Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Guild Raid System Introduction
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―The National Hunter Association that's been maintained in Korea will now evolve into the International Hunter Association. The Han and Light Guilds will operate as the key guilds affiliated with the International Hunter Association. In the current situation where gate phenomena have become an international problem, the representatives from each country—and I agree with them—believe that resolving these gate phenomena should also be approached on an international level.
Lee Ru-ri poked Han Seung-woo in the side.
Han Seung-woo gave her a faint smile before turning his gaze back to Han Ho.
―Just now, we've signed an agreement that once hunters awaken in greater numbers in each country, they'll select their main guilds, and in the event of gate incidents like this one, they'll enable rapid cooperation for swift responses.
Han Seung-woo asked a question.
“Then what happens to the National Hunter Association?”
―You could say it's essentially been absorbed into the International Hunter Association.
“Is this accepted at the national level?”
―There was some friction, of course, but they've ultimately entrusted gate and hunter management entirely to me, so they've accepted it. And within this month, we'll expand the hunter system Korea has been using to the entire world. Once that's settled, we'll formally introduce the guild raid system.
Lee Sang-chun interrupted Han Ho's words with a question.
“Hold on, what's this guild raid system?”
―It came up in discussions due to the monster discovered in Korea this time. My judgment is that we can't let guilds tackle gates in a support format like before when there's zero information on these massive monsters that exceed S-rank levels. So, the plan is to allow entire guild members to raid the same gate multiple times. That means granting control authority over that gate as well.
“So all the work the National Hunter Association has been doing will now shift entirely to individual guilds.”
Everyone fell silent at Han Seung-woo's words.
Once the National Hunter Association transformed into the International Hunter Association, all the accumulated complaints and issues would fall squarely on the guilds' shoulders.
Yet no one could easily object.
There simply wasn't any alternative that could overturn Han Ho's decision.
―We've bought ourselves some time to prepare, at least. Exactly one month. After primary hunter awakening operations in each country, a full re-judgment of all hunters' ranks will take place a month from now.
Kwon Dong-nyeon asked back.
“Re-judgment?”
―For Korea, the International Hunter Association requested that we quickly adjust positions and ranks starting with those awaiting promotion. Once we set the rank thresholds, the other countries will align their hunter ranks accordingly.
“It doesn't seem like you'll proceed with the old methods.”
Han Seung-woo raised a doubt at Han Ho's words.
―Spot on. Now that the scope has expanded from crew activities to guild activities, individual positions have lost their meaning. We'll maintain the previous position judgments, but we need clearer metrics.
“Please be straightforward so there's no confusion.”
Everyone tensed up at Han Seung-woo's sharp words, quietly awaiting Han Ho's response.
Han Ho smiled faintly and switched the screen.
―This was additionally finalized at the meeting where the agreement was made. It's still top secret, but I'll disclose it in advance.
Kwon Dong-nyeon and Lee Sang-chun exchanged glances.
Han Seung-woo kept his eyes fixed on the screen without wavering.
His clenched fist looked like he was suppressing anger.
Watching Han Seung-woo's expression, Lee Ru-ri felt an overwhelming discomfort in that moment.
'The atmosphere is seriously no joke. This is awkward... I wanna run away.'
The metric Han Ho revealed was utterly ridiculous.
The old system divided positions by equipment types into defense, attack, and support.
Now, awakened hunters would select their own equipment, and their position name would be determined by how proficiently they wielded it.
Ranks would unify the lowest as E-grade, with promotion thresholds leaping far higher than before.
―And for this metric to be accepted without issue by the hunters who'll actually operate under it, those managing it had to make concessions too. We, who positioned ourselves as managers, will disclose each hunter's stat limits on an individual basis.
Lee Sang-chun asked.
“What about hacking risks for personal information?”
―Everyone knows that hacking the hunter system powered by magic stones has been utterly impossible so far. Until the essence of magic stones is understood, hacking the hunter system remains absolutely impossible.
As time passed, everyone's faces grew darker.
Lee Ru-ri cautiously tugged at the hem of Han Seung-woo's clothes, who was still standing.
“Ah, yeah.”
Thanks to that, Han Seung-woo snapped out of it and quietly sat down.
―The most important thing is that hunters from each country can now focus solely on protecting their home nations again. We'll head back home once things here wrap up. We'll discuss the details after we return. That's all.
Han Ho ended the meeting.
Lee Sang-chun irritably shut off the monitor, and everyone sank into their own thoughts in heavy silence for a while.
Amid the oppressive quiet, Lee Ru-ri hesitantly spoke up.
“Um...”
“Aigoo, sorry. We dragged you into this uncomfortable spot without even a word. My apologies.”
Kwon Dong-nyeon gave an awkward smile and apology.
“No! Not at all! I just wondered what this situation was about...”
“It's a madhouse.”
Lee Sang-chun let out a sigh-like mutter.
“Teacher Lee, did you record the meeting just now?”
“Yeah. Want the file?”
“Yes. I need to examine the metric Chairman Han revealed more closely.”
“Analyzing the metrics is the top priority. I'll leave it to you. Once done, have the Light Guild members undergo re-examination first at Researcher Jeong-hyun's lab.”
“We'll prepare. We'll head out first.”
Han Seung-woo and Lee Ru-ri politely bowed to Kwon Dong-nyeon and Lee Sang-chun before leaving the room together.
Han Seung-woo, leading the way, spoke first.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes. You too, Seung-woo?”
“But the patient went out to clear gates, huh.”
“That was...”
“What was the name of that monster?”
“Pardon? The monster?”
“The one Lee Ru-ri took down with the skill she used on the grave guardian.”
“Ah! The one from the break... That's a monster called Ezold.”
“Inside the gate, you said it was S-rank, but an S-rank that strong...”
“No. It was S-rank inside the gate, but SS-rank outside.”
“The more I hear, the less sense it makes. Anyway, it was a monster I'd never seen before. If it's SS-rank, it won't even be in the codex. How do you know so much about it?”
“Remember when I said my ability lets me control monsters?”
“Yes.”
“So I can learn about monsters too.”
As the two continued the conversation they couldn't finish during the gate break, they arrived at the hospital room.
Worried she might be asleep, they entered quietly and found Choi Si-jin peeling an apple for Yang Jeong-hyun.
“In my view, Chairman Han's bonds have deepened. Definitely.”
“I agree.”
Han Seung-woo chimed in agreement with Yang Jeong-hyun and picked up a piece of apple Choi Si-jin had peeled, handing it to Lee Ru-ri.
Yang Jeong-hyun narrowed her eyes teasingly at Han Seung-woo before speaking to Lee Ru-ri.
“Ru-ri, you cleared everything on your raid outing?”
“Thanks to Seung-woo, I couldn't do two D-grades.”
“Let me think. You left yesterday at seven PM. Whatever happened, that's impressive.”
“Ru-ri, you solo-cleared D-grades?”
Choi Si-jin jumped in surprise and asked back.
“Y-Yes... It took a bit of time, though.”
“That 'bit of time' was about 40 minutes. Totally insane.”
“Whoa...”
Choi Si-jin kept marveling and peeled another apple.
Han Seung-woo used the fork Lee Ru-ri was holding to give her another piece and continued.
“Doctor, when can you start moving?”
“Why? I'm a real patient, you know.”
“Seeing you have the energy to feign illness, you could probably go right now.”
“Honestly, I think so too. I should rest just until today. The bones healed ages ago.”
“Looks like your National Hunter Association duties are finally wrapped up. Might be for the best.”
“That's right. You've all suffered so much. Now Eun-woo will come back to Korea too, right?”
“Yes. Since Chairman Han said so, he should arrive soon.”
“So much to prepare! Si-jin, how many guild members do we have? We need re-exams first, right?”
“120 right now.”
“When did it grow that much?”
“The director said so. Not my fault.”
“You're trying to kill me.”
Han Seung-woo chuckled at Yang Jeong-hyun's whining.
“Anyway, starting tonight, we'll assemble the elites and jump straight into high-grade gate clears. The rest train under Choi Si-jin.”
“Got it!”
Yang Jeong-hyun flopped back onto the bed and said.
“Ha, the grind begins. Gonna catch some sleep first!”
“Should we go?”
“I'm tired too, Director. I'm human, you know!”
“Fine. Both of you sleep on the cots here.”
At Yang Jeong-hyun's words, Choi Si-jin quickly sprawled out on a cot.
Han Seung-woo reluctantly took the cot by Lee Ru-ri's bed.
As if by agreement, they all fell into deep sleep almost simultaneously.
Except for one person who couldn't sleep.
Lee Ru-ri tossed and turned for a while, heart fluttering in the warmly heated hospital room air.
Han Seung-woo finished analyzing the metric Han Ho had revealed and was swamped adjusting the Light Guild members' re-examination schedules without a moment's rest.
Even so, he tackled two high-grade gates every day.
Choi Si-jin managed training for C-grade and below guild members in the headquarters' virtual gates, pulling all-nighters without complaint.
Yang Jeong-hyun was making full preparations to ensure no delays in the re-exam schedules Han Seung-woo provided.
Everyone was living hectic days. Naturally, the busiest among them was Lee Ru-ri.
She joined Han Seung-woo's high-grade gate clears when called, periodically checking and refining the skills obtained from monsters, while also attempting multiple solo mid-grade gate clears.
“By yourself?”
“Yes!”
“What if you go solo on a high-grade gate and get wrecked by Keres again?”
“Uh! That's!”
Han Seung-woo was trying his one surefire way to stop Lee Ru-ri, who planned to clear low-grade gates along the coordinates alone and tackle several scattered D-grades on the way.
Seeing her troubled expression made him want to tease her more, but with gate generation accelerating into instability, it was actually a relief she was stepping up.
“Tell me exactly when you'll return.”
“If I go all the way to the provinces... I'll get scolded, right?”
“Obviously.”
“I'll clear the low-grades around Seoul and as many D-grades as possible.”
“Don't forget tomorrow evening is the Inex Gate entry attempt.”
“Of course! I've been waiting for tomorrow.”
“Got it. I won't eat until Ru-ri returns—just work—so handle it yourself.”
Han Seung-woo spoke curtly, turned on his heel, and headed into headquarters.
“What the... Why's he acting like that?”
He hadn't told anyone else yet, but amid these busy days, he'd grasped one clue.
The gate break that turned gate phenomena into an international crisis.