Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: An Unscheduled Arrival
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At the Incheon docks, shipping containers were stacked high.
Where the blaring sirens had fallen silent, a blue gate now hovered. The police and the Hunter Management Bureau's security team had formed a circular perimeter, their expressions grim.
The combat agents meant to clear the gate had not arrived.
"What did you just say? Canceled?"
Hunter Management Bureau agent Lee Jeong-jin asked back in disbelief.
"The gate opens in thirty minutes. How are we supposed to find another guild now? And it's a B-rank gate."
B-rank and higher are assigned to major guilds.
Following procedure, they had granted authorization to the Hero Guild, the top guild in the region, but with only thirty minutes until the gate opened, they were a no-show.
Then, they had called to inform them they were canceling.
"H-Hello?"
This went against all convention and procedure.
The Hero Guild would be held responsible for this later, but the immediate problem was now.
"Those crazy bastards!"
Lee Jeong-jin immediately reported the situation to the Hunter Management Bureau. But finding another guild in thirty minutes was impossible.
Ten minutes until the gate opened.
The sound of a helicopter filled the air, and a dozen people descended.
They were agents from the Hunter Management Bureau, arriving with urgent expressions.
"We failed to recruit a guild."
At the team leader's words, Lee Jeong-jin asked back incredulously.
"What? You mean no guild is coming, not even late?"
Normally, a guild would show up out of a sense of responsibility, even if they couldn't make it on time. The best-case scenario was for the Hunter Management Bureau to hold out until then.
But for every guild to refuse...
"They're telling us to go screw ourselves."
one of the agents said.
It was Min Ha-na, her red hair tied back.
"It seems like they're trying to tame us. But they wouldn't let a Dungeon Break happen, would they?"
If that happened, the Hero Guild, which had refused the clear, would bear the greatest responsibility.
"Just as I thought. Here they come."
Three luxurious, large buses pulled into the port.
The people who disembarked were the Hero Guild's most prominent hunters.
Leading fifty people, Guild Leader Kang Seong-chan stood before the Bureau's team leader with an arrogant expression.
"We'll take it from here."
"Didn't you say you couldn't make it?"
"We couldn't turn our backs on the safety of the people. We dropped everything urgent and came. If the Hunter Management Bureau agents had gone in, half of you would have come out as corpses. Isn't this a relief?"
*Fwoosh!*
In response to his slick tone, a flame erupted from somewhere.
The flame, rising like the sun, immediately drew everyone's attention, and a wave of heat so intense that even Kang Seong-chan flinched spread in all directions.
Beneath the fireball stood Min Ha-na, her eyes tinged with red.
"I don't usually eat dog meat. But today, I think I'll roast one."
"S-Stop her!"
"Rookie! Calm down!"
If the other hunters hadn't stopped her, she looked ready to actually hurl the fireball.
The team leader swallowed his bruised pride and stepped back from the gate.
With the recent influx of skilled hunters, the Hunter Management Bureau's combat strength had increased.
An A-rank would be too much, but they were more than capable of clearing a B-rank gate.
*'But not yet...'*
The risk is too great.
If even one person dies, the clear is a failure.
For the sake of his team, the team leader was prepared to bend his pride. For the safety of the public, it was right for the stronger Hero Guild to take over.
Just as he was about to step aside completely and hand over authority...
"Huh? Over there..."
Someone pointed toward the port where waves were crashing.
In the sea, dyed red by the sunset, a figure was approaching, kicking up a massive wake.
"What is that? A shark?"
"Isn't it a motorboat?"
They were only sure of what it was after the object got closer.
"It's a person!"
"A person can swim that fast?"
"He must have some equipment."
In any case, the sudden appearance of a person threw the atmosphere into disarray.
Guild Leader Kang Seong-chan, displeased with this turn of events, spoke with force.
"Well then, from this moment, the Hero Guild will..."
Just then, a long chain shot out from the sea.
The chain wrapped around a pillar at the port, and using its momentum, a person flew into the air.
*Thud!*
Forced to step back by the figure who landed exactly one pace in front of him, Kang Seong-chan was taken aback.
"You..."
Before Kang Seong-chan could finish, the Hunter Management Bureau agents shouted.
"Hunter Bae!"
It was Wang-sik.
"It's been a while since I had a sea swim, so I'm a bit late. But why are there so many outsiders here?"
Kang Seong-chan's gaze sharpened.
Having been humiliated during the last Dungeon Break, he didn't want to back down this time.
"We're clearing this, so back off."
At that question, Wang-sik looked at the team leader.
"I heard you forfeited the clear thirty minutes ago. Aren't there legal repercussions for that?"
"They could be permanently barred from gate assignments. The person responsible will have to explain their reasoning, and if it's not sufficient, they could face up to the death penalty for gate interference."
"That's a shame. On-the-spot execution would have been better than the death penalty."
Listening, Kang Seong-chan couldn't contain his anger and tried to grab Wang-sik by the collar.
—Holy Shield.
Kang Seong-chan's hand stopped right in front of Wang-sik's neck.
"This counts as self-defense."
*Clang!*
Wang-sik's chains shot out and bound Kang Seong-chan tightly. In response, the guild members behind him drew their weapons in unison.
The Hunter Management Bureau reacted in kind, and a tense atmosphere, thick with the possibility of an imminent clash, filled the air.
Amidst the chaos, Kang Seong-chan instinctively twisted his body, trying to escape, but his strength suddenly drained away.
It was the lethargy effect created by the chains.
Wang-sik watched Kang Seong-chan struggle with all his might like an insect caught in a spiderweb, then raised his hand.
*Smack!*
Wang-sik's hand struck Kang Seong-chan across the face.
As the enraged guild members started to charge, Wang-sik hoisted their bound guild leader upside down.
"Anyone takes another step, and this bastard's neck is going to snap."
The guild members faltered. Wang-sik squatted down to meet Kang Seong-chan's eyes.
*Smack!*
Another one, still squatting.
*Smack! Smack!*
A crisp sound echoed across the docks.
Just as he finished landing a full ten slaps, the Hunter Management Bureau's team leader approached.
"The gate is opening."
"Tch. I was planning to beat him to death. Lucky bastard."
Wang-sik tossed Kang Seong-chan toward his guild members as if annoyed.
His face was swollen beyond recognition, and all his teeth had been knocked out.
"Play games with a gate one more time, and you'll die by my hand."
With those words, Wang-sik turned away.
Taking the lead in place of the team leader, Wang-sik stood before the shimmering gate and spoke.
"Alright. Let's go."
He strolled into the gate as casually as if he were taking a walk.
Twenty minutes later.
"Gate cleared!"
At Lee Jeong-jin's powerful shout, the expressions of the security team maintaining the perimeter relaxed.
Soon after, the Hunter Management Bureau agents who had gone inside emerged from the gate.
"Is anyone injured?"
The team leader, who came out first, smiled and shook his head.
"Good work."
The expressions of the Bureau agents were bright.
"To think we cleared a B-rank gate."
"With Hunter Bae and the rookie, I bet we could even take on an A-rank."
This was the first time the agents had cleared a B-rank gate on their own.
"Everyone, return to base."
At the team leader's shout, the agents stopped their chatter and moved to the prepared vehicles.
But one man remained standing inside the cordon.
The man, whose face looked like it needed immediate medical attention, was Kang Seong-chan.
He looked at the Bureau's team leader and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry."
No one had ever seen Kang Seong-chan bow his head before. He was known as the epitome of arrogance and insolence.
But he wasn't so foolish as to misunderstand his current situation.
The crime of gate interference.
His guild would certainly be disbanded, and he would be branded for life.
"Bullshit."
The response to his apology came from behind him.
It was Wang-sik.
"Team Leader. Can I finish what I couldn't do earlier?"
"If you hit him again, he'll use his medical treatment as an excuse to delay the trial."
"Then I'll just arrest him."
This time, the team leader didn't stop him, but Kang Seong-chan spoke quickly.
"Please forgive me. I never intended to abandon the gate. We were already prepared and waiting nearby."
"I think we'll need to know everything to understand."
At Wang-sik's words, Kang Seong-chan confessed everything.
"The Hunter Management Bureau's prestige has been growing recently, so we agreed to show you our power when the opportunity arose."
"And this petty method was how you decided to show your power?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"Spit out the names of all the guilds that agreed."
"What? That's..."
"Fine, don't. The Hero Guild will be disbanded soon, and half your members will go to prison. You'll live the rest of your life being called an Evildoer."
Kang Seong-chan also had a deep affection for his guild.
"Black River, Sun, Wind, Chomyung, Summit, and us. Six guilds in total."
A staggering six of the ten guilds representing South Korea had colluded.
This was their plan to tame the Hunter Management Bureau.
Had today's operation succeeded, they likely would have used even pettier and more lethal methods next time.
"Team Leader. What should we do?"
In truth, the team leader followed Wang-sik's decisions absolutely, but Wang-sik always deferred to him to preserve his authority. This consideration was part of why the team leader trusted Wang-sik so completely.
"First, let's take him to the Bureau for a formal interrogation."
"Looks like I'll have to go with you."
The team leader nodded.
Since he was an A-rank hunter, they needed Wang-sik, who could definitely control him.
Wang-sik bound Kang Seong-chan with his chains and moved to the prepared vehicle.
In a modified van used by the Bureau, Kang Seong-chan stared out the window, looking as though he had lost the world.
Wang-sik sat next to him, and Min Ha-na sat across from them, facing him.
"I have a question. Do you have a swimming skill or something?"
"Yes, I do."
"Swimming skills... aren't those something only special-type awakeners get? I've never seen a combat-type awakener get one."
"I didn't awaken with it, I acquired it."
"Acquired it? How?"
"I saved someone, and they gave it to me as a gift."
"There's a way to do that?"
Min Ha-na tilted her head and asked.
"I'm jealous. I like swimming, too. Can you give me a ride next time? You were faster than a boat."
"Where would you like to ride?"
Laughter erupted at his question. Only then did Min Ha-na realize her mistake.
Wang-sik spoke to her as she averted her gaze.
"I may be as fast as a boat, but I'm not an actual boat."
"My mistake. I'm sorry."
Min Ha-na immediately admitted her mistake.
After arriving at the Bureau, Wang-sik didn't participate in the interrogation directly. There was no need; Kang Seong-chan confessed everything.
From behind the one-way glass overlooking the interrogation room, Wang-sik simply watched alongside Kang Il-seop.
"Bureau Director. What are you going to do?"
"We'll have to make sure this never happens again before we let him go. This actually turned out well. We've got a leash on him now."
"So he's too valuable to kill?"
"You know our country's situation. We're barely hanging on in the world's top 30. Every single hunter is precious, let alone an A-rank hunter. Plus, the Hero Guild is one of the top ten guilds. Since they didn't truly abandon the clear, I don't think we need to go to extremes. His personality is garbage, but his gate-clearing skills are solid."
"This power struggle won't end here."
"I suppose not. It's bitter."
"They wouldn't be so complacent if they saw a real external threat. Should I take them on a little field trip?"
"Heh heh. That's a good idea. Should we really go through with it?"
"I was just saying. What if they finish the trip and just sell information to the Americans?"
"There is that problem. Dammit! Now I'm picturing Smith's face again!"
"What happened with the American issue?"
Wang-sik had been curious about that matter.
"They played dumb, of course. Flatly denied everything. So I handed over the evidence."
"And then?"
"No response."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"What does no response mean? It means they've called Smith in and are holding a meeting to figure out what to do. He's probably sweating bullets right about now."
"Well, I'm glad you seem to have relieved some stress."
Wang-sik laughed along with Kang Il-seop.