As the creaky iron gate swung open, two individuals installing the last shield trap in the area came into view. They were sweating profusely but diligently infusing mana into the trap. Despite it being the weekend and the sun already setting, their faces bore no trace of complaint. Yoon Seo approached these fools who worked so hard on something unprofitable.
"Ah? Oppa, I told you to rest."
"I just want to finish quickly so I can go home and watch my drama."
Yoon Seo placed his hand on the trap.
[The
[
His eyes glowed a bright blue. Among Yoon Seo's skills, some caused his eyes to emit a blue light when activated, and
"Wow…."
"As expected, Yoon Seo, the ace of our guild."
They were repeatedly amazed at the scale, which enveloped the entire shantytown in an instant.
Although the contracted grade with the government was B-rank defense, the shantytown now had an S-rank shield trap. If, in the event of an incident, the shantytown remained intact while the tall buildings across the road suffered damage, suspicions might arise….
'No way something like that will happen.'
Yoon Seo had done this several times over the past decade without ever being caught.
"This is a unique skill, right? What kind of skill is it?"
"It's just a shield-generation skill."
"As expected of a hunter hiding their true power…. A B-rank hunter with an exclusive shield skill and abundant mana. Where on earth did our guild master find such talent? Yoon Seo, you're not secretly earning a few hundred billion won in salary, are you?"
"Regrettably, no. But speaking of salaries, Team Leader, yours must be-"
"There you go, trying to change the subject to me again. That trick won't work anymore."
"...."
"Heewon, if anyone picks a fight with us at the merger ceremony, let's show them Yoon Seo's incredible shield skill."
"Good idea! With Yoon Seo oppa and Soobin oppa, we can stand tall at the merger ceremony. No one will dare look down on us."
"Exactly. Let's just stick close to Yoon Seo."
"What about my opinion?"
"Exactly, stay glued to us."
"My opinion?"
Yoon Seo's words were thoroughly ignored. Despite a physical age difference of twenty years, Park Youngbum and Goh Heewon seemed to share a similar mental age.
***
Seoul, Gangnam District – Seokyoung Guild Master's Office. In the chill air that belied the summer season, a man working with a serious expression raised his head. The reason for the wrinkles forming on his pale brow was the sound of unrestrained footsteps approaching. There was only one person who would dare approach the Seokyoung Guild Master's office so boldly.
As Yoo Juncheol removed his glasses, the door suddenly swung open, revealing the man he had expected.
A young man in his early twenties with broad shoulders, a sturdy build, jet-black hair, gray eyes, and piercings in both ears. S-rank hunter Kwon Jihan. Despite his undeniably handsome features, his crooked smirk, sharp eyes, and casual demeanor exuded a fierce and rebellious air.
"You've finished choosing the guilds for the merger, right?"
Kwon Jihan strolled in like it was his own living room, casually crossing his legs as he sat on the leather sofa.
"Can we at least start with a greeting? It's been a month since we last saw each other."
"Just give me the list."
A 22-year-old brat casually gestured with his chin, speaking informally to the leader of the world's number-one guild, someone even the president had to defer to. Yoo Juncheol's already pale complexion turned even whiter.
Well, this kid had always been like this, even before the Great Cataclysm. As a child, he was so brazen he'd argue with gangsters, saying whatever came to mind, whether appropriate or not, and ended up getting beaten up frequently. No matter how many times he was told to temper his attitude, he never did. Had he not awakened, he probably would've been beaten to death by local thugs.
Yoo Juncheol briefly rubbed his forehead, then tossed the tablet he had been reviewing before the brat could wreak havoc in his office.
"Here, take a good look."
Kwon Jihan caught it effortlessly.
"Let's see. Where is Seo Chaeyoon hiding?"
Grinning devilishly, he reached out to touch the screen. His expression was that of a little demon.
Yoo Juncheol sighed, stood up, and sat across from Kwon Jihan.
"Look at it together."
"Such a hassle."
"I'm the one who investigated all of it, you brat."
With a flick of his finger, Kwon Jihan projected the tablet's screen into a 3D display between them. What was once thought possible only in movies was now a reality, thanks to dungeon byproducts and the advancement of human technology.
The two began reviewing the list together.
1. Park Kang (29 years old/180cm/80kg)
Rank: A
Hunter Name: Amhyang
Affiliation: Muhyang
2. Lee Jungin (28 years old/176cm/66kg)
Rank: B
Hunter Name: Paige
Affiliation: Sejung
3. Hwashim (28 years old/190cm/89kg)
Rank: C
Hunter Name: Hwashim
Affiliation: Hwashim
4. Yoon Seo (29 years old/175cm/60kg)
Rank: B
Hunter Name: None
Affiliation: The Guild of Leaves
5. Hong Euiyoon (27 years old/178cm/65kg)
Rank: A
Hunter Name: Hellfire
Affiliation: Endfire
6. Kim Jinhae (27 years old/172cm/60kg)
Rank: C
Hunter Name: None
Affiliation: The Perishers
7. Namgung Simhae (29 years old/189cm/82kg)
Rank: A
Hunter Name: Deep Blue
Affiliation: Deep Blue
"Seven candidates in total?"
"After narrowing it down, this is all that's left."
"That's still quite a lot."
"We started with over a hundred. Getting it down to this took some work."
For reasons unknown, Seokyoung Guild had been desperately searching for Seo Chaeyoon since two years ago.
At first, they enlisted hunters with search-related skills. However, no matter how Seo Chaeyoon defended himself, even S-rank skills failed to detect him. Next, they tried using items. To this end, Seokyoung sent numerous raid teams into S-rank dungeons and managed to obtain S-rank search items after much struggle. Yet even those failed to locate Seo Chaeyoon.
Finally, Yoo Juncheol came up with the last resort: brute force.
He formed a search team and compiled a list of candidates using the only known information about Seo Chaeyoon, his active age, "late teens." Over a hundred male hunters aged 27, 28, or 29 matched this criterion. Those with solid alibis during Seo Chaeyoon's active period were excluded, but with most pre-apocalypse records lost, thirty candidates remained. Further analysis using big data excluded those whose personalities significantly deviated from Seo Chaeyoon's profile, leaving twelve candidates.
The search team then shadowed the twelve candidates. They infiltrated the guilds these candidates were affiliated with or moved into neighboring homes if the candidates were in one-person guilds. After a year of investigation, only those who demonstrated abilities beyond their registered rank remained—these seven.
"Whittling it down to this was tough. We have to find him, but between La Bijina and our guild being the only one with knowledge of Seo Chaeyoon, the secrecy contracts make it impossible for anyone to say anything. And to top it off, why does the world's number-one guild have to suffer like this? Why isn't there a guild stronger than us to deal with this instead?"
Yoo Juncheol lamented, but Kwon Jihan barely listened, engrossed in examining the photos.
"Why bother listing height and weight?"
"Ten years ago, analysis of Seo Chaeyoon's footage estimated him at about 175cm and 58kg. It's just for reference."
"How is that useful? With all the disguise items and skills out there? Even I have one."
Kwon Jihan responded indifferently. His face was well-known, so he often used disguise items to change his appearance when roaming outside, though his body shape remained unchanged. In contrast, some hunters always appeared taller when active, making the public believe that was their true height.
Yoo Juncheol clicked his tongue as if facing a clueless child.
"Here's another generational gap. Ten years ago, there weren't any disguise items, skills, or signal jammers. We barely managed to cover our faces with handmade masks. Sometimes those would break during battles, so we even wore big masks underneath them."
"Wow, I thought that kind of stuff only happened in the Joseon era. How did you live like that?"
"You don't know how lucky you are. Back then, we didn't even have inventories, so we had to carry everything in bags. There were no mounts in dungeons, so we ran everywhere on foot. Without detection skills, we had to give our all just to deal with tiny monsters… Are you even listening to me?"
"No."
Yoo Juncheol stopped speaking when he saw Kwon Jihan digging into his ear with his finger.
Only ten years ago, everyone thought the world was ending. But with the rapid advancement of human civilization based on the Gaia System, that time now felt like it was a century ago. For Kwon Jihan, who had only been ten years old back then, it was all just boring stories.
"Kids these days."
"How did you figure out their ages? What if they lied on their system profiles?"
"Fortunately, we got just the right item for that."
Yoo Juncheol took something out of his inventory. It looked like a pair of rimless glasses. It was an item Kwon Jihan had obtained from an S-rank dungeon last year.
['How Many Years Apart Are We?'
Rank: C
A fresh and exclusive product prepared just for you by the Gaia System. If you're curious about someone's age, wear these glasses to find out.
(System Notification) All 10/10 uses have been consumed.]
"It's a low-rank item, but the description includes 'prepared just for you.' That means it's a one-of-a-kind unique item. Plus, 'fresh and exclusive' implies Seo Chaeyoon won't have any defense against it. It came out just in time for us to use."
"No wonder you lit up when you saw this thing."
Kwon Jihan recalled it too. While reporting on dungeon loot, he'd tossed the item aside, only for Yoo Juncheol to charge at him with bloodshot eyes. Even though it was a C-rank item and seemingly unnecessary, Yoo Juncheol had used it for tracking down Seo Chaeyoon.
"You got good use out of it. Want me to give it back?"
"Throw it away."
Yoo Juncheol smirked and clenched his hand. The glasses crumbled into pieces. Having used up all its charges, it was no longer needed. Besides, Yoo Juncheol already had a favorite pair of glasses.
Kwon Jihan skimmed through the list again.
"Judging by body type on their profiles, Lee Jungin and Yoon Seo seem the most likely. Skill-wise, it's the four with offensive abilities. Who do you think is the most probable candidate?"
Yoo Juncheol pointed to one name. The man in the photo had black curly hair and blazing red eyes. Even from just the picture, his stoic personality was evident.
"Hwashim. Officially registered as a B-rank supporter, but our hunters confirmed he has fire-based skills. He doesn't talk much. He appeared exactly one month after Seo Chaeyoon disappeared."
"Fire, huh? That's promising."
"Hong Euiyoon is another key suspect. He possesses both electric and fire attributes and has high attack power. He cleared a B-rank dungeon solo, making him a top-tier A-rank hunter. His personality is a bit hot-tempered, which differs from what we know of Seo Chaeyoon, but it's been ten years. People can change. Plus, his personality wasn't filtered out by big data."
"Electric and fire. Sounds exciting."
Kwon Jihan whistled.
"And the next candidate?"