Dungeon & Commander (30)
A pretty receptionist wrinkled her nose the moment she saw Go Cheolmin.
She took him for some homeless bum there to beg for spare change.
Go Cheolmin gave a wry smile and pulled out his wallet, flashing his Raider license and Dungeon Association guild master membership card.
Her eyes went wide in an instant. It was the first time she'd seen a guild master since starting work here.
"P-please wait just a moment."
The receptionist scurried off toward the director's office.
As Go Cheolmin glanced around, his eyes caught some photos on the wall. A few faces looked familiar—he must have seen them around somewhere—but he couldn't recall a single name.
"The director is waiting for you."
The receptionist, who had eyed him with contempt at first, now looked up at Go Cheolmin with admiration.
The same person, but a license and card change everything, Go Cheolmin thought bitterly.
As he entered the director's office, Choi Mi-ja, who had been poring over documents in her glasses, stood up with a beaming smile.
"We met about six years ago in the Suwon Dungeon. Do you remember?"
Choi Mi-ja casually referenced Uramata Guild's worst raid ever.
Go Cheolmin's guild had lost a staggering 170 members in that disaster.
As his cheek twitched just as expected, she knew she'd seized the initiative and pressed on.
"Oh, sorry. That must be a memory you'd rather forget."
"...It's fine."
"Have a seat. What would you like? Tea?"
"Coffee's good."
Choi Mi-ja pressed a button to order two coffees, then settled onto the sofa opposite him, crossing her legs with effortless confidence.
"I know why you're here, Master. It's about Yeom Sang-taek, right?"
"Yes."
"I was truly disappointed. He wasn't like that before. Sure, he lacked talent, but he was pure and hardworking. Then he went up to Seoul and turned into someone else entirely."
"I think that's a misunderstanding on your part, Director."
Go Cheolmin chose his words with extreme care.
"A misunderstanding?"
The director's eyes narrowed sharply.
"In reality, Sang-taek had a constitutional issue that kept his buff success rate low for a long time. Simulator tweaks can't create skill that isn't there. You know that as well as I do."
"So you're saying I lacked the ability to help him and just let him struggle?"
"N-no, that's not—"
Saying it outright in front of her would only make things worse. Go Cheolmin held his tongue.
"His current state doesn't matter anymore. This is about pride—for him as a Raider, and for me as the academy director."
Go Cheolmin felt darkness closing in.
That was the real reason. She didn't want her own mistakes and incompetence exposed. Now she'd pin it on anything to bury Yeom Sang-taek.
"Are you planning to disown him?"
The patron-client relationship was often compared to parent and adopted child, so severing it was called "disownment."
"Well..."
Choi Mi-ja trailed off ambiguously.
Go Cheolmin sensed a sliver of hope in her lack of firm resolve.
The receptionist brought the coffee and set it down before them, her attitude toward Go Cheolmin dripping with excessive courtesy.
"I have some contacts at the Dungeon Association, so I checked. Uramata passed the first test. Second one's tomorrow, right?"
"The day after."
"Can't have Sang-taek missing that."
"...No, we can't."
"As the head of an academy that trains promising Raiders, I can't just stand by while a guild struggles."
"Th-thank you."
"Why don't we help each other out?"
Her eyes sparkled.
"What do you mean?"
"I help Uramata Guild, and Uramata helps my academy."
"How can I help you?"
"It's simple. Half the year's gone, so starting next year, hire Raiders from my academy. Around 100 million won in annual salary each should do it. I vouch for their skills. Oh, and we'll need training sponsorship fees per Raider. Guilds like yours need a steady supply of talent, so 30 million per head sounds fair. What do you think?"
Choi Mi-ja had cast an inescapable trap at Go Cheolmin.
He was speechless.
"Oh, one thing I forgot. I can send five a year. How great is that? In this day and age, finding skilled Raiders is like plucking stars from the sky."
She landed her uppercut, then elegantly sipped her coffee.
All the while, her eyes never left Go Cheolmin's face.
He nearly burst out laughing in disbelief. He'd only heard rumors of "bundling"—forcing guilds to take mediocre talents with stars—but to experience it firsthand.
Usually, when sending star Raiders like Lee Hwan to a guild, academies bundled in the duds, extracting "training sponsorship" fees in the process.
This fox of a director knew Uramata's plight and was shoving a one-sided deal down his throat.
He wanted to storm out, but that would ruin Yeom Sang-taek's life.
The second test wasn't the issue.
Sending the already timid Sang-taek into a real dungeon in his current state would just add one more casualty.
He had to fix this somehow.
"How many 9th-graders do you have here now?"
9th grade was the bare minimum for guild entry as a Raider.
"Seven 10th-graders, twenty-one 11th-graders. And plenty more without official rankings yet."
The director smiled sweetly. No 9th-graders, in other words.
"That's not good enough."
"If you raised Sang-taek's success rate from 42% to over 90%, turning 10th-graders into 9s or even 8s should be child's play for you."
Go Cheolmin glared at her in silence. Pay 100 million annual salary to 10th-graders? Plus 30 million sponsorship per head?
This woman's insane.
"Well, if that's not to your liking, no choice. See you next time. Oh, tell Sang-taek I'll submit the disownment papers to the Association today. It pains me thinking of his future, but discipline must be maintained, or the others will follow suit."
She spoke calmly, her expression unchanging.
Go Cheolmin nearly vaulted the table and lunged at her. Trembling with suppressed rage, he decided to put out the immediate fire first.
"Three per year, 50 million salary, 10 million sponsorship."
"Oh my, such a big guy with a small heart. Our academy isn't hurting that bad. If the terms are too tough, just go."
Silence fell.
Backing down here meant losing the second test. Then the license, the guild house closing with debts mounting.
This wicked woman knew it all too well.
"Fine."
"Then sign here."
She'd already prepared the contract.
Go Cheolmin read it over. Beyond what she'd said, there were a few poison clauses.
"Once you sign, Uramata Guild and MJ Buff Academy become bound by fate."
Choi Mi-ja whispered, offering the pen.
Go Cheolmin gripped her tiny hand carefully to avoid crushing it.
Yoo Min-jeong floored the accelerator, and the Ferrari's body shuddered lightly before surging forward.
Weaving zigzag through the crawling traffic and slipping through tight gaps sent thrills racing up her back.
"Hoo."
She eased off at the light and sighed. The second test prep was headache enough, and now Yeom Sang-taek's mess on top.
How had he come across that his patron would even mention disownment?
Sang-taek was a constant headache, one way or another.
The master had gone down to Daejeon.
To hash it out with the academy director, but the outcome was anyone's guess.
As team leader, she'd made some calls to gauge options.
Most contacts—thanks to her father—gave negative responses. Once disowned, he'd be blacklisted in the Raider world, they said.
Yoo Min-jeong agreed.
"If he'd played his cards right, this wouldn't have happened."
Another sigh escaped her.
The red Ferrari pulled into the guild house lot. She got out, opened the door, and stepped inside.
"You're back?"
Choi Muhyun, sitting on a bench, waved.
Beside him slumped Yeom Sang-taek, shoulders drooped; Kim Jun stood in front.
Irritation mixed with pity.
Sang-taek was a teammate. As leader, she wanted to help. But how?
Yoo Min-jeong walked over.
Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek looked up, eyes full of hope.
She tilted her head back slowly.
"The master's gone down himself, so he'll bring good news."
"Sorry. Because of me..."
"No."
She forced brightness, but it sounded awkward even to her.
"Ever heard of the Crazy Buffer?"
It was Kim Jun.
"Of course."
Yoo Min-jeong shot him a light glare. No Raider didn't know Yang Hee-seon, the Crazy Buffer.
"She took on a disowned Raider as a client once."
"Oh, right. Yeah, she did."
At Yoo Min-jeong's words, Yeom Sang-taek looked up, grasping at straws.
"Then let's go find her."
Choi Muhyun this time.
"Get real. You know where she is? And even if we did, think she'd meet us? She's insanely busy. Even my dad can't see her whenever he wants."
Yeom Sang-taek deflated again at Yoo Min-jeong's words.
She glanced at him and continued.
"The buffer she took on had insane talent. The patron was just a crank who ditched her. That buffer became Moon Hyo-rin, the pillar of Cheonhondan."
Kim Jun was stunned.
To think the top-ranked buffer Moon Hyo-rin had such a backstory.
"I heard that story from my dad."
Choi Muhyun again.
"Teacher Yang was a monster buffer even active, but she shone brighter after retiring. She scouted hidden gems and turned them into stars. Through Jangyang Academy, which she founded with her husband Jang Yong-jun, she produced legends. Even my dad, the strongest of his era, came from there. Me too."
Pride filled Yoo Min-jeong's explanation.
The more she described Yang Hee-seon, the deeper Yeom Sang-taek sank into despair. No way someone like that would take him on.
"I'm heading home to rest. Sorry."
"I'll walk you."
Choi Muhyun stood.
"No. I want to be alone."
Yeom Sang-taek shuffled out, head down.
Yoo Min-jeong, arms crossed, watched him go with a sigh.
The guild house was empty.
They should be bustling with second-test prep, but lights off, it was pitch dark. Go Cheolmin scanned around, then trudged up the metal stairs to the master room.
He sat on the sofa for a long while, staring blankly into the gloom.
Snapping to, he noticed something on the glass table.
A bottle of whiskey.
The golden liquid in the beautiful glass beckoned him. He must have bought it himself, yet he couldn't remember.
A hallucinatory whisper sounded.
Drink me. Your worries will vanish. Drink me. I'll slide smoothly down your throat. Why suffer needlessly? Drink me. Come on.
Before he knew it, Go Cheolmin had reached out and uncapped the whiskey.
One sip, and the headache would fade. But he knew the cost.
"If I drink this... probably months gone. When I come to, everyone will have left. Even Kim Jun won't be here."
He clutched the bottle, glaring.
Craving battled willpower.
The whiskey neared his lips slowly.
Irresistibly seductive.
His throat worked with a gulp under the fatal pull.
Then the master room door opened.
"Master."
The golden liquid was a breath from his mouth.
Go Cheolmin froze in place. He turned his head slightly to see Kim Jun at the entrance.
Kim Jun swept in like the wind and snatched the whiskey.
Go Cheolmin let it go all too easily. He couldn't stop himself, but hoped someone would.
Eyes shut, he waited for Kim Jun's words.
Disappointment, how could a master do this, what about Daejeon—
But Kim Jun, dumping the whiskey in the trash, said nothing.
Go Cheolmin opened his eyes slowly and spotted a business card on the table.
"What's this?"
"Not sure if it's real."
Kim Jun sat opposite, pointing at it.
"What do you mean?"
"See for yourself."
Go Cheolmin picked it up. Just a name and phone number, but his eyes bulged.
Yang Hee-seon!
He looked back at Kim Jun.
Kim Jun recounted the bizarre grandma and her grandson Jang Geon-ho, who claimed to be Yang Hee-seon.
Go Cheolmin's eyes widened.
He'd met Jang Geon-ho, Yang Hee-seon's grandson, in person. Wild like his grandma, but talent shone through.
Go Cheolmin exhaled deeply, pulled out his phone, and dialed the number.
Ring tone.
Click. Answered.
"Hello?"
"Who is this? Very few know this number."
The slightly raspy woman's voice was familiar.
"Go Cheolmin."
"Ah, so the kid showed you the card."
"Yes."
"Took you long enough. He probably thinks I'm some crazy old bat."
"No way."