President Seo Jaegwang sat alone in the President’s study. A large wall-mounted monitor displayed the B-rank gate.

There was a timer on the desk.

The time remaining until the gate’s explosion was 19 minutes.

In 19 minutes, he might have to order an artillery strike.

It was an indescribable feeling. When he was elected President, he had thought such a day might come, but now that it was upon him, all he wished was for it to be a dream.

And the President was not the only one watching the gate.

For the past 7 days, the attention of all citizens of the Republic of Korea had been focused on Yongsan.

An unprecedented evacuation order had been issued for Yongsan District and its surrounding areas, and even just issuing the evacuation order was causing immense property damage.

If the gate were to be eliminated, they could celebrate, saying ‘we suffered damage but we stopped it well,’ but if the gate were to burst, property damage would increase exponentially.

The country would falter. And enduring that would be solely the responsibility of the citizens of the Republic of Korea.

The citizens watched the gate situation, appearing in the middle realm from the air, with bated breath.

With an evacuation order issued, security was meaningless. The Nation had allowed its appearance in the Middle Realm, and drones were indeed broadcasting the footage.

“There is still time. It’s not over until it’s over. According to the Government’s announcement, the required Points are 1,232,254 Points. Due to the time difference, it’s estimated to have dropped even further by now, but…”

The announcer continued the live broadcast without a set script. She filled the audio continuously with only the real-time information that occasionally appeared on the teleprompter.

Announcers from the air were not the only ones talking about the gate.

Radios on their own, internet broadcasts on their own.

Waves and signals overflowed, transforming into audio and images that disoriented people’s eyes and ears.

Posts were constantly regenerating on the Internet Community as well.

Some people were convinced it would burst, while others blamed them and bet on it being stopped.

They were all telling different stories, but one thing they had in common was that no one knew what would happen.

‘It’s not over until it’s over’ wasn’t just a phrase to encourage them; it was a fact.

Perhaps the people of the Internet Community were just spouting such words to alleviate their anxiety.

Hunters also felt this situation was unsettling and uncertain.

The Hunters from the Center who had graduated from the Training Institute all gathered in the Lobby for the first time in a while.

They had just come out after collecting points until the very end.

They, too, looked exhausted and were sprawled out all over the Lobby.

But their eyes were still fixed on the Electronic Display Board showing the points.

The point decrease had stopped 30 minutes ago. It meant most Hunters had returned.

Now, the remaining points were 1,134,522.

They had to clear that to block the B-rank gate.

18 minutes, 17 minutes, 15 minutes.

Light burst from the Room with a Stone Slab at the End of the Hallway.

The Hunters’ gaze turned to the room.

About 10 seconds passed.

The remaining 1,134,522 points instantly changed to ‘0’.

…It’s done.

One of the Hunters sprang up. At the sound, the Hunters looked at the Electronic Display Board again.

Indeed, the required points had changed to 0.

It’s done! It’s done!

We blocked it!

Only then did all the Hunters shout and cheer.

And soon after, they saw Kim Songcheol walking out of the room.

Everyone worked hard.

Kim Songcheol uttered those first words. He, too, looked a little tired.

***

The B-rank gate displayed on the screen vanished as if erased.

At that moment, cheers erupted throughout All of South Korea.

The entire Apartment Complex echoed with shouts.

With the cheers serving as a giant celebratory firework, the atmosphere in the Republic of Korea quickly turned around.

All traces of despair that had heavily weighed down the Republic of Korea since the B-rank gate appeared vanished.

Instead, a festive feeling even spread, carried by the Aura.

The citizens who had evacuated returned to their original homes.

Interviews expressing how glad they were to be back, thinking they might never return, lined up.

Broadcasting stations once again aired special programs re-examining the lives of Hunters, and all newspapers continuously published news about the gate.

Also, as Internet Broadcasters flocked to where the gate had appeared, various incidents, big and small, occurred.

However, as more time passed, public interest shifted significantly to something other than the gate itself.

They began to analyze why the B-rank gate appeared and why it could be blocked, and naturally, the name Kim Songcheol came up.

Kim Songcheol was already a name that had once emerged, primarily within the Internet Community.

Although the government and media kept quiet, so it didn’t spread to the entire nation, most people who were active online knew about it.

There were already rumors that Cha Sehyeon was an incomparable hunter, so it was only natural that the topic was brought up again.

This time, it wasn’t even limited to internet communities. The issue was so big that it even spread by word of mouth.

Like a highly contagious disease, the name Kim Songcheol spread throughout every corner of the Republic of Korea.

The subject of all this attention, Kim Songcheol, was sitting in his living room. The world was calling his name, but it didn’t reach him.

The unlit living room was, of course, dark. It would be more accurate to say that the day ended while he was sitting there, rather than that he deliberately turned off the lights.

It had been about two weeks since he stopped the B-rank gate.

He had been to the dungeon about five or six times, matching the Voidor cycle of the frontline, so he just assumed it had been that long.

During that time, Kim Songcheol never entered his study.

Meaning he hadn’t studied magic.

He wasn’t doing anything else either. He just spent his time sitting still, like now.

This wasn’t what Kim Songcheol wanted. Even now, he strongly recognized the necessity of researching 7th Circle Magic.

But strangely, his body wouldn’t move.

‘What is this?’

Like a mage, Kim Songcheol began to analyze his feelings.

But there was nothing specific he could point to.

It was just a feeling of being down.

Despite that, his concentration for magic research was nonexistent. He just wanted to sit on the couch.

Kim Songcheol himself didn’t realize it, but he was suffering from accumulated damage.

Rapid growth meant his life changed drastically, and the dungeons relentlessly pushed him, exposing him to countless stressful situations, and this time he even faced an unprecedented B-rank gate.

And that gate was something Kim Songcheol had to stop.

No hunter avoids mental problems. There are only differences in degree; they are bound to occur in one way or another.

Kim Songcheol was no different.

The next day, Kim Songcheol had a meal with Kim Myeongju.

It was a regular meeting, rather than Kim Myeongju sensing something or Kim Songcheol saying anything.

“The public’s interest is very high.”

Kim Myeongju cautiously brought up the topic.

“Is that so?”

A somewhat indifferent reply.

“Everything else is fine. The government also intends to follow Mr. Kim Songcheol’s decision. But I think it’s time for a response. Recently, a lot of fake news has been pouring out…”

That was the situation. Since there wasn’t much information about Kim Songcheol, people started making things up.

In addition, some people, aiming for views, spread malicious false information.

Sometimes, articles about Kim Songcheol’s true identity also appeared.

It was said that he was a former accountant who suddenly left his accounting profession and disappeared.

Of course, whether fortunately or unfortunately, it was buried among various fake news stories.

Anyway, since Kim Songcheol himself wasn’t coming forward, there were limits to the government’s response.

Kim Myeongju was pointing out that part.

“Then what would be a good approach?”

“I think, given how things have turned out, it would be good to address it properly once and for all.”

“How so…?”

“Just showing your face at an official event would clear up quite a few suspicions. Surprisingly, hiding things often makes people more curious, so if you reveal it once, the public’s interest is likely to subside.”

“Should I hold a press conference or something?”

“That would be best, but it might not be absolutely necessary. Even just doing a short interview at an event or something…”

“Hmm…”

Just then.

Ring-

His cell phone rang loudly.

He quickly took it out to see it was his mother.

“Ah, one moment.”

As Kim Songcheol showed her the three letters ‘Mother’ on the screen, Kim Myeongju raised her hand as if urging him to answer it quickly.

“Hello?”

Kim Songcheol answered the phone.

[You… it’s not you, is it?]

His mother said.

“Yes?”

[It’s not you, is it? It’s not you.]

Her voice was trembling.

“Ah… are you talking about that Hunter? My friends misunderstood a lot too. It’s not me. I’m doing well at the company, so what are you talking about…?”

[Right? It’s not you, is it? You, absolutely not. I can’t bear to see that.]

“How could I become a Hunter? That’s ridiculous.”

[…So, it’s not you?]

“Yes. It’s not.”

Kim Songcheol finished the phone call like that.

“Whew……”

Then he let out a long sigh.

Kim Myeongju’s face became a little serious.

Kim Songcheol’s expression now, and his long sigh.

This was something you would never usually see.

It felt like there was something more than just a problem with his parents.

“Do you have a son?”

Kim Songcheol suddenly asked.

“I don’t have a son, but I have two daughters, haha.”

Kim Myeongju forced a laugh.

“It’s a bit of a cruel question, but how would you feel if your daughters said they wanted to become Hunters?”

“…That is a cruel question.”

He couldn’t help but smile bitterly. To put it negatively, he could be seen as someone who takes other people’s sons and daughters and throws them into Dungeons. Any answer he gave would inevitably sound hypocritical.

“I’ll just be honest. I don’t want to make her do it.”

“Right? But… have you thought about it from your daughter’s perspective? If your daughter became a Hunter, what kind of father would she want? Especially if she couldn’t quit being a Hunter.”

“That’s…”

Kim Myeongju was speechless.

It was a topic he had never considered before.

“Should we hold a press conference?”

Kim Songcheol changed the subject before Kim Myeongju could answer.

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’ll send a stand-in and go down to my family home. Then my alibi will be complete…”

“Ah, a stand-in. That doesn’t seem like a bad idea either.”

Kim Songcheol’s press conference was widely reported.

The entire Republic of Korea was already abuzz with the name Kim Songcheol.

It was only natural that public attention would be drawn to the person who had been shrouded in mystery finally making an appearance.

A National Intelligence Service employee was selected as the stand-in. A completely new persona was designed, not the accountant Kim Songcheol, and they were perfectly familiar with all the information about him.

There would be no problem, no matter what questions were asked.

30 minutes before the press conference.

Kim Songcheol belatedly used Teleport to move to the rooftop of his family home apartment. In a situation where he had to prove he wasn’t a Hunter, he couldn’t show himself using magic.

Kim Songcheol looked around once and then walked towards the door. The moment he reached out to grab the rooftop doorknob, the crystal inside Kim Songcheol revealed its presence.

Its presence encroached upon Kim Songcheol’s mind, projecting an image.

Among many corpses, Cha Sehyeon caught his eye. She, too, was dead.

In the distance, the corpses of Namgung Jin and the Celestial Spirit Maiden were visible. The two lay intertwined. A little further away, Setsu’s corpse was seen.

And when he turned his head a little more,

Kim Songcheol could find his own corpse.

At that moment, the image scattered, and Kim Songcheol came to his senses, still holding the rooftop doorknob.

“Ah…”

He stood blankly for a long time. It felt like the fuse had suddenly blown after adding burden upon burden.

For reasons he couldn’t even understand himself, Kim Songcheol used Teleport towards the Press Conference Hall.

He headed straight to the waiting room.

There wasn’t much time left until the press conference. The fake Kim Songcheol was seen coming out of the waiting room. Kim Myeongju was beside him.

When Kim Songcheol suddenly appeared, Kim Myeongju’s eyes widened.

“No…”

“I’ll do the press conference.”

“No…”

“This way, right?”

Kim Songcheol opened the door and walked out before Kim Myeongju could stop him.

Thus, the ‘real’ Kim Songcheol appeared in the Press Conference Hall.