Everyone got busy.
The flare Suho shot up in India caused a huge ripple effect across the globe. Many people in each country started to move with their own purposes. Of course, among them, the busiest person was Suho. He led thousands of shadow soldiers and relentlessly subjugated the magical beasts of the Loktak Field.
[Follow me!]
[Kyaaaaa!]
It was truly an unstoppable force.
No matter how vast the land.
Despite five dungeon breaks occurring simultaneously.
No magical beast could survive before the immortal army led by Greed, Iron, and Sita.
[Bow down.]
[Kyaaaaa!]
The magical beasts with dragon blood in their veins trembled instinctively before Suho's authority.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Magical beasts that weren't dragonids recklessly rushed in, unaware of their impending doom, and were slaughtered. No matter what kind of response they made, everyone was equal in the face of death.
Ding!
[Level Up!]
There was no stopping the overwhelming numbers. Suho eventually succeeded in leveling up with the massive amount of experience points.
'The hard work paid off.'
The blue fog that had covered the Loktak Field was slowly disappearing. As the gates were closed one by one, the dimensional rifts that had been opened due to overlapping of gates were gradually closing as well. The mana of the Outer Gods, which had been flowing endlessly through those gaps, was cut off like a faucet being turned off.
"Look at that! The fog is clearing!"
"Oh my god."
"Is this really happening…?"
The Hunters of the Indian Association, who witnessed the whole scene with their own eyes in the field, were so surprised that they couldn't close their mouths.
'He's really purifying this vast field alone…!'
It was absurd. Unreal. They knew the power of an S-rank Hunter was great, but the ability of Suho they witnessed was completely off the charts. Until now, in their standards, China's Liu Zhigang was among the strongest S-rank Hunters, with particularly high combat power…
'But this is on a completely different scale!'
'Did people know?'
'That young man.'
Because of a single Hunter named Sung Suho from Korea, the standard of strength that the whole world had been thinking of had fundamentally changed!
"…Can we even call that person an S-rank Hunter?" Someone unconsciously uttered a single sentence.
Flinch!
"…!" At that moment, both the person who spoke and all the Hunters who heard it flinched and looked at someone and that someone was Liu Zhigang!
If you wanted to interpret it that way, those words could be taken as an insult to him, a true S-rank Hunter! But something unexpected happened.
"Heh. Of course that's ridiculous."
'Huh?' He didn't seem offended at all.
Rather, Liu Zhigang, who was leisurely watching Suho's battle with his arms crossed behind him, smiled faintly and muttered upon hearing the Indian Hunters' words,
"It's a huge insult to even call that level of power S-rank."
"…!" The Hunters' eyes widened at his shocking statement.
'S-rank, you say?!'
'What did I just hear?'
Everyone couldn't help but tense up at the shocking statement that made them doubt their ears. Who in this world would dare to say such a thing? The S-rank itself meant 'off the charts.' It was a title given only to those powerhouses who possessed 'immeasurable' magic power that couldn't be accurately assessed by the magic power measuring device invented by humans. But, ''how dare you say something like S-class?'' No matter how much of a 6-star Hunter Liu Zhigang was in China, that statement was a huge insult to all S-rank Hunters around the world. Liu Zhigang, not caring about their reactions, simply opened his mouth with a nostalgic and wistful expression, as if reminiscing about the past.
"National Level."
'…!'
Suddenly, an unfamiliar term popped out of his mouth. A ranking system that everyone once knew, but was making its first appearance in this world. The great title given only to a few of the world's strongest, who could represent an entire nation with their existence alone and face a whole country with their individual power!
"Yes. Sung Suho, that guy is already an S-rank above S-rank. He has become a National Level Hunter."
"…National Level?" The Indian Hunters tilted their heads at the unfamiliar term.
Liu Zhigang just chuckled at their puzzled reaction. There was no need to explain it to them one by one. 'It's just a matter of time.'
Yes.
Everyone would realize eventually as time passed. Liu Zhigang recalled the memory of when he first met Sung Suho's father a long time ago. The chilling shock the world felt when Sung Jinwoo revealed all of his power.
'…This makes me excited for no reason.' Liu Zhigang smiled quietly to himself, recalling the intense emotion he had long forgotten.
Yes. It was just a matter of time. Even if he didn't step up, the whole world would eventually call Sung Suho. The world's first National Level Hunter.
* * *
Exactly 3 days later.
The news that the Loktak Field had been completely purified reached Korea.
[Hmm.] The shadow assassin, Kira, smiled faintly as he watched the news.
[He'll be returning soon.]
Kira was in Korea, his position switched with Suho's when he used the 'Shadow Exchange' skill after following Rio Singh to India. But for the past few days, Kira hadn't received any orders from his master.
Wouldn't he be like an incompetent soldier if he just stood idle? So he was doing what he did best.
What was that?
Murder.
"Keuk…! S-Save me…"
Slash!
Once again, someone's neck was severed in a dark alleyway.
Thump!
The headless body slumped to the ground. The crimson blood flowed on the ground.
[Well, the police will take care of the body.] Kira smirked and turned his head, asking,
[Are you alright?]
"Th-Th-Thank you…"
[I'm not going to kill you, so report it to the Association when you calm down.]
"…Hiccup." The woman huddled in the corner of the alley was pale with fear so terrified she could barely breathe.
Kira nonchalantly spoke to her, [Do you need the villain report number?]
"I-I k-k-know…"
[Then that's it.]
Kira turned his head back after the woman answered. There, the colleague of the man he had just killed was desperately crawling on the ground.
[You're enduring that? You're quite tenacious. Do you have a tanker skill or something?]
Drag—
A trail of crimson blood followed him as he crawled across the ground, desperately trying to escape from Kira.
"Ugh… why…"
The man's face was a mess of tears and snot. The black demon was coming for him, following the red path created by his own blood. He cried out in terror.
"Why are you doing this to us?!"
[Oh, you're not seriously asking that, are you?] Kira inquired leisurely, and the man, gasping for breath, screamed in rage.
"Don't pretend to be innocent! You, you're a murderer too! Just leave us alone! We were just going to… to play with her for one night!"
[Villain number 521. Kidnapping. Rape. Organ trafficking.]
Flip.
Kira skillfully flipped through the villain registry, just as he did in life, comparing the man in front of him with the face in the registry, and nodded.
[Yes. You're right. You've never actually killed anyone yourselves. You kidnap men and hand them over to organ traffickers, and sell women to brothels. I'm asking this sincerely. This can't be more profitable than being a Hunter, so why do you do this?]
"Wh-what…"
The man desperately racked his brains as he pressed his hand against his bleeding wound. He found a glimmer of hope in the demon's dry tone.
'He's asking why we do this if it's not profitable?'
'Does that mean he'll join us if it is profitable?' Maybe if he gave the right answer, he would be spared.
"…Because it's easier!"
[Easier?]
"Y-yes! It's obviously easier to hunt civilians than to risk your life hunting dangerous magical beasts! Even if it pays less, this is much…"
[So you are a weakling?]
"Y-yes!"
[Makes sense. Good answer.]
"…!"
The man rejoiced inwardly as Kira nodded in agreement.
'I-I'm alive!'
[The weak should die, shouldn't they?]
"Y-yes! In this day and age, if you're weak…"
[Yes. If you're weak, your organs will be harvested, you'll be raped. And you might even meet someone like me and get your head cut off.]
"…What?"
Slice.
In an instant, the man's head was separated from his body and rolled on the ground. Looking directly at his wide-open eyes, still filled with bewilderment even in death, Kira chuckled and said,
[No hard feelings, right?]
Kira, who was a villain hunter in life, couldn't break the habit even in death. This wasn't something that would displease his master, so he could do it as much as he wanted. It was even easier now that he had become a shadow soldier and was free from human laws.
Besides, what was the most troublesome part of villain hunting?
Hearing their sad story after catching them. Or that they were falsely accused, and the real culprit was someone else. But now, he could just melt into the shadows, observe the situation, confirm that they were truly bad guys, and kill them.
[Good. Today was productive. Hey there, did you report it?]
"Yes, sir." The woman nodded hurriedly, her face still pale with fear. Kira sternly admonished her regardless.
[Be careful at night from now on, and only walk on well-lit roads. And don't just be wary of men. You know that even women can become villains if they awaken, right?]
"Y-yes."
[Good. Then you can go.]
"My, my legs…"
[Ah, have you lost your strength? Then take a rest. I've killed all the villains around here, so it'll be safe tonight.]
"Heek…"
It seemed like he had scared her even more, but Kira disappeared into the darkness without a care.
At that moment…
'Shadow Exchange'
[Huh?]
Kira blinked, and Suho appeared in his place. In shock.
"Kyaaa!"
"…Huh?"
Suho, who returned to Korea, widened his eyes at the sight of the woman foaming at the mouth and collapsing. The surroundings… were a bloodbath.
"Kira, you…"
What the hell had he been doing?
But Kira had already been teleported back to India.