Then, in the same situation, what might Kim Giryeo be thinking?

"Someone save me."

Thump thump.

After running for a while, Giryeo stopped at the end of the alley and caught his breath. Unlike Sophia, whose abilities had temporarily declined due to her skill penalty, this so-called F-rank was simply terrible at running even on a normal day...

"Cough."

To put it bluntly, Kim Giryeo simply couldn't catch up to his opponent due to physical limitations. Despite pushing his body to its limits with enhancement magic, it was fundamentally impossible for an F-rank to match the speed of an A-rank.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up."

However, for some reason, he felt reluctant to abandon the chase. At first, he only wanted to see what the summoner looked like. The awakened ones who had paid the price for their skills and were exhausted were slower than I imagined, so it seemed like they could be caught with just a little effort.

"Those who use summoning techniques are usually incredibly weak themselves..."

Summoners are beings with clear weaknesses. Therefore, if he could just manage to close the distance, he could swiftly overwhelm them using the combination of [Surprise Box] and [Hydra].

"Stopped!"

A few seconds later, Sophia stopped for a moment as her stamina waned. Seeing this, Giryeo straightened his posture and quickly sprang into action. He seized the opportunity to close the gap while his opponent was catching her breath.

Tak, tak, tak.

However, her recovery was faster than his approach. The moment Sophia noticed the S-rank moving, her face turned pale, and she forced her legs to move once again.

"Damn it!"

"Hiiik...!"

Kim Giryeo wanted to find out the identity of the sorcerer who attacked him. Sophia, terrified of what would happen if she were caught by the S-rank. And so, they continued their relentless game of tag, each driven by their own desperation, alternating between exhaustion and recovery.

But at some point, Giryeo suddenly stopped running. Of course, this time it wasn't to catch his breath. He was about to truly give up on the chase, at least at this corner.

"Cough, ugh!"

In fact, this kind of game of tag is something an impostor of his rank should avoid. Seeing an S-rank with slow movements would undoubtedly arouse someone's suspicion.

"Phew, I thought I was going to die pretending I wasn't out of breath at this time."

Something about holding back to avoid destroying the road... Honestly, it wasn't like he didn't have any excuses to fall back on, but it was still better to minimize any potential issues as much as possible.

"Anyway, my body's reaching its limit too."

Kim Giryeo decided to let his target go around this point, before entering the main road crowded with people. He came to a complete stop at that point. Sophia, unaware of the pursuer's state, ran off in a panic, and the summoner disappeared from sight in an instant.

Sxaang.

Giryeo hid his disappointment and returned the Hydra, which he had drawn, back into its sheath.

"Sigh, my body aches."

And at that moment, the strengthening magic he had placed on his body was released, and a feeling of exhaustion came over him as his muscles ached. Giryeo ignored it and focused on his thoughts instead.

Su Yehwi and Park Juntae... All those who had opposed him were already dead, so where in the world had that summoner come from?

"A second terrorist? Or revenge from remnants of the organization?"

No matter how much he thought about it, no answer came to mind. So Giryeo made a decision. It would be wise to prepare for any potential additional threats.

***

A few days later.

"So..."

The United States. Spectrum Guild. A woman with silky blond hair crossed her arms and looked down at the sofa across from her. A glimpse of a neck peeking out from beneath short hair—and on that skin, a black butterfly-shaped tattoo intricately adorned.

"What were the results of the investigation into Korea's S-class?"

Brooklyn asked the person in front of her. However, the tattooed woman began trembling the moment a specific word was mentioned, showing an unusual reaction. What followed was a voice trembling with fear.

"That man is a devil."

Sophia muttered with a pale, tired face.

"What did you say?"

Brooklyn tilted her head as she observed the woman's reaction. However, as time passed, there was no sign of the fear subsiding. In fact, the spy who had returned from Korea had been gripped by an inexplicable sense of unease, even though three days had passed since the mission was completed.

"Th, th, then I'll report it first. That man is definitely an S-rank awakened. I'm sure of it. But he wasn't just any S-rank—he was an extraordinarily, exceptionally powerful individual."

Sophia's expression remained dark throughout the conversation.

"Brooklyn, I summoned Kelumineto and attacked him just as you said... I didn't even need to count how many [Soul Strikes] he endured."

"That's how quickly he defeated the King of the Dead?"

"No."

"Then?"

"My summons just didn't work at all."

"What?"

"I—it didn't work at all, in the slightest."

Sophia quickly explained.

The fact that Kim Giryeo remained unharmed despite taking the attack. The fact that the boss monster collapsed and bowed before Kim Giryeo. And also the fact that the S-rank from Korea saw through her hiding.

"You're saying he noticed the concealment from that far away? Wow, that's definitely impressive."

Brooklyn smiled as if it was amazing, but what came back was her subordinate's shrill scream.

"But that's not the issue right now... I Do you have any idea what that brutal hunter did to me?"

Sophia still couldn't forget it. An S-rank hunter should have easily been able to catch up to an exhausted summoner. But for some reason, every time she looked back, Kim Giryeo was always stopped for off in the distance. No matter how many times she tried to flee, the distance between them remained the same.

"Ugh..."

Sophia trembled as if she had chills. A monster that even made the boss monster tremble and bow its head now stood at every alley. There was no way an Awakened person like that would run a few dozen meters and run out of breath. This must have been the hunter's intentional laziness.

So what did the situation at that time ultimately mean?

"Ho, how could he... how could he treat an A-rank awakened like a mere toy...?"

Sophia interpreted all of this as mockery from a top-tier awakened. Like a well-fed predator playing with a rabbit. She misunderstood that Kim Giryeo had purposely let the summoner go, enjoying the sight of them in fear.

But even though she was certain that his actions were meant as a game, she couldn't bring herself to stop. If by chance she had been caught right then... if she had given up escaping and made him feel bored... She felt that she wouldn't have been able to return to her homeland safely.

"How could he treat other human like prey? And do it so effortlessly?"

That damned sociopath. Sophia's fingers curled up in fear.

A cold-faced man approaching with a sharp longsword dragging along the ground. Come to think of it, Kim Giryeo was said to have ended his enemies with a single blade during the

Inevitable Malice Incident. Could the weapon she saw have been the very tool that split the serpent?

Sophia now had no doubt that Korea's fourth S-class would be strong. So naturally, this thought occurred to her. If that hunter had truly intended, the Dragon Raid would have ended up just like the corrupted Imugi. She would have met an end much different from the pitiful corpse of a snake, with its mouth torn and its entire body mangled.

"Heukh."

Thinking about that, the trembling didn't stop.

"Th, that man sparing me was nothing more than a whim...?"

Kim Giryeo played with her for a long time, only releasing her when she was completely exhausted, having cried and sobbed. In the end, Giryeo had stopped following her at some point. However, even knowing that, Sophia remained terrified for several more hours.

Her depleted mana. Because of her unique abilities, she had no way of sensing Kim Giryeo even if he suddenly got close.

"Brooklyn, do you feel nothing after hearing my story?"

Tak!

Sophia slammed her face on the table and insisted.

"Why do you think Kim Giryeo let me go? It's because he doesn't even see what I did as something worth avenging!"

"Hmm."

"He completely ignored me, as if I were no match for him, an A-rank! And yet, you still think of him as some fake? Do you really?"

An A-rank hunter, who was considered an elite in the hunter industry, being toyed with like a baby gazelle in front of another hunter. Sophia shuddered as she recalled the nightmare she had experienced.

At that moment, Brooklyn's clear voice pierced through the air.

"Right. Unfortunately, that's still the case."

How refreshingly she could tell that she had not yet let go of her suspicions toward Kim Giryeo.

"What did you say?"

If she removes the unnecessary emotional elements like fear and shock, the events her subordinate went through can be listed like this.

1. Kim Giryeo remained still throughout the entire confrontation with the boss.

2. When the exhausted Sophia ran away, He followed her at regular intervals.

Doesn't something seem strange? In fact, this had been a question for a long time, but strangely, Korea's fourth S-rank had never once had their fighting ability officially revealed.

No matter how unlikely it is, it didn't OG Giryeo in Japan, to even hunting smaller monsters like the Siren, he had somehow concealed his abilities in public spaces.

"I've bribed the Japanese hunter to find out what skills he used during the raid, but..."

Brooklyn thought the overall situation seemed suspicious. However, Sophia, regardless of what her superior thought, had no desire to get involved with that Oriental hunter in the future.

"Then check it out yourself next time!"

Bam!

Sophia stormed out with an expression of utter frustration. Because of that, Brooklyn, who was left alone, muttered while picking up the coffee cup she had placed on the table.

"Hmm, how on earth did he suppress that summoned beast...?"

To be honest, Brooklyn was now estimating the probability that Kim Giryeo was S-rank at nearly 50%. Compared to her initial assessment of only 10% during the Gate Star party, this was a significant rise in evaluation.

At this point, the true rank of the opponent no longer seemed all that important. Even if his awakening level was incredibly low, that man seemed to possess enough strengths to make one forget his weaknesses.

"Interesting."

But what if that hunter is indeed S-rank?

From that point on, he could no longer be treated as just a special awakened being. Judging from his actions so far, that Asian person was likely to be one of the strongest among the same S-class.

"I wonder what kind of skills he has hidden."

How much would he be if he gave it his all? Perhaps, for the first time, she had found someone with whom she could finally stand shoulder to shoulder.

Humanity is always sensitive to the word 'best.' Even in the era before awakeners appeared, people would often rank martial artists by their skill level. Humans have always had a desire to clearly distinguish who is the strongest in the world.

[World Hunter Ranking]

[1. Brooklyn Morgan]

And as a result of reviewing this new and fascinating standard, Brooklyn naturally found herself standing at the very top...

She didn't attach much importance to such rankings. Although no one spoke of it openly, the hunters in the United States had long since decided among themselves who the true ruler was.

"Hmm-"

Four years ago. The sudden appearance of the Nuckelavee Killer during the S-rank dungeon break in Hawaii. The hunter who killed the Nuckelavee wore a black mask made from the bones of an elk, and it was from this appearance that witnesses began to call him "Beast."

Beast. A mysterious hunter whose identity no one knows.

Since the Hawaii raid, many had tried to track down the hunter, but all their efforts ended in failure. The Beast was only occasionally found in the most challenging and high-difficulty dungeons.

"Who would win if Beast and this Korean hunter fought?"

Brooklyn organized Sophia's documents while making a joke like a drunken martial arts fanatic.

But at that moment, a piece of information on Kim Giryeo's profile caught her eye.

[179cm]

The estimated height of the Nuckelavee Killer matched exactly. Moreover, it was an interesting detail that the Beast, who was so fond of high-difficulty dungeons, had remained silent during Japan's S-rank gate events.

"Oh."

As Brooklyn reviewed the information, her gaze fixed on the photo of the hunter printed on the document. A Korean man in his mid-twenties.

"Hmm."

Brooklyn squinted one eye and imagined putting an elk mask on the S-class' face.

"Not bad."

Her clear voice echoed through the office.