A Tree with Strong Roots Does Not Sway in the Wind
Hunter Association.
"Aigoo, you're as impatient as ever. Did you rush straight here from the airport the moment you got back? I heard about it—you had a rough time in Russia."
Han Byung-gu greeted Kang Moo-hyuk and his group, then led them to Alex.
As they walked down the corridor, Kang Moo-hyuk was puzzled to learn that the Federation's envoy staying at the Association was none other than Alex.
"I guess Aila isn't here."
"She went back to the States because of the mess you dumped in her lap."
"Mess?"
"That traitor."
"You mean the Kozlov thing?"
"When someone on the inside—not even an outsider—sabotages Federation business, it's a huge loss of face. Aila was pretty pissed about it too. And since it was a task from the Round Table, they're probably red-faced over there as well."
"So... the Federation feels really bad about what happened to us."
"You bet. Hell, they'd be mortified."
"Bad enough that they might have to offer some kind of compensation, right?"
"Well, yeah... What's with that look? You planning to shake them down even more?"
Kang Moo-hyuk didn't respond and just entered the room where Alex was waiting.
"Mr. Kang. Glad you made it back safe... What's this?"
Alex took the folded note Kang Moo-hyuk handed him without thinking.
"You know how it is. Thanks to the Federation, we went through hell, so I can't just let it slide. I've got a lot on my plate, so I won't be in Seoul for a while. Figured I'd hand this over now."
Only then did Alex realize the note was some kind of invoice.
"Haha... You really are thorough when it comes to settling accounts."
"I jotted down about thirty items at first."
"Th-thirty... items?"
"But it felt too nitpicky, so I boiled it down to just one."
"You could've just told me verbally. No need to write it down..."
"Sometimes the written word hits harder than speech. Gives them time to brace themselves before reading it."
For a split second, Alex had a bad feeling that thirty demands might've been easier.
'I've cleared a red gate, but unfolding a single sheet of paper has me more nervous than that.'
Alex unfolded the note as carefully as if he were defusing a bomb.
"!!"
The note contained a single simple English sentence. But Alex's thoughts were anything but simple.
Long-term Loan of Poison Well
"One unique item should about cover what my guild members went through."
"R-Roughly...? Sigh~ Guild Leader Kang. The artifact you're asking for is unique grade. Even considering the hardship, this demand is a bit much."
"Your Federation guide betrayed us, an S-rank hunter ambushed us, one of my team got captured, we got dragged into internal terrorism from a collaborating guild seeking revenge for past grudges, and we risked our lives to stop Upu Mangbau's poison from spreading to the city. Oh, and we clashed with Moscow's Tier Guild too. We would've needed ten lives to get through it. That's why I call the situation truly 'unique', Mr. Wilkinson."
Alex was struck dumb, his mouth glued shut like he'd eaten honey.
As Kang Moo-hyuk said, it was clearly something even he couldn't have handled. Hell, survival alone would've been dicey. The Tyrant especially was no joke.
Fortunately, Alex had at least a shred of conscience as a hunter.
All he could manage was:
"This is beyond my authority to decide."
Kang Moo-hyuk, who had anticipated as much, added his prepared follow-up.
"Emphasize to them that it's a loan, not ownership."
"Long-term loan, right? Even then, figuring out the duration will stir up plenty of talk."
"As far as I know, the Federation doesn't have an owner for the Poison Well right now. No hunters specialize in poison, after all. Even with the long-term loan condition, if a poison specialist joins the Federation, we'll return it immediately."
"That's a reasonable condition, but taking a unique item outside the Federation raises theft concerns."
"The user is A+ rank. Unless it's an S-rank, it's not getting stolen easily. Besides, the Poison Well's value is underwhelming for its grade—unless you're a poison user. Of course, poison affinity itself is pretty 'unique'."
Alex could feel how much Kang Moo-hyuk held against him. Otherwise, why keep hammering 'unique' like that?
'So, take the deal now while I'm being nice? Damn, this guy's airtight. Everything else about him is great, but he shows too much greed in deals like this.'
Kang Moo-hyuk drove the nail in further.
"As you know, unique artifacts and above vary wildly in utility depending on the user. The more you use them, the more data you get on applications across scenarios. Instead of letting it gather dust in a vault, having our guild research the Poison Well would benefit the Federation too. We actually tested it out, and it really broadened our tactical options."
"Fine, I'll draft a formal report for the Round Table. If Aila pulls some strings, it might even make the agenda."
Alex surrendered. And decided to kick the tough call upstairs.
"Add one more line to the report."
"What?"
"Say they still haven't repaid what they owed Korea from the Great War. If they try to weasel out again, just disband the Federation."
Alex paled.
'How am I supposed to send that up, Mr. Kang?!'
Faced with Kang Moo-hyuk's resolute expression, all he could do was scream internally.
* * *
Back at the guild after so long, Kang Moo-hyuk showed no particular reaction.
If anything, he was quieter than usual, even more subdued than during his busiest days.
He seemed utterly relaxed, as if the brutal fight in Russia had happened years ago.
Most team members didn't even know he and Joo Se-ah had gone to Russia. Kang Moo-hyuk had clamped down on info since it required secrecy.
He hadn't even told key figures like Lee Jin-joo and Jang Deok-gu yet.
He'd set up a meeting to brief them personally—likely tied to Joo Se-ah reaching S-rank. He was reluctant to announce her rank-up publicly.
"Something feels off."
Jang Deok-gu overheard Joo Se-ah's mutter.
"What do you mean?"
"It's too quiet. From that workaholic. He's spacing out like a retired hunter, just wandering around."
"Isn't he just inspecting prep for the Hunter Village opening on the 26th?"
"That's standard. Nah, I think Russia sucked the soul right out of him."
Joo Se-ah felt uneasy for no reason. It was a side of him she'd never seen. Or had she? The dazed look felt oddly familiar.
'He was his sly old self grilling the Federation folks.'
She went to Pyo Beom-hee about Kang Moo-hyuk's weird behavior. As the one who'd worked with him longest, she might know something.
But Pyo Beom-hee was unfazed—surprisingly calm.
"Feels normal to me. Makes sense Guild Master hasn't seen it. You weren't at Titan."
"What was he like at Titan?"
"Always sharp, curt, cold. Except one situation."
"One situation? When?"
"When making a decision."
"Decision?"
"When deciding something big, he takes it slow to sort his thoughts. Acts like he's missing a screw."
Joo Se-ah tilted her head.
A big decision?
What about all those split-second calls on the brink of death? What could be bigger?
'Guess life-or-death calls on the edge aren't the same as this.'
Suddenly, she wondered what decision he was mulling.
"Team Leader Yeom, seen Guild Leader Kang?"
Joo Se-ah spotted Yeom Soo-hyung unsealing and sorting the warehouse from the orc tribe raid. She looked up.
Yeom Soo-hyung was using Gigant, shifting massive crates. Working giant-sized was more training than efficiency.
'Russia hit him hardest. Maybe even more than Team Leader Pyo hitting A+.'
Yeom Soo-hyung was inching back to hunter life, the career he'd avoided. He was prepping to renew his license soon.
"Went to C Warehouse earlier."
Even in first-stage transformation, Yeom Soo-hyung could communicate clearly now. He pointed toward the shelter where the equipment team stayed.
"Thanks."
Joo Se-ah found An Ji-il, who practically lived in the equipment warehouse.
"Guild Leader Kang? Said he was checking the Hunter Village earlier."
"Anything unusual here?"
"Nah. Just confirming rental gear was ready."
"Not C Warehouse stuff?"
Muttering, Joo Se-ah headed to the Hunter Village—the revamped lodging area of old Sanjeong Lake.
Former motels, pensions, restaurants, and marts had been overhauled with major infrastructure repairs and container housing into a massive lodging complex.
"Whoa, even better second time around. From ghost town to this."
Joo Se-ah marveled at the village anew.
Even if just upgrades, the neatly paved roads in such short time were impressive.
New shops dotted everywhere.
Pocheon locals and select franchises were prepping food spots busily.
This street felt like a food alley or cafe strip.
'Dumping construction costs on gov and companies. And making entrant firms cover the gear shop? Using others' money like his own—that's a talent.'
Most work went to Pocheon firms, prioritizing locals. Restaurants favored Pocheon folk.
True to his pledge when basing here, Hunter Village embodied local economic revival.
Joo Se-ah wandered long but no sign of Kang Moo-hyuk.
"Where the hell is this guy? Not even a hunter, but stamina for days."
While Joo Se-ah wandered, Kang Moo-hyuk paced near the collapsed waterfall from the orc raid.
The broken embankment above was dismantled; land compaction was underway behind.
The large-scale Hunter outlet construction was far from done, leaving it empty—perfect for clearing his head.
Staring blankly at the site till sunset, Kang Moo-hyuk stood, dusting off.
"Alright. Let's start with that."
* * *
"For real? That's your plan?"
"Yeah. It's our home turf."
Joo Se-ah scratched her head at Kang Moo-hyuk's out-of-left-field proposal.
'What big decision? What's this even mean?'
She mulled it over again.
"This is North Pocheon. Special activity zone. Dangerous."
"I know. That's why we beef up patrols with guild members."
"Opening day's packed with other hunters. You wanna invite Pocheon civilians too?"
"Pocheon folks are already here working. No reason not to."
"They're residents working."
"So just opening days, no entry blocks. Charter buses between checkpoint and guild. Hunters escort on board—no issue. Plus, incoming hunters make it safer."
"Dude, this ain't a safari. Bus tours?"
Joo Se-ah bristled; Kang Moo-hyuk turned serious.
"Wh-what? Sudden mood shift."
"After Russia, I realized we need outreach. Home turf, right? Gotta show Pocheon how we operate, live, fight monsters. That's a true local guild."
"Ugh, the Nazinsky thing... Yeah, lack of talk caused it."
"Exactly. Selfish handling without communication built misunderstandings into tragedy. Felt it during orc tribe too. Without the orc war, we'd take heat for breaching the fence. Backlash after sacrifices. Media would've hammered us. Preventing that upfront."
"With civilian invites?"
"Shows the guild's not just for hunters—citizens too. Get them saying 'our guild.' A tree with strong roots does not sway in the wind."