NPLLD 06

Chapter : 06

S-Class Martial Arts Master

Wiiing!

A siren blared throughout Hotel Renaissance.

News had broken that Red Goblins had escaped due to a dungeon break, and throughout the night, guild members and Management Bureau officials across Seoul had been on edge.

“What the hell happened?”

“How did the Red Goblins just… disappear without a trace?”

But the hunters weren’t shaken because of a monster rampage.

It was the opposite.

The Red Goblins—who should have caused chaos—had vanished as if they had evaporated.

“Somi!”

“Mom!”

On top of that, thanks to Seoyul, who had been deployed in advance, all survivors were successfully rescued.

“Where did Seoyul go this time?”

Lee Han, the head of the rescue unit who had arrived late, stood with his arms crossed, looking annoyed.

Even after searching the entire hotel, there was no sign of Seoyul.

Just then—

Wiping the blood from his head with a towel, Seoyul burst out through the hotel’s front entrance.

“It’s Seoyul!”

“Hey, you bastard! What are you, some kind of will-o’-the-wisp?! Why do you keep disappearing whenever you feel like it?! What happened to the Red Goblins?!”

As Lee Han stormed toward him in anger, Seoyul glanced around.

Next to the Bureau staff were guild members who had been summoned to suppress the dungeon break.

Every single one of them stared at Seoyul with disbelief.

“Well… I passed out, so I don’t remember.”

“……”

Lee Han was momentarily speechless, then exploded.

“You little punk! You’re an awakened—what, do you have anemia or something?! Why do you keep collapsing every time?!”

“Maybe you should buy me some meat before complaining.”

“You’ve really gotten good at talking back.”

While the two bickered, a man in a suit approached them.

Standing at around 190 cm with a massive build, he handed over a business card and introduced himself.

“I’m Director Kwon Seong-sun. I’m here representing the Hanul Guild.”

“I’m Seoyul from the Rescue Department. What brings you here?”

“First of all, we sincerely apologize for failing to prevent this dungeon break early. After reviewing the site, we plan to fully compensate for the damage to the hotel. Also… we would appreciate it if you could refrain from interviews with reporters, to prevent the situation from escalating further…”

At those words, both Lee Han and Seoyul frowned.

Originally, the Red Goblin gate had been auctioned off to the Hanul Guild—they were supposed to clear it.

But they hadn’t.

Instead, they had sent all their capable hunters to higher-ranked gates.

The reason was obvious.

More money.

It wasn’t just a small increase—it was a completely different order of magnitude.

Honestly, they wanted to throw Kwon Seong-sun’s proposal back in his face.

But if this turned into a lawsuit, the Hunter Association would immediately step in.

And in Korea, the Association tended to protect hunters—especially those aligned with their own interests.

“Oh, of course. There’s no major damage, so we can just let it slide.”

“Hey!”

Seoyul smiled as he said it, causing Lee Han to panic.

Even if the outcome was obvious, speaking carelessly could make Seoyul personally responsible.

“That’s a relief.”

Kwon Seong-sun smiled, as if he had expected this.

Seoyul stepped closer to him and spoke quietly.

“By the way… our Bureau—especially the Rescue Department—is currently short on emergency equipment, recovery funds, and combat gear budgets. It would be great if a capable guild like Hanul could lend some support.”

“……”

Kwon Seong-sun’s expression stiffened.

Normally, this could be settled with a simple personal bribe.

But what Seoyul was asking for far exceeded what he had in mind.

“I—I’ll need to report this to my superiors first…”

“I think a donation of about 10 billion won should be just right. Ah… was I too blunt?”

“N-No, not at all. P-please give me a moment.”

Flustered, Kwon Seong-sun hurried away.

Seoyul smirked.

“You’ve turned into a complete thug since I last saw you.”

“So you’re saying you couldn’t do it?”

“Of course not.”

Lee Han glanced around and subtly gave him a thumbs-up when no one was looking.

After dealing with the situation at Hotel Renaissance,

Seoyul was granted two days off.

It was approved by the Bureau Director after seeing how much he had gone through.

But instead of making plans, Seoyul sat alone on a bench in an empty lot.

The park was surprisingly crowded.

He decided to conduct an experiment.

[You have created a Sphere.]

[Tutorial Labyrinth]

• Description
• Durability: 77/150
• Boss: Minion (★)
• Monsters: Ghouls (32), Red Goblins (28)

The labyrinth will collapse if durability falls below 60% or all monsters are eliminated.
If an enemy escapes, the Sphere will deactivate.

A sphere floated above Seoyul.

But no one paid him any attention.

‘Even a few of these people look like awakened…’

Despite their rarity, even those who appeared to be hunters passed by without noticing the Sphere.

‘Better that they can’t see it.’

He had considered reporting his reawakening,

but being suspected would only be troublesome.

Then he noticed a serious problem.

The Tutorial Labyrinth inside the Sphere was heavily damaged from the previous battle.

Cracked walls from repeated block usage.

Broken ground from the fight with the Red Goblin King.

If he didn’t repair it quickly, he would lose it.

‘How do I fix this?’

The King of the Labyrinth skill activated.

[Repairing damaged blocks costs 1 gold per block. Restoring ground costs 1 gold per square.]

[13 blocks destroyed, 40 squares of ground damaged.]

1 gold = 100,000 won.

Total repair cost: 53 gold (5.3 million won).

“…Why am I spending money like this on a government salary…”

[Status Window]

• Name: Seoyul
• Level: 25
• Class: Labyrinth Architect
• Fame: 15
• Gold: 80
• Stats:
  Strength 45 / Defense 48 / Agility 40 / HP 150 / Mana 90
• Skills:
  King of the Labyrinth, Sphere, Synesthesia, Sixth Sense, Silent Wave

“…Heh.”

Then he realized how much gold he had earned from the Red Goblins.

A wide grin spread across his face.

No matter how noble someone is—

no one hates money.

He immediately repaired the labyrinth.

[53 gold has been spent. Repair in progress.]

‘Good. Next—’

Just as he was about to continue experimenting—

His phone rang.

[Lee Jeong-hye]

“I’m on vacation. Why are you calling?”

—What?! You punk! Everyone else is dying from work and you’re relaxing?! This is why Rescue Department guys are useless!

“Cut it and get to the point, you surveillance grunt.”

The caller was Lee Jeong-hye.

A training camp peer, now a C-rank hunter in the Surveillance Department.

Their constant insults were proof of their closeness.

—Since you’re free, can you use that scouting skill of yours to help me?

“If I’m on vacation, don’t bother me.”

—Wow… ignoring a delicate woman like me… you heartless bastard.

“One second.”

—We have an important guest invited by the Surveillance Department, but we can’t locate him. Find him and bring him in.

“Description?”

—No need. He’s famous.

“Who?”

—Weapon Master… Kang Taesan.

“……”

Seoyul fell silent.

That name—

belonged to one of Korea’s five S-rank hunters.

An elderly man.

Small in stature.

But anything he held became a weapon capable of slaughtering monsters.

“Even your Surveillance hunters can’t find him?”

—Yeah. Feels like he’s messing with us.

“Buy me food if I find him.”

—I will! Please! Seoyul~!

Click.

Seoyul hung up immediately.

Standing up from the bench, he activated his skills.

[Synesthesia activated.]
[Silent Wave activated.]

All sensory information became visualized.

‘My range… increased.’

Not just a feeling—about 20 meters more.

And his detection had improved.

Yellow = normal humans.

Red and blue = awakened.

‘There.’

He spotted him instantly.

Across the street.

An old man playing baduk (Go).

‘That’s him…?’

The man appeared completely ordinary.

Seoyul approached slowly.

Then, glancing at the board—

He spoke.

“If you place it there, you can capture his group next turn.”

“Ah!”

Just as the old man moved—

A black stone flew past Seoyul’s head.

BOOM!

A nearby ginkgo tree shattered, nearly collapsing.

“Where did you come from, giving useless advice? Was this your plan from the start?”

“……”

The surrounding spectators panicked.

Seoyul steadied himself.

That presence.

That precision.

That power—

There was no doubt.

This man—

was Kang Taesan, the Weapon Master.

“What are you staring at?!”

At his glare, everyone immediately lowered their heads.