Chapter 70:The Reckoning of Power

1. Myeongho 2-dong 313 Gate.

The assault team deployed for the 92nd regular raid successfully returned after 13 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes of entering the gate.

“Keep your mouths shut. No one can know that we failed the boss raid and delayed the return.”

“The assault team is good at keeping quiet, you know that. Don’t worry, Deputy Guild Master.”

“Ah, the assault team leader. Always knows how to put people in a good mood.”

Kim Changshik returned to the headquarters with satisfaction.

As the Deputy Guild Master, he held a high position right after the Guild Master, receiving top-tier executive treatment within the guild.

But Kim Changshik was aiming for the Guild Master’s seat, working his way up in influence within the guild.

Despite his harsh personality and ruthless character, the workload was enough to bury any ordinary executive.

His workload was so intense that even seasoned executives would have struggled.

“Kim, anything interesting happened while I was away?”

“There was.”

“Really? What happened? Tell me.”

“A monster assault warning was issued in Myeongho-dong.”

“…Really? Seems like the last-ditch effort now that the raid progress is going up.”

“Under the leadership of Security Captain Lee Myunghoon, the security team tried to respond, but there were many casualties.”

” Security Teams 3 and 4 were hit hardest.”

The casualty list, doctor’s reports, medical expenses for the severely injured,

and compensation for the families of the deceased all the documents that Kim Changshik had been waiting for, ready to use against Lee Myunghoon.

“That’s my secretary. Let’s take this opportunity to stomp on Lee Myunghoon so he can forget about ever aiming for the Guild Master position. ”

“Pay up in my name first, and then we’ll recruit the security team.”

Kim Changshik was an evil man, but not incompetent.

Had he been incompetent, he wouldn’t have been able to oust Lee Myunghoon, the son of the Guild Master,

from the 2nd-in-command position in a guild that was like a family business.

He had suffered some embarrassment recently due to a mysterious figure named Hae Eung Eung,

but that was merely because his opponent was inept, not due to any shortcomings on his part.

“Is it noisy outside? Who did you put in front, Kim?”

“Lee Sang-moo’s son is working as a bodyguard.”

“Teach him a lesson while you’re at it. He shouldn’t interrupt adults when they’re talking.”

“I’ll make sure to correct his manners.”

“Go ahead. Oh, call for a general assembly on your way. Have all the executive officers attend.”

“We need to squash Lee Myunghoon, and in the meantime, handle the payment as well.”

Kim, bowing his head, thought to himself.

Kim Changshik is certainly a dangerous man.

His speed in handling internal politics was ruthless.

No other guild could compare, but within Myeongho Guild, no one was more dangerous than Kim Changshik.

‘He is essentially the real power in the guild.’

Monster hunting rewards, magic stone payments, government subsidies, internal dungeon raids, and the entire gate raids all of these earned high-level awakeners tons of money.

When Lee Myeong-ho, the Guild Master, founded the guild, there were no investors to provide capital.

The financial situation was stable, with no management crises, no external pressures,

and the 2nd generation awakening contributors having all retired due to magical illness.

‘He’s certainly climbed the right ladder.’

Kim thought confidently.

If today’s meeting goes well, Kim Changshik would become the Guild Master,

and he would be promoted to the Secretary-General of Myeongho Guild.

With that future vision in mind, handling payments for medical bills or

compensation for the families of the deceased under the name of Deputy Guild Master Kim Changshik was nothing.

[An announcement has been posted on the company intranet.]

[Emergency General Assembly Notice]

[All executives and department heads are requested to attend the general assembly at 2 PM in the 7F Conference Room.]

After sending the notice and the mass message through the contact network, responses started coming in, asking what the meeting was about.

While only 10% of the executives were B-rank or higher awakeners,

the remaining 90% of department heads were former C-rank or lower.

These were people who had been on year-long contracts,

some of whom had contributed to the guild in the past but were now just hanging on to their positions with little to no power.

Now, these department heads had to follow company politics and move with the power structures to maintain their benefits,

making them weak but essential parts of the guild’s daily operations.

‘Kim Changshik will end up like this too if he’s pushed out of the center of power or retires from active duty.’

I can’t let that happen.

Kim Changshik’s downfall would be my downfall as well.

‘But where did that guy go?’

The guard who was supposed to protect the Deputy Guild Master’s office had disappeared without a trace for some reason.

Not only had he caused quite a disturbance, but he had even forgotten his duties and left his post.

Kim’s expression twisted into a scowl.

‘Lee Sang-moo got greedy. He put his incompetent son as a bodyguard, so he’s bound to lose points.’

Adding a visit to the Human Resources department to his schedule before leaving for the day, Kim prepared for the meeting.

A short while later, the meeting room was filled with the guild’s prominent executives and department heads, chattering among themselves, when Kim Changshik made his entrance.

“Alright, alright. I know you’ve been waiting for a while. Now that we’ve gathered everyone, let me explain why we’ve called this general assembly.”

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, he pointed at Lee Myunghoon, who was seated in the corner of the room.

“Today’s meeting is to address the insufficient response to the monster assault led by Security Chief Lee Myunghoon, as well as punitive actions based on an investigation into the matter.”

“Deputy Guild Master! Are you saying that the sacrifices made by the security team to protect civilians during the assault were wrong? Should we have abandoned the citizens and saved ourselves instead?”

“Lee Myunghoon, don’t raise your voice recklessly. There are many second-generation executives in this room who are older than us and have made significant contributions to the company.”

Kim Changshik successfully asserted dominance from the very beginning, and without hesitation, he pushed Lee Myunghoon into a corner. ”

“Those who had followed Lee, believing he was the Guild Master’s son, could not hide their discomfort.

It was none other than Kim Changshik who had been looking for a chance to bury Lee Myunghoon,

and now that he had the perfect case, no one knew how far Lee’s standing would fall after this meeting.

“If there are no objections, we’ll conclude the meeting…”

“I have an objection. A big one.”

Crash!

The door to the meeting room was torn off its hinges, and the security personnel were knocked down like bowling pins.

Among them was Lee Sang-moo’s son, who had been guarding Kim Changshik’s office.

“Senior Shin Sunggwak?!”

Shin Sunggwak, a founding member of Myeongho Guild and a legendary second-generation awakener,

who had become a grotesque figure due to magical illness his skin cracked and falling apart had long since retreated from active duty, considered a retired old man.

But now, fully armored and bursting through the meeting room door, no one could ignore him.

“What brings you here, Senior?”

“Don’t you have any idea?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I didn’t know either… until this morning.”

Thud

<Awakening Power – Stone Wall>
<Application Ability – Ground Heaving>

The ground beneath the meeting room surged upwards as if it were rising from the earth.

The entire space trembled, and everyone in the room stared at Shin Sunggwak in shock and fear.

Kim Changshik, also tense, struggled to keep his voice steady as he asked, “I really don’t understand why you’re doing this.’

‘If we haven’t treated you with the proper respect, I sincerely apologize.”

“Respect? You call that respect? Do young people these days think that destroying a house built with a lifetime of hard-earned money and provoking an assassin who’s lost an arm counts as respect?”

As Shin Sunggwak glared at the fallen security guards, Lee Sang-moo’s son panicked and manipulated his screen phone.

Bang!

The footage appeared on the screen.

The destroyed mansion grounds.

The severed right arm.

A video containing the testimonies of the police and doctors from the scene.

The events of the early morning were now fully revealed in photos and videos to the stunned assembly.

“An assassin who could reduce the legendary Shin Sunggwak, a top-tier B-class and quasi-A-class awakener, to this state…”

“Did the Ten Guilds have a hand in this?”

Kim Changshik quickly raised his voice.

“Such a brutal act! Don’t worry, Executive Director. As the Deputy Guild Master, I take full responsibility for this, so I’ll treat it like my own problem and do my best to track down the

perpetrator…”

“You fool!! Did I ever say I wanted you to find the criminal?!!”

With a deafening roar, the meeting room shook violently as if it might collapse at any moment. Kim Changshik, pale-faced and shaking, grabbed the round table to steady himself, doing everything

he could not to fall.

“The Guild Master’s son and the Deputy Guild Master have been at odds, splitting the guild in two. I didn’t mind, because I believed the one who won in the end would embrace everyone.”

Crack, crack

“You two have sucked the blood of small business owners and extorted rent, but I didn’t care. I acknowledged that this was the Myeongho Guild you were building.”

Crack, crack, crack

“All the trust and recognition I gave you this is the result?! A mighty opponent reduced you to losing an arm, and yet you recklessly made enemies?!”

Crack, crack, crack, crack

“Can’t even manage your own business and you’re ruining the guild’s future with reckless actions?!!”

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack

Boom, boom, boom…

“Kim Changshik!! Hurry up and apologize!!”

“The building is collapsing!!”

“Ahh!! I’m going to die without lunch!!”

Screams and wails echoed through the meeting room. Amid the widespread panic, the tremors suddenly stopped.

‘Is this why the Guild Master warned not to anger Executive Director Shin Sunggwak?’

Since becoming the Deputy Guild Master, Kim Changshik had heard advice from the Guild Master about dealing with second-generation awakeners.

Now, he truly understood the meaning behind

those words.

The second-generation awakeners, who had fought wars that nearly led to civil war, turning both the government and the military into enemies,

and had survived the most brutal war periods in  history he had never imagined just how powerful those who survived until the very end could be until today.