Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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Joshua, the Vice President of the American Hunter Association, had been completely overwhelmed by the flood of news arriving since about seven hours ago.

‘What on earth happened…?’

Fortunately, the S Rank Large Dungeon that reappeared in the U.S. after seven years had been cleared.

Contrary to his worries, the Hunters emerged from the dungeon sooner than expected, and until that moment, Joshua had thought everything had been resolved smoothly.

Without even a clue about the chaos that was about to unfold.

Bang!

A subordinate, who had rushed in multiple times today with urgent reports, burst through the office door once again and shouted, “Vice President! This is bad!”

“…What now?”

“Uh, there’s a massive influx of inquiries from the Hunter Associations around the world. They’re questioning not only this incident but also the events from seven years ago, and much more…”

“What does that even mean? Is there really more to this?”

Joshua held the position of Vice President, but he had only been in the role for just over two years. Naturally, he didn’t have complete knowledge of past events.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t tell if there was really a problem, or if everyone is just caught up in the atmosphere.”

“No, does that even make sense right now?”

“…I apologize. We simply don’t have enough personnel to grasp the situation. For now, we need to address whatever we can quickly.”

That was sensible, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Even now, there was uproar everywhere condemning the U.S., and it was only getting worse, not better.

“Damn it, why would they do something so stupid….”

All of this was the fault of the former President Hudson and Mikhael’s group.

What exactly happened, he didn’t know, but the Hunters emerging from the dungeon began raising suspicions about the truth of the Chae Hwa In incident, and to make matters worse, it seemed most of their claims were indeed true.

Apparently, the U.S.’s S Rank Hunters had attacked Chae Hwa In inside the dungeon.

“This is a nightmare. How on earth am I supposed to handle this?”

Joshua felt horribly wronged. The current President had fallen ill about a month ago, making it nearly impossible to ask for help, and Joshua hadn’t even been involved in the incident at that time.

However, the public wouldn’t care for such excuses.

With all these accusations surfacing, it would all end up being a crime of the U.S.

When he sent a subordinate to assess the global situation, it turned out that public opinion was nearing rock bottom.

Everyone was throwing stones at the U.S. for the atrocities committed by a country that was supposed to lead others as a Hunter powerhouse.

‘…Now is not the time for excuses.’

Of course, there wasn’t clear evidence. However, most of the Hunters who entered the dungeon confirmed the facts through Mikhael’s group, all united in their claims.

From that point on, those claims would serve as evidence. It was clear that, at the very least, the public would accept it as the truth.

In this era, the title of S Rank Hunter held that much influence.

‘Moreover, what is truly problematic…’

It was none other than the background behind it all.

Some sort of force that could unify the opinions of S Rank Hunters, who were like uncontrollable battle weapons.

That force appeared to be Baek Eun Ha, the individual whom the U.S. had labeled a fugitive.

The words Joshua heard from the U.S. Hunters who entered the dungeon were, to be honest, still hard to believe.

[What are you saying? She took down the boss of the dungeon all by herself.]

[…I mean it literally. The power she displayed was truly frightening. She might have been able to clear the dungeon alone from the start.]

While it was possible they were deluded, there was no evidence of mental magic or hallucination used.

If that was the case, then at the very least, it was fair to conclude that Baek Eun Ha possessed remarkable strength among S Rank Hunters.

‘And now they’ve turned her into a complete enemy…’

Indeed, things were very messy. Resolving the situation with simple brute force was no longer nearly an option.

Ultimately, Joshua had no choice but to let out a sigh and persuade the higher-ups.

Recognize what should be recognized and cleanly cut away those who needed to be.

That was all that the U.S. could do right now.

#

“So, they admitted their guilt?”

“More like they’re just backing down. They’ve only pointed fingers at the deceased S Rank Hunters while cutting out a few others.”

“Even that is quite an accomplishment. They must have been under severe pressure.”

Samuel, Italy’s S Rank Hunter and the guild leader of the top guild in the country, Florentia, was receiving various news from Beatrice, the vice guild leader who had returned directly after the raid.

“Well, they must’ve been busy. Their competitors must have pounced on them the moment they slipped.”

Of course, the guild that Samuel belonged to in Italy also added fuel to the fire. When a feast was laid out, it was impossible not to dig in, right?

However, even so, it was rare for all nations to come together and express their opinions like this.

The reason for that could easily be inferred from what Beatrice had told him earlier.

“Does it mean that they’re particularly concerned about that Hunter from Korea?”

Baek Eun Ha, who had displayed an unparalleled prowess in this S Rank Large Dungeon.

He had heard that Chae Hwa In, the victim of the incident, was also on the same side, so there was no need to spoil things by voicing a contrary opinion.

On the contrary, if he could give a slightly positive impression by opening his mouth a few times, it would only benefit him.

“Yet, it’s hard to accept so easily; could she really be that incredible?”

“Yes. To be honest, it’s astonishingly so. You would be surprised if you saw her in person, Guild Master.”

It was rare for someone known as the Empress of Italy to evaluate someone else to that extent. Samuel changed his expression to a serious one and asked again.

“Are you saying she’s even more impressive than you?”

Recently rising stars like the Butcher Fabio or the Knight Godwin were worth noticing, but Samuel still believed that Beatrice was the top Hunter in present-day Italy.

Upon hearing his words, Beatrice responded with a meaningful smile, “Well, if you think defensively from the start, it might be bearable, but I have no desire to fight at all.”

“Wow, so you’re saying she’s superior to you in practical skill?”

Among S Ranks, aside from the seven considered exceptional, there probably wasn’t anyone who could definitively outclass Beatrice.

Moreover, five of them had consistently maintained a hidden profile. Thus, it would seem that Baek Eun Ha should be regarded as one of the top Hunters currently active.

“It would become troublesome if she turned into an enemy.”

She was a Necromancer strong in large-scale battles and had shown significant emotional unpredictability. Furthermore, from observing how she handled the situation, she didn’t lack cleverness either.

Although she had appeared suddenly, it would be reasonable to foster a favorable relationship whenever possible.

“It’s best to move quickly in situations like this. By the way, did you exchange any kind words with her?”

“I just took care of that girl who got drunk at the banquet.”

“Then I take it she didn’t seem like any kind of special person? Simply building a personal connection could turn into a positive impact later on.”

After a moment of pondering, Beatrice replied with a somewhat unsure expression.

“It seemed like she really loved games, though.”

“……”

That was quite an unexpected remark. Samuel, who had been subtly shifting his expression, asked Beatrice with a glimmer of hope.

“Do you play games by any chance?”

“Of course not.”

“…Right.”

The two continued exchanging trivial conversations, while someone listening in from below couldn’t help but tilt their head in curiosity.

“…Huh, this is odd. She definitely didn’t seem like she had that level of skill.”

That someone was Fabio, an S Rank Hunter belonging to the same guild as the two, who had previously encountered Baek Eun Ha at Parbosa’s request during the Brenner Terror incident.

After contemplating for a moment, he sent a secret message to someone with a knowing smile.

On the inside of Fabio’s wrist, the same eerie marking from before began to glow ominously.