###
Recently, the media has been ablaze.
Today, yet another massive controversy.
The scandal surrounding Palan’s alleged rebellion.
<Rank 5 Guild Accused of Betraying the Nation and Humanity!>
<The Major Guild, Palan, in League with Demons.>
<Dungeon Abnormalities—Also Palan’s Doing?>
└ ??? What’s this nonsense?
└ Wow, this is the biggest scandal of the year.
└ My dopamine levels are off the charts.
└ They’ve been killing Awakened? Why would Palan, an Awakened guild, do that?
└ They say they were paid by demons.
└ Even dungeon abnormalities? Who buys into such conspiracy theories?
└ Neutral stance for now.
└ Neutral stance? LOL, evidence is already out. There’s even an insider whistleblower.
Everyone was in chaos.
This wasn’t something to decide lightly.
Of course, Palan quickly retaliated.
“This is nothing but fabricated evidence! Citizens, do not be swayed by the media manipulation of certain groups!”
“Palan wishes to engage in dialogue with the evidence provider. We can explain everything.”
Their real plan was simple: silence the whistleblower.
As long as they could shut their mouth, they’d be fine.
The exposed ledgers?
Just a matter of time—they could spin it as fabricated evidence through media manipulation.
Over the years, Palan had garnered considerable trust through its media influence.
The public was willing to at least listen to their rebuttal.
But soon, the provider of the ledgers emerged.
And Palan shook even more violently.
<Who Provided the Ledgers to the Media? None Other Than the National Intelligence Service!>
<NIS Has Already Conducted Raids….>
<Fabricated Evidence? Verification Already Complete!>
“This is a government-manufactured incident to suppress guild power! How can the NIS produce evidence and then validate it themselves? Even in a dictatorship, investigations aren’t conducted this way!”
It was a valid point.
The government producing and validating its own evidence seemed absurd to many citizens.
But the NIS once again responded flawlessly.
“Citizens, do you remember the murder and arson incident in Nonhyeon-dong about two weeks ago? The ledgers were provided by the culprit, the A-rank villain known as ‘Ghost’. The crime scene was none other than the branch office for assassinations…”
At a press conference, detailed investigative materials from the case were revealed.
Every detail matched perfectly.
The murder victims.
The identity of the head found at the scene.
The half-burned documents in the assassin’s office.
All the information aligned with the ledgers.
“…Therefore, the government plans to focus its investigation on Oh Hyuk-jun, a B-rank mage who is a key figure in these ledgers.”
Game over.
Palan couldn’t refute further and fell into silence.
Korea was in turmoil.
The already intense fear escalated into outright rage directed at Palan.
Outside Palan’s guild headquarters, crowds gathered.
Every window on the first and second floors had already been shattered.
“Palan must take responsibility!”
“Responsibility? They should all be charged with treason!”
“You bastards! My mother died because of the dungeon abnormalities!”
“What about my stocks? I dumped my entire retirement fund into this!”
Some even leaped over the crowd to storm the building—a clear sign they were Awakened.
Dungeon abnormalities and Awakened-targeted assassinations.
No one had suffered more than the Awakened themselves.
The police confronted the enraged crowd.
Palan’s headquarters was a crucial site for the investigation.
Moreover, not everyone in Palan was guilty.
The chaos continued to grow day by day.
Attention soon turned to the central figure in the turmoil.
└ So the A-rank villain ‘Ghost’ knew everything and killed people because of it.
└ Ghost isn’t a villain—they’re a hero.
└ How is a villain more competent than the government?
Some sharp observations emerged among the comments.
└ Wait a second. Didn’t Ghost resolve the World Quest?
└ Oh.
└ Right, they were the only one aware of the situation behind the abnormalities.
└ So Ghost saved half the country.
└ A dark hero, huh? Impressive.
The name “Ghost,” the A-rank villain, became etched into everyone’s minds through this incident.
###
“Chief Choi, right?”
<Hahaha! You’ve done a great service to the country. Here’s a small gift.>
“What gift?”
Pointless nonsense.
What’s the point of a villain gaining fame?
They’ll just continue killing people anyway.
Even Oh Hyuk-jun’s head would soon roll at the hands of Ghost.
“What’s with the name ‘Ghost’? It’s so cringy.”
<Kang Hyun insisted he wouldn’t get caught, but it’s always good to be prepared, just in case.>
With the situation as it was, even if Ghost were captured, there would be room for leniency.
Public sentiment would likely be taken into account during their trial.
“I said I wouldn’t get caught.”
<Then, please continue your efforts for the nation! I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll end the call here!>
Click.
He hung up after saying his piece.
‘It’s a pointless move… but I have to admit, he’s really good at his job.’
It was a direction I hadn’t even considered.
Anyway, I had work to do too.
Without delay, I infiltrated the building.
“【Silence, Blind, and Forget.】”
The loan sharks’ office was shrouded in darkness.
An absolute void.
The loan sharks panicked.
They called for their boss, for their subordinates, even tried screaming—but no sound came out.
A few of them drew weapons.
Some were Awakened.
But before they could act, silent blades sliced through the air, taking heads first.
Swish.
Swish.
This time, I killed them quickly.
No interrogation.
I’d already learned from last time—they were just grunts.
They knew nothing.
But I didn’t hold back.
Even if they were low-level pawns with no knowledge of the demons or the Judgment, even if their sins varied in scale, they were still traitors who killed Awakened.
‘Scum who don’t understand the value of peace.’
The type Kang Hyun despised most after the demons—
those who weakened their own side during a war.
The law and public opinion might argue about the severity of their crimes and punishments.
But why bother?
Killing them all solved the problem.
The boss, clutching his wounded side, cried out from the darkness.
“Please, spare me! I’ll tell you everything! Palan and the demons are behind us!”
“I know.”
My voice, devoid of mercy, made him flinch.
Swish.
I didn’t need his confession anyway.
The ledgers would tell me everything.
I cracked open the safe.
‘Jackpot, gold.’
If I kept this up, it could be lucrative.
Ah, I missed the gold I’d left back home.
I grabbed the ledgers and, just like last time, placed the boss’s head on his desk.
Then, I dispelled the darkness.
“【Burn】”
Fwoosh!
Flames ignited from the head and quickly spread throughout the room.
‘I can still only manage one location a day with my mana.’
Still, my magic had grown stronger, giving me more flexibility.
I could probably handle an E-rank dungeon during the day even after doing this.
‘Things are about to get busy.’
I needed to investigate the abnormal dungeons.
Ransack these branches.
And after Palan cut its losses, I’d have to kill Oh Hyuk-jun too.
Before all that, maybe I should visit my parents tomorrow.
###
Korea’s 23rd-ranked guild, Gwangmyeong.
Its guild master came early in the morning to visit Seonghwa.
“Oh, Team Leader Yoo, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
A meeting between a guild master and a mere support team leader.
But it was the guild master who seemed nervous.
Seonghwa’s reputation had always been prestigious as Korea’s third-ranked guild.
But this was unusual.
Thanks to the current circumstances, Seonghwa’s value had skyrocketed to the point where a guild master was acting subservient.
“We’ve been doing well as always. But what brings you here so early…?”
She had a guess.
At this timing, with Seonghwa.
And a guild master rushing here first thing in the morning?
“Well, haha… about that… The Awakening evaluation service starting tomorrow—could we, Gwangmyeong, get in early somehow? Maybe even today….”
“Sorry, but our schedule is fully booked for the next two weeks.”
“Please, I’m begging you! We have a D-rank dungeon set to go critical tomorrow!”
The guild master bent deeply at the waist.
“Haah…”
She knew this was coming.
Gates overflow in two cases.
When an attempt to clear them fails.
Or when their time limit runs out.
And if a dungeon owned by a guild overflows?
Not because of a failed attempt but sheer negligence?
It’s unacceptable.
In two days, Gwangmyeong would likely collapse.
The guild master would be sent straight to a special prison.
“…How on earth have you been managing this?”
Granted, the abnormal circumstances hadn’t been around for long.
But it was clear that negligence in dungeon management had already existed.
Now the current crisis had compounded it.
“I have no excuses! Please, just once—help us as if you were saving my life!”
Of course, he wasn’t asking empty-handed.
“In return, we’d like to present a small gift to the doctor who developed the evaluation method….”
The “doctor” was Kang Hyun.
Somehow, his title in public had turned into “Doctor”.
The guild master awkwardly chuckled as he handed over a small wooden box.
It was a very intriguing box.
“Is it an elixir?”
Now this changed things.
She’d been waiting for an elixir to give to Kang Hyun.
“Yes! It’s a fresh durability-enhancing elixir, received as a reward just yesterday!”
A pity it wasn’t for mana, but you can never have too many elixirs.
“I’ll call him and check.”
“Thank you!”
“It’s not confirmed yet.”
“Even so, thank you!”
The guild master bowed again, revealing a very broad crown of his head.
He must’ve been under extreme stress.
She called Kang Hyun immediately.
But he didn’t pick up.
‘Busy?’
It wasn’t a dungeon signal tone.
She reached out to his mentor, Mar.
<Don’t freak out, Sister. He’s on vacation. He went to visit his parents.>
“…Vacation?”
“V-Vacation!?”
The guild master’s ears perked up, and he was utterly shocked.
“No way!”
Even Yoo Chae-young was dumbfounded.
He hadn’t even been with the guild for a week.
To her workaholic mindset, this was incomprehensible.
‘Then again, who’s going to stop him?’
He was currently the most valuable person in the guild.
True to his mercenary nature, he acted as freely as he pleased.
“When’s he coming back?”
<That…>
The guild master was already biting his nails.
It seemed he was ready to chase Kang Hyun all the way to his family home.
