“Kim Sunwoo is kind of unusual. I checked his recent grades, and they’re no joke. He’s completely different from his first year.”
Somewhere in Seoul, hidden away, was Jaun’s hideout. Bert and Jin were sitting on the sofa, engaged in conversation.
“That happens. There are plenty of cases where people improve their skills dramatically later on.”
“No, this is beyond that. Honestly, it’s hard to believe he’s the same person.”
At Bert’s words, Jin let out a deep sigh.
“Alright, let’s say you’re right. Let’s say Kim Sunwoo is the guy who blew the body off that Demon. So what? What are you gonna do about it?”
“We need to investigate. He’s connected to Lee Seo-jun, yet there are too many suspicious things about him. Plus, the fact that his past records are completely clean is strange, too.”
“Hm.”
Jin narrowed his eyes.
“What do you think Kim Sunwoo really is?”
“Special Ops. Or Dawn’s Blade.”
“…Are you saying Kim Sunwoo was secretly planted as a mage to spy on Lee Seo-jun?”
At Jin’s incredulous response, Bert nodded.
“It’s not impossible. And you know just how meticulous and terrifying Chairman Kim Jin-cheol is.”
“…Hearing you say it like that, it does sound plausible.”
“Just keep it in mind. I might be right, after all.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine.”
Just then, the door to the hideout burst open, and a man stepped inside.
A strikingly handsome East Asian man—Baek Eun-seong.
As if he were heading out somewhere, Baek Eun-seong adjusted the crisp collar of his dress shirt and spoke.
“I’m heading to Incheon.”
“Oh, to deal with those Goldwin or Goldking Wing guys or whatever?” Jin asked, as if just remembering.
“Yeah. It’s tomorrow. The day the Hyesung Guild punks bring the ‘Cup of Life’ to Korea. I have to retrieve it before it’s too late.”
Goldwin—an underground criminal organization Baek Eun-seong had established in Korea for his own entertainment.
Tomorrow night, Baek Eun-seong planned to lead them in an assault against another criminal syndicate, Hyesung Guild.
All to reclaim the Cup of Life, a material necessary for a certain sacred relic.
“How did those Hyesung guys even get their hands on the Cup of Life? No matter how I think about it, it’s bizarre.”
“They stole it from somewhere, too. I don’t know the details—I heard it from a spy.”
Jin, who had been listening, sent Baek Eun-seong a look filled with envy.
“Wow. So, you’re basically starting a guild war? That sounds insanely fun.”
“Fun? Please. Most of them are just C- to B-rank weaklings.”
“That’s exactly what makes it fun. You can sneak around and take them all out by yourself.”
“Ugh. Anyway, I’m off.”
Baek Eun-seong waved his hand.
Bert, who had been watching quietly, bid him farewell.
“Alright, take care. You sure you can handle it alone?”
At Bert’s question, Baek Eun-seong flashed a confident smile.
“Of course.”
After wrapping up the first long day of Special Task training, I headed out for dinner.
We arrived at a well-known galbi restaurant in the area.
Kang and the other Special Task agents had brought us here, saying it was the best place in Incheon.
“Come on, eat up. You all worked hard today.”
I took a bite of the perfectly grilled meat, savouring the rich juices spreading through my mouth.
If this place is known as the best in Incheon, it’s no exaggeration.
“Mm, this is amazing.”
Across from me, Choi Seo-yoon’s face was lit with happiness.
Yoo Ara also seemed to enjoy it, skilfully picking up her chopsticks. She even flipped the meat from time to time, showing impressive skill.
When I tried to turn the meat myself, she blocked me with her chopsticks, giving me a sharp glare.
“….”
I silently put my chopsticks down and picked up a beer bottle in front of Kang, pouring it into his glass.
“Wow, even pouring drinks for me? Haha, thanks.”
As Kang chuckled, I smirked and instinctively reached for my own empty glass.
“…Oh.”
Then it hit me—I’m still a student.
Of course, I wouldn’t have a beer glass.
Tsk. With a small, regretful gesture, I put the bottle back in place.
“….”
At that moment, I felt an intense gaze from across the table.
The happiness from earlier had vanished—Choi Seo-yoon was now staring at me with narrowed eyes.
It seemed she had realized exactly what I had just done.
“What?”
“…Nothing.”
Feeling awkward, I shifted my attention to Kang and casually asked something that had been on my mind.
“Kang, sir. I overheard some of the agents talking earlier. What is Goldwin?”
Goldwin—an organization of grave robbers I had encountered before.
And also the criminal syndicate managed by Jaun’s member, Baek Eun-seong, in Korea.
They weren’t a major part of the original storyline, but they were set to reappear later.
However, based on my past experiences before my regression, something about them seemed off.
“Ah, they’re one of the magic crime guilds operating in Incheon. Though calling them a guild is a stretch—they’re not officially recognized.”
At the mention of a magic crime syndicate, Yoo Ara paused her chopsticks midair and looked up at us.
I ignored her gaze and continued speaking to Kang.
“They’ve been causing trouble lately, haven’t they? From what I overheard, they seem to be quite the nuisance.”
“That’s right. Their movements have been suspicious, so we’re keeping an eye on them.”
“Do crime syndicates ever fight amongst themselves?”
“Fighting among syndicates? No way, not recently. And they wouldn’t take such risks for no reason.”
“…Hmm.”
I nodded.
They have no reason to fight among themselves? That didn’t sit right with me.
Not because of the original storyline, but because of my memories from before my regression.
It should be around this time.
A few days after the ruins robbery incident had ended—
I had seen a news report about a gang war between two magic crime syndicates.
Goldwin Guild vs. Hyesung Guild.
The cause of the conflict was unknown, but the fight ended in Goldwin’s overwhelming victory.
The result? The complete annihilation of their rivals.
And from what I could deduce, given how decisively the battle had gone, there was a high probability that Jaun had been involved.
But this part had never been mentioned in the original story.
If Jaun had interfered, then there had to be a reason.
What was their objective?
“What are you thinking about?”
A voice from across the table snapped me out of my thoughts.
I looked up to find Yoo Ara watching me with a meaningful gaze.
“Nothing.”
“…Are you worried about that Goldwin crime syndicate?”
“No. Why would I care about them?”
At my curt response, Yoo Ara studied me for a moment before nodding, as if giving up.
“Alright. I won’t ask.”
What do you mean, ‘won’t ask’? I told you, it’s nothing.
Just then, Choi Seo-yoon, sitting beside her, blinked and looked between the two of us.
“Why do you two always have conversations I don’t understand?”
After finishing today’s special operations experience, I arrived at the mage hotel provided by the school.
The time was 9 p.m.
I sat on the spacious bed at the end of the room.
“This room is really nice.”
The overall atmosphere of the room was much cleaner and more luxurious than the hotel from my previous mercenary experience.
Especially since, back then, I had to share a double room with Lee Seo-jun, whereas this time, I had the entire room to myself.
I let my body relax and sank deep into the bed.
The soft sensation made me feel like I could fall asleep at any moment.
“Wow, this is heaven.”
Feeling like I might actually doze off, I sat back up.
There was still time left, and it felt like a waste to fall asleep so early.
“Hmm.”
I opened my smart student notebook and searched for “Goldwin.”
━━
[Incheon Mage Crime Syndicate ‘Goldwin’ Expanding Illegal Operations]
[Special Operations Team Incheon Branch: “We Will Focus on Cracking Down on Crime Syndicates.”]
━━
Several articles popped up.
However, none of them contained particularly useful information.
With some disappointment, I put the smart student notebook down and got up from my seat.
Even though I found it suspicious, there wasn’t much I could do with the limited information I had.
“Still, I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”
It seemed like a good idea to visit the location where the fight between Goldwin and Hyesung would take place.
I had seen the location on the news before my regression, so I had a rough idea of where it was.
I stepped out of the room and waited for the elevator.
With a ding, the doors slid open.
Inside, I locked eyes with a woman.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
The woman inside the elevator was Yoo Ara.
Judging by the slight sweat on her forehead, she had probably just finished a light workout.
“Did you exercise?”
“Yeah. Where are you going?”
“Just out for some fresh air.”
Hearing my answer, Yoo Ara nodded and scanned me up and down.
“Alright, then. I’ll be going.”
“Yeah, see you.”
After parting ways with Yoo Ara, I stepped outside the hotel.
The cool night air felt refreshing as I walked along.
If my memory served me correctly, the location of the fight was a port in Incheon called Jinwonpo.
I ordered a taxi and arrived at Jinwonpo in about 15 minutes, as it wasn’t too far.
“Hmm.”
The empty coastline stretched before me.
With almost no lighting, the atmosphere was eerie.
Judging by the surroundings, it certainly seemed like a perfect place for a group fight without getting caught.
As I walked slowly forward, voices reached my ears from a distance.
“Good evening. I am Lee Chul-hee, a mage affiliated with Goldwin. The guild master has specifically ordered me to bring you safely. If you need anything, please let me know at any time.”
Lee Chul-hee?
If I remembered correctly, Lee Cheolhee was the name of the tomb raider I had encountered at the ruins before.
“It’s fine. Just make yourself comfortable. My name is Kim Sung-eun.”
Hiding far behind them, I eavesdropped on their conversation.
I already knew Lee Chul-hee, but this “Kim Sung-eun” person was unfamiliar to me.
I used Character Insight on the man.
━━
Name: Baek Eun-seong
Age: 35
Race: Human
Status: Calm
Magic Rank: S
Interest Level: 0
━━
…What the hell?
I was stunned when I saw the name revealed by Character Insight.
Baek Eunseong was one of the few Korean members of Jaun.
However, this wasn’t his real face.
Right now, he looked like a middle-aged man in his 40s, but his actual appearance was that of a handsome young man in his 20s.
It seemed like he was using a magical artifact to alter his appearance.
“When is Hyesung Guild’s illegal entry scheduled?”
“Around 9 p.m. tomorrow night, most likely.”
“I see. And we must ensure we retrieve the Cup of Life. That item is of great importance to me.”
…The Cup of Life?
The Cup of Life was one of the materials needed to craft the holy relic known as the Grail.
The Grail was a mysterious artifact that, under certain conditions, could even bring the dead back to life—something neither magic nor science could explain.
But I found something strange.
According to the original story, Jaun had already obtained the Cup of Life.
‘Ah, so that’s what happened…’
I finally started to understand the situation.
Jaun had been collecting scattered holy relics from around the world for a long time.
However, since acting under Jaun’s name attracted too much attention, they sometimes used other crime syndicates like Goldwin to operate under different identities.
Now the reasons behind the conflict between the two crime syndicates, as well as Hyesung Guild’s devastating defeat, became clear.
Jaun was after the Cup of Life in Hyesung Guild’s possession.
“So the Cup of Life is in the hands of Guild Master Jung Taechan?”
“Yes, Jung Taechan is said to be in possession of it.”
“Understood. Good work. Also, please gather all personal information related to Jung Taechan by tomorrow.”
…Now, what should I do?
I fell deep into thought.
Tomorrow at 9 p.m.
If I intervened in this fight, could I steal the Cup of Life?
With Baek Eun-seong involved, stealing the Cup of Life would be extremely dangerous.
However, if I managed to take it for myself, it would give me a significant advantage in the events to come.
‘What should I do?’
I began seriously contemplating my next move.
Soon, I made up my mind.
It was getting late.
And if I stayed here any longer, I risked being spotted by other Goldwin members.
For now, I would return to the hotel and think things through.
Leave a Reply