Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Mana Stones and Obligations
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"Bro! You okay?"
Myung-un rushed over to Yong-un, who had arrived even earlier than promised.
Yong-un smiled and ruffled his hair.
"I brought what you asked for—the guild master's item."
With that, Yong-un tossed the object in his hand to the guild master.
The guild master caught it, his face showing a hint of surprise as he forced an awkward smile.
"It's bigger than I expected."
"Guild master? Isn't that at least C-rank?"
The guild master wasn't the only one shocked.
The guild members, who had been stuck in the office since no gates had popped up, began chiming in one by one, equally stunned.
"No, that's between C and B. Which means the gate was at least B-rank..."
"A B-rank gate—one even the big guilds classify as hard to clear—and he soloed it. In under 30 minutes."
"Whoa..."
Yong-un looked puzzled at the guild members celebrating like they'd won a prize, just from tossing over a black stone.
"What's so special about it?"
"It's a mana stone," Myung-un explained to Yong-un's question.
"The stones in monsters' hearts are called mana stones. They're traded at high prices depending on their size and color."
"Like jewels?"
"Yeah, you can think of them that way. Pricy gems that only hunters can harvest."
"I see."
Yong-un nodded lightly.
'Something that can make money...'
His eyes gleamed briefly before fading. What he'd thought nothing of suddenly held value.
Money meant wealth—and power.
Yong-un had learned that lesson all too well.
During the war with the Golden Coin Merchant Alliance in the martial world.
He'd never cared much for money before, but that conflict had opened his eyes to the power of wealth.
The Golden Coin Merchant Alliance had no real martial prowess to speak of.
Yet their claim as the world's richest wasn't just talk.
'Never imagined the imperial family would mobilize.'
Yong-un, who had planned to crush everything with overwhelming demonic arts, had to halt when faced with the emperor's massive army.
The imperial troops were on another level from martial artists.
Martial experts were stronger individually, but the imperials' numbers were absurd.
Hundreds of thousands, dense enough to blanket the land.
It crushed the Heavenly Demon Cult's fighting spirit with sheer intimidation.
That was when Yong-un realized it.
Raw martial power alone couldn't protect what was his.
As a result, the Heavenly Demon Cult ended the war not with force, but through talks—for the first time ever—and allied with the Golden Coin Merchant Alliance.
But alliance or not, it was a defeat for the cult.
The Heavenly Demon Cult, which shook the martial world in terror, sheathing swords for words?
For the Sword Demon Yong-un, it was a massive shock.
'That day, I learned. To truly protect what's mine, wealth is essential too.'
He eyed the mana stone in the guild master's hand intently.
"Don't worry."
Perhaps reading the greedy glint in Yong-un's eyes, the guild master smiled and held up the stone.
"Our guild pays out everything minus 20% commission on mana stones you harvest yourself."
"Nice."
Only then did a smile spread across Yong-un's lips.
This is why great leaders are the best.
They figure it out and handle it without you saying a word. So convenient.
"From now on, I'll make sure to extract mana stones from every monster."
Now Yong-un had a real reason to clear gates.
And one more thing he could do for his family. Smiling, he extended a hand to the guild master.
"Bring all the remaining subjugation orders."
"Pardon?"
"I'll finish them all today."
The guild master shook his head with a deep sigh.
"Get them."
At his order, the staff smirked and handed over every remaining subjugation order to Yong-un.
"I'm off."
"Hold on."
As Yong-un turned to leave, the guild master stopped him.
He tapped the watch on his wrist.
"Come back within two hours. We have a lot to discuss."
"Got it."
Yong-un nodded and turned again.
Then, spotting Myung-un's anxious glance, he grabbed his shoulder.
"Mind if I take him along?"
"Huh? But won't it be dangerous?"
The guild master had already reviewed the orders.
By the gate difficulties listed, Myung-un would just be dead weight.
Solo clearing and dragging baggage were worlds apart.
Still, Yong-un shrugged with a casual smile, like it was no big deal.
"He's family. Don't worry."
"W-Wait, bro? What about what I want?"
"Alright then."
With that, Yong-un and Myung-un vanished from the spot.
"Gahhhh!"
Myung-un's brief scream echoed through the entire office.
Having cleared all assigned gates and handed over a pile of mana stones to the guild master.
Once he learned they fetched money—even from small monsters—the office desk was now stacked high.
Arriving at the guild master's office, he was met with a grave expression and a single document.
"This officially registers you with Unwoo Guild."
Yong-un showed no surprise; he'd expected it.
The guild master continued.
"Strong hunters are always welcome. Thanks to you, our nothing-of-a-guild has been assigned the Seokgwan-dong area as an official guild. Permanently exempt from dispatch duties, of course."
"Good to hear."
Yong-un smiled, relieved Myung-un wouldn't be sent to his death anymore.
But the guild master had another reason for bringing it up.
"Now, as fellow guild members, I have to ask: Why us? The big guilds must've offered better terms. Why join us and burn bridges with them?"
Yong-un dropped his smile at the guild master's heavy, serious tone.
He set the document on the desk.
"No other reason. Myung-un's here."
The guild master's eyebrow twitched.
"That's it?"
"What more do you need?"
"Other guilds surely offered to take Myung-un too."
"They did. But he didn't want that. I could tell how much he values this guild."
Even when the guild master rejected him, Myung-un never badmouthed or considered leaving.
A silent resolve to stay, even if Yong-un joined elsewhere.
That had swayed Yong-un most.
'Plus, the guild master's a sharp one—caught my eye too.'
Yong-un shrugged, and the guild master's gaze flickered.
Maybe because they were truly guildmates now.
The usually forceful Yong-un answered smoothly for once, drawing a smile from the guild master.
"It won't be easy. We're not strong enough to protect someone like you."
Yong-un mirrored the small smile.
"I don't need protection. If you want, we grow the guild until we can."
"Pardon?"
Protect an A-rank hunter?
That required being a mega-guild like Sareung, Iron Army, Hwarang, or Garosu.
But reaching that level was a pipe dream for any average guild master.
Yet Yong-un read the guild master's shocked eyes.
"You've dreamed of it too, haven't you?"
"......"
Great leaders.
Their ambitions were always grand.
Beyond what ordinary folk could fathom.
Yong-un couldn't read their every thought, but he knew their endgame.
'Mastery of what they do.'
Even running a small guild, the master surely envisioned it:
Leading a mega-guild—the top in Korea.
"I thought you handled everything with force... Guess I misjudged you."
Feeling exposed, the guild master sighed deeply.
Yong-un grabbed a bottle of Donga-le-cha from across the room and took a sip.
"I just prefer simple things—doesn't mean I can't handle complex ones. Call it luck. Luck that bought Myung-un's loyalty."
It was uncanny.
Just chatting lightly with Yong-un made the guild master feel like he could actually lead a mega-guild.
A slight high.
"So handle the big guilds' tricks yourself. And that wasn't what you really wanted to say."
"Huh?"
Yong-un took another sip and eyed the desk documents.
The guild master snapped back, scratching his head with an awkward grin.
"Ah, yeah, I beat around the bush. This is why I called you. Official guilds have duties regular ones don't—and access to info they never see."
"First time as an official guild, and it's more serious than I thought. The big guilds' pressure seemed light, so I suspected... but a Marquis-level Demon in our country?"
The guild master's face hardened.
A rankless demon alone bumped a gate to A-rank severity.
A titled one—Marquis-level, no less.
And not bound to a gate, freely roaming South Korea.
This qualified as a national disaster warranting foreign dispatches.
"How strong is a Marquis-level Demon?"
Casually ignorant of this world's realities, Yong-un tossed out the question like it was nothing.
The guild master replied with unprecedented gravity.
"All South Korea's hunters combined couldn't stop it."
The gap between regular and official guilds was huge.
The biggest perk: exemption from dispatches.
Many argued, "Why not just unregister as a hunter to avoid dying on dispatch?"
But it was impossible.
Hunters were defined by mana and skills.
Hide them, and you're a special criminal—hunted by the Agency for life.
Superhuman power meant massive crime potential.
"Then skip the dispatch date?" Nope.
Dispatches were nation-to-nation pacts.
No-shows brought backlash no one could handle.
Inhuman events where you bet your life to participate.
But what could you do?
Blame your weak hunter nation.
Even they had to select dispatch fodder, drawing hate—but no choice.
World Hunter Agency pressure aside, it built favors for future crises.
Unavoidable for protecting citizens from unknown threats.
Dispatch debates still raged among the public.
But now, rewards for past dispatches were due.
A crisis worse than any other.
'Marquis-level Demon gate-overflow.'
A catastrophe beyond catastrophes.
Not long ago—two years back—California saw a similar disaster.
A massive gate birthed a Viscount-level Demon: Count Racklatos.
It nearly halved the state, terrifying America.
Then heroes arrived.
'Lemonde John Rowling.'
One of six Royal Class hunters worldwide.
Archmage Lemonde John Rowling and ten S-rankers.
Like divine intervention, they saved America from ruin.
The nation escaped peril; Lemonde became a hero, cementing his sixth Royal spot.
But that was mighty America—with a mere Viscount.
Korea's case was graver: Marquis-level.
And gate-overflow—location unknown.
A ticking bomb prowling the nation, undealable by locals.
Weak Korea couldn't request dispatches first.
One option left:
'Find the Marquis-level Demon ASAP to qualify for global dispatch requests.'
Thus, the Agency started weekly Monday meetings for official guild masters.
A month in, the demon still quiet—driving them mad.
The fourth meeting began in despair.
Then, it happened.