Chae Seung-jin welcomed Jeong Hyeon-su as if he were very pleased to see him.
“Well, well, who is this? Is that not Hyeon-su? Your suspension has not even been lifted yet, so what brings you here?”
Jeong Hyeon-su ignored Chae Seung-jin’s words and walked toward Jeong Hyeon-a.
“I will take care of things here, so you should go.”
“What do you mean, you will take care of it? Illegal artifact distribution and Manajia? Are you out of your mind?”
Jeong Hyeon-a shouted at him.
Jeong Hyeon-su merely looked at her with sunken eyes.
“It was not me.”
“It was not you?”
Chae Seung-jin snorted.
“I wonder if you can still say that after seeing this, huh?”
Chae Seung-jin immediately played a video on his smartphone.
It looked like security camera footage showing a secluded alley. A man dressed in black appeared there.
The moment the outline of his face became visible, the image zoomed in. The owner of the artificially enlarged face was none other than Jeong Hyeon-su.
And he was carrying a bag with something inside it, but as he turned a corner, he ended up colliding with someone.
No, it was an ambush.
The video paused there for a moment.
Then the screen changed.
[Awakened Investigation Bureau]
Someone was being interrogated at the Awakened Investigation Bureau, which arrested awakened ones who committed crimes.
The face that appeared there was then compared, with perfect timing, to the face of the person who had attacked the one presumed to be Jeong Hyeon-su.
And from that bag spilled a pile of artifacts.
— Judging by the mana reaction, they are at least E-Rank.
— All of them are unregistered. They do not exist in the database.
— You are under emergency arrest on suspicion of possessing unregistered artifacts. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to appoint an attorney, and……
— Wait a moment! Here! Is this not Fantasia?
The video cut off there.
“That is the current situation, and the Investigation Bureau is now looking for the original source of that bag. Fortunately, every CCTV recording in the area is in my hands. As you can see, I cherish my friends very dearly. Hyeon-su, what do you think?”
Chae Seung-jin’s lips were filled with endless mockery.
Rather than being angered by that smile, Jeong Hyeon-su was furious at his nineteen-year-old self for having been played by someone like this.
Why had he not known?
In order to look good to Chae Seung-jin, because he wanted to be close to him, and because he had wanted to show that he could do it too, Jeong Hyeon-su had delivered a bag without even knowing what was inside it.
“You always said delivering that bag was something amazing, something that would earn recognition.”
“Did I?”
“I still remember how you set up the whole thing by bringing in famous hunters from around the area.”
“And?”
“I admit that I was played.”
A fierce light flashed in Jeong Hyeon-su’s eyes.
At that sight, Chae Seung-jin flinched despite himself.
But when he realized what he had done, rage soon welled up inside him.
“…You bastard… Do you think it is all right to glare at me like that?”
Was Jeong Hyeon-su not the idiot who had always grinned foolishly, desperate for his approval?
Unable to endure the fact that he had been shaken for a moment by that Jeong Hyeon-su’s gaze, Chae Seung-jin growled.
“Call him right now. Before I spread this to the Investigation Bureau and the media. Call your father and tell him to come running to Songgwang. Now!”
This was Chae Seung-jin’s true nature, coming out with boundless arrogance.
In the end, all of this had been one of Songgwang’s low schemes to bring down Garam, its rival.
It was a trap arranged by Chae Seung-jin, who wanted to earn his father’s recognition.
“I clearly gave you one last chance, Chae Seung-jin.”
“What…?”
“You were the one who refused it.”
Jeong Hyeon-su began walking toward Chae Seung-jin.
Seeing Jeong Hyeon-su’s momentum, as if he were about to start a fight at any moment, Chae Seung-jin was dumbfounded.
“What, are you going to try taking it by force?”
“I know the original is somewhere else.”
“…What?”
“This is just my way of dealing with it, you rat.”
It was a situation that no one could possibly understand.
Jeong Hyeon-a shouted, nearly screaming.
“Are you out of your mind? Even if you are angry right now, what are you going to do by just charging in?”
He would simply get beaten up.
Would it end with merely being beaten up?
Even judging by the video alone, the current situation was the worst possible one for Garam. No one believed Jeong Hyeon-su. Not even Jeong Hyeon-a.
And in that state, he was going to attack Chae Seung-jin emotionally?
“Ha, bastard. I indulged you even though you were an idiot because we were both from Ten Great Guilds, and now you think we are actually equals. What are you doing?”
When Chae Seung-jin snorted as if this were absurd and jerked his chin, the large boy who had been standing nearby like a bodyguard blocked Jeong Hyeon-su’s path.
And just as his hand drew back to slap Jeong Hyeon-su across the face with all his strength.
“No!”
THWACK!
A sound rang out like a drum being struck.
It was a blow so heavy that one wondered whether such a sound could truly come from a human body, but there was an even greater question in the eyes of those watching.
“…Huh?”
Among the nineteen-year-old cadets, Jeong Hyeon-su was supposed to be close to the very bottom in combat ability.
Yet Jeong Hyeon-su’s fist was now buried deep in the abdomen of the cadet who had been blocking his way.
Chae Seung-jin’s close aide, Ju Yeong-ho, was an upper-ranking cadet even within Cradle.
Yet without being able to react at all, he allowed a blow to his abdomen, lost consciousness, stiffened like a statue, and collapsed with a thud.
“What are you doing? You useless bastard, you got taken down in one hit by someone like Jeong Hyeon-su?”
Chae Seung-jin was at a loss for words.
He had invested quite a bit in Ju Yeong-ho and kept him around because he was supposed to be fairly capable among the cadets. To think he could not even do one-tenth of the work expected for the money invested in him.
“M-Maybe it was because he let his guard down?”
At the words of another cadet beside him, Chae Seung-jin shouted furiously.
“Let his guard down? Do you think I have been feeding rootless, lowborn trash like you all this time so you could let your guard down? Grab that bastard and beat him to a pulp right now! Otherwise, your guilds will never go near a Gate again!”
In South Korea, the influence of the Ten Great Guilds, especially Songgwang, could be considered tremendous.
Under the current system, where clearing Gates and climbing the Tower were important, Songgwang was a place that carried those things out directly and built businesses upon that foundation.
If such a Songgwang so much as cleared its throat, small and medium-sized guilds would have to shut down. No, if they fell out of its favor, they would never be able to work as hunters on Korean soil.
“You are acting no better than a thug. You piece of trash.”
Chae Seung-jin’s eyes rolled with rage.
“What the fuck did you call me? A thug?”
“What else would a thug be? Stop yapping from behind them. If you do not like it, come here and attack me yourself.”
For Jeong Hyeon-a, it was a dizzying moment.
No matter how one looked at him, Chae Seung-jin was an endlessly vile, snake-like person.
Standing firm and responding without yielding to someone like him was certainly the right path.
It was also the virtue Garam Guild valued most.
“Hyeon-a, you do not have to worry about what anyone thinks either. If I really committed a crime, then I should be punished. If I did not, then all that remains is to punish the guilty, is it not?”
“What…?”
Jeong Hyeon-a froze for a moment as she tried to interpret the words that had come out of Jeong Hyeon-su’s mouth.
The first sentence was correct, but if he did not, then punish the guilty…?
The laws of South Korea absolutely did not permit private punishment.
Of course, in blind spots, blood-soaked battles between hunters based on overwhelming force took place everywhere, but that was precisely why the authorities punished such things even more severely in the light of day.
“You are insane! If you are truly innocent, then we can come up with a plan! Back off for now!”
No matter how this matter turned out, there was nothing good about causing an even stronger armed clash with Chae Seung-jin here.
“Are you not going to attend Cradle? You still have to graduate!”
“Why would I waste my time in a place where brats form factions and play politics? I have no intention of attending anyway.”
Whether Jeong Hyeon-a’s mouth fell open or not, Jeong Hyeon-su walked forward.
He knew where the original file that Chae Seung-jin had hidden so carefully was.
However, for that to work, Chae Seung-jin needed to be unconscious and unable to do anything for the time being.
‘If I merely beat him moderately here, the data will immediately be passed to that bastard’s father…….’
Furthermore, a war with Songgwang, which intended to swallow Garam, was unavoidable.
“Make those bastards kneel right now! Block the entrance leading here!”
As Chae Seung-jin flew into a frenzy, the other cadets flinched.
“Wh-What are you planning to do?”
“Do I have to explain that to you? Shall I first teach you who is above and who is below?”
Once Chae Seung-jin’s eyes went mad, no one could stop him.
The circle members under him sighed as they looked at Jeong Hyeon-su.
“Are you wondering why I made this matter so much bigger?”
“What…?”
Had he learned mind-reading or something?
“You are all accomplices anyway, so I will make you answer for your crimes accordingly.”
They cared only about themselves without thinking of what they had done.
“Ha, Hyeon-su. What are you going to do? Just kneel and beg instead, huh? Then perhaps we can take that into consideration.”
Amid the disgust of seeing a reflection of his former self, Jeong Hyeon-su quietly looked at the cadet attempting to mediate.
“Was it Kwon O-sin?”
“…Was it?”
“I know you were the one who planned the details. I was an idiot for falling for it, so let us say I bear seventy percent of the responsibility. But you should take ten percent of the responsibility for using that shallow little brain of yours, should you not?”
Kwon O-sin’s eyebrow twitched.
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“I suppose that is what you would say. I know very well how to get a proper answer from someone like you.”
“Has this bastard lost his mind……?”
Honestly, Kwon O-sin was indeed the one who had drawn up the whole scheme.
Inwardly, he wondered how Jeong Hyeon-su knew that, but since they had spent time together in their own way, he merely assumed Jeong Hyeon-su had guessed.
‘Since we are on Songgwang’s side anyway, stepping on him properly would not be bad either.’
It would be better to crush Jeong Hyeon-su and earn points with Chae Seung-jin.
Songgwang had decided to start trampling Garam in earnest, so perhaps it would not become a major problem.
Just as he judged that, lightning struck before his eyes.
BANG!
At the same time, terrible pain surged in.
Because Jeong Hyeon-su’s fist had already struck Kwon O-sin squarely in the face.
No one present had even seen what happened.
It merely looked as if, in the time it took them to go “huh,” Jeong Hyeon-su had driven a straight punch into him.
Immediately afterward, Jeong Hyeon-su grabbed Kwon O-sin by the jaw and lifted him up.
Then his body plunged toward the ground.
CRUNCH!
As he was slammed into the floor, Kwon O-sin grew dizzy from the pain that ran through his entire body.
But in his field of vision, he saw Jeong Hyeon-su’s foot drawing back.
The thought, surely not, crossed his mind, and such thoughts always tended to bring disaster upon people.
Jeong Hyeon-su twisted his hips, and his instep came in with perfect precision, smashing into Kwon O-sin’s jaw.
“Guhhh!”
“Consider this the price for trying to ruin another person’s life with that petty tongue and those cheap little tricks of yours.”
Unless a proper potion was used, Kwon O-sin would have a hard time enjoying delicious food for a while. That was the kind of injury Jeong Hyeon-su had inflicted.
Jeong Hyeon-a, watching him, could only feel astonished.
She had not even noticed the method used by Jeong Hyeon-su, who had always failed to so much as reach her feet.
It was one thing for him to have raised Illusory Heaven True Energy to 7-Star, as her father had said, but she herself possessed enough talent to have reached 9-Star in Illusory Heaven True Energy.
‘I have no idea what just happened.’
It had been exceedingly simple, yet Jeong Hyeon-a could not understand the move Jeong Hyeon-su had used to enter before Kwon O-sin could even react and subdue him in one stroke.
The older brother who had shown her the source of a strangeness she had never felt even from Cradle’s professors was, before she knew it, striding toward Chae Seung-jin.
“As you live, there are problems that can be solved with words, and problems that cannot. And this belongs to the latter.”
“You damned bastard! You think you can act arrogant in front of me just because you caught some bottom-feeders?”
WHOOOSH!
A sharp aura burst from Chae Seung-jin’s body.
It was a source of intensity incomparable to Kwon O-sin.
It was the moment the majesty of an heir to one of the Ten Great Guilds was revealed, someone who had inherited Songgwang Guild’s secret arts and had been built up through enormous investment since childhood.
However, Jeong Hyeon-su’s gaze remained utterly calm.