Chapter 93: The Conclusion (1)

Chapter 93: The Conclusion (1) Most people who learned about Kim Ki-Rok by watching his videos reached largely the same verdict. He was a cheerful person, someone who knew how to enjoy life to the fullest. While many admired how quickly he built a thriving guild from scratch, what truly stuck with people were his ridiculous antics and sharp humor. Min Gwang-Cheol of the Hunters Association's Awakened Criminal Pursuit Team was no exception. That was why Kim Ki-Rok's behavior frightened him. Seeing how Kim Ki-Rok drove Yoo Il-Sung into complete despair clashed with the easygoing side of him everyone thought they knew. It was hard to reconcile those two different faces. Yoo Il-Sung, leader of the Il-Sung gang, an Awakened syndicate steeped in organized crime, stood trembling. Again and again, he begged to be put to death, his eyes darting from side to side while cold sweat beaded on his forehead. It was both satisfying and unsettling to watch someone as notorious as Yoo Il-Sung crumble like this. Even Min Gwang-Cheol, who'd spent years pursuing Awakened criminals, felt a chill at Kim Ki-Rok's cold demeanor. Lim Tae-Hyun, the NIS agent who joined in subduing Yoo Il-Sung, also froze up briefly. As someone who had fought alongside Kim Ki-Rok, Lim Tae-Hyun felt a sense of camaraderie. But seeing Kim Ki-Rok now, not just as a warrior but as a Guildmaster overseeing an entire group, left him unsettled. If even those tasked with hunting Awakened criminals found him intimidating, it was possible the rank-and-file of DG Guild might be even more shaken. What worried him most was the guild's unusually flexible system for joining and leaving—aside from a few exceptions, members could walk away easily. If their trust in Kim Ki-Rok wavered and many chose to leave, it could seriously disrupt the guild's ability to function moving forward. "Hm?" Min Gwang-Cheol tilted his head in confusion, carefully assessing the mood among the DG Guild members. Huh? They seem unexpectedly calm... "Yeah, uh-huh. We don't have any dead or injured here. How are things on your side?" Yoo Seh-Eun was on her radio, taking reports from her fellow guild members. "Thanks for all your hard work, Ine." Lee Ji-Yeon fed her contracted Elemental some cookies. "How much money is this going to cost...?" Nam Dong-Wook muttered as he looked around the messy conference room. "They all seem calm. They're definitely not hiding any signs of fear." Agent Lim Tae-Hyun observed. Min Gwang-Cheol nodded. "You're right. I thought that they'd be very shocked to see him like this." Not only had Kim Ki-Rok pushed Yoo Il-Sung into the pit of despair, he had practically dug a grave in that pit with his own hands and buried him alive. "Could it be that they already knew that Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok had this side to him?" Agent Lim Tae-Hyun asked. Min Gwang-Cheol could only remain silent in response. Perhaps having overheard their conversation, Nam Dong-Wook walked over to them and asked, "Surprised we're all taking it so calmly, aren't you?" "Well, yes... Are you already familiar with this kind of thing?" He was surprised that these Hunters, whose primary focus should've been clearing Gates, handled the extermination of Awakened criminals with the ease and attitude of seasoned veterans. Suddenly, a certain possibility came to his mind. "Do the Hunters of DG Guild have some experience fighting Awakened criminals?" "To be more precise, we've all gone out hunting for Awakened criminals at the suggestion of our Guildmaster," Nam Dong-Wook explained. "You go out hunting for them?" "Yes, and during those hunts, we often get to see this different side of the Guildmaster." Min Gwang-Cheol paused for a moment, processing the fact that hunting, in this context, meant taking a criminal's life. "Weren't you scared? It's not just the killing. The way Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok 'breaks' a person is downright terrifying." "Ah... that would usually be the case, but..." Usually the case? Did Kim Ki-Rok have some sort of counter-measure? Min Gwang-Cheol often had difficulties recruiting people to his team because normal people felt a strong aversion to killing their own kind. Both he and Agent Lim Tae-Hyun stared at Nam Dong-Wook with avid interest. Perhaps Kim Ki-Rok had devised a method that allowed them to process the act of killing in a way that felt manageable. "Before anyone goes criminal-hunting at the Guildmaster's recommendation, there's a procedure that takes place." "And what procedure is that?" Min Gwang-Cheol asked curiously. "He tells them something..." Nam Dong-Wook gave a vague reply. "You mean... teaching them how to kill?" "Wow, that's grim. No, it's not about teaching you a method of murder. The very first step is..." Nam Dong-Wook paused, then raised his right hand. Forming a fist, he extended his index finger. "First of all, he'll hand you a report." "A report?" "Yes. It's a report that contains the criminal history of the Awakened criminal that you're going to be hunting." Kim Ki-Rok wanted them to fully grasp the gravity of the crimes committed by the person they were about to hunt. Extending his middle finger, he continued, "Second, he'll show them a video." "A video?" "That's right. He'll show you a recorded clip of TV interviews with the victims of crimes committed by Awakened criminals." This step was intended to instill a sense of justified hostility toward Awakened criminals as a whole. "Third is..." Nam Dong-Wook extended his ring finger. "...another video." "How is this different from the second step?" Agent Lim Tae-Hyun chimed in. Nam Dong-Wook gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "That second step focuses on general victim interviews that broadcast stations had to censor for the sake of decency. After that, we show them the raw sorrow and anger of victims who actually suffered under said criminal." Min Gwang-Cheol asked, "And the victims agreed to that?" "Yes, though when we first started hunting Awakened criminals, we were pressed for time, so we would instead meet the victims in person and listen to their stories firsthand." For someone who'd suffered a brutal crime, recalling those horrors would normally be unbearable. But if told, "By sharing this, you can help punish the one who hurt you," the victims would usually take on an entirely different perspective. "In fact, I thought that the victims would refuse to even talk about it at first," Nam Dong-Wook admitted wryly. "But when we told them the reason for it, they came all the way to our guild to personally recount their memories of those times." "For revenge..." Min Gwang-Cheol muttered in a low voice. "That's right. Even if it was only revenge by proxy, all the victims that I've met so far have gladly accepted our Guildmaster's offer. Some have even come to the guild in person to meet the Hunters who managed to kill the pertinent criminals and thank them. Because of this measure, our Hunters have come to share the victims' rage toward these Awakened criminals. So much so, that we've even had to work hard to restrain some of our more passionate friends." It was all clear to Min Gwang-Cheol now. As far as the DG Guild was concerned, all Awakened criminals were scum who deserved to go to hell. "That was why we can take it in stride even when the Guildmaster shows this side of himself," Nam Dong-Wook concluded. *** Although they had cleanly thwarted the Awakened criminals' raid, none of the floors in their headquarters remained unscathed. "Half the building's smashed to bits..." Lee Ji-Yeon sighed. "Well, at least the sixth and seventh floors, used as our living quarters, are sort of intact." Kim Ki-Rok tried to help her see the silver lining as they walked around the seventh floor of the guild building. They immediately ran into a corpse that was leaning against the door to Lee Ji-Yeon's dorm room. She turned and passionately protested, "You call this okay?" Kim Ki-Rok laughed as though he saw no issue at all. "At least there aren't any bodies inside your room, right?" Lee Ji-Yeon was at a loss for words. "Kidding." Quickly moving past the joke, Kim Ki-Rok looked back at the other Hunters who had followed him up and commented, "Well, the whole building is full of corpses, anyway." "Wow. You're able to say such a horrible thing so casually." Yoo Seh-Eun sounded impressed in an entirely different sense. "Blood everywhere, too... inside the building and out. Look over there. One of those Awakened criminals failed to avoid our traps, and his blood is dripping across the floors." "This feels just like a horror movie," mused Kang Seh-Hyuk, who was tagging along behind Kim Ki-Rok. Many others agreed. "That's why we're going to have to renovate the whole place," Kim Ki-Rok reassured them. Sumihara Shina, the Intermediate Water Elementalist, raised her hand to ask, "Shouldn't we move instead?" Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "We can't move over a single raid." "Eeeeh," Sumihara Shina exclaimed. "Even though it's full of dead bodies and blood's dripping from the ceiling...?" "Oh, our sweet Miss Sumihara Shina, who looks far too cute for her age or social status," Kim Ki-Rok teased. "Heehee." She giggled, somewhat embarrassed. "I'll happily relocate the guild if you'll sponsor the cost of moving and building something new, Miss Sumihara Shina." Her laughter died. She lowered her hand and took a step back. Kim Ki-Rok shook his head in disappointment before admitting, "We are currently broke." "But I thought you were rich, Guildmaster?" Jessica Yoo, the blonde beauty and Intermediate Fire Elementalist, spoke up. "We've used it all," Kim Ki-Rok explained. "Really?" "Really. We spent a full seventy percent of our initial funds on constructing the guild headquarters." "What about the remaining thirty?" she inquired. "It was used to supply our crafting Hunters." The guild members looked flustered, having personally benefited from the hard work of those very crafting Hunters. "Seriously?" "Yes, really." "Ummm... then what about the employee salaries?" Jessica asked with some concern. "The sale of the monster corpses and mana stones that you all bring in are enough to pay their salaries. There's even enough for a bonus on top of that." "So we really are flat broke." Jessica's voice was hollow. "Yes, we're out of surplus funds. It's true that we'll get some bounty money for the Awakened criminals we took down, and we'll also receive compensation for defending the Gate. But..." "But?" "It won't be enough to relocate." "So our only choice is to remodel?" "Yes." "Because we have no money?" "None at all." "Haaaah!" With a heavy sigh, she looked around the hall, still littered with corpses and splattered with blood, and finally gave a resigned nod. "Well, anyway, the guild will begin remodeling starting tomorrow. Which means... I'm giving you all a vacation." Vacation? The guild members lifted their heads to look at Kim Ki-Rok. "Based on the damage I've seen so far, remodeling will last for... about a month. So that's thirty days..." Kim Ki-Rok paused, staring up at the ceiling in thought, then made a bold decision. "I'll be giving you all a vacation until the first of February, next year." The guild members all cheered, "Whoa!" A real vacation. They were finally getting a proper vacation. "Well, you've had it tough since the beginning of this month, so you really do deserve it," Kim Ki-Rok said with a sympathetic nod. They had endured relentless Gate raids, followed by that defense battle, and now today's clash with invading Awakened criminals. They had fought, again and again, with no time to recover. The mental toll was undeniable. As the guild members began thinking about how to spend their sudden and unexpected break, Sumihara Shina quietly raised her hand again. "Yes, Sumihara Shina? Our guild's adorable mascot has something to say?" She gave a slight pout. "That flattery's a little too obvious, Guildmaster." Kim Ki-Rok corrected himself, "Yes, Miss Sumihara Shina?" "And now it's too curt." "Alright, so what exactly did you want to ask...?" Shoulders slumping in disappointment at how abruptly he had ended their little skit, she got to the point. "What about Ji-Hee?" "Ji-Hee?" "That's right. Ji-Hee lives upstairs with you, doesn't she, Guildmaster?" "Ah, so you were asking where Ji-Hee will be staying during the renovation?" "Yes!" "I'm thinking of taking her on a trip." She let out a gasp at the unexpected response, then asked, "Are you going somewhere within the country?" "Nope." "Ah, so you're taking her overseas then?" "Nope," he flatly repeated. Since it wasn't anywhere in the country and wasn't overseas either, then where could they possibly be going? As the others looked on in confused curiosity, Lee Ji-Yeon suddenly asked, realization and disbelief crossing her face, "You're taking her into a Gate?!" In response, Kim Ki-Rok gave her a thumbs-up, confirming her guess. It seemed he really was planning to take Kim Ji-Hee to a completely different dimension.