Chapter 446. Why is Business... (5)
Outside of work hours, the sudden summons from the guild master—who rarely made contact at odd tis—caught A-rank Choi Jin off guard, making her tilt her head in mild disbelief. However, in reality, the reason the person with the highest authority in the company sent the ssage had already been decided long ago.
"There's no one of a similar rank in this guild. That black-haired Earthling keeps running the dungeons all by herself."
When there's plenty of work, it's enough to just pick the easier C-rank dungeons. But when the hunting competition is fierce, no matter how skilled a freelancer is, they have no choice but to face monsters that match their rank. Working diligently every day, and at the sa ti being separated from her original team and left alone, ant that Choi Jin was at a higher risk of getting caught up in an occupational hazard.
"..."
Up to C-rank is considered a feeding box that is still within the safety range, after all. However, starting from B-rank, a solo Hunter probably wouldn't be able to deal with an abnormal mutation, so there's that. The leader of a certain guild had written a phrase like this by moving his fingers.
**** [Text ssage Inbox] ****
[Hello]
[Yes]
[Please stop by the office briefly before you leave work today]
[Okay]
################
After that, he started an in-depth conversation with the employee who had returned after completing the soil data collection.
"Did you call ?"
"Yes, yes. For now, please have a seat there and listen to what I have to say for a mont."
Swish.
The guild leader with blonde hair urgently pointed to a chair as soon as Choi Jin entered the room. Kim Giryeo had no intention of keeping an office worker late during the end-of-workday rush—after all, he himself wanted to go ho the most—and quickly offered this explanation.
"First of all, you rember that I told you the other day to take it easy with your work, right?"
"That's ."
Co to think of it, she was wondering why she was suddenly called.
"But when I checked the records, Hunter Choi Jin worked for the exact sa amount of ti yesterday as well."
"Yesterday, my condition was good, so I was able to focus well on the hunt."
Kim Giryeo imdiately countered her words.
"Focus, 'you say."
"Even you, Awakener, must have had days like that sotis, right?"
"But I'm sorry to say, the guild I run has absolutely no interest in clearing dungeons in the first place."
"Hmm?"
Choi Jin's eyes widened reflexively.
The alien's continued explanation was as follows. For reference, due to limited funds, it was impossible to buy every gate set employee set foot in. However, completely ignoring the dungeons while only sucking out the sweet part—the soil inspections—would violate the minimum sense of duty a hunting business should uphold, so they had no choice but to encourage dungeon clearing, Kim Giryeo said. Therefore, he repeatedly explained that forcing oneself to overwork was not good at all for him, whose primary purpose was the "data."
"Is that so?"
It was, in a way, such a simple matter that it could be sumd up in a single sentence......
"What? It's not like I've ever overworked myself, though?"
Choi Jin rolled her eyes up into the air for a mont.
"If anything, compared to when I was in the [Faith] Guild, this is heaven."
Choi Jin wanted to say that the work wasn't hard for her at all. But unable to tolerate even a brief silence, Kim Giryeo spoke up first.
"Even Jeong Haseong is taking a leave of absence and getting plenty of rest these days. So why don't you take this opportunity to start paying attention to your work-life balance as well?"
Sssh.
Along with that sentence, what popped out was a white docunt. Guild master Kim Giryeo took out a single A4 sheet that looked handwritten and continued speaking.
"Choi Jin-ssi. Starting tomorrow, go to this gate and spend so quiet ti there."
"Gate?"
"Since you always looked a bit uneasy wandering around alone every day anyway, and I even wondered if maybe you'd forgotten how to rest in the first place... this is a personal request I'm giving you."
"No matter what, I'm not that bad."
"For the record, since this job is being assigned directly by the company president, you don't have the right to refuse."
First of all, the paper Kim Giryeo handed over had the following information written on it.
The grade was C. And then, he suddenly introduced a worthless nest whose gate na had been even casually given sothing like [Ripple-Ripple].
...
...
Starting tomorrow, you must enter only that gate.
A fish with an unusually blue back. The gate Kim Giryeo introduced was inhabited by monsters with such silly appearances. And no matter how many tis she checked, the grade was nothing more than a diocre C. As Choi Jin looked over the docunt she had received again, she thought this.
"Honestly, I don't see how this C-rank gate is any different from the ones I've been running so far. Why am I suddenly being told to go rest here?"
But when the ti actually ca to enter the gate—what on earth. An astonishing environnt unfolded before her eyes.
"Ah!"
For so reason, even before she entered, he insisted on forcing a [Hydra] into her hands.
Hunter Choi Jin. And take this with you as well.
In fact, Kim Gir-ryeo had already handed over his cherished item, the [Hydra], to a guild mber. He hardly used it any more after his second awakening anyway. Above all, with that single piece of epic-grade equipnt, an amazing strategy could be used. So after plenty of calculation, he passed the sword over without hesitation.
"The monsters in this dungeon supposedly have the peculiar habit of constantly trying to wet their bodies. If that's the case, then all I have to do is leave this weapon subrged in that big lake over there..."
Flutter.
Choi Jin thought this as she reread the docunts the guild master had given her.
"Do the monsters automatically die from being poisoned by the toxin emitted by the equipnt?"
Who would've thought you could clear a C-rank gate so easily with a trick like this.
[Plop!]
Just like that. Kim Giryeo had thought of everything for the guild mbers to carry out their personal activities. The unpleasant attention from the company was one thing, but an A-rank hunter he had finally gotten acquainted with got into danger, that would be uncomfortable in its own way as well.
I want to sohow ensure Choi Jin's safety while she works alone.
The guild leader, the alien, had even experienced living as a weakling firsthand. So by sharing the gates he had previously marked during his F- to E-rank days—basically, ones that could be cleared easily—he was able to ensure Choi Jin's safety. To be honest, it wasn't a asure that could last long, but at least for the ti being, it allowed for a quick investigation without a drop of bloodshed.
But...
"Is that it?"
Choi Jin followed the guild master's instructions, dropping her equipnt into the shallow pond and retreating. She moved to a corner of the dungeon where monsters rarely ca and thought quietly to herself.
"Well, it's nice that I don't have to lift a finger for now... but sohow, this person Kim Giryeo... has been interfering with my activities way too much lately."
From a hunter's perspective, it wasn't at all strange to have such doubts. Companies all over the world often tell their employees to 'take it easy,' but the mont actual performance drops, they end up harassing their staff anyway. For so reason, the blonde Awakener gave the impression that he was genuinely limiting her activity.
"What on earth is the problem?"
An increase in the amount of loot to appraise. Or the dangerous appraisals from the [Kore Magic Tower] guild master at a mont when she's only becoming a rising star, and so on. The alien guild leader was in a position where he simply couldn't help but dislike his employees overworking.
"Hmm."
Kim Giryeo had a reasonable explanation. But the mammals didn't know that.
"Perhaps."
After all, the alien hadn't properly explained the circumstances, so how could a human possibly grasp the full truth?
"Do I look like a complete wreck to you, Kim Giryeo-ssi?"
The given circumstances left no other choice. Choi Jin naturally jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"So that's why you keep pressuring to take it easy with work? Because I still look like I... can't handle daily life because of that job...?"
Even if it was just a misunderstanding completely detached from reality, the person involved still had quite a lot to think about because of it.
"I've never thought I was overdoing it at all. Then again, from an outsider's objective perspective, I might look different."
Mumbling.
Even perfectly fine people start to doubt themselves if they're repeatedly criticized for the sa thing. Choi Jin checked her own health and fell into deep contemplation for a while. However, spending a lot of ti worrying didn't always lead to the correct conclusion.
"This is why you shouldn't judge soone by their appearance. The more I deal with Kim Giryeo, the more I realize what a genuinely good person he is. He could have just let to quit the guild instead of bothering with unnecessary fuss, yet he's going out of his way like this to make sure I don't overexert myself."
The misunderstanding had, before she knew it, grown steadily. In fact, Choi Jin even fueled the distortion more intensely for a specific reason. To be precise, it was exactly at the mont she cleared the entire lakeside dungeon and retrieved the iron rod.
Flash.
Before her appeared a rare loot called [Advanced Healing Potion].
"Uhm?"
What a stroke of luck. The expensive item she had begged to get while working in the Faith Guild suddenly appeared at a mont when she wasn't expecting it at all. And Choi Jin happily picked it up and headed straight to the rental office, as was customary.
"Excuse ! GM!"
"What kind of new slang is that?"
"It's a shortened way of referring to the guild master, but since you've been working as a freelancer for a long ti, I guess this is the first ti you've heard it."
It starts with a really ordinary greeting.
"Anyway."
And the next thing that jumps out is the main point.
"Today, it's not just about returning the rod."
"Yes."
"I ca to report that I managed to obtain this from the C-rank gate, despite the low probability."
"Is this sothing to [appraise]? Then, for now, place it over here on the desk."
In South Korea's trading system, 99.9% of artifact movents were required to be recorded. Items from another world were full of dangers, like loaded firearms. In a way, it was a perfectly natural system.
"That's why, if the hunter business owner feels like it, they can check the list of loot their guild mbers have obtained at any ti. Normally, it's impossible to avoid the fees the company takes."
But there's just one exception. Isn't it surprisingly easy to 'misappropriate' loot when it cos to potion-type items?
"But this one you can just drink, and that's the end of it."
Normally, companies prevented hunters from skimming expensive items by using things like [Knight's Oath], [Fairy's Promise], or planting spies within the hunting team.
"Hmm."
But Kim Giryeo's guild never took any such precautions, even as ti went on.
"These days, so companies, wary of hunters skimming potions, go so far as to take a large cut for the guild in advance."
The thought lasted only for a mont.
"I have trauma when it cos to contract-type items. He must have been considerate enough not to put any anti-theft asures on them. In that case, I shouldn't be rude and deceive soone who thought of first."
Choi Jin transparently disclosed all the items she had obtained. Even if the company consciously took its fees, there was a minimum rate set for company operations, so sharing loot with the guild would basically have hundreds of millions of won disappear. And that's not even counting taxes, equipnt maintenance costs, and other expenses... The luck she had in getting the potions was not going to turn into any significant fortune.
"Ah."
But what kind of statent is this again?
"I won't include those potions in the loot appraisal. Use it for your own personal use."
"Yes?"
"You can just look it up online, visit a nearby dermatology clinic, and treat the scar or whatever there."
Sshrk.
Kim Giryeo lifted his chin and showed a specific area.
"Unless you didn't care at all, you clearly found the scar botherso enough to cover it even in hot weather."
A massive scar from hunting... Well, if your skin is in this condition, most people would care about it even if they didn't say so. Maybe it's because humans are social animals. The aspect of appearance seems to grow at a corner of the mind no matter if you beco an eighty-year-old, so it was natural that Choi Jin was uncomfortable with the scar. It's just that until now, there was no way to resolve it because of the slave contract.
"Do you know how much this potion costs?"
"It's really expensive."
But was she supposed to take such a precious potion for free? Feeling overwheld, Choi Jin quickly waved her hand, yet the guild master's reaction remained consistent.
"Forget it. Just take it and use it."
Just like when he had given the [Elixir] to Jeong Haseong, the alien willingly handed over treasure to the natives of a certain planet. However, Kim Giryeo had a completely different intention this ti compared to the previous distribution.
"It's certainly inconvenient that Choi Jin is attracting attention, but if that A-rank leaves the guild, that would be a complete disaster!"
Thanks to the fees he received from Choi Jin, he was able to hire a tax professional who assisted him daily. He also managed to secure a non-awakened secretary and finally began establishing the company's system. After all, the money rent for this vast building could only be paid reliably because of that dragon hunter. What if he treated her carelessly and she decided to leave for another job?
"It's a slightly selfish thought, but I wish that worker would stay a little longer in my guild, which is more like a small-ti shop..."
Finally, the motto of the guild was decided. The alien's goal was to sohow keep this company running long and thin. After setting it to operate reasonably automatically, it would be ideal to use humans to gather information whenever necessary.
"Earthling, I'll give you this potion, so don't go quitting recklessly. Just keep working exactly like you did today."
Kim Giryeo kindly handed over the bonus.
Choi Jin bowed her head as she accepted it. The conversation ended on a very warm note.
***
No, let correct that. To be precise, the conversation had almost ended well, but Kim Giryeo realized his mistake after only a few days.
"Ah!"
The first thing to escape was an inner scream.
"Ahhh damn it! This monstrous primitive. I shouldn't have accepted this human from the very beginning!"
And next ca the alien's regret.
Back to an ordinary weekday afternoon. The alien was trembling as he checked Earth's online news.
[First-generation Awakener Representative 'Choi Jin' Leaves Court Guild and Joins a Truly Collaborative Organization]
[An Unexpected Turn in South Korea's Rankings... The Dark Horse Climbs Sharply to 2nd Place Δ]
[-A-rank Hunter Choi [surna] has recently achieved a rapid rise in the rankings.
Netizens say: In a world where the saying 'even a dog at a village school will recite poetry after three years' exists...
anwhile, so suggest that this remarkable achievent may be the result of the influence of the new guild master.]
Everywhere, there were praise articles lauding a certain A-rank hunter... Surely, none of it showed at all in her human facial expressions. What on earth stirred within Choi Jin behind that indifferent face?
"Stop working already, you crazy workaholic!"
In fact, a certain A-rank hunter was so impressed by the alien's generosity that she started working overti, thinking she should make up for the value of the potions she had received. To be more precise, her loyalty had grown to the point where she was willing to dedicate herself entirely to the guild. However, it just so happened that Choi Jin, expecting to keep an office worker late during the end-of-workday rush—after all, he himself wanted to go ho the most—and quickly offered this explanation.
s sper—so a lot of articles about her ended up being published.
'I told her to take it easy nine tis after that, just in case. Did all that sound like nothing but a bunch of barking to her?'
It was a difficult situation in many ways. The A-rank guild mber, impressed by the alien's magnanimity, often spoke of him in such terms.
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