"Everyone, let's continue the celebration outside the dungeon. Healers check the injured immediately; if they are not heavily injured, we will heal them once we are outside," Jinchul told everyone.
"Yes! Let's have a party once all is done!" roared a member of the Reaper Guild, to which the rest of them nodded with wide smiles, energized by the success of the raid.
"Mr. Jin, you are also invited to the party," Lim told Jinchul as they began walking toward the shimmering blue exit of the Gate.
"I am not a party guy, more of a party pooper. It's best to leave me out," Jinchul replied, shaking his head with a wry smile. Lim nodded, feeling as though he understood—a man with that much hidden power likely found the mundane chatter of a guild party exhausting.
Behind them, Kang Taeshik, who had overheard the exchange, began to imagine his stoic Chief in the middle of a dance floor, perhaps performing a stiff, rhythmic two-step while wearing his signature scowl.
He clamped his hand over his mouth, but his shaking shoulders didn't go unnoticed by Song Chiyul.
"Hey, Taeshik, are you hurt somewhere?" Chiyul asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.
Taeshik shook his head vigorously, leaned in, and whispered his mental image to the old swordsman.
Chiyul glanced at Jinchul's stiff back, then at Taeshik, who was now staring at the dungeon ceiling, trying desperately to contain his laughter.
Chiyul's own lip began to twitch. He reached out and smacked Taeshik lightly on the back of the head. "You shouldn't think like that, little snake," he bickered, though his eyes were crinkling.
"Say that after wiping the smirk off your own face, you old smoke-lighter," Taeshik hissed back, referring to Chiyul's occasionally fiery temper.
They didn't notice that the shoulders of Lee Jin-Seok and Lim Tae-Gyu had also begun to twitch. Having seen Jinchul literally catch a Boss-rank monster's fist like it was a stray fly, the idea of him "partying" was both absurd and terrifying.
Jinchul continued walking as if he hadn't heard a thing. However, a single vein pulsed on his forehead. 'Training sessions for Taeshik need to be a little tougher,' Jinchul thought.
'Perhaps a three-day endurance run with no mana should be helpful for him.' A small, predatory smile touched his lips at the thought.
Seok, catching a glimpse of that specific smile, immediately slowed his pace, drifting toward the back of the group. He began a silent prayer that the "smiling demon" wouldn't turn his gaze toward him.
After a few minutes, they stepped through the gate's threshold. The cool evening air of the real world hit them, a sharp contrast to the stagnant, musky heat of the Lycan forest.
Jinchul immediately closed his eyes, expanding his mana perception in a wide radius to sense the other dungeon. After a moment of silence, he felt the familiar, stable resonance of the city. He relaxed.
The transition back to reality was swift. Association vans and medical tents were already waiting. As the Guild members were ushered toward the healers, the atmosphere shifted from the adrenaline of battle to the logistical weight of a successful B-rank raid.
Lim Tae-Gyu and Woo Jinchul went towards the area where the Knight Guild was stationed. Jinchul was listening to the report of his subordinate.
Park Jongsoo saw Lim & Jin arriving " I suppose that the other dungeon raid was successful as well"
"Yes Mr. Park it was successful with the help of Mr. Lim and Reaper Guild. How was yours?" replied Jinchul
"It was a normal A Rank Dungeon but it had a lot of monsters. Luckily, as always we went in huge numbers and cleared it, if not we would have suffered" replied Park, cranking his neck a little.
"But I didnt think Reaper Guild still had the power to clear the Dungeon even after the separation" Park asked Lim, squinting his eyes a little.
"Well Mr. Jin and his team assisted us.." "We were only support staff, Mr. Lim. Do not downplay your Guild here"
Jin interrupted Lim taking over the conversation
"Yes Guild Master, you killed the dungeon boss. So having some pride is nothing wrong" Vice Guild Master Kwang of Reaper told Lim.
(T/N I just put Kwang as Vice Guild Master of Reaper. But its just a name guys, I dont know whether anyone was there. So lets imagine there was)
After finishing the conversation. Jim and Lim were returning to the Reaper Guild's area.
"Mr. Lim," Jinchul called out. "The official report will state that the Reaper Guild successfully suppressed the 'Silver Moon King' through superior coordination and the leadership of Guild Master Lim. The Association's role was purely supportive."
Lim walked over, his expression complicated. "You're really going to give us all the credit? After what you did there? If the world knew an Association Chief could solo a B-rank boss with his bare hands..."
"The world doesn't need to know," Jinchul interrupted.
His voice was no longer conversational; it was the voice of the Surveillance Team leader. "If the Association is seen as a combat force, the delicate balance between the major Guilds will collapse. They'll fear us as a rival rather than respect us as a regulator. For the safety of the public, the Association must remain 'weak' in the eyes of the masses."
Lim stared at him. He realized that Jinchul wasn't just hiding his power out of modesty—he was carrying the weight of the entire Hunter society's stability on his shoulders.
"I understand," Lim said solemnly. "But... I owe you, Jinchul-ssi. Not just for the raid, but for my life."
"You owe me an alliance Mr. Lim," Jinchul replied, finally offering a genuine, albeit small, smile. "So let's meet up in the association, once we are done here"
As the Association cars pulled away, Jinchul sat in the back of the sedan with Taeshik and Chiyul. The humor from earlier had evaporated, replaced by the professional silence of the Surveillance Team.
In the corner of the car, Jinchul pulled out a small, jagged fragment of the White Lycan King's bone. He had palmed it during the chaos. To the naked eye, it was just debris. But to Jinchul's perception, a faint, dark aura still clung to it—a shadow that didn't belong to the Lycan.
He squeezed the fragment, and it turned to dust in his palm.
Deep down, he knew the peace they were enjoying was a fragile glass floor, and something massive was beginning to hammer at it from below. He needed to be stronger. Not just for the Association, but for the world that had no idea how close it was to the edge.
"Chief?" Taeshik prompted, noticing Jinchul's intense stare.
"Nothing," Jinchul replied, leaning back and closing his eyes. "Just thinking about that training schedule. I think we'll start at 4:00 AM tomorrow."
Taeshik's groan echoed through the car, momentarily breaking the tension, but Jinchul remained silent, his mind already miles away, calculating the moves of a game the rest of the world didn't even know it was playing.