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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Wise Guild Master
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As they arrived at the front door of the house, Myung-un stepped out.
Perhaps because of yesterday's events, Myung-un's lips twitched, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Yong-un silently got into Myung-un's car without a word.
"Let's go to your Unwoo Guild."
"Why Unwoo Guild?"
"I have to return the favor. I'm not heartless enough to send my one and only little brother into the jaws of death."
"..."
Myung-un gripped the steering wheel tightly as he glanced at Yong-un, who stared blankly out the window through the car door.
Finally, he spoke the words he'd been holding back.
"Sorry, bro. Forget what I said back then."
"It's fine."
Family was family, after all.
Yong-un let out a soft chuckle at the sight of Myung-un's back as he wordlessly started the engine.
'He says the harsh words himself and ends up suffering more for it. Same as when we were kids.'
Yong-un could tell, even though Myung-un showed no expression.
He knew exactly what was churning in his brother's heart right now.
It was no different from the Myung-un in his childhood memories. Yong-un smiled faintly again and gazed at the passing scenery outside.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Upon arriving at the Unwoo Guild office, one of the staff members spotted Yong-un and widened their eyes, pointing at him.
"Hey? Isn't that the guy from yesterday?"
"Yes, thanks to him, I was able to be found."
Even though it was early, everyone they'd seen inside the gate was already in the office.
And all of them looked at Yong-un and Myung-un with shocked expressions.
No, precisely at Yong-un.
"I had my doubts, but it really is true. Is that guy over there the A-Rank Hunter mentioned in the letter we received?"
At the guild master's words, Myung-un approached with a puzzled look and took the letter.
"What are you talking about?"
"We've been excluded from the dispatch list for this high-grade gate in the UK."
"What?"
Myung-un read the letter in astonishment.
Then, the phrase he found made his eyes bulge wide.
"Guilds possessing A-Rank Hunters are excluded from dispatch... Present A-Rank Hunter certification when visiting the agency for permanent exclusion from dispatch..."
"Right? It's talking about your brother standing over there, isn't it?"
"..."
Myung-un looked up from the letter and stared at Yong-un.
In response, Yong-un pulled a card from his pocket and tossed it over casually.
"You mean this?"
A-Rank Hunter License - Lee Yong-un
Myung-un caught it and bit his lip.
He'd certainly heard about it at the police station.
But he hadn't expected the processing to be this fast.
"Bro, you don't have any secrets from me, do you?"
"Secrets? None. Just that I might be stronger in this world than I thought? That's it."
"Being an A-Rank Hunter is plenty strong. Besides that... do you have connections in the Hunter government agency or something...? No, right?"
"Connections? Oh, you mean backing. Of course not. I haven't been back in this world for long."
There were some odd words slipping into Yong-un's smooth response, but the line about exclusion from dispatch filled Myung-un with so much joy that he barely registered them.
"W-We won't have to die, right?"
"Of course not, you idiot! We have an A-Rank Hunter license right here! Submit it today, and we're permanently excluded! Hahaha!"
"I knew it would turn out like this. Mom... sob sob, I won't die~"
All the hunters except Myung-un hugged each other, tears streaming down their faces.
Just like lowly demon soldiers on the front lines of the Great War Against the Righteous hearing they wouldn't have to go to battle.
'They're already preparing for death just from being selected for dispatch...'
As someone who'd experienced war as a demon soldier, Yong-un could somewhat understand how terrifying it was to be on that dispatch list.
But now, Myung-un would never be on it again.
Another guild would have to cover for Unwoo Guild, but that meant nothing to Yong-un.
'I don't care about the others.'
What happened to them didn't matter at all.
Yes, that was fine.
As long as Myung-un was safe, everything was resolved.
Yong-un watched them rejoice and gave a small smile.
Then, just as he turned to leave—
A voice stopped him in his tracks.
"I'm sorry, but once this is over, please leave our guild."
The man who appeared to be the Unwoo Guild master handed the A-Rank Hunter license back to Yong-un from Myung-un's hand and spoke.
"Huh? G-Guild master?"
"What the hell are you saying?!"
The shocked hunters rushed toward the guild master, demanding answers.
In response, he spoke with furrowed brows full of resolve.
"We're incredibly grateful for this, but we cannot accept Mr. Yong-un as a guild member. I'm sorry. Please take this and go."
Yong-un's eyebrow twitched.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Today had been such a huge ordeal that they skipped gate hunting and headed straight home.
Myung-un got out of the car, tilting his head in confusion and slamming the door shut in anger.
"What the hell is wrong with our guild master? The guild members are thrilled, so why...? What, does he think we can win on our own power? Some pipe dream?"
Yong-un smiled and grabbed his shoulder at the sight of Myung-un fuming uncontrollably.
"Calm down."
"Argh!"
Myung-un kicked at the innocent ground, showing no signs of cooling off. Yong-un silently pushed his shoulder and walked toward the house.
He'd spoken calmly to Myung-un, but Yong-un himself was puzzled.
'He was resolute. I don't know the reason, but his eyes were convinced this was the right call.'
Was there something more important than exclusion from dispatch?
A conviction overriding what everyone else denied.
From Yong-un's long experience in the murim world, such resolute eyes usually meant one of two things.
Either a fool chasing some utopian ideal, like Myung-un said, or...
'A brilliant commander who pushes forward with what he believes is right, unbending to others' opinions or standards.'
However, even Yong-un—who'd met and spoken with countless people—couldn't easily judge which it was.
A madman and a great commander were separated by a single move.
But Yong-un soon shrugged and brushed off the thoughts.
'It doesn't matter.'
Whether the guild master was a lunatic or a genius, it was irrelevant.
No matter what happened or what he did, Yong-un would protect Myung-un.
"Let's go in."
Even standing at the front door, Myung-un's anger hadn't subsided. He scowled fiercely and pulled out his keys.
"What the hell is he thinking..."
"Come on inside first. We'll figure it out somehow."
Yong-un soothed him and opened the rickety front door of the house, heading up to the second floor.
Just before opening the door to the house interior—
Yong-un paused and glanced back at the front door.
"What's up?"
"Nothing. Go on in first."
Noticing the odd behavior, Myung-un grabbed Yong-un's hand.
"You'll come back, right?"
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. This is my place now."
Still anxious, Myung-un's expression darkened.
Yong-un patted his shoulder to reassure him and headed for the front door.
He gave a small smile to Myung-un, who was still watching him without entering.
'I'm still far from where I need to be.'
The awkward gap with his family, born from twelve years of absence.
It seemed that gap had grown too wide.
But Yong-un understood Myung-un's actions.
'Even if I've returned to the family's embrace, things can't be exactly as they were.'
Especially for the black sheep who'd shattered their harmony.
Yong-un clenched his fist as he stepped out the front door.
'I'll close that gap somehow, first and foremost.'
There was still much to do for his family.
And as he tackled those tasks one by one, the gap would shrink bit by bit.
As he'd told Myung-un, Yong-un wouldn't leave his family again.
Because they were more precious to him than anything.
'I failed to protect them before, but not anymore.'
He clenched and unclenched his fist.
Crackle.
Dark crimson lightning swirled around his fist once, mirroring his resolve, then vanished.
As the front door closed, Yong-un extended his hand toward the empty air.
Black haze rose around his hand, and a short, dying gasp erupted from the direction he pointed.
"Gah!"
A sound like air escaping the lungs rang out, and a man behind a nearby streetlamp clutched his throat, floating into the air.
Yong-un crooked his finger, and the man shot toward him at high speed, his neck sucked straight into Yong-un's grasp as if it belonged there.
Thud!
"Who are you?"
The man, who'd been writhing in pain, began trembling violently at the icy voice laced with killing intent.
"B-Breath... air..."
"An assassin begging for his life... If this were the Hao Clan, I'd have poisoned you first. Tsk tsk."
An assassin staking his life to take another's shouldn't cling to his own so desperately.
Yong-un tsked at the pathetic display from someone hiding and spying, then loosened his grip.
Thump.
"Well, this isn't the murim world."
"Gack... hack hack."
The assassin's form dropped to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.
He clutched his throat, coughing violently in agony.
If this were the murim world, Yong-un would've snapped his neck without hesitation.
But even without killing him, there were options.
Tap.
With a light motion, Yong-un struck the acupoint on the side of the assassin's neck.
"Guh!"
The assassin convulsed once and then froze still.
"Wh-What...?"
His first time with acupoint strikes?
His wide eyes overflowed with shock, as if witnessing the impossible.
"If this were the Hao Clan, you'd have vanished into the dirt without even accepting the mission. Tsk tsk. Your mouth and eyes still work. Why were you hiding?"
"Wh-What the hell..."
"Tsk tsk."
Yong-un clicked his tongue at the assassin's untrained demeanor.
Unable to compose himself from a mere acupoint strike.
It was a spectacle that grew more ridiculous by the minute.
'Are the assassins in this reality this pathetic?'
Perfect for comparison to the murim world. He considered extracting information.
But this was near where his family lived.
He didn't want to linger. Yong-un changed his mind.
'Can't leave a nuisance like an assassin near the house.'
He raised his hand again, emanating thick demonic energy.
"If you won't answer, I'll kill you."
"W-Wait!"
Startled by the rising killing intent, the assassin shouted desperately.
Finally willing to talk.
"Speak."
"I-I'm a first-team hunter from Hwarang Guild. I came here just for a t-test..."
"A test...? What does that mean?"
"You don't know Hwarang Guild? Not just them—every guild is moving right now..."
Yong-un's eyebrow twitched at the assassin's words.
Every guild moving?
What did that mean?
"Answer properly."
"Gack, hack—it's exactly that. Which guild would sit still with an A-Rank Hunter appearing?"
A-Rank Hunter?
Yong-un frowned at the assassin's matter-of-fact tone and behavior.
"Hold on..."
Memories from the Yeongdeungpo police station surfaced.
"Even becoming an A-Rank Hunter would exclude your brother from dispatch."
"Do you think A-Rank is easy?"
"A-Rank?!"
The shocked reactions from everyone around upon hearing he was A-Rank.
"Then..."
"Other guilds will move in their own ways to recruit Mr. Yong-un."
The emergence of a master.
In other words, many guilds were mobilizing to claim Yong-un.
Just like murim sects scrambling to absorb a peerless talent.
Having gleaned good intel along with the assassin's intent, Yong-un withdrew his demonic energy and released the acupoint.
As the frozen body regained movement, a smile crept onto the assassin's lips.
"Ha, haha..."
He groped his body joyfully, as if reclaiming a lost limb.
"So that's why the guild master made that choice. Close call—I almost regretted killing you."
But only for a moment.
The assassin flinched and leaned back as Yong-un's face suddenly loomed close.
"Y-Yes...?"
Trembling in fear, he shuddered violently.
Yong-un grabbed the back of his neck and spoke coldly.
"This'll be a long talk."
"Th-That means I have w-work to d—urk!"
With that, Yong-un glanced around once, then vanished cleanly from the spot with the assassin in tow.
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F-Rank is classified as civilian, and Hunter licenses start from D-Rank.
There are Hunter ranks up to C, B, and A, with A being the highest a single nation can grant.
An A-Rank Hunter—a master recognized by the state.
As the dream of all hunters, it comes with benefits and wealth that can change one's life.
Then what about the final rank, S-Rank?
"S-Rank can only be designated by the Global Hunter Organization (GHO). It's a mark of such strength that a nation's power is measured by its number of S-Rank Hunters. Only the chosen few achieve it."
"Peerless experts. What good does becoming an S-Rank Hunter bring?"
"You become someone the nation protects. They have to, to reap the benefits."
"Naturally, the state would have to heed that master's words."
"Yes, exactly. Otherwise, another country might poach them. But..."
The assassin glanced around uneasily before speaking cautiously.
"Wh-Where is this?"
He couldn't hide his fear well.
The faint trembling from his body hadn't stopped since earlier.
Yong-un shrugged nonchalantly.
"Can't you tell? It's the mountains."
"That's what I'm saying... How did we get to the mountains...? Are you a mage-class Hunter? No, even mages can't warp until S-Rank or higher... No way?"
"I don't get fancy talk like that. Keep it to yourself."
Thanks to him, Yong-un had learned quite a bit.
Including that this so-called assassin wasn't a real one.
That explained why he spilled everything out of mere fear.
Yong-un nodded slightly, organized the info, and asked again.
"So, many guilds are deploying casting directors like you to recruit me?"
"Yes. From a guild's perspective, an A-Rank Hunter isn't just someone to propose to—"
"Someone they must acquire, no matter what it takes."
"Yes... correct."
Listening to the man who called himself Hwarang Guild's casting director, Yong-un finally understood the guild master's actions.
"So that's it. Heh."
A smile formed on Yong-un's lips.
And with it, certainty.
'The guild master isn't mad.'
He was a brilliant commander.
One who saw what others couldn't and made the decision.
Yes.
In that short time, the guild master had foreseen not the immediate gain, but the dangers that would follow.
That biting off more than you could chew would choke you to death.
How could one deny he was a great commander?
Yong-un smiled involuntarily at the thought of Myung-un serving under such a man.
"Then... allow me to reiterate. With your abilities, Mr. Yong-un, Hwarang can offer great support. If you wish, your brother Myung-un could join Hwarang too, excluded from dispatch for life—"
"Begone!"
True to a casting director, he still had the gift of gab even now.
Knowing his intentions full well, Yong-un cut him off, smile intact, and grabbed his shoulder.
Then stomped lightly, teleporting back to the house.
Whoosh!
"Urk!"
The sudden movement made him retch.
Yong-un looked down at him.
"Watch. See what happens when a fine sword is handed to a true commander."
"Uweeeck!"
With that, Yong-un left Hwarang's casting director there and walked into the house.
Under the streetlamp's glow, he left a quiet monologue.
"To protect my family, I need power. No difference between murim or reality. Fine. I'll give it to you—that power."
"Uweeeeeeck!"
Even after Yong-un entered the house, the sound of someone vomiting echoed through the dark alley for a while.