The Face of the League
Lee Shin leaned back in his chair, his voice carrying that familiar theatrical bite.
“You could say we only dropped from first place. Or you could call it a raid match. In raid matches, as long as you finish in the top four, the points are the same, right? Win or lose, the actual score doesn’t change.”
Hadn’t Kim Jong-pil said it himself? Victory and defeat are the way of war. In competitions where winning and losing are on the line, it’s only natural.
So some people might look at Lee Shin, burning with rage, and think he was overreacting.
But here’s the thing. If anyone actually dared to spit out that kind of nonsense in front of him, Lee Shin would kick their ass so hard they’d see stars.
“Raid matches are the perfect stage to evaluate a guild’s true capability. Hunters, raid teams, front office, command, support—everything. The guild’s level is laid completely bare. And on a stage like this, an accident that should never have happened occurred.”
“Rankings and competition come after that. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Was he angry about the ranking? Absolutely not.
How could anyone win first place in every single match?
Lee Shin had written legends since League 4—undefeated in the round, maximum points. But at some point, he had stopped casually mentioning that legend himself.
Not because it was impossible, but because even if it were, that wasn’t what he truly wanted.
Hadn’t he said it over and over?
Whatever stops moving begins to rot, and what rots gets thrown away.
To help hunters grow, to keep the guild healthy, to make the league more exciting. His philosophy was that everything had to change and compete far more fiercely than before.
That was why he had secretly nurtured the Four Major Guilds to serve as worthy rivals for Mir.
So let me ask again.
With all that in mind, would Lee Shin really get angry over a ranking? Hmm?
“Yeah. What really pisses me off is that this high-level stage was ruined by an absurd mistake.”
Mir Guild was the defending champion. They were undeniably the face of this league and of the entire Korean scene.
What does that mean? It means the world judges the level of Korean hunters by watching Mir Guild.
They had already drawn global attention with all kinds of events since the start of the season. And in the middle of all that, Mir Guild had put on a spectacularly embarrassing show… Put yourself in his shoes. How could Lee Shin not be furious?
“What really grinds my gears is that our opponent, Taeyang Guild, came at us with everything they had.”
In contrast, Taeyang Guild had delivered a picture-perfect raid.
Sword Master Park Gwang-seob, who had found his path thanks to Lee Shin’s advice, showed his true worth. Black Star Gong Ju-in had broken free from her cage and was soaring. Horus, Specter, and the other high-rankers they had recruited had fully integrated into the team.
The entire raid team moved as one body.
Their level of completion was clearly superior to the other super teams still in their adjustment period. Lee Shin could guess exactly whose work this was.
Guardian Yeo Eun-seo.
She had finally let her talent bloom in full.
Radiantly, beneath the sun.
“They gave it their all. You could see how desperately both the raid team and the front office prepared for this match under the Guardian’s leadership.”
“I watched the replay who knows how many times. A talent breaking free from its shackles and blooming— isn’t that moving? I was completely enchanted. The thought that we finally had a true rival made my heart race.”
But.
That pounding heart of his had gone ice cold.
All because of a defective scroll.
“If we had lost fair and square, I would have been happy. They deserved that victory! I believed our raid team would learn something from the defeat!!”
“But the moment we lost because of a simple inspection error, this match became nothing more than an ordinary raid match. The victory lost its shine, and there was nothing left to learn from the defeat!”
Bang—!
Lee Shin’s fist slammed into the table. The team leaders bit their lips hard.
The room fell deathly silent in an instant.
A heavy silence crushed the conference room. It tormented them like torture. One second. Two seconds. Each passing moment tightened around their throats. A few of them even broke into cold sweat under the pressure.
Then Lee Shin, sitting perfectly straight, swept his gaze across them and asked in a low voice.
“Now you understand clearly how big this problem is, right? So who’s going to take responsibility?”
At that moment.
“I will take responsibility.”
“No, I will take responsibility.”
“No, it seems I was the one at fault.”
The first to raise his hand was the materials team leader.
He was saying he would take responsibility for failing to inspect properly. But then the sales team leader beside him raised his hand too, claiming the transaction had gone through his department. One by one, as if they had planned it, they all raised their hands. Eventually, even the PR team leader joined in.
At that ridiculous scene, Lee Shin gave a bitter smile.
“Hey, Vice Leader. Look at this. Loyalty between colleagues really is like love for one’s country. It’s bringing tears to my eyes. Don’t you think?”
He pulled out a magic herb from his coat pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
Crackle—
Through the smoke, Lee Shin’s languid eyes swept over the room.
“Answer me, kids. Are we short on money?”
“““No, sir!”””
“Were we short on manpower?”
“““No, sir!!”””
“Were we short on time?”
“““No, sir!!”””
“Or did I push you too hard with unreasonable demands?”
“““Absolutely not, sir!!”””
Lee Shin paid as much attention to the front office as he did to the hunters.
From the moment they stepped onto the major stage, he had given the front office the best treatment possible.
He provided all employees with low-cost housing, covered children’s education expenses, vacation bonuses, and gave out yearly bonuses on top of that.
He had supported them so generously that other guilds had complained he was going too far. How could these people possibly deny it?
On the contrary, the team leaders felt humiliated and furious that such an incident had occurred.
As they bowed their heads like criminals, Lee Shin’s voice reached their ears.
“Still, I like that none of you are making excuses.”
When they looked up, Lee Shin was waving his hand dismissively.
“Get out.”
The clearing in front of the main building.
Guild Leader Jeong Sun-dong left with his usual kind smile, saying it was fine and they would do better next time. Now only the team leaders remained, centered around Vice Leader Chae Dong-ha.
In the heavy atmosphere, it was Chae Dong-ha who encouraged them.
“Honestly, we can’t deny that we’ve grown complacent. I mentioned it a few days ago, didn’t I? That the entire guild seemed drunk on victory.”
It was something he had said just days earlier.
They had set legendary records and were still displaying an overwhelming presence. Perhaps that was why confidence had crossed into arrogance, and arrogance had crossed into complacency throughout the guild.
“Let’s think of this as a good opportunity. You all needed a justification to tighten discipline with your subordinates anyway. Let’s use this chance to set things straight.”
Alright. Let’s do our best.
With a round of applause, everyone began to disperse. But someone tapped Chae Dong-ha on the shoulder as he turned to leave. It was the materials team leader, who had raised his hand first earlier.
When Chae Dong-ha asked what was wrong, the materials team leader asked for a cigarette.
Once the cigarette was lit, the materials team leader spoke as if spitting out his frustration.
“Vice Leader, I’m really upset. I’m not an idiot. There’s no way I wouldn’t have inspected it properly.”
“I know. Do you think I don’t know you?”
The materials team leader’s eyes were even glistening with tears from how unfair it felt.
Chae Dong-ha patted his shoulder.
This season, Guild Leader Jeong Sun-dong had gradually stepped back from day-to-day guild operations, and Chae Dong-ha had taken over more and more of the work.
In that process, many of the existing team leaders had been replaced. The materials team leader was a prime example.
This man, who had been recruited from a League 2 guild during a now-faded Ido Group project, had been promoted to team leader last year by Chae Dong-ha despite his young age, thanks to his outstanding work ethic.
The team leaders under Chae Dong-ha’s system had been chosen purely based on ability—regardless of academic background, age, or connections.
Would people like that make such a basic mistake? Chae Dong-ha genuinely believed it was impossible.
And the same went for the man over there.
After sending the materials team leader away, Chae Dong-ha returned to the conference room and let out a sigh at the darkened interior.
On the far side of the room, he saw Lee Shin clapping with the solemn dignity of a demon king.
Clap, clap—!
“Excellent, my SS-rank genius leader. You’ve filled our demon king’s castle with children who fit my tastes perfectly. I’m very satisfied.”
That’s right.
This had all been a show orchestrated by Lee Shin and Chae Dong-ha.
From the beginning, Lee Shin had known this wasn’t the team leaders’ fault.
These were people carefully selected by Chae Dong-ha, his right-hand man.
Not only were they capable, they had all proven their ability. Most importantly, they had all been hired at the beginning of this year.
They were still in the phase where motivation was at its peak. It made no sense for them to make such an absurd mistake.
“If you knew that, you should have gone easier on them. Speaking of which, the original plan was to stop them from getting complacent from now on. We agreed to keep it at this level, didn’t we?”
“Hehe. Did I get a bit emotional?”
“A lot! Going on about what raid matches mean, suddenly calling us the face of the league, comparing us to Taeyang Guild—and especially asking ‘Who’s going to take responsibility?’ What was that? Some kind of friendship test? Are we at a company retreat?”
“Aww~ But that was the highlight. ‘I will take responsibility!’ Man, the loyalty! They’re already so tightly knit. It was beautiful. Don’t you see our Vice Leader Chae Dong-ha in a new light now?”
“Stop teasing me and get to the point.”
“Keke, fine.”
“I’ll be clear. This scroll incident was not our side’s fault.”
“Can you say that with certainty?”
“Yes. I believe you’ve already received the rough report on how things progressed.”
“Of course. I read it thoroughly while getting my hair done.”
“Sigh… Yes, well, as expected, there was rotten water involved. Both the materials team leader and I inspected it thoroughly—twice, even three times.”
“I see.”
16%.
Easy to say, but that was practically one in five scrolls being defective.
In truth, a defect rate like this wasn’t even called a defect. It was an accident. A man-made disaster.
And the one responsible for that disaster was…
“If what hyung said is true…”
“Yes. It seems the ‘supervisor’ is behind this.”
“So the Association bastards are at it again.”
Supervisor.
Their official title was Raid Supervisor.
They were administrators dispatched by the Association’s ‘Raid Safety Management and Supervision Agency.’
Their original role was to check various safety factors during raid matches to ensure hunters’ safety.
This included the hunters’ physical condition, equipment such as weapons, and all kinds of raid supplies.
The intention itself had been excellent.
Since the supervisors were introduced, the rate of injuries and safety accidents had dropped significantly. Their achievements couldn’t be denied.
But…
“That was forty years ago.”
“That’s how all bad practices start, isn’t it? They always begin with good intentions. Then, as time passes, they gradually become tainted and corrupted.”
As raid strategies had advanced to an extremely high level, the rate of injuries and safety accidents had plummeted.
These days, many guilds focused more on reducing ‘fatigue’ than on preventing injuries.
Naturally, the supervisors in charge of safety had grown lax. And when people with power become lax, they begin to fill their own pockets.
“They offer convenience or, on the contrary, nitpick to make things difficult, wearing the guilds down.”
“Stop beating around the bush. It’s just us here—speak plainly. They’re shaking us down.”
“Well, it’s not exactly extortion. If you think of it as a safety supervision fee, it’s easy to write off as just the cost of doing business.”
If it had stopped there, it would have been an ugly but common livelihood-level abuse of power.
But just like how rot spreads, once these people began to decay, their behavior grew increasingly brazen.
They started forcing guilds to buy supplies from companies they knew, or turning a blind eye to unapproved items.
“And eventually, they began tampering with consumables.”
Just like with this scroll.
“Heh heh. So the Association bastards finally dared to mess with our guild?”
You picked the wrong opponent.
I’ll teach you exactly why.
The smile on Lee Shin’s face remained, but his eyes gleamed with a terrifying light.