Chapter 192

The World Hunter Association is an information alliance made up of nine major nations.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, and the Republic of Korea.

This alliance of hunter superpowers is maintained firmly, and classified information is shared smoothly among them.

Of course, many other countries participate as well.

But they are merely participating nations, not part of the full alliance system.

“Thanks to that, communication with our allied nations is smooth. Now then, where was it… Ah, here it is!”

“Hmm…?”

I raised an eyebrow as I sat in the VIP room, swirling my coffee cup.

Chairman Choi Taeseung, seated across from me, was holding out an elegant envelope.

“What’s this?”

“After you made that request, Ranker, I searched through every classified document the Association had. But no matter how much I looked, there was no information on the Fragments of Ancient Magic. So I was just about to give up when somehow they caught wind of it… Take a look. You’ll understand once you see it.”

What could it be?

Click!

When I untied the string around the envelope, a black card appeared.

On the card, the word Oxford was written in gold cursive.

“…This is?”

“Yes, it was sent from the Magic Tower.”

“The Magic Tower.”

The gathering of the strongest mages in the world.

The place ruled by the world’s fourth-ranked hunter, Oxford’s Sage.

The place where Sophia Silverstone served as Tower Lord.

“Hmm?”

Curious, I scratched my cheek and flipped the card over.

The message written there was simple.

– Information related to Ancient Magic is classified at Magic Tower Level 1.

– Stop digging through innocent associations and come to the Magic Tower.

– We’ll discuss the details there.

“I think it’s a sort of warning letter. Since I was poking around information the Magic Tower is sensitive about.”

“That may be the case.”

As I nodded, Choi Taeseung looked apologetic.

“You safely brought back Russian citizens and even took down the Russian mafia… You achieved something on a global scale, yet this is all I could do for you. I feel sorry about that.”

“No, not at all. Haha.”

I smiled faintly.

Ancient Magic equals the Magic Tower.

In a way, it was somewhat obvious information, but so what?

The fact that I could head there with certainty instead of wasting time on a long detour was valuable in itself.

“It was somewhere I would’ve had to visit eventually anyway.”

Suddenly, the image of the Magic Tower Lord came to mind.

– You said your name was Joo Donghoon, right?

– I’m leaving now, but come visit the Magic Tower sometime later.

– Yes. Since Delilah helped you, I might be able to help you somehow too.

Sophia had shown me goodwill from our very first meeting and even invited me there.

Had she already foreseen this situation?

“Ah.”

Choi Taeseung’s eyes widened.

“Come to think of it, Ranker, you have a connection with the Magic Tower Lord too, don’t you?”

The relationship between the Magic Tower Lord and me was already famous.

Since she had publicly declared on the day of the World Ranker announcement ceremony that she had claimed me, it would be stranger if people didn’t know by now.

Some speculated that I was the Magic Tower Lord’s secret lover.

Others claimed I was one of her test subjects.

That, they said, would explain how I rose from outside the top one thousand to high ranker status in a single leap.

“……”

Looking at Choi Taeseung’s expression…

Does this person suspect something too?

Nah, probably not…?

“Anyway, thank you.”

Swoosh.

I slipped the card back into the envelope and stood up.

Now that my destination was decided, there was nothing more to discuss.

“Ah, is that matter settled now?”

Thud!

Choi Taeseung rose to his feet as well.

“Yes, I’ll have to start preparing now. Still, compared to the favor I did, what I got in return is a little…”

I went through quite a bit in Russia.

And all I received was a single card from the Magic Tower.

The cost-benefit balance felt a little off, so I brought it up.

“Ah.”

Choi Taeseung broke into a broad smile and clapped his hands together.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m only human too. Do you think I’d really wipe my mouth and walk away with just this?”

“Right?”

I smiled back as well.

Yeah, that was more like it.

“Contact the Association any time you need help. I’ll help you until my body gives out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help this time, but the World Association’s information network is vast.”

Depending on how you took it, that could have sounded offensive.

But he showed not even a hint of that.

Truly an impressive person.

That was probably why he stood at the head of an organization.

“Just hearing that puts my mind at ease. Thank you, Chairman.”

I answered with a grin and saw Choi Taeseung out to the first floor of the workshop.

About thirty minutes passed after that.

A message appeared in the air.

[The Guide invites you to ‘Chat Room’.]

[‘Chat Room’ name – Dmir’s Workshop]

[Members (5/50)]

‘Oh.’

It was a new chat room.

I had mentioned it before, so had they made it already?

Since it was exclusive to the workshop, they probably set the member cap generously at fifty.

I shifted my gaze and accepted the invitation.

[Skeleton King enters ‘Dmir’s Workshop’.]

[Members (6/50)]

The member count went up by one.

[Kim Jina: Wow.]

[Kim Jina: You’re here, President?]

[Kim Jina: Wow, but seriously.]

[Kim Jina: This is really amazing, isn’t it?]

[Kim Jina: The text appears the moment you think it?]

The moment I entered, our vice president seemed excited and started firing off messages rapidly.

[The Guide: Hoon, this is what I mentioned before. The capacity can be increased at any time, and if there’s anyone new you want added, just let me know.]

[Shadow Empress: ???]

[Thunderstrike: What is this?]

[Absolute Unrivaled: Hehe, now we suddenly have two chat rooms.]

There were six people in the chat room including me.

[Kim Jina]

[Shadow Empress]

[Thunderstrike]

[Absolute Unrivaled]

[The Guide]

[Skeleton King]

Like that.

In Kim Jina’s case, since she didn’t have an alias, it seemed her real name was displayed instead.

‘Nice.’

The workshop had only been established recently, yet the executive lineup was already impressive.

[Kim Jina: I do have some employees I recruited, but don’t invite them yet.]

[Kim Jina: This is only for people we can trust completely.]

[Kim Jina: You understand, right?]

[The Guide: Understood, Vice President.]

Oho.

Come to think of it, the fact that they invited me last…

It seemed Kim Jina was handling this separately.

‘She really is impressive.’

A non-ranker managing rankers?

The old me never would have imagined it.

[Kim Jina: Ah, and President?]

Kim Jina called for me.

[Skeleton King: Yes?]

[Kim Jina: Come to the entrance of Peach Blossom Land right now.]

The entrance of Peach Blossom Land?

[Kim Jina: Hurry, hurry!]

What?

Has the workplace discipline completely collapsed?

Now she’s trying to order me around too?

Getting there was easy.

I could make portals anyway.

And I was already in the workshop.

“What is it… Huh?”

The moment I arrived, I couldn’t help but stare.

The area around the entrance looked different from usual.

The entrance to Peach Blossom Land was on high ground.

The highest peak in this whole region.

So the view was bound to be magnificent.

And yet—

An elegant pavilion had been built along the cliffside, making that scenery even more beautiful.

“What is all this? When did you do this?”

“Hehe, amazing, right? I specially requested it from Dmir.”

Kim Jina replied as she interlocked her fingers and stretched toward the sky.

“Come here. If you stand right here, you can see the entire city Dmir is building at a glance.”

It really was true.

The open forest and vast stretch of land felt refreshing just to look at.

And the bizarre rock formations scattered along both sides of the cliff made all worldly worries fade away.

I could say this with certainty.

Even if you brought any place on Earth here, could it compare to scenery like this?

“From now on, this is going to be our workshop’s special VIP room. Customers who place orders and guests visiting the workshop are going to be overwhelmed the moment they see this view. Sometimes they might even feel intimidated.”

“…It’s magnificent.”

This place was now my home.

My own home and community, one I could return to from anywhere for the rest of my life.

Why was that?

Even though it was a sight I saw every day, standing here now made my chest swell even more.

“Ah, right. And President.”

“Yes?”

“That Bong Jaeyoung person. He was supposedly a ranker thug, so how exactly did you win him over?”

“Hmm?”

Bong Jaeyoung?

I had completely forgotten about him for a moment.

Did something happen?

“He recently submitted an application to join the workshop. He wants to be accepted.”

“Bong Jaeyoung?”

“Yes. Steel Fist Bong Jaeyoung is so infamous as a thug in this industry that I’ve been holding off for now, but he seems pretty desperate. He’s already submitted the paperwork three times.”

“……”

“And could you take a look at this too?”

She walked up to me and held out her smartphone.

Various articles Kim Jina had organized were displayed on the screen.

I tapped one of them.

[High Ranker Rank 99, Steel Fist, Says After Entering the Rankings: “This isn’t my true level of skill. It’ll be properly reflected at the start of the month.”]

Bong Jaeyoung’s current rank was 99th.

He had originally been 101st, but Andrey and Zima had died.

The ranking board updated immediately only when someone died.

At the beginning of each month or year, however, it was recalculated to include skill-based factors as well.

In other words, he was currently ranked 99th.

But once the rankings were updated at the start of the month, he could be pushed back down again.

‘He’ll definitely fall.’

Because of the Toxin Mist, he had consumed far too much life force.

That power hadn’t merely been depleted. It had been permanently destroyed.

‘Probably.’

Wouldn’t he drop somewhere around the 500th to 800th range?

That was my rough guess.

Swipe!

I checked the other articles too.

[Steel Fist Apologizes for Past Misdeeds: “If I hurt anyone, it was all my fault. I’ll live humbly and in reflection from now on.”]

[Regarding the Russia Incident, Bong Jaeyoung Says: “Skeleton King is the savior of my life.”]

[The Previously Arrogant Steel Fist: “Skeleton King is a god. He’s real.” Lavishes overwhelming praise.]

“…What is this?”

I stared blankly.

What exactly had this guy been doing behind my back?

“That’s what I want to ask.”

Kim Jina looked up at me with a pout, then soon let out a sigh.

“Sigh, I knew it from the beginning, but… just how much are you hiding…?”

Ah.

She was still pouting because I hadn’t told her about Delilah’s trial.

“And on top of that, we also received applications from Druid and Asura.”

“From them?”

“Yes. Apparently they were moved by the President’s fine character…? So I’m thinking of accepting all three. Is that alright? The more rankers a guild has, the better, after all.”

“Well…”

I nodded.

“Personnel decisions are the vice president’s authority.”

Just as I had said before, I was staying out of workshop management.

My goal, at least for now, was only to reach rank one.

Even focusing on that alone left me with more than enough to worry about.

“Phew, as expected of our President. I like how cool and straightforward you are.”

Kim Jina grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.

Swoosh! Step.

Someone appeared at the entrance.

“Hey, Vice President. Why did you call us?”

“I came too.”

Floa and Ki Soyul walked out together.

“Hehe, this view always hits hard no matter when you see it.”

“I came because you called.”

Maximilian and Capu followed after them.

All six members of the chat room had gathered.

Why all of a sudden?

Why had Kim Jina called everyone here?

As I looked at her with a puzzled expression—

Clap, clap!

She confidently clapped twice.

“Now that the President is here too, there’s something I wanted to say while looking all the executives in the eye.”

“Something you wanted to say?”

“Do you remember what I told you when I joined this workshop, President?”

“If you mean what you said that day when you barged in and boldly asked to be accepted, then yes, of course I remember.”

I shrugged.

What Kim Jina had said back then was this:

– That Dmir’s Workshop you’re trying to build, Donghoon? Let’s build it together! I’ll make it into more than a company—no, more than a guild!

It had been a declaration filled with ambition, one about growing the workshop into a great guild.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s my dream and my goal. I don’t want to build some ordinary large guild.”

Kim Jina looked each of us in the eye as she spoke.

Her voice was filled with an almost unconscious determination.

“At the very least, something like America’s Demon King’s Army, England’s Oxford, or our country’s Heavenly Demon Divine Sect…”

The strongest organizations on Earth.

Powers spoken of as rivaling entire nations.

“I want to create the strongest group there is—one that stands on equal footing with them, no, one that surpasses them.”

A group that could face them head-on—

No, one that could stand proudly above them.

“So this is what I’m thinking.”

She tugged at her sleeves.

Come to think of it, had she prepared for this in advance?

Kim Jina was wearing a neat suit.

“We probably pulled some aggro because of the Russia expedition… so how about we use this opportunity to drop the name Dmir and relaunch ourselves as a new guild, President?”

As always, it was a bold proposal.