Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

Seoul Government Office.

Drrring! Drrring!

"What now? Who would call during lunch?"

Park Choong-soo, who was on duty during lunchtime, was puzzled by the unexpected call during a time that was typically reserved for taking public complaints.

"Yes, this is Park Choong-soo from the Public Complaints Division."

Even while picking up the phone, all Park Choong-soo could think was 'Please, no more difficult cases.'

The Guild Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety, was the place employees dreaded being assigned to the most.

Amongst all, the Public Complaints Division, which had a notorious reputation as the worst, was seen as a department where lifespans were reduced due to constantly being subjected to the grievances of Hunters.

It wasn't that they were harassed using physical force, but the pressure exerted by the Hunters, referred to as superhumans, was typically too much for an ordinary person to handle.

"This is Guild Leader Kang Mu-hyuk from the Taesung Guild."

Taesung Guild? Guild Leader?

Unfamiliar with the guild name and title, Park Choong-soo tilted his head. He quickly typed into the system to verify the registered guild.

"So, you're affiliated with the Taesung Group. May I ask the reason for your call..."

Despite responding calmly, Park Choong-soo was utterly on edge.

Even Hunters were approached with caution, but guilds associated with large corporations required even more careful handling.

Although their abilities were lackluster, the influence of their parent company was on par with that of other large guilds.

"We're planning to relocate our guild and register a new hometown. We've prepared all the necessary documents, but the hometown part might require some coordination."

"Oh, the hometown? Seoul is an ineligible area for hometown registration. Are you considering moving to a different region?"

"Yes. We are planning to move to Myeongseong City."

"Myeongseong City? Where is that again..."

"It's in North Pocheon."

"Ah, North Pocheon... Wait, what?"

For a moment, Park Choong-soo pulled the receiver away from his ear. He stared blankly at it before returning it to his ear.

Had he misheard? Or was this a prank call? That didn't seem likely.

The guild's dedicated line was only known to related personnel, and it had multiple layers of security, so it couldn't be accessed by just anyone.

"Hello?"

Only after hearing the voice from the receiver again did he regain his composure and refocus on the call.

"I'm sorry. I thought I must have... misheard. Did you just say North Pocheon?"

"Yes. North Pocheon. It's indeed Myeongseong City."

"Do you know that once a hometown is registered, you can't move for three years?"

"Of course."

"That's a Special Activities Zone though..."

"That's exactly why we're going. Aren't there tax exemptions, priority rights to various businesses, and mineral rights? Has the law changed recently?"

"No, it hasn't. It's still effective."

The more Park Choong-soo continued the conversation, the more bewildered he felt.

What kind of place was a Special Activities Zone again?

It was a graveyard for Hunters, which was even more dreaded by public officials than the Public Complaints Division.

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Not because it was dangerous, but because it was a place with no amusement, swarming with monsters, where one had to live as if they were dead. That was why it was referred to as a graveyard.

Furthermore, North Pocheon was a region surrounded by mana all the time. Mana was sticky, almost like it would clung to the body, making Special Activities Zones places that Hunters found uncomfortable.

And they were going to take such a place as their hometown?

'Not just setting up an office?'

North Pocheon was currently an area with no affiliations.

If the Taesung Guild chose it as their base, no other guild could intrude without Taesung Guild's permission.

Moreover, being a Special Activities Zone, various incentives were provided.

Just for reference, 'Zero' was the number of guilds with a base in a Special Activities Zone in Korea at that time.

'Since it's vacant, the procedure is just a procedure. From the government's standpoint, it would be a welcome development. The South Pocheon City Hall would also offer anything they could to aid the move...'

"Are you sure this is okay?"

This was the kind of place North Pocheon was.

A place where even the responsible government official had to worry.

"It's okay. However, we have a few requests."

"What are they?"

"As far as we know, we will be the first to make a Special Activities Zone our base. Please arrange a meeting with the director. We need a few solutions that can somewhat alleviate the burden of risk."

Park Choong-soo quickly started thinking.

'This is an opportunity.'

A lifeline to get out of the Guild Cooperation Division. No, just getting out of the Public Complaints Division would be a great success.

'Attract a corporate guild to a Special Activities Zone?'

It was a chance to leave a definite achievement.

"I will report to my superiors first. It's not my place to arbitrarily arrange meetings."

"We'll be waiting."

After the call ended, he looked through the Taesung Guild's information registered in the system.

[Taeseong Guild]

▶ Guild Master: Ju Se-ah

From the very first section, it drew his attention.

"Ju Se-ah, the Hunter, was the Guild Master here?"

Although Ju Se-ah was treated as a witch or calamity by Hunters, she was popular among the general public for her glamorous hunting record and beauty that outshone celebrities.

Her high recognition meant that her reliability would greatly increase even if she was not an industry insider.

▶ Guild Leader: Kang Mu-hyuk

When he saw the guild information written below, Park Choong-soo couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Guild Leader? A Guild Leader post?"

He hadn't misheard earlier.

Upon reflection, the name Kang Mu-hyuk did sound familiar.

On a hunch, Park Choong-soo entered 'Kang Mu-hyuk' into the news search.

"Former Strategy and Tactics Team Leader of the Titan Guild... Non-Hunter? Good Lord! Being a Guild Leader is one thing, but he's a non-Hunter?"

After learning Kang Mu-hyuk's identity, he realized that the previous conversation wouldn't end with the issue of relocating the guild.

'Why hasn't this become a news story yet? Isn't this a scoop?'

It was one of two things.

Either the guild didn't want to announce it or Taesung wasn't newsworthy enough.

Or possibly both.

"It seems like things are going to get noisy?"

Just as he was feeling the chill of shock, one by one, the civil servants were returning to the office.

Among them, he saw the head of his department.

'Don't judge. Don't be greedy. What's the rush for a civil servant? Slow and steady wins the race. Just report and take orders.'

Park Choong-soo cautiously reported to the department head.

"Sir, the Taesung Guild just applied to make North Pocheon their base."

After declaring the guild's intention of moving to the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety, Kang Mu-hyuk's actions were relentless.

He immediately moved to the next step.

"To ensure complete failure, we must make a big splash. Can we proceed as I have proposed, Director Tae Soo-man?"

"It will require a significant amount of funds, won't it?"

"I'll try to adjust as much as possible within the margin of error I mentioned. You'll need to take care of the rest."

"As much as I can afford it, deploying company funds in the hundreds of billions is burdensome."

"If you try to proceed on your own, sure, it would be. But can the remaining branches handle the repercussions when Guild Master Ju Se-ah enters the headquarters? If you stress that point, you should be able to make it work."

Silence filled the other end of the line for a moment.

Kang Mu-hyuk patiently waited.

After a moment, Tae Soo-man's voice trickled through the receiver.

"Having thought about it, it seems like something I can handle. Proceed."

"Thank you. I will visit you soon."

After ending the call, Kang Mu-hyuk saw Ju Se-ah sitting with her arms crossed in front of him.

"Are you seriously doing this on your own?"

"It seems so."

"Why? For what? Isn't it better to distribute the risk by working together? This doesn't make sense."

"But doesn't it mean you can reap the benefits alone?"

"To what end are you trying to acquire such a shoddy guild... Ahem, a guild with no presence within the group?"

"The corporate guild can do more than you think, Guild Master. It might be stale news in the industry, though."

"What do you mean by 'do more'?"

"You'll learn in due time. For now, do some studying on your own. I have to leave for another appointment."

As Kang Mu-hyuk stood up to prepare to leave, Ju Se-ah stopped him.

"By the way, is that really possible?"

Kang Mu-hyuk paused, organizing his thoughts as he looked up at the ceiling of the office.

"It's a path we're taking for the first time. I can't be sure."

"Aren't plans without certainty just gambling?"

"We may have to rely on a beginner's luck."

"Uh, I'm suddenly feeling anxious."

"Anyway, it's impossible to normalize within half a year by conventional means. Isn't this when we need a 'breakthrough?' We must do everything we can to make it successful."

Ju Se-ah frowned deeply, waving her hands dismissively.

"Have a good meeting. Say hello to your former colleague for me."

"I'm going to see the Guild Master today."

"Do you think he will leave you alone if you go?"

"I suppose you're right."

The lobby was familiar, but the logo embedded in the reception desk was not.

"The logo...has been renewed?"

The new logo, which depicted a giant's fist along with English text, was far removed from the overly simple, gold satellite logo of the past. He did not like it.

It was completely different from what he had planned.

"It's crude."

Although this place had become a broken link, he had come to create a new connection, and there was no time to dwell on his feelings.

"I'm Kang Mu-hyuk. I have a meeting scheduled with the Guild Master."

"Yes, I know you, Strategy and Tactics Team Leader. Oh? You're not that anymore, are you?"

The guard recognized Kang Mu-hyuk and greeted him amiably.

The employees passing through the lobby, the Hunters glancing over, all of them still seemed to regard Kang Mu-hyuk as the Strategy and Tactics Team Leader.

"I have my entry pass here."

The lobby became noisy as soon as Kang Mu-hyuk disappeared into the elevator.

"Was that Team Leader Kang? Why is he here? Wait, this isn't the time. We should contact the Strategy and Tactics Team."

"Party Leader, Team Leader Kang Mu-hyuk just came to see the Guild Master... Yes, he's the former Strategy and Tactics Team Leader. Yes. I'm aware he's no longer with our guild."

"Mr. Kang Mu-hyuk has gone up to the Guild Master's office. We should inform the Vice Guild Master."

Guild members each contacted their respective superiors or departments. Just his appearance spurred many speculations and rumors, and amidst all this, Kang Mu-hyuk was facing Lee Cheoljung, the Guild Master of Titan.

"It's been a while. I was surprised when you called. How have you been?"

"I'm much better."

"I figured. If you weren't, you wouldn't show up in front of me dressed like that. So, you're with Taesung Guild now?"

"Yes."

Lee Cheoljung held back a grimace, seeing Kang Mu-hyuk respond calmly despite showing his displeasure.

"You don't take any notice of my grumbles."

"I simply trust that you'll handle it well."

"Your trust is comforting, but to be honest, my situation isn't particularly favorable."

"Because of the Vice Guild Master?"

"He's a pain. Things were better before we moved up to Seoul. Back then, as long as we hunted monsters well, everything was fine. Now, both the Vice Guild Master and I have too much on our minds."

Kang Mu-hyuk was aware of Lee Cheoljung's predicament. Not exactly at a disadvantage, but also not in a position to dominate.

Half a year ago, the upper hand they had due to Ma Taesik's mistake was pushed back by the Vice Guild Master's political influence, and somehow, the balance had shifted to a 50-50 standoff.

Kang Mu-hyuk's decision had also contributed to this.

He had agreed with Ju Se-ah to release Ma Taesik before his mana addiction was treated.

Subsequently, Ma Taesik took advantage of his girlfriend, Kim Yanghee, a board member's influence to assist Ma Taesu, and Lee Cheoljung was struggling in the boardroom where his adversaries were swarming.

As a result, Ju Se-ah only managed to secure the Vice Guild Master position for just two months, and Kang Mu-hyuk was no longer able to return to the Titan Guild. However, that butterfly effect led Kang Mu-hyuk to join the Taesung Guild. The irony of the situation was palpable.

Kang Mu-hyuk rummaged through his briefcase and casually offered a thin booklet to Lee Cheoljung, who was heaving a sigh.

"What's this?"

"A proposal that may be helpful to you, Guild Master."

Lee Cheoljung cautiously flipped the cover.

[Proposal for Warehouse C Acquisition]

"!!"