The Dragon and the Samurai
In the midst of Busan and the Yongbung fans reveling in the joy of Mir Guild’s victory, a subtle tension rippled through the global guild scene.
“Oh please, stop messing around. How can monsters like that exist in one country? It’s ridiculous.”
“Jesus. A global wide-area meta? I thought we were the only ones who had it.”
“Bullshit… So this is what they call the Heavenly War.”
The Guild War Korea Grand Final.
VS.
The bloody final between the two guilds created by the Mountain King and the Divine Archer had already earned the nickname Heavenly War, drawing the eyes of the entire world’s guild community.
Especially shocking was Mir Guild’s use of global skills. Having already popularized the high-tempo meta, their performance left everyone stunned.
“They’ve gone insane. They took their already ridiculous tempo and cranked it even higher. The fact that those little kids can keep up is amazing, but the Hwarang running alongside them might be the craziest one of all.”
“Korea… Are they truly the people of ppalli ppalli?”
“Look at that beautiful battle design. Positioning, role execution, movement routes timed to the second. Magnifique! The match was decided before they even started fighting. I’m in love.”
“It’s Maestro Kim. Why don’t we have someone like him in France?”
While the macho nation of America was captivated by Mir Guild’s bold and fiery style, the strategic lands of Europe poured praise on the intricate tactics and meticulous detail Mir Guild displayed.
The common thread was that both regions watched with goodwill while simultaneously harboring wariness and competitive spirit.
But the countries that would be mentioned from here on had a very different stance.
They were the guilds from across Asia who would soon have to face ‘Guild War Asia.’
“Those damn Yankees. Must be nice to talk so comfortably.”
“You guys are just watching the fire from across the river, but we have to face that disaster head-on.”
“Allah, please protect us from that calamity.”
The Asia League, which ran with a sixteen-team bracket.
Matchups were decided with 100% random draws. Losers were eliminated without mercy. Winners drew again among themselves.
What did that mean? It meant that with just a little bad luck, you could end up hugging a nuclear bomb called Korea.
“I poured my heart and soul into winning the league, but if I run into that Korean dragon… Absolutely not!!”
“Even one match brings in an astronomical amount of money. We need at least two. No, if possible, we have to make it to three.”
“At this point, I’m just going to start praying! God will look after me.”
For the guilds of Southeast Asia and South Asia, where economic conditions were relatively poor, this globally watched Asia League was truly fever time.
It was a chance to solve their painful financial problems in one go, but the possibility of having to pack up and go home right at the start was a matter of survival.
However.
“Who cares about money? We’re literally going to die.”
Ever since ancient times, the three East Asian countries had growled at the mere sight of one another.
“Why did God create China and then create Korea!!”
That was China.
“I-it’s spirit! We just have to endure with pure grit!!”
“Team Leader, my legs are shaking!!”
“C-chikshooo!!”
And that was Japan.
·
·
Inside a conference room in Tokyo, Japan.
A man was giving a presentation. One peculiar detail was that the presenter looked deathly pale, as if he had seen a ghost.
“M-Mir Guild is… truly, i-insanely fast. It’s dizzyingly chaotic and dazzlingly intricate.”
Even without him saying it, everyone could tell.
It was all visible on the screen.
The camera angle never stayed still for even a second. Everyone on screen was sprinting, and battles broke out without a moment’s rest. Was there any team more deserving of the word ‘dazzling’?
“W-what’s even more shocking is the scale of the battlefield. Normally, when playing at this speed, teams shrink the field due to stamina, fatigue, execution ability, and various other factors… but Mir Guild doesn’t do that.”
On screen, Mir Guild seemed to mock them as they covered the field even faster and over an even wider area.
The longer the match went, the more precise and sophisticated they became.
Gulp.
The sound of dry swallowing echoed throughout the conference room.
Just watching was enough to fill them with shock and terror. Their performance was that awe-inspiring.
The presenter, unable to hold back any longer, wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief and delivered his closing remark.
“For our guild, which precisely targets the battlefield and solves games through intricate melee, Mir’s lightning-fast style poses a very serious problem… A-ah! O-of course, that doesn’t mean I believe our Shinsengumi Guild would lose to some rootless upstart guild.”
That’s right. Their identity.
The strongest in the capital. The supreme power of the archipelago.
The reincarnation of Japanese samurai.
The glorious Shinsengumi Guild, which had spread the superiority of Japanese samurai across the world.
And the man sitting at the head of the table was Tatsugoro, the one called the Director of the Shinsengumi Samurai.
He moved the nervous head of the analysis team with nothing but a finger.
“Continue.”
Straight back. Solid expression.
While everyone else was terrified, this man remained like steel. The people around him burst into admiration as if on cue.
‘As expected of Director Tatsugoro! The man with the greatest caliber in all of Japan…!!’
‘He is our representative. His heart is different from that of ordinary men. Truly a great person…!!’
‘That’s it! The title of genius belongs only to him…!’
These days, some fledgling named Lee Shin was being called a genius in Korea?
How laughable. Compared to our Director Tatsugoro of Great Japan, he was nothing but a commoner.
‘Lee Shin, a mere mortal born in a country without Director Tatsugoro.’
‘Ahh, my heart feels at ease. Director Tatsugoro, you’re incredible.’
‘Krr… I’m so proud to serve a man like this.’
The conference room, which had been buzzing with fear over Mir Guild’s terrifying divinity just moments ago, calmed down as if by magic.
The Shinsengumi Guild, overcoming even their fear so as not to trouble their respected representative.
Centered around the great man known as Tatsugoro, the Shinsengumi Guild radiated the power of being the strongest in the capital and the supreme force of the archipelago.
Except for Tatsugoro himself, that is.
‘Fuck fuck fuck fuck…….’
In truth, Tatsugoro was very different from the public’s evaluation of him.
He was smart but not a genius, and while he looked dependable, he was actually quite narrow-minded. If you removed his sturdy appearance, he was an extremely ordinary citizen.
What was unfair was that he had never once called himself a great man or referred to himself as a genius.
The man who woke up one day to find himself the representative of Japan’s strongest guild… had a name that sounded like the childish title of a light novel. That man was Miyakawa Tatsugoro.
What would an ordinary man like Tatsugoro think after watching the strategy of Mir Guild, created by two geniuses—Sanwang and Lee Shin?
It was a horror show!!
‘No, that’s not the kind of strategy I know!!’
‘That, that supporter is a damn cheat! A demon! Heresy!!’
After going through the process of ‘denial’ toward Sanwang’s tactics, he felt ‘rage’ at Hwarang’s battlefield dominance.
‘W-well, since he uses a sword, maybe he likes Japan…?’
‘It’s all over. We’re going to lose…’
He found common ground in Baek Yeon-woo’s sword and attempted ‘compromise,’ only to fall into ‘depression’ again at Yu Ri-ra’s lightning. And by the time Park Su-bin’s giant brought down its greatsword to end the game, he had completely reached ‘acceptance.’
‘We must never fight them. Absolutely never!’
The two people currently on screen—Lee Shin and Sanwang.
Genius recognizes genius. Tatsugoro, who had spent several years cosplaying as Japan’s greatest genius, was certain.
That combination was the real deal.
A fight against them was not something that could be solved by simply sending in a raid team.
‘The draw is the only answer!!’
And so, Tatsugoro and the representatives of all fourteen other guilds prayed to avoid the Korean dragon…
Time passed, and the day of the matchup draw ceremony finally arrived.
* * *
Yeongdo, Busan. A residential area overlooking the sea.
It was already well known that when Lee Shin built his empire, he had paid special attention to the guild members’ housing.
Among those, this place had received the most meticulous care. Perhaps even more than the stadium itself, this was the place Lee Shin had poured his heart into…
“I’m not sure if it will suit your taste, but I did my best.”
“Madam, this is a feast fit for a king.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Shouldn’t I help with something?”
“Grandma, it’s delicious!”
“Eat a lot, Su-bin. Yeon-woo, you don’t need to get up. You’re a guest today. Look at Ri-ra. How comfortable she is. Just stay like that. Hehe.”
Yes. The best house in all of Yeongdo.
This was the residence of the Mountain King, Kim Jong-pil.
Today was the long-awaited draw ceremony for the Asia League—officially named ‘Guild War ASIA’—and the five main players along with Lee Shin had gathered at Kim Jong-pil’s house to watch it together.
“It’s starting!!”
“Ooh.”
“I’ll turn up the volume!”
Starting with the admiration of the two men, Baek Yeon-woo raised the volume.
On the screen, a figure wearing a robe appeared.
No matter how many times one saw it, the outfit was always drab and boring. However, when one considered how the mage got straight to the point without any flowery rhetoric, there was no attire more fitting.
— “We will now begin the first matchup draw for Guild War Asia. First, let me explain the format. It will be a sixteen-team bracket with random draws…”
At that moment, Park Su-bin asked for a simpler explanation.
Lee Shin swirled the soju in his glass and explained.
“It’s really simple. Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals. Every round has a random draw, and matches are single elimination. Lose and you’re out, win and you advance.”
“Then there will be three draw ceremonies, right? Since the finals don’t need one, oppa.”
“Okay. You’ve gotten smarter, Ri-ra.”
“Regular matches are best of five. Only the finals are best of seven.”
“Right! Only the finals are best of seven. And just so you know, the final seventh game, Hyung-nim?”
“It’s a strategy battle that honors the Bureau’s philosophy of gate defense.”
“Got it memorized?”
“Then the maximum number of matches to win the whole thing is four.”
“Yeah, so we just need to win four matches.”
“Hehe, as long as Ri-ra understands, that’s enough.”
“Ah! Grandpa!!”
“Kekeke.”
“Pfft!”
They chatted warmly like that, and before they knew it, the boring procedural explanation had ended.
— “Then we will now proceed with the first matchup draw.”
The robed figure stamped a long staff on the ground. A magic circle glowed beneath it, and the sixteen winning guild flags from each country rose into the air.
Among them was Mir Guild’s flag—a white and wave-colored background with a golden dragon embroidered on it.
“There’s our flag.”
“Our guild’s flag is the best! Bang bang!”
“Hehe, white, sky blue, and gold. That combination is hard to beat.”
Soon after, the host stamped the staff again, and the flags turned into spheres.
The spheres floated through the sky at the speed of light, then descended back to the ground. From the darkness, sixteen robed figures emerged and placed the spheres onto the bracket.
Then the light covering the first match lifted.
— “First match. Taiwan’s Wa versus Pakistan’s .”
At the unfamiliar names, the three Children of God looked at Lee Shin as if they had made a promise.
Tell us!
And the human Hunter Encyclopedia, as always, did not disappoint the children’s expectations.
“Wa is a guild that practically monopolizes the Taiwan League. Their representative hunter is ‘Eight Jade.’ He’s a jewel sorcerer who uses eight gems to cast spells. Similarly, Pakistan’s absolute ruler ‘Golden Lion’ leads the other guild. Fun fact, the Golden Lion once challenged Europe’s ‘Lion King’ over his title. Yep, that Lion King—the one considered Europe’s strongest. So he’s pretty damn good.”
It poured out like water from a tap.
Not only their abilities, but even the hidden stories behind each hunter.
A human hunter jukebox.
At some point, the children were left speechless, and even Kim Yu-shin widened his eyes as he stared at Lee Shin. When Lee Shin began analyzing the Sri Lankan guild that had only risen this year, even Kim Jong-pil couldn’t take his eyes off Lee Shin’s face.
“Stop it, oppa. You really seem like a pervert.”
“……Wow.”
“You really know everything.”
“Shin-ah. You…”
“You brazen lunatic.”
Faced with their exhausted reactions, Lee Shin smirked and spoke. Of course, he didn’t forget to arrogantly lift his chin.
“Why are you all so surprised? I’ve said it multiple times. There is no hunter I don’t know!”
Even if they weren’t Korean?
What did that matter? The person here was the most rotten old monster in GM history.
If he felt like it, he could talk about the hunters on screen for three days and four nights straight.
By the time Lee Shin’s extracurricular lecture ended, the draw had already reached its final stages.
— “Match 6 is Vietnam’s ” versus Iran’s .”
“Huhhh??”
“None of the three—Korea, China, or Japan—have appeared yet, right?”
“Looks like it.”
Whether by some twist of fate, Korea, China, and Japan had all survived until the end.
The relatively weak Indonesia was probably crying right about now, since they were guaranteed to face one of those three.
Lee Shin filled Kim Jong-pil’s glass and asked.
“Who would you like to face, sir?”
“Anyone. What about you?”
“As expected, we think alike, sir.”
The opponents should fear us. There was no need for us to fear them.
Because no matter who the opponent was, we would be their hell.
The two men smiled with overflowing confidence and clinked their glasses. At that exact moment, Match 7 was decided.
— “Match 7. Indonesia’s ” versus China’s .”
Naturally, Match 8’s matchup was also revealed.
A flag with cherry blossoms and swords intertwined, and a flag with waves and a dragon.
— “Match 8. Japan’s ” versus Korea’s .”
The first match of the Asia League.
A Korea-Japan matchup was set.
* * *
And at that very moment.
“GyaAAAAAAAAAAK!!”
Tatsugoro was crying.