It was honestly a shame that I had to leave the guild so soon.
After surfing online, I ended up learning quite a few things. The guild leader of Obsidian Guild, Kim Taewon.
What I found was... a little concerning.
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[Hunter Forum Archive]
Keyword Search: "Kim Taewon personality"
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⤷ RankObserver: Saw him during a dungeon break near Bukwha and the monsters were running away from him.
⤷ BlueFlame: I asked Hunter Kim Taewon for a picture and he froze my phone that day. T_T, had to buy a new one!
⤷ AnonymousRaidMember: I was there during the dungeon break. He glared at all the civilians.
⤷ GateWatcher: He's scarier than any monsters.
⤷ ManaScanner: His mana pressure is no joke. He made two A-ranks vomit.
⤷ RookieHunter: I heard he once kept fighting even after his arm was shattered.
⤷ AnonymousRaidMember: Correction. It wasn't shattered. It was hanging.
⤷ RankObserver: Obsidian Guild members call him "Leader," but they look terrified every time.
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...
I slowly lowered my phone.
I can't believe the guild leader was such a scary person. And yet, I was given a black card inside his guild.
Is he well acquainted with Jinhyuk-ssi? Well... that would make sense.
A secret L-ranker and a mad S-rank guild leader. Somehow, that combination doesn't even feel surprising. If anything, they match each other a little too well.
The only reassuring thing about those two is their faces. At least they're easy on the eyes.
Anyway, I did return the black card eventually. It felt a little sad parting ways with it, but even apples don't stay on trees forever.
Besides, I should head back to my cafe quickly. It's been a while.
·•—–٠✤٠—–•·
"What..."
My fingers slowly curled into a fist.
"What the hell happened to my place!?"
Everything was a mess, like an earthquake happened here. Some of my chairs were flipped and the curtains on my windows had fallen.
『 Shiniest Gem 』
Theft?
There weren't any signs of forced entry. I mean...nothing seems to be stolen? I've doubled check to see if I have my items missing but apart from some of my broken glass cups, nothing.
My eyes slowly shifted downward, towards the floor.
The dungeon...
"...You've got to be kidding me."
My heartbeat quickened. I didn't want to check it. I really didn't. But at this point, there was only one possibility.
What if... What if something happened? Something came out? Do I really have the power to stop it?
So far, I've only been surviving thanks to luck. Besides, my stats are more support focus. I can't possibly fight anything!
『 Under The Oak Tree 』
You are safe, child. Do not be afraid.
"I hope you're right" I whispered.
I go under and followed the same dark path as I did before, and finally arriving at the main area where the empty pedestal was.
Well, it wasn't so empty anymore...again.
On it was a floating white sword that seemed to generate cold air. Is that why this area feels a little colder than usual?
I checked the status of the weird sword.
『 A cool sword! Anyone who wield it will become the strongest. 』
...Ah?
Doesn't the description seem a little odd?
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Oh! You're really loved by the system.
"Do you know what this sword is?" I asked.
『 Above the Broken World 』
You'd be a fool not to know. Although it's just an imitation of the real one, it is nonetheless unique.
"Are you calling me a fool?" I rolled my eyes and made my way up.
What should I do with this anyway? The description seems like a joke. Is it really that good?
I don't know... I'll just keep it safe for now...
·•—–٠✤٠—–•·
Mirang district used to be the heart of Korea until the first disaster-class dungeon hit. So many lives and homes were lost to the outbreak, including top class hunters.
However, years later, Mirang was just another forgotten district.
"Where are they?" A man stood in front of seven people that wore their hoods.
"We've brought all the healers that we could gather." Another man says, bringing in individuals with bags over their heads as they were forced to get on their knees.
"What's the highest rank among them?"
"We've captured Sarah Kim, an A-rank hunter."
The man didn't seem to believe his subordinate, "Take off their mask" he commanded.
They did take off their mask, their mouth covered with cloth to prevent them from making noises, and amongst them was a woman with pink hair, as beautiful as the spring itself.
She was one of the top healers in Korea, but that also put her at great risk. Since healers have almost no combat ability, if they're not protected, they could be harmed.
Sarah Kim just wanted to be left alone for a while after having a fight with her childhood friend, who was now engaged to her. But right after that, she was kidnapped by a group of B-rank hunters, as if they had been waiting for the perfect moment.
In the meantime, another familiar presence sat quietly in the corner, confused and lost as to how she ended up there.
Seo Elena, a café owner, or rather a soon-to-be café owner, was tied up with a cloth stuffed in her mouth.
Just how in the world did I end up here?
To explain this situation, we'd have to go back two hours.
After finding the sword in the pedestal, Elena decided to store it in her storage room for the time being.
Then she began cleaning up her messy place. Once she finished, she headed out to go shopping with the money she received from the Baekwha Guild.
She bought a few things to kickstart her café, because this time she was truly determined to open it as soon as possible. But on her way home, someone knocked her out cold, causing all her groceries to fall to the ground.
...Those poor groceries she bought with Baekwha's money.
And now, here she was.
Captured by a group of... what are they?
Cult members?
Yeah, that's what they look like.
She was, without a doubt, kidnapped by a group of cultists.
Seriously...
How unlucky could one person be?
"Let go of me." Sarah Kim demanded. "I'll make sure no word of this gets out."
The cultists laughed, treating her words lightly. "Don't worry. The world will soon come to know of us. It's only a matter of time."
"What do you mean? What are you planning?"
"A healer like you, meant to be food, doesn't need to know."
"Begin."
At that single word, everyone started chanting something ominous, shifting the mood.
The feeling wasn't immediate nor was it painful. But was strangely wrong.
A strange heaviness settled over their bodies, like something invisible had wrapped around them, making them have difficulty to breathe.
But as time passed, the feeling progressively became worse.
A tightening formed in their chests, like their entire being was being forcefully pulled away from them. It became harder to stay conscious... or even alive.
"What... are you doing to me!?" Sarah yelled, her voice muffled but filled with rising panic.
No one answered her right away.
The cultists simply watched.
"We're just taking your mana," one of them said calmly. "Healers tend to have the purest mana, after all."
Seo Elena was confused.
She definitely felt that something was wrong, like an uncomfortable itch that wouldn't go away, but it didn't feel life-threatening. So why...?
Why were people starting to die as time passed?
Nearly an hour in, Sarah Kim could barely stay conscious.
"You... bastards..." she whispered weakly.
"Who's that girl? Why does she still seem fine?" the leader asked, his gaze landing on Seo Elena.
Elena stiffened, panic rising inside her.
"That's Seo Elena," one of the cultists replied. "She's acquainted with the Baekwha Guild, but she's only an F-rank."
"F-rank? Then why is she still fine? Are you sure she's not hiding her abilities?"
"No, sir. We've had someone tail her for the past few weeks. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Although... she has entered a few gates, including the S-rank one."
"What?" His eyes narrowed. "How is someone like that only an F-rank?"
He studied her closely.
From the other healers, faint streams of mana seeped out, drifting through the air like thin threads. If someone followed those threads, they would all lead to one place.
A sealed area deeper within.
Inside, something waited.
A creature.
It had a single eye and a form that almost resembled a human, only slightly larger, with proportions just off enough to feel wrong. Its hair was stark white, hanging loosely around its face, and its mouth stretched into a wide grin, revealing rows of sharp, razor-like teeth.
It was smiling...
As if it was savoring every bit of mana being fed to it.
Then, suddenly, a loud crash echoed from above.
The entire place shook, dust falling from the ceiling as the cultists froze in place.
"...What was that?" one of them muttered.
Before anyone could react, the door burst open.
The force sending a shockwave through the room. A few of the cultists stumbled back, caught off guard.
Two figures stepped inside.
Jinhyuk.
And Minwoo.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
A heavy pressure filled the room, making the cultists hesitate to retaliate. After all, Minwoo was an S-rank hunter that controls fire. He had a good reputation to him.
Jinhyuk's eyes swept across the scene in a single glance.
"...Stargazers," he said quietly. "I finally found you."
The leader straightened, forcing himself to remain composed. "So you're the one who's been interfering with us!"
Jinhyuk didn't respond. He simply walked forward.
Minwoo let out a small breath, cracking his knuckles. "Should we talk first, or...?"
"No."
That was all Jinhyuk said.
And then he disappeared.
In the next instant, he was already in front of the leader.
A fist slammed into the man's face, the impact sending him crashing across the floor. The sound alone made several of the cultists flinch.
It was an overwhelming difference, despite the cultists being high rank. There were a group of them at least being B and A ranks, but what can a lot like them do in front of the strongest hunter?
"Stop them!" someone shouted.
But it was already too late.
Minwoo moved first, intercepting the nearest cultist and knocking him out in a single strike. "Too slow," he muttered, moving on to the next without even looking back.
Jinhyuk grabbed the leader by the collar and yanked him up.
"I'm so sick of you people," he said, his voice quiet but filled with annoyance.
The leader coughed, blood spilling from his mouth as he let out a weak laugh. "You think this changes anything...?"
Jinhyuk's expression didn't change. He already knew that Stargazers were a crazy group of people that worshipped monsters.
They intended to sacrifice hunters to feed monsters, but the problem lay on their locations. Where are the other bases? What about the monsters?
His fist drove into the man's stomach, forcing the air out of him.
He was about to strike again when his gaze shifted, catching a familiar figure past the cultists, past the fallen bodies, and saw her.
Seo Elena.
He stilled at the sight of her.
His grip tightened unconsciously, his eyes locking onto her, tied up and surrounded by all of this.
Something dark flickered across his expression.
"...You," he muttered under his breath.
Then he raised his fist and brought it down.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
A barrage of punches rained down on the leader's face.
Normally, a single punch from an L-ranker could kill someone instantly, leaving their face so mangled they would be unrecognizable. But Jinhyuk controlled his strength carefully, just enough to make him feel everything without losing consciousness.
"I'll make you feel something worse than hell..." he said quietly, looking down at him with a dark expression.
Another punch.
And another.
And another...
Until Minwoo stepped in and held him back with all the strength he could gather.
"We need him," he said firmly.
Jinhyuk scoffed, his grip tightening for a second. "We can always find another base. This bastard deserves to die."
"We need him," Minwoo repeated. "You know the Stargazers are sensitive to any changes. Once they find out what we did here, they'll move locations and go into hiding. We won't know where they go for a while."
Jinhyuk went still.
Even though every part of him wanted to land one more punch, he held back.
Minwoo was right.
They needed information as much as they could get, to avoid any more variables later on.
Every regression was different. That much he had learned.
Like the butterfly effect, one small change rippling outward into something unrecognizable. His regression was proof enough of that. Nothing ever followed the exact same pattern. People made different choices. Timings shifted. Variables appeared from nowhere.
The only constants were the major events. The ones that seemed to exist outside of human will entirely, as if fate had already written them in permanent ink no matter how many times the world reset.
That was precisely why information mattered. The more they gathered, the fewer surprises. The fewer surprises, the fewer casualties.
"Get him out of my sight." He said quietly. The calm in his voice was more dangerous than if he had shouted.
Then without waiting for confirmation, he turned and walked straight to where Seo Elena was.