Chapter 300

Originally, it would have been absolutely impossible. To create an association that united all the Hunters in a country, one had to go through considerably complicated political and economic processes. It wasn't something a mere police chief could handle. It was possible in the previous era only because Chairman Go Gunhee himself was the head of a large corporation. But… Was it because he pursued a too moderate approach? It took too long for the association to be established, And in the meantime, countless meaningless sacrifices occurred due to uncontrolled villains.

Woo Jinchul, who remembered all that, decided to use a more radical and aggressive approach this time. This wasn't simply because of the problems mentioned earlier. He was someone who had already experienced the world on the verge of destruction, someone who clearly remembered all those disasters that were absolutely beyond human control. He wasn't in a position to be picky about methods.

'This is a world without Hunter Sung Jinwoo. Can I fill his shoes?' Just that fact alone showed how heavy the burden of responsibility Woo Jinchul carried was. After the Cataclysm, he couldn't sleep a single day without pills. How could he close his eyes peacefully and lie in bed when he felt like the Monarchs would tear through the sky at any moment?

'Filling his shoes was impossible from the beginning… Then what can I do?' Woo Jinchul desperately tried to remember. What Sung Jinwoo wanted. What the world should be like when Sung Jinwoo, who was away, returned. And then he found the answer.

'Not to hold him back when he returns. That's the best I can do. At the very least, I shouldn't become a hindrance to him.' To do that, he first needed the power to completely control the Hunters. It had to be a Hunter Association with greater control than the Hunter Association led by S-rank Hunter Go Gunhee. But he was only A-rank. It was impossible to make the S-rank Hunters who would appear in the future obey the Hunter Association's orders through ordinary means.

'So I'll force it. By any means necessary.'

Bang—!

"Wh-who…!"

Bang—!

"W-Woo Jinchul?!"

…Just like that, day after day, the leaders of Korea's political and economic worlds received sudden visits from Woo Jinchul. Even in the midst of that, Woo Jinchul was fair and unbiased. He visited all political parties equally. Anyhow, every political party had a similar ratio of corrupt figures, so as long as he kept the order, he could maintain the balance. It also minimized the chaos in the political situation.

Bang—!

The door suddenly shattered.

"Hello. My name is Woo Jinchul."

Bang—!

"Hello. I'm Woo Jinchul."

The moment the man with black sunglasses barged into their office,

"Hello. You know me, right?"

"…!"

All the politicians who saw Woo Jinchul had the same expression, 'The time has finally come,' and closed their eyes tightly. Rumors about Woo Jinchul had already spread widely. Through the network of those who committed corruption together. But what could they do even if they heard the gossip? What could they do?

"You recently tripled your personal bodyguards? I see you've heard the rumors about me."

"Th-that's…"

"I'm curious who you heard it from… Who is it…?"

…Gulp.

There was nothing they could do. They could only turn pale and swallow dryly. No matter how many bodyguards they hired, they couldn't stop Woo Jinchul's visit. They were helpless even after spending a fortune to hire 'Awakened' bodyguards. It was only natural. The world didn't have Hunter ranks yet, And even if they hired a large number of Awakened as guards, those guards didn't even know if they were C-rank or B-rank. Even if there were dozens, or even hundreds of those, they couldn't be a match for Woo Jinchul. Moreover, even if there happened to be another A-rank Awakened among those guards, it wouldn't change anything.

'A newly Awakened A-rank?'

It was a great insult to compare an inexperienced A-rank who didn't even know how to use their power to Woo Jinchul. First of all, Woo Jinchul was the section chief of the 'Surveillance Department' of the Hunter Association, who dealt with countless Hunters in the previous era.

Whoosh— Thud—!

"…Keuk!" 

Woo Jinchul suddenly grabbed the bodyguard who appeared behind him without a sound by the collar

with one hand and threw him to the ground. He opened one eye in surprise.

"Hmm? This one is quite something. Where did you recruit such a useful assassin-type Awakened?"

"…H-how?"

The assassin-type Awakened, who tried to ambush him from behind, couldn't help but panic. Woo Jinchul's sharp eyes, beyond the black sunglasses, saw through his stealth skill. But he calmly replied to the assassin-type Awakened, who was looking up at him with a dumbfounded expression,

"Don't be too disappointed. I recently learned a new 'Danger Perception' skill, so I won't be caught off guard so easily. But Minister? Is this all you prepared?"

"…I'll cooperate with the Association."

"That's a wise decision. Was it that hard to just say that? It would have been easier for everyone if you had just answered when I asked over the phone."

"I apologize…"

"Well, I understand. If you became the Association President yourself, it would be quite convenient to use that overwhelming force politically, wouldn't it? It's certainly tempting. But as I've always said, I have no intention of getting involved in politics." Woo Jinchul firmly emphasized his belief as he threatened the politicians one by one.

Hunters in the Hunters' realm,

Politicians in their own realm.

To make the world run properly that was required, it was the belief of the Hunter Association, no, of Chairman Go Gunhee.

"All I want is one thing. To allow all Hunters to focus solely on their duties as Hunters."

"…Hunter…?"

The one who quietly muttered the name 'Hunter' that came out of Woo Jinchul's mouth was none other than the assassin-type Awakened who failed to ambush him. Woo Jinchul glanced down at him with a strange smile.

"In that sense, I'll take this Awakened with me. His skills are wasted as just a bodyguard for a politician. For your information, this isn't a request."

"…Do as you please."

The politician, left alone in his office, sighed deeply as he watched Woo Jinchul disappear, dragging the assassin-type Awakened with him. The rumors were true. If there were any useful Awakened among the bodyguards of the politicians Woo Jinchul visited, he would 'kidnap' them for the Association. It was absurd that such a lawless person would create an association to eliminate 'villains'.

…Just like that, the Hunter Association was smoothly established with the histrionic agreement of both the ruling and opposition parties. And Woo Jinchul proudly became the first Association President. The process was very unconventional and fast. Thanks to that, South Korea became famous as the country that recovered from the 'Cataclysm' crisis and stabilized its society the fastest in the world. 

So much so that other countries visited the Korean Association non-stop to learn about the system and Hunter laws they created. Woo Jinchul's Association was able to systematically capture villains who were drunk on magic power and rampaging, and even created a special detention center for them. Moreover, as the Association's control became stronger than in the previous era, it could prevent unnecessary battles caused by conflicts between Hunter guilds. And on top of that, since they could immediately respond to Gates as soon as they appeared, it allowed the citizens to safely return to their daily lives. In the process, Woo Jinchul gained tremendous support from the citizens, but conversely, there were also many who became hostile towards him. Since the process of creating the Association was unconventional, there were quite a few who held grudges against him. Especially those who knew that Woo Jinchul had all their corruption data in his hands spent a lot of money to secretly assassinate him. But… None of those attempts worked on Woo Jinchul.

Bang—!

"Hello, Mayor."

"H-how?!"

"Ah, dear. You seem surprised. I recently acquired a skill that makes me immune to most poisons."

"…!"

"Arrest him."

Thud Thud—!

The politician who attempted to assassinate Woo Jinchul was arrested and dragged away by the Hunters at the Association President's command. The world was still lawless as the Association had just been established, so assassination attempts like this were common. But surprisingly, none of them worked on Woo Jinchul.

'Just how many skills does that guy Woo Jinchul have…!' It was maddening for those who were hostile towards Woo Jinchul. There was no way to deal with him. There were even rumors that Woo Jinchul had over a hundred skills. And surprisingly, those rumors were becoming closer to the truth. In real-time…

No one knew the reason or the method yet. The establishment of the Association was simply incredibly fast, And the world was still in the early days of the Cataclysm. People didn't know about 'rune stones' yet. In the first place, the number of rune stones released into the world was extremely small. And even if someone luckily obtained a 'rune stone,' they didn't even know that they had to break it with their hand to learn a new skill. Those who instinctively sensed that it was a precious item didn't break it but kept it safe without a scratch. Because they didn't know how to use it in the first place. The only cases were when someone accidentally broke a rune stone inside a magical beast with their weapon while hunting and learned a new skill.

'…But these good times will soon be over.' 

People weren't stupid. It was just a matter of time. All Hunters would soon learn about rune stones. So Woo Jinchul took advantage of this brief period of chaos and gathered as many rune stones as possible to get ahead of everyone else. The more he did that, the more skills he could use. But even then, he was still an A-rank Hunter, And Woo Jinchul knew his limits well. He wasn't a Hunter who grew stronger through battles like Sung Jinwoo. But…

'I have to become stronger. Stronger than anyone else.'

To fill Sung Jinwoo's shoes, he had to become stronger somehow. At least strong enough to not lose to humans. So the method he came up with was monopolizing rune stones.

'If I can't increase my magic power, I can just increase the type and number of 'skills,' can't I?'

It was only natural that the more skills you could use, the stronger you were, even with the same A-rank. That was why 'rune stones' were traded at astronomical prices among the Hunters of the previous era. But while people in the world still didn't know the value of rune stones, …Woo Jinchul had already become the only A-rank Hunter in the world who could use that many skills. Of course, only a handful of people within the Association knew about this. Among them, Hunter Choi Jongin, who had been with him since the early days, knew Woo Jinchul's true power well. …And the side effects that came with it.

Crack…

And now, Suho was also witnessing that result.

Just an A-rank. The result of cramming too many skills into a vessel with a limited capacity… Woo Jinchul was currently dying. And this was a condition that couldn't be cured even by the best Healer. This wasn't an injury; it was just the process of his vessel breaking.