The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success

Prologue

An explosive noise.

Such a deafening sound he had never heard before in his life.

At the otherworldly roar that was on an entirely different level from thunder, Kang Mu-hyuk screamed. His own voice surprised him, but it was soon drowned out by the cries of the refugees.

Rubbing his ears to regain his hearing, he finally realized his hand was empty.

His mother, whom he had been holding tightly onto, was nowhere to be found.

As he looked around, he noticed a familiar figure.

"Dad! I can't see Mom! Mom's gone!"

Unfortunately, Kang Mu-hyuk's cry did not reach his father.

His father was seemingly entranced and not even trying to escape. Instead, he was moving toward the direction where the monster's roar originated from.

Startled, Kang Mu-hyuk hurriedly grabbed his father's sleeve.

"What are you doing? That's where the monsters are!"

As his father turned around Kang Mu-hyuk was so shocked that he let go of his hand.

He wasn't familiar with this gaze.

Cold eyes. No, eyes that were completely devoid of emotion.

Although his father had been neglectful of his family, he had never complained, thinking it was because of his job.

At that moment when their eyes met, Kang Mu-hyuk realized he had been greatly mistaken.

'This man doesn't care about his family at all.'

A voice that confirmed his thoughts followed, "I have to retrieve my research materials. You go ahead."

"But Mom's gone! You're not even worried!"

"She must be somewhere. She's resourceful, so she must have gone ahead. Go look for her."

"What are you even talking about...?"

Kang Mu-hyuk tried to hold on to him in disbelief, but his father had already disappeared into the raging chaos.

"..."

Left alone, Kang Mu-hyuk stared blankly in the direction where his father had vanished.

Since that day, Kang Mu-hyuk became a voluntary orphan. His mother went missing, and he cut ties with his father.

Now, fifteen years later, while on the verge of turning thirty, Kang Mu-hyuk was fighting on the front lines against the monsters that had torn his family apart.

Titan Guild Strategy and Tactics Team Leader Kang Mu-hyuk.

This was the profession he chose since he couldn't become a Hunter as there always existed a bottom tier in the world. 

The competition for the strategy and tactics team meetings of a successful A-class guild was intense all around the year.

Every single plan and strategy dealt with the lives of Hunters, so it was natural for one to devote their full attention to every moment.

In that sense, the strategy and tactics team, which was responsible for strengthening the guild's power and planning hunts, could be considered the second most important department after the guild's expedition force.

It was a Monday morning and the participants in the meeting were still struggling to shake off the remnant workload of the weekend.

Team leader Kang Mu-hyuk's voice, both languid and sharp, echoed in the meeting room, "Once the tracking team uploads the footage about the estimated 4-star Named, code-named 'Garuda,' Manager Kim should inform the analysis team to organize and report to me. Don't just skim over it like last time because of its low rank. Make sure you even interview the tracking team members thoroughly."

"Yes, team leader."

"And the equipment department. Deputy Oh, how's the upgrade for the ampule grade in this standard equipment set proceeding?"

"The price just doesn't add up when trying to upgrade from a tier 2 to a tier 1. These days, wherever you go, the price of potions is skyrocketing due to the so-called 'Potion Famine.' They must be hoarding them until the price reaches the limit."

Deputy Oh Chang-su shook his head vigorously.

Kang Mu-hyuk knew that Oh words weren't a mere exaggeration. He wasn't a person who would whine without reason, not to mention he was quite capable. If Oh was having a hard time, it meant things were really tough.

It was more about the season than their abilities. In the fall, it was only natural for the prices of potions and ampules to rise as they prepared for monster subjugation that migrated south from the Gaema Plateau across the Yalu River in search of food.

'I can't wait for the prices to drop in winter either.'

Upgrading ampules was key to strengthening the guild. The more they delayed, the further behind they would fall in competition with other guilds.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that the prices would drop even in the winter when hunting became scarce due to the emergence of new gates.

So, what could they do? They had no choice but to push their team members.

Of course, as a team leader, he would mobilize all his connections and inquire everywhere, but first, he had to firmly encourage his dispirited team members who were tired of the slow progress.

That was why the guild had appointed a non-Hunter as the head of the Strategy and Tactics team for the first time in the industry. It wasn't for nothing that they paid a high salary to a non-Hunter.

"You know, right? We've staked our lives on this project. We sweat, but the Hunters have to bleed. Don't take your work lightly."

Deputy Oh bit his lip. He was a person who couldn't hide his dissatisfaction. Kang Mu-hyuk gestured for him to speak his mind.

"The price won't budge with just effort. Everyone is reluctant, saying the break-even point hasn't reached 55 lons per tick."

"How much are they asking for?"

"At least 800,000."

"It has gone up quite a bit, hasn't it? With tier 1 being 50 ticks... that's 40 million won."

Kang Mu-hyuk frowned, looking troubled. His goal was clear.

It was a policy to upgrade all 'ampule Kits' (Hunter's first-aid supplies), which could be considered a lifeline for Hunters.

The most important thing here was the equipment for the first team. If the top teams' equipment was upgraded, the lower teams would naturally inherit the previous top teams' equipment, and the overall power of the guild would increase.

Acquiring weapons, armor, accessories, and other artifacts would be best, but it was too costly to distribute them to all members.

On the other hand, ampule kits were the most effective way to preserve the guild's power as long as one didn't die instantly.

The price was lower compared to artifacts. Of course, for ordinary people, spending hundreds of billions on single-use items might seem excessive.

The expression 'spending money like water' was most fitting for these potion-related items. Because of this, the guild's shareholders disliked the project. Even the guild master, who was pressured by the shareholders, didn't seem very keen on it.

The current guild master had raised the Titan Guild, once considered bottom-tier, to A-class, but he was not well-versed in management.

He had ambitions grand enough to aim for the position of a Tier 1 guild, but he wasn't very skilled at playing hard-to-get during negotiations.

As a result, he would always feel frustrated after dealing with the smooth-talking board members and shareholders.

Perhaps it was because the guild master disliked such calculations and politics that Kang Mu-hyuk was able to rise to this position. After all, his ability to win people over was universally acknowledged.

'If you put it nicely, it's negotiating. If you put it badly, it's brown-nosing. Damn, I hate to admit it, but it's true.'

Kang Mu-hyuk sighed, thinking about the guild being pushed around by the shareholders.

Hunters were people too. No matter how good money was, it was wrong to view Hunters as mere numbers.

From the perspective of someone who relied on the guild for their livelihood, he couldn't look kindly upon the current guild leadership, who cared more about the shareholders than the guild members.

"I'll talk to the finance team about allocating more budget, so keep an eye on the market prices. Alright, let's conclude today's meeting here. Report separately if anything unusual comes up."

Somehow, the morning meeting drained all the energy from the team members. It was just the beginning of the week, but it already felt like Thursday.

The moment Kang Mu-hyuk left the conference room, he furrowed his brow. His team members following him hesitated.

"I'm late. I'm sorry."

As the sly voice greeted him, a flash of anger crossed the eyes of Kang Mu-hyuk, who was usually so emotionless that he had earned the nickname 'Mister Buddha.'

Leaning back in his chair with his feet stretched out on the desk was a rookie.

'Did this guild really go to the dogs? How on earth did the strategy team recruit someone like him...?'

Titan was an A-class guild. Although the history of the Hunter industry was a mere 30 years, prestigious guilds had their traditions. To catch up with the so-called 'Tier guilds,' a good reputation was necessary.

In that regard, the young hunter before him could be seen as an example of why the Titan guild couldn't rise above A-class.

"Sorry? Listen, Mr. Ma Taesik, is that what a person who has been late on Monday should say? A guild is also a company. Isn't attendance management basic in a company?"

Grinding his teeth, Kang Mu-hyuk approached Ma Taesik, only to hold his nose. A strong smell of alcohol and cigarettes wafted from Ma Taesik.

"What is this? The smell of alcohol? Did you miss the weekly meeting because of drinking?"

"No way. Have you ever seen a Hunter get drunk?"

"Then what?"

"You know it too, Team Leader Kang. How important camaraderie is among Hunters. Just having a drink with industry peers we get along with, exchanging various information. That's why I'm a little late. Please understand, Team Leader Kang."

Understand? The one who caused an accident and was demoted from an expedition team?

'I shouldn't have taken him in.'

Ma Taesik was the younger brother of Ma Taesu, the vice-guildmaster.

As the youngest of three brothers, there was an age gap between him and Ma Taesu, the eldest. But it was the fact that both brothers had become Hunters and even successfully raised their family by today's standards.

Unlike the serious Ma Taesu, Ma Taesik, the late-born, had a reckless demeanor.

Becoming a Hunter and having an elder brother as the vice-captain, one could only imagine how ridiculous his social life must have been.

The problem was that he had committed such reckless behavior even within the expedition team.

Relying solely on his connections, he had harassed a female Hunter in the expedition team.

At this point, even as the vice-guildmaster's brother, the matter couldn't be easily covered up.

What kind of department was the expedition team? It was the core of the guild. The highest elite gathered there, and thus, their influence was strong.

However, a newcomer who had just joined the team, and one who had joined through connections rather than skill, dared to have malicious intentions toward a key Hunter on the team.

'Hunter Lee Jin-joo should have smashed his head.'

Instead, she had broken all of his arms and legs. Thanks to that, he disappeared for a while and only managed to return last month.

And then, he was demoted.

To be honest, even if they had fired a Hunter who wasn't that skilled and caused trouble, there would be no objections.

However, as the vice-guildmaster's brother, they ended it with a demotion.

This was South Korea, a country where academic, social, and blood ties mattered. The place they had sent him to after demoting him was Kang Mu-hyuk's Strategy and Tactics team.

Frankly, it was hard to consider the Strategy and Tactics team a demotion. It was an important department, just like the expedition team. However, it was considered one step below the expedition team, so the term "demotion" was used.

Kang Mu-hyuk regretted not being able to refuse the vice-guildmaster's earnest request to accept Ma Taesik.

'Every guild has its waste, but putting them in a core department crosses the line.'

So far, Kang Mu-hyuk had avoided getting involved with Ma Taesik. The other team members also treated him as if he didn't exist as much as possible.

With so much work to do, they didn't want to waste their emotions unnecessarily. But they couldn't let it go any longer. Perhaps the stress had built up to the point where it was difficult to control their emotions.

He issued an ultimatum.

"Mr. Ma Taesik, starting today, you will serve night duty for a week. Refusal is not an option."

"A week? That's a bit difficult."

"Considering the vice-guildmaster's face, I'm letting it end at that. If you don't follow my 'order,' I'll take immediate action with the HR team."

"No, why would you go as far as involving the HR team? Is it because you're not a Hunter? Our team leader, you really don't know our world. Stop acting like a child and let's move on nicely."

For a moment, Kang Mu-hyuk felt like he heard something snap in his head.

"Who's the one acting like a child?!"",