Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon

Chapter 47

Two days later, Tyrant faced an unprecedented crisis.

As evidence of the human trafficking, murder, and assault they had been committing became known to the public through various media outlets, the Tyrant Guild literally became a public enemy.

Tyrant belatedly tried to pressure the broadcasters, but while they could stop the news, there was nothing they could do about public opinion spreading through the internet.

“They fed living people to monsters?”

“Whoa……. Are these bastards crazy?”

“What are the police doing not arresting these guys?”

The Association and the government tried to cover up the incident, claiming that the information spreading was just a rumor.

However, it was useless as the information circulating on the internet included a lot of evidence, including photos and videos.

Rather, public opinion flared up, with protests even threatening to erupt, with opinions spreading that the government and the association were also in cahoots with Tyrant.

As a result, the prosecution had no choice but to issue an official statement that they would investigate Tyrant.

Of course, the prosecution had no intention of conducting a proper investigation at first.

However, as many guilds that were hostile to Tyrant came forward and said they would cooperate with the investigation, it became impossible to just stand by and watch.

Let alone other guilds.

Now that Altron had taken the lead, it was impossible to continue to back Tyrant.

Tyrant also couldn’t dare start a fight as the large guilds united and stepped forward.

In the end, rather than being destroyed by the guild alliance by confronting them head-on, Tyrant chose to protect themselves while keeping what they could.

「Large-scale arrest of Tyrant Guild executives.」

The headline of the article that was posted on the internet some time later signified the fall of the Tyrant Guild.

Despite attempting to cut off the tail, they could only barely protect the Guild Leader’s identity.

They couldn’t stop half of the executives from being arrested.

A significant number of ordinary guild members were also arrested, and the remaining guild members left the guild on their own, fearing being treated as traitors by the people.

“Damn it……!”

As most guilds harbored resentment towards Tyrant’s coercive policies, they were greatly pleased with this trend.

However, Han Young-seok, an executive of the Titan Guild, who had unearthed evidence of Tyrant’s evil deeds, was deeply dissatisfied.

“Why on earth! Did you anonymously spread that precious information?!”

Han Young-seok expressed his anger by slamming his hands on the desk.

Seo Sang-ho’s face was displayed on the monitor placed on the desk.

As his overseas assignment was not yet over, the scenery of the hotel was reflected behind him.

“Look at the current situation! Isn’t Altron acting like a hero for no reason?!”

“If we had provided the evidence in Titan’s name, we would have been at the center of public opinion!”

It was a good opportunity to gather people’s strength, bring down Tyrant, and absorb the power they possessed.

Because of Seo Sang-ho’s orders, Han Young-seok had to anonymously spread the evidence he had painstakingly gathered.

Thanks to that, it was Altron, who had taken the lead and protested to the prosecution, who occupied Tyrant’s territory.

Because it was submitted anonymously, Tyrant, unable to identify a clear target, ended up giving the guilds time to join forces.

That was what Seo Sang-ho was trying to say.

But Han Young-seok still couldn’t understand.

“Crush us? Are we pushovers? We have enough power to confront Tyrant!”

“If only we had succeeded in recruiting an S-rank Hunter……!”

Seo Sang-ho blatantly let out a big sigh and cut off Han Young-seok’s words.

“Even without him, Titan has many excellent Hunters!”

“…….”

Han Young-seok eventually shut his mouth.

Even if he wanted to answer confidently, the power that Tyrant’s Guild Leader, Jo Won-cheol, possessed was too out of the ordinary.

It was nothing short of a novel way to commit suicide to face someone that even Seo Sang-ho avoided in a head-on fight with only A-rank Hunters.

Han Young-seok couldn’t answer that question either.

He only thought about fighting back immediately and didn’t calculate the damage it would cause to the surroundings at all.

“That’s! If we only absorb Tyrant’s forces, it’s all just minor damage!”

He connected to a video call and listened to a personal interview because he said he had urgent business.

Seo Sang-ho was furious to hear such nonsense.

Not yelling at him directly was the last courtesy he could show to an executive.

“W-wait a minute!”

Han Young-seok hurriedly said and rushed over, but Seo Sang-ho’s face had already disappeared from the monitor.

Only the message that the call had ended remained on the monitor.

“This motherfucker!”

Han Young-seok screamed out curses and punched the monitor.

The monitor, less than 10cm thick, was torn apart like a piece of paper.

“Why does this bastard, who’s supposed to be the Guild Leader, keep acting like this?!”

Shouldn’t a Guild Leader strive for the benefit of the guild?

Han Young-seok couldn’t understand why Seo Sang-ho thought about things other than the guild’s benefit.

“If this bastard continues to be the Guild Leader, Titan will be stuck in this position forever……! No, it might even fall further!”

He had tolerated Seo Sang-ho’s actions because he was the guild’s only S-rank Hunter and the guild’s founder, but…

He couldn’t stand it any longer.

Han Young-seok took out his cell phone and dialed Lee Kang-jun’s number, which he had been thinking of erasing.

An outdated song played as the ringtone, and before the chorus was over, the other person’s irritated voice could be heard.

“I’ll give it to you.”

“I’ll make you the Guild Leader.”

◈◈◈◈◈◈

Kang Jin-hyuk was able to meet Jung Dae-yoon again after the noisy public opinion had calmed down to some extent.

He looked like a criminal, covering his face with a mask and a hat in case there were any stalkers.

Only after seeing people on the street whispering whenever they saw him did Kang Jin-hyuk objectively reflect on his appearance.

Kang Jin-hyuk was horrified by his self-portrait reflected in the shop window and threw his hat and mask into a nearby trash can.

“I’ve gone crazy. Why am I covering myself up like this when I’m so great?”

Smoothing his hair that had been flattened by the hat, Kang Jin-hyuk headed to the meeting place, which was not far away.

After walking for about 5 more minutes, Kang Jin-hyuk was able to find the name of the store he had heard about beforehand in the middle of the street.

“Why did you choose such a visible place when you said we should meet secretly?”

Meeting in a cafe where the inside was clearly visible felt like it meant that there was no intention of hiding.

If only the location was secluded.

It wasn’t far from the station, so many people were still passing by the cafe.

The inside was full of customers, making it hard to find a seat.

“……Well, I guess he has his reasons.”

Kang Jin-hyuk, who was too lazy to think any further, stopped racking his brain and went inside the cafe.

Jung Dae-yoon, who was sitting at a table, spotted him coming in and waved his hand in greeting.

“Over here.”

Even though he spoke in a fairly loud voice, none of the customers turned their heads.

Everyone was focused on what they were doing as if nothing had happened.

Kang Jin-hyuk felt a sense of discomfort in the customers’ attitudes and sat down opposite Jung Dae-yoon.

“Your face has cleared up since I saw you last. I guess you’re doing pretty well?”

“Hahaha, you know just by looking at me that I didn’t go to jail. I was acquitted as an innocent victim who was unfairly used.”

“So you’re staying in Tyrant and enjoying the remaining honey?”

“The profits have increased thanks to the reduced number of people. But that’s only temporary.”

Jung Dae-yoon put his lips to his coffee cup with a smile gone from his face.

“They say a rich family can last for three years even if it goes bankrupt, but reality isn’t like that. Tyrant will probably collapse properly soon.”

Perhaps because of a sense of belonging, even though it was a guild that did not hesitate to commit inhumane acts.

Jung Dae-yoon’s expression was not very bright.

But Kang Jin-hyuk wasn’t interested in such unfortunate circumstances.

The reason he came all the way here to see Jung Dae-yoon’s face was to dig into the truth.

“Is there no one in your guild who insists that you find the elixir?”

“There isn’t.”

Jung Dae-yoon added after a firm answer.

“The assassin who stole the elixir was discovered by the guild members and fought. In the end, he took the elixir and caused mutual destruction.”

“That’s exactly the scenario we created.”

“Yes. Tyrant believes it as it is.”

“It would be troublesome if they didn’t believe it after we put so much effort into recreating the scene.”

Jung Dae-yoon nodded and handed Kang Jin-hyuk a prepared drink as he was relieved.

“They had no time or leisure to investigate properly, so they had no choice but to believe it.”

More than half of the guild members were involved in this Alraune incident and were taken away.

Currently, Tyrant was busy defending the remaining territories, so they didn’t have the luxury of sparing any manpower for a separate investigation.

“But there are some things that are going differently than expected.”

“What is it?”

“‘Judging by the fact that someone leaked the information to the media, the assassin has a backer.’ The remaining executives seem to believe that.”

“I expected that to some extent.”

It would be impossible for a single perpetrator to leak information to the outside.

From the moment Titan leaked the information to the media, Kang Jin-hyuk was prepared for a hitch in the scenario.

“I know there’s a backer, but they still won’t have the time to chase after them.”

“They had enough time to spare two people.”

“……You know quite a bit, don’t you?”

“I’m being called all over the place because I’m the only survivor of the incident.”

Jung Dae-yoon gave a wry smile, saying that he had become a key figure in the guild after being used as a scapegoat.

Even if his pockets were getting fuller, it wasn’t very pleasant to be treated this way.

“Well, anyway, it’s not so bad because I was able to get this information thanks to that.”

Jung Dae-yoon took out two sheets of paper from his bag and placed them on the table.

Each paper had someone’s ID photo and a brief profile written on it.

“This is information on the two people investigating the backer.”

“Is it okay to give me something like that in a crowded place like this?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Everything here is an illusion I created.”

“What?”

Jung Dae-yoon picked up a straw to show Kang Jin-hyuk the evidence.

And he threw the straw at the woman next to him as if throwing a dagger.

Kang Jin-hyuk clearly saw with his own two eyes that the straw passed through the woman and fell to the floor.

The fact that it passed through like that even though he clearly threw it at the back of her head.

It was impossible unless the other person was a ghost or an illusion.

“I also asked the owner of the store in advance and rented it for a day.”

“You’re more prepared than I thought.”

“It’s a matter of life and death.”

He was managing to deceive them well now, but if he made even the slightest mistake and got caught.

A more painful time than a peaceful death would be waiting for him.

Considering that, Jung Dae-yoon’s prudence was not excessive at all.