Chapter 265
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
Both before and after the emergence of the gate, the United States had been considered the most powerful nation, given the number of skilled hunters they had, and also the artifacts in their possession. However, Choi Yeonseung saw in the vision riots and chaos all over the United States, like there was some kind of war...
“...This is a bit more serious than I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Choi Yeonseung explained what he had seen in the vision.
If this had been another hunter, Hwang Gyeongryong would’ve said, ‘What are you talking about?’ However, Choi Yeonseung’s words carried significantly more weight. Moreover, wasn’t he a constellation, a being that could see things in the Abyss that mortals couldn’t?
Hwang Gyeongryong frowned upon hearing the foreboding explanation.
“For a monster to inflict this amount of damage... I think it’s an army-type.”
“Right?”
Not all monsters were the same. Each of them had unique characteristics and a specific way in which they behaved. Because of this, even if multiple monsters were all A-grade, the danger level varied.
There were bound to be different risks between A-grade monsters that only stayed in their territory and attacked intruders and A-grade monsters that wandered around and destroyed whatever they came across.
How fierce and violent was it? How cunning was it? What skills did it have? And...
Did it roam alone or lead a group?
Ordinary hunters tended to pay attention to other factors, but whether the monsters moved alone or in a group was surprisingly important. It was absolutely disastrous if high-ranking monsters moved in groups. Those were the ones that usually caused the most amount of destruction!
“The torch dragon might be an S-grade monster, but it doesn’t want blood, nor does it lead groups, which makes it much easier to deal with it. Monsters that lead groups around are a real nuisance.”
If a relatively less fierce monster like the torch dragon appeared, the government would declare a state of emergency and the people would be evacuated. However, if it was a fierce and violent monster with a lot of numbers...
If that kind of monster appeared, the chaotic scene that Choi Yeonseung saw in his vision made sense.
Nowadays, it was often said in the news that hunters were struggling to make a living because there were more hunters than dungeons, but that wasn’t the case. Hwang Gyeongryong knew this very well.
‘To be honest, the top hunters are still inadequate.’
Most of the dungeons that appeared were low-grade dungeons, but if more high-grade dungeons started to appear, humanity would quickly fall into chaos just like it had during the early days of the gate.
Choi Yeonseung asked, “So what’s the strategy?”
“We are going to mobilize as many hunters as possible to create a siege. That way, we could wipe out whatever monsters come out.”
That was the usual way of dealing with a dungeon that seemed difficult to clear. The way to do it was to organize a siege around the dungeon and wipe out the monsters with firepower as soon as they came out.
It was such an orthodox strategy that there wasn’t much to be said about it…
“But given that I saw that bleak future, doesn’t it mean that this strategy will fail?”
“That’s right. In addition to myself, there are probably several A-grade hunters that can be mobilized, but… Won’t we still miss some monsters?”
Even if they built a siege, there were times when the monsters escaped by using abilities that the hunters didn’t expect.
“How many A-grade hunters do you have?”
“Hmm… Maybe three?”
“...Aren’t there around fifteen active A-grade hunters in the US right now?” Chou Yeonseung was confused.
“Hey. If there’s one S-grade hunter and three A-grade ones, the government has done enough...”
In reality, the only reason they were able to have Hwang Gyeongryong participate in this was because of his close relationship with the president. Most hunters who had many assets, like Hwang Gyeongryong, and had become the chairman of a company no longer wanted to engage in actual combat. Currently, among the active A-grade hunters in the United States, there were several who hadn’t fought for over a year.
‘I have a headache every time I hear it.’
It was true that hunters were playing sports and not growing, but A-grade hunters weren’t even trying to do raids...
Hwang Gyeongryong told him, “First of all, I’ll do my best based on the information I have received.”
“Umm...”
“What’s with that expression of disbelief?”
“No, it’s not that I doubt your abilities. It’s just that I don’t trust A-grade hunters.”
***
Even before Choi Yeonseung could confirm Hwang Gyeongryong’s assurances, things started to move in a different direction.
-A dungeon has been discovered in Rutherford, the United States. Based on the result of the magic power measurement, it has surpassed existing A-grade dungeons...
-It is an S-grade dungeon. Can it be solved with the current power?
-The S-grade nightmare that hit China is also occurring in the United States...
-The US president has announced in a press conference that ‘there is nothing to be afraid of. The government is fully prepared...’
“Why was this announced?” Choi Yeonseung asked Aine with a puzzled expression.
Aine responded with the same level of disbelief, “Who would announce this? It must’ve been leaked.”
The US government avoided making public statements about dungeons that were above A-grade. There would be a multitude of problems just by announcing that a dungeon of this magnitude had appeared.
It was best to have hunter clans clear it as quietly as possible before informing the public about it...
“Who?”
“The current opposition party... It must be someone from the Liberal Federalist Party. There’s an election soon, and they’ll have an advantage if there’s confusion.”
The current president of the United States, who was so close with Hwang Gyeongryong that the two of them went to the sauna together, was from the Democratic-Republican party.
The opposition was the Liberal Federalist Party.
Choi Yeonseung had never had much interest in the United States, so it was too much for him to follow the history of American politics, which had changed greatly since the emergence of the gate.
“Can you just tell me if there’s anything I should care about?” demanded Choi Yeonseung.
“There’s nothing. Neither party is stupid enough to do anything to A-grade hunters. Actually, Fath... No, the chairman is giving a lot of money to both of them. If we are to look at it from a hunter’s perspective... The Democratic-Republicans tax hunters a bit more?”
“Then isn’t it better to support the Liberal Federalist Party?”
“But the Liberal Federalist Party is trying to pass a bill to forcefully summon hunters whenever they want.”
“Would the hunters accept that?”
“Of course not. That's why they’re trying to target the lower-rated hunters and not those with high ranks. This is a secret.”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded.
Aine said with a smile, “So there is nothing you need to worry about. Neither of them can touch you. It’s best for us to do our jobs.”
Some companies had to pay attention to every political change within the country, but hunters were more special. They could go to a congressman’s mansion and display their strength if they felt like it. Thus, they couldn’t care less about politics.
“I want to do this, but there are some issues. Leaking the information like this will just add to the confusion.”
Choi Yeonseung had participated in a few raids in the United States, and he could feel how dumb people had become over the course of thirty years.
In the past, people ran for their lives when monsters appeared, but these days, they ran towards the monster in order to record it with their phones.
Every time the hunters tried to evacuate the citizens, they would protest, saying things like ‘No! You are violating the spirit of liberty enshrined in the constitution!’ Choi Yeonseuing felt dizzy, as if he had been mentally attacked, whenever he had heard such nonsense.
He thought it was just the Americans, but when he went to France, he discovered that the stupidity was prevalent, like a disease.
“That’s definitely a problem. This will make it difficult to gather the A-grade hunters, and since they also have terrible personalities...”
Once confusion grew and rumors spread, the A-grade hunters who were originally planning to participate would step back. The situation wasn’t good from the perspective of those making the preparations.
“Should I help Gyeongryong hyung persuade other A-grade hunters?”
However, it wasn’t the time for Choi Yeonseung to help persuade other A-grade hunters.
He wasn’t aware of it, but a fire was burning underneath his feet.
***
“The US government shouldn’t allow Hunter Choi Yeonseung to participate in the Rutherford dungeon raid!”
“It’s ridiculous to use A-grade hunters from other countries while keeping your own A-grade hunters safe. At the very minimum, you should mobilize at least ten of your own A-grade hunters before saying that...”
At first, Choi Yeonseung thought that this negative public opinion came from South Korea. He would’ve understood it if that had been the case. From the perspective of the Korean people, the overall power of their country would plummet if a Korean hunter died while attacking an S-grade dungeon in the United States. In addition, the number of active A-grade hunters that the United States had was in the double digits, while South Korea only had three.
However, that public opinion hadn’t come from South Korea. Rather…
China, France, the United Kingdom, and so on… People from all over these countries were furious. France and China even displayed their bravery by openly targeting the US government with official statements or articles from the ruling party.
Upon hearing the news, Choi Yeonseung immediately thought that those governments were crazy. What the hell was going on?!
Choi Yeonseing asked, “What is this?”
“That... You kind of...”
Aine wondered how to express it so that Choi Yeonseung wouldn’t get hurt. It would’ve been too much to say, “You’re sort of being a pushover”...
She replied, “You’re a responsible hunter, right?”
“Why do I think there is a hidden meaning in your words?”
“No. It’s just really rare for an A-grade hunter to travel around and fight like you.”
Aine was being honest. Usually, A-grade hunters lived comfortably under government protection. They rarely risked their lives fighting on the front lines like Choi Yeonseung. He had gone around France, China and the United Kingdom, and had done unconventional raids.
Seeing this type of hunter, the governments of other countries couldn’t help thinking.
-Won’t this hunter come to help if we make a request?’
Money or compensation wasn’t the issue. A-grade hunters didn’t just simply travel to other countries, no matter how big of a reward was offered. In that sense, every country was interested in a hunter like Choi Yeonseung.
“...Do I look like a pushover?”
“N-No. You don’t look like a pushover. Honestly, hunters like you are rare these days. There are very few people who are as responsible and as righteous as you.”
“...”
Aine had tried her best to make it sound nice, but Choi Yeonseung couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. It wasn’t like he didn’t get anything out of this. By stepping forward whenever there was trouble, he had been able to gain a lot of power of existence, whereas other hunters just stagnated.
He wouldn’t even have made it to A-grade if he had hesitated like other hunters, let alone make his name known and build his reputation. But seeing how people reacted, it was a bit…
-Successor, you have to step up anyway, right?
-..That’s true.
What was even more disturbing was that putting aside this response, Choi Yeonseung intended to unconditionally participate in the S-grade dungeon raid anyway.
Hwang Gyeongryong was stepping up, so how could Choi Yeonseung not help him? Obviously, governments from other countries would certainly regard him as a pushover, but he would still do the same thing.
“Is Hunter Choi Yeonseung here?”
Just then, Wes Morales, an American hunter, came to visit. He had joined forces with Choi Yeonseung before to take the Parker Energy dungeon by force.
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled by the sudden appearance of the guest.
“What’s going on? Ah. I get it.”
“?”
“You’re going to steal another treasure from Parker Energy. It’s a good idea.”
“...No!”
Morales was frightened by his assumption and vehemently denied it. He thought that Choi Yeonseung was mistaking him for a thief.
“Ah, you won’t?”
“H-Hunter Choi Yeonseung. I hope you don’t think of me as a thief.”
He had in fact robbed Parker Energy, but that was only because he hadn’t received what he had been promised.
Morales had never stolen anything from an innocent opponent.
“No... I don’t think of you as a thief. Still, it’s a shame.” Choi Yeonseung clicked his tongue. He had received quite a lot of profit from Parker Energy. Honestly, rather than working hard to release new artifacts or develop new technologies, it was much more profitable to go to someone else’s company and steal their cores and dungeons...
-Indeed. Successor, you finally understand how the Abyss works.
The goddess of sloth nodded.
Human beings tended to have overly complicated systems and structures. Sometimes it was best to keep things simple.
-I was joking.
-No, why? It sounds really good!
“So what brings you here?” Choi Yeonseung asked.
“I am indebted to you, so I came to help you with this S-grade dungeon attack.”
“...I haven’t even announced my participation yet?”
“Ah. But aren’t you going to do it?”
“...Well, yeah, but...”
Choi Yeonseung felt upset for some reason.
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