The Black Magic Stone Plot
The successful assault on the S-Class dungeon had brought a great many positive changes. Even among Gold-tier guilds and above, there were not many that had actually succeeded in clearing an S-Class dungeon. As a result, Wraith Guild stood out all the more, and the number of hunters submitting applications to join the guild increased sharply.
Among those applicants were A-Class hunters as well. There were more than ten of them, so the number was far from small.
Hyun-jun put them through a thorough screening with tests and interviews before approving their applications. With that, Wraith Guild’s long-standing problem, its shortage of A-Class hunters, was finally solved.
“You’ve met the minimum requirements for Gold-tier promotion.”
The day after he approved the A-Class applicants, Jong-seo came after him on his morning commute down the hall and reported the news.
“Already? That’s faster than I expected.”
He had ordered them to spare no expense and invest heavily in recruiting guild members and expanding the guild’s scale so they could rise to Gold tier as quickly as possible, but he had not expected progress this fast.
“The investment has been in good shape, so our guild membership has been growing steadily. And the funds secured from clearing the S-Class dungeon this time are being put to efficient use as well. We’re now ready to operate six guild raid teams.”
“What about the record?”
“Thanks to your successful clear of the S-Class dungeon, the raid achievements needed for promotion were filled in one shot. On top of that, with the additional influx of A-Class hunters, we’ve secured the membership record as well, so... if we send the official request, I think the promotion will go through immediately.”
A smile spread over Hyun-jun’s lips at Jong-seo’s report. Things seemed to be going better than expected.
“Send the request right away.”
He had nothing to think about. If Wraith Guild was promoted to Gold tier, its influence would only expand further, so there was no reason to avoid it. There was the issue of guild tax, but fortunately Hyun-jun was exempt from guild tax through his dealings with the Special Police Bureau, so it was not a problem.
“Understood. I’ll request the Gold-tier promotion procedure.”
“Good work.”
“I’ll contact you again shortly.”
After Jong-seo left, Hyun-jun opened the guild master’s office door and stepped inside to sit on the sofa. He had meant to rest for a moment before getting back to work, but that was interrupted almost immediately when Tae-min knocked and came in.
“Guild Master. An investigator from the Dungeon Management Bureau is coming today to look into Isiyeon’s death in the S-Class dungeon.”
“I remembered. Around what time did they say they’d arrive?”
In truth, he had forgotten, but Hyun-jun asked the question with complete calm. Tae-min checked the time and answered.
“They should be here in about an hour. As you know, cases that happen inside a dungeon are rarely investigated properly. This seems to be nothing more than a formal summary inquiry, so I don’t think it’ll take much of your time.”
“That’s a relief. Anything else to report?”
“Some of the A-Class hunters who came in this time want to go into the executive division. Jong-seo looked into them, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything problematic.”
The executive division was the best-treated department even among regular guild members, so despite the dangerous missions it handled, there were plenty of applicants. Of course, because it also carried out secret operations, the selection standards were strict, and even those who were chosen often weren’t assigned to anything important at first.
“I’ll give the executive division chief full authority over that.”
“Thank you.”
Tae-min was a man Hyun-jun could trust. He bowed slightly and left the guild master’s office. About an hour passed, and as reported, the investigator sent by the Dungeon Management Bureau arrived.
“Good to meet you. Please, have a seat here.”
After Hyun-jun sat on the sofa first, the investigator took the seat opposite him. Tae-min had said it was a summary inquiry and there was nothing to worry about, but thirty minutes into the questioning, Hyun-jun realized the investigator was coming at him with clear intent.
This is basically a targeted investigation.
It was an unpleasant inquiry.
“Investigator. This may take a while, so would it be all right if I sent one message?”
“I can allow that much.”
The investigator’s attitude toward Hyun-jun was irritating. He was openly provoking him as though he held the upper hand.
Fine. Let’s see who’s really in control here.
Hyun-jun sent the message and set his smartphone down. A response would come soon enough.
“Should we take a thirty-minute break?”
“We do still need to continue with a high-intensity investigation... A brief break wouldn’t be bad.”
It had been a delay tactic, but fortunately the investigator accepted it without much thought. Thirty minutes passed, and just as the investigation was about to resume, the door flew open and Song Tae-sik walked in wearing the Special Police uniform.
“W-What do you think you’re doing? The investigation was still in progress...”
“The investigation’s over. Please leave. From this point on, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Special Police Bureau.”
“What do you mean by that...”
The investigator looked utterly dumbfounded. Of course he did; a senior official from the Special Police Bureau had suddenly intervened.
“The relevant matter has already been handed over to the Special Police Bureau. You may go now, Investigator.”
Tae-sik spoke firmly. The investigator wore the expression of a dog that had chased after a chicken only to see it fly onto a roof. Watching him, Hyun-jun let a cold smile touch his mouth and spoke.
“Go on. You can leave now, Investigator. The job’s finished, isn’t it?”
That was the final nail in the coffin. This was what connections meant.
“I-I’ll be heading out now, then.”
The investigator retreated obediently without another word. He seemed to have no desire to stand against an S-Class hunter holding a senior post in the Special Police Bureau. After the investigator left, Tae-sik turned his gaze to Hyun-jun.
“I was just about to contact you anyway.”
“Looks like you got some information.”
“Yes. Very interesting information, in fact. Something Kang Hyun-jun will find amusing as well. By the way, may I sit?”
When Hyun-jun nodded, Tae-sik gave a faint smile and sat down on the sofa.
“Through wiretapping results, we detected movement suggesting someone is trying to forcibly trigger a raid situation on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.”
“Forcibly trigger a raid? Is that even possible?”
In common usage, a raid referred to a dimensional rift opening outside rather than a dungeon itself. Interfering with dimensions required an extremely high level of mana, and the official position was that even Drake, the British SSS-Class hunter, could not do it.
“The information is limited, so we can’t be certain yet, but they say it may not be impossible if that so-called Black Magic Stone is involved.”
Unfortunately, that was the limit of what Tae-sik could say. Information on the Black Magic Stone was extremely restricted. The Special Police Bureau had secured a few and was studying them, but analysis was proving difficult.
“So you don’t really know much.”
Hyun-jun said it as a question, though it sounded more like he was pressing the point. Tae-sik did not seem offended in the slightest. It was all true, after all.
“At this point, all we’ve managed to determine is that the Black Magic Stone’s mechanism is similar to black magic. That’s why we believe they’re planning to trigger a raid and lure in civilian casualties.”
“Have you pinpointed the location?”
“Only as far as the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province for now. The exact site doesn’t seem to have been decided yet.”
The explanation was sufficient. Hyun-jun waved his hand, signaling Tae-sik to get to the point. Fortunately, Tae-sik understood and spoke with a calm expression.
“Because of a secret operation, I and the Special Police Bureau’s main force are unable to be deployed elsewhere right now. So we’d like Kang Hyun-jun and Lee Jin-a to subdue whoever is using the Black Magic Stone before the raid occurs.”
“Does the Special Police Bureau’s main force that can’t move include Lee Seon-woo’s Vigilante Group?”
It was a sharp question. Lee Seon-woo, one of the Six Guardians, was an S-Class support hunter whose personal combat power was lacking compared to the others, but to make up for that, he had formed his own private combat unit, the Vigilante Group, on the condition that he work with the Special Police Bureau. He was not formally under the bureau in the same way Tae-sik was, but more like a hired mercenary.
“Lee Seon-woo and the Vigilante Group are already moving as well.”
“Then the situation must be more serious than I thought.”
At Hyun-jun’s question, Tae-sik answered with a nod instead of words. If even the notoriously heavy-acting Vigilante Group was being mobilized, it would not be an exaggeration to say that every available Special Police Bureau force had been committed.
“Subduing them won’t be difficult. But what if we’re too late and a raid does occur? I’m planning to deploy guild forces, but in that case it could become a guild-level intervention without priority rights, and that might create legal issues.”
He had no intention of going alone into a wide-area search-and-suppression operation. He planned to move with a few executive members, but if a raid occurred and a lawsuit was filed over guild intervention, then without priority rights Wraith Guild would lose, since it would not be the designated local special district.
“You don’t need to worry about that. We’ll handle it on our end.”
“What about priority rights revenue? Are you giving us that too?”
There was no reason to hunt demons for free. If there was a favorable settlement rate, that would make things easier, and Hyun-jun made the request without hesitation.
“Of course. We’ll apply the priority-rights settlement ratio.”
He had said it half without expecting anything, but Tae-sik nodded readily, more than willing to agree.
The Special Police Bureau seems to be more desperate than I thought.
The fact that even Lee Seon-woo and the Vigilante Group had been mobilized already suggested as much, but accepting the priority-rights request made it certain.
I could ask for even better terms, but...
Hyun-jun shook his head slightly and let go of the thought. He was not so depraved that he would bargain with people’s lives.
“I’ll accept the proposal.”
He did not take long to decide.
Thank goodness.
Tae-sik felt relief. The Special Police Bureau was currently in no position to spare manpower, so even if Hyun-jun had demanded more, they would have had no choice but to accept. Seeing that he would not toy with human lives made Tae-sik think even more highly of him. There was one person, or rather one sword, who took issue with Hyun-jun’s decision.
-How unexpected. I thought my master would use those lives as hostages to get better terms...
After finishing the briefing, Tae-sik left with a promise to contact him again. Hyun-jun then slowly opened his mouth to answer Jiokchammado.
“So you’re disappointed?”
-No. I don’t hate it.
“Then that’s a relief.”
At Jiokchammado’s answer, Hyun-jun let out a faint laugh.