Naturalization
Even before Hanul had gone to the Demon Realm, the great powers had already treated Korea like a sucker.
Whenever various contribution fees came due at international conferences? Squeezing out even more was the baseline.
Whenever a war broke out somewhere? They only put on an outward show of support while hounding Korea to dump out mountains of military supplies as if the whole burden belonged to them alone.
Whenever an international dispute required someone to take the tanking role? They stayed silent—then prodded Korea to step up and say something, as if volunteering for the lead was the natural next step.
—Acting Guild Master, can you hear me?
“I’m listening. Keep talking.”
Hanul set his thoughts aside and refocused on Office Manager Seo Jihun’s voice.
—Anyway, hunters from the United States and Canada have entered the country along with the summit diplomats.
“If they’re being sent as examiners for the SSS-rank Hunter test, they must be the real deal.”
—Yes. And moving forces of that caliber constitutes powerful international pressure.
In other words, a show of force. In the pre-Hunter era it would have felt like parking an aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine off the coast.
There were no eternal enemies or eternal allies in the international order—yet to pressure a clear ally this way meant the world really had changed.
One thing, however, had not changed at all: the law of the jungle. The weak got bitten. That was the eternal truth.
“I’ll hear the rest when I get back to the guild.”
—Yes, sir. I’ll have everything ready!
When he arrived at the guild office, a familiar face was waiting.
President Go Changsik of the Hunter Association.
“You came too?”
Go Changsik sat fidgeting on the edge of the sofa. The moment his eyes met Hanul’s, the man shot to his feet as if the title of Association President meant nothing.
“O-oh, you’ve arrived, Acting Guild Master!”
“President Go of the Hunter Association was kind enough to bring us the news of the American and Canadian hunters’ entry, as well as the SSS-rank examination schedule.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Hehe, please take it into consideration. I just wanted to be of some help, however small.”
The instant Seo Jihun offered a supporting remark, Go Changsik jumped in to make his pitch. He could no longer take bribes, but his talent for reading the room remained razor-sharp. He clearly understood that reading Hanul’s mood was the only way to stay alive.
“Let’s hear how much information you actually dug up. Office Manager Seo, brief us.”
“Yes. I’ll begin the related briefing now.”
A screen descended, and the display lit up with a map of the Korean Peninsula.
“First, we analyzed why this is happening right now.”
Certain zones pulsed red. The northern half of the peninsula glowed especially deep.
“At regular intervals, powerful monsters appear by region—entities commonly called field boss monsters.”
Data windows of various field bosses flickered across the screen, followed by photographs of cities reduced to ruins.
“Nations that failed to field even a single S-rank Hunter inevitably met destruction.”
“So these field boss monsters are basically S-rank or higher?”
“Not always, but the strong ones are. That’s why weaker nations either hand over rights and interests to Hunter superpowers or pay astronomical fees to borrow Hunters—just to keep their countries alive.”
“And if they can’t borrow any?”
“Judging by every case so far… they fall.”
The voice was calm. The content was catastrophic.
“Or they’re driven to the brink of collapse, forced to mortgage the entire national treasury just to drive the boss out. Central and South America, Southeast Asia—those are the classic examples…”
More data filled the screen as the explanation continued. In the dungeon era, resources like mana stones could appear anywhere on the planet. And every great power in history had lusted after resources. Now countries like the United States and China used subjugation as a pretext to seize the throats of Hunter-weak nations, snatching rights and shaking them down like street thugs.
“Our country has also reached the cycle for field bosses to appear. In fact the intervals are growing shorter, and the Korean Peninsula in particular keeps producing exceptionally powerful ones…”
“Acting Guild Master! That’s because Korea’s mana-stone density is so high! Neighboring countries salivate over our resources while powerful field bosses keep spawning—it’s a perfect storm!”
Go Changsik cut in, desperate to contribute something useful.
“So the bottom line is that Korea right now can’t even take down a single boss monster on its own.”
“…That’s correct.”
“Hey. As President of the Hunter Association, do you have any thoughts on that?”
“W-well, I also find it deeply lamentable…”
“This happened because the Association President didn’t do his damn job!”
“That’s right-yong! Being weak is the worst crime of all-yong!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Go Changsik scrambled off the sofa and dropped straight to his knees, pressing his forehead to the floor.
“Office Manager Seo, continue.”
“Yes. The prevailing consensus is that with current domestic Hunter forces alone, the probability of successful subjugation is extremely low.”
Hanul, who had been sunk deep into the backrest, slowly straightened.
“So they rushed the SSS-rank test examiners here as a show of force—to seize the upper hand in the subjugation negotiations?”
“That’s how I see it. On top of that, they’ll try to scoop up the various unsettled rights and interests in the northern peninsula. The United States, China, Japan, and Russia have done exactly that in every previous round of talks.”
Yeah… it was like this in the past too.
Korea was a Hunter powerhouse in its own right. The problem was that the surrounding nations were simply too strong. Even if you ranked fifth in the whole school, if first through fourth sat in the same classroom, you still started from fifth place.
“So which Hunters are they sending to flex on Korea? Did you find out?”
His gaze pinned Go Changsik. The man lifted his head a fraction, then slammed it back down.
“I-I’m sorry! Even I don’t know that far yet.”
“You acted like you’d brought something impressive, and this is all you had? Not very useful.”
“World Hunter Association security is airtight, so President Go couldn’t have done much. However, one individual has already entered and is deliberately drawing aggro.”
Seo Jihun played a video circulating on social media from his tablet and held it out to Hanul.
—Yo! You seeing this, guys?! I finally set foot on Korean soil! Hahaha!
A yellow-haired man cackled at the camera. Despite the hair, his muscular build marked him as East Asian.
—They’re saying I’m coming as an SSS-rank exam proctor, so even the Korean government couldn’t stop this!
He stood in the airport with both arms spread wide, shouting. Passersby shot him looks of pure contempt; he ignored them and instead flipped them off in every direction.
—Fucking! They tried to block me, but I won in the end! The Korean government is a bunch of losers! Hehehe!
Next the man spat ostentatiously in front of the Military Manpower Administration’s main gate, flipped another bird, then repeated the exact same performance in front of the Dungeon Management Bureau building. Everything else could be overlooked—but that stunt right in front of the bureau where his niece worked?
“What the hell is that guy?”
“His name is Robert Lee. Former national-team athlete who awakened.”
“And?”
“At the time he was expected to have double-S potential or higher, so the country promised him extraordinary benefits.”
Data on Examiner Robert Lee filled the screen. Korea had granted him concurrent side activities along with enlistment in the Hunter Corps—effectively an enormous special exemption.
“But right before enlistment he left the country on the pretext of a competition, obtained U.S. citizenship, naturalized, and settled there for good.”
“A man with zero loyalty. And Korea just lets him back in?”
“He had been banned from entry until now. This time, because he was appointed examiner, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn’t stop him.”
Hanul scrolled through the Korean reactions piling up under the SNS post in real time.
Most reactions boiled with rage. Interest, however, was steadily shifting toward the SSS-rank examination itself.
Hanul snorted and set the tablet down.
Plenty of rage at Robert Lee, but the anticipation for a new SSS-rank is just as strong.
“Any other examiners?”
“The only confirmed examiner is Robert Lee. I’ll continue the briefing.”
Click—the screen refreshed again.
“Robert Lee belongs to America’s Eagle Guild…”
Eagle Guild—an organization that openly championed extreme American-centric ideology. Backed by the hardline faction of the Republican Party and currently enjoying powerful patronage from President Dorampf himself.
“For reference, the current U.S. administration is locked in a struggle between extreme isolationism and burden-sharing.”
Opposite the hardline Republican and extreme isolationist President Dorampf stood the burden-sharing camp that wanted to strengthen alliances. Moderate Democrats mainly advocated it, but their influence remained weak.
“And this is Robert Lee’s track record. If the exam format turns out to be sparring, this information should be useful, so I dug a little deeper.”
Dozens of pop-up windows instantly flooded the main screen—Robert Lee’s achievements and records in the United States.
“Hm?”
Hatchery suddenly flicked a glance toward a particular spot, the exact look of a cat that had just spotted a bug crawling in.
She looked at Kang Hanul. He smirked and gave a small shake of his head. Hatchery cast one last regretful glance that way, then deliberately made a noisy fuss.
“Wow, there’s so much-yong! He must’ve scurried around like crazy-yong!”
“He was probably trying to solidify his position inside Eagle Guild. Coming as an examiner is part of that…”
“Stealth and assassination type?”
At Hanul’s question, Seo Jihun nodded.
“Correct. That was going to be the next part of the briefing—how did you know?”
“Because the bastard just crawled all the way in here.”
Seo Jihun’s eyes went wide. All the way here… into the Veteran Guild headquarters? And security hadn’t reacted at all.
“Hatchery, you can catch him now.”
“Yes-yong!”
Hatchery grinned and stretched out her hand. Crack! A violet spark of demonic energy leapt from her fingertip.
“Bugs that crawl in are best when you stomp them flat-yong!”
KRAAAANG—! The wall warped and a black shadow burst out.
“Ugh!”
The black shadow twisted mid-air and landed hard. Twin daggers in both hands deflected Hatchery’s mana bolt, scattering sparks.
Skrrrk—crash!
He still couldn’t fully erase the residual shock. The force drove him backward until he slammed into the far wall.
A man gasping for breath. Yellow hair. Muscular build.
“Wow, isn’t that welcome a little too rough?”
Robert Lee straightened his posture as if nothing had happened, even forcing a leisurely pose.
“Hi, President Go. Long time no see.”
He even waved at Go Changsik.
“You know him?”
“Well…”
“This guy helped me a lot when I left for America. Even introduced me to a broker.”
Go Changsik added in a voice that barely escaped his throat.
“Actually… back then I took a little money and helped him naturalize.”
“Bang your head.”
Go Changsik immediately drove the crown of his skull into the cold tile floor. Hanul shifted his gaze to Robert Lee.