Baekho Guild (2)

"...Um, Section Chief Oh?"

"Yes, Mr. Dohyun. What is it?"

"Why on earth are you trying to enter the Tower from here, exactly?"

She was supposed to be the baby princess of Baekho Guild. Why would a woman like that insist on climbing from a dump like this...?

"I'm afraid I can't share the details, Mr. Dohyun. All I will say is that we are pressed for time."

"Ah... I see..."

Honestly, I wanted to refuse. But who was going to stop a man from a mega-guild when he pushed this hard? A subcontractor to a corporate giant doesn't exactly have leverage, after all.

"I imagine this puts you in an awkward position, so we will see to it that you are properly compensated."

...

"So, Lady Juyeong... do find the courage, if you would."

Clearly, something was going on here.

"Section Chief... I'm doing this for you, you know. If anything goes wrong like last time, I'm coming straight back out. Got that? And I am never going in there again! Hand me the poison, hurry!"

With that, Baek Juyeong snatched up the Ice Flame Poison along with the antidote that would stave off hypothermia. Poison and antidote came as a set, after all.

"...I'll take a quick look and come right back. Off I go, then."

And with those words, Baek Juyeong vanished into the glow of light.

"She's off."

"Indeed. When Lady Juyeong returns, you will be amply compensated, Mr. Dohyun. And should she clear the floor, then—"

The Section Chief swallowed the rest of the sentence. Between his remark that this was her final chance and Baek Juyeong's whole demeanor, today's first-floor climb was clearly a weighty one.

About ten minutes had passed, maybe?

Shaaaaaa!

A glow of light split the silence between the Section Chief and me, materializing once more.

"Welcome back, Lady Juyeong."

So, how had it gone? Given how little time had passed, this attempt had surely failed... or so I assumed—yet her face was absolutely radiant.

"Section Chief!!! I did it!!! I cleared it!!!"

Unbelievable... She'd cleared it in ten minutes? Just how monstrous were her physical stats...? Don't tell me the fire really was what had kept her stuck all this time...?

"Is that true, my lady?! You weren't hurt anywhere, were you...?"

"Nope! Not a single scratch! ...The Ice Flame Poison actually worked! It's insane! This is insane! How does something like this even exist?"

"Pardon?"

"The pillars of fire weren't even hot! And it says my fire resistance went up one percent!!!"

"...Is... is that true?"

"That's what it says!"

Baek Juyeong hopped up and down, the flood of emotion spilling out of her unchecked. Hearing her, the Section Chief seemed to relax at last—the stiffness drained from his face, replaced by a kindly smile and a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, my lady..."

"It's all thanks to you, Section Chief! Thank you, truly... I was so scared, wondering what would become of me if I could never climb the Tower... sniff... Thank you too, Mr. Dohyun. Sob, sob, sob..."

The poor woman must have been through an ordeal. The relief of having cleared it and all those months of bottled-up grief proved too much for her; she sank down where she stood and began to weep.

"Hic—huuueeehhh..."

"Lady Juyeong, here—wipe your face with this..."

"Thank you... sniff!"

That human side of her was a little endearing, I'll admit.

But. That was that. Now it was time to settle accounts.

"Um, Section Chief? Are you two finished catching up?"

Only then, as if their cozy little world had popped like a bubble, did the two of them return to reality.

"My goodness, we've kept you waiting. My apologies."

"Not at all. It's fine."

Now, if you please—time to settle up for the Ice Flame Poison. Seeing her this overjoyed, I couldn't help wondering how much firepower that wallet of his actually had.

He hurled 2 million won around like it was nothing, so surely he'll fork over at least 5 million?

The very instant that mercenary thought crossed my mind—

"Mr. Dohyun, might I ask you to wait just a moment?"

"I'm sorry?"

"We came in rather a hurry, you see, and I find myself with nothing fitting to offer as a proper reward."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Um... I do have a card terminal, for what it's worth..."

Realizing his explanation had been less than clear, the Section Chief pressed on.

"Ah, of course. If cash is what you prefer, that can certainly be arranged. It is only that what we have received from you, Mr. Dohyun, is of such magnitude... A matter like this, I'm afraid, ought to go through an internal review."

"That's right! Mr. Dohyun! I'm the youngest daughter of Baekho Guild! Did you think we'd fob you off with a few pennies?"

"...Th-that's not what I—"

The reality was that I could barely scrape together rent. I had no idea what these people were planning to hand over, but for a man living one day's earnings to the next, cold cash would have been plenty.

...

"Mr. Dohyun, I must ask for your patience. To let this pass in such a slapdash fashion would leave a stain on our guild's honor."

At some point the two of them had changed tactics entirely and were now pressing me—not pressure of the unpleasant sort, mind you, but pressure born of goodwill.

Damn it.

After all that, there was no way I could blurt out Just give me the cash!!!

The money I owed Yuchan could wait a little longer. As for the rent... I'd find a way to manage. Somehow.

It's not like they'd take the poison and vanish, right?

This was Baekho Guild we were talking about. I'd trust their name and wait a little.

"All right. I understand."

The effects I'd shown them had stunned even them. They would come back with a proper reward—I was sure of it.

"Thank you, Mr. Dohyun. It shouldn't take long."

Either way, I'd thrown myself into work hard enough in the meantime that I didn't look like a complete charity case.

"Oh, that's right! And Mr. Dohyun—we'd like you to formulate additional Ice Flame Poison, so here..."

A small wad of bills changed hands as the Section Chief turned to leave. Inside the envelope I received were a hundred yellow banknotes.

5 million won...?

"Please accept this as an advance, nominally, on the Ice Flame Poison you will be formulating for us."

For a moment there, I nearly fell in love with Section Chief Oh. I gritted my teeth and held it in.

"I'll take my leave, then. We'll be seeing each other soon."

Baekho Guild truly was in a league of its own.

That very same day, I used my brand-new 5 million won to pay off my overdue rent and repay everything I'd borrowed from Yuchan—interest included, of course.

"And that, Guildmaster, is how it transpired."

After concluding his business with Dohyun, Section Chief Oh had made straight for the Guildmaster without a moment's delay, bearing the news of Baek Juyeong's first-floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clear.

"Didn't Juyeong hate the idea of becoming an awakened one?"

"It seems it wasn't quite that simple, sir."

"I see. Then Juyeong, too, now stands on the same starting line as the others."

Baek Dogwang, Guildmaster of Baekho Guild. Beneath him stood the five sons and daughters of the Baek family. Each had awakened and become a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pillar of the guild—and the last of the five to awaken had been Baek Juyeong.

"I will attend to her faithfully, at her side..."

Baek Dogwang gave the answer little reaction, as if to say: see to it yourself.

"...So this poison formulator of yours made something called Ice Flame Poison?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"And you say Juyeong's fire resistance rose by one percent?"

"Yes."

"Section Chief."

"Sir."

"Has there ever been a single verified case—anywhere—of a poison raising an attribute it was never designed for?"

"No, sir. None."

...

The moment the Guildmaster fell silent, the air in the office grew heavy as lead, without a sound.

"Section Chief. What say you to bringing that poison formulator into our guild?"

A few days later.

Peaceful gallery time.

So this is what happiness is.

It wasn't much, but being able to rain burgers down on the gallery gave me a small, warm sense of satisfaction.

"Happiness, huh..."

With a little money in hand, I'd spent the past several days pouring time and cash into crafting the Blooming Fire Poison. Now, before me, sat a single vial holding the scarlet candy I'd left to mature all those days.

Judging by looks alone, you'd have believed it a strawberry-red hard candy.

"Phew... took longer than I expected."

A ten-hour duration promised a world of pain, but it wouldn't cost anyone their life—and if a little suffering bought permanent resistance, hunters would come running no matter how ugly it got. That much was a given.

"You worked hard too, Mandoki."

"Kruuk-."

Days of eating nothing but Fire-Forget-Me-Not blossoms had dyed the little fellow's skin a deep red.

"You're not even a chameleon, you know. Changing colors like it's nothing."

"Kruuk-."

"Cute little thing, though... Ah, it should be about time for the Section Chief's visit."

The Blooming Fire Poison was finished, and the Section Chief's compensation was ready as well. The reward he'd promised would come quickly had taken a while, he'd said—apparently there'd been some internal discussion at the guild.

What on earth are they planning to give me?

Well, well. Now I was genuinely curious.

Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairwell outside.

Knock, knock.

"Mr. Dohyun. This is Oh Taesu."

Oh Taesu had come fully prepared. In the briefcase gripped in his right hand waited a reward crafted to tempt Shin Dohyun—his trump card for luring the man into Baekho Guild.

Clack. Clack.

A shabby building. Down the marble staircase, cracked in patches, at the far end of the basement corridor, Shin Dohyun's Poison Lab came into view.

Knock, knock.

"Mr. Dohyun. Oh Taesu."

Creeeak.

The door swung open to reveal Shin Dohyun in a rather disheveled state. He clearly hadn't been sleeping properly of late—the dark circles under his eyes were pronounced.

Yet for all his weary appearance, something had plainly put him in high spirits, and he spoke up brightly.

"Section Chief! Good to see you."

"Indeed. Have you been keeping well?"

"Of course! As it happens, I finished developing a new poison just today! Care to take a look?"

A new development?

Oh Taesu knew exactly what Ice Flame Poison could do. Having already witnessed that potency firsthand, he had not imagined anything more remarkable could follow.

"Here it is."

"This is..."

"It's called Blooming Fire Poison. Would you like a closer look?"

Oh Taesu picked up the vial on the workbench—a glossy red poison that looked for all the world like a round hard candy.

Isn't that just... candy?

It hardly looked impressive.

"It looks rather delicious."

An uncharacteristic bit of teasing for Oh Taesu—and Shin Dohyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠volleyed it right back.

"It does taste good. A candy that grants permanent resistance? Of course it's delicious."

"...Permanent resistance, you say?"

"A poison with a guaranteed, permanent resistance-raising effect."

...

The moment he laid eyes on the poison Shin Dohyun had developed, Oh Taesu knew the reward inside his briefcase would not be nearly enough.