Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Our Generous Puppy (2)
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Those who hold ideals closer than reality.
Or those who cannot distinguish between ideals and delusions.
Sponsorship guilds exploit their psychology.
As if they can truly make those delusions come true.
It’s what pyramid scheme scammers, who once drove countless youths to despair, used to do.
It was the method of cults that crammed false hope into the ignorant.
Vicious, in a word.
And because they are vicious, they are the kind of scum that survives in this business.
That was what sponsorship guilds were.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
One of them was the Heukgyeon Guild.
Guild Master Ju Jisan looked at me and continued speaking.
“A Body Part Designated Incineration Contract… this is truly dangerous.”
Of course it is.
It’s not an easy item to acquire.
If the contract is violated, a designated part of the body is set ablaze.
It’s entwined with such a potent curse that once a body part is lost, it’s impossible to regenerate with most skills.
‘Looks like he wants to castrate someone, huh?’
Knowing this, even Sanarae had said as much when she handed it to me.
Of course, she only procured it.
I was the one who paid a fair price to purchase it.
“This isn’t child’s play; it’s a contract involving a large sum of money. In fact, Guild Master, I’m starting to think you’re taking the importance of this contract too lightly.”
“That’s not what I mean, but.”
Ju Jisan’s eyebrow twitched again.
My intentional prodding was working well.
He hid it behind a sanctimonious expression.
But that was nowhere near enough.
I had seen right through him from the very beginning.
[Sage’s Eye]
Name: Ju Jisan
Age: 31
Gender: Male
- Stats -
Strength: 16 Agility: 13 Stamina: 15 Mentality: 10
- Skills -
Charm Lv.1
Fluent Tongue Lv.1
Fear Injection Lv.1
- Contracted Divine Seat -
Scribe of Sweet Words
His stats themselves were D-rank or lower.
But the fact that all his skills were mental interference types was quite interesting.
Enough to make me think, ‘So he’s pulling this crap with his skills.’
“Still, please think it over again. We can certainly use a contract like this as well. But didn't I tell you earlier? I created this guild with purely good intentions…”
There was a reason this swindler’s tongue was running so long.
Even now, Ju Jisan was spinning words to divert attention.
While behind the scenes, he was constantly deploying his skills.
[Fear Injection, Charm, and Fluent Tongue are being cast.]
The saying that there’s poison in one’s words was literally true for this man.
Of course.
[The Emperor’s Blessing has blocked 「Fear Injection」.]
[Due to the high rank of the temporarily contracted Divine Seat, the low-level mental interference skills are blocked. 「Fluent Tongue」 and 「Charm」 are nullified.]
It was a trick that wouldn’t work on me from the start.
The same went for the ‘son’ next to me.
I glanced at the Blood Flow Stone brooch on the boy’s raincoat before looking away.
“So, are you going to do it or not? The contract.”
“Uh…”
Ju Jisan’s expression stiffened.
He had belatedly realized his skills weren’t working.
“Right now, Guild Master, you seem to be focusing only on the penalty for violating the contract. In the first place, it’s fine as long as we both don’t violate it. The more you hesitate like this, the more disappointed I become in the guild called Heukgyeon.”
“……”
The Heukgyeon Guild Master silently licked his lips.
Greed and hesitation coexisted in his eyes.
But the moment that gaze filled with greed.
“……Are you really, truly sure you’re okay with this?”
Ju Jisan asked quietly.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Blind greed breeds complacency.
Ju Jisan’s gaze was exactly that right now.
When I nodded, he gestured to the large man standing behind him.
“Secretary, could you bring a new magic contract?”
Thud.
A new contract was placed on the table.
Ju Jisan placed that contract over the parchment I had brought.
Simultaneously, a red aura flared up, and the contract seeped into the parchment.
Then, the contract’s contents appeared on the two blank sheets of the Body Incineration Parchment as if copied.
“Just a moment.”
As Ju Jisan was about to sign with a sour expression, I raised a hand to stop him.
“You need to revise the contract terms again. Purchase of items and byproducts at 1.5 times the market price.”
“……Ah, right.”
He moved his pen with clear irritation.
Then he paused for a moment at the signature line.
With a click of his tongue, he scribbled his name.
“Please sign.”
The two contracts, tinged with a red aura, were now turned toward me.
Without hesitation, I wrote ‘Kim Wooju’ and took one sheet.
A status window immediately popped up.
[You have been designated as a party to the Magic Contract. Upon violation of the contract, the following penalty will be imposed.]
[Penalty - Body Part Designated Incineration]
I could feel a hot magical energy coursing through my entire body.
It wasn’t a pleasant sensation.
Ju Jisan’s face was also twisted into a grimace.
“Let me say this again. Hunter Kim Wooju, you must trade items and byproducts exclusively with us. Furthermore, you must trade over 500 million won per month. If you trade less than 500 million, we can arbitrarily modify the contract terms according to the clause above. So you must absolutely trade more than the amount written on the contract…”
“The explanation is sufficient. Now, let’s make a deal.”
“Ah, it seems you’ve brought some items. The trading will be done on the second floor with our staff…”
“No, the Guild Master needs to be present. A few clauses of the contract are scheduled to change.”
“?”
A frown formed on Ju Jisan’s brow.
And I.
Thud.
I placed the High Priest’s Dimensional Pouch from my waist onto the table.
Immediately after, I patted the boy sitting next to me and said.
“Son, could you take out the items? We need to tally them up.”
The boy, with his gloved hands, began to take items out of the pouch.
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair.
It was to enjoy the real-time changes in Ju Jisan’s expression.
“Ah, ah. A Flame Resistance Potion.”
He nodded at the orange potion placed on the table.
His slightly tense face relaxed.
A high-grade Flame Resistance Potion was about ten million won each.
Even at 1.5 times the price, that’s only 15 million won.
Nowhere near 500 million.
Thud.
“Oho. This is interesting. Did you perhaps clear the ‘Apothecary’s Cabin’ in Changwon?”
Thud.
“This is a Poison Resistance Potion. You must be quite lucky. To have obtained so many potion items from a dungeon.”
Thud.
“Another potion? Haha, this is a bit strange. According to your license, it hasn’t even been a month since you became a B-rank. To already have this many items…”
Ju Jisan’s pupils wavered.
But even amidst that.
Potions continued to line up endlessly on the table.
Thud.
“……”
At some point, the venomous tongue stopped moving.
Ju Jisan simply stared silently at the feast of potions that filled the table.
More than five minutes had passed since we started laying out the items.
“Kereuk.”
It didn’t stop there.
My son.
Gono, seeing that there was no more space on the table, began to simply pour the contents of the pouch onto the desk.
Clang!
The potion bottles clinked against each other, making a sharp sound.
In no time, a mountain of potions, each worth ten million won, had piled up on the table.
Thump.
And finally, with three anti-undead scrolls, each worth 100 million won, as the finale.
The item party at last came to an end.
By this time, Ju Jisan’s expression was as contorted as it could be.
“150 resistance potions of various kinds and three divine scrolls for anti-undead purposes.”
Seeing as he seemed unable to do the math, I kindly added.
“That’s a total of 1.8 billion won worth of items. Oh, with the 1.5 multiplier, that would be 2.7 billion won.”
Only then did Ju Jisan open his mouth.
“Ha, haha. Well, this is something.”
He clung to his last thread of reason and said, his lips twitching.
“Hunter Kim Wooju, didn't I tell you? You can’t use loopholes.”
“I didn’t use any loopholes.”
“These potions, didn’t you buy them from other exchanges or hunters? Or perhaps you commissioned a potion maker to create them… I doubt it’s the latter, though.”
Ju Jisan mumbled his words.
There’s a significant difference in color and viscosity between resistance potions made from byproducts by potion makers and those obtained in dungeons.
And the ones I had taken out.
Were potions that could only be obtained from dungeons.
“I acquired them myself.”
Hence, I answered with a relaxed posture.
Conversely, Ju Jisan’s face grew more and more anxious.
“Look here, Mr. Kim Wooju. We’re not some pushover guild. Are you sure you didn’t purchase these?”
“Yes.”
“Secretary, bring that thing.”
Ju Jisan flicked his finger.
His gentle demeanor was long gone.
The secretary who had disappeared returned a moment later with a device that looked like a barcode reader.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this, you see. Instead of repaying goodwill with goodwill, there are sometimes people who try to pull something like this for a profit margin. That’s why I prepared this. A Magic Appraiser.”
Ju Jisan brandished the device like a gun and added.
“If the item’s primary acquirer is confirmed to be someone else, this appraiser will detect the magic traces and immediately sound an alarm. Ah, the Association headquarters uses this too. Don’t you worry.”
“You’re very thorough.”
“Yes. So don’t try any funny business…”
“You also have quite a long tongue.”
“What did you say?”
“As soon as this appraisal is over, let’s draw up the VIP exclusive contract.”
I was telling him not to act any more disgracefully.
“Haha, of course.”
However, the swindler before me seemed to think this was just the bluff of a cornered man.
His narrow eyes tilted upwards.
“The appraisal begins now.”
Ju Jisan hummed a tune as he brought the appraiser to the pile of items.
Dum dum dum, dum dum dum.
But the frivolous humming.
“……Huh?”
It soon stopped when the appraiser made no warning sound.
His hand began to hastily rummage through the items.
It was a movement like searching for a lost toy.
“What the hell, why is it like this.”
His eyes darted about in bewilderment.
But the appraiser remained silent.
Even to the very, very end.
Crash!
The appraiser was thrown to the floor.
“D-don’t bullshit me!”
Finally, the swindler exploded.
“Which son of a bitch is pulling a fast one! A guy who got his B-rank license just a few weeks ago, a bastard with no record of guild affiliation. How the hell could you get these items from a dungeon!”
The sanctimonious mask had long since shattered.
“In the first place, two billion is a tough amount for even hunters from the three major guilds to make in a month! Unless you get insanely lucky and find an A-rank item or something!”
His face turned beet-red as if it had been doused in lava.
“Hey, get rid of this bastard, now! And tear up my magic contract!”
But this was a little unexpected.
Tear up the magic contract?
If a third party tears a magic contract, the person who tore it bears the full brunt of the curse.
And yet, the secretary approached like a machine to tear the contract.
Of course.
“Gono.”
Before he could, Gono, who was beside me, stepped forward.
“……!”
The secretary certainly seemed to be a more capable hunter than Ju Jisan.
But it seemed he hadn’t expected the visitor’s son to pull a club out from under his raincoat and swing it.
Even if he had known it was a club-wielding goblin, he wouldn’t have known what would happen next.
Thwack!
With a sharp cracking sound, the secretary slowly looked down.
The club was embedded in his shin.
The secretary, with a blank expression, moved toward the contract again.
“……?”
“What are you doing, you bastard! Move!”
No, he tried to move.
But he couldn’t.
Instead.
He stared at Gono with wide eyes.
Then looked down at his own shin.
“Huh? Uh, uh? What…?”
Thud!
He collapsed onto the floor.
Then he writhed on the ground, clutching his shin.
“What the hell! Is this guy crazy?! Getting hit by some little brat’s swing and… Haa!”
Ju Jisan, who was standing awkwardly as if he were taking a dump, gasped.
He had seen the glint in Gono’s eyes under the hood.
“What. Y-you’re not human…?”
He now turned his head toward me, trembling.
“You were a Tamer? You bastard, wh-what are you.”
“You don’t need to know that much.”
I said, fluttering the contract that shimmered with a red aura.
“Choose.”
Become a VIP sponsor and get maimed, or get maimed and become a VIP sponsor.
Of course, in the former case, the maiming could be avoided at my discretion.
“C-crazy bastard…”
“It seems you don’t value your body very much.”
“N-no, w-wait a minute!”
Ju Jisan instinctively clamped his legs together and shouted.
There was no choice from the beginning.
I smiled brightly.
“Well then, since we’ve traded over a billion won, we’re going straight to a VIP sponsorship, right?”
“……”
Ju Jisan wore a look of utter devastation.
After hesitating for a long time.
He tore at his hair, his face scrunching up as if he were about to cry.
Then, he nodded once.
It was a declaration of surrender.
“Then first, as a VIP privilege, I’ll adjust the sponsorship period.”
I hummed a tune as I amended the period written on the contract.
From ‘30 days’ to ‘30 years.’
“Wh-what, 30 years?”
“It means I’ll be receiving sponsorship for 30 years.”
For 30 years.
He would buy byproducts at 1.5 times the price.
He would fetch any information I wanted.
He would even prepare expedition supplies.
In other words, I was gaining a business partner and a sponsor.
A sponsor bound by the faithful trust of a magic contract!
“Ah, ah…”
Ju Jisan collapsed on the spot.
A look of having lost everything.
Selfish desire that crossed the line. This was the result.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“Oh, and as a VIP, I’d like to exercise a special privilege.”
“?”
“I’d like this guild to focus solely on me. As of today, please cut off sponsorships for all other hunters.”
“What…?”
“Being suddenly cut off from sponsorship, there will surely be those who object. In that case, you can place all the blame on me. As the VIP of the Heukgyeon Guild, I should be able to endure that much criticism.”
“Y-you son of a,”
A curse escaped Ju Jisan’s lips.
This was telling him to get rid of all the other honey pots he was sucking from.
But he had no grounds to refuse.
A VIP can intervene in the guild’s operations and policies.
This clause was the problem.
But as for how far that ‘intervention’ was permitted.
He wouldn’t have the courage to test it by betting his precious parts.
“Y-you son of a?”
Flutter.
I waved the contract.
“……I understand.”
The sponsor swallowed his tears and nodded.
***
That evening.
A post appeared on a hunter-related community site.
[This is the Hunter-bro who posted yesterday about my older bro getting screwed by a sponsorship guild.]
[My bro got a call from ‘that guild’ and was super happy lol. Apparently, they changed their policy and decided to sponsor only one VIP nowㄷㄷ So his sponsorship contract was canceled hehe. They’re even compensating the guys who got a ton of money squeezed out of them to some extent?]
⌎ lol what timing? Did your bro save the country in a past life or something
⌎ So Dobby is a free elf? Wow, holy shit, that’s amazing
⌎ He actually got out of it lol
Poster - This is all thanks to you Hunter-brosㅠㅠㅠㅠ
⌎ What did we even do lol
⌎ But I feel bad for that VIP, what’s he gonna do;;
- Seriously, holy shit, what kind of sucker is he that they’re only sticking their straws in that one guy;
⌎ The greatest sucker hunter in history lol