Chapter 238 – Missing

The two hunters who entered the Castle of Absolute Darkness couldn’t close their mouths.

It was because of an impossible message.

[You have cleared the dungeon!]

[The dungeon break timer has been reset to 480 hours!]

“To think we’ve already met the clear condition of 3,000 kills…”

It was an achievement accomplished just 24 hours after entering the dungeon.

Of course, the achievement wasn’t thanks to the two hunters.

Almost all of it was Min Do-jun’s doing.

All the two hunters in the 3,100-level range could do was barely finish off the monsters that Min Do-jun, out of consideration, left behind for them.

“Wow, how many did he kill by himself?”

“Maybe around 2,800?”

It was practically a solo clear, but the hunters had no complaints on their faces.

Without him, not only would they have failed to clear the dungeon, they would have suffered the penalty.

[You have achieved a feat!]

[Feat – Heck Yeah, First Place!]

– Condition: Be the first to clear a newly spawned S-rank dungeon.

– Reward: Stat Points +3

Thanks to this, they even gained stat points, so there was no reason for the hunters to dislike Min Do-jun.

“Hunter, thank you. Thanks to you, we cleared it safely and even got a feat…”

The hunters who exited the dungeon bowed their heads to Min Do-jun.

But right now, Min Do-jun was in no mood to hear words of gratitude.

‘Where is Jeong Hye-won right now, and what is she doing?’

A full day had passed, but there was still no news about her.

‘Even Justin Walker, the only link, doesn’t seem to have left the dungeon yet.’

Since he still couldn’t get a location, tracking him was impossible.

‘She’s still showing up in the ranking system, so at least she’s alive…’

But that didn’t mean she was safe.

She was the only comrade who hadn’t betrayed him before his regression, so he couldn’t help but worry.

‘Still, there’s nothing I can do.’

There was only one thing Min Do-jun could do.

‘All I can do is wait for Justin Walker’s location to be detected.’

…Since he couldn’t track teleport, there was no other way.

* * *

Another day passed after clearing the Castle of Absolute Darkness.

It had now been two days since Jeong Hye-won disappeared.

[Target with matching scent found.]

[Distance to target: 9,326.18 km]

‘Finally, Justin Walker’s location has been detected.’

Seeing the location pop up, it seemed he had just exited the dungeon.

It was good news, but the problem was the distance.

‘Over 9,000 kilometers… Looks like he’s in America.’

Even riding the Ghost Wolf, it would take a full three hours to arrive.

‘It can’t be helped. If I want to find Jeong Hye-won, I have no choice but to tail Justin Walker.’

He didn’t know for sure if Justin Walker was behind this.

So there was no guarantee that tailing him would lead to Jeong Hye-won.

But with no other clues, he had to grab at even the faintest straw.

He had to try anything to find her.

‘If Justin Walker is involved, I’ll find her soon enough.’

Having made up his mind, Min Do-jun stood up.

As he was about to leave the office, Park Dong-yun asked,

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be away for a while.”

“Are you taking a vacation?”

Min Do-jun thought for a moment.

“I suppose you could call it that.”

It was less a vacation and more a search for a missing comrade, but he couldn’t say that outright.

‘It seems I’m the only one who knows Jeong Hye-won is missing.’

Even though it had been two days since she disappeared, there wasn’t a single article about it online.

All that was mentioned was a brief note that she hadn’t participated in the recent Castle of Absolute Darkness raid.

‘Well, I guess no one would call it “missing” after just two days.’

Min Do-jun had seen a suspicious man at the scene and had concrete evidence with the scent trail, so he was sure it was a kidnapping…

‘But to everyone else, it just looks like she disappeared without notice.’

Only close family or friends would be curious about the reason.

“Then please take care while you’re away.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back after a good rest.”

…After saying goodbye to Park Dong-yun and leaving the office-

“Are you Hunter Min Do-jun?”

He ran into someone in the hallway.

It was a middle-aged man in a suit.

‘This person…?’

He didn’t recognize the man, but Weakness Detection gave him a brief clue.

‘Jeong Dae-geun, CEO of Daehyun Group?’

What business did a renowned businessman in Korea have with him?

‘Could it be…?’

Min Do-jun calmly replied,

“Yes, I’m Min Do-jun.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeong Dae-geun, CEO of Daehyun Group. I’m also Jeong Hye-won’s father.”

‘Jeong Hye-won’s father?’

He had guessed as much from the Daehyun Group connection.

And the reason he’d come was obvious.

‘He must be here to ask about Hye-won.’

Sure enough, Jeong Dae-geun politely requested,

“I have something urgent to discuss. Could you spare me a moment? It’s important.”

With a man in his fifties speaking so earnestly, Min Do-jun couldn’t refuse.

Not that he intended to.

“Of course.”

“My car is waiting outside. Let’s talk there.”

“Alright.”

He followed Jeong Dae-geun and his aides outside.

As soon as they got into the waiting black sedan, Jeong Dae-geun spoke.

“You were supposed to enter a dungeon with Hye-won recently, weren’t you? Something Castle…”

“Castle of Absolute Darkness.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

With a sigh, Jeong Dae-geun got to the point.

“My daughter is missing. It’s been two days with no contact. She doesn’t answer her phone…”

He looked at Min Do-jun with desperate eyes.

“Do you have any idea where she might have gone? I heard you were in the same party.”

It was just as Min Do-jun had expected.

‘I’m not the only one looking for Jeong Hye-won.’

He hesitated.

Should he tell the truth to her father, or not?

But then, curiosity got the better of him, and he asked,

“Why do you think she’s missing? For a hunter entering a dungeon, not answering the phone is pretty normal.”

“I know her schedule inside out. Where, when, with whom, and which dungeon she’s entering-I know it all.”

“…”

“She knows this too. It was the condition for me to allow her to work as a hunter. Otherwise, I’d never have let her do something so dangerous.”

Jeong Dae-geun had wanted his daughter to live a normal life, attending business classes.

But he couldn’t break her stubbornness, so he had to compromise with these conditions.

“We agreed she’d call whenever she entered or exited a dungeon. Same when she moved anywhere. But…”

His voice trembled.

“She called me several times a day, but two days ago, all contact stopped. She’s never done this before.”

That was why he believed she was missing.

“Even the smallest clue would help. Please, if you know anything about her disappearance, tell me.”

Jeong Dae-geun looked at him with desperate hope.

He didn’t seem to suspect that Min Do-jun knew something-just that he was grasping at straws.

‘There’s no helping it.’

With such earnestness, Min Do-jun couldn’t just feign ignorance.

“This is just my opinion, but I think Hye-won was kidnapped.”

“K-kidnapped?”

Jeong Dae-geun was speechless, clearly not expecting that.

“Are you sure? Why do you think so?”

“You know she showed up at the meeting point that day, right?”

“Yes. I heard she vanished in the blink of an eye…”

“I haven’t told anyone, but I saw a suspicious man in the woods that day.”

“A suspicious man?”

“Yes. He was approaching in stealth, but when he saw me, he ran. I chased him, but he vanished-like he teleported.”

He pretended not to know about teleportation, since it wasn’t public knowledge yet.

“From here on, it’s just my theory, but I think someone used some kind of teleportation to kidnap Hye-won.”

“Impossible…”

Jeong Dae-geun, who hadn’t considered a third party, looked incredulous.

“I’ve heard of stealth skills, but never teleportation. Does such an ability really exist?”

“We’ve been in the hunter era for eleven years, but we still don’t know why awakenings or dungeons happen. Who’s to say teleportation isn’t possible? Maybe it’s a unique trait, or a skill no one’s discovered yet.”

“But my daughter is an S-rank hunter, ranked fourth. She’s not someone who could be kidnapped!”

“Rankings don’t mean anything. In the hunter world, only the strong survive. Even an S-rank is just a weakling in front of someone stronger. There’s always a higher sky.”

“Ugh…”

Jeong Dae-geun couldn’t maintain his composure.

Hearing his daughter might have been kidnapped, he couldn’t think rationally.

He even forgot that the man in front of him was the number one hunter.

“Are you sure? That my daughter was kidnapped?”

“As I said, it’s just a hunch.”

“Still, you saw a suspicious man. Why didn’t you report it to the police?”

“I wasn’t sure what I’d seen. Rather than cause a fuss, I decided to investigate on my own.”

“You’ve been looking for Hye-won?”

“Yes. We’re not that close, but she’s a colleague.”

At this, Jeong Dae-geun regained his composure.

“Whew, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at someone searching for my daughter. I lost my head when I heard she might be kidnapped. I apologize.”

“It’s fine. I understand how you feel.”

If someone told him Cha Ye-rin had been kidnapped, Min Do-jun might lose his mind too.

“Damn it! I warned her how dangerous this job is… Now this happens!”

He clenched his fist in anger, blaming himself for not stopping her.

After calming down, he turned to Min Do-jun with pleading eyes.

“You said you’re searching for my daughter on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Please, I beg you-find her. If you do, I’ll give you anything. I’ll treat you as a lifelong benefactor.”

He was ready to give up anything, but Min Do-jun wasn’t sure he could find her.

“I’d like to promise I’ll find her, but there aren’t many clues.”

Jeong Dae-geun’s face showed disappointment, but he quickly hid it.

“…That’s alright. Just knowing there’s one more person searching for her is enough.”

He thanked Min Do-jun for his help, then left with only worry for his daughter.

‘Maybe I should’ve pretended not to know.’

He’d told the truth because he was asked so earnestly, but all he’d done was add to the worry.

‘I want to find Jeong Hye-won too, but there are so few clues.’

All he could do was tail Justin Walker.

‘Hopefully he’s involved in this.’

Min Do-jun headed home to prepare to ride the Ghost Wolf to America.

Just then-

Bzzz-Bzzz-

His phone rang.

It was Shin Kyung-min.

‘What’s this about?’

He was in a hurry, but he picked up just in case.

“Yes, Kyung-min?”

-Hello, Do-jun. Have you been in touch with our guild master lately?

“You mean… Kang Hyuk-su?”

-Yes. We haven’t heard from him in two days. For a guild master to disappear like this…

‘Two days ago?’

That was the same day Jeong Hye-won disappeared.

‘No way, just a coincidence?’

He told Shin Kyung-min he didn’t know, then immediately checked through Parasite using Kang Hyuk-su’s perspective.

And then-

“What?”

He saw something he hadn’t expected.

Jeong Hye-won was there, in Kang Hyuk-su’s field of vision.

“Why are those two together?”