The Seventh Master
Articles came pouring in.
The Korean Peninsula erupted into celebration. The rise of capable hunters meant safety for the people — but at the same time, something didn't sit right.
And before long, the question hardened into conviction.
Jingyeok Guild's reputation shot straight up. A single SS-Rank Clear was already a historic feat. Two in succession made it nearly impossible to dismiss as individual brilliance or dumb luck. The prevailing view was that the power of the organization behind them had been at work.
The ones most shocked, however, were Jingyeok's own guild members.
"Us again?"
"Our guild was this kind of place...? Hook me up with an SS-Rank too!"
"Jeong Sangguk? That talentless guy got SS-Rank? What the hell did he pull off?"
Jeong Sangguk had been fairly well known around Jingyeok, and the news spread fast. There was, however, one conspicuous detail in his recent movements.
"He was assigned to Support Team 3 two days ago...?"
"Hunter Jo Youchan is managed by them too!"
"Okay, what is this, for real? What does Support Team 3 even do?"
The moment the SS-Rank Clear was announced, Support Team 5 — Jeong Sangguk's previous handlers — came swarming in on him.
"Hunter Jeong, what on earth happened over in Team 3?"
"Hahaha."
The support staff were every bit as worked up as the hunters. Support Team 5 especially — they knew Jeong Sangguk, which only made it worse. A hunter whose awakening skill had been a complete dud. A hunter whose entire kit had been wallpapered over with nothing but generic skills.
An SS-Rank Clear with nothing but generic skills? Absolutely impossible.
"Assistant Manager Yang, wait your turn! Haha — Hunter Jeong, congratulations on this momentous achievement."
"Thank you, thank you. It was only possible because of all of your hard work over the years."
"Is that so? Haha. Speaking of which — between then and now, did you happen to come across some kind of fortuitous encounter...?"
"Heh heh."
Jeong Sangguk only laughed. He gave them nothing.
"Hunter Jeong, are you really going to do us like this? That hurts."
"A master's grace is as vast as the heavens. How could I so carelessly wag my tongue and bring trouble upon that person?"
"That person?"
"In time, you'll all know. At least, the people of Jingyeok will. Haha."
From Jeong Sangguk radiated a composure that had never been there before.
Jo Youchan looked like he couldn't take it anymore.
"Let's do it, Master."
"Do what."
"Your identity. As Master."
"Huh? All of a sudden?"
"It's not sudden. I've been sitting here listening to people whisper about Master and the support team, and my mouth's been itching so bad I can barely stand it."
Why is this kid more worked up about this than I am.
"...It's still a little complicated."
"Why? It's time the world knew. The legendary Do Hyeoncheol raised a new legend!"
"What are you even talking about?"
"Sorry?"
I corrected the misunderstanding.
I hid Hunter Management because the ability was too alien, and too valuable. But the reason I hid being Master...
"Oh — so you just don't want your father to find out?"
"He'd definitely stop me from climbing the Tower."
"Come on, even so — you're Master. You're the person who climbs the Tower more safely than anyone else in the world!"
That was true. But given his own past, the man was extreme about it.
"Master. Have you heard this one?"
"What."
"It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."
"...!"
"Getting permission will be hard. So just come out as Master. Keep proving it with Master Clears, and he won't be able to object on safety grounds, will he?"
This kid! He had a real talent for putting courage into people.
"Yeah. You're right!"
I talked it over with Jeong Sangguk as well.
"What!? H-Hyeonseok, you're saying you're Master? The actual Master?"
Jeong Sangguk stood face to face with an enormous truth. Then, just as quickly, he found his composure again.
"I knew something was off... That staggering skill of yours finally makes sense. To think you were a master of the craft — Master himself..."
"I got so into climbing that I'm already on the 14th floor. If I go register now, that's going to be a problem, right?"
"Of course!"
"See, so what should I—"
"There's no way it would be a problem!"
"Huh?"
According to Mr. Jeong, I was currently underselling my own value.
"The state is not run by fools. They'll bend over backwards to bring Master into the fold. A trivial issue like that might as well not exist."
"Y-you think so?"
"I guarantee it. Without question."
As expected of the next Headquarters Director. Talking it through put my mind at ease.
"Then, Master — you're revealing it today?"
"Strike while the iron's hot. Let's go today. Tomorrow's the weekend, so if we miss today we'll have to wait again."
"...Let's do that."
All right. Decision made. I was officially becoming a hunter.
Hunter Management Headquarters, Department Head of Conquest Planning Yoon Seongcheol. Jeong Sangguk's successor stared at the report that had just come in, stunned all over again.
"Again!? He's at the 13th floor already?"
"Yes. The Master Clear announcement just went up."
"Hahh... He really doesn't stop, does he."
The existence that had recently turned Korea upside down. Master.
Nobody had even known a rank called Master Clear existed. Nobody had known a global announcement system existed. A Master Clear was a unique achievement unmatched anywhere in the world.
"And that achievement is being refreshed practically every other day."
"By the man himself, no less."
An SS-Rank Clear alone was an extraordinary thing. If a hunter achieved SS-Rank even once in a lifetime, nations around the world would fall over themselves to court him.
And above that sat the Master Clear. Master was pulling one of those off on every single floor.
"And that nickname is just killer, too. Master. There's something about it that stirs a man's heart."
"If he just revealed who he was, he could live in wealth and glory. Why is he staying quiet?"
"How would I know what a master like that is thinking? At that level, I couldn't even guess his age."
"He might have already turned back the clock and made himself young again, for all we know."
Every time the announcement rang out, the Republic of Korea slipped into festival mood.
Korea's assault on the top floor grew more precarious by the day. And into that situation had appeared a single ray of light: Master.
"Hahh... If we could just find out who he is, we could at least keep him from getting hurt in there — care for him, support him, something."
"If that guy gets hurt, we'll be writing incident reports, won't we?"
"You think it ends with an incident report? We'd be lucky not to get stoned to death walking down the street."
They waited on pins and needles for Master to show himself — as people of the Management Headquarters, and as citizens.
"You're keeping a close ear on the hunter registration desk, right?"
"Of course. Funny you mention it — former Department Head Jeong Sangguk called."
"Sunbae-nim? What did he say?"
"He said a special gift would be arriving today, so look forward to it."
"Huh? What kind of pie-in-the-sky talk is that."
And in a season this busy, no less. He wasn't the type to talk nonsense, though.
"Think he's sending over some hanwoo beef or something, since he's in a good mood?"
"Oh, food gifts are always welcome. He's a hunter now — he must be making plenty of money. Wait, why is sunbae in a good mood?"
"You don't know? Even if you're busy, you should at least watch the news."
Between managing the top-floor assault team and keeping one eye on Master, the days had been a blur.
"So what happened."
"The second person to hit SS-Rank — that was Department Head Jeong Sangguk."
"W-what!?"
Yoon Seongcheol, current department head at the Management Headquarters, shot to his feet.
My first time at the Hunter Management Headquarters.
It's huge.
Bigger than Jingyeok Guild Headquarters, even. This was the heart of the Republic of Korea's hunter forces. And today, in this building, Master's identity would be revealed to the world.
I swallowed.
I-I'm a hunter now, too.
Illegal, sure... but the next Headquarters Director had said it wouldn't be a problem. I went inside.
"Hello~ What can I help you with today?"
"I-I'm here to register as a hunter."
"Of course. Please head over to that counter and wait~"
The staff member was extremely kind, and the tension in my shoulders eased. After a wait, my turn came.
"You'll fill out the paperwork first, wait a little more, then go inside to prove you're a hunter. You haven't entered the Tower today, have you?"
"No."
"You'll prove it by entering the Tower in front of a supervisor. Let's get the paperwork started."
"Okay."
The process was simpler than I'd expected.
"Your name?"
"Do Hyeonseok."
"Oh my, that's similar to Do Hyeoncheol's name. And your current floor?"
"I'm currently challenging the 14th floor."
"I'm sorry?"
The receptionist's face went stiff.
"You do know that unauthorized climbing is illegal, yes?"
"Ah, about that..."
"Once we've verified the facts, this will proceed to trial, so please be aware of that. And your climber nickname?"
Huh? That was not the reaction I'd been expecting.
"Sir. Your nickname."
"Ah... Master."
At that, the receptionist's expression froze over into something ice-cold.
"Ugh. Of course."
"...Is there a problem?"
"Yes, yes, you're Master himself, I'm sure. You're the seventh Master to grace us today."
"The seventh?"
Meaning six people had already impersonated me today. No wonder the suspicion came first. Who the hell were these people?
"If you head back out to the main counter, they'll help you turn yourself in for illegal climbing."
"...Excuse me, shouldn't you at least check?"
A hunter criminal walks in and casually claims to be Master. And he's the seventh one today. I understood the suspicion. But you still had to do the job. Verify first, then arrest or investigate or whatever.
"Hahh... Fine. But you're going to have to wait your turn. We'll start verification with the sixth Master over theeere~"
"Huh?"
The staff member's voice dripped with sarcasm. I looked where she was pointing. A bald man with an unpleasant face sat scowling in a chair at the back.
"That one just showed up a little while ago and threw a whole scene. You're a well-behaved Master, right? If you start something, hunter security deploys immediately and they will put you down by force. Just so you know."
Ah. So that was why the attitude had been unfriendly from the start. I'd walked in right after they'd already been burned once.
Apparently quite a few people were impersonating Master. If you could bluff your way into even the early-stage support, climbing the Tower would get a lot easier.
"...Yes. Just please verify it properly."
"Sure, sure. Next!"
Ugh. I'm already exhausted.
I sat down in the waiting area and pulled out my phone — and a shadow fell across me.
"Huh?"
I looked up. The sixth Master was looking down at me. The bald, tattooed Master.
"Hey. You say you Master?"
His Korean's weirdly clumsy. Is he a foreigner?
"...Yes."
"That so?"
He smiled, crooked and thin.
The bald Master. Wang Wei. A hunter operative of the Chinese Public Security Bureau.
An illegal hunter, unregistered on any international hunter list. A black operative who handled the Bureau's dirty work.
Before he left for Korea, an officer had briefed him.
"You got that? I'll brief you again."
"Yes."
"Every hunter in the Republic of Korea registers at the Seoul headquarters. It's done in person, so they have to show up at the registration desk at least once."
Master would be no exception.
"Go cause a reasonable scene. Impersonate Master and wait. That'll draw Master's attention. Once Master is identified, priority one is abduction. Priority two is assassination."
"In the middle of Seoul?"
"Diplomatic fallout is not your concern. Think only of success. The Bureau will take good care of your family."
Master was worth that much.
If the abduction succeeded? Once they had him on Chinese soil, even a hunter could be squeezed with military force. Raise Master all the way to the top floor, and they wouldn't have to worry about a Tower Collapse for the next ten years.
But if they couldn't have him, the right move was to break him.
Hunter power was national power. If another country faced the threat of Tower Collapse, you could send hunters on expedition. A nation that didn't want to perish would have to cede every kind of interest in exchange for support. The stronger your hunter forces, the greater your influence on the world stage. That was the structure.
"Master is a talent without precedent — globally, and historically."
A single existence capable of shifting the international order.
The officer's eyes flashed, sharp and savage.
"You will succeed. For the People's Republic of China!"
Wang Wei's heart hammered. Success was right in front of him. Bring this one back, and he would live the rest of his life under the Bureau's protection, strutting like a king.
"You... are Master?"
"That's right."
"Liar."
The target was wary. A smile came unbidden.
Knock him out and load him into the car outside.
The rest, the other operatives would handle.
Identify him first.
A little violence was fine, so long as it could be dressed up as a petty scuffle that ended at the police line.
He looked into the target's eyes. If this was just some rookie hunter and not Master, the man wouldn't be able to follow the movements of a 30th-floor hunter.
If his eyes follow my hand, he's Master.
He raised his palm.
"A cheeky little shit like you, talking back—"
He swung.
"to ME!"
His hand clawed through empty air. The target was gone.
What?
"Oh, for crying out loud. What are you?"
The voice came from behind him. He flinched and spun.
Wh— when did he—!
He'd lost the movement. Him. A 30th-floor hunter.
Master! This is Master, no question!
But the skill on display was beyond capture.
In that case...
Plan B. Kill him.
For his family. He snatched the hidden knife and slashed. And once again, he carved nothing but air.
Behind me!
It won't work twice!
A hiss of steel—
But it wasn't behind him this time either.
"Yeah, this is definitely a broken skill."
A chill ran down his spine. In that sliver of an instant, the man had taken his back again? He swung the knife once more—
Shunpo - Assassination
Ambush Damage ×400%
KRA-KOOOOOM!
Thunder struck. Wang Wei's consciousness cut out right there.
I froze with my fist still extended. A massive hole had opened in the first-floor wall of the headquarters.
"Uh...?"
The fourfold damage from Shunpo - Assassination was no joke. I'd only meant to knock him out — but Shunpo - Assassination had triggered on its own.
Silence. The people in the headquarters lobby stood with their mouths hanging open, unable to get a word out. The only sounds were a fire hydrant spraying water and the wail of a car alarm.
This is bad.
A beat later, the receptionist's voice drifted over from beside me.