Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

Oh Hyuk-jun and his subordinate hurriedly entered the hidden room.

A dark room equipped with soundproofing and security at all times.

The door closed.

Oh Hyuk-jun picked up the ashtray.

He slammed it straight onto his subordinate’s head.

Thud!

“…Sorry.”

Thud!

“Sorry.”

Thud, thud!

“Sorry, I—”

“You bastard—!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Blood flowed from the forehead.

Though a wizard, the strength of a B-class awakened person.

His subordinate, being a physical fighter awakened person, was able to endure it.

“Internal exposure? How did you manage the lower-ranked ones?! What the hell is this ledger nonsense!”

“It was a branch that was attacked by Phantom. It seems the branch manager created the ledger without permission—”

“Who doesn’t know that!”

Bang!

Clang!

The glass ashtray broke.

Oh Hyuk-jun’s breath was still heavy.

“My… my name… is being plastered all over the news. The whole country, no, the whole world knows my name now.”

“Sorry.”

“Because of this, damn it, I can’t even escape overseas!”

“Sorry.”

But this wasn’t the worst yet.

He had a backup plan for such times.

Two options, the best and the second-best.

The best was negotiating the abnormal dungeon list.

Negotiating with the government using the list.

The second-best was cutting off the tail.

Shifting the blame to his subordinates’ contracted companies and cutting them off.

But the best plan was rendered useless.

Because of that Professor named Kang Hyun.

“There was no talk like this from the demon side either.”

It was an entirely unexpected variable.

“To see through dungeon anomalies, you need to be someone who’s faced off with a legion commander! How the hell did a Professor like him pull this off?”

“I’m sorry. I will speak to the demon side immediately.”

“What’s the point of talking about it now, you idiot!”

Reluctantly, he would have to go with the second-best option.

“All the contractors under us have turned their backs.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Last night, another branch was attacked by the Phantom. The other branch managers, upon hearing the news, reported themselves this morning with evidence-”

“AAAAH-!!”

Oh Hyuk-jun slammed his subordinate’s head mercilessly.

“Catch that bastard. Catch that damn Phantom!”

“I’m sorry.”

It was impossible.

Oh Hyuk-jun knew that.

He was just lashing out, losing his mind.

Why would the nickname be “Phantom”?

He was the most secretive person in history.

From what he heard, they probably wouldn’t be able to catch him this time either.

In the modern age, with the emergence of Awakened individuals.

The way investigations worked had changed.

More advanced with abilities and magic.

To completely evade that investigation?

It was no ordinary feat.

He didn’t know their full power yet, but…

“That bastard is A-class. Their power can’t even be A-class! Catch them!”

“I’m sorry. Their power is probably closer to C-class.”

High-ranking Awakened aren’t something that just drops out of the sky.

Newcomers like Aden and the S-class Word Mage were extreme exceptions.

Even that Perfect Class is slowly rising from F-class.

However, the special nature of their ability was the issue.

Extreme secrecy.

He had received an A-class rating solely due to the severity of the situation. He was, literally, a Phantom.

“At least, the political world is taking this seriously.”

Who was the most scared of the Phantom?

It wasn’t the criminals or the citizens.

It was the politicians.

To be blunt, if the Phantom decided to assassinate members of the National Assembly one by one?

They wouldn’t stand a chance.

So the investigation would forcibly continue.

Even if this was a perfect crime, would it stay that way?

No one is perfect.

There are limits to magic used to erase traces.

Even A-class wizards have been caught before.

Unless they were on the level of an S-class, they’d eventually get caught if the pursuit continued.

“Don’t worry. The guild leader will not abandon the director. If that were the case, he would have brought me back first.”

Oh Hyuk-jun was now the last remaining family member.

“In the end, the guildmaster thought of you, which is why he sent me.”

The guildmaster of Palan was S-class.

A one-of-a-kind talent in the country.

Their influence was immense.

“The government can’t go against the guildmaster too much. In the end, the real leader behind this incident will be corrected, and your name will be buried.”

It would take a long time for the cleansing, but…

Eventually, it would be covered up.

“Right… I guess that’s true?”

“Yes. For now, focus on the task at hand.”

“What’s important right now…”

Was to somehow fix things, even a little.

He had to appeal, even if weakly, to the guildmaster.

“If only I could negotiate with the list…!”

The anomaly situation wasn’t over.

And the list was the only solution.

He needed to negotiate with the list.

Only then could he buy time.

He could wage a public relations campaign in the meantime.

But it was impossible because of one person.

“If I can just get rid of Kang Hyun, that bastard…”

If Kang Hyun, the professor, wasn’t around…

This would once again become the only solution to the anomaly situation.

All he had to do was restore the value of the list.

“The information on that bastard, bring it all to me.”

“Yes.”

He was going to kill him.

###

Professor Kang Hyun came down to the family home.

“Oh, you’re busy, why come here?”

“I’m going to be really busy soon, so I came before that.”

“…Really? Seems like things are going well for you lately?”

“That’s right. Why don’t you believe me?”

“You’ve got to say something believable for me to believe it!”

Because he didn’t believe it, he brought them directly.

“Student, come in.”

“Huh? Who’s with you?”

Aden peeked her head out.

“Oh, hello…”

“Eh? Oh my?”

Blond hair, blue eyes, an enormous mana pool.

A rare appearance on Earth.

Moreover, an already familiar face from TV.

She immediately caught the attention of everyone in the house.

Her father, who had been scratching his belly inside, had his eyes wide open.

“What, what is this?!”

He jumped up from the sofa in surprise.

Bam!

“I told you, she’s my student.”

“No way…! You, you must be cold! Come in, come in!”

Aden stepped inside cautiously.

Now they might believe him.

But then, a slap on the back.

Smack!

“Ouch! Ah, why!”

“When you have guests, you should say something! She’s not just anyone, she’s someone important!”

“Just treat her casually.”

“Casually? How can you!”

Even though he said to treat her casually, in their eyes, Aden was an A-class Awakened.

A superhuman leading the country, a member of the highest social class.

“Aden… right? I’ve seen you a lot on TV!”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Student. Tell them to make galbi-jjim. My mom’s galbi-jjim is delicious.”

“Oooh…! Galbi-jjim! Meat!”

At first, they were awkward, but after seeing how comfortable Kang Hyun and Aden were with each other, they started to relax.

“Please speak comfortably, Mom!”

“What, what! Mom!?”

“Yes?”

Aden had lived in Korea for a long time but was a bit of a loner.

She wasn’t good with formalities.

“Right, right! Call me mom, dear! It’ll be more comfortable, okay?”

“You’re teaching the child strange things.”

The two of them finally smiled, excited over the new terms.

“Really, is our Hyun really a student…?”

“He’s not a student! Iam his disciple! The master is my life’s savior, and I am the one and only direct disciple!”

“Oh my god, Hyun has really made it big…!”

Aden, after a long time, seemed to be intoxicated with the feeling of being a teacher’s beloved student.

It seemed like she wanted to solidify her position here, as she was very enthusiastic.

“I will serve my master for life!”

“Right, right! You should serve your husband for life!”

“If the master brings anyone else in the future, don’t be swayed and kick them out! The master’s disciple is only me! Mom, dad!”

“Oh my, of course! No other woman will ever step into our house!”

What is this?

I’ve never even considered taking another disciple.

“Is Kang Subin late because of night study?”

“They don’t do night study in high school anymore. She’ll be here soon.”

“High schoolers don’t do night study? Tsk, kids these days…”

“Master, you sound like an old man.”

“Shut up.”

Every time Aden exchanged a word with them, their parents’ smiles widened.

“Son, I’m all for this.”

“What for?”

“Your mom too.”

“What for!”

“If the three of you are happy, then it’s all good!”

“…You stay quiet.”

I understand my parents’ feelings.

Elves are a race of beauty.

She was the top bride candidate even in Thea.

Of course, it goes without saying on Earth in the modern world.

“I was worried because the academy is a self-employed business, but it looks like you’ve settled down well, so I’m relieved.”

“Yeah. Forget about what your mom and dad kept saying about wanting you to work for a big company. People should do what they want to do.”

“Oh, right. I actually got something like a job.”

“Huh? A job? What about the academy?”

“Speaking of which, I’m about to get a lot of money soon, so maybe I can give you some pocket money—”

Ding dong—

“Huh? Is that Kang Subin?”

“Why would she ring the bell? Who are you~?”

When they opened the door, the person who appeared was unexpectedly a familiar face.

“Huh? Yoo Chae… no, Manager Yoo?”

“Yes. But… are these your parents?”

How did she know where to come?

But there was one more person behind her.

A man with gray hair.

He seemed anxious and couldn’t stand still.

‘Who is that?’

Yoo Chae-young glanced at my parents and then bowed politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yoo Chae-young, the support team leader of Seonghwa Guild. Our guild has greatly benefited from Professor Kang Hyun’s help.”

Professor? Who’s a professor?

“Pardon? Our Hyun?”

“Thank you for entrusting your precious son to Seonghwa. This is…”

She handed over a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Among the flowers was a card with a message of thanks.

“This is a token of appreciation from the guildmaster.”

“Oh my, oh my…!”

Wow, Yoo Chae-young really knows how to do this.

She knew exactly how to please parents.

“But, what about the guild leader?”

“Yes. Is there something you’re curious about?”

“Excuse me, but… I saw on YouTube that the wreaths for the top 10 guilds are sent under the vice-guild leader’s name…”

When did she even start keeping track of this?

“Yes, because of the guild structure, the department in charge of sending flowers reports directly to the Vice guildmaster. However, the flowers for you were personally sent by the guildmaster. Our guild has been especially indebted to Professor Kang Hyun.”

“Oh my, oh my!”

My parents were nearly fainting.

They nodded at Yoo Chae-young’s excellent service.

‘This is why they call it a big guild.’

The benefits are very clear.

While they were watching, I made eye contact with the man behind Yoo Chae-young.

Unable to hold back any longer, he shouted.

“P-Professor!”

“Hm?”

He rushed in and immediately threw himself onto the floor in the hallway.

“I am the guildmaster of Gwangmyeong Guild! Please help us just this once!”