Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Guild Clash Aftermath
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About 70 guild members had died, and around 60 more had been arrested.
The situation had unfolded so suddenly that even the Special Task Force was struggling to piece together what had happened.
"Explain what went on."
Kang Kyung-chal was interrogating Jeong Tae-chan, the head of Comet Guild.
Jeong Tae-chan's body looked like it needed immediate treatment, but first, they had to uncover the cause of the incident.
"I don't know... Those bastards took it...
Fuckers...
"What did they take?"
"My stuff...
Jeong Tae-chan mumbled, his face half out of it.
"What was this stuff?"
"The Cup of Life...
"The Cup of Life?"
Kang Kyung-chal had heard the name before. He pondered it for a moment before realizing what it was.
"Oh, the relic that got stolen a while back?"
"Yeah...
"Was that you guys who stole it?"
"...
Yeah, it was us. But they took it from us."
"From who? That Goldwin guy?"
Jeong Tae-chan shook his head.
"Don't know. No idea who."
Kang Kyung-chal fell deep in thought.
They had arrested almost all of Goldwin's crew. But when they searched them, there was no sign of anything resembling the Cup of Life.
So, not Goldwin's gang, but someone else?
Or maybe the ones who got away from Goldwin's group?
"What about his face? Do you remember his face?"
"Didn't see his face. He had his hat pulled down low."
"A hat?"
"And...
a beard. He had a beard."
"Hat and beard...
That wasn't enough to identify anyone. But a beard suggested an older wizard.
"What magic did he use?"
"Don't know. Can't remember."
"Give me anything that comes to mind."
"Probably...
probably non-elemental. Not sure about the form."
Non-elemental? Kang Kyung-chal tilted his head. It wasn't common, though not unheard of.
"Got it. Understood."
Kang Kyung-chal stood up.
Jeong Tae-chan glanced up at him, then gave a miserable smile.
"...
Catch that bastard for me. I'm fucking pissed off."
Meanwhile, Choi Seo-yoon and Yoo Ah-ra were sitting on a rock somewhere at the scene, watching the situation unfold.
It was now 10:10 PM.
The night patrols had all ended, but with this major incident, they had to stick around like this.
"We were really in danger today. I never imagined something even riskier than yesterday would happen."
"Yeah. But nothing too bad happened, so that's a relief."
After Kang Kyung-chal and Kim Sun-woo left,
the two of them, left alone while waiting for Special Task Force backup, had run into a few of Goldwin's men.
Luckily, they were only C-Rank level, so they subdued them without much trouble.
If there had been any B-Rank or higher wizards mixed in, things could have gotten way more dangerous.
Even thinking back, it was a chilling moment.
"But where did Senior Kim Sun-woo go?"
Choi Seo-yoon muttered absently, staring out at the dark sea.
Even 30 minutes after the incident wrapped up, Kim Sun-woo showed no sign of returning.
She was starting to worry about what he could be doing.
Maybe he got badly hurt jumping into that fight, or something happened?
Just then, a familiar silhouette of a man came trudging over from afar.
"Senior?"
It was none other than Kim Sun-woo.
His clothes were fine, but his hair was wet—maybe from sweat, or had he gone swimming in the sea?
And his face looked pale, like he was in pain somewhere.
"Where were you?"
"Just got some air."
"Huh? Air?"
Choi Seo-yoon felt baffled by Kim Sun-woo's out-of-left-field answer.
As she opened her mouth to say something, Kang Kyung-chal appeared behind them.
"Ah, everyone's here. You all worked hard late into the night. Leave this to us now and head back."
Kang Kyung-chal said with a slightly weary smile.
From the looks of things, the Special Task Force agents would be working all night.
"Ah, yes. Got it. Thanks for your hard work."
Choi Seo-yoon bowed her head. Kang Kyung-chal nodded at the sight.
"Watch out—there might still be stragglers from today's incident."
"Yes."
Kang Kyung-chal disappeared somewhere. And once again, only the three remained.
A heavy silence settled in. Yoo Ah-ra and Choi Seo-yoon wanted to ask Kim Sun-woo in detail where he'd been, but his dark expression made them hesitant to speak.
In the end, it was Kim Sun-woo who broke the silence first.
"Tired. Let's head back quick."
"Fuck! Pissed off!"
Out in the waters off Incheon, Baek Eun-seong let out an angry shout.
He had been so confident this time, but it had ended in ridiculous failure.
He let out a sigh.
He'd bragged he could handle it alone, but now he didn't have the guts to face his comrades.
"...
Who the hell was that guy?"
Baek Eun-seong recalled the figure who had snatched the Cup of Life and fled. The hat was pulled so low he hadn't gotten a proper look at the face.
All he remembered was the beard on the lower face.
"That bearded fucker. What the hell is he?!"
Goldwin affiliate? Or Comet Guild?
"...
From Jeong Tae-chan's reaction, not Comet Guild."
Then Goldwin?
But there were too many suspicious things for that.
For one, the guy had sensed the skill gap right away and bolted at full speed without hesitation.
But the most suspicious part was jumping into the sea, knowing full well that Baek Eun-seong couldn't swim.
"How the fuck did he know that?"
Baek Eun-seong bit his lip hard.
The number of people who knew he couldn't swim was extremely few...
It couldn't be coincidence.
No way there's a traitor in Jaun?
"...
No."
He didn't suspect his comrades.
That was Jaun's iron rule. No traitors. That was the baseline assumption.
So how?
"...
Doesn't make sense."
That was when it happened.
Bzzz. His smartphone buzzed with a call alert.
The contacts listed it as 'Berth'.
"Ah...
Baek Eun-seong's mouth went dry. He had no idea what kind of scolding he'd get when he reported today's mess.
And worse than curses would be the ridicule and disappointment from his comrades.
Click.
In the end, he hung up. He wasn't mentally ready to report to them yet.
That was when it happened.
Bzzz.
The call alert rang again.
Click. He hung up again.
Bzzz. It rang once more.
"Ha...
The fight between Goldwin Guild and Comet Guild spread quickly through articles and news.
The Cup of Life, cited as the cause, was mentioned, sparking tons of speculation about who took it.
Naturally, not a single person thought it was the work of a Magic Academy student.
Most opinions centered on one of the organization's members betraying them, as expected from a crime group.
Some pointed out—sharply(?), they thought—that the culprit behind recent mysterious incidents like the Magic Academy demon assassinations might all be the same person.
Of course, that opinion was lightly dismissed and ridiculed by the masses.
And so, time flew by to Friday evening.
After finishing the three-day field experience, we returned to the dorms.
I was now sitting on the sofa, checking what I'd gained from the field experience.
['Crime Organization Bust' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 7,000 points acquired.]
[Indirectly influenced the bust of 2 villain organizations.]
[Karma increases by 1.]
A whopping 7,000 points.
Considering how point farming had been lackluster lately, it put me in a great mood.
I cleared the message window in front of me and opened my subspace to pull out the Cup of Life.
"Hmm."
Getting the Cup of Life was great, but now I had to think about how to use it.
The Cup of Life was a material for the sacred relic known as the Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail was a special item capable of performing miracles like reviving even the dead under certain conditions.
Useless right now, but completing it would surely be a huge help.
"But can I even complete the Holy Grail?"
To turn the Cup of Life into the Holy Grail, I needed a few more materials.
The hardest to obtain among them was a relic called the 'Seed of Origin.'
I had a rough idea of where the Seed of Origin was hidden.
But that place was somewhere I couldn't go right now.
It required certain conditions.
And my current power was far too lacking to meet them.
"Wonder how it'll play out now."
With the Cup of Life gone.
What moves would Jaun make next?
The Holy Grail was a pretty major item in the original story too.
It was one of the key objects tied to Jaun's ultimate goal.
Sure, its effects were a bit weaker, but there was an item that could substitute for the Holy Grail. So Jaun hadn't lost their goal entirely.
But one thing was clear: they must be pretty confused right now.
Some unknown person had snatched their item, throwing their plans into disarray.
"Hmm...
The key was that I'd bought some time. I took a satisfied sip of the beer on the table.
"Ahh."
Refreshing.
Time flew by to Monday.
After early morning exercise, Shin Young-jun approached me cheerfully.
"Hey, Kim Sun-woo! That guild fight incident—was that your patrol area?"
"Oh, really?"
Lee Seo-jun, standing next to Shin Young-jun, reacted.
"Why do you always attract incidents? You some detective manga protagonist?"
Lee Seo-jun teased me.
But hearing that made me chuckle in disbelief.
The root of all incidents saying what now...
"What's so funny?"
"Just... it's absurd."
"What's absurd?"
"...
Sigh. You wouldn't get it even if I told you."
I shook my head, and Lee Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, what? Don't stop halfway."
We were bickering lightly when the back door opened, and Yoon Ha-young arrived for school.
"Hey, guys! Hi!"
Yoon Ha-young greeted us brightly with a lively smile.
"Oh, hi."
Yoon Ha-young set her bag down at her seat and came over to me.
"Sun-woo, when does that documentary you filmed air?"
"Oh yeah, you did a docu. Heh heh."
Shin Young-jun laughed teasingly. No clue what was funny, but that's just how he was, so I let it slide.
"The preview was no joke. That 'I study based on the textbook' line in front of the camera? So cringy—was that scripted?"
"Shut up."
"So when does it air?"
When was it again?
I'd actually forgotten about filming the docu for a bit.
"...
Today?"
"Today?"
Lee Seo-jun asked.
"Yeah, probably this afternoon at 9."
I pulled out my smart student planner from my pocket.
Checking the calendar, yeah, today.
"Yep, today."
"Ooh, I'll watch live."
Wonder what the ratings will be. Not expecting much, honestly.
Lee Seo-jun's docu hit 4% ratings, but that was because it was Lee Seo-jun.
Even 0.2% for mine would be a godsend.
That'd net a pretty decent point haul.
Just then, the door opened, and Jang An-cheol entered.
The students returned to their seats.
"Alright, morning roll call."
"Yes!"
"As you all know, the semester's final exams aren't far off."
Jang An-cheol's words made me think: it's finally here.
The 2nd Year Semester 1 Finals.
They were conducted in a completely different format from any exams so far.
And at the mention of finals, a small stir went through the class.
"Already?"
"Wow, time flies."