I'll Retire After Saving the World

TL: SHW

I had a strange sense of anticipation about the past.

I could only now admit to that fact.

It made sense, after all. This period... more precisely, from two or three years after the first graduates of Pilot High School appeared, the Hunter world of South Korea enjoyed an unprecedented golden age. Park Seo-hyun had already become an Archmage just before graduation, and Oh Hyun-wook rose to S-rank right after graduating. Yoo Ji-eun also drew sweeping attention.

There were many other geniuses as well. Han Tae-kyung and Lee Mi-seon, who had just begun to blossom in talent, were already being fostered by Daseon. And even without support, geniuses kept emerging from everywhere. It wasn’t a phenomenon limited to Korea. It was a time when the whole world was enjoying an unparalleled abundance of talent.

And those geniuses were reduced by half after ten years, and twenty years later, the number was small enough to memorize all their names. Although other countries were said to have better institutional systems than Korea, that didn’t mean the situation overseas was significantly better.

The reason I was trying to increase the survival rate of Hunters even by revealing runes was because of that. Come to think of it, Lee Mi-seon had said we should reveal the Mana Concealment Rune if the issue with Alex Hope was resolved smoothly...

Anyway, at this point in time, one could say that the geniuses held by each country were stirring and learning to walk. In that sense, the Unconquered Dungeons Forum was an appropriate place for learning. Even without going into a dungeon, one could acquire raid know-how passed down by veteran Hunters.

Just like how Hong Seok-young had brought me here, famous Hunters from around the world brought their disciples or promising youths from their own countries. I had confirmed the list Lee Mi-seon had given me. Alex Hope was also attending the forum as one of those promising talents.

“Hong!”

As soon as Hong Seok-young entered the hall, a Hunter approached.

“You’ve come!”

“What? Hong is here?!”

“It’s been a while!”

“Hello, Hunter Hong.”

“You helped me a lot back then!”

“Let me introduce you to my student!”

Correction.

There were many Hunters.

South Korea is a country with a small land area and high population density. It’s not like a country with vast land and uninhabited deserts where a dungeon break can be left alone. If you're unlucky, a monster that crawled out of a dungeon opened in Busan could be found in Seoul the next day. If you just wait blindly for the monster to die a month later, the damage increases exponentially.

Therefore, Korea’s dungeon break response policy is simple.

Exterminate the monsters and close the dungeon.

And in a country like that, the Hunter considered the strongest?

Even on a global scale, they could be counted on two hands. Ten years later, he could be counted on one hand, and even twenty years later, he was still evaluated the same way.

Moreover, my father had been active in raids overseas. He knew many people and had helped many others, so such a welcome was only natural.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

Hong Seok-young put on the translation device handed over by an association staff member as he greeted everyone. I also followed suit and put on the translation device. I wasn’t expecting much from its performance, but still, it was better than nothing. Compared to twenty years later, magical engineering was crawling at this time, but the translation magic engraved in it was the same magic now as it was twenty years later.

“Quite the turnout this time, huh? James, I didn’t expect you to come.”

“I usually attend once every five years.”

“Is that so? But I thought it hadn’t been five years yet.”

“…I came because I had something to check.”

While giving casual nods to the people gathered around him, Hong Seok-young engaged in a relatively long conversation with one Hunter who had a thick beard.

James Brown. A Hunter from the eastern United States. He had been a long-time acquaintance of my father...

He died ten years later.

“And my son has finally become able to attend this place. I came along because I was worried he might cause trouble.”

“Father!”

The young man standing next to James Brown blushed.

Asher Brown. James Brown’s successor.

He died eight years later.

“Oh my. Asher’s doing well, though? James, what you should be worried about isn’t Asher but the other one.”

“What?”

The Hunter from England with light brown hair smiled sweetly.

Rachel Bennett. She died fourteen years later.

“That one. Isn’t that the younger one?”

“…Dylan!!”

The boy who had been reaching for the microphone on the podium flinched at his father’s loud voice.

Dylan Brown. The boy who inherited the Brown Guild after the death of his father and older brother. He died sixteen years later. After Dylan Brown's death, the Brown Guild, which had protected the eastern United States centered around New York, was disbanded.

It wasn’t just the Brown family or the Bennetts.

Most of the attendees were like that.

Remember this. It wasn’t only Korea where dungeons brakeout happened. I still vividly remember the radio inside the helicopter. A dungeon brakeout happened in the U.S as well. Then in France, Russia, China, India...

By the time I arrived in Seoul, the radio had long stopped. Although slow, some news still trickled in through the internet, which was still operational. When I left Busan, information was being uploaded so fast it was hard to keep up.

No one knows why dungeons all over the world break simultaneously.

But the item that sent me back to the past appeared where a monster had died. Hong Seok-young said he had been attacked by monsters claiming to be from the future.

Of course, they must be connected in some way. I’m not dumb enough to miss that.

I stopped recalling when each of them had died as they came into view. After all, they were still alive right now.

If it were someone in Korea, Hong Seok-young and I might still have a chance to do something.... Not just the Mana Concealment Rune, but the Mana Pen and other useful tools must be revealed quickly. If even one of these people survives, it will be worth it. Look at Kim Chae-min. A single Archmage is such a powerful asset.

Kim Chae-min surviving wasn’t thanks to me... But who knows? Maybe Hong Seok-young was able to go raid the Siren’s Dungeon because Pilot High School had been stabilized.

I never thought I’d say something so cliched, but...

The past geniuses walking around this forum are the hope of the future.

It’s a relief that this era has so many geniuses.

“But how come you're not alone this time?”

“Hm?”

Rachel Bennett pointed to me standing behind Hong Seok-young.

“You always came alone. Now that I think about it, I heard someone joined your guild recently…”

“How do you know that?”

“What do you mean how?”

Rachel Bennett narrowed her eyes and scanned me up and down. A cold breeze swept over my body for a moment. If I were Woo Hwijae, the civil servant working at the Ability Management Agency, I would’ve stayed quiet, but now I was Hong Seok-young’s only guild member.

I suppressed the probing magic aimed at me. She hadn’t shown her full power either, so I didn’t exert myself. Still, maybe because her mana was torn, there was some recoil, Rachel Bennett’s eyes widened, and Hong Seok-young burst into hearty laughter.

“Don’t go picking fights with my student.”

“What?!!”

“This kid’s got a worse temper than he looks. He doesn’t even back down against me.”

“Student?!!!”

Rachel Bennett shouted so loud it was almost a scream.

“You took in a student?!!!!!!”

Her voice echoed through the high-ceilinged hall.

The hall fell silent.

I glared at Hong Seok-young. He shrugged his shoulders.

Who doesn’t back down from who?

I’ve never not backed down! Damn it, it’s not like I’ve ever won!!

“Student?”

“Whose student?”

“Hong Seok-young took a student?!”

“What? Who is it!”

“That guy? The one behind Hong?”

“Never seen him before.”

The hall exploded.

***

“…Why?”

“Hm?”

The commotion around me finally settled down after people from the association intervened.

Still, I could feel the occasional glances being thrown my way.

I cast a mana shield to block sound and opened my mouth.

“Why did you suddenly introduce me as your student?”

“Because you are?”

Hong Seok-young looked at me like, ‘Why are you even asking that?’

“I’m not your student.”

“But you call me teacher. That makes you my student.”

“…I didn’t call you teacher in that sense.”

“Once a teacher, always a teacher.”

"So."

Hong Seok-young shrugged his shoulders.

"Your movements are exactly like mine, you know. You know it too. When other people ask what our relationship is, what will you answer?"

I was momentarily speechless.

“So we’re teacher and student.”

“…….”

“I thought that was already settled. Was it not?”

I recalled the conversation we had that day.

...Did it turn out that way? Or not? I don't think so.

I don’t know. I was emotionally shaken that day too.

Maintaining the relationship of teacher and student wasn’t a bad choice, and if that were all, I wouldn’t have objected either.

“But did it really have to be like this…?”

Wasn’t it unnecessary to announce it like that? I could have quietly passed as just another Staff Member No. 3 working under him!

Hong Seok-young looked at me with pitying eyes.

“If it becomes known that you’re my student, you’re going to face it eventually. It’s actually better for it to come out in a place full of foreign Hunters. Better than getting caught by domestic reporters.”

“……”

“It must’ve been noisy back there too. Wasn’t it?”

“Well….”

It had been noisy. Because Hong Seok-young adopted an orphan.

“There was some commotion, but it wasn’t… announced so dramatically like this.”

“Really?”

“I was young when you started teaching me….”

I shrugged. Whatever else, Hong Seok-young never put a child in front of the media. Still doesn’t. There’s a lot of talk about Pilot High School, but none of the students currently attending have ever been mentioned, have they?

Hong Seok-young went “Ah” and nodded. Only then did he look a little apologetic.

“You’re all grown up now, right? You can handle it, can’t you?”

“……”

If you can’t say anything nice, say nothing at all.

“It’s fine. I’ll need at least that much name value to be able to operate freely anyway. I’ve got things to announce through Hunter Lee too.”

I let out a sigh.

"I've been thinking, and it seems what I've prepared so far won't be enough."

"Really? I suppose one kind and gentle mage isn't enough?" (TL Note: Talking about the fake mage providing Runes)

Once he learned my identity, Hong Seok-young also found out the truth about that story I fed him about the Giving Tree.

“Unfortunately, it seems we’ll also need a prematurely deceased engineer.”

Understanding what I meant, Hong Seok-young let out a cheerful laugh.

“Kuhuhu. Just one engineer?”

“Well…. For now.”

I waved my hand and withdrew my mana but then stopped mid-sentence. Hong Seok-young also stopped laughing.

A presence suddenly appeared behind us. I hadn’t noticed it until it got this close.

I turned stiffly with a hardened face.

“HELLO!”

English with an Australian accent.

There was a slight delay as it passed through the translation device, but it soon transformed into familiar Korean and reached my ears.

“Hello!”

Red hair.

A still-pretty face, where you couldn’t tell if he were male or female, and a baggy outfit.

But the once beastly, vicious grin was replaced by a gentle smile. If not for what followed, I would have mistaken him for someone else entirely due to the difference in impression.

"We met before, didn't we?"

“……!”

“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Alex Hope!”

With a bright smile, Alex Hope extended a hand toward me.

***

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