Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

The main lobby of the Shadow Guild was protected by two security guards. One of which was a marksman. Looking around, he struck up a conversation with his fellow guard, “Did you hear?”

“About what?”

“You know who Yang Bong Koo is, right? The Machete of Blood and Iron? Word is that he and a handful of interns got their asses handed to them by some level 150.”

“What!? You’re kidding!”

“I’m afraid not. My brother was one of those interns. I heard it from him after he got discharged from the hospital.”

“But what sense does that make? A level 150 taking Yang Bong Koo AND the interns out with a single blow?”

“From what I heard, it’s looking more and more certain that this guy is a Master.”

“That’s insane! A Master!? Holy… That’s like an officer of the Central Institute!”

“Yep. I think things are about to get crazy around here.”

“Which means…”

“I think the guild is gonna try to recruit him.”

“Yeah, that’ll make some noise, all right.”

“The competition’s gonna be fierce with people fighting over the top candidate position.”

“We better prepare ourselves. Like you said, it sounds like things really are about to get crazy around here.”

“Well, we don’t really have anything to do with any of this, though. There’s a reason why Celestials are called Celestials, you know? It’s a realm ordinary hunters like us couldn’t even dare think about.”

“Sigh, this world has always been so unfair. Screw it! I’m treating myself to something nice when my shift is over! Wanna come with?”

“Let’s do it.”

While the two hunters were snickering, a figure walked into the lobby through the rotating door. It was still the crack of dawn.

“Huh?!”

“Who could that be at this hour?”

At that moment, as the figure’s title and the name came into view, the two guards were left shocked.

‘Jung Hee Lee: The Eternal Flame.’

Thinking that they were seeing things, the two guards rubbed their eyes simultaneously. No matter how many times they did so, the figure’s title and name remained unchanged. However, there was something odd about his appearance.

‘What happened to him?’

The two guards were flabbergasted by the sight of the infamous assassin trudging across the lobby wearing nothing but his white underwear. His face was covered in dried up blood, and he seemed overcome with terror.

“What the…”

As the two guards stared at Jung Hee with perplexed eyes, another person followed the assassin into the lobby, keeping the two guards on their toes.

‘Min Sung Kang: Lv150.’

The man seemed to be wearing the assassin’s uniform. Upon closer inspection, the two guards noticed that the man was holding something in his hand.

“What is that? It’s still burning!”

“‘I think it’s…. a jar?”

“Wait a minute, isn’t that the guy you were talking about earlier!?”

“Wait, what!?”

“Right!?”

“… M-maybe.”

“I have no idea what to make of this situation, but I think something’s gone terribly wrong.”

“We better let the others know.”

At that moment, while the two guards were whispering to each other, Jung Hee raised his hand slowly and said, “Hey! You two!”

Startled, the two straightened their backs almost immediately.

“Sir! Are you all right!?”

“Who’s that behind you??”

The two hunters asked in turn nervously. Then, just as Jung Hee was about to answer them, a voice came from behind the assassin.

“Jung Hee Lee,” Min Sung said, and the assassin, shaking uncontrollably with fear, looked back at the champion. “Call him.”

At Min Sung’s command, the assassin pulled out his phone with shaky hands.

—

Upon arriving at his office, Kyung Tae’s phone started to ring. Seeing the young assassin’s name on the screen, the supervisor let out a long sigh and answered the phone.

“Things are getting complicated… Wait, WHAT!?” Kyung Tae shouted, his eyes widened.

“Min Sung Kang is in the lobby, looking for you.”

“…!”

Hanging up the phone, Kyung Tae turned away from his office and made haste, trying to think about the best course of action. At that moment, he stopped in his tracks as he was struck by a certain realization.

‘Chance! This is a chance!’

The chief had ordered the supervisor to eliminate the champion quietly while he was at it. Now, the opportunity had practically fallen into his lap. Although there was no getting around the punishment, it was still possible to minimize it.

‘He walked in here on his own? He must either be brave or out of his mind. No, this is good. He’s practically surrounded. This ends here. Today.’

Then, the supervisor decided to gather the special unit, who could engage in battle immediately, within the guild.

—

Stuck in between Jung Hee Lee and Min Sung Kang, the two guards were sitting ducks. Kyung Tae Oh, the supervisor, was on his way down to the lobby, and they didn’t dare get themselves involved. Soon, amid the confusing and distressing situation, the one who the two guards had been waiting desperately for finally turned up.

“S-sir!” the two let out, still in utter confusion.

“You two, go lock the entrance and wait for my orders,” Kyung Tae said, walking toward the champion unhurriedly. Meanwhile, the two guards rushed to the computer by the front desk and locked the entrance. Soon, with mechanical sounds, the locking mechanism started to engage, and the entrance was sealed by two thick steel doors closing in from either side.

“Mr. Kang, about my employee here…”

At that moment, before the supervisor even finished his sentence, Min Sung chucked the burning jar in his hand. As it landed on the assassin’s back, he fell to the floor, vomiting up blood.

“Ugh!”

Squirming on the floor in pain, the once infamous assassin was now in a humiliating state. He seemed to have suffered a serious injury to his spine. Should the jar have hit his back a little harder, the shattered pieces of his spine would have ripped through his skin.

‘He didn’t even throw it that hard! Yet…’ Kyung Tae thought, breaking out into cold sweats. After glaring at Min Sung briefly, he quickly put on an obsequious smile and said, “M-Mr. Kang, what do you say we have a chat?”

‘I have to stall him, at least for another minute, until reinforcement arrives.’

Because he couldn’t take on such a monstrous opponent on his own, there was no other option.

“There must have been a misunderstanding. Let’s talk…”

However, with a serious look on his face, Min Sung started walking toward Kyung Tae.

“H-hold on, Mr. Kang! We-we can talk this out. Stop! Stop right there, you psycho…!”

At that moment…

‘… Where’d he go?’ Kyung Tae wondered. Then, what appeared to be a burning jar flying toward him appeared in his line of sight. With an explosive sound that echoed through the lobby, his head snapped back from the impact, sending him flying through the air. After rotating 720 degrees, the supervisor fell on the floor with four missing teeth, a broken nose, and his cheekbone caved in. Due to the champion’s speed, fighting back, let alone resisting, was impossible.

“Ugh…” Kyung Tae moaned, bleeding profusely from his mouth. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t get up. His body felt like a piece of cotton soaked in water. Then, just as his conscience started to fade, he heard a series of footsteps approaching from behind.

—

Faced with the champion, the five specially trained hunters were flabbergasted by the weapon in Min Sung’s hand. Although Kyung Tae wanted to remind the five hunters to be on their guard, he was simply too weak to speak. Because he had summoned the hunters in such a short time, he hadn’t been able to provide them enough information about the intruder. Nevertheless, contrary to his concerns, the special unit was made of hunters who were experienced fighters. Because of that, they were able to analyze the combat situation quickly.

“Stay on your guard. Don’t let his level fool you. He is much more than what meets the eye. Otherwise, Lee and Mr. Oh wouldn’t be in the shape they are,” the hunter of the highest level within the group said. Agreeing with him, the rest of the team prepared for battle, and blue indicators of boost abilities appeared above their heads. Flashing unceasingly, they enhanced their attack, defense, and elemental resistance. After staring at them intently, Min Sung approached them unhurriedly. Unfortunately, the hunters couldn’t catch his movements as quickly. Before they even got into formation, Min Sung’s burning jar sent one of the hunters’ heads flying.

With an explosive sound, one of the hunters’ heads bent backward and rolled across the lobby, spraying blood all over the place. The boost ability seemed to have helped little to prepare them for the blow. The protective shield offered little protection against the champion. At which point, the eyes of the four remaining hunters widened. They were facing an opponent far faster and more powerful than they had been led to believe. Unfortunately, by the time they got in an offensive formation, their opponent had already made his next move. As Min Sung swung the jar from left to right, another hunter went down like a lead balloon. Although the champion was visible, their eyes simply couldn’t catch up to his movements. Seeing two of their teammates on the floor, completely incapacitated, the remaining three of the special unit charged toward the champion all at once. At that moment, with a thunderous roar, a wave of energy, which looked like a firebreath from a dragon, powerful enough to tear the building down, exploded out of the champion, swallowing them whole. In a matter of seconds, the three burned to a crisp and rolled across the lobby floor. Without a hint of weariness, Min Sung looked around the lobby with his deep, dark eyes. Having witnessed the frightening power of the champion, the two guards trembled in terror. Then, amid the suffocating silence, one of the guards cautiously set the emergency alarm off. Soon, the blaring sound of the alarm filled the air, alerting everyone in the building.

“… We’re gonna die, aren’t we?”

“Probably.”

Having witnessed what the champion was capable of, the two speculated that killing them would’ve been no different than killing ants to him. The man was clearly unrestricted by his level, and assuming that he wouldn’t let them live for sounding the alarm, the fear of death washed over the two guards. Sure enough, Min Sung chucked his burning jar in their direction. With a loud boom, the magically enhanced fire started to surround the two hunters. Then, as if they had been hit by a truck, the two flew across the lobby, and their bodies slammed against the wall.