Chapter 173
Though there had been a small misunderstanding, Suho officially began negotiations with Im Taegyu.
Suho’s initial plan was to purchase dungeon raid rights at a bargain price—specifically, those the Reaper Guild couldn’t process due to manpower shortages.
However, a major variable had appeared: the Reaper Guild’s financial state was far worse than Suho had expected.
Im Taegyu had already sold off all the dungeon rights the guild once owned.
“……So you’re saying you really don’t have any left?”
“That’s right.”
“Not even one?”
“I told you—none.”
Im Taegyu explained the situation with a sheepish look.
“Our guild decided to operate as a small-scale mercenary group for a while. Most of the money from selling the raid rights went into equipment.”
“……”
Suho flinched slightly at that.
The A-rank weapon Im Taegyu had lent him before the Glacial Dungeon raid—
The ‘Reaper’s Bow (Replica)’ had been taken by the Ice Elf Sirka, who had left with his mother, leaving Suho with no way to return it.
Fortunately, Im Taegyu didn’t seem intent on asking for it back.
The only reason he had lent the weapon in the first place was out of concern for his son, Im Do-Gyun, who was in Suho’s Woojin Guild. As long as his son remained in the guild, he had every intention of letting Suho continue borrowing it.
“Well, this is perfect timing. Now that you’re a guild master, let me give you a quick rundown of how to run one. Do-Gyun, you’re the vice guild master, so you should listen too.”
Im Taegyu offered some brutally practical advice to Suho and Do-Gyun.
The key point boiled down to one thing—money.
“When a guild monopolizes a dungeon, it takes a lot more investment than you’d think. And the biggest cost, unsurprisingly, is acquiring the raid rights.”
In short, to win in the fierce bidding wars between guilds, you needed capital.
The more ‘bullets’—aka cash—you had, the better your odds.
“But just buying the rights doesn’t end the story. You’ve got to recover your investment, right? That takes more money, too.”
“Labor costs?”
“Exactly. You’re catching on fast. I see you’re not a newbie anymore.”
Im Taegyu nodded, continuing his explanation.
Labor costs.
Hiring external mining and collection crews cost a lot.
Granted, those people were usually E-rank or D-rank, so their individual rates weren’t high.
But the sheer number required was significant. And more importantly—
“You have to pay those people their daily wage in cash at the end of every shift. If the guild’s funds are tight from buying raid rights, you can’t even afford to hire anyone.”
No matter how great a hunter was, entering a dungeon didn’t mean instant profit.
They had to sell the corpses of magical beasts, magic stones, or minerals they collected to earn money.
And even if they managed to extract ores from the dungeon, it wasn’t like they could sell them that same day.
It usually took two to several days.
“This is where it becomes a real business. It’s a completely different domain from just hunting monsters.”
Everything Im Taegyu said was correct.
But from Suho’s perspective, none of this really applied.
All such administrative and logistical work would be handled by his uncle-in-law, Yoo Jinho.
“However—”
There was a reason Im Taegyu still bothered to explain all of this to Suho.
“……It’s just that your guild doesn’t seem to need to hire external workers like other guilds do.”
His gaze shifted toward the shadow soldiers mining like madmen.
He looked utterly defeated.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom kaboom!
[Squad 2! I can see your hands! If you lag behind Squad 1 in output, I’ll end you myself!]
[KIEEEEH! You dare rise above me, eternal second place?!]
[Kgh! That damn “second place” again!]
Quay and Beru were commanding the shadow miners, locked in a fierce mining competition.
At the overwhelming sight, Im Taegyu couldn’t hide his exhausted expression.
“……I knew you were a summoner, but I didn’t expect this scale.”
Some were going bankrupt in real-time, while Suho’s guild was flourishing—it was a bit much to take.
Still, it was hard to feel jealous when his own son was the vice guild master.
Of course, if he realized that the one swinging a pickaxe most excitedly up front—Quay—was the very cause of his financial ruin, he might cough up blood on the spot.
Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.
‘Hmm. Come to think of it, did Suho always summon this many familiars?’
He couldn’t help but wonder.
‘Was he hiding his strength back then? But why would he need to?’
He hadn’t yet arrived at the truth—that Suho was a unique Hunter who grew stronger through level-ups.
That was something far beyond the scope of imagination.
Suho nodded and asked Im Taegyu a question.
“So, to confirm, you really don’t have any dungeon raid rights left. Then may I ask for one more favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
“Our Woojin Guild currently has 1 billion won in funds. Since we’re already down in Busan, do you think we could purchase a dungeon from the Knights Guild with that money?”
“You’re asking me to mediate the deal? That’s no problem.”
Im Taegyu nodded right away.
“They’d probably be grateful, honestly.”
And he was right.
Busan was currently dealing with an overflow of dungeons they couldn’t manage.
The Knights Guild was experiencing a serious labor shortage—bad enough to hire various mercenary guilds, including the Reaper Guild.
That meant Suho could likely acquire a raid license for a good price.
“But are you sure?”
“About what?”
“All the reporters in Busan are flocking to Haeundae, trying to interview you after what happened. And on top of that, the Busan city government is now also…”
“Oh, that’s no big deal,”
Suho shrugged like it was nothing.
And then—
* * *
“Thank you so much!”
‘…Hm?’
Park Jongsoo, the president of the Knights Guild, was beaming as he eagerly grabbed both of Im Do-Gyun’s hands and shook them.
“Thanks to Woojin Guild’s efforts, this entire situation was resolved smoothly!”
Waaaaaaah—!
A thunderous wave of applause erupted in their direction.
‘…Umm?’
“In recognition of his efforts, we present this plaque of appreciation to Hunter Im Do-Gyun, Vice Guild Master of Woojin Guild, on behalf of the city of Busan.”
“……?”
Im Do-Gyun found himself awkwardly accepting a plaque from the mayor of Busan.
Flash flash flash flash flash!
Camera flashes burst from every direction, momentarily blinding him.
Im Do-Gyun had only one thought:
‘Who am I again?’
If someone asked, he was the vice guild master of Woojin Guild.
‘Where am I?’
Busan City Hall.
Right in the middle of an official award ceremony.
The center of every spotlight.
Haeundae, off the coast of Busan, was one of the city’s key regions.
If it had fallen, the economic impact on Busan would’ve been severe.
But now, Woojin Guild—who had not only resolved the crisis but voluntarily agreed to take on more dungeon raids in Busan—was being publicly honored, prompting the mayor to personally present a certificate of appreciation.
Of course, the plaque had no monetary value. You couldn’t even sell it on a secondhand market.
But it had symbolic significance.
Woojin Guild was now a publicly recognized and trustworthy guild, officially endorsed by the city of Busan.
“By the way, I take it Guild Master Sung Suho is very busy these days? Hahaha.”
“Yes. Our guild master is currently inside a dungeon…”
In response to the mayor’s subtle question about why Suho wasn’t present for such an important event, Do-Gyun forced himself to smile through the growing dread.
Technically, Suho was in a dungeon.
A shadow dungeon.
The man who should have been here had dumped all the troublesome responsibilities onto Do-Gyun and vanished inside for a daily quest.
“Hahaha, no worries. Hunters are always busy, aren’t they? Well then, Vice Guild Master Im, now that the award ceremony is over, shall we head to the office? We’ve prepared the contract related to the dungeon raids.”
“…Yes.”
“Ah, and I hear you’re the son of Hunter Im Taegyu? You certainly take after him—quite the impressive figure.”
Surrounded by VIPs, Do-Gyun followed the Knights Guild leader with the expression of a man clinging to life.
His energy was being drained… in real time.
Meanwhile, Suho faced an entirely different kind of crisis.
* * *
“What the…”
Suho, who had entered the shadow dungeon for his daily quest, was dumbfounded.
The master of the Body Strengthening Technique—Ammit—
[Khuhuhu. Can you feel the difference in strength?]
—for some reason, had grown to twice his normal size!
The pyramid was also bigger!
And from its apex, ominous black beams were surging into the sky.
But the worst part wasn’t Ammit’s size.
RUMBLEEEEE…!
[Then let’s begin the training.]
“W-Wait. Doesn’t the atmosphere feel a lot different than usual?”
[Ah, don’t worry about it. I already got permission from your dad.]
‘Permission for what?!’
He was very worried!
The gravitational field crushing down on him was no joke!
Far in the distance, Beru nodded with an unbearably pleased smile.
[Hardships in youth become strength later. The harder it is, the greater the reward…]
‘The reward’s always the same though!’
Suho grimaced as he began his push-ups.
CRACK!
“Gghh!”
Both of his arms snapped instantly.
Whip!
Bandages flew in and tightly wrapped his arms, marking the start of today’s Body Strengthening training.
“Gyaaagh…!”
[KUHAHAHAHAHA!]
And so began torture—no, training—twice as intense as usual.
[The skill: Resilience has leveled up!]
[Physical Defense +140% → +160%]
Even during his brutal fight with Zarvier, the Resilience skill had remained quiet. But now, it had leveled up at once.
* * *
Some time later—
Suho lay sprawled out like a rag on the floor, his limbs shredded.
A message appeared before him.
[The following rewards are now available.]
Reward 1. Status Recovery
Reward 2. Stat Points +5
Reward 3. 2 Random Boxes
“…The rewards increased?”
The usual +3 stat points had jumped to +5.
There were now 2 random boxes instead of 1.
And yet…
Not even slightly.
Not one bit.
It didn’t feel like a reward at all.
