September 14, 2025.

A peaceful Sunday night. But the atmosphere in the Blue House’s office was far from pleasant.

“This bast—!”

Park Taeseok, the 20th president of South Korea.

Having risen to the presidency at the relatively young age of 53, he was, by any measure, a capable politician.

His style was to push things through without hesitation, wielding his signature charisma and grit. Though barely a year into the office, his list of accomplishments was already long.

Thanks to that, he enjoyed considerable public trust. He’d even earned the honorable nickname ‘The Bulldozer.’

“This son of a bitch dares to—fucking with me like this!”

Park Taeseok had always kept his poker face, but not today.

He hurled a stack of documents at the chief of staff beside him. With a thoroughly irritable demeanor.

“How the hell do you handle things! Can’t you even keep something like this in check!”

“I apologize.”

The chief secretary couldn’t lift his head. Frankly, he was seething with injustice, but he didn’t dare talk back.

Park Taeseok glared at the crumpled stack of documents, his eyes practically shooting lasers. Thick curses spilled from his lips.

“That bastard Lee Chigon. That son of a bitch! What the hell is that bastard even doing?”

Curses condemning the Hunter Association President continued for a while. After a moment, Park Taeseok ground his teeth and stood up.

“Have the car ready.”

“Yes, sir! Understood!”

The chief secretary answered immediately and turned around. Just as he was about to leave the office, the door opened first and someone walked in.

Not just the chief secretary, but even the President was stunned for a moment. Who would dare enter the President’s private study without permission?

The intruder looked suspicious at first glance. It was a man with a thick hood pulled low over his face.

“Wha… what!?”

The chief secretary flinched and stepped back in surprise.

The President calmly opened a drawer and grabbed a pistol.

“Who are you! How did you get in here? Huh!?”

Through the gap of the open door, a person could be seen lying unconscious on the floor. The chief secretary’s face turned pale. He urgently radioed the security team, but there was no response.

“Security team! Secu—ugh!”

In an instant, the air in the office grew heavy. An immense pressure, like being sucked into the deep sea, crushed down on the chief secretary.

He couldn’t hold out for even a moment and collapsed, unconscious.

“……”

That pressure avoided the President. Thanks to that, Park Taeseok didn’t lose consciousness. But sweat poured down him like rain.

“……Who are you.”

Park Taeseok suppressed his trembling with superhuman composure. The grip of the gun he held in secret was slick with sweat.

The mysterious man slowly moved his hands and pulled back his hood. Seeing the face of the intruder, Park Taeseok felt his heart stop.

“This is the first time I’m seeing you in person, Mr. President. It’s a bit late, but congratulations on your election.”

“You… You were in Korea?”

“I came back a little while ago. Well, I’ll be leaving again soon though. I’m a very busy man, you see. Heh heh.”

The intruder laughed playfully and sat down on the office sofa.

“How about we have a little talk? Put down what’s in your hand.”

“……”

‘A talk? He wants to talk? This young bastard dares to try and deceive me?’

Rage boiled inside Park Taeseok. But he wasn’t foolish enough to show it outwardly.

He calmly put down the pistol and walked towards the sofa. After all, holding a needle up against a tiger… no, a dragon, would be utterly useless.

“What kind of outrageous behavior is this? Do you think your actions now are forgivable?”

“Forgiveness. Heh heh heh.”

The intruder let out a cold laugh. Then, in an icy tone, he spoke.

“Mr. President, do you know this? Forgiveness and mercy are what the strong grant to the weak.”

“…I am the President of this country.”

Park Taeseok shot back without backing down.

It was no exaggeration to say he’d survived the political arena on sheer grit alone. But he couldn’t help feeling that this moment of locked eyes with the intruder was harder than any of those past decades in politics.

The intruder softened his expression and spoke gently.

“Heh heh. Well, I do apologize for any rudeness on my part. My education was lacking, so I’m not well-versed in formalities. Please forgive me with your generous magnanimity.”

“What’s your business? You didn’t come all this way just to spout nonsense, did you?”

“You’re quite direct. As expected of the Bulldog President. Heh heh. Yes. I like cutting to the chase myself, so let’s get straight to the point.”

The intruder rambled for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

“Mr. President.”

“Speak.”

“Do nothing.”

“…What?”

“Just as the word says. From now on, do nothing and simply stay still.”

“Speak so I can understand.”

“I’m telling you not to try anything. Just spend the rest of your term enjoying yourself in peace and comfort. Take the First Lady on a trip, go out for some good food. Ah? I was in Czechia until recently—it’s really nice there. The food’s pretty good too. You might as well take this chance and visit.”

The intruder rose to his feet and pulled his hood back over his head.

“I like people like you, Mr. President. That’s why I’m making this offer.”

“Are you messing with me right now?”

“Heh heh heh. Messing with you…”

Park Taeseok chewed his lip. Blood, metallic and bitter, seeped from the torn flesh.

The intruder just chuckled, a low, guttural sound.

Right then, an invisible force gripped the President’s throat. He gasped, clawing at his neck, but it was useless.

A moment later, a terrible, hellish fear crashed down on Park Taeseok. His vision went black. He felt like he might piss himself from sheer terror.

The intruder spoke, his voice sinister.

“Even time for laughing and enjoying yourself will be tight. Think carefully.”

“G-guhhk!”

“The President is a smart man, so I trust you understand what I mean. I will send a man to you. Do not ignore his message. This is a warning.”

“Kkhhk! Kheok! S-save me…!”

“I’ll say it once more. Do nothing. Nothing at all.”

With those words, the intruder vanished without a trace.

Freed from the invisible force, Park Taeseok collapsed like a wet rag.

“Cough! Cough! Hah, hah, hah…”

He stared into empty space with the dead eyes of a fish. The thug was already gone without a trace.

“Ah-uh… ah…”

Terror still clung to his body.

Park Taeseok bawled like a regressed child.

* * *

“Hey… what the hell is this?”

The low table looked pitiful. A few slices of pickled vegetables, some dried seaweed, and a couple of ham chunks microwaved in a hurry—that was it.

Go Byeonggap chewed his steamed rice slowly, staring at his phone.

“Crazy. Monsters popped up in North Korea? And a whole month ago?”

Last evening, Sunday.

The Hunter Association President had called a press conference, a solo briefing that dropped a bombshell.

A monster wave had erupted in what they vaguely called the Former North Korea Zone.

But the timing was what got people—it had happened a whole month ago.

“No kidding.”

Was North Korea on the opposite side of the planet? You could drive there from Seoul in a few hours.

Sure, the monster wave struck in North Hamgyeong Province—the northernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula.

Still, living under that threat for a month without knowing felt absurd.

“Things were just calming down… now people are gonna panic all over again.”

Public sentiment had only just begun to stabilize.

Companies that had closed were reopening; kids were back in school.

Even at the grocery store, the long lines were gone.

And out of nowhere, a monster wave.

“Citizens, please don’t worry—go about your daily lives. On the honor of the Association, I swear we will not let any harm come to you.”

“Well, at least they’ve got a plan. That’s a relief.”

The government seemed to have its act together.

The Association and multiple guilds would cooperate to handle the situation. The final goal wasn’t just to suppress the monster wave—it was to fully reclaim the northern half of the peninsula.

“Makes sense. Those rifts in North Korea are pure cash—can’t just leave them sitting.”

Go Byeonggap set down his phone and focused on eating. North Korea, monster wave—the big shots would handle it.

Unless monsters were prowling right outside his door, he had no reason to grab a sword and charge out.

“Let’s just make money. Pay off the debt, cover Mom’s hospital bills, and maybe buy the kids something to eat.”

Go Byeonggap moved fast.

Today, he headed to Hongcheon County in Gangwon Province to subjugate a B-rank rift.

«Kreuk! Kreuk!»

«That’s it. Good work.»

The raid team’s skills improved every day. Some members had nearly mastered the low-grade manuals and were eyeing the mid-grade ones.

‘Once everyone in the raid team finishes the mid-grade manuals, we might be able to take on A-rank rifts. Then I could make tens of millions of won a day!’

Back in the day, he pulled in six to seven hundred a month. Now? Tens of millions in one go. A dream come true, plain and simple.

“Kyahahk—Chak!”

Go Byeonggap crushed a C-rank Black Iron Centipede in a single blow and allowed himself a satisfied smile. He couldn’t wait for that day to come.

B-rank rift subjugations were never smooth sailing, but this one was going decently well.

Four and a half hours after entering the hidden world, they’d made it all the way to the boss monster.

“Kuu-ook! Ku-ook!”

«About time to sharpen the blade. Perfect timing.»

A B-rank beast-type monster: the Sharpdeer.

A massive deer-shaped monster standing two meters at the shoulder. The fangs jutting from its snout and the brutish hind legs were terrifying enough, but the real threat was something else entirely.

Those antlers. Countless hunters had lost limbs to those razor-sharp horns that shredded everything they touched.

But to Go Byeonggap, they were just alchemy ingredients.

«Dangerous bastard. Stay back.»

«Yessir!»

Go Byeonggap drew his sword and stepped forward. The Sharpdeer, having lost all its underling monsters, stamped its hooves in furious rage.

“Kuu-ook! Ku-ook!”

“Wheee!”

He whistled a taunt, and the Sharpdeer charged like an arrow. Felt like facing down an armored vehicle.

He focused his mind and erupted the internal energy within his body. At the same time, he searched expertly for the enemy’s opening.

‘Right leg!’

Locking the target in his mind, he sprinted forward to meet it.

A hair’s breadth before colliding with the Sharpdeer, Go Byeonggap twisted his body and aimed for its right foreleg.

But the beast was no pushover. An instant before the blade struck, it yanked its leg back with animal instinct, minimizing the damage.

‘Shit. Too shallow.’

He hadn’t managed to sever the leg in one blow. The Sharpdeer immediately kicked out with its hind leg, aiming for Byeonggap.

“Hup!”

Go Byeonggap twisted with flexibility and barely dodged.

‘That almost got me.’

He and the Sharpdeer stood facing each other again. The beast was off-balance, one leg wounded.

“Kuuuuaaa!”

The Sharpdeer charged again. Its momentum had dulled considerably compared to before. Go Byeonggap could spot its openings more easily.

“Hahp!”

A decisive sword stroke. The Sharpdeer’s right leg was cleanly severed. And that wasn’t all — he slashed across its flank, splitting its belly open.

“Kuaaahk!”

Through the gash, entrails and blood poured out like a waterfall. Go Byeonggap had no intention of giving the beast even a second of respite.

The relentless assault continued. Crippled and fatally wounded, the Sharpdeer couldn’t resist such brutal violence.

Moments later, with a deathbed scream, the Sharpdeer collapsed entirely.

It was his victory.

* * *

«Tidy up the by-products separately.»

«Yes, sir! Good work!»

«Right. You’ve done your part.»

After bathing, Go Byeonggap stepped out of Asvillam to the farewells of the goblins.

Today he’d cleared one B-rank and one C-rank. His body felt heavy, but his heart was featherlight.

“Ah, that’s satisfying!”

He loaded his refreshed body into the car and drove back to Seoul. He’d arrive around five or six.

He was enjoying the drive with his favorite song playing when he found himself slipping into the forest of buildings.

Go Byeonggap didn’t like Seoul much, but he did love its night view.

“If only Asvillam had a night view this pretty.”

The nights in Asvillam were pitch-black. Would he ever see a night view like Seoul’s there?

“Dunno. Probably not before I die of old age.”

Imagining skyscrapers in Asvillam, Go Byeonggap stopped by the Association.

As always, he sold off magic stones and loot. The whole thing was done in a flash.

“Take care.”

He was about to leave after the greeting when an Association employee stopped him.

“Ah, Hunter Go Byeonggap! One moment!”

“Yes? Did I leave something behind?”

“No, that’s not it. We have an announcement for the hunters, and I wanted to pass it along. It’ll take about ten minutes. Do you have a moment?”

‘Ten minutes, what’s that.’

Go Byeonggap smacked his lips and sat back down.

Counselor Kim Seulgi fumbled around under the desk and pulled something out. It looked like a pamphlet.

She held it up and spoke in a purely businesslike tone.

“The Association and several guilds have jointly launched a project to recover the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Were you aware of this?”