Headhunting (1)

I went to the guild headquarters to find out the location of the Lightning group meeting. Whether I always had to go to the headquarters like this… well, I wasn’t sure.

“It’s been a while!”

The staff member greeted me as cheerfully as ever.

“I came to ask where today’s Lightning group meeting is.”

“Oh, the Lightning group meeting?”

Her reaction?

“Was it canceled?”

“Not canceled, but a separate mission has come down for you, Han-gyeol.”

“A mission?”

“I’m not sure of the details myself. For now, I’ll let my superiors know you’re here, so please wait over there. You’ll get the details then. And here’s the location for the Lightning group meeting. If you don’t need to be deployed on the mission right away, you can head there.”

“Ah, thank you. And… do I have to come to the headquarters every time?”

“Pardon? Ah… for the group meetings? You have to attend about three times to become a full member. After that, you’ll be able to get the location without coming to headquarters.”

“Ah, a full member… I see. So there’s something like that.”

“To be honest… ‘full member’ isn’t an official title or anything. It’s just that after you’ve come about three times, the members inside will invite you to their chat room…”

“So I don’t necessarily have to come three times?”

“Well, if you get close to someone in the group, you might get in after two visits… but that rarely happens. From what I’ve seen, they don’t seem to invite anyone who’s only shown up once.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. That chat room has all the Elemental mages of that specific affinity, so it’s a bit much to ask them to invite someone they don’t know… Ah, I just got a message. I’ll show you the way.”

The staff member led me to a small conference room.

When I opened the door and went inside, a man was sitting there. I hadn’t seen him before.

“Hello.”

“Hello. Please, have a seat.”

A cup of tea was placed in front of me.

“So, about the mission I was told about.”

“That’s correct.”

The man in the white suit handed me a bundle of documents. Written on them was—

“…Blue Forest?”

“Yes. They’re an organization that runs a black market inside an unregistered gate.”

…I already know that. But why? Why all of a sudden?

“I hear the leader of that organization is quite skilled with the fire element.”

“Which means…”

“We would like you to meet with the leader of ‘Blue Forest,’ the criminal organization that runs the black market.”

*

To sum up the mission in one word: headhunting.

Since she appeared to wield an element, they wanted me to try and recruit her into ‘Elemental,’ the guild of elemental mages.

If recruitment failed, I was to at least establish a relationship between her and Elemental.

This ‘relationship’ included interacting as fellow elemental mages, but more importantly, since they possessed a gate with a sizable black market, I was also supposed to propose a ‘relationship’ on that front.

Of course, this ‘relationship’ would be unofficial….

Apparently, it would be a huge pain if a government-certified guild was caught associating with an unregistered guild that had an unregistered gate.

The reason I, of all people, got this mission was because I had a decent amount of power and currently had nothing else to do….

If I had teammates under me, it might be different, but I was still operating solo. Plus, I was officially an A-rank Awakener. I wasn’t the kind of Awakener who’d go out and get himself killed, which made me a suitable candidate.

Since it was true that I wasn’t doing anything (at least publicly), I didn’t really have a reason to refuse.

Of course, I was bewildered at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was a relief that I was the one who got this mission.

First off, she would obviously refuse to join.

Seo A-gyeol and I couldn’t exist at the same time.

Even if someone else made the offer to me, I’d have to refuse. But it was a good thing I knew about this in advance. If someone else had taken this mission, they might have discovered my secret while trying to approach me.

It might seem like a leap in logic, but I couldn’t let my guard down. The file the staff member gave me contained a fair amount of information on ‘Blue Forest’ and ‘Seo A-gyeol’s’ activities.

And even without that file, the damage from being discovered would be too great, so it was crucial to shut down even the slightest possibility.

In any case, since I was the one handling this mission, I just needed to shut down the proposal gracefully…

-When do I need to get an answer by?

-The sooner, the better. As you can see from the file, she’s an Awakener who has been rising rapidly. Of course… it all depends on which offer she accepts, if any. If she agrees to join, it should be as soon as possible. If it’s a ‘relationship,’ we’ll have to schedule a separate meeting later.

-You mean the partnership with the black market.

-If you get a positive response on that front, one of our staff will go next time. Unofficially, of course. You’re about to… go to a gate soon, aren’t you? With the guild’s Expeditionary Force.

-Yes.

-Once you return from the gate… you’ll be quite busy. But if it’s a follow-up visit based on a positive response, you don’t necessarily have to participate again. Of course, if Blue Forest requests your presence, you’ll have to go.

‘The sooner, the better,’ huh…

Guess I can’t make it to the Lightning group meeting?

Me: I don’t think I can make the Lightning group meeting today because of a mission.
Sung Yu-han: Can’t be helped if it’s a mission.
Sung Yu-han: What’s the mission?
Sung Yu-han: Need help?
Me: Ah, it’s fine.
Me: It’s not that difficult.

That was Sung Yu-han, whom I’d met in Team Orchestra back when I was a trainee clearing gates.

He was also an Awakener who used the lightning element.

Anyway, judging by his reaction, this mission must be pretty important. I’d have to scrap my lazy idea of just dropping by the Lightning meeting for a bit.

I wanted to show off my Death Beam, too.

Well, there’s always another day.

I took out the file and read it again. It had some details on ‘Seo A-gyeol’s’ activities, but it was mostly information about ‘Blue Forest’ and its black market.

I wondered if it was okay for a black market to be this well-known, but then again, who would go to a black market if no one knew about it? More than anything, I supposed this was the result of the massive guild Elemental’s intelligence network.

The Fire group meeting was the day after tomorrow, and I didn’t want to drag this out until then.

I considered waiting until Saturday when the black market opened, but today was Thursday. By Saturday, after the Fire meeting, I’d have to prepare for the gate expedition.

I’d go right now.

*

“What brings you here?”

Before I could enter the gate, someone blocked my path as I stepped into the building where it was located.

Since I came as a member of Elemental, I was, of course, in my male form.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say.

“I have a proposal for the Guild Master of Blue Forest.”

“…And where are you from?”

I casually showed him my guild ID.

“…I’ll show you in.”

The place he led me to was a large tent set up in a clearing in the forest.

After a short wait, the entrance flap rustled and someone came in. It was Ahn Yu-su.

“You’re from… Elemental, I hear.”

“Elemental? I am… a member of Elemental, but… well.”

“Ah, so you’re here in a personal capacity.”

It would be problematic if I said I came directly on behalf of Elemental. Of course, it wasn’t like they’d get caught, but it was best to cut off these things beforehand to avoid complications.

I had to come strictly as a member of Elemental, an individual, not as Elemental itself.

That part was emphasized in the file.

As I met his question with a suitable silence, Ahn Yu-su asked again.

“What is your business here?”

“I heard that the Guild Master of Blue Forest is quite skilled with the elements.”

“Uh… our Guild Master is an Enhancement-type, though.”

Nominally, Park Eun-su was the Guild Master. And in practice… Park Eun-su was the Guild Master.

It was because I… tended to run around a lot. Fortunately, Park Eun-su didn’t seem to have any complaints about that.

Well, anyway.

“Is that so? Still, could you pass on the message? Tell her I highly recommend our guild. Elemental is always waiting for talented individuals.”

“She’s not an elemental mage, but… I’ll pass on the message anyway.”

“Thank you. And this….”

I casually handed him a document.

Not the file they told me to read, but a document with the proposal for Blue Forest. It was probably about the ‘relationship.’

“Aha…. This is something… we’ll need some time to think about on our end.”

“I’m not asking for a decision right now. If you have some interest… someone else will come next time. Someone who can go over the finer details.”

“Then would you mind waiting for a moment? If you’re bored, I can have someone show you around the area.”

…Since I had nothing better to do.

“I’ll do that.”

*

The person assigned to me was Namgung Yoon.

I wondered if the Vice Guild Master should be doing this kind of work, but considering we were both elemental mages, it wasn’t a bad choice.

“So, if you’re from Elemental….”

“I’m an elemental mage. I wield fire.”

“Ah, fire. I use it too.”

“Oh, you’re an elemental mage?”

“Yes. Well, due to various circumstances… I couldn’t join Elemental.”

Then, silence. The conversation ended so abruptly I didn’t know what to say.

Following Namgung Yoon around, I got to see what the black market looked like from a third-person perspective. This was my first time here as Lee Han-gyeol.

I spotted another group passing by. I recognized the person leading them as an Awakener from Blue Forest.

The way the group looked… it was as if….

“Where is that group from?”

“Them? They’re… from ‘Yua Dokjon,’ as far as I know.”

“From Yua Dokjon?”

Why were they here?

“Ah. As you may know, we had a battle recently, and we won. Our opponent was… the Swallow Faction, I believe? Na Seung-hyun, the Blue Light, and Eun-ik were killed.”

“The Blue Light… and Eun-ik? I only Awakened recently, so I don’t know them.”

“I didn’t know them well either, but I heard they were quite strong. The Blue Light was one of the pillars of the Swallowtail Faction and led the Swallow Faction. Eun-ik was also a pretty famous assassin among the Swallowtails. And both of them died. Here.”

He sounded like he was bragging.

“Ah…. The Swallowtails.”

As we were watching them, they looked back at us. They seemed to exchange a few words before walking over.

“Excuse me, are you the one from Elemental?”

“I am. What can I do for you?”

“Ah, it’s nothing important.”

The man who approached me smiled faintly.

“I just wanted to say, if you’ve come to take her away, you’re wasting your effort.”