Eradication Squad (2)

“Where is your position?”

Lee Dojin asked the Eradication Squad leader.

The leader still looked at Lee Dojin with a smiling face.

“I’ll tell you that if you join.”

Lee Dojin took a sip of his iced Americano and then scanned the papers on the table.

New Humanity Society.

Red Sect.

Both were villain groups with which he had begun a relationship of debt and grudge.

“Your friends. There’s one person related to each of these places.”

At the leader’s words, Lee Dojin’s brow slightly furrowed.

“Did you investigate me?”

The leader chuckled.

“What kind of group do you think the Eradication Squad is? We can’t do this kind of work without having information power comparable to information guilds.”

Tok tok-

The leader tapped her index finger on the table.

“The conclusion is simple. If the student joins, you can get a chance to sweep away the troublesome guys during vacation. While getting paid. Dealing with your own debts and grudges. Helping your friends’ revenge too.”

Unlike the words that seemed to be trying hard to persuade Lee Dojin, the leader’s tone was very subdued.

Like the dark circles under her eyes, it was the tired voice of a person worn out by fatigue.

But even with that appearance, she didn’t look like a lightweight person. The atmosphere flowing from her empty face was too heavy.

Realizing that he had been staring at that face without knowing it, Lee Dojin lowered his head slightly for a moment and thought.

From Lee Dojin’s standpoint, money wasn’t a factor for consideration. If he was thinking about money in the first place, it would have been more profitable to join a large guild.

Baek Hwayeon and Yeon Simun came to mind.

Baek Hwayeon, who had asked what he would do during summer vacation, seemed to have a look in her eyes that suggested she had something definite to do herself.

Baek Hwayeon would probably try to find out about the villain group that had kidnapped her friends from the orphanage.

If she finds out, she’ll likely try to resolve it now during the vacation.

The same was true for Yeon Simun. He didn’t seem like someone who would postpone revenge for his older brother if the opportunity arose. Although Lee Dojin couldn’t say he had known them for a long time, he had engaged in deep emotional exchanges with both.

If he could help, Lee Dojin wanted to help.

“If I join, do I start from the bottom?”

The leader slowly shook her head.

“Would we do the crazy thing of putting a martial artist who has entered the transcendent realm at the bottom? You should enter as a captain-level position.”

Tok tok.

Lee Dojin tapped on the table, just as the leader had done earlier.

“I’ll set one condition. Even if there’s still vacation left, I can leave the Eradication Squad whenever I want.”

The leader stared at Lee Dojin for a moment with her eyes with dark circles, then slowly nodded.

“Alright, to have a martial artist of the transcendent realm as a subordinate. We should accept that much.”

“Are there no others besides me?”

“There’s one other at the captain level. This world is quite broader than you think, student.”

“I’m already feeling that.”

“The Ten Venerables aren’t the only ones in the transcendent realm. Just as there are among villains.”

There are too many strong people who aren’t revealed to the outside. The problem is that it’s not just among hunters, but among villains too.

“Rest today. Rest tomorrow too… hmm, start coming to work from Thursday. Phone number.”

The leader held out her phone.

Lee Dojin entered his phone number into the leader’s phone.

“I’ll send you the address on Wednesday night, so come to work around noon on Thursday.”

“…Understood.”

The leader slowly stood up.

Her black sleeveless shirt was impressive.

“I’ll pay for this. Then, see you on Thursday.”

The leader retrieved the documents she had placed and left the cafe first.

Lee Dojin slowly finished the remaining coffee and left the cafe.

---

Lee Dojin had a proper sleep for the first time in a while.

He woke up and was in the middle of meditating when he picked up his phone that suddenly started ringing.

“Yes.”

-The wooden sword is complete.

“I’ll come to pick it up.”

After eating a quick meal, he headed to Paju where Elder Choi Cheolhyeon’s workshop was located.

“Hello.”

“Yeah.”

Elder Choi Cheolhyeon still greeted Lee Dojin with an ambiguous face.

“…You’re the Wooden Sword Holy Knight, right?”

As expected.

He thought that someone like Choi Cheolhyeon, who would be in a position to hear more about the hunter world than even average mid-level hunters, would know.

When he nodded, Choi Cheolhyeon opened his mouth a bit wider.

“Neutralizing all the strong ones in Changgung, the stronghold of Changheon, and destroying Sword Emperor So Daecheol’s dantian… that was you too, right?”

Huh.

He didn’t know he would know about this too.

“It’s only been a day, where did you hear it from?”

A sound of clicking the tongue was heard.

“It’s been a day. It doesn’t even take half a day for that level of incident to spread. Three hours is enough. It’s probably already spread to the ultra-strong ones in neighboring countries, Japan and China. One of South Korea’s Ten Venerables lost his martial arts overnight.”

“It’s spreading like this even though I left it to the Management Bureau Director.”

“There’s probably someone among the staff handling the aftermath who sold it to information guilds for a nice price. Even if not, the information guilds would have found out quickly. It’s been a long time since this became a world without secrets. Except for those who go around wearing masks like the Eradication Squad.”

Eradication Squad.

He couldn’t tell anyone that he was going to join that Eradication Squad.

“Huh… to think the guy I made a wooden sword for is the one who single-handedly brought down Changheon. This is something to see after living a long life.”

“Will Changheon collapse? I only destroyed So Daecheol’s dantian.”

To Lee Dojin’s question, Choi Cheolhyeon slowly continued speaking.

“The ones you neutralized must be Changheon’s elite. Those guys received injuries that will take at least a year to recover from. But there isn’t a single guild among the top 10 guilds that will just watch that vacancy. They’ll thrust in any knife to completely destroy Changheon to enter the top 5 guilds.”

Ding!

Choi Cheolhyeon’s phone rang. After scanning it, he showed the screen to Lee Dojin as it was.

“Look.”

Lee Dojin took the phone and saw an article.

-So Taewoo, eldest son of ‘Changheon’, one of South Korea’s top 5 guilds, suspected of group drug use with girl group… Police booking. Sexual harassment allegations also reported.

“This will be among the mildest of things that will start bursting out from now on. It was So Daecheol’s power that blocked whatever his sons did. This is how they get torn apart in just one day.”

Lee Dojin now understood the words that Changheon would collapse.

“Among the top 5 guilds, there’s none that doesn’t receive extra byproducts during dungeon guild group attacks or monopolize elixirs. But only Changheon will be torn apart for this.”

In the eyes of Choi Cheolhyeon, who had been attached to the hunter world for over 30 years, it seemed he could clearly predict how Changheon would be torn apart by public opinion and the law.

“Now, all those at the upper echelons of the hunter world will have recognized your existence.”

Choi Cheolhyeon handed the black wooden sword to Lee Dojin. Lee Dojin accepted it.

Looking at it from the outside, it didn’t look like a wooden sword at all.

Lee Dojin slowly examined the wooden sword.

The black blade looked sharply blue.

It looked like a real sword made of special minerals like black iron or painted black.

“And among those guys, there will be some who don’t like a young blood rising up and will try to do something about it. There will also be those who will desperately try to pull you under them somehow.”

Lee Dojin, still examining the sword, asked a question.

“Then staying in the academy isn’t a very good choice, is it?”

Choi Cheolhyeon shook his head.

“Staying in the academy is the right choice. Because the larger the guild, the more they tend to be wary of the academy.”

Lee Dojin raised sword energy on the black wooden sword. A colorless air current rose along the wooden sword.

Choi Cheolhyeon’s eyes widened at the energy wave clearly visible to the naked eye.

“They have many related businesses and many people involved. But, the moment you take one step out of the academy gates. From then on, people will start following you. In a week.”

Ridiculously, the explanation continued as it was. Lee Dojin, who hated getting tired like that, thought of the Eradication Squad.

‘I should ask if the Eradication Squad provides lodging where I can stay.’

Swish-

After confirming that there was no flaw in the black wooden sword, Lee Dojin bowed his head to Choi Cheolhyeon.

“I like it. Thank you. I’ll pay for the wooden sword. How much is it?”

“I’m glad you like it. I should charge about 300 million, but there’s one alternative way.”

“What is it?”

Choi Cheolhyeon grinned.

“The black wood you entrusted to me. One-third ownership of that. The tree is so huge that just that much is enough.”

Lee Dojin stroked the wooden sword. There was a good possibility he might commission another one from Choi Cheolhyeon, but he had no particular use for the wood otherwise.

One-third was plenty to give up.

“Alright. I’m grateful.”

“Here, take this too.”

Choi Cheolhyeon held out a scabbard of the same ink color as the wooden sword.

“This is also made using that wood.”

Choi Cheolhyeon also gave parts for fixing the scabbard to the waist.

“This is a bonus.”

Lee Dojin attached the parts to his left waist and fixed the scabbard to the parts.

Then he sheathed the sword in the scabbard.

“It looks cool.”

“Yeah, that’s the romance of a swordsman. All the swordsmen of Changheon must have been like that, didn’t you think it looked cool?”

Lee Dojin chuckled at Choi Cheolhyeon’s words.

“I was only thinking about where to cut to neutralize them.”

Choi Cheolhyeon also laughed heartily.

“That’s quite unromantic.”

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Alright, you must have a lot on your mind. Anyway, be careful. You’ve definitely stepped into a different world from two days ago.”

The world of the transcendent realm.

Lee Dojin pondered Choi Cheolhyeon’s sincere advice.

---

Lee Dojin kept his energy sense highly alert while going to the academy. He had heard from Choi Cheolhyeon about the probability of someone following him, and it was a claim that made enough sense even to Lee Dojin.

Fortunately, it seemed no one was tailing him yet. Lee Dojin, who kept his senses alert until the end, entered his dormitory room.

Seurung-

And he drew the black wooden sword from its scabbard.

“Mistilteinn.”

The voice of Mistilteinn in ego advice mode was heard.

[Suitable weapon.]

[Starting interaction.]

[Deciphering the true name of this wood.]

[True name – ???]

[‘Song of the Tree’ cannot be started.]

[Power restriction time]

As expected.

As Mistilteinn had told him, the Song of the Tree wasn’t manifesting.

He wanted to face that unidentified queen again, but Mistilteinn had said.

Starting from after someone was summoned to Mistilteinn’s world and left.

There was a two-month cooldown time for the power in real time.

Although it was a copy of a soul summoned based on the tree’s memory, it was a power that recreated a person exactly, so it made sense to have a sufficient interval.

With the absorption of the World Tree branch as well, there was no need to push Mistilteinn unnecessarily.

Lee Dojin slowly swung the black wooden sword.

He needed to get used to the new sword.