๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ 3
“Estimated SSS-rank. . .?”
A sentence that didn’t just surprise everyone, it left them all speechless.
Edward and Marquis Charles stood up from their seats and froze like plaster statues.
This was the first time such a rank had ever been confirmed since the ranking battles began; in other words, since the hunters had been given ranks.
The highest-ranked hunter was the SS+ ranked hunter who had been measured before entering ‘Mistilteinn.’
The announcement of the highest rank ever caused Hunter Tube to explode.
The chat window was filled with a mixture of disbelief and analysis of the situation.
Various internet media outlets quickly reported on the results.
Articles about Siwoo were dug up and new articles were published, and all sorts of speculative reports and comments flooded in.
“I think this needs to be re-examined. South Korean or North Korean. . . In any case, there’s no way an SSS-rank hunter could come out of Korea.”
One of the high-ranking officials said to Edward and Marquis Charles.
Edward responded to the man’s pitiful statement in a cold voice.
“If we allow the re-examination of that hunter, it will cause an uproar, demanding that other hunters be re-examined as well. All the hunters around the world who were not present here will demand the same. Are you prepared to bear all the costs and responsibilities that come with that?”
“No. . . Why should I be responsible. . . .”
“Then who should take responsibility?”
“It should be the Hunter Association since it is in the name of world balance.”
Marquis Charles, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, let out a hollow laugh.
“Keeping the world in balance, re-requesting an examination for that hunter, and having the Hunter Association pay the costs have nothing to do with each other?”
“Ha, but Lord Charles! SSS-rank is ridiculous, and even if one were to appear, it should come from Europe!”
Edward glared at the man.
“Then you tell that hunter that yourself.”
“Me. . .?”
“Because our ใHSIU International Headquartersใ doesn’t want to cause conflict with the prospective ‘Mistilteinn’ candidate.”
“The ใWorld Hunter Associationใ feels the same way. We don’t want to make unnecessary enemies with the world’s number 0 rank.”
When the heads of the two most powerful organizations in the world vetoed, the person who had made the suggestion left the venue with a sullen face.
Edward opened his mouth in a pitiful voice.
“I didn’t know there were still people who thought that way. Anyway, how about we go celebrate this new page in history?”
“Let’s do that. I never thought I’d see an SSS-rank before I died.”
They came down from the second floor where the management office was located and approached Siwoo, who was in the center of the hall.
Most of the people still had expressions of incomprehension as they looked back and forth between Siwoo and the scoreboard.
“Master, congratulations.”
Namir was the first to congratulate him, kneeling on one knee.
“Master, congratulations to you too!!”
“Congratulations, Master.”
“Kukakak! To think that my past rival would become the world’s number 0 rank, I’ll have to drink enough to make my nose bleed today!”
“Congratulations, little master!! Now you are truly the strongest in the world! This humble disciple is so happy!”
“Kekeke. . . I knew you were strong, but I didn’t know you were this strong. Congratulations.”
Siwoo’s party followed suit, and thunderous cheers and applause poured in from all sides.
The birth of the world’s first SSS-rank.
‘๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ต๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ’ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ช๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ.
Choi Dae-soo, who is currently waiting to advance to ‘Mistilteinn’ and is praised as an incarnation, was SS-rank at the time of his last measurement, so Siwoo is now the strongest person in the world among the current rankers.
“Congratulations on becoming the top hunter. I think it was a good thing I greeted you in advance.”
Marquis Charles approached Siwoo and offered him a handshake.
“I sincerely congratulate you.”
Soon, Edward approached him and smiled at him.
Siwoo also smiled at him and opened his mouth as if he was feeling refreshed.
“Now the line is over.”
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
The appearance of the white tiger was not that of an ordinary zoo animal that we are familiar with.
โKrrrruuuurrrr. . .!
The white tiger, with its long, dragon-like body and the face of a tiger, was destroying buildings as it ran through the city at the speed of the wind.
Choi Dae-soo arrived at the scene and frowned at the sight of him.
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ.’
He looked around to get a rough idea of the terrain and the current situation.
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ. ๐๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต 4๐ฎ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ’๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข.’
Choi Dae-soo’s mana was among the largest of any current hunter.
However, the being in front of him had an endless amount of mana that made Choi Dae-soo look ridiculous.
In the first place, it was a summoned beast made of mana, so it was impossible to compare it to a human who borrowed mana.
He slowly inhaled his cigar and opened his dantian as wide as possible.
A majestic mana surged through every corner of Choi Dae-soo’s body, adding a scorching heat.
Muscles swelled and veins throbbed.
“Hoo.”
Almond-scented smoke flowed from his mouth.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve hunted a monster.”
Thud thud thud.
The ground cracked as he put his weight on his heels.
Choi Dae-soo’s thighs swelled like those of a bison and shot forward like a ballista.
As he propelled himself, he concentrated mana on a few of the rings on his fingers.
Crackle crackle!
With a noisy flash, silver armor wrapped around his body, and a long bastard sword was summoned in his right hand.
One corner of Choi Dae-soo’s mouth twisted and the sword was drawn from top to bottom.
The white tiger, which was chewing on the corner of a building, turned its head as it felt the energy flying towards it.
Kwaโโโng!!
An enormous explosion shook the area.
“Hmph. Surely you’re not dead already. Let’s have some fun.”
Choi Dae-soo didn’t slow down as he flew towards the dust-filled area.
โKrrrrrrruung!
At that moment, bright yellow eyes flashed.
The white tiger’s fearsome teeth flew out like a whip.
Choi Dae-soo quickly raised his shield to block the beast’s attack.
Kwa-dadadad!!
“Damn it!”
Although it was a shield that could block even S-rank skills, half of it was blown away in an instant when the creature bit it.
Choi Dae-soo took the opportunity to swing the sword horizontally.
Kwa-kakaka!!
The lightning generated from the blade turned the spot where the creature had been into a charred black.
A type of upgraded magic item, a ‘magic item,’ that triggers a specific skill when mana is injected into it.
“Damn it. . . .”
The fastest magic attack, lightning, had struck, but the beast had dodged the attack and was already on top of the tallest building.
โKuaaaaaaaa!!
A roar from the predator that shook the area.
Choi Dae-soo pursed his lips and released his sword and shield, then injected mana into another ring.
A newly materialized artifact was gripped in his right hand.
“A spear made from 20 top-quality magic stones and 3 rare artifacts.”
Choi Dae-soo pulled his right shoulder back.
The mana that had drained from his dantian flowed into the spear in his hand without pause.
A flash of light erupted from the mana-filled spear.
“Heup!!”
Choi Dae-soo threw the spear with all his might at the target.
The spear, cutting through the atmosphere, flew like a beam of light, heading straight for the white tiger’s forehead.
No matter how high-ranking a being it was, it would be torn apart or fatally wounded if it received such an attack.
Pazzuzzush!
“What. . .??”
But the spear, which had flown to the tip of the white tiger’s nose, was suddenly sucked into a black hole that appeared.
Choi Dae-soo immediately spread out his mana sense.
There was definitely an energy that hadn’t been there before near the white tiger.
“Who is that?”
“Hoohoohoo. . . I’m sorry. . . . If the guardian disappears. . . . I will be in a lot of trouble. . . .”
Sunken eyes and a bloodless face.
Choi Dae-soo exhaled cigar smoke as he examined the creature’s energy and rank.
“It’s a face I’ve never seen before. Are you from ใPandemoniumใ?”
“That’s right. . . . I am Diakan of the 3rd Hierarchy. . . .”
“I see. You won’t be able to answer once you’ve been hit, so let me ask you a few things.”
There was no tension or anxiety in Choi Dae-soo’s expression as he glared at Diakan.
He just looked bored, like a new chore had been added to his list.
“Why the hell are you doing this?”
Diakan blinked his sunken eyes at Choi Dae-soo’s question and answered slowly.
“Well. . . . I’m just a helper in this plan. . . . A fellow 3rd Hierarchy colleague. . . . asked me for help.”
“I see. If you’re a helper, what’s your role?”
“Hohoho . . . . I am here to hold you back . . . . Hunter Choi Dae-soo.”
“Is that so? In that case, I’m going to have to put in some effort.”
As Choi Dae-soo finished his answer, an overwhelming force descended on Diakan from the air.
Choi Dae-soo, who had suddenly flown into the sky, was wielding a giant hammer.
Diakan, who was startled by the looming shadow, activated his skill.
[Crack of the World: Beyond Darkness]
The head of the hammer, which was about to crush his skull, was sucked into a black hole.
Choi Dae-soo released the hammer and immediately summoned two spears, which he shot at Diakan in succession.
“Keuk. . .!”
Diakan activated the skill again, nullifying Choi Dae-soo’s attack.
As he sighed in relief,
“Hoo.”
Choi Dae-soo’s furious anger was heard behind Diakan, along with the sound of smoke being exhaled.
Zheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!!
Blood gushed from Diakan’s mouth as he was slammed into the ground from the air.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
“You’re saying the prison was broken into?”
Edward nodded at Siwoo’s question.
“It seems like the ใPandemoniumใ guys did it. Of course, it’s not certain since the situation is being handled, but the timing of the incident with the summoned beast in Korea overlaps too much.”
“Do you have a list of the escaped prisoners?”
Instead of an answer, Edward handed Siwoo a tablet PC.
It contained a list of prisoners who had escaped, prisoners who had been caught while escaping, and prisoners who had been killed in the process of being caught.
“What’s this CCTV?”
“It’s footage of the mastermind disguised as a prison guard leaving with a ‘specific prisoner.’ Do you know who it is?”
“Huh. I know both of them.”
“Wait, you know the mastermind as well as the escaped prisoner?”
“That’s Ryu Ji-hwan.”
Siwoo had not forgotten the man’s distinctive attire.
‘๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ.’
When Crowel had rescued Ryu Ji-hwan at the ใGangwon S-rank Gateใ, it seemed that he was now repaying that debt.
“So he broke into ADX Prison to rescue Crowel?”
“It doesn’t seem that way. If that had been his goal, he would have taken him out quietly. He wouldn’t have caused such a commotion.”
Perhaps he had taken him along the way.
Siwoo didn’t add that since it was also a guess.
“By the way, how is the situation in Korea right now?”
“It seems they’re still fighting the summoned beast. Choi Dae-soo seems to have stepped in.”
“Is the magic I asked for being prepared?”
It would be too late if he flew by plane.
Siwoo had asked Edward to ‘legally’ open a portal to fly to Korea.
“Of course.”
The request of Siwoo, who was now the world’s number 0 rank, would be approved immediately by any organization.
“But you can’t transfer too many people through the portal. Not all of your party members.”
“Oh, I can tell the rest of them to come by plane.”
Siwoo cracked his knuckles and smirked.
“I’ll go and play alone.”
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