Hyeonmu Guild 2nd Management Division.
"Hmm. Where did I see him? I'm sure I've seen him somewhere…"
Hyeonmu Guild's Section Chief Lee Youngho had been immersed in thought since earlier while watching the video of the large-scale disaster filmed by a drone.
In the paused video, three hunters were captured soaring towards the hive with black wings spread.
Two of them were the famous Lim Taegyu and Baek Miho, so he could recognize them. The problem was the other one.
The identity of the third hunter was not known yet.
"It seems that Baekho Guild and the Reaper Guild are controlling the information."
"Yes. Accordingly, they are responding to reporters' requests with thorough silence."
"That means…"
"Yes."
In an instant, Section Chief Lee Youngho and his subordinates nodded their heads to each other with eyes filled with confidence.
"That means they haven't recruited that hunter yet."
"I think so, too. If they already got him, there's no reason to hide the information. Rather, it will be widely publicized and used to promote their guild."
"Of course. Wing buffs are rare."
As far as known, Lim Taegyu and Baek Miho did not have the skill to grow wings.
If so, it was the third hunter who gave the buff. The strategic value of a hunter who could give others the ability to fly was enormous, regardless of class.
Rather, the lower the rating, the better.
Low cost but high value for money.
"We have to somehow recruit this useful guy before other guilds snatch him away. In particular, he should never be in the Baekho Guild."
Baekho Guild was famous for recruiting only hunters with Beast Transformation skills, but healers and buff hunters were exceptions.
Since that hunter has a wing ability, there was a high possibility that it was included as a Beast Transformation skill.
Baekho Guild would surely not miss the chance no matter what.
"First of all, make a contract. Meanwhile, I'll try to figure out his identity somehow."
"What about the offer?"
"We're not playing here. Leave the deposit item blank for now. If he's someone who just awakened, we should try to offer him as much as we can."
"Hehe. Alright. But how will you find out who he is?"
"With my head."
Chief Lee Youngho pressed his forehead with two fingers as if he were using superpowers, and his eyes flashed.
"You know what? Before Cataclysm, I was a hairdresser. I remembered every face and name of every customer who had ever passed me by."
"… Here we go again."
With the same repertoire every time, the subordinate shook his head and went back to his seat.
However, Lee Youngho believed in his sharp memory.
"I've seen him. It's definitely a face in my memory. What have I missed…"
In his head, countless hunters' faces began to unfold like a panorama.
'I haven't met him in person. If I did, I would have remembered right away. Was it a face I saw on HunterNet or on the news? …Ah!'
"I remember now!"
Section Chief Lee Youngho suddenly jumped out of his seat with bloodshot eyes.
"That's him! That E-Class summoning hunter who dared to knock us down!"
"What? An E-Class Hunter?"
The subordinate who was printing the contract next to him tilted his head and asked.
"Yes, punk! Hahaha! Also, don't you know me?! It's only been a month, so how can I forget it?!"
The employee still looked puzzled at the words of the section chief.
"Chief, are you sure? If he's really E-Class, how did he get 3 people to fly, even if it's a skill? Wouldn't he run out of mana and fall?"
"That's what we need to figure out. Regardless of the method, make sure to recruit him! The other guilds will also have their eyes on him right now, so hurry up!"
"We're working overtime again today."
* * *
Meanwhile, the Baekho Guild was having a hard time because of Suho.
"Vice President, other guilds keep asking for the identity of 'that hunter', what should we do?"
"Just pretend you don't know."
"That's kind of… weird. Since his face is already widely known… They must be looking for each of the C-Class hunters in the Seoul area to check, too."
"… Try to hold out until we recruit him first."
Baek Miho had been holding on to her cell phone with a nervous expression on her face.
However, no matter how many times she tried to call Suho, he wouldn't answer.
-Are you sleeping? If you see this text…
She had already sent a text message, but even if she waited long enough, she never got a reply.
"He didn't give me a wrong number, did he?"
If he did, someone else would have received it.
"Or maybe… Did he block me?"
No, it can't be!
That didn't even make sense.
"Yeah. There's no reason to block me, right? We fought together as colleagues… I even carried him on my back? Oh wait! Could it be that President Lim Taegyu already took him?"
Baek Miho's eyes raged when he thought of Lim Taegyu.
If they were colleagues who fought together, Lim Taegyu was the same.
That guild already went into hell due to the incident, and it was no exaggeration to say that they were completely ruined financially.
Even just dealing with the situation and paying compensation to the casualties would have cost an astronomical amount.
'It's not impossible though. President Lim Taegyu himself is an S-Class hunter.'
A hunter's true strength comes from force, not money.
Even if all the hunters of the Reaper Guild left, it could be built again as long as Lim Taegyu, an S-Class hunter, was there.
Either rebuild the guild or start a new guild.
In such a situation, Lim Taegyu would never want to miss out on that outstanding hunter named Sung Suho.
"… Vice President?"
Baek Miho was muttering to herself with an anxious expression when the personnel manager of Baekho Guild spoke.
"Was this hunter Sung Suho really that great? Even though the wing buff is rare, I heard that he is only a C-Class hunter?"
"He's not just a C-Class."
Baek Miho said firmly.
"It doesn't matter if it's his hunter level or a wing buff. Hunter Sung Suho…"
Other guilds didn't know anything right now.
The only reason they care about Suho is probably because of the wing buff.
Or maybe because he was the only hunter who could be recruited among the three who stopped the disaster.
Since they couldn't recruit Lim Taegyu or herself, their purpose was to take the other one and use him to promote their guild.
But Baek Miho was different.
She watched Suho's battle closer than anyone else.
In the scene of a bloody battle…
"He is.. someone who should not be taken away by anyone."
* * *
[13 missed calls]
"What's with this many calls?"
Suho, who managed to get out of the shadow dungeon after completing the difficult daily quest, checked his phone.
Half of them were Baek Miho and Lim Taegyu's numbers, and the other half were unknown numbers.
[Kehehe! How wonderful! Young Master's popularity is overwhelming!]
"Calm down. It's not that much."
While eight-legged Beru was spinning and bursting into a frenzy of joy, Quay skillfully turned on the computer and showed Suho the news on the Internet.
[Master, would you like to see this? It seems that the Master's face has spread through various media this time.]
"Hmm. I see."
The Internet was burning hot because of the disaster caused by Lee Minseong.
Of course, there had been many news about Suho until now, but most of them knew him as Beast King Crow because he was wearing a crow mask.
This time, things were very different.
Since the famous Baek Miho and Lim Taegyu were right next to him, Suho's face was also widely publicized.
Quay, who was watching Suho's reaction from the side, quickly knelt down and begged.
[I have committed a mortal sin! It looks like you're having trouble dealing with what I've done this time!]
[Ehh! Raise your head, sinner! And die!]
Beru cut Quay's head at this time, but it quickly got back together and Suho's mana was drained.
Quay didn't even care about Beru and just looked at Suho.
[Sorry but… were you hiding your identity?]
"No, it's not really like that."
[Khm. Right now, Young Master is quietly developing his strength. It's because there could be apostles from outer space acting secretly on Earth.]
His eyes flashed meaningfully and he opened his mouth.
[Even at this moment, far away in space, His Majesty is fighting a fierce war with outer powers. The fact that the gate opened on Earth was also something they did to target our backline.]
Beru gave a long speech to the newcomer, Quay, about the truth going on in the outside universe.
Quay nodded and looked over at his senior with a serious face.
He was quick to understand because he had already instinctively realized the truth about the monarchs to some extent after being turned into a worker by the Queen Bee.
[… Right. So, are the flying insects roaming around here also the apostles of outer space?]
[No, those are real flying insects.]
[Is that so?]
In fact, from the moment they came out of the Shadow Dungeon, there were beings that disturbed Beru and Quay's senses.
Today, unfamiliar entities were being felt near Suho's house.
[Young Master, why are there flying insects outside the house?]
"Hmm."
Suho opened the window and checked outside.
People whom he felt mana power with were watching that side of the alley.
A light flashed in Suho's eyes.
"Hunters."
[Seeing that they are secretly wary of each other, it seems like they came from different groups and places.]
[Master, there are some faces I know among them. Apparently, those guys are like scouts from guilds who came to recruit Master.]
"They found out my personal information so quickly?"
Suho was a little surprised.
It's only been a day since the case was solved, but he didn't know they'd already found out where he lived and came to find him.
[Because that's what they do. Since your face was shown, they probably spent all night scouring HunterNet or Association information.]
Swish.
Just then, the sound of the wind came from outside the window.
When Suho did not come out of the house no matter how long they waited, someone launched a drone with a camera on it.
Then, as if the others didn't want to lose, they started to take out drones as well.
They seemed to be checking through the window to see if Suho was inside the house.
"What the… Even drones?"
Suho frowned.
"Are hunters not given any privacy at all?"
[After the cataclysm, the world is in a state of emergency, so they tend to ignore minor laws.]
[Keeek! The villain will take care of it right away!]
"Don't do it."
Suho pulled Beru's antennae as he was about to jump out.
Beru groaned while clinging to his hand.
[If you draw too much public attention, there is a risk that the existence of Master will be exposed to unknown outer apostles.]
"If true outer apostles exist, it seems that I have already been exposed. Besides, shouldn't it be known that I am the son of the Shadow Monarch anyway?"
[That's right, but still…]
Suho had no intention of leaving them alone.
'Ruler's Power.'
As Suho stretched out his hand, an invisible hand crushed all the drones that were flying in the air.
Swoosh!
Smash!
"W-What?!"
"Why did it suddenly-!"
As their drones exploded one after another, the scouts hiding in the alley were extremely perplexed.
[Those flying insects shouldn't go away with this. Show me what you saw.]
Right then.
Bzzt-
Suho's cell phone vibrated.
"Who is this again… Hmm?"
Suho's eyes widened as he checked his phone with an annoyed expression.
[Uncle]
"Uncle?"
Suho's uncle.
The call came from 'Yoo Jinho', the husband of his father's only sister.
Yoo Jinho was an adult Suho was grateful to as he had been taking care of Suho ever since his parents went missing.
"… He must have seen the news."
A troubled look appeared on Suho's face.
He was already worried about how much explanation he would make.