---
Mark stared at the window.
It was a very large window.
Floor to ceiling.
The guild office sat on the 67th floor.
Far below, the city of Seoul stretched endlessly.
Cars looked like toys.
People looked like ants.
For a normal person, jumping from this height meant certain death.
For Mark…
It would probably feel like tripping down a staircase.
Still, the idea was tempting.
Very tempting.
Behind him, the scratching of his pen had stopped.
Mostly because he had stopped signing.
Joy noticed immediately.
"…Why did the pen stop?"
Mark didn't turn around.
"…Just thinking."
"That's dangerous."
Kai leaned over the desk.
"You've only signed eighty-seven."
Leon checked the papers.
"Actually eighty-eight."
Darius calmly added,
"Still over six hundred remaining."
Mark slowly turned around.
"…I have a plan."
Kai blinked.
"That sentence usually ends badly."
Leon nodded.
"Historically speaking."
Darius folded his arms.
"I'm listening."
Mark walked away from the desk.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He stopped in front of the window.
Then placed one hand dramatically on the glass.
Joy narrowed her eyes.
"…Mark."
"Yes?"
"Don't."
Mark smiled.
"I refuse to be controlled by paper."
Joy lifted the belt.
Mark opened the window.
Wind rushed into the office.
Kai immediately stood up.
"…Oh no."
Leon grabbed his glasses.
"He's serious."
Darius simply sighed.
Mark climbed onto the window frame.
The wind pushed against his coat.
The city stretched far below.
Joy walked toward him slowly.
"…Get down."
"No."
"Mark."
"No."
She raised the belt.
Mark looked at the papers.
Then looked at the belt.
Then looked at the papers again.
He made his choice.
"Goodbye."
And jumped.
---
Kai ran to the window.
Leon ran to the window.
Darius walked to the window slightly slower.
They all looked down.
Far below—
Mark hit the ground.
BOOM.
Concrete cracked.
Dust exploded outward.
Pedestrians screamed.
Cars stopped.
And in the center of a small crater…
Mark stood up.
Completely fine.
He brushed dust off his coat.
Then looked up.
Sixty-seven floors above him.
Joy stared down through the window.
They made eye contact.
Mark waved.
Then turned and started running.
Kai slowly blinked.
"…Did he just escape?"
Leon adjusted his glasses.
"Technically yes."
Darius nodded.
"A tactical retreat."
Joy turned around.
Without saying a word.
She grabbed her coat.
Then walked toward the elevator.
Kai looked nervous.
"…Where are you going?"
Joy pressed the elevator button.
"To get him."
Leon glanced back out the window.
"…Should we warn him?"
Darius shook his head.
"It's too late."
---
Meanwhile—
Mark ran through the streets like a man who had just escaped prison.
Because in a way…
He had.
Fresh air.
Freedom.
No paperwork.
No pens.
No forms.
He laughed.
"Freedom!"
Pedestrians stared.
One hunter pointed.
"Isn't that the Sword Saint?"
Another whispered.
"Why is he running?"
Mark ignored them.
He spread his arms dramatically as he ran.
"No more paperwork!"
Behind him—
The guild building doors opened.
Joy stepped outside.
She spotted him instantly.
Even from half a street away.
Her eyes narrowed.
She slowly pulled the belt from her hand.
Mark suddenly felt something.
A cold sensation.
The instinct of a warrior who had survived countless battles.
The feeling of danger.
He slowly looked behind him.
And saw her.
Mark stopped running.
"…Oh no."
Joy started walking toward him.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Mark turned around.
And ran faster than he ever had before.
---
Back in the office—
Kai watched the street through binoculars.
Leon stood beside him.
Darius drank tea calmly.
Kai lowered the binoculars.
"…He's running."
Leon asked,
"And Joy?"
Kai looked again.
"…Walking."
Leon frowned.
"…Just walking?"
Kai nodded slowly.
"…She's still catching up."