[Web Message] Hunter Kang Changho, this is a notification regarding the abnormal mutation within the S-rank gate. Below is reference material related to the gate raid plan. If you are able to take action, please respond to the agency number provided.
The S-rank hunter who appeared at the scene showed no particular sense of urgency.
Immediately after clearing the nameless Cave Gate, Kang Changho turned his phone back on and found that the Hunter Association had sent him some information.
He glanced around.
No matter where he looked, he couldn't see the flashing signal of his contractor.
It didn't take him long to realize that the blond hunter had entered the troublesome dungeon.
And yet, strangely enough, the atmosphere at the site was calm.
"Huh!"
"Take the exit right now. Exit!"
"Hunter Jung Haseong!"
"They're the raiders."
"Oh, oh! Thank God! Our Neo Guild members are safe...!"
Of course, Kang Changho already knew in secret that Kim Giryeo was alive.
If his contractor died, the [Knight's Oath] would immediately notify everyone bound to the item.
Assuming, of course, that the artifact was functioning properly.
Either way, Kang Changho knew perfectly well that the other man hadn't died.
"Ah! Hunter Kim came out too!"
After a brief wait, Kim Giryeo indeed emerged proudly from the gate, further confirming that he was alive.
"Huh?"
Shaking.
Kang Changho raised a hand in the typical Earthling gesture of greeting.
While prominent Korean hunters such as Jung Haseong and Seo Esther explained the situation to the surrounding crowd, he gestured for Kim Giryeo to come over and began speaking to him privately.
"Hello."
"Ah, yes. Hello, Hunter Kang Chang..."
"But I'm sorry. I don't remember receiving any report that you were coming here."
The alien answered as though he had been waiting for that question.
"Entering the gate was an accident. I was just standing near the passage when a monster inside grabbed me and dragged me in."
Aha.
So he had entered the gate against his will?
"Really?"
"How could I possibly lie about something like this?"
Kim Giryeo asserted his innocence by relying on the conditions of the [Knight's Oath] and the testimony of Lee Cheongryong.
And yet, even though Kang Changho should have understood that such a lie was structurally impossible under those circumstances, the man suffering from body dysmorphia merely looked down at the person before him, his hands clasped behind his back.
He appeared to be turning something over and over in his mind.
"Look at the size..."
His physique alone was intimidating.
Giryeo avoided making eye contact with the superhuman, whose bare body cast an imposing shadow even without a weapon in hand.
He had already guessed what the other man was displeased about, so he hurried to explain himself before the situation escalated into violence.
"I know. Even if it started as an accident, I could've dealt with the tentacles and gotten back out. You're upset because an S-rank Hunter hesitated instead, right?"
"_ _"
"I'm sorry. To be honest, I knew you'd react like this, but I deliberately stayed inside the dungeon. At the time... I genuinely thought there wouldn't be enough time to stop and discuss it separately."
"_ _"
"I don't know whether you're aware, but the person trapped inside, Ahn Yoonseung, is a friend of mine. And once I actually entered, I discovered there were traps throughout the dungeon. As it happened, I had the [Appraiser] skill."
The next words came soon afterward.
"...Ah, just hit me a few times if you need to vent. This time I deliberately deceived you, so honestly, I don't have an excuse. I'm sorry."
How many times had he uttered the words "I'm sorry" in his previous life?
He couldn't remember the exact number.
But he knew, deep down, that even from a young age he had never been the kind of soul willing to apologize easily.
For an archmage such as himself to show this degree of humility was, in truth, an extremely unfamiliar act.
And yet—
Even though this arrogant soul had lowered his head first...
"Uhm...?"
The other man gave no reaction.
With both hands clasped behind his back, Kang Changho stood exactly as he had before, motionless and expressionless.
The silence of an S-rank awakened one.
Why did that feel more frightening than an actual punch?
"Are you really angry?"
Should he try to stop him?
With this many people watching, surely Kang Changho wouldn't let his temper explode here.
Right?
Was today really going to be the day this ex-convict violated Article 250 of the Criminal Act?
"No, but as you can see, I'm perfectly fine... Honestly, I was confident I could avoid danger and survive, which is why I went in at all. I definitely didn't fight an S-rank monster..."
"_ _"
"...What are you doing right now?"
Unable to produce anything resembling a human expression of emotion, the alien merely pointed toward the magically restored appearance of his body and silently pleaded with a blank face.
Look.
I came back without so much as a tear in my suit.
Isn't that proof enough that nothing happened?
Giryeo had already anticipated this exact situation while still inside the dungeon.
That was why he had made arrangements with everyone involved and begged them not to reveal the details of his injuries, offering one excuse after another for why the matter should remain secret.
And yet, despite Giryeo's desperate efforts, Kang Changho still showed no reaction.
Unable to endure the unnatural silence any longer, the alien finally asked again, struggling to find the proper words.
The contractor answered.
"Thinking."
It was only one word.
Yet it carried enough weight to send a chill through him.
Thinking.
To repeat, Kim Giryeo had not yet recovered enough magic power to read anyone's thoughts.
Even so, it was painfully obvious what the S-rank Hunter standing before him with his hands behind his back was considering.
There were probably only two possibilities running through Kang Changho's mind.
Whether to activate the skill.
Or not.
Sensing where the situation was heading, Giryeo hurriedly opened his mouth.
But it was only then that the superhuman before him finally began a proper conversation.
"Earlier, did you ask whether I was angry?"
Kang Changho tilted his head and looked down at the offering before him.
"I haven't genuinely been angry at anyone since I awakened, at least."
"Yes?"
"Jung Haseong, Choi Jin, even some random driver—I've had brief disagreements with people over opinions or circumstances. But ever since awakening, it's become rare for me to get worked up the way I did when I was a student, with blood rushing straight to my head."
People often said that once puberty passed, one's sensitivity dulled along with it.
Perhaps because of that, the S-rank Hunter's eyes drifted briefly upward and to the left, as though recalling the distant past.
He took a moment to choose his words before continuing.
"Anyway, let me make one thing clear. I've never really been angry."
Changho stretched a hand toward the other man's shoulder.
Then, with a calm movement of his right palm, he brushed away the remnants of the dungeon caught along the seam of Giryeo's suit.
"So far."
The words were enunciated with deliberate clarity.
Sensing the subtle pressure behind both the words and the gesture, Giryeo asked tensely,
"Are you saying I might become the first annoying Hunter to actually make you angry?"
Surprisingly, Kang Changho denied that as well.
"No."
Tuk, tuk.
After brushing the last traces of dust from Kim Giryeo's shoulder seam, Kang Changho continued.
"What I just told you was simply a list of facts. Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen next."
"Huh...?"
"At first, I was irritated. But now, when I watch the way you behave, I think I mostly find it fascinating. Oh, that reminds me. Let me ask you something."
What followed was spoken in a tone of genuine curiosity.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo, do you perhaps enjoy being in danger?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have some kind of masochistic streak?"
In a sense, it was a remarkably fundamental question.
"When you see people startled or flustered... do you perhaps feel some kind of thrill from it? Like you've gained control over their emotions?"
"What on earth are you..."
"Isn't it strange?"
Korea's fourth S-rank hunter, Kim Giryeo.
He always wore a calm expression, like someone observing a laboratory animal from beyond the walls of its enclosure.
At twenty-five years old—an age when most people were busy laughing, talking, and enjoying themselves—he instead wrapped himself in a silence as deep as the ocean and wore it like a second skin whenever he dealt with others.
And despite standing at the very top of the ecosystem as one of the world's strongest awakened individuals, he spent the entire year holed up in a shabby little house.
Naturally, people couldn't help but wonder what kind of thoughts were constantly turning inside that head of his.
"But objectively speaking, that's exactly the kind of person Hunter Kim Giryeo is."
Kang Changho pointed directly at the blond man's abnormality.
From what he had observed, Kim Giryeo was a stoic figure with little interest in worldly things, someone whose behavior often resembled that of a self-sacrificing philosopher worthy of admiration.
Yet ordinary people—including someone like Kang Changho—would naturally doubt whether such an impossibly righteous sage could truly exist in this world.
What could possibly serve as the driving force behind someone so cold and detached?
"Uhm."
The blond awakened one's face remained as expressionless as iron.
Kang Changho stared at his colleague in the industry for a while before finally speaking again.
As a finishing gesture, he lowered his hand from his chin and lightly tapped the shoulder of Giryeo's suit.
"Anyway. Your head's still attached to your neck, so that's good enough for now."
"Yes?"
"I've been busy with something lately, so it's become difficult for me to pay close attention to our contract. So if Hunter Kim has even the slightest consideration for me, I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from going out for a while."
Korea's third S-rank Hunter said those words without hesitation, then turned away and left.
Not long afterward, the roar of an Italian engine thundered across the area, accompanied by the distinctive vibration of a motorcycle.
As Kang Changho's magical presence faded into the distance, the atmosphere near the dungeon exit noticeably relaxed.
A long time later.
The fake S-rank, who had just received one warning after another from his contractor, stood alone in thought.
'Even after I caused this whole mess, he's still letting me go?'
What's going on?
Honestly, considering how angry Kang Changho had seemed just moments ago, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd activated his Human Skill Stone on the spot.
And yet this awakened man—with a criminal record for assault, no less—knew perfectly well that the target of the [Knight's Oath] had been involved in an accident with tentacles...
And he had still chosen to overlook the entire matter?
'Hoo, if that's the case...'
Kim Giryeo's attitude changed in an instant, as though all the humility he'd displayed earlier had been nothing but an illusion.
His eyes began to shift from side to side as he sank into thought.
But as his gaze moved, he unintentionally caught sight of something else.
'...As for this dungeon... once the results come in... depending on what they are, we should move ahead with closing it immediately.'
Click, click, click.
Reporters had arrived, and flashes of white light burst repeatedly as they focused their cameras on the hunters.
Inside one viewfinder, the image of a hero shifted for an instant.
Jung Haseong briefly glanced in the direction of his mentor before turning his attention back toward the cameras.
"That concludes my report."
Being S-rank didn't mean someone could shoot radiation-like beams from their eyes.
Normally, there was nothing particularly significant about making eye contact with another person.
But...
'Between drawing unnecessary attention, making people question whether I'm good or evil, and continuing this contract with Kang Changho, the disadvantages have grown too large.'
There was a reason people said that anyone who touched pitch would inevitably be stained by it.
Thinking it over calmly, Giryeo had already accumulated a reasonable degree of strength through the Hydra and the Sacred Tree Seeding.
Through his extracurricular activities, he had also gathered enough wealth.
At this point, all he was really doing was continuing to enjoy the protection afforded by his S-rank status.
Things were no longer what they had been in the past.
There were plenty of reasons he could list.
First and foremost, the Rakshasa Temple—the original cause behind these tangled relationships—had long since collapsed.
Furthermore, now that he had changed his body, abandoning his current identity had become much more difficult than before...
"Yeah. Judging from how that human behaves, I think it would be better to do that."
A moment later, Ahn Yoonseung, having finished giving his testimony to the guild, hurried toward him.
"Hey, Yoonseung~ Slow down. No matter how fast you get here, you're still the one paying the cancellation fee for the steakhouse reservation."
Kim Giryeo waved enthusiastically at the approaching Earthling.
At the same time, he thought silently to himself.
It seemed the time had finally come to resolve this unnecessary restriction on his lifespan as quickly as possible.