* * *

Not that he was entirely clueless, but he had no desire to share information with the team member who kept nagging him.

‘How did he find him?’

He was curious about one thing, though.

How had Beom Sinje located Doyoung, and where exactly had he taken him?

After Doyoung disappeared from the hospital, Yeo Giwon hadn’t just sat idle.

‘I did my best, sniffing around and tracking every clue.’

Wolves can smell meat from 3 kilometers away.

A werewolf’s sense of smell was 100 times sharper.

Once a scent was locked in, it would never be forgotten until death.

So when Beom Sinje ordered Yeo Giwon to find Doyoung, he hadn’t been too worried.

As long as Doyoung hadn’t crossed the ocean, he was sure he’d find him.

Yet, half a year passed without even a strand of hair turning up, making him wonder if Doyoung had fled overseas.

Then he suddenly heard that Beom Sinje had shown up with Doyoung.

“Damn bastard!”

If only Beom Sinje knew how much effort he had put in, maybe he would’ve shared something.

Seething with rage, Yeo Giwon seethed again.

“Huh?”

The team member, who was about to ask about the Guild Master’s return again, flinched at Yeo Giwon’s outburst.

It sounded like he was mad at them, but his gaze never left his smartphone.

‘What a game addict.’

Playing that game every day was Yeo Giwon’s routine.

The team member couldn’t understand why he was so fixated on tormenting monsters through a game when he could deal with plenty in real dungeons.

‘Are all top-tier hunters like this?’

The team member sighed. He had joined the Cheonho Guild two months ago.

After turbulent years, the guild had finally entered a stable period.

At that time, he’d dreamed big.

After all, he’d joined one of the nation’s top guilds, boasting two elite hunters ranked in the top 10.

Sword Emperor Beom Sinje.

Ironblood Wolf Yeo Giwon.

Not only had they founded Cheonho Guild, but they had also defeated the notorious crime syndicate, Antithesis.

‘Nobody would ever guess this guy is such a game maniac…’

During the month-long training period, he had watched footage of Yeo Giwon, and he certainly hadn’t looked like this.

When he got assigned to Yeo Giwon’s team, he’d been thrilled.

Now, though, he wanted to go back in time and scream at his past self to rethink his excitement.

“He’s here.”

A rough voice interrupted his thoughts.

The team member looked up in shock and felt a wave of awe at the overwhelming presence entering the room.

It was Beom Sinje, the Guild Master they’d all been waiting for.

“Guild Master!”

The chair scraped loudly against the floor as the team member scrambled to stand.

Yet he didn’t care.

His eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of the man he’d awaited.

“Uh, um…”

“Hey, Beom Sinje. Where’s Doyoung hyung?”

The words he’d been excited to say were cut off by Yeo Giwon’s sudden interruption.

But he couldn’t complain.

Because it was Yeo Giwon.

“I told you, later.”

“Then at least tell me where you found him.”

“That’s for later, too.”

The team member, clueless about their conversation, could only glance back and forth.

“When will you let me see him?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Starting tomorrow, he’ll be working here.”

“What?!”

The team member glanced nervously at Yeo Giwon, who was casually throwing such bold remarks at the Guild Master.

A question surfaced.

‘But who is Doyoung hyung?’

◇◆◇◆◇

“My ears are burning. Damn it, is someone badmouthing me?”

Doyoung clicked his tongue as he finished washing the dishes.

“Or maybe they revealed my secret.”

If that were the case, it made sense why Beom Sinje had brought him here without killing him.

Still, the treatment he’d received didn’t seem too bad.

Beom Sinje had brought him to a familiar studio apartment and stocked enough food to last him for days.

“Guess that’s the generosity of a main character.”

Come to think of it, in the original story, even after Beom Sinje discovered Na Doyoung’s identity, he tried to understand him and even debated saving his life.

Shhhhh…

Warm water flowed, rinsing the suds from the dishes.

‘Even though he probably killed him in the end.’

Doyoung hadn’t read the ending, so he couldn’t know for sure.

The thought of Beom Sinje revealing his identity and discussing his punishment made his chest ache.

“It feels like the betrayal of a cherished disciple stabbing his master in the back.”

Not that the disciple had any idea about the master’s vast and sinister schemes.

Feeling a bit bitter, Doyoung finished the dishes and sat down on the sofa.

When feeling down, the best way to lift his spirits was to find something enjoyable.

Doyoung had just the thing.

“I wonder what’s new…”

Browsing through anonymous community posts, he paused at a photo.

“Come to think of it… why hasn’t he used that sword yet?”

Meeting Beom Sinje again had brought something to his attention: the greatsword he wielded.

“Could it be he still hasn’t found that sword?”

Unlikely… If Beom Sinje had infiltrated the Antithesis headquarters, he’d definitely have discovered the armory.

Among the weapons, there had been one he’d surely covet.

The greatsword Levatein, forged from materials found in an S-rank dungeon, named after the legendary flame sword from Norse mythology, known to set the world ablaze.

“I went through hell to get that thing.”

Doyoung’s eyes grew nostalgic as he recalled the past.

It was no ordinary place—he’d had to travel halfway around the world to reach the Lava Dungeon in Ushuaia, Argentina.

A dungeon near the Antarctic city had rapidly destroyed the ecosystem, and the Argentine government had sent out an SOS worldwide.

But no guilds wanted to go, since the country, teetering on bankruptcy, offered meager rewards.

That’s when the Antithesis-disguised global hunter guild swooped in.

“I suffered so much fighting that fire-breathing lizard.”

The clothes were thoroughly burned, and his hair was singed.

The thought that the sword he had painstakingly earned through a difficult clear had been neglected by its owner brought tears to his eyes.

“Don’t tell me… he doesn’t know about the armory?”

That couldn’t be. It was clearly marked on the floor guide…

“Ah, maybe I should have taken him to see it back then.”

He’d avoided doing so because it would have seemed too obvious and had only dropped a few hints.

In hindsight, perhaps he should have shown it to him once, pretending it was a coincidence.

If his ignorance of the armory’s existence was truly the case, Doyoung was now fully prepared to give Beom Sinje a personal tour, even if it was a bit late.

“Still… it seems he’s not coming this way.”

Doyoung glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was past two in the morning, but the front door hadn’t opened.

He wasn’t waiting.

He just thought, perhaps…

He tried to justify it to himself, but even after that, Doyoung didn’t budge from his spot for over an hour.

His exhausted body, worn down from delaying sleep, had half-collapsed on the couch.

His head lay on the armrest, one leg sprawled haphazardly on the floor.

All he could do was barely keep his eyes on his smartphone, and he couldn’t help but feel a sudden awareness of how pathetic he must look.

“…Go to bed already.”

Unless Beom Sinje came to him, Doyoung had no way to reach out.

At last, he gave up on his lingering hopes and sat upright.

“Ugh…”

His entire body ached from staying in one position too long, and a faint headache throbbed in his skull.

Swaying on his feet, he waited for the dizziness to pass before dragging himself to the bed, where he collapsed heavily.

“Ah. I feel sore… Did I overdo it today?”

Meeting Beom Sinje suddenly and traveling a long distance had apparently put more strain on his body than he realized.

Doyoung rubbed his palm over his heart until he fell asleep.

He didn’t know how long he had been out.

With a start, he awoke.

His hypersensitive instincts were alerting him to an unfamiliar presence nearby.

“Ah.”

Doyoung quickly assessed the intruder and let out a quiet exclamation.

* * *