Chapter 5

The Ice Empress (2)

“First, shall we go over Cha Yunha's information once more?”

I brought up the profile Seohyeon had compiled on Cha Yunha on my tablet.

“Let's skim over what we already know. Fifth-ranked S-rank hunter, alias the Ice Empress, recently portrayed as Yu Sehwa's rival...”

I scrolled down until my finger stopped at a certain point.

[Affiliated Guild: Black Sword]

“A member of Black Sword.”

Black Sword. A hunter guild under Segang Group, one of Korea's leading conglomerates, just like Baekmyeong.

Various materials and new resources dropped by monsters, along with artifacts created using new technologies that had never existed on Earth.

As research progressed, it became clear that Towers and Gates were treasure troves of new materials and technologies unavailable on Earth.

Naturally, corporations began investing heavily in Towers and Gates, as well as training hunters, who were the only means of obtaining resources from those two places.

What began with supporting individual hunters or signing contracts with them eventually developed into corporations directly establishing and operating their own guilds.

As a result, Korean hunters could currently be divided into three broad categories according to their affiliations.

Approximately 20 percent were government-affiliated hunters, 5 percent were freelancers, and the remaining 75 percent, an overwhelming majority, belonged to guilds.

Guild-affiliated hunters were superior not only in number but also in quality.

Since corporate-backed guilds had abundant funding and provided better support, it was more advantageous for hunters to operate as guild members.

Consequently, high-ranking hunters naturally gravitated toward guilds under major corporations that offered better treatment.

As a result, it was no exaggeration to say that the hunter industry was currently dominated by a handful of massive guilds supported by major corporations.

Black Sword was one such major guild, operating under Segang Group, the sixth-largest conglomerate in Korea.

It was a long-established guild that had existed for nearly ten years, almost since Towers and Gates first began appearing.

“And Cha Yunha graduated from an academy affiliated with Black Sword immediately after awakening eight years ago, then signed a contract with Black Sword. She hasn't changed affiliations since, making her a member through and through.”

When I raised my head, Seohyeon was staring directly at me.

“Now that we've gone over everything again, it seems even less likely that Ms. Yunha will join us.”

“We shouldn't jump to conclusions before trying. How's that thing I asked you to handle?”

“...One moment.”

Seohyeon operated the tablet she was holding, and an email soon arrived in my inbox.

“I've sent it. Please check.”

When I opened the email, a list of attached documents and videos appeared.

“These are Ms. Cha Yunha's recent schedules, as you requested, along with footage of her battles during Gate raids, recorded by drone cameras and kept by the association.”

“Thank you.”

“As you know... neither of these materials is easy to obtain through ordinary channels.”

As a major figure in the hunter industry, Cha Yunha's activities were strictly monitored by Black Sword to prevent information about her movements from leaking outside.

The same went for footage of her battles.

Apart from the portions released to the media, these were rare materials possessed only by the association and her guild.

As for how I'd obtained them...

It was simple. The power of money.

I'd paid substantial sums to employees of Black Sword and the association to get them to leak the information.

Money really was the best.

“Well then, let's take a look.”

There were two things I'd learned from Cha Yunha in my previous life.

-There are limits to this freezing ability. That's why it took me a really long time to overcome them...

-Until I overcame those limits, I gradually began falling behind other hunters. Then Black Sword started treating me poorly. But because I'd been with Black Sword from the very beginning, I couldn't bring myself to consider moving to another guild for a long time...

At some point, she'd encountered the limits of her abilities, and until she overcame them, she gradually lost her competitiveness against other hunters.

During that process, Black Sword treated her poorly, and she grew dissatisfied with them.

However, I didn't know the exact timing or the specific circumstances.

I didn't know precisely which aspects of her abilities Cha Yunha currently found lacking, or how her conflict with Black Sword had developed.

Therefore, to persuade her, I needed to understand her situation more accurately.

First, I checked Cha Yunha's schedule.

“She certainly lives a busy life befitting an S-rank...”

Her schedule was packed with Tower and Gate raids, along with outside engagements, leaving almost no days off.

This wasn't unusual. Most high-ranking hunters lived similarly busy lives, and they received corresponding rewards.

“...Hm?”

As I examined her schedule, something strange caught my attention.

“Aha. No wonder. Ms. Seohyeon, what do you think about this?”

“What are you referring to?”

When I explained my thoughts to Seohyeon,

“...Indeed. As you said, it does seem a little strange.”

“Right?”

Seohyeon nodded as well.

“The amount of time allocated to training has been gradually decreasing.”

Originally, Yunha's schedule had been evenly distributed among Tower and Gate raids, training, and outside activities in a ratio of 4:4:2.

Recently, however, the proportion of time devoted to training had decreased, while raids and outside activities had increased instead.

For a hunter, stagnating growth meant stagnating capabilities.

Therefore, no hunter in their right mind would reduce their training more than necessary.

“But Black Sword has continued encouraging Cha Yunha to prioritize other activities over training.”

From Cha Yunha's perspective, there was a strong possibility that she was dissatisfied with Black Sword's policy of cutting back on essential training.

This could be useful in drawing Cha Yunha over to our side.

“Good. That's one thing we've found. Now, let's move on...”

This time, I played footage of Cha Yunha's battles.

Starting with the oldest recordings and continuing through to the most recent battle against a Giant Lizard, filmed just a few days ago.

I fast-forwarded through the footage, switching to normal speed or pausing at important moments.

I quickly reviewed her battles in chronological order. Since I already knew the answer, it was simple.

“Limitations in offensive power.”

There were broadly two combat methods for hunters who had awakened ice-type abilities.

One was direct freezing, which involved specifying coordinates and freezing the space at that location. The other was indirectly striking enemies with summoned ice.

Direct freezing was reliable, but it consumed a tremendous amount of mana and was generally ineffective against enemies above a certain level.

Therefore, the higher a hunter's rank, the more likely they were to favor indirect attacks.

But when ice-type abilities were used that way, a question naturally arose.

How was that any different from simply swinging a weapon?

As a result, ice-type abilities, which had been celebrated as flawless for ten years, gradually fell out of favor in the combat meta.

And they remained that way until six years from now, when Cha Yunha made a spectacular return to the S-rank rankings after tremendous effort.

As a top-tier ice-type awakened individual, Cha Yunha had probably already begun vaguely recognizing those limitations ahead of everyone else.

“Hmm. Okay.”

“Have you finished watching?”

“Yes. And I've figured out how to persuade her, too.”

Black Sword's improper allocation of her schedule, and her current anxiety about her own abilities.

I'd use those two things to convince her to leave Black Sword and join Revenant.

“Hmm...”

However, just when I thought I'd figured everything out, something about my plan suddenly struck me as odd.

“Is something wrong, Guild Master?”

“One moment...”

After thinking carefully, I soon realized what had been bothering me.

If I could determine that her schedule was being improperly managed simply by looking through it, how could Black Sword, one of Korea's top guilds, possibly be unaware of the problem?

Had they deliberately begun neglecting Cha Yunha already?

But why? She was still one of the top-ranked hunters.

...It seemed I'd need to investigate this aspect further.

Black Sword might have another motive for doing this.

“No. There's something I need to verify.”

Since I had to go out anyway, I could investigate it while taking care of my other business.

I rose from my seat, grabbed my jacket, and began preparing to leave.

“Do you have an outside appointment? In that case, I'll accompany you...”

“Ah, that's all right. Ms. Seohyeon, please stay here and finish handling the guild's business. Since the person authorized to approve matters will be away, you'll have to take over that role in my place.”

“...Understood.”

Leaving Seohyeon behind, I exited the guild master's office.

Well then, it was time to create an opportunity to establish contact with Cha Yunha.

I drove to a Gate that had appeared in Seocho District.

The area surrounding the Gate was already under the Hunter Association's control.

I presented the entry permit I'd obtained in advance to the officer in charge of access control, parked my car in a suitable open area nearby, and began walking toward the Gate.

Before long, someone approached me from a distance.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Guild Master Baek Dohyeon. I'm Director Kim Cheolmin, in charge of commanding this raid.”

A middle-aged Hunter Association employee whose hair was on the verge of falling out extended his hand for a handshake.

“You applied to observe this Gate raid, correct?”

“Yes. Since ours is a newly established guild, I believe that I, as its guild master, should first understand how things operate in the field.”

“That's an excellent attitude! And applying to observe this particular raid was a very good decision.”

“Why is that? Is there something special about this raid?”

The director leaned toward me and lowered his voice, as though sharing a secret.

“Well, you see, none other than Ms. Cha Yunha is participating in this raid.”

“My goodness, really?”

“I thought you'd be surprised! You're fortunate to have the opportunity to personally observe a raid involving one of the most famous hunters in South Korea. Haha!”

“I certainly am. I'm truly delighted that I'll get to see the Ice Empress with my own eyes.”

Of course, I'd already known that she would be participating in this Gate raid, which was precisely why I'd specifically applied to observe it.

Only a small number of individuals approved by the association were allowed to observe Gate raids. Furthermore, the identities of the participating hunters were kept strictly confidential.

As for how I'd obtained that confidential information... Well, you know. Money.

“The command center is this way. Follow me.”

I followed him until we arrived at a large tent.

“The operational briefing is already underway, so please enter quietly...”

He lifted the entrance flap, and we carefully stepped inside. Just as the director had said, an employee standing beside a large screen was in the middle of explaining the operation.

Seated in orderly rows of chairs before him were the sixteen hunters participating in this raid.

Although we'd entered from behind them, I immediately recognized Cha Yunha sitting in the front row from her back alone.

Her distinctive blue bodysuit and long black hair.

Even from behind, Cha Yunha radiated an aura that the other hunters could hardly hope to match.

As I followed the director toward a seat in the corner of the tent, several people heard the noise near the entrance and turned around.

Some casually turned back toward the front as though it were nothing important, while others recognized me and stared a little longer before turning away.

-Hey, that's Baek Dohyeon.

-He actually came? Well, I guess he's trying to do some work, now that he's a guild master and all.

The association employees standing near the tent wall covered their mouths and whispered among themselves.

You guys really need to relearn the definition of talking behind someone's back. What kind of backbiting is it when you're criticizing someone loudly enough for them to hear everything?

Anyway, the unfriendly looks they directed at me reminded me once again of what my public image was like.

Of course, I didn't care. I could simply change that from now on.

Ignoring their stares, I settled into a seat in the corner and prepared to listen to the briefing...

...

One person's gaze, in particular, felt unusually intense.

It wasn't coming from the standing association employees or guild representatives, but from among the seated hunters.

“Ah, damn... Why is she here right now?”

I immediately realized who was staring at me so intently.

Short brown hair. A typical athletic woman dressed in casual sportswear.

Yun Sol apparently hadn't recognized me yet. With her head turned, she narrowed her eyes and stared intently at my face.

Then, as though she'd finally figured out who I was, her eyes widened, and she sprang to her feet—

“Whaaat! You're that guy from back then!”

As she shouted and pointed her finger at me, everyone's attention turned in my direction. Including Cha Yunha's.

“...Good grief.”

I might have a bit of an attention-seeking streak, but I hadn't intended to draw this much attention to myself already.