Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Jeongjin Guild's Predicament
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The next morning.
Jeong-hyeon woke up with bleary eyes.
"Ugh..."
He grimaced, clutching his sore jaw.
He'd had a gag in his mouth all night, so it was no wonder.
Moving his hands behind his neck, Jeong-hyeon untied the gag and scanned his surroundings.
"Mana Sensitivity, huh..."
The newly added trait, Mana Sensitivity.
While enhancements to physical abilities or movement felt immediately noticeable, Mana Sensitivity didn't seem to bring any tangible change.
'Well, if gaining Mana Sensitivity meant I could suddenly see mana in real life, that'd just be a hassle.'
From what he'd heard from hunters with the Mana Sensitivity trait, there weren't any visible changes.
They just instinctively knew how to handle mana.
Recalling that, Jeong-hyeon raised his hand to chest height and focused his mind.
'Maybe try something simple like a Mana Bolt.'
Mana Bolt, the most basic spell.
It was the most common magic he'd seen so far, so he had plenty of imagery to work with.
As he visualized the Mana Bolt, a subtle tremor stirred above his palm.
"Oh?"
Mana condensed easily, forming a bolt.
Its shape was no different from what he'd seen before, but there was a clear difference.
Previously, it had just been a translucent wisp of energy, but now he could understand how it was structured and maintained.
"This is what I endured that horrific pain for..."
It was exactly as the trait's name implied.
He could sense mana and use it to cast spells.
But to obtain this, he'd had to endure that agonizing torment the night before.
He didn't feel wronged, but if asked if he was thrilled, he wouldn't nod enthusiastically. It was a bittersweet feeling.
Since he couldn't freely experiment with magic in his cramped one-room apartment anyway, the vague sense of emptiness only grew.
'I can test it out at the Association later.'
Wincing from the lingering pain, Jeong-hyeon flopped back onto the floor.
Too drained to climb into bed, he grabbed his phone from beside him to skim the news.
That's when he spotted it.
"Huh?"
- Jeongjin Guild's 5th-level Mission Gate raid team wiped out...
A headline-grabbing article caught his eye.
The front-page story from a major news outlet was drawing intense attention, as expected.
The content wasn't particularly remarkable.
'When you think about it, wipes in Mission Gates aren't all that rare.'
Tragic for the hunters involved, but that was the reality.
Whether level 5, 6, or 7.
Only hunters matching a gate's level could enter.
Mission Gates, with no known攻略 methods and ever-changing objectives, had fatality rates far from low.
Raid team wipes happened all too often.
At first, there'd been outrage against the guild and widespread mourning for the hunters.
But now, people had grown numb to it.
This article was getting attention solely because the failed guild was Jeongjin—not because the failure itself was unusual.
- Jeongjin seems past its prime now?
- Bashing Jeongjin just for one level 5 Mission Gate failure. Classic Korean classism.
- Honestly, they deserved criticism for not disclosing it immediately due to image concerns. The failure itself was unavoidable lol.
- But everyone hush-hushes their own raid failures. Why publicize something that hurts?
- These are the same people who riot if Sea Guild hides info. Jeongjin fans are something else lmao.
- Get a life dude;;
The article comments showed varied opinions, but reactions were mostly muted.
Most guilds didn't immediately announce raid failures.
This tendency grew stronger with larger guilds.
They preferred handling it quietly rather than publicizing and damaging their image.
That was why even when it leaked to the press, it usually amounted to mere gossip.
After roughly checking the comments, Jeong-hyeon returned to the portal main page, thinking.
'The atmosphere must be pretty rough there.'
Still, since it was a guild he had ties to, he couldn't help but worry.
***
Jeongjin Guild headquarters conference room.
An executive was furiously raging over an agenda with no clear resolution.
"Don't we have any decent hunters? Isn't this happening because HR recruitment is dragging its feet?"
'Why is this our fault...'
HR's target, Team Leader Cha Jun-won, had to listen without hardening his expression.
The issue was the recent level 5 Mission Gate "King's Playground," inquired about by operations.
Initially, everyone celebrated the rare Mission Gate opportunity.
But now, nearly a month in, it had become a hot potato.
Several misfortunes had piled up.
First, Jeongjin's level 5 ace team had mostly leveled up simultaneously, creating a manpower gap for level 5 gates.
Second, external energy readings were alarmingly high.
Finally, the first raid team had been completely wiped out.
It wasn't anyone's fault.
No matter how solid Jeongjin's forces and systems were, they couldn't guarantee 100% success on Mission Gates.
Raid wipes?
Frankly, they happened frequently enough.
Hunters might be treated like celebrity idols nowadays, but at their core, they were people risking their lives fighting monsters in gates.
The meeting's tense atmosphere stemmed not from the failure itself, but from it leaking to the press and blowing up.
If the failure alone were the issue, the mood post-failure meeting would have been like this.
"How does the Raid Division plan to handle this?"
"Uh, well..."
The irate executive's ire now turned to the Raid Division Chief, who stammered.
Even if asked how to handle it, there was no sharp solution.
Their top forces were already committed to level 6 gates.
The wiped team had been the cream of available level 5 crop, so other level 5 hunters were visibly reluctant.
Retrying immediately was tricky.
Then, a heavy voice resonated through the conference room.
Calm and subdued, yet its inherent authority couldn't be quelled.
"Quiet."
One syllable.
The room fell silent.
Even the raging executive straightened up, glancing toward the voice.
It belonged to none other than Jeongjin's pinnacle—the Guild Master, So Jeong-yoon.
"Victory and defeat are soldiers' affairs, as they say. Executive Kim isn't just angry over the failure itself, is he? I know it's from concern for the guild."
"Ahem."
Called out by So Jeong-yoon, the executive flushed and averted his gaze.
"HR Team 2 Leader."
Unexpectedly, So Jeong-yoon called on Cha Jun-won.
The HR Team 2 Leader position earned external respect, but in guild meetings, it was the lowest of the low.
Never imagining his name would be called, Jun-won startled and responded.
"Yes, Guild Master!"
"It'll be a burden, but I need your team leader to step up this time after so long. Please."
"...Understood!"
An abrupt order at an odd timing.
He was HR, not Raid Division.
Guild-level raids rarely involved HR personnel.
But refusing the Guild Master's direct order wasn't an option.
Meanwhile, Raid Division faces brightened slightly.
With a B-Rank level 5 like Jun-won filling a slot, the burden on forces lightened considerably.
His prior Raid Division experience before moving to HR would also ease recruiting other hunters.
So Jeong-yoon now turned to the Raid Division Chief.
"Raid Division Chief."
"Yes, Guild Master!"
"Among available level 5 forces, is there anyone better than HR Team 2 Leader?"
"...No."
After brief thought, the Chief shook his head.
By experience, rank, and level, Jun-won was the senior-most.
"Then, we'll entrust the next 'King's Playground' raid to HR Team 2 Leader. He seems suited to lead. Any objections?"
"Thank you!"
"...No issues."
Here, Jun-won and the Raid Chief's fortunes diverged slightly.
Successfully leading a level 5 Mission Gate raid would boost guild HR evaluations significantly.
So Jeong-yoon's endorsement publicly signaled trust in him.
From Raid Division's view, however, it felt like their authority was usurped, souring their mood.
"Meeting adjourned. Everyone, do your best in your roles. Oh."
The meeting was solely to discuss 'King's Playground' solutions.
With So Jeong-yoon handling wrap-up, prolonging was unnecessary.
But as he rose, So Jeong-yoon sat back down.
"HR Director."
"Yes, Guild Master."
"I read the recent report. HR Team 2 was particularly intriguing."
"Thank you!"
"That's all."
Whether that was truly the point, So Jeong-yoon now promptly left.
His style spared no praise or criticism for subordinates, but extending the meeting for this puzzled everyone.
Everyone except the elated HR Director.
Though praise for the Director, the true target—Jun-won—racked his brains rapidly.
'HR Team 2 report?'
Low-rank recruitment under HR Team 2 had zero factors to attract the Guild Master's eye.
Most were approved below and only processing details reached So Jeong-yoon.
But the latest report jogged Jun-won's memory.
'No way...'
Puzzles clicked in Jun-won's mind.
Guild Masters rarely micromanaged level 5 gates like this.
He'd assumed the personal entrustment was due to media fallout.
'If it was setup from there?'
The outline of So Jeong-yoon's intent crystallized for Jun-won, but bewilderment remained.
'Enough to catch even the Guild Master's attention?'
Cha Jun-won, the hunter grinding for higher positions.
Unscratched lottery ticket.
Unregistered Han Jeong-hyeon.
He'd submitted a detailed report on his recent moves, but never dreamed it'd reach So Jeong-yoon, let alone pique interest.
'This is my chance!'
A thick smile spread across Jun-won's lips.
"Hey, Team 2 Leader. Good work this ti— Huh, where are you going?"
Oblivious to the approaching HR Director's praise, he bolted up and dashed to his office.
Bursting in, Park Soo-yeon and Seo Jin-uk reacted from their desks.
Given the meeting topic, their team leader must have suffered.
Soo-yeon stood first.
"Team Leader, how was the meeting? The mood must've been—"
But Jun-won cut her off abruptly.
"Soo-yeon, do you have Han Jeong-hyeon's phone number?"
"Huh? Oh... I do, but why...?"
"Send it to me right now. Immediately!"
'Has the stress made Team Leader's quirks flare up again?'
Tilting her head, Soo-yeon rummaged through her phone anyway.