Ch. 21 - A Blow Landed

"Jang... Deuk-goo..."

"He's your senior."

Jang Deuk-goo firmly gripped Lee Gi-young's shoulder. A moan escaped Gi-young's lips. His legs wobbled and gave way as he dropped to a level lower than his own height.

He stood clumsily, perspiring heavily, struggling to hold his ground.

His face was flushed red with effort, but the more he endured, the more apparent the gap between him and Jang Deuk-goo became.

"Enough! I, I can't..."

Finally succumbing to the pain, Lee Gi-young declared his surrender. Jang Deuk-goo let go of his grip.

Like a spring, Gi-young bounced back to create some distance. A lingering, sharp pain wrapped around his shoulder, causing his face to grimace.

But he couldn't fight back. He knew all too well who Jang Deuk-goo was.

He was one of the three people Lee Gi-young feared the most in the guild.

His superior, Ju Se-ah, the Guild Master, and Jang Deuk-goo.

If he had to choose one among the three, without a doubt, he would have put Jang Deuk-goo at the top of the list.

'The man who acts like a kind old man but doesn't match up...'

Others might not know. They couldn't see the brutality hidden behind that smiling facade.

"You still have a long way to go, Gi-young. I had high hopes because you were a former military man. You can't just handle a mere massage."

Ignoring the pale-faced Lee Gi-young, Jang Deuk-goo flexed his hand and glanced to the side.

"Do any of you need a massage?"

"No, sir."

Choi Mi-ran raised her hand and took a step back. She instinctively distanced herself from Jang Deuk-goo.

To be honest, there was nobody in the guild, except for Ju Se-ah, who could stand up to Jang Deuk-goo. Actually, there was no one who could even share a meal with him at a single table. This was the extent to which the guild members found him difficult.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

As Kang Mu-hyuk left as if nothing had happened, Jang Deuk-goo stared at his retreating back, dumbfounded.

'Did he know I was nearby? How?'

On top of that, he had met only Tae Soo-man, who could be considered Ju Se-ah's enemy.

The surprising part was that Kang Mu-hyuk didn't even think of explaining himself.

Tempted to follow him and dig for answers, Jang Deuk-goo decided to leave it alone for now.

'The Guild Master said to intervene only if Kang Mu-hyuk is in danger or if there's a specific request.'

Thinking about it now, the second condition seemed a bit odd.

Making a request implied knowing about his existence.

If Ju Se-ah had specifically mentioned it, there must have been some conversation between her and Kang Mu-hyuk.

'Wait a minute. This isn't surveillance. It's bodyguard duty.'

Jang Deuk-goo finally realized Ju Se-ah's cunning trick. She should have told him earlier. He had been unnecessarily on guard.

"Um, senior..."

"What? You still haven't left?"

As Jang Deuk-goo glared at her, Choi Mi-ran flinched. However, she had a mission assigned by her boss, so she had to finish it.

"I need to speak with the Guild Master..."

"Tsk! Tell your superior. I'll see him tomorrow."

"Do you think he'll want to see you?"

"Well, I need to have a discussion with him, with my fist."

"I'll call him right away."

The following day, Kang Mu-hyuk sought out Ju Se-ah as soon as he arrived at work.

"What brings you here so early in the morning?" she asked.

"I've decided on a location for the guild's relocation."

"Already?"

"There's no need to drag it out."

Just one day after his appointment? He must have thought about it in advance. Ju Se-ah looked at the man, akin to a bulldozer, in disbelief.

'He hasn't even mentioned the important deal with Tae Soo-man yet,' she thought.

Ju Se-ah remembered something Kang Mu-hyuk had told her earlier.

'Soon, they'll reach out to me. Once I'm in the Strategy and Tactics Team, that related line will move first. Please attach someone stealthily beside me. I'm a non-Hunter. I need scissors to cut them off at the right time.'

So she had attached Jang Deuk-goo to Kang Mu-hyuk, masking escort as surveillance.

Just as Kang Mu-hyuk had anticipated, Tae Soo-man, the Strategy and Tactics Team line, bit the bait first. Although one step late, the remaining two lines moved as well.

Up to here, everything was fine. They had been forewarned, after all.

'But the next topic is about guild relocation? Isn't that a bit of a leap?'

Ju Se-ah was suspicious.

"Cough, it's not that I don't trust you, Mu-hyuk. But we don't have trust between us yet, do we? So..."

"What are you curious about?"

"I need to know roughly so we can align our words. What did you discuss with Tae Soo-man?"

"Nothing special. As I told you before, I sought his understanding regarding the change of the guild's name and the relocation."

"What? You already told him?"

Not only was she taken aback, but she was also rendered speechless.

Both matters were supposed to be carried out in secret. Quick resolution before the group could impose any sanctions.

But he had informed Tae Soo-man? Was he this reckless?

Before Ju Se-ah could regain her composure, Kang Mu-hyuk spoke first.

"I also got his promise to turn a blind eye."

"What?! He agreed to that? Just verbally?"

"Yes. When I simply stated it, he said okay. He turned out to be easier to communicate with than I expected."

Ju Se-ah felt dizzy.

'My god. Tae Soo-man being communicative? Didn't he meet some kind of doppelganger?'

She was witnessing a situation that was completely incomprehensible to her.

"Did you find any weakness to threaten him with?"

"If I had found a weakness, I wouldn't have let it end with just this."

"Just...?"

This was about changing the name of a guild representing the Taesung Group. In addition, there was a plan to relocate from Seoul, the symbol of the successful guild, to the provinces.

Normally, due to the group's pride, this wouldn't be permitted.

It was not something to dismiss as 'just.'

"How did you do it, exactly?"

"It's not 'how' that matters now. It's 'where' we're going."

"You mean you don't want to tell me?"

While Kang Mu-hyuk clearly prioritized, Ju Se-ah took it as a warning not to dig deeper.

Having given him full authority, she could not back out now, even if he led them to a disaster. She might voice her objections if he made reckless decisions, but she could not possibly thwart the course of action Kang Mu-hyuk had set in motion.

She did not have the luxury of time.

"Guild Leader Kang sure likes to do things in a hectic way. So, where are we moving to?" she asked.

"North Pocheon."

"North Pocheon? You mean..."

"Yes, Myeongseong City."

"That's a Special Activities Zone!"

Ju Se-ah cried out in surprise.

"This is like sabotaging our own guild!"

"That's correct. It needs to look as if we're ruining ourselves."

"What on earth are you talking about? Are you serious?"

"That was the condition I set with Chief Tae Soo-man."

Only then did Ju Se-ah understand why Tae Soo-man had easily approved the guild relocation.

Had it been her, she too would have welcomed a move to Myeongseong City with open arms; it was equivalent to leading oneself to ruin.

They knew very well what kind of people they were. They were the sort to rejoice at another's misfortune, they'd probably lay out a red carpet to celebrate the occasion.

'Did he infiltrate us?'

Special Activities, or 'Spec-Act' Zone.

The world map had changed significantly after the Great War era.

Countries fell to monsters, regions were razed to the ground, and a melting pot of refugees from diverse races formed.

The chaos caused by this continued to shake the international order, even 30 years later.

The Korean Peninsula also underwent such drastic changes.

North Korea collapsed, the Kaema Plateau became a monster habitat, and every year, they had to fight defensive battles at the Yalu and Tumen rivers against monsters descending from Manchuria.

Such changes occurred in various places within South Korea as well.

One of these was the Spec-Act Zone.

Areas thick with mana, as though a gate had opened, were spread out.

These were mountainous areas blended with forests - the optimal conditions for monsters to inhabit.

Myeongseong County used to be part of Pocheon City, but after the northern part of the region became a paradise for monsters, it was separated and managed as an independent administrative area.

Even when divided in half, Pocheon was the third largest municipality in Gyeonggi Province, so it remained a vast area that was difficult to fully control.

Of course, Ju Se-ah was not simply surprised because there were many monsters, and the assigned area was vast.

The 'special' in 'Special Activities' wasn't just for show.

"You know, right? Gates don't even form in Spec-Act Zones."

"I'm aware. Instead, the natural environment transforms like the inside of a gate, producing various resources."

"And why do you think guilds avoid going there despite the abundance of resources?"

"Because it's not profitable. Because no gates form. If you don't have a manufacturing line, collecting resources barely breaks even after taxes. If you're caught smuggling, your license gets suspended for a year. Chasing monsters is also inefficient because the terrain is too wide."

"And you, knowing all this, want us to go there? The other guilds at most set up a branch in  South Pocheon and circulated new Hunters for training."

Kang Mu-hyuk's expression turned grave.

"That's why the Hunters stationed in Pocheon city were subpar. As soon as they amassed some experience, they'd be taken to the main office. The occasional monsters trickling down from South Pocheon, causing havoc, were partly due to these ill-prepared Hunters. Guild Master, what do you think the duty of a Hunter is?"

"Haah--! I get what you're trying to say. Still, maintaining the guild in the Special Activities Zone is too much."

"Is it because of the promise with the Chairman?"

"Haha... You heard about it, huh? I'm sorry I didn't mention it. If I'd said this guild only had a six-month lifespan, it would have discouraged anyone from signing a contract."

He probably knew about her being the young daughter as well. His poker face suggested he was trying to ignore that fact.

Ju Se-ah decided to skip that part too.

"It's okay. I was a short-timer not too long ago myself, so I understand how desperate this situation is."

Kang Mu-hyuk seemed to feel like he had stepped on a landmine. He spoke in a soothing voice, looking at Ju Se-ah who had missed her chance to press him.

"We're not going there to fail. There are three reasons why I want to make North Pocheon the base of the guild."

"Three reasons?"

"Firstly, it's for the 45,721 citizens living in South Pocheon. Because of the Special Activities Zone, they can't sell their land, and they're trapped there, unable to leave their homes. They suffer great damage each year from monsters that slip past the watch and come down. They deserve a stable life."

"I do sympathize with them. But our going there won't make a significant difference, will it? If we move to North Pocheon, the current Hunters will all quit. If they can't earn money, we'll have to disband them anyway... Even if we move there while keeping the guild's power, we won't have the manpower to cover such a large area."

"That's where the second reason comes in. During the relocation, we can get rid of the useless opposition and the freeloaders."

Ju Se-ah let out an unintentional hollow laugh.

"Pfft! You're restructuring it like this?"

"It's a hard and unprofitable area. There are quite a few young Hunters in the guild. I'm not sure how many will follow us to a place without even entertainment facilities. The same goes for veterans who are always ready to transfer, considering their career."

"Wow, you're insane. I didn't expect you to think this way."

"It's a shift in thinking."

"If you shift once more, only the Guild Master, the Team Leader, and one guild member will remain in the guild. I doubt any Hunter would go to a place where they can't earn money, can't play, and are thrown around."

"They exist."

"They exist?"

"You said it earlier, didn't you? A training ground for newbie guild Hunters. They learn quite a bit from the hardship. That's the third reason. We will foster competent Hunters. I'm talking about Hunters who are well-equipped not only in skills but also mentally. I'll submit a separate report on that later."

Ju Se-ah heaved a deep sigh.

The intention was good, and it made sense. But it was too sentimental of a plan. Even she, still a novice Guild Master, knew that a guild couldn't be run on romance alone.

"You make it sound so easy. I'm not unaware of your abilities, Guild Leader Kang. But this seems too far... Okay, fine. Let's say everything goes according to plan. But where will you get the money to nurture these Hunters? Will you get a loan? Just so you know, the guild has no spare funds. I'm even on the verge of becoming a defaulter."

"Don't worry about the funds. I've prepared a plan for that too."

"Don't tell me you want me to work part-time? Or as a mercenary in another gate?"

"Hmm? That's not a bad idea..."

"Are you asking for a punch?"

"...but as a Guild Master, you should at least have some dignity."

Feeling anxious, Ju Se-ah casually glanced at him and asked, "I don't really trust you... but let's hear what your plan is."

"I'm thinking of applying for a local sponsorship."

"Hey, you really need a punch!"

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