Chapter 157

The internet was in an uproar once again, as if it never had a quiet day.

– Breaking News: Case Closed!
“The Great Prison Break of Jisan Penitentiary.”

– Breaking News: 500 Villains Completely Annihilated! South Korea is Safe Again!

– Exclusive Report: Questioning the White Tiger Guild.
“Who is the hunter that eradicated the villains?”

– Interview: White Tiger Guild Vice President Baek Miho’s Statement Causes a Stir.
“He is a hero.”

—

The reactions from people who saw these news headlines flooding the internet were more heated than ever.

– Wow… seriously insane. Are you saying the White Tiger Guild wasn’t the one who took out the villains?
– What does this even mean? If it wasn’t the White Tiger Guild, then who the hell took down that many villains?
– Can’t you read? Someone else solved the case, and the White Tiger Guild only handled the aftermath.
– Okay, but who is it??
– All they’re saying is that it was a single person.
– Lmao, are you telling me one hunter wiped out 500 villains by himself?
– Damn… at this point, isn’t that hunter a villain too?
– For real, that’s a massacre.

—

At this point, opinions were split into two major groups.

On one hand, wiping out the villains from Jisan Penitentiary was undoubtedly a good thing. The one who resolved the situation was undeniably a hero who deserved praise.

But the problem was the sheer number of villains he had killed.

– This guy wiped out 500 living people in a single day. He’s definitely not normal.
– He’s basically a serial killer.
– But they weren’t people, they were villains. So what’s the problem?
– Oh? So villains aren’t even human now?
– ?? : “Villains have rights too!”
– Fact #1: The human rights groups who said that are all dead now.
– Fact #2: They were slaughtered by the very villains they secretly sheltered.

– Related Article: “They Killed Because It Was Disgusting.”
– Related Article: “Who Do You Think You Are, Trying to Protect Someone? You Useless Weaklings.”

—

…There was a time when many activist groups passionately fought for villain rights.

However, after numerous violent incidents perpetrated by villains, public opinion had mostly shifted toward accepting the Hunter Association’s stance:
“Villains should be classified as humanoid beasts.”

Still…

There was always the question of limits.

– Unpopular opinion: Killing all 500 of them was excessive. A hunter strong enough to do that could’ve just captured them and sent them back to prison.
– Lmao, look at this armchair saint. What if they escaped again? Would you go catch them?
– No, seriously! Who is this hunter?? Why aren’t they revealing their identity? He’s a hero!
– Tsk tsk, with the way people are reacting, would you reveal yourself? Instead of treating him like a national hero, people are branding him a mass murderer lol.
– Not to mention, Hwang Dongseok was killed too. His brother Hwang Dongsoo will be out for revenge, so of course he’s hiding his identity.
– Yeah… no one wants to mess with Hwang Dongsoo.

—

Step.

“……”

Late at night.

SRank Villain Hwang Dongsoo was in his hideout, scrolling through online news articles one by one. His hand suddenly stopped.

Among the headlines, a particular list of deceased villains caught his eye.

– C-Rank Villain Hwang Dongseok (Deceased)

“……Hah.”

The corners of his mouth twitched, revealing his stark white teeth.

The news was so absurd that he couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.

“My brother’s actually dead?”

Hwang Dongseok was his estranged older brother, whom he had cut ties with two years ago.

After awakening suddenly, his brother had mercilessly abandoned him, calling him a useless non-Awakened.

So when Hwang Dongsoo later awakened as an S-Rank, he never even considered looking for his brother or trying to mend their past relationship.

Even so—he didn’t expect to hear about his death like this.

“……I thought he was rotting away quietly in prison, and then he suddenly breaks out and gets killed within three days? And by a single person?”

When he first heard about the prison break, he hadn’t given it much thought.

His brother was cunning enough to lay low and survive. It wasn’t worth worrying about.

But now that he was dead?

That changed everything.

At the very least, as his brother, Hwang Dongsoo figured he should take revenge.

‘…The problem is, I have no idea who did it.’

He scoured every available news article, but the White Tiger Guild was keeping ‘his’ identity a complete secret.

Just as someone had pointed out in the online comments, it was clear that they were afraid of Hwang Dongsoo coming after him.

But.

“In this world, no secret lasts forever.”

A sinister grin stretched across Hwang Dongsoo’s face as he rose from his bed.

The thick gold chain around his neck clinked.

Fwoosh—

As he opened the door and stepped out, a grandiose mansion lobby came into view.

This was once a corrupt politician’s secret villa—his third hideout, taken by force after killing its former owner.

Hwang Dongsoo walked through the empty lobby, stepping outside as he dialed a number.

The call connected immediately.

– “Yes, Mr. Hwang Dongsoo. What do you need?”

A calm, businesslike voice greeted him from the other end.

Hwang Dongsoo got straight to the point.

“I need information.”

– “Are you referring to the details of Hwang Dongseok’s death?”

The immediate response made him chuckle.

“Business is good, huh? Yeah, I want to know who killed my brother. Name your price.”

– “Money isn’t necessary. However, if you’re willing, would you consider handling a small task for us in return?”

“A task?”

– “Yes. We recently received a rather troublesome request.”

Hwang Dongsoo scowled.

“You do realize that I’m a fugitive from the Hunter Association, right?”

– “Of course. We fully understand your situation. That’s why we selected a target in a rural area—far from prying eyes.”

“……Tsk.”

The overly smooth way they had prepared a response, as if they had been expecting this call, made him click his tongue in displeasure.

‘Damn vultures. Always scheming.’

Of course, they were also the reason he had managed to evade the Hunter Association’s grasp for so long.

– “It’s a task Mr. Hwang Dongsoo can complete in an instant. If you take care of it, we’ll provide the information immediately.”

“Fine, just tell me where it is.”

– “Yangpyeong. Fortunately, it’s not far from where you are now.”

—

The next day, after returning home, Suho finished his breakfast and immediately entered the Shadow Dungeon.

The internet was still ablaze with discussions about the Jisan Penitentiary Incident, but the man at the center of it all, Suho, continued his daily life as if nothing had changed.

This was all thanks to the White Tiger Guild, which was doing its best to keep Suho’s identity hidden.

Of course, numerous White Tiger hunters had directly witnessed him in action, meaning it was only a matter of time before the truth got out.

Regardless of how the public reacted, Suho’s identity would eventually be revealed.

But at the very least, the timing of that revelation could be delayed—to a moment of Suho’s choosing.

[Young Lord, Grid is strong. If you wish to make him a Shadow Soldier, you must become even stronger.]

“I know already. That’s why I’m here training so hard.”

Hwang Dongsoo—once Grid, the shadow soldier of his father, the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo.

One day, Suho would either have to face him in battle, or the White Tiger Guild would take him down first.

Either way, if Suho wanted to successfully extract him as a Shadow Soldier, the most crucial factor was his own strength.

—

[Skill: Shadow Extraction Lv.2]

Shadow Authority.
Mana Requirement: None.
Extracts mana from a deceased body to create a Shadow Soldier.
Failure rate increases based on the target’s stats and time elapsed since death.
Level 2 Effect ‘Form Alteration’: Allows modification of a Shadow Soldier’s appearance.

[Extractable Shadows: 50/50]

—

“Shadow Extraction has a failure rate.”

Suho recalled his nearfailure in Egypt when he tried extracting the Venomfang Sand Centipede—twice.

Back then, the centipede had been too strong for him to take down alone, and he had almost failed entirely.

“I get three attempts. If I want to extract an S-Rank Awakened, I need to be far stronger than I am now.”

And so, Suho once again entered Ammit’s Pyramid, determined to train and grow stronger.

Today’s goal was Body Strengthening Technique, his daily quest.

But as he arrived, he was greeted by a familiar sight—someone long forgotten, still enduring his own brutal training alone.

“Guaaahhh….”

[Kahahaha! Yes! Keep running! Even if your leg bones turn to dust! Even if your spine shatters! You can still run!]

“……”

The terrifying laughter of Ammit echoed through the pyramid.

And beneath that cruel laughter, a lone mummy staggered and ran through the labyrinth.

No… that wasn’t a mummy.

It was Instructor Im Do-Gyun.

Wrapped head-to-toe in the Item: Mummy’s Bandages, he was undergoing Ammit’s hellish training.

Although… calling it “training” was generous. It was more like torture.

Of course, Suho also endured grueling training daily as part of his quests.

But there was a difference.

Ammit constantly increased the training difficulty to match Suho’s rising stats. The stronger Suho became, the heavier the gravity field pressing down on him.

So while both of them endured painful training, Suho had an advantage—he was the son of the Shadow Monarch and had a levelup system boosting his potential.

But Im Do-Gyun?

He was just an E-Rank hunter.

The weakest of the weak.

A hunter whose physical abilities were only slightly better than a normal human’s.

Yet, he had one remarkable talent.

[Skill: Sprint]

[Forget pushups! You just need to run until you’re nearly dead! No, if you stop running, I will personally kill you!]

“Hiik…!”

Ammit’s murderous intent loomed behind him, making Im Do-Gyun pale with fear.

He had long since surpassed the limits of human endurance.

His body, little more than a broken mess, continued running—stumbling forward like an undead.

But somehow, he wasn’t dead.

The Mummy’s Bandages wrapped around his entire body prevented his shattered bones and torn muscles from completely falling apart.

A sinister yet useful item, keeping him moving despite the pain.

“That’s definitely not how that item was meant to be used…”

[What are you saying?! This bandage is Grand Shaman Kandiaru’s masterpiece! It was meant to be used like this!]

Suho muttered under his breath, but Ammit laughed boisterously in response.

[Do you know why I enjoy watching weak creatures struggle for strength? Because most of them die trying.]

Ammit turned his gaze toward Im Do-Gyun, still running despite his broken state.

[But if they manage to survive that suffering… That itself is strength.]

“……”

Hearing that, Suho silently nodded.

No matter what anyone said, Im Do-Gyun was enduring this hellish training of his own will.

And his body reflected it—his leg muscles had swelled to unnatural levels, bulging from sheer overuse.

Unlike Suho, he had no levelup system or stat window to aid him.

He just ran.

Purely out of sheer determination to become stronger.

[Now then, let’s begin your daily quest.]

Suho nodded.

And with that, his own training began.

[Hmmm.]

Meanwhile.

A new shadow soldier, Harmakan, surveyed the pyramid with gleaming eyes.

His gaze traced the ancient inscriptions covering the walls.

[This place… Could it be… the domain of Grand Shaman Kandiaru?]