Solo Resurrection

“What?”

“About the Badass Guild interview.”

“That crazy interview?”

“Yeah. I heard less than 60 people passed.”

“Out of 5000 applicants? That’s like 1 in 100. Insane.”

“Isn’t it too much? Even though they have Kang Hyeon, they’re not even in the top 10 guilds, they’re practically new. The guys struggling to get in there aren’t in their right minds either.”

“I know. If it were me, I’d rather apply to a top 10 guild. Why bother with Badass…”

“Hey, hey! Shut up!”

The man who was chattering away frowned when his friend suddenly covered his mouth.

“What? Why suddenly… Huh!”

But soon the man also held his breath as if he’d seen a ghost and closed his mouth.

“Ugh…”

It was because the Badass Guild members who had finished conquering a dungeon were walking by.

The men were frozen, barely breathing until the guild members had completely passed.

A moment later.

After all the Badass Guild members had passed and completely disappeared from view, they finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Damn, look at those fierce expressions.”

“There’s a rumor that they practice killing people in dungeons.”

“Let’s be careful not to run into them from now on…”

After the interview that had stirred up the entire Republic of Korea ended, finally 56 successful candidates were selected.

Their levels, ages, genders were all across the spectrum, and there were even people of different races.

There was only one common point among these diverse individuals, where the difference between the highest and lowest level exceeded 30.

“I guess it’s true that they only picked the really fierce ones…”

That’s right, fierceness.

The condition for entering the Badass Guild is simple.

You just need to be fierce.

Anyone could join the guild if they were fierce, persistent, and reckless enough to make anyone who saw them stick out their tongue.

“Ugh… I feel like I’m dying.”

“It’s a miracle we’re still alive.”

Even the fierce people who had already been tested by Kang Hyeon and entered the guild were groaning while undergoing the Bades Guild’s training.

“Hey. When I joined, the Guild Master trained us directly, and it was even worse than this. You guys are lucky.”

Kim Jin-seon, the man at the forefront of them. He was one of the members from the Guardian Guild who had suffered greatly following Kang Hyeon in the beginning.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Kim Jin-seon’s level was 55.

It was quite high even among the elite former Guardian members who were currently the guild’s best.

Thanks to this, he could show off quite a bit among the new guild members who were all below level 30.

“You guys work hard too. My leveling speed has at least doubled since coming to the Badass Guild.”

“Having fun?”

At that moment.

Kim Jin-seon’s forehead tensed at the casual voice coming from behind.

“Which bastard is being sarcastic?”

“It’s me.”

“Gasp! Vice Guild Master…”

“Please, continue what you were doing.”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Kim Jin-seon broke out in a cold sweat, completely frozen after facing An Yu-seong.

‘Why is this crazy guy here…’

Not much is known to the public about the Badass Guild other than Kang Hyeon.

However, Kim Jin-seon knows.

That Vice Guild Master An Yu-seong is the real madman, surpassing even Kang Hyeon.

“Where are you going?”

“Just out for a walk.”

“I see…”

Usually, if An Yu-seong wasn’t in a dungeon, he was cooped up in the guild office.

In the office, he mainly played games and designed guild merchandise, but occasionally he would play darts with Shin Seong-a using daggers, chilling the onlookers.

A walk didn’t suit An Yu-seong at all, but Kim Jin-seon wasn’t stupid enough to argue or question it.

“Then, carry on.”

“Yes!”

Kim Jin-seon’s waist, bent at 90 degrees, didn’t straighten until An Yu-seong had completely left.

***

Ippotranslation

***

An Yu-seong was wandering the streets aimlessly.

“Father…”

The man who he thought had completely lost interest in him.

He never thought he would draw attention again in this way, thinking he would never face him again.

“He’ll probably summon brother directly.”

He was a man who had grasped whatever he wanted. It was clear he would achieve his goal by any means necessary now that he had a target.

“I should tell him in advance…”

He couldn’t bring himself to tell Kang Hyeon first.

Pride, guilt, self-loathing.

Countless other emotions that couldn’t be explained in words were tangled up.

An Yu-seong smiled bitterly at the helplessness he felt after a long time.

“Hm?”

An Yu-seong stopped at the creaking sound coming from somewhere.

Looking around, he could see a boy alone on a swing in a playground.

“It’s been a while.”

A quite old playground.

A place that seemed like no one but that child would visit.

Somehow feeling like he was looking at his younger self, An Yu-seong’s feet naturally led him there.

“…?”

The child seemed wary of his sudden appearance.

Ignoring the suspicious gaze, An Yu-seong plopped down on a swing.

-Creak, creak…

As he lightly kicked off the ground, the old chains made a nostalgic sound as they moved.

“Did you come to ride the swing too, mister?”

The child let his guard down quicker than expected.

“I come here every day.”

Despite An Yu-seong’s lukewarm response, the child chattered away, seemingly happy to have someone to talk to after a long time.

“What about your friends?”

“They all go to academies after school, so there’s no one around.”

“Don’t you go to an academy?”

“I asked to be sent, but mom said no. So I play here waiting for mom to come.”

“…”

“Mister. The swing here is really…”

“I’m not a mister.”

“Huh?”

“Call me big brother. I’m only 19.”

“Mister. Mom said lying is wrong.”

The child spoke with a very serious expression.

An Yu-seong just chuckled at the absurdity.

“Mister.”

“What.”

“What are those drawings on your body?”

“They’re called tattoos.”

“What about the bead-like things on your face?”

“Piercings.”

“Doesn’t it hurt? Mom said only bad people do things like that.”

“I am a bad person.”

The child’s eyes widened in shock at An Yu-seong’s words.

“Mister, are you a bad person…?”

Just then, someone’s voice was heard calling out.

“Tae-hyung!”

“Mom!”

At that sound, the child’s face immediately brightened, and he ran off in a hurry.

“What were you doing?”

“I was talking with a mister.”

“What mister?”

“That mister over there.”

“…”

“He has lots of drawings on his body, and he said he’s a bad person.”

At the child’s words, the woman looked at An Yu-seong with a bewildered expression.

‘Why is she looking at me like that?’

He hadn’t done anything, but she was looking at him as if he were a kidnapper.

An Yu-seong smiled as gently as he could.

Somehow, it felt like he should.

“Tae-hyung. Let’s go quickly!”

“Huh?”

Horrified by An Yu-seong’s smile, the child’s mother hurriedly hugged her son.

“From tomorrow, don’t come to this playground! Understand?!”

“Mom, then where should I play…”

Listening to the conversation of the mother and child as they moved away, An Yu-seong chuckled mindlessly.

“Haha. Hahaha…”

But the laughter was short-lived.

-Creak, creak…

The playground was soon filled with the creaking sound of the swing.

How much time had passed?

Before he knew it, darkness had fallen around him. During that time, An Yu-seong had been lost in thought, but no answers came. He was just being drawn deeper into the problem.

The ants crossing the sand.

Usually, he would have ignored them or crushed them in an instant, but today, for some reason, he wanted to just watch them quietly.

“What are you doing?”

That’s when it happened.

A familiar voice came from in front of him. An Yu-seong answered without even raising his head.

“You came?”

“Are you some kind of entomologist Fabre? Why are you staring at ants so intently?”

“I’m planning to kill them all at once when I get home.”

“You crazy bastard.”

Kang Hyeon just shook his head at the incomprehensible words.

“Stop joking around, what were you really doing here? With your phone turned off too. Do you know how much I’ve been running around looking for you?”

“Why?”

“You told me to try increasing my magical power last time, remember? I’ve made some progress. I wanted to thank you. And brag a little too, while I’m at it.”

“Congratulations.”

“Put some soul into it, man.”

Kang Hyeon chuckled and sat down on the swing next to An Yu-seong.

“Hey. Let’s have a beer.”

“I’m still a minor, you know.”

“Don’t give me that crap. I’ll go buy some, so wait here.”

“Do you see me as a mister too?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Kang Hyeon looked at An Yu-seong as if he were looking at something disgusting, then headed to a nearby convenience store.

“I don’t know what you like, so I just bought what I drink.”

A moment later, Kang Hyeon returned with a black bag and handed An Yu-seong a beer.

“This is my first time drinking alcohol.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true.”

“Really?”

“Yes…”

Kang Hyeon’s eyes wavered.

He seemed quite shocked.

“Doesn’t your father usually give you a drink at home? You’ve graduated high school, haven’t you?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

“Then learn from me. It’ll be January 1st, New Year’s Day, tomorrow anyway. You won’t die from drinking a day early, will you?”

So for a while, the two of them drank their beers in silence.

The cold December wind swept over their bodies, but neither of them paid attention to it as their bodies weren’t affected by ordinary weather.

“Oh. It’s snowing.”

“So it is.”

That’s when it started snowing from the sky.

There was heavy snow decorating the end of the year.

“Brother.”

“What?”

“My father wants to meet you.”

“Me? Why?”

“Well, there could be many reasons.”

“I see.”

“…”

“Is that all?”

“Pardon?”

An Yu-seong raised his head at Kang Hyeon’s sudden words.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, why is the atmosphere so dead, like we’re at a funeral? I thought something big had happened.”

“You might not realize it, but this is already a big deal…”

“They’re already here.”

“What?”

“I said, people have already come. I was wondering who they were, it seems like they were sent by your father.”

At Kang Hyeon’s words, An Yu-seong’s expression hardened.

He knew his father would make a move, but he didn’t expect him to act this quickly.

“So what did you do?”

“What could I do? They kept causing trouble, so I gave each of them a punch in the face.”

“And then?”

“And then, well, they were making a fuss about who they were and whatnot, so I gave them each another punch.”

“…”

“After that, no one else came.”

It seemed like his father had sent subordinates to find Kang Hyeon. But there’s no way his father would stop here. No, this is just the beginning.

He will thoroughly monitor Kang Hyeon’s every move and won’t hesitate to threaten him if it means drawing him in.

“Don’t worry.”

“…”

“I don’t know why you’re acting so unlike yourself, but you don’t need to feel so sorry. I’m quite popular, you know.”

“That sounds more like a chronic disease. Heh.”

The heavy atmosphere lifted at the lame joke, and Kang Hyeon, who had emptied his beer can in one go, stood up.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Let’s go see your father. He just wants to see my face, and it’s not like I have such an expensive face. It’s no big deal to meet him once, right?”

“Thank you.”

Kang Hyeon frowned at An Yu-seong’s response.

“You crazy bastard. You’re giving me goosebumps. Just act like you usually do, man.”