Chapter 176
[An egg of Kamish!]
Beru jumped in surprise beside him, prompting Suho to ask with a puzzled expression.
“Why? Do you know the name?”
[Of course I do! Kamish was…!]
Beru passionately began to explain to Suho about the red dragon Kamish.
After hearing the full story, Suho nodded.
“I see. So this is the egg of the mighty dragon my father encountered in his youth.”
[Yes. Kamish was one of the war prisoners captured by the Rulers during the war. That means this egg must have been laid before Kamish went into battle.]
Listening to Beru’s explanation, Suho felt a strange sensation stir within him.
“Hm. Maybe…”
‘The dragon that hatches from this egg might become the heir to the Dragon Emperor.’
As Suho stared intently at Kamish’s egg, such a thought naturally came to his mind.
Considering everything that had happened so far, the odds of that seemed very likely.
Having overheard Suho and Beru’s conversation, Laura relayed what Cha Hae-In had said when she handed over the egg.
“Miss Cha Hae-In suggested storing this inside the Shadow Dungeon.”
“That does sound like the best option.”
Suho nodded in agreement.
After discovering the egg in the Tomb of the Radiant Dragons, Cha Hae-In had debated for a long time on how to handle it.
Smashing it felt like a waste.
Leaving it behind at the original site felt too unsettling.
Eventually, she came up with the idea of using Suho’s Shadow Dungeon.
No matter what kind of monster might be born from the egg, if it was kept in the Shadow Dungeon, it would be safe.
It was a good idea.
“Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll follow my mother’s advice regarding the egg.”
Suho immediately expressed his gratitude, and Laura opened the second case she had brought.
“And here are the high-grade magic crystals you requested earlier.”
At that moment, a spark of interest appeared in both Suho and Beru’s eyes.
Surprisingly, there was more than one high-grade magic crystal inside the bag.
“You got three of them?”
“Yes. It wasn’t easy. There are so few high-grade magic crystals circulating on the market that the bidding competition was pretty fierce.”
Year 2 of the Cataclysm.
The Hunter industry was still in its early stages of development, with a vast number of things yet to be built and constant shortages of resources.
Especially high-grade magic crystals obtained by Hunters in dungeons—these were the rarest of the rare.
The moment any hit the market, both the scientific and Hunter communities scrambled to acquire them.
Naturally, that made their price anything but cheap.
“They must’ve cost a fortune. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Considering it’s the price of our boss’s life, this is nothing.”
Laura promised to continue supplying high-grade crystals as more became available.
“…And now, we get to the real reason I’m here.”
Laura’s expression turned serious as she subtly glanced at the Scavenger Guild staff present in the office.
Almost as if on cue, the Scavenger Guild members exited the room.
“From this point on, everything is confidential. Some of this information could be sensitive if leaked.”
“Oh, my guild members are fine.”
“Understood.”
Suho’s only guild members were Im Do-Gyun and Esil—neither of whom would ever casually leak sensitive information.
In fact, Im Do-Gyun was already trying to sneak out after the Scavenger members out of fear, but Suho stopped him.
“Hyung, you need to hear this too.”
“Honestly, I think I’d be better off not knowing…”
Im Do-Gyun had been increasingly overwhelmed by the ever-expanding scale of Suho’s activities.
But since he was in charge of almost everything outside of battle, there was no escaping it.
Esil, on the other hand, sat beside Suho with a look that said she didn’t really care.
Suho plugged the USB Laura had initially given him into a laptop, and Laura pulled up the video files to explain.
“Please take a look at this video.”
“Christopher Reed?”
The face on the screen was that of Christopher Reed, the American S-rank Hunter who had been killed by Thomas Andre.
“This was discovered during our recent investigation. It turns out Christopher Reed had been receiving periodic psychiatric counseling since his S-rank Awakening.”
As Laura said, the video showed Christopher Reed in a counseling session with a therapist.
– …Lately, I’ve been feeling so empty inside. Do other Awakened feel this way too?
He looked deeply fatigued, while the therapist opened his mouth with a confused expression.
– Chris, the other Awakened I’ve counseled usually feel the exact opposite. They’re often elated, intoxicated by the overwhelming power they now possess.
– Then why do I feel this way?
–Well… sometimes, when people suddenly receive more than they can handle, like winning the lottery, they may feel anxiety. You might adjust with time as you grow used to your power.
– So you’re saying this is because I became an S-rank Hunter? Like a lottery win? But sir, the feeling I have is a little different.
Christopher Reed continued speaking with a grave expression as he tried to describe his emotions.
Laura played the rest of the videos in sequence, showing the full record of his recurring counseling sessions.
Most of the conversations were similar.
– Sir, I still feel uneasy. I think I’ve become too weak.
– Why do you think that? Chris, you’re an S-rank Hunter.
– I don’t know. I know I’ve reached the top of the Hunter ranks, but I feel weaker than I used to. I want to become stronger.
“……”
Watching the footage, Suho exchanged a hard look with Laura.
She nodded and said,
“You’re right. What he was feeling is exactly what our boss was going through not long ago.”
Meanwhile, the videos of Christopher Reed’s counseling sessions continued to play one after another.
Most of the content remained similar.
– Sir, I want to become stronger. No, I feel like I can become stronger. But I just don’t know how.
– Sir, I’ve been thinking. What if I have some incredible potential hidden inside me? Something beyond S-rank?
– Sir, I…
Then—cut.
Suddenly, Christopher Reed’s expression changed. From one session on, he began to look unusually confident.
– Sir, I think I may have found a clue on how to become stronger.
– Chris, that’s good news for once. What’s the method?
– That’s… a secret. I can’t tell you. But I’m sure of it. If I follow the method they told me, I’ll definitely become stronger.
–Who are they?
“‘They’?”
Suho furrowed his brow in confusion at that word.
Then—cut.
The moment the therapist asked that question, all emotion vanished from Christopher Reed’s face.
A chill swept the room.
His eyes looked utterly soulless, as though something inside him had vanished.
The always weary and gloomy Christopher Reed was now wearing a completely different expression.
He slowly raised the corners of his mouth and looked directly into the camera that had been recording every session.
– I’m afraid I can’t answer that, sir. If I did, I might have to… Well, thank you for everything until now.
Cut.
Laura paused the video and added further explanation.
“…After that session, he never returned to therapy. Instead, he bought a luxurious mansion and began indulging in pleasure.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Hunters to lose themselves in booze, drugs, and debauchery.
That behavior spanned age and gender—it was a pattern shared by many sudden millionaires throughout history.
But Laura, suspecting there might be more behind Christopher Reed’s lifestyle, conducted a deep investigation.
And uncovered something strange.
“A significant number of people who were invited to his mansion ended up going missing.”
“M-Missing?! Are you saying… murder?”
Im Do-Gyun asked, his face pale with fear.
Laura gently shook her head.
“Hm. Murder, yes, but the situation is more complicated. Our investigation revealed large quantities of Stardust inside Christopher Reed’s mansion.”
“Stardust? As in, Star Powder?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a magic-enhancing drug, widely circulated even here in Korea.”
Hearing that, Suho instinctively glanced at Esil.
Originally, Stardust had been developed by low-ranking demons imitating the bloodstones reserved for demon nobility.
Esil nodded with a stern expression.
“Seems like our demonkind is active in that country too.”
It made sense.
The Demon Realm was still shattered into pieces and drifting across dimensional rifts.
And there was no way only Korea had connections to those fragments.
If things were unfolding like this, it was likely that demon factories existed not only in America, but all over the world.
“Demon factories, huh… I know a fair bit about Stardust. But more than the demons themselves, our boss had another reason for killing Christopher Reed.”
“…?”
Laura switched the screen.
A single photo appeared.
The interior of Christopher Reed’s ultra-luxurious mansion—now nothing more than rubble after being obliterated by Thomas Andre.
The photo had been taken by a daring reporter who had risked their life sneaking in.
“…According to that reporter, at some point, Christopher Reed appeared to have fallen into a strange cult.”
“A cult?”
Suho repeated the words with a skeptical expression.
“Yes. And the very next day, that reporter mysteriously vanished without a trace. We believe he was likely killed. But recently, we managed to recover one final note left behind by him.”
Click.
Laura flipped to the next slide.
And on the screen appeared the phrase the reporter had written:
[Outer God]
…!
Everyone, including Suho, widened their eyes.
“The Outer Faith.”
Laura looked at the word with a heavy expression and spoke.
“That’s what they seem to call their religion.”
