Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Lightning Flash (2)
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Infinite Guild.
Scout team office.
"Aaahhh!"
A woman let out a furious scream, unable to contain her rage.
Team members from the scout department poked their heads over the cubicle walls like meerkats.
They exchanged glances while checking on their fuming team leader, Hong Sua.
'...This one's pretty intense.'
'At least ten minutes.'
'Nah, she's pulling at her hair too.'
'Twenty, then.'
'...Go?'
'Go for it.'
With the agreement reached, the team members ducked their heads and quietly slipped out of the office.
Watching them go, Deputy Team Leader Im Taehyeon let out a soft sigh.
"Those accounting team cheapskates!"
Leaving the raging Hong Sua behind, Im Taehyeon headed to the break room and pulled out the items he'd prepared for times like this.
"Hey! What the hell?! Where'd everybody go?!"
Im Taehyeon approached the seething Hong Sua and handed her a carton of sweet chocolate milk with a straw poked in.
"They must've stepped out for a break."
Slurp—Gulp.
Hong Sua downed it in one go and shot Im Taehyeon an irritated glare.
"Look at this! Does this make any sense?"
The documents she thrust out detailed the salary contracts for Han Juyeong and Cha Gangju—the only ones shot down by accounting with a flat "Denied."
The reason? Signing bonuses too high.
"It doesn't, not at all."
Agreeing with her, he peeled open a chocolate bar and offered it.
Crunch crunch.Gulp.
"They beg us to bring 'em in, and now that we have? 'Signing bonus too much?' Screw that!"
"They're total jerks."
Im Taehyeon cracked open a can of coffee and passed it over.
Gulp gulp.
"Hoo..."
After her outburst, Hong Sua caught her breath.
"Feeling calmer now?"
"......I wasn't even that mad."
Hong Sua averted her eyes as she replied.
Sure you weren't.
Im Taehyeon thought to himself that sugar and caffeine really were the best sedatives, then glanced at the documents she'd been staring at.
And spotted something interesting.
"Huh? Both of them survived the Second Bloody Day?"
"Yeah. Weird coincidence, right?"
Hong Sua brushed back her hair, her temper cooling as she answered.
"And they're both A-rank. Makes you wonder if that rumor’s true."
"What rumor?"
"You know, the one about people awakening with higher ranks after surviving big incidents. Maybe that's why four A-ranks popped up this time. Well, minus the one Homunculus. Could be the Second Bloody Day effect."
"Maybe, maybe not. No solid stats to back it up."
"Mm. True."
Im Taehyeon set the documents down and, as if struck by a thought, asked,
"Speaking of, any word from that guy?"
He meant Kim Gunja.
"Nope. Said he'd get back to us, but radio silence."
"You think he just used us?"
"Dunno. Didn't seem the type..."
At Im Taehyeon's words, Hong Sua suddenly recalled what Kim Gunja had said.
— I've heard you're the kind of person who always puts hunters' rights first, no matter the situation.
"Nah, can't be because of that..."
Any thought of renegotiating Han Juyeong and Cha Gangju's salaries vanished.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Let's go."
"Go where?"
"Where else? Accounting."
"...You're gonna fight them?"
"Duh."
"I'm no good in a fight."
"You think I'm letting my deputy bail while the team leader charges enemy territory?"
"...Give me ten minutes. Gotta prep some solid data to shove in their faces."
She was asking for time to get ready.
The battle-hungry Hong Sua replied firmly.
"Five."
"Got it."
"They think they can slash the signing bonuses for hunters I brought in? Dream on. They're dead meat."
Im Taehyeon couldn't help a small smile at Hong Sua's fiery resolve.
Her dedication to the hunters under her watch was always endearing.
The Eighth Team, positioned on a hillock, wore grim expressions.
"The goblin commander's solid chain of command is bad enough, but the shamans are the real issue."
Everyone nodded at Team Leader Gil Jiho's words.
Goblin shamans had the power to enrage other goblins.
Enraged goblins fought harder, ignored pain, and were a nightmare to deal with.
"If it were open terrain, we could manage, but a fortress...?"
Gil Jiho's gaze drifted to the crude wooden fortress below.
Hastily built from timber, but unmistakably a defensive structure with intent.
With the goblin commander's leadership and shaman support from behind, casualties would mount.
Fatalities weren't out of the question.
"Commander's got them on high alert, so no ambushes. Leaves us with a frontal assault. This hunt's gonna be rough."
Deputy Team Leader Choi Dohyeok's assessment drew a shallow sigh and nod from Gil Jiho.
That was when Kim Gunja raised his hand.
"Got an idea?"
"Way to take out the shamans first."
The hunters' eyes widened.
A way to hit the shamans holed up in the fortress first?
Gil Jiho sounded surprised too, his tone pitching up.
"For real?"
"Yes."
"Lay it out."
Kim Gunja explained his plan methodically.
The hunters' faces shifted from surprise to admiration to outright shock.
Gil Jiho summed it up for them.
"You're insane."
Kim Gunja offered a faint smile.
He probably wasn't wrong.
But it was the most effective, efficient method.
Bonus: it'd clear the quest too.
Gil Jiho eyed him.
"You really think it's doable?"
"Yes."
"How can you be so sure?"
A loaded question.
Kim Gunja paused before answering.
"It's my ability, so I know better than anyone..."
"That's not it."
Gil Jiho shook his head.
Then asked seriously,
"How can you trust us like that? Your plan leaves you exposed once the job's done—stranded in the most dangerous spot. If we turn on you even a little, you're dead. You know that?"
Ah, that's what he meant.
Kim Gunja answered calmly.
"Who else am I supposed to trust, then?"
"......What?"
"If I can't trust the teammates I entered the gate with, who can I? The goblins up ahead? Or some random Slayer who might pop out?"
Gil Jiho went silent for a beat.
Kim Gunja's retort made him realize how stupid his question had been.
Gil Jiho clenched his fist tight, saying nothing.
He was mortified.
Kim Gunja continued.
"If we sync up right, we can clear this gate with minimal losses."
"......You sure you can hold out?"
"Of course. Maybe that multi-opponent training yesterday was prep for this."
Kim Gunja cracked a grin.
But the hunters didn't laugh.
They stared at him, swept up in some profound emotion.
As Kim Gunja scratched his head awkwardly,
"We'll be there on time, no matter what. Even if it costs our lives."
"That'd be a problem. If you die, Team Leader, I'm done for too."
He tried another joke to lighten the mood, but no dice.
'Never thought I'd miss Chunduk-hyung's reactions...'
Kim Gunja wryly reminded himself jokes needed an audience.
Dusk had fallen.
Torches lit up the goblin fortress, illuminating the surroundings.
The Eighth Team approached in three groups, silent as shadows.
Kim Gunja stood alone atop the hill, watching. He chuckled softly.
'Feels like I'm the commander.'
The plan was simple.
Eighth Team assaults the fortress noisily, drawing all eyes.
As goblins swarm to defend,
Shadow Walker straight to the lightly guarded shamans—full speed takedown.
Smooth sailing so far.
'The trouble starts after.'
Shamans were near the goblin commander, elite guards in tow.
Success meant exposure to commander and elites.
Deep in enemy lines.
Alone.
But it would disrupt goblin command.
Without commander orders or shaman buffs, regular goblins couldn't match the coordinated team.
The issue: time.
Could he hold until backup?
'Customizing Room's a last resort...'
He hoped he wouldn't need it.
No real reason to push himself if not for the quest.
Why'd it trigger now?
'Special quest, huh...'
Waiting for night to use Shadow Walker, Kim Gunja pondered.
Why Shadow Lord Stein gave him this quest.
He spotted hints in the description.
Keywords: dissatisfaction and true.
Shadow Lord Stein.
Why gripe about his moves?
And true shadow arts?
He'd used them well, he thought.
Instant kill on the necromancer in the sea gate. Smart retreats against monkeys in the mountains.
But Stein said no—that wasn't true might.
'What'd I miss...?'
Shadow Lord Stein.
In Customizing Room, choosing perks let him glimpse Stein's life—like Ma Ilcheon's right arm.
Orphan in slums to reaper of battlefields to Shadow Lord.
Ma Ilcheon's sword was霸道, profound insight. Stein's was artful, precise.
Like...
Not battle, but a perfectly scripted play.
But,
'He can't expect that from me.'
That required advanced Shadow Arts and Body.
'I'm only 1-star...'
Kim Gunja's face blanked.
'Scripted play?'
Meaning Stein's every move was calculated.
Then it hit—the quest details.
Why deep in enemy lines?
Why four?
Why four seconds?
'Because Shadow Walker's limit is four jumps...'
Customizing Room never demanded the impossible.
Right.
Level didn't matter.
Stein gave overflowing hints.
Shadow Arts aren't just mobility.
Calculate every path under the shadows. Plan it.
Put enemies beneath your feet!
Stein’s true message thundered in Kim Gunja's mind.
— Draw it! Your own movement lines! Prove no one under the shadows can touch you!
[Stein’s Left Leg Sync Rate → Lv 3]
[Shadow Arts (術) → 3★]
[Shadow Body (體) → 3★]
Enlightened, Kim Gunja looked downslope.
Battle had begun.
Goblins swarmed the team; shamans' area deserted.
Hiss!
He infused mana into portable mana stones and hurled them.
Boom! Boom!
Pre-planted stones on the hill detonated in sequence.
Roar!
Flames roared over dry grass, birthing a massive inferno.
Kim Gunja's shadow, backlit by flickering fire atop the hill, stretched long over the fortress.
His cold gaze pierced the shadows, locking on writhing foes below.
Imaginary lines connected them.
One, two, three, four.
Lines to the shamans merged into one winding path.
Not straight—curving.
Black mana surged; dark haze rose from his left foot.
One step.
Moonlight cleaved, his form gliding gracefully through the shamans in a single breath.
One step, one slash.
Four goblin shaman heads floated serenely into the night sky.
Peaceful to the last.
"Kreek...?"
Goblin commander and elites zeroed in on the sudden intruder.
Under their stares, Kim Gunja felt... off.
This was danger.
Yet.
His pounding heart thrilled, not tensed.
Overwhelmingly.
Shadow Lord Stein.
Paying homage to his mastery, Kim Gunja faced the commander and guards.
He needed to vent this thrill.
So.
Leveling his sword at the commander, he smirked slowly.
"Don't wanna come? Should I come to you?"
Did they understand?
Commander and elites roared and charged.
Kim Gunja's eyes settled calmly.
Not a flicker of doubt.