Ch.156The Prelude to War Is Dangerous (2)

As Shin Doyun had said, the enemy showed no movement for a while after losing their pawns and elite forces.

But that was no reason to feel at ease. After all, it simply meant the cooldown for their next attack was still ticking away.

“So hurry up and get better already. We need promising seedlings, you know.”

“I’m doing my best, believe it or not…”

With that, I resumed the intensive training of my direct disciple, Song Hayeon.

I would have liked to train Helena alongside her, but she had already returned to her home country for work-related reasons.

“But do you really think someone like me can meet a god’s standards? Honestly, I can barely believe my current position.”

Though she was participating wholeheartedly in the training, Song Hayeon seemed quite lacking in confidence.

That was understandable. She couldn’t even last a minute when facing off against Astride or Henesia.

But my thoughts were a bit different.

“You probably can’t see it because you’re always by our side, but you’re top-level among hunters.”

In the recent massive gate incident, she had shown power comparable to Saya, an upper S-rank hunter, and she had grown even stronger since then.

“We need someone who’s built their foundation within the system. If they’re not a hunter, it’s ultimately meaningless.”

In that sense, Song Hayeon was quite promising.

Her basic growth rate was remarkably fast, and training under me, her skills were soaring day by day.

“You need to start pulling your weight soon.”

Still, blood is thicker than water, and honestly, I’m not satisfied with the others.

These people might partially take my place someday, so I’d prefer someone who could definitely be helpful.

“…But come to think of it, wouldn’t the Seven Stars members be better suited for that purpose?”

I certainly thought so at first. They had already reached certain growth limits within the framework of the system.

But regarding them, Shin Doyun had said:

“Only one of them, I heard.”

“What?”

“Among them, only one person meets the qualifications.”

And apparently, the rest didn’t even have the potential to hold divinity.

In other words, simply being strong didn’t make someone qualify as talent in Shin Doyun’s eyes.

“…That’s difficult. So nobody knows who will ultimately qualify?”

“That’s about right.”

Well, there’s not much we can do by worrying about it. That’s something we have to leave entirely to Shin Doyun.

“Alright, let’s stop here for today.”

“…Phew, yes. Good work.”

Looking at her now, it’s quite remarkable.

Song Hayeon, who once had skeletons shooting arrows at apples on her head, has now become a proper high-level necromancer.

Compared to the 100 years I spent in Thebes, it was just a fleeting moment, but somehow the memories of these past two years feel just as vivid.

While reminiscing a bit, I suddenly asked a question that came to mind.

“What will you do when dungeons and monsters disappear?”

“Hmm… I’ll probably continue streaming like I’ve been doing.”

Come to think of it, that makes sense. Song Hayeon already has a clear direction for her life.

‘I can’t think of anything for myself.’

I can barely remember what goals I lived for before being sent to Thebes.

In truth, I don’t particularly want to do anything. It’s natural since I haven’t had the chance to seriously think about it until now.

‘…Well, I’ll figure something out.’

I pushed these useless thoughts aside, used a cleaning spell, and headed home.

And so, another day passed.

#

“…So, where is it this time?”

“Atlanta. A massive gate with a diameter of 300 meters has appeared.”

Joshua, the vice president of the American Hunter Association, shook his head at the recurring migraines and stress.

These massive gates were problematic not just because of their size, but because their difficulty level was simply absurd.

Even with America’s enormous power, clearing just one was barely manageable, and now they were popping up every few days.

It had already become a disaster beyond control.

‘Thankfully, no break cases have been confirmed yet…’

But even that was a thin hope. One couldn’t feel secure holding a ticking time bomb.

BANG!

“There’s simply no solution. How are other countries handling this?”

“Not much differently. Almost every country except a select few is in an uproar over the same issue.”

That’s only natural. There were only a handful of countries capable of tackling massive gates on their own, and hunter casualties were increasing day by day.

Furrowing his brow and shaking his head, Joshua recalled the names of the few exceptional countries.

‘Korea, Japan, and then Germany and Italy.’

Germany had Julian Tzenbiltz, one of the Seven Stars, active on the front lines, and another unofficially active Seven Stars member stationed there.

But the situation was different for the other three countries.

“The second massive gate that appeared in Japan has been cleared as of now.”

“…Was it Korea’s Baek Eunha again?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Through some unknown arrangement, hunter Baek Eunha—praised as equal to or greater than the Seven Stars—was clearing dungeons across three countries.

Her speed was truly remarkable; dungeons were typically cleared within two days of their appearance.

Because of this, Korea and the other two countries were receiving envious glances from many nations.

“Does she have three bodies or something?”

She didn’t even seem to rest after clearing dungeons. It meant she had that much capacity to spare.

‘To be honest, I’m quite jealous.’

From Joshua’s perspective, constantly overwhelmed with work, those three countries under Baek Eunha’s protection were truly enviable.

But it couldn’t be helped. The relationship between Baek Eunha and the United States was arguably the worst possible.

“…For now, please follow procedure and seal off the area around the gate. We don’t have enough personnel to tackle it anytime soon anyway.”

“Yes, I’ll see to it.”

Joshua clutched his head, cursing the former association president Hudson who had caused all this trouble.

Unfortunately, Joshua had no way of knowing that Hudson had already met his end at Baek Eunha’s hands.

#

Crunch.

Crunch crunch.

Munch munch.

“Master? Are you eating that again?”

“Why not? It’s delicious.”

“If you skip meals like this, Seoha will get really upset again…”

That comment did worry me a bit, but honestly, I had plenty to say in my defense.

“Look, it’s made with premium ingredients, so it’s actually very nutritious!”

Through various circumstances, I now received Sanada’s handmade snack set once a week.

The taste was truly excellent, which is why I was clearing all the secondary gates appearing in Japan as a token of appreciation.

“I think Seoha just wants to eat meals together with you.”

“I-I wouldn’t know about that.”

Saying it like that makes me feel a bit guilty. But what can I do when these are so much tastier than home cooking?

If anyone’s at fault, it’s Sanada for being a hunter who makes better snacks than famous patissiers.

“By the way, there’s a commotion about requests coming in from other countries. Are you planning to accept any?”

“Too troublesome.”

As I mentioned earlier, I’m helping Japan, and I’m also looking after Italy where Beatrice is from, due to the debt from the Gildeon incident.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be difficult, but I don’t want to increase my workload beyond this.

“Besides, if I clear everything, they won’t grow.”

“That’s true.”

For Shin Doyun’s plan, hunters also need to face challenges and surpass their own limits.

Simply spoon-feeding them wouldn’t be beneficial.

“But you’ll step in if a being with divinity crosses over, right?”

“Of course. But do you have to bring up unpleasant topics while I’m eating?”

Although things had been quiet for a while, it had only been a week since Tindalus appeared.

Honestly, if enemies of that caliber poured in at just one-week intervals, it would become an extremely troublesome battle.

I’d prefer to have a bit more breathing room.

“Two weeks? Or at least 10 days?”

But as if my words were prophetic, my phone suddenly rang while I was eating a piece of wagashi.

The caller was none other than Shin Doyun.

Ring ring!

“…Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Ah, damn. I think I already know what this is about.”

Nevertheless, I sighed and picked up the phone, and soon heard the expected line from Shin Doyun.

[A being with divinity has crossed over. The location is Spain. I’m counting on you again.]

“Can’t you just go once yourself?”

[The connection seems bad, I can’t hear you clearly. I’ll be waiting.]

Click.

After the call ended, I lingered for a moment before slowly getting up.

“…Well. Time to gather materials.”

“Should I call the others?”

“No, that’s fine. Just you come with me.”

I don’t know what kind of being has crossed over this time, but the outcome will be the same regardless.

With that, having received our new objective, we quietly set off for the foreign land of Spain.