Chapter 133
As he absorbed the divinity of the Outer Gods and regained memories of his past life, Thomas Andre’s mind was thrown into turmoil.
Another version of himself.
Memories that should not exist were now mingled with his current ones, making his thoughts feel tangled and chaotic.
Though he had no idea why he was granted a new life, he had already experienced enough extraordinary events to accept this without much question.
But more than that…
‘Damn it! Damn it!’
Amidst all the confusion, the one emotion that lingered within Thomas was—
Frustration.
‘This is seriously driving me crazy!’
He had finally realized the true nature of the nightmares that had haunted him for years.
The nightmares were, in essence, nothing more than his memories of getting utterly beaten to a pulp by Sung Jinwoo in battle.
‘Why the hell does my memory only go up to that moment…!’
That was what frustrated him the most.
But in hindsight, it made sense.
Thomas Andre was not just any hunter—he was once hailed as the strongest in the United States, perhaps even in all of humanity.
For someone like him, getting mercilessly crushed by another was an experience he had never encountered before in his life.
The psychological shock he had suffered back then was beyond words.
The more one tries to forget, the clearer those memories tend to become.
Wasn’t it the same for Min Byung-Gu as well?
‘No, but I made peace with it afterward. We even fought side by side!’
Regardless of the reasons, his frustration remained.
If only he could remember just a little more beyond that moment, he wouldn’t have been tormented by nightmares for so long.
But what good would it do to complain now?
This was something only Thomas Andre himself could come to terms with, and at least now, he wouldn’t be plagued by nightmares anymore. That was a relief.
More importantly, he finally understood why he had always felt a lingering weakness within himself. The burden that had tormented him all these years had vanished overnight.
‘So that’s why that old woman sent me here. As expected, if you just listen to Norma Selner, good fortune comes your way.’
His dedication to studying Korean had even led him to understand proverbs like this one—all thanks to Norma Selner’s advice.
‘Now I get why that old woman told me to learn Korean. Sung Suho is Sung Jinwoo’s son.’
Now that he knew the truth, looking at Sung Suho, it was clear—his face was practically a carbon copy of Sung Jinwoo.
Even his age was roughly the same as when Sung Jinwoo had beaten him to a pulp.
…Recalling that nightmare was starting to sour his mood again.
“This is bad.”
Having heard the full situation from Suho and Beru, Thomas Andre’s expression hardened.
“The enemies are even stronger than before, and Sung Jinwoo isn’t on Earth? This time, humanity might really be doomed.”
As someone who had already been caught up in the war between the Rulers and the Monarchs, he could state with certainty:
“Their war is not something mere humans can interfere with.”
[You have an excellent grasp of the situation.]
Perched on Suho’s shoulder, Beru nodded arrogantly at Thomas Andre’s statement.
[From a human perspective, at the very least, one must possess power on the scale of a national hunter to stand against the apostles of the Itarim.]
“That’s what I realized after experiencing it firsthand. Otherwise, at minimum…”
As he agreed with Beru, Thomas Andre’s gaze suddenly shifted toward Cha Hae-In, who stood among the Ice Elves.
“…At minimum, an S-rank hunter wielding an extremely powerful item.”
Ever since he had witnessed Cha Hae-In’s combat prowess wielding the Demon King’s Longsword, Thomas Andre had been piling up a mental list of things he needed to do once he returned to his guild.
“…First thing, we need to start weapon development.”
It had only been two years since the Great Cataclysm.
Unlike in the past, when more than a decade had passed since the emergence of hunters, the current situation was vastly different.
While humanity’s general knowledge and science had advanced, hunter technology had significantly regressed.
There were multiple reasons for this, but the biggest issue was the lack of research on materials.
Two years after the Great Cataclysm, research on minerals mined from dungeons and monster carcasses was still in its infancy.
To return to the level of the lost timeline, it would take at least five more years.
‘But I have knowledge of the future—no, knowledge of the past. If I use these memories, we can accelerate progress several times over.’
And it wasn’t just about technology.
By applying knowledge from his memories, humanity could advance in raid strategies, efficient training methods, and many other aspects of hunter development.
With the memories of the lost timeline returning to him, Thomas Andre felt as if he had gained a second chance at life.
“If I can just share the method to enhance mana concentration, our development speed will—huh?”
Amidst his thoughts, Thomas Andre suddenly noticed Ryo Singh walking by.
More specifically, he noticed the sword in Ryo Singh’s hand.
The quality of the weapon was extraordinary.
Thomas Andre immediately called out to him.
“You, that sword—did you get it from Sung Jinwoo—no, Sung Suho?”
“…Huh? This sword?”
Ryo Singh looked puzzled as he raised his weapon, responding fluently in English.
“I just bought this from Hunter Mall.”
“What? You bought it?”
Thomas Andre, shocked by the unexpected answer, quickly snatched the sword and examined it closely.
As he expected.
“What the…? Why is the quality so good? This level is almost on par with the past…!”
A chill ran down his spine.
Something felt off.
Feeling an unsettling premonition, Thomas Andre questioned Ryo Singh.
“This sword… where exactly did you buy it? Even in America, we haven’t perfected the craftsmanship to process dungeon minerals this well.”
“India is one of the better countries in this field, but even we aren’t at this level yet.”
“Then where the hell—”
“Korea.”
“…!”
Thomas Andre’s eyes widened in shock at Ryo Singh’s answer.
Meanwhile, Ryo Singh, feeling pleased that Thomas Andre acknowledged his keen eye, smirked with satisfaction.
Ryo Singh responded proudly, not only satisfied with his purchase but also impressed by his own decisiveness—no, his swift and bold action.
“I bought it when I visited Blacksmith in Korea, guided by Suho.”
Now that even an S-rank hunter like Thomas Andre had acknowledged his weapon’s quality, a plan began forming in Ryo Singh’s mind.
‘At this rate, I should buy weapons in bulk from Korea and send them to our guild. If I bring in high-quality gear, the guild master will start seeing me in a better light…’
But Ryo Singh’s promotion plans were the least of Thomas Andre’s concerns.
With a grave expression, he turned to Suho.
“Something’s off. There’s no way technology could have advanced this much in just two years. Someone else in Korea must have also regained their past-life memories!”
“Korea?”
Suho’s expression hardened at those words.
If someone had recovered their memories without using a Shadow Key, it could only mean one thing—they were connected to the apostles of the Itarim.
“Yes. And not just recently. That person must have had their memories for quite some time.”
This was a serious problem.
Even if someone possessed future knowledge, it would still take at least two years to commercialize technology at this level.
That meant that from the moment of the Great Cataclysm, an apostle of the Itarim had been secretly operating in Korea.
At that moment—
“Suho?”
Cha Hae-In, who had been standing among the Ice Elves, approached them after overhearing their conversation.
“I think… your mother might know who that person is.”
“Huh? You mean my mother knows them?”
“You know who it is? How?”
Both Suho and Thomas Andre turned to Cha Hae-In, utterly shocked.
It was an absurd notion.
Cha Hae-In had been trapped in this Glacier Dungeon long before the Great Cataclysm—how could she possibly know someone in Korea?
But seeing their identical expressions of disbelief, Cha Hae-In chuckled, as if amused by their reactions.
“Hmm. Suho, you might have seen them a few times when you were little.”
“When I was little? Who?”
“Do you remember your father’s close superior at work?”
“…My father’s superior at work?”
Suho was visibly puzzled.
As far as he remembered, his father’s job was being a police officer.
So if his superior was someone from work, that meant they were also a police officer…
“Ah, you were probably too young back then to remember clearly.”
Seeing Suho’s confusion, Cha Hae-In nodded as if understanding.
Most sons wouldn’t remember every one of their father’s colleagues, let alone their superiors.
But to her husband, Sung Jinwoo, this particular superior had held a special significance.
“I wonder… how that person is doing now.”
As the thought crossed her mind, Cha Hae-In momentarily drifted into reminiscence.
—
Meanwhile in North Korea
After the Great Cataclysm, North and South Korea were practically unified.
But the process was the issue.
As soon as the Great Cataclysm hit, dungeon breaks erupted like wildfire across North Korea.
Countless beasts poured out.
The devastation that followed was beyond anything the North Korean government could contain.
Had there been no hunters in the country?
That wasn’t the case.
Many North Koreans had awakened supernatural abilities as well.
If North Korea had functioned like a normal country, they might have been able to organize their awakened citizens into a force to combat the dungeon breaks, just like other nations did.
But instead, the moment these individuals gained power, they rebelled.
With their newfound superhuman abilities, suppressed resentment and ideological grievances erupted all at once.
And so, every North Korean awakened individual turned into a villain, overthrowing the government and eliminating all officials.
With that, the entire system collapsed overnight, and North Korea as a country ceased to exist.
Even those who had led the rebellion eventually fell into infighting, splitting into factions and warring among themselves.
In the end, most of them were picked off one by one by the rampant monsters.
Instead of banding together, they had scattered, leading to an inevitable downfall.
With no one left to control the dungeon breaks, the situation spiraled out of control.
The effects of this disaster spread, impacting China to the north and South Korea to the south.
This was why the Korean Hunter Association was now heavily involved in support operations for the North.
The expansion of North Korea’s field-type dungeons posed a direct threat to South Korea’s borders.
“…Sigh. This really never ends.”
The President of the Korean Hunter Association was currently leading a team, clearing out monsters in North Korea.
This relentless battle had been ongoing for months.
“President.”
A middle-aged hunter approached him.
It was Choi Jong-In.
An S-rank magic-type hunter, specializing in fire magic, he was one of the first hunters the Association President had recruited upon its founding.
“Everyone’s exhausted. Shouldn’t we take a break before continuing?”
“…Let’s do that.”
With a tired smile, the Association President removed his sunglasses, which he had worn throughout the battle.
Beneath them, his hawk-like, piercing eyes were revealed.
As he wiped monster blood off his sunglasses with a handkerchief, he stared intently at the monster-infested lands of North Korea.
Then, suddenly, a certain face flashed through his mind, causing him to sigh.
“…Haa. Where in the world have you gone?”
The founder of the Korean Hunter Association, Woo Jin-Cheol, murmured as he thought of Sung Jinwoo.
“Wherever you are… please, just return safely.”
Until then, I will make all the necessary preparations.
Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim.
