Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 187 : A Shaded Place (1)

A Shaded Place (1)

Odin's Eye, commonly known as the Magic Tower in the UK Branch.

Originally a mercenary organization and guild that supported mages, Odin's Eye grew in size and built facilities called "Magic Towers" in various countries.

Having recently relocated its base of operations to the UK, which was aggressively investing in the magic industry, Odin's Eye now found it difficult to grasp the sudden crisis at hand.

"Sol Mayer is dead?"

Barack, elder of Odin's Eye and a great mage, could not believe his ears.

"I heard he went on a rampage and died during the Odyssey semifinals."

"You mean a magic power rampage?! How does someone die from that...?"

"According to rumors, it was related to what they call a demon."

At the word 'demon', Barack frowned.

"A demon? Hah, I'm not even surprised anymore. What ridiculous rumor is it this time?"

He did not believe in the existence of demons.

The emergence of a new intelligent life form—one not human, but similar—was something not easily accepted.

"We have monsters, so isn't it possible there are also demons?"

"Absolutely not. Things like magic exist, and there are intelligent beings who can cross into other dimensions. But if they really had their own civilization, why haven't they invaded our world by now? With such power?"

"Well..."

To this, Barack's assistant and right-hand man, levenson, could not refute.

The footage of Sol Mayer going berserk was easy to find online.

The power he had shown then far surpassed that of a regular great mage, and if that power originated from demons, it was hard to understand why they had not acted until now.

"More importantly, was her name Hwang Yeon-ji?"

"Yes, yes."

"From Korea again?"

"Y-yes."

Barack let out a hollow laugh at Levenson's reply.

"Last time, it was someone approaching twenty, and this time two years earlier?"

"Shin Ah-yeon also reached the level of a great mage around that age. Maybe even earlier. It's just that people couldn't accept it."

"I just don't get it. Does Korea have some kind of special power?"

Korea had produced individuals who achieved the level of a great mage in their teens in succession.

Shin Ah-yeon, who became an S-rank and a great mage at nineteen.

Now, Hwang Yeon-ji, who had become a great mage at the age of seventeen.

Judging by her performance in the fierce battle with Sol Mayer, she seemed to possess power exceeding even S-rank.

At that time, Sol Mayer's power was said to have rivaled SS-rank, so even if Hwang Yeon-ji was considered an S-rank plus, it would not be strange.

'It must have been possible because her Conceptualization Technique was special.'

A mage's Conceptualization Technique is generally a new form of magic or a supporting ability.

Barack's was the former, while Shin Ah-yeon's known ability was the latter.

But Hwang Yeon-ji's was somewhere in between.

It was a form of magic, but its effects were overwhelmingly good.

It was a power no mere individual could possess.

Not only did she easily absorb Sol Mayer's magic, which was close to SS-rank, she even used it to counterattack.

"It would be better to pay attention to Park Jung-woo rather than Korea itself."

"Park Jung-woo? Shin Ah-yeon's manager?"

"He is now also the coach of the Korean team. Achievements that are unbelievable for his age."

It was only Korea's second time competing in the Odyssey, and they had already reached the finals.

While the strong skills of their S-rank hunters played a part, they had achieved results beyond their raw power.

"The S-rank hunter from Grand Nova was not overwhelmingly superior to other S-rank hunters, yet he never lost once."

"And you think that's thanks to Park Jung-woo?"

"My research suggests so. They say Park Jung-woo devised perfect countermeasures tailored to whoever the hunters were facing."

Was that really possible?

Frankly, Barack found it hard to accept.

But given that he was the manager of both Shin Ah-yeon and Hwang Yeon-ji, perhaps there really was something special about him.

"... Park Jung-woo."

Muttering so, Barack turned his gaze.

He looked toward where the great mage, who was likely speaking with "Odin" right now, was situated.

***

"This isn't good."

Gong Je-hun muttered with a grave expression.

"At this rate, it might be hard to keep our schedule. I never thought Odin's Eye would detain Shin Ah-yeon-nim for so long."

"Soo-ah's injury will also take longer than expected to heal."

There was still more than a week left until the match against the United States.

The finals had been seriously delayed due to earlier incidents.

It was something people could have complained about, but the event in the semifinals had been so monumental that people generally accepted a slight extension.

"Ryan Knox will likely be faced by Baek Hojun, but the real issue is Alencia."

"Excuse me? Not Owen McGregor?"

"You don't have to worry about him."

In fact, both Alencia and Owen were problematic.

We currently had no one who could face either of them.

'Yeon-ji is unstable, and Soo-ah is injured.'

The Grand Nova members were not at the level to compete with Alencia or Owen.

"Our shortcomings are to blame. I apologize."

"Not at all. Thanks to Shin Yu-baek's performance at the start, the other hunters could pace their stamina."

Sword King Shin Yu-baek looked genuinely apologetic.

He had initially been very wary, but now appeared quite mild-mannered.

Hong Ji-hak was no different.

"I thought I'd climbed the wall, but I never imagined there'd be another one beyond."

S-ranks rarely had a chance to fight those with comparable skill.

So even among S-ranks, it was difficult to gauge one another's level.

"Jung Yoo-shin would have been happy to see his disciple."

Remembering the late hunter Jung Yoo-shin, Shin Yu-baek shook his head.

Baek Hojun was not present now.

He was the only hunter guaranteed a spot in the finals against the U. S., so he was taking time for private training.

'Even if I take on Owen, the real issue is Alencia.'

There was a way for others to face Owen while I took on Alencia, but it didn't quite sit right.

Moreover, something about Owen just felt off.

It was just a feeling, but my instincts tended to be spot on.

"If only I hadn't injured my right arm so badly."

Soo-ah looked genuinely disappointed.

The injury Kian had inflicted on her arm would take quite some time to heal.

It was not life-threatening, but attempting to force a recovery would be unwise.

Alencia was not someone Soo-ah could face unless she was in top condition.

"Since it's a winner-stays-on format, can't Baek Hojun just take care of everyone?"

Gong Je-hun said it as a light joke, but unfortunately, that wasn't realistic.

"Conventional attacks don't work on Alencia."

"What? What do you mean..."

Currently, the only ones who could hurt Alencia were Soo-ah and myself.

Even for me, to damage Alencia, I'd inevitably have to use the Demon King's power, which I was reluctant to do.

I couldn't justify using that power just to win a match.

'We really need Ah-yeon.'

Ah-yeon should be able to face Alencia.

Normal magic would not work, but Ah-yeon was no ordinary mage.

"I'll make a trip to the UK."

"Huh? What about the finals against the U. S.?"

"I'll be back before then. I'll also let you know the lineup in advance."

The final lineup only needed to be submitted to the organizers a day before the match.

Depending on the situation, we would just let whoever—Soo-ah or Ah-yeon—was ready, participate.

"You're going to the UK... Don't tell me you're planning to go to Odin's Eye?"

"Yes."

"The mood in the UK must be grim right now. Besides..."

Sol Mayer, who had been the brightest hope of British magic, was dead. The atmosphere would not be good, especially since I—who had faced him—was the manager of Korea's team; getting access to the Magic Tower would hardly be easy.

"How do you plan to get inside Odin's Eye? They call it a Magic Tower for a reason—it's not a place even S-rank hunters can easily enter."

"I have a way."

"A-a way?"

Gong Je-hun seemed flustered, but when I said I had a way, he soon nodded.

"Well, you're not the kind of person who would be reckless without a plan, manager Park."

"Of course."

As I agreed, he finally looked reassured and nodded.

"While you're gone, I'll take care of the other hunters. Be careful not to be late for the finals."

But probably Gong Je-hun had no idea.

That the way I mentioned wasn't necessarily a peaceful one.

***

Magic Tower. The tower-like building created by Odin's Eye, the holy land of mages.

The UK Magic Tower had only recently been completed.

Odin's Eye had moved its main base to the UK, and now virtually every prominent mage resided in the UK Magic Tower.

'What kind of lunatic is this?'

Andrew, the hunter in charge of security at the Magic Tower, watched the man who had just arrived confidently through the main gate.

It wasn't someone he didn't recognize.

No, to be precise, it was someone he couldn't fail to know.

"Aren't you Manager Park Jung-woo?"

Park Jung-woo, acting as the coach for Korea in the Odyssey.

Though Andrew knew he was currently serving as coach, he deliberately called Park Jung-woo "manager" to belittle him.

"I guess you wanted to personally receive UK's hospitality?"

Currently, UK did not have a favorable opinion toward Korea.

Sol Mayer, though he almost became a mass murderer, had been regarded as a future leader and national hunter in the UK and had been extremely popular.

If he had died after causing a catastrophic incident, public opinion might be different, but in the end, aside from transforming into a demonic form, he'd only destroyed the stadium.

So, even if it had been called an accident, there was no way that the British people—especially regarding Park Jung-woo—could have a good impression of Korea.

"I'd like permission to enter the Magic Tower."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. As far as I know, manager Park Jung-woo is an unannounced visitor."

Even if he had arranged a prior appointment, there would be nobody in the Magic Tower who would be willing to meet Park Jung-woo.

He would only be met with countless glares.

"I understand you're holding Korea's representative, Shin Ah-yeon, longer than the agreed period."

"That was Odin's decision."

At the mention of Odin, Jung-woo gave a sardonic smile.

What a grandiose title that was.

If Owen McGregor was the pinnacle of swordsmen, Odin was certainly the summit of the magic world.

Of course, having built the world's largest mage guild alone, he was not someone to be underestimated.

"Is there really no way for me to gain entry? You must realize this could become an international incident."

"I'm just a humble guard, so such matters are above my paygrade. I just do my job."

Andrew firmly refused again.

He had absolutely no intention of letting Park Jung-woo in.

'International incident? Ridiculous.'

True, detaining the national ace hunter and preventing them from competing in an event like the Odyssey could cause an international outcry.

But who were they?

Odin's Eye had dispatched mages all over the world to render aid.

In countries lacking mages, they anxiously awaited gifts from Odin's Eye.

Korea, too, was still a magic underdeveloped country.

Historically, Shin Ah-yeon was the only great mage Korea had produced.

So they were always hoping for a mage dispatch from Odin's Eye.

One could only study magic with the help of mages, after all.

"In that case, there's no helping it."

"Yes, I'm glad you understand—"

"In that case, I suppose I'll just have to enter as Park Jung-woo from now on."

"Excuse me?"

Just as Andrew was about to reply indifferently, his gaze shifted at the following words.

But Andrew saw nothing.

A heavy impact struck his head and a thunderous crash rang in his ears.

And with that, he lost consciousness.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

We're almost at the end of the novel, there's no need to hide his strength anymore.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】