A Clue (2)

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It was 2 hours before the clan meeting started when I realized the seriousness of this incident.

Choi Yoo-min, a special category Holder who was a founding member and had deep ties with me.

And among the three juniors who had gained quite a reputation as the ‘Freshman Trio’… No, to be exact, only two of the juniors, Song Hyun-a and Park Yoon-seo.

The situation changed when they simultaneously came to the master room.

“Please… Please help me, Jae-hyun.”

Choi Yoo-min pleaded with me, tears in her eyes.

Her younger sister, who was also a junior I had entrusted with a few alchemy-related requests… Choi Arin had been implicated in this <Jongno District Holder Serial Kidnapping Case>.

The estimated date was the day before yesterday.

She reportedly hadn’t returned after saying she was going to do a direct trade related to magic stones.

Her closest friends, Song Hyun-a and Park Yoon-seo, also testified about her disappearance, making Choi Arin’s kidnapping almost a foregone conclusion.

‘…Those damn bastards, really.’

And as I heard the details, I found it hard to hide my rising anger.

The Ludenark Sect, which I had vaguely considered a group of evil to be pursued.

I didn’t expect them to make the first move like this.

Whether they intended it or not, the thought that someone close to me had suddenly fallen victim made my blood boil.

Moreover, since they were beings from another world, they seemed to have even less hesitation in their indiscriminate criminal acts.

“Holder Han Sang-jin is the temporary planning team leader of the Evil Hunter Clan. Please oversee the plan and organization of this rescue operation.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, we don’t have time.”

I assigned Han Sang-jin as the clan’s temporary planning team leader.

He was a training category Holder who had been with me since <Ripple Raid>.

I had been keeping an eye on his unique analytical and judgment skills since he was a member of the Raidforce.

Although he’s a Holder who can be of sufficient help in direct combat, he’s also specialized in handling internal clan work, making him perfect for this temporary position.

“It’s fixed that the Master, along with Holder Yoo Eun-seol, will take on the role of Vice Master.”

Han Sang-jin was surprised when first assigned the role, but soon regained his composure and offered opinions on the temporary organization of clan members.

Most of the organization was rational.

As the founder, I was naturally the Master.

The Vice Master is Yoo Eun-seol, the only S-grade and the strongest in the clan.

And for the team leaders of the temporary organization assigned to carry out the operation, clan members who could be called the most veteran in each category were selected.

Hunt Team 1 was led by Yoo Eun-seol, who also held the Vice Master position, Team 2 by Lim Hyun, Team 3 by Jeong Seon-young, and Team 4 by Kim A-reum.

They were all skilled individuals I had put the most effort into recruiting.

But for the leader of Team 5, a question mark appeared in my head without me realizing it.

“…You want to put Jin-woo as the leader of Team 5?

“That’s right.

Han Sang-jin boldly pushed for Park Jin-woo’s team leader position.

If Park Jin-woo found out, he’d probably say ‘That bastard Do Jae-hyun is at it again’, but this appointment wasn’t my sole decision.

“Is there really a need for that? There are many other veteran Holders too.”

“It’s an absolutely necessary process.”

“…Why?”

“Because currently, half of Evil Hunter’s clan members are filled with student Holders.”

Student Holders are clan members that are like the identity of <Evil Hunter>.

It’s good for them to learn under veteran clan members and fill in their inexperienced parts, but it’s also important for them to be active with freshness as a weapon and breathe vitality into the clan.

Park Jin-woo was chosen as the focal point for this.

Although I’m the Master, we need a clan member who can command in the field and practical work, and Park Jin-woo, who had already clearly proven his ability in <Ripple Raid>, was a perfect fit.

‘Juyeon and Ga-eun are temporary clan members for now.’

Kang Juyeon and Moon Ga-eun would also fit well in this role.

However, they were temporary clan members assigned in a dispatched form.

There could be opposition from other clan members if they were given important responsibilities within the clan.

“Alright. How did you compose the rest of the team members?”

“Yes, if you look here…”

After a long discussion with Han Sang-jin, we finished composing all the temporary hunting teams.

It was an organization that considered rank, category, and harmony.

And.

The clan meeting that was held earlier than the scheduled time.

Han Sang-jin led the clan meeting much more skillfully than I had expected.

He neatly summarized and explained the necessary parts, such as the current situation of the clan, the temporary organization, and the contents and plans of the upcoming operation.

Although the schedule was a bit tight, the clan members all seemed to understand his neat organization.

After the basic explanation from the temporary planning team leader was over, I took over the microphone.

“Greetings to all clan members. I’m Do Jae-hyun, the Clan Master of Evil Hunter.”

Clap clap clap clap-

I paused for a moment as thunderous applause erupted.

“I’ve met and interviewed all clan members individually, but this is the first time we’ve all gathered in one place. It would be nice to have a clan tower opening ceremony and an after-party on such a joyous day… But given the situation, I’m sorry we had to hastily schedule this.”

I continued speaking, looking ahead with a determined expression.

“But I’d like you to recognize how important this situation is. As Team Leader Han Sang-jin explained earlier, this operation will begin with searching for and rescuing the kidnapped victims. And that search…”

My gaze turns to one corner.

Two women who weren’t visible before due to the limited view walk towards the platform.

They were Song Hyun-a and Park Yoon-seo, the juniors who came to find me with Choi Yoo-min.

“…Park Yoon-seo?”

“…Miss Hyun-a?”

Two clan members are greatly surprised by their appearance.

One was obviously Park Jin-woo, Park Yoon-seo’s older brother, and the other was Holder, who had come over from <Dragon Sword> as a friendly clan dispatch.

He looked bewildered as the younger sister of the original clan master suddenly appeared at the <Evil Hunter> clan meeting.

“Juniors. The thing you showed earlier…”

“Here it is.”

Before I could finish speaking, Park Yoon-seo handed over the compass she had been holding tightly, as if she had been waiting.

She held up the compass for the clan members to see.

“This compass is a magical tracking compass invented by Choi Arin, an alchemist class Holder, before the incident. When the user inputs magic, it can track the location of the linked person, a kind of magical GPS tracker…”

I pause for a moment and input magic into the compass.

And soon.

With a ‘ping, grr-‘ sound, the compass moves.

The direction was pointing northwest.

“As you can see, it works normally. It’s set up so that not only simple direction tracking, but also specific additional functions will work as we get closer.”

It’s truly an innovative location tracking magical tool.

An invention of a level that’s hard to believe was made by an academy freshman.

Perhaps that’s why the eyes of the clan members looking at it were filled with amazement.

“Also, this magical tool has been verified by Professor Kang Dong-wook, an expert in magic and item analysis. He verified that the array state is precise and the structure operates normally when magic is input. Therefore, this magical tool… Will be an excellent guide for us who need to find the victims first.”

I declared to the clan members while holding the compass tightly.

“The preparation deadline is until tomorrow morning. All clan members assigned to the hunting team are requested to gather at the clan tower with preparations to engage in battle immediately. The first goal of this operation is to rescue all the victims first.”

The specific details of the operation and team assignments have been conveyed.

What remains is to follow the clues left by Choi Arin…

To find where the victims and enemies are.

***

Ippotranslation

***

The next morning.

All members of <Evil Hunter> gathered.

In fact, it’s extremely rare for Holders to be kidnapped, so there was a high probability that investigation teams would be formed by the association and each clan, but anyway, the initial investigation was our clan’s responsibility.

We started tracking from the clan tower.

The performance of the [Magic Tracking Compass] was quite good.

At first, it only pointed in a simple direction, but as we got closer to where Choi Arin was predicted to be, additional signals appeared.

Of course, these are unusual traces of magic that ordinary people can’t grasp, but for archer class Holders with search-type runes, this level was a piece of cake.

And.

“Master, it’s here.”

Said an archer class Holder from hunting team 1.

A clan member in charge of accurate location tracking with the compass.

In the direction she pointed…

There was a rough and hard ground.

A cross-section with nothing around it.

I quietly looked at that place.

Since the enemies wouldn’t have dug a tunnel here…

“It’s the entrance to a dungeon.”

“Yes, it’s definitely a medium for entering a dungeon.”

It’s a moment when another secret is revealed.

After I revealed the information about the Ludenark faction.

The Holder Association had been steadily searching for them, but couldn’t find a single clue.

It was an obvious story.

‘…Because they were in a dungeon.’

It was somewhat expected from the moment it was said that beings from another world were active in this world.

They probably have something to do with the dungeon generation process, like the ‘Adaptors’ Baraten tribe or the ‘Transcenders’ Dragons.

And unlike them.

They are free to enter and exit dungeons.

The result of that was now before our eyes.

I spoke quietly among the clan members surrounding the area.

“…We’re going in.”

“Yes!”

Now it was time to confirm their true nature.


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