Seven years ago, on the outskirts of California, a young man awakened.

He was a college student majoring in Otherworld Studies, an active young man who also enjoyed hunting.

Since awakeners could appear anywhere in the world through no predictable pattern, an ordinary awakening would have ended with drinks among a few friends offering their congratulations.

But his awakening was far too extraordinary to be celebrated with a modest gathering.

Born S-Rank.

The young man was among the chosen few—so rare that even scouring the entire history of the hunter world, one would run out of fingers trying to count them all.

He was also the last Born S-Rank humanity had produced—until Jung-woo appeared.

That young man’s name was Edmond Richmond.

Ask anyone to name the strongest hunter, and a hundred out of a hundred would answer in unison—the undisputed zenith of the hunter world was him.

Didn’t the very word “zenith” carry a sense of weight?

It wasn’t as if Born S-Rank hunters had never existed in history—so what did it mean that a man only seven years into his awakening had seized that title?

It meant his achievements were so vast that billions of people across the globe unanimously acknowledged them.

His very nickname was Savior.

True to the name’s meaning, he delivered performances so astonishing that they rewrote the hunter industry across every metric.

To name a few of his most famous exploits: there was his single combat against an S-Rank Champion.

There was the time he single-handedly traversed Michigan, which had become an erosion danger zone, and closed hundreds of gates in a single month.

And finally, there was the time he met an Out-of-Rank magical beast falling from the sky above Washington head-on, dragged it all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and slew it.

These were not the achievements of a human, were they?

To have accomplished all of this single-handedly, only four years into his hunter awakening—no word other than “zenith” remained to describe him.

The strongest spear, the strongest shield. And the greatest star.

His every action sent ripples of such staggering magnitude that the saying spread openly—as long as Edmond Richmond existed, humanity would never fall.

And that man was now coming to Korea to meet Jung-woo.

Naturally, the news was in an uproar.

[Edmond, who had been expressing interest in Hunter Shin Jung-woo through social media ever since the Three-legged Crow subjugation, is finally setting foot in Korea in person!]

[Until now, Edmond has used the title “Hunter” for fewer than seven individuals. Hunter Shin Jung-woo becomes the eighth—those who previously received the designation include…]

[Edmond’s guild,…, is also part of this visit to Korea…]

Reports were filed layered with all manner of speculation.

It wasn’t just domestic media covering the story.

This was, after all, a foreign visit by the Savior.

The very reason Americans could live peacefully on the North American continent had left their homeland—simply to meet one person.

Even an ordinary S-Rank hunter traveling abroad would set the involved countries abuzz, and this was Edmond.

The entire world’s attention was inevitably drawn.

Why on earth, for what reason, would he stake his nation’s security to meet Jung-woo?

Online reactions were equally consumed with curiosity.

[Seriously, what’s this about? Was there something after the Three-legged Crow hunt?]

└ Recruitment attempt, maybe? Remember, Universe Guild came to Korea to scout Shin Jung-woo when he first awakened.

└ Oh, right, damn it;;;

└ If he’s been openly courting him on social media, he must be seriously hooked, right?

└ No!!! Shin Jung-woo, don’t go!!!

[The above seems like an overreaction. It’s probably a data agreement related to the Pyongyang reclamation.]

└ I think so too. It’s not right after the Three-legged Crow hunt—it’s right after he came back from Pyongyang. The US has a few states wiped out too, so they’re probably looking for an entry angle. Might be considering hiring Shin Jung-woo as a mercenary while they’re at it.

└ Don’t mercenary contracts pay a ton?

└ Yeah, for S-Rank it starts in the hundreds of billions of won. For someone of Shin Jung-woo’s caliber, you’d be looking at trillions per deployment.

└ Crazy;;;

Everyone was dying to know the answer.

Proof of that firepower was the swarm of reporters gathered in front of the Association like a colony of ants.

This time, however, even the Association had little to say.

For no other reason than this:

“What do we do? We don’t know either.”

“Figure it out yourself, Jung-woo. This is beyond me.”

“If the Association Chairman doesn’t know, who would?”

“Edmond would know. Did that man say why he’s coming, what his reason is, to cause all this commotion?”

Jung-woo and Ho-jong poked their heads out the Association Chairman’s office window and looked down.

The reporters were like a tidal wave.

Breaking through them would be an eternity of suffering.

“I’ll clock out using Phase Shift.”

“Why are you doing this to me, Jung-woo?”

“I can’t die, you know.”

“That hurts. Really.”

Jung-woo scratched his cheek.

“But seriously, why is he coming?”

“Could it be because of you?”

“If that were the case, he would have said he was coming to see the Chairman. You’re the guardian, after all.”

“Then it’s a mercenary hire? Congratulations. You’ll make a fortune. Go work for a few months and come back.”

“Don’t say that so easily. It’s Se-gi’s winter break, so I can’t. Besides, if it were a hiring matter, he wouldn’t come in person.”

It was truly a mystery.

Indeed, considering his standing, this move seemed to carry nothing but risk.

What could he possibly be lacking?

‘A matter that important? With me?’

No answer presented itself.

But it wasn’t as if he had no inkling at all.

“…The Erosion Zone, probably. Most likely.”

“Louisiana? Or Iowa? Could even be Minnesota, surprisingly.”

“Anywhere, really. If he’s planning to enter one, he might want to experience it firsthand. But the fact that he’s specifically coming to see me about it is what’s puzzling.”

Just one thing.

Why specifically target him?

That was the one question with no forthcoming answer, and it frustrated Jung-woo.

Ho-jong spoke.

“…Hmm, I think I’d be curious too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Putting myself in his shoes, I found it quite fascinating. If I were Edmond, I don’t think I could sit still without being curious about you, Jung-woo.”

When Jung-woo tilted his head, Ho-jong added:

“When you think about it, your track record is more unconventional than his was when he first awakened. You’re about to make him hand over the ‘zenith’ title—how could he not be curious?”

Was that all it was?

Having originally been a low-rank hunter with little interest in public renown, Jung-woo couldn’t grasp it immediately.

But with a little deeper thought, he could see it.

“…Huh, I suppose so.”

The first-ever purification of an Erosion Zone.

A subjugation campaign in hostile territory.

And though it had been packaged for external consumption, things like the separation of the parasite—someone of the Savior’s caliber would see through it.

From his perspective, these were astonishing enough.

Given his caliber, from a business standpoint, he wouldn’t just demand Jung-woo come to America to meet him without reason.

After all, Edmond and Universe were not a guild that lacked even that basic level of professionalism.

Only now, nearly half a year after his regression, did Jung-woo first recognize just how elevated his international standing had become.

‘…I’ve been so caught up dealing with what’s right in front of me that I never thought about it.’

But now that he realized it, this was something he needed to get used to.

Not just this matter—if he considered the Zero Gate explorations ahead, his actions would only appear increasingly unconventional in others’ eyes.

That was the nature of what Jung-woo intended to do.

“It wouldn’t look good to simply feign modesty, would it?”

“As expected of Korea’s pride. Want to be Association Chairman, Jung-woo?”

“No.”

He had just hatched a calculated scheme.

Recognizing his position meant expanding his options.

The fact that Edmond Richmond was treating him as an equal needed to be interpreted differently.

‘This isn’t a position to simply feel burdened by.’

It was still a distant prospect, so he hadn’t begun building toward it yet, but ultimately, the Zero Gate exploration would require drawing together humanity’s finest.

And in that case, Edmond Richmond was an essential name for that expedition.

‘I need to build a connection.’

This was an opportunity.

It had arisen from the butterfly effect of everything he had done so far.

He had created the opportunity himself, so seizing it would be his responsibility as well.

Jung-woo steadied himself, having been merely drifting along with the current.

It was then that—

“Oh right, and—”

“Yes?”

“I heard your magic stone processing is done.”

“Why are you only telling me now?”

“I forgot.”

“How impressive. Really.”

“I’m fifty-five. That can happen. Come to think of it, you’re awfully hard on me, Jung-woo.”

Ho-jong had once again dropped something important so casually, and Jung-woo’s eyes narrowed.

Edmond’s schedule for his visit to Korea was in five days.

Preparations to receive him were important, but until then, he needed to handle his daily routine without gaps.

The matter of the magic stone and Teddy Bear’s evolution was one such task.

Jung-woo arrived at the magic stone processing facility under the Association’s jurisdiction.

A facility that had become the largest in the country technologically, backed by corporate sponsorships.

However, he had heard that this task was a significant challenge even for them.

“It is here.”

Jung-woo followed the director’s guidance deeper inside.

There was an isolation chamber made of gate-derived ore, evident at a glance.

A room constructed of pure white steel.

The partition walls alone exceeded fifty centimeters in thickness, with a glass window barely the size of a porthole.

The magic stone rested within, carefully enshrined.

“…That’s a magic stone?”

“Yes, as you can see… it is not a conventional form.”

He could only nod.

Normally, once the cutting and processing stages were complete, a magic stone took the shape of a sphere.

But look at that.

‘A star candy?’

The deep crimson magic stone had a bumpy star-candy shape on its surface.

Its translucent material revealed an ominous surge of mana within the stone, its flow exceedingly erratic.

This was despite the processing already being complete.

The director explained the reason.

“The magic stone has a homeostatic property. Even when we shaved it smooth, the surface rippled and settled into that shape. We barely managed to keep its output from running out of control.”

“Remarkable.”

“Being the first case of its kind, we faced difficulties during the analysis process.”

Jung-woo nodded.

A magic stone from a parasite, no less.

With no existing data, it was to be expected.

But that didn’t matter.

‘It’ll be consumed once I slot it in, anyway.’

The power would be transferred entirely to Teddy Bear.

An L-Class skill guaranteed that much, so he had no anxiety on that front.

There was only one thing he was curious about.

“Has the magic stone’s nature been analyzed?”

What, then, was that magic stone’s ability?

What was its value as a combat asset?

Teddy Bear had seemed to already know.

That was why it had wanted this magic stone without a moment’s hesitation.

The director adjusted his glasses and answered.

Something close to rapture lingered in his voice.

“It is not a manifested ability.”

“Excuse me?”

“A concept itself is contained within.”

Jung-woo’s brow furrowed, unable to grasp it at once.

But the director, as if ignited by excitement, launched into an impassioned explanation.

“Initially, we conducted various experiments to test the stone’s ability. However, the results never converged on a single outcome. When we added fire, it consumed the fire and incorporated it into its concept. When we added water, it consumed the water and added it to its concept.”

“…Could you explain that more intuitively?”

“It would be faster to show you.”

The director activated some device.

The mana density within the isolation chamber increased.

“Please step back.”

Jung-woo nodded and stepped back five paces with the director.

It happened immediately after.

Kiiiiiiing—!

The magic stone sang.

It began greedily devouring the surrounding mana, its radiance growing steadily more intense.

“We do not know the reason either. However, we speculate that the magical beast had been fused with half of Hunter Chun Jun-ho’s body for a long period.”

“…Yes.”

“It appears that one of the storm concepts he wielded has melted into the magic stone.”

What that meant became clear immediately.

Seugeok—!

The isolation chamber was cut diagonally, centered on the magic stone.

Kung!

The upper half slid and crashed to the floor.

Jung-woo’s eyes filled with horror.

Goosebumps erupted across his entire body.

The director set his mouth in a crooked line and spoke.

“Severance.”

“…!”

“That magic stone contains the power to perfectly sever the structure of any material, regardless of what it is.”

The most perfect barrier that human technology could produce had become as thin as a sheet of paper.

That was merely the reaction of it absorbing and releasing mana.

Only then did Jung-woo understand the explanation that it “uses a concept.”

“In any case, it seems the parasite’s magic stone must be classified in a different category. …So, I was wondering—would it be permissible for me to write a paper on this topic for the next academic conference?”

The cautious question never reached Jung-woo’s ears.

‘What if I feed that to Teddy Bear?’

Only now did Jung-woo fully understand why Teddy Bear had wanted this magic stone.

The creature had known.

Who could make the best use of it.