Chapter 62: The Thin Glass Line

‘That was a close call.’

Gu Sang-min had to hide his inner feelings, though he was nearly breaking into a cold sweat.

He didn’t even know the name of the guild member he was currently holding by the scruff of the neck.

He couldn’t possibly memorize every single low-level guild member.

However, he knew this guy belonged to his Geoshin Guild, and he could guess what he had been trying to do just a moment ago.

Jealousy, envy, and spite — there were always people who harbored such feelings toward those better than themselves.

Sometimes, it even escalated to resentment and hatred.

In his rise to the position of a large guild master, Gu Sang-min had seen guys like this one or two times before.

This man had dared to display such lowly emotions toward the Tae-seong Guild.

If he had just expressed them, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Having met him personally, Gu Sang-min knew that the Tae-seong Guild Master was a truly talented Hunter.

It wouldn’t be difficult for him to crush a nobody like this.

The problem was that this man was wearing the Geoshin Guild’s emblem on his chest.

Geoshin and Tae-seong almost became enemies!

And at such a critical moment, right before purchasing the elixirs!

“I don’t know how trash like you got into my guild. I should probably go beat the person in charge of hiring,” Gu Sang-min growled.

“Ack, g-gah… P-please spare me…”

As Gu Sang-min tightened his grip on the back of Kim Seon-woong’s neck, the man flailed his arms in a desperate attempt to escape.

However, the difference in strength was greater than that between an adult and a small child, so his resistance was futile.

“Tsk. I can’t just kill you right here. This is a dilemma. Should I just take you to a remote mountain and bury you?”

Gu Sang-min seriously considered it.

If the man had been a civilian, he might have ‘handled’ it quietly and used his authority as a large guild master to brush it under the rug.

But this man was a Hunter.

He knew how precious the state considered Hunters, so he couldn’t just make him disappear like that.

*Creek*

Just then, the door to the Tae-seong Guild office opened.

Lee Tae-seong, who had been coming out to retrieve the elixir boxes, saw Gu Sang-min and Kim Seon-woong standing in the hallway.

“…Guild Master Gu?”

They had introduced themselves just yesterday, so he recognized the face.

But why was he here?

“Oh! What a coincidence! I just happened to be visiting our guild branch here, and we run into each other!”

Gu Sang-min wore a bright smile that was a complete 180-degree turn from the expression he had just shown Kim Seon-woong.

He set the man down gently, then forcibly pushed his head down into a bow.

“Haha. It seems this former member of our guild, who has just retired, has something to say to you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I-I’m sorry, Guild Master Tae-seong. I have committed a sin deserving of death…”

“???”

Lee Tae-seong tilted his head in confusion at Kim Seon-woong’s sudden apology.

“Haha. Whether you accept this guy’s apology or not doesn’t matter. We will handle his punishment ourselves, so please don’t let it bother you.”

“????”

***

After calling his subordinates to take Kim Seon-woong away, Gu Sang-min entered the Tae-seong Guild office.

He claimed he was there to buy elixirs and asked for a cup of tea, saying he was thirsty.

“I apologize for the unnecessary disturbance. I will take responsibility for that fellow and keep an eye on him so he doesn’t do anything foolish in the future.”

Gu Sang-min had kicked Kim Seon-woong out of the guild, but he didn’t intend to stop there.

Since he didn’t know what a guy like that might do later, he planned to monitor him for a while.

If he ever dreamed of some pointless revenge…

‘I’ll have to take follow-up measures then.’

Gu Sang-min’s eyes glinted dangerously.

Lee Tae-seong roughly guessed what had happened but decided to let it slide.

‘He was probably targeting me…’

He had seen similar things during his time in the corporate world.

When someone was successful, others would talk behind their back, slander them, and try to drive wedges between people.

He didn’t know exactly what Kim Seon-woong had planned, but it likely fell into that category.

However, Lee Tae-seong didn’t care much.

He hadn’t suffered any damage, and it was another guild’s internal affair.

Most importantly, he could read a firm resolve in Gu Sang-min’s eyes to handle it personally.

“Yes, well. I understand. Anyway, I didn’t expect the Master of the Geoshin Guild to visit our office personally. I was planning to send the elixirs by courier.”

As mass production became possible, the first batch of available stock had increased significantly.

Large guilds no longer needed to scramble over limited quantities, so he hadn’t expected anyone to visit in person like this.

“…Ahem. Was my intention that obvious? Isn’t it good to see each other’s faces often? Hahat.”

Gu Sang-min shrugged, openly admitting he wanted to build a friendly relationship.

Lee Tae-seong didn’t mind.

His first impression hadn’t been bad, and Gu Sang-min was famous for running his guild with a fair and honest hand.

“I think it would be good to see you often as well, Guild Master Gu.”

“Gwahahaha! Exactly! I knew we’d hit it off!”

Gu Sang-min felt glad he had come all this way.

Although a crazy subordinate almost ruined everything, it had worked out well in the end.

*Knock, knock*

Just then, someone knocked on the office door.

As Lee Tae-seong looked on curiously, Manager Song Sang-yeop from the Association entered.

“Guild Master Lee Tae-seong. The results of the Association’s meeting are — Oh, Guild Master Gu is here as well?”

“We happened to meet in the hallway.”

“Is that so? Well, since your offices are on the same floor, I suppose that could happen.”

Gu Sang-min glanced at them and asked, “Should I leave?”

“Hmm… That shouldn’t be necessary. You’ll find out about this eventually anyway.”

“I’ll find out later? Now I’m curious what this is about.”

“Guild Master Lee Tae-seong obtained a Dimensional Barrier Shard during his last mission.”

“!!!?”

Gu Sang-min, who had been maintaining a relaxed smile all day, widened his eyes until they looked like they might tear.

***

The Dimensional Barrier Shard.

It was the item Lee Tae-seong had received as a special reward in his most recent mission.

Since he didn’t know what it was for, he had reached out to ask.

At that time, Song Sang-yeop had looked grave, stating that he couldn’t tell him and needed permission from his superiors.

It seemed the results were finally in.

“What exactly is this thing that everyone is reacting like this?”

Lee Tae-seong asked as he took out the Dimensional Barrier Shard.

To the naked eye, it simply looked like a transparent piece of glass, yet Manager Song Sang-yeop was being so serious and even Gu Sang-min was shocked.

“It is literally a fragment of a dimensional barrier that blocks enemies.”

“Enemies?”

“Yes. To put it simply, monsters.”

“Don’t they only appear in missions?”

“They do not. Are you familiar with the New Zealand Tragedy?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know about it?”

One day, numerous Gates suddenly appeared on the South Island of New Zealand.

Monsters poured out from them, and the South Island was utterly destroyed.

Fortunately, the South Island was mostly known for its beautiful scenery, wildlife, and livestock, with the majority of the population residing on the North Island.

While the loss of life wasn’t catastrophic, it was an event where half of a nation’s territory was occupied by monsters.

Since that incident, the understanding shifted: while monsters usually appeared in missions, they could be seen in reality in very rare, exceptional cases.

Lee Tae-seong nodded.

“I unconsciously only thought of the situation in Korea and assumed monsters didn’t appear in reality. I forgot about New Zealand.”

“There have been several other instances where Gates and monsters appeared. However, because the government controlled the media, they weren’t as well-known as the New Zealand Tragedy.”

The New Zealand incident was impossible to hide because half the country vanished.

As for why monsters appeared in reality, there were all sorts of theories.

Some said it was because Hunters weren’t completing enough missions, others said it was the result of accumulated mission failures, or that it was simply random.

“The theories are diverse, but the government actually knows the truth. It was kept classified to prevent social chaos, but the answer is that the barrier collapsed because it couldn’t be maintained.”

“Is that what happened to New Zealand?”

“Yes. This is top secret, but the Rankers of that country failed their missions consecutively, and the monsters from beyond the barrier invaded.”

“That’s…”

He had no idea such a secret existed behind the Hunter missions.

He couldn’t quite wrap his head around this new information.

Song Sang-yeop seemed to realize this.

“Originally, this is a secret revealed only after one becomes a Ranker. It’s useless for other Hunters to know beforehand, and it only becomes helpful once they reach the Ranker level, where they can obtain Dimensional Barrier Shards from missions. Of course, no one has ever brought back a shard after only twenty missions like you, Guild Master Tae-seong.”

He added that the Association was in an uproar and that such a thing had never happened in history.

“Actually, it’s easier to understand by seeing it once rather than just hearing an explanation. It’s difficult for me since I’m not a Hunter…”

“Let’s go together. Since I’m right here. It’ll be easier for you to understand if you see it yourself, and it’s something you’ll be dealing with in the future anyway,” Gu Sang-min said as he stood up.

“Guild Master Tae-seong, repeat after me: Enter Ranking Mission.”

“Enter Ranking Mission.”

*Ding!*

**[Would you like to participate in the Ranking Mission?]**

The notification was slightly different from what he had seen before.

Lee Tae-seong nodded, and his vision shifted instantly.

***

*Ding!*

**[You have participated in the Ranking Mission.]**

When Lee Tae-seong opened his eyes, he saw a wasteland.

It looked like the Grand Canyon in the United States — no, it was even more desolate than that.

With craters scattered here and there, it felt like looking at another planet, perhaps somewhere like Mars.

Despite the appearance, he had no trouble breathing.

“This is the location where the Ranking Mission takes place,” Gu Sang-min said beside him.

“I suppose we can proceed together like a Party Mission?”

“It’s not exactly like that; rather, each country has one Ranking Mission site. That’s why we always end up here.”

Gu Sang-min strode forward.

Lee Tae-seong followed him, and before long, he saw a translucent glass barrier.

It was a wall that reflected various colors depending on the angle of the sunlight, sometimes looking like a rainbow.

Lee Tae-seong took out the Dimensional Barrier Shard he was still carrying in his pocket.

If this was a shard, then the thing in front of him must be the Dimensional Barrier.

And on the other side was a massive army of monsters.

Their numbers were beyond estimation.

There were things like zombies and goblins that Lee Tae-seong could easily handle, all the way up to powerful-looking creatures like massive giants and draconians.

They were incessantly pounding on the barrier.

It looked as though they were striking with all their might, but the wall did not budge.

“That Dimensional Barrier Shard you obtained allows this barrier to be maintained. And Guild Master Tae-seong, look behind you.”

Gu Sang-min pointed toward the rear.

There stood a small Gate made of white light.

“That is the Gate connected to Korea.

If we fail to maintain the barrier, the monsters will enter that Gate and appear in Korea.”

“!”