Minho walked down the street, his head low. People took photos of him, acknowledging his presence. But his mind was elsewhere completely. He had just dropped a bombshell in the table of the Korean Hunters Association's Chairman's desk by admitting he controlled the dragon.
But, he was sure to make them second guess their doubts on him.
Flashback...
"Now that I've given you your answers. It's time I ask my own questions." Minho stated, his voice dangerously low, eyes glowing a deep crimson. The air in the room grew cold. "What do you know about the guy who got evaluated the same time as I did yesterday?"
The room fell silent for a while.
Chairman Go looked down on the desk, his fist clenching. He exhaled and looked up. "You felt the amount of mana he released. You should understand that he may be on par with you."
"That's not what I'm asking, Chairman," Minho said.
Go Gun-Hee raised a brow. "Just like you, he doesn't want to be under the Association, he's a mage, he—"
"Ah, right there." Minho interrupted. "A mage… A mage that's focused on what type of magic?"
"He's good with summoning magic. Shadows to be precise." Jinchul replied, trying to understand where Minho was getting at.
Minho snapped his fingers. "Perfect." He took his sunglasses from the table and slid them on, standing up. "A mage that summons shadow soldiers. I'm a mage that summons dragon-like beings."
What he had just said made sense and didn't make sense at the same time. What was he trying to do?
He picked his phone from the table and walked to the door. "Now that you know why the dragon asked for my phone, you can ask your new S-rank what really happened in that place."
The door clicked shut behind him Minho.
Current time...
Minho exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was a strategy he just pulled out of the blue. He only hoped it didn't get complicated.
Just then, the system screen appeared.
"Huh?" He muttered.
Hunters Association HQ...
Chairman Go Gun-Hee's office.
Chairman Go's mind dropped from a state of emergency to curiosity. Ah-Ra sat in front of him, also understanding what Minho meant. It had nearly thirty minutes since Minho left, yet no one said a word.
Jinchul came inside the office and took a seat in front of the chairman.
"Hmm. Jinchul," Chairman Go spoke, finally breaking the silence since Minho's departure.
"Yes Chairman?" Jinchul answered.
"I hope you also understood what he imposed right now?"
"Yes indeed."
"Ah-Ra?"
Ah-Ra nodded. "Yes Chairman,"
Go Gun-Hee sighed, steepling his fingers. "Why exactly would Hunter Jinwoo attack Hunter Minho?"
A question they couldn't answer. But one thing they knew for sure was Sung Jinwoo was also involved in what ever lead to the slaughter of seven A-rank hunters.
The office phone rang and Chairman Go picked it up. "Hello?… What? An A-rank dungeon?… Where exactly?… I'll send someone right now."
"An A-rank dungeon appeared?" Jinchul asked.
"Yes indeed." Chairman Go replied, cutting the call. "Behind a hospital."
"We need to either evacuate it before the mana density affects the patients, or… we clear it fast." Ah-Ra suggested.
Chairman Go nodded. "We can clear it quickly. We have someone there already. Just that it is…" he trailed.
"Is it Hunter Minho?" Ah-Ra asked.
Chairman Go nodded. "Jinwoo rather. But I'll still reach out to him." He said, picking his phone to call Minho.
Jinchul and Ah-Ra's phones started ringing almost simultaneously. They exchanged a glance and picked up.
After speaking with the callers, Ah-Ra reported an B-rank dungeon appeared in the middle of the expressway elsewhere.
Jinchul reported that there was an A-rank dungeon break and the monsters were attacking a school.
The situation couldn't have gotten any worse when another call came in reporting that Hunter Liu Zhigang went into a B-rank dungeon that was blocking the highway and it turned out to be a Red gate dungeon.
Chairman Go stood confused for a bit. What was happening? Were the monsters coordinating attacks or something? How was all this just a mere coincidence.
"Something's wrong. Dungeons have never appeared in such a way before. What's this all of a sudden?" Jinchul muttered, confused.
"We need to handle the school first, then the hospital." Ah-Ra said.
Chairman Go already called Jinwoo, informing him of the dungeon by the hospital and Jinwoo agreed to check it. "The hospital is handled, now the school. What S-rank can get there quickly? The hunters there may not hold long." He was tried to think of someone and the first someone that came to mind was Minho. He was the closest to the school.
"I'll get some of the S-ranks to check on the one that appeared on the expressway." Jinchul said, thumbing numbers on his phone.
"I think we should convince Hunter Minho to check the school ground." Ah-Ra suggested again.
"Mm, I'm calling him right now." Chairman Go said, looking at his phone as he rang Minho's number.
Meanwhile...
Minho stood inside a sewer tunnel. The place reeked, but what brought him down was worth enough to make him smile. Vasha and Rathalos stood behind him as his phone rang.
He took it out and saw the Chairman's number. 'Hmm… why's he calling me?' he thought, picking up. "Hello Chairman… A dungeon break?… Oh, it's fine. I can take care of it… Yeah, I'll get back to you… oh, there's no need for back up really. I don't do that… Mhmm." He cut the call.
"A dungeon break, huh?" Minho smiled. "That's a good opportunity for the three of you to show your worth," He added.
Yes 'three'.
In front of Minho was a dragon with silver scales, no horns, a long neck and a slimer frame, built for speed and flight. It shrank and eventually turned to a human. A lady in a white Kimono, bowing. "Forgive me. It took me a while to find you all the way from the Kingdom of Japan. So… where are we headed, my dearest King?"
[Third Disciple, "Eslin" has joined the Dragon Court!]