The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 409



Only Noblemtl

Episode 409

#409. So it’s a place where you can check.

Seo Dae-chi went down to Busan early on the dawn train according to Kang Mu-hyeok’s orders, but was delayed by a monster accident along the way, and arrived at Busan Station after noon.

I went straight to Bexco, but Kang Mu-hyeok was away due to a lunch invitation from another guild. Instead, Noh Song-rin greeted him.

“You know who I am.”

“yes.”

“Do you even know what kind of person I am?”

“yes.”

“Why are you coming now when you know my temper? Don’t you know that your time is precious? Don’t you work hard?”

“Sorry, we were delayed because a monster blocked the train tracks on the way here.”

“You should have caught it quickly.”

“The place where the train stopped and the place where the accident occurred were far apart.”

“Then, you should have come running. Are you already out of discipline just because you’re the leader of the expedition party?”

“… … .”

Seodaechi couldn’t understand the current situation.

I know that Nosongrin is my superior in the guild. She is also much higher in rank. Her career and skills are still too embarrassing to compare.

However, due to the nature of the independent expedition, no hunter from another raiding party could point out their attitudes, except for Lee Jin-ju, who was directly under their command.

It was an unspoken rule that if our children were to be teased, I would be the one to tease them.

‘You said you were acting like a tongue in the captain’s mouth. Are you being territorial?’

The circumstances were different, but it was something that Seodaechi had experienced many times during his freelance days. Because he was used to it, he was able to deal with it without being too shaken.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to jump in the future.”

“Well, you don’t really have to run. Ahem, just catch a car and come.”

Seo Dae-chi was confused when Noh Song-rin scratched her head and changed her words.

‘What? Aren’t you supposed to be disciplining me? When are you going to be a swindler? Why are you making such an apologetic expression and saying this?’

Seodaechi had heard that there were many insane people among the high-ranking hunters, so he decided to classify Nosongrin as one of those people.

On the other hand, Noh Song-rin was reflecting on herself.

‘At first, I was upset because I remembered getting warned by the captain while digging up this guy’s back, but then I felt sad when I thought about his brother’s death. Yeah, what could he have done wrong? I’m an idiot for getting caught by the captain. Sigh, if it goes to Lee Jin-joo for no reason, I’ll just get tired. Let’s just move on, move on.’

Noh Song-rin said with a sigh.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes. On the train.”

“Then, Captain, it might take some time, so take care of this guy in the meantime.”

Seodaechi turned his gaze to the place Nosongrin had pointed. A man with a rather handsome face and an innocent expression was standing there, timidly. Anyone who saw him saw that he was a rookie hunter.

Noh Song-rin added.

“He’s the only new recruit chosen by the leader. He’ll officially join after Samiljeol, but before that, he’ll get used to the guild atmosphere. If he has any questions, answer them. Don’t bother someone who doesn’t know anything.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Seo Dae-chi readily accepted this unexpected mission. He thought it would be better than the uncomfortable situation of being stuck with Noh Song-rin.

“Hey, rookie. Come and say hello. His name is Seodaechigo, and he’s your senior. He’s part of the expedition team.”

“Oh, hello! My name is Hangaram!”

Hangaram bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet her.

Seo Dae-chi nodded slightly and asked Noh Song-rin.

“Can I take you right away?”

“Okay. I’ll contact you when the manager arrives.”

“Okay, see you later. Follow me.”

Seo Dae-chi took Hangaram out of BEXCO. Hangaram followed him, frozen in place by his bleak expression.

As they got further away from the venue, Seodaechi sat down on a bench. Hangaram also took a look and sat down next to him.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Well, well. I don’t know what I’m curious about yet… … .”

“If you don’t have it, go and see.”

“yes?”

“Why are you here when you have no questions? You’ll be going through a newbie training course once you enlist in March anyway. Our guild is only a B-tier now, but our training system is comparable to that of any other tier guild. You’ll learn everything there, so you don’t have to worry about how to keep up.”

“How does the training proceed?”

“First of all, the basic course is… … .”

Seodaechi flinched as he tried to speak.

I was too lazy to ask questions so I tried to pass it all on to the instructors, but somehow things turned out badly.

It seemed like he had piqued the curiosity of the new recruit with useless words. Han Garam’s eyes began to sparkle as if questions that had not been there before were about to spring up.

“Since it has come to this, I will only explain it once, so listen carefully.”

“Please speak comfortably, senior.”

“You haven’t officially joined yet. And even after you join, my speech won’t change. Maybe you misunderstood because of the way Hunter Nosongrin spoke earlier. Mutual courtesy is the basic attitude in our guild. There are people who stand out like before, but they are few and far between. Basically, suppressing others with rank is prohibited, so please keep that in mind.”

“yes!”

Seo Dae-chi did not take Han Garam’s question lightly, even though he was wondering why he had been called here to teach a newbie.

‘I don’t think the captain called me to take care of the new recruit, but this is a mission after all.’

Contrary to his fierce impression, he was a surprisingly sincere hunter in his assigned tasks.

* * *

Kang Moo-hyuk went to the place written in the lunch invitation text.

It was a large restaurant near BEXCO, and the entire place was rented out for a gathering where the guilds that participated in the second draft could get to know each other better.

As I entered the restaurant, there were already quite a few guild members sitting down.

People who were already familiar with each other were seen chatting away, and people who were meeting for the first time were busy expanding their network by exchanging business cards.

Kang Moo-hyuk carefully looked at the cards with guild names on them on the table. Since there was no information about the meeting, he wanted to check the names of the participating guilds to infer the nature of today’s meeting.

‘I’ve heard that this kind of event is held every year during the draft. Who is hosting this event? I think I know what it is.’

The guilds that actually participated in the second draft had a hard time getting everyone into the restaurant even if only the leaders were present. So the guilds held meetings by region, size, or by connections from past joint operations.

The problem was that Kang Mu-hyeok, or rather Iron Will, was in an ambiguous position to be included in this gathering in any way.

As he was questioning, a familiar voice was heard from behind him.

“Our Captain Kang is here? Why aren’t you sitting down and are loitering around the entrance?”

It was Jo Ik-jun, the leader of the Taegeuk Guild strategy team.

“I was observing. Where was my position?”

“I didn’t come hunting or anything. I just came at your invitation. What position are you looking for?”

That’s right. The reason Kang Mu-hyeok came here was because of Jo Ik-jun’s invitation.

He called Kang Moo-hyuk, saying that there was a good position for him if he got to know him. Kang Moo-hyuk was not very interested, but he came here thinking about his relationship with Jo Ik-jun.

Jo Ik-jun said to Kang Mu-hyeok, pretending to be friendly with him.

“The guilds here may be small, but they’re all great. I heard you’ve merged a few small and medium-sized guilds. Do you know anyone who would be willing to work with you?”

“Now that I’m here, let me be honest. What was your intention in calling me here, Team Leader Jo Ik-jun?”

“What could there be in terms of intention? After all, we eat from the same pot in Shinuiju.”

“To be exact, it’s just a low-level cooperative organization. Aside from the investment in Sinuiju for the conquest of the Demonic Realm, there aren’t any decisions yet.”

“You’re still being so stiff. Let’s just have a meal while we’re here and take it easy. If you do that, you’ll get sick.”

“So, you’re saying that this is a place where you can check in? Should I consider this a place that someone arranged to invite me through Team Leader Cho Ik-jun?”

“Oh my! No, no.”

Although Jo Ik-jun waved his hand and denied it, Kang Mu-hyeok read Jo Ik-jun’s momentary confusion.

“The guilds gathered here. They are all guilds from the Yeongnam region. The one hosting the Yeongnam region guild meeting is the Busan Ssaul Abi guild. And the Taegeuk guild and Iron Will? They don’t match at all. And it’s unlikely that a guild of the same tier as Ssaul Abi would care about the second draft, so who would call the Taegeuk guild, which is an A-class guild? And why did Team Leader Cho accept it? And why did he even meet the condition of calling me along?”

Jo Ik-jun, who met Kang Mu-hyeok’s confident eyes, immediately stuck out his tongue and declared surrender.

“Anyway, I’ve heard that you have a knack for being very perceptive. That’s right. The one who asked me to call you, the leader, is the Fighting Father Guild. The boss there asked me to do it. I opened up a bit while developing Shinuiju, and I got an offer right away.”

“Why is your father fighting?”

“Well, I don’t know much about that. I called him, so he’ll be here soon. Let’s meet up and ask him. Oh, by the way, I heard you hired a new employee this time. Just one person.”

“You bring news quickly.”

“I don’t know much about it from the outside, but I think it’s a good product.”

“It’s a promising stock. It’s something that Joo Se-ah Gilma is interested in.”

Jo Ik-jun frowned.

Kang Mu-hyeok alone was enough to cause a headache, but the moment the name Joo Se-ah was mentioned, my thoughts became complicated.

‘It doesn’t sound like a lie… But I’m not the type of person to pick a hunter just based on whim. What on earth did you see in that hunter named Han Garam?’

The Han Garam that Jo Ik-jun recognized was a hunter with nothing particularly special about him.

It had been less than a year since I had awakened, and I was a hunter who had participated in last year’s Hunter Curriculum just before the deadline.

Grades are okay. Practical training is okay. Nothing special.

This was the overall evaluation of Han Garam. If there was one thing to keep in mind, it would be the mental trait. According to what I found out from the instructor during the curriculum course, it was an ability that was rarely properly expressed.

‘According to his own description, he said it felt like a buff similar to a self-strengthening system, right? That means he’s confused too. It’s unlikely that Captain Kang would tell him about a trait he doesn’t even know about. What the heck?’

Jo Ik-jun wanted to talk to Kang Moo-hyeok and find out more about Han Ga-ram. He wasn’t someone he could easily get over, but he couldn’t just give up on him. He was planning to at least find out about Kang Moo-hyeok’s criteria for recruiting hunters.

But his attempt was foiled by the intervention of others.

“Both of you are here.”

The man who appeared at the end, like the main character, approached Kang Mu-hyeok and Jo Ik-jun.

Kang Moo-hyuk knew who that man was. He was a famous person in this industry, even if he wasn’t as famous as Seong Seon-je.

“I’ve met Team Leader Jo Ik-jun here a few times on the Shinuiju case. This is my first time seeing Director Kang. I’m Go Yo-han from the Fighting Father Guild.”

“This is Iron Will Kang Mu-hyuk.”

Kang Mu-hyeok grabbed the hand extended by the leader of the Fighting Father Guild.

‘The Ssaul Abi Guild called me to use the 2nd draft slot that they don’t usually have? They didn’t ask me to meet them alone? It must be one of two things. Either something came up suddenly, or we had to meet naturally using this slot.’

Either way, we had to be alert to the movements of the Tier Guild.

Kang Moo-hyuk’s battle switch was turned on.

* * *

Beep beep big!

Suddenly, Daebakho’s fish finder started beeping loudly.

The captain stopped folding the net.

“Hey, I had a free lunch today and what the heck is this? It’s like half water and half meat.”

The school of fish that appeared on the detector was so large that you could just dip your hand in the water and fish would come up.

The captain turned the boat around and told his men to prepare to cast the net again.

He whistled, dreaming of a long-awaited full moon.

“Come on, let’s fill our bellies and go inside.”

Fight!

“huh?”

For a moment, the captain looked down at the bottom of the ship. A dull jolt came up from the bottom of the ship and ran through the soles of his feet.

The captain intuitively realized that something was wrong.

“Cut the net!”

It was instinct. I couldn’t know what was going on, but my long experience had led me to that judgment.

That was when.

Crunch!

The ship tilted with a loud crash. The captain immediately shouted to the crew.

“Get off ship! Get off ship! Put on your life jackets… … .”

He screamed until his throat was torn, but his voice could not continue any longer.

In an instant, the ship split apart and the sailors were sucked into the sea. The captain also threw himself into the cold sea.

And he could see. A huge school of fish on his fish finder.

‘Mom, monster… … .’

That was his last memory.