Chapter 75. Injecting a Lethal Dose of National Pride
Chapter 75. Injecting a Lethal Dose of National Pride
"..."
The moment he spoke, the air in the room shifted.
His mother, his father, Laila—all of them stared at him with utterly baffled expressions.
Wondering if he had mispronounced something, he repeated himself, enunciating every syllable with extra care.
"Umm... Hie-ro. You and me, throw down!"
"Uh..."
There was not a trace of hostility in him.
I tapped my earpiece and spoke.
"You can just use your own language..."
"My apologies. I heard you were a Hanguk person, so I studied a bit of Hanguk speech."
"Where exactly did you learn it?"
"Well... I searched through Hanguk online communities to pick up terms used in actual conversation."
He straightened his back and bowed politely once more.
A textbook-perfect, right-angle bow.
"You... I have no idea which communities you've been browsing, but stop visiting them immediately."
"Hmm...? Is that not the proper greeting?"
I had never met a soul so pure in my life.
I simply offered him a handshake.
"Anyway, what's this about wanting to fight me?"
"I admire your strength. I wish to learn a lesson from you."
"Well, sparring with you isn't hard, but... why me, specifically?"
"Everyone believes your power comes solely from your overwhelming physique. I, however, have witnessed your refined technique!"
He laid out his reasoning with such passion that specks of spit flew from his lips.
A single spar was no trouble at all, so I simply shrugged.
At that moment, Colton Grave, President of the World Hunter Association, strode into the hall.
"Let us continue this conversation at a later time!"
With that, he returned to his seat.
Once everyone was settled, Colton tapped the microphone and began to speak.
"I presume you are all aware that there is a major announcement today."
A wave of tense swallows rippled through the crowd.
A major announcement from a global international body always whipped the media into a frenzy.
"We have established a new rank—one that exists above S-rank."
The instant Colton finished speaking, a barrage of camera flashes exploded through the room.
At the same time, the gaze of every hunter present swiveled toward us.
"Yes, that is correct. This is a new rank created solely for Song Hoon and Laila Hunter."
Every reporter's hand shot up to ask a question.
Colton scanned the crowd with unhurried eyes before pointing to them one by one.
"Mr. President, don't you think this could be seen as discrimination?"
At the reporter's slightly pointed question, Colton responded without missing a beat, entirely unruffled.
"It is not discrimination, but distinction. Would it not be more discriminatory to bind those stronger than S-rank within the S-rank itself?"
"...Thank you for your answer."
Another reporter raised their hand.
"Mr. President, what exactly is the name of this newly established rank?"
The Association President produced a new hunter license.
Instantly, the cameras in the hall zoomed in and projected the license onto the large screen.
Yet the section where the hunter rank was meant to be written was completely blank.
"His rank is Unknown."
"Unknown...?"
"Yes. We could not quantify his rank."
There was a vast gulf between 'did not' determine something and 'could not' determine it.
"Are you saying the World Hunter Association... is incapable of gauging the full extent of their strength?"
"Yes."
"Then is it possible for other hunters to attain this rank?"
"Perhaps... one day, it will be possible. However, I can state with certainty that currently, there are none."
"What, then, are the criteria for ascending to it?"
The Association President pointed toward the seats where Laila and I were sitting.
"Simply be acknowledged by the Unknown Hunter. Be it his strength, his influence, or any other factor."
Another reporter glanced around cautiously before speaking.
"But... what are your thoughts regarding the potential ramifications of leaving this to personal discretion?"
They did not state it outright, but the implication was unmistakable.
What happens if Song Hoon and Laila acknowledge someone for nefarious purposes?
would you bear responsibility for that?
"I will stake my position as President on it."
There was clearly plenty they still wanted to say, but the instant the President wagered his very position, the room fell silent.
"If... there happens to be a hunter who still cannot accept this, you need only defeat that hunter in a spar."
"..."
This had not been arranged with me in advance, but I stayed quiet.
It wasn't in my nature to refuse a stage so thoughtfully set for me.
The Association President studied the room for a moment.
No one voiced a single objection.
"Then I shall consider this matter accepted by all."
Just before he stepped down from the podium, he tossed out one last remark.
"In the future, any hunters who still find this difficult to accept are welcome to issue a challenge at any time."
---
While the room buzzed with excitement over the new rank, I—the person at the center of it—felt almost nothing.
"So when's the friendly match?"
"Probably tomorrow, I think."
"What do we do until then?"
"Just... greet people, get to know some faces, I suppose?"
I glanced to one side and spotted a massive crowd already packed around my parents.
"They probably find it too intimidating to approach you directly, Hero."
Laila's reasoning made sense.
Compared to us, an S-rank hunter was relatively approachable (?) in their eyes.
"Hmm... how should I kill some time?"
That said, a few people weren't intimidated at all.
Max and Emir.
And Takamine Reina, as well as Chen Longwei, whom I had met before, also came over.
"It has been a while."
"Great Hero, it has been far too long."
"Uh, yeah..."
Reina was fine, but Longwei made me a touch uncomfortable.
It was not his fault in the slightest, but I was the one who had demolished his family home (?).
He, however, simply laughed heartily as if nothing was the matter.
"It is fine. It was a chain of events brought on entirely by the party's own doing."
'His saying that only makes me more uncomfortable...'
Then, the young man who had first spoken to me in the hall came looking for me as well.
"When will you fight me?"
"..."
This guy was just too pure.
"Is there a sparring hall or something here?"
It was the World Hunter Association; surely they would have at least a sparring hall.
---
[ 'Unknown' Rank Established in Hunter Classification System... Existence Beyond the Established S-rank Emerges ]
[ 'Unknown' Rank Appears for the First Time... What Are the Standards for Beings Above S-rank? ]
[ World Hunter Association President: "Even We Could Not Measure His Power." ]
The World Hunter Association President's announcement circulated through articles across the globe.
Every nation burned with curiosity about the power this new rank represented.
Only one nation erupted into a full-scale festival.
[ "The Strongest on Earth, Born in Korea" ... A New History in the Hunter World as 'Unknown' Rank Is Established ]
[ "Unclassifiable, Unmeasurable" — Korean Hunter Industry Produces Humanity's First 'Transcendent' ]
Day after day, Korean news outlets churned out provocative headlines that struck straight at the national pride of every citizen.
└ Waaaaah hell yeah!!!!!
└ Barkeep! Drinks were on the house today!!!!!!!!!
└ What's this about rank manipulation lol
└ You son
└ of a
└ bitch
└ You all get upvotes
[ Author: Saintess Foot-Fetish ]
[ Title: Our Boss Achieved 'Unknown' ]
[ Content: Who am I?
An 'employee' of the foundation founded by the Great Hero who handled the West Coast Monster, Baekdu Mountain Gate, Forbidden City Demolition, Mount Fuji Gate, the Cartel Collapse, the National Hero Elder Support, and now had achieved the 'Unknown' rank.
I guess this was what they meant when they said your position shaped who you became. ]
└ The template's gotten so ridiculously long lolololololol
└ You crazy bastard lolololol
└ You son of a bitch, hand out coupons instead of writing posts
└ Author: ok will do later
The World Hunter Association was so rigid it bordered on stubborn—completely devoid of any notion of flexibility.
And yet, even that Association could not measure their power.
They gave up on measuring their power.
It was during those hours when everyone was simply waiting for the stream to begin.
[ World's Strongest Hero : Yo, it's your boy ]
[Barkeep!!! Bring out all the makgeolli!!!!!]
[This is a national prestige boost!!! Give him military exemption!!!!]
[He's already exempt lololol]
"Yo, your boy's here. Did you all miss me?"
I turned the stream on from what looked like a massive gymnasium.
Naturally, Laila and I were there, along with other hunters.
[Whoa, what's with this insane lineup??]
[Max, Longwei, Reina... what, are you guys conquering Earth or something?]
[Oh, who's that guy? First time seeing him]
[Isn't he an S-rank from Türkiye?]
[A country like that doesn't exist anymore lol]
"Actually, that friend over there said he wanted to throw down with me."
[???]
[He seriously asked to throw down??]
[Wtf it's probably a spar lololololol]
[No way he actually said it like that lololol]
He did.
He genuinely said, "Let's throw down."
"He's a very pure-hearted guy. He just respects strong people and wanted to spar."
[Uh-huh...]
[His strength is legit, but his personality being worthy of respect is lol...]
[Gasp!]
[Hey hey hey!!!]
He walked in front of the drone camera and bowed his head with decorum.
Naturally, he greeted everyone in his halting Korean once again.
"It is a pleasure. Emir Kaya. I am come from Türkiye."
[His manners are flawless lolololol]
[The kind of etiquette old folks would absolutely love lolololol]
"I respect the strong man. So I asked Hero to throw down."
[???]
[Where did he learn Korean lololololol]
[Someone get this man a private Korean tutor]
"Everyone watch closely."
We put distance between us and readied ourselves for the spar.
Emir wore gloves on both hands that looked like an artifact.
He then drew what appeared to be truncheons, each about 30 cm long, and clutched one in each fist.
"What, you use batons?"
"No. My weapon is..."
─ Shiiing...! Chang...!
The truncheons in his hands unfolded.
One was a long spear, the other a short spear.
'Hm... he wields a long spear in one hand?'
Spears were weapons virtually impossible to handle without significant mastery.
Yet he was holding not just one spear, but two, each of a different length.
"Come at me."
"Allow me to learn from you."
The gentle gaze of the young man, so innocent just moments earlier, sharpened into the piercing eyes of a hunter locking onto its quarry.