Chapter 480. Where Did They Go? (2) |
Clink.
I put the glass I was holding down on the table and continued my thoughts. The circumstances were too suspicious to simply assume that the disappearance of the third S-rank hunter was for leisure.
‘Could it be that the incident in the ant-nest dungeon was the cause?’
Living with absolutely zero wits would surely make for a peaceful life. Still, having been born with a basic sense of discernment, I quickly noticed the unease hidden within others’ actions.
‘This is really suspicious.’
They had smashed all the enemies in the manipulated ant-nest dungeon, so I had briefly let my guard down, trusting that intense performance. But if Kang Changho’s escape continued in this way, it went beyond suspicion—it would become a serious problem.
‘Maybe I should take matters into my own hands and go look for him?’
So I quickly made a plan.
‘Honestly, if he’s hiding in something like an overlapping barrier, even an archmage-level instinct wouldn’t catch him in one go. But still… if I prepare properly and conduct a thorough search, then…’
‘Hmm.’
Tracking. For reference, carrying out this operation would completely break the promise of keeping our distance and going our separate ways. Still, it’s kind of amusing that someone who lived as an Alphauri until just a few years ago takes loyalty so seriously.
‘It breaks my heart to have to betray your trust. But the situation has changed too much, so I can’t help it.’
I calmly finished my dessert in that state.
‘Earth is in serious danger, Changho. So let’s, the ones with information, meet briefly and have a conversation.’
In addition, around the time we finished our meal and stepped out of the restaurant together, Esther and I parted ways. Standing on the road in front of the shopping complex, I took out my phone and thought to myself,
‘With this pathetic mammalian body, there’s no way I can use tracking magic like I did in my prime.’
If I were to seriously track down Kang Changho, I’d likely have to cross national borders several times.
‘Then maybe I should start by deploying golems to search various regions?’
I briefly checked the prices of the various flight tickets I’d need for the journey to track down the third S-rank hunter and wrapped up the day’s tasks.
***
Another day passed. He diligently explained matters related to the Kim Giryeo Guild corporation, which had been tangled up with the rival, Korean Magic Tower. Since Esther still had a contract for basic magic tutoring, we also used the opportunity to properly catch up on the lessons over the past 24 hours.
‘It had been such a turbulent period that lately I’d only been collecting tutoring fees without being able to give proper advice…’
Even though Hel had prepared all the teaching materials, Kim Giryeo still felt regret for not having properly taken care of Esther as he normally would. Fortunately, after yesterday’s meeting with her, that regret had completely vanished.
‘Damn it!’
The problem lay entirely elsewhere.
‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this now?’
Had it been about twenty hours since he had made up his mind to find his country’s third S-class ranker, who refused to return to Korea? But in the meantime, a new, high-difficulty gate appeared on the Korean Peninsula. On top of that, right beside it was another troublesome dungeon. And just a little further down, there were countless regional food boxes in need of S-rank help.
Troubles were literally lined up, so how on earth could he go abroad now?
‘Things… are getting busy.’
At that moment, Kim Giryeo was certain.
‘Too busy!’
As expected, the ones taking over Earth weren’t the original Gisimche. As an Archangel, the ‘Gisimche’ he had once known were at least a species that knew when they were full. But the ones on Earth scattered suffering around as if they were conceptual pigs who had never known fullness.
‘Wait, but my body isn’t even 100% recovered yet!’
Unfortunately, personal health issues didn’t get any respect. Kim Giryeo had wanted to track down Kang Changho, but with the sudden surge of monsters worldwide, he simply couldn’t leave the country. He had only just realized the absence of the Gisimche, and as a result, being stuck handling nothing but outdoor dungeon breaks was an added burden.
‘Until my skills are fully back, I can’t risk entering another world.’
Suddenly, days became unbearably hectic.
‘Hey? Isn’t that Hunter Kim Giryeo?’
‘What are you talking about? Why would an S-rank hunter appear in a town where even celebrities barely show up?’
‘I read in the news that while the first and second-ranked hunters are working in Seoul, Kim Giryeo is on a regional assignment. Looks like a tough gate popped up in our city too.’
‘Oh, so that person over there is the real deal?’
However, dealing with the issues that arose one by one gave him some time to relax.
‘I just want to take a single photo together! But if I bother someone who’s here to work, that’d be a nuisance…’
For example, in a situation like this. In front of a dungeon on the verge of breaking, Kim Giryeo, who had rushed down to the provinces, stopped by a nearby shop while waiting for the association’s summons He had bought some egg bread at the store and was eating it one by one as a makeshift lunch—but—
‘Anyway, everything I glance at is fully perceived through my intuition, humans. But if you’re going to be that worried, wouldn’t it be better to just come over and talk to me directly?’
Now, even just a quick glimpse of his face stirred murmurs in the crowd. In the rare moments of leisure he had, Kim Giryeo fully recognized his current standing.
‘This isn’t like popularity has a low or high season—every time I solve a big problem, the atmosphere just shifts like this.’
Moreover, having switched into a human body on Earth, the only real change was that he now had more hair. The Archmage here had long had a fondness for free things. So, by accepting all the food that humans he met on the street offered, he had inadvertently fostered a sense of positive familiarity.
It was obvious that an S-rank would have plenty of money, yet Kim Giryeo didn’t flinch even when others gave him cheap gifts, which started to intrigue the onlookers. Of course, he had also rescued minors who had been trapped in the [Sadist] dungeon, which greatly increased his favorability among certain age groups. That doesn’t mean that students suddenly became fans of the fourth S-rank.
♡4050 Parent & Neighbor Chatroom♡
This meant that the age group that relatively values appearances had finally changed their view of Kim Giryeo. But recently, it didn’t stop there—even a former sports star who had joined him on the Nuckleavee hunt was praising him day after day, saying, ‘I wish that Korean would come to the U.S. just one more time.’
| 🚩 [Real Situation] World Ranking #1 forced to surrender after underestimating a Korean Hunter… [Read More] |
There was no need for further explanation.
For reference, the titles of videos like the one above were somewhat exaggerated. But the important point was that Kim Giryeo had, even if only briefly, truly surpassed Jeong Hasseong in reputation.
| ♣️ [Affiliated Members’ Group Chat] |
[Choi**: They throw around slurs like ‘Hell Joseon’ so easily, but when a fellow Korean succeeds, they get just as happy as if it were their own business…]
[Park**: lol]
[Park**: Seeing stuff like this really shows how picky the people are, huh?? They curse all the time, but when you dig deeper, they’re secretly patriotic.]
Various opinions popped up about the alien’s skyrocketing success.
[Park**: But seriously, if the mood keeps going like this, whatever plans they had over there probably won’t work out, right?]
[Choi**: They’d just end up looking silly and people would say they’re copying Japan for no reason.]
For reference, a little explanation was needed about the country that suddenly came up in the chat. At first, it was pre-image here had had a fondness for free things. So, by accepting all the food that humans he met on the street offered, he had inadvertently fostered a sense of positive familiarity.
[Choi**: You know, over in the neighboring country, the bureaucrats really know how to hype things up and set the mood.]
[Park**: But on our side, there’s just not much to provoke any backlash, haha.]
[Choi**: Unless a guy like Kang Chang-ho beats up another driver or something… lol]
The atmosphere in South Korea was different from that of its neighboring countries. A hunter, who could be called the embodiment of integrity, had held the #1 ranking for a long time. Meanwhile, the #2 awakened individual had quietly formed ties with the political world. In other words, in the Korean Peninsula, the concept of superhuman abilities had become firmly established with a very positive perception.
If hunters’ standing continued to improve like this, a certain political party would unfortunately find themselves in a somewhat difficult position.
[Awakened < Ordinary Citizens]Voting is a numbers game. However, the way Kim Giryeo continuously conducted his work had a tendency to sway public opinion far too easily. One #1 ranked individual could be dismissed as just an exceptional case.
And now, even some mysterious powerhouse named Kim Giryeo is throwing himself into self-sacrifice.
‘In simple terms, it means that schemers can’t intervene, right?’
Naturally, certain political parties within the Korean Peninsula had long been wary of sanctifying superpowered individuals. A hunter’s image needed to be moderately tarnished for them to gain votes from factions that disliked such people. This was even a matter that affected the livelihoods of some politicians.
Therefore, a certain lawmaker who viewed the rising star Kim Giryeo as a thorn in their side eventually…
‘Let’s see.’
…devised a specific measure—this was a piece of history that the person present here had personally investigated and discovered.
‘Is this the place? Yes, this is it.’
A short while later. A private residence in Gangwon Province. Near a seaside villa, someone carrying a camera suddenly began to loiter about. The reporter who had just shown his face was there to preemptively prepare a scandal piece about Korea’s fourth hunter. The tactic of sitting on a scoop and then releasing it right before an election was common in any country.
‘Hm.’
To be honest, he didn’t know how long he would have to squat here waiting. But the advance payment he had received amounted to several million won. Moreover, if the reporter could successfully catch even a small flaw of Hunter Kim, he could easily pay off the 40 million won debt he had from sports betting.
‘Privacy invasion or whatever—let’s just make some money first.’
With these thoughts, the reporter made up his mind. Up until this point, the atmosphere had been bright with hopes for money.
‘Oh! That b*stard Kim Giryeo—he’s finally coming out of the house.’
But a few days later, the journalist who had shown up with a camera quickly lost all enthusiasm.
‘What the?’
Honestly, at first, he had expected at least some sensational material based on physiognomy. But reality was different.
Did Kim Giryeo smoke on the street? Did he drink excessively? Could he, like a local, blatantly ignore crosswalk signals? Or would he go out of his way to harass a far inferior human species?
‘What on earth is with that lifestyle pattern?’
Surprisingly, because of his alien nature, Kim Giryeo had almost nothing that could spark controversy. From an Earthling’s perspective, he was even an incredibly hardworking individual who devoted most of his day to work.
Recently, this planet has seen an increase in high-difficulty gates.
‘This is really unexpected.’
Break site – home – break site – home.
The reporter, witnessing the daily routine of an Awakener who literally only worked, slowly lowered the corners of their mouth.
‘A hunter addicted to work?’
Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing good to be gained by writing about this. On the contrary, it would only boost public support for the hunter.
‘So the only story I could write would be some scandal linking him to the [Korean Magic Tower] director, huh?’
That might get decent views at least, but in the end, it wasn’t really what the client who paid him wanted.
‘Looks like Esther keeps coming over and giving him clothes and stuff. Honestly, giving apparel to a hunter with such good fashion sense could actually make a story. Alright, I’ll keep this one.’
The reporter pondered for a moment. Should he start giving up on tailing Kim Giryeo? But by now, he didn’t have the confidence to cover any other topic well enough to get a good story. Consequently, he had no highly developed skill or backbone, so he tended to accept shady favors too easily.
‘I’ve got nothing better to do anyway, so maybe I should just stick it out until the end of this month?’
So the reporter decided to take a patient approach…
‘Huh?’
A few seconds later, an unfamiliar scene appeared in the camera’s viewfinder. At first, he didn’t immediately realize what was off about it. But after double-checking the scene through the lens, the reporter finally realized one thing clearly.
–Kim Giryeo had noticed the camera.
This was something that hadn’t happened at all in the past few days. Since humans with manifested abilities can sense surrounding magical energy more acutely, the reporter had been careful and hadn’t once brought any dungeon equipment here.
‘Anyway, it’s also because I didn’t have the money to buy it.’
Even so, today Kim Giryeo had clearly detected the presence of an ambush, almost like an animal using echolocation. No—but perhaps the method itself didn’t really matter.
A black rayon shirt. Black pants. And eyes sharp enough to tear apart anyone he faced, if he so wished. Right now, a man possessing all these traits was staring directly at the reporter’s lens.
–Drip.
Cold sweat ran down his back. The reporter, having met Kim Giryeo’s gaze, quickly put away the camera. Of course, his mind wasn’t functioning clearly—he wasn’t moving with any coherent thought. Yet, for some reason, he felt the need to put distance between them. Instinctively, he began walking without a destination, in a haphazard manner.
–Click.
He stopped almost immediately. Of course, the person the reporter had been tailing possessed superhuman abilities.
‘Gasp.’
It wasn’t entirely unusual for a reporter to follow a famous hunter. However, there was a slight additional problem with the current situation. The Kim Giryeo here had recently realized that the one attacking Earth was not the original Gisimche. He was also on edge from having to worry about the continued escape of the dangerous individual, Kang Changho.
Moreover, he was a tired worker who had been working nonstop across the country for the past four days.