It felt as though the conversation was gradually backing me into a corner.
But when I thought about it carefully, the man they were talking about was probably not me.
That American S-rank Hunter was apparently suspecting some brazen fraud who had concealed his true rank.
Was she talking about Kang Changho?
Since Awakened with physical enhancement abilities rarely displayed obvious magical characteristics, it wasn't particularly strange for Kang Changho to fall under suspicion.
I finished the rest of my green tea and turned off my phone.
I knew the whole world was in an uproar over some Awakener, but honestly, it wasn't something I needed to concern myself with.
Let them make as much noise as they wanted.
I'd just mind my own business--
And so, with a light heart, I began my day.
It was time to work on the dummy.
[ # # # No Informal Speech Allowed # # # ]
[Job Posting] Seeking D-Class Healer for Dungeon Raid on 10th (Monday) - High Pay]
[Trade] Please sell me some Screening Stakes [= = =]
[Question] Is the ring worn by the celebrity in this photo an item?
10 a.m.
A certain website on the internet.
Today was a weekday.
Most general online communities tended to quiet down around this hour, but this particular site remained fairly active because its primary users were Hunters.
[[Casual Talk] About That Hunter OR]
Then, in the middle of an otherwise peaceful morning, a new topic suddenly appeared on the board.
[Original Post: Come to think of it, what exactly is the Awakening attribute?]
The question had begun circulating after a segment from a minor news broadcaster referenced an American talk show, stirring curiosity across the internet.
Jung Haeseong and Esther, ranked first and second respectively, possessed such distinctive innate sorcery that there were now very few citizens who didn't know their classifications.
However...
Kang Changho and Kim Giryeo were somewhat different cases.
Some people had been able to identify them immediately only because they had been great wizards in their previous lives.
After all, sorcery that enhanced physical abilities was often mistaken for the natural physical specifications of a top predator.
Unless the battle was exceptionally intense, Kang Changho's classification wasn't something that could easily be recognized from the outside.
And then there was the matter of a certain blond Hunter.
At least Kang Changho was an experienced Hunter, so his past records offered enough information to make educated guesses about his classification.
But strangely enough, the more information that came out about Korea's fourth S-rank, the more confusing the situation became.
① Since he had been concealing his rank under the association's orders, wouldn't that mean he is a special-ability user skilled in espionage?
② How could someone like that even think of facing an unavoidable Malice one-on-one? His combat power must be high.
③ Then does that mean he has the same physical enhancement ability as Kang Changho?
④ No. Considering the Garlon Guild Leader's recruitment offer, it makes more sense to assume the fourth Hunter possesses an exceptional defensive ability.
⑤ Ahn Yoonseung's statement about him being his role model supports that theory too.
⑥ Guys, I heard Kim Giryeo used a support skill in the Japan Gate.
⑦ Huh?
⑧ What?
⑨ Then what the hell is he?
That was how the discussion had unfolded on social media so far.
But as anyone could see, no one had reached a definite conclusion.
[Original Post: Fellow Hunters... There's no need to look far. Just watch Hunter Kim Giryeo's interview about the Siren raid. In that interview, he briefly mentioned the characteristics of Hunter Esther's ability. Doesn't that mean he's also a curse-type Hunter...? @(---)]
The more people dug through his past actions, the more theories appeared.
And because the Hunter in question never revealed his Awakening type—a certain alien simply used magic regardless of attributes, meaning that any claim he made about his current classification would be a lie—the discussions online naturally became more and more tangled.
[ chat 1 ]
[What's that guy's Awakening type?]
[Defense type.]
[He's a killer, though. How is he a tank?]
[That Neo kid, Yoon Sang or whatever his name is, keeps following him around saying he's learned a lot from him, so he's probably defense-type. Plus, he spars with Jung Haeseong every week and doesn't even get scratched. Seriously, what else could he be? If you've ever worked with defense-types, you can tell right away that their physical capabilities are on another level. Their recovery speed is noticeably faster too.]
Much like the misunderstanding surrounding Jung Haeseong, the national hero, the most popular theory at present was that Kim Giryeo possessed an ability related to protecting teammates and increasing bodily durability.
In other words, a defensive ability.
But even that opinion wasn't absolute.
Such was the nature of the rapidly changing modern internet: whenever a theory became mainstream, netizens were quick to find reasons to argue against it.
[ chat 1 refresh ]
[No, no, no. There's no way he's defense-type. If that Hunter isn't offense-type, it just doesn't make sense. Defense-types take forever to kill a single boss. That's just how they are. Even when they're using the exact same weapon, their hunting speed is painfully slow.]
[That's true.]
[If that Hunter were defense-type, the innogi from last winter would still be alive right now, shining bright, bright, bright.]
Innate magic.
The inhabitants of this planet still didn't know exactly what determined a Hunter's talent.
But as a species that had dominated the food chain through superior intelligence, they were gradually beginning to sense the hidden rules behind it.
[I agree with the comment above.
Doesn't Hunter Kim Giryeo feel... a little too different from the defensive type? =
Most Awakened in that category tend to have gentle personalities, like the kind of people who naturally look after others.
I'm not even joking--it's actually kind of fascinating. =
But Hunter Kim Giryeo has a really cold demeanor.
He looks like the type who's strictly professional and level-headed.
Somehow, defensive skills just don't seem to suit him.]
[-- Agree]
[-- Whoa, that's actually kind of creepy. Yeah, one of our team members gives off exactly that kind of vibe.]
A handful of perceptive mammals were subconsciously picking up on something.
For some reason, Kim Giryeo simply didn't feel like a defensive-type Awakener.
Of course, as far as accuracy was concerned, this method was about as reliable as physiognomy on Earth.
[ = = = At this rate, you people are going to start saying Awakening abilities depend on blood type too--]
Most citizens dismissed theories linking Awakening types to personality as nothing more than pseudoscience.
In any case, as long as Kim Giryeo himself kept his mouth shut, outsiders could speculate all they wanted.
They would never arrive at a definite answer.
But now Beast, that mysterious top-tier Awakener, was causing incidents all over the world.
So perhaps, for the sake of easing the public's anxiety, shouldn't the people involved finally reveal the truth?
[Original Post: Everyone, I heard that yesterday in Greece, an Awakener called Beast was caught trying to take away a corpse... The world is seriously becoming a scarier place... Personally, I think it's about time we made registration of Hunters' abilities mandatory...]
In truth, however, even that issue was far from simple.
Items.
Earth had suffered through countless incidents ever since magical tools began appearing inside dungeons.
There had even been cases where Hunters, jealous of a colleague's valuable items, analyzed the Awakening abilities that person had publicly revealed, then equipped themselves with countermeasures and attempted robbery.
And because of the limitations of Earth's technology, governments had never had any way to expose every liar who concealed their true abilities.
So, in conclusion.
[ # # # Notice # # # ]
The administrator of one particular site finally cooled the overheated atmosphere by banning all speculative posts concerning S-rank Hunters.
Fortunately, the site's users didn't seem particularly upset by the decision.
[Yeah, it's better to just ban it. It's not like we're going to figure out the answer among ourselves anyway.]
Would anything really happen just because they didn't know someone's primary attribute?
Siren.
The Gampo Port Incident.
And many other events.
The blond Hunter in question had proven himself reliable enough up until now.
There was no way someone like that could suddenly turn out to be a ruthless monster like Beast.
[Exactly. How could that Hunter possibly be Beast? = = =. There are plenty of people who are 179 cm tall.]
[And there are plenty of people whose attributes haven't been disclosed either = = ]
[There are plenty of people as strong as S-ranks too... right?]
[...]
[...]
No way...
***
Bright blond hair in a country where even cars tended to favor the careful balance of black and white.
A cold, piercing gaze that gave people the uncomfortable sensation of meeting the eyes of a criminal in an old documentary mugshot.
And then there was the meticulously tailored suit.
His job didn't even involve dealing with people.
He was essentially a modern-day butcher whose work consisted of carving up monsters, yet he insisted on wearing a three-piece suit.
Kim Giryeo's manner of speaking was generally polite, influenced by the habits of the body's original owner.
Despite that positive trait, however, he rarely made a good first impression on the public.
A combination of various characteristics made him seem like someone who was difficult to approach.
Still, people who had actually spoken with him often forgot that first impression soon enough.
[Somehow, I knew there was something off... Tsk tsk, just look at his face. Totally expected.]
For example, whenever fabricated school-violence scandals appeared in the past, netizens were quick to drag a person's appearance into the discussion and make negative assumptions as soon as the first suspicion surfaced.
"Hello, Haeseong-ssi."
Even public institutions that dealt regularly with Hunters weren't entirely free from such prejudice.
"You're here for the new overseas dungeon data again today, right? I thought so, so I already sent it over to the staff information room. Haeseong-ssi, please sit here and have something to drink while you wait."
"Ah, yes."
One Monday, Jung Haeseong visited the association for the first time in a while to take care of some business.
A staff member—a C-grade Awakener who regularly handled Jung Haeseong's requests and was accustomed to remaining calm around high-ranking individuals—suddenly brought up a particular subject.
"Oh! By the way, you know..."
"Yes?"
"Did you happen to see the news too, Haeseong-ssi? About Beast."
"I think I saw something in the newspaper yesterday."
"Oh, I see! Anyway, the whole world is in an uproar over it these days, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"But I saw something on YouTube, and you know... apparently Beast might actually be someone we know--"
For reference, the rank 1 Hunter was currently holding the iced tea the employee had given him and sipping it quietly.
"No, seriously, it sounds really convincing! Beast always picks the dungeons everyone else avoids, like some kind of thrill seeker."
"Hmm."
"Do you remember when you had to solo the White Tower in Singapore, Haeseong-ssi? Apparently, Beast was clearing a dungeon called [Lost Paradise] and fighting its boss at the exact same time."
"_ _"
"But then, when an S-rank gate appeared in Japan? Guess what? Beast didn't show up at all. So what does that tell you?"
The culprit must have been among the members of the Kagoshima raid!
Since Beast had caused most of the trouble in European countries, the employee continued chatting in the detached, almost amused tone of an uninvolved spectator.
"So Beast is Japanese?"
Haeseong asked without thinking much about it.
The employee grimaced and immediately corrected him.
"No, that's not what I meant... Let's see. Japan's S-rank Hunters have already had their classifications made public, right?"
"Then Kang Changho?"
"No, no... That guy's Guild is completely different from the start. What are you talking about?"
The employee leaned in slightly.
"I'm talking about Kim Giryeo. Kim Giryeo. The internet is going crazy right now with theories that he might be Beast."
The association employee continued excitedly.
He had spent a long time handling accommodations for the rank 1 Hunter and, in the process, had witnessed and personally experienced quite a few unusual incidents.
Among them, one of the most vivid was the time someone had been reported for suspected rank forgery.
On another occasion, he had happened to be walking down the hallway during lunch when he glimpsed an interaction between an F-rank and an S-rank through a window.
"As soon as Hunter Kim Giryeo stepped out of the taxi, Jung Haeseong swung his sword at him."
The red trail carved through the air.
The blond Hunter dodged it with superhuman speed.
"And later on, didn't the two of them fight again in front of some hospital? Something about burning skin with fire?"
He selectively remembered only the unpleasant incidents between Haeseong and Giryeo and had convinced himself that Haeseong still disliked the blond Hunter.
So, hoping to flatter the nation's number-one ranker, he began gossiping about Giryeo behind his back without the slightest hesitation.
"By the way, Haeseong-ssi, you've been sparring with that Hunter on weekends lately, right? Regularly?"
"_ _"
"Wow, that must be exhausting. I mean, there aren't many S-ranks you can use as a punching bag besides someone like that, but still... No matter how useful sparring is for improving your skills, isn't that going a little far?"
"_ _"
"He already looks unsettling enough, and the rumors about him aren't great either. What if something happens to our national hero? Haha. If he ever tries anything, just tell me right away. I'll make sure we respond immediately and..."
Crack.
After finishing the iced tea the employee had given him, Haeseong quietly set the glass down on the desk.
Then he spoke.
"Excuse me."
"Y-yes!"
In truth, Haeseong had simply been too preoccupied with dungeons to bother responding.
But the staff member had mistakenly assumed that his silence meant he was enjoying the conversation.
So the next words struck him like a bolt from the blue.
"Excuse me, but what exactly are you trying to accomplish by badmouthing one Hunter in front of another...?"
Even more unusually, the hero's tone was noticeably harsh.
"Huh? Yes?"
"What exactly is wrong with Hunter Kim Giryeo's appearance?"
"Gasp! Th-that's not what I meant at all! I never intended to offend you--if it came across that way, I sincerely apologize..."
"Let me make one thing clear--Hunter Kim has absolutely nothing to do with someone like Beast. How can someone working for an official institution be at the forefront of spreading baseless rumors?"
The atmosphere froze instantly.
And then—
"Huh?"
"Huh."
If it had been any other S-rank, their presence would have been obvious long before they arrived.
But the approaching individual was an Awakener who gave off not even the slightest trace of detectable magic.
Jung Haeseong only noticed him when he was already close.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo?"
"Yeah, Haeseong-ah. Hello."
Kim Giryeo had arrived at the association.
What followed was a sight that left the association employee visibly drained.
South Korea's number-one Hunter willingly bowed his head in greeting to the blond man.
The two S-ranks, having met in the hallway, continued their conversation without paying the slightest attention to the employee's rapidly changing expression.
Why did you come to the association?
Ah, I came to do a dungeon raid.
You came all the way here just for that?
Technically, the app had crashed and he couldn't figure out how to fix it...
So he'd come here.
During the conversation, Jung Haeseong realized that Giryeo's problem had been caused by a software update.
"It's nothing serious. It looks like automatic updates were turned off..."
As expected from an app with a mediocre 3.2★ rating, the official Hunter app didn't even automatically redirect users to the store when an update was required.
So Haeseong took the phone, intending to update it manually, and began navigating through the settings.
Tuk.
But while tapping the screen, he accidentally opened the phone's background apps...
################
[Types of Funeral Methods for Awakened Corpses]
[Seoul cemetery]
[Seoul Awakened cemetery]
[Grave robbery cemetery]
################
Tuk.
Jung Haeseong immediately moved his fingers and did what he had originally intended to do.
He entered the store and updated the official Hunter app to the latest version.
"Are we done?"
Then, maintaining his usual composure, he handed the phone back to its owner.
"Oh, it opens smoothly now without crashing."
And now that the problem had been solved, there was no reason to keep hanging around.