Chapter 66: Maintenance (1)

-War God vs Hanul Guild, who will be the winner?

-A limit has been set on the War God Guild’s challenge for the number one spot.

-Hanul’s Dungeon conquest rate may break into the top 5 next month!

After the Dungeon raid ended, news articles poured in like crazy.

Everyone thought the War God Guild would dominate the raid, but it turned out Hanul profited big instead.

Some people made money betting, while others lost their shirts.

-The Holy Knight and Delivery Man got into a brawl, they say.

ㄴI heard the Delivery Man almost died.

ㄴI heard the Holy Knight got utterly wrecked.

ㄴㄴㄴ Isn’t it the other way around?

ㄴThe Holy Knight probably went easy on the Delivery Man out of pity.

└Go easy? What, like you do at a rice planting bed?

ㄴDon’t you know? Our Jihun never bullies the weak.

Unverified rumors swirled around the internet.

There was plenty of heated debate, but one thing was clear—Hanul took down the Dungeon Boss first.

The War God Guild made no official statement about it.

But anyone in the Hunter world could tell.

Hanul Guild was making huge strides.

No matter how weak Seohyunji was for an S-rank, S-rank was still S-rank.

Two S-ranks. Among them, Porter Lee Hyunbin was something else.

He’d entered the mess that was Hanul and built his own team, achieving solid results.

Lately, he’d even started a personal Hunter training business, which many viewed favorably.

“Whew….”

Kim Shin, head of the War God Guild’s HR, was starting to get a headache.

A few burnt-out cigarette butts were crushed in his ashtray.

He’d quit smoking with great difficulty, but lately, the extreme stress had dragged him back.

“Lee Hyunbin, Lee Hyunbin. Ah, why is he so damn annoying?”

At this point, it felt almost like a bad fate.

The guy who once came in for an interview was now his number one enemy.

Every move he made caused trouble for War God and grated on Kim Shin’s nerves.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door.

“Yes.”

He already knew who it was.

It was Seol Jihoon.

Jihoon entered Kim Shin’s office, his expression tightening a little.

“Ah, sorry.”

Kim Shin opened the window for ventilation.

The trapped cigarette smoke rushed out, trailing along the exterior wall of the building.

“Jihoon.”

“Yeah.”

Kim Shin let out a sigh.

“Is it true?”

The subject was missing, but Jihoon knew exactly what he meant.

“He broke through my Aegis Skill.”

“Ha.”

Kim Shin sighed in disbelief.

It was absurd.

Seol Jihoon could tank with nothing but his Aegis, a defense skill.

A skill that wouldn’t break even against most Boss-level monsters had been shattered in one blow by Lee Hyunbin. And he was just a Porter.

Unbelievable.

“If we’d kept fighting…”

Seol Jihoon murmured quietly.

It was the first time he’d felt such a deep sense of defeat.

No, to be precise, since gaining the Holy Knight’s power, he’d never lost before.

“I would have lost.”

“Ha.”

Kim Shin put another cigarette to his lips.

“Even the Emperor of Flames couldn’t break your skill.”

“Yeah.”

Even the S-rank number one, Emperor of Flames—famed for overwhelming attack—couldn’t shatter Jihoon’s defense skill.

“I think he’s got a way to counter my skill.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, either.”

Jihoon searched his memory again.

Lee Hyunbin had wrapped his sword in mana. There was a flash of skill effect. And then, with a simple swing, Aegis was destroyed.

“Just what the hell is that guy?”

Kim Shin scratched his head irritably.

Hanul’s Lee Hyunbin was a Guarder with a license.

Under the pretense of tracking villains in any guild’s raid.

Under the cause of protecting civilians, he could join any Dungeon raid.

“I’ve sent complaints to the authorities so many times, but nothing happens.”

Kim Shin had also filed complaints, but all he got back was that they couldn’t interfere with a Guarder’s special license duties.

In short, civilian safety took precedence over a guild’s profits.

After all, a short while ago, a giant Dragon had charged into a densely populated area, causing a major incident.

“Ha. Seriously. This is turning into a disaster because of that weirdo I got involved with.”

Kim Shin was also a former Hunter.

His rank was low, and he hadn’t shown much talent in the Hunter world.

But he had a good eye for people.

With his keen judgment and work skills, he’d been an original founding member of War God.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Should I bring in people as good as S-ranks?”

“People as good as S-ranks?”

Kim Shin’s interest was piqued.

“Where are they from? Free agents? Or rookies?”

“No, they don’t belong anywhere, and they’re not rookies.”

An S-rank Hunter roaming without affiliation was unthinkable.

But Kim Shin saw the gleam in Jihoon’s eyes and caught his meaning.

“You mean, like you…?”

At Kim Shin’s question, Seol Jihoon gave a carefree smile.

“Yeah.”

Kim Shin fell silent for a moment.

“Hyung. They’ll be a big help.”

“I know. But…”

“Hyung.”

Jihoon laced his fingers together, sitting comfortably as he spoke gently.

“You can do it. Just like you did for me.”

“Give them new identities, change their faces, too.”

Kim Shin didn’t answer. But Jihoon could tell.

His heart was wavering.

“Hyung. Think about it. They’re all good people. If you help, they could start a second life.”

It was a convincing story.

But Kim Shin had something weighing on his mind.

“What were their codenames?”

At Kim Shin’s question, Jihoon whispered with a soft smile.

“Office Worker.”

After the Dungeon raid, everyone received their share of the bonus.

Each person got one hundred million won, but since Karin was still a minor, I agreed to hold hers for her.

“Fat chance. That’s mine.”

“Hey, maybe you don’t know, but in Korea, there’s a long-standing tradition where you give New Year’s cash to your mom for safekeeping and only get it back when you’re an adult!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You never give it back!”

Wait, how does an isekai girl know that?

“I need to provide for the needy….”

Ah, right.

She was already responsible for supporting the residents of Floating Island.

“I said if we hit it big this time, I’d buy everyone Chicken!”

Is she for real? Ramen’s one thing, but you think you can buy Chicken for all those people? Huh?

Wait a minute, one packet of ramen here turns into a hundred over there.

Maybe it is possible?

I handed Karin a Check Card in her name.

“What’s this?”

“Your card.”

“My card?”

Karin, who’d been borrowing my card all this time, blinked in surprise.

“Yup, it exists for you alone. Only you can use it.”

“Why… why go this far?”

Karin looked deeply moved.

Her eyes shimmered with sorrow and gratitude—guess she really was touched.

“I put your earnings in there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, enough to buy Chicken fifty times.”

“Fifty times?”

The bonus was technically a hundred million, but that was way too much for a minor.

She only gets five hundred thousand won.

Karin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she took the card.

Uh, did she catch on?

“What?”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

Now I’m a bit nervous.

“Why are you being so nice?”

“Huh?”

Of course.

Karin smiled and twitched her lips in delight.

“Hehehe, I can eat Chicken fifty times! Wow! Usually, you need ten coupons for one order. So there must be five hundred coupons in here?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right?”

“Hehe.”

Well, as long as you’re happy.

Kids shouldn’t be handling big money. That’s why moms take care of New Year’s cash.

I’m just learning from the wisdom of adults.

“On that note, Chicken’s on me today!”

Karin beamed and opened her most prized Coupon Book.

“No, you worked hard—I’ll order it.”

“No, Uncle, let me. I’ve got coupons saved up!”

“Um, well…”

My conscience pricks me a little.

Just close your eyes. Life is fun when you’re a bit shameless.

That day, I ate Chicken with Karin’s coupons.

It was delicious.

After the Dungeon raid, no big jobs came in.

The War God Guild was still licking its wounds from failing an upper-level Dungeon, laying low for a while.

The Hanul Guild, meanwhile, seized every opportunity, taking on Dungeon bids left and right.

Indeed, the Hanul that the Demon King had rebuilt was nothing like its old self. Once constantly criticized, Hanul had become the guild everyone was watching.

All the other teams set out to conquer lower or mid-level Dungeons, or took on Gate exploration missions.

I took some time to reorganize the team.

Kim Inho and Kim Taeyang had both reached their mid-twenties in level.

I adjusted the growth Stat for both of them.

In games, when you level up, you get Growth Points to allocate as you wish.

But the system here isn’t that simple.

First, I reset both of their stats, then rearranged everything from scratch.

If you take your Strength from 1 to 20, it doesn’t apply instantly.

About 10% a day? It takes about ten days for the changes to fully take effect.

So it’s better to do this stuff in advance—who knows what might happen and when.

Taeyang’s ability was a Regen Enhancement type, so I focused on his Stamina.

I boosted his Strength, Agility, and Stamina at a 1:1:2 ratio.

Kim Inho was an All-Rounder, so I set his growth at a 1:1:1 ratio, with the rest at a minimal 0.2.

Honestly, All-Rounders are great at first.

They can use their own Buff Skills, tank, deal damage—a real jack-of-all-trades.

But that’s also a weakness.

It means there’s nothing they’re especially good at.

But there’s one thing that suits Kim Inho perfectly: good gear.

“Uh, Team Leader?”

“Here, you should both learn these.”

Inho used the Skill USB I gave him.

What I gave him was a Passive Stat Skill to make up for his shortcomings.

Strength +3, Agility +3, Stamina +3.

It does drain a bit of mana, but he’s got a decent Magic Stat, so he’ll be fine.

“What about me?”

Taeyang pouted.

“None for you.”

“Come on, you only give things to Inho.”

Taeyang puffed up his cheeks, acting cute.

“The only thing I’ve got for you is my fist.”

“Heh, Team Leader, we’re close, aren’t we?”

I laughed along with him. Then, opening my desk drawer, I asked Taeyang,

“Don’t think I couldn’t stuff you in here?”

Sure enough, fists work better than words.

“Anyway, it’s not like I’m giving it to Inho for free. He’ll have to pay me back eventually.”

“Huh, how much?”

Good question. I hadn’t thought about charging money.

“Maybe… ten thousand won an hour?”

“Ah….”

Kim Inho looked a little troubled, then took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote something before handing it over.

“Team Leader, here….”

“What is it?”

It said Loan Shark Waiver.

“I don’t have any cash right now….”

Is it my sense of humor that’s lacking, or is Inho just too serious?

Whatever the case—

That last bit was odd.

He said he has no money.

That’s not something you hear from Kim Inho, who’s started to get some Hunter experience.

It’s not like his family’s having trouble.

Taeyang’s always unpredictable, so I keep an eye on him.

Inho, on the other hand, hates losing to others but is otherwise a straight shooter.

He’s always done what I ask, too.

He’s not the type to waste money.

‘But he says he has no money?’

I need to look into Kim Inho a little more.