What Are You Doing Here?

The preliminary rounds continued from there, but the talk going back and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forth among the crowd never changed.

Silla vs. Shinseong.

On one side, Silla Guild, showing rock-solid form as they chased their third consecutive title.

On the other, Shinseong Guild, living up to its name in every sense of the word — a guild that had appeared out of nowhere like a divine miracle and carved out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a historic record by clearing a D-rank gate in under two hours.

Where else would you find better fodder for debate?

Thus was born the so-called Shin-Silla War.

But despite the word "war," far more people were already calling Silla Guild's victory a foregone conclusion. No matter how staggering Shinseong's records were, the metric of back-to-back Guild War championships simply loomed far larger.

"Very good."

A quick survey of public opinion told me all I needed to know. Shinseong Guild's name was beginning to blossom here, there, and everywhere.

'Doesn't it bruise your pride, being measured against Silla and dismissed as the underdog?'

As if.

If anyone's pride should be wounded here, it was Silla Guild's.

"How does it feel to be seriously compared against a brand-new guild?"

It was common enough for a lower-tier guild to put on an unexpected show at a Guild War. Suddenly toppling a powerhouse and clawing into the main bracket, or one team member turning in a standout performance — it happened. 'But it usually dies out fast.' They'd limp into the main event and get eliminated right away, and the one standout would finish the tournament, collect an offer from a major guild, and transfer. That was the pattern.

"Which is exactly why Shinseong is perfectly positioned for the spotlight."

For starters, the guild leader was me, Lee Tae-hyun. We'd blown past Silla Guild's record in these prelims, amplifying public interest in one stroke. And by borrowing the name of Celestial, I'd sharply reduced any anxiety about guild members being poached elsewhere.

People are wired to root for a rising star over an established dynasty. 'Plus, they say last year's Guild War was the most boring one in history.'

The reason was simple: Silla had been overwhelmingly, suffocatingly strong. They'd steamrolled everyone single-handedly and taken the crown, so there'd never been a single nail-biting, dramatic match to speak of. 'Which is exactly why plenty of people will warm to Shinseong's run.'

I couldn't let this window of explosive growth slip by. The most important thing was for Shinseong to grow until it could stand shoulder to shoulder with the other guilds — at minimum, to become competitive enough to keep Korea's strongest hunters bound to us.

'I need to brand the name Shinseong.'

A guild anyone would envy! The kind where, if you asked, "Which guild do you want to join?" the default answer would be, "Shinseong Guild, obviously, haha"!

'A blue-chip guild everyone wants, and a luxury guild no one can just walk into.'

Laying that cornerstone was what winning this Guild War was for.

"…Things are about to get busy."

On top of all that, I still had to gather clues about the Monarch. There was no sign of him moving against me yet, but that didn't change the fact that the people who'd taken out a contract on my life were still out there, lurking.

"Their silence is almost uncanny."

But if they so much as stepped on their own tail — if I could catch even a thread — I would rip the whole thing out by the roots and wipe them out in one stroke. 'I'll make them regret ever being born….'

"Regret what?"

Baek Seo-ha, who had apparently arrived at some point without my noticing, tilted her head.

"…If you're going to come in, at least make some noise."

"I did."

"By silently sidling over like a ghost?"

"That's the fault of whoever didn't notice."

…One thing I'd noticed lately: Baek Seo-ha's personality had drifted a long way from her first impression. When we'd met at the Sword Sect, she'd been all haughty, ice-cold noblewoman. These days she was more like… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a house cat, I supposed.

'Though this is closer to the Baek Seo-ha I knew than that one ever was.'

Which was probably why my own manner around her had loosened so much lately.

"You're going to keep carrying that sword around?"

"A swordsman carries her sword everywhere. It's the law."

"The law of what. Do you wear it in the shower, then?"

"……"

"…You don't, right?"

Even if the Chamryong Sword was S-rank equipment, a steady diet of soap and water couldn't be good for it.

"Anyway. Did you need something?"

"Mm. The round-of-64 bracket came out."

So the prelims were already finished.

"Did our opponent come up?"

"That's…"

Baek Seo-ha hesitated, biting her lip. Apparently, we'd stepped squarely on a landmine with our very first match.

"Don't tell me it's the Sword Sect, first thing?"

"No, it's not."

"Then the Magic Tower, or the Academy?"

"Not them either…"

Hold on.

Then.

"Our round-of-64 opponent is… the winner of Group C."

"Group C would be… Silla?"

Ha. A treacherous road from the very first step.

Silla Guild.

No Korean could fail to recognize it — the undisputed pinnacle of the nation's guilds. Kim Nam-hyun, ranked third on the hunter leaderboard, belonged here. The guild had, entirely on its own, safely cleared a full five S-rank gates.

Globally speaking, that was more than enough to place them solidly in the world's upper-middle tier.

"And the guy they've fielded as team leader this time…"

Kim Jin.

I knew this man. Even before my regression, he'd carried some weight in the community.

'He was… the man destined to become the next Sect Leader of the Fist Sect.'

A disciple of the Hyeonmu Fist Sect, one of the Fist King's own students. After Kang Hyuk-jin's death, he was the hunter who would take up the mantle of Sect Leader.

"Come to think of it, they did say he was active in Silla Guild."

I'd never imagined we'd get tangled up like this, though. All I knew from my past life was that after Kim Jin became the next Sect Leader, the Fist Sect simply collapsed. The sect's ruin itself I could chalk up to the fallout from the current sect system being gutted and rebuilt around the Fist King's death.

'But why did this man leave Silla Guild and return to the Fist Sect?'

Did he covet the Sect Leader's seat? Honestly, that was the most likely answer.

"Still, something about it doesn't sit right."

Silla Guild alone was a comfortable, glittering nest. To casually abandon a place like that and return to a sect where you'd have to rebuild the entire system from scratch? For a man who'd chosen a corporate guild, that was remarkably audacious.

'And he never struck me as especially power-hungry.'

It's true you shouldn't judge people by appearances alone. But no matter how I looked at him, Kim Jin didn't seem like the type to gamble that big.

The moment he was set as our opponent, I'd dug up every match recording I could find — and the more I watched, the more his future choice only puzzled me.

'He never commits to a fight unless he's certain. He keeps searching for the angle where his fist lands clean and unobstructed.'

It was the ping of an incoming message that cut off my thoughts. Today, I'd set aside some time to visit the Hunter Bureau. The reason was nothing special.

"Ah! Welcome, sir. Everything's ready for you."

A remeasurement of my potential.

'I was curious.'

Thanks to the Limit Break System, my potential rank had risen to C. But would that actually register on their measuring device?

"Should we begin right away?"

"Yes. As you requested, sir, I've set it so no record of the measurement will be kept."

Better safe than sorry — no grade on file.

'To think I'd be back in this place again.'

The potential measurement room. Stepping inside, I was met with a massive machine apparatus.

"No need for instructions, I assume?"

"I've done it once before."

Nothing complicated about it. You simply placed your hand in the groove at the edge of the device, and that was that. Without hesitation, I laid my hand on the machine.

"Then… commencing measurement!"

Seong Ju-ah activated the device.

Vvvvmmm!

The machine roared to life with a racket. The grading criteria were simple: the amount of light entering the mana bulb mounted at the top of the device determined your rank. Supposedly, an S-rank reading produced a light so blinding you'd wonder if your eyes had been burned out.

VVVVVMMM!

The device shook violently.

"It's trying to tell us something, isn't it?"

At my first measurement, before the regression, there had been none of this — just a dim little flicker of light, and nothing more. No deafening noise, no trembling underfoot, nothing like now.

'Don't tell me—'

Had the growth in my potential actually carried over? If so, then the mana bulb would naturally…!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"……"

Why wasn't the damn thing lighting up?

"Ahhh… Tae-hyun-nim. The measurement result is…"

"…What rank?"

"F."

No plot twist, no miracle. If that's how it was going to be, why build in all that dramatic buildup just to get my hopes up?

"Haa. Well, it's not all bad. At least nobody can accuse me of faking my rank anymore."

My status window openly declared C-rank, with more growth yet to come — but in society, the measuring device's grade was the absolute yardstick of a hunter's potential. After all, a status window could only be viewed by its owner.

"Don't be too discouraged. There's never been a single case of a fixed potential rank changing."

"Was that supposed to be comforting?"

"It was a statement of fact."

I gave a bitter laugh and stretched.

"Heading out already?"

"Yes. The Guild War main bracket starts soon, after all."

"Ah… come to think of it, your first opponent in the main event is definitely…"

"Silla Guild."

"…Ah."

Seong Ju-ah went quiet, her face turning complicated. A cold sweat crept down her cheek, like someone who'd just remembered she'd forgotten something very important.

"Is something the matter?"

"Ah— no! Of course not! What problem could there possibly be?!"

"You look considerably more anxious than someone claiming there's no problem."

"Goodness, that's ridiculous! I-I mean, that's not what matters — you're a busy man, shouldn't you be heading in?!"

Hmm… suspicious, no matter how I looked at it.

"Sure. I suppose."

"Take the staff elevator and you'll get there in no time! I'll show you the way!"

"…Heh."

Her flustered state was genuinely entertaining.

"You know, I don't really feel like going yet."

"Excuse me?!"

"Since I'm already here, I might as well look around the Hunter Bureau. Care to give me a tour?"

"D-do you really have to do that right now?"

"If not now, when?"

"I actually have a schedule after this, so…"

"Shame. Then I suppose I'll just have to wander around alone."

Had she imagined the sight of me traipsing through the Hunter Bureau by myself? Her face darkened in an instant.

And so it ended with her practically dragging me out by the hand.

"Later! I'll give you a proper tour someday, as long as you like! Please just head home for today!"

"Nooo-ope. No, no, no. Today."

The sight of her squeaking and tugging at me, trying to haul me out the door, was comical beyond words.

Right, that was enough teasing.

The moment I moved to walk on my own two feet—

Crash!

Something hit the floor across the corridor.

"Hm?"

I turned toward the sound and saw two cups of coffee soaking into the floorboards. Who on earth drops coffee in a completely empty hallway?

I lifted my head, fully intending to size up the culprit's face.

"J-Ju-ah…?"

And then I saw it. A face frozen in utter disbelief, hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Why… why are you holding his hand? Why are you two coming out of the same place?"

'What are YOU doing here?'

Kim Jin.