A Dangerous Atmosphere
The childish yet profitable clomp of footsteps echoed down the quiet street.
“Ah! Ilwol, did you get an achievement too?”
“Clack clack!”
The sound of teeth clacking rang out strangely loud in the deserted street. I canceled my stealth. If my senses picked up anyone, I could simply reactivate it.
“Hmm… that’s good. But hold on, let me look at you.”
She stopped walking and began carefully running her fingers over my face.
“……”
“It’s fascinating… You suddenly changed like this?”
I nodded.
“It turned into a really… dangerous atmosphere, Ilwol.”
“Clack clack?!”
“Hehe, I mean that in a good way.”
I nodded again.
Can looking dangerous really be a compliment? Well, it’ll definitely be effective at chasing away the flies.
Sniff— Sniff sniff—
“……?”
She pressed herself close to my chest, inhaling deeply before speaking.
“I was wondering if your scent had changed.”
Scent? What is she talking about… Do I even have a scent?
Yeonhee’s words suggested she had been smelling me all along, and once again I found myself tilting my head at her peculiar habits.
There are people who like the smell of a dog’s paw pads. Is it something like that?
“We’re not entering a dungeon tomorrow. We still don’t have enough people, and we need to visit the Association anyway. If we can sell the runes while we’re there, let’s do that. Since we’re going, we might as well take the promotion test too.”
I nodded repeatedly.
“Hehe— Want to know what Helen unnie said to me earlier?”
Even after that, Yeonhee chattered nonstop all the way to the taxi stand. She sounded like a baby bird chirping after waking at dawn, and it was surprisingly pleasant to listen to.
Phew—I feel alive again…
Spending time with her gradually lifted the weight from my chest and cleared the hazy fog in my mind.
Swish—
“Mmm?…”
I gently stroked her hair. She stood still for a moment, savoring the touch.
I want to hug her.
Seeing her standing alone on the quiet winter road with the biting wind swirling around us, the thought came to me unbidden. But the blade-like bones jutting from my body forced me to be cautious with every movement.
“Haa— Why am I suddenly so sleepy… Let me lean on you for a bit…”
She rested against the only part of my chest that had no spikes. I removed my cloak and carefully draped it over her back.
I need to do something about these damn thorns. If I can’t, I’ll grind them down.
I pulled her waist closer so she could lean more securely.
Sigh—
She’s asleep…
The situation had grown complicated—sword training, magic practice, and now even experimenting with reshaping my bone armor—but I was certain of one thing.
This was the happiest moment I had experienced across every life I could remember.
“She’s going to climb to D-grade?”
“Speak clearly. How many times do I have to tell you before it sinks in?”
“Who else could it be? Our cute and lovable Yeonhee, obviously.”
“If anyone can picture Lee Yeonhee from just a few words out of your mouth, we need to recruit them immediately. It would mean they can read minds.”
“Why are you acting like you don’t know? It’s hilarious. Everyone who gets the weekly reports already knows.”
Twitch—
At Kang Yeonsu’s words, Jo Giman’s temple bulged so prominently it was impossible to miss. Jeong Ju-in, seated beside him, didn’t hesitate to shoot her a sharp glare.
I thought I had been discreet, but they had already figured it out.
“What are you staring at? Looking to die? Was a month in the hospital not enough for you? Want to spend three this time?”
“……”
Jeong Ju-in’s body trembled as he recalled the day Kang Yeonsu had beaten him to within an inch of his life for offending her.
The conversation was taking place in an office on a high floor of a building that offered a sweeping view of the city’s glittering nightscape. A dozen or so hunters sat around a round table, discussing the guild’s future.
It had been a while since their last gathering, yet the atmosphere was as frigid as the weather outside. In truth, the temperature was set by the two people who dominated the discussion.
Jo Giman and Kang Yeonsu showed no sign of ending their razor-edged exchange.
Goddamn it. Just throw down once and settle this, you crazy bastards.
A-grade hunter Park Jin-gon was inwardly cursing both of them when S-grade hunter Cha Mu-yeol smoothly changed the subject.
“Since we’re talking about this Lee Yeonhee friend, I heard the ones who summoned the orcs can create and close gates at will.”
“What? Is that true, sunbae?”
Park Jin-gon asked as if he had no idea what that meant. Most of the others nodded, indicating they had heard similar information, and turned their eyes toward the guild’s two pillars.
Jo Giman spoke first.
“Confirmation shows… it is true. The magic circle from the artificial ritual was left completely intact.”
“Haha! They didn’t even bother hiding it?”
Cha Mu-yeol let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded. Park Jin-gon leaned forward eagerly, hungry for more details.
“Of course, the testimonies from Lee Yeonhee and the other hunters matched. The red—”
“The red-haired man used the hunters as sacrifices to summon the orcs, then summoned a door and fled,” Kang Yeonsu cut in, clearly wanting to finish the story quickly.
“And no one knows the identity of that red-haired individual. Okay? Anyone have additional information?”
“None. However, I do have a suggestion.”
“Please speak, Gu Sang-min.”
“Well… it’s already known that those Blue Eye cultists are scattered everywhere. So why…”
“Why aren’t we rooting them out?”
“Yes, exactly…”
When one of the country’s only three S-grade healers showed open concern, Jo Giman responded with a faint smile.
“That’s fortunate. Hearing even you—someone in one of the highest positions in our guild—say such a thing puts my mind at ease.”
When Gu Sang-min looked at him in confusion, Jo Giman simply shrugged. Only then did realization dawn on the healer’s face.
“You’ve already done it…”
The purge had been carried out so quietly that even Gu Sang-min hadn’t noticed. The others began to stir uneasily. Jeong Ju-in quickly added, worried about misunderstandings.
“Unfortunately, their patterns only appear when they die or choose to reveal themselves. There is no other way to identify them. We took measures against several suspects, and some were indeed Blue Eye cultists. But we couldn’t extract any meaningful information. Whenever they tried to speak… Anyway, interrogation, persuasion, and torture proved largely ineffective.”
“Torture, you say…”
“Please understand it was unavoidable.”
The sharp words made the expressions around the table grow even colder.
“As Jeong Ju-in said, even if we find them, there isn’t much to gain. At the same time, we can’t simply kill every suspicious person to ease our discomfort… In the end, we must continue coexisting with them for the time being. Who knows? There may even be a Blue Eye cultist hiding like a rat in this very room.”
Gulp—
“Haha… n-no way.”
“Shall I pick one at random? There is one person who looks exactly like a rat.”
“Seok Ryu-hwa, you’re not talking about me, are you?”
“Oh my? So you do look in the mirror after all?”
“You fucking—”
“That’s enough. Jin-gon.”
“Sigh…”
“Was the reason you called us at this late hour simply to say that? You could have told us without dragging everyone here.”
“Hmm… It’s not particularly late. But very well.”
Jo Giman glanced at his wristwatch, tilting his head in apparent puzzlement before continuing.
“I believe we should participate in the Guild Alliance Tournament scheduled for April.”
—!!
“Where did that come from?”
“I’m naturally in favor, but why join now when we’ve never participated before?”
“You said you wouldn’t go because the name alone was too childish. It claims to be for hunter exchange, but everyone knows it’s really about fame and money.”
“Exactly. It feels a bit low-class. Is this about money? Don’t we already have enough from the dungeons we manage?”
“It is not enough, Madam Seok Ryu-hwa.”
“Rat-faced Mr. Park Jin-gon. That’s pure greed. We’re already running our personnel on a pretty tight schedule, you know?”
“Of course you can say that so casually—you’re sitting on a gold-mine dungeon.”
“Right. Who told you to join the guild so late?”
“This auntie has been talking like absolute shit from the start.”
“Keep calling me auntie and I’ll burn you so badly your own family won’t recognize you.”
“If you’re going to fight, take it outside. I told you not to invite those two.”
Idiots. Someone else built this comfortable environment for them, yet all they do is suck up the benefits and complain endlessly.
Jo Giman wore a bitter smile inside as he observed the pathetic display. Outside these walls they acted like proud S-grades and top A-grades, but their true natures were utterly vulgar.
Kekeke, but no matter how many times I see it, I never tire of it. Watching them fight over an extra crumb on the board I created is endlessly entertaining.
Jo Giman loved controlling situations. He enjoyed manipulating people. He set the stage for them to fight, tear each other apart, and hurl accusations, then savored the noise like sweet jazz.
This is the true joy of life.
For now his influence was limited to the guild, but soon he would place the entire world under his rule and drown far more people in dark emotions. It was a game he had played many times before, and it brought him immense pleasure.
Nothing but vermin. They always come to me seeking solutions, mediation, judgments that favor them. In those moments I am a god to them, and I adore the greed-stained look in their eyes.
They praise me, admire me, love me, cheer for me. The thrill of deciding people’s joys and sorrows with a single gesture never faded.
Yet this life had become extremely difficult to maintain that pattern. It had begun with his failure to devour Yun Han-gyeol. Then there were the Blue Eye bastards running wild like dogs in heat. Even the red-haired elf—who should have been a mid-boss—had appeared far too early.
Mariella, oh Mariella… Why did you act out so soon and anger me like this…
Because the red-haired elf named Mariella had rampaged before she was ready, Jo Giman’s patience had finally snapped.
You are the villains. I am the hero. When you cause trouble, I clean up the mess. Wasn’t that the script? That’s how it has always been, you worthless scraps…
Jo Giman’s pupils stretched into vertical slits. Thick, dark mana surged from his body like black smoke.
Rumble—
The massive round table bounced as though struck by an earthquake.
“Whoa! G-guild master! Please calm down!”
“What’s wrong with him now? Did he eat something bad for dinner?”
Kang Yeonsu stared at him with open disdain. Jo Giman quickly stabilized his mana and raised a hand in apology to the group.
Phew— If they’re useless, they should be removed.
He had decided not to be bound by the original scenario any longer.
I will exterminate the entire red-haired elf race. No exceptions—not even the young ones.
To do that, he first needed access to the passage leading to their world. The problem was that the dungeon containing the hidden passage was managed by the Guardian Guild.
Therefore, he needed to bring it under his control.
The Guild Alliance Tournament was an outdated, almost childish event. But its rewards were anything but.
The top-ranking teams could seize management rights over the dungeons of other participating guilds.
Originally he had arranged for them to offer it to him naturally, but now it was time to rewrite the entire board.