Scene: White Tiger Guild Headquarters – Top Floor
Mana monitors flicker. Screens replay footage from the dungeon break.
Crystalline echoes of ogre screams and a man wrapped in white light fill the air.
Operatives stare at the screen like they just saw god. Again.
And again.
And again.
The same man.
White hair. Tattoos. Eyes of judgment.
Spear made of "what the actual hell."
Arin stands awkwardly in the middle, arms folded.
Tara whispers, "…Are you sure it's him?"
Arin: "Same energy. Same 'about to die but kind of safe' vibe. I'm sure."
Tara: "…Same face?"
Arin: "Didn't see his face either time. But I'd know that back anywhere."
The room goes silent.
Until—
"HA! IT'S HIM! IT'S HIM, ARIN!! WE FOUND HIM!"
Jinhwan Ra, Guildmaster of the White Tiger Guild, slams his fist on the table so hard that mana bursts from the floor.
He twirls around dramatically, pointing at Arin like she's a sacred prophecy.
"We must recruit him into the guild."
"WITH HIM I CAN FINALLY BEAT THAT STUPID LOTUS GUILD!!"
The entire room stares.
Tara facepalms. "Guildmaster—please—"
Jinhwan's eyes are bloodshot with joy.
"I'VE BEEN IN SECOND PLACE FOR TEN YEARS, TARA. TEN. YEARS."
"THAT WITCH FROM LOTUS STOLE OUR GUILD SPOT IN THE LAST TOWER WAR—SHE EVEN TOOK OUR DRAGON CONTRACT. DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE NAMED HER PHOENIX? 'Suck it, Ra.'"
"WITH THIS GUY—THIS 'WHITE LIGHT WARLORD'—I'M SO BACK."
Arin: "…He crushed two men's skulls without blinking."
Jinhwan: "And did you thank him?"
Arin: "I was busy not peeing myself."
Jinhwan Ra collapses into his chair, breathing hard, smiling.
"Tara. Send out every scout. Every recruiter. Every sob story and gifted bottle of wine we've got."
"Find. That. Man."
Tara: "…We're literally warriors. Not salespeople."
"MAKE HIM FEEL SPECIAL!"
Tara sighs and starts to walk out.
"Also…" Jinhwan adds casually, "My brother should be visiting today. Prep the nice room."
Tara freezes.
Arin: "Wait, you have a brother?"
"Yeah. You haven't met him? Murim grandmaster, SSS-Rank. Real serious guy. Raised in the martial world by monks who believed in punching mountains."
"Mom was a tower raider. They fell in love, ran away together. Now we're both terrifying. Classic romance."
Murim Master's Arrival
A calm breeze flows through the guild lobby.
Wooden geta sandals tap the floor.
A long, dark robe. A blade longer than most people. Aura of pure discipline.
Master: "Is Jinhwan here?"
Receptionist: "You're the brother?!"
"Unfortunately."
He walks into the guild meeting room, nods to Jinhwan.
Jinhwan: "Yo."
Murim Master: "You summoned me during meditation. A demon was about to speak its name."
Jinhwan: "Get this—we found a guy. Crushed ogres with a light spear. Arin says he's the same guy from that Black Snake assault."
Murim Master: (pause) "…Interesting."
Jinhwan: "What do you think?"
Murim Master: "I think if he has that much control, and that much presence, we're dealing with something that isn't bound to this system. Something…"
(eyes narrow)
"…older."
Tara: "Great. Now you're being cryptic."
Murim Master: "I do not joke."
Jinhwan: "Good, because I do. And I'm gonna joke all the way to the top of the rankings with this guy in my guild!!"
Arin, quietly in the back: "This doesn't feel legal."
Meanwhile — At the Bar
Brehn: "So, uhh… did you really not see anything?"
Alaric, cleaning a glass, smirks. "Lots of explosions lately. Who knows."
Mira stares at him, half-mad, half-in-love. "You're not subtle, you know that?"
Alaric: "I'm a bartender. Not a ninja."
Mira: "…You glowed like the moon and vaporized a dozen monsters."
Alaric: "Dwarven vodka's stronger than you think