14. A Tangled ss of Issues
“I expect a definite answer today.”
“…”
Park Yoon-sung stared at with a bright smile. I t his eyes with an awkward look before lowering my gaze. The truth was, I still hadn’t sorted out my thoughts.
The heroes had saved the world. The final dungeon, Ginnungagap, had been cleared not long ago through the cooperation of the nation’s top guilds and the World Guild Alliance. It was said to be the worst dungeon ever discovered—impossible even to asure its rank.
And yet, we had conquered it and saved the world. But right after that victory, sothing completely unexpected happened: the system bestowed a new event upon the hunters.
Each guild now had its own “Guild Channel,” connected to the divine realm, Asgard. The constellations—the Norse gods—had fully manifested in this world. Of course, they hadn’t revealed themselves directly but instead through the newly opened Guild Channel.
Each god, tied to a guild that bore their na, could now communicate through the Guild Channel.
So spoke with all the guild mbers, while others communicated only with the guildmaster or vice-masters. Regardless of rank, however, every hunter within a guild received their god’s blessing. And since that blessing dramatically increased the rate of advancent, the number of hunters eager to join guilds had risen far beyond what it had been before.
‘It was probably the Ginnungagap Dungeon that made the connection to Asgard possible.’
That was why the constellations had likely been helping the protagonists from behind the scenes all along—not only to prevent the world’s destruction, but also to create a way to communicate directly with hunters. In any case, the world had now entered the age of the Great Constellations.
Guilds that had once saved the world in tis of crisis were already admired by both hunters and ordinary people, but after the clearing of the Ginnungagap Dungeon, the reverence they received grew even stronger.
Even unaffiliated hunters began applying to join guilds, eager for a god’s blessing and the quest rewards. It was a sudden and drastic change. As for , I was under a temporary contract with the Odin Guild, but since I wasn’t an official mber, I couldn’t receive the blessing or the rewards.
To be honest, I already had more than enough money and items, so I wasn’t particularly tempted. Still, I couldn’t help but feel curious about the channel that allowed direct communication with a god.
‘I could probably get more information from Odin, the king of the gods.’
Odin seed to communicate only with Guild Master Park Yoon-sung, likely because of his pride, but I should still be able to receive a small share. Having made up my mind, I looked at Park Yoon-sung.
I’d encountered other guilds while going through dungeons, but none ca close to the Odin Guild. Unlike in the original story, the world hadn’t been destroyed, and the dead-end fate where Han Yi-jin was destined to die at the hands of the protagonist, Kang Yoon-hyun, was essentially gone.
“Alright. I’ll officially join the Odin Guild.”
“That’s a really good idea.”
“Ha-haha…”
As if he had been waiting for this, Park Yoon-sung pulled out the official application form. Whether he had prepared it beforehand or not, his movents were swift and smooth. In no ti, the application form and a contract were spread across the table, and before I realized it, a pen was already in my hand.
“Hmm…”
First, I skimd through the application form and the contract. The application form was the sa standard template used by other guilds, so there was nothing unusual about it. I’d heard that so guilds sotis slipped in unfavorable clauses, but Odin Guild’s was completely clean.
The contract, however, looked as though it had been designed for an S-rank hunter. Overall, the terms were even better than expected. I’d only be required to participate in three dungeons a year, and both the salary and the number of items I could bid on were about twice as much as what other hunters received.
“…”
Was Odin Guild seriously offering a contract under these terms? My jaw dropped as I looked at Park Yoon-sung.
“What’s the matter?”
“Um… am I really allowed to sign this contract?”
“…?”
I asked hesitantly, and Park Yoon-sung tilted his head before replying with a serious expression.
“Is sothing missing?”
“Yes?”
“If there’s anything you want, feel free to add it.”
“No…”
This was way too much. I couldn’t believe it! Even Kang Yoo-hyun probably wouldn’t get a contract like this, yet here Park Yoon-sung was handing it to . And on top of that, he was saying I could ask for more if I wanted. Was he serious? Even if my auxiliary skill was highly valued, this was excessive. I let out a deep sigh.
I didn’t want any more attention, and if the contents of this contract were leaked, things would only get more chaotic. My na was already making headlines online as one of the heroes who saved the world.
But why ? I hardly did anything back there. If anything, others contributed more. Still, my plan to keep a low profile and eventually return to my original world seed like it was about to be derailed. With another sigh, I picked up the pen again.
“Phew… no, I’ll sign the contract as it is.”
“Well thought out.”
Park Yoon-sung smiled brightly and nodded. I lowered the pen to the application form and began writing my na.
“…Huh?”
But I couldn’t write my na. All I heard was the scratching sound—the ink wouldn’t co out. Was the pen broken? I tried scribbling on another part of the paper, and the ink flowed perfectly. The pen was fine. Confused, I went back to the signature field and tried writing my na again.
Ssshhk.
“Ugh…!”
Sparks flared from the signature line as soon as the pen touched it, and the application form burst into flas. Startled, I stumbled back while the guild mbers on guard rushed in, forming a protective circle around .
“What’s happening?”
“Could this be the work of the Laufey Guild?”
“No way… there’s no way they could tamper with the application form like this.”
“…”
Listening to Park Yoon-sung and Yeon Seung-won, I was completely dumbfounded. The application form had burned just as I was about to sign it. How unlucky could I be? I couldn’t shake the feeling that soone had deliberately interfered.
But who could tamper with an application form personally managed by the guildmaster of Odin Guild? Whoever it was had to be on a godlike level.
Just then, Park Yoon-sung’s eyes widened, shifting to his right. I realized he was staring at the system window that had appeared before him. A voice, weak and deflating like a punctured balloon, slipped from his mouth.
"What is this…”
“Is sothing wrong?”
“…”
Park Yoon-sung stared at in surprise. I asked what was going on, and he answered, his expression full of confusion.
“It seems you’re already a mber of another guild.”
“What?”
“As a result, your application can’t be accepted.”
“No, wait a minute.”
It was clear that Park Yoon-sung was communicating directly with Odin through the channel. If Odin said so, then it must have been true that I was already a mber of another guild. But when? When had I joined another guild? After leaving the Loki Guild, the only temporary contract I’d had was with Odin Guild.
“…Could it be?”
As I thought it over, a horrifying realization struck .
I had definitely burned all the contracts of the high-ranking hunters in the Loki Guild to save Eden. But what about ? No—what about Han Yi-jin’s contract? Had I really burned that too? Since Han Yi-jin wasn’t a high-ranking hunter, Jang Tae-san probably hadn’t bothered storing it in the vault, right?
“Damn it….”
“Hunter Han Yi-jin?”
I felt as if I’d been blindsided by an unexpected problem. Ever since Jang Tae-san was detained, the Loki Guild had practically collapsed, and most of its mbers went through the contract termination process directly diated by the Association. Naturally, I’d assud the Odin Guild had taken care of mine as well. With a frustrated look, I turned to Park Yoon-sung and asked.
“Didn’t I terminate my contract with the Loki Guild?”
“Yes, definitely… ah.”
“…?”
Park Yoon-sung’s eyes widened as if sothing had just occurred to him. Then he furrowed his brow and went on.
“The Association definitely said they would handle it. Looks like they didn’t do it properly.”
“…I see.”
So the Association was the problem. Just as I thought, there was sothing shady about them—I never liked them.
As I grumbled inwardly, Park Yoon-sung watched in silence before speaking in a firm voice.
“I’ll file a formal complaint with the Association about this matter. Please wait a little.”
“Yes, I’d really appreciate it.”
The thought of still being tied to the disbanded Loki Guild left uneasy. Odin Guild, with its promising future, was clearly the better place to be. I left Park Yoon-sung with a smile, but before long, I found myself back in his office—because of sothing absurd.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
“…I can’t get in touch with Director Na Ye-rim.”
“…Huh.”
Na Ye-rim was out of contact? For sothing like contract termination, approval from an executive such as her would be necessary. But now Park Yoon-sung was saying she couldn’t be reached. Frustration welled up inside , but I held it back in front of him. Wearing an apologetic expression, he spoke carefully.
“I’ll handle it as quickly as possible. Please wait a little longer.”
“Haa… if an Association executive is deliberately hiding, is there any way to locate her?”
“I’ll do whatever I can.”
“…”
He looked determined to take action, so I didn’t press further. If he managed to resolve it—even by force—it would still work out in my favor. I told him I understood and returned to my room.
"Haa…"
What on earth was the Association plotting? Was there a reason they hadn’t removed from the Loki Guild? And could the executive’s sudden disappearance have anything to do with ?
No… it had to be a coincidence. I shook my head, brushing aside the wild conspiracies running through my mind. For now, I decided to wash up and get so sleep. But after lying down on the bed, I quickly sat up again, startled as a notification from the system window popped up.
“Hm?”
I reached out and opened the system window. A window of a color I’d never seen before appeared, and glowing text appeared on it.
「Hello?」
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