Chapter 26 - Chapter 26 (1/2)

Part 1. Transaction

Yu Jin-Ho's expression became dumbfounded.

"Already, hyung-nim?!"

"I don't need to hear the rest to figure it out."

Jin-Woo was quite decisive in saying no.

This wasn't because he didn't like Yu Jin-Ho or something like that.

Although he seemed a bit off in the head, his attitude remained courteous and he came across as someone who'd always keep his word. He was quite different from other scions of 'chaebols' often seen in mass media. (TL: 'chaebols': Wealthy owners/families of corporations)

However, Jin-Woo was not interested in becoming a playmate of the son of a wealthy family during the boy's 'Hunter' phase.

"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

"Hyu, hyung-nim!!"

Just as Jin-Woo got up to leave, Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly reached out and held onto him.

"Hyung-nim, only for 20! No, wait, please partner up with me for the next 19 times!!"

"For what? To clear dungeons?"

"Yes!! I'll definitely compensate you properly!!"

Yu Jin-Ho's voice sounded rather desperate.

Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly.

There were two reasons why people became Hunters. Either it was for money, or for their sense of duty.

But, Yu Jin-Ho didn't belong to either camp. Maybe, it was possible that he thought of being a Hunter was a slightly more dangerous form of extreme sports or some such.

That was what Jin-Woo had been believing until now.

True, he was taken aback slightly when the kid declared that he wanted to form his own private raid team, even after going through that ordeal the last time.

'There are all sorts of people in this world, that's for sure.'

It wouldn't be too strange to find a scion of a wealthy family who had become numb to the safe environment he had grown up in. However, Yu Jin-Ho's expression seemed far too serious and determined at the moment for that kind of an explanation.

'Could there be a different reason?'

Rather than the promise of 'proper compensation', Jin-Woo's curiosity was being tugged by the idea of raiding dungeons '19' more times.

Jin-Woo's brain quickly kicked into gear.

'Hang on.... Let's say that last time was his first raid. And when he completes 19 more raids, then....'

Could this kid be aiming for.....?

It didn't take long for Jin-Woo to realise the truth. His expression became dumbfounded, instead.

"You, are you perhaps thinking of getting the Guild Master licence?"

"That's correct, hyung-nim!!"

What a smart decision it was not to order coffee.

Otherwise, he might have sprayed the bitter liquid all over the table by now while trying to drink it.

"You wanna become a Guild Master?!"

"Well, uh, the story's a bit complicated there, hyung-nim."

Yu Jin-Ho's face reddened considerably compared to before as he spoke.

"Hyung-nim. Please listen to my story."

"...."

Jin-Woo was in a slight dilemma, wondering what he should do now, but in the end, he was defeated by his curiosity, so he sat back down.

"Fine, I'll listen."

Well, the promised hour had not ended yet, so there was that, too. It wouldn't be a problem to listen to the kid's story anyways.

Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly parked his butt back down as well.

"As you've correctly guessed, I want to acquire the Guild Master licence."

Acquiring that licence was not that difficult, actually. You had to be a Hunter who participated in at least 20 raids. As long as you met this base requirement, all you had to do was to pass a written test and you'd get the licence.

Of course, nobody would join the Guild created by a rubbish Hunter, and if a Guild failed to maintain the minimum number of members, it'd be disbanded as well.

Yu Jin-Ho continued on.

"It's not public knowledge yet, but actually, my father is trying to establish a Guild of his own."

"A Guild created by Yujin Construction?"

"Yes."

Yujin Construction was one of the biggest corporations in South Korea.

It had expanded its business well beyond the fields of construction and into other sectors and had been making a killing there. Jin-Woo had heard that recently, they reaped huge profit after jumping into the Hunter-related businesses as well.

'And they want to form a Guild of their own?'

When Jin-Woo displayed a hint of interest, Yu Jin-Ho became excited and added more explanations.

"He'd scout strong Hunters and build a massive Guild, and place all our Hunter-related business interests under it. That's his plan."

If a corporation wished to partake in Hunter-related businesses, then it was a necessity to work together with a Guild. Well, you'd need the strength of a large Guild if you ever wanted to get your hands on magic crystals and remains of the monsters, or treasures such as mana stones found in Gates ranked A or B.

"And so, you wish to become a self-sustaining entity. Is that it?"

"That is absolutely correct, hyung-nim!"

With the financial wherewithal of Yujin Construction, creating a Guild wouldn't even pose a problem. No, the real issue would be with just who gets to run it.

"My father is thinking of hiring an S-ranked Hunter as the Guild Master and placing my older brother as the Vice-Master, and run the Guild that way, but...."

Jin-Woo immediately caught onto what Yu Jin-Woo was implying here. If things were done that way, then a source of worry would be created along the way.

The power of authority the Guild Master wielded was simply far too great. Even if it was the Vice-Master who had hired the Master, in case of a conflict arising between the two, there was a very good chance that the latter would end up completely overtaking the entire Guild.

In order to prevent that, there was only one way. All you had to do was to hire a Master who'd never ever betray the one who hired him or her.

For instance, brothers – or, even a son.

And the chairman of Yujin Construction, Yu Myung-Hwan, had a son called Yu Jin-Ho.

"However, my older brother's business experience is far too good for me to simply take over the position of the Guild Master. It was his idea to enter the field of Hunter-related business, you see. We gained huge profit in that sector because of him."

His older brother had become a successful entrepreneur by the age of 31. Compared to him, Yu Jin-Ho was only a 22-year old university student, even if he possessed a unique plus point of being a rank D Hunter.

Naturally, the chairman was thinking of entrusting the Guild over to the eldest son.

The eldest couldn't become a Master since he was not a Hunter, but he still knew a lot about the Hunter-related businesses, and also managed to achieve great success in the sector, too.

Meaning, even if there was an element of a risk, the chairman would still take the chance.

"And you wish to change your father's mind by acquiring the Master licence, yeah?"

"That's right, hyung-nim."

And so, Jin-Woo figured out why Yu Jin-Ho was here, trying desperately to reel him in.

Even if the kid hired a high-ranked Hunter and acquired the licence that way, it'd be no different from buying it with cash. However, what if the kid succeeded in 20 raids with low-ranked Hunters, such as Jin-Woo, and acquired the licence that way?

Yu Jin-Ho would be able to persuade his father.