Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 008
Chapter Title: American Dream (1)
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Before Seo Dae-hyun arrived at the Association, David had reviewed all the information related to him.
Awakener details were publicly available on the Hunter Association's website with a simple search.
He checked the dungeons Seo Dae-hyun had cleared during his time as a hunter, but the record was blank.
Since awakening didn't necessarily mean entering dungeons, David brushed it off without much thought.
David narrowed his eyes upon seeing Seo Dae-hyun's awakening job.
He had summoned him based on Kyle's report, expecting a summoning or magic-type class, only for Healer to pop up out of nowhere.
There were no dungeon raid records for the past three years, either.
'This feels like someone deliberately hid it.'
It gave the impression that someone had intentionally concealed his information.
Using his authority as branch chief, David accessed Seo Dae-hyun's past records.
Hunter Association registrants could be found regardless of nationality.
The deeper he dug into the history, the more suspicious points he uncovered.
His intuition had been spot on.
There were traces of data erasure.
His rank had jumped from F to A at one point, only to be adjusted back to D sometime later.
'Who erased it?'
His job, rank, and career history—all of it was dubious.
He couldn't naturalize an unverified hunter.
Calling the president and association chairman would have to wait.
First, he planned to confirm things himself.
The Bear Wolf's wound healed completely with a single Heal.
David and Kyle stared in disbelief at Seo Dae-hyun's Heal.
David's pupils shook wildly, as if an earthquake had hit.
"Kyle!"
"Why didn't you mention the most important part?!"
Undead summoning.
That's what Kyle had reported about his awakening.
He hadn't mentioned the Heal skill.
Of course, even if he had, they wouldn't have believed it.
"I had no idea he possessed such abilities."
Kyle had only met Seo Dae-hyun a few hours earlier.
Their conversation in the car en route to the Association, after contacting the families of his fallen comrades, had been their only exchange.
He had sensed there was more to him beyond death manipulation.
'To think it was Heal!'
No one could have predicted he had a recovery skill.
The purity of the healing mana emanating from Seo Dae-hyun's Heal was extraordinarily dense.
Typical healer mana was bright yellow or light green—refreshing colors—but his was dark and murky.
Deep, like the ocean abyss, impossible to fathom its depths.
It was no ordinary Heal.
On par with an S-Rank healer's.
'No, even superior!'
To achieve that level of healing, one would need to cast at least Heal + Regeneration + Purification—three recovery skills.
Yet Seo Dae-hyun accomplished it all with a single 'Heal.'
David had no choice but to acknowledge him.
"Kyle, you were right."
Kyle had reported to David that Seo Dae-hyun's potential was S-Rank, national-level power.
National-level power: a hunter whose strength rivaled an entire nation's military might.
An S-Rank above S-Rank.
An honorable title bestowed upon great hunters who prevented a nation's downfall.
Not every S-Rank received it.
Only those with overwhelming power and achievements that turned the tide of battle earned the honor.
Seven had received it so far, but only four remained alive.
Three of them had perished blocking monsters during a dungeon break.
Even before the Heal skill, summoning the soldiers had hinted at national-level potential.
And now.
He was certain the hunter before him was the real deal.
In an instant, Seo Dae-hyun proved his past wasn't fabricated.
The traces of his history had simply manifested in a new form through reawakening.
David bowed his head repeatedly, offering endless apologies.
He had doubted the qualities and past of a hunter with national-level potential.
He worried his mistake might breed resentment toward America in Seo Dae-hyun.
"I'll step down from my position as branch chief."
David declared his retirement.
"So please direct all blame solely at me, not America!"
The Hunter Association branch chief held a position equivalent to a U.S. senator.
"David!"
David had started as a lowly agent and clawed his way up to this role.
Kyle had watched him since his rookie days.
Iowa's peace stemmed not just from lower gate occurrence rates than urban areas but from David's tireless efforts.
Impressive as the branch chief role was, it paled infinitely compared to a future national-level hunter.
If this caused Seo Dae-hyun to turn away from America...
The entire country would curse him and his family.
Once, a U.S. senator had quarreled with an S-Rank hunter overseeing a city.
The S-Rank declared a strike, and the senator lost his seat.
He didn't mind the insults himself, but he had to protect his family.
If he could just sway the man's heart, relinquishing the branch chief position was a small price.
"You don't need to step down."
He forgave David's rudeness.
From David's actions and words, Seo Dae-hyun gauged the extent of his own influence.
During active duty, officers' gaslighting and the Association's sealed records had kept major guilds away.
He later learned his company commander had blocked guild scouting offers without consultation.
Seo Dae-hyun had been furious upon hearing it, but by then he was already D-Rank.
He lacked even the power to protest.
Though inexperienced in such matters, the military had honed his instincts.
Seeing David and Kyle's attitudes confirmed it.
The Hunter Association branch chief was tense, gauging his mood.
He had suspected as much, but not to this degree.
"...Thank you!"
"No need for thanks."
Seeing Seo Dae-hyun wasn't offended, David inwardly sighed in relief.
"I'd have suspected the same in your shoes."
He took the lead with lighthearted banter to ease the mood.
This much was easy to overlook.
The apology was sincere, and anyone would doubt a shady past.
Some flaunted their power immediately upon gaining it, revealing their true nature.
David had seen all types of people.
Once he rose to branch chief, dealing with people outstripped battling monsters.
This young man before him differed from the rookies he'd met earlier, despite his national-level potential.
Most reawakened hunters measured at S-Rank potential became arrogant.
Yet Seo Dae-hyun, with potential beyond that, showed no hubris and brushed off the other's mistake with a faint smile.
The man himself was strong.
Not in mana or skills, but in mental fortitude and character.
David took a liking to Seo Dae-hyun.
'He's nothing like that hunter I met back then.'
David had once dealt with a Chinese S-Rank hunter.
That S-Rank's attitude was the worst among all he'd encountered.
'He made me hate that country.'
'Or maybe just him.'
Most S-Rank hunters had excessive pride and self-esteem.
They guarded their rights fiercely but shirked duties.
Even as an A-Rank healer, special laws allowed immediate discharge, but he delayed and served.
Because if he left, his comrades would die.
He was the sole healer on the front lines.
Only 2-5% of awakeners were healers.
They started at C or B-Rank.
Special laws exempted healers from conscription.
They were nobility, truly.
Of course, Seo Dae-hyun hadn't started as one.
His initial awakening was F-Rank, jobless.
F-Rank hunters had no jobs.
Upon reaching E-Rank, they gained a fitting class.
Seo Dae-hyun awakened as a healer after hitting E-Rank on the front lines.
He was the first E-Rank to become a healer.
Seo Dae-hyun released the summoned soldiers.
A black circle formed on the ground, and they vanished beneath it.
It evoked images of hell's legions.
'Still amazing even on second look.'
No mana could be felt.
'Not a skill, then?'
He dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks.
The soldiers were few now, but if that number grew...
Gulp.
David swallowed dryly.
He wanted to inquire about the ability in detail but held back out of courtesy.
Asking about awakening powers on a first meeting was a grave discourtesy.
He couldn't commit a second offense.
Seo Dae-hyun was forgiving; a prickly hunter might have demolished the building.
Hunter info had to be registered with the Association, but awakening abilities (skills) were kept secret.
David and Kyle calmed their racing hearts from the display and took their seats.
"Mr. Seo Dae-hyun, you haven't engaged in any hunter activities since awakening. May I ask why?"
"I was conscripted into the military the moment I awakened."
Military service didn't count as hunter activity.
David and Kyle let out genuine sighs at his words.
'What kind of country is that?' they wanted to say, but held back since it was his homeland.
"Ah..."
There were two ways to raise a hunter's rank.
First, kill monsters. Second, reawaken.
Reawakening post-awakening was exceedingly rare worldwide.
Most hunters entered dungeons, slew monsters, and leveled up.
Hunter ranks represented a nation's power.
Countries scouted high-potential awakeners, had them ride safe dungeons under mid-to-high-rank veterans, and nurtured them.
Seo Dae-hyun wasn't a greenhouse flower.
He was a weed that bloomed under scorching sun, amid blood flowing like water, on barren death-soil.
Basic training at boot camp, then straight to the front.
He survived hordes of magical beasts swarming the foremost lines.
Strangely, Korea's Ministry of National Defense and Hunter Association refused to recognize his service.
He overcame death on the battlefield and lost comrades.
Yet the soldier who gave everything there...
Could voice nothing under the nation's silence.
He fled the country he and his comrades had defended.
'I never want to feel that powerlessness again.'
Seo Dae-hyun craved strength.
He wasn't strong yet.
He had only met the conditions to become strong.
Like a tiger cub's weakness.
He didn't fully grasp his abilities yet.
But he knew what to do now.
"...I want to grow stronger."
Strong enough for one man to make a nation hear him.
Wheeling and dealing wasn't his style.
Nor did he wish to return to Korea.
He spoke frankly.
He wanted U.S. naturalization.
"What can America offer me?"
What could America give him?
Patriotism?
A man discarded by his nation had none left.
Kyle and David had thought naturalization would be tough for him.
"I-Is that true?"
David asked incredulously.
Military hunter defectors were rare.
Seo Dae-hyun nodded slowly and spoke softly.
He explained why he left Korea.
He shared a front-line soldier's survival tale.
It was reason enough for U.S. naturalization.
Kyle and David clenched their fists in fury.
It wasn't mere pandering.
Bam!
David slammed the desk, enraged.
"How... how could they do this?! Abandoning a soldier who served the nation!!!"
They couldn't blame him for abandoning his country.
He hadn't abandoned it.
His country had abandoned him.
"America never abandons its soldiers or hunters. Even in death, we care for their families to the end."
David knew well.
His father had fallen in war.
He overcame countless hurdles to reach this position, but his first step was thanks to his father.
As a son of a national merit recipient, he entered the Association.
America's hunter superpower status wasn't just numbers.
If so, China or India would have produced national-level hunters already.
America viewed hunters as heroes.
High regard for hunters and soldiers.
Trusting the nation would support their families fueled their dungeon assaults.
David earnestly hoped Seo Dae-hyun would come to America.
He answered confidently to 'what can we offer.'
"Fulfill your hunter duties, and Seo Dae-hyun, you can achieve anything you desire in America."
Hunter duties.
Dungeons not cleared in time spawned monsters outside.
Seo Dae-hyun had proven his worth; David promised full support.
Prove your ability, and America accepts all.
His eyes flashed at 'all.'