“It’s just an interview. What’s your favorite food?”
“You’re asking things like that?”
Kim Song-cheol’s shoulders slumped.
He had braced himself mentally since he was told the man belonged to the Special Security Department, but his tension instantly evaporated.
“I told you, it’s an interview. Haha.”
“You’re not a reporter, are you?”
“Absolutely not.”
Peter shook his head adamantly.
This was a place one could only enter after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
If Peter were a reporter, it would mean he had gone as far as obtaining undercover employment at the Special Security Department, which was nonsensical.
“Favorite food… just Korean food.”
“Doenjang-jjigae, Kimchi-jjigae?”
“Yeah. With side dishes, and it would be nice to have a fried egg, too.”
“What about hobbies?”
“Um… taking walks?”
“Any hobbies you can’t tell other people about?”
“…I don’t have any hobbies like that.”
“Haha, that’s a relief. How did you feel when you first became a Hunter?”
Kim Song-cheol’s eyes drifted upward for a moment.
He recalled the time he first met Kim Myung-joo.
He vividly remembered the top of Kim Myung-joo’s head as he bowed, asking for Song-cheol’s help.
“I wondered if I should just file a lawsuit against the state and lie down, telling them to cut me open…”
“What does ‘cut you open’ mean?”
“It means since I can’t do it, they can do whatever they want with me, whether they kill me or let me live.”
“I understand. Haha.”
“But I gave it enough thought, and in the end, I made the choice. To become a Hunter.”
“Was there a decisive reason?”
Kim Song-cheol rested his hands on his knees and stared at a point in the distance.
His gaze grew a bit deeper.
‘Will I be able to live without regrets?’
“What kind of regrets?”
“The kind I’d feel if my family was harmed by a Gate. Korea hasn’t had any casualties because of Gates yet, but on a global scale, it’s quite common, isn’t it? We don’t know what will happen to Korea in the future, either.”
“Were you confident you could keep Korea safe if you became a Hunter?”
“Oh, I didn’t have that kind of confidence then, and I don’t have it now. No one knows the future. That’s why I became a Hunter. I did it because I was worried an accident I could have stopped might happen. And I was afraid that accident might take my family away.”
“Oh, that’s a very warm answer. It’s unexpected.”
“Is it? What were you expecting…”
“Money, fame, things like that. They’re good, aren’t they? Haha.”
“They aren’t bad.”
Kim Song-cheol grinned and nodded.
“Then, by any chance, do you have any thoughts about transferring?”
The question came out of nowhere.
It was as if he were being asked if he wanted to buy a watermelon at a market.
“However, it was also a heavy question.”
Kim Song-cheol answered without much hesitation.
“To be honest… I don’t necessarily want to move, but I don’t have a reason not to move, either.”
“What does that mean?” Peter asked.
His gaze momentarily turned sharp, but Kim Song-cheol didn’t see it.
He was looking elsewhere.
“If I’m told I don’t have to enter Dungeons, I’m willing to move. In any other case, I don’t feel the need to move. Moving would be a loss.”
“In what way would it be a loss? Are you talking about things like being banned from entering Korea?”
“Yes. I’d never be able to go back to Korea. And my remaining family would be pointed at. The media would make a fuss. Then I’d have to take my whole family and leave for a foreign country… but my grandmother and grandfather are still alive. They’re the type of people who refuse to leave their hometown even if their children offer to take care of them, insisting on living where they’ve always lived. If I were to transfer, I wouldn’t even know what to do about that.”
To Kim Song-cheol, money wasn’t a big problem.
From the moment he first heard the figure of ten billion won, he felt like he wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of his life.
But now, he didn’t even know what his annual salary was.
He had heard talk of 100 billion won, then 200 billion won, and then they told him they would discuss it and let him know.
That was already one month ago, and he hadn’t asked separately. So, he was in a state of not knowing.
Since it would be quite a troublesome situation for the Republic of Korea’s government if Kim Song-cheol left, they would try to match the offer somehow.
As long as they showed sincerity, it didn’t really matter to him.
Ten billion won had already long since surpassed Kim Song-cheol’s personal standard.
“Do you think fame is more important than money?”
“Peter asked.”
“If I had to choose, yes, but more than that, it’s the safety of the people close to me. If I can really become that strong, I think protecting the people around me comes first.”
“I see.”
For some reason, Peter smiled warmly.
It was a smile that made even Kim Song-cheol smile along with him.
“Why are you laughing like that?”
“I just laugh a lot naturally.”
“Is it because you’re in the service industry?”
It was a sarcastic joke about Peter’s identity.
He had thought Peter was a Guide, but he was actually an agent belonging to the Special Security Department.
“For now? Haha. Anyway, it seems your desire to protect the people around you is very strong.”
“That’s right. What if I hear news that a friend or a family member I left behind died because a Gate burst after I left? Just thinking about it is terrible.”
“I understand. There are many people who don’t move for similar reasons. But… you’re different from the Kim Song-cheol I imagined. Haha.”
“I don’t know how you imagined me. Anyway, if I were told I didn’t have to go into Dungeons, I’d try to endure all those losses… but there’s no reason for the United Kingdom to take me in then, right?”
Kim Song-cheol asked.
Taking Kim Song-cheol in meant they wanted to extract a lot of Points, but the United Kingdom had no need for that.
“Um… there probably isn’t. Haha.”
“It really was an interview then. Please spread the word to other countries too. Tell them I’ll go anywhere on the condition that I don’t enter Dungeons.”
“No country would accept that condition. Haha.”
Peter laughed as if he had heard a funny joke.
Kim Song-cheol did the same.
“It’s basically a indirect way of saying no.”
“Is magic fun?”
“Yes. Out of everything I’ve gained as a Hunter, it’s the part I like the most.”
“That’s good.”
Just as Peter was nodding, the sound of trudging footsteps was heard, and soon Cha Se-hyeon appeared.
“What are you two talking about so much?” she asked as she took alcohol out of the refrigerator and swept it into an ice bag.
“We were having an interview,” Peter said first.
“An interview? What kind of interview?”
“About Mr. Kim Song-cheol.”
Cha Se-hyeon narrowed her eyes as she looked at Peter.
She snapped the ice bag shut and lifted it using Telekinesis magic.
“Oppa, Peter didn’t say anything weird, did he?”
“No. He didn’t say anything you’d be worried about.”
“What’s the ‘anything’ I’d be worried about?”
“Me going to another country.”
It wasn’t a lie.
The United Kingdom didn’t suggest a transfer to Kim Song-cheol.
Peter had really only interviewed him.
“Good to know. Both of you be careful. I’m watching everything.”
Cha Se-hyeon glared at the two of them once and walked back toward the beach.
She didn’t seem to truly suspect Peter.
If she had, it wouldn’t have ended like this.
“I almost died just now, didn’t I? Phew.”
Peter let out an exaggerated sigh and mimicked wiping sweat from his brow.
***
In the suburbs of London, a drizzling rain fell from the cloudy sky.
A man sat on a bench overlooking the river.
He wore a leather jacket and jeans.
His brown hair was cut short.
He had long legs and a sturdy build.
He looked to be over 190 cm tall.
Beside him, a long sword lay diagonally on the bench.
His appearance was striking enough to draw attention, yet the people around him didn’t mind him at all.
It was as if they didn’t even perceive him; no one even glanced his way.
His identity was Ocean Winslow.
He was the strongest man in the world.
Ocean, who was looking at the flowing river with his arms crossed, was joined by a man who walked up and sat on the edge of the bench.
“It was Peter.”
“Did you kill him?”
Ocean asked.
“Haha, no,” Peter said in his usual, overly cheerful voice.
“You said you might have to kill him.”
“There was nothing there, to a boring degree.”
“Didn’t I tell you? The people of our Earth are different from your Earth. Almost none of them have experienced war.”
“I would have killed him if there was a chance, but he’s adamant about not transferring. I didn’t feel the need to kill him at all. To use a Korean proverb, I wouldn’t want to make porridge and give it to a dog, haha.”
Ocean nodded silently, and Peter rummaged through a paper bag he had brought and pulled out a bagel.
“But I guess your influence here is really huge? I didn’t know you could host such a grand party.”
The Forum was an event influenced by Ocean.
Part of the purpose of the grand Forum was to get on Ocean’s good side.
“Was it fun?”
“In its own way? I think the Guide role suits my temperament, and acting as a special agent… Wow, this is delicious.”
Peter admired the bagel as he wiped the cream cheese from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
Of course, Ocean looked at him as if he were pathetic.
“…Talk after you’re done eating.”
“Shall we?”
The two of them looked at the flowing river in silence for a moment.
Only the sound of Peter munching on the bagel filled the air.
Soon, Peter, who had finished the entire bagel, took a long sip of his coffee and spoke.
“Back to the main point, how far did we get?”
“Could you see the ‘Origin’?” Ocean asked.
The Origin was something only a very small number of mages possessed.
Without it, their limits were essentially fixed.
“Ah, the Origin. I can’t see it.”
“What about his magical ability?”
“It’s at the level of ‘seriously good.’ It’s strange that he doesn’t have an Origin.”
Ocean raised his eyebrows, which was unusual for him.
It was the first time Peter had praised someone that much.
“Then?”
“Either he doesn’t have one, it hasn’t blossomed yet, it’s too weak, it’s an Origin I can’t see, or it’s so massive that I can’t even fit it in my sight—there are many possibilities, but I can’t know for sure.”
“There’s no need to approach him hastily. He’s still like a child.”
“Aren’t there things like prodigies? Is that a bit much? He’s older than us, after all.”
Ocean turned his head away as he spoke.
“But if you can’t see it yet, it’s better to think he doesn’t have one. The connection between magical ability and the Origin isn’t that great anyway. If he doesn’t have an Origin, he won’t be able to learn 1st Circle magic regardless.”
“So you won’t hold onto useless hope?”
“It’s better than being disappointed.”
“My thoughts are a bit different. I have a feeling. Kim Song-cheol will become the greatest mage.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Ocean, who had asked seriously, squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed a curse.
“…What is it you want to say?”
“Kim Song-cheol is worth it. Let’s find out.”
“How?”
Peter held up one finger and spoke like a home shopping host.
“The cheapest and most effective way! Introducing 2nd Circle Theory!”
Ocean leaned back against the bench with his arms crossed as if to say, ‘Here we go again.’
His indifferent expression went without saying.
Passing on 2nd Circle magic should only happen after confirming the Origin.
The conditions for 1st Circle magic were two things: 2nd Circle magic and the Origin.
But ironically, there was a high probability that even a mage with an Origin wouldn’t be able to learn 2nd Circle magic.
It was a matter of innate physical makeup, not magical ability.
However, Peter was arguing that they should give him at least a part of it in advance.
“Trust me just this once. Once someone begins to master 2nd Circle magic, their Origin becomes stronger. If he does have an Origin, it’ll be easier to recognize.”
“I didn’t know that. But if he has no Origin and can’t even learn it, it’s just a waste of Points.”
“That’s why I’m saying let’s only invest a part of it. If it’s not visible now, we don’t know when it will be. If he has an Origin, the sooner we know what kind it is, the better. Of course, we’d have to ask him to know the exact type.”
Peter’s tone was quite serious for once.
After pondering for a long time, Ocean spoke.
“Then what about the Points?”
“Naturally, you should pay. He’s a person from your Earth, isn’t he? You only need to buy the Circle Theory set, so it’ll probably only be a few million.”
Peter pulled out another bagel, tore it in half, and held it out to Ocean.
“But since I’m the one who insisted this time, I’ll cover part of it. Haha.”