CH 2

▶ Episode 2. Prologue (2)

‘Her expression…’

She wasn’t surprised or shocked.

Her pretty face was squashed without any remorse, as if she had stepped on it with all her weight.

As if this huge fact were really annoying.

‘No, it’s not that much.’

She looked like a person who stepped on a big X with both feet while walking down the street. 

It had happened before, so the head of the center knew precisely how she felt.

‘She’s been confirmed to be an SSS Class, but why does she act like that? It should make a big difference in her life, right?’

「The screen, I’m watching it. Is it true that there was an SSS-class hunter there?」

“Y, yes.” 

「I’ll be there in 20 minutes.  Fortunately, there are no outsiders in the examination room. Remind everyone at the Hunter Center to keep their confidentiality oath and to take steps to keep the Hunter stable. Please also inform Hunter that she shouldn’t contact her family or acquaintances until I get there.」

“I understand.” 

The call ended right away. 

“Everyone, remember that if you break your confidentiality oath, you could go to prison for up to 10 years!”

After shouting as instructed, the head of the center approached the SSS class hunter while frozen.

The SSS class hunter still looked like she had stepped on X spot. 

The center’s head looked like a new recruit who was greeting the general, not like he was greeting his daughter.

“I contacted the minister according to the procedure, and I was told that he would be here in 20 minutes! In the meantime, please stay stable and wait! Do not contact family members or acquaintances!” 

“…Stable?” 

“Yes! You haven’t entered the dungeon yet, so your skills haven’t awoken, but if you do something wrong, it may go wild! Please wait calmly just in case!” 

“I…can’t stay calm.”

The head of the center had a chill down his spine.

“You must be calm!”

“You have to stay calm!”

“T, that’s right! Hunter-nim! Please take a deep breath!”

“Calm, please make sure to stay calm!” 

Everyone, including the head of the center, shouted with exhausted faces. 

If an SSS class hunter transcends the transcendental and then transcends it again, it will run wild.

This Hunter Center wasn’t the problem. 

But Gyeonggi-do could have been destroyed. 

“Please! Calm down! Calm! Down!” 

The SSS Hunter closed her eyes tightly as everyone shouted desperately.

She clenched her fists hard and unfolded them, still with the same expression as if she had stepped on X place. 

The sound seemed annoying.

“Shh!”

When the head of the center spoke a word, everyone shut their mouths as if their mouths had disappeared.

When the time of fear started, it felt like the hair on the back of the neck or even on the nose stood up.

All of them couldn’t breathe and stared quietly at the SSS class hunter.

After one second felt like an hour, the examination room door finally opened, and someone came inside. 

“Archer-nim!” 

It was Lee Beomjin, South Korea’s Minister of Department Ability. 

When monsters and dungeons appeared 18 years ago, the world fell into great chaos. 

It was the same in Korea.

When North Korea was suddenly reunified while it was in ruins, South Korea was greatly shaken up socially.

However, it stabilized much faster than everyone expected. 

The people could get out of the national crisis because they all worked together, but the hunters’ amazing feats made the difference. 

Lee Beomjin was the first SS class hunter in East Asia. He led all the other hunters in the right direction for the people at that time. 

When the dungeon was first opened, he was 22 years old and was the national archery player. 

As someone who has won gold medals in various competitions, including the Olympics, he awakened as a hunter and became an archer class, and acquired related skills. 

The dungeon even gave the hunter the code name ‘Archer.’ 

He wasn’t only good at archery.

– He’s a cold-hearted person. 

There are other comments like this, but Lee Beomjin mainly stood up for justice.

He was very smart and charismatic, so people were attracted to him. He was also good at politics, so he knew how to deal with public opinion. 

Korean hunters came together to help him save a lot of people and change the way society worked.

Thanks to this, Korean hunters were welcomed by the public and easily accepted into society. 

Lee Beomjin started to be seen as a hero, and after that, he played very well.

He left the field after being badly injured in a level 9 dungeon last year. This happened 17 years after he became a Hunter, and he lost his main weapon, ‘Dan.’

After that, he was named Minister of Department Ability and put in charge of Hunter-related office work. 

Even though Lee Beomjin wasn’t attacking the dungeon anymore, Koreans still loved and respected him very much.

Because of his skills and how he has lived his life, he deserved it.

However, there was actually one more reason why Lee Beomjin is so popular.

That was—.

‘He looks really amazing in person—!’

It was his appearance.

He was a delicately beautiful handsome man who could be mistaken for a woman just by looking at his face. 

At the same time, he was called ‘Flower of Steel’ because his body was so muscular it looked like steel.

Even though there aren’t many people who are brave enough to call him that in front of him.

He was 39 years old this year, but he looked like he was in his early 30s and was still in great shape. 

‘I heard that Archer-nim looks much better in person than in videos or photos.’

And it was really true! 

There was a situation where an SSS class hunter showed up for the first time, and everyone else was going crazy.

Nevertheless, everyone was instantly distracted by Lee Beomjin’s beautiful appearance.

But only one person was not affected. 

Lee Beomjin noticed it.

Korea’s first and the world’s fifth SSS class hunter! 

However, it was strange. 

‘Have we met before?’

She looked familiar somewhere.

Lee Beomjin carefully observed the SSS class hunter.

On the outside, she was just a cute little girl.

But in reality, she was completely different from her appearance.

‘SSS class hunters are a tremendous weapon that can destroy a country.’

Normally, a hunter’s skill develops only when they come into contact with a monster. Therefore she was still in a normal state. 

Nevertheless, she didn’t look like a normal person.

‘It’s strange.’

Becoming a high-ranking hunter can change one’s life, but some people hate or are disgusted by the ability.

However, it was the first time he’d ever seen someone with such a frustrated expression on their face.

“I’m Lee Beomjin, Minister of Department Ability. Please don’t tell me your personal information, including your name yet.”

The SSS class hunter paused as he opened his mouth.

“People who take the ability test and get a C class or higher should go straight to the dungeon and contact with the monster to find out their exact rank and skills.”

Sometimes the ranking was inaccurate, so this had to be done.

“…Yes.”

“I know you have a lot of questions, but please wait until you get inside the dungeon.”

“Yes.”

“Everyone.”

Lee Beomjin quickly glanced at the examiners one by one.

Even though it was only from their eyes, they all looked pale and tired. 

“As the Minister of Department Ability, I will tell you again. Do not break the confidentiality oath. Do you understand?” 

“Yes!”

Everyone shouted enthusiastically. 

Only after that could they finally get away from Lee Beomjin’s scary eyes.

Of course, Lee Beomjin knew well that information would leak even if he did this.

It was reported in the news that an SSS class had already appeared. 

‘It must be reported as breaking news all over the world.’ 

So he had to act quickly. 

“I will request the car as the Minister of Department Ability,” 

The head of the center gave the car key politely.

“Hunter-nim, let’s go.”

Lee Beomjin started walking first.

The SSS class Hunter followed him in calmly, but she still had an annoyed look. 

Lee Beomjin opened the back seat door. 

The SSS class hunter calmly entered and sat down, Lee Beomjin said as he started driving.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“….”

Whether she was busy or thinking about something else, the SSS class Hunter didn’t say anything.

“It’s a bit far, but we’re going to the Level 1 dungeon in Cheonan. Since many people can come, it’s better to go far now. It’s impossible for ordinary people, but if you’re a hunter, you can get out of the level 1 dungeon without dealing with the boss. We will just check the exact grade and class before leaving.” 

“Yes… I can’t live a normal life like before, can I?” 

Lee Beomjin wanted to give the young hunter a different answer, but he couldn’t. 

He gave a sharp answer. 

“Yes, you can’t.” 

“….” 

The SSS class hunter firmly shut her mouth again. 

She didn’t seem to want to hear anymore. 

Since it is still an obligation, Lee Beomjin explained a lot of basic information. 

“In the dungeon, you must catch the boss to complete the attack, and you can come out again through the entrance. After a certain period of time after completion, all monsters appear again in the dungeon, which is called Regeneration. The time to Regeneration for each level of the dungeon is different—” 

After some time, they arrived at our destination.

From the outside, all that could be seen was a white building with a dome the size of a gym. 

However, when they entered the building using the access card, they could see the unique thing in the center.

Blue smoke, which gave off an ominous feeling to anyone looking at it, was floating in the air. 

“Blue, 3 meters wide and 1.5 meters high. This is a level 1 dungeon.”

On each side of the smoke was a big liquid crystal with a number written on it. 

“The blue number on the left is the current time, and the red number on the right is the time remaining until this dungeon explodes.” 

While explaining, Lee Beomjin quickly observed the SSS class hunter.

When people see the entrance to the dungeon for the first time, they will have a bit of a reaction. 

But the SSS class hunter was indifferent. 

“Let’s go in. As I said before, you have to hold hands when you first enter.” 

So that they could get out in case of an emergency, the hunter had to hold the examiner’s hand when they went into the dungeon for the first time. 

The SSS class hunter slowly reached out her hand with an unwilling expression. 

Lee Beomjin lightly grabbed his opponent’s hand. 

He is 39 years old this year and worked in the field until last year, so his hands are big and stiff from calluses. 

On the other hand, the hands of this 19-year-old student and SSS-class Hunter were small and soft. 

‘It’s somehow—’

It felt like his heart was breaking.

Even though he knew that his opponent was a whopping SSS class hunter. 

Lee Beomjin hurriedly suppressed the unfamiliar feeling.

“Let’s go in.” 

He entered the dungeon more slowly than usual in consideration for the SSS class hunter. 

As soon as they entered, the heavy air peculiar to the dungeon began to press his whole body. 

Ordinary people couldn’t handle it, and most of them died in less than a minute in high-level dungeons. 

But it was nothing for the hunters.

‘As expected, she’s fine.’ 

The SSS class hunter looked fine. 

Lee Beomjin waited for a while for the SSS-class hunter to look around. 

The area around the dungeon was bound to have an effect on it. 

At first glance, it seemed to be a typical forest because it was created on the road in the maple forest around Independence Hall. 

But the blood-colored mist that lay lightly on the ground was creepy. 

Even so, the SSS class hunter was still neither afraid nor surprised. 

“I’ll be back in three minutes. There are no monsters approaching, so it’s safe. Stay safe here.” 

Lee Beomjin spoke as gently as possible and then left. 

He hurriedly killed the nearest monster and returned with dissatisfaction. 

As requested, the SSS class hunter remained there. 

Even though she was alone for three minutes, she wasn’t scared at all.

Instead, she looked desperate. 

“As soon as you make contact, you’ll see a system window in front of you.” 

Lee Beomjin put the horns on the ground right in front of her.

The SSS class hunter sighed as he did it. 

She stepped on the horn with her foot.

“…The skin should touch.”

“Yes…” 

The SSS class hunter squatted down. 

She touched the horn with her index finger and looked disgusted as if she were touching trash.

It was that moment. 

[Notice: Unidentified Hunter Found]

[Checking….]

Everyone in the dungeon was able to see the notification window that appeared when checking the hunter for the very first time.

Lee Beomjin waited a bit nervously, unlike her.

[Finished checking] 

[Class: SSS∞]

Lee Beomjin stopped breathing. 

And the SSS class, no, the SSS∞ class hunter said this. 

“Fuck.” 

[Checking code name….] 

[Finished checking] 

Another line appeared in the notification window. 

[Codename: ◼King] 

The SSS∞ class Hunter said another word. 

“Really fuck.”