The Mountain Mid-slope of an A-rank Dungeon.

There was a large mansion where a wide Base could be seen below.

A swimming pool was on one side, and a neatly trimmed, wide lawn was also visible.

This was the Headquarters of Pew.

It looked more like a villa than a Headquarters, and in fact, Pew’s Hunters used this place like a villa.

Some Hunters were already enjoying swimming and sunbathing in their swimsuits.

Some Hunters floated on the pool, while others lay on sunbeds nearby, drinking beer.

Few had any enemies and were young. Their Dungeon activities, apart from hunting, were closer to socializing and leisure.

“Where’s the new float I bought?”

“Here.”

A Hunter in a bikini, lying on a sunbed, gestured with her finger, and a deflated float flew over.

“Let’s see.”

The Hunter in the pool snatched the float out of the air and unfurled it.

It was a unicorn-shaped float.

“Benjamin will like this, won’t he?”

He grinned and waved his hand in the air. Then, his blue supernatural ability manifested, grabbing air and quickly stuffing it into the float.

Rupture!

The float quickly became full.

This Hunter possessed a supernatural ability powerful enough to be one of the Few. Controlling the air to quickly inflate a small opening was no trouble at all.

“It’s much bigger than I thought. Benjamin, a gift!”

The fully inflated unicorn float bobbed as if running through the air and flew towards the second-story window.

As the unicorn float moved left and right across the window, it soon opened, and Benjamin revealed his face.

“Who brought this?”

Benjamin asked.

“DJ got it, I hear?”

“Really?”

Benjamin grabbed the unicorn float, examined it, and then simply tossed it down.

The unicorn float slowly descended and gently landed on the surface of the pool.

“Tell him thanks, but I don’t need a fake unicorn.”

“Strictly speaking, Shadows are also fake unicorns, Benjamin.”

The Hunter lying on the sunbed latched onto his words.

She slightly lowered her sunglasses and looked up at Benjamin.

“Ha, mine’s real though.”

Benjamin just responded with a laugh and closed the window again.

He was naturally a recluse who didn’t enjoy socializing. So, taking on the role of Few’s representative wasn’t his will.

If the previous representative hadn’t designated Benjamin before ascending to an S-rank Dungeon, he would probably have remained a ‘normal member of the Few’.

‘It’s a good thing I don’t have much to do, at least.’

Benjamin leaned back in his recliner and picked up the book he had been reading.

One of the good things about being a Hunter was being able to read books from all over the world.

Even without studying languages, it was possible to read them through the Dungeon’s translation function.

If DJ had really wanted to capture Benjamin’s interest, it would have been better to get him a history book from another world instead of a unicorn float.

It was when Benjamin was engrossed in his book again.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the window. Benjamin slightly lowered his book and raised his eyes.

Setsu was floating outside the window.

Benjamin opened the window with his supernatural ability and lowered the book to his lap.

He didn’t show the slightest bit of annoyance. As the representative of Pew, he had a duty to respond when a former Castle member requested a conversation.

“Did you finish the hunt well?”

Benjamin asked.

“Yes, I finished it well. Although the soldiers were stronger than I expected.”

“What about AJ?”

“He didn’t come? He left first.”

“Looks like he went off to play somewhere.”

Benjamin shrugged. Anyway, someone of AJ’s caliber wouldn’t really be in danger of losing his life. There probably aren’t many hunters who could kill him.

“Hey, Benjamin.”

Setsu flew into the room and landed on the floor.

His tone was cautious, but his eyes sparkled as if he had made up his mind about something.

Benjamin looked at Setsu for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Well…”

“If you have something to say, speak freely. You know by now, right? Our style.”

Benjamin’s gaze was directed downwards. Although he couldn’t see them from that angle, he was looking at the guys playing in the pool.

The sounds of playful and childish arguments also drifted in from outside the window.

Setsu seemed to gain courage from that and began to speak.

“I want to see the ‘Records’.”

“Records?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, if there’s one thing that’s forbidden, it’s viewing the Records.”

Benjamin crossed his arms, looking troubled.

It was natural.

As he just said, the one thing that was truly forbidden was viewing the Records.

The Records were the supernatural ability training records of Octas, Pew’s former representative, who had designated Benjamin as the representative and then flew off to an S-rank dungeon.

Pew’s hunters, despite their strong abilities, had a relatively low chance of advancing to an S-rank dungeon.

The reason was the special nature of supernatural abilities. They were not accumulated over a long period through academics like magic and martial arts.

The history of supernatural abilities was short, and the number of supernatural ability users was also small, making them feel less developed compared to other things.

However, under such adverse conditions, Octas broke through the famously tough ceiling of an A-rank dungeon and soared to an S-rank dungeon.

What Octas left behind for Pew was his own training records.

But Benjamin read his Records and then forbade their viewing.

If Octas knew that, he might have raged, but it was a disaster he chose himself.

Because it was Octas who had made Benjamin the representative.

“I want to see them. I feel like I need to see them.”

Setsu didn’t back down.

“Do you know? This is the first time anyone has requested to view the Records.”

Benjamin changed the subject and stood up. He walked to the window, poured warm tea into the prepared teacup, and offered it to Setsu.

Setsu took the teacup in a daze.

Benjamin watched Setsu take a sip of tea before speaking again.

“The others don’t really want to see it. You know why I forbid access to the Records, right?”

“Yes, because it’s a life-threatening method,” Setsu replied.

Setsu replied.

Octas’s training method, no, it’s not even appropriate to call that a training method.

It would be better to call it a technique.

Because it was a ‘method to unleash one’s potential to the limit.’

“Think about it again. Nothing is more important than life, Setsu. Don’t you know why Fyu operates in such a leisurely way? If we start officially participating in the affairs of A-rank Dungeons, we’ll certainly earn more points. But with that comes danger. That’s why we chose small happiness instead of dangerous conquests. What you’re trying to read now are the Records left by an apostate of Fyu.”

Benjamin knew Octas.

He was exactly what you’d call an apostate of Fyu.

He always wanted to become stronger, and unlike the other Fyu members, he was always fighting monsters and hunters.

Because of this, Fyu was once forcibly dragged into the power struggles of an A-rank Dungeon for a short period.

In the end, the anecdote of a person named Biyunise, who was the representative at the time, negotiating with Ilwol due to Octas’s actions and separating Fyu from the center of the incident again, was almost legendary.

Of course, after Octas became the representative, he didn’t act as recklessly as before…

Nevertheless, that strong competitive spirit still remained, and ultimately became the driving force that propelled him to an S-rank Dungeon.

But Benjamin is Octas’s antithesis. This is because he inherited Biyunise’s legacy, rather than Octas’s.

Besides, his innate Castle rank was similar to Biyunise’s.

Perhaps Octas had deeply acknowledged in his heart that his way of life didn’t suit Pyu.

There must have been a reason why Benjamin was chosen as the representative.

“I’ll be honest with you.”

Setsu stared directly at Benjamin.

“I really like Pyu too. They taught me how to use my Supernatural Ability, and everyone else welcomed me warmly. But I… I’m not part of Pyu. I have a separate team. That’s where I belong.”

“That’s a bit… disappointing, isn’t it?”

Benjamin said that, but there was no real disappointment in his voice. He just raised an eyebrow slightly.

“I think I need to get stronger for my team. No, I have to get stronger. Until now, I’ve just followed behind my teammates. They’re so strong, my older brother and sister. But now, I want to be a help too.”

Setsu’s will was strong. He didn’t back down an inch.

To the point where Benjamin was shaken.

‘Do I even have a legitimate reason to forbid this…?’

Pyu’s motto is freedom and happiness. Even if the way they pursue their motto is different from others, they consider that to be a form of freedom as well.

That’s why Biyunise put up with Octas causing all that trouble.

Also, the Setsu that Kim Songcheol saw was different from the Setsu that Benjamin saw.

If Kim Songcheol had been Pyu’s representative, he might have expelled Setsu without a second thought.

But when Benjamin first met Setsu, he wasn’t a 14-Killing intent boy, but a 17-Killing intent young man.

Furthermore, considering Setsu’s abilities, he naturally had no choice but to recognize him as a Hunter.

“Setsu, think about it again.”

Nevertheless, Benjamin still tried to stop him.

“If you just stay like this, there won’t be any problems. Arkejar is dead, and if we just stay quiet, there’s no one to bother us. You’ll gradually gather points to expand your Safe Zone and heal it, and your world will regain stability. It’s amazing you’ve come this far. You’re at the top of an A-rank Dungeon. You’re already on track. Do you really need to take more risks here?”

His tone was filled with genuine concern. And not a single sentence was wrong.

Setsu had already crossed a certain threshold, and there was no need for him to challenge himself further.

To risk his life here might even be foolish.

“No, I wasn’t taught that way.”

But Setsu shook his head with a clear voice.

“What Benjamin is saying now is, will I choose my team, or will I abandon my team and run away? If I run away, maybe I could live comfortably as Benjamin said. But… my heart would be uneasy. I would never forgive myself for abandoning my team. I would carry the guilt until I die. I wouldn’t be able to reach paradise.”

Although Setsu didn’t mention it specifically, Kim Songcheol was currently engaged in some kind of massive battle.

If the outcome of that battle was not good, there was no telling what would happen.

And when that outcome arrived, Setsu’s regret would only grow deeper.

“I can’t betray my team, never.”

So Setsu chose his team. It was natural.

Because even Kim Songcheol, or the Celestial Spirit Maiden, would have done the same.

“Hoo…”

Benjamin let out a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

“If you say it like that… I can’t help it. But if something goes wrong, please consider the guilt I’ll have to bear. That’s what I fear the most. So promise me. Promise me you won’t die.”

“Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t die.”

Setsu spoke with conviction, but Benjamin smiled a little weakly.

He didn’t fully trust Setsu.

‘Lord Biyunise, I believe you will protect the other Octas. I don’t seem to be as strong as you, Lord Biyunise. I guess this is as far as I go.’

Benjamin gave a bitter smile and tapped the bracelet on his wrist. A subspace opened, and a notebook came out.

It had a leather cover and was tightly bound with a red string.

“Here.”

Benjamin held out the notebook to Setsu.

“It’s the Octas’ Records.”