By Zephyria 
Healing power was an ability that had not manifested in anyone for twenty-one years since the Great Cataclysm. In other words, the hunter before them, Kim Si-baek, was a healer who was unique now and would likely remain unique in the future. On top of that, his own raw physical capabilities were as formidable as any combat-type hunter.
Most of the people, including Lee Sarang, looked on with a mixture of shock and excitement, while the head of the hunter registration department’s mind raced.
He was a hunter possessing not just a rare trait, but a unique one. And that hunter belonged to the 7777 Guild. Tae-un alone was treated as an outlier rather than a typical S-class; if the world’s only healer joined him, how high would the status of the 7777 Guild soar?
Meanwhile, Hwang Suho, who had abandoned his own guild and spent his entire fortune buying shares in the 7777 Guild, shuddered as he sensed a massive surge in stock prices.
In an instant, all sorts of imaginations raced through people’s minds. Finally, as everyone focused with fluttering hearts and high expectations, Kim Si-baek opened his lips.
“No. It is the power of faith.”
“……Eh? Wh-what?”
“It is a modest power granted by God through devout faith.”
“……Ah. Fa-faith…… I see……”
Lee Sarang nodded blankly. The gaze of the crowd, which had been filled with admiration and wonder that he might be the world’s first hunter to awaken healing abilities, shifted subtly.
‘An S-class hunter is a cultist…’
‘…As expected, the Mad Dog’s man is extraordinary.’
‘Wasn’t there an Awakened who acted as a cult leader and got beaten to a pulp by Guild Master Tae-un before being arrested?’
Pretending not to notice the awkward atmosphere, Kim Si-baek looked at the employees.
“Is there anyone else who needs their wounds treated?”
Whether it was a cult or not, they had seen with their own eyes that the healing power was real. The injured employees glanced at one another before quietly raising their hands.
[Find the survivors of the magic stone exchange (28/29)]
After that, without further incident, they joined the survivors who had been hiding within the protective magic circle of the second-floor conference room. Only one of them was a hunter who had been communicating with the outside; the other five were all civilians.
“Thank you! We managed to reach the protective magic circle while protecting these people, but we couldn’t break through…”
The only injured person was that hunter. Although she had received emergency treatment using the first-aid kits that are mandatory in every office and home since the Great Cataclysm, her face was completely bloodless due to the severity of her injuries.
One of the 7777 Guild hunters, who had arrived at the protective magic circle first, tried to check the wounds, but Tae-un stopped him.
“Wait until Si-baek hyung comes.”
“Pardon?”
“Hyung has healing abilities.”
“……What?!”
While even Seo Gae-un and Yang Eun-ho struggled to fully process the phrase ‘hunter with healing abilities,’ the Gabyeolcho Guild and Jeongmyeong Guild soon arrived. The scene repeated as Kim Si-baek healed the Management Center employees. The only difference was that Tae-un chuckled softly at the choice of the phrase ‘power of faith.’
Pushing aside Yang Eun-ho, who didn’t even dare to ask a question, Seo Gae-un asked hesitantly.
“So, um, does that mean my mentor believes in a strange—no, an unusual religion?”
Before Kim Si-baek could answer, Tae-un stepped forward.
“I’ve converted too. All of you, convert as well.”
“What? What do you mean convert?”
“Not just you, but the entire guild membership. From now on, it’s a requirement for our guild…”
“No. Un-i is joking.”
Kim Si-baek blocked Tae-un’s mouth—which was trying to forcibly increase the number of believers—with the avatar’s backside.
“I’ll tell you slowly later. We aren’t exactly in a situation where we can chat leisurely, are we?”
“Ah, yes…… that is true……”
Seo Gae-un gave Tae-un a sidelong glance before gathering the hunters to receive their reports and conduct a mid-point check. In the meantime, Kim Si-baek whispered to Tae-un.
“I told you, there’s no point in just putting names on a religious sect’s list by force.”
“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had a deep kiss with your butt. By now, shouldn’t you just put me on the believer list?”
“Hmm…… if that’s how one becomes a believer, I would have rubbed Biyendwe’s butt on the lips of everyone I meet.”
[Death and Beauty shudders in horror, tail feathers trembling.]
“But is it really okay for me to say whatever I want? Even to me, it sounds like a cult. Won’t that just make people more wary?”
“There is a simple solution.”
Kim Si-baek’s gaze became skeptical after hearing the method Tae-un suggested. Would that really work?
“More importantly, hyung, how many survivors are there in total so far? By my count, it seems we’re one person short for the quest. Is that right?”
Kim Si-baek glanced up at the quest and answered with a nod.
According to the original plan, they were to join the second-floor survivors, rescue them, and then find the core of the giant vine using only the 7777 Guild. However, the giant vines that sprouted in the purified area were strange in every way. The raid team was plagued by the fact that the vines had even transported the Management Center employees here.
Seo Gae-un brushed back her hair roughly.
“There’s a high probability that people are on the upper floors, but it’s impossible to search with only our guild. There are far more survivors than expected, and since this isn’t an Id Portal, we can’t move while protecting all these people.”
“Unnie, what did the Management Center say?”
“The Management Center only occupies the 3rd floor, so they said they plan to rescue the survivors first and then re-enter.”
“Then it might be better if the Management Center team finds the core……”
Various opinions were voiced—such as retreating and re-entering like the Management Center, requesting reinforcements, or continuing forward as they had been—but none seemed ideal.
The one who cut through the chaotic confusion was Tae-un.
“There is only one survivor on the upper floors.”
“How do you know?”
“My gut.”
His low voice dropped clearly, as if that were reason enough. Even those who were well aware of Tae-un’s reputation looked bewildered for a moment, unable to tell if he was joking or talking nonsense. While Hwang Suho cautiously asked, “Guild Master, you’re joking, right?”, a few people reacted differently.
“If hyung says so, then it must be true.”
“Since there’s only one survivor left, let’s proceed as originally planned. Since there are more survivors than expected, it will be difficult for Gabyeolcho and Jeongmyeong to protect them alone, so our guild will also split its personnel.”
The others were utterly bewildered by the way these people accepted Tae-un’s ‘gut feeling’ as fact.
“They actually believe that? Shouldn’t Hunter Lee Sarang at least stop him?”
At Hwang Suho’s incredulous whispering, Lee Sarang’s eyes instead sparkled brightly.
“My dad—I mean, our Guild Master—told me. He said if Uncle Tae-un says it’s his ‘gut,’ even if the only way is to jump off a cliff, just jump. He said he’s always right!”
“No, I mean, even so……”
Hwang Suho stammered, appalled by this absurd level of infinite trust, but then he remembered that Gabyeolcho’s Guild Master Cho Byeong-seok and Lee Sarang were ‘Seoul refugees’ and shut his mouth.
Regardless of nicknames like the Mad Dog or ominous rumors, the trust placed in 7777 Guild Master Tae-un was a sentiment shared by Koreans who had watched the achievements a young boy built in blood for over twenty years. To the point that not a single person had become a host for an Id Portal, even in extreme situations of being isolated with the seriously injured.
Among them, the bond and faith toward him were exceptionally deep and thick among the Seoul refugees whom Tae-un had personally rescued, protected, and saved.
If Tae-un started a new religion, eight out of ten of them would join. One of the remaining two would probably join after some deliberation.
‘Gasp. Is that why Hunter Kim Si-baek laid the groundwork with religion?!’
While Hwang Suho fell into useless deliberation over whether he should sell his 7777 Guild shares before a cult controversy erupted or hold on and believe that the cult would flourish thanks to Tae-un’s name, Seo Gae-un wrapped up the meeting.
✽ ✽ ✽
“It’s suddenly become quiet.”
To put it simply, the group had shrunk; to put it elegantly, only a small elite remained. All hunters except Kim Si-baek, Tae-un, Seo Gae-un, and Yang Eun-ho had headed downstairs to escort the survivors to safety.
Now that only trustworthy people remained, Yang Eun-ho spoke in a cautious tone.
“I know things are hectic since we’re in the middle of a raid, but can you tell me clearly if your trait is truly healing? Since there are witnesses, word will get out immediately, and I need to know something so I can respond on behalf of the guild. Oh, you are officially affiliated with our guild, right?”
It was a reasonable question, but he couldn’t openly reveal that the source of the healing power was a god from another world. Recalling the solution Tae-un had whispered to him, Kim Si-baek spoke.
“It is the power of faith.”