The Archmage’s Swordsmanship Is Too Strong - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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31
Episode 31. The System’s Shadow
***
Jung Chan-hyun’s lips trembled visibly.
Ragged breath escaping between his parched lips disturbed the quiet air of the Abandoned Area.
His eyes, unfocused, darted back and forth between the smartphone in my hand and my face.
Kim Dae-han, standing behind me, swallowed hard and exhaled a shaken breath.
No matter that the Hunter Association’s influence had waned, no matter that the pressure from the major guilds had reduced its real authority to mere formality—the weight carried by the name “Jung Eun-jin” transcended such calculations.
She was a living legend among the first-generation Awakeners, a sacred ground that even the Gate Management Bureau’s director would not dare approach carelessly.
She was not someone a mere Division Chief of Special Management could shield himself against.
[Speak. Hunter Kim Do-jin.]
Jung Eun-jin’s voice flowing through the speakerphone was cool enough to chill. I gazed steadily at Jung Chan-hyun’s blanched face.
Against those who wielded showy power, the most efficient treatment is to present them with a far more overwhelming and ruthless facet of authority.
There’s no need to soil my own hands.
“Yes, Chairwoman. I apologize for contacting you at such a late hour. The matter is urgent—I’m hoping to request administrative assistance.”
[Reaching out to me directly at this hour, no less. Quite intriguing. Please, go ahead. If it falls within my purview, I’ll be happy to help.]
Through the receiver came an unhurried voice tinged with laughter. Each time that voice broke the silence, Jung Chan-hyun’s shoulders flinched.
I twisted my lips slightly and spoke as if making a declaration.
“I wish to establish a guild under City Hall immediately. Is that possible?”
[······I beg your pardon?]
A moment of silence fell. Even a seasoned operator like Jung Eun-jin would not have anticipated such a proposal. But her surprise was brief.
Soon her distinctive laughter—soft yet weighted—tickled my ears.
[My goodness. A guild, out of nowhere. You truly have a remarkable talent for catching people off guard. It’s even more surprising coming from someone like you, Hunter Kim Do-jin.]
As her laughter echoed, the faces of the Gate Management Bureau staff grew pale as blank paper.
The minimum requirement for guild establishment is that the Guild Master holds a Rank of B or higher. My official Rank is currently provisional A.
My qualifications are more than sufficient, but to pass the unprecedented administrative procedure of a local government-affiliated guild, her executive authority was indispensable.
[Hunter Kim Do-jin is currently provisional A Rank, so the qualifications are more than met.]
[There’s no precedent for a City Hall-affiliated guild, but… we can simply create one.]
[Regulations exist to be made. Nothing is impossible.]
Her answer came without hesitation.
I looked directly at Jung Chan-hyun and continued.
“Then, I request approval immediately. We need Mana Stone Mining Rights at this location right now.”
[Ah, I see the picture clearly now.]
Jung Eun-jin was astute. She had read the tension of the scene perfectly from just a few words.
[Very well. However, the proceeds from Mana Stone disposal belonging to a City Hall-affiliated guild will be credited to the local government’s treasury.]
[Tax and settlement matters will be quite complicated, but you understand and accept all that, yes?]
“Of course.”
[Then, Director Kim, I’ll send you a cooperation memo right away.]
[I’ll open the system on my end and authorize it directly by executive power.]
[Oh, and have you decided on a guild name? If not, shall I come up with one for you?]
A name.
There was not even a single second to deliberate. That name which shone most brilliantly in my memory, and simultaneously crumbled most devastatingly.
My house—built with my brother through blood and sweat.
“Blade Guild.”
The moment I spoke the word aloud, a heavy weight crushed a corner of my chest. Phantoms of the past flickered across my vision, but I continued without wavering.
“That is what I have decided on.”
Before the Regression, Blade Guild was an elite force where each member was worth a hundred. But this incarnation of Blade will be different.
I have no intention of dragging my former comrades back into this hellish war and wearing them down.
My goal is to return them to ordinary lives unmarked by the smell of blood. A new Blade Guild.
The only Hunter standing beneath that flag needs to be me. All the filth and gore of this world—I will bear it alone.
[Blade. A romantic name indeed.]
[I’ll be looking forward to it, Guild Master Kim Do-jin.]
The call ended. In the silence that followed, exactly three seconds later, my smartphone vibrated softly in my pocket.
Checking the screen, I saw a message from Jung Eun-jin.
[You’ve incurred a significant debt with the Association. m^.^m]
Seeing the message complete with an emoticon, I let out a hollow laugh.
An S-Rank Hunter and a seasoned politician. She adhered strictly to the principle of give and take.
I thrust my smartphone back into my pocket and jerked my chin toward Jung Chan-hyun, who stood with a vacant expression.
“You heard? Guild registration is done. The Mana Stone Mining Rights legally belong to our City Hall-affiliated Blade Guild now. Get out.”
Jung Chan-hyun’s shoulders jerked violently. As if he had collided with an invisible wall, he staggered and kicked away the unconscious subordinate beneath him, shouting.
“Turn back… Let’s go, now!”
He bolted toward the car, but even as he fled, his ragged voice wrung out the last remnants of his crumpled dignity.
“Today’s events will be reported to the director without a single word out of place! Assault on a public servant during official duties, collusion with the Hunter Association—Kim Do-jin, you’ll be receiving an official summons from Gate Management Bureau headquarters soon enough. Get ready.”
Trite threats spilling from third-rate thugs. Not a shred of menace in them. A barking dog doesn’t bite, and a dog prepared to bite doesn’t bark.
I didn’t even dignify him with a response, only clicking my tongue sharply. Instead, I gathered blue mana lightly in my right palm.
Crackle—!
Ions in the air friction against each other, unleashing a razor-edged piercing sound.
As blue flames tore between my fingers, writhing with savage intensity, Jung Chan-hyun and his men screamed and dove headlong into the SUV.
Screech—!
With the stench of burning rubber, the vehicle vanished from sight at an obscene speed.
Kim Dae-han, who had been watching until their taillights disappeared entirely into darkness, let out a long exhale.
“Whew… I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t satisfying. Still, I’m worried those bureaucrats have a long memory.”
“But you’re uninjured?”
“Thanks to you, not a scratch. However…”
Kim Dae-han brushed dust from his wrinkled suit jacket and straightened himself. Concern still lingered across his face.
“Those Gate Management Bureau dogs will do whatever their superiors command without hesitation. Even though they’ve pulled back for now, they’ll be coming at us again soon with even dirtier methods.”
“If entanglement with them is inevitable anyway, I prefer to crush it head-on and be done with it. I’ve moved past the stage where I’d hesitate over what comes after.”
My decisive tone made Kim Dae-han’s eyes widen momentarily before breaking into hearty laughter.
“Right. You turned down proposals from massive guilds like Invictus without blinking—no reason you’d concern yourself with Gate Management Bureau politics. I forgot myself there.”
“You heard the call. I need you to submit the official documentation for guild establishment right now. It has to be locked into the system tonight so those bastards can’t weasel their way out.”
“Understood. I’ll head straight back to City Hall and take care of it. The mayor should still be in his office. That man has a nose for money like nothing else—the moment he hears about the Mana Stone Mining Rights, he’ll bounce out of bed.”
Kim Dae-han walked toward the mining site while placing calls with newfound energy. Left alone, I gazed steadily at the brightly illuminated entrance to the Gate.
Night wind brushed my cheek. It was cold, but not unpleasant. Rather, a formless, burning heat churned deep in my chest.
Memories from before the Regression—from my days as a novice hunter—surfaced.
The night I emerged from a Gate bloodied alongside my brother, and in that cramped basement room, we clinked cheap soju glasses and swore we’d build a guild together.
That night, too, a chill wind had blown.
I opened and closed my palm slowly. The residual mana clinging to my fingertips scattered in blue traces. This time around, I would never let it slip through my hands.
With the blade I forge, I will pierce the heart of this unreasonable System.
“I’ve submitted the paperwork! The mayor is checking it through the System right now. He’s absolutely delighted!”
Kim Dae-han approached cheerfully once his task was complete.
“The wind’s turned cold, and we’ve cleared a major hurdle—let’s have a drink to celebrate, shall we? A proper gathering to commemorate the founding of Blade Guild.”
I nodded lightly at his suggestion. A strong drink seemed desperately needed tonight.
“Agreed. Let’s go.”
I added as we started walking.
“Oh, and contact Charles for me. Tell him it’s on my tab tonight—the good stuff.”
***
A makgeolli house tucked into a remote alley on the outskirts of G City, far removed from the city’s glittering heart.
Beneath a low ceiling layered thick with grease stains, a yellowed incandescent bulb hung precariously, casting a drowsy orange glow.
The mingled scents of aged wood emanating from all sides and the tangy aroma of fermented makgeolli hung in the air, creating an oddly soothing comfort.
The three of us sat across from each other at a squeaking wooden table tucked in a corner of the entrance.
Steaming tofu-kimchi and seafood pancakes wafting savory oil aromas were laid out on the table.
“Come now, sir. Down it in one!”
Kim Dae-han grinned widely as he poured makgeolli into a dented brass bowl until it sloshed full of the pearly liquid.
Charles remained impeccably composed.
He wore a neatly pressed white modernized hanbok, and his long silver-bound hair combined with his shaggy beard created a striking harmony with his foreign features.
Particularly his cool, gleaming blue eyes—sharp and fathomless—seemed wholly out of place in this dilapidated tavern’s atmosphere.
Charles lifted the bowl and took a slow sip, then let out a rough sound of contentment.
“Makgeolli from this house is the finest there is. Spicy on the first note, but the finish is weighty. Whisky’s flashiness can’t hold a candle to the profound depth here.”
His Korean was flawless—not a hint of awkwardness in the phrasing.
The sight of the blue-eyed old man tearing off pieces of seafood pancake with chopsticks and dipping them in soy sauce always struck me as strange, yet at the same time, it spoke to how deeply he had taken root in this land.
“You are Korean, aren’t you, sir?”
At my words, both Kim Dae-han and Charles burst into laughter simultaneously.
“Ha ha ha! Do-jin, everyone says that when they first meet him. I myself thought at first he was some hermit who’d come down from the mountains of Chungcheong province.”
“Listen here, I may look like this, but I was once considered for a knighthood in the British Empire. A true heir to the Blake lineage.”
“Yes, yes, of course, sir Knight. You certainly do eat your seafood pancakes well.”
Charles set down his chopsticks with a smile lingering on his face, regarding me with those fathomless blue eyes. For a moment, a shadow of sorrow flickered across them.
“My family has deep ties to Korea. My great-grandfather worked for the Korea Daily News, and my father, even as he neared retirement, served as an officer with the 29th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War, defending this land. For me, Korea isn’t a second homeland—it’s my only true sanctuary.”
His voice was low and measured, yet it carried a weight that felt like eons compressed into sound. His weathered fingers slowly traced the rim of the empty bowl.
“I’ve spent more years feeling this land’s wind than I ever did in England. The smell of earth, the people’s unvarnished warmth, and… the woman I loved with all my life. Every memory I hold is soaked into this soil.”
His voice trembled slightly as he finished speaking. His empty right sleeve seemed particularly stark beneath the incandescent light.
What he had lost was far more than a single arm. Along with that limb, the longing for someone he had lost with it lingered in his blue eyes.
I didn’t press further. Instead, I picked up the makgeolli jug and refilled his cup.
A cheerful gurgle broke the silence.
“Have another drink, senior.”
“Ha ha, splendid! On a night like this, one must drink. How could I refuse when a remarkable junior is treating? That would be rude!”
Charles laughed heartily and clinked his cup against mine. A clear, bright sound rang out across the table.
As time passed, empty makgeolli bottles accumulated in the corner of the table, layer upon layer.
Thanks to the unique metabolism of Awakeners, none of us grew drunk, but the mood deepened steadily. Outside, it was already two in the morning.
All the other patrons had left the establishment, and only the faint hum of a radio from the kitchen filled the silence.
Then Kim Dae-han, who had been contentedly chewing on pajeon, set down his chopsticks.
The playfulness vanished from his expression, replaced by the caution of a civil servant and the vigilance of a Hunter.
“Kim Do-jin. And Charles, senior.”
Dae-han’s voice dropped low. He leaned his upper body toward the center of the table, as if aware of his surroundings.
“I thought it best to inform you in advance, Kim Do-jin. What I’m about to share is classified information that will soon circulate throughout the Hunter industry, but···.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“The Italian Campania Gate. That cursed place has lit up again. Word has leaked that a coalition team will be assembled by year’s end to launch a fresh assault.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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