Chapter 24

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 24

Chapter Title: Save Me

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“Fearless, aren't you?”

A chilling smile crept across Yoon Hyun's lips.

Swooooosh—

Starting with his words, the air in the office began to warp.

“Did you perhaps bring the guild leader with you?”

It was on a completely different level from mere intimidation or bloodlust. Pure waves of mana that crushed all living things emanated unchecked from Yoon Hyun's body.

The mana, which had initially been like a calm lake, soon transformed into a tsunami threatening to swallow the entire office.

“……!”

“Ugh…!”

The elite hunters surrounding Yoon Hyun reacted first.

They were at least A-rank, the top powerhouses in the guild, but the phenomenon before their eyes far transcended their common sense.

The mana in the air felt like it was freezing. Its density was so overwhelming that even breathing was a struggle. It even gave the illusion of being crushed by deep-sea pressure.

The murderous glares they'd been shooting at Yoon Hyun moments ago had long vanished. Seized by instinctive fear, they trembled uncontrollably, hands gripping their weapons.

‘This… doesn't make sense.’

They knew S-rank mages were powerful. But the actual pressure of facing one was worlds apart from their imagination.

It felt like confronting a living disaster itself.

Everyone held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their breath, sensing the catastrophe about to unfold.

However.

“Enough.”

Swoosh.

Yoon Hyun retracted his gathered mana in an instant. As if the overwhelming pressure from before had never existed, the suffocating oppression lifted from the office like a lie.

“Fighting would just make cleanup a hassle.”

Yoon Hyun flashed his usual kindly smile again.

His relaxed demeanor only choked the chairman and hunters more. The fact that he wielded such monstrous power so freely was even more terrifying.

Yoon Hyun took a step toward the chairman and whispered softly.

“Whether you die or not, the Healers' Union is done for anyway. Do I really need to dirty my hands?”

He turned to leave.

But after a few steps, he stopped abruptly and glanced back over his shoulder at the chairman, adding,

“Still. Leaving like this feels a bit unsatisfying.”

“Wh-what do you….”

Twitch.

The thick shadow beneath the chairman's feet writhed like a living creature.

Slash—!

“……!”

He couldn't even scream.

Something black and eerie burst from the shadow, tore off the chairman's right arm at the shoulder, and vanished in an instant.

The chairman reflexively looked down at his shoulder. Where his arm should have been was gone entirely. Crimson blood sprayed out like a fountain.

“M-my arm…! Arrrgh—!”

The chairman finally screamed in agony and rolled on the floor. The office turned into pandemonium in seconds.

The hunters rushed to him in shock, attempting to staunch the bleeding, but none dared even glance at Yoon Hyun.

“You can heal that much, right? Since you're a healer.”

Yoon Hyun looked down at the chairman writhing on the floor, desperately trying to muster his mana, with a gentle smile.

“Don't think of messing with us again.”

With that, he vanished into the darkness as if he had no further business there.

I was buried in the workshop sofa, staring at my smartphone with a hollow expression.

Last night's events felt more surreal the more I thought about them.

Getting hit by a dump truck, nearly dying surrounded by assassins, and then the security guard grandpa—no, an incredible hunter—showing up to sort everything out.

After everything settled and we returned to the workshop, Yuna confessed everything to me with a weary face.

‘Uncle Yoon Hyun isn't a retired guild member. He's my dad's friend.’

‘……?’

‘And my dad… he's the leader of White Night Guild.’

It felt like getting hit in the head with a hammer.

White Night, one of the top three guilds in the country. The daughter of its leader was Choi Yuna, the one who'd been messing around with me in games doing all sorts of weird stuff?

‘I ran away from home to start my own guild. Instead of dragging me back, Dad assigned Uncle Yoon Hyun as a minimal safety measure.’

All her words and actions so far flashed through my mind.

The unfounded confidence she showed while running a guild with just a few B-rank hunters, the boldness of charging head-on at a giant like the Healers' Union without flinching.

If all that came from being the ‘daughter of the White Night Guild leader,’ then it made sense.

“…….”

Anyway, the world had erupted into chaos because of it.

News channels were plastered with stories about the Healers' Union.

Last night, what the security grandpa called the "rest" must have been this.

I don't know how they got it, but from Im Cheol-woo's recorded order for the terror attack to the Healers' Union's corrupt ledgers and the assassins' identities— all decisive evidence was released to the media under Choi Yuna and Normal Operations Guild's name at once.

The world flipped overnight.

The media and public speculated that the key suspect, Im Cheol-woo, had already fled overseas to escape punishment.

‘…He's fast.’

A bit disappointing. Guys like that should be caught and pay for their crimes.

I minimized the news screen and checked the hunter gallery next.

It was in full festival mode.

The more I refreshed, the more demands converged on one thing.

[General] Release the potions already ffs

It was suffocating.

“Gotta… make money….”

Time to get back to work. I dragged my heavy body to the workshop bench.

‘Oh. Right.’

Come to think of it, the curse dissolution potion I made. I should post the recipe on the Alchemy Gallery.

It's there for sharing info, after all. I've mooched off it plenty; it's only right to contribute something like this.

I immediately pulled up [Alchemy Gallery].

I hit post.

And my post vanished as a "concept post" within seconds.

“……?”

Confused, I hurriedly checked the comments.

I shrugged at the harsh abuse.

No, I just followed what I learned from the gallery? Feeling wronged, I replied without thinking.

Relief washed over me at the reassurance it wasn't a waste. Confidence grew a bit.

I wondered how these seniors saw my recipe.

[Rabbit King: So how is it? Rate it]

“Hee hee.”

That comment made my shoulders lift proudly for some reason. Felt energizing.

“Alright. Time to brew potions hard today too….”

Just as I eagerly started prepping ingredients.

Ding! Ding! Ding-ding-ding-ding!

“……?”

Suddenly, my smartphone exploded with notifications.

Like a dam bursting. Once started, they showed no sign of stopping.

[New Order +99][New Order +99][New Order +99]

The screen filled with alert messages. And below, a despairing system message appeared.

[Server traffic limit exceeded. Website access impossible.]

[Choi Yuna: Orders flooded in, server recovery failed]

[Choi Yuna: We're fucked, Talky]

“Ah….”

I could only stare blankly at my relentlessly ringing smartphone and mutter in dismay.

“H-how am I supposed to make all this…!”

The price of success was far too cruel.