Incheon International Airport in Jung-gu. Was there some kind of event going on? A long line of people had been forming since early morning.
Click, click, click.
Before long, the air filled with the relentless clicking of countless camera shutters. Through the overwhelming noise, a blonde foreign woman appeared. Bathed in a shower of flashing lights, the picture-perfect subject looked as though she were walking the red carpet at an awards ceremony.
Ever since Earth had suddenly come under threat from monsters from another world, people had taken an intense interest in hunters—the only ones capable of standing against them. And when the hunter in question was someone regarded as one of the very best in the world, that interest often rose to the level of outright idolization.
"Wow, I've traveled to a lot of countries, but this is the first time I've ever been welcomed like this!"
Whoaaa!
The blonde woman in sunglasses smiled as she swept her gaze over the crowd before her. Yet her smile was strikingly different from the cynical air so often associated with other S-rank hunters. She was the woman who had earned the grand nickname of "Angel," renowned for both her warm demeanor and her extraordinary abilities.
"Hello!"
The blonde hunter called out brightly to the crowd gathered at the airport.
"Thank you for welcoming me! I love you!"
When she smiled, the spectators smiled back, regardless of age or gender. At that moment, a reporter from a media outlet that had secured an interview in advance approached and held out a microphone.
"Why has a hunter who represents an entire country suddenly come to Korea?"
The foreign Awakened adjusted the translator hanging from her ear and answered in a loud voice.
"Tourism!"
A radiant expression. A carefree tone.
"I really love Korean bibimbap and bulgogi!"
The savior of a nation and the only S-rank healer on Earth—who could have imagined that she would set foot in Korea for such a reason?
And so, Brooklyn Morgan wrapped up her whirlwind early-morning interview. The famous hunter's gentle demeanor was proudly featured on the front page of the Seonhan Daily.
"Ms. Morgan, this hotel has bibimbap on its room service menu. Would you like to order it for lunch?"
Tuk.
Upon arriving at her accommodation, Brooklyn casually tossed her suitcase aside. She had rented out the entire five-star hotel for security purposes, which meant that here, at last, she could take off the mask she wore in public.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. To be honest, I've barely tried any Korean food, so I don't know whether I'll like it. Don't they have something like bread instead?"
"Let me see. Beef cheeseburger, chili chicken fries, eggplant sandwich..."
"I'll have the sandwich."
Contrary to what she had told the reporters, Brooklyn had actually come to Korea on important business. The [Spectrum] guild to which she belonged had recently issued her a new set of orders.
"Well, now that all my friends have entered the country, let's get started."
Brooklyn looked around at the agents nearby, her smile now far more subdued.
"Please bring me Korea's fourth S-class."
And there was one more thing that had yet to be revealed.
[1.4.43 Changes]
• Improved ability to express emotions
He wasn't sure whether this should be considered good news or bad news.
Perhaps, while recovering a large amount of his body's memories, his senses had returned along with them. Whatever the reason, it seemed he had suddenly remembered how to make facial expressions.
Smile when you're happy.
Cry when you're sad.
Kim Giryeo was now capable of displaying involuntary emotional reactions in response to changes in his feelings. The natural expressions he had shown not long ago while eating with Jung Haseong had all been possible thanks to this.
"Uhm..."
The problem was that if he left this function unchecked, his inner emotions—including things like embarrassment—would be laid completely bare.
So, just in case, Giryeo had trained himself to keep his facial muscles fixed in a neutral expression.
Today, he was profoundly grateful for that decision. Had he not prepared in advance, the dumbfounded look on his face would have given everything away by now.
"Wait a second..."
After several seconds of silence, Giryeo lowered the hand he had pressed against the bridge of his nose and addressed the agent standing before him.
"I think I misheard you. Could you say that one more time?"
The Earthling in the suit answered without hesitation.
"We have come to make Hunter Kim Giryeo an exceptional offer. On behalf of the United States."
Why had the name of such a powerful nation suddenly intruded upon his peaceful daily life?
The man before him had introduced himself as an agent of the United States Gate Management Agency. And considering that he had tracked Giryeo down with such precision—not at home, but while he was wandering along an isolated street—it was immediately obvious that the man possessed an ability similar to Seonwoo Yeon's.
They had gone so far as to assign someone with tracking magic just to deliver this proposal.
Truthfully, since he had not been on Earth for very long, Giryeo had wanted to avoid dealing with foreigners as much as possible...
'I haven't even properly adapted to Korean culture yet.'
When Giryeo remained silent, the other man became even more courteous. There was no need to answer immediately, he explained. Giryeo could contact them whenever it was convenient. And if he agreed to hear them out, they promised compensation befitting the precious time of an S-rank Hunter.
In other words, all he had to do was sit through a conversation and a few crumbs would fall into his lap.
'Judging by the way he's talking, it doesn't seem like he's here for anything sinister. Maybe there's no harm in hearing him out?'
Giryeo had nothing in particular to do anyway.
In the end, he decided to at least listen to what the foreigner had to say.
It was the curiosity of a scholar.
"All right. I'll hear your offer."
"Thank you! In that case, shall we move somewhere else?"
"Yes?"
"It's a rather long story, so we've prepared a place where we can talk."
Of course, there was always the possibility that this foreigner was nothing more than a con artist pretending to be an American official.
So Giryeo decided to put at least one precaution in place.
"Let's go."
He pulled out his phone, sent a single text message to someone, and then climbed into their car.
...But when he saw who was waiting for him at the destination, it became clear that they probably weren't scammers after all.
"Welcome!"
A short while later, after arriving at a hotel in Seoul, Giryeo instinctively froze the moment he stepped into one of the rooms.
The overwhelming magical power that effortlessly saturated even the spacious suite was unmistakable.
It was the same power he had sensed from the mage he had encountered at the founding party.
"She's an S-rank Hunter from the United States, right?"
Brooklyn Morgan.
Giryeo was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the Awakened woman, but she greeted him with a brilliant smile, as though welcoming a long-lost friend.
"Sorry for the late introduction! I'm actually a Hunter from a guild called 'Spectrum'... Well, to put it simply, I'm Brooklyn, a hunter belonging to the government's foremost cooperative organization."
She offered him her hand in greeting, just as she had the last time they met.
"It's nice to see you again, Kim."
First of all, thanks for the warm welcome.
But why was an S-rank Hunter—a genuine big shot—waiting for him here?
"Just so you know, the only reason I came to Korea is because of you."
"Yes?"
"If a famous American hunter comes all the way here personally to scout you, I think that should give you at least some idea of how serious we are about you."
Ah.
So they had brought Brooklyn to the negotiating table as a show of sincerity, to demonstrate just how highly they intended to value him...
Wait.
What had she just said?
"Scout?"
Giryeo's eyes widened slightly as the translator relayed her words.
"Yes. Scout you. But what we're offering is something you won't hear from anyone else."
"...I..."
"Honestly, once you reach our level, money stops being much of an issue. I know you wouldn't be tempted by something as trivial as a high salary. After all, I'm an S-rank too."
Of course, what she didn't know was that some people were, in fact, quite easily tempted by money.
"There are quite a few S-rank hunters in the world. Even those born in smaller countries usually prefer to remain in the places where they were born and raised. Most of them see no particular reason to leave."
"But whenever we offer them 'this,' they tend to change their minds."
Only then did Giryeo notice the box sitting in the center of the room.
It was square, with blue light glowing from every face, reminiscent of the barrier created by the Marquis of Flowers.
"Like all evolved beings, we carry within us a desire to climb higher and become stronger."
Brooklyn picked up the glowing box and approached Giryeo. As she drew closer, the object inside gradually came into clear view.
It was a small transparent sphere.
Within it, a red substance pulsed rhythmically.
"This works out perfectly. Kim, since you have an analysis skill, you should be able to recognize it without needing an appraiser."
The substance inside bore an uncanny resemblance to the heart of a living creature.
Yes.
Among all the organs harvested from the dragon, this was the only item that had received an Epic-grade rating.
[Dragon's Heart]
For the first time, Giryeo found himself face-to-face with an actual dragon organ.
He stood motionless, seemingly stunned by the magical artifact that Earth had produced.
"Since someone in this country already possesses a dragon's heart, I'm sure you're aware of what it does, but—"
Brooklyn continued in a gentle voice.
"This is an item capable of fundamentally altering the rank an Awakener is born with."
Giryeo continued staring at the object inside the box.
"The [Dragon's Heart] dramatically increases your mana capacity, grants you new skills, and can make even the weakest person's skin as tough as diamond."
"...I..."
"If swallowing a single thing can transform your entire life, what could you possibly call that other than magic?"
Indeed, just as Brooklyn had said, the object inside the box seemed like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Most equipment that increased magical power did so only temporarily. The moment it was equipped, it merely amplified the strength of a skill, producing what amounted to an imitation of true enhancement.
But the [Dragon's Heart] was different.
It genuinely transformed the mana contained within an Awakener's body.
And just how powerful was that effect?
In the past, a Hunter named Choi Jin, once regarded as being at the very bottom of B-rank, had used this item and risen all the way to the upper reaches of A-rank.
Anyone who understood the enormous gulf separating A-rank from B-rank would immediately grasp just how astonishing such a feat was.
The [Dragon's Heart] was an absurdly powerful magical artifact.
It could not even be compared to sealed spellbooks or similar items.
This was a substance capable of elevating a human into something resembling a demi-dragon, allowing them to break through limitations that should have been innate and insurmountable.
Naturally, countless people would covet it.
"This heart is already tremendously useful to weaker hunters, but if someone like us were to consume it, the result would be even more dramatic. Among S-ranks of roughly equal ability, even the slightest advantage would be enough to put us ahead of the rest."
Brooklyn spoke while cradling the box containing the Dragon's Heart against herself.
"So, to be completely honest, I'd really love to swallow this myself... but there's nothing I can do about that. From the moment I obtained it, I decided I would give it to my future ally."
Unlike a lizard's lung, this magical artifact was not something that could simply be acquired by throwing a national budget at it.
If a treasure of this magnitude had suddenly appeared in Korea, there could only be one reason.
Before Brooklyn could even finish explaining, Giryeo already understood the offer she was about to make.
"Mr. Hunter, if you become a citizen of the United States, I will gladly give this item to you."
Brooklyn had endured the long flight to Korea under direct orders to recruit this blond man.
In fact, the United States had been considering scouting Kim Giryeo almost from the moment he first emerged as a hunter.
He had an unusual record of dealing with inevitable Malice and subduing Sirens. On top of that, he was a freelancer with no ties whatsoever to any Korean organization.
He was exactly the kind of hunter that would make any country salivate.
'Is this hunter really an S-rank like me?'
Brooklyn still had her doubts about him.
But circumstances had changed.
Whatever his actual rank might be, there was now the heroic tale of him overwhelming the boss monster of the Soul Strike.
That alone had been enough for Brooklyn to carefully select what she believed would be the one item the Korean hunter desired above all others.
"Well? All you have to do is change a few words on your passport. Then this item will be yours."
She confidently tempted him, holding the magical artifact out before him.
"A hunter like you would undoubtedly enjoy far greater advantages working in the United States..."
But before Brooklyn could even finish her sentence, the Asian hunter cut her off.
The interest that had been visible in his eyes vanished.
His expression went utterly still.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to decline."
Brooklyn stared at him in disbelief.
Giryeo had made his decision in barely three seconds.
She couldn't help it.
"Yes?"
Of course, she had expected him to refuse eventually if he realized there was some trick hidden in the offer...
But his rejection had come far faster than she had anticipated.
"Three seconds?"
Giryeo now looked at the heart she had offered him as though it were nothing more than a piece of scrap metal discarded by the roadside.