After returning to South Korea, Louis didn't waste any time.
He had one goal: to search and watch the real protagonist of this world, Sung Jin-Woo.
It didn't take long.
After searching online and checking old news articles, one name appeared again and again:
"The weakest hunter in the world."
But Louis didn't stop there.
He started tracking and collecting information about the important faces of the story:
Jin-Woo's sister "Jin-Ah", Go Gun-Hee the president of the Korean Hunters Association, S-Rank hunters like Cha Hae-In, Choi Jong-In, Baek Yoon-Ho, and even minor characters.
He followed all of them secretly.
Sometimes he earned small achievements this way, and whenever someone got close to discovering him, he used teleportation to escape.
Months passed like this.
But soon, his main focus shifted toward one place:
The dangerous dungeon on Jeju Island.
The Ant Invasion.
The bloody disaster that killed hundreds of hunters over the years.
He knew exactly what would happen later… He knew the ending… he knew the turning point.
And nothing stopped him from using that knowledge.
Using aerial photos, TV recordings, old broadcasts…
he started making a clear mental map of the island, spot by spot.
One night, he finally used teleportation.
With a small flash of light, he disappeared from his room in Seoul and appeared in the empty Jeju Island.
He repeated this many times: teleport… explore… disappear… return.
Since he had no combat skills or items to increase his strength, he teleported away the moment he saw just one ant.
Luckily, Beru had not appeared yet.
If Beru was here, Louis would be dead before he could even think about running.
But the biggest surprise wasn't the ants… or the queen…
It was something completely different.
By pure accident, he discovered that magic stones were not normal resources in this world.
They were special items he could bring back to the real world, just like Kamish's skeleton and the special skill stone.
He stared at one glowing stone for a long time, then smiled with quiet arrogance:
"This world is a real treasure… these players either don't know its value, or they're hiding it. Not even Robert knew this!"
Almost one full year passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, Louis was walking around the city as usual, checking his system from time to time to plan his next step.
"According to the time left before awakening as a real hunter here, there are only a few days before the main story starts." he thought.
"I have enough achievements to get an SSS-level power. Should I make my next move before or after awakening?"
He looked at the item inside the system storage—the one he chose when he first entered this world.
While thinking, he bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry."
"It's okay."
Louis looked at the man, who was hugging a girl—probably his girlfriend. They continued walking side by side.
He looked around and saw many couples together, hugging or holding hands.
"Damn it… no need to wait anymore. Let's just do it."
For some reason, Louis actually felt angry this time.
With an angry expression, Louis turned around to leave.
*** *** ***
Louis had thought about this for a long time before coming to the Awakener Rank Evaluation Center, but now it was time to take the next step.
His face showed many thoughts and plans while he stood in front of the receptionist.
The employee didn't even bother to look at him.
"Please write your name and contact information, then wait for your turn for the test."
Louis already understood most procedures from his earlier research, so he prepared everything before coming. He quickly handed over his ID and contact information.
"Hmm…"
The manager stopped typing for a moment and then gave him a paper for the test.
The name written on it was Kim Yoo-Won, the name the system gave Louis in this world.
Louis sat on an empty chair in the waiting room. There were two other people waiting.
They both looked very nervous.
Louis could guess what they were thinking right now.
After all, their future would change completely depending on this result.
"Next, please."
After a few minutes, it was Louis's turn.
He stood up and walked toward the association employee.
She spoke with a business-like tone, "Your name?"
Even if someone looked handsome, if they were not a strong hunter or famous, people still treated them normally.
"My name is Kim Yoo-Won."
"Mr. Kim Yoo-Won, okay. Please place your hand on the black panel and wait."
Louis followed the instructions and placed his hand on the measuring device.
Bzzzz…
The device made a loud noise, then suddenly stopped. The result appeared on the screen.
"Huh? What is this?"
The employee tilted her head left and right and then spoke to Louis, just as he was about to raise his hand.
"Please wait."
"Yes?" Louis asked, already knowing what was happening because the system message appeared in front of him:
[A player awakening has been detected. Based on your achievements, you have awakened as an S-Rank Hunter in this world.]
[Note: S-Rank is the highest rank here, but based on your achievements you may take an SSS-rank skill or item from the system.]
The employee had no idea what Louis was thinking. She quickly said, "I want to run the test again."
"Alright," Louis answered.
He placed his hand again.
"Huh? Why is this happening again?" Her expression became nervous: "Why is the machine suddenly stopping?"
She asked Louis to try again. "I'm very sorry. But please, one more time."
Again…
And again…
Louis started to get annoyed and was about to leave when he heard a voice:
"Hm? What is happening here? Why all this trouble?"
"Ah, Director Jung! The measuring device is acting strange," the employee said anxiously.
"What do you mean acting strange?"
"Please look. This error message keeps appearing."
When the employee stepped aside, Jung Ki-Soo stood in front of the screen.
And instantly… his expression froze.
"How long have you been working here?"
"A-about three months, sir. Did I press the wrong button?"
The director looked at her like he was wondering how she even got this job.
The employee's voice trembled, "W-what's wrong, Director?"
"This is NOT an error. It is showing 'Unmeasurable'! Don't you understand what that means?"
"Eh?! But… isn't that an error message?"
Why were all new employees this stupid?
The director looked away from her and focused on the person taking the test.
Kim Yoo-Won.
Jung Ki-Soo stared at Louis and spoke to the employee:
"You fool! This message means the machine cannot measure his magical power!"
"S-so… does that mean…?"
She said she worked for three months, right?
Forget three months—nothing like this had happened in two whole years, so of course a beginner wouldn't know.
Jung Ki-Soo's voice shook a little as he spoke:
"It means he's S-Rank. S-Rank! Do you understand now!?"