The Merger Offer
After finishing the hellish training that felt like it came straight from the depths of the underworld, Park Jihun and his familiars finally enjoyed a long-awaited moment of rest.
"Ah, there's nothing like home to really put your mind at ease."
"Well... it is my house, after all."
Since the house purchased under Park Jihun's name was still being remodeled, they were resting at Shin Jiyeon's place.
"Oh, by the way, it looks like someone came by the house while we were training."
"Someone?"
"Yes. The Association mentioned it. Hunter Lee Jeonghyeon came looking for you, Sunbae."
Lee Jeonghyeon. Even Park Jihun, who had never cared much for hunter affairs, recognized the name. He was an S-rank hunter and the vice-guild master of Yongwang Guild, Korea's top guild.
He even sent me a text before.
He remembered the long, meticulously written message.
Is he here to scout me?
It had been over a week since Park Jihun's name first spread, yet his popularity showed no signs of cooling. Sure, the hype was gradually deflating as the "F-rank hunter" label kept surfacing, but plenty of people were still riding the wave of national pride over the world's first and only.
"No need to meet him."
If it were truly important, the man would have texted his number like last time. With that thought, Park Jihun casually brushed the visit from his mind.
"Then after a few days of rest, shall we head into real combat?"
Real combat. In other words, entering a gate. Having trained diligently in mana and even mastered materialization, all that remained was to put it to practical use and refine it.
"Oh, so I finally get to use it properly."
Park Jihun's excitement stirred at the thought of wielding a true aura sword. After all, he'd endured that nightmare training precisely for this moment.
It's a shame about the magic, but... at least I'll get to use the sword aura I've only seen in manhwa.
Once he grew proficient, he could launch the aura as a projectile, reshape it into different forms for combat, and more. He figured he could finally unleash all the wild imagination he'd cultivated from watching anime as a kid.
"I'll head to the guild first to look up some suitable gates. You rest up, Sunbae."
"Yeah, take your time."
With that, Shin Jiyeon headed out. Park Jihun and the remaining familiars stayed behind, sinking into deep, dreamless sleep for the first time in ages as they savored their hard-earned rest.
"Huh?"
When Shin Jiyeon arrived at the guild office after leaving the house, she found an unexpected guest waiting.
"Ah, you've arrived. Hunter Shin Jiyeon, guild master of Another Guild."
Tall with a warm, handsome face. An S-rank hunter who also served as vice-guild master of Yongwang Guild. Lee Jeonghyeon—the man currently considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the country.
But why was someone who should have been at Yongwang Guild standing in Another Guild's office?
Ah, he must be here to see Sunbae.
He had already visited the house, so it seemed he'd come to the office as well.
"What brings you here?"
The objective was obvious: scouting Park Jihun. But coming all the way to the guild office for it?
Where's your sense of professional courtesy?
It was only natural that Shin Jiyeon's tone grew sharp.
"Ah, I came with a proposal."
Lee Jeonghyeon continued without the slightest concern for her attitude.
He's probably going to offer all sorts of compensation if we hand over Sunbae. How predictable.
Shin Jiyeon had been prepared to listen half-heartedly and brush it off when—
"I'd like to merge Another Guild with our Yongwang Guild. What are your thoughts?"
"Uh, yes... Excuse me? A merger?"
Caught completely off guard by the unexpected offer, she asked again in shock.
A merger. It meant the two guilds becoming one. Of course, when one side held overwhelmingly superior power like in the case of Another and Yongwang, it was more accurate to view it as the smaller guild being absorbed and subordinated.
He's not after Sunbae alone—he wants to swallow Another itself?
Even then, it was an incredibly bold proposal. Another Guild was a mediocre mid-sized operation that offered little real benefit even if acquired.
Is he going this far just to secure one person...?
She had suspected as much, and Lee Jeonghyeon drove the nail in.
"Originally I planned to scout only Hunter Park Jihun. However, that didn't seem to align with professional ethics given his true value."
Lee Jeonghyeon smiled brightly as he spoke. He made no effort to hide that he'd tried to poach Park Jihun separately or that the rest of them were merely extras.
"I thought it would be better for the people he's been working with to come along, so Hunter Park Jihun can focus on his activities without worry."
"......"
It seemed he already knew about the relationship between Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon.
Well, given their different ranks yet how closely they've been sticking together, it's only natural to suspect they're lovers.
That was why he intended to bring Shin Jiyeon along too. Since she was Another Guild's master, rather than demanding she abandon it, he'd apparently chosen to acquire the entire guild outright.
It was a smart move. Instead of creating resentment by trying to cherry-pick members, it was better to absorb the guild as a whole even at a slight loss. For a massive guild like Yongwang, the financial hit and resulting noise from merging a small outfit like Another wouldn't amount to much.
"The conditions are as follows..."
He must have prepared the contract in advance, because he handed her a document listing the detailed merger terms. The clauses would undoubtedly be quite favorable to Another Guild. Having come this prepared, they would naturally present terms compelling enough to accept immediately rather than waste time and emotional energy on negotiations.
Yet Shin Jiyeon didn't even glance at the contract. She simply shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I must decline."
Purely from a guild benefits perspective, accepting would have been the right choice. After all, the name would change from 'Another' to 'Yongwang.' Being an executive or member of Yongwang Guild carried far more prestige than leading or belonging to an obscure mid-sized guild. The benefits and treatment would be vastly superior as well.
The guild members would likely welcome it too. Given how many lacked proper specs or experience, joining Yongwang would have been an impossible dream for them.
However.
Large guilds come with far too many restrictions. Plus, the chance of Sunbae's abilities being exposed would be high.
Large guilds offered plenty of benefits and name value, but they also imposed restrictions on personal freedom. While they generally didn't interfere with gate activities or personal leisure time, members still had to review and follow official guild directives. They were required to meet assigned gate quotas, could be ordered into specific gates, and faced numerous other regulations.
For someone like Park Jihun—who traveled between various gates to tame familiars and engaged in wild, uninhibited activities with those same familiars and Shin Jiyeon—such free-spirited behavior could face serious limitations.
Beyond his own rapid growth, he could also strengthen his familiars and even convert human hunters into familiars to boost their stats. If that became known, the guild would undoubtedly try to exploit those abilities. The method of creating his familiars would be exposed, and Park Jihun's pleasurable sex life with his otherworldly ladies would be cut off. The guild would treat him like a breeding stallion, managing his releases.
It might sound like an overthought, but the hunger for stat growth among hunters ran that deep. She believed it was entirely possible for him to face inhumane treatment.
I absolutely cannot allow that...! Sunbae's sex is a special privilege reserved only for the women he chooses!
Unable to let that privilege be stolen or permit Park Jihun to be treated like a tool, Shin Jiyeon rejected Lee Jeonghyeon's proposal.
"Hmm, I see. Understood."
Surprisingly, Lee Jeonghyeon withdrew without protest.
She had expected him to push additional conditions in an attempt to secure the deal somehow.
Is he giving up because he thinks Sunbae is only F-rank?
Perhaps he'd judged that Park Jihun wasn't worth the investment. It made sense. Yongwang Guild maintained its position as Korea's number one without him. Moreover, though their numbers were relatively small, they were a formidable guild recognized worldwide for their quality.
No matter how much national pride surrounded being the world's first and only, there was no need to incur such losses for a single F-rank hunter.
"Then let's meet again if the opportunity arises."
As Lee Jeonghyeon politely took his leave, Shin Jiyeon actually felt a strange sense of anticlimax.
I was wondering how to turn him down properly.
At any rate, since it hadn't led to any troublesome complications, she considered it fortunate and headed to her office. Unaware that his parting words about meeting again "if the opportunity arises" were far more than mere courtesy.
"As expected, there's definitely something here."
Shin Jiyeon's decisive rejection had transformed Lee Jeonghyeon's suspicion into certainty. He had presented exceptionally generous terms. Though she hadn't read the document, the clear implication that the conditions favored her side had been evident throughout, so she must have noticed.
Yet she had rejected it without even looking? That wasn't how a guild master should behave. Considering both her own treatment and her members' welfare, it was an impossible reaction. Unless she possessed overwhelming pride in her guild and harbored delusions of elevating it above even Yongwang.
Her actions were clearly abnormal.
It's one of two possibilities.
Either she was genuinely planning to build a force so powerful that she wouldn't spare Yongwang a glance, or Park Jihun possessed a secret that must never be discovered by others.
A B-rank hunter leading a guild where most members are C-rank or below with limited experience.
From that perspective, she didn't seem like an overwhelmingly ambitious figure. Which meant...
As expected... it's the latter.
There was definitely more to Park Jihun than met the eye. He wasn't simply an F-rank hunter with a taming skill.
The deliberate leak of gate information to divert attention. The way his whereabouts seemed to vanish despite being at home. And then the guild master's extreme reaction...
Everything was suspicious. None of it was normal.
"I suppose I should meet him in person after all."
With those words, Lee Jeonghyeon idly toyed with his phone, the one that contained Park Jihun's number.