Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The US delegation arrived, and a welcome event was held on the first day. The President held in-depth discussions with the Vice President and senators on various matters, while the Hunters in the delegation toured Seoul and took the opportunity to rest.

The next day, the South Korean side—the President, personnel from the Awakened Security Office, and myself—gathered with the high-ranking officials of the US delegation to begin a briefing on the Nuri hunt.

The briefing covered everything from the initial response to Nuri, to the bidding process, to my deployment to hunt Nuri.

The Vice President praised South Korea's Awakened forces, saying that the US was busy just trying to muster its own.

After the Avant-garde Guild's hunting process was explained, the discussion shifted to the part where I intervened.

"We were lucky to have saved the Avant-garde Guild."

It was less that I arrived quickly and more that the Avant-garde Guild held out well.

Everyone marveled at Avant-garde's orderly retreat and Lee Chantae's choice to open an escape route.

After that, I explained the process of hunting Nuri. I described how I had assumed the monster's weak point was its head and relentlessly targeted that area, and cited as reasons Nuri was difficult that it freely spewed breath and made approach difficult with its gift, blade storm.

At my words, the faces of the US side stiffened. They murmured among themselves for a moment, and then the Vice President asked me in a cautious voice.

"...Are you certain that the monster used a gift?"

I didn't even pretend to listen, and only answered once someone beside me interpreted into Korean.

"I'm certain."

"We've received several suspected cases back home as well, but we could never confirm them. I'm curious why Transcendent Choi Junho is so certain."

What a nuisance.

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I explained the reason.

When I targeted its head, Nuri blocked perfectly several times. At first, I thought it was simply the hardness of its hide. But upon closer inspection later, I saw that a thin Force barrier was forming in front of Nuri's head and dispersing the impact.

What more could I say when I had seen and felt it myself?

"......!"

Everyone looked shocked at the revelation that a monster could use Force manipulation.

Anna Christine asked.

"Junho, is that true?"

"It's true. Nuri withstood more than thirty blows to the head from me."

"Thirty times, all to the head?"

"All to the head."

"...As expected of Head Breaker."

Why is everyone making that disgusted face? Shouldn't they be impressed?

In any case, I explained that even after knocking Nuri down, I kept attacking only the head, and that once its Force manipulation weakened, I broke through the hide and struck its brain to finish it off.

I didn't bother mentioning that I'd tried to tame it with Brainwashing. There's no pleasure in sharing a failure.

"That's freakin' awesome!"

James Reed, who had been listening, kept bursting with admiration. Setting that aside, wherever he learned the word "freakin'," he said it more fluently than a Korean.

The Vice President looked over the organized materials and smiled with satisfaction.

"From this Nuri hunt, we were able to learn that the monster used Force manipulation and opened a gift. This will allow us to conduct deeper analysis back home as well. We thank you for your cooperation."

"We only did what was expected of an allied nation."

And yet, before this was agreed upon, the tug-of-war over extracting even one more concession from the other side had been no joke.

I just watched the politicians exchange amiable words. Seeing how fierce calculations still flew back and forth beneath that atmosphere, I thought being a politician must be a truly difficult job.

The rest of the proceedings went smoothly.

With so many people who had plenty to say gathered together, each of them adding their own two cents, there was hardly anything left for me to do. As expected, it's comfortable being among people who love to talk.

Before welcoming the delegation, the members of the National Assembly had also asked to attend the meeting themselves. If they had joined, I figured the discussion would have dragged on even longer.

Why do they go on so long about things with no substance? I feel like it'd be more efficient to go find a hidden villain right now and smash one more head.

In the midst of all that, the President expressed a desire to receive the US Smart Hunting System while sharing the process of the Nuri hunt. The Vice President said he would consider it positively and recommend it to his home country, which was effectively a refusal.

Is the Smart Hunting System really that amazing? I'll have to ask Cheon Myeongguk later.

So, amid the amiable atmosphere and the fierce under-the-table tug-of-war, the meeting was drawing to a close.

Suddenly, James Reed raised his hand.

"I'd love to freakin' go at it with Junho once. Would that be okay?"

"......"

Everyone's eyes focused on me. Regardless of Korean or American, there was anticipation on their faces. Cheon Myeongguk, why are you the only one squeezing your eyes shut?

The turn passed to me.

If the opponent had been Zhang Zidong, I'd have accepted gladly, but since I'd been asked to exercise restraint against the US.

"Sparring isn't difficult. But you'd have to put your life on the line."

"Ow!"

James Reed laughed brightly. Even through his clothes, I could see his muscles bulging.

As expected, he's the type who pursues real combat over his own life.

So the US will lose a transcendent too. If a transcendent charges at full force, I have neither the confidence nor the thought to save them.

But what came next was something I hadn't anticipated.

"That's freakin' scary! Then I won't do it."

"You're not doing it?"

"I said I won't! I have no intention of taking that kind of risk!"

"......"

I'd like to crack open the head of whoever taught that guy Korean.

In any case, the heated atmosphere cooled quickly with James Reed's retreat.

Seeing Cheon Myeongguk openly relieved, my mood soured a little.

What a letdown.

*

After the Nuri hunt briefing, the exchange match began in earnest. The sparring between the promising talents who had crossed the sea from the US and the Class A students of the Seoul Academy had begun.

The US was indeed a talent pool worthy of the title of world's strongest nation, even after the emergence of monsters.

Overall, their skill was a notch higher, and they possessed real combat instincts on top of it. Their country was so vast that monsters overflowed in many places, so even underage Awakened had to go hunting regularly under the name of training.

By comparison, the Seoul Academy students were hopelessly behind in real combat instincts. Even so, the reason they weren't pushed back too badly was their method of relentlessly targeting weak points and their bold forcefulness that sometimes even accepted losses.

The one who performed the most in the exchange match was Yang Juhyeok. Something must have gotten into this guy, because he charged in like a madman and completely crushed his opponent's fighting spirit. And his method of targeting weak points was relentlessly persistent. Strip away his status as a student, and he was a villain through and through.

Tsk tsk, villain-like bastard. Utterly cowardly.

...But come to think of it, the one who taught him that was me.

I'd engraved it evenly into his body, and whether he learned it by getting hit, he utterly and overwhelmingly crushed his opponents.

"Kahahahaha!"

And then he let out that bizarre laugh and looked at me. So I'm next. If he gets cocky, I'll have to stomp him properly.

The overall result of the exchange match was Korea's disadvantage, but considering they were competing against the talents of the world's strongest nation, it wasn't a disappointing result.

Right now, the US delegation was busy exchanging words with shocked expressions. They must have come expecting a more overwhelming victory.

Though they lost, even I, watching, didn't feel too bad about it.

Is this what it feels like to watch your student?

You rejoice in your student's victory, and when they lose, you want to jump in and snap the opponent's neck.

So this is a teacher's heart.

As the exchange match was drawing to a close, Anna Christine approached.

"Junho."

"What is it?"

"Do we need a reason to talk between us?"

For reference, this was my third time meeting Anna Christine, and the total time the two of us had talked didn't even amount to three minutes.

And yet she acted so familiar—she was a strange woman.

"I gained certainty watching today's meeting."

"Certainty of what?"

"Certainty about your abilities, Junho. Actually, I've had certainty since the Level 8 measurement, but I gained certainty upon certainty."

This woman's Korean skills were no joke.

One of the things that annoys me most is ambiguous phrasing.

Just what certainty did she gain? I couldn't easily tell whether she was doing this on purpose or whether her Korean was just clumsy.

"I'll come find you later. Let's talk."

Leaving those words behind, she disappeared gracefully.

*

After the exchange match ended, the US delegation gathered in one place. Everyone's expressions were mildly stiff.

Today's schedule had been quite a shock to them. Both the process of the Nuri hunt and the result of the exchange match were a series of surprises. The Korean students used more ruthless methods, despite having less real combat experience. The sentiment that Korea's future was bright and that the alliance should be solidified was voiced.

Above all, their greatest shock was reserved for Choi Junho, whom they had been most concerned about.

The Vice President looked at James Reed and asked.

"How was he?"

"Very frightening, very quick, and utterly unrestrained."

James Reed, who had been using ridiculous Korean, answered in a calm voice.

"His skill is undoubtedly that of a true transcendent. Even if I faced him myself, I couldn't guarantee victory."

"Ho ho!"

"Then do you also believe it's true that he caught Nuri?"

"Yes. There seem to be some things omitted in between, but it's true."

"As expected."

A single transcendent hunting a Harmful-class Level 8 monster alone. Even hearing it firsthand, it was hard to believe. Nuri in particular was among the top ten strongest monsters to have appeared thus far. The idea of a human hunting it alone was enough to overturn common sense.

It would actually be stranger for him to reveal every detail. The Vice President and the other leaders thought there must be secrets here. A hidden gift, perhaps, or an unseen backer.

If he hunted it alone, that meant Choi Junho's skill existed far above; if a backer existed, that meant South Korea possessed an additional transcendent.

Either way, the value of South Korea and the value of Choi Junho rose. In particular, for Choi Junho, the very act of "making it look like he hunted it alone" required tremendous skill backing it—something other transcendents couldn't pull off.

"So telling James to put his life on the line wasn't just words."

"It's true both that he has the skill for it and that he has no choice but to be that way. Choi Junho's gift isn't suited for sparring. Both sides have to go all out, so someone inevitably dies. And even setting that aside, Choi Junho has a thought process as dangerous as his gift. He has no hesitation in acting, and he doesn't think about the aftermath."

"So it's not an act? What do you think, Christine?"

"What we saw today is probably his true self."

After Choi Junho became a transcendent, the US had used HUMINT to investigate him.

The results were astonishing. It was no exaggeration to say that the way he'd behaved at today's gathering might have been the most polite he'd ever been in his life.

If he were a criminal, he'd use his hands regardless of gender, and his ideology was radical enough that even those who cooperated with crimes could be seen as villains.

Opinions within the US were divided over this.

Until then, the prevailing view had been that they should recruit Choi Junho, but opposing opinions began to emerge.

Anna Christine was the representative of the supporting side, while James Reed was lending weight to the reserved or opposing side.

"To have that kind of skill at that age. I'd want to bring him over no matter what, but there's merit in both James's and Christine's views."

At the Vice President's words, James Reed's and Anna Christine's gazes collided in midair.

Anna Christine argued strongly.

"Choi Junho is a transcendent who can maintain his prime for over thirty years. Given the trend of transcendents' physical primes lasting longer and longer, he could display his skill for forty years. When you think about how many roles he could fill in that time, I think we're already late in making our move."

"My thoughts differ."

There's a common misconception people have.

Just because James Reed's epithet is Macho doesn't mean his brain is made of muscle like his bulging physique. He was, rather, a man who had completed a doctoral program at Stanford and, through systematic training, remodeled his own body to reach the rank of transcendent.

Despite his seemingly sloppy way of speaking and acting, he possessed sharp judgment and outstanding analytical ability, which let him see through his opponents. James Reed had also been substantially involved in building the Smart Hunting System.

Having encountered information about Choi Junho back in the US and observed him firsthand, even if only for a short time, James Reed spoke with certainty.

"Choi Junho becoming a state-affiliated transcendent was the result of multiple coincidences."

"You're saying that even with the result standing right before your eyes?"

"Yes."

James Reed nodded at Anna Christine's counterattack.

"Judging from his past actions and statements, it's a wonder how Choi Junho could ever have become a state-affiliated transcendent. If that luck hadn't come into play, from my perspective, Choi Junho would have become a villain with 99.9% probability."

"Choi Junho, a villain? That's absurd. That's pure speculation."

"His actions since becoming a public service Hunter point to exactly that. Choi Junho is a villain wearing a Hunter's mask."

James Reed's voice was resolute.

"The reason I oppose it is that villains cannot be socialized. That's why the best approach is to attach a watcher or place them on the periphery. In that respect, Choi Junho becoming a transcendent after passing through the public service Hunter system was a product of coincidence piled upon coincidence. I believe he will inevitably reveal his villain nature again at any time."

"You're saying the extremes he's shown so far aren't the end?"

"Yes. That's why I believe he's the Level 8 villain whose identity hasn't been revealed among those who recently appeared in South Korea."

Over the past half year, two Level 8 villains had appeared in South Korea.

One was Berserker, who had been assessed as Level 7 and then captured Red Snake Kim Younghwan.

But Berserker's past and present actions were all accounted for.

The age range didn't match either.

That left only one.

That villain's age, identity, face, and gender were all unknown.

"Erasure."

Anna Christine murmured with a stiff expression.

James Reed nodded and spoke with certainty.

"I'm convinced he is Choi Junho."