Chapter 23 – Platinum Guild

Two days ago, Choi Seok-man, the guild master of the Platinum Guild, received bad news.

“Ah, big trouble, Guild Master!”

“Sung-hoon, what’s wrong?”

“We came to the Mantis Dungeon with the kids. It’s been so long, and when we checked the entrance, it was green…”

“Green means someone requested help, right?”

That meant everyone except one had died.

“Damn! How did that happen?”

“I-I don’t know. We need support quickly…”

“What support! Don’t you know everyone’s in dungeons at this hour?”

“Then what should we do? What about our Soo-ah?”

“Sigh, just wait for now. I’ll try asking other guilds for help.”

After ending the call, Choi Seok-man immediately contacted other guilds.

But after explaining the situation…

“Sorry, Guild Master. We don’t have any available personnel either.”

The Platinum Guild was a new guild less than 6 months old.

Asking for help from such a guild only resulted in the same answer from everyone.

There was no way to verify if they really had no one available.

‘Damn it!’

If the last remaining person died too, it would be a huge blow to both the guild’s image and finances.

But that evening.

Fortunately, Bae Sung-hoon brought good news.

“Guild Master!”

“Yes, how did it go?”

“A hunter who was waiting for the next turn helped us, so Soo-ah was able to come out alive!”

“Soo-ah? Was she the one who survived out of the three?”

“Yes! If it weren’t for that hunter, we couldn’t have avoided the penalty. It could have even cost a life in the worst case.”

“So he’s a lifesaver?”

He was a lifesaver not only for the individual but also for the guild.

There was a big difference in terms of image between total annihilation and having at least one survivor.

“So, Guild Master. Shouldn’t we repay him somehow? Not just me, but the guild owes him a big debt…”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t wrong, but he couldn’t help but worry.

They had already lost all the equipment lent to the two lost party members, and now they were talking about repayment…

Seeing that he was obviously worried about finances, Bae Sung-hoon said,

“Guild Master. We must give him a gift as repayment and recruit him. We’ll regret it if we let him go.”

“Recruit? Is that hunter that great?”

“He single-handedly defeated an Armored Mantis.”

“Huh.”

Choi Seok-man snorted first.

“What nonsense.”

“It’s true. Soo-ah saw it herself.”

“What’s his name?”

“Min Do-Jun, they say.”

“Don’t hang up.”

Choi Seok-man immediately checked the rankings.

And he was shocked.

“What? Ranking 14,083rd with level 193? He defeated an Armored Mantis alone at this level?”

“Now you see why we need to recruit him, right?”

“Of course!”

If his level was high, it might be understandable, but defeating a boss alone when he wasn’t even C-rank yet meant he was an incredibly talented fighter.

We must recruit him at all costs.

“But what about his guild? He must have one, right?”

“He didn’t. A regional center manager was accompanying him.”

“Well, that’s fortunate!”

If other guilds hadn’t approached him yet, there was a chance.

‘I’ll have to meet him and persuade him well!’

Of course, he was planning to prepare a bribe as repayment.

And today.

Choi Seok-man prepared excitedly from the morning to welcome the legendary hunter.

[Guild Master. Min Do-Jun has arrived.]

After checking the text from his subordinate, he rushed out.

A man with a neat appearance was just entering the building.

“Hunter Min Do-Jun?”

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Seok-man, the guild master of the Platinum Guild. Let’s talk in my office first.”

Min Do-Jun followed Choi Seok-man into his private office and sat on the sofa.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Yes.”

As Choi Seok-man ordered his subordinate to bring some black tea, he inwardly rejoiced.

Accepting tea meant he was ready to listen.

‘I was worried he might just take the prepared gift and leave, but thankfully not!’

Of course, Min Do-Jun was not unaware of his intentions.

‘Normally, I would have said I didn’t have time and just taken the gift and left, but…’

There was another reason he was deliberately making time.

‘I need to meet Jung Tae-sik, that b*st*rd.’

A moment later, with teacups in front of them, the two engaged in conversation.

“Thank you so much for coming despite your busy schedule, Hunter Min Do-Jun. I really wanted to meet you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest. You saved our guild member, didn’t you?”

“I just did what I had to do, that’s all.”

“Haha, unlike young people these days, you have such a righteous mindset! Hahaha!”

He laughed heartily, but Choi Seok-man was inwardly worried.

‘He seems like a person without greed, what if he doesn’t accept the bribe?’

How could he entice such a person?

‘I’ll have to think about it.’

Slurp-

Watching Choi Seok-man thinking while drinking tea, Min Do-Jun inwardly sneered.

‘No matter how much you rack your brain. I won’t fall for it.’

Min Do-Jun didn’t come here with the intention of joining the guild.

It was simply to meet Jung Tae-sik and establish a relationship.

‘Just thinking about what that b*st*rd did still makes my blood boil.’

Jung Tae-sik was a C-rank hunter at level 450.

He was one of the 14 people Min Do-Jun had to take revenge on.

‘He’s also one of the b*st*rds who smirked next to Shin Kyung-min.’

Jung Tae-sik was the one who used to stick close to Shin Kyung-min, calling him “big brother.”

‘He’s a piece of trash with a terrible personality too.’

As far as he knew, Jung Tae-sik had been a promising talent of the Platinum Guild from before.

It was Jung Tae-sik who had elevated the new guild to major status.

But there was something fishy about that background.

‘He was doing all sorts of dirty things behind the scenes.’

He was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to do illegal things if it made money.

He even took on contract killings, which says it all.

But soon enough, all his misdeeds would come to light.

‘Choi Seok-man was found innocent.’

Although the guild master was found to have no connection to the crimes, it was only a matter of time before the guild collapsed.

Jung Tae-sik was the one who made the Platinum Guild prosper and then caused its downfall.

Unaware of this, Choi Seok-man was now mentioning Jung Tae-sik as the guild’s pride.

“You may not know, but our guild is new. But as you can see, the building is large and all necessary facilities are in place. Moreover, we have several C-rank hunters, one of whom is a hunter named Jung Tae-sik.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s a promising talent we’re proud of in our guild. He’s currently at level 450, and it took him less than a year to get there. Can you believe it?”

Usually, it takes at least 2 years to reach level 450.

Compared to that, Jung Tae-sik was growing at an incredibly fast rate.

“That means our guild’s curriculum is proving highly effective. If you join us, we can maximize your talent and help you grow faster…”

The content was so predictable that he didn’t even listen to the rest.

‘What curriculum… It’s probably because of his characteristic.’

He didn’t know what Jung Tae-sik’s characteristic was.

He could only guess it was a good characteristic that allowed for rapid growth.

“Hunter Min Do-Jun. So, about that…”

Choi Seok-man, who had been rambling, finally got to the point.

“If you haven’t signed a contract yet, how about joining us? Of course, we’ll offer you the best profit-sharing ratio in the industry. Also!”

After a brief pause to build anticipation, Choi Seok-man confidently said,

“As a special privilege, we’ll allow you to solo dungeons!”

Choi Seok-man knew from Bae Sung-hoon that the hunter before him liked soloing.

‘If he likes soloing, he might be reluctant to join a guild. Guilds generally prioritize teamwork.’

But if you remove the restrictions, problem solved.

‘If we give him the privilege to work solo, there shouldn’t be any issues.’

While Choi Seok-man was confident, Min Do-Jun couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

‘Is this what you came up with after much deliberation?’

He had no intention of joining the guild regardless of what conditions Choi Seok-man offered.

There was no need to solo while giving up a certain percentage of profits when he could monopolize everything by himself.

“Hmm…”

Nevertheless, Min Do-Jun pretended to be considering it.

Choi Seok-man watched him anxiously.

“What do you think, Hunter? Are you interested?”

“Well, I’m a bit conflicted.”

Seeing that he wasn’t making a quick decision, Choi Seok-man brought out a 007-style briefcase.

“Please accept this.”

“This is…?”

“It’s 100 million won.”

“…!”

Pleased with the surprised expression, Choi Seok-man smiled.

“It’s a token of gratitude for saving our guild member. Please accept it as a gift, regardless of the contract.”

“Such a large sum…”

“Oh, it’s not a large sum at all. You saved a person’s life, so this is cheap. It’s not a big amount for the guild either.”

He subtly boasted about their financial power.

In reality, it was money scraped together with tears, but he could bear this much loss if it meant recruiting Min Do-Jun.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Min Do-Jun took the briefcase.

There was no reason to refuse free money.

“I’ll think positively about the contract.”

“Haha! Thank you!”

“By the way, can I look around the building?”

“Oh, of course! I’ll show you around. Let’s go.”

Min Do-Jun followed Choi Seok-man to tour the guild’s interior.

“This is the lounge. You can have free drinks and coffee here. We have everything from TV to table tennis tables to arcade machines.”

“Ah.”

“And this is the fitness room. We have pretty much all the gym equipment you need, and even shower rooms are perfectly equipped.”

“Oh.”

Nodding along appropriately as they walked, Min Do-Jun stopped at one place.

Inside a square booth, a person was moving while wearing a helmet.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a virtual training room. You can train against monsters through VR without actually entering a dungeon.”

“Oho.”

Min Do-Jun looked at it as if intrigued, but inwardly he was sneering.

‘No matter how much you do this, it’s useless in real situations.’

VR monsters move according to set programs, but real monsters are unpredictable.

Moreover, the tension and atmosphere in real situations are incomparable to what’s on a screen.

How unhelpful VR training is could be seen just by looking at Hyun Soo-ah.

‘This isn’t training, it’s just a game.’

At that moment, Hyun Soo-ah came out of the booth after finishing her training.

“Oh? Min Do-Jun?”

After a brief surprised expression, her eyes curved into crescents.

“Nice to see you, it’s been two days.”

She was quite favorable towards Min Do-Jun.

Not only had he saved her life, but she was unknowingly captivated by his strength.

“What brings you here? Are you perhaps joining our guild?”

“I’m still considering it.”

“You shouldn’t hesitate, you should contract with our guild! We may be new, but our facilities are good and so are the people. If you come, I’ll take good care of you!”

If a strong person like Min Do-Jun joined the guild, there would surely be much to learn.

But Min Do-Jun wasn’t interested in the guild itself.

Moreover.

‘The people are good? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.’

Knowing Jung Tae-sik’s character, he found it absurd.

‘Hehe, well done, Soo-ah!’

Just as Choi Seok-man was satisfied with the guild’s appeal, another person came out of the VR booth.

It was Jung Tae-sik.

“Oh, Tae-sik. Come here.”

“Huh? Why?”

As Jung Tae-sik approached, Choi Seok-man put a hand on his shoulder.

“This is our guild’s ace, Jung Tae-sik. And this is Hunter Min Do-Jun, who might become our guild member. You’re the same age, so greet each other.”

Jung Tae-sik glanced at Min Do-Jun and bowed his head.

“Hello.”

“…”

Min Do-Jun didn’t answer and avoided eye contact.

Jung Tae-sik’s eyebrow twitched.

‘Is this b*st*rd ignoring me?’

True to his easily excitable nature, Jung Tae-sik clenched his fist.

He wanted to hit him right away but held back. He knew how to distinguish time and place to some extent.

Regardless, Hyun Soo-ah was surprised as if she had just learned their age.

“Min Do-Jun, you were born in 2000 too?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re the same age as me?”

Whether they were the same age or not, he wasn’t interested. His focus was solely on Jung Tae-sik.

Min Do-Jun asked Choi Seok-man,

“Guild Master. Does this actually help with training?”

“Of course. It certainly does.”

“To me, it just looks like child’s play.”

“Pardon?”

Responding in place of the flustered Choi Seok-man was Jung Tae-sik.

“You’re saying this is child’s play?”

“Yes. It seems like it would just feel like playing a game.”

“You must not know much, but this is actually quite difficult.”

“It doesn’t seem that difficult.”

“Then would you like to try it?”

“Sure.”

Min Do-Jun nodded and added,

“But it would be boring to just do it, so let’s have a match. Jung Tae-sung? I’d like to compete with you.”

“It’s Jung Tae-sik.”

“Whatever.”

Jung Tae-sik clenched his fist once more.

‘This b*st*rd!’

Min Do-Jun grinned, having seemingly achieved his goal of getting on his nerves once again.