Click—.
Immediately after resolving the backflow of the D-rank Gate, Daehyun returned straight to the dormitory and lay down on his bed.
‘Status Window.’
Ding—!
[Kang Daehyun]
[Title: Hunting Dog Slayer]
[Stats: Strength (98), Agility (82), Intelligence (75), Unique Stat = Divine Power (180)]
[Assignable Stat Points: 40 (Choose one from Strength, Agility, and Divine Power.)]
[Type: Healing-Type (C)]
[Traits: Speed Reading (E), Quick Thinking (C), Observation (C+), ??? (EX)]
[Skills: Lesser Healing (LV.1), Divine Shield (LV.2), Divine Fist (LV.2), Barrage (LV.1)]
Daehyun smiled faintly as he looked at the status window.
‘Not bad.’
Stats that had grown incomparably stronger compared to the beginning. Additional skills. And even assignable stat points that seemed to tell him he could still become stronger.
Growing stronger day by day was something that could only be pleasing.
‘……It is a little regrettable that everything I had built up until now disappeared all at once.’
No matter how much stronger he had become, he was still a fledgling.
Daehyun would be lying if he said he did not occasionally miss the strength he had possessed during his days as the Fist King.
But what would come back from clinging to it?
‘Nothing changes even if I regret it…….’
Look to the present rather than the past, and to the future rather than the present. That was the way Bariel lived.
‘Well, this should be enough for today.’
He had finished the Daily Quest along the way before returning to the dormitory, and the troublesome matter he had gotten entangled in only needed to be watched as it resolved itself from now on.
All that remained was to wait for the gauntlets he had entrusted to the craftsman to be completed properly.
“Hmm.”
Daehyun nodded as he looked into the full-length mirror.
……He had grown stronger. There was no doubt about it.
It was certain that he had grown stronger quickly in a short period of time.
But that also meant that this body had been worked just as harshly.
“Rest, is it?”
Daehyun lightly clenched and opened his fist.
Even if he called it rest, it meant he would not do anything reckless. It did not mean he would let his senses dull.
“Shall I rest just a little for the time being?”
For the time being. Only very slightly.
Deciding to leave his stat points alone for now so he could use them when needed, Daehyun closed the status window.
***
Ext Guild’s office in Seoul.
The Guild Leader of that place, “An Gihyeon,” sat in his chair with a cigarette in his mouth.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Chill—.
At An Gihyeon’s single sentence, the air trembled for an instant. The majesty he possessed as an A-rank Superhuman was plainly revealed.
“Well……”
Baek Sangmin, who had his head lowered, slowly began to speak. A drop of cold sweat ran down his cheek.
‘……This is bad.’
The Guild Leader was angry. The reason was easy enough to guess.
It was surely because of what he had suggested to him just a few minutes ago.
“First, please do not get angry and listen to what I……”
There were two things he had “suggested.”
One was to completely remove Student Kang Daehyun from the suspect list.
The other was to review the forced investigation of the artifact crafter a little more carefully.
“Are you saying we should withdraw from this case?”
“No, that is not what I mean!”
Baek Sangmin waved his hands violently.
“I mean exactly what I said. I am suggesting that we remove Student Kang Daehyun, whose chances of being the culprit are extremely low, from the suspect list!”
About a week had passed since the D-rank Gate incident.
Baek Sangmin still could not remember what had happened inside the Gate, and naturally, Ext Guild’s investigation had made no progress.
‘Naturally, indeed.’
They had the clear name “Daehyun,” presumed to belong to the culprit, and even the location of a workshop connected to the culprit.
Yet there had been no progress in the investigation.
Even Baek Sangmin himself thought it was absurd.
“Would it not be better to exclude places we do not need and focus our manpower on more important areas…… something like that……”
Leaving Baek Sangmin’s voice, which grew smaller and smaller, behind, An Gihyeon sighed and tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray.
“Haa……”
At his sigh, all the guild members flinched.
It felt as if the air had trembled once again.
‘……This feels damned unpleasant.’
It had been a long time since he felt this way.
That was only natural. What kind of place was his Ext Guild?
Aside from the ultra-special-grade guilds where Korea’s S-rank Superhumans belonged, it was a guild that could proudly call itself the peak among A-rank guilds. That was Ext.
“……Fine. Good.”
That very Ext Guild had failed to catch a single Gate lawbreaker.
Even with a clear clue!
“Everyone except Sangmin, leave.”
Step— step—.
At An Gihyeon’s single command, the guild members saluted at once, opened the office door, and left.
Only the two of them remained in the office.
An Gihyeon rose from his chair and spoke.
“How much?”
“Pardon?”
“How much, I asked. How much money have we spent on this nonsense?”
“…….”
One week into the investigation.
Ext Guild had mobilized as much manpower as possible and focused on finding the culprit.
They investigated whenever they had free time, but there had been no progress, and a few days ago, all Gate Raiding schedules had been canceled as well.
At present, every single person without exception had been deployed for the investigation.
“If we had closed all the C-rank, no, even the D-rank Gates we canceled back then, how much would that have been?”
A question that was not truly a question.
In Baek Sangmin’s quick mind, the pure profit and loss were calculated.
“……It would have been at least several hundred million won.”
“Exactly.”
It was a figure he had already known, but because the clever Baek Sangmin had said it, it felt even more painfully real.
An Gihyeon smiled bitterly.
“What is the bastard we found in the D-rank Gate doing now?”
“He is in prison. They say he cries all day, saying he misses his younger brother.”
“Good. That works out nicely.”
It was regrettable to let go when the honor they could obtain was right in front of them, but honor only had value when one was still alive.
“The captured culprit is that bastard alone, and say the accomplice died together with his younger brother. If we say he kept his mouth shut until now and only just confessed, that should be enough.”
“Pardon? Then you mean……”
“We are withdrawing from this case.”
Baek Sangmin hesitated for a long while with a shocked expression.
The result brought about by his single remark.
It was far greater than he had imagined.
“Then what should we do about the warrant that has already been issued?”
“Throw it away.”
“……Pardon?”
“What are we going to do by threatening that old man? If another clue appears, are we going to chase that for the rest of our lives too?”
A week had already passed. In an ordinary investigation, it was too early to give up, but guilds were different. They were entities that had to seek the greatest profit at every moment and bear only the minimum risk. That was what a guild was.
“That is enough. Drop all of this nonsense and schedule Gate Raids starting tomorrow. I will handle the media.”
Chasing any further would be foolish.
That was An Gihyeon’s judgment.
“What are you doing? Why are you not leaving?”
“Ah. Yes, sir!”
Baek Sangmin saluted and left the office.
***
After that, another week passed.
Drip, drip.
Daehyun lightly drew hot water from the water purifier and filled his cup.
It was to drink warm water with the Fatigue Recovery Tonic after the day’s training ended.
“Hmm.”
A moderately sweet and bitter flavor filled his mouth. It was still not a bad taste. If he had money, he would have wanted to ask Kang Shinhyuk where he got it.
“The world has gone to hell. Truly gone to hell.”
“It has always been that way.”
This guy really was like an old man in a young body.
Daehyun turned his head toward Kang Shinhyuk, who was lying on the sofa and watching TV.
“Oh. Ext Guild is on.”
‘Hm?’
Daehyun’s head turned back toward the TV.
—Do you remember the unregistered Gate incident from a few weeks ago?
The announcer continued the report clearly, as usual, but what bothered Daehyun was the content.
—Ext Guild will provide the answer today…….
It had already been about two weeks since the day Daehyun commissioned his weapon and the unregistered Gate incident occurred.
‘I thought things had been strangely quiet.’
After Baek Sangmin came and went, the guild members who had occasionally been showing up at the school stopped coming, and the troublesome questions disappeared as well.
Apparently, Daehyun had vanished from the suspect list.
‘It seems Baek Sangmin handled it well.’
That was that, and this was this.
What Daehyun was curious about was what answer Ext Guild had brought as its so-called solution.
“What, did they finally catch him?”
“……There is no way.”
He was right here, as if to prove it.
Unless they had framed some strange person, the culprit could not appear.
“Oh, he is on!”
A moment later, the TV screen changed, and Ext’s Representative An Gihyeon appeared.
—What happened regarding the accomplice?
—It is known that Ext Guild has begun scheduling Gates again. Does that mean you caught the culprit?
—Please look this way and say a word!
Countless questions from the reporters.
And a torrent of camera flashes.
Only An Gihyeon appeared on the screen.
‘Did everyone return to their main jobs?’
They had to make up for the losses they suffered while focusing on the investigation, so he could understand it.
—We pursued the culprit for a long time, but we could not find any further clues.
An Gihyeon cut through the countless questions and slowly continued speaking.
—Because of that, we have judged that the person presumed to be the owner of this clue is highly likely to have already died inside the D-rank Gate.
In short, they were giving up the investigation because of a lack of ability.
And yet, they did not want to admit that it was due to their own inadequacy.
It was a typical escape route.
—Ext Guild will continue to devote all its strength to your safety……
—We will produce future results that will not lose to the ultra-special-grade guild, Gold Rain……
An Gihyeon continued speaking at length after that. From time to time, he answered the reporters’ questions, and he seemed to respond sincerely in his own way, but Daehyun could tell.
‘He is avoiding unfavorable questions and choosing only the favorable ones.’
A few questions selected from the shower of countless questions.
They were all questions he could answer immediately.
‘To survive in the media, one must do things like that too.’
To think a body that surpassed ordinary humans could be used in that way.
It was truly a moment when the insight and discernment of an A-rank Superhuman shone even brighter.
“……Tsk. This is boring.”
Kang Shinhyuk clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Ext must have it hard too. I cannot watch this anymore.”
“You always say that and then watch just fine.”
“Not this time.”
Beep—.
Kang Shinhyuk turned off the TV.
An Gihyeon’s words, which had been about to become some sort of excuse, were cut off.
‘Hmm. Not bad.’
From Daehyun’s perspective, all he needed was for those guys to clear away the suspicion they had toward him.
‘The troublesome eyes seem almost gone now, and it is about time I started moving.’
His wounds had almost healed.
He had steadily continued training, exercising, and doing quests, so his current physical condition was at its best.
‘I need something to do.’
It would be nice if there were a quest, but there was no particular incident that would cause one to appear, and above all, Daehyun had not done anything that stood out.
‘There is still some time before I can receive permission to go out, and if I only duel, there are no opponents.’
School was normally a convenient device, but at times like this, the space called school ended up holding him back.
‘But if I force myself to move…… there are too many things that bother me.’
Was there any way? Any method at all?
Daehyun silently drank the Fatigue Recovery Tonic and tilted his head.
It was then.
“Ah!”
Kang Shinhyuk sprang up from the sofa and spoke.
“Right. Daehyun, did you choose your off-campus activity request?”
“……Off-campus activity?”
Daehyun’s eyes flashed.