The Shocking Bodycam Report
The hunter dispatched to support Minho.
Section Chief Do Inseong of the Management Bureau returned to Rift Bureau headquarters after the gate clear.
“Didn’t you just get back from fieldwork?”
“I came to write the report.”
“You could submit it tomorrow. You’re far too diligent.”
“It’s for the overtime pay.”
He answered playfully, but that was not what he truly thought.
He submitted the bodycam as regulations required, then began filling the blank report form with everything he had witnessed that day.
Click, click.
Is he really just B-class?
No B-class hunter Do Inseong knew came close to Minho’s strength.
No—even the A-class hunters belonging to the Management Bureau would not stand a chance against him.
He could have finished the fieldwork and submitted the report the next day. The only reason he had deliberately returned to the office and thrown himself into the work was the fear that the scenes burned into his mind might evaporate.
The shock Do Inseong had received was that profound.
The clatter of the keyboard continued deep into the night before finally dying away.
The next day, the Director of the Management Bureau summoned the author the moment he finished reading the report.
“You worked hard yesterday.”
“Not at all, Director.”
“But this after-action report—is it the unvarnished truth with no exaggeration?”
“Yes.”
“A hunter who only advanced to B-class about three months ago is commanding summons that deploy Aura?”
“That is correct. The bodycam confirms it as well.”
“And he summoned multiple undead mages on top of that?”
“Yes.”
The Director of the Management Bureau scratched his head vigorously.
Was this a problem? Not really. The fact that Minho’s combat power far exceeded projections was actually good news.
At present the Rift Bureau remained constantly on edge because of the Turang raid and the Black Sky Society’s schemes. Additional personnel had to be mobilized simply to escort Minho and his family in secret. With the Bureau already drowning in work, the burden was considerable.
If this is true, we can reduce the escort detail a little.
He had cleared a wave-type gate that even ten Management Bureau hunters could not handle—and he had done it at SSS-class level. At this rate, rather than providing protection, they might be the ones receiving it.
The Director of the Management Bureau added his personal assessment to the document and sent it upstairs.
“Hmm.”
Commissioner Choi Jiung of the Rift Bureau let out a low groan as he scanned the report.
“Secretary Kim. Secure the bodycam Section Chief Do Inseong submitted last night.”
“Understood.”
“And tell Counter-Abnormal Bureau Director Jeong Seungil to come to my office at once.”
“Yes, sir.”
A short while later—
Knock knock—
“Counter-Abnormal Bureau Director Jeong Seungil has arrived.”
“Send him in.”
Through the softly opened door stepped a man with a sharp, intimidating presence. Director Jeong Seungil offered a light greeting.
“You called for me, Commissioner.”
“Power really is nice, isn’t it, Senior?”
“That ‘senior’ business again—”
“Ugh. Are you going to do this every single time?”
“Hierarchy within an organization is more important than anything.”
“Fine. Let’s talk business.”
Choi Jiung clicked his tongue and got to the point.
“The Management Bureau has submitted a proposal to reduce Park Minho’s escort detail.”
“…I’ll go and give them a proper talking-to.”
“Why does the man who claims he’ll talk them down have killing intent written all over his face?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Don’t bullshit me. That’s the face of someone about to kill a man.”
“I am well aware that the Management Bureau suffers from chronic manpower shortages. But Hunter Park Minho is the future of our nation’s hunter community.”
Director Jeong Seungil spoke with unshakable conviction that left no room for doubt.
“I don’t feel like wearing my mouth out explaining, so judge for yourself after you see it.”
He thrust the freshly printed, still-warm report into Jeong Seungil’s hands.
Eyes moved rapidly across the pages. How much time passed?
Director Jeong Seungil’s cheek twitched. He looked as if he had swallowed bitter medicine, yet Choi Jiung knew perfectly well that the expression was actually a smile.
“If anyone saw this they’d think he was the Counter-Abnormal Bureau’s lover.”
“Does affiliation matter? As long as Hunter Park remains in our country, that is enough.”
At the utterly unamusing reply, Commissioner Choi Jiung clicked his tongue once more.
“I just received the footage as well. Shall we watch it together?”
The words had barely left his mouth before Director Jeong Seungil was already glued to the side of the monitor. Moments later the bodycam footage recorded during the previous day’s gate clear began to play.
“Heavy cavalry?”
“An undead I’ve never seen before. I’ve heard of them, though.”
Monsters were swept away like autumn leaves before Tigris’s charge. The magic unleashed by the Solar Eclipse Witch Order was equally formidable. Sir Isra and the Abyss Revenants radiated a presence that was anything but ordinary.
“Aren’t Abyss Revenants difficult even for A-class necromancers to control?”
“Yes. Their hatred for the living is so intense that control is said to be extremely hard.”
The two men watched while letting out quiet exclamations of admiration. The highlight, however, had yet to appear.
“Senior. Have you ever seen an undead like that?”
As Commissioner Choi Jiung muttered the question—
“No.”
Jeong Seungil answered mechanically, even forgetting to correct the casual form of address.
Because it was bodycam footage, the raw presence could not be felt. Yet for powerhouses of Choi Jiung or Jeong Seungil’s caliber, simply watching the video was enough to gauge the opponent’s skill with perfect accuracy.
“A-class peak.”
“I see it the same way.”
Swordsmanship that had reached the level of a true master. Well-refined Aura. Judging by the speed of movement and the power packed into each sword stroke, the raw specs were outstanding as well. The number of active and passive skills appeared fewer than the average for an A-class hunter—that was a shortcoming—but the high specs more than compensated for it.
“Compared to the somewhat lacking judgment, the combat sense is extraordinarily high.”
“In pure sense alone, he is a step above a Death Knight.”
The ability inherited from Isra—Heavenly Martial Body—was applied commonly to every undead Minho crafted. For the Armed Zombie Strengthened Soldiers, Warriors, or Tigris, who could only execute simple commands, it merely manifested as “fighting well.” But the Death Warriors, who had gained self-awareness through the soul stones, received a far greater influence from Heavenly Martial Body.
They read the enemy’s movements, delivered more lethal attacks, and minimized damage taken—exactly like veteran hunters tempered through a hundred battles.
“It seems only Division Chief Jeon Hyeyeon would make an escort detail actually meaningful.”
“I agree.”
They now understood why the Management Bureau had requested a reduction in personnel. When the hunters assigned as escorts needed protection themselves, who exactly were they supposed to be protecting?
Commissioner Choi Jiung wore a subtle smile.
“As expected of you, Senior—recognizing a talent of this caliber.”
“I never expected him to grow this strong this quickly.”
“No need to play humble with me. When you called him the next SS-class, you must have already seen this far.”
“No.”
The smile lingering on Choi Jiung’s lips faded.
“You… couldn’t predict it?”
The voice that had been speaking casually in a relaxed atmosphere suddenly sharpened.
“Just four months ago he struggled against ten B-class hunters with inferior specs.”
“The Turang incident, you mean.”
“Now he is strong enough to handle dozens of B-class hunters.”
An emotion that was difficult to name—exhilaration or shock—writhed in Director Jeong Seungil’s eyes.
“It reminds me of that person.”
“There is no way he will become like that person.”
“Yes. It must not.”
The air in the office grew slightly awkward.
“How is the surrounding situation?”
“What is there to say? China is being cautious.”
Choi Jiung chuckled.
“They unauthorizedly deployed Turang’s 1st Squad and even mobilized the Black Sky Society. Those bastards ought to have some shame.”
The high-ranking officials of the Rift Bureau were certain the Superhuman General Bureau was the culprit. Through a UN resolution, member nations had formally declared they would not associate with the Black Sky Society. Yet Choi Jiung did not trust China even one gram.
“I’m surprised, Commissioner.”
“About suspecting without physical evidence?”
“Do you truly believe they understand the concept of shame?”
“…”
“Do not forget. The stain of suspicion never washes away.”
Director Jeong Seungil went a step further. How many talents had already been leaked from Korea alone? The Jeong Sinho incident had left a large impact, but several other hunters had been quietly taken. And that was not all. In Korea, where public security remained relatively good, they lured with money; in Southeast Asia, which had fallen into chaos after the Great Cataclysm, they even carried out outright kidnappings. It was also the primary theater of operations for Turang, the hunting dogs of China’s Superhuman General Bureau.
“Come to think of it, Japan is also paying close attention.”
Rumors had reached them that Asuka, Japan’s foremost guild, was preparing a love call for Minho. Director Jeong Seungil furrowed his brow.
“We cannot simply sit on our hands.”
“You handle it a bit, Director. The Rift Bureau’s budget is limited, you know.”
“I do not know what I can offer on a personal level, but I will meet with him once.”
Minho had been selected as Ranger No. 1, establishing a formal connection with the Rift Bureau. They had already granted various benefits—tax privileges, priority in gate bidding, and more. They had believed that was sufficient. Yet Minho’s market value was soaring sky-high, forcing the Rift Bureau to recalculate. Within a limited budget, what could possibly satisfy him?
The high-ranking officials of the Rift Bureau put their heads together and began to ponder.
The gate clear I had undertaken after two full months was quite satisfying.
“The new undead my lord has crafted appear even more magnificent in actual combat.”
“Could you make magic-type undead for us as well?”
“Hahahaha! Are you jealous?”
“What are you talking about, you iron-headed fool.”
The combat power the Death Warriors had displayed in their first real battle was tremendous. What truly satisfied me, however, was not merely the new undead’s strength.
The performance improvements across multiple undead, including Tigris!
While repeatedly disassembling and reassembling corpses to deepen my understanding of processing and crafting, I had refined the structures for greater efficiency and gradually adjusted the arrangement of the spirit circuits. As a result, the specs of every undead I crafted had risen by roughly five to ten percent.
The greatest increase belonged to Tigris. The power of its charge had grown stronger, and the durability consumption of its bone weapons had decreased.
“It was worth testing all those different alloy materials.”
I had been able to strengthen the bone weapons’ durability thanks to the advice of Meister Han Yohan and Chief Apprentice Nam Jinwoo. Steel and bone might possess different natures, yet as I worked them I began to sense a similar grain. When I compared the properties of various bones to metals, they explained every conceivable alloy combination. Following the counsel of Korea’s greatest craftsman and experimenting with those combinations, I succeeded in making the bone armaments far more sturdy.
“Still, the fact that they remain consumables doesn’t change.”
Simply reducing the number of times I had to swing the hammer from two to one was already something to be grateful for. Beyond the techniques for melting and refining different metals or bones, I had learned a great many things over those two months at Hanil Blacksmith. Even if I had not acquired any new skills, I could say I had completed the advanced courses in metallurgy and mana folding.
“I wonder what I’ll learn today.”
Every time I received instruction at the forge, I could feel the “Blacksmith” aspect of Necrosmith rising. With expectant steps I entered Hanil Blacksmith.
“You’ve arrived, Hunter Park.”
“You’re here, lad.”
Ugh. Meister Han Yohan fixed me with bloodshot eyes. I ought to be used to it by now, yet I still flinched every single time. Sorry about that.
“I heard you’ve been practicing mana folding a great deal lately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. We’ll do it right now.”
Huh? Do what?