Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Gangbuk Faction Boss Yang Taesik
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Black Tortoise Guild —
Guild Master Han Cheol-yong had summoned S-Rank Hunter Han Chaewon.
"Your dungeon clears have been lackluster lately."
"I'm sorry, Uncle. I've just been off my game..."
"Call me Guild Master here."
Han Chaewon was the only bloodline left behind by his late younger brother, who had died in an accident.
To Han Chaewon, Han Cheol-yong was as good as a father.
"You're a pro among pros. And for pros, physical condition is no excuse. You get what I mean, right?"
"Yes, Guild Master. I'll maintain peak condition at all times."
"Good. The reason I called you today is..."
He got straight to the point with Han Chaewon.
It was about the male awakener Na Woojin, as proposed by the Hunter Agency.
"Cha Yona requested it specifically, so we can't just brush it off. Oh Yeonseo went in with him and found nothing special, so check your schedule and take him along sometime."
"Me? With a guy?"
"Yeah. It'll save face if you bring Blue along. They seem eager for you to uncover his abilities, so observe him closely. If he's awakened, there has to be something different about him."
Na Woojin's astonishing ability wasn't recorded in the clearance log.
Oh Yeonseo, who wanted to monopolize him, had hidden the truth.
She had only told him to make him an accomplice.
It was such an embarrassing power that she couldn't even tell her guild master, family or not.
After bowing and leaving, Han Chaewon let out a sigh.
She was afraid of dropping out like Oh Yeonseo, who had gone in with him.
"It was addictive enough back then... Can I handle feeling it again?"
She was already worried about fooling the sharp-eyed guild master.
I wasn't sure how he got my number, but the silver-tongued boss called.
"I sincerely apologize for last time. I have a favor to ask, so please meet with me."
I didn't feel like it, but his promise of generous compensation without hard feelings got me out the door right away.
A gangster boss who unified Gangbuk wouldn't skimp on the payout.
[Future Capital]
Figures guys with no future would name it something like that.
I took the elevator up, and from the office entrance, the goons bowed their heads.
"Boss, you're here!"
Why the hell am I your boss? The words nearly escaped my throat.
Not wanting to show it, I just nodded and headed inside.
"So, what's the favor?"
I cut straight to it the moment I sat on the sofa.
The stuffy atmosphere made me not want to linger.
"Have a cool drink first. This is something really rare."
He blabbed about some mix of fruits and premium stuff, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Still, the pretty color and condensation on the glass made it look tempting.
What to do? Just then, a soft breeze brushed my cheek.
｢There's something in this. You'll get sleepy if you drink it.｣
Sylph's voice rang in my ear.
'You can tell that too?'
｢Anything inside a gate resonates with spirits. I can sense whatever the air touches.｣
I'd acquired a radar with insane range.
Anywhere there's air, at least.
｢Water's covered by me, so no worries there.｣
｢I'll handle earth.｣
The great spirits truly were all-purpose.
This gangster bastard was trying to drug me.
I was about to flip the table when Undine spoke up.
｢You look thirsty. Go ahead and drink. I'll neutralize it the moment it hits.｣
'You can do that?'
｢Of course. I'll collect it in your bladder, so just pee it out later.｣
A light bulb went off in my head.
I'd just thought of a way to screw over this smirking prick.
I grabbed the glass and chugged it, my lips curling into a grin.
"Ahh, hits the spot."
I casually scanned the office without a word, and his expression turned weird.
"What's the holdup? Pour me another."
"Y-Yes? Right away..."
A goon came in with a glass.
I drank it and asked for one more.
I downed three in a row like that, then wiped my mouth.
The last one, I only half-finished, saving it for something special.
"What're you waiting for? Gotta take a shit?"
I snapped at the fidgeting bastard.
"Or is it weird that I'm not collapsing after chugging all that?"
His eyes bulged like they might pop out.
The leftover drink in the glass congealed like jelly, shot into the air, and straight into the mouth of the goon by the door.
"Gahk! Cough cough...!!"
He clutched his throat, gagging, then collapsed to the floor.
The boss who had offered me the drink went pale as a ghost.
The walls rippled, stretching out to cover the office door and windows.
Like a sewer backup, water gushed from the break room sink.
Dozens of water orbs formed, enveloping the faces of every goon in the office.
They rolled on the floor, gurgling without even a scream.
"I told you I could use magic outside gates too, didn't I? Guess my words didn't sink in. I'll make you suffer way worse than drowning."
He trembled violently and prostrated himself, grabbing my pant leg.
"B-B-B-Boss... pleeeease... I swear, this wasn't my idea..."
Tears and snot streamed down as he rubbed his face on my pants.
Disgusting.
"The Church put you up to it?"
His eyes went wide as saucers.
The look of How did you know?
"What'd they say? Knock me out and drag me in?"
"Th-That..."
The floor tiles rose, wrapping around his feet.
"Gaaaaah!!"
"One more time. What exactly did the Church say?"
Finally, he spilled everything.
The Church said they'd handle it, so drug me and toss me into an unregistered gate.
They had several such hidden gates.
"If I didn't join the Church, there was no saving my daughter... Ugh... I've committed a mortal sin."
The silver-tongued boss had used the Church's power to kill an A-Rank hunter trying to oust him.
With the minister—his father—investigating the case, without the Church's protection, he was as good as dead.
A two-bit gangster couldn't stand against national power and chaebols.
"So you tried to sell me out instead of your daughter?"
"I didn't know you were such a great mage... Please, just once, spare me. I'll devote my life to you, Mage. Anything you command, I'll do it. Please..."
He banged his forehead bloody against the floor.
Killing him right here would be easy.
'Too wasteful to just kill him, though.'
He'd defied me twice, but cut the Church's strings, and he'd never dream of rebelling.
'A gangster who unified Gangbuk could be useful.'
I decided to show mercy for now and see how he acted.
The Church pulling his strings to drag me in pissed me off more than him.
'Parasites leeching off gates dare mess with someone chosen by a gate?'
Like parasites rebelling against the host.
The thought boiled my blood.
[That's only natural for an emperor. You can't let climbers live.]
'Is this the Yin Energy's influence too?'
[Your emperor's nature, chosen by the gate, is awakening. Show them exactly what happens to those who defy the emperor.]
Her constant egging me on felt off, but I definitely was changing.
Not just the urge to possess women, but my anger toward anything bothersome was growing too.
Until now, I'd just thought of the Church as bad guys, but not anymore.
They were the ones manipulating gangsters to take me out.
I didn't know how deep it went, but I'd smash every one I found.
Something more would turn up eventually.
They'd pay dearly for messing with me.
"Listen up from now on."
"Yes, yes, Mage. Of course."
"Drop the mage crap—it annoys me. Just call me Boss."
"Yes, Boss."
After getting owned twice, the big lug turned meek as a lamb.
"What's your name?"
Come to think of it, I didn't even know this bastard's name.
"Me? Taesik. Yang Taesik."
His gang was the easy-to-remember Gangbuk Faction.
"What do you know about the Church? Spill it."
The Church had four branches in Seoul alone.
Gangnam, Gangbuk, Gangdong, Gangseo branches, and the Gangbuk Faction belonged to the Gangbuk branch.
"I take orders from the Gangbuk branch chief. Above him are the elders, vice leader, and the leader himself, but I've never even seen their faces."
Below the branches, it was a strict cell structure—nobody knew each other.
He'd sent his boys to uncover other believers' identities but came up empty.
Yang Taesik had made some effort to break free from the Church.
'Tighter security than I thought.'
With the Church's help, he'd massively expanded his turf in a year and earned the branch chief's trust with huge tithes.
"My daughter's a hostage, so no choice now, but I can't stay tied to a cult forever. I figured if the minister lost power, I'd find a way out."
He was playing loyal while preparing an exit.
"From now on, my loyalty's to you, Boss. Use your power to free me from the Church."
He slammed his head into the ground again.
With a debt like this, he wouldn't betray me.
He knew death awaited the moment he did.
"Where were they telling you to take me?"
"There's a container warehouse owned by the Church at Incheon Port. Gate's there."
The Church was hiding gates on private property too.
Catch whoever was waiting there to process me, and I'd have the next link.
"Round up a few guys. We've got work to do."
I texted Nayeong to get ready—I'd pick her up.
Head to the gate, smash the Church goons, clear the boss to level her up. Two birds with one stone.