What could he possibly be looking for when the world was facing certain annihilation? No, besides all that, was the man in front of the director's eyes the real Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, to begin with?
Wondering if he got too drunk and was seeing things, the director roughly shook his head from side to side.
But, Jin-Woo's figure became even clearer and in focus from that action, leading the director to realise that the man in front of him was not a figment of his imagination.
His intoxication flew away in an instant and his voice rose up an octave.
"W-what are you looking for?"
"The Rune Stone."
Jin-Woo told the director precisely what he was here for.
"The Rune Stone from Kamish, give it to me."
".....!!"
His surprised lasted only for a short while; the director reflexively shook his head.
"As you may well know, Hunter-nim, the Kamish's Rune Stone is the Hunter Bureau's....."
That was when his words came to a choking halt.
This d*mn work-related habit of his. What about the Hunter Bureau? So what? Never mind the Bureau, the whole of the United States of America was about to go up in flames, so who cared about a measly little Run Stone now?
'Looks like I haven't fully woken up from the booze yet.'
The director loudly slapped his cheeks with his palms. After his skin reddened up from the stinging impact, he finally felt as if his brain was getting in gear.
His once-blurry eyes regained their focus as well.
He then arrived at a certain conclusion that to the Hunter Bureau, no, to the entire United States of America, the reason why Jin-Woo wanted the Rune Stone in the first place was far more important than its financial value.
A short bout of deliberation later. The director asked cautiously as to not sour Jin-Woo's moods.
"I can definitely give you the Rune Stone, but why do you need it?"
Without a single shred of hesitation, Jin-Woo replied back.
"I'll use it as a tool for my counter-attack."
***
Through the eyes of the System, Jin-Woo got to confirm the 'Skill' sleeping within the Rune Stone in question pretty early on. It definitely contained a certain power of a Dragon.
There was a reason why he showed no interest whatsoever to this Rune Stone until now, though – this Skill had a rather serious drawback.
Meaning, it was a power he didn't need.
'However.... The story has changed now.'
After descending to the ninth underground floor of the Hunter Bureau's HQ, the director and Jin-Woo now stood before the reinforced glass case that housed the Rune Stone in question.
Rather than through the System, Jin-Woo only needed his eyes and senses this time to accurately decipher the Skill contained with that little 'stone'. It was as exactly as he remembered it.
A 'Skill' that boasted a truly horrifying power. The seriousness of the current situation should be more than enough to offset the drawback of such a horrifying power.
Ba-thump. His heart pulsed softly in approval.
The director wordlessly stared at the Rune Stone before asking his question.