Chapter 132: Earth's World Tree (2)

After entering the guild headquarters through the back door rather than the front, Kim Ji-Hee tilted her head in thought for a moment, then turned to look at Ji Seok-Hyun.

"Uncle Giant?"

"Mhm, what is it?"

"Are you a Hunter too, Uncle?"

"Hm? You don't know me?"

"No, I don't. But you are a Hunter, right, Uncle?"

"Yes, I'm a Hunter from the Phoenix Guild."

"Phoenix?"

"That's right, Phoenix."

As Kim Ji-Hee's mouth formed a surprised "O," the members of the Phoenix Guild puffed up with pride. Of course, there was no way she wouldn't recognize their prestigious guild!

"Ph-Phoenix?" Kim Ji-Hee stammered in disbelief.

"That's right," Ji Seok-Hyun said with a proud nod. "The Phoenix. Looks like even our cute Ji-Hee has heard of us."

"Yes! I've heard of the Phoenix!"

"Hmph!"

"I've even eaten it!"

"Hmmm?"

"It's spicy!"

While Ji Seok-Hyun was completely baffled, one of his guildmates, who had caught on to the misunderstanding, shook his head and clarified, "Ah, Ji-Hee... we're not

that

Phoenix."

"You're not?" Kim Ji-Hee asked, blinking in confusion.

"Mhm. That Phoenix and the Phoenix Guild have nothing to do with each other, you know?"

"Hmmm? In that case, I've never heard of you!"

With a bright smile, Kim Ji-Hee turned back around and resumed walking, her stuffed rabbit bouncing in her arms.

As they followed behind her, Ji Seok-Hyun leaned toward the guild member who had just spoken and asked, "What exactly is she talking about?"

The guild member hesitated. "Uhh... you know that famous Korean fried chicken brand, right?"

"Of course I know. They're famous, after all."

"Well, that brand just launched a new menu item. We even got an advertising proposal because of it."

"No way..." Ji Seok-Hyun said in disbelief. "Are you talking about their new spicy chicken?"

The guild member nodded. "Yep. They're calling it

Phoenix Chicken

."

Ji Seok-Hyun was left completely flustered by the blunt reply. Worse yet, he was honestly embarrassed that their guild seemed less recognizable than a fried chicken menu item. Wasn't that just too cruel?

"Hey, haven't we been working hard on publicity? We've made some TV appearances, and our MeTube account is active too. So why aren't we more popular than a fried chicken chain?" Ji Seok-Hyun grumbled in frustration.

His guildmates all nodded in agreement. Like the other major guilds in Korea, the Phoenix Guild was doing their best to increase their public visibility every day.

Then, one of them spoke up. "Ah, well... maybe it's just that kids don't really see any of that?"

Ji Seok-Hyun frowned. "Don't really see it?"

"Yeah. Most of our TV appearances are on late-night programs—talk shows, documentaries... not exactly kid-friendly airtime. And our channel's the same."

On MeTube, there were plenty of popular channels with large subscriber counts but barely any actual views. The Phoenix Guild's public account was one of them. They had as many subscribers as the other major guilds, but their view counts were dismal by comparison.

Take the Shine Guild, for example. With their lineup of beautiful women and handsome men—including a Guildmaster whose ageless, stunning looks were practically a phenomenon—every video they posted racked up a solid number of views.

As for the Baekdusan Guild, their situation was similar to the Shine Guild's. In the past, their viewership numbers had been just as dismal as the Phoenix Guild's are now. But after uploading videos featuring their new ace, Lee Mi-So, as the main focus, their numbers had skyrocketed.

Unfortunately, the Phoenix Guild couldn't afford to follow either of those examples.

When the guild was first founded, they'd deliberately built a specific image, one centered around recruiting only members with fire-based abilities or exceptional physical strength.

"So, which videos on our channel get the most views?" Ji Seok-Hyun eventually asked.

"Uh... Kim Tae-Hoon's workout livestreams are the most popular," one guild member replied.

"What's the viewership demographic?"

"About 90% adult men..."

Their most-viewed content was footage of a muscular man sweating through a workout. There was no way kids would be watching that.

Ji Seok-Hyun let out a long sigh. "Isn't there

anyone

in our guild who's at least decent-looking?"

"There is one guy... but even he has way more male fans than female ones," the guild member admitted.

"Why's that?"

"Well... he's a hardcore fitness junkie. He awakened with a muscle enhancement skill and is famous for his ridiculously buff physique."

"Fuck..."

***

Kim Ki-Rok was eager to establish ties, not just with the Phoenix Guild, but with every guild in Korea. Within a few years, dozens of A-Class Gates would begin appearing.

Even if they cleared every A-Class Gate, the S-Class Gates would follow. Beyond those, the Hell Gates waited. Reaching the end wouldn't guarantee survival, either.

No matter how powerful a Hunter was, no one could face all that alone.

What was truly needed was...

"Numbers," Kim Ki-Rok finished his train of thought aloud.

Ji Seok-Hyun, who was sitting across from him, looked up in confusion. "What did you just say?"

Letting out a light chuckle, Kim Ki-Rok waved it off. "Oh, nothing. I've just been overthinking things lately, and I've developed a bad habit of speaking my thoughts. Please, just ignore it."

"Ah, alright." Ji Seok-Hyun nodded, though he quietly committed this to memory.

Kim Ki-Rok smoothly changed the subject. "Now then, could you explain why you went so far as to contact a reporter we both know just to be the first guild to approach me?"

"First, I'd like to apologize," Ji Seok-Hyun said, bowing his head.

Kim Ki-Rok blinked in confusion. What was there to apologize for?

"Ah!" he exclaimed in sudden realization. He remembered the reason the Phoenix Guild hadn't joined the operation to clear the Gate and revive the World Tree. "That's perfectly fine. Honestly, I don't think Team Leader Han Tae-Cheol's reaction was wrong at all."

Kim Ki-Rok meant it. There was nothing for Ji Seok-Hyun to feel sorry about. To put it simply, a lower-tier guild had reached out to a top-tier one to propose a joint raid—and had been turned down.

Even if Kim Ki-Rok had arranged a formal meeting and delivered the proposal in person, convincing the Phoenix Guild to cooperate would've been a tall order. Given he had only briefly discussed it over the phone with Team Leader Han Tae-Cheol, the response had been reasonable.

"I appreciate you saying that," Ji Seok-Hyun replied, visibly relieved.

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "Not at all. Now, let's get to the main point. Why were you so eager to be the first guild to meet with the DG Guild?"

"I'd like to propose a joint raid," Ji Seok-Hyun said directly.

His intentions were clear: he wanted to repair the strained relationship caused by the previous rejection through a new opportunity for cooperation.

Oh-ho? This is different from how it usually goes.

Kim Ki-Rok thought, genuinely surprised.

He had known, even before making the proposal, that the Phoenix Guild would turn down the joint raid. He also knew that they would be the first to come looking for him once it was all over.

However, their proposal for another joint raid had come as a complete surprise to him. What had changed between now and his previous Attempts that would lead the Phoenix Guild to propose a joint raid instead of just leaving after delivering their apology?

Kim Ki-Rok's eyes lit up as he recalled something. "Ah-hah!"

This time, the Hunters hadn't suffered any deaths. There were certainly plenty of injuries, but among the Hunters who had gone through the Gate and taken part in the operation to revive the World Tree, none of them had actually died.

That outcome had been possible thanks to his early deployment of Guardian, despite the penalties it carried. Equally important was his relentless preparation, replaying the battle again and again to eliminate every weakness—from holding the walls to close-quarters fighting in the streets.

"Hm, that must be it..." Kim Ki-Rok murmured, then asked, "I've heard that Kim Gwang-Hyun from the Phoenix Guild and Lim Jin-Soo from the Shine Guild are good friends, correct?"

Ji Seok-Hyun smiled. "The rumors weren't wrong... You really

are

exceptional at gathering information. I got the details of your operation from Lim Jin-Soo of the Shine Guild. He said the only reason the complex maneuvers—holding the walls, then retreating to engage in street combat—went off without a hitch was thanks to Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok."

"So that's how it is..." Kim Ki-Rok mused. "If it's a Gate that even the Phoenix Guild finds troublesome, then it must really be something."

The Phoenix Guild wasn't a protection guild, nor were they tasked with safeguarding all of Seoul. However, as an A-Class guild, they were still responsible for defending the few districts surrounding their headquarters.

This was tied to the Gate that even the Phoenix Guild had deemed a headache. It had appeared in one of their districts, and when Guildmaster Ji Seok-Hyun entered to clear it, he was forced to retreat with serious injuries.

Unless the Phoenix Guild requested outside support, no other guild could legally step in to intervene before the Gate resulted in a Break.

Kim Ki-Rok began to wonder why he hadn't heard about this situation before, but the answer soon dawned on him.

In past Attempts, he had joined the Shine Guild, the Golden Lion Guild, the Baekdusan Guild, and even some prominent overseas guilds, but never the Phoenix Guild. That was because the Phoenix Guild only recruited Awakened with fire-based or physical enhancement abilities.

"Guildmaster Ji Seok-Hyun," Kim Ki-Rok said politely. "If it's not too much trouble, may I ask the name of the Gate you've chosen for this joint raid?"

"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Ji Seok-Hyun replied. "The Gate is called The Black Swamp."

"The Black Swamp..." Kim Ki-Rok muttered.

He couldn't recall ever hearing that name before.

"Please give me a moment," he said, activating his Record Skill. In response, a set of massive books materialized before his eyes only.

Fortunately, as the class of his Record Skill had risen, the information it stored could now be automatically sorted by category.

Gate Records, Kim Ki-Rok instructed mentally.

Most of the books vanished, leaving behind only a single volume.

"Let's see here..." he murmured, flipping it open.

[

The Black Swamp

]

Difficulty: Levels 72–93

Description: An extremely dangerous Gate. Ji Seok-Hyun, Guildmaster of the Phoenix Guild, sustains severe injuries upon entry and requires half a year of recovery. Unable to participate in clear efforts, even those involving other great guilds.

When this Gate first appeared, Kim Ki-Rok had only recently awakened. No matter which guild he had joined in previous Attempts, his level had always been too low to qualify for entry. As a result, he had never been involved in its clear, not even in a supporting role as a strategist.

Ah! So that's why I've never heard of it,

Kim Ki-Rok realized.

"I'll pay a personal visit to the Phoenix Guild one week from now," he said.

"Thank you very much. Also, here's my business card. It has my personal number on it, so please give me a call before your visit," Ji Seok-Hyun replied, handing over the card.

"Alright. In that case, I'll see you in a week. Ah, and if you have any reports or recorded footage from inside the Gate, please send them to me right away."

"We've already compiled them. I'll have them sent over as soon as I return to the guild."

"Well then, until next week."

"Yes. We look forward to seeing you."

***

Kim Ki-Rok took the elevator down to the first floor with Ji Seok-Hyun and the other Phoenix Guild members, intending to politely see them off from the lobby.

"Hm, Ji Seok-Hyun..." Kim Ki-Rok murmured thoughtfully to himself.

Ji Seok-Hyun was a Hunter who had awakened with the skill, Super Regeneration. As long as he activated his ability, he could instantly recover from all kinds of injuries, even those caused by pushing past his mental limits to gain superhuman strength. In that sense, he was the perfect embodiment of his guild's name: a phoenix, an immortal being impossible to kill no matter how many times one tried.

"I think I heard that the reason The Black Swamp was so difficult was because of the various poisons that eroded a Hunter's mana," Kim Ki-Rok recalled. "There weren't any deaths, but many were seriously injured, and all of them needed months to recover."

In fact, after the Phoenix Guild had requested reinforcements, every Hunter sent into the Gate had been forced to wear gas masks and protective suits resembling hazmat gear.

He had also heard that Ji Seok-Hyun had been wounded during the raid while still under the effects of a poison. For a substance to affect an A-Class Hunter like him, it had to be far from ordinary.

"Well, I'll know for sure once the reports and footage arrive," Kim Ki-Rok concluded, pushing thoughts of the Black Swamp aside. "Should I get back to editing now?"

There were still plenty of videos from their expedition to the Yuashiel Dimension that remained unedited.

Stretching both arms above his head with a yawn, Kim Ki-Rok strolled off. As for the reporters waiting outside the building and shouting questions at his retreating figure, he ignored them completely.

He was preoccupied with a more pressing internal dilemma. Should he take his time and eat some snacks while editing, or should he try to wrap up the editing as quickly as possible so that he could go and play with Kim Ji-Hee?

"But hasn't she been a little too cold recently," Kim Ki-Rok grumbled.

These days, the World Tree seemed to be getting all of Kim Ji-Hee's affection. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he made his way toward the convenience store, exchanging brief greetings with passing guild members along the way.

As he stepped inside, Kim Ki-Rok blinked in surprise. "Hm?"

A young man was seated at a table inside the store, slurping ramen. The moment he spotted Kim Ki-Rok, his eyes went wide as saucers. He immediately sprang to his feet and bowed deeply.

"H-Hello! It's an honor to meet you, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok! I'm Han Hae, an E-Class Hunter. I came to the DG Guild today hoping to join!"

"Okay. You're in," Kim Ki-Rok replied without hesitation.

"I'll do anything you as—huh?"

"I said you've passed. Come with me up to my office," Kim Ki-Rok said as he muttered to himself, "Really now. It's like the fish just jumped into the net.[1]."

The young man froze for a beat, then stammered, "A-ah, really?"

Wearing an extremely satisfied expression, Kim Ki-Rok approached and gave the flustered youth a firm pat on the shoulder. "Han Hae-kun?"

"Yes... Guildmaster!"

"What do you think your lucky number is?"

"Uh, maybe seven?"

"Nope. From now on, your lucky number is ninety-three."

Han Hae spent a moment trying to figure out what luck had to do with the number ninety-three, then snapped to attention. "Yes! From now on, my lucky number is ninety-three!"

1. The original text uses a Korean idiom of "the pumpkin came rolling in with its vine." ☜