<Episode 94>
After hurriedly putting on our coats, we headed to the Management Bureau.
Perhaps because it was well past working hours, the lobby was much quieter than usual.
‘The suspects suddenly went into a rampage? What in the world happened?’
As we rode the elevator upward, I nervously fidgeted with the item hanging around my neck.
“Are you alright?”
Seeing me like that, Hyunwoo asked with a concerned look.
I forced the corners of my lips upward and nodded.
“…I just have a bad feeling.”
The people who had gone berserk were the same criminals who had falsely accused our restaurant of causing a hunter’s death and had forcibly detained me in an interrogation room.
I had heard that after being arrested at the scene, they had been locked in solitary confinement and interrogated.
The elevator doors opened, and the Chief Secretary, who had been waiting for us, guided us to the Director’s office.
“You may go right in.”
When we entered, the Director slowly lifted her head from behind a mountain of documents piled on her desk.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo. Ah, Hunter Haneul, you came as well.”
Her face looked far more haggard than the last time I had seen her.
Noticing my worried gaze, the Director rubbed her face and shook her head.
“My face looks terrible, doesn’t it? I’ve barely slept because of all the recent incidents.”
She gave a bitter smile and guided us to the sofa.
The moment we sat down, she went straight to the point.
“To start with, the case involving the fake investigators… the situation has become quite troublesome.”
“What exactly happened?”
At Hyunwoo’s question, the Director let out a deep sigh.
“All three of the arrested suspects experienced mana rampages.”
“A mana rampage…? Is that even possible?”
A mana rampage.
It was a phenomenon that could occur when an Awakened attempted to forcefully use an item far above their mana capacity or continuously used skills beyond their limits.
I had heard that it happened frequently during the early days of Awakened individuals, but nowadays it was almost unheard of because people knew their own mana limits.
“This is the first case of its kind for us as well. It’s not easy for a rampage to occur outside of a Gate.”
The Director lowered her head with a troubled expression.
According to her, the suspects had experienced their rampages less than two hours after receiving dinner.
The moment Hyunwoo heard that, he frowned.
“Is it possible there was poison mixed into their food?”
“…We’re leaving that possibility open. However, we couldn’t find any meaningful evidence in the bodies. Nor has any substance capable of causing a mana rampage been identified.”
In other words, it was difficult to establish any connection between the meal and the mana rampages.
“There’s something else related to this that you should see.”
The Director turned the laptop on the table toward us.
On the screen was footage of one of the criminals being interrogated.
The man sat there with a gaunt face, nervously shaking his leg as he muttered:
“There’s no way an F-rank Hunter could make an item like that. She must have done something horrible. Anyone who eats that food is obviously going to die. Why won’t anyone believe me…?”
“Hah, what is this?”
The moment I saw the video, I let out a disbelieving laugh.
The man in the footage was constantly slandering our restaurant while insisting on his innocence.
“This was recorded during the final interrogation. People are claiming that they were actually innocent victims, and that the extreme stress drove them into maniacal rampages.”
I carefully asked:
“Could it be… Vice Director Park Seongcheol, who’s making those claims?”
The Director remained silent, but she did not deny it.
‘Looks like he’s trying to connect everything back to our restaurant somehow.’
Pressing a hand against my throbbing forehead, I leaned back into the sofa.
“Were there any other unusual findings?”
“Some people suspect side effects from a mental-type skill. The interrogator was a mental-type hunter.”
“But there’s something strange about that theory as well.”
According to the interrogator’s testimony, his mental skill hadn’t worked properly on them.
It was as if they were giving statements, but everything felt fabricated.
“That’s why a new interrogator was scheduled to be assigned today.”
“One with a truth-detection skill.”
“A new interrogator was assigned, and then they suddenly experienced mana rampages…”
Hyunwoo narrowed his eyes.
“That’s a remarkably convenient coincidence.”
“I suspect they possessed some sort of mental-resistance skill. Skills are private information, so we had no way of confirming it.”
Apparently, their plan had not accounted for the existence of the new interrogator.
Faced with the prospect of revealing the truth they had desperately concealed, the suspects had somehow ended up rampaging… whether willingly or unwillingly.
‘…I don’t like this feeling.’
Just when it seemed the slander against our restaurant would finally sink beneath the surface, it felt like it was rising again.
As expected, the Director looked at me carefully and spoke.
“Three Awakened individuals have died from an unprecedented mana rampage. An investigation will inevitably follow.”
“And when that happens… your restaurant will inevitably be mentioned again in one way or another, Hunter Haneul.”
She lowered her gaze with a bitter smile.
“Between the illegal-item incident and everything else… I feel sorry that you keep seeing the uglier side of the hunter world.”
“It’s alright.”
“These were all accidents no one could have predicted.”
After all, who could have predicted that people would suddenly experience mana rampages outside of a Gate?
Still, I couldn’t help feeling bitter.
I didn’t want to go through another round of suspicious stares aimed at our restaurant.
‘What’s so suspicious about an F-rank hunter making items? It’s not like I deliberately awakened as F-rank…’
Wait.
I’m not F-rank anymore.
Lost in thought, I suddenly looked up.
If they couldn’t trust items made by an F-rank hunter…
Then what about items made by an SS-rank hunter?
This was the perfect opportunity to reveal my reawakening.
Looking directly at the Director, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Director, there’s something I need to tell you.”
***
The next morning.
Hunter Management Bureau, Seoul Headquarters Press Conference Hall.
The reporters who had been summoned on short notice exchanged confused whispers.
“What kind of announcement is important enough to gather the press this suddenly? On a Saturday morning, no less?”
“I heard one of the criminals being interrogated by the Bureau went into a rampage. Is it about that?”
“They wouldn’t invite foreign media for something like that. There’s definitely something bigger going on.”
At the appointed time, the lights above the stage switched on.
Standing at the podium, the Director slowly swept her gaze across the gathered reporters.
“Hello. Thank you all for attending despite your busy schedules.”
Her clear voice echoed throughout the hall via the microphone.
“The reason for today’s gathering is to make a major announcement… one that will open a new horizon for the Korean hunter community.”
“What is the announcement?”
“There are rumors that a hunter under investigation by the Bureau committed suicide. Are those rumors true?”
Instead of answering the reporters’ questions, the Director turned toward where I was standing.
“I believe it would be better if the person involved spoke directly.”
“Hunter Haneul, please come up.”
Clenching my fists tightly, I walked confidently onto the stage.
Countless camera lenses turned toward me.
“Huh? That person is…?”
“Isn’t that the owner of the bungeoppang shop?”
“The F-rank crafting hunter? Why is she here?”
Whispers grew louder as my unexpected appearance drew attention.
Swallowing a shaky breath, I slowly began speaking.
“Hello. My name is Jung Haneul.”
The reporters looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“I recently underwent a reawakening.”
“And my rank is…”
At my signal, a giant screen displayed the Awakening Assessment Report issued by the Management Bureau.
The detailed statistics had been hidden, but the rank at the top was clear.
[Name: Jung Haneul / Rank: SS]
“I am SS-rank.”
The conference hall erupted into chaos.
“SS-rank? That’s impossible!”
“Isn’t S-rank supposed to be the highest rank?”
“But the assessment report clearly says–”
Turning my head, I spotted Vice Director Park Seongcheol frozen in place with his eyes wide open.
Apparently, he had never expected the press conference to be about this.
‘The Director said she recently replaced all of her close staff members…’
‘Looks like his source of information got cut off.’
But this press conference wasn’t over yet.
Now it was time to drop the real bombshell.
“Furthermore,”
I looked directly at the reporters and spoke clearly.
“I possess a skill capable of curing the awakening side effects suffered by hunters.”
At that moment, everyone in the hall could only stare with their mouths hanging open in disbelief.
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