B-Boss...
Where did these guys come from?
Right, I guess you haven't seen them before.
They're a part of one of my skills.
This kind of thing is possible? Using skills?
It's hard to explain, but yeah.
Boss...
The least you could do is let me collect the essence stones.
Th-Thank you!
Oh, no!
Jesus!
Hey. Could you not yell like that?
Don't panic. They're just unconscious.
Then again, it makes sense you wouldn't understand.
It's not like I know English.
I'm human.
I want to go home.
Cheers!
That's nineteen raids cleared, as per our deal.
And it's thanks to you that we pulled it off safe and sound, Boss.
So, what's next for you?
First comes passing the written exam at the Association
so I can get a guild master's license.
Once I have that, I'll start negotiating with my father.
I see.
What about you? What are your plans?
I'll probably be out of touch for a while.
Need to travel for a bit.
What?
Boss, if you think I'm a pain to put up with, you can just say it.
I won't need to bother you anymore, so...
Are you drunk already?
I have a brother. He's ten years older.
He's never liked me... and we never really did anything brotherly together.
On the other hand, you not only saved my life but did so much to help me, as well...
I can't help but wish you were my older brother.
In that case...
Starting today, I'll consider you my little brother.
Bro...!
Eat up! All the meat you want! I'll make sure more is grilled in time!
Whoa, slow down!
Do you like lemon juice on yours?!
No! You really are drunk, aren't you?
I've never been more sober in my life!
Seriously... You can be such a handful.
Do we know where he's from?
He claims to be a foreign hunter.
Says he was trapped inside a gate ten years ago, unable to leave.
And that at some point he found an exit that took him to a gate in America.
That'd be unprecedented. Anything else?
He can't speak English, so we're waiting for an interpreter.
We can't rule out the possibility that he's a humanoid magic beast.
And if he is?
I requested the assistance of an S-Rank hunter—
a fellow countryman of his who lives in Washington.
Mr. Hwang, I take it?
We'll begin questioning as soon as he arrives.
That's a relief. Do we have name for our guest?
I'm not positive about the pronunciation, but...
I think it's Il-hwan Sung.
I'll be gone for a week.
First work, now travel?
You're keeping busy lately.
Plenty to do, that's all.
So? Who are you going with?
Like I told you, a friend.
Seriously, though, when'd you meet her?!
I was around level 20 when I fought the Cerberus.
I'm three times that now.
This should be easier.
I guess I should move along.
A quest?
"Demons roam this castle. Gather their souls."
To clear it I need to collect...
ten thousand demon souls?!
There's that many in here?
I haven't lost sight of my real objective, though.
I don't care how many thousands of demons there are...
I'll deal with them.
You want to take over the guild?
Yes, sir.
And you're asking this, knowing full well that Jinsung is already working on it?
I think that his plan for bringing in someone from the outside to run the guild
bears too many risks for the company.
This hunter of yours. His name is Sung Jinwoo, right?
The double dungeon, the raid where Hwang Dongsuk's team was wiped out,
and the incident where a Surveillance Team hunter murdered a group of convicts...
He was present for all three of those, and yet made it out of each alive.
He's also been a participant in all of the raids you've run, correct?
And in the red gate that the White Tiger Guild encountered the other day,
it was apparently Hunter Sung who led the survivors to safety.
You were only able to get that guild master's license with his help, right?
And you're still asking me to turn over the guild to you?
Even so...
Even so, I want to be the one running the Yoojin Guild!
The way that Jinsung wants to do things will—
All right. We'll try it your way.
Under one condition.
I hear the White Tiger Guild has been preparing to scout Hunter Sung
ever since the red gate incident.
I want him with us instead.
Can you arrange that?
I'll do it!
I hope so.
Not sure why, but it doesn't seem like I can extract these demons.
Seems like a waste, considering the numbers.
An entry permit for the next floor?
Makes sense. And I guess that's where I use it.
This dungeon really is huge, though.
An entire city inside of a building.
All this walking is getting to be a pain.
The ice bear pack leader...
Talk about huge.
All right, let's get going.
What a pain in the—
Nice!
I think I'm gonna call you "Tank."
It's Miss Hae-in!
We hardly ever see her here.
But she always looks amazing!
But why?
Why keep the reports of the flying ants confidential, instead of publicizing it?
Association orders.
They say making the information public at this stage would only cause a panic.
But...
Don't worry. For the time being, we need to build our strength.
As the largest domestic guild,
doing so will help us execute our duties, as well as expand.
I was afraid this was an S-Rank dungeon when I got that key...
But these demons seem to be around the upper end of B Rank.
There's a ton of them, and they get stronger the higher I go...
But by only killing the demons I need to proceed past each floor,
I've been able to make pretty brisk progress.
That said, if the Demon's Castle is laid out the same way the original tower is,
that'll mean 100 floors.
How strong will I be by the time I reach the top?
How long will my supplies hold out?
Then there's my promise to Jinah.
This is turning into a battle against time.
Just how far can I get?
This one's red.
Hunter Sung wasn't home.
Only his sister is there, and all she knows is that he's on a trip.
We came all the way to his house for nothing.
There's been no record of him participating in any raids recently,
but also no sign of him leaving the country.
The last trace the Association has of him is smack in the middle of a city.
Wait, you were able to find all that out?
It's part of the job.
Where could he be?
I'll take on the big boss-class enemy.
I want the rest of you to wipe the others out.
Now that I have more points in my intellect ability,
I'm able to summon more soldiers and have more magical power to maintain them.
Combat's become a lot easier.
That said... Is he ever gonna get up?
I guess if he won't move, I'd better—
What the hell do you think you're doing?!
All I did was punch him... Did I overlevel my strength?
This is just like with the Cerberus!
Iron!
This flurry of attacks isn't slowing...
How is someone so big so fast?!
Still, sooner or later, I'll have my opening.
Now!
Got you!
No—
This thing can anticipate my moves?
The only part of him that looks vulnerable are those beady little eyes.
I need to keep him from being able to zip around.
What can I use?
There!
Got a little too focused on me, didn't you?
They say you're a magic beast who can talk.
And like I said, I'm no beast.
If you need proof, I'll submit to a DNA test, or whatever.
Shut up. I don't want to hear your voice unless it's to answer my questions.
I'm pretty pissed about having my fun delayed.
Unbelievable... They even went and wrote a bunch of crap down.
Can I ask you something?
I told you to shut up!
How much has humanity learned about gates and magic beasts?
Huh?
How much do you know about gates and magic beasts?
What exactly are you asking?
The dungeons, the gates, the beasts... They're just the tip of the iceberg.
The power capable of bringing forth the ultimate catastrophe has awakened.
And what's that supposed to be?
An ultimate catastrophe. Not much else I can say.
And?
My goal is to avert that catastrophe.
I've had enough chitchat.
Do you realize how many hunters there are in the world?
Put enough of them together...
Numbers won't help. Not against this threat.
They'll be devoured and used against us.
You seem fairly strong yourself, but...
But what?
Not every day you see a magic beast with a name of his own.
Not to mention a wife and two kids.
Do you remember your son's name?
Jinwoo.
What's with the murderous glare?
I'm not answering your questions! Got it?
You will this ti—
Screw you. No.
But I'll tell you this much:
Your son's dead.
If you have anything to tell him, you can do it when you meet in the next world!
I'll admit, this is getting kind of one-sided.
Shocked by how tough my soldiers are?
Didn't expect it to turn out like this?
I guess even the undead can feel fear.
Oh, well.
Over here!
Get a move on!
I'd heard that fights between S-Ranks could change the shape of the landscape,
laying waste to everything...
I guess we should consider ourselves fortunate.
Yeah. It could have been much worse.
It was so fast... Almost instantaneous.
Mr. Hwang was defeated. Faster than the damage could spread.
I'm out of food. I guess this is as far as I go for now.
This is the 75th floor. So there's 25 left, I think.
Still a long way to go.
But the gains were worth it.
The earring I got from the giant on the 50th floor,
and the necklace from the skeleton just now...
They're useful enough individually, but the set bonus is the cherry on top.
And that empty space tells me there's one more boss-level beast to go.
This Sphere of Avarice isn't half bad, either.
It doesn't do anything for me personally, but it doesn't have to be me who uses it.
In the hands of my magic soldiers, it'll double their firepower.
And finally... I was able to choose the cursed random loot box as a quest reward.
I was worried I'd never get another chance at it.
Another key. I had a feeling it might be.
No details? Then when and where am I supposed to use it?
Well, it's not like I was really after the key, anyway.
On the 50th floor, I got a World Tree Fragment from Avaricious Vulcan.
And on the 75th, I got Spring Water from Echo Forest by beating Metus, the Guide of Souls.
That's two out of the three ingredients for the Elixir of Life.
Just one more. One more, and then Mom will be better.
The next time I come here, I'll finish it.