Chapter 141
“…So you’re saying Hwang Dongseok was just bluffing inside the prison, pretending he was still close to his brother?”
“That’s right. You catch on quick.”
Kang Taesik grinned and nodded at Suho’s question.
For over twenty years, Hwang Dongseok and Hwang Dongsoo had committed crimes together, frequently going in and out of prison. In South Korea, they were infamously known as the Fraudster Brothers.
It was also widely believed that their brotherly bond was incredibly deep.
Who would have guessed that they had fallen out?
Even if someone had found out, it wouldn’t have changed much.
Siblings fight all the time.
No matter how much they bickered, they could always reconcile as if nothing had happened.
But that was no longer possible for Hwang Dongseok, who was now stuck in prison alone.
Even if he wanted to “make up” and reconnect, he would need a way to contact his brother first.
“Hwang Dongseok had no way of reaching out to Hwang Dongsoo, who was in hiding from the Association.”
However, that also meant that no one else could confirm whether their relationship had actually soured.
“And so, he could freely spread the rumor that if anyone touched him, Hwang Dongsoo would come for revenge.”
“That must have been quite effective.”
“Extremely. Just that one claim was enough to make even A-rank villains bow their heads to him.”
Suho now fully understood why Hwang Dongseok had become a dominant figure in prison.
He had seen firsthand the overwhelming power of an S-rank Awakener—Thomas Andre and his own mother.
A villain with that kind of strength would be a walking catastrophe.
From the perspective of the other inmates, defying Hwang Dongseok meant risking retaliation from a force beyond their ability to resist.
“The timing was also in Hwang Dongseok’s favor. The reason everyone even found out that Hwang Dongsoo was an S-rank villain in the first place was because of Choi Jong-In.”
Hunters who officially registered with the Association underwent magic power assessments.
However, villains often avoided such procedures.
Hwang Dongsoo had never had his rank formally evaluated.
And yet, he was officially labeled an S-rank villain because of a particular incident.
“The Association President, Woo Jin-Cheol, even sent Choi Jong-In after him, but he still managed to escape. That was game over right there.”
From that day on, Hwang Dongsoo became an ‘untouchable’, someone even the Association’s strongest S-rank hunter couldn’t catch.
He had disappeared since then, but that only made him more terrifying.
No one knew where he was or what he was plotting.
After hearing Kang Taesik’s explanation, Suho finally asked what had been bothering him the most.
“Kang Taesik, was it? How do you know all these details?”
“Oh, that?”
Kang Taesik shrugged nonchalantly.
“I used to be locked up with Hwang Dongseok. Before Hwang Dongsoo awakened, Hwang Dongseok used to rant about how useless his little brother was.”
“…Were you a villain?”
“Nah. I awakened while in prison and immediately volunteered to become a Hunter. Does that answer your question?”
Suho nodded.
The Hunter Association had always struggled with manpower shortages.
Who would want to be a government employee when they could make a fortune raiding dungeons?
As a desperate measure, the Association sometimes recruited criminals—those who showed potential for rehabilitation or had not committed serious crimes after awakening.
Kang Taesik was one of them.
“So, what do you think? Satisfied with my intel? Even if you just wanted to leech off my knowledge without teaming up, I wouldn’t stop you.”
Surprisingly, Kang Taesik was cool about it.
But that also meant he was a shrewd man.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Kang Taesik met Suho’s eyes with a knowing smirk.
“I might have more information, so think carefully before turning me down.”
“Let’s team up.”
At Suho’s response, Kang Taesik’s smirk widened.
“Good. I like a decisive young man. So, we’re partners now?”
—
Suho and Kang Taesik stepped out of Jisan Prison together.
Immediately, Gray took the lead in tracking the villains by their scent.
“Guwoong!”
It went without saying—Gray’s tracking abilities far surpassed those of trained police dogs.
His sense of smell was so keen that he could even detect the scent of magic power.
“Teaming up was the right call.”
Watching Gray confidently lead the way, Kang Taesik nodded in satisfaction.
“Hey, your name’s Sung Suho, right? Ever thought about teaming up long-term after this mission?”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Don’t be so quick to turn me down. Summoners aren’t exactly popular in dungeon raids—”
Kang Taesik suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Both he and Suho’s expressions sharpened as they looked ahead.
At the end of Gray’s path, a small town came into view.
“…They hid in a town instead of the forest? This just got annoying.”
Kang Taesik’s eyes gleamed with caution. (T/N: I’m liking this version of Taesik. I hope he teaches Suho here how to be stealthy like his father.)
—
Pocheon, Yeongbuk-myeon, Yami-ri.
Strictly speaking, this place wasn’t a city—it was more of a small village.
Legend had it that in the past, dense pine forests surrounded the area, attracting bandits at night.
Since the thieves found the nighttime quite enjoyable, the place came to be known as Yami-ri (夜味里, ‘Night Flavor Village’).
True to its history, the village was still surrounded by forests and mountains.
Not just Yami-ri, but Pocheon as a whole was a mountainous region.
And mountains were the perfect hiding places.
Naturally, the assumption was that the villains would have fled into the mountains.
But instead…
“They actually hid in a populated village?”
“They must be planning to use civilians as hostages.”
“This just got a whole lot more complicated.”
Suho and Kang Taesik, who had been confidently following Gray’s lead, stopped at the village entrance.
From here on, they had to be extremely cautious.
If the villains hiding in the village realized that bounty hunters were after them, things could escalate quickly.
“Suho, you know how to control your mana… Hmm?”
Kang Taesik, who was about to say something, paused as something caught his attention.
At some point, Suho had completely erased his magical presence.
‘A summoner can control mana this well?’
Kang Taesik was genuinely surprised.
Summoners had a hard time concealing their mana—especially when they had an active summon present.
“Hey, are you really a summoner, or… Tch, never mind.”
He had been about to ask something but quickly dropped it.
Instead, he hid the dagger in his hand and suppressed his own magical presence.
However, Suho had no weapons to hide—because he always kept them inside his inventory.
“Suho, do you know why I chose you out of all those bounty hunters?”
“Because I’m a summoner, you said.”
“That’s the biggest reason, but also because you have the fundamentals.”
“Fundamentals?”
“Yeah. The key to hunting villains is not letting them know you’re a bounty hunter.”
Most of the bounty hunters gathered at Jisan Prison wore armor.
It made it obvious they were hunters.
It was understandable—they needed protection from villains’ attacks.
But villains weren’t stupid. If they saw someone dressed like a hunter, they’d simply hide or run away.
However, Suho was different.
Like Kang Taesik, he looked just like an ordinary civilian.
But that wasn’t enough.
Even if Suho disguised himself, Gray still emitted mana.
If they entered the village with Gray in the lead, it would be the same as announcing to the villains that Suho was a summoner.
But if he unsummoned Gray, they would lose their tracking ability.
After Kang Taesik pointed this out, Suho turned his gaze to Gray.
‘Visually, he passes.’
Even though Gray was a wolf, he was still young and small.
If they put a leash on him, they could pretend he was a pet dog out for a walk.
“Gray, can you suppress your mana?”
“Guung?”
Gray tilted his head, clearly not understanding.
Suho sighed.
If he possessed Gray using Beastification, he could suppress the mana himself—but that would change his own appearance, making him look anything but ordinary.
Then, suddenly—
[The Monarch of Beasts, Fang Monarch, requests a conversation.]
[Will you accept? (Y/N)]
‘Rakan?’
Suho tilted his head.
‘Why is he suddenly asking to talk? Well… Accept.’
The moment Suho accepted—
[Passive skill ‘(Unknown)’ has activated.]
Shwaaah!
His vision turned white.
—
A World of Complete Emptiness.
Suho stood alone on the edge of an endless void.
He wasn’t startled.
Instead, he immediately looked forward.
Beyond his gaze, standing on the distant horizon, was a towering figure well over two meters tall.
A man clad in clothing made from beast pelts, radiating primal strength.
The Monarch of Beasts, Fang Monarch Rakan.
[It’s been a while. Thank you for answering my call.]
‘So why did you call me?’
[No need to rush. This is the realm of consciousness. Time outside has stopped.]
Suho already knew this from previous experiences.
[I have a proposal for you.]
‘A proposal?’
[Yes. It seems you’ve only been using my heir for possession.]
‘Oh, yeah. That’s true.’
Suho nodded.
But there was a simple reason.
Gray was too weak.
Suho had tried leveling him up, but even then, he wasn’t strong enough to be useful.
‘Though, for tracking, he’s turning out to be quite handy.’
Since this was the realm of consciousness, Rakan could directly sense Suho’s thoughts.
The Fang Monarch clicked his tongue in disapproval.
[If my heir’s only purpose is to sniff around, that is utterly disgraceful.]
But that was just reality.
[So, I have a proposition. There’s a way to make Gray stronger.]
Suho’s eyes gleamed.
‘You have a way?’
[Yes. Give Gray my relic.]
‘Rakan’s Fang?’
Suho’s expression changed.
The relic of the Fang Monarch, [Item: Rakan’s Fang], had been sitting in his inventory ever since he obtained Vulcan’s Horn.
‘Wait, are you saying Gray can… use the fang like false teeth?’
[…False… Well, in a way, yes. I didn’t mention it before because you were using it as a weapon, but if Gray inherits its power, he will receive its full stats.]
‘Sounds good.’
Suho immediately nodded.
Then, a sudden thought struck him.
‘Wait. Does that mean I can implant other fangs too?’
[…What?]
Rakan looked baffled.
Seeing his reaction, Suho smirked mischievously.
‘I happen to have another fang sitting in my inventory. A venomous fang, actually.’
[W-Wait—]
For the first time, the Monarch of Beasts looked flustered.