The meeting began in the hall of the Korean Hunters Association with a heavy and tense atmosphere.
Go Gun-Hee sat at the head of the room, his expression serious as he looked at the faces that represented the highest level of power in South Korea.
He spoke in a calm but firm voice:
"As you have all seen the video. A double dungeon… and a dungeon break in five days. I want to hear your opinions."
A short silence followed, until it was broken by Ma Dong-Wook, the leader of Fame Guild, who spoke sharply:
"Whether the video is a trick or not, it cannot be ignored. Just mentioning a dungeon more dangerous than Kamish's dungeon is enough to declare an emergency."
Lee Tae-Gyu, the leader of Fiend Guild, replied with his arms crossed:
"But we have no confirmation. All we have are the words of a masked thief who enjoys playing with the world's nerves."
Ma Dong-Wook answered with clear sarcasm:
"And yet, look around you. S-Rank hunters from other countries are already moving. If we ignore this, we will look like fools."
Go Gun-Hee sighed and said:
"The problem is not only whether he is telling the truth… but what will happen if he is."
On one of the side rows, Louis was sitting quietly. By coincidence, the seat next to him was taken by Cha Hae-In.
From the moment she sat down, she felt something strange.
She frowned slightly… then lightly breathed in without realizing it.
"…?"
Her eyes widened a little.
No discomfort.
No unpleasant feeling like the one she usually felt around other hunters.
Instead…
A clean, calm, and different scent.
She looked at Louis from the corner of her eye, then quickly turned her gaze away, forcing a serious expression as if she was focused on the discussion.
But her mind was not in the meeting.
Strange…
He is the first hunter whose presence does not bother me…
Louis, of course, noticed her repeated glances.
He leaned slightly toward her and whispered in a light tone:
"Is there something on my face?"
Cha Hae-In stiffened immediately.
"W-What? No."
Louis smiled faintly and added in a lower voice:
"You kept looking at me. I thought maybe you were… interested in me or something."
Her face turned slightly red, and she turned to him sharply:
"Don't say nonsense."
Louis chuckled quietly, then looked forward again as if nothing had happened.
Go Gun-Hee raised his hand slightly to calm the room and said:
"That is why we have not made a decision yet. Any reckless move could lead to disaster."
Then Woo Jin-Chul, who was standing beside Chairman Go while looking at his tablet, spoke:
"Excuse me… but we have confirmed reports of foreign hunters heading to Korea."
Everyone immediately raised their heads.
"The international-level hunter Thomas Andre has confirmed his arrival."
A quiet murmur spread through the hall.
"And Christopher Reed as well."
Expressions changed, and the tension grew.
"From China… Liu Zhigang."
"And from Japan… Goto Ryuji."
A heavy silence filled the room.
The S-Rank hunters exchanged looks.
Ma Dong-Wook said in a low voice:
"This… might be the strongest gathering of hunters in history."
Before the atmosphere could settle, Woo Jin-Chul spoke again with hesitation:
"There is one more name… whose arrival is certain."
"Who?" Go Gun-Hee asked, even though he had already guessed it.
Woo Jin-Chul paused for a second, then said:
"Hunter Hwang Dong-Su."
At that moment, the room exploded.
"That bastard?!"
"You must be joking!"
"His presence alone is a problem!"
Faces darkened, and anger burned in many eyes.
As for Louis…
He only showed a faint smile, almost impossible to notice.
Exactly as planned.
*** *** ***
The next day, the situation completely changed.
From the early morning hours, the eyes of the world began to focus on the double dungeon, which was officially classified as D-Rank.
It was not only hunters or associations anymore…
Global media outlets were present in an unprecedented number.
Broadcast vans, cameras, reporters from many countries.
Danger?
Warnings?
They were completely ignored.
One of the supervisors shouted through a loudspeaker:
"Move away from the area immediately! This dungeon is unstable!"
But his voice was drowned out by the noise of cameras.
One journalist replied mockingly:
"A D-Rank dungeon? Don't exaggerate."
The hunters assigned to guard the area watched the scene with clear concern.
The world did not see a dangerous dungeon…
They saw a media scoop.
Then, suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
Whispers turned into loud excitement, and cameras all pointed toward one place.
A group of S-Rank hunters was moving steadily toward the entrance.
Their presence alone was enough to make anyone swallow nervously.
At the front of them…
A tall man, blond-haired, with confident features and a look full of arrogance.
Jay Mills.
The Canadian hunter said to be the closest right now to the level of Nation-Level Hunters.
One reporter whispered:
"Did they form an alliance?"
Another said in shock:
"They're really going to raid the dungeon!"
Lights flashed from every direction, as if they were stars walking on a red carpet.
And Jay Mills… was enjoying the scene.
As he should.
But what no one knew…
Was that this scene was not a coincidence.
*** ***
Hours earlier, thousands of kilometers away…
Jay Mills stood inside a spacious hall in Canada, his expression tense.
In front of him… was a man wearing a black mask.
Shadow.
Jay clearly remembered that night.
The thief spoke in a calm voice:
"I am offering you this deal. There is no such thing as a double dungeon. All I need from you is to deceive the world and make Nation-Level Hunters enter the dungeon."
Jay laughed sarcastically at the time:
"Heh. So it's all a trick to lure Nation-Level Hunters? And you think I'll risk my life just to fool the world?"
Shadow replied without hesitation:
"You won't risk anything."
Then he added:
"You will gain."
Jay's attitude changed at that moment.
He was not stupid.
If there was profit, why not take the chance?
He crossed his arms and said:
"And what do I get in return?"
Shadow did not hesitate.
He took out a long bone from his system storage… and it was enough to make Jay's breathing speed up.
One of Kamish's dragon bones.
The overwhelming aura of the dragon was still clearly present.
Louis felt pain at giving up such a rare material, but he had no choice if he wanted to lure an idiot like Jay Mills. Then he continued:
"And have you heard of something called… the Holy Water?"
Jay froze.
"Holy Water?"
"Yes," Shadow said in a deadly calm voice.
"It is a treasure capable of curing the Eternal Sleep disease. I was the one who supervised its experiment in South Korea before, and I'm sure you have read the reports.
If you agree, you will become my partner in this field, and together we will control the global market."
Jay's thoughts raced.
Wealth.
If I possess such an item, I will be the one who decides who wakes up and who does not.
And with an S-Rank item…
My chances of proving myself worthy of the Nation-Level title will increase.
And more than that…
What if this thief gets rid of one of the Nation-Level Hunters inside the dungeon?
Jay smiled and said:
"Deal."
But Shadow was not naive.
He stepped closer and said in a cold tone:
"Don't think about betrayal."
Then he whispered:
"You can't sell an item like those bones so quickly. I can use that to link you to all my thefts…
And drag you into trouble with Thomas Andre…
And with the United States itself."
Jay felt a slight tightening in his chest.
What an annoying person…
Now, standing in front of the dungeon, Jay returned to his thoughts.
Don't think that just because you asked me to raid the dungeon, I will do it seriously myself.
I used all my connections to form this group, just in case something goes wrong.
That man said all I had to do was…
Enter for a short time, pretend to suffer serious injuries, then leave.
It had already been proven that leaving a dungeon after entering was possible.
And no one had entered the main chamber before because of Shadow's warning. That was likely the reason Jay trusted his ability to escape if there was a big trap. He never once thought that he might be sacrificed inside this dungeon.
One of the guards turned and shouted:
"Stop! You are not authorized—"
Jay interrupted him with a mocking smile:
"Relax.
We'll finish this quickly."
Then, without any concern, he led his group into the dungeon.
And everyone disappeared behind the gate.
From a distance, Louis watched the scene in silence.
He looked at the entrance, then at the media chaos around it.
It was not difficult to deceive an arrogant and conceited person like Jay Mills…
No wonder he once dared to speak to the Dragon King Antares as if he were above everyone else.
Louis shook his head slightly.
An idiot.
A failure.
What does it matter if you are strong as long as you are easily deceived?
There was no need to worry about getting rid of him…
He had no important role in the original story anyway.
Louis quietly turned around and left the area…
*** ***
Inside the dungeon, the moment Jay Mills and his group entered the main chamber, the door suddenly closed.
Jay was shocked. He had expected the doors to remain open like other dungeons.
He tried to attack the stone door and push it open, but nothing changed.
At that moment, Jay realized one thing…
He had been deceived.