Chapter 173 (1/2)

“A guild?”

Su-hyeun thought that Lee Ju-ho’s proposal had come from nowhere.

It wasn’t a bad idea, though. A guild consisting of Su-hyeun, Hak-joon, Thomas, and Lee Ju-ho would instantly become South Korea’s top guild, after all.

But that would be nothing more than gilding the outwardly-visible lily. It might be the center of attention for a while, sure, but it was also hard to say what the real purpose of it would be.

Su-hyeun asked. “Is there a good reason to tie all of us together under the banner of a guild?”

Lee Ju-ho made his reply. “Well, I’m sure nothing much will change for us. But, think about this for a sec. As you said, the world is changing rapidly, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And the problem’s not just limited to Korea, either. From the nearby countries like Japan, China, and even further away in places like the American continents. What will you do if a dungeon that’s even harder than the blue color pops up there?”

“Well, we…” After hearing that, Su-hyeun finally understood what Lee Ju-ho was alluding to. “…We should be helping them.”

“Right, I knew you’d say that. And that’s why.”

“You’re saying that we should establish a guild and then operate like mercenaries, yes?”

“You’re always quick on the uptake.”

Mercenaries. One of the reasons to establish a guild was to supply awakener manpower after receiving an appropriate sum of money.

<< Hak-joon, that guy. Is he already thinking of such things? >>

The concept of a mercenary guild was supposed to first appear in the distant future.

The thing was, there had been mercenary-like awakeners that lent their aid to guilds before, but it was extremely rare to see awakeners from another nation being brought in to assist with a seemingly-impossible dungeon raid. That was why the concept of the mercenary guild first appeared only after the year 2030, when it became harder and harder to handle the generated dungeons with available awakener manpower.

<< Things aren’t so bad, for the time being. But it’s not that far off, either. >>

By that point in time, awakeners would stop obsessing over dungeon raids, and petty squabbles over the rights to them, like they were doing these days. Indeed, the number of dungeons needing to be raided would grow far too much, and they would have no choice but to prepare a more systematic raid schedule, instead.

The concept of a mercenary guild came about precisely because of that.

The ones that raided dungeons after getting paid for it. Their existence alone provided the necessary pretext to bring in awakeners from other countries without needing to go through tangles of red tape, as long as the price was right.

“Since you’re not interested in making money, you sit this one out. Once we establish our guild and start our activity as mercenaries, we should be able to ignore most of the complicated bureaucracy,” said Lee Ju-ho, before frowning somewhat awkwardly. “Well, strictly speaking, this isn’t that urgent, anyway. For the time being, most of the countries out there aren’t all that keen on awakeners from other nations taking away their Ether stones. In fact, they seem rather hell-bent on holding onto whatever resources that are found in a blue-colored dungeon if one happens to show up in their backyard.”

“For the time being, that is.”

“Right. For now,” said Lee Ju-ho, his expression darkening.

He and Su-hyeun paid close attention to the rate of dungeon generation, perhaps more than anyone else. And that’s why he could tell.

He could tell that the danger to humanity was clearly visible. Plain as day.

Lee Ju-ho continued, “They won’t be so territorial soon. Even now, nations with less awakener manpower have to rely on the aid of stronger nations and split the resources half and half. The stronger nations are overflowing with manpower as we speak.”

“But, if all the manpower is focused on only one area…”

“Eventually, something big will go off where people aren’t looking. Like with India.”

Su-hyeun nodded his head.

The catastrophe in India had resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Recalling that incident made Su-hyeun think that, maybe, the establishment of a mercenary guild needed to happen sooner rather than later.

“It’s not a bad idea. No, wait. It’s a good idea, actually.”

It was a bit hard to welcome the advent of the concept of a mercenary guild. Because, it also meant that the rate of dungeon generation had sped up, as well.

That didn’t mean the entrance of the mercenary guilds should be postponed, either.

Su-hyeun spoke up. “Let’s do it. Create a guild.”

“Okay. What about the name?”

“We should take our time and mull it over, together. As for the guild master…”

“It should be either you or me.”

“Let me do it.”

“You don’t have to force yourself, you know. It isn’t gonna be too tough to manage a guild with just a handful of people.”

“Bro, you’re already swarmed with work….”

“In that case, should I be doing manual labor alongside genuine monsters like you three? That’s gonna be even harder on my bones.”

Lee Ju-ho made a fed-up expression and waved his hands around dismissively.

He wasn’t wrong there. Of the four of them, Lee Ju-ho’s abilities suffered quite a lot in comparison to the rest.

If they were to divide the labor, then Lee Ju-ho perfectly suited the task of overseeing and managing various negotiations and business contacts.

“In that case, I’ll leave it up to you, bro.”

“Alright. Oh, and also this.” Lee Ju-ho finished with what he wanted to say, then pulled out a tablet PC from a bag at the corner of the bench before handing it over. “Read this on your way. Trying to meet your demands meant that the size ballooned a bit. It’ll take a bit of time to send it through.”

“I see. Thank you.”

After bidding Lee Ju-ho goodbye, Su-hyeun immediately headed over to Shin Su-yeong’s shop next.

She had successfully extended the shop floor through a famous jewelry brand, which allowed her to declare, “Let your mother splurge for once!” and dine out with Su-hyeun in an expensive restaurant.

He really got to enjoy this break, a first in a long while.

* * *

The next day, Su-hyeun finally woke from his slumber around the lunch hour.

His head pounded a little. His excessive drinking the day before was to blame.

While recalling the events of the previous day, he drank some water placed on the bedside table and thought to himself.

<< We sure drank a lot. >>

Rather unexpectedly, Shin Su-yeong was a very keen drinker. He couldn’t quite remember her touching any booze in the past, but from the stories she told him, it seemed that she had begun enjoying knocking back a few shots lately.

Was it because she found some leeway with herself?

He was impressed by how someone like her, who enjoyed alcohol, had to stop and live a frugal life up until not too long ago. At the same time, he was kind of relieved, as well.

Because it meant that she had finally started enjoying her life now.

Su-hyeun checked the messages on his phone.

[It’s morning and Thomas is already throwing a big tantrum because he wants to see you. Come over and do something about this kid. I can’t stand this anymore.]

The text came from Lee Ju-ho. He actually sent two.

[And I sent word out to the reporters. Sponsors will be Song-il Group and the Gordon Company, and I’ve finished discussions with the authority, too. Come to the Jongno Tower’s 20th floor before five o’clock today.]

“….He sure made a big splash, alright.”

Su-hyeun did ask for this favor, but Lee Ju-ho had exceeded his expectations.

Song-il Group.

And then, the Gordon Company.

Two corporations—one the representative of South Korea while the other, the United States—had become their sponsors.