Chapter 107: The First Lesson

‘Why is Alex here…………’

Lee Tae-sung was bewildered as he looked at the screen visible through the intercom.

Alex Caesar.

One of the world’s top-tier Hunters, and also the person known to have developed the game ‘Dream World’, enjoyed by hundreds of millions.

– Dream World is truly a world of dreams!

– The world is divided into before and after the appearance of Hunters, and before and after the appearance of Dream World!

With the advent of Hunters and the Score Shop, humanity changed drastically.

A significant portion of petroleum energy could be replaced by efficient, eco-friendly energy from the Score Shop, and thanks to that, problems like global warming and environmental destruction were gradually being resolved.

Some even said the emergence of Hunters and Missions was a blessing for humanity, as Earth, which had been hurtling toward ruin like a runaway train, was slowly coming back to life.

But the appearance of Dream World was truly comparable to that.

A virtual reality indistinguishable from the real world.

A place where you could live enjoying infinite freedom.

The landmass was so vast that even with hundreds of millions of players, it was difficult to encounter another user unless you arranged a meeting in advance.

A continent over ten times larger than Earth, countless cities, and natural environments where one could seclude themselves.

It was truly a dream world.

Naturally, many people were curious about Alex Caesar, who created this place, but he himself rarely appeared in public.

A man shrouded in mystery, with many questions like how he created such a space.

Tae-sung, in particular, had been curious about that world, having obtained various skills and items in Dream World.

He had thought about meeting Alex someday, but he never imagined the other party would seek him out first.

“Please, come in.”

Click

Tae-sung opened the front door on the first floor and soon greeted Alex, who had arrived at the entrance.

“Excuse me.”

Alex smiled brightly and greeted him in fluent Korean.

For a Hunter of his caliber, the cost of buying a foreign language from the Score Shop would be negligible.

“Hello, Mister Alex.”

“Oh. You know me?”

“Who doesn’t? Is there anyone among Hunters who doesn’t know Mister Alex?”

Not only among Hunters, but Alex’s face was famous even among ordinary people.

“But how did you find out about my house and come here?”

“I have friends who helped with information. I heard you moved recently. You’ve come to a nice place. Congratulations.”

Alex said it was a housewarming gift, opened a small pouch, and took something out from inside.

Surprisingly, the moment it came out of the pouch, it grew enormously large.

It was a large frame, easily 3 meters long.

Inside the frame was a painting, a famous one that even Tae-sung, an outsider to the art world, had seen at least once.

It was unlikely someone of Alex’s stature would bring a copy; it was probably the genuine article.

But what caught Tae-sung’s eye more than the painting was the pouch it came from.

‘That’s… a spatial pouch…?’

He had seen one in Dream World.

But it was something he hadn’t seen in reality. For Alex to have such a thing…

“May I sit here for a moment?”

“Ah, yes. Please sit. Would you like something to drink?”

“A glass of cold water would be appreciated, thank you.”

Alex grinned.

He sat on the living room sofa, and Tae-sung brought water and sat opposite him.

As he did, Tae-sung glanced to the side.

The Flame Emperor and Goeseung were just watching from a corner, arms crossed, without saying a word.

What was peculiar was that Alex wasn’t addressing the two at all; it was as if he didn’t even notice their existence.

As Tae-sung wondered about this, the Flame Emperor gestured for him to stay quiet.

It seemed the two had done something.

For now, Tae-sung opened the conversation with Alex.

“By the way… what brings someone like you, Mister Alex, all the way here to see a Hunter like me?”

“A Hunter like you? You’re the great Hunter who defeated an Administrator.”

“An Administrator?”

“Didn’t you defeat a tentacled monster not long ago?”

“Ah!”

“As I thought… I had a suspicion, but it seems I was really right.”

Alex spoke as if impressed.

“Who was that thing?”

“An Outer Space Invasion Administrator. I don’t know exactly who, but that’s the name I gave it.”

“Invasion… Administrator?”

“Yes. I’ve been contemplating how to deal with those things for a long time. The organization I belong to, ‘The Revelation Society’, was the same. We could only detect their existence and prepare for their activities, but meeting them directly was impossible. So when one suddenly died in Korea, I was so surprised I almost fainted.”

Alex smiled wryly.

But Tae-sung’s head started to ache from the sudden barrage of terms.

What was The Revelation Society, and how did they find out that he, in Korea, had killed it?

Alex calmed him down.

“I’ll explain the details slowly. You’ll be joining The Revelation Society now, so we can talk about our circumstances and how you killed the Administrator then, at a leisurely pace.”

“I’m joining that place?”

“Yes. I intend to treat you well. By the way, there is no right of refusal. We absolutely need the skill you used to kill the Administrator, Tae-sung. If necessary, I’m prepared to drag you there by force.”

As he said this, Alex clenched his fist tightly.

At that moment, a terrifying aura emanated from him.

Even Tae-sung, who had reached the Peak Realm, thought it would be difficult to easily deal with him.

He had met many leaders of Korea’s major guilds until now, but none had exuded such an aura.

Only the strong ones within Dream World had emitted a similar power.

That was the moment.

“Oh! Resolving things with force? That’s very good.”

Suddenly, a rough voice interjected.

The Flame Emperor had stepped in, smiling broadly.

‘Was it stealth?’

Alex looked at the Flame Emperor with a bewildered expression.

Incredibly, he had only just noticed the presence of the Flame Emperor and Goeseung.

They were two people standing quietly in a corner of the living room.

No matter how large the house was, how could he not have noticed such people?

He thought they might have been hiding using stealth and then revealed themselves, but the feeling was slightly different.

It felt like they had been there naturally all along, and he had simply missed them until now.

In reality, that feeling was correct.

The Flame Emperor and Goeseung had simply been outside the range of Alex’s perception.

They hadn’t used any special power; just by willing it to be so, such a thing was possible.

“Disciple. I stayed quiet thinking he was your guest, but it seems that’s not really the case?”

“Well… he is a guest, but…”

“A guest, my foot. Just looking at him, he’s the type who tries to use force if words don’t work. How is that a guest? He’s the kind who needs a beating to come to his senses.”

The Flame Emperor strode forward.

“Come to think of it, I only told you the locations of martial arts or Hybrids, I never directly taught you anything. Watch carefully. Today is this master’s first lesson.”

“…I don’t know who you are, but you’re underestimating me too much.”

Alex sprang up from his seat.

A wave of ki began to surge from his tightly clenched fist.

“I’ll show you what kind of Hunter this Alex is.”

*

Who was the first Hunter?

Decades had passed since Hunters and Missions appeared, but no one knew who was the first to awaken.

However, Hunters like America’s Alex, China’s ‘Sword Immortal’, Russia’s ‘King of Death’, and Mexico’s ‘Slaughterer’ were considered the first generation and were still hailed as the strongest Hunters.

But even if he didn’t tell others, Alex knew.

That he was the first Hunter.

That he was the only one who heard the ‘Planet Earth’s’ revelation and was the very first to awaken and gain skills.

From that moment, Alex acted with the duty befitting the first Hunter.

Although his skills weren’t of a combat-oriented Hunter, his basic combat prowess was also formidable, as befitted the first Hunter.

With his other powerful skills, he led the industry to this point and strove to protect Earth.

“So… you’re saying Mister Alex is the first Hunter?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“And Hunters are like a new humanity created by Earth to prepare for an alien invasion?”

“Yes, yes.”

In the middle of the living room.

Alex, his face swollen and bruised from being beaten so much, was kneeling with both hands raised high.

“Disciple. He’s a bit lacking. Can’t I hit him a few more times?”

Behind him, the Flame Emperor clicked his tongue.

“He might really die if you do.”

“So what? In my day, it was legal to beat a robber who broke into your house to death.”

“Even in our time, that wasn’t legal. No matter the robbery, taking a life requires careful consideration.”

“Monk. Be quiet.”

The Flame Emperor glared at Goeseung.

“…Master. I understand how you feel, but I have a lot to hear from Mister Alex. If you hit him more, he might really die.”

“Sigh… What’s with the people here being so weak? Does it make sense to be in such pain from just a light touch? No grit, no grit at all.”

The Flame Emperor let out a deep sigh.

Alex had confidently charged at the Flame Emperor, and in the blink of an eye, had been hit dozens of times before collapsing on the living room floor.

During that, Tae-sung felt almost no burden.

When an Ascendant uses power, a burden falls on Tae-sung and mana is consumed, so this meant he had used almost none of his own power.

Anyway, after waking up, Alex immediately tucked his tail and was now kneeling in the living room, answering questions.

“P-please stop hitting me…”