40

In just a short amount of time, Lee Hwan had become famous. In all aspects of the word, not only in published news. There were several reasons for this, but the most prominent one was his stellar performance inside the irregular gate.

Around the world, a lot of skilled artifact makers existed. There were even S-rated and SS-rated artifact makers scattered around the world. Lee Ho’s dagger also was a revolutionary artifact, but everyone knew that the best artifact ever created was the gate detector. It had a wide range and could detect all types of gates.

Surprisingly, two irregular gates appeared in a short span of time.

One of them showed up right when Lee Hwan returned to Earth, but disappeared after a short while. Everyone thought that the first one was just a coincidence.

However, the second gate that appeared was different. It was an unranked gate.

The exact same thing happening twice couldn’t exactly be called a coincidence anymore. US president Francis Taft kept getting continuous reports on the unusual activities.

“An irregular gate appeared, and it was cleared in just ten minutes?”

“Yes, sir. And it turns out that there were at least two black orc kings inside the gate. We can confirm that information.”

“The dungeon is at least A-rated?”

“Indeed.”

The Director of the CIA, Ash Howard, was the man who was reporting this to the president. He was an elite among elites, and he, in fact, was an S-rated Hunter.

President Taft nodded, gesturing for Ash to continue his report.

“Mr. Lee Hwan is someone who just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“Yes. He is the brother of Lee Ho, the SS-rated Hunter who is called Manifester. We have learned that Lee Hwan had been missing for ten years prior to his sudden comeback.”

That was quite interesting to hear.

“A man that had been missing for ten years suddenly returned and cleared an A-rated gate in ten minutes?”

“It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”

President Taft read the report again, but he was able to spot something written on the report that was not understandable.

“According to my knowledge, Hunters start their ranking from the lowest to the highest.”

“That’s the usual case. Most of them start with F, but sometimes, rare exceptions happen. An exceptional Hunter can start from E or D, even C.”

“But isn’t there a reason for that?”

“There is. Usually, they are athletes who have already been training for years. Former UFC champion, Raul, is one of the prime examples. In fact, he is our unique skill holder.”

However, even Raul started from a C-rated Hunter. Lee Hwan’s record certainly was unbelievable.

For researchers and scientists, the gate was a very interesting topic. They researched a lot and were able to discover some facts.

Usually, when Hunters get tested, their ranking will depend on their physical ability. That was considered as their starting line. From ranks F to C, most of them relied purely on physical ability. However, starting from B-rank, things become different. They had to learn how to use their aura. Even if someone was the strongest C-ranked Hunter, if he couldn’t use his aura, he would never be promoted to B-ranked Hunter.

The maximum rank someone had gotten in the beginning was C. No one else in history had received a higher rank during their first Hunter test.

Lee Hwan had just gotten an S-rank on his first exam. That was very important; he already knew how to use his aura. How did he learn that? And most importantly…

“No one has ever seen this man before.”

President Francis took off his glasses and put them on the desk. Ash Howard continued his report.

“In addition, he has just registered to be a Hunter.”

“And he is S-rated?”

“Actually, he is near SS-rated.”

That was very suspicious.

Who is this man?

“He has just broken everything we knew about Hunters for ten years…”

“We assume that this man is dangerous.”

“…Dangerous?”

“Correct. But he is also the person we need most in the world.”

Francis grumbled. Ash Howard was certainly an excellent man, but he was not good at explaining at all.

“Continue your report.”

“Alright. As far as we have researched, this man is not a doppelganger. You know that Lee Ho is a person who won’t tolerate someone pretending to be his brother.”

“Indeed. He is young, but…”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence. Everyone knew that Lee Ho was a frightening man.

With this, Agent Howard quickly changed the topic of conversation.

“Aside from that, gates are also appearing more frequently. This irregular gate may just be the start.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more certain, sir.”

President Taft sighed. The situation was indeed very dreadful. Agent Howard plodded on.

“We have to keep our eyes on this man. His actions may greatly affect the entire world. He will probably quit his job.”

“Why do you think so?”

“He will probably start his own company. He is not the type of person who will stay under his brother.”

Agent Howard had majored in psychology. He also worked as a CIA agent and had a lot of experience in studying people and analyzing their minds.

“If the Manifester wanted his brother, he would have kept him in Cheon-Myeong, but he knows that if Lee Hwan enters Cheon-Myeong, its system might collapse.”

Lee Ho’s leadership was undoubtedly great, but if Hwan were to enter the fray, the system he had painstakingly made might crack.

“So, what you’re saying is that Lee Ho will not recruit his brother to his guild?”

“Yes, I think he will make his own PMC.”

PMC stands for Private Military Company. Cheon-Myeong, in fact, started as a PMC. After a ton of success, they expanded and invested in a wide range of businesses. Every guild tarted as a PMC.

Agent Howard knew that Lee Hwan would try to start one as well.

“How certain are you?”

“One hundred percent, sir.”

Meanwhile, President Taft was thinking about the different ways they could persuade him. Naturalize him as an American citizen? That would be possible, but he knew that he had to think about it carefully.

“Try to persuade this man.”

In the meantime, other countries were also coming to similar conclusions.

The leaders of the world were now keeping their eyes on Lee Hwan.

***

I slowly opened my eyes. The sunlight was shining bright in my room.

I hadn’t mentioned it before, but I don’t sleep much. This is because of my life in Valhalla. In that world, I had to face frequent ambushes from assassins, so I had to stay awake to defend myself any time of the day.

Instead of sleeping, I meditated. I did it for six hours.

Everything was okay. I stretched and headed out to my brother’s room. He was not there; I guess he is busy today.

I decided to clean myself first, then had a sudden thought. I’m not a child anymore, but I was depending on someone. Not only that, I was relying on my younger brother, to boot. Maybe I should look for a new house to live in. My brother should have his privacy as well.

I stepped forward and opened the front door. I had to head to the Hunter authority, but there was somewhere I needed to go first.

I arrived at the Cheon-Myeong guild’s building and went directly inside. As soon as I stepped foot inside the building, someone fearfully picked up the telephone and made an urgent call. A very familiar person came down to greet me.

Jeong Gi-Hoon.

“Mr. Lee. I thought you were supposed to go to the Hunter authority?”

“The same applies to you, Gi-Hoon. What are you doing here?”

It was true that Gi-Hoon was part of Cheon-Myeong’s secretary team, but he was now assigned as a team leader of ROKHA. Despite that, he still came to Cheon-Myeong, probably for the same reason as me.

“Are you here to talk about the irregular gate incident last night?”

He smiled awkwardly. “Well… I already spoke with Mr. Hong, but… Um…”

He was not usually like this. What was wrong with him?

Why was he intimidated?

“Um… Have you eaten breakfast?” Gi-Hoon stammered.

“I haven’t yet. I was planning to buy some instant food from the convenience store.”

“That won’t be enough for you. Come with me, your meal is on me.”

He was definitely trying to get me out of there. What happened?

I had to know what was happening.

“Just tell it to me straight. What’s happening?”

“Uh… Master Lee ordered me to do this.”

“Ordered you to do what?”

“To not let you meet your father.”

I immediately frowned. I think I knew what was happening now.

“So that means…”

“I guess I have to tell you the truth. Yes, he is here.”

That was something that I didn’t want to hear. It had been such a nice morning, and those words immediately ruined my mood.