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

Strategist.

Most Hunters were not familiar with the role. At least, it was unknown to those who hadn't experienced the Great War. But everyone in the convention room knew what it meant.

Many guild members who were together now had gone through the Minor War. In that process, they had encountered the legacies left by the Great War, either directly or indirectly. The Unified Strike Force Team was one such legacy.

Although the Minor War arrived and ended quickly, preventing the team's official formation, people had already discussed it. Plus, even Hunters who didn't know about the team had learned about it after Kang Muhyuk mentioned it during a hearing.

The Hunters chosen for the mission had been briefed on the team's structure and purpose. So, they understood the role of the Strategist right away. But their reaction wasn't positive.

"Appointing a civilian as a Strategist? By doing that, the strike force is practically accepting the guild leader system!!!"

Jeon Yesung, who had just become the deputy raid leader, voiced the concerns of the others and expressed anger.

He was upset, partly because he hadn't been informed by Sung Seonjae, the raid leader, despite his position. But mainly, it was because a civilian, rather than an experienced Hunter, had been given the Strategist role.

The role of Strategist had originally started with military personnel, not Hunters. In the past, non-Hunter leadership had caused serious issues, so Hunters were sensitive to civilians being put in charge. Now that the Strategist was directly involved in raids, it was natural for them to react strongly.

'Hmph! Sure, during the early days of the Great War, military officers were made Strategists. But things are different now. Monsters aren't some schoolyard game, and we can't trust our lives to someone who doesn't even know how hunting works.'

Sung Seonjae had expected this kind of reaction and stayed calm.

"I didn't know some of you still had issues with the old guild leaders system. I thought we had all moved on from that."

"Who said we'd moved on? We've just been waiting. And now you're telling me we're appointing a civilian as Strategist for something this serious? Team Leader Sung, have you been away from the field too long to see how ridiculous this is?"

"It's not 'Team Leader,' it's 'Raid Leader.'"

Slayer Guild Expedition Leader So Sangyeob stepped forward and corrected the title Jeon Yesung had just used. It was his way of saying, "The ceremony's over---give the guy the respect he deserves."

Jeon Yesung shot him a sharp glare. He was clearly displeased that So Sangyeob had taken it upon himself to point out the so-called slip-up. But it wasn't really a mistake. Jeon had deliberately refused to acknowledge Sung Seonjae as the official leader.

To add fuel to the fire, So Sangyeob and Jeon Yesung were the same age. They had both awakened as Hunters around the same time. They had also gone through the Hunter curriculum together. In other words, they were rivals.

People couldn't talk about Jeon Yesung without mentioning So Sangyeob, and vice versa. Naturally, they weren't exactly friends---especially since they were part of guilds in the same tier.

As the tension between the two mounted, Sung Seonjae stepped in, "The authority to appoint positions rests entirely with the raid leader. I'm pretty sure you know that. Isn't that right, Deputy Leader?"

"Don't try to deceive us, 'Leader.' There's no mention of 'entirely' anywhere in the rules. If I recall correctly, there's a sub-clause that allows for consultation with the executives of the strike force."

"Oops, you got me. Looks like someone's been doing their homework."

Even though his lie was exposed, Sung Seonjae didn't flinch. He didn't show the slightest hint of shame. Instead, he confidently owned up to it, leaving Jeon with nothing to say.

Sung Seonjae smiled, trying to ease the tension.

"I understand where you're coming from. But for now, we need to fill these positions quickly. If you have any complaints, we can talk about adjustments afterward."

"Don't try to gloss over this. Do you think I don't know you? This is your scheme. You'll push this through and then conveniently 'forget' about any objections later."

"Scheme? Come on! You might be the master of the Dragon Guild, but our expedition leader is one of the pillars of the Slayer Guild---and he's your senior. How about showing a little respect?"

"So Sangyeob, why do you keep jumping into conversations between superiors? Is that your idea of respect?"

"You're not above me."

"I'm the deputy leader."

"Then act like it and show our leader some respect. If you do that, I'll treat you the same."

Seeing So Sangyeob bared his teeth, Jeon Yesung backed off, realizing that pushing too hard, even as a Guild Master, wasn't always the best strategy.

"And speaking of respect, where's this so-called Strategist? I get that Chairman Han Byunggu is busy, but a civilian who's never even seen a monster doesn't show up to the launch ceremony? That's a problem for me."

Other Hunters around them nodded in agreement. The guy had made such a big deal about the unified strike force during the hearing. Now, when it counted, he was a no-show.

It almost seemed like he was avoiding the inevitable backlash from the Hunters.

Since the man in question wasn't present, Sung Seonjae answered for him.

"Guild Leader Kang Muhyuk is really busy. He told me he'd be a bit late. Today is mostly a formality anyway, so all he has to do is show his face, right?"

"Oh, what's he doing? Special training to awaken or maybe eating mana stones?"

"I didn't know there was special training for an awakening? If that exists, I'd love to know about it."

"Wow, are you really glaring at me over a joke?"

"Oh, a joke? I thought the almighty Guild Master actually believed the fake news that eating mana stones causes an awakening."

Sung Seonjae's words were full of sarcasm.

The room suddenly went cold. Dragon Slayer Guild members stood up, their eyes burning with anger. Chairs scraped the floor and fell over, filling the room with noise.

As the Dragon Slayer Hunters became aggressive, So Sangyeob took a step toward Jeon Yesung. The Slayer Guild members stood up as well, ready for a fight.

The air was thick with tension. If someone had thrown a knife, a fight would have broken out.

Just then, the door to the convention room opened, and a man walked in. The loud creak of the hinges broke the silence, and all eyes turned to the door.

It was Kang Mu-hyuk. He looked between the two guilds, who were glaring at each other. He checked his watch and said, "What's going on? You haven't sorted this out yet? I came late on purpose to give you time to settle things."

Jeon Yesung immediately caught the meaning behind Kang Muhyuk's words, and his anger rose.

"This guy's got to be kidding. You left us here to argue while you stayed out of it? Who the hell are you trying to play games with?!"

Jeon released his Hunter's aura, trying to intimidate Kang Mu-hyuk. He expected Kang Mu-hyuk to crumble under the pressure, since no ordinary person could handle the presence of a Hunter. But, to everyone's surprise, Kang Mu-hyuk didn't seem affected at all. He just shrugged and said, "Anyway, sorry for being late. I thought this would be a good chance for everyone to get to know each other, but I got tied up with something more urgent. Let's get started, shall we?"

As Kang Muhyuk walked calmly to the stage, Jeon Yesung was left confused.

'What...? This is not how things were supposed to go... What's with this guy?'

Even though Jeon had toned down his aura to avoid going too far, the pressure from a Hunter---no matter how weak---should have been enough to scare any civilian.

Jeon Yesung was confused. He couldn't understand how a civilian could resist his aura. In the confusion, he missed his chance to argue.

Meanwhile, Kang Mu-hyuk casually handed a USB to the staff in charge of the ceremony. He gave them some instructions before stepping up to the stage.

As Kang walked to the center, Sung Seonjae sat down. The other Slayer Guild members followed his lead. Jeon Yesung, now without anyone to confront, felt awkward, and returned to his seat.

With the tension gone, a large projector screen descended from the ceiling.

"Please display the first file."

Kang asked the staff member with the USB. Moments later, a large map appeared on the screen. It showed the northern defensive line of the Tumen River, focusing on the Demonic Realm.

Kang turned on a laser pointer and pointed to the map.

"Here is the Jilin City Gate, 235 kilometers northwest of Mt. Baekdu. Then, 250 kilometers east, there is the Mudanjiang Gate. Another 250 kilometers northwest brings us to the Harbin Gate. North of Mudanjiang, 252 kilometers away, and 300 kilometers east of Harbin, is the Jiamusi Gate. Finally, there's a suspected Gate somewhere south of Changchun. In total, there are five Gates clustered in the central and eastern regions of the Demonic Realm. The Jilin City Gate is already open, and the others will open soon."

Each time Kang pointed to a gate, a red dot appeared on the map.

The Hunters, now fully focused, paid close attention to the scenario. They were some of the top Hunters in the country, so they quickly understood the seriousness of the situation. That's why they couldn't speak up.

The positioning of the Gates was unsettling.

Everyone could tell things were not looking good.

Kang said the worst case scenario everyone was thinking about.

"You've all been through the academy, so this should be familiar. But let's go over it again, just to be sure."

As he spoke, the red dots on the map expanded into circles. The circles overlapped, showing areas of danger.

"The distances between the Gates range from 200 to 300 kilometers. As you can see, they are all within the detection range of the boss monsters. You know what will happen if these Gates open at the same time."

"The bosses will start moving in opposite directions."

One of the Hunters mumbled. The room was so quiet that his voice echoed. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat.

Kang responded to his words, "Exactly. Jilin's boss will move south, Mudanjiang's east, Jiamusi's northeast, and Harbin's boss will likely move either north or northwest. As for the Changchun Gate, although we don't know its exact location, the boss will probably move south or west."

On the screen, arrows appeared from each Gate, showing where the bosses would likely go.

"The three nations bordering the Demonic Realm will all face attacks from the Gate bosses. But the country that will suffer the most is Russia."

Three out of the five Gates were directed toward Russia because of the vast size of its land.

Kang Mu-hyuk moved to the next slide. It showed the same map, but now with a larger area for the Demonic Realm.

"This is how the Demonic Realm will expand if we don't hunt the Gate bosses early."

Even a rough estimate showed that the new area was almost 30% larger than before. The most alarming part was the expansion to the south.

Sung Seonjae muttered, "It's like we're going back to the days before North and South Korea unified."

The entire northern part of the Korean Peninsula had become part of the Demonic Realm.

"This is a conservative estimate. If it overlaps with the Gaema Plateau Special Operations Zone, the area could expand even further."

"What's the basis for calculating such a large expansion?"

Jeon Yesung questioned the calculations. But this time, he wasn't trying to argue---he was serious unlike his fight earlier with Sung Seonjae.

Before anything else, Jeon Yesung was a Hunter, and he took great pride in his family, especially his grandfather, a hero of the Great War. He wasn't foolish enough to focus on power struggles when a crisis was looming.

"It's based on the first expansion of the Demonic Realm during the Minor War, and the second expansion during earlier Gate outbreaks. There might be a small margin of error, but we don't expect the area to be any smaller than this."

The Hunters nodded at Kang Mu-hyuk's reply. They understood that this wasn't just a guess.

Sung Seonjae observed the Hunters, who had grown quiet and serious, smiled inwardly.

'Did he aim for this, or was it luck? The ones who were ready to kick Kang Mu-hyuk out as the strategist can't complain now.'

Sung Seonjae was sure Kang Mu-hyuk intended for this to happen. Kang Mu-hyuk had brought this information on purpose, knowing it would change the conversation.

It was a smart political move---using a crisis to silence dissent. Now that there was a real threat, no true Hunter would waste time on petty arguments.

'There might still be some complaints later. But anyone who stirs things up now wouldn't be fit to call themselves a Hunter. I kept this in mind when picking the strike force as well. Jeez, as expected, he's in a different class. It's a shame he's stuck in a small guild like Iron Will... if only it weren't for Ju Se-ah...'

Sung Seonjae found himself wanting Kang Mu-hyuk for his own team. After working with him, he saw Kang Mu-hyuk's true value.

Just as Sung started to feel relieved that the conflict had settled, the door to the convention room opened again. Everyone's attention shifted to the entrance. Everyone frowned and their faces quickly turned to confusion.

Kang Muhyuk, almost to himself, said what everyone was thinking, "Why is the White Tiger Guild here...?"