Chapter 53
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Complexity of Relationships
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Oh Hyun-jung, who was in charge of conducting R’s Clan’s year-end report meeting, couldn’t easily open her mouth.
The eyes of the people staring at her seemed intent on dissecting every part of her inner thoughts. They were the kind who viewed heroes fighting darkness monsters for humanity not as guardians of mankind, but as sources of profit.
The war against the darkness monsters hadn’t ended yet, but in Hyun-jung’s eyes, the beings before her were no different from those monstrous fiends.
Even so, as the leader of R’s Clan, Hyun-jung had no choice but to bow her head to them. It was all because of their money—the Revival Stones that guaranteed the heroes’ lives, the equipment that enabled battles against darkness monsters, and the funds that attracted top-tier talent.
With her mind settled by those thoughts, Hyun-jung took a deep breath to steady herself and slowly spoke. This meeting was to announce R’s Clan’s achievements over the past year.
"...As a result, R’s Clan’s evaluation next year will likely settle around 8th place."
"8th place..."
"That’s a drop of three spots?"
The suit-clad executives of Rose Group exchanged glances and murmured among themselves. They all knew R’s Clan’s situation, so they must have anticipated the ranking drop. They might even be inwardly pleased that it could hold onto the top 10.
Perhaps because of that, the atmosphere in the meeting room wasn’t too bad. That is, except for the one woman in the center glaring sharply at Hyun-jung.
"Does that mean our clan has to give up the title of Ranker Clan?"
A young woman with dyed yellow hair spoke up. The murmurs among the executives died down in an instant. It was because the speaker was Jo Suyoung, the third-generation heir of Rose Group, ranked 69th among global conglomerates.
She wielded strong influence over R’s Clan on behalf of her conglomerate, Rose Group. In simple terms, she was like the clan’s owner.
Suyoung took a sip of coffee from her luxury designer tumbler.
"...Yes."
"And that’s all because of the incompetence of the first-string team—no, the heroes in the clan. Which means the clan leader is incompetent too, right?"
"...I apologize."
Hyun-jung bowed her head. If they knew how tough things were for the clan, they should invest properly. After Park Dayoung’s retirement, despite pleas to recruit a top Raid Leader to replace her, not only was there no investment—instead, support was cut. And the culprit was this third-gen heiress.
That wasn’t all. She’d siphoned clan funds meant for heroes for her personal use, squandering it on seducing men and living lavishly. Hyun-jung had witnessed it more than once or twice. Her name had even hit the tabloids a few times.
Enduring the woman’s barbs, Hyun-jung clenched her fists. She wanted to slap her across the face, but if she gave her any ammunition here, it would only destroy the clan she loved.
Seeing Hyun-jung like that, Rose Group’s third-gen heiress Jo Suyoung smirked.
"...Well, even if you’re incompetent, there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t just fire you on a whim."
It was Jo Eun-young, Suyoung’s mother and Rose Group’s crown princess, who had placed the then-thirty-something Oh Hyun-jung as leader of the massive R’s Clan.
With her full backing, R’s Clan had enjoyed its golden age, led by the former clan leader (now retired) and legendary Raid Leader Park Dayoung, making it Korea’s premier clan renowned worldwide. Oh Hyun-jung herself had been one of the raid members under Park Dayoung, fighting darkness monsters.
But after Jo Eun-young ascended as crown princess and focused solely on group affairs, her daughter Jo Suyoung took over as R’s owner. Far from supporting the clan, she pocketed its surplus funds. Naturally, all that burden fell on Hyun-jung.
"......"
"There must have been a reason Mother put you in that seat. Some promise with the former first-string Raid Leader?"
"Nothing like that happened."
Hyun-jung spoke with maximum composure. It irked her just to hear the name of the Raid Leader she respected come from her mouth. This woman really was bad luck. No wonder she hated these meetings...
"Fine, whatever. Since the clan’s ranking is dropping, we’ll cut support accordingly from last year. That’s only fair to everyone else, right?"
"......Understood."
It was the answer she’d expected. Next year looked even tougher than this one. With that, R’s Clan’s year-end report seemed over.
As Jo Suyoung turned to leave with her secretaries, she glanced back.
"Oh, by the way, that Raid Leader Han Minguk. Is he really worth the hype? Enough to succeed Park Dayoung?"
"He still needs time to grow, but I think he’s worth watching."
Hyun-jung gave a curt reply. Internally, she chuckled. She’d shown no interest in other heroes’ activities until now, but a male hero piqued her curiosity after all.
"Good work."
"You too, Director. Oh, wait. My schedule’s clear now—tell Jaemin and Jeongsu to wait for me at the hotel."
Suyoung waved dismissively at the bowing executives and left quickly. Once the meeting room emptied, Hyun-jung’s secretary slipped in from outside to gather the documents she’d prepared.
"Having to do this every quarter makes me feel wrinkles forming already."
"Don’t worry about it. It’s not like you have a boyfriend to show off to."
"Sigh... I’m starting to think we’re getting too close. Or is it just me?"
"Hehe. Actually, I brought a gift because I want to get even closer."
Catching Hyun-jung’s joke, the secretary handed her a steaming hot chocolate. It was just what she needed amid her stress cravings.
"Ugh, that irritating bitch. Can’t she just go somewhere else?"
Feeling a sugar rush revitalize her, Hyun-jung vented toward the door. The secretary nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Tell me about it. But if she follows in the chairman’s footsteps..."
"It’s fine. I’ll die of stress first. Whew. The chairman’s been secretly supporting injured soldiers from the darkness monster wars, and it just came out in the news recently..."
"There’s a saying: like mother, like daughter."
The problem was how perfectly it fit.
Anyway, with the year ending, contracts for three Dealers, one Healer, and one Tank from the first-string team were expiring. She needed to renew or replace them. Same for second- and third-string teams.
On top of that, with the clan’s ranking dropping next year, Hero Association Revival Stone support would shrink, and conglomerate backing was set to dwindle even more than last year.
"Can I take a vacation?"
"No. Putting off work only makes it harder."
At the secretary’s words, Hyun-jung clutched her head. Thinking of all the places money was needed already gave her a headache.
Vrooom!
Mana rippled along the long greatsword. A chunk of the dungeon monster’s flesh was sliced clean by the powerful horizontal slash. Yet the monster didn’t scream or even spill its dark blood.
It couldn’t. The one struck by the greatsword was a hologram—a mere illusory program.
"Choi Yuna! Left!!!"
"Got it!"
Late in the evening, Sojeong and Yuna were training in the training hall, syncing their movements in near-real combat drills. They had reason to sharpen their skills as Dealers.
Han Minguk, the hero drawing intense media spotlight lately. To keep up with their Raid Leader, whose leadership promised boundless potential, they needed to elevate their prowess even further.
"Training?"
As the pair sweated profusely, a woman appeared before them. Jeong Yerim, the magic Dealer from R’s Clan’s rookie 4th team GGW.
"Unnie? What brings you here this late...?"
"Eh, I was home and got anxious for no reason."
Shrugging at Yuna’s question, Yerim explained. Relaxing at home with TV or the internet, all the news was about Minguk, the rising star. Hero sites were flooding with heroes declaring they’d join R’s Clan to get into his raid team.
Of course, major clans like R’s wouldn’t recruit just anyone unable to find a home elsewhere, but the unease was real.
For now, as standout rookie Dealers, they’d made 4th team. But if their growth stalled, who knew?
Besides, their Raid Leader Han Minguk had incredibly high standards for heroes. Their current skills definitely fell short. Lost in such worries, Yerim had arrived at the clan house training hall.
"Still noisy outside?"
"Reporters are swarming, but they didn’t recognize me."
Yerim chuckled as Yuna peeked through the blinds. Yerim had used the back door on her way here, just in case, but most reporters ignored her.
"They’re interested in the Raid Leader, not us. Anyway..."
Sojeong smiled and beckoned Yerim. Join their training quickly.
"With Yerim here, the Dealer line’s complete. But the Tank and Healer suck, so stay alive on your own."
"Aggro doesn’t stick sometimes. Gotta keep checking the Hero Pad."
The two, with prior hologram experience, advised Yerim.
"Hologram training’s always like that. What version? 9.23?"
"Yeah, latest, but it’s barely different from the previous."
While Sojeong answered, Yerim stretched with her staff like doing calisthenics, sounding disappointed.
"Healer aside, a decent Tank would solve most issues..."
Her attacks, powerful punch by punch, shone when Tank aggro held firm.
"Should we call Hyun-ah unnie? She’d come right away if we call."
"Nah, it’s not that early."
As Yuna pretended to check her phone, Yerim waved her off hurriedly. A Tank like Hyun-ah would help hugely, but she didn’t need this training to follow Minguk’s leads.
Clan star prospect Hyun-ah had been a solid Tank, ranked in the 70s among rookies when joining R’s this year. But under Minguk’s guidance against hordes of monsters, her skills had improved rapidly.
Even with gear advantages, no raid wipe in [B-6] dungeons due to Tank death proved it. As a ranged Dealer, Yerim often DPS’d near Minguk during raids.
Thus, she frequently overheard his mutterings about team members’ vitals. Occasionally, he’d mumbled that Hyun-ah was pretty good.
And she was the only one in the team he’d praised. Was that why? Yerim’s expression hardened as she gripped her staff.
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