"Good afternoon great visitors. My name is Sung Do Gong, and I am the Chairman of the Hunter Association."
Chairman Sung was an elderly man who was most likely in his sixties. His grey hair, and the wrinkles on his face, proved his age very well.
He had a scar on his forehead, as well as another slash scar that cut through one of his eyes.
'He must have seen a lot of action back in his days.' I smiled, watching his polite greeting to both me and Kuzon.
It wasn't long after we got into the room that he entered, which meant he must have been on standby somewhere closeby already.
This was his territory, after all.
~They just wanted us to sit first before calling their leader.~ Kuzon's voice echoed in my head.
'I was thinking the same thing. It's not that bad, though.'
The Chairman was dressed simply. He had a formal white shirt, with a black tie firmly clinging around his neck. His dark official trousers and shiny black shoes also gave him a lot of class.
Finally, he had something called a 'wristwatch' on his hand. It looked quite luxurious, so I paid it some notice.
Since he must have already been briefed on our names, we simply greeted him in return.
"I'll get straight to the point, then. Someone we suspect to be one of your comrades arrived in this world over a month ago. Her name is Aloe Vida. Does that ring any bells to you?"
"Of course." I quickly responded with a smile. "She's our comrade."
"Yes. The reason why we're here in the first place." Kuzon seemed to be sending a layered message with his words, but I ignored it anyway.
"I see. So it's true then."
"Indeed. Can you tell us the details surrounding her arrival here? Also, about her whereabouts." I asked.
I could easily extract the information from them, but I believed in order.
"I don't know much of the details. Director Baek was one of the few who had direct contact with her."
All of us turned our attention to the Director, who sat at the corner of the room.
"I did have some form of contact with her, but the one who had the initial contact with her is currently with her on a mission. He's a 'Guide', after Miss Aloe Vida saved his life in a Dungeon, they have been inseparable." Baek replied in his usual official tone.
"I can tell you what I know, though."
"Please do."
And so, he began.
*******
Apparently, Aloe arrived directly in front of a Gate when she first appeared in this world.
The Gate had suddenly gone through something called an 'Evolution', increasing it's difficulty to something only known in theory as an SS Class Gate.
This gathered the attention of all the higher-ups, and they sent their Strongest Hunters to stop it.
Aloe apparently entered the Dungeon to save them, but by the time she got there, only one survivor remained.
"The Survivor's name is Sung Han Soo... my grandson." The Chairman smiled at me as I analyzed the story.
Apparently, despite his low rank as a Hunter, having barely crossed the threshold of an F Class Hunter, he settled for being a Dungeon Guide.
That was just a very glamorous word for being a pack mule. Essentially, he carried all the supplies that the real Hunters didn't want to be bothered with, and he also served as a scout.
That meant, he was most likely serving as bait a lot of the time.
'How did someone like that survive in the Dungeon for so long?'
"I gave him an S Class item for protection." The Chairman said once again. "It's the only one I had that doesn't require him to possess any power for him to use it."
So, that was why he so confidently threw himself into danger.
'How interesting...' A smile formed on my face.
"By the time Miss Aloe Vida arrived at the scene, the barrier was about to run out, and according to him, he knew he would die. Thankfully, she defeated the Monsters and saved him fro—"
"How easily?" I interrupted the Chairman's words
"Excuse me?"
"How easily did she defeat the monster?" I asked.
A monster capable of tearing down an S Class barrier had to at least be an A-S Class monster. It was also most likely not the Boss of the Dungeon, considering it was labeled an SS Class Gate.
Therefore...
"One hit. It was defeated in one hit." Director Baek answered for the Chairman.
"I see." Nodding to myself. "And how long did it take her to defeat the Boss?"
Director Baek and the Chairman stared at each other for a while before sighing.
"That was the Boss."
"I thought you said it was an SS Class Gate."
"It was..."
"If that's the case, then—"
"The monster was most likely toying with him, which is why the S Class barrier lasted so long. However, after observing what was left of the Monster—its Core, we can definitely see that it was a beast far above the S Class threshold."
"And where is the Core now?" I asked.
"That's confidential informa—"
"It's fine, Director. The Core is currently undergoing transport to 'The Zenith' for further investigation."
'The Zenith...' My thoughts echoed. Unfortunately, I didn't have much information about them other than the fact that they served as the International body of each country's Hunter Association.
"Thanks to these very chaotic times, our world has finally achieved Global Peace. We all cooperate with one another to combat the crisis. That's why The Zenith exists. It is the glue that binds all the country's Hunter Association."
I thanked the Chairman for his brief explanation on the Zenith.
"So, who's in charge of the Zenith? I mean, which nation?"
In the end, even if they all claimed to be cooperating, wouldn't one country be benefiting the most, by standing at the very helm of power?
"Before I answer that, may I ask you a question, Mr. Leonard." The Chairman spoke rather seriously.
"Of course."
"From what you see in this world... who do you think holds the most power?"
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[A/N]
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