The outskirts of Gangseo-gu in Seoul bustled with hunters gathered around an F-class gate. Dozens of voices filled the air as parties scrambled to recruit last-minute members, calling out for anyone willing to join. For most low-ranked gates, small groups of two or three were enough, so the crowd here was surprisingly large.
Lee Seong-jun, however, cared little for their noise. From the very beginning, he had planned to hunt alone. The confusion and chatter at the gate were meaningless distractions to someone who carried both experience and confidence.
Beside him, Kim Seong-hun, the Hunter Association officer who had accompanied him, observed with concern. An F-class gate might seem harmless, but it was nearing its climax. A Boss Monster was expected to appear soon. These beings were different from ordinary creatures—leaders that often carried unique abilities or wielded unnatural weapons. Though usually one rank higher than the gate itself, they were always more dangerous.
Yet Seong-jun showed no hesitation. In his eyes, even an E+-rank boss was nothing more than another obstacle. After all, he had already slain a baby troll, a D-class monster, upon his return to Earth. Against such a comparison, today's hunt was a mere warm-up.
With calm steps, Seong-jun handed over his newly obtained returnee registration card, passed through the shimmering gate, and felt the distortion of space tug at his senses. His ears rang, his vision blurred, then sharpened. The world on the other side opened into a dense forest, trees stretching like spears into the sky.
Without delay, he moved forward. His body was light, his mind sharpened from training. For him, this hunt was not a trial but a declaration.
The first wave came quickly. Goblins rushed from the underbrush, snarling and screeching. Yet before their cries could finish, their bodies were broken. Every movement of Seong-jun was precise and merciless—hands and feet striking with the power of sledgehammers. Bones shattered, necks snapped, and corpses fell in heaps.
Kim Seong-hun watched in stunned silence. This was supposed to be an F-rank returnee, but what he witnessed was something far beyond. Seong-jun's speed blurred into ghostly afterimages, his body vanishing from sight before striking with crushing force. Goblins, once predators to unprepared humans, trembled like prey before him.
There was no hesitation in his attacks. No wasted movement, no fear. Each strike carried both radical aggression and cool judgment. The battle ended before Kim could even process it fully. A single man had swept through a pack of monsters with ease that rivaled trained hunters of much higher rank.
Seong-hun could not contain the thoughts racing in his mind. This man was not bound to F-rank limitations. At minimum, he had the qualities of an A-rank, and perhaps, if given time, he could rise to the mythical SSS-rank. In a world where national power was measured by hunters, Seong-jun was a treasure of unimaginable worth.
But before the awe could settle, the forest trembled. A heavy cry echoed, deeper and more savage than any goblin's shriek. Branches snapped, and from the shadows emerged a massive figure. Green skin stretched over bulging muscles, its face marked by a boar-like snout. Unlike common orcs, this one was clad in silver armor, every plate forged to protect its frame.
It was a Boss Monster—an Armed Orc Warrior. Its very presence made the air heavy.
Kim Seong-hun instinctively moved to intervene. Even an experienced hunter would find an armored E+-rank orc a challenge. Against someone dressed only in light training clothes, such a battle seemed reckless. But Seong-jun stepped forward, his eyes sharp and unwavering. The orc warrior was his prey, and nothing would change that.
Kim tried to reason with himself. The byproducts and bounty could be negotiated, but there was one thing that could not be shared—experience. To grow quickly, a hunter needed victories against foes of greater strength. Boss monsters were rare opportunities, their value far beyond simple rewards.
Seong-jun knew this better than anyone. He would not let such prey slip away. His will was firm, his confidence unshaken. With his current body, enhanced and purified, he believed even this orc warrior posed no true threat.
And so, the clash between the returnee who once bore the title of Demon God and the armored boss monster was about to begin.