The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 112



Only Noblemtl

Episode 112

112. You’re giving me a big hit right from the start.

Joo Seah couldn’t answer.

Kang Moo-hyuk noticed her intentions and said.

“Even the guild leader doesn’t know.”

“It’s a problem I’ve never even thought about. I wasn’t really interested in anything other than the guild and hunting. I even heard from the captain that my existence had added fuel to the fire in the fight for Taesung Group’s succession.”

Kang Moo-hyuk sympathized with her position.

She was a woman whose lifelong goal was to catch monsters. The reality of being a conglomerate or a group leader was less realistic than a black gate opening in the middle of Seoul. Even if such an opportunity came, she was the type of person who wouldn’t even look at it.

He explained the current situation again.

“Chairman Tae Jin-seong had already designated his eldest son, Tae Su-cheol, as his successor more than 10 years ago. Although the full-scale succession process has not yet begun, it is a well-known fact in the business world.”

“I knew that too.”

“But one day, the chairman suddenly started pushing Tae-soo-cheol out. Now, he should have been preparing for the succession, but instead, he stopped the work of transferring the stocks. Furthermore, he gave him the position of vice chairman, giving him the impression that he was the head of the group, but ironically, he had him step away from the group’s main businesses. Although he was called vice chairman, he was reduced to an honorary position with no real power.”

“It was definitely weird. But what does that have to do with the guild? Of course, I’m still part of the group, so I can’t say it doesn’t matter at all.”

“That timing coincidentally overlaps with the time when the guild leader joined the Taesung Guild.”

Joo Se Ah also knew this, but hearing it from Kang Mu Hyuk’s mouth, it sounded different. It felt as if the position of Tae Sung Guild Master that the Chairman had proposed was bait to catch her.

Kang Mu-hyeok continued speaking.

“After that, the chairman didn’t stop at just allowing the guild leader to join the Taesung Guild, but also wanted to bring him into the headquarters. He even tried to change his last name to Tae and officially register him on the family register.”

“I refused. I didn’t want to have the same last name as that person.”

Joo Se Ah thought of her biological father. He was the one who had not shown his face even once after her mother passed away. After the funeral, he sent only one attendant to collect her. That decision was also because she had awakened as a hunter.

Because it seems somewhat useful.

Afterwards, she performed well in training and was helped to join the Slayer Guild. After she achieved results in several raids and was evaluated as a next-generation S-rank, she was finally recognized as the daughter of the Taesung family and revealed to the world.

‘Until then, you treated me like I didn’t exist. You’re a person I really hate.’

Joo Seah sneered.

Kang Moo-hyuk said, pretending not to know her hurt feelings.

“Adding family relationships to the transcript is just a formality. But if it’s a chaebol family’s family register, it’s a different story.”

“How.”

“The guild leader is officially the successor candidate for Taesung Group. And he is a very strong candidate.”

Joo Se Ah frowned. Her shoulders shook as if just hearing it gave her goosebumps.

“I’m barely able to keep the guild afloat. If it weren’t for Director Kang, the guild would have already collapsed. It’s a bit better now, but that’s only when it comes to the guild. I’m a complete novice when it comes to corporate management. Maybe it would be better if it were the second son or eldest daughter of the Tae family.”

Joo Se Ah shrugged her shoulders, saying it was impossible.

Kang Mu-hyeok shook his head.

“It’s not that simple. As a result, the second son, Tae Soo-man, and the eldest daughter, Tae Soo-young, are the ones who were pushed out by Tae Soo-cheol 10 years ago. The chairman is a man like a knife. He doesn’t let a loser back into the ring.”

“But it’s still better than me, having been a hunter for half my life.”

“I don’t know what’s inside the Chairman, but there must have been something about the Guild Master that appealed to the Chairman as his successor.”

“That seems like too much speculation. Even if I have the qualities to be a manager, it’s hard to understand why I would suddenly abandon my capable eldest son who is doing well.”

Kang Mu-hyeok snapped his fingers at Joo Se-ah’s comment.

“That’s right. That’s the key. The reason the chairman had no choice but to turn his attention to another child. There must have been some conflict. Finding out about that and using it in some way may be the key to the guild’s independence.”

* * *

“Each press agency and media representative should board the bus prepared according to the ticket number given to each person. We must verify your identity, so please do not sit in a seat other than the one written on your ticket.”

Under the guidance of Iron Will Guild Communication Team Leader Jeongyeon Oh, more than a hundred people packed their bags at once.

These were people participating in the Hunter Village experience event held for 2 days and 1 night before the opening of Bukpocheon.

There were many complaints about the event being held during the Christmas holidays right before the opening, but since it was the day to reveal the headquarters of the hottest guild in South Korea, no one was absent.

Of course, it was inevitable that the reporters who had to go out to cover the story would feel dissatisfied.

“Oh, my goodness. On days like today, you should let me rest. You should open at the beginning of the year instead. Even the opening date is so strangely chosen, just like you.”

Kim Dal-pil, a veteran reporter for the Hunter Department of the Korea Times, grumbled as he got on the bus.

“But why on earth did you ask me to bring a camera? In this special area, I can’t take a single picture because of the mana anyway.”

“Do I know?”

“But reporter Kim, you’ve had some connection with Joo Se-ah Gilma since the Slayer days. You even got an exclusive interview with her for the local paper’s scoop last time. Have you heard anything?”

Although his fellow photographer urged him, Kim Dal-pil, who was unusually uninterested in hearing Joo Se-ah’s advice, may have been more irritating than reporting on a public holiday.

“Anyway, I told you I don’t want to do special coverage. The entry procedures are annoying, and the articles have to be written in text only, without any pictures.”

“Foreign media outlets say they will provide special equipment. We still have a long way to go.”

“The advertising cost is different there. The Hunter Entertainment market size is not even that big. Why else would there be paparazzi who only take pictures of famous hunters? Even their professional paparazzi are from hunters. Tsk! What are they doing instead of catching the monsters they are told to catch?”

Kim Dal-pil licked his lips in regret. He had been asking his boss for gate shooting equipment so desperately that his mouth was dry and worn out, but the purchase cost was astronomical. He also got nagged about where he could get the money to buy mana stones.

‘Come to think of it, how did Iron Will get the raid? It’s a burdensome item for a C-class guild to operate. And its resolution seems higher than foreign equipment. Is it a new product that I don’t know about?’

The public has always been thirsty for Hunter issues. In the meantime, the video of Ironwill’s Orc Tribe raid that was released was like rain in a drought.

The operation to sweep away the monster army with water was also groundbreaking, and the lightning battle led by the Rider Wolf was as exciting as any other movie.

I don’t know if it was intentional, but thanks to that video, Iron Will went from being an earthworm to a sleeping dragon in an instant.

At that moment, Oh Jeong-yeon, who happened to be passing by and overheard their conversation, called out to the people in a hurry.

“Sorry! Pay attention here! I forgot to mention something! There’s a reason why I asked the staff to bring their filming equipment! That’s because there are some ‘anti-mana zones’ set up within the Hunter Village! Please be aware of this and follow the instructions I gave you to film within those boundaries!”

The reporters were in an uproar over Oh Jeong-yeon’s explanation because it was completely unexpected information.

“Anti-Mana Zone? Really? That expensive thing, Iron Will?”

“Is there a guild that installed an anti-mana zone in Korea? Isn’t that equipment imported from overseas?”

“There is no other guild besides Tier Guild.”

“Even a tier guild can’t operate permanently. They say the maintenance costs are enormous.”

The minds of the officials who had been annoyed by the public holiday coverage were soon filled with curiosity instead of dissatisfaction.

Only later did people begin to realize that Bukpocheon was an unknown world.

All they knew about Bukpocheon was that it was a special area and the home of the Iron Will Guild.

I have never seen or heard what it was like after it had firmly established itself through two large-scale war raids.

It was natural for the reporters to have no expectations, as they had known the limitations of C-class guilds through long experience.

But since it throws in a pretty heavy punch right from the start, it’s hard not to be interested.

‘This is a hit from the start. No, is it the director’s work? Either way, I’m suddenly looking forward to it?’

Kim Dal-pil tightly held his laptop bag, wanting to start writing the article right away.

* * *

Mr. Joe was irritated while answering the phone. The intruder who woke him from his long-awaited deep sleep was Kang Moo-hyuk.

“Chief Kang, are you in your right mind? Do you know what time it is? You’re already wide awake.”

– It’s 8 o’clock. It’s a fairly sensible wake-up time.

“The rule on public holiday mornings is to sleep in.”

-It’s 8pm. And today is not a holiday, it’s the day before.

“Oh, shit. Is it still the 24th? I thought it would be the 26th when I woke up. I opened the curtains and now I can’t tell if it’s day or night. Ugh.”

-Have you been thinking well for the past two days?

“Christmas is the off-season for singles. At times like this, I envy all the bears who hibernate. Even sleeping is hard work.”

-Oh? Mr. Joe didn’t have a lover either.

“What the heck is ‘do?’ That’s annoying. You’re single too. Tsk!”

-Enough with the solo stuff. Let’s talk about work. Could you tell me a little about the Taesung Group?

“What? Taesung? Why are you there?”

Kang Moo-hyuk summarized the conversation he had with Joo Se-ah.

After hearing the whole story, Mr. Joe reacted indifferently.

“So what Director Kang is saying is, you want us to find out what happened between the chairman and the vice chairman, the father and the son.”

-Not only the facts that are apparent, but also what happens behind the scenes.

“Well, the secrets of the chaebol families are not interesting, except for the secret of birth. Why would something like that be a good subject for a drama? It’s not even a story when the rich fight. It’s not exciting, it’s just boring.”

-Mr. Joe thinks so too.

“What? Something fishy?”

-You said they fought. When you heard the story between Chairman Tae Jin-seong and Vice Chairman Tae Soo-cheol, didn’t you immediately think that the two fathers had fought?

“Unless they got drunk and fought, all human fights are the same. Love, money, relationships. If it’s a family fight, it’s usually about money or people. But would someone who was solidly in the position of successor really fight with the chairman? Even if he gets pushed out of the position of successor? That’s a bit ambiguous.”

Mr. Joe pointed out sharply, as befitting a professional spy. Kang Moo-hyuk also had doubts about this part, so he couldn’t answer easily. So he had no choice but to leave this part entirely to Mr. Joe.

-Please take a look around with your sharp intuition and contact me.

“Oh my, give me something to do at the end of the year. I shouldn’t have applied for a job at Titan back then. I went in to avoid the Sungseonje, but ended up getting my nose pierced by Team Leader Kang.”

-Thanks to that, meeting Mr. Joe was my greatest luck.

“If you can’t even speak.”

-The investigation starts from the time Guild Leader Jusea joins Slayer.

“Hasn’t that been over 10 years? I don’t know if it’ll be difficult because it’s been so long. I’ll charge you the cost after I start the work and give you an estimate.”

Mr. Joe hung up the phone and checked the time.

“20:10… Even the rich get to let loose on the eve. They’re awake. Should we take a look at the night life of the eldest son of Taesung family first?”

* * *

Christmas dinner.

Even though the holidays were coming to an end, the year-end excitement showed no signs of abating.

The streets were teeming with people. The economy, which had been in a slump for decades after the Great War, had been on the rise in recent years.

The world was only now beginning to regain its pre-Gate era vitality.

During the holiday season, hunters, like everyone else, had an off-season. Unless they had a gate that needed to be cleared urgently, they enjoyed a pleasant end to the year.

Some hunters who didn’t make enough money throughout the year were filling their empty bank accounts by targeting special areas where freelancers had left or by seeking out guild or government-commissioned quests, but most were on their own.

But the atmosphere at the end of this year was a little different. Hunters, who would normally be enjoying themselves, were busy checking out articles and videos that kept popping up on the Internet.

Even the drinking parties that had been going on for a while were put on hold, and they were busy exchanging opinions about Ironwill’s Hunter Village news in private, at work, and through group chats.

“That’s a special area? What kind of special area has restaurants and pensions? It’s just a resort area.”

“I heard you buy monster byproducts too? They only take 10%. And that’s not tax, it’s a commission. That’s not even considered income.”

“I didn’t get caught. Aren’t you going to report your taxes to the guild?”

“Special activity areas are exempt from taxation. They are also an exception to the tax reporting obligations in the Guild Act.”

“Oh, really? When did you study law?”

“Just look at the internet. It’s all there. To explain it a little more, before, when we went to a special activity area, we got a 30% discount, right?”

“And it was caught in the income too.”

“Yes. It ended up being double taxation, but Hunter was classified as a high-income earner and was taxed as such.”

“So that’s not the case anymore? And you don’t have to go back and forth to process or distribute byproducts; you can do it all in one place at Hunter Village. That’s going to be quite lucrative, isn’t it?”

“It opens tomorrow, right?”

“Shall we just pack our bags and go?”

“It’s a reservation system. It’s full this time, so I’ve put you in the next line.”

“Oh, I should have put it in sooner.”

While freelance hunters’ interests were focused on hunter villages and information related to fees, each guild focused on its own home territory.

“I didn’t know you could use the special activity area like that? The only special activity areas left are Jirisan and Gaema Plateau, right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“There are over 1,000 islands there. You have to take a boat to get there, so that’s out of the question.”

“Most places are connected by bridges.”

“It’s hard to plan a route. We can’t even afford the labor costs. Anyway, what do you think about making the special activity area our home ground?”

“You’ve finally settled down, so you’re going to move? If you do that, it’ll be difficult to maintain the guild right away.”

“I guess it’s a bit much to go? It’s impossible for a small or medium-sized guild to set up a board like that. At least for an A-ranked guild.”

“Why would a Class A person go there? He already eats well and lives well.”

“Ha, that’s really annoying. It looks delicious, but if you really think about it, there’s nothing to eat. I still want to eat it, but I can’t because I’m afraid I’ll starve.”

“I really want to crack open the head of that guy named Kang Mu-hyeok. His skills in defeating the Orc tribe and creating the Hunter Village are both refreshing.”

“I heard from rumors that it’s better not to get involved with him. He’s a really bad guy.”

The opinions of the small and medium guilds were mostly similar.

It’s crazy to stake the guild’s fate on a special activity area as its home ground.

No matter how much it is said to be either a backdoor or a door, the general opinion was that in this case it was infinitely closer to a door, or rather, to a ‘backdoor’.

As such, all the hunters’ eyes were turned to Bukpocheon during the year-end and New Year’s holidays.

And finally, the day of December 26th arrived.