Chapter 5: Hunters Should Act Like Hunters
“Aaaagh!”
“Gah!”
Watching his party members dangling in midair as if suspended by nothing, party leader Jang Yi-hyeon could offer no help whatsoever.
“Fuck, an Unknown?!”
An invisible enemy.
Magic and skills needed a visible target to hit.
With no choice, he'd resorted to area attacks despite the mana waste, but even those the monster dodged.
Still, Jang Yi-hyeon didn't give up. He had one last resort.
A spell he'd deemed mostly useless when acquired.
Detecting!
Mana light spread from Jang Yi-hyeon, sweeping the surroundings.
But it was no use.
“Urk!”
The enemy remained unseen, mercilessly hunting his party members.
In the end, Jang Yi-hyeon threw in the towel.
“Retreat! Retreat! Fall back to the entrance!”
“Party leader! At this rate, we'll wipe before we get there! It's too far!”
“Damn it... Head to the barrier zone! And... request support from HQ—no, rescue.”
Brapbrapbrap brapbrap brapbrapbrap!
“Ugh... y-yes... sir...”
Kang Moo-hyuk barely answered the phone in his half-asleep daze.
He'd brought work home again and had been asleep for less than an hour.
Irritation flared, but his job often meant dawn calls couldn't wait till morning.
He shook himself awake and spoke.
“Yeah, Manager Kim. What is it at... 3 a.m.? The Sinlim 17 Gate? And... what?!”
Kang Moo-hyuk snapped fully awake.
“Got it. See you at HQ. We need to assess and dispatch fast, so wake the on-call team. Yeah. Prep gear for gate raids.”
Kang Moo-hyuk threw on jeans and a jacket, grabbed his keys, and headed out.
“First day of the week was chaos, and day two starts with a spectacle at dawn.”
Hong Eun-dong to Yeouido Guild HQ: 35 minutes. Dawn cut it to 25. In emergencies, he'd shaved it to under 15. Traffic violations were risky, but thinking of hunters whose lives hung by minutes, his foot pressed the accelerator harder.
He made a voice call as he drove.
“Call Ma Tae-soo, vice guild master.”
Normally, he'd handle incidents as strategic team leader, but this was different. Waking the vice guild master at dawn was justified.
Rescue requests must be answered—even mid-wedding.
It wasn't a joke; it had happened. News covered it sometimes.
Rescue requests signaled dire straits. Advance parties or raid teams in crisis sent them as a last resort.
Gates aside from routine reports, hunters could send four urgent signals:
⊳ Supply — Logistics request
⊳ Support — Reinforcements needed
⊳ Rescue — Lives at stake
⊳ Wipe — Total party annihilation
Supply was just logistics—no big deal.
Support meant extra resources and manpower hassles, but tolerable aside from messing other parties' hunts.
The last two were trouble.
Wipe meant no survivors to complain.
But rescue was the worst-case scenario.
Especially for an A-rank guild like Titan's regular party—it screamed extreme danger.
Situations could snowball; swift response was key.
“Why isn't he picking up? This is urgent.”
The line rang endlessly; vice guild master didn't answer. Rare for him. Bad timing today.
No choice—Kang Moo-hyuk called the guild master's secretary.
“Secretary Jeong. Strategic team leader here. Sorry to wake you, but contact the guild master. Sinlim-dong 6th party sent a rescue signal during their gate raid. Can't reach vice guild master, so reporting up. Break it gently so he doesn't snap.”
He arrived at HQ as the call ended.
Kang Moo-hyuk headed to the 27th-floor situation room.
Manager Kim Man-gi, whose home was closer, was already there—assessing as Kang Moo-hyuk had called.
“On-call team's cursed this week.”
Park Min-soo sipped coffee beside Kim Man-gi. Other on-call members waited on 31, prepped in dorms.
“Yeah. Kim, gear vehicles dispatched?”
“Yes. Straight to site. Raid camp's set at gate entrance; site staff filling gaps.”
“Park, take your party and go now.”
Park Min-soo clicked his tongue, hitting the elevator.
“That's why I told vice guild master: don't let Jang Yi-hyeon lead till the year after next. Tsk!”
“Jang's competent. If he called rescue, it's bad. Be careful, Park.”
“Of course. Gotta bring 'em back to tease forever.”
“Thanks.”
As Park Min-soo headed rooftop for chopper, Kim Man-gi whispered to Kang Moo-hyuk.
“A word...?”
“What?”
“Not here.”
Kang Moo-hyuk sensed trouble from Kim Man-gi's caution.
He led him to the emergency stairs.
“What is it?”
“The rescue signal? It came... three hours ago.”
“What? Three hours? Why report now?!”
A three-hour delay on a life-or-death rescue? Impossible. Kang Moo-hyuk trusted his system.
Kim Man-gi flinched at his boss's rare fury.
Kang Moo-hyuk calmed with a breath.
“What'd situation room duty say?”
“Fell asleep.”
“Asleep? That idiot...”
“Not just asleep—drank the duty drink we gave and passed out.”
Kang Moo-hyuk gaped.
“You mean... sedatives?”
“Probably.”
“Why would Oh deputy...?”
“Duty was Oh Deputy? No.”
“Not Oh?”
“Ma Tae-sik.”
“What? That punk bolted? I told Oh to cover.”
Kim Man-gi grimaced awkwardly, licking dry lips before speaking.
“Woke duty said Ma Tae-sik came evening, told Oh he'd take shift so go home. Wanted to show remorse to you at morning check-in, said he'd report himself—no need to call.”
“Is Oh stupid or naive? That guy's no saint! Text at least!”
Ma Tae-sik's fault biggest, but Oh Chang-soo screwed up too.
Intent aside, bypassed reporting chain.
Normal night? Scolding, maybe report. Now? Unforgivable. Escalation inevitable.
Kang Moo-hyuk couldn't shield subordinates here.
Hunter lives at stake.
Fire could spread unpredictably.
“Who knows?”
“Sleeping duty, four on-call situation staff, me, and you.”
“Too many. Park Min-soo?”
“Doesn't know.”
“Ma Tae-sik?”
“Location unknown. Phone off.”
“That bastard. Knew he's brainless, but screwing me over like this... Fuck, hits right when shit explodes.”
Ma Tae-sik's ploy obvious: paralyze situation room hours, pin blame on room chief and strategic lead.
Subordinate error? Boss's fault.
No heavy discipline, but reprimand certain—he figured.
That petty impulse now ballooning uncontrollably.
If party wipes from delayed rescue...
Darkness loomed.
Kim Man-gi bowed, first time seeing Kang Moo-hyuk curse.
“Call Oh in, intel team track Ma Tae-sik.”
“Yes.”
“Focus on Sinlim gate. I'll handle Ma Tae-sik.”
He told Kim Man-gi gate first, but Kang Moo-hyuk's head throbbed with complications.
Wouldn't end as personal vendetta.
This could spark a bloodbath.
Where would it stop?
Chills ran down his neck on the cold stairs.
Titan Guild Master Lee Cheol-jung arrived in training gear. Tension thickened the situation room.
Usually only vice guild master and strategic lead met his eyes boldly; today felt off—they eyed him warily.
“What's with the faces? Gates go south all the time. Shoulders back, work. No mistakes from fear.”
After gate briefing, Lee Cheol-jung caught Kang Moo-hyuk's glance for private talk, moved to his office.
“On-call dispatched; now wait. But you have more, team leader?”
Lee Cheol-jung—buzzcut, square jaw, thick neck—embodied steadfast tank grit; his heavy voice pressured.
Kang Moo-hyuk spoke carefully.
“Guild issue on this gate's rescue signal.”
'Issue' meant major fuckup to Lee Cheol-jung.
“Spill.”
Kang Moo-hyuk relayed Kim Man-gi's account, explaining assigning Ma Tae-sik week duty.
Lee Cheol-jung's eyes iced over.
“Vice guild master still unreachable?”
“Yes.”
“Ma Tae-sik?”
“Phone off.”
“Vice knew, obviously?”
“No. Could just be no connection.”
Kang Moo-hyuk added hastily. He'd suspected, but no evidence for certainty.
Even if true, as strategic lead, defend vice guild master. Avoid linking him and Ma Tae-sik.
Guild master-vice relations strained. Don't give quarrel fuel. Guild crumbles.
Lee Cheol-jung clashed shareholders on 'guild run by hunters.'
Ma Tae-soo: adapt to era, heed shareholders.
Rift widening daily.
Why Kang Moo-hyuk took Ma Tae-sik despite Ma Tae-soo's plea rejection.
After Ma Tae-sik's expedition fuckup expulsion cornered Ma Tae-soo, prevent Lee crossing final line.
Saved Ma Tae-soo's face.
Didn't like Ma Tae-sik, but his errors couldn't shame vice.
Regretted accepting daily, but intent sound.
Thus pushed bell on Ma Tae-sik via Lee Jin-joo mention. Expulsion last resort.
They're guild pillars. Balance keeps Titan whole.
Now ruined. How to fix?
Kang Moo-hyuk lamented headache from superiors' power struggle over gate raid.
Damn it, act like hunters. Hunt, not politick.