Chapter 50: I Know (1)

“If you had just accepted my offer,” Bae Hyeon-su smirked, coiling jet-black mana around his hand, “we could have parted on good terms.”

Krrrr!

Simultaneously, dark masses crackling with violet sparks began to envelop his body.

Dark Matter.

I narrowed my eyes.

The Dark Matter Summon skill.

“Heh heh heh,” Bae Hyeon-su, now shrouded in chunks of pitch-black Dark Matter, shouted with arrogant triumph, “starting to grasp the situation now?”

His arrogance was justified.

Dark Matter Summon was a flawless S-Class skill, formidable in both offense and defense.

These living masses of Dark Matter absorb all energy in their vicinity, except for that of their caster.

As a result, most ranged skills are inherently blocked by this substance.

But engaging in close combat is equally impossible.

Humans are no exception to the energy absorption.

Anyone who comes into contact with Dark Matter has their Mana and Vitality drained instantly, rendering them powerless.

“If you know what’s good for you, stay put until I leave. Before I turn you into a mummy in an instant.”

Under normal circumstances, his threat might have worked.

It’s the ultimate skill for bluffing, though.

The skills he manifested possessed only 10% of their original power.

If I hadn’t realized long ago that his Dark Matter was merely a 10% illusion, I might have been worried.

Skill Projection.

In other words, Bae Hyeon-su’s sole ability was to create superficially impressive imitations of various skills.

With a nonchalant expression, I charged a Fireball in my palm.

“Huh?”

Bae Hyeon-su’s smug expression froze.

But only for a moment.

He chuckled dismissively and opened his mouth.

“What’s this? You think that pathetic Fireball can pierce my Dark Matter?”

Even at 10% power, Dark Matter was still an S-Class skill.

Fireball, on the other hand, was a D-rank offensive skill.

I figured 10% Dark Matter absorption would be more than enough to handle it.

Well, whether it would work or not…

I’d find out soon enough.

“Stop wasting time with pointless tricks…”

Without another word, I hurled the flaming sphere from my hand at him.

WHOOSH!

The fireball surged forward, erupting into intense flames.

And, as expected…

WHOOSH!

“Huh?”

The Archmage’s Fireball effortlessly pierced through the Dark Matter encasing Bae Hyeon-su.

His pupils dilated in shock as the fireball hurtled straight toward him.

“W-wait! H-hey—!”

A scream, more like a death rattle, pierced the air.

Kwaaaang!

Inside the Shadow Guild’s secret basement, a thunderous explosion shook the very foundations.

As the dust and smoke from the blast cleared, I strode across the devastated center of the basement toward Bae Hyeon-su.

”…”

He lay sprawled on the ground, eyes rolled back in his head.

Seriously? How utterly pathetic.

I’d only charged the Fireball to 20%—just enough to incapacitate him without knocking him unconscious.

His Mana resistance, which isn’t displayed in the Status Window, must be even worse than it looks…

“Looks like it.”

I kicked him a few times, but he only groaned weakly and didn’t move.

Grabbing Bae Hyeon-su by the collar, who was still unconscious, I snarled, “What do you think you’re doing, passed out here?”

Smack!

I mercilessly slapped his soot-stained cheek.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

After about ten slaps…

“Ugh…”

Bae Hyeon-su’s swollen face twitched, and his pupils flickered open. He was barely regaining consciousness.

But before he could shout anything with his terror-filled eyes…

Rainbow Light Mana seeped into the Shadow Guild Leader’s mind.

“Hahaha! Just as I expected from our Hunter Lee Taejun! He’s a hundred times better than those useless bureaucrats at Alliance Headquarters!”

Whoosh!

With a hearty laugh, a hand the size of a pot lid flew toward my back. I deftly sidestepped Matthew’s affectionate swat.

“Not at all,” I replied. “It’s all thanks to the combined efforts of Commander Hwarang and Guild Leader Cheongyeon.”

“Ahem, well, that’s true to some extent…”

The Hwarang Commander made a clumsy air swing, his face reddening with embarrassment. He turned his bulging eyes forward and muttered, “These punks I could kill with a flick of my finger, huh? Who knew they’d pull off something this big?”

Behind us stood the Shadow Guild’s headquarters, reduced to rubble in just two hours.

Before us knelt rows of subdued Four Shadows Guild members, powerless.

Whoosh.

Seo Yeon-hwa emerged from a Dimensional Gate beside Matthew and me.

“How did it go, Seo Yeon-hwa? Did you find anything?”

“Yes, I retrieved evidence of examination manipulation from the Guild Leader’s office. Several high-ranking officials from the Examination Management Department were also involved. Of course, they’ve all fled overseas by now.”

“I knew those bastards would pull something like this,” Matthew muttered with a scoff.

“Did you find any evidence implicating other guilds or Hunters?”

“No. For now, it appears the examination manipulation was solely orchestrated by the Shadow Guild Leader. To be precise, it was a conspiracy between the Shadow Guild Leader and a few corrupt officials blinded by bribes.”

Matthew’s gaze swept across the subdued Four Shadows Guild members, finally settling on Bae Hyeon-su, who stood staring blankly into space, his face slack with shock.

“Hmph,” Matthew scoffed, cracking his knuckles as he strode toward the man. “I’ve heard the stories about you Alliance Headquarters lackeys, groveling and stuffing wads of cash into their back pockets. Did this little sparrow think learning to fly meant he’d become an eagle?”

As the Hwarang Commander left, Seo Yeon-hwa spoke softly.

“Thank you.”

Her warm, brown eyes turned to me. “In the end, I had to rely on your help again, Taejun.”

“That’s thanks to you, Guild Leader, and the Commander believing in me.”

“Even so,” Seo Yeon-hwa said, “the Hwarang Commander and I were just spinning our wheels after the Shadow Guild raid. It was Taejun who discovered the secret basement and captured Bae Hyeon-su.”

“I just got lucky,” I replied.

“You really love saying that, don’t you, Taejun?” A faint smile played on Seo Yeon-hwa’s lips.

But it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She fixed me with a steady gaze and asked, “So, thanks to this ‘luck,’ did you manage to extract any additional information from Bae Hyeon-su before bringing him to us?”

Seo Yeon-hwa knew. She knew I must have interrogated Bae Hyeon-su myself before handing him over to them.

”…”

I reached a conclusion without much hesitation.

“No, I didn’t,” I replied with a grin.

On the top floor of a 30-meter-tall building near Yongsan District, a man in his late twenties with a visibly anxious face sat clicking his mouse and picking at his fingernails.

His monitor was filled with a barrage of headlines:

The man scanned the headlines with dark circles under his eyes before letting out a sigh that seemed to shake the foundations of the building.

“Aish, that crazy bastard…!”

Bang!

A hand, so pale it was almost translucent, slammed down on the desk.

The nameplate that read “Ko Youngmin, Representative of the Hwiryung Guild” bounced violently upward before clattering back down.

“I told him to lie low, to not drag me into this mess, how many times did I have to say it? What the hell gave him the audacity to send contractors into a dungeon owned by the Shinwa Guild…? That crazy bastard…”

Ko Youngmin muttered, tearing at his ponytail with both hands.

“Hah, no. Everything’s been quiet so far, so it should be fine. Besides, we only signed one copy of the contract anyway. And we even used a Sealing Speech Scroll.”

Just then…

Knock, knock, knock.

“Boss, can I come in?” A gruff voice echoed from outside the representative’s office door.

Startled, Ko Youngmin quickly turned off his monitor and called out, “Come in.”

The door to the Guild Leader’s office swung open, and Jo Yongtae, the bald, burly, and gruff-looking Deputy Guild Leader of Hwiryong, swaggered in. He sauntered up to Ko Youngmin and spoke in his gruff voice.

“We have a visitor who specifically requested to see you, Boss. I’ve got him waiting in the lobby for now. What should I do?”

“Me specifically?” Ko Youngmin asked.

“Yes.”

”…It’s not someone from Alliance Headquarters, Cheongyeon Guild, or Hwarang Unit, is it?”

“He’s wearing a mask, so I couldn’t get a good look, but I don’t think so.”

A mixture of relief and annoyance flickered across Ko Youngmin’s face. As if I wasn’t already stressed to the breaking point, now some nobody wants to meet me personally?

The Hwiryong Guild Leader waved his hand dismissively.

“Just let him in.”

“Hey, he says to just let him in.”

Jo Yongtae tapped his magic power earpiece and relayed the message verbatim.

A moment later, Ko Youngmin frowned, a puzzled expression creasing the space between his eyebrows.

“Why?”

“I relayed your message, but the visitor just wants to pass on a single sentence.”

“He just wants to pass on a message?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

It’s probably just some beggar asking for spare change.

Or someone delusional enough to think they can get scouted by the Guild.

Ko Youngmin clicked his tongue in annoyance, his face twisted with irritation.

“He says he has something to say about the Flying Flies.”

The words froze Ko Youngmin solid.

”…Huh?”

“That’s all he said. He claims to have something to say about the Flying Flies.”

Jo Yongtae, seemingly oblivious to the blood draining from Ko Youngmin’s face, chuckled dismissively and continued, “Just spouting nonsense to get attention, as I suspected. I’ll have him thrown out immediately.”

“No, wait! Just a moment!” Ko Youngmin frantically waved his hands, cold sweat already trickling down his spine.

“Send him up.”

“But sir, we haven’t even verified his identity. We can’t just let an unverified outsider into the CEO’s office…”

“Bring him here now!”

“Hey, why are you getting so worked up at me?”

“J-just bring him in, alright?”

“Fine, whatever.”

Jo Yongtae scratched his head and left the CEO’s office.

The moment he was gone, Ko Youngmin bit his lip anxiously.

Flying Flies.

It was a code phrase referring to the Lich Summoning Item, the “Bone Chamber of the Dead Wraith.”

Ko Youngmin couldn’t understand it.

He and Bae Hyeon-su were the only ones who knew about that old “deal.”

Yet, by using the code phrase for the Lich’s Bone Chamber, it was clear this visitor also knew about the “deal.”

Did Bae Hyeon-su confess? No, the information about the deal wasn’t the kind he could have let slip, even under interrogation.

They had even used a special Sealing Speech Scroll as a precaution.

The scroll’s curse couldn’t be broken by any dispel Skill, only by a specific “item.”

Ko Youngmin had managed to calm his nerves thus far, relying solely on the Sealing Speech Scroll.

But who the hell could this be?

“I’ve brought them. Shall I let them in?”

As Ko Youngmin frantically racked his brain, a voice came from outside the door.

“Just the visitor.”

Then—

Creak.

The door opened, and the visitor stepped into the representative’s office.

Ko Youngmin narrowed his eyes.

The visitor’s lower face was concealed by a black mask, leaving only their eyes visible. Only their eyes were exposed.

I’ve seen that face somewhere before.

It wasn’t exactly familiar, but Ko Youngmin was certain he’d seen those eyes somewhere.

The visitor and Ko Youngmin silently stared at each other.

A tense silence stretched between them as they silently assessed each other.

“Haha, welcome! Please, have a seat.”

Ko Youngmin spoke first, rising from his chair with a bright smile. He gestured toward the reception sofa, making sure to deactivate the CCTV cameras in his office as he did so.

“Would you like some tea?”

“No, thank you. I brought my own drink.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. I’m pressed for time and would like to get straight to the point. Please, sit down.”

The blunt command soured Ko Youngmin’s expression. Nevertheless, he sat down across the table from the visitor, a vein throbbing at his temple.

Before Ko Youngmin could say another word, the visitor removed their mask.

“Nice to meet you.”

Standing before the Hwiryong Guild Leader, whose eyes widened as if they might pop out at any moment now that his face was fully revealed, Taejun smiled gently.

“I’m Lee Taejun,” he said.