Chapter 86

Chapter 86

“Why is this place….”

“If you want to hunt monsters freely, wouldn’t a guild be more suitable?”

It’s true that guilds offer more freedom than the extermination corps.

But guilds are guilds.

Large guilds treated their combat-focused hunters well and used them strictly for battles, but in smaller guilds, hunters often ended up handling other tasks as well.

That’s why Dojae was worried about this guild called Suho, which he’d never even heard of before.

“Even among guilds, freedom varies greatly from one to another. Besides, I’m a member of the Extermination Corps. Is it even possible for me to join a guild?”

Kim Hwan-soo waved his hand dismissively, as if to say not to worry.

Then he made a call somewhere, and soon someone opened the door and entered.

“Did you call for me?”

“Ah, Lieutenant. Tell Jung Hoon-hyun I’ll contact him.”

“Yes, understood.”

After saying that, Kim Hwan-soo sat back down and began his explanation.

“The Suppression Army also runs various businesses. They utilize non-awakened individuals in diverse fields—from supply operations to tourism, healthcare, and welfare. Guilds are no exception. The Suppression Army even operates guilds for dungeon raids.”

“I know that. Guilds like Seorak are under the Suppression Army, right? But this guild called Suho doesn’t have the Suppression Army mark.”

Dojae pointed at the business card as he spoke.

Guilds operated by the Expeditionary Force didn’t have their own guild mark; instead, they used the Expeditionary Force mark.

That’s why even large-scale guilds like Seorak weren’t affiliated with the Hunters’ Association and weren’t included in the guild rankings.

But look at this Guardian Guild business card—they’re proudly displaying their own guild mark, aren’t they?

“It’s because the Suppression Army absorbed a smaller guild that was already there. Don’t look at them that way. They’re not an illegal guild either. They’ll be officially affiliated with the Suppression Army soon enough, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

“And this squad leader will be transferred to Bugilma. It’ll be easier for him to move freely there. His status will change from Extermination Army to civilian. Of course, I’ll inform Jung Hoon-hyun about this squad leader.”

“Thank you. But what exactly am I supposed to do in this guild?”

That was the crucial question.

If I’m free to act as I please anyway, why bother joining the guild?

Unless it was a guild involved in illegal activities, Kim Hwan-soo wouldn’t be able to use it for personal gain either.

Knowing the guild master as Jung Hoon-hyun suggests there might be something to this, but if Kim Hwan-soo were to get involved with such an obscure little guild, wouldn’t it actually be to his disadvantage?

“You don’t have to do anything. If later on, by any chance, this section chief ends up liking this guild, then I’d like to ask you for one favor at that time.”

“Understood. If that happens, then.”

“Alright, you may go now. Believe it or not, this is a pretty busy position.”

Dojae saluted Kim Hwan-soo and exited the Chief of Staff’s office.

Outside, Kim Hwan-soo’s aide glared at Do Jae, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Even though Kim Hwan-soo was the former commander and they knew each other, showing up unannounced like this wasn’t exactly the best move.

Especially now that he was maintaining his status as a member of the punitive expedition force.

“My apologies.”

Do-jae apologized politely and slipped out.

***

“Oh, really? No, I’m the one who should apologize. When are you coming over?”

Do-jae was on the phone.

If anyone had been listening nearby, they would have known the person on the other end was a woman.

“Understood. Of course. Actually, I’m relieved. I’m just grateful you care about me.”

Do-jae was even wearing a bright smile.

Who on earth was he talking to that made him like that?

“Thank you, Eunhee.”

That’s right.

Do-jae’s contact was Eun-hee.

He wanted to pick up his younger brother, Do-young, whom he had entrusted to Eun-hee as soon as he returned to Korea, but due to Kim Soo-kyung’s request, he had no choice but to head straight to the MID headquarters.

It ended up being too late to contact her until today, and as luck would have it, Eun-hee was out of town on a business trip.

So he planned to take him alone, but Eun-hee had moved closer to school and her parents doted on Do-young, so she asked if it would be okay to keep him for a while longer.

For Dojae, it was better for Do-young to stay in a house where adults were always present, and he could visit whenever he had time, so it was actually a good thing.

“Phew. At least I don’t have to worry about Do-young anymore. I should send Eun-hee’s parents a gift.”

Do-jae breathed a sigh of relief and entered a building.

Pab-bat-.

Clunk- clunk-.

An extremely old building.

The fluorescent lights illuminating the stairs flickered, giving off an eerie feeling.

Arriving at the second floor of the two-story building, Dojae opened a shabby door and went inside.

Still, a sign reading ‘Guardian’ was vertically affixed beside the door, as if it were a guild.

“Welcome!”

Rather than feeling pleased by the welcoming greeting, Dojae was utterly dumbfounded.

This wasn’t some neighborhood supermarket; it was a guild run by the Extermination Army, greeting people with “Welcome!”

“Now then… What kind of request have you come to make? We handle everything except what we can’t do, so tell me.”

The man greeting Dojae was Jung Hoon-hyun.

He was a man with quite a thuggish appearance, a slender build, long hair slicked back, wearing a red turtleneck, and sporting a particularly flashy gold watch worn loosely on his wrist.

“Are you Jeong Hoon-hyun?”

“That’s me. Do you know me?”

Do-jae slowly scanned the room.

Mold had grown in patches on the walls, and the space contained several desks.

Further inside, a single room was obscured by drawn blinds, lending it an air of mystery.

“I’m Lee Do-jae. I’ll be staying here with you starting today.”

Do-jae bowed slightly toward Jung Hoon-hyun.

His first impression wasn’t particularly favorable, but they would be seeing each other often from now on.

Instead of returning the greeting, Jung Hoon-hyun kept his hands in his pants pockets, tilted his head slightly, and stared intently at Dojae’s face.

“Ah? So you’re the guest arriving from the Suppression Army headquarters?”

Jung Hoon-hyun had received a call from Kim Hwan-soo’s aide early that morning and had come into work.

Normally, he would have lingered over a late morning drink and barely made it to work, but headquarters had said they were sending someone, so he had come in early.

The aide hadn’t explained who it was and hung up, and since he tended to be openly dismissive, Jeong Hoon-hyun had just shrugged it off.

“Yes, I’m on my way straight from headquarters.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. There’s an empty seat over there. Sit down.”

Jung Hoon-hyun pointed to a roughly organized, old desk.

Seeing Dojae, Jung Hoon-hyun’s enthusiasm, which had risen when he received a direct call from the adjutant, thinking HQ was finally paying attention to his guild, instantly deflated.

He didn’t look particularly big, and he seemed young—it made Jung Hoon-hyun wonder if they’d just sent some random soldier from the expeditionary force.

To Jung Hoon-hyun, a C-rank Hunter, Dojae looked like he was at best a D-rank.

“I’ve got work to do, so don’t bother me. If any guests come, just handle it roughly and say okay.”

Jung Hoon-hyun simply walked back into the room.

Do-jae found Jung Hoon-hyun’s behavior absurd, but he didn’t pay it much mind.

After all, he hadn’t come here to do anything anyway.

“Huh!”

Do-jae blew on the dust piled on the desk, then gave up on sitting down.

The chair was covered in dust too, just like the desk.

So he slowly decided to look around at the other desks.

Besides Dojae’s desk, there was one other empty desk and three more desks. Judging by the belongings piled on them, it meant there were at least three more guild members.

But the other desks were just as dusty, enough to make him cough.

Whoosh.

Dojae threw open every window in the office.

As sunlight poured in, countless dust particles became visible, thick and swirling.

Swoosh- swoosh-.

Do-jae found a worn-out broom with barely any bristles left and began sweeping the floor.

He couldn’t stand being in this dusty pit, guild or no guild.

“Cough, next time. Cough, I’ll wear a mask. Cough, cough.”

Dojae swept the trash clean, vowing to always keep a mask in his pocket.

“Wind.”

As he cast the basic wind spell, a gentle breeze blew in, circled the room once, and escaped out the window.

This provided some ventilation, making breathing considerably easier.

“Aqua.”

Next, he created water to wet the floor.

The mass of water, moving along Dojae’s fingertips, sucked up the remaining dust and grime, instantly turning into a pool of black, filthy water.

“The bathroom’s outside too…”

Dojae went out to the stairs and poured all the filthy water into the bathroom.

Then, using the ‘Aqua’ spell once more, he let the water flow all the way to the end of the stairs. Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction, he stepped back into the office.

“It’s still rough, but much better. I should buy a vacuum cleaner.”

Do-jae finished cleaning by finally removing the chair cushions and shaking them out vigorously outside the window.

He sat down to rest for a moment when he heard several people coming up the stairs.

“Huh? Why are the stairs so clean?”

“How should I know? Guess they called a cleaning service or something.”

“Bullshit, would our boss spend money on something like that?”

There were three voices, and soon they opened the office door and came in.

And at the same time, Dojae couldn’t help but frown.

Because clumps of dirt from the three pairs of shoes had stuck to the once-clean floor in a sticky mess.

“Who the hell is that?”

“Why’s that bastard making that face?”

“You idiot, they could be customers.”

Do-jae realized these were members of the Guardian Guild.

And a sigh escaped him involuntarily.

Even without seeing through the golem’s eyes, each one was so incompetent they couldn’t even hold a candle to the third-year students at Chilgok High.

“Sighing?”

“Me too.”

“What the hell? Hey, buddy. Who are you?”

The guys each loosened up in their own way, threatening Dojae.

Dojae figured he wouldn’t see them often anyway and tried to ignore them, but one of them drew a dagger from his waist.

“Hey, buddy. I asked who you are. You should answer when asked.”

“I’m from headquarters. Put the knife away and talk, okay?”

“Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to know about headquarters? You wanna die?”

“Huh… Where did they find these guys… Why did the boss tell us to join this kind of guild?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Hey, you not gonna back down? Dammit, you wanna die….”

As the guy who drew the dagger raised his opposite arm to strike, Dojae grabbed that arm with a swift pull.

He bent the arm back with one hand, pinning it against his back, while snatching the dagger with his free hand.

“Ow ow ow! Wha… What the fuck!”

“Is that how you hunters fight? A so-called hunter just pulls a sword like that?”

Dojae flung the dagger between the faces of the remaining two.

Thud!

The dagger embedded itself as the cement wall cracked.

Startled, the two looked at each other, then dropped to their knees on the spot.

“Heh heh… We’re sorry…”

“We’re sorry. We didn’t recognize you, Senior!”

Dojae murmured softly to them.

“You three, go to the corner, face the wall, and stand with your hands up.”