I'm not sure which mail this story came from, but anyway, Jung Haseong once mentioned that he started reducing his internet usage and switched to consuming information through analog media as a way of managing his stress. So, it's I likely that he doesn't know about the current situation at all.

Tuk.

An anonymous community for Hunters. Before the information had fully loaded, I turned my head with a frown and turned off my phone.

It was an unexpected turn of events. A single Hunter from South Korea had managed to carry out a history-making subjugation in just two class-free days.

***

Singapore Chinatown. A figure in a familiar outfit arrives on a motorcycle. As if the preferences of ancestors once called the 'Korean people' had a left mark in his genes, the awakened one was draped in an immaculate white outer garment, not a speck of dust on it.

Jung Haseong of Korea.

[The Cloak of the Underworld] or [White Bird], etc. Artifacts used for travel typically had many restrictions in terms of usage frequency or distance. However, modern hunters often had to make urgent deployments to catch enemies located in complex, tricky spots due to their work. Therefore, it wasn't particularly unusual for a hunter to possess a motorcycle license.

Dudududu... Tuk.

The young man with black hair finally turned off the motorcycle and entered a restaurant alley nearby. After walking for a while, a glowing blue portal to another world appeared. He waited for a moment, and then the East Asian man, who had followed him on the backseat, opened his mouth beside him...

[Lastly, I will recheck the grade and whether there are any abnormal mutations. Please come in after the test is finished.]

[Yes.]

The conversation through Pox's translator. Immediately after, the Singaporean, dressed in full safety gear, checked the inside of the dungeon. Once the procedure was complete, Jung Haseong moved swiftly into the deep blue corridor, as if he had been waiting for this moment. He had come at the request of the government to assist with handling a specific gate.

[Ice Palace]. For Singapore, which maintains a hot and humid climate all year round, this was a truly harsh environment and a different world.

If it had just been the typical winter cold, it might have been manageable. But the snowstorm in that dungeon wasn't just cold enough to chill the skin—it was so powerful it could freeze someone to death, encasing their entire body in ice in an instant.

However, at the time of the terrifying return of the [Ice Palace], did the appearance of [The Nest of Grass] in Korea serve as some kind of trigger? This land of East Asia, already notorious for being a frequent site of dragon's nests, was once again flooded by otherworldly reptiles.

However, from the perspective of the Singaporeans, this was by no means good news. Dragons were monsters that combined the size of a mammoth with the brutality of an orca. Naturally, they were enemies that required considerable effort to deal with and posed a high level of danger.

[What should we do?]

[We have no more available personnel.]

Singapore is a country without a single S-rank Hunter. But due to the sudden appearance of Dragon Nests, even though they had a relatively high proportion of A-rank Hunters, they quickly fell into a manpower shortage.

Which would deal more damage to the country—the dragons or the frost monsters? In the end, the Singaporean government decided to prioritize dragon subjugation by gathering a large number of high-ranking Awakened. However, this approach couldn't prevent the worst-case scenario: the eruption of less-prioritized high-grade gates during the dragons hunt—meaning the frost monsters' assault would be inevitable.

'But it's not like they can let B-rank hunters to go risk their lives taking down A-ranks either...'

The situation became complicated with the simultaneous appearance of enemies with high difficulty to deal with. However, just as Singapore was struggling with the labor shortage, help finally arrived. Because strangely enough, there was a magical phrase in this world that could calm people's anxiety just by hearing it.

But at that moment, the plane carrying Jung Haseong arrived at the airport.

It was the result of long-standing diplomacy. South Korea, as a friendly nation to Singapore, accepted their urgent relief request and dispatched Jung Haseong, their representative hunter, to act as the problem-solver for the crisis.

This is the flow of events that took place over the past two days.

"I love you! Korea!"

"Wooow!"

To put it simply, the 27-year-old Korean successfully completed the association's directive in a very neat manner. Speedily, he took on the task of conquering the [Ice Palace], a dungeon that the Singaporean hunters couldn't tackle. That his assistance wasn't voluntary, and as expected, both the individual who was dispatched and the country have been promised appropriate compensation. However, despite the practical and trivial issues involved, Jung Haseong's swift response to the proposal and his actions were truly moving.

As a result, the expressions of the overseas fans who gathered to watch the interview were as if they were about to propose at any moment. The look in the eyes of the Singaporean Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs standing next to them wasn't much different either.

[Thank you for all your help!]

[Please say a few words!]

Click, click, click.

Haseong, as usual, began a press conference to commemorate the successful handling of the disaster. In the front row, familiar correspondents from Korea who had come along were visible. Now, standing before the microphone on the podium, he was about to recite a formal announcement such as, "A total of n gates appeared near the city center, but after 48 hours of effort, they have all been fully cleared."

"Huh..."

It was a rare occurrence. What followed from the hero's mouth was quite different from his usual dry reports.

"30 minutes and 16 seconds."

He straightened his posture and began a curious declaration.

"According to the records, 30 minutes and 16 seconds was the average time it took me to clear each Ice Palace entity during this operation. I sincerely hope this comes as good news to Korea's Hunter Kim Giryeo."

"Yes?"

The reporters began to react with surprise to Haseong's statement. There were two reasons for their reaction.

The first reason was the time.

The record of 30 minutes and 16 seconds was a staggering six times faster than the previous Ice Palace clearing record from earlier this year. "Six times" might sound simple, but how could a world record be broken by such a huge margin overnight? No matter how hard they tried, the Ice Palace had always been a challenge that couldn't be cleared in less than 3 hours until now.

Moreover, the Korean in front of them was famous for being a solo expert with no team.

"Impossible!"

From the perspective of someone in the same industry, this is the kind of remark that naturally comes to mind. If the time was shortened by such a huge margin, it was most likely the result of adopting a "speedrun" strategy, where the boss is killed and the player runs away... However, the Ice Palace was a dungeon with a complex structure, like a maze made of mirrors. There were guardians hidden in various places inside, and in order to proceed to the next room, they had to be defeated. It was not a dungeon that could be progressed by simply ignoring the mid-level monsters.

But what exactly did Jung Haseong do inside to achieve such a result?

"No way..."

"Still, it's worth considering since it's fire attribute..."

"Did he melt it?"

"Did he melt all those solid ice walls and force his way through?"

The atmosphere was buzzing. This was not the end. Haseong, bringing up the name of the Hunter he had mentioned earlier, added a comment.

He knew that no matter what he did, it would still seem insufficient in that person's eyes. Nevertheless, he could only do his best, because...

"My goal this year is to be recognized by you all as the hunter with the best hunting skills in Korea."

Haseong stood at the podium, showing a rare change in his expression. It was as if he had made a firm decision.

"As that person said, lacking skills can always be improved, but personally, I'm worried that if I delay, the opportunity itself might disappear..."

"What do you..."

"Actually, Hunter Kim Giryeo said that he would officially form a team with me in about three months after seeing what I've been doing. So today, I tried to create something meaningful to show off, even if just a little, as a sort of mid-term report."

Clunk.

At the moment when the interpreter, who was relaying the interview through sign language, almost had a look of shock on their face.

"Anyway, the story has gotten long. I'll start wrapping things up now."

Haseong calmly finished the shocking interview with a composed tone.

"I will continue to work hard every day to reach the level I aim for. I hope to bring good news regarding the team next time I meet you."

The misfortune beneath the land that the alien had been passing by finally began to take shape.

***

Clink.

Today is Thursday. We finished our morning classes as usual, and arrived at the restaurant we had reserved just in time for lunch. However, as I watched Jung Haseong place the metal chopsticks in front of me, I couldn't help but think.

"Is he crazy?"

The actions of the hunter with that humble demeanor had, as expected, led to a major incident. A few hours ago, the interview broadcast on the earth's channel YTV had already made headlines worldwide, starting from the United States.

Moreover, this was a kind of declaration of war. The reason why Jung Haseong broke the previous record for the Ice Palace by such a large margin was to prove, solely and entirely, that he was quite a "decent" superhuman.

'Damn it! I kept using skill as an excuse, and now he's come up with a countermeasure for that too!'

If the same achievements in the Ice Palace continue to be repeated, the monster in front of me would soon have a strong logical foundation. As someone who directly trained him, I am assert with confidence that if left alone, Jung Haseong would quickly be recognized as one of the best hunters in the world. Especially now that Brooklyn Morgan, who had the highest magic power value, has died, it seemed even more certain.

But if I kept belittling such a powerful hunter, someone who would keep breaking dungeon records at every opportunity, just because I wasn't satisfied with his achievements...

'From that point on, I'll be treated like a crazy person by everyone.'

A blocked escape route.

However, unlike many Alphauri, Jung Haseong wasn't of a gloomy nature, so it didn't seem like he had planned all of this and conducted the interview on purpose. Even now, with his extremely kind face, he's taking the initiative and adjusting the heat on the budae jigae.

So, it's just...

"Ha."

It really was just that he was anxious, fearing that one day, the collaborator he had chosen might be replaced with another hunter in the regular team.

"Hunter Kim. Why are you doing this?"

"No..."

"Is it because I publicly announced the team promise?"

Bubbling.

By the time the budae jigae in the center was bubbling, the young hero looked at me with eyes that showed no trace of malice, carefully observing my expression.

"But when Hunter Esther came to question me before, she didn't really say anything about this leak."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I just mentioned it without thinking, as a way to remind myself..."

I couldn't hear what he was saying. Because of the recent Singapore interview, an alien suddenly found itself in a very tight spot. If Jung Haseong continues to break new records like this, public opinion will gradually turn against him. I can no longer use his lack of skill as an excuse.

Damn it, then how the hell am I supposed to break the team promise with Jung Haseong...

"Right."

But then, a devious plan suddenly crossed my mind.

"Hey."

I carried out the plan that had come to mind without any hesitation. If I think about it, aside from the dangerous method of pointing out the opponent's strength, there is still one more gentle and peaceful solution left.

"Hunter Jung Haseong. First of all, I personally appreciate how hard you're working to just try working with someone like me."

"Haha."

"But you know, what if one day I tell you that I might not be able to keep that promise? Would you be really disappointed?"

Paused.

At this remark, Jung Haseong paused in his actions and stared directly at his companion in front of him.

"Well, rather than being disappointed, I'm just curious."

"..."

"I'm sorry, but were my qualifications really that lacking? No matter how much time you gave me, I couldn't possibly fit in with you, Hunter."

At this, I shook my head.

"No. You're misunderstanding something. The problem isn't on your side right now."

He continued speaking while pressing his hand against the upper part of his chest, where he had often felt chronic pain in the past.

"To be honest, I've been thinking about retiring recently."

"Retiring?"

What's the point of making a headache out of it now? Fortunately, there was a very intuitive and strong excuse in this world. The very reason that a hunter would most likely give if he suddenly declared his retirement.

"It's just health issues, one way or another..."

I cleared my dry throat for no reason. When someone is sick, a young man with such a kind heart, who is called the national hero, really force others to work without any compassion?

"Ahem."

He couldn't. At least, from what I've observed of Jung Haseong's personality so far, that's how he was.

"Of course, don't worry about the team issue. Even if I do decide to retire, I plan to pass on my know-how to someone like Hunter Esther before that, so just wait, and I'll make sure you get the chance to work with another S-rank."

I mentioned the name of a cursed sorcerer and continued the conversation with a lightened heart. The leader of the Garon guild, as can be seen from the company's hiring conditions, had been searching for a long time for colleagues who could withstand his own flames. So, whether the name was Kim or Seo, Haseong probably just needed to find a reliable comrade to trust his back.

"Huh."

It was around that time. I paused my actions for a moment as I felt someone's fluctuating magical energy within my senses.

Crack!

Then, a thunderous sound suddenly filled the restaurant. An S-rank Hunter had reflexively slammed the table down, causing it to collapse in the center.