Chapter 66 – Maintenance (1)

-Tushin vs. Hanul Guild, Who Will Emerge Victorious?

-Tushin Guild’s Wings Clipped in Their Flight to Number One.

-Hanul’s Dungeon Clear Share Could Propel Them into the Top 5 Next Month!

After the dungeon raid concluded, articles flooded the news.

Tushin, who was expected to dominate the raid, had been pushed back, while Hanul had reaped massive benefits.

Some made money on the betting sites, while others lost it.

-Heard the Paladin and the Deliveryman threw down.

└Yeah, the Deliveryman barely made it out alive.

└Nah, the Paladin got his ass kicked.

└LOL, you got that backward?

└The Paladin probably took pity on him and let him off easy.

└Let him off? To what, his grave?

└Don’t you know? Our Ji-hoon doesn’t bully the weak.

Unconfirmed rumors circulated on the internet.

Everyone had their own opinions, but the one certainty was that Hanul had taken down the dungeon boss first.

The Tushin Guild offered no official statement on the matter.

However, those in the Hunter community could see it.

The Hanul Guild was making a major leap forward.

No matter how weak Seo Hyun-ji was for an S-rank, an S-rank was still an S-rank.

Two S-ranks. And among them, the porter Lee Hyunbin was no ordinary man.

He had joined the chaotic Hanul Guild, formed his own team, and was now producing results.

Recently, he had even started a personal business training Hunters, which many also viewed favorably.

“Hoo…”

Kim Shin, the head of Tushin Guild’s HR department, felt a headache coming on.

His ashtray was already filled with several crushed, burnt-out cigarette butts.

He had struggled to quit smoking, but the recent, intense stress had forced him to pick it up again.

“Lee Hyunbin, Lee Hyunbin. Ah, why is he so damned annoying?”

At this point, you could call it a twisted fate.

The man who once came for an interview had now become their main adversary.

Every single one of his actions harmed Tushin and grated on their nerves.

*Knock, knock.*

A knock came from the door.

“Yes.”

He already knew who it was.

It was Seol Ji-hoon.

He entered Kim Shin’s office and frowned slightly.

“Ah, sorry.”

Kim Shin opened a window to air the room out.

The trapped cigarette smoke escaped through the window as if fleeing, clinging to the building’s exterior.

“Ji-hoon.”

“Yeah.”

Kim Shin let out a sigh.

“Is it true?”

The question was missing a subject, but Seol Ji-hoon knew what he was asking.

“He shattered my Aegis skill.”

“Hah.”

A sigh escaped Kim Shin’s lips.

It was just that absurd.

Seol Ji-hoon was someone who could tank with his Aegis defense skill alone.

The idea that Lee Hyunbin—a porter, of all people—had shattered a defensive skill that wouldn’t break even when clawed at by most boss-level monsters was utterly preposterous.

“Honestly, if we had kept fighting.”

Seol Ji-hoon muttered quietly.

It was the first time he had felt such a profound sense of defeat.

No, to be precise, he hadn’t experienced defeat since finding the power of the Paladin.

“I would have lost.”

“Hah.”

Kim Shin took out another cigarette and placed it between his lips.

“Even Yeomje couldn’t break your skill.”

“I know.”

Yeomje, the S-rank number one known for having the strongest attack power, had been unable to break Seol Ji-hoon’s defensive skill.

“It seems he has a way to counter my skill.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know either.”

Seol Ji-hoon retraced his memories.

Lee Hyunbin had shrouded his sword in mana. A momentary flash of a skill effect. And with a simple swing of his sword, Aegis had shattered.

“What the hell is that bastard’s deal?!”

Kim Shin scratched his head in frustration.

Hanul’s Lee Hyunbin is a licensed Guarder.

Under the pretext of searching for Villains during any guild’s raid.

He could enter dungeons under the justification of protecting citizens’ safety.

“I’ve sent complaints to the agency several times, but they won’t budge.”

They simply sent back a response saying they couldn’t interfere with the duties of a Guarder holding a special license.

In other words, citizen safety took precedence over a guild’s profits.

After all, just a short while ago, there had been a dangerous incident where a massive dragon charged toward a densely populated area.

“Hah. Damn it. We’re so screwed, all because we got tangled up with some weirdo.”

Kim Shin was also a former Hunter.

Although his rank was low and he didn’t have much talent in that area.

He had a good eye for people.

With his excellent judgment and administrative skills, he had served as a founding member of Tushin.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Should I bring in some people on par with S-ranks?”

“People on par with S-ranks?”

Kim Shin’s ears perked up at Seol Ji-hoon’s words.

“What’s their affiliation? Free agents? Or rookies?”

“No, they’re not affiliated with anyone, and they’re not rookies.”

There was no way an S-rank Hunter would be wandering around unaffiliated.

But seeing the glint in Seol Ji-hoon’s eyes, Kim Shin understood his meaning.

“Could it be, like you…?”

At Kim Shin’s question, Seol Ji-hoon gave a simple smile.

“Yeah.”

“……”

Kim Shin was silent for a moment.

“Hyung. They’ll be a huge help.”

“Yeah, I know. But…”

“Hyung.”

Seol Ji-hoon clasped his soft hands together and spoke in a relaxed tone.

“You can do it, hyung. Just like you did for me.”

“…”

“Create new identities for them, change their faces.”

“…”

Kim Shin didn’t answer, but Seol Ji-hoon could tell.

His resolve was wavering.

“Hyung. Think about it. They’re all good people. With your help, they can start a second life.”

It was a convincing story.

But there was something that made Kim Shin hesitate.

“What were their call signs?”

At Kim Shin’s words, Seol Ji-hoon smiled gently and whispered.

“The Company Man.”

***

After the dungeon raid, the success bonuses and profits were distributed.

One hundred million won was distributed per person, but since Katrinne was still a minor, I decided to hold onto her share for her.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s mine, you know?”

“Hey, you must not know. In Korea, there’s a time-honored tradition where kids get New Year’s money, give it to their moms for safekeeping, and get it back when they’re adults!”

“Don’t make me laugh! They never give it back!”

Whoa, how does someone from another world know that?

“I need to provide for my people…”

Ah, right.

She was already responsible for the livelihoods of the floating island’s residents.

“I promised to treat everyone to chicken if I made a big score this time!”

This is ridiculous. I can understand ramen, but do you really think it’s possible to buy chicken for all those people? Huh?

Wait, come to think of it, one pack of ramen multiplies into a hundred over there.

Maybe it is possible?

I gave Katrinne a debit card in her name.

“What’s this?”

“Your card.”

“My card?”

Katrinne, who had been borrowing my card until now, blinked her eyes.

“Yep, a card that exists solely for you. A card only you can use.”

“Uh, well. You didn’t have to go this far.”

Katrinne looked touched.

Her eyes instantly welled up with emotion; she seemed quite moved.

“I put the money you earned this time in there.”

“You did?”

“Yep, you can order chicken a whopping fifty times with it.”

“Fifty times?”

Her actual reward was 100 million won, but no matter how I thought about it, that was too much money for a minor.

Just take the 500,000 won.

As she took the card, Katrinne’s eyes turned suspicious.

Uh oh, did she figure something out?

“What is it?”

“Uh, what, what is it?”

I’m getting a little nervous.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Huh?”

Of course.

Katrinne’s lips twitched with joy, and her face contorted in a grin.

“Heheheh, I can eat chicken a whole fifty times! Whoa! You need to collect ten coupons to get one free order. This is like having 500 coupons in here, right?”

“Uh, right?”

“Heehee.”

Well, as long as you’re happy.

Kids shouldn’t handle large sums of money. That’s why moms hold onto New Year’s money.

I’m just following the wisdom of adults.

“In that case, I’m buying chicken today!”

Katrinne excitedly opened her number one treasure, her coupon book.

“No, you worked hard. I’ll order.”

“No, Mister. I’ll get it. I’ve been saving up coupons!”

“No, well…”

My conscience is nagging at me.

I’ll just close my eyes to it. Life is more enjoyable when you’re a little shameless.

That day, I ate chicken using Katrinne’s coupons.

It was delicious.

***

After the dungeon raid, no major jobs came in.

The Tushin Guild seemed to be laying low for a while, perhaps due to the heavy blow from their failed high-level dungeon raid.

Meanwhile, the Hanul Guild was striking while the iron was hot, bidding on and clearing dungeons left and right.

The new Hanul, formed by that Demon King bastard, was certainly incomparable to its former self. Hanul, once the constant target of criticism, had now become a guild everyone was watching.

All the other teams were tackling low to mid-level dungeons or taking on gate exploration missions.

I took some time to get my team in order.

Kim In-ho and Kim Tae-yang had also reached their mid-20s in level.

I adjusted both of their growth stats.

In games, you get growth points when you level up and can allocate them yourself.

But the system wasn’t that simple.

I reset the Kims’ stats and changed everything.

Just because you raised a stat that was previously 1 to 20 didn’t mean it applied immediately.

It applied at about 10% per day, taking roughly ten days to fully take effect.

That’s why it was best to do this in advance. You never knew what might happen.

Since Tae-yang’s ability was a regeneration enhancement type, I focused on his vitality.

I set his strength, agility, and vitality to grow at a ratio of approximately 1:1:2.

Kim In-ho was an all-rounder type, so I set his growth ratio to 1:1:1 and kept the other stats to a minimum at a 0.2 ratio.

To be honest, being an all-rounder is great at first.

You can use your own buff skills, tank, and deal damage. You can do a bit of everything.

But this also becomes a weakness.

It means you’re not exceptionally good at any one thing.

For someone like Kim In-ho, there was a perfect solution: gear.

“Uh, Team Leader?”

“Learn both of these.”

In-ho used the skill USB I gave him.

What I gave him was a passive stat skill to compensate for his lacking attributes.

Strength +3, Agility +3, Vitality +3

The downside was that it consumed a little mana, but since he was a jack-of-all-trades who had also invested in his mana stat, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“What about me?”

Tae-yang said in a sulky voice.

“Nothing for you.”

“Aw, you only gave something to In-ho.”

Tae-yang puffed out his cheeks.

Trying to act cute.

“The only thing I have for you is my fist.”

“Ehehe, but we’re close, Team Leader. Hehe.”

I laughed along with him. Then, opening my desk drawer, I asked Tae-yang.

“You don’t think I can stuff you in here?”

“……”

As expected, fists speak louder than words.

“It’s not like I’m giving this to In-ho for free, anyway. He’ll have to pay it all back later.”

“Uh, how much?”

Good question. How much should I charge?

I had no intention of taking money, so I just made something up.

“About ten thousand won per hour?”

“Ah…”

Kim In-ho looked slightly taken aback. Then he took out a piece of paper, scribbled something on it, and handed it to me.

“Team Leader, here…”

“What’s this?”

I looked at it. It said, “Bodily Forfeiture Agreement.”

“I don’t have the money right now…”

Is my sense of humor lacking? Or is Kim In-ho just too serious?

Well, whatever the case.

His statement just now was a little strange.

He had no money.

That was a hard thing to hear from Kim In-ho, who was starting to get some experience as a Hunter.

It wasn’t like his family was struggling, either.

I was always keeping an eye on that Tae-yang kid because you never knew what he’d do next.

On the other hand, while this Kim In-ho guy hated losing to others, he was a relatively straight-laced guy.

He was also the type to do exactly as I told him.

He wasn’t the type to waste money on frivolous things.

‘And yet, he has no money.’

I guess I’ll have to look into Kim In-ho a little more.