A parliamentary inquiry was held at the National Assembly building in Yeouido.
The reason was none other than to assess the damage caused by China’s closure of the Legendary-grade Ruins and devise countermeasures.
A large number of Cabinet Members and high-ranking officials involved with Hunters and Ruins attended, including the Commissioner of the Hunter Administration and the Minister of the Ministry of Disaster Administration.
The National Assembly Members began firing questions at them the moment the inquiry began.
Was there any possibility of reclaiming the Legendary-grade Ruins China had closed?
Was there any way to secure the Magic Stones that needed to be supplied starting tomorrow?
The inquiry finally concluded for the day after more than twelve hours of discussion.
Of course, only ‘today’s’ session had ended. It would continue for at least several more days.
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae walked out alongside Minister Lee Cheol-su and handed him a bottle of water.
“You worked hard today, Minister.”
“Mm.”
The Minister’s voice trembled slightly from exhaustion.
Lee Cheol-su had been constantly anxious ever since meeting Jeon Jae-woo.
“Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae.”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Can Hunter Jeon Jae-woo really clear Underground Labyrinth by himself?”
Lee Cheol-su was not a Hunter, so he did not fully understand their abilities.
That was why he genuinely doubted whether Jeon Jae-woo could truly clear a Ruin entirely by himself.
Could a single Hunter really claim a Ruin that the major powers had coveted so fiercely yet failed to clear all this time?
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae had wondered the same thing.
He knew Jeon Jae-woo was powerful, but the Exploration Requirement of Underground Labyrinth was unrelated to a Hunter’s combat strength.
There was a reason even Hunter superpowers capable of clearing Ancient-grade Ruins had still failed to clear Underground Labyrinth, despite it being only Legendary Grade.
Even so, Jeon Jae-woo’s accomplishments thus far had been so extraordinary that they had decided to let him try.
“Please do not worry too much, Minister. It is not as though there is a limit on how many times he can attempt a Ruin. And he said that if he fails, he will cooperate with us afterward.”
“Hmm…”
To be honest, there was something else that worried Lee Cheol-su even if Jeon Jae-woo succeeded alone.
At present, Jeon Jae-woo personally owned two Legendary-grade Ruins and one Ancient-grade Ruin.
Had a single individual ever completely owned that many high-grade Ruins before?
At this point, the entire country could end up being swayed by a single Hunter.
Just then, Yoo Jeong-tae’s phone rang.
He checked the screen, and his eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“What is it? Did something happen?”
“It is Hunter Jeon Jae-woo.”
Lee Cheol-su’s eyes widened as well, and he hurriedly spoke.
“Q-Quickly, answer it. Put it on speaker so I can hear too.”
Yoo Jeong-tae took a deep breath and answered the call.
“Ah. Hunter Jeon Jae-woo. Yes. Yes, I can talk. Please go ahead.”
A bright smile of astonishment gradually spread across Yoo Jeong-tae’s face.
“Ah… You successfully cleared Underground Labyrinth?”
News that Underground Labyrinth had been cleared.
‘He did it!’
Minister Lee Cheol-su, listening beside him, clenched both fists.
“Congratulations. Truly, you worked very hard. Yes. Yes. Ah, you are willing to trade with us? Thank you very much. Truly, thank you, Hunter.”
Yoo Jeong-tae repeatedly bowed his head as though Jeon Jae-woo were standing directly in front of him.
But there was still more to surprise them.
“What? You cleared the newly appeared Legendary-grade Ruin as well? If you mean Silver Mine… Is that not the Ruin China was currently clearing?”
“??”
The Commissioner and the Minister both looked bewildered.
What was he talking about now?
“Ah. You had more strength left than expected… so you decided to clear it while you were at it… Ah, I see. Yes. You truly worked hard. Thank you, Hunter. I will visit you soon. Yes, yes.”
After the call ended, Yoo Jeong-tae and Lee Cheol-su stared blankly at each other.
News that Jeon Jae-woo had cleared Underground Labyrinth spread quickly afterward.
[Breaking News: Hunter Jeon Jae-woo Successfully Clears Legendary-Grade Ruin Left Uncleared for Three Years!]
[What Kind of Place Is the Legendary-Grade Ruin Underground Labyrinth?]
[A Ruin Coveted by China and India. Why Had No One Managed to Clear It Until Now?]
The Chinese government was in absolute misery when it heard the news.
Underground Labyrinth, which they had coveted so intensely, had been snatched away right before their eyes.
On top of that, the Magic Stone mine they had been clearing with all their strength since the new Ruins appeared had also been taken.
At this point, there were effectively no additional Legendary-grade Ruins left for China to claim this month.
South Korea had taken both the Ancient-grade Ruin and the mining Ruin that appeared this month, while the other Legendary-grade Ruins had already been contested by the other major powers for some time. It would be difficult for China to enter those races now.
China, which normally flaunted its status as a Hunter superpower, was now in the humiliating position of worrying whether it would secure even a single Legendary-grade Ruin this month.
Yoo Jeong-tae visited Jeon Jae-woo and thanked him repeatedly.
The entire world was genuinely stunned by the news that Jeon Jae-woo had cleared Underground Labyrinth.
He had claimed a Legendary-grade Ruin that even the major Hunter powers had failed to clear, and he had done it with astonishing speed.
In truth, much of the credit belonged to Novum, the Artificial Spirit Jeon Jae-woo had recently obtained.
Not only was Novum exceptionally skilled at detecting the monsters hidden throughout Underground Labyrinth, but its restorative abilities had also proven extremely useful.
Novum had quickly stabilized Myeolgeop after it overheated during the battle against the World Tree and replenished the Mana it had almost completely exhausted.
Myeolgeop could use Self-Repair to compensate for physical damage or overload.
However, doing so inevitably consumed an enormous amount of Mana.
Novum had used its Traits to replenish the exhausted Myeolgeop with fresh Mana.
Thanks to that, they had been able to clear the newly appeared Legendary-grade Ruin immediately after Underground Labyrinth.
The new Legendary-grade Ruin was not complicated like Underground Labyrinth, so once Myeolgeop’s Mana had recovered, it cleared the place in five minutes as usual.
After finishing the Ruin clears and returning home, Jeon Jae-woo hugged Novum tightly and stroked it.
Novum happily enjoyed its master’s touch and nestled even deeper into Jeon Jae-woo’s arms.
‘Our Slime really is a little bundle of good fortune.’
It was remarkably capable and adorable on top of that.
***
Several days after news of the two Legendary-grade Ruin clears became public.
The South Korean Hunter Administration officially announced that it had signed a Ruin contract with Hunter Jeon Jae-woo.
All of the Magic Stones produced by the newly acquired Ruins would be traded exclusively with the South Korean government.
[Underground Labyrinth and Silver Mine. Magic Stones Pour Into South Korea.]
[Ministry of Disaster Administration: Sufficient Supply of Legendary-Grade Magic Stones Secured Without Compromise With China.]
[Who Exactly Is Hunter Jeon Jae-woo, Who Cleared Underground Labyrinth After an Ancient-Grade Ruin? Hunter Administration Still Refuses to Comment.]
After Jeon Jae-woo opened the Ruins for Magic Stone extraction, Hunter Administration personnel began entering Underground Labyrinth.
┗Underground Labyrinth is insane. I am on the Hunter Administration Mining Team, and I worked there today. I was shocked. The place is unbelievably huge.
┗What exactly is Jeon Jae-woo’s Trait? I heard Underground Labyrinth is absolutely impossible to clear alone.
┗China must be furious right now. They closed the Ruins on us, then lost both Underground Labyrinth and Silver Mine. Hahaha.
┗They just announced that they will never trade the Magic Stones from Underground Labyrinth with China. Hahahaha.
Once news spread that Underground Labyrinth had been cleared, foreign countries began eagerly courting South Korea as well.
They wanted to obtain even a small portion of the Magic Stones produced there.
Unexpectedly, Japan joined them.
Coveting the Magic Stones from Underground Labyrinth, Japan approached South Korea and offered to pay a premium if it would agree to trade even a small quantity.
In truth, only a short while earlier, Japan had been preparing to pressure South Korea in an uneasy alliance with China.
Although it had not been as furious as China, Japan had also been quite angry after losing the Legendary-grade Ruin it had intended to clear the previous month.
But the moment South Korea ignored China’s displeasure and cleared Underground Labyrinth instead, the atmosphere changed completely.
Japan and other foreign countries began actively courting South Korea.
Minister Lee Cheol-su’s mood had improved dramatically over the span of only a few days.
The country’s greatest headache, its resource problem, had been resolved, so naturally he was delighted.
Even the Minister of Foreign Affairs, another Cabinet Member, looked as though life had suddenly become much easier.
Once other countries learned that the resources from Underground Labyrinth could only be traded through the South Korean government, they all began approaching South Korea from a far more deferential position.
Lee Cheol-su even hummed to himself as he went to meet Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae.
“Commissioner. There are no problems with securing the Magic Stone supply, correct? The major corporations are all demanding that we supply them first.”
“Yes. Everything is proceeding without issue. Their factories should be able to resume operations within a few days.”
Thanks to obtaining the entire Magic Stone output of two Legendary-grade Ruins, it would be more accurate to say that South Korea’s entire industrial sector had returned to growth than merely that the country could breathe a sigh of relief.
Minister Lee Cheol-su, who had been smiling, suddenly adopted a more serious expression and leaned forward.
“But tell me, Commissioner. Is the Hunter Administration simply going to leave Hunter Jeon Jae-woo as he is?”
“……”
Through this incident, Lee Cheol-su and the rest of the South Korean government had come to understand something clearly.
Jeon Jae-woo was not merely a talent they absolutely could not afford to lose.
He might already be the most capable Hunter in the entire world.
In fact, the reason Lee Cheol-su had come to see Yoo Jeong-tae was because the President had instructed him to find some way to bring Jeon Jae-woo into the Hunter Administration.
“With a Hunter possessing that much power, should we not place him under state supervision even now?”
Yoo Jeong-tae listened silently for a moment before asking.
“How exactly do you propose we do that?”
This time, Lee Cheol-su fell silent.
Jeon Jae-woo was an extraordinarily powerful Hunter.
Naturally, it would be tremendous if he willingly joined the Hunter Administration.
But how exactly were they supposed to place someone with that degree of power under their supervision?
He had rejected every benefit offered to him and was simply acting according to his own wishes.
“I understand how you feel, Minister. But attempting to control Hunters more than necessary can easily provoke resentment instead. Even without being controlled, Hunter Jeon Jae-woo is already contributing enormously to the country, is he not?”
A sudden chill ran through Lee Cheol-su.
Their relationship was amicable for now.
But what if the government became too controlling and caused Jeon Jae-woo to develop hostility toward South Korea?
They would have to give up everything the country currently gained through its relationship with him.
It was not as though South Korea had never lost exceptional Hunters to foreign countries in the past because of excessive government pressure.
Unable to respond, Lee Cheol-su cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
“Ahem. Then should we not at least give him a reason to stay so that he does not leave the country? We could offer him the very best benefits available.”
“I agree.”
Jeon Jae-woo had rejected every proposal Yoo Jeong-tae had made so far, but if they wanted to keep him in South Korea, they had to give him something.
If he truly wanted nothing, then they would simply have to create something he would want.