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

The unknown Hunters glanced back and forth between Lee Sookyoung and Seo Suji's party.

Eliminating the target was crucial, but they couldn’t leave witnesses behind. Their murderous aura gradually became evident. In the tense atmosphere, Seo Suji had only one thought:

‘We’re screwed.’

Conflicts among Hunters were so common that there was nothing strange about dozens of disputes in a single hunting ground each day. Bloodshed was frequent, and it wasn’t unusual for people to die.

If the body was fed to monsters, erasing all evidence, it created the perfect crime. However, witnesses changed everything. If a report was filed with the Hunter Investigation Agency, the perpetrator would be sent straight to Ujunjdo.

Even if they managed to escape, they would be hunted by investigators or bounty Hunters looking for a reward. So it was obvious what they would do with witnesses to the murder.

‘Why did she have to act like she knew us? It makes us look like we’re on her side. Not that they’d let us go even if we weren’t. Ugh~ I hate everything about her.’

As Seo Suji’s mind wandered, one of the attackers targeting Lee Sookyoung lunged at her. The Hunter swung his sword aiming for her neck. Seo Suji anticipated the attack, but she was off guard at the time, making it impossible for her to react in time.

Fortunately, Yu Taejin was prepared. He intercepted the attack, deflecting the sword with his own. Then, with a swift front kick, he struck the assailant in his stomach, pushing him away.

Another Hunter took advantage of the chaos and swung a weapon at Yu Taejin, but this time Lee Cheoljin blocked it with his shield.

The Hunter that followed was forced to dodge an arrow shot by Seo Suji, who quickly regained her composure, causing him to lose his timing and fall back.

"Everyone, on alert! I don’t know who these guys are, but they’re not gonna talk things out,"

Yu Taejin shouted this to his team as the enemy Hunters formed ranks and began putting on pressure on them with their attacks.

Six of them in total.

One was assigned to the North Korean woman, while the remaining five advanced towards Seo Suji’s group. They had longswords or daggers, no shields, and their armor was light. None of them were tanks; they were all damage dealers.

No magic users or ranged attackers like archers were visible. Although some mages disguised themselves as damage dealers, from their quick movements, they looked like specialists in close combat.

When a party has only damage dealers, their objectives are usually specific; assassination, ambush, or pursuit.

Such an inefficient composition of members is unsustainable even for hunting low-level monsters. So, their target was likely a person, not monsters. These Hunters specialized in killing people.

Yu Taejin bit the inside of his cheek.

‘If we’re unlucky today, someone might die. No, we might all be killed.’

As if signaled by his ominous thought, his enemies made their move.

‘Damn it, I thought this year, my bad luck would leave me alone.’

The battle began with Lee Cheoljin at the front. One Hunter engaged him to keep him occupied as he was the tank, while three rushed at Yu Taejin. One more targeted Seo Suji, who was preparing her next arrow from the rear.

"Who said you could get close to me?!"

Seo Suji yelled as she fixed an arrow and used her ‘Backdash’ skill to slide away, increasing the distance. The approaching Hunter's sword slashed through the air where she had been, and she released her arrow using that window of chance. Unfortunately, the enemy was ready for a counterattack and ducked to avoid the arrow, continuing his charge.

"Suji!"

Lee Cheoljin turned to assist her, but the Hunter he was fighting persistently targeted his vital points. Even though Lee Cheoljin deflected the attacks with his shield, he was effectively pinned down.

Compared to the others who were fighting others one-on-one, Yu Taejin’s situation was much worse. With three Hunters of a similar rank as him attacking him at once, Yu Taejin was lucky his head wasn’t already rolling on the ground.

‘These guys are skilled. This isn’t how you move when fighting monsters. They’re after people.’

It goes without saying that hunting monsters and hunting Hunters were completely different tasks. Hunters who had never fought other Hunters often didn’t realize this. Treating a Hunter like a monster could get you killed in a blink of an eye.

Yu Taejin, with his extensive experience, had encountered plenty of blade clashes with other Hunters and understood the difference well.

‘Damn it! Of all things, I’m stuck with double daggers... And they’re all wielding longswords. They’re not letting their guard down and are countering me perfectly. Ugh! I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.’

His body was accumulating wounds. Though he narrowly avoided fatal injuries, his blood-soaked body was steadily losing strength. The moment his steps faltered from fatigue would be his ticket to the afterlife. He resisted fiercely, rolling on the ground to evade attacks.

‘Taejin won’t last much longer. He doesn’t even have time to drink a potion. And the guy on me isn’t even trying to fight seriously, just poking at me. Even when I deliberately show openings, he doesn’t take the bait. They’re waiting for Taejin to fall. Damn it! We’ll be done for at this rate.’

Lee Cheoljin grew increasingly anxious seeing Yu Taejin in danger. A path to certain death was unfolding. He decided to take a risky gamble.

“Come at me, you bastard!”

He shouted, abandoning his shield and charging unguarded. Despite the perfect opportunity to land a fatal blow, the Hunter assigned to Lee Cheoljin dodged to the side like a matador, strictly adhering to his role.

It was Lee Cheoljin’s gambit. He didn’t stop his charge. Realizing Lee Cheoljin’s intention, the Hunter shouted a warning.

“Hey! Watch out!”

The Hunter who had been attacking Lee Sookyoung had his back turned towards Lee Cheoljin. Lee Cheoljin threw his sword. The Hunter turned his head at the last moment, but too late to react; the sword lodged into his spine.

“Argh!”

Though the wound wasn’t deep enough to be fatal, Lee Sookyoung wouldn’t miss the chance.

“Die!”

A blue-glowing dagger shot from Lee Sookyoung’s hand, piercing the Hunter’s neck.

“Huff, huff... Comrade, I’ll repay this debt.”

“Forget the debt. Get over here and help us even the numbers,” Lee Cheoljin said as he pulled his sword from the dead Hunter’s back.

“Ugh!”

“Aaargh—”

Yu Taejin and Seo Suji’s screams rang out simultaneously.

Lee Cheoljin quickly assessed the situation.

“Damn it, two and two...”

Just as Lee Cheoljin had guessed, the enemy had swiftly shifted one of the Hunters attacking Yu Taejin to Seo Suji.

Seo Suji lay on the ground, bleeding from both legs, while Yu Taejin was unconscious, bleeding profusely.

“This is a real pain.”

The Hunter who stabbed Yu Taejin in the side wiped sweat from his forehead and grimaced. He gestured towards Yu Taejin with his chin.

“Finish him.”

“W-wait!”

Seeing the Hunters raise their swords, Lee Cheoljin shouted desperately. But his cry was in vain.

‘No.’

He lunged towards his comrades, but he was too far, and his body felt heavy.

Just then, a command came from somewhere.

“Freeze.”

It was a soft voice, but everyone stopped as if spellbound.

“Wh-what the hell…fuck?! Why can’t I move…?”

“I can’t move. Urgh!”

The Hunters froze in place, their swords still raised to strike Seo Suji and Yu Taejin. Lee Cheoljin and Lee Sookyoung were also immobilized.

Thud!

A woman in a black coat landed among them. Lee Cheoljin recognized the armor coat she was wearing.

‘Iron Will!!’

A wave of relief washed over him.

For someone to subdue all these Hunters effortlessly meant she was overwhelmingly powerful. He was reassured that no more blood would be shed.

“P-please help us. They attacked us first. We need to treat our party members─”

“Later.”

“What?”

The woman didn’t even look at Lee Cheoljin, her gaze fixed on the bushes.

“Deal with that hideous thing first.”

The bushes rustled in the direction she pointed.

“Well, well? Isn’t this the little kid from before? Are you from Iron Will?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

Pushing through the bushes came Park Beomil of the White Tiger Guild, who caused a commotion at the community center earlier.

Goo Eul-ji disliked his nonchalant attitude with his hands casually shoved into his pockets.

The Hunters were on edge at the sudden appearance of new people.

The woman who came down from the sky and immobilized them all, and the man who came so close without them noticing—neither seemed like Hunters who’d be out in such a remote place.

In the midst of the strange situation, Park Beomil spoke.

“We can’t have met by chance in the forest out of the blue. Did you follow me?”

“Follow you? We were just keeping an eye on a troublemaker. Our team leader Mr. Pyo thought you might cause some trouble. We were just going to observe, but we couldn’t let things slide because of what you were about to do.”

“What was I about to do?”

“You were about to kill everyone just now. Your mana was practically oozing out.”

The Hunters’ eyes widened. What did he just say? Kill everyone? Who? Could he mean all of us? Questions swirled in their minds, but they dared not interrupt the conversation.

Park Beomil grinned, showing his teeth, but his eyes remained cold. It was a chilling expression that Go Eul-ji was familiar with.

‘That’s not the face of someone who’s only killed once or twice.’

Facing Park Beomil’s murderous glare, Goo Eul-ji stared back, her expression equally intense.

“Hey, mister, don’t smile like that. It makes me want to beat you up.”

“Why is everyone in your guild so damn rude? Is it because they all take after your Guild Master? No manners.”

“Oh, do you not remember the scene you made earlier, Mr. Polite?”

“What?”

Park Beomil's molars jutted out like fangs, and his red gums were tearing. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing grew rough.

“Party leader, stop!”

Just then, Go Taeseob, who just followed up with them, stopped .

“Don’t stop me. I have to get rid of them anyway. I might get rid of you too.”

“Calm down. She is a member of Iron Will. If, as she says, she was ordered to keep an eye on you from above, killing them here could escalate the issue. This could turn into a guild-wide conflict, not just a personal matter.”

“Guild?”

“Yes, so please hold back.”

As his voice became calmer, Park Beomil asked again, “If I mess with her, do you think Ju Se-ah will get involved?”

“She might… no, let's not go down that path. You can’t stir up trouble and pick a fight with Guild Master Ju. I’ll report this to the Guild Master.”

“Tch!”

Park Beomil's aggression subsided. He glanced around at the Hunters restrained by Go Eul-ji and then sent a message to Go Taeseob.

「Then, what about them?」

Go Taeseob pondered the situation. They needed to get rid of them, but they couldn’t do it in front of an Iron Will member. Letting them go was also not an option.

‘No matter how much the client wants this done, it’s risky to go ahead while also dealing with an Iron Will Hunter. Given Ju Se-ah's personality, it could lead to an all-out war. The party captain might enjoy that, but our best move is to retreat and look for another opportunity.’

Go Tae-seob assessed the situation and made his decision. His judgment ability was why the guild master paired him with Park Beomil.

「Let’s just take the clients and leave.」

Park Beomil nodded and selected the Hunters who had targeted Lee Sookyoung.

“You, you, you, and you. Ah, almost forgot—bring that dead guy too. How about we call it even like this?”

Goo Eul-ji shook her head at his proposal.

“This is our turf. Anyone causing trouble here is our responsibility. Don’t think you can just gloss over this.”

“You little brat, you’re quite stubborn. Do you even have an ID? Acting like a schoolkid.”

“You’re seriously asking a Hunter about their age? Don’t act like an amateur, old man.”

“Taeseob, can’t I just teach her a lesson?”

“No, you can’t. Hey, Iron Will member. Let’s keep this simple. We’re not taking everyone, just the ones we came for. Don’t push our leader’s buttons; back off. We’ve also compromised.”

“Compromise? You’re really annoying,”

Go Eul-ji clicked her tongue in frustration. Go Taeseob sensed something was off about her confidence.

‘She seems to know our leader. Facing an A+ ranker and not showing any fear? Do they have another force nearby?’

While Go Taeseob wondered about the situation, Park Beomil specifically assessed her abilities.

‘This kid... Her rank is definitely below mine, but I didn’t sense her at all. She must have been tailing us from beyond my detection range. Her method of attack, flying down from the sky... Is she a mage?’

His guess was off, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. Go Eul-ji's displayed abilities resembled those of a mage. Moreover, telekinetics were extremely rare. There were but a few telekinetics in Korea who could take down an A+ rank for even a bit, and Go Eul-ji wasn’t a known telekinetic to him.

As the tense standoff continued, Go Taeseob pressured them more.

"What are you going to do if we’re annoying, huh?" he said, as mana began to rise from his body.

Goo Eul-ji clicked her tongue again.

"It pisses me off that you think you can take me out anytime."

With that, Go Eul-ji soared into the sky, and the Hunters she restrained followed her into the air. Seeing her control multiple targets without even preparing a spell, Park Beomil finally realized her identity.

“Telekinesis!”

Park Beomil quickly picked up Lee Cheoljin's shield from the ground and infused it with mana. The shield, now sharper than any sword, flew towards Go Eul-ji.

"I told you not to kill her!"

Go Taeseob tried to stop him, but it was too late.

The edge of the shield, augmented with Swift Throw skills, aimed straight for Go Eul-ji. She pulled a dagger from her chest. The dagger was shaped like a hairpin with elaborate decorations, looking more like an ornament than a weapon.

Go Eul-ji used her telekinesis to braid her long hair into a single strand, then pinned it with the hairpin. The hairpin glowed with a soft golden light, and her eyes matched the glow.

【Tenfold Shackles】

With a gesture, she summoned ten layers of barriers. Instead of simply stacking ten barriers, it was a high-level skill that involved wrapping ten transparent chains around the shield, binding it.

Tick, tick. Crack!

‘I poured a ridiculous amount of mana into it. Is it because of the rank difference? The chains are breaking one by one. Can I hold out?’

Go Eul-ji continued to ascend, not so much to evade the attack but to escape any follow-up strikes. Her judgment was correct.

The shield reached its limit after breaking the tenth chain. It followed her at a snail's pace, eventually getting blocked by the barrier and falling to the ground.

“Damn it, if I had known she was a telekinetic, I would’ve taken her out immediately. That ability is really sneaky,”

Park Beomil gritted his teeth. Go Taeseob, gazing up at the now distant Go Eul-ji, spoke with admiration.

“Telekinesis is so versatile. If they mess with you like that, there’s nothing you can do unless you’re a mage.”

“I went easy on her. I should have used a more powerful skill. Tsk!”

“Still, I’m surprised she managed to block your attack while carrying all nine of them. And she doesn’t seem to be A+ ranker,”

Go Taeseob made this remark, watching as Go Eul-ji completely exited the scene. Park Beomil scratched his head in frustration.

“So, this mission… it’s a bust?”

“Yes. We underestimated Iron Will. Didn’t expect them to have someone that powerful. Do you think we’ll get in less trouble if we report this information to the Guild Master?”

“That guy? No way.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Let’s get out of here. If we stay in North Pocheon any longer, we might run into someone annoying.”

Park Beomil thought of Jang Deuk-goo and frowned.

‘Is today some special day? Why is it one piece of bad news after another?’

After calming Tae Suman and informing the guild cooperation agency about the incidents in the Demonic Realm came the report from Mr. Cho

Plus, that report included quite an unpleasant figure.

• Guild Leader Kang, are you listening?

“Ah, yes. Sorry, I was distracted. I just didn’t expect this person.”

• That’s not surprising. Kim Myung-jun and White Tiger Guild are both sons of bitches. Especially White Tiger Guild, with all the bad rumors. If not for their achievements as a Tier guild, they’d be considered a villain group.

“From what I’ve heard, it seems Kim Myung-jun acted as a broker connecting Tae Sucheol with White Tiger Guild, even if we don’t know the exact details of their deals.”

• That guy sticks his nose everywhere. Does he think he’s some kind of secret organization mastermind?

‘He is one.’

A cleaner for the Slayer Guild and an ambitious spy for the Japanese Guild Association Alliance. There was no way someone connected to the Taesung Group didn’t have anything to do with Ju Se-ah.

‘Could it be that what Kim Myung-jun did through Tae Sucheol is the reason Chairman Tae Jinsung wants to disown his eldest son? Hm, that’s a bit odd.’

Kim Myung-jun wasn’t only connected to Tae Sucheol but also Tae Jinsung. Mr. Jeong, the chairman’s escort, was under Kim Myung-jun’s command.

Mr. Jeong, an A-rank Hunter, was thoroughly beaten by Ju Se-ah when he hit Kim Myung-jun but was still high-caliber protection for the chairman and managed Tae Sucheol’s affairs. Something didn’t add up.

“I request additional investigation into Kim Myung-jun and White Tiger Guild.”

• Seriously, now you want to dig into a Tier guild? Do you know what kind of people White Tiger Guild are? If you meet the Slayer Guild, you just say fck and tell them you’ve had one of those days and they let you go, but with White Tiger, you’ll get exhausted cursing fcking m##$%#%$ little piece of sh***^@@ and still not be done.

“There's no need to infiltrate them. Just get as close as you can without being detected.”

• Come on, you know I don't do things halfway.

At that moment,

Bang!

“Guild Leader Kang, we’ve got a major problem! It’s a murder case!”

The door burst open as if it were about to break, and Go Eul-ji entered. Behind her were nine Hunters, bound up like cocoons. Among them, three were faces Kang Mu-hyuk recognized.

Before Kang Muhyuk could fully grasp the situation, Mr. Cho’s voice came from the receiver.

• That voice that sounds like it just ate a train. Go Eul-ji, right? Still a troublemaker? Just hearing her voice annoys me. Anyway, request received. I’ll get back to you later, Guild Leader Kang.

Kang Mu-hyuk carefully placed the receiver down and spoke gravely.

“Phew... Go Eul-ji. No matter how much trouble you’ve caused till now, you should not have resorted to murder.”