A Guild Master's Happiness
The value of happiness varies from person to person.
Some find joy on payday. Others discover it in romance. Some feel it during their one overseas trip each year.
To Lee Shin, happiness was being a Guild Master. That role marked both the beginning and the end of every joy he felt.
In that sense, Lee Shin could declare with total confidence.
Since the day he had opened his eyes in this world, this very moment was the happiest he had ever been.
Because the dream he had drawn was unfolding right before him.
"Set three, and nothing has changed! Mir Guild is absolutely dominating Haemu Guild!"
"Honestly, it's not just one lane that's collapsed—both top and jungle are in ruins. Hoping they can ignore that would be downright shameless. What I'm really disappointed about is that at this rate, we might see a perfect game across every set."
"Exactly. So far, Mir Guild has zero deaths, hasn't surrendered a single tower, and hasn't lost a single major objective."
"Haemu Guild needs to think carefully. This isn't the end. They'll face Mir Guild again in the second half of the season. They have to squeeze out every last drop of strength for that rematch!"
The main team consisted of top-tier tank and core player Park Su-bin—known as Bokchi—and Superstar Yu Ri-ra, whose attack power and speed placed her at the absolute peak among all marksmen. Protecting them was the broad-chested warrior Hwarang.
With that core formed, they shifted the super crack Baek Yeon-woo to the side lane.
And at the center of it all was the brain, the commander, the man who could serve as a core like Park Su-bin, deal damage like Yu Ri-ra, provide care like Hwarang, and now, after his rejuvenation, even act as a crack like Baek Yeon-woo.
The newly reborn Mountain King, Kim Jong-pil, served as the free-roll.
Chae Dong-ha spoke in a daze.
"They keep aiming for the main team, but Baek Yeon-woo on the side is too destructive. When they try to target Baek Yeon-woo on the side, they can't do it with just one person. But if they commit two, the main team breaks through."
"The main team won't collapse in even fights either. And across the entire league, there are only about three or four players who can beat our Yeonu in a one-on-one. When you balance the main team and side like this..."
"You can't stop the Mountain King shaking things up from the middle. Whew~"
Even to Chae Dong-ha, whose eye for the game had sharpened considerably, there were no openings.
It wasn't just because it was their guild. There really was no visible path to victory. And the actual flow of the match was unfolding exactly that way.
"To be honest, I loved the 'Return of the Legend' theme in set one and the 'Baek Yeon-woo' story in set two, but set three is my favorite."
"Why is that?"
"Because set three is the real main point. This is Mir Guild's declaration of war to League One!"
"A declaration of war?"
"Every guild has its concept and meta. Rush, poke, teamfight—Haemu Guild's concept is assassination. But what about Mir Guild? What is their concept?"
"Hmm. Teamfight?"
"Surprisingly, it's all of them."
"!!"
"When they gather around the Mountain King, they're a teamfight concept. When the Mountain King sticks to the main team, they become a rush concept. When the Mountain King hides in the jungle, they can assassinate too."
"And if the Mountain King attaches himself to Baek Yeon-woo, they can run a stable and destructive 3-2 side operation. Even more interesting is when Baek Yeon-woo and the Mountain King split in opposite directions to independently farm the sides. That 1-3-1 side operation can extract extreme advantages."
"Ah..."
"There's a ranker in America called Mr. Everything. The man who does it all... I guarantee that after today, that nickname is going to feel embarrassing."
"It's true. He really can do everything."
"What shocked me the most is this structure."
"A shield for the Mountain King, a gun for the Mountain King, fuel for the Mountain King, a crack for the Mountain King."
"And on top of that, the Mountain King himself, who has undergone his second awakening."
"Amazingly, this was all planned and built from the very beginning."
"Isn't that... a bit of a stretch?"
"Not at all. If even one of them were missing, we wouldn't be seeing the scene on screen right now. Even if you swapped in similar players, you wouldn't reach this level of perfection."
"Wow... So Representative Lee Shin..."
"Yes. Representative Lee Shin is truly a terrifying man."
Chae Dong-ha looked at that terrifying man. The person who kept nodding with tears of joy streaming down his face was supposed to be terrifying?
"Is what they said accurate?"
"Hmph. I'd love to say yes, but that part really is an exaggeration."
Lee Shin blew his nose with a tissue.
"There was a Plan A. The picture was similar, but some of the pieces were lacking."
"And that's where Hwarang and Baek Yeon-woo came in."
"Don't forget the new old man!"
"That's scary in its own way. So there were other candidates."
"Of course. If you're the representative, you need plans from A to Z. That's obvious."
"Please don't say that anywhere else. It's bad luck."
"I'm just that good. Sniff."
"...Must be nice."
Despite his words, Chae Dong-ha found the sniffling Lee Shin even more impressive.
Using his vast knowledge of hunters to design a squad, then the tenacity and effort to make that design a reality.
Now he understood why people called this man the genius representative.
And perhaps in response to Lee Shin's hard work, the Mountain King was actively testing the weapons given to him as if it were a showcase.
"Haemu Guild initiates on Mir Guild's main team!"
"Not a chance."
"With their plan shattered, Haemu Guild immediately pivots and tries to cut off Baek Yeon-woo from afar!"
"Hmm, I don't think so."
"Ah, and right in the middle of the jungle—the Mountain King's ambush! A solo kill! The Mountain King cuts down the enemy and slips away leisurely."
"See? Fighting the Mountain King for vision is basically suicide."
"Mir Guild looks flawless. Not a single weakness. On the other hand, Haemu Guild has no answers. It's hopeless."
"This feels like their peak performance."
"Sorry? What do you mean?"
"This might be premature, but..."
The commentator, who had been watching the match with unusual calm, carefully spoke the words.
"This squad might be the most perfect one the Mountain King has ever played with across his entire career."
"More perfect than when he was writing legends alongside the Two Kings and the Ten Thousand King?"
"For the Mountain King personally, yes. This is much better. It's a team that lets him display 120 percent of his ability."
When he played with the Two Kings and the Ten Thousand King, the Mountain King had been forced into a supporting role. Not because he lacked ability, but because that gave them the highest win rate.
But in the team Lee Shin had built, the Mountain King was the protagonist. He could do everything he wanted.
Let's end this.
At the Mountain King's command, the team members gathered at the center.
They simply advanced. Park Su-bin's milky-white giant cleared everything in front of them while Hwarang's shield protected their rear. Baek Yeon-woo scanned the front with his sky-blue eyes, and the Mountain King examined the surroundings with the wind spirits he had spread out.
And as always, the finishing blow belonged to her.
Yu Ri-ra's massive sniper rifle scope captured the enemy formation.
"Dugu dugu!"
Ready, fire!
"Bam!!"
BOOOOM—!!
A cute shout paired with a grotesquely violent gunshot.
Her small body staggered. The ground around her rippled. Dust and smoke drew ripples in the air...
The price was the complete collapse of the enemy formation.
Haemu Guild was blasted backward by the shockwave of the explosion.
It wasn't an ordinary bullet. A single magic round infused with flame magic had turned the entire area into a sea of fire.
Yet they still possessed the dignity of a major guild. Even in the chaos, Haemu Guild tried to reorganize their lines and retreat.
Under normal circumstances, they would have succeeded. They could have endured and looked for another chance to strike.
If only Hwarang's shield hadn't been floating above their heads.
Hwarang, who had leaped into the sky at some point, slammed his shield down into the ground.
The five fleeing enemies were stunned and collapsed.
And in that state, they met the gaze of the water mouse.
Kkyuu? The mice tilted their heads cutely, and the moment they spun—
Pororor—
Five water droplets floated into the air.
The giant's clasped hands came crashing down.
'Park Su-bin' has slain 'Fujimoto Aki'.
The sword that had learned Snake That Swallows Hearts pierced the water droplets, and—
'Baek Yeon-woo' has slain 'Park Jeong-seok'.
The moment an opponent sent flying by Hwarang's brutal kick overlapped with an ally, a single bullet pierced both of them.
'Yu Ri-ra' has slain 'Yang Mi-jin'.
'Yu Ri-ra' has slain 'Do Jeong-tae'.
And the Mountain King finished it by grabbing the enemy jungler's head and slamming it into the ground.
'Kim Jong-pil' has slain 'Park Ho-su'.
It was over.
"The nexus is breaking!! Match over!"
"Mir Guild achieved a perfect victory in set three without giving up a single death, tower, or objective!"
"The return of a legend, the appearance of a divine being, and a declaration of war toward the league. Mir Guild launches the greatest opening fireworks of the season!!"
And.
It was also the most perfect possible start.
Mir Guild (3) : Haemu Guild (0)
Mir Guild Victory (+3 points)
Total Match Time: 1 hour 32 minutes 10 seconds
MVP: Mountain King Kim Jong-pil (Rating: 10)
A quiet massage room.
Han Jeong-do lay face down, entrusting his body to the masseuse's hands.
"Opening match MVP and the league's first MVP! Congratulations, Mountain King!"
"Haha, thank you."
"Wow, can you hear this roar? My ears are ringing. I've never heard applause this loud in my life. Your popularity is incredible."
"Hahaha, thank you."
"It was a monumental opening match in many ways. When you first heard you'd be playing the opening match, how did you feel?"
"I honestly thought it was a joke. I never dreamed it would happen. I only believed it when the representative came over and started doing a strange dance. I heard the fans made it happen. Thank you, everyone."
The Mountain King waved to the crowd. A thunderous roar erupted. The once-quiet massage room grew noisy, so the masseuse quietly asked.
"Should I turn down the volume?"
"Don't talk to me."
At Han Jeong-do's sharp response, the masseuse pressed on his back with an expressionless face as the interview continued.
"We have to ask about the match. As the commentator said, today's Mir Guild performance was like a trilogy film."
"Haha, that's quite the exaggeration."
"Set one was 'Return of the Legend.' Set two was 'Baek Yeon-woo.' Set three was 'Declaration of War.' Which did you enjoy most, Mountain King?"
"Personally, it was set three. We tried many tactical experiments different from before and gathered a lot of valuable data. Above all, it was encouraging to see that Su-bin's defense and Yeonu's side-lane dominance work in League One... Hm? Is something wrong?"
"Ah, it's just unexpected. I assumed it would be set one. You looked so cool in set one."
"Hoho, thank you, but that match was a failing grade. Embarrassingly, I got too excited and went wild. In comparison, set three had excellent coordination."
"So the team comes before the individual?"
"That's obvious. Nothing is more important than the team."
"...What a joke."
Nothing is greater than the team. Everyone must sacrifice for the team's victory... Those were the complacent words of people who shone just by existing.
Han Jeong-do scoffed at the familiar nonsense philosophy.
But his ears perked up at the next question.
"This might be the most important question. The internet is probably flooded with it. How exactly did you return to your prime?"
"Well, what I can say is that I obtained a fortuitous encounter during the Stove League, and Representative Lee Shin gifted it to me. That's all. I apologize that I cannot reveal the exact details."
"Amazing! Representative Lee Shin?! How in the world??"
"Haha, our representative may look lighthearted, but he is a man of many talents. He's very deep. And on top of that, he's handsome and smart."
"That last part sounded a bit forced?"
"Ah... Was it that obvious? I said it anyway."
The two people on screen were laughing, but Han Jeong-do's face was completely twisted.
"The representative did it?"
That arrogant brat who had fearlessly blocked his path?
It was suspicious, but his Super Intuition rang violently at the name once again. Just who was this Lee Shin?
While he was pondering, the interview was wrapping up.
"One final question. Have you truly returned to your prime?"
"Hmm... No."
As the surprised announcer's expression changed, the Mountain King smiled mischievously.
"Right now, I am far stronger than I was back then."
The roar shook heaven and earth.
On the other hand, the massage room was filled with an increasingly unpleasant emotion. Sticky and ugly like tar.
It was jealousy.
"Call the information team leader and the strategy team leader! Right now!!"
The real competition was beginning.
The season had finally started.
And.
At that very moment, Lee Shin stood before the camera.
"Hi, hello, nice to see you. It's been a while, everyone, right? Did you miss me? Were you dying without me? I felt the same. Look at this. See how much I cooked during spring camp? My hands ended up like this."
He had started the engine in time for the season opening.
Vroom vroom.
"The Mountain King's rejuvenation? Yeah, I made that happen."
The mouth from hell was officially on.