Signs of Division
The signs of division had been visible from the very first day.
The first team-based training session had begun with everyone eager to show off their skills.
With team leaders Kim Jong-phil and Lee Hye-jung absent, Team 1 and Team 2 split apart and clashed against hordes of orcs.
The result was a one-sided rout. Not a single millimeter of ground was yielded.
Of course. Everyone here had been handpicked by Lee Shin. When it came to raw potential, they were all top-tier. A mere two or three of them could have swept the field alone.
The problem was that their egos were every bit as massive as their abilities.
“Hey, you. Dealers.”
“??”
“Got a minute? Let’s talk.”
Two meters tall. Weight: no comment. Body fat ten percent. Pure muscle.
A human tank… or rather, a tanker. Kang Malsuk.
Normally she was a simple, smiling country girl from Gamjagol, but the moment a raid began, she transformed completely.
She became a line-obsessed fanatic.
“Why do you keep crossing the line? We tankers bled to make that line. It’s precious.”
A tanker’s fundamental role was to hold the front line. That line protected allies and served as the focal point for offense.
Kang Malsuk wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Every tanker treasured the line they had forged with their own bodies.
She simply took it to an extreme.
Still—
“Come on, it’s been ages since I got to swing my weapon. Let’s just let it slide.”
“Exactly. They die the moment we shoot them. What are we supposed to do?”
“Getting worked up over lines at this level is a bit much.”
Dealers had personalities as distinct as their positions.
Dealers were beasts.
Ordinary people couldn’t even wring a chicken’s neck, yet these hunters drove blades and arrows into monsters without hesitation. Their limits on slaughter had been removed.
That was why they were rough by nature. The further they advanced, the rougher they became.
Lee Shin had paid just as much attention to the new dealer recruits as he had to the tankers. Every one of them was an S-rank with a base potential of 190 or higher.
In other words—
They were the roughest of the rough.
“Malsuk-ssi, this is just a warm-up raid, isn’t it? Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”
“Warm-ups are done with punching bags. This is a gate. Gates have rules.”
“……That’s a bit much. Are you saying I don’t know the basics?”
“Having dealers trample the line I made while getting covered in stinking monster blood feels wrong.”
“Hey!”
“Hyung-nim, keep your voice down.”
“Noona, that’s enough.”
Tensions between tankers and dealers weren’t unique to Mir Guild. They happened in every guild.
The ones who protected and the ones who killed were bound to clash in temperament.
Veterans and raid leaders were supposed to smooth those conflicts into a cohesive team.
Yet Kim Jong-phil merely smiled benevolently, showing no intention of intervening. Kim Yu-shin couldn’t help but ask.
“Are you sure this is fine? Leaving them like that?”
“Haha, why not? It’s training, yet they’re treating it like a real fight. Their spirit is impressive. Besides, their auras are formidable. Their levels have definitely risen. Quite the sight.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“……You’ve changed a lot.”
“Why? Do I seem too naive?”
“Yes.”
The Sanwang Kim Yu-shin remembered was a tyrant. A mad tiger.
Park Su-bin and Yu Ri-ra would have denied it with “No way,” but it was the truth.
During his Kirin Guild days, Sanwang had been infamous for his iron discipline.
Punctuality, training treated as real combat, no phones in the training hall, strict diet control once the league began, mandatory group meals—there were no exceptions.
From the lowest second-string hunter to Kim Jong-phil himself and even the guild master, Manwang Han Jeong-do, everyone had to obey.
The famous anecdote of him expelling the rising star “Flame Queen” for being late to training was still talked about.
Some even claimed the Kirin rankers had driven him out because of that suffocating regime.
So Kim Yu-shin had every reason to be surprised.
This scene would have been unthinkable in the past.
“Why? Do I look too soft?”
“Yes, you do.”
“I’ve grown old. Old age makes one mild.”
“I don’t think the Sanwang I remember would become mild even with age.”
“Haha. You’ve grown quite a bit, Yu-shin.”
Kim Jong-phil patted Kim Yu-shin’s shoulder, then asked abruptly.
“Why do you think they’re bickering like that?”
“Well, because they’re dealers and tankers……”
“No. That’s secondary. The root cause is simpler.”
They were all rookies.
New faces in a new place. They might have seen each other before, but mostly as enemies.
Now they had been gathered together.
“Humans are pack animals. When anxious, they form groups. The most convenient grouping here is by position. Add their individual pride and skill, and you get this. In that fight just now, no one was wrong. From their own perspectives, every word was correct.”
“……”
“We can’t simply scold them either. Unlike the previous batch, these hunters have already proven themselves. Their skills are real, and their pride is strong.”
Incidentally, Lee Hye-jung had managed to unite Team 2 with relative ease. Most of its members were younger than her and still unproven prospects.
“What we need right now are veterans. Veterans steeped in the guild’s colors who can gradually dye these newcomers.”
“Then……”
The moment Kim Yu-shin heard the word “veteran,” something clicked.
“You noticed?”
“They’re too young.”
“Yes. Too young.”
The only veterans currently available were Park Su-bin, Yu Ri-ra, and Lee Hye-jung. With Lee Hye-jung handling Team 2, that left only two young world-class hunters.
“Their skills are flawless, but can those two really bring everyone together? It would be fortunate if the awkwardness didn’t turn on them instead.”
“……So that’s why you sent them separately.”
A team composed almost entirely of rookies.
The absence of veterans weighed heavier than expected.
“What would happen if I stepped in now?”
“Wouldn’t it get sorted out?”
“Only on the surface. Just like in the Kirin days.”
“Senior……”
“Haha, kid. No need for that sad face. I’ve simply grown fond of this guild.”
Kim Jong-phil had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
Though only a few years had passed, he had grown surprisingly attached and happy.
He had no plans of letting go of the happiness he had found late in life.
Besides……
— “Let’s show them who the real protagonist is.”
Now he had a very cheeky ally by his side.
“Just wait a little longer. I won’t leave them like this for long.”
And today, what had to explode finally did.
The tankers and dealers were facing off.
Team 1, mindful of Park Su-bin, had adopted a three-tanker formation. Numbers favored the dealers, yet Kang Malsuk and the other tankers used their massive frames to pressure them.
“Hey. Don’t forget we’re running three tankers right now. I’m the only one holding the right flank! The dealers should show some consideration. Why do you keep dragging monsters over here?”
“You think I want to drag them? You’re setting your line too passively!”
“Passive? Why blame us because your coordination is off and you can’t focus fire? Reduce the monster count. Then we’ll push forward!”
“That’s crossing the line. If we’re going there, then you should be gathering monsters properly. Isn’t herding part of a tanker’s duty?”
“Hahaha. Duty? You guys sure talk funny. So funny I want to pop all your popcorn.”
As the atmosphere between tankers and dealers grew hostile, the supporters found themselves in the most awkward position.
‘What do we do?’
‘Why are you looking at me?’
‘Come here.’
Supporters, always outnumbered, were used to reading the room. They quietly drifted toward the healers.
But were the healers any better off?
Not at all.
‘Why the hell did they bring that guy over?’
‘We were already sitting around doing nothing.’
Normally, healers made up a small portion of any raid party.
Yet somehow Mir Guild had five left over even after assigning one to each team?
They had been twiddling their thumbs in embarrassment when the supporters suddenly joined them, turning them into an actual group. What the hell?
At this point, Team 2, which had been training at a distance, also stopped what they were doing.
‘Uh…… should we go too?’
‘Is it okay to just stand here?’
‘What do we do……?’
Conscious of their seniors’ gazes, everyone took a hesitant step back.
Just as things seemed about to spiral out of control, Yu Ri-ra and Park Su-bin stepped between the tankers and dealers.
“Noona, it’s getting too heated. Relax, relax.”
“E-everyone, please don’t do this. Let’s talk it out.”
But their intervention only made things worse.
“Ri-ra, Noona’s talking right now.”
“You two stay out of it.”
No matter how kind and eager the juniors were, this was a matter of playstyle.
Besides, though unspoken, the newcomers found Yu Ri-ra and Park Su-bin uncomfortable as well. New powers always found the old guard unsettling.
Then a clear, low voice cut through the chaos like magic.
“What’s the big deal? It’s nothing.”
“……!!”
“Yeon-woo!”
The lone wolf who belonged to no pack—or rather, the lone fox.
Baek Yeon-woo leaned on his crutches, surveying the scene with his distinctive sky-blue eyes.
“I thought hunters fought with something amazing…… but it’s all the same, huh?”
“What did you say!”
“Wait a second.”
Several people bristled at the obvious mockery, but Park Su-bin and Yu Ri-ra blocked their path.
It was complete pandemonium.
Tankers, dealers, supporters, healers, Team 2, and even Lee Shin’s “children”—the embedded stones—had all been drawn in.
Could it get any more chaotic?
They had long since moved past simply raising their voices.
Built-up grievances and anxieties had exploded.
There was no stopping it now. They had reached a point where they could no longer resolve it themselves.
As the flames spread uncontrollably—
Clap, clap—
He arrived.
“Mm, delicious. As expected of a major brand. Nice and spicy.”
Lee Shin walked over wearing an apron, apparently in the middle of preparing a meal.
When everyone froze at the sudden appearance of their eccentric leader, Lee Shin waved his hand dismissively.
“Why’d you stop? It was just getting good. Don’t mind me, keep going.”
He pulled a chair from his subspace pouch and sat down. As always, he rested his chin on the backrest and blinked, his clear eyes filled with anticipation.
“Not gonna continue? It’s not over, right? Oh please, tell me it’s not.”
“……”
The hostile atmosphere dissolved in an almost miraculous fashion.
Something about those eyes made their fighting spirit evaporate.
Lee Shin snorted, disappointed.
“Everyone.”
“……”
“Ahem, ahem. Children of Mir, can you hear me?”
He hadn’t expected an answer. Lee Shin simply said what he wanted to say.
“I understand why you’re all confused. How could you not be? You’re seeing new faces, and until last year you were rivals fighting for rankings.”
Their movements were unfamiliar. Their coordination was off. Each had their own accustomed formations and strategies, and everything from one to ten felt alien.
Humans formed factions even in groups of three. It would have been stranger if no one had started blaming others in this situation.
“Expecting you to adapt to each other right away is ridiculous. Even I would’ve been confused.”
Still.
Lee Shin’s eyes narrowed.
“I just didn’t expect it to blow up this fast. I overestimated you children. My apologies.”
The smart way to integrate rookies was to use veterans.
But the veterans of Mir Guild?
Lee Shin looked at Lee Hye-jung. She was already struggling with Team 2.
He looked at Yu Ri-ra. She wasn’t leader material to begin with.
Finally, he looked at Park Su-bin…… The kid might manage it someday, but not yet.
The smart method was off the table. That left only one option.
The crude, barbaric method.
“Everyone, some of you may have heard the rumors. During my first meeting with my previous team, I made it clear: ‘You are tools.’”
“Why didn’t I say the same thing this time? Because your skills are so outstanding? Or because I want to keep you around for a long time?”
Neither.
Lee Shin simply hadn’t felt the need to say it.
Because he had already made a promise from the very beginning.
Now that he had been released from his seal—
“Protagonist, enter.”
Lee Shin clapped twice and stepped aside.
A figure walked into the space he had vacated.
It was Sanwang, Kim Jong-phil.
“Youngsters, how about we have a little spar first?”
Time to sort out the traffic.