Chapter 39
[Hunter Kim Segyun Clears Three Gates Deemed Impossible to Clear in Just One Day?]
[The KOSPI Hits the Circuit Breaker Twice—What Economic Value Can One Person Create?]
[‘All You Doubters, Come Out!’ Hunter Kim Segyun Proves Himself!]
“Good grief... I’m dying...”
“You really overdid it...”
“Still, it was romantic, wasn’t it?”
Three Gates in one day.
And all of them were Gates deemed impossible to clear.
I’d cleared them while crisscrossing from Gangwon Province to Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeollabuk-do.
Fortunately, I had a helicopter to get around in.
Since I was a ranker now, I told the Department I wanted to clear three Gates deemed impossible to clear in a single day, and they arranged everything for me.
If they hadn’t, I would’ve spent the whole day just traveling.
Fortunately, none of the three Gates had been particularly difficult at my current level.
They had some strange gimmicks, but those only mattered when the gap in strength was reasonably small...
With a gap this overwhelming, gimmicks like that were usually crushed without much thought.
Of course, no matter how strong I was, I couldn’t let my guard down in a dungeon. I’d been on edge the whole time, and now I was suffering from extreme exhaustion.
“Only two left now.”
Of the seven Gates in South Korea deemed impossible to clear, I’d cleared five all by myself.
In order, they were in Chungcheongbuk-do, Jeju Island, Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeollabuk-do.
All that remained was the Level 50 Gate in Gyeongsangbuk-do...
And, as the grand finale, the Level 64 Gate—the final punctuation mark in Seoul-Gyeongin, South Korea’s largest economic region.
Since Seoul and Gyeongin were grouped together as one region, the pacification effect would be truly beyond imagination.
So I’d get trillions of won for clearing it.
But I couldn’t reach the 60s in a short time, so I’d have to leave it for now.
“You need to hurry up and reach my level so I can lift the level control.”
“I’ll get there soon.”
Level control, huh...
I’d never paid much attention to the Hunter industry, so I’d only just learned about it.
It was practically the fate of the highest-level Hunter in each country.
The stages of the Gates that appeared in a country matched the level of that country’s highest-level Hunter.
In other words, if a country’s highest-level Hunter was Level 70, Gates up to Stage 70 would be revealed.
Naturally, if that Hunter leveled up and new Gates were revealed, the pacification effect would be broken.
In that sense, the Stage 64 Gate in Gyeonggi Province was Zephyros’s one remaining regret.
Zephyros’s party had cleared everything up through Stage 63, except for some Gates deemed impossible to clear. Naturally, they’d reached Level 64, and, as luck would have it, a Stage 64 Gate formed in Seoul-Gyeongin, South Korea’s largest economic region.
They challenged that Stage 64 Gate for a full three years, but in the end, Zephyros and his companions failed.
In the process, they reached Level 67. Fortunately, they managed to clear the Stage 65–67 Gates, but the Stage 64 Gate remained an impassable wall—and the sole blemish in South Korea’s largest economic region.
After falling into despair and suffering a decline in his abilities, Zephyros retired.
After Zephyros’s retirement, Stage 67 became something like a level cap for South Korean Hunters.
The current No. 1-ranked Hunter was Level 66.
Zephyros was deliberately controlling his level, and was still South Korea’s highest-level Hunter.
If you looked only at level, there wasn’t much difference between him and Kaiser.
Kaiser was Level 70.
The reason he was stuck at Level 70 was the several Stage 70 Gates that had formed in the United States.
After reaching Level 70 and attempting five Stage 70 Gates, Kaiser declared:
“Stage 70 Gates are on a completely different level from Gates in the 60s.”
He also advised Hunters from other countries not to try to reach Level 70.
In fact, even Kaiser hadn’t cleared a single Stage 70 Gate, and the famous Ahmad Triain of Europe had stopped at Level 69.
I heard he’d stopped after a fierce dispute with the French government.
The era of Under Seventy, ushered in by Kaiser, the strongest Hunter of the first generation, had lasted for nearly a decade.
The days when you’d hear news of a new Gate opening...
Or of a Gate deemed impossible to clear appearing...
Those days, when you heard about one every other day, were over. An era had begun where people cleared only Gates with known patterns, following standardized procedures like civil servants.
In an era like this, it was only natural that people would search for romance.
“Still, it feels a little overwhelming.”
“You little punk. I feel like I’m taking credit for your achievements, so I don’t have much to say. But if there’s only one person in the world who can break the Under Seventy deadlock, I’d pick you over either Kaiser or Ahmad.”
“What are you talking about? You have to do it with me.”
“Hahaha. Sure. If I haven’t turned into a has-been by then.”
Zephyros laughed and clinked glasses with me.
We were drinking the same champagne as before—something called Jacques Selosse, I think.
We were at Zephyros’s house, too.
It was a night of the two of us getting thoroughly drunk.
Zephyros’s phone rang.
He barely knew anyone who had his number, so Zephyros sighed, grumbled, and answered the call.
“Hello? Oh, Minister.”
Minister?
“It’s late, but I can talk for a bit. Yes. Yes?”
In an instant, all the drunkenness seemed to leave him. Zephyros’s eyes widened.
Then, as if he were using his inner energy to drive out the alcohol, mana flowed through him, and the smell of liquor burst from every pore of his body.
“I didn’t hear you wrong, did I? Yes, understood. I’ll tell him that. Yes. Goodbye.”
Zephyros hung up.
He stared at me silently for a while.
“W-What is it? Which minister?”
“Who else would be calling me? The Minister of the Awakened Management Department.”
“Oh. Is something wrong?”
“Something’s wrong, all right. But it’s not my problem.”
“Then... it’s me?”
My eyes widened as I looked at the finger Zephyros pointed at me.
“Why would the minister want me?”
“He says he has something to discuss with you.”
“What the hell? Then why didn’t he call me? Director Jo Hyeong-bin—or whoever he was—had no problem calling me directly.”
That stung a little.
So I only rated a director-level call?
“Seems like he’s trying to approach you carefully. He asked me to sound you out first, and said he’d contact you directly if you agreed.”
Oh.
“Well, I guess I’ve got nothing to lose, right?”
“...I doubt there’s much harm in simply meeting him.”
“All right, then. You’ll come with me too, right?”
“I’ll tell him that’s what you want.”
No matter how used to this sort of thing I was getting, I wasn’t ready to deal with seasoned politicians. It’d be good to have an adviser like Zephyros at my side.
“I’ve sent them a reply, so they’ll contact you sometime this week.”
“All right.”
The minister, huh.
Well, it wasn’t the president.
I’d met the Russian president, after all. What was there to be nervous about?
And then, the next day...
─Hunter Kim Segyun. This is Kang Min-guk. Do you have a moment to talk?
I never expected to get a call even from the president of my own country...
**
President Kang Min-guk.
According to the Wiki, he was the first president elected from a third-force party in South Korea, and had brought innovation to a political landscape that had been close to a two-party system.
That’s what it said, anyway.
To be honest, I wasn’t all that interested in politics.
All I knew was that he was a decent president who wasn’t widely criticized and kept his approval rating around 70 to 80 percent.
That was about it.
Hmm. Was that impressive...?
But what Zephyros said took me by surprise.
“He’s the one.”
“...Pardon?”
“The Awakened Government Bond Compensation System. President Kang Min-guk came up with that policy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He was a Hunter, though he was little-known. He used that experience to enter politics by proposing Hunter-related policies, then secured a position as Minister of the Awakened Management Department. After the Awakened Government Bond Compensation System became a huge success, he went on to become president. He’s a remarkable man, I’m telling you.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“That’s why his approval rating is pretty high among Hunters.”
By the time I’d finished talking with Zephyros, we’d arrived at the presidential residence.
It was the newly built presidential residence that replaced the Blue House, which had been opened to the public after a Gate appeared there—what terrible luck.
It was located in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, on the site of the former Military Academy golf course.
I used to live in Dobong-gu, so I’d passed by here now and then. I never thought I’d actually go inside.
“Hunter Ryu.”
“Minister.”
The first person we met was Minister Jeong In-hyeon of the Awakened Management Department.
“You’re meeting Hunter Kim for the first time, aren’t you? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes? Yes.”
Ah, that was embarrassing. I’d blanked for a second.
Still, I’d seen the Kremlin and everything! I’d done it all!
Get it together.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Segyun.”
I gave him a firm handshake. Minister Jeong raised his eyebrows in surprise, then broke into a hearty laugh.
“It’s a pleasure to meet such a talked-about Hunter these days. Come on, let’s go. The president is waiting. Hunter Ryu, you’ll wait outside for a moment, right?”
“Hold on. I thought having Zephyros... I mean, Senior Ryu Hyeonsu sit in with us was a condition?”
“Of course. He’ll be there for the official meeting a little later.”
“Then, for now...”
“Just think of it as a brief greeting.”
I glanced at Zephyros. He shrugged, then used the Ansible Earring to send his thoughts directly to me.
─If there’s anything we need to discuss, we can use this, anyway.
‘That’s true.’
─Go on. I’ll be waiting.
Knowing we could communicate without any real problem even if it wasn’t a private meeting put me a little at ease.
As I stepped inside, I saw a man in a suit sitting at a desk, guarded by several people who looked like Awakened.
A familiar face I’d seen many times on TV.
It was him—President Kang Min-guk.
As if he’d sensed our presence, he looked away from his monitor and stood up.
Then he walked toward me with a bright smile.
“Welcome! The pride of the Republic of Korea! Hunter Kim Segyun!”
Pride...? Since when...?
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kang Min-guk.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. President.”
I took the hand he offered.
His hand felt thick and rough, but warm.
Somehow...
Shaking hands with him felt a little different from shaking hands with the Russian president.
It was my first time meeting him, just the same, but he felt more approachable.
“I’m sorry to call you all the way here when you’re so busy.”
“N-Not at all. And please speak comfortably. Before you’re the president, you’re a lot older than I am.”
He was at least old enough to be my uncle, and, if I was being generous, my father.
“Hahaha. May I?”
“Of course.”
“Then I will.”
President Kang smiled warmly and placed his other hand over our clasped hands, adding pressure to the handshake.
Then he turned to the bodyguards.
“Could you give us a moment?”
“Mr. President!”
The president laughed loudly at the bodyguards’ startled cries.
“You’re all impressive, I know. But even you admitted it, didn’t you? If this fellow had bad intentions, could you really stop him, even with you here? He’s the fearsome Hunter Kim Segyun, after all.”
“That’s true, but...”
Good grief. What was that supposed to mean? That I might assassinate the president or something?
I understood why the bodyguards were worried, but still...
“Please.”
“Sigh... Understood. How long will it take?”
“About five minutes.”
“We’ll come back in five minutes.”
When the president nodded, the head of security gestured to the guards and led them outside.
Once they were gone, President Kang looked at me and spoke.
“All right. We don’t have much time. Shall we get to the point?”
“......”
What was he going to say...?
“As the president of the Republic of Korea, I’m asking you to become its savior.”
“...Pardon?”
What... did that mean?
Had I heard him wrong?
Zephyros, what is he talking about?
─Let’s hear him out first.
At Zephyros’s calm words, my pounding heart gradually settled.
What was he getting at?
“I’m not sure what you mean...”
“Do you know what the WDDO is?”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“It’s one of the UN’s cooperative organizations. It stands for the World Dungeon Development Organization.”
“...What does that have to do with me?”
“This is classified, but the WDDO’s New York Round is expected to be finalized next month.”
I didn’t understand what he meant, so I relayed it to Zephyros. From the other end came a shocked voice.
─The New York Round is being finalized? Holy shit!
‘What is that? Be shocked with me.’
Instead of Zephyros, President Kang continued explaining.
“You probably don’t know what that means, so let me explain... It means the global dungeon market is going to open up. Hunter Ryu, who came here with you, should understand. Because this is...”
─It basically means the dungeon industry is going back to the first generation, when I was active!
Their two voices overlapped in my ears like surround sound.
“Back in the early days of the Awakened, there were no laws or regulations related to dungeons. People knew nothing about level control or the economic value of dungeons. Then, out of nowhere, one person and his organization appeared and started conquering unclaimed dungeons all over the world.”
I didn’t need him to say who that was.
“In the process, the American government gained enormous benefits by cooperating with that man. A great many countries lost their self-sufficiency in dungeons and became dependent on the United States. It was what people called dungeon imperialism, or dungeon colonialism.”
I knew what happened after that.
Countries began locking down their dungeons and turning to protectionism...
And they started developing their own Hunters.
But before that happened, Kaiser Corporation had secured enormous concessions from countries around the world.
Things like permanent leases on dungeons and perpetual rights to a share of their output...
With that money, they recruited new Hunters... then took control of dungeons in Third World countries...
And the cycle went on forever.
What if a new government came to power and tried to invalidate its contract with Kaiser Corporation?
The U.S. military would come flying in at once to spread democracy.
“But how could I become South Korea’s savior?”
“By clearing Gates deemed impossible to clear in other countries and securing concessions. Does that sound familiar?”
Does that sound familiar?
...Is he talking about me?
“Y-You mean me?”
“Kaiser Corporation’s original business model was the same. Now that the market is opening, that’s the very Kaiser Corporation that will use its overwhelming capital to swallow up our country’s dungeon development companies.”
“Th-That’s true.”
“The same goes for a company like Triain Network in Europe.”
Triain Network, the dungeon development company owned by Ahmad Triain, had also grown by clearing Gates across Western Europe that Kaiser Corporation couldn’t conquer and securing concessions.
Naturally, it had the support of the entire EU.
“So... there’s no reason a Kim Segyun Corporation couldn’t emerge, is there?”