Chapter 61: Youngest Leader vs Veteran Leader

Chapter 61

Yang Junggeun, having captured everyone’s attention, climbed onto the table in the center of the room to ensure all participants could see him.

“I believe many of you know who I am. I’m Yang Junggeun, former master of the Dream Gold Clan!”

Yang Junggeun began his speech in a loud voice.

“I’ve conquered more dungeons, killed more monsters, and led more hunters than anyone here! If anyone can dispute that, step forward!”

Everyone looked around, but no one stepped up. Even those who looked at Yang Junggeun with disdain didn’t challenge him.

Satisfied with the silence, Yang Junggeun nodded and continued with even more confidence.

“What we need to do now is move as one, 240 strong, to catch the Thieves! That’s the only way we can all pass the preliminary round without losing anyone!”

“……”

“Some of you might be thinking you don’t need to stick together, that you can catch a Thief on your own.”

Seeing some nodding, Yang Junggeun locked eyes with them and shouted,

“Do you know who’s among those 10 Thieves? Kim Jinsung is!”

“……!”

At the mention of Kim Jinsung’s name, the participants began murmuring and looking around.

“Among the 10 people who aren’t here, Kim Jinsung is definitely one of them! He was on the same plane as us!”

As Yang Junggeun finished speaking, the murmuring grew louder. Everyone had assumed all participants were gathered in one place, but now they realized some were missing.

“He’s right!”

“Now that I think about it, a few people from the plane aren’t here…”

“I saw Kim Jinsung on the plane, talking with Seol Daun the whole time.”

As the murmuring continued, Yang Junggeun shouted again to regain their attention.

“Think about it! If you go off on your own and run into Kim Jinsung, do you think you can survive? Be honest with yourselves!”

“……”

No one answered. Everyone knew that Kim Jinsung, the ‘Absorption Ability User,’ was the most feared participant.

“What we need to do is form large parties and hunt them down one by one!”

From that moment, only Yang Junggeun’s voice filled the room.

“It will take coordinated teamwork of at least 50 people to take down a monster like Kim Jinsung. Do you understand?”

“……”

“So, who should lead such a large group? Who else but me, Yang Junggeun, the former leader of the greatest clan in South Korea? Everyone agrees, right?”

Yang Junggeun looked around, daring anyone to challenge him. His commanding presence, reminiscent of his days leading Dream Gold, was back.

“Trust me for just one day! I’ll lead you all to pass the preliminary round!”

“……”

“I know some of you don’t like me! But we’re all ‘forced laborers’ here, right? Does it matter who committed what crime? What’s important now is skill, right?”

Finishing his speech, Yang Junggeun pointed to the space in front of him.

“Those who agree, gather around me!”

Everyone hesitated, looking at each other, then began to move according to their thoughts. The majority gathered around Yang Junggeun.

‘Dream Gold’s party play was famous. If Yang Junggeun led them, he must be reliable.’

‘I don’t like him personally, but he’s the only one I can trust as a leader right now.’

‘He’s a B-rank hunter. Just his strength alone makes him a valuable ally.’

About 60 to 70 participants, however, gathered near the exit, far from Yang Junggeun.

“I don’t trust that guy.”

A man in his late 30s whispered to those around him.

“He was known for killing subordinates he didn’t like without anyone knowing during the Dream Gold days.”

“What…”

“And now he’s talking about teamwork? He could stab us in the back at any moment.”

The man continued to share his thoughts.

“Let’s move separately and quickly eliminate one Thief. They said we’d all pass if we contributed to catching one, right?”

“How will we find them?”

“I have a way.”

The man lowered his voice and continued.

“My name is Lee Deokgu. Anyone know me?”

“Lee Deokgu…? Oh!”

“Oh!”

Several people recognized the name.

“Weren’t you the one who broke through the first wall in Group B’s preliminaries?”

“The radar ability user!”

“That’s right. You all know me!”

Lee Deokgu explained to his group.

“Yes, I’m a radar ability user. I can detect all life forms within a few hundred meters.”

“Oh!”

“Now you see why I suggested we move separately?”

The group’s eyes filled with trust as they looked at Lee Deokgu. Seeing this, he continued.

“Let’s quickly come up with a plan and eliminate one Thief. If we all contribute, we’ll pass the preliminary round. Gather around.”

* * *

“Lee Deokgu?”

Kim Jinsung asked the participant next to him.

“The leader of the team that broke through Zone 1’s wall in Group B’s preliminaries?”

“Yes, he was sitting right next to me.”

Hearing the participant’s answer, Kim Jinsung nodded.

“Then we need to be even more cautious. We should assume that everyone who was on the same plane as us is a Seeker in this event.”

“……”

“Thanks for the information, Pung Bitgaram.”

Pung Bitgaram’s expression changed.

“You knew who I was?”

“Of course. You made quite an impression as the ‘Smoke Ability User’ in Group B.”

“…Tsk.”

Pung Bitgaram clicked his tongue in a mix of frustration and resignation. Kim Jinsung smiled and continued.

“For us to survive as long as possible, we’ll really need your help, Pung Bitgaram. In fact, I consider you the second strongest here.”

“Then who do you think is the strongest?”

Instead of answering, Kim Jinsung just gave a faint smile. Pung Bitgaram’s eyes widened, and then he chuckled.

“You’re right. It’s you, Kim Jinsung. Honestly, I can’t argue with that.”

The other participants nodded in agreement. Though they hadn’t said it out loud, they all acknowledged Kim Jinsung as the strongest among them.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s continue with our discussion.”

Kim Jinsung directed everyone’s attention back to the map spread out on the table.

“As you can see, there are underground passages in addition to the surface. Including the sewers, there are four underground levels.”

The participants followed Kim Jinsung’s finger as he pointed to different areas on the map.

“Let’s discuss who will go underground and how many of us should go.”

* * *

Kim Jinsung’s leadership was being broadcasted to viewers worldwide through TV.

– Oh, Kim Jinsung!

– He’s doing a great job leading! LOL

– Why is he so good at speaking?

– He’s the youngest there, but he’s acting like the leader. LOL

– Does age matter? Skill is what counts.

– Agreed.

The internet broadcast chat room was filled with comments reacting to Kim Jinsung’s leadership. The PD, who was monitoring the chat and the screen, spoke up.

“We should edit this scene of Kim Jinsung leading and pair it with the scene of Yang Junggeun’s speech. It’ll make a great clip.”

“Good idea. Just having Kim Jinsung and Yang Junggeun, two with a storyline, in one scene will definitely draw attention.”

While the PDs discussed, Baek Jun and Jang Seungwook, standing at the back, also talked about Kim Jinsung.

“Kim Jinsung’s personality has changed a lot in the past month. He’s shed a lot of his naivety and immaturity.”

“He’s changed a lot.”

“He’s starting to show the aura of a top predator… and at such a young age. It’s amazing.”

Listening to Jang Seungwook’s admiration, Baek Jun smiled contentedly. Having watched Kim Jinsung since the fight club days, Baek Jun saw him as a completely different person now.

‘Who knows how much more he’ll grow by the end of the finals.’

Baek Jun’s current expectations were not just about Kim Jinsung’s skill growth but his inner growth. He didn’t know how much more mature and resilient Kim Jinsung would become, but he was sure that Kim Jinsung was growing in the right direction in every aspect.

* * *

– Attention, participants assigned the role of Thief. One minute remains until the start of the event. Please check your equipment one last time and prepare to depart. Once again…

“Is everyone ready?”

Kim Jinsung looked around at the participants, who nodded nervously. Seeing their tense faces, Kim Jinsung moved to the center of the group.

“If we stick to the plan, we should be fine.”

Everyone looked at Kim Jinsung with anxious faces.

“Just follow my instructions.”

As soon as Kim Jinsung finished speaking, a loud siren sounded, and the tightly shut exit door began to open slowly. The 10 Thieves immediately dashed out, scattering in all directions as planned.

“This is Thief 1. Everyone, report everything you see around you.”

Running straight ahead, Kim Jinsung spoke into his earpiece. Voices of the scattered participants reporting in followed.

– This is Thief 2. There are many ruins and broken stone debris. There seem to be potions and weapons inside the ruins.

“Take anything you need. Also, grab anything useful that the Seekers might find.”

– Understood.

Listening to the response, Kim Jinsung picked up an HP potion lying among the stone debris. He smashed it on the ground and continued running. More reports came through his earpiece.

– This is Thief 3. There are also ruins and what looks like a bombed medieval castle.

– Thief 4 here. I’ve already spotted monsters.

– Same here, Thief 5. I’ve seen ghouls, man-eating birds, vine monsters… lots of variety.

“Don’t engage the monsters. Avoid them. They’ll slow down the Seekers’ approach.”

– Understood.

Giving instructions, Kim Jinsung himself swung his sword straight ahead. With a slicing sound, a man-eating bird attacking him was cut in half.

—

▶ You have defeated a monster.

▶ You have earned 20 Beast Karma points.

▶ You have acquired the monster’s trait ‘Adaptation.’

▷ Adaptation: You can consume raw food without getting sick.

—

Clearing the notification from his view, Kim Jinsung asked,

“How’s Thief 6 doing?”

– There are a lot of monsters here… Aah!! What, what is this?!

The voice of Thief 6, who had been speaking, suddenly turned into a scream. Kim Jinsung urgently asked,

“Are you okay? What’s happening?”