225
Should this be called good fortune?
Jin-Woo's voice could be heard all around the world, but he wasn't speaking in the language of humans. The majority of people thought that it was some kind of thunder rumbling in the sky. Theories on why everyone heard the exact same noise were quite colourful and varied, though.
However, such a matter didn't pose a single problem, since the world was still celebrating – and felt relieved by – Jin-Woo's victory.
It was the same story in the actual battle location.
Hunters had been nervously on standby in a location just a bit away from where the battle took place. When they heard that the monster had been taken care of, they couldn't hold back and roared out in elation.
The two men in charge of the two best local Guilds, Choi Jong-In and Baek Yun-Ho, also spat out sighs of relief and looked at each other with wide grins.
"Hey, Chairman Baek. I thought your complexion wasn't so good a few minutes ago. I wonder if you have settled down now?"
"Representative Choi, I think you need to wipe your cold sweat first before worrying about someone else."
"I have a spare 'cheongsimhwan' on me, so if your heart is still fluttering badly, you can always ask me for one." (TL note at the end)
"Aigoo~. You sweated so much. Why don't you use this handkerchief to wipe your face first?"
The Masters of two Guilds that competed for the top spot in the local ranking started a rather pointy war of nerves. However, they could joke around in this manner only because the situation had been resolved now. Actually, these two couldn't even swallow their saliva out of sheer nervousness until only a few minutes ago.
But, that was understandable.
Weren't they being thrust into a battle against monsters powerful enough to treat Special Authority-rank Hunter, Thomas Andre, like a toy?
Not only their lives, but even those of every single Guild member were at risk. And the two Guild Masters, as well as every Hunter, summoned here under the emergency call-up were all thinking of the exact same thing.
That would be: if Hunter Seong Jin-Woo lost here, then it'd be no different than them all dying today.
Now freed from the intense pressure, these two men could express their happiness under the banner of waging a war of nerves.
The smiling Baek Yun-Ho sharing banter with Choi Jong-In looked beyond the latter's shoulder and his gaze stopped moving then.
"Uh....."
Choi Jong-In also followed after that line of sight and looked behind him. There was a lone man walking out from the centre of the ruined city.
Jin-Woo, having concluded his battle with the Sovereigns, quietly walked towards where everyone was.
Other Hunters discovered him one by one. His entrance immediately brought a bout of silence upon this place, once populated by loud cheers and happy yells.
The only noise coming from the surroundings were the wails of sirens, from the ambulances hurriedly arriving on the scene.
'It's Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.'
'That man, he....'
The mood in this place had become oppressed by the sharp aura oozing out of Jin-Woo's eyes, even though it was clear that the battle had ended in his favour. Not one person dared to open their mouths after seeing him like that.
The battle he fought had to have been incredibly intense because there was a hint of shimmering heat rising up from his shoulders even now.
But, why did the following events unfold as they did?
When Baek Yun-Ho met Jin-Woo's gaze, the former sent his greeting with a bow. That was the beginning; as if they were saluting a soldier coming home after a very dangerous mission, Hunters all bowed their heads in Jin-Woo's direction one by one.
Pure respect.
How could they not feel a sense of respect for a fellow Hunter capable of fighting on that level?
They all expressed their genuine gratitude and paid their respects, not because someone told them to, or because they were mindful of the surroundings.
Jin-Woo observed their show of respect, and....
'...'
....He walked wordlessly past them towards the spot where the familiar-looking van had been parked.
Thomas Andre was about to be loaded into an ambulance and Lennart Niermann was guarding his side. Both men watched Jin-Woo's departing back.
Lennart spoke with a worried face.
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo didn't look so happy."
Thomas had received emergency treatment by the Healers and his condition had improved by a lot, so he could at least nod his head to express agreement.
"Yeah, he does look that way."
"But, how come? He managed to beat those powerful monsters and survive."
Only other Hunters would know what a Hunter was going through. That feeling of sucking in the outside air after clearing a high-difficulty dungeon couldn't adequately be described in mere words.
So, why was Hunter Seong's expression so gloomy like that?
Lennart's question was answered by Thomas, actually.
"He probably isn't happy with how the fight against those b*stards went down."
".....!!"
Lennart was deeply shocked by that reply.
Jin-Woo had displayed movements that had far surpassed the limits of a human being, yet he looked gloomy because he wasn't happy with his performance?
How could such a thing even make sense?
As if he knew what his German counterpart was thinking of, Thomas Andre nodded his head and continued on.
"I also can't believe it, but.... Most likely, during the fight itself, he must've felt disappointed by how many close shaves he had to experience."
'Aah, back then.'
Lennart recalled the moments when Jin-Woo's chest was stabbed by the claws of the beast and let a low gasp escape from his mouth. Also, he remembered his own vision darkening in despair the moment when that ancient Ice Elf stabbed Jin-Woo with a dagger, too.
However, didn't that happen because the enemies were simply too powerful? Never mind taking on both of them at the same time, how many people in this world could last as long as he did when fighting just one of them?
Lennart's thoughts reached up to there and he shook his head.
'No, that's not it....'
For sure, the thoughts of being defeated because the enemies were tough belonged to regular Hunters, such as himself.