Chapter 15

RP: Vara • TL: Kim • PR: Whee

note: due to popular demand (a poll in our discord server, you should join btw) we decided to start translating the titles of the chapters as well~

A Dark-Haired Beast (5)

Afterwards, there were several small disturbances in the car, but in the end, they were able to arrive safely at the Yongho Guild. Jongsik, who drove on the highway from the crack of dawn to Gyeongju, carefully patted the vehicle which almost crashed three times because of Sayun.

He gently caressed the black car as if he was trying to appease his lover and said, “Are you planning on breaking a car every time you go out?” Anyone who saw it would have thought he was paying for the damage.

Sayun wasn’t worried because the money was coming out of his pocket anyway. The executive was highly appreciated for caring about the guild, but he was not happy with his nagging, so Sayun got out of the car while pretending not to hear him.

‘Yongho’

Based on the nameplate, it seemed very intimidating. After checking the guild’s name, which seemed to have been written with a brush, Sayun looked at the exterior of the Yongho Guild’s building. It was a sight he couldn’t get used to, even after he’d seen it so many times. It was a hanok. It was unnecessarily expensive and its space efficiency was low. Wasn’t there a difference between the building type and the number of people it could accommodate per square metre?

Sayun didn’t know why people insisted on living in a hanok in the 21st century. In addition, the Yongho Guild wasn’t even a guild that emphasised the spirit of Korea.

They were nothing more than a group of unconventional kkondaes who insisted on the past confucian ideology. All he did was to pretend to respect his elders with the aim of getting additional dropped items and fighting others for a higher position.

tl/n: hanok (한옥) is a traditional korean house. kkondae (꼰대) is used to describe a condescending person, also a slang used by students to refer to older people such as fathers or teachers. confucianism is an ancient chinese belief system, which focuses on the importance of personal ethics and morality.

“So, it’s in 10th place every year.”

“What?”

“Yongho’s guild ranking.”

“… Isn’t it high if it’s in 10th place?”

“If it were another guild, it would’ve been.”

Geonjoo didn’t seem to understand what Sayun was sneering about. After revealing his doubts, he watched Sayun turn his stiff neck to stare at the nameplate, which was worn out after 10 years.

“If you stayed in 10th place with seven early awakeners, you would be shamed or killed. Carrying such a burden on your shoulders would be hard.”

Geonjoo flinched at the harsh criticism. Sayun remembered an executive of the Yongho Guild who was not worth it, despite his age.

Hunters who experienced the Great Depression and those who didn’t had a stark difference in skill. As a normal citizen, it would’ve been just a simple disaster, but when faced with it as a hunter, it would be both a huge ordeal and a rare experience; in most cases, their skills improved without even realising it.

When hunters awakened all over the world at the same time, there were only a hundred or so early awakeners who appeared in Korea. It was surprising that they had seven of them, but it was even more surprising that they didn’t take first place even if they had them. Considering that the number one guild was established by a 18-year-old highschool student at the time, it looked comedic.

If Sayun had been the head of the Yongho Guild, he would have died of shame. He lost to a kid and was ranked 10th every year. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed?

Of course, the Yongho Guild had been living poorly for 10 years. Borrowing money here and there, especially from the Night Rats. That was one of the reasons for cutting off Yongho.

Sayun, who was recalling the past, walked forward. Geonjoo was standing awkwardly, but he still ended up following one step behind.

As he approached the guild building, four hunters guarding the gate blocked Sayun.

“What?”

“I haven’t heard from the guild leader that there would be guests today.”

“So?”

“Excuse me, but may I ask for your name?”

Sayun looked up at the security guard who spoke to him in a rigid tone. He looked about 190 centimetres tall, but he didn’t feel pressured by his height. It was highly likely that he was a low rank hunter.

‘I heard that he recently became a bum, but did he really hire these guys as security guards?’

Sayun was also reluctant with the merger due to their low standards. He thought of just pushing through and cleaning up later regardless of the merger, but he realised that Geonjoo was next to him and dropped the idea.

‘Good, good.’

In order to gain his trust and maintain a friendly relationship with Geonjoo, he at least had to show that he wasn’t a bully.

“If you don’t recognize my face, you must be a newcomer. Let’s move on.”

“Did you make an appointment?”

“Not that.”

“Then please, identify yourself.”

He was polite, but it was just a facade. Sayun refused to answer because they showed no respect, and the guards made eye contact with each other and surrounded Sayun. It was like mice were camping out to catch a tiger, so it made him laugh.

“What the…”

Sayun stopped Jongsik from trying to step forward. They had business here so the other party should’ve greeted them themselves.

“Why don’t you just move aside without disturbing me? You guys will be tired if you get involved in a power struggle between guilds. You’ll get less money anyway, so let’s just move on so that you don’t have to spend the money you’ve earned on healing potions.”

“Please, identify yourself.”

“You’re not getting out of the way?”

“Please, identify yourself.”

“… Why are you so disobedient?”

The Yongho Guild seemed to have set up an answering machine as a security guard, not a person. Whatever he said, the answer was the same, so Sayun gave up on trying to have a conversation and swept them away. Jongsik looked at Sayun, and Geonjoo remained silent since things seemed to get rough.

“I told you to identify yourself.”

In the meantime, the security guard attempted to rush him. Sayun lowered his gaze slightly as he felt that his patience, which couldn’t be talked about positively, was running low.

Somewhere at the entrance of the Yongho Guild, he was the person who would undergo an identity check. But he was going to tell his name to the right amount of people, not just spit it out to everyone.

If it wasn’t for Geonjoo, he would’ve already ran wild. The evidence was that Jongsik was preparing to deal with the upcoming situation with an understanding expression.

Sayun sighed and took off his sunglasses.

“Tell them it’s from the Night Rats.”

He thought they would understand if he said that, but then the unexpected happened.

The four security guards flinched as they heard the name ‘Night Rats’ and immediately radioed somewhere or someone, then pulled out their weapons.

Sayun watched the scene quietly, narrowing his eyes. His lips, which were lifted up in an arch ever since he stepped out of the car, pursed.

“Jongsik.”

“Yes.”

“Is Chunbok really senile?”

“…”

“Now, what is this?”

The last sentence wasn’t addressed to Jongsik, but to the guards in front of them. Because of Geonjoo, Sayun tried as hard as he could to not be extreme and endured his temper, but this was the price he paid. This is why you shouldn’t be nice to rude people. They didn’t even know who they were talking to but came out to bite?

“If you move, I will treat it as an attack and attack back.”

“Did your leader give you any orders?”

“…”

Sometimes silence was an answer too. Without further ado, the honest guards’ attitudes let them know how things were playing, and Sayun burst into laughter. He literally grabbed his stomach and laughed like a madman.

Sayun laughed in the front yard of the Yongho Guild. After a while, he raised his upper body with a long exhale.

“If you’re going crazy, you have to do so graciously.”

Krrrr—

“…!”

There was a cracking sound, and the ground froze in an instant.

The entire front yard of the Yongho Guild, except for the places where Sayun, Geonjoo, and Jongsik were standing, froze at a fast speed and covered the legs of the guards standing on it.

As the guards were bewildered by the ice that rose up to their calves in the blink of an eye, Sayun looked at them with an indifferent expression. The guards’ fingertips trembled, but in his eyes, there was neither sympathy nor compassion. It was kind of an instinctive reaction.

“I can’t stay still, even if I’m ashamed in front of a new recruit. Don’t you think so?”

“…”

“Why didn’t you listen to me when I told you to let me through nicely?”

He wasn’t trash.

His voice flowed so smoothly that you’d think he was drowsy, but he had meant to sound cool. As Sayun continued to speak, the temperature around him decreased further. The cold air that lingered had already surrounded the entire Yongho Guild, causing a cold wave.

“Why is the guild leader…!”

It was only after Sayun used one of his representative skills that they realised the identity of their opponent, and all the guards were astonished. Sayun smiled at their delayed reaction and took out a cold resistance robe from his inventory.

The cold of the frost area, which would attack everyone except for the one who casted the skill, would’ve been difficult for the B-Class Geonjoo to endure. Jongsik was armed with cold resistance artefacts, since he wasn’t a newbie. Sayun covered Geonjoo with an A-Class robe in a somewhat exaggerated move, as if he were showing it off to the guards, then turned to face them.

His gaze turned cold. The moment their eyes met, the guards who were breathing heavily gasped, and their bodies stiffened. On the other hand, Sayun’s lips lifted up out of reflex.

“Despite my appearance, I’m still a guild leader… We need to make an example, who should I choose?”

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the words he spat out so easily and playfully. As they continued to grow cautious, even when it came to breathing, Sayun smiled slightly when he noticed that one of the security guards was trembling because of the tension.

“W-Wait…!”

Blah, blah, blah.

“…”

In an instant, the person became an ice statue. Everyone was shocked because of the unbelievable sight.

Crack.

There was a cracking sound, and soon, the ice statue in the shape of a man had shattered.

Fragments spread far and then disappeared with a faint glint. Those who saw the sight of a living person disappearing like that looked at Sayun with a shocked expression. Among them, the only ones who seemed unaffected by it were Sayun and Jongsik, who had seen so many such scenes before.

“Must’ve been a D-Class or an F-Class if he shattered so easily. I didn’t expect him to be so weak.”

He didn’t mean to kill anyone. It was only supposed to be a warning, and he was only going to push the guard to the brink of death, but the man’s rank was lower than Sayun had initially thought so he failed to control his strength. As Sayun was criticising Chunbok for hiring that guy, he walked one step at a time. The three remaining guards reacted promptly to each step.

A quiet yet heavy atmosphere of familiarity surrounded Sayun.

He finally felt like they could communicate.

‘This is why I can’t be a pacifist.’

What was the point of being nice? What a hundred words couldn’t fix was easily solved with violence.

“When someone gives you a warning, you have to know how to listen and obey. Why do you act so reckless and then die?”

“…”

“If anyone else wants a move, raise your hand.”

“…”

“I told you to listen.”

As he smirked and spoke those words, the three security guards looked at Sayun. He clicked his tongue at the men who were too cautious to even breathe, let alone raise their hands, and stepped away from them.

It would have been more fun if things ended badly; the outcome was quite bland.