Without paying much mind to them, Steve prepared himself to face off against whatever was inside that gate. As soon as he left the airport, he was faced with a much larger crowd than he anticipated.
It was as though he had entered some famous celebrity's concert without realizing it. Looking around a bit, Steve immediately discovered the cause.
"Who is that?" Steve asked.
"Yuri Orloff. He's a Russian S-rank Hunter. I think he is one of the many that the Japanese Government hired," Judy replied.
"What's he supposed to do? Be a human shield for them or what?"
"Aren't all hunters human shields?"
"You don't need to point it out," Steve replied before walking out of the airport building.
As soon as he did so, he found several hunters in suits waiting for him. It was clear where they were from, but he found it astonishing that ninety percent of them here were S-ranks.
Japan truly was a prosperous country; they may not have had a single National Level Hunter, but they had many S-ranks.
From the report during the briefing for the Jeju Island raid, the Draw Sword guild alone had 12 S-ranks. There were still many others within the country.
It was a surprising fact to think of, but then again, the country has always strived to be the best in the world in their own silent way, competing directly with China and America.
"Welcome, sir," one of the suited-up hunters said as she bowed.
"Thank you," Steve replied.
"We weren't really sure that you would accept our request," a voice said as Steve turned to its source.
It was Matsumoto Shigeo, the Chairman of the Japanese Hunter Association. This was the second time he had seen the man.
"Mr. Matsumoto! I didn't think you would come here yourself," Steve called out with a smile.
"Well, I have to. You are an honored guest of our nation," the man said as he gave a bow.
"And I am honored to be a guest of your nation," Steve replied.
With a smile, Mr. Matsumoto led the way. The other S-ranks waited behind as Steve followed the Chairman.
"When is the gate expected to open?" Steve asked.
"We don't know. However, the mana released from it keeps increasing by the day."
"I see, so this is essentially an all-expense-paid vacation until the gate opens."
"You can think of it like that," the Chairman replied.
Hearing that, Steve simply smiled before turning to Judy, who nodded. Even if he had been here for almost a full year, it didn't mean that he was an expert on Gates.
He had yet to figure out a lot about them. Thankfully, though, he had the ultimate expert with him, Judy.
Since Judy had confirmed that the gate wasn't opening anytime soon, Steve simply smiled and relaxed. There was nothing wrong with enjoying the benefits of being a National-rank hunter.
...
After Jeju Island, the world awakened to just how dangerous an S-rank dungeon truly was. At the moment, Steve was sitting under a small stand in an abandoned coffee shop.
Judy could be seen doing the same as they both watched the spectacle taking place in the middle of the road.
The entire area had been evacuated, which was good, but at the moment, the number of people still within the area was astonishing.
Military jeeps could be seen everywhere, along with tanks and other assault vehicles.