got here, as well."
Countless witnesses saw Kaisel flying now. There was no way the President of the Hunter's Association wouldn't hear about it.
"Did you get to Jeju Island while riding on the back of that creature?"
Well, Jin used 'Shadow Exchange' to reach the island, but was there a reason to reveal any of his cards here?
Jin was rather economical with his words.
"Something like that."
This was the same thing as him making a confession that the flying monster appearing in Seoul a few nights ago was his doing. But, this would prove to be more convenient if he were to continue riding on Kaisel from now on.
"So, that was the case."
It was as expected. The Association President nodded his head.
Jin was able to utilise the powers of dead monsters. So, it'd not be such a strange thing for him to ride around on the back of a creature if he managed to kill a flying dragon type monster somewhere.
Goh Gun-Hui's curiosity has been satisfied now. And it was time to get to the main topic.
"You said you wanted to speak to me….?"
"Yes."
"Is something the matter?"
"I've taken care of all the ants on the island."
"Excuse me??"
Goh Gun-Hui jumped up from his seat.
"You managed to kill every single one of those ants?!"
"Yes."
Jin replied as if it wasn't a big deal.
"You won't encounter any problems when entering Jeju Island."
"But, how…."
No, Goh Gun-Hui could already guess the 'how' of it.
The TV camera caught the sight of hundreds of Jin-Woo's summons. If those things combed every inch of Jeju Island, then it wouldn't be a problem for him to annihilate every single ant in such a short period of time.
The important point here was, of course, entry into Jeju Island was possible now.
And it also signified that they would be able to retrieve Japanese Hunters' remains resting deep within the ant tunnel, too.
Goh Gun-Hui was greatly troubled by the fact that the remains of brave Hunters had to be left abandoned there until the ant monsters were all gone, but now….
The ends of his eyes reddened up with emotions. He then wholehearted thanked Jin.
"Thank you very much, Sung Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."
"No, it wasn't a big deal. Think of it as my way of apologizing to the brave hunters who sacrificed their lives for others. I regret not arriving sooner to help them."
***
Inside a suite of South Korea's top luxury hotel.
Although his presence had been buried under the huge news of the Jeju Island raid recently, it was still an undeniable fact that one of the world's most powerful Hunters had taken up a temporary residence there.
Thomas switched off the monitor still playing the video of the raid. He had already seen that recorded video three times by now.
Laura, who stood next to him, asked him. She accompanied him to Korea as his sole subordinate.
"What do you think, sir?"
"Well… it's as you can see."
He leaned against the couch and placed his legs on the coffee table.
Thomas had fair blonde hair and a high nose. A seemingly never-ending happy smile was deeply etched on his sunglasses-wearing face.
"So, are you sure that the Hunter Mister Hwang and Esdeath were investigating?"
"Yes."
"And he asked you what would happen if he killed someone in Korea?"
"Yes."
Thomas ordered the potential connection between Hwang Dong-Su and Sung Jin-Woo to be secretly investigated as soon as Laura made her report. And, as it turned out, there was only one connection between the two.
That would be Hwang Dong-Su's older brother, Hwang Dong-Seok.
He and Sung Jin-Woo entered the same dungeon together, but only the latter walked out alive, while the former went missing.
No one would question what happened inside a dungeon. That has become common sense throughout the world now.
"So, it's revenge, is it?"
"Most likely."
"And here I thought that he had no family. He hid it pretty well."
"I heard that Mister Hwang's brother was meticulous in hiding the family connection, sir."
"Probably because he was involved in shady stuff, that's why."
So shady, in fact, it'd greatly affect his own younger brother if the word got out. Laura used her silence to indicate her agreement.
And then… the Jeju Island raid happened.
"I guess it will become far harder to meet Sung Jin-Woo now, with an incident like that taking place."
"I believe so."
Laura replied confidently.
There was only one reason why the Master of Scavenger Guild, as well as one of the most renowned Hunters in the world, Thomas, gave himself some time off and came to this small nation. And that was to meet Sung Jin-Woo.
More specifically, he wanted to find out what might happen if Mister Hwang did get to have a go with Sung Jin-Woo for real.
He told the management of the Guild that he was coming here to scout yet another rank S South Korean Hunter.
"I really wanted to meet him, too. What a shame this is."
Thomas's voice was thick with the emotion of wistfulness.
Laura cautiously asked him from the side.
"As I thought… It'd be for the best to prevent Mister Hwang from encountering Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, yes?"
"Well….."
Thomas slowly scratched his chin, before replying to her with a smirk.
"The South Korean government did save Mister Hwang's life, that's for sure."
The Korean government immediately blocked Hwang Dong-Seok from entering the country. After all, he did abandon his mother nation to emigrate to the States as soon as he was evaluated to be a rank S, didn't he?
The whole thing could've turned into an international incident, but Thomas was able to utilise the time earned that way to come and visit Korea first.
Too bad, Mister Hwang wasn't someone who'd simply give up just because he was refused entry to a country. Especially so, if his purpose was revenge.
In all honesty, Thomas didn't have a stuffy personality. He had no thoughts of stopping Mister Hwang at the risk of being on the end of his hostility when the latter wanted to avenge the death of his family member.
But then, that man was an important asset to Scavenger Guild. And that was precisely the reason why Thomas thought of finding out the exact skill level of Sung Jin-Woo, who was also ranked S.
Because, it'd prove to be troublesome if Mister Hwang ended up kicking the bucket, instead.
However….
The impression Thomas got from seeing Sung Jin-Woo was that, the American should be thanking the lucky stars right about now.
"No matter what, never let Mister Hwang step foot inside South Korea. With that, hopefully, these two won't run into each other."
"Understood. I'll also withdraw the legal procedures."
"I should be the one to talk to Mister Hwang. That friend's got a fiery personality, so I guess I'll have to do my best on this one."
Laura studiously jotted down everything her Guild Master said on a memo pad. But then, a question popped up in her head.
"What if… even after we did all this, the two of them end up fighting…. What will you do then, sir?"
"Laura. Don't you know me?"
Thomas grinned deeply.
"Mister Hwang is Scavenger Guild's asset. And Scavengers is my property."
His lips might be smiling, but the eyes hidden beneath the sunglasses certainly weren't. He always wore a pair of sunglasses to hide his incredibly sharp eyes.
He sat back up straight and lowered his voice.
"I will never forgive anyone who dares to touch my property. Even if that's the American government itself."
One person's power equaled that of an entire country.
His name was Thomas Andre.
One of only five in the entire world. This was the confidence that only a Special Authority-rank Hunter, an international powerhouse, could possess.