174. Anyway, Talented People Are Just Talented
Operations officer.
It was a position unfamiliar to hunters.
At least to those who hadn't lived through the Great War.
But the hunters gathered in the convention room all knew exactly what an operations officer was.
The current guild representatives had all weathered the Small Wars, and in that process, many had directly or indirectly encountered the legacies of the Great War era. The integrated strike force was one such piece of that history.
The Small Wars had erupted so suddenly and ended so swiftly that the integrated force never actually formed, but discussions about it had circulated at the time.
Moreover, even hunters unfamiliar with it had looked up the details after Kang Moo-hyuk brought up the integrated strike force during the hearing.
The conscripted hunters had come fully briefed on strike force operations and organization, so they grasped the role immediately.
And their reactions were far from welcoming.
"Putting a civilian in as operations officer—isn't that basically the same as shoving the leader system into the strike force?!"
Jeon Ye-seong, newly appointed as deputy strike force leader, voiced the simmering discontent of the other hunters with an outburst.
Part of his anger stemmed from not receiving even a heads-up from strike force leader Seong Seon-je despite his deputy role, but at its core, it was backlash against appointing a non-hunter civilian with no field experience.
And rightly so—the origins of the operations officer role lay with military officers, civilians who weren't hunters.
The old leader system had been run by civilians too, leading to disastrous results, so hunters were hypersensitive to anyone non-hunter trying to command them.
But an operations officer openly interfered in raids, so the reaction was inevitable.
'Hmph! Back in the Great War's early days, sure, they had army officers as operations officers out of necessity. But things are different now. Monsters aren't child's play, and we can't entrust our lives to someone who doesn't even know the 'h' in hunting.'
Seong Seon-je had anticipated the backlash and responded calmly.
"I didn't realize there were still hard feelings about the leader system. I thought that was ancient history."
"Who's saying it's history? We've just been watching. And now you're putting a civilian in such a critical role? Team Leader Seong, you've been out of the field too long. How else do you greenlight something this absurd?"
"It's not team leader—it's strike force leader."
Slayer Guild's expedition leader, So Sang-yeop, stepped in to correct Jeon Ye-seong's phrasing. The inauguration ceremony had happened; show proper respect.
Jeon Ye-seong shot So Sang-yeop a dirty look. He didn't appreciate the interruption pointing out his slip.
Of course, it wasn't really a slip. It was a roundabout way of saying he didn't recognize Seong Seon-je as strike force leader yet.
Besides, So Sang-yeop was his age-mate, awakened around the same time and gone through hunter training together. Rivals, in other words.
Jeon Ye-seong's name always came up with So Sang-yeop's, and vice versa.
No way they were on friendly terms—especially from rival-tier guilds.
As sparks flew between the two hunters' glares, Seong Seon-je intervened.
"The strike force leader holds full personnel authority. You know that clause, don't you, Deputy Leader?"
"Don't play games with us, Strike Force Leader. 'Full' authority? That's not in there. If anything, the subclauses say you consult with strike force executives."
"Oops, caught me. You've done your homework."
Seong Seon-je didn't flinch at being called out. Most would show embarrassment, but he owned it boldly, leaving fact-stater Jeon Ye-seong speechless.
Seong Seon-je grinned shamelessly to smooth things over.
"I get the complaints. But the strike force needs filling fast, so let's assign seats first. Objections? We can adjust later."
"Don't brush it off. You think I don't know you? You'll ram it through and bury it."
"Bury it? Even if you're Dragon Slayer Guild Master, our strike force leader's from Slayer Guild—the core. And your senior by years. Mind your manners."
"So Sang-yeop, you keep butting into seniors' talk? That's manners too?"
"You're not my senior."
"I'm deputy leader."
"Respect our leader properly? Behave, and I'll respect you."
As So Sang-yeop bared his teeth, Jeon Ye-seong ignored him and backed off. He'd learned post-guild-master that charging head-on wasn't always smart.
"Speaking of manners—where's this so-called operations officer? Hunter Association Chairman Han Byung-gu we can excuse as busy. But a civilian skipping the inauguration? Doesn't sit right from the start."
The surrounding hunters nodded in agreement with Jeon Ye-seong's jab.
Blabbing about the integrated strike force at the hearing, but ghosting the key event?
Maybe he'd foreseen this backlash and ditched to avoid the heat.
With the man absent, Seong Seon-je fielded it.
"Guild Leader Kang Moo-hyuk is quite busy. He messaged he'll be a bit late. It's just formality today—a quick intro. No big deal, right?"
"Why? In special training to awaken? Or chowing down mana stones?"
"Didn't know special training could trigger awakening. Teach me if it exists."
"Staring like that over a joke? You're making me nervous."
"Oh, a joke? I thought the guild master actually bought that fake news about eating mana stones to awaken."
Seong Seon-je twisted Jeon Ye-seong's words with sarcasm.
The mood iced over instantly. Dragon Slayer Guild hunters glared and shot up aggressively. Chairs scraped back, clattering across the floor, filling the room with noise.
As Dragon Slayer's momentum surged, So Sang-yeop stepped toward Jeon Ye-seong. Slayer Guild hunters rose too, matching the threat.
One knife toss, and it'd erupt into a brawl.
Then the closed convention room door swung open, and one person entered.
In the dead silence, the hinge creak echoed loudly. Hunters whipped heads toward the door. There stood a face everyone knew.
Kang Moo-hyuk.
He glanced between the glaring guild factions, checked his watch, and spoke.
"What's this? Still not settled? I came late on purpose, figuring you'd need time to hash it out."
Jeon Ye-seong caught the implication and bristled.
"What a clown. Pits us against each other then ducks out? Hey, you playing games?!"
Jeon Ye-seong flared his aura to intimidate Kang Moo-hyuk. He expected the civilian to cower and crawl.
But oddly, Kang Moo-hyuk shrugged unaffected.
"Anyway, sorry I'm late. Partly to let you all bond, but mostly urgent business to check. Mind if we start with this?"
Kang Moo-hyuk strolled casually to the podium, leaving Jeon Ye-seong flustered instead.
'Huh? That's not how it's supposed to go... What the hell is this guy?'
Jeon Ye-seong had dialed back to avoid making him foam at the mouth, but a hunter's pressure was no joke, weak or not.
Unable to fathom a civilian tanking his aura, Jeon Ye-seong missed his chance to press.
Before mounting the podium, Kang Moo-hyuk handed a USB to the ceremony staff with instructions.
As he took center stage, Seong Seon-je claimed a seat. Slayer Guild followed suit.
Jeon Ye-seong, robbed of his fight, awkwardly returned to his chair too.
The tension eased, and a massive projector screen descended from the ceiling.
"Pull up file one, please."
He spoke to the staffer with the USB, and a huge map filled the screen—Makyung north of the Tumen River defense line.
He flicked on the laser pointer.
"Baekdu Mountain, north-northwest 235 km: Jilin City Gate. East 250 km from there: Mudanjiang Gate. Northwest 250 km from Mudanjiang: Harbin Gate. North 252 km from Mudanjiang, east 300 km from Harbin: Jiamusi Gate. Plus an estimated gate somewhere below Changchun. Five gates clustered in Makyung's central and eastern sectors. Jilin's already open; the rest due soon."
Red dots marked each gate as his laser hit them.
Hunters forgot the squabble, eyes glued to the map. As top Korean hunters, they instantly grasped the implications—and stayed silent.
The gates maintained exquisitely precise distances.
Shape looked bad at a glance.
Kang Moo-hyuk voiced their worst-case thoughts.
"You've all academy-trained, so basics aside—but let's review."
The gate dots expanded into circles, overlapping at intersections.
"Distances 200-300 km. As you see, within boss monster perception range. You know what happens if they open simultaneously."
"Bosses head opposite ways."
Someone muttered. Silence amplified it. Embarrassed by his own voice, he coughed.
Kang Moo-hyuk picked it up.
"Yes. Jilin south, Mudanjiang east, Jiamusi northeast, Harbin north or northwest. Changchun unknown exactly, but south or west likely."
Arrows drew from each gate onscreen.
"All three adjacent nations hit by gate bosses. Russia takes the brunt."
Three of five aimed at Russia's vast land.
Next slide: same map, expanded Makyung.
"If bosses aren't hunted early, this is the projected Makyung expansion."
Conservative estimate: 30% bigger than current.
Southern bulge stood out.
Seong Seon-je groaned.
"Back to pre-unification North Korea."
Northern Korean peninsula swallowed whole.
"Conservative figure. Could overlap Gaema Plateau special zone and grow more."
"Basis for that expansion calc?"
Jeon Ye-seong probed seriously—not nitpicking. Unlike earlier, no rivalry; pure hunter mode. Grandson of a Great War hero, he prioritized crises over politics.
"Based on Makyung's primary expansion in Small Wars and secondary phases from past outbreaks. Some margin, but won't be less—maybe more."
Hunters nodded. The map wasn't baseless.
Seong Seon-je smirked inwardly at the sobered room.
'Planned or coincidence? Guys ready to boot Kang earlier now drop the operations officer beef.'
His guess: deliberate. Classic issue-burying ploy. Overlay conflict with crisis; real hunters prioritize.
'Some resentment lingers, but tripping now means no hunter cred. Factored that in conscriptions. Anyway, talented people are just talented. Waste in a small guild like Iron Will? If not for Joo Se-ah...'
Seong Seon-je coveted Kang Moo-hyuk. Working together revealed his worth, stirring regret.
Relieved the pointless clash ended thanks to him—
The convention room door opened again.
Eyes turned; newcomers drew stares.
Then frowns. Questions brewing.
Kang Moo-hyuk voiced it aloud.
"Why are Baekho Guild here...?"