Chapter 224: Chapter 223

Jungbu Police Station. This place, now transformed into the Hunter Association headquarters, once housed a legendary violent crimes detective known as the 'Ghost.' With an arrest rate of 200 percent, he was a mythical figure in the Korean violent crimes unit. Not only did he solve his own cases, but he also tracked down the culprits of the past unsolved ones to the ends of the earth. Before this 'Ghost,' even the most vicious criminals and gangsters became meek as lambs. And when Lee Se-hwan was still young. When he was just a rookie detective. Having applied to the Jungbu Police Station's violent crimes unit, He was fated to become the direct subordinate of the infamous 'Ghost Detective.' Yes it was fate. Lee Se-hwan could confidently assert that all the moments he spent with that senior were not bad luck or misfortune, but 'fate.'

"Is this the new guy?"

"Yes, that's right. This is Lee Se-hwan."

No matter how much time passed, he would never forget their first meeting. The suffocating pressure. Lee Se-hwan froze, looking up at his senior who was a head taller than himself, an average Korean male in height.

"I'll go train this guy."

"Go ahead, go ahead."

A brief exchange about him took place, and Lee Se-hwan was led outside by the 'Ghost' senior.

"S-sir! Wh-where are we going?" As Lee Se-hwan hurriedly followed behind and asked urgently, his senior kept walking and responded with a question instead of an answer.

"Why did you become a police officer?"

"Ah... I..." After a moment of hesitation, Lee Se-hwan recalled the dream he had forgotten while wrestling with drunkards during his time as a patrol officer.

"Because I wanted to catch bad guys..."

"I see." Suddenly, the Ghost stopped walking. And a strange smile appeared on his lips as he looked back at Lee Se-hwan.

"That's what we're going to do now." A smile that put your heart at ease just by looking at it.

"That's why I became a police officer too." Those words completely changed Lee Se-hwan's life from then on.

"Are you coming?"

"Of course, sir!"

And so, Lee Se-hwan became the official partner of the Ghost Detective. And they spent many years together. Why was he able to become the Chief Director of the Hunter Association after the Cataclysm...? Of course, there was a strong recommendation from Association President Woo Jinchul, who was a former police chief, but there was only one reason why no one objected to that bold personnel decision.

It was because Lee Se-hwan was the longtime partner of 'Detective Sung Jinwoo.' An A-rank Hunter, a former violent crimes detective who learned how to catch criminals directly from the Ghost. That was the current Chief Director Lee Se-hwan. And as time passed...

"Huh."

Now, standing confidently before him was a guy who looked exactly like his Ghost senior when he was young. 'Sung Suho.' His son.

'...He's the spitting image of his father.' Chief Director Lee Se-hwan couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

Yes, this pressure. That faint confidence that naturally emanated without the need for special gestures or a pose. Even the smile on Sung Suho's lips was the spitting image of that unique smile his father often wore. Seeing that in front of him, a sudden doubt arose in Lee Se-hwan's mind.

'...Could it be that Jin-woo had awakened before anyone else back then?' If so, quite a few questions that he couldn't understand until now would be explained. That elusiveness...

'No, no.' He lost a bit of his confidence.

'Even though I've become an A-rank Hunter now, I still don't have the confidence I could do what he did back then. If he was an S-rank Hunter, then maybe...'

Of course, there was no way to confirm the truth now, as the person involved had disappeared. Chief Director Lee Se-hwan, who was lost in memories, returned to reality.

"...Anyway, Suho... No, Representative Sung Suho of Woojin Guild. What is the purpose of your visit to the Association?" Even though he was the son of a close friend, since he came to the Association as a guild representative, there was a need to be polite.

"No, no. Before that..." But before hearing Suho's answer, he had to address the most important point.

"Are you 'the' Sung Suho?"

Lee Se-hwan's eyes, which had been filled with joy at seeing the face that resembled his brother, now turned sharp. It was because so much was at stake with the name 'Sung Suho' in Korea right now. International relations, public opinion, etc. On top of that, an urgent order had even come from Association President Woo Jinchul in North Korea.

(Urgent Security Order)

Investigate everything about Sung Suho!

Thanks to that, the Association had been busy investigating that person these days. There were countless people with the same name as 'Sung Suho' in South Korea, and there were more of them registered as Hunters than one would expect. But since a photo of his face had been released, it wouldn't be too difficult.

However, the problem was the departure record. There was no one named Sung Suho among the Korean Hunters who went to India by plane. And this time, there was no entry record either, yet he suddenly appeared here, so the Association was just confused about what was going on.

"Sung Suho was confirmed to be in India until this afternoon. Then unless our information is wrong, he's a completely different person. Then we have to start the investigation all over again..."

"There's no need for that."

"Does that mean...?" Suho nodded confidently.

"Yes. I just got back."

"...!" Not only Lee Se-hwan but also all the nearby Association staff stared at Suho with wide eyes at that answer.

– Oh my god!

– The real one had appeared!

'The' Sung Suho, who was currently causing the biggest stir worldwide, had come to the Association himself!

But who was Chief Director Lee Se-hwan?

"Ahem. Then first."

He, the partner of the legendary detective Sung Jinwoo, didn't forget his duty even in this confusing moment. He took out his handcuffs with sharp eyes like the Ghost.

"It's a serious crime to illegally enter India, so I'm arresting you, Sung Suho, for violating international law."

"Ah."

"...Just kidding. Anyway, be prepared because India might demand a huge fine later. Of course, judging from the current public opinion, the reward might be greater. Anyway, if you're really 'the' Sung Suho, the reason you came to the Association headquarters is..."

Suho smiled. Even without an answer, Chief Director Lee Se-hwan was already gesturing to his subordinate to bring something. It was a magic power measuring device. Suho nodded.

"Yes. I came to have my magic power re-measured."

"I see. There is no way a C-rank Hunter could do something on the level of what was observed in India. We had a hard time investigating because of that. Did you reawaken recently? Ah, sorry. I've used informal language again."

"You can speak comfortably."

"No. I can't do that." Chief Director Lee Se-hwan shook his head with a firm expression and held out the magic power measuring device to Suho.

"I have to be polite to someone who might become an S-rank Hunter..."

"Here."

'He's still speaking informally.' Suho chuckled and placed his hand on the measuring device. Then, a faint light began to emanate from the fist-sized black magic stone embedded in its top surface.

Shuuuu – As the light intensified, the numbers displayed on the magic power meter started to rise rapidly. Beads of sweat formed on the foreheads of Chief Director Lee Se-hwan and the Association staff. But then something unexpected happened.

Crack!

"...!"

Suddenly, cracks appeared in the magic stone, and it eventually shattered.

"Th-this can't be!"

"The measuring device exploded!" People couldn't help but panic.

S-rank Hunters were beings with immeasurable magic power that couldn't be evaluated by human-made devices. But even for an S-rank Hunter, they had never seen or heard of a case where the device itself exploded like this. Moreover, even after shattering in Suho's hand it was still emitting strange heat and melting into a puddle. As if it fell into lava!

"It... It could be a malfunction. Bring a new one!"

"...Yes!" Soon, a new magic power measuring device appeared before Suho.

Crack!

It exploded in his hand without fail. And it was melting like lava again.

"Suho, how do you have this kind of power..." Lee Se-hwan looked at Suho with a bewildered expression. His eyes were filled with concern.

"How are you able to contain it all in that body..."

It was common for Hunters' mana to have attributes. For example those who used fire or water magic. There even were Hunters who had no attributes or multiple ones at the same time. But even then, there was a limit. He had never heard of mana that could melt the magic power measuring device itself. Moreover, it was immeasurable! He couldn't even imagine how a Hunter could be alive while harboring such heat-filled mana within their body, immeasurable as it was.

"So does this mean I've become an S-rank Hunter now?"

And he was even saying that so calmly! Chief Director Lee Se-hwan closed his eyes tightly at the question, as if Suho himself wasn't surprised by this strange phenomenon.

"Yes, Hunter Sung Suho. You are now a nationally certified S-rank Hunter." But as he said those words, a sense of doubt arose in his mind. Was it okay to put a being with such power in the same category as other 'ordinary' S-ranks?

* * *

Although the Vigilante incident was quite a stir, it was actually just a trend that the media was forcibly pushing.

Vigilante? He was just a guy who killed hundreds of villains in a few days. Was it amazing yes...? So what?

Meanwhile, in India, a single Korean Hunter had just conquered an entire large-scale field. In other words, it was a matter of national pride.

– Korean Hunter Saves India!

– Kyaa! Bartender! Another bowl of national pride here!

– Ah, has the whole world finally realized it? This is Korea's potential.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The name Sung Suho was already a hot topic in the Korean media. But there was one strange thing.

– But who the hell is Sung Suho? Does anyone really know?

– Why doesn't anyone know such a great Hunter?!

Despite his fame, Sung Suho's personal information was completely controlled. There was only one picture circulating. A single picture taken from the Lee Min-Sung villain incident and his name written in the article. And as if they had a contract, all the media suddenly started to focus on the Vigilante. The corpses of the brutally murdered villains and their evil deeds were so sensational that it was quite effective. There was a reason for this. It was because of an urgent order from the Association President, who was currently in North Korea.

"Immediately classify all information about Sung Suho as top-secret." In short, the order was made to control the information. And that wasn't all. The Association President even tightly sealed the mouths of the large guilds that had worked with Sung Suho before.

"The timing of releasing information will be decided solely by Sung Suho himself."

– Why is he going this far? – They couldn't understand the reason at all. But Woo Jinchul they knew was not someone who acted without reason. That's why they were even more curious about what the Association President wanted.

– Is he trying to buy as much time as possible? For what?

But even the Association President Woo Jinchul hadn't anticipated:

That Sung Suho, who was in India, would instantly return to Korea with Shadow Exchange.

That Sung Suho would come to the Association headquarters himself.

And that he would confidently reveal his purpose much sooner than expected.

"Now that I've become an S-rank Hunter..." Suho, who had his magic power re-measured, formally stated his purpose.

"As an S-rank Hunter, I request the right to conquer North Korea." Sung Suho declared his intention to go to North Korea.

'...!'

That's right. North Korea, a land that had become a super-large field dungeon, just like India's Loktak Field, or even worse. The starting point of the vast apocalypse that stretched through North Korea to China and Russia.

"Government approval is required."