Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

Ju Se-ah couldn't respond.

Kang Mu-hyuk, noticing her hesitation, said, "It seems even you didn't know."

"I never even considered that matter. I pay no interest to anything beyond guild and hunting. I only learnt of this fact through you that my existence fueled the succession dispute within the Taesung Group."

Kang Mu-hyuk empathized with her situation.

She was a woman whose life's goal was hunting monsters. The reality of being a chaebol or a group's chairman felt less real to her than a Black Gate opening in the middle of Seoul. Even if such opportunities came her way, she wouldn't give them a second glance.

He explained the current situation again, as if reviewing it, "Chairman Tae Jinsung had already chosen his eldest son, Tae Sucheol, as his successor over 10 years ago. Although the formal succession process had not started, it was a well-known fact in the business community."

"I was aware of that."

"But one day, the chairman suddenly started pushing Tae Sucheol out. It was time to prepare for the succession, but he stopped the process of transferring shares. Moreover, while he appointed him as vice-chairman, giving the impression that he was the representative of the group, ironically, he removed him from major business operations. Officially a vice-chairman, but in reality, it was a ceremonial position without any real power."

"That was indeed strange. But what does that have to do with the guild? Of course, I'm still part of the group, so it's not completely unrelated."

"The timing coincidentally overlaps with when you joined the Taesung Guild."

Ju Se-ah knew this, but hearing it from Kang Mu-hyuk made it sound different, almost as if the offer to become the Guild Master of Taesung Guild by the Chairman was a bait to reel her in.

Kang Mu-hyuk continued, "Afterwards, the chairman didn't stop at merely having you join Taesung Guild. He wanted to bring you into the main company, even going so far as wanting to change your surname to Tae and officially register you in the family registry."

"I refused, though. I didn't want to share the same surname as that man."

Ju Se-ah recalled her biological father, a man who never showed his face even after her mother passed away. He had sent just an attendant to take her in after the funeral, her awakening as a Hunter being the only reason.

The reason that she seemed useful despite everything.

After achieving results in training, he helped her join the Slayer Guild. Only after she had made a mark in several raids and was recognized as a potential S-ranker, did they acknowledge her as the daughter of the Taesung family and introduce her to the world.

'After treating me as if I didn't exist all that time... I really despise him.'

Ju Se-ah sneered.

Pretending not to notice her hurt feelings, Kang Mu-hyuk continued, "Adding family relations to the family register may seem merely ceremonial. But if it's a chaebol's family register, it's a different story."

"How so?"

"As the Guild Master, you become an official candidate for the successor of the Taesung Group. A very strong candidate for that."

Ju Se-ah grimaced, shuddering as if the mere thought made her skin crawl.

"I'm barely managing the guild as it is. If it weren't for you, the guild might have been ruined by now. I've gotten a bit better, but that's only when it comes to the guild. I know nothing about running a business. Even the second son or the eldest daughter of the Taesung family might be a better choice."

Ju Se-ah shrugged as if the idea was out of the question.

Kang Mu-hyuk shook his head.

"It's not that simple. Effectively, Tae Suman, the second son and Tae Sooyoung the eldest daughter were pushed out by Tae Sucheol ten years ago. The chairman is a ruthless person. He does not put the losers back in the ring."

"Still, they would be better off than I have been, living half my life as a Hunter."

"We don't know what's inside the chairman's mind, but something about you must have appealed to him as a successor."

"Doesn't that sound too speculative? Even if I had the qualities of a CEO, it's hard to understand him suddenly discarding a perfectly capable and able eldest son."

At Ju Se-ah's point, Kang Mu-hyuk snapped his fingers.

"Exactly. That's the crux of it. There must have been some conflict that made the chairman look away from his other children. Discovering what that is and how to use it could be the key to your independence."

"Representatives from each media outlet, please board the bus that corresponds to the ticket number you were given. We need to verify your identity, so do not sit in a seat other than the one assigned on your ticket."

Following the guidance of Oh Jung-yeon, the assistant manager of the Iron Will Guild's communications team, over a hundred people hurriedly gathered their belongings.

They were participants in a 1-night 2-day Hunter Village experience event taking place just before the opening of North Pocheon.

Since it was held during the Christmas holiday, there were numerous complaints. However,despite all that, as it was the day the hottest guild in South Korea opened its headquarters, no one opted out.

But, of course, the complaints of the reporters who had to go on assignment couldn't be helped.

"Ah, seriously, why Guild Master Ju? Why? On a day like today, she should let us rest. It would have been better to open at the beginning of the year. The opening date is as peculiar as you are."

Kim Dalpil, a seasoned reporter from the Korea Newspaper's Hunter section, grumbled as he boarded the bus.

"But why did they even ask us to bring cameras? In a special operations zone? Where mana prevents us from taking a single photo."

"Do you know?"

"Still, Mr. Kim, you have some connections with Guild Master Ju since her days in Slayer. You even got an exclusive interview about the local base last time. Haven't you heard anything?"

A fellow photojournalist prodded him, but Kim Dalpil, unusually, hadn't received any tips from Ju Se-ah. Maybe he was more annoyed by that than having to work on a holiday.

"I hate covering special operation zones anyway. The entry procedures are a hassle, and the articles depend entirely on your writing since there are no photos."

"Foreign media get support with special equipment. We're still far behind."

"Advertising rates are different over there. The market for Hunter entertainment is nothing in comparison. It's so bad that there are paparazzi who only shoot famous Hunters. Those paparazzi are even former Hunters themselves. Tch! They should be hunting monsters, not doing this."

Kim Dalpil clicked his tongue in frustration. He had been begging his superiors for gate photography equipment until he was blue in the face, but the cost was astronomical. Plus, they scolded him about where they would get the funds to handle the mana stones.

'Now that I think about it, how did Iron Will film that raid? It's hard even for a C-class guild to manage such equipment. Moreover, it seemed to have higher resolution than foreign equipment. Is it a new model I don't know about?'

The public was always thirsty for Hunter issues. Amidst this, Iron Will's video of the orc tribe raid was like rain in a drought.

The strategy of sweeping away a monster army with water was bold, and the blitzkrieg led by Rider Wolf was as exhilarating as any movie.

It was unclear whether it was intentional, but thanks to that video, Iron Will rose from obscurity to prominence overnight.

Just then, Oh Jung-yeon, who overheard their conversation on passing by, hurriedly called people to attention.

"Sorry! Please, everyone, pay attention here! There's something I forgot to mention! There's a reason we asked you to bring your filming equipment! That's because there are 'anti-mana zones' installed in parts of Hunter Village! Please be mindful of this and refer to the distributed instructions to film within those boundaries!"

The journalists buzzed with reactions to Oh Jung-yeon's announcement; it was completely unexpected information.

"An anti-mana zone? Really? Iron Will is setting up something that pricey?"

"Has any guild in Korea ever installed an anti-mana zone? Isn't that equipment imported from abroad?"

"Only Tier-ed guilds have those."

"And even Tier-ed guilds can't operate it all the time. I heard the maintenance costs are astronomical."

Curiosity replaced the irritation of the officials who had been annoyed by the holiday coverage. People belatedly began to realize that North pocheon was an unknown world to them.

All they knew about North Pocheon was that it was a special operations area and the home base of the Iron Will Guild. They had neither seen nor heard what North pocheon looked like after it had secured its position through two massive war raids.

The journalists, knowing the limits of a C-class guild from long experience, naturally had no expectations. But now, given such a substantial topic from the start, their interest was piqued.

'Guild Master Ju really hit hard from the start. Is it her doing, or the Guild Leader's? Either way, I'm suddenly looking forward to this.'

Kim Dalpil clenched his laptop bag, eager to start writing an article right away.

Mr. Cho grumbled as he answered the phone, annoyed at being woken from a deep sleep. The unwelcome caller was Kang Mu-hyuk.

"Guild Leader Kang, are you out of your mind? Do you know what time it is? You woke me up."

-It's 8. A perfectly reasonable time to be awake.

"Sleeping in on a holiday is practically a national rule."

-It's 8 o'clock. And today isn't a holiday; it's the day before it.

"Ah, shoot. It's still the 24th? I thought I'd wake up on the 26th. I can't even tell if it's night or day with the curtains drawn. Sigh."

-Have you been sleeping for two days?

"Christmas is off-season for singles. I envy bears that hibernate. Even sleeping is a struggle."

-Ah? Mr. Cho, you're single too?

"'Too?' What's that supposed to mean? Making me feel like shit. You're single too. Tch!"

-Enough about being single. Let's talk about work. Could you look into the Taesung Group for me?

"What? Taesung? Why?"

Kang Mu-hyuk briefly explained the conversation he had with Ju Se-ah.

After hearing everything, Mr. Cho responded nonchalantly.

"So, what you're saying is, look into what happened between the chairman and the vice-chairman, the father and son."

-And not just the apparent facts but also what happened behind the scenes.

"Hmm, chaebol secrets are only interesting if they're about secret births. Why else would they be fodder for dramas? A father and son fighting is hardly a story. It's not thrilling, just dull."

-So you think the same too.

"What do you mean? About it being dull?"

-That they fought. Didn't you immediately think that Chairman Tae Jinsung and Vice Chairman Tae Sucheol had a fight after hearing about them?

"If it wasn't a fight while drunk, all human conflicts are essentially the same. Love, money, relationships. If it's a wealthy family, it's usually about money or people. But why would someone with a secure position as the successor take a stand against the chairman? Even to the point of being pushed out of the successor position? That's a bit weird."

Mr. Cho, like a professional spy, pointed out sharply. Kang Mu-hyuk, too, had always been doubtful about this part and couldn't easily answer. So, he had no choice but to fully entrust this to Mr. Cho.

-With your sharp intuition, please take a thorough look and contact me.

"Geez, giving me such a sticky situation at the end of the year. I shouldn't have taken a job at Titan. I went in to avoid Seong Seon-jae and ended up being hooked by you."

-It was my greatest fortune to have met you, Mr. Cho.

"Easy for you to say."

-You can start the investigation from when Guild Master Ju Se-ah joined Slayer.

"That's over 10 years ago, isn't it? I'm not sure if there'll be anything to find due to the time elapsed. I'll give you an estimate after starting the work."

Mr. Cho hung up the phone and checked the time.

"8:10... Even the rich unwind on Christmas Eve. I'm awake now. How about I start by digging into the nightlife of the Taesung family's eldest son?"

Christmas evening.

Despite the holiday nearing its end, the festive mood was still in full swing.

The streets were overflowing with people. The economy, which had been stagnant for decades after the Great War, had been reviving in recent years.

The world was just beginning to recover the vibrancy it had before the era of the Gates.

During the year-end holiday season, Hunters, like everyone else, experienced an off-season. Unless there was an urgent Gate to tackle, they enjoyed wrapping up the year joyfully.

Some Hunters, whose annual earnings were modest, targeted special operation zones that freelancers had left, or sought guild or government-issued quests to fill their empty bank accounts, but most were on break.

However, this year-end felt slightly different. Hunters, who typically would be enjoying leisure activities, were busy checking articles and videos appearing online.

They paused their usual drinking sessions to share opinions about the news from Iron Will's Hunter village, in private settings, at work, and in group chats.

"A special operations zone, really? Since when do special operations zones have restaurants and pensions? It's practically a resort."

"They also buy monster byproducts, right? They only take 10% as a fee, not even as tax. It won't even be included in your income."

"As if? How can it not be counted? Won't the guild report it for taxes?"

"Special operation zones are tax-exempt. They are an exception even in the tax reporting obligations under the Guild Law."

"Look at you, when did you study law?"

"Just look it up online. It's all there. To give more context, previously when we operated in special operation zones, 30% was taken, right?"

"And it was counted as income too."

"Right. Essentially it was double taxation, but since Hunters are classified as high-income earners, they taxed us directly."

"So, it's not like that anymore? Plus, there's no need to go back and forth for byproduct disposal or supplies since everything can be handled in one stop at the Hunter village. Sounds quite profitable, doesn't it?"

"Is it opening tomorrow?"

"Should we pack up and go check it out?"

"It's by reservation. This time it's fully booked, so I've signed up for the next available slot."

"Ah, I should have signed up earlier."

While freelance Hunters were focused on the Hunter village and the fee-related information, the guilds were also focused on the special operation zone itself.

"Who knew they'd utilize special activity zones like that? The remaining ones are Mount Jirir and Kaema Plateau, right?"

"And Sinan."

"That's over a thousand islands, though. Since we'd have to take a boat, that's out of the question."

"Most places are connected by bridges now though."

"It's difficult to plan the routes. It won't even generate the labor costs. What do you think about making the special operations zone our local base?"

"Move after we've just settled? That would make just maintaining the guild itself overwhelming."

"Right, it's a bit much, isn't it? Setting up something like that is a strain for small guilds. Maybe it would be different for at least an A-rank one."

"Why would an A-rank go there? They're already living well."

"Ha, it's really a dilemma, isn't it? It looks appealing, but when you really think about it, there's nothing to gain. Still, you want it but you can't have it since you're afraid of going hungry."

"I really want to crack open Kang Mu-hyuk's head. The way he handled the orc tribe and created Hunter Village is impressive."

"I've heard rumors that it's better not to get entangled with him. They say he's a tough one."

The opinions of the smaller guilds were generally similar.

Staking the fate of a guild on making the special operation zone their base was considered madness.

No matter how desperate, in this case, the consensus was that it was a matter of backing, or rather, a lack thereof.

In this way, during the year-end and New Year's season, all eyes of the Hunters were on North Pocheon.

And finally, December 26 dawned.