“Guildmaster.”
After a neat knock, the secretary stepped into the office and handed Kwon Taehyuk a tablet.
“We investigated as instructed. But... nothing useful came up.”
Kwon Taehyuk accepted the tablet and flipped through the screen. Among the attached files was a photo of the research lab they had raided last week.
“What about the woman called the Director?”
“There’s nothing solid on her either... I’m sorry.”
Kwon Taehyuk had led the raid on the lab and rescued dozens of Awakeners. But despite all that, they had gotten very little testimony from the victims.
Just that there had been a woman—the Director—who had been researching a drug that induced pain, and that she had used them as test subjects. Nothing else of value.
Despite turning the lab inside out, they found no trace of anyone who could be the Director. She must’ve managed to escape in the chaos.
They had lost the lab’s most influential figure, which meant the information they could extract had also been severely limited.
Kwon Taehyuk rubbed at the corner of his eye and sighed.
‘I really thought we’d finally get solid evidence this time.’
Would things have turned out differently if they’d caught that Director? Clicking his tongue in frustration, he tried to push the thought aside.
Forget the Director—what really pissed him off was how the Administration Bureau had swooped in to take all the captured personnel.
When they realized—too late—that a guild-led operation had busted an illegal lab, the Bureau stepped in under the guise of “assisting” and took every last one of the suspects.
It was laughable how they tried to piggyback on the success. But given the Bureau’s long-standing rivalry with Hunter guilds, it wasn’t surprising. They had to save face with the state, after all.
Still, what they did had ruined everything. Instead of helping, they’d just made a mess. Yesung Guild had lost the chance to interrogate anyone, and the victims had provided little more than hollow statements.
They missed the lab’s key figure. Lost the suspects to the Bureau. And then there was one last issue.
‘That man with the child...’
The image of the man who awkwardly smiled and avoided eye contact remained vivid in his memory.
Now that he thought about it, a lot of things didn’t add up.
Unlike the other victims, who were terrified or traumatized, that man had been too composed. So much so that Kwon Taehyuk had mistaken him for a Hunter from another guild.
He kept subtly trying to block the child from view—Kwon couldn’t get that out of his head.
‘I looked him up just in case, but... he wasn’t on the list of victims. Must’ve escaped.’
Kwon Taehyuk absently brushed his lips in thought. Then he issued a quiet order.
“There should be data on the lab test subjects we found.”
“Yes, there is.”
“Bring it to me, along with the full list of victims. As detailed as possible.”
“Understood.”
The secretary bowed but didn’t leave right away. She hesitated, then spoke again.
“Guildmaster, there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“We received a ranking match request.”
A ranking match? Now? Kwon Taehyuk scowled.
“Didn’t I say not to accept any for the time being?”
“Yes, we were going to decline, but...”
The secretary looked troubled as she continued.
“The request came in anonymously. We don’t know who it’s from—no affiliation, no name. Just the time and location. It wasn’t submitted through the official Guild Association.”
“...”
So a pro was behind this. Which meant the challenger had targeted Kwon specifically.
‘Trying to use the ranking match to come after me?’
Kwon Taehyuk had fully expected some kind of retaliation after destroying the lab, especially from those involved in the experiments.
But to come at him like this? He let out a quiet ★ Novelight ★ laugh.
“What should we do? Should I reject it?”
“No. Accept it.”
“Pardon? Are you sure?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Yes. Bring me that request along with the files I just asked for. I want to confirm the date and location.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
The secretary clearly thought he’d decline and looked startled, but quickly regained composure and bowed.
“I’ll deliver everything once it’s compiled.”
Once alone, Kwon Taehyuk lowered his gaze back to the lab photo on the tablet.
‘A ranking match, huh.’
He didn’t know what tricks they planned to pull, but none of them would work. He’d win—no matter what.
In fact, this might be the perfect opportunity.
It was an official match involving the Rank 1 Hunter. Broadcast stations would flock to it, cameras rolling. Spectators would come too.
If the opponent tried anything suspicious, it would be caught on video. And if he subdued them? He could get another witness the Bureau wouldn’t dare touch.
‘Idiots.’
Whoever thought they could take him down with a ranking match had to be either a fool or seriously delusional.
Kwon Taehyuk smirked. He was looking forward to it.
I pulled my cap low and tugged my hoodie over it. A denim jacket went on top.
I’d bought all these clothes a few sizes too big to accommodate my transformed form when using the hidden skill.
I still had that robe from the lab, but it was way too flashy to wear now. I stashed it away for later. For now, I’d just take the longsword.
“Hey, kid.”
Fully dressed and ready to go, I turned toward Cha Sahyeon, who was staring holes into me from the sofa.
“I’m heading out for a bit. You need to stay here, okay?”
“...”
“You hear me? Don’t wander off. Just wait quietly. I’ll be back soon.”
“...”
She didn’t respond. Just blinked slowly. She’d been answering me better lately—why clam up now?
It bugged me too much to ignore, so I knelt down in front of her, eye to eye.
“I will be back soon, so don’t go anywhere. I’m going to check when I get home, got it?”
“...”
“If you’re curious about outside, I’ll take you for a walk later. It’s dangerous at night.”
Finally, she gave a small nod. Huh. Was that what was bothering her? That I was going out alone?
I guess it made sense. Being cooped up all day would make anyone restless. I stood up, satisfied with her response.
Honestly, keeping a kid this age locked inside made me feel like garbage. But I wasn’t doing this to raise her in a warm, nurturing environment.
If she ever became so unhappy that the seed’s progression jumped, then I’d consider a change. Otherwise, there was no reason to.
‘What can you do? Just her luck to end up with someone like me. She’ll have to treat it as fate.’
Muttering words I couldn’t say aloud to her, I opened the window and stepped up onto the ledge.
“...”
“I’ll be back.”
I leaned forward and leapt out the window.
Tap. I landed lightly on the ground and scanned the area. I could’ve gone out through the front, but this side was darker and less crowded—it was a back alley.
‘Already checked, no nearby CCTVs.’
From now on, I’d always exit through this window when transformed.
I tugged the cap down further and headed off. The place for the ranking match wasn’t far—thirty minutes on foot, tops.
‘Didn’t expect him to accept the challenge, though.’
It worked in my favor, but what was he thinking accepting such a sketchy request? Was he just so confident in his power that he didn’t care who challenged him?
Cocky bastard. But I had to admit—it made sense. Even I hadn’t requested the match with any real hope of winning.
It was the final match for Rank 1, so broadcasters would be there, crowds too. Hopefully I wouldn’t get beaten so badly that it turned into public humiliation.
‘My life, huh...’
Sighing out of habit, I looked up. The crescent moon shining between the clouds seemed especially bright tonight.
[Main Quest: Defeat the current Rank 1 Hunter “Kwon Taehyuk” and claim Rank 1 (Remaining Time: 2 hours 15 minutes)]

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