Chapter 5 — A Guild That Shouldn't Exist
The guild hall buzzed with energy.
Voices.
Laughter.
Steel clashing from training.
Everything felt… alive.
Upstairs—
Silence.
Kaizen sat alone in his office.
Pen spinning lazily between his fingers.
Half-lidded eyes staring at nothing.
"…Guess I should check."
He raised his hand slightly.
Flick.
A translucent screen exploded into existence.
Not smooth.
Not stable.
It glitched the moment it appeared.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Kaizen ArcturusTitle: ??? / ??? / ???Guild: Eclipse Dominion
Level: 87True Level: —ERROR—
The screen distorted.
Numbers flickered violently.
Strength: 999,999 → ERROR → ∞Agility: 999,999 → ERROR → ∞Mana: UNMEASURABLEStamina: INFINITE
Skills:
System Override Skill Steal Dungeon Creator Absolute Regeneration Photon Step [DATA CORRUPTED][DATA CORRUPTED][UNDEFINED EXISTENCE]
The window trembled.
Like it couldn't handle displaying him.
"WARNING: VALUE EXCEEDS SYSTEM LIMIT."
"WARNING: DATA COLLAPSE IMMINENT."
Kaizen stared at it.
Expression blank.
"…Still broken."
He tapped the screen.
CRACK
The entire status window shattered like glass.
Fragments of light scattered—
Then vanished.
Silence returned.
Kaizen leaned back in his chair.
"…Annoying."
He stood up.
Grabbed his coat.
No hesitation.
Something had already changed.
Downstairs—
His guild members looked up.
"Guild Master?"
"You heading out?"
Kaizen walked past them.
"…Yeah."
One of them blinked.
"That's it??"
No answer.
The door closed behind him.
The city streets stretched wide.
Crowded.
Noisy.
Alive.
Kaizen walked through it all like none of it mattered.
Eventually—
A massive building came into view.
Tall.
Polished.
Official.
Hunter Association.
Inside—
Busy.
Hunters everywhere.
Staff running around.
Deals being made.
Kaizen walked straight to the front desk.
The receptionist smiled politely.
"Welcome. How can I—"
She paused.
Something about him felt…
Off.
"…I want to purchase land."
Her expression sharpened.
"Do you have a location in mind?"
"…Sunrise Cliff."
Silence.
Nearby hunters turned.
"…Wait—Sunrise Cliff?"
"That area's restricted…"
"Only top guilds can afford that—"
The receptionist blinked.
"That property is extremely high value. Only S-rank guilds—"
Kaizen placed something on the counter.
THUD
A glowing stone.
Crimson.
Cracked with heat.
Power pulsing from within.
The air changed instantly.
"…That's—"
"…No way…"
"…A Dragon Core?!"
The entire room froze.
Hunters stood up.
Eyes locked on the stone.
The receptionist's hands trembled slightly.
"W-Where did you get this…?"
Kaizen's expression didn't change.
"…Payment."
Silence.
Heavy.
Overwhelming.
Even the mana in the air reacted.
Like it recognized something unnatural.
The receptionist swallowed.
"…T-This is more than enough to purchase Sunrise Cliff… and several surrounding zones…"
Kaizen nodded.
"…Good."
Papers were rushed.
Signatures made.
Ownership transferred.
Within minutes—
It was done.
"C-Congratulations…"
Kaizen turned.
Walked out.
Behind him—
Chaos erupted.
"Who is that guy?!"
"That was a DRAGON CORE!"
"No B-rank guild has that kind of resource!"
"…Eclipse Dominion…"
"…What kind of guild are they…?"
Outside—
Kaizen didn't stop walking.
Back to the guild.
Doors opened.
All 24 members looked up again.
"…You're back already?"
"That was fast—"
Kaizen stepped forward.
Calm.
Direct.
"…We're moving."
Silence.
"…Huh?"
One member laughed.
"Wait—what?"
Kaizen's eyes scanned the room.
"…New location. Sunrise Cliff."
Silence deepened.
Then—
"WAIT WHAT?!"
"THAT PLACE?!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
Total chaos.
"That's S-RANK TERRITORY!"
"How did you even—"
"Guild Master, what did you DO?!"
Kaizen turned away.
Walking toward the stairs again.
"…Pack your things."
He paused briefly.
"…We leave soon."
Then he disappeared upstairs.
Leaving behind—
24 completely stunned hunters.
Outside the guild—
The wind shifted.
Far away—
At Sunrise Cliff—
Golden light flickered faintly across the horizon.
Like something…
Was waiting.