ISAELD 10

S-Rank hunters are strong.

Their martial prowess rivals strategic weapons, earning them the moniker of walking nuclear warheads.

It is a well-known fact to the public, but if someone were to ask, ‘So just how strong are they?’ not many would be able to answer.

Of course.

‘This much?’

How often does one get to witness an S-Rank hunter’s battle up close?

There have only been five in South Korea so far.

One of them remains missing to this day, and the other four rarely stepped onto the frontlines anymore.

So how could it be easy to grasp the true might of an S-Rank in this day and age?

Witnessing it firsthand with his own eyes, how could he not be astonished?

Go Young-gyun, an executive of the Dongjak-gu management guild Chammae, felt the fine hairs all over his body stand on end.

The legion that had appeared so despair-inducing was simultaneously annihilated by nothing more than a discharge of pure energy, devoid of any elaborate technique.

Only hundreds of magic stones lay scattered on the ground like skeletal remains, proving that their existence had not been an illusion.

All of it felt like a dream.

“Well, that’s the end of that.”

Jung-woo offered a genial smile.

A trace of awkwardness tinged that smile, as if he were sorry for ending it so easily, and Young-gyun felt a chill run down his spine.

‘This is an individual’s martial prowess.’

Furthermore, this was the power of someone who had just awakened, with boundless potential for growth.

Was it really acceptable for something like this to exist?

As that thought crossed his mind, he realized it with every fiber of his being.

‘Born S-Rank…’

Why they had been called beings beyond the heavens.

The gate shock was safely stabilized.

It was a significant gain for Jung-woo.

He had grasped the mechanics of a few of his skills.

‘The All-Ages Filter transforms magical beasts within its range. It simplifies their attack patterns, lowering the difficulty of subjugation. And the domain’s point of reference isn’t me, but my summon.’

It was a fact he only realized after seeing the domain’s reference point shift a step forward when Teddy Bear stepped ahead.

And as for Teddy Bear itself…

‘It’s a bombardment type, despite wielding a sword.’

It was a summon specialized in frontal bombardment.

Its close combat capabilities needed to be tested, but superficially, its abilities were heavily focused on one-hit kills.

After a single discharge, the sword would heat up and be swung around to cool down, seemingly creating a delay before the next discharge.

Of course, even accounting for that, its abilities were astonishing enough that it couldn’t really be called a weakness.

‘Above all, it hasn’t grown yet.’

Jung-woo read through the interface notification that appeared before his eyes.

【Stabilizing Gate saturation!】

【Aptitude level of Perfect Caregiver (L) increases!】

【Proficiency of [All-Ages Filter] increases!】

【Proficiency of [Bear Hero (S)] increases!】

The mechanics on this side didn’t seem any different from those of ordinary hunters.

Systematic growth bonuses through gate purification.

It was a systematic stat-boosting element applied to hunters, separate from growth through effort.

‘Will the skill change once proficiency is maxed out?’

Normally, when proficiency is fully maxed out, the skill’s rank increases.

But how an already S-Rank skill would change upon growing stronger was still an unknown variable to Jung-woo.

On a different note from such questions:

【The Gate is stabilizing. Environment resetting!】

Kugugugung—!

Dismissing the interface, the world began to crumble and rewrite itself from afar.

With the A-Rank champion that had dominated the area gone, the black and red earth was dyed the color of soil, and the sky cleared to a pristine blue.

It was one of the characteristics of a Third gate.

The interior of the gate, having returned to a normal environment, would maintain this state for a while before changing its appearance again depending on what the next dominant species would be.

The guild hunters gathered the magic stones, sorted them by rank, and packaged them up.

After watching the cleanup process, Jung-woo stepped out of the gate.

What greeted him was a multitude of gazes locked onto him.

No one dared to open their mouth.

Reporters shouted from a distance, but their voices couldn’t be made out from the building rooftops.

Jung-woo spoke to Ho-jong.

“I’ve finished the job. Confirmed the gate stabilization notification, too.”

“See? It ended almost absurdly easily.”

“Will that be a problem?”

“I like it. Means I can keep the report short.”

His dismissive tone made it difficult to gauge the distance between them.

For someone who had orchestrated this entire situation, he was excessively nonchalant.

‘I hate dragging out these mind games.’

He wanted to know his intentions.

So, after a brief moment of thought, Jung-woo asked quietly.

“I’m not sure if I did the job the way you intended, Director.”

“Whoa, suddenly getting scary there.”

“It’s a workplace. I think it’s important to understand my superior’s intentions.”

“Nothing like that. I just wanted to spread the word about how amazing our three-billion-won employee is.”

The conversation was slightly dodging the point.

Because of that, Jung-woo’s conviction was only growing stronger.

‘The Director wants to keep the Management Bureau in check. No matter how I look at it, that’s the most plausible explanation.’

Let’s consider why he would want to make the public aware of his power.

It might have been a favor, but that didn’t mean he gained nothing from it.

If you deduced the end result, wasn’t it obvious?

The overwhelming martial prowess of a subordinate ultimately culminates in elevating the Countermeasure Bureau’s standing.

Such power and standing would strengthen their independence from the Management Bureau.

This was a relationship he could leverage.

However, when it came down to it, the Director was already drawing a line, setting up the respective rewards they would gain from this relationship.

That gave Jung-woo an idea.

‘A closer relationship would be better.’

Jung-woo wanted to solidify their shared goal of antagonizing the Management Bureau.

If Ho-jong had created this distance because Jung-woo’s motives were unclear, showing his hand might be a way to bridge the gap.

So, he spoke directly.

“Well then.”

“Hm?”

“What would you think if I actually worked as hard as three billion won?”

“Specifically?”

“By defeating villains who summon monsters out of greed?”

They both already knew who that referred to.

A brief silence.

At the end of it, Ho-jong’s lips parted.

“Mr. Jung-woo, you say some terrifying things. Where did you learn that?”

As the conversation shifted to match his pace, Jung-woo smiled faintly.

“I’m a person with a black heart, after all. So, I have my secrets.”

He was returning the words he had received earlier.

A glint of sharpness briefly flashed across Ho-jong’s eyes.

What followed was a statement that confirmed all of his speculations as fact.

“It’s good when villains disappear. Yeah, that’s right.”

“That sounds like permission.”

“I don’t think you’re someone who needs my permission, Mr. Jung-woo.”

“I do. Because you’re my superior.”

“It’s nice to be respected. Are you the type to protect things like that?”

“Absolutely.”

As expected, this man was fiercely hostile toward the Management Bureau and needed a means to keep them in check.

To the point where he didn’t care much about the inner motives of a collaborator, as long as the goal was achieved and lines were respected.

It was a pleasant realization.

“I think we get along well, Director.”

“What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing.”

A very clean-cut business partner.

The Director was someone who fit that description perfectly.

Gate shock was the disaster modern society feared the most.

It was a catastrophe with the most severe physical damage, enough to make earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons seem trivial by comparison.

As such, the shock the public felt at the sight of someone directly defying that terror was bound to be dramatic.

[Is this really a Gate shock? I swear he just hit them once and everything exploded]

└ It really doesn’t make sense…

└ Are all S-ranks like that? Or is Shin Jung-woo just special because he’s a Born S-Rank?

└ I don’t know for sure, but not all S-ranks are like that. And more importantly, the fact that that’s just his starting point… If you look at the hunter growth curve, he’s obviously going to get several times stronger from there.

└ The American Savior did that, right? Reached the top of the American hunters in 3 years, and now no one can touch him?

[Mr. Teddy Bear suddenly looks a bit unfamiliar…]

└ Seeing that neighborhood idiot friend walking around with a sign on his neck grinding up magical beasts gives me massive cognitive dissonance lmaooo

└ ???: Why the fuck am I your friend lmao

[Well, at least I get that we don’t have to worry about Gate shock as long as Shin Jung-woo is in Korea lmaooo]

└ You never know. He might struggle if an S-Rank champion pops out.

└ Then he’ll just cooperate with other S-ranks. Regardless, isn’t it a good thing that our security is guaranteed?

[This really is the Countermeasure Bureau… Have they just decided to operate purely for the public good?]

└ Thank god, fuck. My family lives near Noryangjin, and I’m still dizzy thinking about what would’ve happened if that blew up;

[So what the hell is his ability? Seeing all those rushing magical beasts turn into dolls wasn’t funny, it was chilling]

└ Watch your mouth. You might get ‘dolled’ too…

└ Based on what we’ve seen so far, it seems like he can only turn magical beasts into dolls?

Despite it being an early morning event, the citizens who had to go about their day gossiped about it all day long.

From Jung-woo’s whereabouts and martial prowess to just how high the stability of his shock response had risen.

In times like these, the number of people curious about his intentions only began to grow.

Naturally, there were those who became busier than anyone else.

“Please, just one interview!”

“Just one comment, please!!!”

“I swear I’ll leave after just one word!!!”

“Someone’s going to die at this rate!!!”

For the past few days, the human meerkats withering away in front of the Countermeasure Bureau building walls were screaming as if they were about to cry.

The joy that the information was true.

The anticipation of meeting Jung-woo in person and hearing even a single word from him.

And the hope that they could finally clock out once this one task was resolved.

These reporters were probably the most desperate people in the world right now.

The clamor soon reached the level of an outcry.

Perhaps their wishes reached the heavens.

That day, time had passed since the incident, and it was nearing evening.

“Ah! There! That car!!!”

A white, boxy, used compact car exited the Countermeasure Bureau.

It looked like an employee’s car leaving for the day, and the reporters intended to grab whoever it was and beg them to call Shin Jung-woo out.

But with a click, the reporters froze when they saw the face of the person stepping out of the car.

“Now, could everyone please calm down?”

A man with a gentle impression and a tall, straight build was smiling awkwardly.

Hunter Shin Jung-woo, the face that now appeared in their dreams even when they took a light nap, was right there.

Immediately after, as he laughed awkwardly and added one more line—

“First of all, the road is dangerous, so could everyone step this way…”

Chwajwajwajwak—!

Camera flashes exploded madly.

Gaining recognition as a hunter was akin to resolving to become a hero of the masses as a public figure.

Whether one wanted it or not, that fact did not change.

The concept of a superhuman who transcended the limits of the species was inherently something that would inevitably draw the public’s attention.

Of course, one could run rampant with that power, but there was a lesson to be learned from the historical fact that such types did not survive long and were eliminated.

It was not a world where one lived alone.

No matter how unreachable an individual’s power was, unless they were going to establish a one-man dictatorship and enjoy absolute power, they needed to know how to assimilate with the public.

Before his regression, Jung-woo had never been in such a position himself, but he had learned how to craft that kind of outward image.

Should he call it a kind of producing experience?

He had supported the image-making of hunters that corporations pushed as their figureheads.

This incident was an extension of that.

It was just that the subject of the producing was himself.

Jung-woo knew the public was going wild for him.

However, it was a frenzy for the character of ‘S-Rank Hunter Shin Jung-woo’, not for the human being Shin Jung-woo.

If he understood that difference, he could exploit it.

Now was the time when such a thing was necessary.

“I will only answer a few short questions.”

“What is your reason for joining the Countermeasure Bureau!”

Jung-woo smiled.

“First of all, embarrassingly, my reason for joining the Bureau wasn’t for some grand purpose.”

Born with nothing, he smiled with the humble habit of grinning to win others’ favor, just as he always had.

“The trigger for my awakening was a sudden gate accident, and I was lucky enough to survive and gain power. So I thought this power should be used to prevent similar accidents. I judged that a disaster response organization like the Countermeasure Bureau was the right fit for that.”

“Is there a reason you chose the Countermeasure Bureau over the Management Bureau!?”

“Because it’s closer to the field.”

That was how he built the character.

He wore the skin of an upstanding young hunter who possessed petty-bourgeois sentiments and disproportionate power, still young enough to dream of ideals over profit.

Because those things would become his justification.

“Your appearance resolving this shock incident in one fell swoop has spread across the nation! I would like to ask how you plan to respond to such accidents in the future.”

The Management Bureau needed to be dismantled.

He had to slit open the belly of that corrupt organization, pull out the vested interests they were clinging to, and grasp them in his own hands.

But the enemy was large.

The vested interests they held were far too massive.

So how could he shake that?

What picture would naturally lead to such an outcome without being overly aggressive?

After much deliberation, Jung-woo reached a conclusion.

“Regarding that, there is a decision I made after a meeting with the Director today. This is something I can speak about publicly.”

Chwajwajwajwajwak!

The flashes exploded madly.

Dozens of camera lenses and microphones filled Jung-woo’s field of vision.

Looking at his own reflection in those lenses.

And toward someone who would be watching him beyond those lenses.

He spoke, hoping the meaning would be conveyed properly.

“This shock incident stemmed from inadequate density management. The Countermeasure Bureau acknowledges the severity of the situation. To prevent a recurrence, as of today, we plan to sequentially investigate all Third gates within Seoul.”

It was a statement packaged in youth, passion, and a sense of justice.

It was, in fact, a sufficiently justified action.

However, there were those who would not take it kindly.

The leadership of the Management Bureau.

He hoped they were watching.

“For gates that exceed the standard threshold, we will reset their density. Just as we did today.”

It was essentially a declaration that ‘I’m going to choke off your funding from now on.’

“That concludes the interview.”

Jung-woo bowed his head with a bright smile.

“It’s time to pick up my daughter from daycare. Everyone, please get home safely.”

With that, he turned away.

The public realized the true meaning of those words exactly three days later.

[This is the third day of Hunter Shin Jung-woo’s Seoul Third Gate tour! Today, a total of 11 Gates were initialized based in Dobong-gu, and…]

[Approximately 30% of the 35 Third Gates across Seoul’s 25 districts have been initialized! This unprecedented move…!]

[Breaking news! Hunter Shin Jung-woo is…]

Like a storm, Jung-woo began to stride through Seoul as if determined to sweep away every magical beast in sight.