NOVPUB
Chapter 85
The earnings and workloads of E-rank hunters were similar across different guilds. Their main tasks were to be miners or collectors. Their contracts were based on incentives, meaning that they earned as much as their efforts allowed, no matter the guild. The only reason E-rank hunters preferred larger guilds was for safety.
Protection was crucial for mining teams as they extracted mana stones in dungeons. The same for collectors who dismantled fallen magic beasts. The level of protection provided by their guild’s assault team was a key concern. This was particularly important for lower-rank hunters.
Knowing this, after his initial hesitation, Dogyoon signed the contract Suho offered. In the end, it was a logical choice. He had already witnessed Suho commanding his shadow soldiers in battle. Ever since their last dungeon raid, he knew that Suho was different from other hunters. Moreover, he knew Suho wasn’t the type to treat him like he was disposable—unlike the large guilds.
He’s offering me the highest salary for an E-rank hunter. It’s a no-brainer. Dogyoon extended a handshake to Suho, his new guild master. “I look forward to working with you, Suho.”
“Suho? I need to teach this newbie some manners! I shall implement discipline and establish order!”
“P-Please, I meant no disrespect, Guild Master!” Dogyoon quickly corrected himself as Beru grabbed him by the collar.
Suho chuckled lightly. “I’m looking forward to working with you too, Dogyoon.”
***
“Please take care of that for me.”
“Yes, sir”
Jinho instructed his secretary to prepare the paperwork to lease one of his buildings to Suho’s guild.
“It was a building I’d planned to demolish and rebuild. It’s a bit run-down, it will still do the job.”
“Yes. Thank you so much, Uncle.”
“Of course. Well, anyway...” Jinho stopped himself from saying anything more.
He knew that the building would only be a temporary base for Suho’s new guild. His nephew had inherited his father’s talents, which meant making a lot of money was just a matter of time. The building isn’t what’s important. There won’t be any new guild members anyway. He also knew Suho had all the space and soldiers he needed in his Shadow Dungeon.
“But Suho.” Jinho’s gaze fixed on his nephew. “Now that we’ve gathered three guild members, I’ll handle the paperwork, so everything’s ready. But you’re missing the most important thing.”
“And that is...?” Suho’s face mirrored his uncle’s seriousness.
“Do you have what it takes?” Jinho knew the full extent of his father’s strength. His eyes seemed to ask Suho, “Are you truly qualified to lead an army?”
Suho awaited his uncle’s next words with a heavy silence.
“I’m talking about your guild master requirements, of course. Only hunters who have successfully raided twenty dungeons can become a guild master.”
“Ah, I see.” Suho nodded, his face was a mix of relief and resignation. He was a rookie hunter who had only experienced a few field dungeons. Looks like I’m going to be quite busy.
This was his first challenge before he could set up his new guild office.
***
Esil received an unexpected proposal from Suho.
“You’ve established a guild?”
“Yeah. You’re part of my guild now. From now on, you’ll be joining me in dungeons.”
“But I’m not even human. Is this possible?”
“That’s exactly why I’m here. Let’s take your picture. We need to make an ID card for you as a foreign worker.”
“A foreign worker?” the demon tilted her head in confusion.
“Now, smile.”
“Uh, what?”
Click.
Suho took a photo of Esil’s face with his phone.
“Is that it?”
“Yeah. That’s all. I’ll fix the rest with an app.” Suho opened a photo editing app and adjusted Esil’s image to make her look as human as possible. Luckily, she doesn’t have any horns.
As a demon, she had different features, like slightly pointed ears, but such traits could be attributed to a hunter’s skills.
After all, some hunters transform into beasts. This is nothing by comparison. What worried Suho most was hunters with sharp senses. They might notice that she’s not human, but it won’t be a problem as long as we don’t run into them. He figured it wouldn’t be much of an issue since his guild would never have more members join.
“Wow! What’s this? I’m getting more beautiful! Is this my true form?!” Esil asked as she looked at Suho’s phone. She was impressed by the app’s performance.
The app’s basic features greatly enhanced her appearance without Suho doing anything special.
“You look exotic. You definitely look like someone from overseas,” Suho said.
As he closed the app, Esil clicked her tongue in disappointment. She then looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. “Suho, can I get one of these things?”
“You want a phone? You can work and buy one yourself.”
“Ah! I’ll get paid?”
“Of course. You’re a guild member now. You’ll be compensated for your contributions during dungeon raids. But this also means you’ll have to buy your own meat from now on.”
“Got it!” Esil said with great enthusiasm. “Are there other guild members? Who are they? Are they strong?”
“Well...” Suho hesitated before responding, “No, he’s incredibly weak.”
“Huh? How weak?”
“A light tap could kill him. So, don’t ever harass him, okay?”
“He’s really that weak?” Esil was puzzled.
***
Clearing twenty dungeons wasn’t a tall task. Dungeons were sprouting everywhere around the world, and hunters were frantically trying to clear them. Most were driven by money, but some felt it was crucial to prevent any unattended dungeons from turning into major disasters. Either way, the role of the guild master was crucial. Having a leader without dungeon experience could result in the tragic loss of lives and potentially cause an unintended emergency.
Suho had to meet the basic requirements to become a guild master, so he took Dogyoon and Esil with him to actively start dungeon raids. The only downside was that he wasn’t gaining many experience points.
The dungeons are just too easy, Suho complained inwardly.
It was an unavoidable situation. The three-person assault team—consisting of himself, Esil, and Dogyoon— couldn’t access difficult dungeons due to their low ranking. The dungeons they could enter were mostly finished or field-type dungeons, and the magic beasts within them weren’t challenging enough to provide Suho with any significant experience.
However, it was a different story for Dogyoon.
“Eek! E-Esil! Save me!”
“You really are weak, huh?” Esil looked at Dogyoon with pity as he hid behind her.
Meanwhile, Gray charged toward their enemies with fierce determination.
[Rakan nods happily. He’s impressed by Gray’s development.]
[Gray - Level 17 - Fang Wolf]
Gray was consistently growing stronger, but of course, half of the experience points the pup earned...
[Pet: “Gray” offers 50% of its experience points as a tribute to the owner.]
These were still peanuts for Suho, but they were shared regardless. The arrangement was beneficial in the long run. As Gray became more powerful, the shared experience from the wolf pup’s hunting would increase.
“That’s a good boy! Continue to offer more sacrifices to the Young Monarch!” Beru shouted.
[Beru activated the Skill: “Ruthless Command”.]
[Skill: “Ruthless Command” increases Gray’s stats by 50%.]
[Skill: “Ruthless Command” has a side effect that causes Gray to be afflicted by a curse of madness.]
Under Beru’s Ruthless Command, Gray roared mightily. The pup’s roar made the magic beasts scoff. But their attitudes changed once they were bitten.
While small, Gray was Rakan’s legitimate successor. He was a true predator that instinctively targeted his enemies’ weaknesses.
[Rakan winces at the sight of Gray’s cruelty.]
Some magic beasts were more dominant than others.
***
Lee Yeongho, Head of the Second Management Department of the Black Tortoise Guild, had been in a foul mood ever since his unexpectedly short meeting at Ahjinsoft.
“Just you wait. I’ll get even with you someday.” Yeongho ground his teeth in frustration.
Although his guild wasn’t as renowned as the White Tiger Guild or the Fiend Guild, it was still a significant guild in South Korea.
But Ahjinsoft held enormous influence in the business and finance sectors. They were worlds apart, so Yeongho couldn’t think of an effective way to get back at Jinho.
“I’d know how to deal with him if he was a hunter...”
The simplest solution was always using force. In dungeons, even murder was permissible for hunters. While outright murder was illegal, killings that occurred within dungeons were difficult to prosecute due to the lack of physical evidence. This prevented charges from leading to a trial.
“But maybe I can get his nephew...” Yeongho’s anger inevitably shifted toward Suho. “Find out what Sung Suho is up to. Last I heard, the CEO of Ahjinsoft was setting up a guild for him.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
“Hurry up!”
“Ow! Yes! I’m on it!” Struck on the back of the head by Yeongho, a junior team member quickly logged onto Hunter Net. The drone incident that had led to the failed meeting had been “his fault.” Why am I the only one getting blamed when it was his idea in the first place... As he was searching through Suho’s records, he suddenly stopped on a page and turned toward Yeongho. “Huh? Uh, sir, about Sung Suho...”
“What is it? Have you found something?”
“Well, it looks like he hasn’t officially started his guild yet. He hasn’t met the requirements to be a guild master. As of now, he’s going around dungeons to build up his experience.”
“Is that so?” A gleam appeared in Yeongho’s eyes. “Find out which dungeon he’s entering next.”
