All the challengers in the eting room looked at like a crazy bastard.
"…I must've heard it wrong, right? Sungyeun-ssi?"
Lee Hayeon even lifted her toes from the chair to co up and whispered in my ear.
She asked to say that what she just heard was sothing she misheard, but…
Unlike her, who doesn't want to fight Namgung Hyuk, my head was full of thoughts about wanting to fight the challenger from another world.
Namgung Hyuk in the video was stronger than I thought, but that didn't an I was going to completely be defeated.
My limbs might be torn off a few tis, but it wasn't a level where I'd die, considering it’s a situation where the other challengers would be present.
Therefore—
"It's not a slip of the tongue nor a thoughtless word."
Without further denial, I firmly conveyed my intentions, even by putting mana into my voice.
Only then, Lee Seungjin, staring at blankly, frowned as if he had co back to his senses and opened his mouth.
"I… rember you, Han Sungyeun-ssi."
He soon stared straight at and said he knew .
"And the fact that you're always in the top 3 of the Evaluation Rankings."
I didn't recall telling him about the Evaluation rankings, so it must be information Lee Seungjin found out.
I didn't really care as to why he knew the rankings.
I was prepared for my ranking and na to be revealed since the ti I had repeated battles with my real na in the arena anyway.
"So what?"
"I just don't get it. Why would soone as talented as you would say that you want to help Japan?"
"Because that's the path where I can grow."
"…What?"
"You ntioned Kim Seunghoon and Oh Choonsuk went to the Japanese Hunter association, right?"
"…That's right. They said they'd go even if they didn't have to."
"My reason is in a similar vein."
Hearing what I said, Lee Seungjin narrowed his eyes and bit his lips.
"I see. You're thinking about the reward that the Japanese Hunter Association will provide you."
"Even if there's a cause, people won't gather if there's no reward after all."
"Are you planning to go there just to get a Skill Proficiency potion?"
"A Skill Proficiency potion, huh? So that's the reward offered by the Japanese Hunter association."
"You were saying you'd go even if you didn't know about it? Even if it's a Skill Proficiency potion, it's a potion that only increases proficiency by 10%."
Lee Seungjin stared at as though he was asking if it was really worth risking my life for, but—
That didn't an I could tell him I changed my mind and not go.
This was because, apart from my justification, Namgung Hyuk was a challenger from another world that appeared because of .
Moreover, A-rank hunters died because of that, which had a huge impact on the city too.
And just because the risk is high, I should save myself and run away from it because the reward doesn't seem like much?
I couldn't tolerate that.
And at the sa ti—
"If you let go of it just because the reward isn't much, you'll end up being eliminated one day."
The Skill Proficiency potion wasn't an item that could be underestimated.
To think that you can arbitrarily increase the proficiency of one of your skills by 10%?
Although its performance was slightly lower than the Skill Proficiency potion obtained as a common reward for the 10th-floor trial…
It wasn't a reward that could easily be ignored, so my desire to fall back further disappeared.
"Now I understand why you beca a ranker, Han Sungyeun-ssi."
Lee Seungjin looked at , opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, and then he said as though he was dumbfounded.
"You are… not normal."
At those words, I giggled and replied casually.
"I've known that for a long ti."
Because I already knew that I wasn't normal.
***
I went straight to Incheon Airport and imdiately departed for Japan through the ticket that Lee Seungjin had booked.
It seed like Lee Seungjin didn't want to let go, but…
In fact, there was no way for him to forcibly ignore a request for support from the Japanese Hunter Association when I was willing to go.
I could easily guess why he didn't want to let go.
'It should be uneasy to see three Korean ranker-level challengers responding to the summons of Japan.'
The challenger from another world that appeared in Shinjuku ward, Tokyo is currently a monster among monsters.
From the point where the video of Feng Zǐ Wén, who was said to be China's S-rank hunter, helplessly getting killed was released.
It'd be complicated for them to send a challenger who may not have been trained properly yet.
'The Korean Hunter Association must be afraid of the worst-case scenario.'
The worst-case scenario.
That would probably be a situation in which Kim Seunghoon, Oh Choonsuk, and myself all get annihilated all at once.
Among the challengers belonging to the Tower of Trials, we were listed in the highest ranking in Korea.
The damage that Korea would receive would be enormous if we die, so they would've rather wished for not to go.
However, how could I not respond when Kim Seunghoon and Oh Choonsuk responded to it?
Surprisingly, Lee Hayeon didn't deny my decision, unlike Lee Seungjin did til the end.
She let go, saying there was no use stopping if it was my decision, and I believed it was the right thing to do.
***
***
Of course…
[Lee Hayeon: Please give a call when you arrive at the Japanese Hunter Association.]
[Lee Hayeon: If it seems dangerous, you must run away imdiately.]
[Lee Hayeon: And if you have an item you need, request them from the Japanese Hunter Association no matter what.]
[Lee Hayeon: Also, request for a recovery potion as a basic support item. Got it?]
[Lee Hayeon: And…]
On the contrary to letting go easily, she nagged constantly through ssenger.
There was a hint of anxiety in her words.
While reading her ssages, I smirked and turned off the screen of my smartphone.
"…She does really seem worried about ."
Even my mother, who died a long ti ago, wasn't this extre.
However, I honestly couldn't really understand Lee Hayeon's behavior.
In fact, I only belonged to the White Silver guild by contract, and I wasn’t a proper guild mber.
The White Silver guild was just a supplier for the dungeon or a middleman for .
And it was clear from the contract alone that we weren't building any further relationship.
However, Lee Hayeon was always kind, asking if there was anything she could do to help .
Even when the White Silver guild placed a condition on to clear the dungeon, she always prioritized .
Should I say it felt like she was actually showing care for , not just a contractual relationship?
"…"
That was the problem. She cares about , not by a give-and-take structure.
It complicated my mind so much that I wondered if I should change how I treated her.
Even more so because there was nothing I could do for her right now.
However—
That complicated feeling soon faded as the plane I rode landed in Japan.
I slowly stood up from my seat as I listened to the announcent from the plane that followed.
Now, the ti had co to put an end to other thoughts and really head to the Japanese Hunter Association.
***
Just as I was about to leave the airport, a Japanese woman approached at the airport entrance.
"Are you perhaps the challenger, Han Sungyeun?"
Looking at her speak fluent Korean, I soon opened my mouth.
"Are you from the Japanese Hunter Association?"
"You're right. I'm here to pick you up, Challenger Han Sungyeun."
"…"
"My na is Arie Chika. Nice to et you."
Surprisingly, they were pretty low-key for those who claid the Korean hunter Association was responsible.
I thought they would've been raging at the fact that a Korean challenger was ntioned from the mouth of a challenger from another world.
But Arie Chika, who was currently looking at , was polite rather than rude.
I definitely liked that.
"Nice to et you too. Arie-ssi."
I asked her to guide to the Japanese Hunter Association imdiately, and she quickly picked up my luggage and escorted to her car.
There wasn't much to talk about, so I closed my eyes and waited until we arrived at the Japanese Hunter Association.
"Challenger Han Sungyeun, we have arrived."
As I heard Arie Chika saying so, I got out of the car and looked around the building.
People were unusually crowded in this area, unlike on our way here and at the airport.
Judging from the fact that I could sense most of them having mana, it seed that hunters or challengers were moving in and out.
'Looks like only the hunters and challengers are busy because of the Shinjuku ward incident?'
The civilians didn't even appear on the streets due to the incident in the Shinjuku ward.
I was sowhat also disturbed by the sight, as though an apocalypse was actually upon us, but…
"Challenger Han Sungyeun, please follow . Others are waiting inside."
Following Arie Chika's guidance, I soon turned my head and entered the building.
And—
I knew imdiately who the people waiting inside were that Chika Arie was talking about.
There were two familiar faces that I'd seen before inside the eting room, which was the destination she had led to.
"It's the first ti we've seen each other since the trial of the 10th floor."
I greeted them right away as I sat down in front of the two of them.
"Kim Seunghoon-ssi, and Oh Choonsuk-ssi."
They both looked at and soon greeted .
"Yeah. I never thought I'd see you here."
Oh Choonsuk spoke to as if whispering with a stiffened face, and…
"You arrived later than I expected."
Kim Seunghoon said so while still wearing a black mask that didn't reveal his face.
He acted as though he knew I was coming here, but it wasn't surprising.
Because I also knew that Kim Seunghoon would definitely co here.
However—
"Is this all the people who gathered at the request for support from the Japanese Hunter Association?"
I couldn't hide my disappointnt as soon as I looked around the eting room.
Because no one was sitting in this eting room right now other than the three of us.
"…They said that an additional challenger will arrive from the United States soon."
Kim Seunghoon stayed silent for a mont and answered, but it wasn't really great news.
I was ridiculed for the situation where the four challengers were the only forces.
Of course, it was safe to say that we three had the skills of an S-rank hunter, but—
The challenger from another world who was currently in Shinjuku ward was an opponent that it'd be uncertain if we'd be able to hunt down, even with the three of us.
'Moreover, I don't even know how strong the challenger who's arriving additionally from the US is, so…'
I thought that it'd be better without them if the challenger who would arrive soon was weaker than I expected.
But while I was lost in thought, I turned my head to the sound of the eting room door opening.
I could see a red-haired woman walking in through the eting room door.
And—
"…Huh?"
As soon as she entered the eting room, she looked at and muttered as if she were dumbfounded.
"…Why are you here?"
At the sa ti, I couldn't help but look at her and say this while making a hollow smile.
Who would've thought she was the Arican challenger who'd be arriving last?
"…That's my line, you see."
Katheryn Benett.
She's a strong person who wields the powers related to the fire that I once fought in the arena.
And a challenger who left a loaded statent that she would visit in the future, just before she was defeated in the battle.
She was the Arican challenger who had arrived at last.
——
——
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