Chapter 558
The man suddenly opened his eyes. His dazed pupils stared into space for a brief moment before he began to slowly trace his memories.
‘F-grade Gate, goblins, earthquake, and… Jin Taekyung.’
That final keyword unlocked everything. The moment he remembered it all, the man sprang up from where he’d been lying like a spring-loaded coil.
“Uwaaaaah!”
One problem—being a tank, he had a rather large frame, and the space around him wasn’t exactly generous.
Thud! Slam!
“Ow! Huh?”
His head crashed into the ceiling, and he cried out before freezing with wide eyes.
It hurt. It seriously hurt. But the fact that he felt pain…
‘I-I’m alive!’
He never thought he’d actually think something out of a web novel.
Finally relaxing, the man realized he was lying inside a vehicle. More precisely—a rescue ambulance.
‘An ambulance…’
It was a relief he’d survived a deadly situation, but waking up in an ambulance wasn’t necessarily a good sign. If survival came at the cost of becoming disabled, that was its own kind of tragedy.
Just as he scrambled to check his body for injuries—
Clack. Rattle.
The door swung wide open, and sunlight poured in. The man instinctively shielded his face with both arms.
Or maybe it wasn’t the light. Maybe it was the dazzling beauty of the woman who entered.
“Oh, you’re awake. I thought I heard something and came by.”
The man stammered as he faced the sudden appearance of this beauty.
“Wh-Who are you…?”
“You’re Team Leader Lee Seungyeop, right? Freelancer, not affiliated with a guild, age thirty-three.”
“H-How do you know that…?”
“Oh, questions later. First, are you feeling okay?”
The woman’s tone was gentle but firm enough to interrupt, and the man instinctively nodded.
“Well, you should be fine. You only had minor scratches, barely worth calling injuries. The others are also…”
The moment she trailed off, his eyes widened.
“R-Right! My teammates! Are they okay? Is everyone safe? Did anyone die or get hurt?!”
“Mm. All your teammates are fine. But if you keep shouting like that, my ears won’t be.”
“Is that true?! Thank god, is it really true?!”
“There’s someone I know who always bets something gross in moments like this. I don’t have balls, so I’ll wager an ovary. Good enough?”
Cool confidence radiated from her response.
“And to answer your earlier question—we checked your belongings. Thanks to that, your identity was confirmed faster than anyone else’s.”
Thud.
She set down a small subspace pocket and a briefing board.
On the pure white surface, a scrawled message stood out in a messy handwriting.
Hunter Lee Seungyeop, Fighting.
—Jin Taekyung
The beauty smiled softly.
“That was actually lying on the ground, but someone picked it up and insisted on delivering it in person. Said it was going to be a family heirloom and couldn’t be lost.”
The man—Team Leader Lee Seungyeop—gaped.
“W-Wait, then the person who gave this to you was…?”
“If there’s a name that popped into your head just now, you’re probably right.”
Her neatly shaped brow arched. Her voice, as cool as her features, followed.
“Oh, right—I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Songsong.”
“Uh… Song who?”
“…Might as well just give you my card from the start. Here.”
Team Leader Lee accepted the business card held out by her long, white fingers—and his eyes widened again.
“Peace Guild?”
“Officially, I’m the Healer Team Leader. Temporarily in charge of the Emergency Rescue Team as well.”
“…Hk.”
He inhaled sharply.
Even someone as busy as him knew exactly what kind of organization Peace Guild was.
‘If you don’t know, you’re basically a monster yourself.’
This was the guild Jin Taekyung belonged to.
With immense capital and public attention, Peace Guild had grown rapidly in just a few months and was no longer just some average mid-tier guild.
‘I heard these days it’s even harder to get into Peace than into Ares.’
They offered some of the best treatment for Hunters and had limitless growth potential. Naturally, talented individuals flocked to them.
After Lee Jeongryong’s state funeral last week, even Hunters from Ares Guild had canceled renewals and transferred to Peace instead.
And yet, this beauty in front of him was apparently a team leader in Peace Guild. That made her quite the heavyweight for someone who looked barely in her twenties.
Come to think of it, her celebrity-level face did seem familiar from TV.
“But… what exactly is this Emergency Rescue Team? I’ve never heard of it before.”
“Just what it sounds like. Emergency Rescue Team. A new team created solely for the purpose of saving people.”
“I know some guilds have rescue teams. But my team and I aren’t even part of Peace Guild…”
Freelancers and small-scale guilds usually relied on government assistance. For mid-sized guilds to have their own rescue teams was common knowledge. So the sudden appearance of Peace Guild was hard to understand.
“Do you not like it?”
“N-No! I’d never dare think that. Of course I’m grateful. You saved our lives from a mutated Gate…”
Songsong smiled lightly.
“Then that’s settled. That’s exactly why we came, after all.”
“…Huh?”
“Our Peace Guild’s Emergency Rescue Team is currently on a pilot program, focused mainly on low- and mid-grade Gates in the capital area. We operate in cooperation with government departments and support all Hunters, regardless of affiliation. You could say it’s a volunteer effort for public safety.”
“Volun… teer?”
“Oh, of course. People like me are paid to do this, though.”
Eyes wide, he glanced past Songsong’s shoulder.
Even now, many Hunters were moving about busily. All of them wore the Peace Guild emblem on their chest.
‘Volunteer work? With this much manpower?’
Even if modern Hunter guilds were golden geese, most of their income still ultimately came from Gates.
That’s why they hired Hunters at enormous salaries—to reap even greater profits from Gates.
But Peace Guild had deployed these Hunters not for a raid, but for rescue. And they were clearly being paid appropriate compensation.
‘They all look like at least mid-grade Hunters.’
Just looking around, he could see dozens wearing high-end gear.
He couldn’t even begin to guess how much Peace Guild was spending today alone. For a low-grade Hunter like him, it was incomprehensible.
“Uh… Team Leader Songsong, right?”
“Yes? Go ahead.”
“Well… I was wondering. Is there any kind of treatment fee or rescue charge for this?”
“There isn’t. Have you ever seen a firefighter rescue someone and then send a bill?”
“Then…?”
“Of course, from transport to treatment, everything is free. If anyone is mentally affected, we even provide psychological counseling—trauma care, that sort of thing.”
Wait. Treatment?
Did he mishear?
Staring at her blankly, he asked with all sincerity,
“Does Peace Guild run on fairy dust or something?”
Songsong winked.
“Not quite. It’s just that our sponsor has a lot of money.”
“Sponsor?”
“You’ve already met him. Even got his autograph.”
Wait, what?
“Anyway, someone like that exists. Keeps whining about being bled dry every day, but you should see him smile while he says it.”
A soft smile played on Songsong’s lips as she recalled someone.
When they first met, she thought he was completely nuts. But after watching from nearby, she came to understand.
What it truly meant to be a Hunter. What it meant to be human.
‘Hey, come work with me.’
‘That line sounds familiar… Just so we’re clear, I’m not Chinese mafia.’
A week ago, Jin Taekyung had suddenly appeared and said that to her.
She half-suspected he was asking her to act as a mole in Peace Guild—like some kind of Goldmoon-style drama. But what followed went far beyond her expectations.
‘You’re better than I thought, Taurus.’
To be honest, he was kind of cool this time.
Same when he sold the Black Wyvern corpse and used the money to set up a charity foundation. He’d show these unexpected sides of himself now and then.
Letting out a faint chuckle, Songsong turned her gaze to the sky.
It was still January, the cold lingering. But the sunlight above was warm.
—
Beeeep.
—Identity confirmed: Jin Taekyung. Iris scan complete.
A red beam swept across his pupils, accompanied by a robotic voice.
The door opened automatically, and as he entered the guild house, everyone inside who had been going about their business froze as if on cue.
“O-Oh, you’re back.”
“Welcome back!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Uh, yeah… Hi, everyone.”
Stop doing this already. What is this, a gangster den?
Still not used to this sight, I gave an awkward smile as Skeleton King leaned in and whispered,
“Wicked human. This feels… wrong.”
“Wow. You actually noticed? That’s a surprise…”
Before I could finish, Skeleton King strode forward and pointed at a rookie Hunter.
“You, your bow is only at an 80-degree angle. Lower it to 90. Or, you know, try a full kneel. That works too.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Stop adjusting other people’s angles like it’s your business. And what do you even know?
Just watching was enough to make me sigh.
After stopping one guy from doing a full prostration and warning the others not to listen to this idiot, I finally made my way toward my destination.
And there, familiar faces were waiting for me.
“Taekyung!”
“You’re here.”
With arms spread wide, Im Geokjeong welcomed me, while Team Leader Choi was busy handling something nearby.
“Easy, easy. You’ll reopen your wounds.”
“Hey, it’s just because I’m happy to see you.”
“I see your face every day, what’s the big deal?”
As I helped the still-recovering Im Geokjeong into a seat, Team Leader Choi suddenly spoke up.
“I got the report through the hotline. Another named monster showed up, didn’t it?”
“It was a Cyclops. Three hundred Ents were just the appetizer.”
“A Cyclops in an F-grade Gate… It was divine luck that Jin Taekyung happened to be nearby.”
Skeleton King added pompously,
“They all knelt before this noble being’s magnificence.”
“If you say one more word, you’ll be staying on your knees listening.”
“…My apologies.”
With just that one line, I shut him up. Team Leader Choi handed me a file folder.
“What’s this?”
“The data you requested. We compiled the number of mutated Gate incidents reported recently in Asia, including domestically.”
It didn’t take long to scan through it.
After a moment of confirming the details, I muttered like a groan.
“Five… just in the past month here in Korea alone…”
“The probability of mutated Gates is skyrocketing. The incident in Sichuan was the prime example.”
Mutated Gates were rare.
Even in South Korea, which had hundreds of Gates, they occurred maybe once or twice a year—three times at most. But just last month, the count had already exceeded five.
‘And this month, including the one I just cleared, it’s already two.’
A bizarre phenomenon with no clear explanation. But for the events in Murim to come to mind now—it couldn’t be coincidence.
‘Something’s happening.’
Tap. Tap-tap.
I drummed my fingers on the table in silence before asking,
“What about North America and Europe?”
“My prediction is that they’re experiencing the same. But for more reliable data, I requested it from someone trustworthy.”
“Someone trustworthy?”
The moment I asked Team Leader Choi that, I felt every sense heighten.
Fwooooom!
A sudden storm of qi.
An overwhelming concentration of mana far beyond what even an A-grade Hunter could emit was now surging toward somewhere within the guild house.
‘This…’
Familiar. The flow of mana. The distinct presence it carried.
“Team Leader Choi… Don’t tell me—”
“It’s who you’re thinking of. I didn’t expect him to come in person, though.”
As Choi answered calmly, Skeleton King blinked in confusion and asked me,
“Wicked human. Who are you speaking of?”
“Your father.”
?
Before he could process that, someone’s voice pierced the minds of everyone in the guild house through a [Message] spell.
Skeleton King’s face broke into a grin.
—Been a while, everyone. Miss me?
A voice radiating hip-hop soul and groove.
With a soft chuckle, I thought of one man.
Magic Johnson.
The Archmage of America had just arrived at Peace Guild.
