Chapter 175

Long ago.

That is, in the world before the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo turned back time on Earth…

There once existed Hunters who were granted the title of “strongest”—a title bestowed upon only five individuals across the entire globe.

‘Nation-Level Hunters’

As the name implied, it symbolized an overwhelming power equivalent to an entire nation in the hands of a single person.

It was a glorious title given only to those Hunters whose power couldn’t even be measured using the term ‘S-rank.’

But ironically, the reason these five received such a glorious title was anything but glorious.

The worst catastrophe in human history.

The first S-rank Gate.

And the boss-grade magical beast that emerged from it.

‘Dragon Kamish’

That infamous red dragon possessed such terrifying power that it obliterated the entire western region of the United States the moment the dungeon break occurred.

At the time, the U.S. offered an enormous reward and summoned the world’s strongest Hunters. They barely succeeded in hunting down Kamish.

But in the end, only five survived.

A single beast had slaughtered the very best Hunters in the world.

Without their sacrifice, the United States as a nation would likely have been erased from the world map.

Thus, the U.S. promised to treat the five survivors not merely as individuals, but with the respect and status of an entire nation.

This is said to be the origin of the term “Nation-Level.”

And yet, there was something curious.

Those Nation-Level Hunters had a common trait.

To be more precise, all four—excluding the healer from the Kamish Raid—shared one particular skill.

Telekinesis.

A skill that exerted force without physically touching an object.

There were many powerful Hunters before and after the Kamish Raid, but in all of history, only those four had such an ability.

Back then, the Hunter Bureau, which alone knew of this commonality, even considered [Telekinesis] as a requirement to be classified as Nation-Level.

But now, after many years have passed…

Suho knew exactly what that “Telekinesis” truly was.

[Skill: Ruler’s Authority]

That power wasn’t theirs—it was the byproduct of the ‘Rulers’ embedding themselves within the bodies of ordinary S-rank Hunters.

In other words, the four Hunters who grew strong enough to be considered Nation-Level had borrowed the power of the Rulers.

And those who had the capacity to host the Rulers were now, once again, the ones most at risk of having their bodies stolen by the Apostles of Itarim.

Just like Thomas Andre in the Glacier Dungeon.

* * *

“Thomas Andre, you are under arrest for the murder of Christopher Reed.”

While Thomas Andre was in the middle of a call with Suho—

A large group of fully armed Hunters had quietly surrounded him.

The Hunter Bureau of the United States.

The agency wielding the greatest authority in America had deployed its forces to suppress Thomas Andre’s rampage.

But despite the overwhelming numerical advantage, the ones feeling tense weren’t those surrounding him.

“Ah, hold on a sec. As you can see, I’m in the middle of an important call.”

Thomas Andre casually gestured at the Hunters encircling him.

Then leisurely continued his conversation with Suho.

“……”

Gulp.

Meanwhile, the Hunters of the Bureau who had him surrounded bore grim expressions.

After all, the one they were trying to arrest was none other than Thomas Andre.

And the man he had killed was also one of the U.S.’s most prominent S-rank Hunters—Christopher Reed.

‘Why would someone like Thomas Andre do something like this?’

‘It’s not like he’d gain anything from killing another S-rank Hunter.’

‘He could make a fortune just by entering a dungeon instead of wasting his strength here. Why on earth?’

Lacking any information on Itarim, the Hunter Bureau couldn’t help but be flustered by Thomas Andre’s sudden behavior.

It wasn’t unheard of for S-rank Hunters to clash in the past, but a battle that ended with someone’s death—this was unprecedented.

Ever since the Hunter Point Ranking System was established, there was no longer a need for meaningless power struggles among Hunters.

How dangerous the beasts they hunted were.

How many dungeons they cleared.

All these experiences were converted into points that formed the Hunter Ranking—recognized worldwide as the one true metric.

And so, Hunters no longer wasted effort on fruitless fights. They focused instead on dungeon raids that brought in actual wealth.

‘So then why?’

No matter how they thought about it, they couldn’t understand why Thomas Andre had suddenly murdered Christopher Reed.

It was at that moment.

“Thomas Andre.”

The Hunters suddenly parted to the sides, making way for a man walking calmly between them.

An elderly gentleman with neatly combed-back hair.

Surprisingly, unlike the others, he was completely unarmed.

“Director…!”

“It’s dangerous!”

“Ah, it’s fine.”

Brushing off his subordinates’ warnings with a wave of his hand,

Step, step.

He walked directly toward Thomas Andre.

Even Thomas Andre had to pause his call at the man’s appearance.

“Adam White.”

Recognizing the man, Thomas smirked with interest.

“What brings the Director of the Hunter Bureau here in person?”

“…Thomas Andre. I ask that you comply peacefully with the investigation.”

Thomas Andre’s smirk widened further at those words.

“What if I refuse?”

Grinning, he bared his teeth.

But even in the face of such provocation, the Bureau Director, Adam White, didn’t raise his voice. He simply let out a quiet sigh.

Then, his gaze drifted to the scorched earth around them.

This place had once been a lavish estate—Christopher Reed’s residence.

But now…

‘It’s as if a nuclear bomb went off. So this is what happens when two S-rank Hunters fight.’

The phrase “an S-rank Hunter is a walking weapon of war” was clearly no exaggeration.

Adam White gave a bitter smile as he once again politely appealed to Thomas Andre.

“…If you refuse, there’s little we can do. I suppose we’ll just have to plead more sincerely. Everyone here is someone’s beloved child or parent. I myself have a family to look after.”

“Heh.”

Thomas Andre let out a sigh, clearly unimpressed.

“You’re still as dull as ever.”

“I may not look like it, but I’m known as a pretty fun boss in the office.”

“Yeah, that’s just corporate politeness. My subordinates crack up every time I say a word.”

Even as the two exchanged such trivial banter, the Hunters surrounding Thomas Andre didn’t dare let out a breath.

Because they knew.

If Thomas Andre so much as had a slight mood swing here today, they would never see another sunrise.

“……”

“……”

A moment of silence passed as Thomas Andre and Adam White locked eyes in midair.

To some, it was the blink of an eye—but to everyone else, it felt like an eternity.

“Well, alright then.”

With a faint chuckle, Thomas Andre finally raised both hands in a show of surrender.

At that very moment, the body of Christopher Reed, which he had been holding, dropped to the ground with a thud.

Crackle—

Astonishingly, the moment the body hit the floor, it disintegrated like charred coal—reduced to ashes and fragments.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.

But at the same time, they all sighed in relief—realizing they wouldn’t have to fight Thomas Andre today.

Thomas Andre returned to his phone and spoke to Suho.

“You heard that, right? Well, this is how things turned out. So I probably won’t be able to handle any of the foreigners for a while.”

‘Foreigners?’

Adam White’s expression twitched slightly upon hearing that.

Seeing his reaction, Thomas Andre grinned and added another line to Suho.

“Chris was at least American, so it was manageable. But when it comes to other countries, things get… politically complicated.”

–Ah, that makes sense.

Suho nodded from the other side of the line in agreement.

The people who had been Nation-Level Hunters in the previous life were still active S-rank Hunters now.

If someone like Thomas Andre were to go after them in a different country, it would essentially be the United States declaring war.

“That’s it for now. I’ll send over detailed information on Christopher Reed separately.”

–Understood. Thanks for your hard work.

Click.

The call ended.

“May I ask who you were speaking with just now?”

At Adam White’s follow-up question, Thomas Andre didn’t answer. Instead, he slung his muscular arm over the director’s shoulder and grinned.

“Adam, since it’s been a while since we met, mind buying me a burger on the way? Got kinda hungry after all that.”

“…I’ll get you a combo meal.”

“Ha! That’s why you’re the director. Go big or go home. While you’re at it, grab some for the boys in the back too. Their faces are pale as hell.”

“Understood.”

With a wry smile, Adam White agreed to every one of Thomas Andre’s requests.

* * *

Just as Thomas Andre had said, after his peaceful arrest by the Hunter Bureau—

His secretary Laura arrived in Korea to deliver a gift to Suho.

“How’s Thomas doing, Laura?”

“You don’t have to worry about our boss. He’s the type who lives well wherever he is.”

Laura replied casually, brushing off Suho’s concern.

From the United States’ perspective, keeping Thomas Andre restrained for too long posed too great a risk.

If an S-rank Hunter generated less income from dungeon raids, that meant a reduction in taxes.

And when national security was added to the equation, the U.S. government had no choice but to pressure the Hunter Bureau to release him.

It wasn’t like he had massacred civilians—he’d killed another S-rank Hunter, someone on his level.

In fact, with one fewer S-rank Hunter in the world, Thomas Andre’s presence had become even more necessary to fill the gap.

“…Besides, our boss never intended to kill Christopher Reed in the first place. He actually went to deliver one of our best-selling products lately—a detox potion.”

The Springwater of Echo Forest.

The detox potion obtained from the sacred land of the Ice Elves was potent enough to bring Thomas Andre back to his senses from the Apostle of Itarim’s influence.

Their plan was to give this springwater to other former Nation-Level Hunters in their past lives—

To prevent the same kind of incident from occurring again.

That had been Suho and Thomas Andre’s intention from the very beginning.

“But apparently, there was a bit of an incident when our boss tried to give that potion to Christopher Reed.”

“A bit of an incident?”

Suho looked dumbfounded.

Just how “minor” did an incident have to be to result in the death of an S-rank Hunter?

“Oh, I brought related data as well, so it’s probably better if you see for yourself. It’s classified beyond this point.”

Laura handed Suho a USB drive.

And with it, she had her staff bring in the rest of the items intended for delivery.

Moments later, two solid, specially made cases appeared before Suho.

“Are these it?”

“Yes. This one contains the high-grade magic crystals you requested. And this one… is the item Miss Cha Hae-In discovered in the Tomb of the Radiant Dragons.”

“……”

Suho stared silently at the large cases Laura had brought.

[Young Lord, I sense an ominous energy.]

Beru, who had appeared beside him at some point, wore a cautious expression.

Click.

Suho first opened the bag from his mother.

He already knew what was inside, thanks to Cha Hae-In’s prior message.

‘A dragon egg, huh…’

And then, the bag opened.