Live Broadcast: Irregular Hunter Exposed
"Hello, World!"
I turned and walked away leisurely. The crowd of hundreds parted like the Red Sea, clearing a path for me.
Not a bad exit scene, if I do say so myself.
"W-wait! That guy...!"
A frantic voice called from behind—the on-site director from the Management Bureau.
He was glancing back and forth between the mana scanner tablet in his hand and me.
"Tablet reading... measurement impossible...?"
"Director? What do you mean, impossible?"
"An off-the-scale grade that the higher-ups kept classified... Baek Sa-eon the hunter..."
That name and grade lodged firmly in the ears of hundreds.
Measurement impossible.Off-the-scale error.
The whole site erupted into chaos.
"Show me your hands."
Myth Guild's manager, Park Jin-cheol, blocked my path. His facial muscles were twisted in an ugly snarl. His gaze was fixed on my blood-soaked hands.
No executive could miss those wavelengths.
Crimson Flame from Cha Do-yeon. Magic Sword Aura from Ryu Jin-hyuk. Both blazing side by side from the man in front of me.
He'd probably already heard internally. The incident where Cha Do-yeon lost her core and skills to a non-awakener. And Ryu Jin-hyuk, who was handling the case, suddenly vanishing.
So I was officially the target now. His face flushed red.
"You bastard...! You did something to Cha Do-yeon and Team Leader Ryu...!"
Park Jin-cheol drew his war hammer.
I shook the blood off my hands and stared him down. No need to puff up my chest with false bravado.
"......"
He looked ready to smash my skull any second, but his feet stayed glued to the asphalt.
A B-rank powerhouse. His veteran instincts were screaming warnings. That swinging that hammer here might end badly for him.
Plus, the Management Bureau had just officially labeled me "measurement impossible."
Without orders from above, no one was dumb enough to poke this bomb on live national TV.
If you wanna flip out, go ahead. Otherwise, shut up and get out of my way.
"If you're gonna block the road, do it properly."
I leaned in close and murmured in his ear.
"Or get lost on your own."
Park Jin-cheol ground his teeth. Eventually, he slowly lowered the hammer.
The silence was broken by the reporters behind the barricade.
"Hey!"
A sharp-eyed one thrust his mic forward and bolted out, drawing the lenses like a swarm of bees.
"Did you single-handedly wipe out the terrorist group behind the break? I heard there's a surviving prisoner!"
"You seem to have bad blood with Myth Guild—what's the relationship?"
Mics shoved right up to my chin.
"Some pests I couldn't tell if they were terrorists or bugs kept blocking the way, so I sliced 'em up. As for the prisoner, no idea."
I turned to face the cameras head-on.
"I did have a little trouble working with Myth Guild once. But as Korea's premier guild, I'm sure they'll let it slide generously."
Camera flashes exploded like mad.
"And one more fun fact."
I glanced at Park Jin-cheol, who was swallowing his rage, and added,
"There was this rumor floating around about Myth Guild lately."
Snap.
The shutter clicks and flashes stopped dead, like a lie.
"That Chairman Cha Tae-yoon's daughter, Hunter Cha Do-yeon, lost her core and became a regular person. That's true."
"......!"
Park Jin-cheol's eyes shook wildly. The reporters gasped. The dirty laundry of the top guild, until now just backroom gossip, had exploded into the spotlight.
I drove the wedge home toward the lenses.
"And I know exactly why she lost her core."
"Do you have proof?"
Flashes went berserk again.
"Proof, you say?"
I slipped my hand into my pocket and out. Of course, the chip wasn't here. It was in the cloud. But this gesture alone would suffice.
"The site record chip from inside the gate is intact. Cha Do-yeon herself said it all."
No need to say more—that'd be feeding them too much fuel.
"That's all I can say for now. Too many people gunning for me; can't risk more."
Follow-ups poured in, but I quickened my pace and slipped away from the scene.
Thanks to me pulling all the aggro?
Far beyond the control line, Song Ji-yul hugged her bulging byproduct bag and melted into the crowd, vanishing smoothly.
The fallout from my head-on strike was massive.
Before the headlines even dried, live footage from the site spread across portals and SNS.
The Awakener Gallery, hooked on fresh mega-bait after ages, was burning hotter than ever.
Whoa whoa whoa, just a bit later and it would've been a bloodbath fr
The screen overflowed with speculation and hype. I went to pocket my phone when it rang.
"Phew—crowds drain my energy, so I snuck out quiet."
"Thanks to you, I took all the heat."
"I didn't do shit, so the spotlight guy gets the spotlight."
Laughter came through the receiver. I'd tipped her off for her sake.
"You'll probably have annoying procedures. Since it was a break, Management Bureau and Association will call for debriefs and checkups."
"Aah—wish I could just grab the cash. Such a hassle~"
Her low whine trailed off, then Song Ji-yul's voice steadied.
"Thanks again."
A brief silence. Finally, she dropped one last line.
"See you soon, oppa."
Seo Min-jae didn't adjust his glasses once during the report.
"The Yongsan-gu D-rank Gate's break was halted after all internal mana interferers were destroyed. Terrorist group fully eliminated. Residual forces waiting outside were secured by the Association."
Even after the secretary finished, Seo Min-jae stared out the window.
The midday sun glinted off Myth Guild HQ's floor-to-ceiling glass.
"What about the perpetrator's info?"
"Yes. Mana waveform matches. It's Baek Sa-eon."
Baek Sa-eon. The cleaner who stole Cha Do-yeon's Crimson Flame and Ryu Jin-hyuk's Magic Sword Aura.
"Minor clash with Park Jin-cheol on site, but didn't escalate. And..."
The secretary reported succinctly.
"He mentioned Cha Do-yeon's depowerment in front of the on-site reporters."
Seo Min-jae's fingers paused. His eyes narrowed behind the lenses.
"He spoke like he knows the details?"
"......Yes."
"Clever move."
He'd played his card publicly.
Insurance: If Myth touched Baek Sa-eon, the truth of Cha Do-yeon's fall would flood the world.
Ryu Jin-hyuk's case as a bonus.
Korea's top guild retaliating against the hero who stopped a gate break?
Public opinion was obvious.
"The chairman?"
"Still at 'that place.' Refusing all outside contact."
Seo Min-jae rose and walked to the window.
Myth Guild was one pillar upholding Korea's hunter system.
But with apex Cha Tae-yoon absent, it was in limbo.
Couldn't call Hong Jin-pyo either. He was tied in a classified national contract; that monster drawing his sword outside a dungeon would raze everything.
If Yun Tae-hyung's main base left too? The solid roof would get a hole.
Seo Min-jae recalled his own judgment. Handle it internally before Cha Tae-yoon knew. But failing Ryu Jin-hyuk risk management was the spark. Embers gathered, chain-reacted faster than expected, and finally blew up on a nationally broadcast stage.
Seo Min-jae admitted the mistake. Time to change plans.
"Contact the chairman again."
"High chance of refusal."
"Try anyway. Until he picks up."
Seo Min-jae muttered while removing his glasses to clean the lenses.
"I need to meet Yi Ha-rin."
After the secretary's footsteps faded, he opened the newspaper.
Breaking news. A huge photo of Baek Sa-eon stopping the gate break.
"Hahaha! Insane, right?"
Cheonlang Guild Master Park Do-gyeom roared with laughter that shook his office, staring at the breaking news.
Lounging sideways on the sofa with his tablet, he replayed the video from the start.
"Got some balls? Even made the regional boss kneel? That old fart Cha Tae-yoon's finally lost it."
He spun his chair and gripped the phone.
"Myth's house is empty right now."
After listening intently for a bit, he tossed the tablet on the sofa and stood.
"Dig up everything on that guy now. Background, affiliation, all of it. We grab him first."