Chapter 99. A Newly Added Rule in the Preliminaries
Chapter 99. A Newly Added Rule in the Preliminaries
A long, oval glass table.
Gathered around it were the masters and officers of the Five Great Guilds representing the Republic of Korea.
To be precise, the guilds were assembled, minus the Black Mark Guild.
They were representatives who met regularly.
At a glance, it looked like a peaceful meeting.
But every expression, every trailing sentence, was laced with tension and hidden rivalry.
The agenda items covered state-led adjustments to gate supply and demand, hunter ranking reform, and negotiations over hunting rights for gates assigned to each guild.
Yet everyone's focus was on the 'tournament'.
"This tournament seems like it will turn out to be quite interesting. Especially since there appears to be an unexpected wild card..."
The Master of the Baekho Guild.
The head of the nation's current number one guild, possessing two S-rank Hunters.
As always, he kept his voice low as he spoke, looking at Geum Hye-jeong.
"I find myself particularly intrigued by the participant being fielded by the Hanul Guild."
"I heard about it as well. They say the Hanul Guild is sending an E-rank Hunter, is that right?"
The Master of the Geumho Guild picked up where the Baekho Guild had left off.
Perhaps because the Geumho Guild was rooted in a corporate enterprise, it was an organization with strong financial and political power.
"Well, it must mean they have that much confidence, wouldn't you say?"
His tone was polite, but a faint trace of mockery bled through.
At that, the Master of the Hwarang Guild sitting beside him chuckled softly and added his own words.
"We should support any new attempt by any participant. For the Hanul Guild, which has always been in 'last place,' this could be an opportunity. I sincerely hope you achieve good results."
His expression was kindly, but a playful, intrigued gleam danced in his eyes.
His words sounded like encouragement, but their sting cut deeper than anyone else's.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like only the Hanul Guild was being singled out.
But in truth, these men kept each other in check.
It was simply that during tournament season, the Hanul Guild had always been their prey.
"Thank you all for your interest. I hope you all achieve good results as well. I'm a bit busy with other matters."
Yet Geum Hye-jeong did not so much as blink.
Because, ironically, it was the Hanul Guild that held the most public support.
"Other matters? Do you not consider the tournament important, Master of the Hanul Guild?"
"Of course it's important. However..."
Geum Hye-jeong took a sip of tea and let her words stretch leisurely.
"When two people far stronger than 'S-rank' are attached to it... does it really require my help?"
"..."
The Baekho Guild Master, who always feigned gentility while concealing a knife behind his words.
She looked directly at him and spelled it out.
Telling him not to act so high and mighty over something like 'S-rank' anymore.
"..."
Geum Hye-jeong recalled a conversation she'd had with Song Hoon a few days prior.
— Mom, you can shout it loud and proud, whether you're selling my name or doing anything else.
— You're welcome to use my name comfortably too!
For a split second, the corner of the Baekho Guild Master's mouth trembled.
"Haha... I've heard the stories as well. The child of the Hanul Guild Master... they said she's being personally instructed by an S-rank, or rather... the Unknown Hunter?"
"Yes, although being only S-rank myself, I cannot claim to be an authority..."
"The media has already been paying close attention, as I understand it."
"I'm a little worried that I might be stealing the spotlight that other guilds' promising prospects would have received."
"..."
In an instant, the meeting room sank into a lull.
Everyone was on guard against the Hanul Guild.
In the past, they had subtly pressured them and kept them in check for being the weak underdog, but the situation had changed.
'Unknown...'
The Baekho, Geumho, and Hwarang Guilds knew the Unknown's power.
Song Hoon, who had subdued four S-ranks without a single scratch.
That man was now bound to the Hanul Guild by blood ties.
'...'
If a man could destroy the Forbidden City, the heart of China, couldn't he destroy a guild?
"Fufu, I don't know who prepared it, but this tea is quite delicious."
In that situation, Geum Hye-jeong remained relaxed, as if it were someone else's problem.
She was no longer the woman who used to rack her brains and tread on eggshells like before.
And while everyone else was speaking with refinement and beating around the bush...
A single boisterous laugh echoed through the room.
— Bang!
"Hahaha! Apologies for being late!"
"..."
The Master of the Black Mark Guild.
A former gang boss who once led an underworld organization.
He wore a suit, but tattoos showed through on the backs of his hands, and a large scar was carved across his face.
"What? Did I walk in somewhere I don't belong?"
He trudged over and plopped himself down into a chair.
As he did, he stared blatantly at Geum Hye-jeong and smirked.
"Come to think of it, you're the ones sending an E-rank to the tournament, right?"
"..."
"Keuheuheu... Every time a tournament opens, you're the ones always groveling at the back. Did you give up on winning and figure you'd at least provide some comic relief?"
A moment of stillness filled the room.
The other representatives briefly averted their eyes as if dumbfounded, but no one stopped him.
He leaned his body forward outright, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"I hear the Unknown is your kid. What are you trying to prove by training up some lousy E-rank? Or is it just a stunt to call in some reporters?"
At his words, Geum Hye-jeong slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were smiling, but the curve of her lips was sharp.
"As expected of someone who lived their life through fists. They say the only thing you know how to do is throw a punch... and it seems you use your mouth exactly the same way."
"Pffft..."
The Black Mark Guild Master was a more cunning and clever person than one might think.
Everyone else feared and was wary of the Unknown standing behind Geum Hye-jeong, but he was a bit different.
'As long as I didn’t show open hostility... that bastard won't step into petty conflicts like this.'
He provoked the Hanul Guild.
But he did not attack openly or with malice.
He strictly toed the line.
"Well, I don't know what you're up to dragging some pretty-faced girl around..."
"..."
"Ah, don't tell me... are you pushing her this hard because she's a candidate to be your son's wife?"
"I've heard that the Master of the Black Mark Guild is also fielding his own child."
"...?"
"A young kid who just came of age... I sincerely hope they don't end up only getting hurt after participating for no good reason."
"We'll see about that when the time comes..."
For a moment, the gazes of Geum Hye-jeong and the Black Mark Guild Master locked.
It was the Baekho Guild Master who settled the overheating atmosphere.
"Everyone... that's enough. In the end, isn't this a competition settled by skill? Whoever wins, so long as this tournament serves as a good stimulus for the Korean hunter world, that's all that matters."
After that, the meeting outwardly progressed with talk of policy, trends, supply and demand, and personnel reassignment, but in reality, it was a silent war surrounding the tournament.
---
— Ssssss...
"Cough... Kkrrrr..."
The smell of roasting meat (?) wafted thickly from the gate.
[Fuck!!! Hero, stop her already!!!]
[Seriously, the kid's gonna die!!!]
[No matter how much of a headbutting dinosaur she is, her skull's gonna crack if she keeps this up wtf]
Lee Chae-hyun narrowly dodged Laila's golden orbs.
I wanted to step in and stop it, but...
"Hoo... Hkk... Big Sis, one more time..."
"Miss Chae-hyun..."
I tried to put a stop to the training.
Yet each time she got used to it, she asked for one more orb to be added.
"Big Sis, I'm fine, so hurry!"
"..."
Faced with her powerful would, Laila thrust her hands forward.
— Wung! Wung! Wung!
The orbs grazed past her rapidly.
Unlike the beginning, she was now steadily dodging them.
"Big Sis, make them faster!"
[Damn, the sheer tenacity on her;;]
[At this level, I'm genuinely rooting for her]
[Wish the manager would just flip the stage upside down lol]
Her dodging was chilling.
For attacks that were hard to dodge, she twisted her body and boldly sacrificed her flesh.
Yet she reliably avoided attacks that would prove fatal.
"..."
By enduring once or twice, the accumulated attacks turned her clothes into rags before long.
But no one looked at it with any impure intent.
They simply cheered on her growth.
---
The long-awaited day of the preliminary rounds.
Hunters from all over the country were gathered in front of a gate that had been announced in advance.
Drones buzzed in every direction, and broadcast trucks sprayed signals, pushing the real-time streaming ratings past 20% already.
Industry insiders, reporters, and even scouts from foreign guilds were watching this match.
"Our manager can do well, right?"
"Of course."
Her eyes glowed with a blazing light.
It was not the innocent gaze she'd had before.
"Everyone, please gather around!"
With a drone capturing the front view, the officials' voices boomed through the speakers.
Soon after, the head judge stepped up and grabbed the microphone.
"We will now announce the rules for the preliminary round you've all been waiting for."
The hunters listened intently, their faces tense.
"Due to the large number of participants, we have divided you into groups. Each group must hunt monsters within a strict time limit of 1 hour, harvest a specific body part, and accumulate points."
This much was what everyone had expected.
So much so that some had already devised strategies of deploying 'pacemakers' to focus solely on hunting and then handing over the harvested parts to their main competitors.
But the head judge's words did not stop there.
"As I mentioned earlier, due to the high number of participants... we are adding one special rule."
Every eye focused in unison.
"You are permitted to steal the parts harvested by your opponents. Any method is allowed. Combat, negotiation, threats, deception—if you manage to acquire your opponent's 'achievement' by any means, it will be recognized."
In that moment, a brief silence flowed.
And then, whispers and laughter, sighs and curses erupted simultaneously.
"They're crazy."
"What the fuck... so we have to keep an eye out not just for losing our prey, but for outright plundering?"
"Huh... the plundering is a problem too... what if other hunters interfere while you're fighting one?"
And while everyone was stunned speechless, the electronic display board announced the entry of Group 1.
[Group 1 Enter — Time Limit: 1 Hour]
[Harvest Criteria: Right Index Finger]
[Begin.]
The instant the countdown sounded.
The members of Group 1 rushed into the gate without any hesitation.
The preliminary rounds of the Hunter Tournament, where hunting and plundering coexisted, had now begun.