Chapter 163. Danger
After a brief contemplation, a new sentence drifted from the direction of Brooklyn.
“Why…”
Crack.
Her injured arm seemed to have already healed. A warm light lingered momentarily around her shoulder, and then the traces of the bruise disappeared.
“Why is there another S-Class Hunter here…?”
Brooklyn looked at Kang Chang-ho, who had come to the hotel, with a surprised expression.
But the shock didn’t last long.
’I see.’
She had previously analyzed the S-Class Gate raid that had occurred in Kagoshima.
During the Dragon Raid, that man in his thirties had given an interview before the Japanese reporters.
[Kang: Why did you participate in the S-Class raid? “To protect the talent.”]
[Kang Chang-ho said, “I am a bystander. Don’t expect any help from me.”]
He hadn’t gone east to kill a dragon.
As he had stated himself, he participated in the raid to protect Kim Gi-ryeo. But…
Why would he need protection among S-Class Hunters?
“Interesting.”
She chose her words while tidying her messy hair.
“I thought your relationship only applied inside the gate.”
But what returned was not an explanation to her question. Kang Chang-ho looked at her indifferently and said,
“If you act that way in someone else’s country, it will become a diplomatic issue, won’t it?”
The American S-Class was even more shocked to hear that.
He never expected to hear something like that from someone who had kicked a foreigner without warning.
Of course, this was merely Brooklyn’s opinion, and there were reasons why the Korean Awakened took the offensive first.
“You don’t actually think I was unaware of the distance, do you? If you knew what kind of object my eyes are, you wouldn’t say such things.”
“…”
“You were just about to attack Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter, weren’t you, Brooklyn?”
Kang Chang-ho pressed her, pointing at her eyes.
The [Dragon’s Eye] he possessed could also sense the flow of magic when preparing for an attack.
However, that visual information was visible only to its owner, Kang Chang-ho.
What actually happened was that a Korean Hunter assaulted a well-known American figure.
“Hmm, I honestly… I only have this certainty right now.”
Brooklyn fixed her gaze on the green hues in his pupils.
“I’ve been caught up in your rough actions, and the international community won’t evaluate this positively at all.”
In objective data like CCTV footage, Brooklyn was just the victim.
However, the reactions were just as bland on both sides. Kang Chang-ho continued the conversation without blinking an eye.
“That’s true.”
However, as these words flowed, the veins on his arm began to twitch, moving like a liquid-filled pressure pipe…
“But why would someone so clever not know that I don’t concern myself with evaluations?”
The ensuing situation was beyond the F-Class’s range of visual perception.
For Gi-ryeo, it just felt like a sudden explosion of sound from somewhere.
By the time this crackling sound faded away, the meticulously maintained garden overseen by the hotel was turned over and a mess.
Thick dust rose dramatically. Cracked pavement tiles bounced off at irregular angles.
In an instant, the scenery before them transformed into a war zone.
The Korean S-Class Hunter had attacked Brooklyn again.
“Ugh!”
Gi-ryeo squinted in the ensuing backlash and closed his eyes.
By the time he straightened himself, both S-Classes had already disappeared from sight.
The woman from America, having awakened as a physical enhancement type Hunter, could not withstand the force and was pushed back a full hundred meters, while Kang Chang-ho chased after her.
Having allowed two offensive actions, there would be none next.
Brooklyn used a recovery skill at the spot she was struck, stabilizing her posture through a roll.
Boiling magic power, drawn rapier.
Had it not been for the circumstances, she would have intended to deliver a harsh counterattack at this point.
“Wait.”
Thud!
What was happening?
Having pulled sufficiently away from the hotel garden, Kang Chang-ho suddenly raised his hands.
“I’m not here to fight. I just distanced myself to talk.”
“…!”
“So put down your weapon. That would be better for you too, wouldn’t it?”
You want to talk?
Certainly, as he said, Brooklyn did not want the incident to escalate.
She had intended to verify Kim Gi-ryeo’s skills through violence, picturing the scenario of a strained diplomatic relationship with Korea…
But still, people tend to want to avoid trouble.
“To be honest, this has been the most outrageous conversation starter I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Brooklyn Morgan eased her frayed nerves and responded to him.
“Morgan, I know why you tried to attack that guy.”
“Hmm.”
“I get it. Perhaps you had doubts. Your curiosity is a well-known tale.”
As the exotic-looking man said that, Brooklyn couldn’t bring herself to deny it and shrugged her shoulders.
Was the fourth S-Class of Korea truly real?
That was all she was curious about.
“But it’s troublesome to act like this after coming all the way to Korea.”
Kang Chang-ho tilted his head after confirming Brooklyn’s reaction.
“What business does a foreigner have stirring things up in someone else’s territory? So… why not just comfortably accept the information I give? I can pass on the information you want.”
“Excuse me?”
At this, the blond woman showed a confused response.
Though her smile was perfectly masked like someone wearing a mask, the delicate eyelashes in her eyes trembled slightly.
“You’re offering information?”
Just as the American S-Class was starting to lean her head, Kang Chang-ho continued his explanation as if to reassure her.
“I’ve been curious about that guy lately too. Sharing what we find out with neighbors is easy.”
“…”
“If you just say the word, I’ll investigate for you. So you should back off now. That Awakened isn’t a concern for America.”
Kang Chang-ho spoke leisurely while putting his hands in his pocket.
But when his counterpart hesitated to respond, he smirked and added a few more words.
“It seems like you have no answer. Oh, could it be that your translator is malfunctioning or something?”
He pointed at the area around the ear, where Pixie’s translator was worn.
Before long, the fluent foreign language flowed out.
“Get out of Korea. Crker.”
With one word from Kang Chang-ho, Brooklyn raised her eyebrows as she understood the meaning behind the sentence.
That Korean truly had no manners, just as she had heard.
However, just because the expression was rough didn’t mean that communication would break down completely.
The offer to share information about Kim Gi-ryeo was undeniably a tempting bait.
Even if that offer was a lie, a hostile approach from a foreign Hunter made it difficult for her to act recklessly.
“Alright, if you’re going that far…”
Brooklyn took a step back.
Her desire to verify Kim Gi-ryeo’s level herself remained, but there was no need to reveal that to the other party.
Moreover, she suddenly became curious about something else.
Brooklyn was closely related to American intelligence agencies, and therefore received relatively frequent information regarding the person before her.
“By the way, I’ve been curious for a while.”
She asked Kang Chang-ho.
“I heard that you also rejected an offer from our headhunter some time ago.”
“Hmm?”
“The immigration proposal.”
“Ah.”
“Well, it probably wasn’t the same condition as this time… but I’m sure they offered terms that wouldn’t come off as disappointing back then.”
A Hunter who neither joined a Guild nor showed a rebellious attitude toward the Korean government.
Kang Chang-ho, like Kim Gi-ryeo, could easily move to the overseas market if conditions were met.
His usual behavior didn’t seem to convey much patriotism either.
But why?
Why wouldn’t Kang Chang-ho be tempted by America’s allure?
“Why haven’t you left this small country?”
Especially considering that Kang Chang-ho’s situation was even more complex than a foreigner’s.
He had accumulated penalties for defying government orders, so now he was officially banned from using the Hunter Market.
At this point, anyone would usually consider moving to another market, yet he was obsessively clinging to Korea.
“Is there a treasure hidden here?”
But the man just smiled mysteriously at Brooklyn’s question. He rarely opened his mouth.
“That’s…”
Kang Chang-ho expressed his sense of belonging this way.
“I like Bibimbap.”
“Huh?”
“I also find Bulgogi to my liking. Korean food isn’t bad at all. You mentioned that at the airport, didn’t you?”
Just like the woman who had spoken in front of reporters. One shouldn’t dare to pry into a person’s true intentions.
*
How much time had passed since then?
After a few exchanges, an S-Class Hunter who had vanished beyond the hotel’s foliage returned to the garden.
With hair shining a purplish hue due to a rare condition Awakened ones often experience, the person who appeared was Kang Chang-ho.
“Are you okay?”
Gi-ryeo had been growing worried as immense magic continued to erupt from the direction they had disappeared.
Yet, the returning S-Class Hunter looked surprisingly fine.
In fact, he even wore a relaxed smile that seemed to have cleared his previous irritation.
“Don’t worry. I wrapped up our conversation quite well. I warned them that if they pulled any more tricks like this, I wouldn’t just sit back.”
“Oh.”
“It should be quiet for a while.”
Clunk.
As Kang Chang-ho explained, he turned his green eyes, reminiscent of crocodile eyes, sideways.
“By the way…”
His question lingered in the ample garden.
“Do you know why that foreigner acted like that?”
“Excuse me?”
“Morgan said she wanted to attack because she doubts whether the fourth in Korea is a true S-Class. To verify her skills.”
Gi-ryeo remained silent.
“It’s absurd, but I understand. Morgan’s actions and the insubordination from days ago. In a way, it’s all because you hide your awakening level.”
Again, no answer came back.
“Thinking about it, I’ve never actually seen your real awakening level.”
Still, contrary to his calm appearance, sweat was pouring down Gi-ryeo’s spine like a waterfall.
Brooklyn had begun to suspect him.
Since the moment the other party suddenly raised their magic, he felt something was off, but to think it was for such a reason…
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
As someone fell deep into thought, Kang Chang-ho proposed his opinion to the Hunter in front of him.
“Why don’t you stop hiding your magic? If you keep suppressing it mindlessly, annoying flies will keep sticking around.”
Of course, for Gi-ryeo, it was an absurd suggestion.
In the first place, he was a bottom-tier Awakened who had nothing to hide.
’Looks like the day has finally come.’
Still, it wasn’t as if he had no way out.
If he took the potion made with the magic stone he used during the third awakening test, he could pretend to have high magic power for a short while.
However, that was no different from chewing on rocks raw, which wasn’t good for the body.
’An American person suspects me?’
Yet, to wash away that suspicion, he had no choice. After much deliberation, Gi-ryeo made a decision.
Let’s reuse the method he had used to deceive the awakening tester.
And since the handmade potion he had used back then was disposed of last month due to expiration, he would have to make do for now.
“Hmm, reacting to every little prank feels wasteful…”
A truly dry voice.
To an onlooker, it seemed like he was calmly enduring the threat of someone like Brooklyn, but in reality, it was a result of a foreign alien trying their utmost to manipulate their body.
Honestly, just recalling Brooklyn raising her magic made his legs tremble.
“But as you said, troublesome matters have increased, so next time something similar happens, I will release my magic.”
The scammer with yellow hair tossed out an open-ended promise to buy herself some time to prepare the potion.
Then Kang Chang-ho quietly nodded.
“Alright.”
But contrary to Gi-ryeo’s interpretation, this didn’t carry a particularly positive meaning.
“Next time, make sure to.”
This genuine S-Class wasn’t fooled by the scammer’s charade.
Moreover, he was someone who held a strong suspicion that surpassed Brooklyn.
*
The incident erupted on the way back home that afternoon.
