CHAPTER 5

Divinity (1)

Honam Plain. A crucial region responsible for South Korea's rice production. A gate appeared here a week ago.

The gate, classified as an A-rank raid difficulty and marked with a crimson hue, was assigned to the Phoenix Guild, ensuring a smooth clearance.

If only the Phoenix Guild had done their job properly.

"What the hell happened here?!"

Manager Kim Jinsoo and Deputy Han Hari flew directly to Honam Plain via helicopter. Upon arrival, they met with the Phoenix Guild's guild master, Lee Yongwan.

"Oh, Manager Kim. And our rookie, Miss Han Hari, is here too?"

Despite the severity of the situation, he maintained an air of composure. Seeing his expression, the two immediately realized:

'This bastard… did it on purpose!'

No doubt about it. The Phoenix Guild deliberately stalled their raid to trigger a dungeon break!

'They kept demanding tax exemptions, and now they resort to this nonsense?!'

Recently, tensions between the Hunters' Association and the Phoenix Guild had been escalating.

All year long, the Phoenix Guild, one of South Korea's top ten guilds, had been persistently demanding tax exemptions.

They sought tax breaks up to 1 trillion won on revenue from by-products obtained in gates, mana stones, and monster materials.

Their justification? Nurturing new talent and covering increasing medical expenses for guild members.

The government, which already provided various benefits to major guilds, was reluctant and rejected Guild Master Lee Yongwan's demands.

They had expected him to retaliate somehow, but no one imagined he would pull something like this—especially with the chaos caused by the first black gate to appear in 13 years!

'Damn bastards! Do they even understand what kind of land this is?! The purification of Naju Plain isn't even complete yet, and now they do this?!'

Since the gate crisis began, global food trade routes had frozen solid.

Expansive farmlands that were slow to respond to the early gate crisis were contaminated with mana, and Korea was no exception.

The country's premier rice-producing regions had been tainted, and the astronomical costs of purchasing purification reagents from the Mage Tower had already drained resources.

If this year's harvest from Honam Plain was lost, Korea's already fragile food self-sufficiency rate would be cut in half.

A desperate Han Hari stepped forward.

"Hunter Lee Yongwan! We need to close this gate immediately! Today marks the seventh day! If we wait any longer—"

"I know, I know. The rights to a contracted gate transfer over. But what can we do?"

Lee Yongwan sneered at them with a mocking smile.

"Our guild members suffered significant injuries. At this rate, we can't continue the raid. I regret to inform you that the Phoenix Guild must forfeit our rights to the Honam Gate."

"...!"

Manager Kim Jinsoo and Deputy Han Hari's faces flushed red with anger. They wanted to curse him out and punch him on the spot, but he was an S-rank hunter.

Kim Jinsoo, a mere B-rank hunter, and even Han Hari, an A-rank hunter, would struggle to match up against his subordinates, let alone him.

'Bastard! They have this many A-rank hunters, yet they claim they can't clear the gate?!'

"What are you trying to say?"

"You've managed to handle the first wave of monsters, haven't you? But you know the gate hasn't fully erupted yet, right?"

Because of the personnel deployed to the black gate, the association had some resources to spare.

But not for long. A dungeon filled with monsters would break anywhere between the 7th and 10th day.

In other words, the Honam Plain's crimson gate hadn't completely collapsed—yet.

"We need the rights to raid the gate, now—"

"That's not possible. Manager Kim, you know the Hunter Law. The guild that wins the bid retains exclusive rights to the gate for eight days."

Even the association couldn't forcibly revoke a contracted gate's rights. And Lee Yongwan was exploiting that loophole.

"We'll try our best until tomorrow. But with so many of our members injured, I can't guarantee success."

"You bastard…"

Han Hari couldn't hold back her curse. Lee Yongwan chuckled at her reaction.

"This could've been settled amicably. Is it just us? Chungseong, Mujin, Shark—are the heroes who risk their lives to protect this country not allowed even the smallest of benefits?"

"You've already received so much in subsidies and tax breaks…"

The benefits the government provided to major guilds were far from insignificant. But the real issue was that these guilds were insatiable.

"Maybe we should move to Japan? They've promised far better treatment than this stingy Republic of Korea."

"...!"

This was the real problem.

A global war for awakened and survivor talent.

Wealthier nations sought to secure high-ranking hunters to bolster their safety, even at the cost of diplomatic tensions and covert operations.

The Korean government, struggling to retain its remaining powerhouses, had tied major guilds down with immense financial incentives—but even that was reaching its limit.

"Do you have no sense of patriotism at all?"

In a world where the strong dominated the weak, where the powerful took everything, wasn't there at least some room for integrity? Some sense of justice?

"Patriotism? Justice? That's outdated nonsense. Grow up, will you? Miss Hari, I told you during last year's draft. In this world, money and power are justice."

Han Hari trembled with fury. This—this was why she joined the Hunters' Association.

To counter the selfishness of Korea's hunters, who only cared about profit and risk, indifferent to the suffering they caused.

A world where morality had withered, justice had plummeted, and people who tried to live righteously were mocked.

For a young girl who had once dreamed of being a hero and protecting people, this reality was utterly disgusting.

But… was it true? Was the world really nothing but money and power? If she accepted that cruel reality, then where would she even find justice?

"How utterly vulgar and antiquated."

A voice rang out from the distance, drawing everyone's attention.

"R-R-Rion, Your Majesty?!"

"Do not speak the king's name so lightly, woman. You are permitted only to address me with proper honorifics."

A man who had insisted on tagging along to "observe the world" was now stepping between them, having listened to the entire conversation.

"And who might you be? You seem to be European—"

"You stand before the king's presence! How dare a commoner prattle so insolently!"

"…Huh?"

S-rank hunter Lee Yongwan. One of Korea's twenty S-rank hunters and the guild master of the Phoenix Guild, one of the top ten guilds.

In today's world, where hunter strength translated directly into power and wealth, no one dared speak so recklessly in his presence.

But now…

'Who the hell is this guy?'

This man had just called him a commoner? And what was that nonsense about the "king's presence"?

"Are you looking to die—"

"Stop, Hunter Lee Yongwan! He's a survivor!"

"…A survivor?"

At those words, Lee Yongwan withdrew his rising mana. Right. A survivor. They were outsiders from worlds beyond Earth, shaped by different cultures.

While their customs were secondary, survivors themselves were highly valuable. Not all of them, of course.

Lee Yongwan wasn't foolish enough to antagonize a survivor immediately.

"My apologies. I am Lee Yongwan of the Phoenix Guild. A survivor, you say… Could it be that you came from that black gate—?"

"The king does not repeat himself."

With that, Rion silenced him and turned to Han Hari and Kim Jinsoo.

"Explain the problem."

"Huh?"

"Do not make me ask twice. I am unfamiliar with these 'gates.' Summarize the issue clearly."

The two hesitated for a moment before realization struck.

He was offering to resolve the problem.

The story continues with Rion, an enigmatic survivor with royal status, stepping in to challenge the corruption and indifference of Korea's hunter system.