26

Chapter 1

I thought I sensed something wrong, but I couldnt say for sure. I could safely say that I had experienced a lot of things that no one could ever imagine. I know everything about the structure of the human body, how aura resonates when it enters the body, and the exact mechanisms of aura.

I was pretty sure that no one knew these things better than me.

While I was in Valhalla, I drank a lot of poisons, usually given to me by someone else. That was why I was able to easily analyze it when it entered my body.

It was easy to see the characteristics of the weapon. The black smoke was a poison. As it covered my body, the smoke was absorbed by my skin and naturally headed to my veins. Some wisps of poison also moved to my neck, heart, and stomach.

These were the organs directly connected to parts where people collect aura. To be more specific, they were connected to some sort of gateway for the aura to enter the body.

In Valhalla, there were two types of blessed creatures that were considered gifted, humans and dragons. They were the only beings that had such gateways. That was why dragons were considered as one of the strongest creatures, because while humans had eight gateways, dragons had at least a few hundred.

There were also a lot of other creatures in Valhalla like orcs, elves, ogres, and dwarves. According to records from the master wizard, these creatures also had various types of gateways for their aura. I had learned of these things from Yeo-Hwa, who was the heir of the master wizard. While I was with her, I also learned that humans were the only beings who had eight gateways.

That still applied even on Earth; there was no exception here.

The black smoke from the weapon directly attacked my gateway. If it had been used on an ordinary person, that person would instantly be killed. S-rated Hunters like Gi-Hoon would probably be able to endure it, but B-rated Hunters and weaker would easily be killed by the weapon. A-rated Hunters would last for a while, but they wont be able to overcome it by themselves.

The poison within the weapon was not enough to kill a huge monster. It was a small enough amount to kill humans, meaning that it was designed to kill Hunters.

And that had come out of the Hunters authority?

Did they manufacture this to deal with criminal Hunters? Or am I the only one who thought that there was something more to this? I had to check.

Mr. Jung.

Oh Yes, sir.

I threw one of the spheres to Gi-Hoon and asked him, Have you seen something like this before?

He observed it carefully then shook his head. I have never seen or heard of something like this before.

That was enough for me. I turned to the woman. Hey, you. Do you know something about this?

She promised that she would tell me everything if I let her go.

However, I looked at her face and saw that she was lying, so I smiled and raised my hand, exerting force on her. With a loud crack, I broke her neck.

I threw her on the ground as if she was nothing more than a piece of garbage. I was starting to think that I had discovered something that even Lee Ho did not know.

Gi-Hoon approached me and wrapped a cloak around my body, covering my scars from view. That was quite sweet, you know.

He awkwardly smiled before commenting.

I suppose thats why you were only wearing long-sleeved shirts. I was wondering why you only wore those in such hot temperatures.

The weather here was cold during the morning and evening but extremely hot during the afternoon. But he was right, I only wore long-sleeved shirts all the time.

I dont really have to hide them, but its better to.

But still you are a respectable person, sir.

Gi-Hoon really meant it. He paused for a while and then asked.

There is one big scar across your body that I suppose is a recent one. Are you okay?

Oh, this one?

Yes, that one.

I pointed at the huge scar that ran across my left shoulder to just below my stomach. It also passed through my heart. This scar was from the old man who was also known as the emperor of the west. To be honest, it still hurt, up until now.

I fully covered my body with the cloak. Its fine for now. I got into a lot of fights. And take that weapon to my brother.

I had spared one sample just for that. So is that it?

Thats it. What else do you need?

Gi-Hoon looked around. There were a lot of people who were taking photos and gossiping about what happened. A lot of them wanted me to be taken away, but that did not matter. I suppose Im going to be on the news. That would be expected.

I havent told you this yet, sir, but on the day you returned, you were taken off from the missing person list.

Oh? It had been much quieter than I expected.

Of course. Chen-Myeong had used its power to stop the spread of news.

No wonder why, my dear Lee Ho was quite a famous person now. He was the master of the Cheon-Myeong Guild, the biggest and most successful guild in Korea. In addition, he was known as the hero of this country.

To learn that his brother has returned, and under those circumstances, would surely be big news to people. Even if it were just a rumor, it would quickly spread out around the world. However, that did not happen. It meant that someone had worked hard to conceal the information.

I guess you made a lot of effort. Was it some sort of news ban?

It was. In fact, we worked very hard to keep the secret.

You really are a talented man, Gi-Hoon. I paid him a compliment, but he shook his head as if it was nothing.

I could only control the comments, but I could not stop the leakage of photos. Ironically, that incident led to a rise in the price of Cheon-Myeongs stock. I honestly dont get the mechanism of the stock market.

I had no idea what he was talking about, so l just listened to him.

You are amazing.

As I continued to compliment him, he smirked.

Youre teasing me now, arent you?

Just a little

Anyway, Ill head back to the hospital. If you have any problems, just call me. Ho bought me a phone, you know.

I would, but that sounds scary. Ill settle things by myself.

I smiled and nodded at him. See you then.

I walked away and helped Yoo Ee-Na to her feet. Its over now. You dont have to do that.

Oh

What do you mean Oh. Youll get bruises on your knees if you stay on the ground.

Even though it was not the right time nor place, Yoo Ee-Na couldnt help but laugh for a bit. Then she looked at him and asked, Well, how should I deal with my team leader? You defeated him in a single blow.

Her team leader was Yoon Jeong-Soo. I broke his arm, but I didnt really have any hard feelings towards him. I approached him and restored his body enough so that his injuries could be cured completely. After all, he was just following orders from above; it was not his fault.

As I looked over at Gi-Hoon, he nodded at me. My dear Gi-Hoon will take care of him. If youre worried about him, you can follow them.

With that, I waved my hand and left the place.

And that was how my day ended. The rest was for my dear brother Lee Ho to deal with.

***

The World Hunter Treaty Organization, WHTO in short, was an international organization usually known as the authority for the Hunters.

One hundred and eighty-four countries were part of the organization and there was a total of eighteen departments. There were departments located in Korea, America, China, Russia, England, Russia, Spain, and Japan.

The department in Africa, for example, had the acronym WHTO-AFRO. It stood for World Hunter Treaty Organization African Regional Office.

For Korea, it was WHTO-ROK, World Hunter Treaty Organization Republic of Korea. It was more commonly known as the Korean Hunter Authority.

That name seemed more suitable. Usually, the president of this authority was selected through the process of voting, and a presidential term lasted for six years. President Jeong Dong-Hoon had now been in this position for five years.

He was trying his best to hide his emotions.

Dont you have an explanation for this?

The man in front of him was much younger than him, but President Dong-Hoon did not think of him as an easy opponent.

This man was the reason why Korea was considered a country with strong Hunters. That was Lee Hos accomplishment. The government supported him so that he would not leave his own country, even publishing a new policy for him. Lee Ho was a great man. Without any lobbies or corrupted minds behind him, he did everything by himself.

He was the one who had gone to the front lines and worked hard when the gates appeared. Dong-Hoon did not like the term hero, but Lee Ho truly was exceptional. Unlike other people who he thought were overrated, this man in front of him was the true hero.

However, the problem was the object in front of him.

Dong-Hoon sighed.

Why was that thing here now?