Hunter Administration Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae sprawled across the sofa in his office.
For the first time in several days, he was so exhausted that his body actually ached.
He was even groaning from the strain.
Perhaps such fatigue would have been understandable back when he was still active in the field, but it had been a long time since he had felt this worn out after becoming Commissioner of the Hunter Administration.
Of course, the exhaustion was not physical.
It was entirely mental.
The Hunter who had cleared a Legendary-grade Ruin the moment the new Ruins appeared.
The South Korean Hunter Administration still had not found him.
Yoo Jeong-tae had given his staff an extremely tight deadline, but in truth, he wanted to tell them that he did not care about deadlines or anything else and that they should find the man right this instant.
The political establishment, ruling and opposition parties alike, had united in demanding answers from Yoo Jeong-tae.
When would they find the person who had cleared the Legendary-grade Ruin?
Were they even certain they could find him?
Naturally, Yoo Jeong-tae had been unable to give a clear answer to any of those questions.
All he could do was repeat that they were doing their utmost.
The Hunter Administration wielded the greatest power in South Korea, but that did not mean it could simply disregard the political establishment entirely.
After all, the laws of the Republic of Korea were still created and enforced through its constitutional institutions.
Critical reactions toward Yoo Jeong-tae and the Hunter Administration gradually began surfacing from every direction.
[Still No Sign of Hunter Who Cleared Legendary-Grade Ruin in One Hour?]
[Possibility Hunter Has Already Left South Korea. Ruling and Opposition Parties Express Concern Over Loss of Talent.]
[Hunter Administration Announces It Will Identify Hunter Within One Week.]
[Presidential Office: Legendary-Grade Ruin Clearer Is Essential to Peace and Prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.]
[No Further Clears Since Legendary-Grade Ruin? Mysterious Hunter Remains Quiet.]
┗Seriously, why has nothing happened even after three days? The suspense is killing me.
┗What if the United States or Japan already recruited him and took him away?
┗Do not jinx us with things like that. Are you going to take responsibility if he really is overseas?
┗Whatever happens, it has been ages since we got a Legendary-grade Ruin. South Korea has to keep this one. I have already lost hope in our Hunter Administration.
┗Then go find him yourselves. You people have been complaining nonstop since the day before yesterday.
┗Nice try, Yoo Jeong-tae.
┗It is a fact that our Hunter Administration is incompetent. Why are you getting angry about it?
Even the Minister of the Ministry of Disaster Administration, the Hunter Administration’s supervising ministry, and the President himself called Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae every day to ask whether they had found the man yet.
His duties as Commissioner were exhausting enough already. Having to search for the Legendary-grade Ruin clearer while enduring pressure from every direction made him feel as though he might die.
Even so, as Commissioner, the person who had cleared the Legendary-grade Ruin was someone he absolutely had to find.
If he could only be certain that they would find him, this amount of fatigue would mean nothing.
Still lying on the sofa, Yoo Jeong-tae quietly considered the situation.
‘Just how powerful is he?’
If he had to guess, the mysterious person who had cleared the Legendary-grade Ruin possessed at least an S-grade Trait.
There was also a very real possibility that it was a Transcendent-grade Trait.
No, in fact, that possibility seemed far more likely.
None of South Korea’s S-grade Hunters could clear a Legendary-grade Ruin alone.
Unless, perhaps, the man possessed multiple S-grade Traits.
Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain the power required to clear a Legendary-grade Ruin single-handedly.
Whatever the case, the fact that such an outstanding Hunter was Korean was tremendous news for South Korea.
At the same time, however, there were also reasons for concern.
No matter how extraordinary the Trait someone awakened, it was practically impossible for a Hunter to possess overwhelming combat power from the very beginning.
There was a significant possibility that the mysterious Hunter had actually been active for some time while remaining hidden because he was a criminal.
Of course, Yoo Jeong-tae did not particularly care about that.
Whatever it took, he would secure the man’s cooperation.
As long as the Hunter actively cooperated with the Hunter Administration and the country, a few trivial(?) crimes hardly mattered.
Even if the man turned out to be a vicious criminal, Yoo Jeong-tae would find some way to deal with it for the sake of South Korea’s future.
Anything was acceptable as long as he had not committed crimes on the level of attempting to overthrow the country.
Then again, if he truly possessed that much power, there was probably little the South Korean Hunter Administration could do even if he did try to overthrow the country.
Just then, Yoo Jeong-tae’s aide threw open the door and hurried inside.
He must have been in an extraordinary rush, because he had even forgotten to knock before entering the Commissioner’s office.
“What is it?”
The aide, an Unawakened Individual, barely managed to speak without even taking the time to catch his breath.
“Commissioner! I have an urgent report!”
At the words urgent report, Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes flew open.
“Do not tell me you found the person who cleared the Legendary-grade Ruin?!”
“N-No. We are not certain about that yet, but…”
Yoo Jeong-tae, who had shot to his feet, immediately collapsed back onto the sofa in exhaustion.
“Then hurry up and keep looking. Report anything else to the Deputy Commissioner.”
“Y-Yes. But I believe you should come and see this matter personally as well.”
“I will review it later, so go out there and find the clearer—”
But then came the problem.
“Someone undergoing new Hunter Registration has awakened a Transcendent-grade Trait, and he is in the Testing Room right now!!”
The instant he heard those words, Yoo Jeong-tae bolted out of his office.
***
In front of the South Korean Hunter Administration headquarters.
Jeon Jae-woo raised his head and stared up at the towering building.
‘Am I just timid?’
All he was doing was looking up at a building, yet its grandeur alone felt intimidating.
As expected of the headquarters of the most powerful institution in South Korea.
Of course, modern South Korea still had a President, senior officials representing the three branches of government, and all the constitutional institutions one would expect.
Even so, no one could deny that the Hunter Administration was the most powerful institution among them.
After all, the weapon known as supernatural power was not something the government could separately regulate or confiscate like firearms, which had been humanity’s most powerful weapons before the Great Cataclysm.
‘I never imagined I would end up coming here.’
As an aside, Myeolgeop was currently standing beside its Creator.
However, no one had noticed it.
Myeolgeop had explained that it was using an Invisibility Skill, which was why no one could see it.
Jeon Jae-woo tilted his head.
‘I did not see a Trait like that when I checked your Status Window.’
Traits – Annihilation (Transcendent). Detection (S). Self-Repair (S). Absolute Defense (Transcendent).
Those were the only four Traits it possessed, and there was nothing related to concealment no matter how closely he looked.
[It is an application of Absolute Defense, which is a Transcendent-grade Trait. Avoiding an opponent’s attack also constitutes an act of defense.]
‘??’
He still had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
In any case, having Myeolgeop beside him was reassuring.
Whatever happened, no one would be able to harm him as long as Myeolgeop was there.
“Haaa.”
Jeon Jae-woo took a deep breath and entered the building.
As expected, even the first-floor lobby of the Hunter Administration was packed with people.
After finally making his way through the crowd and reaching an employee of the Hunter Administration, he spoke.
“Hello. I recently awakened, so I came to complete my Hunter Registration.”
The female employee at the desk greeted Jeon Jae-woo with a smile.
“Welcome, Hunter. Congratulations on your Awakening. First, please fill out these documents and provide your identification…”
He proceeded through the Hunter Registration application process one step at a time.
A short while later, Jeon Jae-woo was guided to the Testing Room.
“Please wait here until your name is called.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Jeon Jae-woo took a numbered ticket and looked around as he waited.
All sorts of people were gathered outside the Testing Room.
There were newly Awakened applicants who had arrived earlier and were waiting to be tested, as well as employees from small and medium-sized Companies who practically camped out there in hopes of immediately offering contracts whenever a promising individual appeared.
Jeon Jae-woo looked around, but he barely registered any of it.
Simply sitting there made him feel as though his heart might burst.
Until only a few days ago, Jeon Jae-woo had been an ordinary unemployed man.
He had made an ordinary number of friends during his school years and lived as an entirely unremarkable young man without any major difficulties in his social life.
But in just a little while, the moment that would completely overturn everything ordinary about the life he had lived until now would arrive.
After all, he was about to become known as the person who had awakened a Transcendent-grade Trait and caused an uproar by clearing a Legendary-grade Ruin single-handedly.
“Mr. Jeon Jae-woo? This way, please…”
“Ah, yes.”
When his turn finally arrived, Jeon Jae-woo forced himself to stand as calmly as possible.
He walked into the Testing Room.
-RUMMMMMBLE.
There, he found himself facing a massive Mana Crystal Orb that gave off a strange sensation.
If he channeled Mana into it, the information in the Status Window that normally only the Awakened individual could see would be read and displayed on the connected machine.
Following the employee’s instructions, Jeon Jae-woo placed his hand on the crystal orb.
“When you are ready, please channel your Mana into the crystal orb.”
“Yes…”
After letting out a short breath, he began sending Mana into it.
The moment the information from Jeon Jae-woo’s Status Window appeared on the machine—
“……?????”
The eyes of the Hunter Administration employees watching the screen grew impossibly wide.
Jeon Jae-woo had never seen a person’s eyes open that wide in his life.
They looked like owl eyes.
“Uh, um… what is this? Is the machine malfunctioning, sir?”
“There is no way it is an error, you idiot… Could this be…?”
Jeon Jae-woo squeezed his eyes shut.
‘Hmm. So it finally came to this.’
Well, the moment he awakened a Transcendent-grade Trait, this outcome had probably been inevitable.
The Hunter Administration employees began whispering frantically among themselves.
“P-Please wait right here for just a moment!!!”
Then, after suddenly shouting those words, they left Jeon Jae-woo behind and sprinted off somewhere at full speed.
A short while later, Jeon Jae-woo saw the head of the Hunter Administration himself rushing toward him while even using Mana to increase his speed.
‘Wow. It is someone famous.’
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae was easily one of the most famous people in South Korea.
Without warning, he seized the hands of someone he had never met before and shook them with almost comical enthusiasm.
“Mr. Jeon Jae-woo, you are Hunter Jeon Jae-woo, correct?”
His registration was not finished yet, so technically he was not a Hunter, but Jeon Jae-woo simply nodded anyway.
“Y-Yes.”
“I sincerely welcome you to the Hunter Administration. First, why do we not go to my office and have a proper conversation?”
“??”
Why was he suddenly being taken somewhere?
Jeon Jae-woo asked with a bewildered expression.
“Um… I came here for Hunter Registration. Do I need to go somewhere else now?”
“Ah, if you would prefer not to use my office, I can escort you to a reception room.”
Apparently, declining the conversation altogether was not an option.
In the end, Jeon Jae-woo found himself seated across from Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae in the finest reception room the Hunter Administration had to offer.
One of the finest Hunters in the country was sitting right in front of him.
Even so, Jeon Jae-woo was not particularly nervous.
Myeolgeop, invisible to everyone else, had never left his side.
The Hunters affiliated with the Hunter Administration did not seem to have noticed Myeolgeop’s presence at all.
‘Even Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae cannot detect it?’
Once again, Jeon Jae-woo realized just how extraordinary the Transcendent-grade Trait Absolute Defense truly was.
Yoo Jeong-tae seemed so impatient that he brought up the main subject before the tea had even arrived.
“First, congratulations on awakening a Transcendent-grade Trait.”
“Thank you.”
Yoo Jeong-tae seemed extremely excited.
He was visibly restless, wearing the expression of someone desperate to ask a particular question.
It did not take long for him to reach the true subject.
“There is actually one thing I absolutely wanted to ask you, Hunter.”
“Yes.”
“Was it perhaps you who cleared the Altar of the Apostle of Death, one of the Legendary-grade Ruins that appeared this month?”