Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Fragments of the Past (2)

The first time Shin Ah-yeon heard the name Ivan Hunt was around the time she had just started learning magic.

Having learned magic from her grandmother, one day, Ah-yeon witnessed her gentle grandmother get angry for the first time.

"For someone who's supposed to be a great mage! Just what kind of ambition could drive someone to commit such mass murder?"

Ah-yeon was only ten years old at the time, so she didn't know exactly what had happened.

But she did know at least that one of the only four great mages at the time had committed a massacre.

And because of that, he had been stripped of the title of great mage.

Furthermore, even after committing such a large-scale crime, he was never caught in the end.

And that was despite being pursued by no less than five S-rank hunters at the time.

That's how much of a legendary mage he was.

At the same time, if one were to list the worst mages, his name would inevitably come up.

"I-Isn't Ivan Hunt a member of UnderStellar?"

"UnderStellar—aren't all of them S-rank criminals?"

Not only Ivan heard Ah-yeon's words.

The other hunters who were nearby could also hear what she said.

They couldn't understand at all why Ivan Hunt was here.

Why would a world-renowned criminal be in Jeju Island, and why would he appear before them now, right when a Gate catastrophe had occurred?

"I'm really grateful to Shin Ah-yeon."

"...... You're grateful?"

"That's right. You made it possible for me to make money, after all. Researching magic costs a lot these days, you know."

"Your magic research doesn't sound pleasant, to be honest."

Of course, Ivan was unwelcome to Ah-yeon, who now stood as a member of the current great mages.

He was the one who had brought a dark age upon the magical society.

'Wasn't he the mage who killed the most people in magical experiments?'

Modern magic is based on elemental magic.

The development of modern magic was still too immature to handle other attributes or laws.

Even Ah-yeon had only improved elemental magic before Park Jung-woo had taught her circle magic; she wasn't able to create magic with individual attributes.

But Ivan Hunt tried to overcome those limitations through various experiments.

"I don't want to call acts of killing people 'magic research.'"

"Is that so? What a shame."

He shrugged his shoulders as he said that.

He clearly didn't care about Ah-yeon's sharp attitude.

"More than that, I personally have an interest in you. I heard you've recently developed magic on your own? What was it again... circle magic, perhaps?"

"... Well. I haven't announced it yet, though."

From the start, since it was magic Park Jung-woo had taught her, Ah-yeon had no intention of telling others carelessly.

But other mages couldn't simply sit back after witnessing the completely different system of magic she had used.

Until now, it had only stopped at simple contacts, but recently, the number of people slinking around Ah-yeon's mansion had been increasing.

'Did Odin's Eye send mages to Korea for this?'

Odin's Eye, the largest mage guild in Europe.

Lately, when Ah-yeon hadn't provided a clear answer, they had begun approaching her more openly.

"Anyway, what's your purpose?"

"Oh dear, so you have no intention of telling me about circle magic."

"Why would I talk about that?"

Ivan gave a wry smile at Ah-yeon's indifferent reply.

To show such an attitude even while facing him in person—it was almost refreshing.

"Since you seem curious, I'll tell you why I'm here."

But Ivan actually liked Ah-yeon's bold attitude.

So before killing her, he decided at least to explain why he had come here.

"I wasn't originally supposed to step in. You might know, Ah-yeon, but our client boasted I wouldn't have to get involved at all. But given that I was contacted, it seems something went wrong."

If he said 'client', it would surely be JM or Javelin.

Ah-yeon gripped the staff Park Jung-woo had crafted for her, ready to cast magic at any moment.

As Ivan continued talking, his killing intent gradually intensified.

If Ivan was revealing all his plans, it meant he had no intention of letting anyone present leave alive.

'This is dangerous...'

Ah-yeon's skill was still only at the 6th-circle.

As Park Jung-woo had said, advancing to the 7th-circle was no easy feat.

But to face an S-rank mage, at least the 7th-circle was required.

"Thanks to you, I got paid and got this gift too."

"A gift?"

"Yeah, I have no idea how a guild from a small country got their hands on such an artifact, but..."

As Ivan spoke, he slowly raised his right hand.

He was wearing a black glove entwined with a silver chain.

'An item of the demons!'

A flood of now-familiar demonic energy radiated from the glove.

It was fiercer than any item she'd ever seen, and Ah-yeon's face hardened.

"As for this item... no, it wouldn't be fun to explain everything."

With that, he lowered his raised hand.

He took a step forward toward Ah-yeon.

"D-Damn! What is he trying to do? Should we fight?"

"And with all this happening with the Gate too, of all times!"

"Wait."

Just as the hunters gripped their weapons and drew up their magic power, Ah-yeon raised her hand.

"His objective is me. Fall back and report this to the Association. I'll stop him."

"Eh?! B-But no matter how incredible Shin Ah-yeon-nim is, this is Ivan Hunt. Even the current great mages would have a hard time facing him!"

"It's all right."

Ah-yeon reassured them with a calm face.

They would be of no help anyway, so it was better for them to run.

'What a cute thing to say.'

Ivan Hunt gave a small laugh at Ah-yeon's words.

She was worrying about others, not even realizing the situation she herself was in; it was laughable.

Come to think of it, wasn't it said she had risked her life to close a rift alone three years ago?

To be so self-sacrificing, with such a beautiful appearance.

Almost like a saint.

'But closing a rift alone... that kind of bluff has its limits.'

As a great mage, Ivan knew how dangerous a rift was.

It was a natural disaster.

It was a realm far beyond what any individual could handle.

Ivan considered himself a remarkable genius and took pride in his skills.

Even so, he wouldn't dare try closing a rift alone.

At least ten great mages like him would be needed to barely manage it.

There was no way some kid, just over twenty, could do it.

Especially a girl who'd held the title of great mage for just over a year at the time.

'I'm sure it was a national lie.'

She was the youngest great mage, so for the sake of national prestige, they must have lied.

If Korea's only great mage had lost her power in a tragic accident, they would have tried to package it as nicely as possible.

'I bet the supposed rift she closed was just a slightly large Gate at best. And the story about her body being ruined must have been a trick too.'

To prove it, the amount of magic power emanating from Ah-yeon now was far too much for her to have supposedly lost her strength. If her mana hall had really been destroyed, there was no way she'd possess that much magic power.

'Her magic power is about the same level as other great mages?'

Considering her age, that was impressive in itself, but to Ivan, it was laughable.

"You seem to have forgotten who's standing before you, Ah-yeon-ssi."

Ivan said, putting on a friendly smile.

"Do you really think I'll let them go?"

"Of course."

"Oh my, you've got the wrong idea. Even if it weren't for my client's request, I wouldn't let them leave. Awakener bodies are valuable, you know."

Ivan loved seeing those of noble character, like Ah-yeon, crumble.

When this young hero was crushed by reality, unable to save anyone.

And if, in that well of despair, he implanted this 'core'—how wonderful would that be?

In that sense, the artifact he received from them was just to his liking.

"Let me show you something interesting first."

Ivan raised his hand clad in the black glove and casually snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the surroundings were engulfed in darkness, and he vanished from sight.

The hunters gasped in shock at the sight of him dissolving into the air.

They had been hunters for quite a while, but had never seen anything like that before.

"No way, is this magic? Magic like this exists?!"

The hunters chattered their teeth in fear at the bizarre phenomenon.

Ivan Hunt, the worst mage.

There wasn't a single hunter here who didn't know of his infamous name.

If that monster had used it, it was surely magic.

The magic was far beyond the reach of modern magic; the hunters trembled.

At that moment, Ivan quietly appeared behind them.

'Illusion magic.'

The artifact given to him by JM, one of Korea's management agencies, was a shocking item.

Not only did it allow him to use so-called 'illusion magic' freely, but it was also imbued with the power to control the minds of others.

'It's impossible to counter what you don't know.'

Who in the world could use such magic?

Drunk on a sense of omnipotence, Ivan reached out toward the hunters shivering in the darkness.

Tiny ice crystals formed at his fingertips, spinning and whirling.

Then, they turned into bullets and all at once shot toward the hunters' chests.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

"......!!"

The tiny ice bullets, which should have been invisible in the darkness, exploded in midair.

At the same time, a sharp wind blade flew into the location where Ivan was standing.

'Hoo?'

Currently, Ivan was completely shrouded in darkness by illusion magic, blending perfectly with it.

But someone had figured out his location?

He managed to dodge reflexively, but his collar was sliced off.

'How did she figure it out?'

Had he been a little slower, he would have lost an arm.

To counter the spell and strike back simultaneously meant she was seeing through all his actions hiding within the illusion.

"See?"

Watching Ivan's surprise from the darkness, Ah-yeon grinned.

She had been startled by the sudden darkness, but immediately realized it was a type of magic that manipulated 'illusion'.

Of course—she'd recently practiced this magic hard while filming, for her acting!

The scale was much greater than what she could use, but the proficiency was far less smoother.

"I told you, you'd have to let them go, didn't I?"

Ah-yeon raised her staff and aimed precisely at Ivan in the darkness.

So long as she was here, there would be no casualties.

This was exactly why she'd learned magic.

***

High above Jeju Island, a helicopter was flying.

Usually, when such large-scale Gate incidents occurred, planes couldn't take off.

That went for helicopters as well, but helicopters faced fewer restrictions than planes.

"Hello! This is reporter Han Sang-woo from KDC! Right now, I'm flying above Jeju Island!"

It was the first time that such a massive Gate had occurred without any warning.

Naturally, public attention was focused in an instant.

Up to now, due to poor signal transmission, the situation in Jeju hadn't been broadcast—but as the frequency of Gate appearance began to decrease, broadcasting gradually became possible.

"As far as we know, the number of fatalities is estimated to be in the dozens among those who failed to evacuate in time. Including the missing, it's still unclear how badly the casualties may increase."

Reporter Han Sang-woo looked down from the helicopter and swallowed nervously.

The view from the sky made him question whether this was really Jeju Island.

Gates opening everywhere, monsters pouring out from them.

Hunters fighting those monsters—a scene straight out of a movie.

"Oh, and we have some breaking news. A Gate has occurred inside the Han-kyung shelter!"

A Gate occurring inside a shelter.

Reporter Han Sang-woo swallowed dryly as he watched the evacuation column visible below the helicopter.

There must be at least several hundred—no, over a thousand people split into two groups, moving in separate directions.

"What's that? Follow it!"

Han Sang-woo decided to follow one of the two columns behaving strangely.

Zooming in on the front of the group heading toward Ae-wol, he saw someone familiar.

"That's Manager Park Jung-woo, isn't it?"

"Manager Park Jung-woo? That's the guy who manages Shin Ah-yeon, right?"

"Yes, he's the one Hunter Baek Hojun mentioned recently, which brought him back into the spotlight."

Of course. As a reporter, Han Sang-woo knew him well.

'But why is Park Jung-woo here?'

His presence here meant that Shin Ah-yeon or Lee Soo-ah might be here as well.

Considering the prominence an S-rank hunter held in such a disaster, it felt like divine intervention.

"Reporter Han Sang-woo, breaking news just in."

As Han Sang-woo was following the group toward Ae-wol with his eyes, a staff member handed him a note with the latest breaking news. Han gestured to the camera, and it started rolling again.

"According to the current update, due to capacity issues at the Han-rim shelter, citizens have split into two evacuation columns. The column heading toward Han-rim is led by A-rank hunter Ha Dong-hyun, while the group heading toward Ae-wol is—"

At that moment.

"L-Look at that!"

Monsters were converging on the column moving toward Ae-wol.

Left like this, the group would get surrounded and there would be many casualties.

'Should I call the Association? But would help even be dispatched in this chaos?'

Han Sang-woo squeezed his phone, thinking about the disaster about to unfold.

But then, someone at the front quickly broke away from the group, firing something like fireworks up into the air.

Monsters closing in immediately shifted their attention toward the man.

Once he confirmed that, the man ran off in the opposite direction from the group.

"Who is that? Zoom in! Quickly!"

At Han Sang-woo's urgent shout, the cameraman zoomed in on the man fleeing from the horde of monsters.

"... It's Manager Park Jung-woo."

"What?"

"The man luring away the monsters and running— it's Manager Park Jung-woo."

With the cameraman's trembling voice, Han Sang-woo realized it was true.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Go! Go! Park Jung-woo!
「٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و」