The Maze's Shadow and Guild Incursions
While having dinner and a cup of coffee afterward, Park Se-ah finished doing the dishes and handed over some documents as if she'd just remembered them.
"This is all the info I could find on the maze. No matter how much I searched, there was hardly anything."
"Did you check the classified archives too?"
"Of course. Take a look."
Taejeong took the files and flipped through them to get a sense of what kind of dungeon it was. As he skimmed the sparse text, his expression soon turned serious, and he muttered to himself.
"Fewer than ten hunters have come out of this place alive?"
"I couldn't find any overseas cases, but officially in Korea, it's nine."
"And they're all Hidden-rank."
"Yes. I even checked if any of them had done interviews or shared info, but surprisingly, nothing."
"But why is a place like that only rated Blue 11? Isn't the difficulty rating off?"
It was strange. A dungeon cleared by only nine people domestically, yet merely Blue-rank.
As he tilted his head in confusion, Park Se-ah explained.
"Flip to the next page and you'll see, but all the Hidden-rankers who cleared it were around level 500. It seems the rating was based on that."
"Around 500. But it says a level 900 Paladin went in here too—what happened to him?"
"He never came back."
"A level 900 couldn't clear it? That's weird. Even if Hidden-rankers are top-tier, that's a 400-level gap. Isn't the disparity too huge?"
"It is, but according to the data I gathered..."
"Got it for now. Go handle your work. I need to head in and think this over."
Back in his room, Taejeong stared intently at the documents for a while.
"Regular level 900s fail, but Hidden 500s succeed... Does that even make sense? By that logic, I'm approaching 900 too. Am I stronger than those hunters I saw in the main battlefield? No matter how I think about it, I don't feel that powerful."
Before heading to the main battlefield, the hunters he'd seen there had abilities that shook heaven and earth. Just watching them had sent shivers down his spine.
Of course, there was no guarantee those people were level 900s. But they wouldn't be lower—Korea didn't even have twenty hunters above 900 total.
"Maybe I should ask the Club."
According to the files, all nine who cleared it were in the top ten. No names like Seo Jin or Han Seol-ah, but given their secretive natures, they might have gone without recording it.
"Guess I need to see the Guild Master."
After his vacation ended, Taejeong returned to the office and handled the backlog. Park Se-ah had sorted most of it, so he didn't have much to do.
"I need to head to HQ for a bit."
"Shall I prepare?"
"Nah, I'll go alone. You hold down the fort."
"Yes, sir. Safe travels."
He left the office and headed straight to the main headquarters building where Yang Taesik was. As soon as Taejeong entered, Yang Taesik greeted him with a broad smile.
"Oh, our guild's proud hero. What brings you here without notice?"
"Hero? You're embarrassing me. I haven't done much."
"Heh, so humble. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Is there any way to contact the Club?"
"You mean the Superhuman Club?"
"Yeah, got something to ask."
Yang Taesik looked troubled at Taejeong's words.
"Hmm, sorry about this. We don't have a way to reach out to them."
"Even you can't, Guild Master?"
"They always contact us first. Never tried comms either. Remember the day you first came here? That's how it always happens. No contact info, no location. I figured you knew, since a Hidden recommended you."
"Me? Pretty much a parachute drop."
"Hey now, parachute? If you're one, who'd stay in any guild? Don't say that again. Anyone call you that? Tell me, and I'll chew them out."
"No, everyone around me's great. So, we just wait for them to call? Any idea when?"
"Who knows. Sometimes it takes a year... If only Seo Ju-ah were here. She'd have a way."
At the mention of Seo Ju-ah, Taejeong asked what was up.
"Where is she?"
"In New Zealand right now."
"New Zealand? That's overseas."
"Right. We have sister guild ties abroad. Twice a year, we meet for info exchange and international talks, ending with a hunt. The big raid's on a volcanic island there. She left for that."
"Doesn't make sense. Just for one raid, all that way? And New Zealand's blocked by storms, right?"
"Storms don't cover that much—just from our southern seas to parts of China and Japan. Ships go around the Kurils into the Pacific, no issue. And it's not just any raid. With guilds from everywhere, it's multinational, 500-plus hunters. That's why everyone wants in—experiences like that are rare."
"500... Massive. But risky too. Seo Ju-ah's level isn't that high, is it?"
"Think I'd send her alone? Our top hunters went too. Well, they're handling logistics for the meet."
"When's she back?"
"Left before the territory war, so maybe a month if quick."
"Understood."
Leaving HQ empty-handed, Taejeong sighed softly.
"No Seo Ju-ah either. What now?"
He'd planned to ask her next—she was like a little sister, bound to have contact with her brother-figure. But New Zealand was too far.
"Should've gotten Han Seol-ah's number. Why didn't I think of that?"
Returning to the regional office in a funk, Taejeong noticed the unusual bustle. People moving frantically, unlike usual.
His phone rang—Park Se-ah. Entering, she spotted him and hung up.
"You're back."
"What's going on? Why's the office vibe off?"
"Big trouble."
"Trouble?"
"A dispute at our Yangju dungeon with another guild. They just notified us to vacate."
"What? Casualties? Injuries?"
"Eleven guards hurt, but no life-threatening ones, thankfully."
"How'd it start?"
"Our guys say they barged in and started causing chaos..."
"Chaos in Yangju... Perfect Guild, across from us? Thought they were on good terms—did business together before."
"Not Perfect."
"Then? Out-of-towners?"
"Gold Lion Guild."
"Gold Lion... What? Gold Lion?"
Taejeong wondered if he'd misheard. Gold Lion was a top-ten specialist guild. Why invade a backwater like Yangju for no gain?
"Why Gold Lion? Any bad blood with us?"
As he puzzled, someone burst into the office.
"Captain, big problem!"
"Yeah, I heard. Yangju..."
"No, our Jecheon Red Field got hit by Invincible Guild."
Guild headquarters conference room. Guild Master Yang Taesik and top executives filled the seats. Taejeong was there too—they were department heads summoned urgently over the field disputes.
"The eleven injured were sent to the nearest hospital. For Jecheon, to avoid more casualties, I ordered withdrawal. Sorry for deciding solo, Guild Master."
Yang Taesik waved for him to sit, as if it were nothing.
"No, it'd be eggs against rock anyway. Quick call on withdrawal was spot-on. But why now? We've no beef with them. Anyone have guesses?"
No executives answered readily—they were as baffled as the Guild Master.
"Intel chief? Recent moves, friction, overlapping business? Anything."
"Checked before coming—zero connections. And they're top-ten; we'd have smoothed any hint."
Yang Taesik turned to the planning director opposite.
"Planning? Any business that pissed them off?"
"None. Ours are just Seoul outskirts—others are already in those."
"Regional says no major moves beyond remodeling. What's the issue...?"
Guilds invading territory needed motive—business overlap, grudges. But nothing fit, especially with fellow top-tiers.
"Wait till we know more. Beef up borders elsewhere. Tried contacting them?"
"Right away, no reply. Still trying."
"Got it. Back to posts. Report anything odd immediately."
"Yes, Guild Master."