Immediately after finishing the magic stone performance test, Jung-woo summoned Teddy Bear right there in the ruins of the isolation room.

Ppok!

Teddy Bear appeared with a sound and strode toward the magic stone.

The movement carried the air of someone performing a task that was simply expected of him.

If there was a minor curiosity, it was how a magic stone the size of a person’s skull could fuse with a toy knife.

The answer was remarkably simple.

Kiiiiiiiing—!

When Teddy Bear brought the sword hilt down onto the magic stone, the stone began to glow and compress. Before long, it fused to the end of the hilt as though it had been part of the doll from the very beginning.

An alert appeared.

【A Magic Stone has been equipped to [Bear Hero (S+)]!】

【[Attribute: Severance] has been granted to [Bear Hero (S+)]!】

Only then did Jung-woo understand what it meant for the magic stone to be consumed.

‘It gets converted into an accessory for the doll.’

No wonder it was impossible to retrieve.

Still, it was an encouraging development.

The raw power of the magic stone that had absorbed mana and cleaved the isolation room in two remained vivid in his memory. Combined with Teddy Bear’s slashes, the result would be devastating.

A single strike, certain death.

It would deliver exactly the performance the words promised.

The parasite was proof enough of that. Even after taking several of Teddy Bear’s slashes, it had retained consciousness and required the assistance of Hunter Chun Jun-ho before it could finally be subjugated.

Considering all that, he had effectively gained a joker card in terms of raw firepower.

Jung-woo’s thoughts naturally drifted to the two S-Rank Champions still remaining in North Korea.

The rough plans he had drafted to deal with them were now entirely obsolete.

‘I’ll need to redraw everything after the performance test. Once I confirm what level we’re working with, I can rebuild the subjugation scenario around Teddy Bear…’

His head grew slightly feverish with excitement.

However, none of that was an immediate concern.

The director snapped Jung-woo back to reality.

“Oh, ohhh! So absorption can work that way! May I include this in my paper as well!? Ah, as for permission to publish…”

“Ah, sorry, I lost myself for a moment. My apologies. Of course you may write the paper. I was only able to process the magic stone like this thanks to you, Director.”

“Ah! Thank you… thank you again!”

“It’s nothing that grand… February, was it? The next academic conference. I’m always grateful to researchers. I have tremendous respect for them. To devote themselves to research without rest like that.”

“…Yes, thanks to someone.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Jung-woo tilted his head at the odd remark, but the director had already shifted the topic.

“More importantly, there doesn’t appear to be any change in the summon’s outward appearance. Usually, evolution brings a change in looks as well.”

He had a point. Aside from the red gem ornament at the tip of the sword, which one would miss without looking closely, everything about Teddy Bear remained exactly as before.

Jung-woo laughed awkwardly.

“Isn’t that a good thing? From what I know, merchandise makers slap on some edition label whenever there’s even a slight change in appearance.”

“…Ah.”

A somewhat hollow smile crept across the director’s lips as his thoughts headed in that direction.

“My youngest niece adores Hunter Shin Jung-woo’s summon dolls. My sibling is practically dying to get one for her.”

Victims existed everywhere, it seemed.

Feeling inexplicably apologetic, Jung-woo said in passing:

“…If any variation products come out, I’ll make sure to send you one. Just inquire with the Association.”

“May I really impose on you like that?”

“I’m a dad too. I’ve been suffering through that Biniping craze myself.”

A bond had formed through shared parenting struggles.

As he parted ways with the director and left the research institute, Jung-woo glanced at Teddy Bear, whose steps were particularly plodding today, and asked out of an abundance of caution:

“…You’re not actually going to do anything like transform, right?”

Teddy Bear gazed steadily at Jung-woo for a long moment, then padded ahead with a ppok-ppok.

Neither confirmation nor denial, and for some reason, a chill ran down Jung-woo’s spine.

If it were up to him, he would have jumped straight into Teddy Bear’s performance test right then and there. But human affairs were evidently designed so that one could not simply do as one pleased.

The entire nation was in an uproar over Edmond Richmond’s imminent arrival in Korea.

How much more so for Jung-woo, who had to receive the man personally? He was already buried under a mountain of work, and adding the reception-related matters on top of everything threatened even his sacred tradition of quitting exactly on time, something he had never compromised before.

He barely managed to meet the Deadline and held that particular line.

Days blurred together in a frenzy of activity until, before he knew it, the day of the visit arrived.

It was then that Jung-woo encountered a telling indicator of just how significant this matter was on a national scale.

“Daddy, today’s the day you meet your foreign friend, right~?”

“Yeah, there’s a foreign gentleman who wants to be friends with Daddy.”

“Se-gi saw it on the news! Edmond! They said he’s a suuuper famous person!”

“Who told you that?”

“Teacher did!”

Se-gi, who only ever watched the news when someone she knew appeared on screen, had brought up the meeting with the unfamiliar gentleman on her own.

If she knew who he was, and even her kindergarten teachers were discussing it in front of the children, then this was truly a momentous occasion.

The weight of it pressed down on him, just slightly.

He smiled awkwardly, and Se-gi’s encouragement followed.

“You have to go and have fun~!”

“Yeah, Daddy will have fun and come back. Se-gi will have fun too, right?”

“Mhm! Se-gi is in good-kid mode!”

“Because Christmas is right around the corner?”

“Se-gi was already a good kid! She’s just being extra careful! Se-gi was always good!”

“That’s right. There’s no kid as good as our Se-gi.”

Jung-woo smiled warmly and pulled Se-gi into a tight hug.

After dropping her off at daycare, he headed not to the Association but to the airport.

Seoul’s traffic was not an issue.

Hwak!

He had used a Shark Avatar sent ahead as a pin point for Phase Shift.

The scenery changed to reveal a meeting room he had secured inside the airport in advance.

Ho-jong’s expression soured upon discovering Jung-woo’s sudden appearance.

“…So that’s what it is. The ability your team members envy so much.”

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“I did not. I don’t have abilities like yours, so I had to wake up early.”

“Then you should have gone to bed that much earlier.”

“Jung-woo, apologize this instant. Words can be violence too.”

An S-Rank hunter did not grow fatigued from losing a few hours of sleep.

A veteran hunter like Ho-jong, who had trained without rest for decades, could go an entire week without sleep without any significant decline in condition.

In other words, Ho-jong’s complaint was the most egregious exaggeration imaginable.

Jung-woo breezed past it.

“Where are our guests?”

“The advance party arrived early. They’re clearing immigration.”

“And Edmond?”

“Flying in on his private jet. Arriving at ten, no delays.”

“Then I should start by receiving the advance party.”

Jung-woo adjusted his tie.

He positioned Ho-jong at the very front and stood alongside Vice Association Chairman Shin-wook.

Shin-wook offered a greeting with his trademark affable smile.

“Good morning, Hunter Shin Jung-woo.”

“Good morning to you as well, Vice Chairman.”

It was awkward.

Their history together had hardly been a pleasant one, after all.

Setting aside personal sentiments, however, the hostility between them had faded considerably since before.

When Jun-ho’s return was announced to the public, Shin-wook’s efforts had been more dazzling than anyone else’s.

‘He was sincere. This man.’

From the press conference to scenario editing and public opinion management, everything Shin-wook touched concluded with the most ideal outcome for the Association’s side.

To dismiss it as simply doing his job would be insufficient.

At the time, Shin-wook had been remarkably passionate.

The fact that most of the ideas in the process had been his own might help explain it.

Jung-woo had once asked, in a roundabout way, why he went that far.

The answer he received was this:

—”We give him the treatment he deserves. Hunter Chun Jun-ho is a hero to me as well, and his existence will have an immensely positive impact on this nation.”

He recalled something Ho-jong had once said about the man.

‘A man who moves for conviction, not morality.’

He understood what those words meant now.

Shin-wook was someone who pursued the best possible outcome atop muddy waters, not a clean second choice. He sacrificed the process for the sake of completing the objective, prioritizing purpose over the righteousness of the act itself.

It was not enough to fully approve of him, but it was sufficient grounds to understand the man he was.

Society was made up of all kinds of people. The larger a group grew, the more someone had to wade into the muck, and within the Association, Shin-wook was the person best suited for that role.

A necessary evil, in the truest sense.

An evil that never crossed the line.

He flashed a bright smile and asked:

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just feel like I owe you a lot lately. That’s all. Gratitude.”

“I’m simply doing what needs to be done. Making this nation stronger is equally rewarding.”

“I can agree with that.”

Ho-jong casually cut the conversation short.

“Both of you, stop scheming behind my back. What are you, medieval noblewomen? My back is aching.”

“What kind of analogy is that?”

“My youngest daughter was reading it, so I read some too. You should get some culture in your life, Jung-woo. Romance webtoons are quite entertaining.”

“I honestly don’t know where to begin with that. Maybe spend that time catching up on your backlog of approvals instead.”

“Shall we go? Our guests are waiting.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Ho-jong strode forward without answering.

Jung-woo let out a dry laugh and followed behind him.

Stepping out of the meeting room and arriving at the immigration hall, they found Universe’s advance party standing in formation.

A razor-sharp tension radiated from them.

‘No separate protocol team.’

Universe Guild.

The undisputed greatest guild in the world, built from the ground up by the strongest hunter, Edmond Richmond himself. They stood before him now.

They appeared to be nothing more than an entourage for diplomatic protocol, but considering that each and every one of them was an upper-tier A-Rank hunter, one could fully appreciate just how massive and powerful Universe was as a guild.

The head of the entourage stepped forward.

A Native American with a clean-cut appearance, dressed sharply in a suit.

With an interpreter at his side, he extended a hand for a handshake and spoke.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Samuel Swift Cloud, Director of Universe.”

Jung-woo recognized the man.

Samuel Swift Cloud, one of the directors of Universe.

Far too powerful a figure to be serving as the head of a mere entourage.

‘An S-Rank as the entourage representative.’

It was almost laughable. But because it was the United States, it made perfect sense.

A nation with nineteen S-Rank hunters in existence.

A nation where all nineteen were registered under the Universe guild.

For a king’s procession, anything less than this would have been the surprising part.

Amid the tension, Ho-jong accepted the handshake.

Then he spoke with confidence.

…He really should not have.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ho-jong. He is Shin Jung-woo. Do you know Shin Jung-woo?”

Jung-woo froze.

Samuel’s gaze wavered.

It was a hearty dose of Konglish that dragged the dignified atmosphere straight down to the marketplace.

Had he done it on purpose?

No.

Ho-jong appeared genuinely confident in his English.

From the looks of it, he had even practiced that one line specifically for today.

It was then that Jung-woo realized something. In the original history, Ho-jong was a man who never had occasion to use English. During the twentieth century, when he received his mandatory education, this brand of Konglish was the standard.

He was someone who had risen to a key position during an era when international exchange was completely severed, and had spent his entire career overseeing domestic security. Diplomatic engagement with foreign dignitaries was a world far removed from anything he had ever known.

Jung-woo sensed it was time to step forward.

He moved one pace ahead and spoke.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jung-woo Shin. If you don’t mind, I’d like to lead our conversation today.”

Relief washed over Samuel’s face.

“You speak English?”

“A little.”

Ho-jong blinked.

Then he turned to Jung-woo.

“You can speak English, Jung-woo?”

“Of course. It comes with the territory.”

Otherworld Studies was an academic discipline, after all.

And academic disciplines generally wrote their papers in English.

Before his regression, he had needed to read source texts to improve the quality of his raid guides, which naturally placed him in an environment where he had no choice but to learn the language.

For that reason, Jung-woo could handle several foreign languages with considerable fluency.

“I’ll handle this. Chairman, please stay behind me.”

“…”

Betrayal was written all over Ho-jong’s eyes.

Jung-woo breezed past that look as well.

The man could be quite impressive in certain situations, but at a moment like this, this was the correct answer.

He exchanged light conversation with Samuel.

Mostly matters related to the schedule that had been stalled by difficulties in communicating directly with Edmond. There were also topics well-suited for ice-breaking, so the conversation never ran dry.

“It must have been a tremendous honor to work alongside Universe.”

“I had things I wanted to do in this country. I remain grateful for the offer. Being recognized by the finest guild was an honor.”

“Patriotism?”

“Yes, to some degree.”

Universe had been the single most prestigious guild among the companies that had courted Jung-woo when he first awakened. However, the foreign environment would not have been beneficial for Se-gi, and considering the inevitable clashes over the Zero Gate exploration matter, it was not an attractive option, so he had declined.

Keeping the conversation flowing along related topics made stalling for time a simple enough task.

Before long, it was ten past ten.

The plane had landed. It was time for the passengers to disembark.

Reporters were beginning to take their positions.

Jung-woo stood at the front of the immigration hall.

With the entourage lining both sides of the corridor to block the reporters’ approach, a perfect red carpet had been laid out.

Then came a moment when the distant murmur of the crowd felt impossibly far away.

Wiiiiiing—

The doors of the immigration hall opened.

And today’s true guest appeared.

The pinnacle of humanity. The strongest hunter. The undisputed king of the United States, who led the greatest guild in the world.

Standing over 190 centimeters tall, muscles carrying an unmistakable wildness asserted their presence even beneath his suit.

Blond pompadour, meticulously groomed beard, a high nasal bridge, and sunglasses.

Edmond Richmond.

He began to walk with his hands in his pockets.

Behind him, his personal subjugation squad followed in step.

They were the identity of the American hunter.

The American hunter world was moving in its entirety.

The distance closed.

Jung-woo felt mana so dense it stung the tip of his nose.

Even though it was clearly suppressed, the density of mana inherent to his very existence was so vast that it seemed to cast a shadow across the space itself.

Edmond came to a halt in front of Jung-woo.

Even at a respectable 183 centimeters, Jung-woo had to look up at the man who now stood before him.

A moment of absolute silence.

Edmond deepened his smile as if savoring it, then removed his sunglasses and spoke.

His tone was exceedingly amiable.

“You’re far better in person. Teddy Bear hunter.”

Chwajwajwajwajwak—!

The sound of camera shutters shattered the silence into fragments.