Chapter 103: Holding the Line Without Him

At that moment, Seong Ji-woo felt genuinely grateful to Son Ji-hwan for understanding his words perfectly, without a single misinterpretation.

Chae Min-jeong was the type overflowing with a sense of justice and enthusiasm, so he had expected her to want to get involved. He’d been worrying about how to persuade her otherwise—only for Son Ji-hwan to do it for him.

“Oh. Is that what you meant? I guess I spoke without thinking…. Then I’ll trust you, Deputy Guildmaster, and wait.”

Chae Min-jeong scratched her head awkwardly, calming down. Seong Ji-woo gave her a small smile of thanks.

“I told you because I thought you should know, not because I wanted to burden you. So I’d appreciate it if you could pretend you never heard what was said here today. Even if problems come up later, please act as if you know nothing.”

“……”

Chae Min-jeong’s face twisted again, clearly finding that hard to accept. Still, this time she didn’t openly object. She knew Seong Ji-woo was acting out of concern for them.

Son Ji-hwan, who had been quietly nodding, asked,

“So what do you want us to do?”

The other two naturally turned their gaze toward Seong Ji-woo as well. He glanced at his watch.

“You remember the applications we submitted to visit two gates last time, right?”

“……Don’t tell me. The one we booked back then?”

Lee Won-jae asked, his face pale with lingering fear. Seong Ji-woo slowly blinked, confirming his suspicion.

“Yes. That’s right. It’s today.”

There was a reason he’d scheduled the guild meeting today, despite everything being so tight.

“So today, we’re going to carry on with guild activities as if nothing happened.”

Today was the date of the resource-collection gate visit they’d reserved together before. The very schedule everyone had assumed would be canceled.

Applications to visit collection gates were limited based on guild size. Naturally, the Gwangmyeong Guild—barely meeting the minimum of five members including executives—had very few chances available.

Once a schedule was approved, canceling it later still deducted from the allowed count. And the more cancellations piled up, the fewer applications the guild could make in the future.

Hearing this, Lee Won-jae began biting his nails anxiously. Cold sweat poured down his face.

“B-but… people are talking about our guild everywhere right now…. The internet is completely flooded with stories about the guildmaster, and there are tons of mockery and malicious rumors about the guild too….”

The reason Lee Won-jae looked so pale was because of all the talk about the Gwangmyeong Guild that had been spreading online lately.

Countless speculations and baseless rumors were circulating. He knew most of it was nonsense, but as time passed, the lies grew more elaborate—so much so that even he, one of the parties involved, had almost been swayed.

Among them were absurd claims that Seong Ji-woo was a cult leader and Yu Hiiro a fanatic follower. “Evidence” cleverly stitched together from their high school days stirred people’s curiosity, and with unidentified “witnesses” appearing one after another, Lee Won-jae had grown increasingly confused.

Being unable to tell truth from lies despite being a guild member himself was enough to drive him insane. And in the middle of all that, Seong Ji-woo had contacted him today.

After hearing Seong Ji-woo’s explanation, he realized how groundless the things he’d briefly believed were—but others wouldn’t see it that way.

Fear and worry filled Lee Won-jae’s eyes. Seong Ji-woo didn’t back down, meeting his gaze firmly and speaking calmly.

“The more we hide, the bigger those rumors will get. Times like this are exactly when we need to step forward confidently. Honestly… I don’t think we have any reason not to.”

“……”

“The guild isn’t ruined just because Yu Hiiro isn’t here.”

To shoulder responsibility for the guild, Seong Ji-woo chose not to change anything. A frontal breakthrough.

“You’ll cooperate, right?”

At his words, the guild members nodded and began preparing to leave, one by one.

[<Hunter Board> Hey, did Gwangmyeong show up today?]

You know the Twin Gates, right?

We picked the left gate today,
but looks like Gwangmyeong took the right one.

Ran into them by coincidence.

Yu Hiiro wasn’t there.

Different exit timing, so didn’t see them come out.

• What, they’re active again?

• Thought they trolled last time and went into hiding. Thick-skinned much.

└ What trolling?
└ Heard Seong Ji-woo tried to play DPS and blocked another guild’s route;

• So what happened to Yu Hiiro? He’s not even on the news anymore.
  └ Did he come back? Oh, wait, post says he wasn’t there.
  └ Guess he hasn’t returned yet.

• Honestly, does Gwangmyeong even mean anything without Yu Hiiro?
  └ 2222 the rest are all scrubs;

• Guess they’ll just become a farming guild now.
  └ Not much of a threat anymore lol

• Is Seong Ji-woo not going to explain himself?
  └ Explain what?
  └ There’s talk they were trading gate攻略 info under the table.

• But is Yu Hiiro’s condition really that bad? Wasn’t it just a blackout? Usually people recover in a few days.
  └ That’s what I’m saying, feels off.
  └ Didn’t he go berserk?
  └ If he did, at least one area should’ve been wiped out.
  └ That bad?
  └ Considering he cleared an X-Gate before, wouldn’t be surprising lol

• Heard a rumor the Association took Yu Hiiro.
  └ What kind of conspiracy theory is that?
  └ Illuminati, lol

• Wait, they went into the right Twin Gate? Are there still idiots going in there?
  └ Uh… shouldn’t that be restricted;;;
  └ They didn’t even talk about攻略, though?
  └ LMAO they’re in for some serious suffering
  └ What, am I the only one who doesn’t know?
  └ Go in yourself if you’re curious
  └ That place is pure evil;
  └ I’d rather do another X-Gate tour than go back there

“If you’re ready, we’re going in.”

Seong Ji-woo couldn’t help sounding more rigid than usual. He’d cast buffs on the guild members, but his lips felt dry.

Bringing them here might have been his own selfish desire.

The previous gate hadn’t even been that difficult, yet the guildmaster had blacked out and still hadn’t recovered. That alone was already a huge burden and source of anxiety for the members.

On top of that, he’d suddenly ended up filling the guildmaster’s role. He’d never imagined a situation like this, and it left him deeply uneasy.

But he knew that showing it would only make the others more anxious, so he forced his expression into a stoic mask.

“It’s dangerous, so solo action is strictly prohibited. Today’s objective isn’t resource gathering—our goal is to clear the gate.”

He set the goal as a full gate clear, pushing through without retreat.

“Yes.”

The guild members replied, their faces tense.

Originally, another guild was supposed to enter this gate with them. But after that guild canceled, only Gwangmyeong remained.

Saying he wasn’t worried would be a lie. Entering a gate alone meant there would be no one else to fight monsters on their behalf like last time.

It stung his pride, but without Yu Hiiro, he couldn’t be confident about anything with the current lineup.

Knowing that, Son Ji-hwan—practically their main damage dealer—kept warming up and steadying his mind. If he got injured or incapacitated, the rest of the guild would be thrown straight into mortal danger.

It was a heavy burden for everyone.

At the same time, though, it was an opportunity to test many things. To test the Gwangmyeong Guild without Yu Hiiro—and to test himself without Yu Hiiro.

Gripping his sword hilt tightly, Seong Ji-woo took a short breath. A sharp light entered his eyes.

“Entering now.”

The four of them stepped through the gate together.

“Huh….”

What greeted them was completely unexpected. Not a dark interior or a cave—but a vast blue sky.

Endless mountain ranges stretched out before them. Lush green trees radiated vivid life under the bright light.

“So that’s why no one likes this place.”

No wonder applications were easy. For a mere collection gate, it was absurdly huge—guilds that had come once probably never wanted to return.

“What do we do?”

Even Son Ji-hwan sounded flustered, which was unlike him. No matter where they looked, it was trees, forest, and mountains. It felt less like a gate and more like some remote mountain countryside.

“Whether it turns into soup or rice, we have to go in anyway. Tigers or beasts—let’s hunt something.”

The plan had gone awry, but the goal hadn’t changed. At Seong Ji-woo’s firm tone, Son Ji-hwan straightened his posture again.

“Understood.”

“Given the situation, I’ll say it again—no solo action. As you can see, if you go missing here, no one will find you. You’ll be left behind. Got it?”

With Seong Ji-woo in the lead, the four began climbing the mountain. In the gate, where not even a breeze blew, only the sound of their footsteps echoed.

“Monsters could pop out at any moment, so stay alert. There aren’t many good combat spaces, and there are lots of cliffs and narrow paths—keep that in mind too.”

He glanced back, worrying about the others. They’d only climbed a short incline, yet Lee Won-jae was already panting heavily.

In contrast, Chae Min-jeong—hardened from frequent gathering runs—was full of energy. She scoured the area, plucking, pulling, and digging up useful herbs. Lee Won-jae was even slower than her.

Even with buffs, he might collapse in a few minutes.

Just then, Chae Min-jeong thrust her hand into thin air and pulled out a potion.

She shoved the bottle straight into Lee Won-jae’s mouth. Glug, glug—green liquid poured down his throat as he flailed his arms in distress.

“I’ll take care of Hunter Lee Won-jae!”

Chae Min-jeong said cheerfully, popping the bottle out of his mouth and tossing it aside.

The empty vial rolled down the slope, clattering as it went. Lee Won-jae clutched his throat, coughed a few times, then snapped his head up.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly full of energy, he quickly caught up with the front group. Seong Ji-woo looked at Chae Min-jeong in surprise.

“I’m pretty good, right? I can kind of act like a healer too.”

She grinned brightly and shrugged.

Seong Ji-woo found himself thinking that maybe—just maybe—they could do quite well on their own, even without Yu Hiiro.