The air in the Association’s private medical wing was thick with the scent of high-grade mana-crystals and the faint, sweet aroma of medicinal herbs.

  Chairman Go Gunhee stood before a full-length mirror, adjusting the colr of his shirt. For years, this simple action had been accompanied by a wheezing chest and a fluttering heart that felt like it was made of cracked gss.

  Today, he felt a rhythmic, powerful thrumming in his chest—a heart reinforced by the world’s most advanced healing magic.

  "You’re moving too quickly, Chairman. Let the mana settle," a voice cautioned.

  Min Byung-Gyu, the S-Rank healer who had famously walked away from the hunter world, sat on a stool nearby, wiping sweat from his brow.

  His return to the Hunter world was not as a combatant, but as a "Special Member" and Chief Medical Consultant. Over the st month, he had performed what many considered a miracle.

  Byung-Gyu hadn't just healed Gunhee; he had restructured the way the Chairman’s body processed its own S-Rank mana. "Your body was like an overcharged battery in a pstic casing," Byung-Gyu expined, his eyes tired but satisfied. "I’ve reinforced the casing. You aren't 'cured' in the traditional sense, but you are no longer dying from being yourself."

  Gunhee turned, his eyes glowing with a faint, healthy light. "I owe you a great debt, Min Byung-Gyu."

  "Don't thank me yet," Byung-Gyu said, standing up. "My work with the C and D-rank healers is proving to be more difficult. They’ve spent years treating healing like a faucet—turn it on, let it spray. I’m trying to teach them that healing is surgery performed with light. If they don't learn to filter the impurities out of their output, they’ll end up causing more harm than good."

  Jinchul walked into the room, his new navy suit catching the light. He looked younger, the dark circles under his eyes faded, repced by a sharp, focused intensity.

  "Chairman. Byung-Gyu," Jinchul nodded.

  "You look different, Jinchul," Gunhee noted, his eyes narrowing pyfully. "That suit... it's not standard issue. It has the weight of high-grade smithing."

  "A gift from a technical partner," Jinchul replied smoothly, though a slight tension in his shoulders betrayed him. "I've come to deliver the month-end progress report on the 'Shadow' units."

  "Speak freely," Gunhee said, sitting at his desk. "Byung-Gyu is cleared for Level 4 intelligence now."

  "The Reaper Guild has successfully suppressed three 'Corrosive' Gates this month. Our Team’s presence ensures they don't talk, but we have a new problem," Jinchul's expression darkened. "It's not happening inside the dungeons anymore. It's also happening in the homes of the hunters."

  He pced a file on the desk. The title read: Anomalous Sleep Disorder – Case Study 09-Alpha.

  "We have twelve new cases of non-awakened civilians falling into a comatose state. All of them are family members or friends or neighbors of active B-rank hunters or higher. I believe the mana we're trying so hard to hide is starting to overflow through the people we're protecting."

  Byung-Gyu walked toward the hologram, his medical curiosity piqued "Wait... these are the Mana coma where few people get affected right. And You mean to say that there will be a lot of people going to be affected?"

  "Yes, They are in a state of stasis," Jinchul confirmed somberly. "The mana levels in their blood are soaring, despite them having no awakened potential. Their bodies are drowning in power they can't use. According to the research, Yes, and it is a global effect. We have verified it; this is a global phenomena," replied Jinchul.

  He swiped the screen to show simir data points from the United States, China, and the European Union. "It isn't just Korea. Everywhere the Gates open, the surrounding civilian popution begins to 'overflow.' It seems to target those with genetic proximity to active Hunters first. I think it is because they are in the proximity of the hunters”

  Chairman Gunhee’s expression hardened. The joy of his own recovery evaporated, repced by the heavy mantle of leadership. He looked at the faces of the children and elderly retives listed in the report—the 'sleepers' who had done nothing wrong but love a Hunter.

  "I think Mana in the world is increasing on high pace which leads to this problem. We need to bring it to the board immediately. I will inform them and it will be discussed today itself," told Gunhee, his voice echoing with the authority of a man who was no longer afraid of his own heart failing him.

  "Wait," Byung-Gyu interrupted, his voice trembling slightly. "Won't it create fear throughout them? If this news leaks... it will be panic. Total chaos. Every Hunter in the world will feel like they are a walking poison to their own families. They’ll stop entering the Gates. They’ll abandon their posts."

  Jinchul looked Byung-Gyu in the eye. He knew the risks better than anyone. He had spent months hiding the Shadow Protocol to prevent exactly this kind of colpse. But this wasn't a secret they could keep. The bodies were piling up in hospital wings.

  "There is no other way, Min. We need to inform them. They need to give more priority and more funding to get to the cure," replied Jinchul, thinking of the consequences. "If we hide this, and the truth comes out ter, the betrayal will be worse than the fear. We need the world’s best minds—not just ours—working on a solution."

  Gunhee nodded in agreement. "Prepare the briefing, Jinchul. We head to the boardroom in one hour. Byung-Gyu, I want you there to expin the biological impossibility of what we’re seeing. We aren't just fighting monsters in dungeons anymore. We’re fighting the very air we breathe."

  The atmosphere in the room turned cold. The recovery of the Chairman was a victory, but it felt like a single candle lit against an approaching hurricane.

  As Jinchul turned to leave, he realized that the "Hunter Era" was entering its most dangerous phase yet—not a war of swords, but a war of survival for the human race itself.