The Diamond-Tier Offer
The ripple caused by the video uploaded to Tube had been enormous. Representatives from guilds came to the Wraith Guild office every single day. Hyun-jun never moved in person, which meant Tae-min was the one who ended up buried in work. They were already swamped, since the merger proceedings still hadn’t been completed, and now he had reached the point where he simply couldn’t handle everything alone.
“Today, three Silver-tier guilds contacted us. They said if you join their guild, they’ll promise the best conditions and treatment.”
From the guild leader’s office, Tae-min reported while looking out the window at Hyun-jun.
“Tell them I’ll think about it.”
He had no intention of accepting an offer from a mere Silver-tier guild. From the start, he had never planned to come under any guild’s banner. If he had, he would have accepted Lee Jin-a’s offer. But the sudden voice that had reached him from a previous life, bearing Romanov’s will, had erased that option.
“Understood.”
Tae-min nodded and relayed the instructions to a subordinate guild member via smartphone.
“It’s been delivered.”
“Good. Has there been any contact from Jaeil Group yet?”
He meant Lee Jin-a. She had backed off once the terms became too extreme, but with so many guilds making their move, she would likely change her mind. The best outcome would not be for him to become a direct guild subordinate, but for Jaeil Group to support Wraith unofficially.
“No. Not yet.”
“How long will it take?”
“It won’t take long. The Dungeon Management Bureau will probably review your rank again soon and send the result. Once your rank is confirmed, even Lee Jin-a of Jaeil Group will start to feel anxious.”
“Would a single rank really change anything?”
At Hyun-jun’s question, Tae-min shook his head and answered.
“It isn’t just a single rank. The reason no Gold- or Platinum-tier guilds have moved yet is because your official rank is still C-Class. Because of their internal rules or their public image, there are more guilds than you’d think that won’t accept low-rank hunters as executives or regular members.”
He had clearly studied the circumstances of Gold- and Platinum-tier guilds well. They had never anticipated the appearance of such a meteoric new talent, so they had not bothered to revise their internal regulations. In the end, even with this supernova named Kang Hyun-jun, they had been left unable to move carelessly.
“So once my rank is confirmed, Gold-tier guilds and above will start moving too.”
“That’s right. And when they move, Lee Jin-a will act as well. She has eyes and ears, and she isn’t stupid.”
When competition arose between guilds, the chances of securing better conditions went up. That was why Hyun-jun had ordered Tae-min to upload the video to Tube.
“This is just my guess, but the Dungeon Management Bureau will contact us before today is over. You’re drawing attention, Guild Leader... so the evaluation department will be keeping an eye on you as well. At the earliest, you may hear from them within an hour.”
Tae-min’s prediction was exact. No sooner had he finished speaking than Hyun-jun confirmed that the Dungeon Management Bureau was calling.
“Then I’ll—”
“I don’t expect this to be a long call, so it’s fine if you stay.”
He told Tae-min that it was all right for him to remain here, then brought his smartphone to his ear. Since this was a call with the Dungeon Management Bureau, there would be no personal matters involved, so he didn’t think Tae-min’s presence would be a problem.
“Hello?”
-Hello. May I confirm that I’m speaking with Hunter Kang Hyun-jun?
“Yes. That’s me.”
-This is Assistant Manager Park Kyung-ho from the Dungeon Management Bureau’s Hunter Division. We’ve met before, haven’t we?
After searching through his memory, he recalled the day he had met Kyung-ho.
“Yes. I remember.”
-I’m calling regarding Hunter Kang Hyun-jun’s rank promotion. Do you have a moment to talk?
“I don’t mind. But usually, wouldn’t this kind of matter be handled by the evaluation department?”
He could guess why the Hunter Division had contacted him directly, but he asked the question anyway.
-Ah, the promotion itself is the evaluation department’s responsibility, but notification can be handled by the Hunter Division without issue. And I had something I wanted to relay to you in person this time, so I begged the evaluation department’s contact person to let me make the call.
What he wanted to relay was obviously an invitation to become a state-assigned hunter. Hyun-jun had no intention of serving as a national hunter, but hearing the terms couldn’t hurt. Later, when Jin-a came looking for him again, he could mention that he had already received such an offer and use it to reinforce his own value.
“Today is difficult, but tomorrow should work.”
There was a great deal of paperwork to review regarding the merger. Tae-min was handling most of it, but the final approval still belonged to Hyun-jun, so he had no shortage of work to do himself.
-Ah, then I’ll visit tomorrow. Would 3 p.m. be all right?
“3 p.m. is fine. Come to the guild office. I’ll let the staff know in advance.”
-Thank you. Have a good day.
The call ended. Then, when he shifted his gaze to Tae-min, the man spoke as if he had been waiting for the moment.
“You ended the call at a very convenient time. It seems we have a guest downstairs.”
“A guest? Who is it?”
“It appears to be someone from a guild.”
“I told you to let guild representatives know that I wasn’t planning to meet anyone for the time being.”
Since he was already in the middle of rejecting guilds’ recruitment offers, meeting with all the representatives who came proposing transfers would be a waste of time, so Hyun-jun had decided from the start not to see them.
“That’s the thing... this case isn’t ordinary.”
“Explain.”
“The person who came is from a Diamond-tier guild.”
“Are you serious?”
He couldn’t help being shocked when he heard that a recruitment representative from one of the only fifteen Diamond-tier guilds in all of South Korea had come to see him. He asked again because it was hard to believe, but Tae-min only nodded silently.
The weight of a Diamond-tier guild’s name was anything but light. Not even Tae-min, much less Hyun-jun, had imagined that a Diamond-tier guild would make a move.
“All right. I’ll meet them.”
“They’re waiting in the first-floor lobby. I’ll contact them now.”
“Let’s meet in the third-floor reception room.”
“I’ll pass that along.”
Tae-min delivered Hyun-jun’s instruction by messaging a staff member waiting on the first floor. Shortly after Hyun-jun finished with the paperwork and headed for the third floor, Tae-min hurried after him. The guild leader’s office was on the fourth floor, so it was only one flight down to the reception room on the third.
Hyun-jun and Tae-min arrived first. And before five minutes had passed, the reception room door opened, and in came a neatly dressed man wearing a formal suit and rimless glasses, with a familiar staff member beside him. He looked like an ordinary office worker, but a substantial amount of mana could be felt from him.
B-Class, maybe...?
He cautiously made the guess in his head and rose slowly to greet him. The man smiled as he approached and spoke.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kang Hyun-jun. I’m Lim Dong-hyeok, and I serve as the recruitment manager for Innovation.”
If it was Innovation, then it was definitely a Diamond-tier guild.
That’s a little unexpected. So the recruitment manager himself came.
This was on a completely different level from a mere guild member coming for recruitment. In a Diamond-tier guild, the manager who led recruitment wouldn’t move so easily. The fact that he had come in person was proof that Innovation considered recruiting Kang Hyun-jun a matter of real importance.
“Likewise, Lim Dong-hyeok.”
“I’m Tae-min Kim, Executive Director of Wraith.”
Hyun-jun and Tae-min gave their introductions as well.
“I never imagined I’d meet the famous ‘supernova’ Kang Hyun-jun in person like this. It’s an honor.”
“Supernova?”
“Yes. Guilds above a certain tier hold social gatherings and other forms of exchange. I attended one not long ago, and everyone was calling you a supernova. You’d find that out with just a little time on the internet.”
Dong-hyeok answered. Hyun-jun gave a faint smile and nodded. Now that he thought about it, he had seen a few comments with similar content when he checked the video uploaded to Tube.
“Have I become that famous?”
He played modest for the moment.
“You’ve become very famous. Any guild with a real interest in discovering new talent will have seen your video, I’m sure.”
“That much?”
“Yes. I’m not the kind of person who likes to exaggerate, so you can trust me. Haha!”
Dong-hyeok said it with a warm, easy laugh. Hyun-jun had not met many people from the recruitment side, but if the chatter circulating in online communities was any guide, most of them were said to be affable and easy to talk to. Looking at Dong-hyeok now, he could at least nod a little to that assessment.
“That’s not bad.”
For someone hoping to grow the guild, it wasn’t a bad thing for the guild leader to gain fame. If they went through with the merger, there was a high chance many regular members would leave, leaving the guild a hollow shell. If he could use his growing reputation well, he could bring in more guild members to replace them.
“Shall we get to the point?”
“Of course. Please, tell me the conditions.”
For a recruitment manager from a Diamond-tier guild, there would be a lot on his plate. Hyun-jun understood why Dong-hyeok wanted to get straight to the point.
“All the conditions our guild Innovation is offering Kang Hyun-jun are written here.”
Dong-hyeok finished speaking and took a contract from inside his jacket, then handed it over. Hyun-jun’s eyes moved quickly as he scanned it. The terms were excellent. By joining the guild, he would receive substantial tax reductions whenever mana stones were settled, and they would even grant him an executive position in whatever department he wanted.
“What do you think? If you sign the contract, you can become one of our guild’s executives.”
Dong-hyeok said. The influence carried by an executive position in a Diamond-tier guild was nothing to dismiss, so it was a tempting whisper indeed. But because of his previous life, Romanov’s will, Hyun-jun had no choice but to refuse Innovation’s offer. No matter how good the terms were, the fact remained that he would still become a subordinate of the guild.
“Will you sign it?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t give you a definite answer right now.”
He shook his head as he answered. It was true that for a moment he had been tempted by the executive offer from the Diamond-tier guild Innovation, but he had no intention of reversing the decision he had already made.
Judging by Carthago, Hashashin, Sidenmiller, and Ripper so far, the blessings they bestowed were worth something money and titles could never replace. He believed Romanov, who had also conveyed his will through a borrowed voice this time, would be the same.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around often, Kang Hyun-jun.”
“I know. Still, my decision won’t change.”
Regretfully, he made his refusal clear, and Dong-hyeok no longer pressed him. He left the reception room.
“Guild Leader... for the sake of our guild...”
Unaware of Hyun-jun’s true thoughts, Tae-min believed it had been a decision made for Wraith, and he looked genuinely moved.
“I’ll head home early today.”
“Yes. Travel safely.”
That night, after returning home, Hyun-jun dreamed again.