The Trap Is Laid
I told President Baek about the favor Yeondo had asked of me.
“Go right ahead. Just share the schedule with me in advance, if you would.”
President Baek agreed surprisingly readily.
“You’re not mad?”
“You’re not planning to switch agencies, are you?”
“I never even thought of that.”
“With Miss Yeondo there, it should be fine.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one protecting Yeondo?”
“We also have to consider the possibility that Mir dug a trap.”
Yikes.
Would a top-five guild in the country dig a trap just for little old me? And Yeondo was one of Mir’s top prospects, no less. She was only at this level because her landlady mom wanted her to finish school before going full-time. If she’d been diving gates like me, she’d have hit B-class ages ago.
“That’s why I feel a little more at ease, though.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“It’s always best to prepare for the worst.”
He kept repeating that we needed to prepare for danger, so I nodded.
Hmm. Thinking about it, there had been ambushes by Chinese hunters and sniping gates right before a break.
“Yes, sir. Don’t worry.”
I was more confident in my preparations than anyone. I’d even made four more Death Warriors, after all.
“When are you going to observe?”
“Saturday.”
“Three days left. How about taking a break aside from the schedule?”
“Sir Isra said something like that. You can rest all you want after you die.”
Running gates. Hammering metal. Making undead. How fun was it to keep honing myself the way I always did?
“I’ve met many hunters at Chilseong, but I’ve never seen anyone as diligent and hardworking as Hunter Park.”
“Anyone who goes through a five-year plateau would be the same.”
Levels wouldn’t rise. Skill comprehension stuck at max. No matter how many zombies and skeletons I raised, I kept failing the promotion exams. It felt like walking endlessly through a tunnel with no end in sight. Now that light was finally visible at the end of that long journey, how could I rest?
“Ordinary people give up before that.”
It wasn’t even my birthday, yet he was praising me so much. Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek with my index finger. Time to change the subject.
“Where’s the gate this afternoon?”
“Paju.”
“See you later.”
“I’ll send a car on time.”
Click.
Paju, huh. Traffic would be pretty bad on the way back after the raid.
“Everyone, eat a solid meal.”
“Worry not.”
“Shall I feed you?”
“Don’t try anything funny, mage.”
【If it is all right with this humble one, I can lend you my mouth, Great Lord.】
“Shut it, you thief.”
“You don’t even know how precious food is. No meals for undead who can’t even taste!”
【Eek!】
Sorry, Zaug. If you show your face in my dreams, I’ll sync you up to 99%, so try a little harder.
Mir Guild headquarters.
On the top floor of a building that seemed to pierce the sky sat the guildmaster’s office—the absolute peak of Mir Guild. Yong Cheonwoo, known as the strongest hunter after Director Jeong Seungil, gazed out the window at the cityscape below. There was a deep, rich pleasure in looking down on ordinary people from such heights.
The ignorant masses who live by the mercy of the powerful.
Yong Cheonwoo chuckled lowly.
It had taken more than ten years after the Great Cataclysm for the world to stabilize. Humanity had been forced into a struggle for survival against the monsters pouring from the gates, and they had fought the demons that lurked behind every disaster. The peaceful daily life they had clawed back was thanks to the contributions and sacrifices of hunters. He firmly believed that hunters were the ones who maintained the order of this world. And so, Guildmaster Yong Cheonwoo harbored a quiet sense of chosen-people supremacy—that hunters ought to stand above the unawakened. His hobby of gazing down from the window stemmed from that very belief.
Knock, knock—
“You called for me, sir.”
“Yes. Personnel Manager. There was something I ordered you to do, wasn’t there?”
The new personnel manager who had replaced Hong Yuri swallowed hard. Here it came. The man before him was ruthless enough to cast anyone aside the moment they fell short of his expectations. Outwardly he was known as a hearty, open-handed man, but those who knew the sly schemes he kept in his heart never thought well of him—especially those closest to him.
I can’t leave in disgrace either.
His predecessor Hong Yuri had been forced to take the fall for various illegal acts the guild had committed, all because she had failed multiple times to recruit Minho.
“Yes. Preparations are complete.”
“Did the bastard take the bait?”
“He has agreed to observe Hunter Yeondo’s gate raid on Saturday.”
“Ha. Lucky us. To think a hunter who’s friendly with that arrogant punk is one of our own.”
Yong Cheonwoo bared his teeth in a broad laugh. The new personnel manager swallowed again before carefully speaking.
“Guildmaster.”
“What? Something you don’t like?”
“Hunter Kim Yeondo is considered one of our guild’s rising stars.”
“I know. She’s a speed-talent holder.”
“If we carry out that plan, Hunter Yeondo will also…”
Crrrack.
The sound of friction from his hand echoed through the entire top-floor office—the noise of mana colliding in every joint. It was a bone-chilling tone that seemed to scrape the souls of those who heard it. The personnel manager’s face went deathly pale.
“Is Park Minho worth less than Kim Yeondo?”
“No, sir.”
“It’s a bargain. Trading one prospect for the next SS-class.”
“……Yes, sir.”
After Mir Guild’s defeat in the joint raid, they had been forced to watch Minho grow without any interference, wary of the Rift Bureau and the media. It had only been a few months since their recruitment attempt had gone sour, yet in that short time Minho had racked up incredible achievements.
“An all-clear of the Tower of Chaos… that brat.”
Murderous intent flickered in Yong Cheonwoo’s eyes. The gate-bidding issue he had poked at just to test the waters had turned into a competitive raid. As everyone knew, the result had been Mir Guild’s crushing defeat. From that moment on, any chance of mending relations with Minho had vanished.
“Recognition from Alphonse and Gerard? Those old fossils should just hurry up and lie in their coffins instead of spouting nonsense.”
Following Director Jeong Seungil’s remark about the next SS-class, two of the Twelve Heroes had acknowledged Minho’s ability. It was time to accept reality. For the sake of Mir’s glorious future, Minho had to be eliminated.
“We spun a good story for Hunter Yeondo.”
That was why the personnel manager had urged Yeondo to get closer to Minho. The pretext had been plausible enough: they wanted to mend a once-broken relationship and hoped Yeondo would help. For that reason they had even turned a blind eye when she occasionally took personal training from Minho.
“She followed Park Minho over our own guild training curriculum. She deserves to die.”
Yong Cheonwoo spat each word as if chewing them, murderous intent pouring even thicker from his eyes. This was the true face of the man publicly known as open-hearted and generous—the cold-blooded figure who would discard even his own guild’s rising star without a second thought.
“They say their side is ready?”
“We’ve only passed along the execution date.”
“Double-check everything. This must never surface.”
Mir Guild could not lay hands on Minho directly during the process of eliminating him. It wasn’t about the Rift Bureau’s scrutiny. The information beyond the 44th floor of the Tower of Chaos that Minho had revealed by clearing it all was brutal—even peak A-class hunters had no confidence they could clear the 50th floor. Minho had overcome that monstrous hardship alone. To kill him for certain would require committing a significant portion of the guild’s combat strength.
“If we pull that many people from Mir, the Rift Bureau will notice.”
Therefore, to take Minho down they needed the power of another organization—an outside force the Rift Bureau wasn’t watching.
“They say preparations will be finished before D-Day.”
“Good. We’re putting a great deal of effort into this ourselves.”
An organization that shared Yong Cheonwoo’s goal. Once they moved, Minho was as good as dead. Yeondo? She would be a sacrifice in the process of removing an obstacle to Mir’s future, so she should be glad.
“Check thoroughly. We have to kill that bastard for certain.”
“Understood.”
The personnel manager gave a heavy nod and left the office, holding his breath.
Three days flew by in a flash, and the day of observing Yeondo’s gate raid arrived.
“Hwaaaah.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, more or less.”
The gate raid itself was no problem. All I had to do was summon my subordinates and leave the clearing to them—as easy as clicking a mouse. The real issue had been the all-nighter at Hanil Blacksmith. Chief Apprentice Nam Jinwoo had asked me to make him a Gigant Armor, so I’d swung the hammer until midnight. I’d come home, skipped washing, and collapsed straight into sleep. Still, thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body, a few hours of sleep restored me to peak condition. I rolled my shoulders. Fine. Not even any muscle soreness.
“Thanks to your talent, Sir, I don’t have to worry about the next day. Love that.”
“Perhaps Master is always so fine that they overwork you at the forge?”
Huh. Was that really it? Ingrid’s sudden remark sparked a reasonable suspicion. Next time I’d have to pretend I was hurting or tired. I had no desire to end up like Meister Han Yohan, with eyes bloodshot red from all-nighters and metal dust. Every time I saw him I thought the same thing: with eyes that bloodshot, couldn’t he take down a goblin just by looking at it?
【Huff. It does seem possible, Great Lord.】
“He does have the air of a battle-hardened veteran.”
“The killing intent is pretty impressive.”
【Meister. Scary.】
Even my subordinates who had each reached the pinnacle of their fields found Meister Han Yohan’s eye-attack intimidating. If I didn’t want to end up like that, I needed to rest properly.
I finished getting ready and stood in front of the landlord’s door.
Ding-dong—
“Oh my, Minho. You’re already all set?”
“I came right on time.”
“Our girl said something unnecessary. Sorry for the trouble.”
“I’m always in your debt. I’m glad I can repay it even a little this way.”
“Debt? Nonsense. Please look after Yeondo today.”
The landlady bowed her head.
“Leave it to me.”
“Mom, I keep telling you I’m fine.”
“Look at this girl. Minho is taking time out of his busy schedule—be grateful.”
“That’s right. This big brother of yours isn’t a man of leisure.”
“Eww, gross. Ahjussi.”
The president of my fan club recoiling at the sight of her star? Truly the end of days.
“Why are you in casual clothes, though?”
“I’m using guild gear for equipment.”
“Ah.”
For reference, the rental gear was all Rare-grade. As expected of a top-five guild. Their welfare benefits were insane.
“I’ll be off.”
“Mom, I’m heading out!”
“Take care of yourselves. Minho, once again, please look after her.”
“Don’t worry.”
I’d heard the gate Yeondo was clearing was D-class. Even back when I was E-class, I’d cleared ones like that easily thanks to Sir Isra. Surely nothing could go wrong… right?