278 – Clue (2)
I realized the seriousness of this incident.
It was two hours before the clan meeting started.
Choi Yu-min, an early founding member and a special category holder with whom I have a deep connection.
And the three juniors who became quite famous by making a name for themselves as the ‘Freshman Three’… No, to be exact, only two of the juniors are Song Hyun-ah and Park Yun-seo.
The situation changed as they came to the master room at the same time.
“Please…” “Please help me, Jaehyun.”
Choi Yu-min appeals to me with tears in her eyes.
Her younger brother, and a junior to whom I had also entrusted several alchemy-related requests… It is said that Choi Arin was involved in the ‘Jongno-gu Holder serial kidnapping case’.
The estimated date was the day before yesterday. It is said that she hasn’t come back since she said she was going to do direct business related to magic stones.
Her closest friends, Song Hyeon-ah and Park Yoon-seo, also testified about her disappearance, making it almost an established fact that Choi Arin was kidnapped.
‘… Damn bastards, really.’
And while listening to the whole story, I also had a hard time hiding my anger.
The Ludenarch School was vaguely considered a group of evil to be chased away.
I didn’t know they would move this early.
I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but my blood rushed to my stomach at the thought of suddenly hurting someone around me.
Moreover, because they were from another world, they seemed to have no hesitation in committing indiscriminate crimes.
“Han Sang-jin Holder is the temporary planning team leader of the Evil Hunter Clan. Please supervise the planning and organization of this rescue operation.”
“… “Do you mean me?”
“Yes, I don’t have time.”
Han Sang-jin was appointed as the temporary head of the clan’s planning team.
He is a training type holder who has been with us since .
I have noticed his unique analytical and judgment skills since I was an engineering student.
He is a holder who is helpful enough in direct combat, but he is also specialized in handling the clan’s internal affairs, so he was suitable for his current temporary position.
“It is a fix, including the master, and Eunseol Yoo holding the role of assistant master.”
Han Sang-jin was embarrassed when he was first given the position, but he quickly regained his composure and presented his opinion on the temporary organization of the clan members.
Most of the organization was reasonable.
I created the Master, so of course I am.
The assistant master is Yoo Eun-seol, the strongest member of the clan and the only S-class member.
And to carry out the operation, all clan members who could be called the best veterans in each branch were selected as team leaders of the temporary organization where all members were assigned to the hunting team.
Hunting team 1 is Eunseol Yoo, who also serves as assistant master, team 2 is Hyeon Lim, team 3 is Seonyoung Jeong, and team 4 is Areum Kim.
They are all talented people that I put the most effort into when recruiting them.
But as the team leader of Team 5, a question mark appeared in my head without my knowledge.
“… “Let’s make Jinwoo the team leader of Team 5?”
“Yes.”
Han Sang-jin boldly promoted Park Jin-woo’s position as team leader.
If Park Jin-woo finds out, he will say, ‘Do Jae-hyun, you’re starting again,’ but this delegation was not my sole decision.
“Is there really a need for that? “There are many other veteran holders.”
“This is a necessary process.”
“… “Why?”
“Currently, half of the Evil Hunter clan members are made up of student holders.”
Student holders are clan members who are the same identity as .
It is good to learn from veteran clan members and fill in your inexperience, but it is also important to use freshness as a weapon and inject vitality into the clan.
Jinwoo Park was chosen as the focal point.
Even though I am the master, I need clan members to lead in practical and field situations, and Park Jin-woo, who had already clearly proven his abilities in , Was the perfect fit.
‘Juyeon and Ga-eun are temporary clan members for now.’
Kang Joo-yeon and Moon Ga-eun also fit this role well.
However, they are temporary clan members organized in a dispatched form.
There may have been resistance from other clan members to take on a position within the clan.
“Good. “Then how did you organize the team?”
“Yes, if you look here….”
After a long discussion with Han Sang-jin, we completed the formation of a temporary hunting team.
It was organized in consideration of grade, series, and harmony.
And.
Clan meeting held earlier than scheduled.
Han Sang-jin led the clan meeting much more skillfully than I expected.
Necessary parts, such as the current situation of the clan, temporary organization, and the contents and plans of future operations, were clearly organized and explained.
Although the schedule was a bit tight, the clan members all seemed satisfied with his neat organization.
After the temporary planning team leader’s basic explanation, I took over the microphone.
“Nice to meet you all, clan members. “This is Do Jae-hyeon, the Clan Master of Evil Hunter.”
Clap clap clap clap-.
Loud applause broke out and the conversation stopped for a moment.
“I have personally met and interviewed all the clan members, but this is the first time we have all gathered in one place like this. As it is a happy day, it would be great to have a clan tower opening ceremony and an after-party… “I apologize for having to make a hasty schedule due to the circumstances.”
I continued speaking while looking ahead with a determined expression.
“But I hope you realize that this is an important situation. As Team Leader Han Sang-jin explained earlier, this operation will begin with the search and rescue of the kidnapper. And that search….”
My eyes turn to one corner.
Then, the two women who were not visible due to limited visibility walked towards the podium.
The juniors who came to see me with Choi Yu-min were Song Hyeon-ah and Park Yun-seo.
“… Park Yoon-seo?”
“… “Miss Hyuna?”
Two of the clan members are very surprised to see them like that.
One of them was, of course, Park Jin-woo, Park Yoon-seo’s older brother, and the other was Holder, who was dispatched from a friendly clan in .
The young lady, the younger sister of the original clan master, suddenly appeared at the Clan meeting, looking embarrassed.
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“Juniors. What I showed you earlier….”
“Here.”
Before I could finish speaking, Park Yoon-seo handed me the compass she was holding tightly in her hand, as if she had been waiting for me.
I held up the compass and showed it to my clan members.
“This compass is a magic tracking compass that was invented by Choi Arin Holder, an alchemist, before the incident. When a user inputs magical energy, it is a type of magical GPS tracking that can track the location of the linked person….”
Pause for a moment and pour magical power into the compass.
And soon.
A compass that moves with a ping or grunt sound.
The direction was pointing northwest.
“As you can see, it works normally. In addition to simple direction tracking, specific additional functions are set to operate as the distance gets closer.”
It is truly an innovative location tracking magic tool.
An invention of such a level that it is hard to believe that it was created by a freshman at the academy.
Maybe that’s why the eyes of the clan members looking at this were also full of surprise.
“Also, this magic tool has been verified by Professor Kang Dong-wook, a master of magical power and item analysis. Verification that the arrangement is precise and the structure operates normally when mana is input. Therefore, this magic tool… “It will be an excellent guide for those of us who must prioritize finding the victims.”
I declared to my clan members while holding the compass tightly.
“The deadline for preparation is tomorrow morning. All clan members assigned to the hunting team are requested to gather at the clan tower immediately and prepare for battle. “The first goal of this operation is to rescue all the victims.”
Details regarding the operation and team assignment have been delivered.
All that’s left is to follow the clues left by Choi A-rin…
The goal was to find where the victims and enemies were.
* * *
The next morning.
All clan members of Gathered together.
In fact, it is very rare for holders to be kidnapped, so there was a high possibility that the association and each clan would form an investigation team, but in any case, the initial investigation was the responsibility of our clan.
We started tracking from the clan tower.
The performance of [mana tracking compass] Was quite good.
At first, only a simple direction was indicated, but as the distance from Choi A-rin’s predicted location got closer, additional signals appeared.
Of course, it is a unique trace of magical power that the general public cannot understand, but to archer type holders who have search type runes, this was just a piece of gum.
And.
“Master, it’s here.”
An archer type holder from the first hunting team said.
A clan member in charge of accurate location tracking with a compass.
In the direction she pointed…
Rough and hard ground.
There was a cross section with nothing around.
I quietly looked at that place.
There is no way the enemy could have dug a tunnel here…
“It’s the entrance to the dungeon.”
“Yes, no matter how you look at it, it is an intermediary object to enter the dungeon.”
This is the moment when one more secret is revealed.
After I revealed the information about the Ludenarch School.
The Holder Association has been continuously searching for them, but has not been able to find the slightest clue.
It was a natural story.
‘… ‘Because it was in the dungeon.’
It was expected to some extent since it was said that beings from other worlds were active in the present world.
They are probably related to the dungeon creation process, like the ‘adaptive’ Barathen tribe or the ‘transcendent’ dragons.
And unlike them.
You are free to enter and exit the dungeon.
The results were now before our eyes.
I spoke quietly among the clan members surrounding me.
“… “I’m going in.”
“Yes!”
Now it was time to check the reality.