Chapter 64
Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Prediction System Exposed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What’s this? Looks like Sama Guild and Justice Guild are about to throw down.”
“Even so, calling him a rabid dog right to his face was too much.”
“Sama Guild treats their healers like crap.”
While murmurs began rippling through the crowd around us, a tense silence hung between the two confronting guilds.
The atmosphere was thick enough that violence could erupt at any moment.
But I couldn’t let myself get swept up in this and forget the most important thing.
“Come on, everyone, let’s calm down.”
Right on cue, an Awakener Association staffer approached to intervene between Kang Han and Woo Jun-kyeong.
But instead of addressing us, he spoke soothingly to Woo Jun-kyeong.
“We’ll handle things here, so please return to your guild.”
“Handle what, exactly?”
I seized the opening and latched onto the staffer’s words.
“Now that the gate’s closed, everyone should head back to their guilds...”
“The gate closing doesn’t mean the problem’s solved.”
“What do you mean by that?”
The staffer, who’d been all meek and apologetic to Woo Jun-kyeong just moments ago, turned sharp toward me.
“We cleared the gate because we did our job right. The Association didn’t.”
“What are you talking about? We secured a safety perimeter in advance—no civilians got swept up or hurt...”
This guy’s really trying to weasel out of it to the end?
“So civilian lives matter, but hunter lives don’t?”
As I’d arranged beforehand, I pointed to the reporter who’d been faithfully sticking close to us.
“Perfect timing—there’s a reporter right there. Before we entered the gate, the Association called it a C-rank mid-sized gate, didn’t they?”
My words were like a stone tossed into a lake.
The people lingering nearby, who’d been watching the guilds’ standoff with intrigued faces, started chattering in small groups.
“Wait, really?”
“I forgot, but didn’t Justice Guild nearly get wiped out?”
“It was all over the broadcast earlier. Weird, right?”
“An A-rank popping out of a C-gate? Makes no sense.”
“What the hell happened?”
In an instant, the bystanders became witnesses, and the nosy reporter jumped in too.
As the backlash snowballed uncontrollably, the staffer’s face twisted in distress.
“What’s the Association’s official stance? Explain why this happened.”
“Well...”
Kang Han’s formal protest only worsened the staffer’s complexion.
“I, uh, need to make a quick call. Be right back.”
With that, the staffer fumbled out his phone and scurried into the tent.
Looks like he’s consulting the higher-ups on what to say.
“Hmph.”
They’d probably planned to bury the issue under a avalanche of other scandals.
If Jang Su-ho hadn’t reined himself in, and if I hadn’t had the power to purify the darkness, Sama Young’s scheme might’ve worked.
Justice Guild fails to clear the gate.
Several dead, several injured because of Jang Su-ho.
Does Kang Han even have what it takes to lead Justice Guild?
They’d flood the news with stories like that.
That’s probably why the reporter I’d contacted had hesitated to cover Justice Guild.
“Nayeo-ju-ssi, is your wrist okay?”
“I used a skill. It’s fine now. But it seems we were really underestimated.”
Considering they had zero countermeasures until we walked out of the gate.
“Looks that way. And I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing, Guild Master?”
“I should’ve stopped Woo Jun-kyeong properly.”
“Eh, it wasn’t even broken, so no big deal. Actually, maybe I should’ve let it break completely?”
That could’ve made it an even bigger story.
Sama Guild’s Woo Jun-kyeong assaults non-combat hunter—something juicy like that.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, my cheeks started stinging for some reason.
Weird. I glanced around and saw the guild members all staring at me with complicated expressions.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nayeo-ju-ya...”
“Sis, seriously.”
“Unnie, please don’t.”
Then they all sighed heavily among themselves.
I was about to demand what their deal was when the real culprit I needed to chew out emerged from the tent.
“So, what’s the Association’s position?”
No matter how much they racked their brains, the Association only had two options.
Admit their mistake cleanly.
“After investigation...”
The staffer licked his lips and continued.
“There were no errors in the Association’s administration. It was a glitch in the Gate Prediction Headquarters’ system.”
Or shove the blame onto Gate Prediction Management Headquarters.
I’d half-expected it, but the Association had played the worst possible hand.
“So, you’re saying there was a problem with the prediction system?”
I enunciated each word clearly, making sure everyone present heard it.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Done.
The final puzzle piece of the plan I’d set up after hearing Sama Young had rigged the Gangnam Station guerrilla gate for us clicked into place.
Get the Association to publicly state there was an issue with the prediction system—which had boasted flawless, perfect accuracy until now.
“A glitch in the prediction system? How intriguing.”
I smiled at the staffer while scanning the shocked faces around us.
The next day.
After a solid night’s sleep, I woke refreshed and plopped down on the training ground sofa, flipping on the news first thing.
“Perfect. Yeah, this is it.”
The first news channel I tuned into was already in a frenzy.
“It’s blowing up. Total chaos.”
Whistling a little tune, I pulled out my phone.
Too exhausted last night to check properly—I’d practically passed out—but with the news in such an uproar, the internet had to be spreading exactly as I wanted.
“Heh heh heh.”
Spot on.
Portal sites, civilian communities, awakener forums—everything was still buzzing about last night well into the next day.
I tapped the top-viewed post.
Is the Prediction System Really Broken?
개굴 | Views: 33,691
Absolute shock. Hasn’t our country’s Prediction HQ ever been wrong before? That’s why Korea was the safest. If it’d been our guild raiding instead of Justice Guild yesterday, we’d all be dead. Scary as hell.
... (comments continue)
Wait, didn’t Maestro make our prediction system?
A few unintended comments popped up in the middle, but I set those aside for now.
This was enough to etch Justice Guild’s prowess into everyone’s minds.
Now the controversy was spreading like wildfire to the system’s creator, Maestro Jeong Je-hwa.
Well, what now?
Even after cutting back to the studio, the news droned on relentlessly.
Gangnam Station guerrilla gate, Justice Guild, Sama Guild, Maestro.
The noisy repetition of those keywords showed no signs of stopping.
Click.
The hand that had been ceaselessly sketching lines on paper set down the pencil.
Tick.
A large hand then switched off the TV, which had been faintly illuminating the dark room.
The glow of Seoul’s nightscape settled pristinely over the paper.
He stared blankly at the shield designs filling dozens of sheets, then picked up his phone.
After a brief ring, a familiar voice answered, “H-Hello?”
His tightly shut lips parted, and a low voice flowed out.
“Eun-dong-ah, come up.”
Maestro Guild Master Jeong Je-hwa had summoned his vice guild master, Geum Eun-dong.