Chapter 224 – Summons

The news that the Association President had summoned hunters for a meeting was a strict secret.

That’s why the Association staff could only be flustered as S-rank hunters kept appearing one after another.

“Hey, isn’t that person an S-rank hunter?”

“Yeah. That’s the tenth one.”

“At this rate, aren’t all the S-rank hunters in the country going to show up?”

“Looks like it.”

“Did the Association summon them? S-rank hunters?”

“What could be the reason?”

“Whoa! Look over there! That’s Hunter Shin Kyung-min.”

“And next to him is Hunter Kang Hyuk-su!”

“Seeing ranks 1 and 2 side by side!”

“Hey, not 1 and 2. Didn’t they drop to 2 and 3 last week?”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

The staff tried to speak quietly, but Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su, who passed nearby, couldn’t help but overhear.

“Hm. I’m rank 2 now…”

“I’m rank 3…”

Though their ranks had dropped because of Hunter Min Do-jun, neither of them harbored any resentment.

They had already anticipated it.

“I knew I’d be overtaken someday, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon…”

“Exactly…”

They just hadn’t expected to be pushed down so quickly after Min Do-jun became S-rank-only five weeks ago.

“I wonder if Hunter Min Do-jun is already here?”

“We’ll find out when we go in.”

Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su went up to the second floor and opened the conference room door.

“Oh.”

Inside, ten S-rank hunters were already gathered.

But Min Do-jun was not among them.

“It’s Hunter Shin Kyung-min.”

“I’ve never seen him in person, even though we’re both S-rank.”

“He looks just like on TV.”

“And that’s Hunter Kang Hyuk-su.”

“Should I take this chance to ask about joining Emperor Guild?”

While the hunters whispered to each other, the two men took their seats.

“Why isn’t Hunter Min Do-jun here?”

“It’s not 2 o’clock yet. Let’s wait.”

As the hour approached, more hunters arrived and filled the seats.

Finally, at the appointed time of 2 o’clock, about twenty hunters had gathered.

But still, Hunter Min Do-jun had not appeared.

“Who’s missing?”

“Who else? Rank 1 hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Hunter Min Do-jun?”

“Guess the main character always arrives last?”

“Didn’t expect him to be late, though.”

“Surely he’s not skipping, right?”

“I wanted to see him in person…”

To the other hunters, Min Do-jun was no different from a celebrity.

Who else had reached rank 1 in less than two years?

There had never been a hunter in history who grew as quickly as Min Do-jun.

Even among hunters, he was called a monster among monsters.

“Hunter Min Do-jun is running late. Maybe I should’ve come with him,” said Shin Kyung-min.

But Kang Hyuk-su was absorbed in his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh. Sending a message.”

Watching his bear-like hands fumble with the tiny phone was almost comical.

“Are you texting Hunter Min Do-jun? Telling him to hurry?”

“No, not that…”

“Then who?”

“Hunter Jeong Hye-won…”

At his bashful tone, Shin Kyung-min shook his head.

Their groupmates Park Kwang-jin and Kim Ki-yul, who also knew about Kang Hyuk-su’s crush, quietly chuckled.

“Hunter Kang, why not just confess already?”

“Yeah. How long are you going to just follow her around?”

“Tsk, mind your own business.”

“What do you mean, romance? You haven’t even started.”

“It’s just one-sided…”

Seeing his friends tease him, Kang Hyuk-su sighed deeply.

“Keep it down. Someone might hear.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sorry.”

The two zipped their lips but kept grinning, having had their fun.

* * *

Bzzzz-

Jeong Hye-won looked at her phone at the sudden vibration.

[Hye-won, this is Kang Hyuk-su. It’s past 2 o’clock, why aren’t you here? I miss you. >_<)!!]

“Sigh… this guy again…”

She muttered without thinking, then realized her father was right there and fell silent.

But her father, who had been watching her, didn’t miss a thing.

“Didn’t I tell you to turn off your phone during business lessons?”

“Sorry, I’ll turn it off.”

“Who was that?”

“Sorry?”

“Who messaged you that made you scowl like that?”

“Um… a fellow hunter.”

At the word “hunter,” her father Jeong Dae-geun’s face darkened.

“Can’t you stop this hunter business?”

“You said if I attended business lessons every week, you’d let me keep working as a hunter.”

“That was only because you insisted so much. Honestly, I’d rather you quit and take over the company.”

“You know I don’t enjoy these lessons.”

“I know. My daughter is stubborn.”

He had tried many times to persuade her, but Jeong Hye-won never changed her mind.

She had no intention of giving up being a hunter.

“Why do you want to do such dangerous work? Can’t you just inherit the company and live a normal life?”

“Dad, you know why.”

“You’re still set on avenging your mother?”

“What else could it be?”

Eight years ago, Jeong Hye-won’s mother died to a monster.

The death of the Daehyun Group chairman’s daughter-in-law was a big story for a while, but now it was just the past.

But for her, it was not over.

“Monsters must be eradicated. No one else should suffer like Mom did.”

“That’s not your job. Let other hunters handle it.”

“Why do you think I was chosen as a hunter? Isn’t it fate, telling me to avenge Mom myself?”

“Fate? You were picked by pure chance!”

Jeong Dae-geun raised his voice, uncharacteristically.

“Hye-won! Don’t you see why I’m so against this?”

“I do.”

She knew.

He was afraid of losing his daughter after losing his wife.

“But I can’t back down. Not until I’ve wiped out every monster in this world.”

No one knew when that would be.

“Haa…”

Thinking she might be a hunter for life, Jeong Dae-geun sighed deeply.

“Fine. I give up. I won’t say anything more. But if things get dangerous, you must run. Promise me.”

“Don’t worry. I’m still ranked 3, after all. Well… now I’m 4.”

“And while you’re at it, promise me something else. Never date another hunter.”

“That’s…”

Seeing her hesitate, he narrowed his eyes.

“Why aren’t you answering? Do you like someone?”

“No, nothing like that! But you never know, right? Life is unpredictable…”

“No! Over my dead body, never.”

At her father’s stern words, Jeong Hye-won could only smile wryly.

* * *

After a three-hour flight, Min Do-jun arrived in China and took a taxi to the meeting place.

‘I’ll get there with time to spare before 2.’

He could have arrived much faster riding the ghost wolf, but since that skill had a 24-hour cooldown, he saved it just in case he needed to rush back to Korea.

‘If Seo Jin-cheol shows up at the meeting? I’ll make up an excuse and go back immediately.’

It was a golden opportunity to memorize the scent of his last revenge target.

‘But why meet in a place like this?’

The location was a remote countryside.

It was daytime, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Just mountains and fields.

‘We’re not here to dig up potatoes for lunch, are we?’

And even though it was past 2, the person who suggested lunch hadn’t shown up.

[Distance to target: 303.21 km]

‘He’s over 300 kilometers away.’

He was definitely in China, but in a different place.

‘Did he give the wrong location?’

Min Do-jun shook his head.

Someone as meticulous as Justin Walker wouldn’t make such a mistake.

‘The meeting in Korea is already underway.’

Thanks to Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su attending, he could observe the situation via Parasite.

‘But Justin Walker is in China. So why summon all the hunters in Korea?’

He couldn’t guess the intention.

At this point, he decided to at least memorize Seo Jin-cheol’s scent.

‘Where is Seo Jin-cheol?’

Since he could only see through Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su’s perspectives, he couldn’t check all the other hunters.

‘Judging by Kang Hyuk-su texting, it seems Jeong Hye-won is absent for some reason…’

He himself was absent too, but no one would know he was in China in the form of Heo Ji-pyeong.

Step, step-

Eyes closed, monitoring the situation in Korea, Min Do-jun opened his eyes.

Because of footsteps-but actually, he’d already sensed them with Presence Detection.

‘Who are these guys?’

Three men, chatting as they approached.

To a bystander, they looked like friends out for a walk, but not to Min Do-jun.

‘All three are S-rank hunters.’

And high-level Chinese S-rankers, all above level 3,500.

‘Running into three high-level S-rank hunters in the countryside by chance?’

It was too suspicious to be a coincidence.

He grew wary.

More than anything, what was suspicious-

‘I sense a faint killing intent.’

Directed at him for no apparent reason.

“Hahaha, so you confessed first?”

“I bet you got rejected hard.”

“Hey, do I look like someone who’d get dumped?”

The Chinese men bantered as they passed Min Do-jun.

A normal person might have relaxed, thinking they’d misjudged, but Min Do-jun wasn’t normal.

Shing-

Suddenly, the three Chinese drew their weapons, spun around, and swung their swords.

“Die!”

It was a surprise attack, but Min Do-jun was not caught off guard.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He blocked all three weapons with Excalibur, which he’d summoned in an instant.

The three, wincing from the shock in their wrists, dropped their casual act and glared at Min Do-jun with murderous eyes.

“How did you know we’d attack?”

“So you really are the White Snake Guild Master… not an easy target…”

But their surprise didn’t last.

All at once, their eyes widened in shock.

Because the mask of Heo Ji-pyeong was vanishing, revealing Min Do-jun’s true face.

“W-what?”

“What’s going on…?”

“It’s great that the transformation is perfect, but if you get attacked, it comes undone. That’s the downside.”

Apparently annoyed by his muttering in Korean, the Chinese men raised their weapons and shouted.

“Who are you!”

“What’s your identity, bastard!”

Min Do-jun sighed, then spoke in Chinese.

“I’ll be the one asking questions. But first…”

He activated his black armor’s function.

[Activating Rampage.]

[All stats increased by 1.5 times.]

[Strength +6,205, Health +6,665, Agility +7,562, Magic Power +8,643]

[Time remaining: 4 minutes 59 seconds]

“Take a beating from me.”