Grabbing the Tail
A few hours earlier.
In the Superhuman Crime Investigation Division of the Superhuman Association, they learned of one piece of news a bit late.
"An irregular dungeon was discovered?"
"Yes. We got a report about it yesterday."
"Then why are we only hearing about it now?"
"Well... the Magic Tower took charge of the investigation first. We just got an additional report a little while ago, so that's when we found out."
The fact that the Magic Tower had claimed authority over the irregular dungeon investigation.
Of course, there was no major issue with the regulations. The Magic Tower was a colossal organization that even the Association couldn't easily mess with, and the area where the irregular dungeon had appeared was under the Tower's influence anyway.
But Kang Byungwoo's thoughts were different.
"Hm? The Magic Tower's handling it themselves? That can't happen. We're going too."
Kang Byungwoo, the division chief known even within the Association as a loose cannon and hothead.
He led his team straight into the investigation without hesitation.
In truth, by convention, if they demanded investigative authority, the Association would yield it. Strictly speaking, the Association held exclusive rights to investigations.
Thus, Chief Kang Byungwoo's actions weren't overstepping.
The Superhuman Crime Investigation Division had the authority to conduct autonomous investigations and operations without upper-level approval due to the nature of their work.
Even if he was called a loose cannon or hothead, Chief Kang Byungwoo hadn't done anything outside his remit.
But a square peg gets hammered down. His unilateral actions always sparked complaints and dissatisfaction from various organizations and groups, leading to frequent and major conflicts.
That left his position within the Association ambiguous. He operated outside their control, but Chief Kang Byungwoo had the skills and record to make them turn a blind eye.
Too valuable to discard, too much trouble to keep.
The one reason the Association continued to tolerate him was simple: his rogue activities were limited solely to unsolved cases.
"Chief Kang Byungwoo's little sister... she was a victim in that case, right?"
"Whoa... you don't mean that incident?"
"Yeah."
Five years ago, an incident had turned the Superhuman Association upside down.
Around 30 promising recruits being groomed by the Association's top echelons vanished without a trace while moving to another region for training.
The Association hadn't made a big fuss to protect their reputation. They conducted an internal investigation, and when they found traces in a lab, more than half the bodies were discovered mummified and desiccated.
"Chief's little sister died there too...?"
"No. If anything, that's the silver lining. It wasn't definitively confirmed."
No body was found, but all traces ended there, as if she'd evaporated. Out of 32 trainees, 27 bodies recovered. Five missing.
Chief Kang Byungwoo's younger sister was among the missing.
That was when it started. When Chief Kang Byungwoo began earning his hothead reputation.
A top prospect with immense innate potential and a member of the Association's premier strike force, the Imperial Dragon Unit, he quit the unit that very day and joined the Superhuman Crime Investigation Division.
There, he racked up incredible achievements, claiming the chief position of Team 5 in just three years.
Right after becoming chief, he dove even deeper into unsolved cases, and now he was on the verge of pinning it on a specific organization.
No matter that the Magic Tower had taken the investigation, nothing could stop Chief Kang Byungwoo's resolve.
"The Magic Tower already finished their investigation and left?"
"Yes. But the dungeon hasn't closed yet."
"Hah. Look at these guys. As expected of the Magic Tower—impressive speed. Still, we'll go in and check it out."
Upon entering the dungeon, Kang Byungwoo sensed faint mana waves emanating from the end while searching for traces.
"Over there. Follow me."
Rushing over, Kim Byungwoo and the Association superhumans froze, their eyes widening at the sight before them.
"A building? How is there a building inside a dungeon?"
"Chief! There are human corpses over here."
"No way... these are Magic Tower members. And this... it's just like the bodies from the unsolved cases."
Someone shouted upon seeing the corpses' condition.
Mummified, shriveled husks. Traces linked to the unsolved cases they'd been chasing.
Kang Byungwoo's face hardened as he issued orders to his team.
"Sungil and Jonghyun, preserve the bodies and ID exactly who from the Magic Tower they are, fast. The rest, follow me into the building."
"Yes, sir!"
As Kang Byungwoo approached the building, his instincts screamed.
The ones responsible for those three outside were inside.
He flung the door open.
"What the... hell."
He charged in aggressively, but the sight that greeted him upon opening the door drew a curse first.
Numerous superhumans lay in test tubes. Clear signs of vivisection experiments.
Suppressing the rising nausea, he fully entered the building.
That's when Kang Byungwoo spotted Jehyun standing blankly at one end.
"What the hell happened here?"
Kang Byungwoo demanded, eyes flashing.
If this guy had built the structure here and done that to the mages outside, he needed arresting on the spot.
But Kang Byungwoo was a pro. Amid the chaos, he quickly scanned Jehyun.
He noted the Magic Tower uniform and the three embroidered circle seals on the left chest.
'Magic Tower 3rd Circle mage.'
That made him doubt Jehyun was the culprit.
A Tower mage would have a reason to be here.
So he asked about the situation first.
But he didn't assume Jehyun was a Tower mage until verifying his identity. Being alone was suspicious, and the singed uniform showed clear battle traces—possibly linked to the bodies outside.
Plus, Tower uniforms could be faked easily.
"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Kang Byungwoo, chief of the Superhuman Association's Superhuman Crime Investigation Division. Before I ask about this incident... are you a Magic Tower mage?"
"Yes. Kim Jehyun, 3rd Circle mage of the Magic Tower."
Jehyun answered straightforwardly.
Internally, he thought, 'Didn't expect the Association to respond this fast.'
A little earlier, before re-entering the dungeon, Jehyun had contacted Kim Shinho, branch chief of the Phoenix Faction.
The connection was simple. When Jehyun's joining the Ignis Faction investigation team was announced, Kim Shinho reached out first.
He'd said rumors were swirling even among the Tower's upper echelons that this irregular dungeon the Ignis Faction was probing was no joke, and if anything happened, contact him for Jehyun's safety.
—Are you sure you'll be okay alone? Even for you, Jehyun, I'm a bit worried.
—Should be fine. Mind if I do some additional investigating?
—Yes, no issue per Tower regs, but we should report it to the Association again.
—Handle that for me, then.
He'd contacted Kim Shinho to legitimize his solo probe, but it seemed that had brought the Association superhumans here.
"Sorry, but do you have ID?"
"Yes, here."
Kang Byungwoo took Jehyun's ID and examined it closely.
"Alright, identity confirmed. Hm... mind telling me what you were doing here?"
Kang Byungwoo's eyes flashed again.
They'd uncovered crucial leads on stalled unsolved cases. His gaze burned with resolve not to miss a single one.
"Since it's come to this, I'll explain from the beginning."
Jehyun laid it all out: sensing something off during the initial team probe, feeling the investigation leader was hiding something, reporting it and coming back solo, discovering this hidden spot, and fighting the leader and two men managing the building.
"S-so... those Magic Tower guys did this?"
"Yes."
"Hah..."
Kang Byungwoo's face was incredulous, slipping into deep contemplation amid the confusion.
"But... you're really 3rd Circle?"
"Yes, as you see."
Jehyun lifted the three embroidered seals on his uniform in response.
Kang Byungwoo's expression darkened as he pressed again.
"You took down those guys outside... alone?"
"Yes. Got lucky."
Kang Byungwoo looked utterly unconvinced.
'A 3rd Circle took them down solo? Their IDs just came back—all 4th Circle.'
It defied common sense. If they were 3rd Circle too, maybe luck could explain it.
But he knew the gap between 3rd and 4th Circle was vast, even as a non-mage. No way luck alone beat them.
Then, team member Pyo Sangjin approached and whispered.
"Chief, isn't that guy... that guy?"
"Who? Some celebrity?"
"No, remember at the last team dinner? The talk about a Magic Tower rookie who might succeed the Tower Master. The one who hit 3rd Circle in under a few months, smashing all records."
"...!"
Kang Byungwoo's eyes widened slightly at Pyo Sangjin's words.
Recent dinner chatter: An absurdly talented rookie at the Tower, possibly restoring their battered pride.
—Come on, Sangjin, that's bullshit. 3rd Circle in under three months? I'd sooner believe the Tower Master ditched magic for the sword.
—No, Chief, it's real! The Tower's buzzing about a historic monster rookie.
—It's noise marketing, idiot. With no standout rookies, rumors to counter the decline talk.
—R-really? Seemed legit...
—Shut up and drink. Not planning to walk home tonight, right?
—Ugh, staring down a booze monster while hunting myths...
—What was that?
'That's him?'
Kang Byungwoo eyed Jehyun again.
'Doesn't even look like he's shed his baby fat...'
No matter how he looked, Jehyun didn't scream prodigy. Just a handsome guy who could model.
Plus, prejudice lingered: No 3rd Circle beats a 4th, genius or not—let alone three.
'No clue.'
Kang Byungwoo held judgment. More investigation might yield clarity.
That's when it came.
"Ch-Chief!"
A urgent call from outside.
Kang Byungwoo bolted out, Jehyun and the superhumans following.
"This is..."
Kang Byungwoo blinked at the scene.
Gururuk. Guruk. Gururuk.
Over twenty frog mutants appeared.
"Respawn."
But respawns happened slowly, one or two at a time. For an irregular dungeon to respawn this many so fast defied norms. Mostly frog mutants, too.
"Sungil and Jonghyun, guard the bodies without damage."
Kang Byungwoo pulled his team back.
D-rank regular mutants clocked D+ to C- combat power. He was B-rank, nearing 5th Circle mage level.
He could handle this many solo.
'But...'
He glanced at Jehyun.
'If the rumors are true, even a 3rd Circle genius could handle three or four mutants.'
He wanted to test Jehyun's skill. Better grasp to judge his story.
But Jehyun's move shattered his worldview.
"Ah, hold on a sec. I need the exp badly."
With those words, they witnessed it.
Golden flames erupting from both of Jehyun's hands, sweeping the mutants in one go.
Psssh!