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Chapter 4
Chae Seung-jin greeted Jung Hyun-soo as though he were an old friend.
“Well, well. Look who it is. Hyun-soo. You’re still suspended from school, aren’t you? What brings you here?”
Ignoring him completely, Hyun-soo walked straight toward Jung Hyun-ah.
“I’ll handle this. You should leave.”
“Handle what? Illegal artifact trafficking? Managia? Have you completely lost your mind?”
Hyun-ah shouted.
Hyun-soo simply looked at her with calm eyes.
“I didn’t do it.”
“You didn’t?”
Chae Seung-jin laughed.
“You can still deny it after seeing this?”
He immediately played a video on his phone.
It was CCTV footage from a dim alley.
A man dressed in black appeared.
As soon as his face became visible, the footage zoomed in.
The enlarged face unmistakably belonged to Jung Hyun-soo.
He was carrying a large bag.
As he turned a corner, someone crashed into him.
No—
It had been an ambush.
The video froze.
Then the scene changed.
Awakened Investigation Bureau
An Awakener criminal was being interrogated.
The suspect’s face was shown alongside the man who had attacked Hyun-soo.
Then the contents of the bag spilled out.
Artifacts.
“Judging by the mana signatures, they’re at least E-Rank.”
“None of them are registered. They’re not in the database.”
“You’re under arrest for possession of unregistered artifacts. You have the right to remain silent and to retain legal counsel—”
“Wait! Isn’t that Fantasia?”
The recording ended there.
“So that’s the situation,” Chae Seung-jin said smugly.
“The Investigation Bureau is trying to trace where that bag originally came from.”
“Fortunately…”
“Every CCTV camera around the area is under my control.”
“I value my friends very highly, Hyun-soo.”
“So…”
“What do you think?”
His smile dripped with mockery.
Instead of anger, Hyun-soo only felt disgust toward his own nineteen-year-old self.
How could I have been so stupid?
Back then…
He had wanted Seung-jin’s approval.
He wanted to become part of the group.
To prove himself, he had delivered a bag without even knowing what was inside.
“You used to say delivering that bag was something impressive.”
“Did I?”
“I still remember you gathering famous Hunter heirs just to show off.”
“So?”
“I’ll admit it.”
“I was fooled.”
Hyun-soo’s eyes flashed.
For a brief moment…
Seung-jin instinctively flinched.
Realizing what he’d just done only made him furious.
“…You little bastard.”
“Do you think you’re allowed to look at me like that?”
Wasn’t Jung Hyun-soo always the pathetic fool who desperately sought his approval?
The fact that he’d been intimidated, even for an instant…
Was unbearable.
“Call your father.”
“Before I send this to the Investigation Bureau and the media.”
“Tell him to come to Songgwang Guild immediately.”
“Now.”
His true colors finally surfaced.
Everything had been orchestrated by Songgwang Guild to bring down their rival, Garam.
A scheme devised by Chae Seung-jin in hopes of earning his father’s recognition.
“I gave you one last chance, Chae Seung-jin.”
“…What?”
“You chose to refuse.”
Hyun-soo began walking toward him.
Seeing him approach so confidently, Seung-jin scoffed.
“What?”
“You think you’re going to solve this with violence?”
“I know the original file exists somewhere else.”
“…What?”
“This…”
“is simply my way of dealing with rats.”
No one present could understand what was happening.
Hyun-ah practically screamed.
“Have you gone insane?!”
“Even if you’re angry, what do you think charging in like this will accomplish?!”
He would simply get beaten.
No…
Things would become even worse.
The evidence already painted Garam Guild as guilty.
No one believed Hyun-soo.
Not even Hyun-ah.
And now he was trying to attack Chae Seung-jin?
“Hah.”
“I’ve been too lenient with you because we’re both from Top Ten Guilds.”
“You’ve started thinking we’re equals.”
Seung-jin jerked his chin.
One of the large students standing nearby like a bodyguard stepped forward.
He raised his hand…
Ready to slap Hyun-soo across the face.
“Don’t!”
BOOM!
The impact echoed like a drum.
It hardly sounded like something produced by a human body.
Yet the sound wasn’t what shocked everyone.
“…Huh?”
Hyun-soo, whose combat ability had ranked near the bottom of his class…
Had buried his fist deep into the student’s stomach.
Joo Young-ho.
One of Seung-jin’s strongest followers.
A top-ranking student at the Academy.
He hadn’t even reacted.
His eyes rolled back before he collapsed unconscious.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“You lost to Jung Hyun-soo in one punch?!”
Seung-jin couldn’t believe it.
He’d invested plenty of money into that subordinate.
And he couldn’t even handle Hyun-soo?
“M-Maybe he let his guard down…”
Another student spoke hesitantly.
“Guard down?”
Seung-jin roared.
“You think I’ve been feeding you worthless nobodies so you could let your guard down?”
“Cripple him!”
“If you don’t…”
“Your guilds can forget about ever setting foot near another gate!”
Songgwang Guild’s influence was enormous.
They controlled businesses built upon clearing gates and climbing the Tower.
A single word from them could bankrupt smaller guilds.
Anyone who fell from their favor could never survive as a Hunter in Korea again.
“You’re nothing but a street thug.”
“You piece of trash.”
Seung-jin’s face twisted with rage.
“What did you just call me?”
“A thug?”
“If the shoe fits.”
“If you’ve got a problem with it…”
“Come fight me yourself.”
Hyun-ah stared in disbelief.
Objectively…
Standing up to someone like Chae Seung-jin was the right thing to do.
It was also Garam Guild’s greatest principle.
Still…
“Hyun-ah.”
“You don’t have to worry.”
“If I’m guilty, then I’ll accept punishment.”
“But if I’m innocent…”
“I’ll punish those responsible.”
“…What?”
Hyun-ah couldn’t process those words.
The first part made sense.
The second…
Personal vengeance?
Korean law absolutely prohibited private justice.
Yes, Hunters often fought deadly battles in the shadows…
Which was precisely why such actions were punished so severely in public.
“Are you crazy?!”
“If you’re innocent, then we should figure something out!”
“Back off first!”
“No matter what happens, if you fight Seung-jin here, nothing good will come of it!”
“What about the Academy?”
“You’re supposed to graduate!”
Hyun-soo kept walking.
“Why would I waste my time in a place where children play politics and fight over factions?”
“I have no intention of staying.”
Hyun-ah could only stare, speechless.
He knew exactly where the original recording was hidden.
But before retrieving it…
Jung Hyun-soo needed to spend a while unconscious.
If I beat him too badly here, the files will immediately be sent to his father…
Besides…
A war with Songgwang Guild was inevitable anyway.
“Make those two kneel!”
“Block every exit!”
Seung-jin screamed.
His followers hesitated.
“W-What are you planning?”
“You think I owe you an explanation?”
“Should I remind you who stands above whom?”
With Seung-jin enraged, no one dared oppose him.
His followers sighed as they looked toward Hyun-soo.
“Do you know why this became such a huge mess?”
“…What?”
Had he read their minds?
“Because all of you are accomplices.”
“You’ll answer for your crimes.”
None of them reflected on what they’d done.
Only themselves mattered.
“Hyun-soo…”
“What are you thinking?”
“Just kneel and apologize.”
“Maybe then he’ll show mercy.”
One student tried to mediate.
Hyun-soo looked at him coldly.
“Kwon Oh-shin.”
“…’Kwon Oh-shin?'”
“I know the detailed plan was yours.”
“I was an idiot for falling into it.”
“I’ll take seventy percent of the blame.”
“But…”
“You’ll pay for your ten percent.”
Kwon Oh-shin frowned.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Of course that’s what you’d say.”
“I know exactly how people like you answer.”
“Has this bastard gone insane…?”
Truthfully…
Kwon Oh-shin really had planned everything.
He couldn’t understand how Hyun-soo knew.
Still, he assumed it was just a lucky guess.
We’re on Songgwang’s side anyway.
Crushing him here might earn me points.
The next instant—
Lightning struck.
BANG!
Agonizing pain exploded through his face.
Hyun-soo’s fist had already connected.
No one present saw the attack.
One moment they were talking…
The next…
His punch had landed.
Hyun-soo grabbed Kwon Oh-shin by the jaw…
Lifted him into the air…
Then slammed him headfirst into the ground.
CRASH!
Pain shot through his entire body.
Dazed, Kwon Oh-shin barely managed to look up.
He saw Hyun-soo’s leg drawing back.
A terrible premonition crossed his mind.
And terrible premonitions had a way of coming true.
Twisting his hips, Hyun-soo unleashed a precise upward kick.
The top of his foot smashed into Kwon Oh-shin’s jaw.
“Ghhk!”
“Consider this payment…”
“For trying to ruin someone else’s life with your cheap schemes.”
Unless he received a high-grade healing potion…
Eating properly for a long time would be impossible.
Hyun-ah could only stare in shock.
She hadn’t even been able to perceive the technique.
She herself had already reached 9-Star Hwancheon True Energy.
Hyun-soo had supposedly only reached 7-Star.
Yet…
I have no idea what just happened…
His movement had been incredibly simple.
He entered before Kwon Oh-shin could react…
And defeated him instantly.
Even the Academy professors had never displayed something that felt so mysterious.
By then…
Hyun-soo was already walking toward Chae Seung-jin.
“There are problems you solve with words.”
“And there are problems you don’t.”
“This…”
“is the second kind.”
“You bastard!”
“You think beating a few nobodies gives you the right to act tough in front of me?!”
A sharp aura erupted from Chae Seung-jin’s body.
It far surpassed Kwon Oh-shin’s.
This was the true presence of the heir to one of Korea’s Top Ten Guilds.
A genius raised from childhood with limitless resources.
Yet…
Hyun-soo’s expression remained completely calm.
