The Guild War Begins
The day of the guild war had finally arrived. The Wraith Guild members entered the Colosseum with tense expressions, though Tae-min at least looked composed, and Hyun-jun’s face was calm to the point of eerie serenity.
“You don’t need to be nervous. Guild Leader will handle everything.”
Tae-min spoke up. He knew Hyun-jun’s strength, but the others did not. Even after his encouragement, the heavy air filling the waiting room refused to lift.
“This atmosphere is excellent!”
The door flew open, and a man in an Echo Guild insignia strode in uninvited, all but barking as he spoke. At the sight of him, Hyun-jun’s expression twisted like that of a demon. Showing up in the opposing waiting room before a guild war was already beyond the bounds of basic courtesy. From the very first sentence, he had been sneering, so there was no way anyone here could have taken it well.
“Trying to pull some crap like this...” Tae-min started to step forward, but Hyun-jun raised a hand to stop him. Tae-min obeyed at once; Hyun-jun was no longer merely his senior, but his superior. He nodded and took a step back, though he did not let his guard down in case the Echo Guild member decided to do something reckless.
“Get out.”
He kept his eyes fixed on the Echo Guild member as he spoke.
“And why should I? I’m an Echo Guild member, but I’m also assisting in the administration of this guild war. I just came to check on preparations for a moment.”
“I’ll say this nicely once. Keep acting like this, and I’ll have no choice but to get rough with you.”
“A mere C-Class Hunter, and yet you’ve got the cheek to strut around like the boss of some tiny little guild. I’d say you’ve got no idea where you stand. I’m B-Class, you know.”
The Echo Guild member, who had just announced himself as a B-Class Hunter, let his killing intent seep out with a faint smile. Whether he had deliberately heightened it or not, the faces of the Wraith Guild members in the waiting room turned pale. Only Hyun-jun and Tae-min remained unchanged.
“Enough.”
Hyun-jun’s voice was cold as he swept his hand. The Echo Guild member’s killing intent scattered into the air. Seeing the murderous aura he had released vanish with a single gesture, the man’s eyes widened in shock.
He took down my killing intent? Is this really a C-Class Hunter?
But the surprise did not end there. Hyun-jun drew up his own killing intent.
Ripper’s cruel killing intent awakens. A portion of the lethal aura is released.
With the voice came a murderous aura pouring out from his entire body. It was thicker, denser, and infinitely more lethal than what the Echo Guild member had just unleashed.
“K-kh...!”
The moment he faced that killing intent, an indescribable terror seized him. It felt like staring down into a dark, bottomless abyss.
Thud.
The strength drained from his legs, and he collapsed to the floor. A fear with no visible end rendered him utterly powerless.
“Get lost.”
That was enough instruction, Hyun-jun decided. He had entertained the thought of killing the man outright, but there were far too many eyes on him.
“Aaaah!”
The Echo Guild member fled screaming, and Hyun-jun watched his retreating back, lost in thought.
Was I really this bad...
He was surprised that he had briefly considered killing him. The more deeply his synchronization with his past lives grew, the less sensitive he became to the act of murder.
“Everyone, calm down.”
He looked at the guild members in the waiting room and spoke. Perhaps because they had just seen him overwhelm a B-Class Hunter with killing intent, the way the guild members looked at him had changed from before.
It was trust.
“We’ll put our faith in Guild Leader!”
They all shouted together, as if of one mind. Hyun-jun nodded with a satisfied expression.
“It’ll all work out.”
The C-Class Hunters gathered here were, after all, only names on the guild war roster. Still, there was no harm in having the right atmosphere. With the mood reversed, a light knock sounded at the door, and someone cautiously poked their head into the waiting room.
It was not another intruder. This time it was a genuine guild war staff member. His eyes moved as he swept the inside of the waiting room, checking whether everyone was present.
“The guild war will begin in thirty minutes. Participants should move to Field 4.”
“Understood.”
At the staff member’s words, Tae-min nodded and led the guild members, together with Hyun-jun, toward Field 4.
“There are a lot of spectators.”
He had occasionally heard talk of guild wars within hunter communities, and from what he knew, unless the dispute involved major guilds, the stands were usually more than half empty. Bronze-tier guild wars in particular often had spectators so sparse that, aside from guild officials, entire sections were empty. Yet the stands at Field 4 were filled with a considerable number of people.
Tae-min nodded at Hyun-jun’s comment and swept the stands with a sharp gaze. It wasn’t just that there were many people. A fair number of skilled Hunters were mixed in as well. The reason was not hard to guess.
It’s because of Kang Hyun-jun.
He was no fool. He had also heard from various sources that several powerful figures had quietly begun watching Hyun-jun lately.
“It’s proof that hunter society is paying attention to Guild Leader.”
Tae-min said. Hyun-jun merely nodded in response. Before long, they had reached the bench at the corner of the field. The staff member who had accompanied them could be seen reporting something by radio.
Hyun-jun stood beside the bench and looked out over the stands. Before long, he spotted So-jin gazing this way with worried eyes. Around her were the two Enforcement Division Hunters Tae-min had assigned as guards. When So-jin waved, Hyun-jun answered with a small smile.
“The guild war will begin in five minutes. Participant Number 1, please move onto the field.”
The staff member approached and spoke. Participant Number 1 was Tae-min. He exchanged a brief look with Hyun-jun, then stepped onto the field. On Echo’s side, one of their staff-holding Hunters also appeared on the field.
Three minutes remaining. All participants, please remain at your current positions.
The host’s voice flowed from the speakers installed around the field. The rules had already been explained and understood in the waiting room, so now only the real contest remained.
From this moment, the guild war will begin under the supervision of the Dispute Mediation Committee of the Guild Affairs Bureau. Wraith’s first participant is B-Class combat Hunter Kim Tae-min. And Echo’s first participant is B-Class magic Hunter Seo Jin-su.
At the host’s declaration, Tae-min and Jin-su each raised their weapons. Tae-min moved first. He drew and threw a dagger, disrupting Jin-su’s casting as he closed the distance in an instant.
“Shield.”
The dagger Tae-min had thrown was blocked by the defensive spell Jin-su summoned. But the dagger throw was nothing more than a feint and a distraction. While Jin-su was casting his defensive magic, Tae-min appeared behind him and poured mana into his short sword. A brief Aura Blade surged from the blade.
“Fire Blade.”
Jin-su did not stand idle either. As his upper-tier spell completed, a flame-laced blade formed on his staff. The Aura Blade and Fire Blade collided, scattering fragments of mana in every direction.
Jin-su was among the more capable magic-type Hunters in close combat, but against Tae-min, a combat-type Hunter and an Enforcement Division member who had seen plenty of real battles, he was steadily forced back.
“Kraaah! I-I surrender!”
The mana-coated dagger flashed, and a line of blood sprayed out. Jin-su pressed a hand to the side of his body, where the blade had cut him, trying to stop the bleeding as he shouted in haste. Taking a life was forbidden in a guild war, but the line was not precise. Hunters died in guild wars with no small frequency, and Jin-su knew that well, which was why he had hurriedly surrendered.
“Stop the match!”
With a sharp voice, the referee rushed in and blocked Tae-min’s advance. To prevent accidents, the referees for guild wars were also composed of Hunters of B-Class or higher.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
At the referee’s intervention, Tae-min withdrew his short sword and stepped back. Since he had never gotten along with Echo to begin with, he looked regretful that he had not been able to use the incident as cover and end the man’s life.
We’ll begin the second round soon. Participant Number 1, Hunter Kim Tae-min, please remain at the starting position.
The host’s voice came over the speakers, and Tae-min returned to the starting line. Then Echo’s second participant stepped onto the field. He was also a B-Class Hunter.
Another one-on-one match began, and Tae-min won again. But the injuries were serious enough that continuing would be impossible. From the start, Tae-min had only promised to fight through the second round. He had done his part. Hyun-jun signaled for him to surrender. Tae-min did not stubbornly refuse. He declared his surrender and stepped down from the field.
Wraith’s second participant, Hunter Kang Hyun-jun, and Echo’s third participant, Hunter Han Sang-hyun, please enter the field.
At last, the time had come. Hyun-jun took his sword and shield from his spatial pocket and walked onto the field. As he appeared, the spectators who had been wearing bored expressions brightened and turned their attention fully to him. From the very beginning, their interest had been fixed on Kang Hyun-jun.
“That’s Kang Hyun-jun?”
“He doesn’t look that strong...”
“If this gets boring, I’m leaving.”
Hyun-jun could not hear them, but various conversations drifted through the stands.
The one-on-one match will begin now.
The moment the host finished speaking, Hyun-jun drew up his mana and manifested his blessings.
Carthago’s righteous shield protects you. So long as the great protection stands with you, nothing can threaten you.
Sidenmiller’s valiant sword stands with you. So long as righteous courage does not break, the sword shall not break.
Aura gathered around the sword and shield. Since the participant list could no longer be changed anyway, he intended to show everything he had.
“An Aura user?”
“So the rumors were true?”
“This is getting interesting.”
The once-quiet stands began to stir. Even those who had been unable to stomach the boredom and were about to leave sat back down after witnessing the clear sheen of Aura.
“I never thought he’d be an Aura user...”
Han Sang-hyun, Echo’s participant, hefted a greatsword that suited his massive frame and studied Hyun-jun. Sang-hyun was not an Aura user. But he also knew that being an Aura user did not automatically grant absolute superiority, so he did not flinch. Instead, he closed the distance toward Hyun-jun.
Here he comes.
Hyun-jun raised his shield, his gaze cold as frost. Sang-hyun lunged toward Hyun-jun’s left in a flash. It was a speed that hardly seemed possible for someone carrying a greatsword nearly his own height.
“Die!”
Confidence rang in Sang-hyun’s voice. He seemed to think Hyun-jun had been caught off guard. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. There had simply been no need to react first.
Carthago’s protection unleashes righteous retaliation. The unwavering shield becomes a sharp spear, striking at your enemy.
With the blessing activated, Hyun-jun brought the shield down against the storming greatsword.
Bang!
The collision produced not only a deafening roar that seemed to tear at the ears, but also a shower of Aura fragments from the Aura Shield, sharp as blades.
“Kraaaah!”
With a scream, Sang-hyun’s body was shredded like a rag. It happened so fast that even the referee had no time to intervene.
“W-what the hell just happened...?”
The spectators were swept up in shock and fear as well.