Chapter 29 - Chapter 29

"Hah, so what do we do now? Detection skills don't work, and we can't catch him red-handed while he's using his abilities."

"It's not like we were expecting him to suddenly confess, 'Hey, by the way, I'm ridiculously strong.' Whether that guy's an S-rank Awakened hiding his identity or Seo Chaeyoon himself, if he's useful, we just use him."

Yoo Juncheol, who had been pressing his fingers to his forehead and sighing, finally lifted his head and looked at Kwon Jihan.

"Are you saying we should bring Yoon Seo straight into Perfect?"

Kwon Jihan smirked.

"He managed to pull off a 70% contribution rate from that far away using a skill we don't even know about, and you still need more testing?"

"What if it wasn't a skill we don't know about, but an actual item? He might've just gotten insanely lucky and received an S-rank item as his first dungeon entry gift."

"'Let's Take It Easy.' Come on, that was obviously a name he just made up on the spot. Hyung, take it easy."

"The Gaia System's naming sense has always been terrible. Look at the weapon Hunter Gamira use. It's called 'Red Giant's Sword.'"

"'Red Giant's Sword' actually sounds pretty cool."

A hunter sitting nearby, still using a detection skill on Yoon Seo, chimed in. Yoo Juncheol let out a sigh.

"Hunter Gamira's weapon is a yellow bow."

"..."

The detection skill hunter lowered his head again and refocused on the interrogation room.

Yoo Juncheol tapped his fingers against the table.

"Perfect is an elite team, carefully assembled. From now on, every dungeon they tackle will be S-rank. And in October… you know what's coming. If we let him in without proper verification, he could die in there."

"I get it, but then how are you going to verify someone who's stonewalling us like that? He's being ridiculously stubborn."

Kwon Jihan scowled. But he also understood that Yoo Juncheol had a point.

Perfect had been formed to prepare for an upcoming event and was the strongest team in Earth's history. Even combining Team 1, which was entirely S-rank, and Team 2, which was made up of A-ranks, there were only thirty members. But their firepower was enough to level an entire city overnight.

If they let Yoon Seo into Perfect without testing him and then took him into an S-rank dungeon only to find out he was just a weak Awakened, they'd have to protect him. And in those dungeons, protecting someone while fighting was impossible.

Kwon Jihan was convinced that Yoon Seo was strong, but Yoo Juncheol wasn't. And as the Guild Master, he couldn't make a reckless decision.

Understanding that but still frustrated, Kwon Jihan scrunched his nose and turned his gaze to Yoon Seo. The beautiful man, who looked far too young to be twenty-nine, was being interrogated with an expression that practically screamed, 'Take it easy.'

[The  Skill has been activated.]

Just in case, he used another detection skill. Yoon Seo's pupils trembled ever so slightly, something only an S-rank would notice.

As expected, his profile window was filled with black boxes. He was clearly using some skill to block it, but , which had been active for a while now, was only detecting the skills of the other hunters. There was no message indicating that Yoon Seo was using anything.

"He's definitely S-rank. Don't bother testing him in a low-level dungeon. Just trust me."

"..."

Yoo Juncheol let out a long sigh before finally opening his mouth.

"Fine. Yoon Seo will join Perfect Team 1."

"A wise choice, hyung."

Kwon Jihan grinned as if he'd never been scowling. His gray eyes gleamed with excitement.

I want to fight already.

I'm curious about how he'll fight, what new skills he'll use, and how strong he really is. I also want to see that indifferent expression twist in defeat and find out how long he can last. Other S-ranks admitted defeat too easily, it wasn't fun. But Yoon Seo felt like he'd be stronger than them. After all, he was the first person to resist this much. The other S-ranks didn't have nearly as many broken characters.

Just as Yoo Juncheol pressed the mic button to instruct the hunters in the interrogation room to wrap things up—

– Hunter Yoon Seo.

Kwon Jihan suddenly snatched the mic and called out to Yoon Seo. His deep voice boomed unexpectedly, making everyone jump. Even Yoo Juncheol and Yoon Seo, who had been sitting in the interrogation room, turned to look at the mirror in surprise.

– We've confirmed that you used a skill through the lens camera. It's clear that you're an S-rank hunter and that you possess an attack power-enhancing unique skill. So, I suggest you cooperate.

Kwon Jihan baited him. Yoo Juncheol watched anxiously, glancing between Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo.

Kwon Jihan, smirking, also kept his eyes on Yoon Seo.

At that moment, Yoon Seo was deep in thought.

'They confirmed it through the lens camera?'

Before entering the dungeon, the manager had said that system windows weren't visible through lens cameras. Even without being told, it was obvious. Currently, unless an Awakened permitted it, system windows couldn't be seen by others. The only thing that could be viewed without permission, through skills or items, was the system profile.

That was what he had always believed…

But what if the lens was created using some unknown new technology? Or what if, like the 'Highest Contributor' title, there had been a change in the dungeon's system?

'No. If they had seen my system window, they would've realized I'm Seo Chaeyoon. And their reaction wouldn't be like this.'

Besides, the skill Yoon Seo had used, , wasn't an attack power-enhancing skill, it weakened monsters' defenses. They were clearly just making things up to get a reaction out of him.

– Hunter Yoon Seo.

That voice, definitely Kwon Jihan, called him again.

– We know your secret. If you want, we can keep the fact that you're an S-rank hunter to ourselves and hide it from the world. You seem like someone who wants to live quietly, so we're offering to help. Let's not waste time, just tell us the truth.

"…Did you say you saw my system window?"

Yoon Seo asked, looking into the mirror.

– Everyone saw the footage recorded through the lens.

As Yoon Seo listened to that statement, he began gathering his mana.

[The  Skill has been activated. Assessing the target's statement.]

[The opponent has refused judgment.]

'What the…!'

Yoon Seo's face stiffened. He couldn't believe the message that had appeared before him.

was an S-rank skill. And he had even used a skill-rank upgrade item. Yet Kwon Jihan had rejected an S+-rank skill's judgment.

'How…? Kwon Jihan's only L-rank skill was definitely . And doesn't have any skill-blocking abilities.'

His heart pounded at the absurdity of the situation.

Then, the interrogation room door burst open, and a man with an excited expression strode in triumphantly.

"What? Surprised that I blocked it?"

Kwon Jihan.

The interrogation hunters sprang to their feet. Kwon Jihan strode over, grabbed one of their chairs, and sat down, openly enjoying Yoon Seo's dumbfounded expression.

"I understand. You never even considered that someone could reject your skill. That's just how S-ranks are, arrogant by nature. No matter how much you tried to hide it, in the end, you're an arrogant S-rank too."

"..."

", huh… A skill that determines the truth of someone's statement? Well, it didn't work on me, and now your skill has been exposed. Stop overthinking it and just reveal your identity."

Their eyes met.

This was the first time the two of them had come face-to-face and spoken directly.

Kwon Jihan enjoyed listening to the loud pounding of Yoon Seo's heart. His own heart was also racing, thumping with the instinct of having found a worthy opponent, and Yoon Seo could hear it just as clearly.

Kwon Jihan tilted his lips into a smirk and asked,

"You… are you Seo Chaeyoon?"

"..."

A sharp tension pricked at Yoon Seo's skin. The air around them felt denser, tightening around him.

Kwon Jihan.

At just twenty-two years old, he had already earned the title of the world's strongest hunter. His face still carried traces of youth, yet his upturned eyes gleamed with a combative edge, as if ready to jump into battle at any moment. He wasn't overly bulky, but with his broad shoulders and tall frame, sitting in front of Yoon Seo like this, he was undeniably imposing.

Yoon Seo had always known that one day, he and Kwon Jihan would have a one-on-one conversation.

As long as Kwon Jihan was the chosen wielder of a Gaia skill, it was inevitable.

But not like this. Not under these circumstances.

Yoon Seo forced the stiffness from his expression and loosened his features.

"Seo Chaeyoon, all of a sudden? I'm not Seo Chaeyoon."

"Then why did you hide that you're an S-rank?"

"I was keeping a single skill hidden, that much is true. But I'm not an S-rank."

"Enough with the lies. You're wasting my time."

"If you use your insight skill and check my profile, you'll see for yourself. I wonder who's really wasting time here."

"You're really going to keep insisting?"

"I'm not insisting, I'm telling the truth. And why do you keep speaking informally to me?"

"If you don't like it, just drop the honorifics too."

Yoon Seo closed his eyes for a long moment before slowly opening them again, suppressing the emotions rising within him.

Kwon Jihan watched him with amusement.

"Why are you so desperate to hide it? Do you just not want to enter dungeons? What, are you scared of fighting monsters?"

"Yes. I'm terrified and don't want to go in. And I'm not hiding anything, I'm simply stating the fact that I'm not an S-rank."

"The more you stubbornly deny it, the more suspicious you seem. You're not actually Seo Chaeyoon, are you?"

"..."

Yoon Seo furrowed his brows, as if to say, 'What kind of nonsense is this?'

His performance was flawless.

He didn't look like 'Seo Chaeyoon, caught and panicking while pretending not to know.'

Instead, he simply looked irritated.

With an exasperated tone, Yoon Seo said.

"Why are you even bringing up Seo Chaeyoon right now?"