Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Episode 10. The Guild of Heaven’s Will (2)
“Anyway.”
People on that floor started staring me as soon as I left the elevator.
I turned my head and looked at them.
The fifth floor was a multi-purpose room, and it was usually a venue for discussions.
About half of the faces were familiar, but the other half were unfamiliar.
It seemed that the guild recruited many people during the last month…however, most of those who stared at me were previous members.
They were not even friendly.
Krathra sensed the hostility in their stares and wanted to take action in advance. When he asked me if he could wipe them out, he meant not Kim Taehwan alone, but also those who were staring at me.
Although Kim Taehwan frowned at us, he was not so hostile.
I then thought for a moment.
‘Was Kim Taehwan giving me a warning instead?’
He intended to warn me about other guild members. Kim Taehwan also suggested that if I were not confident dealing with others who were around his level, I should have left before they grilled me.
Now everything made sense. I thought Kim Taehwan was speaking in a rather awkward manner. He had no reason to suddenly start talking about recently recruited members or boasting about his rare graded skill that he recently earned.
I made a mistake of interpreting the situation from simply the stronger’s perspective.
I could not believe that Kim Taehwan was beating around the bush like that…
‘Ha!’
I snickered at his little trick.
The situation turned out be a little strange.
I was on the fifth floor, in the venue for discussions.
However, things were little bit different from what they used to be.
Now the people were divided into several groups. Such a scene was different from what I’d seen in the past.
I could think of factions.
The word ‘faction’ suddenly popped up.
Anyways, I could guess that a lot of things had happened while I had been away for a month.
Ignoring their stares, I started walking forward.
The guild master’s room, where he handled work and businesses, was located on the left side from the center.
I stood in front of the door and ordered Krathra, “Wait in front of the door.”
“Alright, Master.”
Screech!
When I opened the door and entered the room, I found Kim Yongwoo in his glasses, organizing a large volume of documents.
“Who is it? I told you not to let anyone in for a while…”
“It is me.”
Kim Yong-woo, who was speaking without turning his head, listened to my voice and flinched. He then fell off his chair and rolled on the floor with a grotesque sound.
After a while, Kim Yongwoo barely got up from his seat, put his glasses on the desk, looked at me again, and soon rubbed in between his eyes, complaining about fatigue.
“Have I lost a lot of energy from working nonstop for three days!”
“You dismissed the Devil Hunter attack squad.”
Kim Yongwoo was shocked when the name of the Devil Hunter attack unit popped up, which only previous guild members knew.
“Gee, are you really Randalph?”
“Is there a fake Randalph?”
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”
Kim Yongwoo shivered. He looked like he was greeting a real god.
“Why did you dismiss the attack unit?”
I did not care whether Kim Yongwoo was surprised or not, and I went straight to the point. When asked, Kim Yongwoo gulped down his dry mouth.
“Everyone thought that the master was dead. Oh, of course I did not believe that.”
“So are you saying that you dismissed the attack unit because of my death?”
Kim Yongwoo must have thought that there was nothing to hide. He spoke naturally like flowing water. “No, no, no! That is a misunderstanding. I did not dismiss the attack unit. However…should I say that it is temporarily held up?”
“Held up?”
“Yes, it is. So, about 20 days ago, other guild members started to raise the problem when the guild decided to increase the number of guild members. They pointed out that the Devil Hunter attack unit personnel had too much privilege.”
“Go on and tell me more about it.”
After Kim Yongwoo licked his lips, he began telling me the long story. “At first, I ignored the complaints. I naively believed that the complaints wouldn’t do anything much. However, as time passed by, more and more started to complain. It was a so-called witch hunt. They started bashing master’s misdemeanors, complaining that it was ridiculous to form a three-man attack unit, and so on.”
Kim Yongwoo wiped the sweat on his forehead and continued, “At that time, I was busy recruiting new guild members and conquering safe zones. I thought that the complaints would fade away with time. I also believed that everything will be resolved when you returned.”
“And I did not come back.”
I had been away for more than a month, trying to resolve issues with Krathra and Krithli.
All of this took place during my absence.
Kim Yongwoo finished talking with a long face. “Yes, time has passed…when new members joined the guild, the members started to complain even more vigorously. Furthermore, some tried to persuade previous and new guild members to voice their stances even stronger. All of them helped establish the guild when it started. They wanted to directly get involved with the management of guild.”
Kim Yongwoo’s shoulders drooped. “It is all my fault. The guild has gotten larger and recruited many new members. I should have foreseen that there would be many more issues to work on, but I was too naïve to disregard some of them. I could not imagine that the guild would turn into a political battleground. I do not know where to begin, phew, so I got tired of everything and surrounded myself with these piles of documents. I am very, very sorry.”
Kim Yongwoo bowed deeply.
All of his actions looked sincere.
He admitted that he had not gotten the proper education.
He had the eyes and mouth to make deals, which helped him climb the ladder and become a guild master. However, he had never entirely managed a guild.
As a result, conflicts took place and factions appeared. When Kim Yongwoo noticed all of these problems, it was already too late.
Ever since the guild transformed into a political battle ground, the guild master’s power weakened day by day. Kim Yongwoo solely built the guild house and founded the guild, but everyone else in the guild contributed and chipped in their money. All these problems were predictable.
‘The larger the guild got, the more the members wanted.’
At first, the guild must have been closely knit.
A handful of people fraternized, and they put big emphasis on creating attack units and conquering dungeons.
However, the Guild of Heaven’s Will had become the largest guild in Korea.
Anyone greedy wanted to give it a shot.
Perhaps Kim Yongwoo lost the title of guild master for the same reason in his previous life. What would have happened a little later happened a little in advance.
I put my thoughts together for a moment and asked, “What about Yoo Eunhye and Lee Jihye?”
Kim Yongwoo explained to me sincerely, “I sent them back home because I could not take care of them and I did not want any misfortunes. I did not dismiss them completely. They are on hold. Both were on hold…now that master is back, I will call them back.”
“You shall call them back. Is that the only problem in the guild?”
“Yes?”
“I am talking about those who created factions. Are they the only problem?”
“Oh, that is right.”
It was unfortunate but true. Kim Yongwoo’s voice was shaking.
I spoke in a calm tone, “Announce the revival of the Devil Hunter attack unit and my return. Give me a list of anyone who creates further problems. I will take care of them.”
Kim Yongwoo’s eyes changed immediately after I finished.
He clearly understood what I said and meant.
At least Kim Yongwoo had seen me fight a Dark Warrior. He knew that I was capable of far more than just handling two orcs.
I was in desperate need of someone else’s help. The stronger heroes in the guild declared neutral ground. They did not want to get involved in complicated issues.
Kim Yongwoo nodded heavily. “All right.”
“How do you recruit new members?”
There was nothing to hide. Kim Yongwoo answered casually, “We recruit new members in the form of an audition. If the awakened heroes permanently settle down in our society, I thought it would be good to try to make a show out of them. The audition is at the pilot stage, just like music auditions. Why do you ask such question…?”
I knew what Kim Yongwoo meant by the audition.
Influential guild members would participate in the auditions, and it would not hurt to attend such events.
They said they were recruiting new members, but in reality, they were creating factions within the guild.
Of course, they must have focused on the auditions.
“I want to be a special examiner.”
“Do you want to participate the auditions as an examiner?”
“Is it impossible?”
Kim Yongwoo offered me an option. “Sure, I can make it happen. I can pull some strings to add another examiner.”
“Well, then that should not be a problem.”
I curled one corner of my mouth into a smile.
It would not be too bad to have a surprise show.
I went to the spacious hall on the second floor, which was originally used for the Devil Hunter attack squad.
It was now decorated and being used as an audition hall.
Five examiners sat with their jaws resting on a round white table, all of whom were very well known and influential members of the Guild of Heaven’s Will.
Two of them had also appeared on television and inspired prospective members. Their eyes were burning with passion.
“No. 362. What skills do you have?”
When one of the examiners asked the question, the man with the number tag 362 on his chest answered loudly, “I have some skills which are normal grade such as long jump and exceptional normal grade such as increased eyesight! I can go faster than any monsters in the dungeon…”
“No thanks. Can you show me your long jump?”
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Go ahead.”
The man with the number tag 362 cleared the space in front of him. He then took a deep breath and jumped far.
The man jumped about 6 meters and smiled.
The number was good enough, but the examiners did not look content.
“Let us test your increased eyesight skills. Can you see the handwriting I wrote?”
The examiner wrote very small letters.
It was almost impossible to see, even at close distances.
The man with the number tag 362 opened his mouth with a sullen look.
“…I cannot see very well.”
“Okay, but I think your physical abilities are little bit low. I do not think that you are not making good use of your skills. You are not lying about what is on the statistics list, are you?
“Of course not; everything on the list is true!”
“Okay, I believe you. Could the next person wait a bit?”
The five examiners began to write down numbers on the scorecards.
They started assessing the candidate.
In this round, the examiners would assess candidates’ skills, mastery of skills, reliability of their statistics, and so on. Then they would give the candidates scores with the maximum points being one hundred.
If a candidate performed well in this round, he or she would proceed to the second exam. The candidate would choose either Cobolt or Goblin and would fight whatever he or she chose. A successful candidate in the second round would then become a member of the guild.
The examiners were also told to give candidates good impressions about them so that if the candidates are accepted, they would be inclined to join the examiner’s group.
However, the awakened hero with the number tag 362 was a mediocre candidate, and no examiner cared about him.
“Next, number 363. You have a title, don’t you? A potty mouth?”
Candidate number 363 was also a man. He scratched his head and said, “Ha-ha, I swear a lot…”
“It is great to have a title, whatever it is. You have a very strange combination of skills. They are singing out loud and demoralization. How do they work?”
“If you just shout and swear, monsters will flinch for a second. Do you want to see the skill?”
“Does it work on humans?”
“If the target is intelligent enough, the skill does not work. However, if the target is not intelligent and the skill is used, the target usually cries.”
“I would like to see the skill, just do not do it at the fullest power.”
There were quite a lot of people here in the hall.
If he started swearing out loud, everyone in this room might suffer a mental blow.
“Hum!”
Candidate number 363 cleared his voice and started cursing out loud. “Hey! You cock-ass-mother-fucking-shit-hole!”
“Oh, wow.”
“…?”
“I have seen you once, and I see you again. What a confident man.”
Everyone, including candidate number 363, turned around and stared at the entrance.
There stood the guild master, Kim Yongwoo, and a man with a pale face.
The man started talking first. His somewhat cynical impression and rather scoffing mouth grabbed attention.
The examiners were more interested in the man than they were in the guild master.
They behaved as though the guild master was not even there.
“…!”
At the same time, they were shocked.
They were more shocked than they would have been if they met a ghost.
“Ah crap. I think I am fucked.’
Candidate number 363 frowned as if things were going in a wrong direction.
That man, he had seen him at the entrance.
He did not just see the man.
Candidate number 363 swore at the man, saying his eyes were holes on trees.
He was confused when a man with dark skin, who was accompanying the pale man, smashed three guild members. Candidate 363 was very surprised to see that they visited the guild with the guild master.
‘What is he? What is he up to?’
The candidate’s blood cooled rapidly.