The latest news hitting the airwaves was absolute trash. The group of Korean hunters who had dared to challenge a six-star gate had failed yet again, and following that massive flop the netizens were already blowing up the comment sections, reacting aggressively to next year's international raid competition. The overall anxiety and worry were only mounting.
Inside the transport vehicle, one of the men watching the broadcast shook his head.
"The old rivalry with Japan is a thing of the past," he said. "There's just no way to go head-to-head with them anymore."
The young guy sitting across from him snapped back instantly. "Are you kidding? Our group still brings in way more cash than the Japanese hunters do."
The older man behind the wheel comforted them both, saying that despite the setbacks they still needed to have faith in the rookies. Then he turned his head slightly and asked for the opinion of Seo-yul, the leader of the rescue department.
"That kind of stuff is for the combat hunters to stress over," Seo-yul answered calmly. "The rescue team should be focusing on the emergency call we're currently responding to."
The driver let out a quick chuckle. "I only brought it up because you're always such a serious guy."
The young man who had been watching the news chimed in from the back. "Hunter guilds are all the same in the end anyway. And we're the ones taking all the heat and all the pressure."
That, Seo-yul thought to himself, was the textbook complaint of a typical public servant. But deep down he knew it was also their reality.
The hunter agency was an organization made up primarily of mid-tier awakened individuals. Its operations were split into three separate departments: alerts, supervision, and rescue. Under that system, whenever things went sideways inside the gates, it was the rescue hunters who had to dive in and save the civilians and the other hunters. Seo-yul's primary role as the department leader was acting as a tracker. He could pinpoint traces, evidence, and tiny details that nobody else ever noticed.
Right at that moment, the squad was pulling up to a new emergency scene, prepping themselves to enter the gate. The objective of this specific mission was to rescue the members of the Epic Guild.
Suddenly a man approached them with a slick grin.
"The rescue department folks sure are working hard," he said. "Aren't you darlings."
There was always some audacious prick showing up to talk down to them like this, Seo-yul thought. This one was Baek Jun-hwan, an executive from the mega guild Overcross. He was notorious for forcing small partner guilds into gates completely irresponsibly, chasing nothing but pure profit without giving a single damn whether people lived or died. To Seo-yul he was just a grumpy old bastard and the actual culprit behind countless emergency calls. In fact, he was probably the one to blame for this exact disaster, too.
Losing his patience, Seo-yul warned him flatly that they were in a rush, excused himself, and pushed forward toward the gate with his squad.
Even so, Baek Jun-hwan kept pushing. "My guild could offer some assistance, you know. Are you absolutely sure you don't want the backup?"
Seo-yul knew the executive was the root cause of the problem and was only trying to cover his own ass and boost his reputation.
"We don't need any help," he said firmly. "We'll do our jobs without relying on anyone else."
Baek Jun-hwan merely sighed. "That's a real pity."
Meanwhile, on the inside of the gate, the environment was completely swallowed by an Inca jungle biome. A young girl was desperately trying to keep her ally alive using healing magic, but she quickly found herself cornered by monsters. Just as she was about to be ripped apart by one of the creatures, Seo-yul materialized out of nowhere, cleanly severing the monster's head with the tip of his spear.
Immediately after, he calmed the terrified girl down, letting her know that the rescue team had arrived.
The veteran hunter of the squad warned loudly that multiple ghouls were swarming the path they had just used to enter, which meant they would have to find an alternative exit.
Knowing the stakes, Seo-yul immediately swung into action. He activated his Silent Wave skill and focused entirely on the surrounding audio, picking up faint noises no ordinary human could hear. With that, he successfully mapped out the positions of all the enemies and located a hidden trail for an alternate route. The moment he found the path, he hoisted the injured woman onto his allies' shoulders and the entire group burst into a full sprint to escape.
The young girl was completely paralyzed with fear, and even though she knew she wasn't in a position to complain, she asked whether they were absolutely sure this path was safe.
"Our tracker may only be a rank D," the veteran hunter replied with pure pride, "but Seo-yul's actual skills are of the absolute highest tier."
The veteran spoke with total confidence. A little later, though, even he faltered, asking nervously whether Seo-yul was certain about the route, because it looked like there were even more enemies lurking here than on the previous path.
The horde of ghouls itself wasn't a massive threat. The problem was that the group was growing utterly exhausted from non-stop fighting while carrying the wounded.
Seo-yul remained completely certain that this specific path would lead them straight to the exit. The real issue was that the enemies knew it too. Normal ghouls possessed zero intelligence, but the story changed completely when they were being micromanaged by a necromancer.
Sensing the looming danger, Seo-yul activated his sixth sense. He became absolutely certain that someone nearby was manipulating the creatures — and sure enough, he was right. A dark magic circle erupted directly beneath their feet.
Luckily, the majority of the group managed to sprint forward just in time to save themselves. Unfortunately, Seo-yul and the veteran hunter were left behind, dragged down violently by the pulling force of the necromancer's magic.
Seeing the desperate situation, the veteran screamed at Seo-yul to leave him behind and save his own skin.
Instead of running, the tracker delivered a sharp kick straight into his ally, shoving him entirely out of harm's way and completely isolating himself inside the magical circle. With that final move, Seo-yul's movements were totally paralyzed.
The veteran, losing his mind on the outside, begged him to hold on, promising he would find a way to break him out immediately.
But Seo-yul fiercely rejected the help. He snapped his head toward the manager, a man named Lee Han, and ordered them to get the hell out of there right now, because if they stayed, everyone would die. He insisted that the manager take the victims and the rest of the squad to a secure location as fast as humanly possible.
Swallowed by guilt, Manager Lee Han could only choke out an apology before retreating.
"Don't act like I'm already dead!" Seo-yul yelled after him. "I haven't got the slightest intention of dying today."
Even while completely paralyzed and surrounded by circling ghouls, Seo-yul glared directly at the terrifying figure emerging before him. It was Caracol, the necromancer, and the boss of this dungeon.