While the A-rank hunters stood there catching their breath, their attention slowly shifted away from the fallen tree core and toward the strange tension between Byung-chul and Seung-hoo.
The forest was quiet now—too quiet.
Only the sound of leaves brushing against each other and the distant creaking of broken trunks filled the air. A few hunters exchanged glances, sensing something was about to happen.
Byung-chul was still staring at Seung-hoo, his jaw tight, his pride clearly wounded. His eyes moved from the shattered remains of the giant tree back to Seung-hoo's calm expression.
"…You," Byung-chul muttered, stepping closer. "You've been hiding something this whole time."
Seung-hoo sighed softly, as if he had expected this moment to come sooner or later.
Without saying a word, he reached into his jacket pocket.
The motion alone made several hunters tense up, hands tightening around their weapons.
"What's he pulling out?" "Another skill card?" "No… that looks official."
Seung-hoo held up a sleek black-and-silver card between his fingers and, without any drama, pressed it right in front of Byung-chul's face.
It gleamed faintly in the dim forest light.
S-Rank Hunter Identification Card.
Byung-chul's eyes widened.
For a second, he didn't move. Then he leaned closer, squinting at the card, as if hoping it was some kind of trick.
"…No way," he whispered.
The surrounding hunters gasped.
"That's an S-rank card…" "Wait, so he really is—?" "I remember him now, He's the one from the news?!"
Byung-chul slowly straightened his posture, his expression twisting into something between disbelief and forced amusement.
"So you're our S-rank?" he said with a dry chuckle. "You've got to be kidding me…"
He laughed again, louder this time, but there was no real humor in it. Sweat slid down his temple.
"All this time…" he continued, pointing weakly at Seung-hoo. "You let me talk down to you like that? You let me treat you like some useless extra?"
Seung-hoo lowered the card and slipped it back into his pocket.
"I didn't think it mattered," he replied calmly. "We were here to clear the Rift, not compare ranks."
That answer only made the silence heavier.
Seo-yeon stepped closer to Seung-hoo, standing beside him without hesitation. Her eyes were sharp as she looked at Byung-chul.
"You kept insulting him," she said quietly. "Even when he was the strongest one here."
Byung-chul's mouth opened, then closed again. His confidence from earlier was gone, replaced with an awkward stiffness.
"I—I just didn't know," he muttered. "You didn't look like one."
Seung-hoo tilted his head slightly. "What is an S-rank supposed to look like?"
That question made several A-rank hunters shift uncomfortably. Some avoided eye contact. Others stared at Seung-hoo with a new kind of respect—and fear.
One hunter finally spoke up. "Then… that attack just now… you weren't even serious, were you?"
Seung-hoo didn't answer immediately. He glanced at the broken trees, then back at them.
"I only did what the quest told me to" he said simply, then covered his mouth like he just spilled some secret
Byung-chul was confused on what he said, but clenched his fists, his pride clearly taking another hit. "So all that shouting… all that ordering you around…" He forced another laugh. "Guess I was the fool."
The forest wind passed between them again, carrying the scent of burned bark and fading mana.
Hunters began whispering among themselves.
"No wonder the monsters stopped moving…" "He ended it in seconds…" "We were struggling for nothing…"
Byung-chul looked at Seung-hoo one more time, his expression no longer aggressive, but unsettled—like he was standing in front of something far beyond his understanding.
"So…" he said slowly, "you were walking around pretending to be normal while holding that kind of power?"
Seung-hoo met his gaze, unbothered.
"I wasn't pretending," he replied. "I just didn't want trouble."
Around them, the A-rank hunters stood in a loose circle, watching the two men face each other in the quiet aftermath of the battle, the realization sinking in that the weakest-looking person among them had been the strongest all along.
Behind them, the battlefield never truly quieted.
The forest was alive with noise—metal striking bark, magic cracking through the air, and the heavy thuds of tree monsters collapsing only to rise again moments later. Shouts echoed from every direction, overlapping in a messy chorus of fear and determination.
"Left side—watch the roots!" "Don't let it grab you—move!" "Medic! Someone's down!"
A young A-rank hunter stumbled backward as a vine whipped past his face, missing him by only inches. His boots slid against the damp soil, and he barely managed to keep his balance before another hunter rushed forward, slashing the vine apart with a glowing blade.
Flames burst near one of the larger tree monsters, scorching its trunk black. The creature shrieked—a sound more like splintering wood than a living scream—and thrashed its branches wildly, knocking two hunters to the ground. One of them rolled away in time. The other cried out as a thorn tore across his shoulder.
Seung-hoo stood still.
Byung-chul stood a few steps away from him.
Neither spoke.
They simply watched.
Seo-yeon darted through the chaos like a streak of silver, her dagger flashing as she cut down smaller monsters that tried to ambush wounded hunters. Her movements were fast but controlled, each step deliberate. Sweat ran down her temple, but her eyes stayed sharp, locked onto the battlefield.
Nearby, a mage dropped to one knee after exhausting his mana, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. Another hunter dragged him behind a fallen trunk for cover while shouting for support.
The air smelled of burned wood and blood.
Leaves rained down from above as branches snapped and crashed to the ground. The forest floor was no longer green—it was trampled into mud, stained dark by sap and scattered with broken weapons.
Seung-hoo's gaze moved slowly from one scene to another.
He saw fear in their faces. He saw courage. He saw hesitation. He saw recklessness.
One hunter charged too far ahead, swinging wildly at a tree monster's trunk. For a moment, it looked like he had won—until roots burst from the ground beneath him and wrapped around his legs. He screamed as he was yanked backward, armor scraping against stone.
Seo-yeon tried to reach him, but another monster blocked her path. She cursed under her breath and changed direction, slicing through its limbs to force an opening.
Byung-chul's hands were clenched at his sides.
His eyes followed every movement, every mistake.
The battlefield felt strange now—like two different worlds layered on top of each other. In one, hunters fought desperately for survival. In the other, Seung-hoo stood untouched by panic, his presence almost out of place amid the chaos.
A loud explosion shook the ground. Dirt and dust rose into the air, blurring vision for a few seconds. When it cleared, one of the massive tree monsters had collapsed, its trunk split open, leaking glowing mana like blood.
Cheers broke out briefly.
Then another monster roared.
The cheers died instantly.
More shapes moved between the trees—taller, thicker, their mouths opening and closing with the sound of grinding wood. Several hunters stepped back instinctively, forming a loose line.
Seung-hoo's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched them regroup.
Byung-chul shifted his stance, as if ready to give orders, but none came from his mouth.
Instead, he watched the hunters struggle.
One of the A-ranks raised his shield just in time to block a branch strike. The impact sent him sliding backward across the ground, boots carving lines in the dirt. He dropped to one knee, shaking, but forced himself up again.
Another hunter screamed as thorns pierced his armor. Two teammates grabbed him and pulled him away, blood trailing behind them.
The forest itself seemed to breathe—roots crawling, branches twitching, shadows moving where no wind should be.
Seung-hoo remained silent.
His expression didn't change, but his eyes carried something heavy—like he was seeing not just this fight, but another one layered over it. A memory of different teammates. Different screams. Different deaths.
The hunters didn't notice.
They were too busy surviving.
Seo-yeon struck down another monster and turned briefly toward Seung-hoo's direction, as if checking whether he was still there. When she saw him standing calmly, she straightened her back and returned to the fight with renewed speed.
Byung-chul watched that exchange from the corner of his eye.
The gap between Seung-hoo and the others felt wider with every second.
Another monster fell. Another took its place.
The forest groaned under the weight of destruction.
And in the middle of it all, Seung-hoo and Byung-chul stood without a word, witnessing the battle unfold—one with eyes of disbelief, the other with eyes that had already seen this kind of scene far too many times before.