Partnership with GGG

Building a cooperative relationship with GGG.

There was no change I could feel on my skin just yet.

"So if I need materials, I just have to let you know?"

"I'll send them by private jet."

Look at the scale on this woman.

Renting out a café for a meeting was nothing, huh.

President Baek shook his head.

"Cargo transport will be fine."

"That's for when something is truly time-sensitive, of course."

She said the finer details of the partnership would be discussed separately. Complicated talk, apparently, was work for the people on the ground.

I had zero interest in stealing President Baek's job, so I left them to it.

"Are you heading back right away?"

"Oh my. Are you saying you'd like to see more of me?"

Ma'am.

I was only asking out of courtesy.

"I plan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stay about two weeks before I leave."

If she came all this way just for me, the purpose of the trip would be a little too obvious. On the surface, this was a visit to secure a foothold for expansion into East Asia—so she said she had meetings lined up with other guilds as well.

"And while I'm at it, I thought I'd do a little sightseeing in Korea."

A long finger pointed my way.

"If you have the time, I may even ask you to show me around?"

"Master is busy."

That—that—that human! How dare she cast her eyes upon my Lord so freely!

For once, the two subordinates who snarled at each other every single day were of one mind.

You two.

Being this united only at times like this is a little much, don't you think?

People make jokes during business. It happens.

Last time I'd been too dense to catch the tone and just floundered, but not this time!

"Haha. Even as a joke, I'm honored."

"I'm quite serious, though?"

That was not the answer I wanted.

Before Executive Director Sophia returned home, I promised to meet her once more—feat. me getting thoroughly reeled in—and wrapped up the meeting.

"I'm impressed."

President Baek sounded genuinely admiring.

"By what?"

"Hunter Park, you're starting to understand business."

Who, me?

"You created a natural opening for further negotiations with Executive Director Sophia, did you not?"

No, I did not.

I said I was leaving the practical side of things to you, President!

My Lord's schemes grow deeper by the day.

"Whew. I thought for sure Master was going to fall for that fox of a woman."

It's neither of those things, so both of you, please shut up.

"Ah, right. Starting tomorrow, you'll have an escort assigned to you."

"An escort?"

"Their primary duty is driving, but you can put them to work however you need."

An escort.

What kind of luxury was this?

"You really don't have to go that far."

"As I said before, Hunter Park, your time is extremely valuable."

"Mmm. Still, public transit is more convenient for me."

I threw him a look. His expression said it would not land at all.

Yes, sir.

We'll do it your way.

"Shall I take you home?"

"No. The workshop."

"It's gotten rather late."

Waiting for Sophia at Incheon International Airport, then relocating for the meeting—before I knew it, the afternoon was gone. By the time I reached the workshop, the shadows would be stretched long.

"I've got a lot to do. I'll just sleep less."

"Please don't push yourself too hard."

"Yessir."

I had to restore a decent amount of the forces I'd spent before I could start clearing gates again. After getting ambushed by Chinese hunters, I intended to build up at least that much power—and then some.

"I'm sorry. If I had been more careful, something like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that never would have…"

"Everyone made it out safely, didn't they?"

Right.

Speaking of which—were the support team kids okay? They'd been dragged into a life-threatening mess just for being associated with me. It wouldn't have been strange if their nerve had broken.

"Ah. The support team hunters said they'll keep working with us."

"They've got steel in them."

"The pay is excellent, after all."

A cold, capitalist conclusion if I'd ever heard one.

After an all-nighter at the forge that stretched into the next day, I managed to produce:

— 3 Tigris

— 4 Armed Zombie Warriors

The Tigris took longer; the workload was double that of a regular unit. I'd meant to reinforce Dame Isra as well, but she refused.

I have not the slightest doubt that my Lord shall soon dream of me!

"You iron-headed idiot! This is a spec upgrade so you can protect Master!"

You already possess a body of flesh. Of course you are comfortable.

"So who told you to play hard to get even in his dreams?"

Silence, magic-monger! Do not presume to measure my desires!

"I'm not remodeling Dame Isra for now."

My Lord! You have my gratitude!

A person's wishes ought to be respected.

"Still, Master…"

"Regulating the reagents is still difficult, too."

To push Dame Isra any further, I'd have to graft doped muscle into her frame. But I couldn't let her bulk up the way the Armed Zombie Warriors did.

"I have to inject the enhanced muscle only in select areas."

If I strengthened her entire body, I'd lose the agile movement that made Isra herself.

As expected of my Lord! You have analyzed my strengths with perfect precision!

"If I focus, I can get it done in a week. If it isn't resolved by then, I'm remodeling you."

Khhhk. Past self of mine—project yourself before my Lord, I beg you!

There was also a completely unfunny little incident.

C+, huh.

With a reasonable amount of research time, a usable skill had come out of it.

"Tch."

Ingrid's face twisted with dissatisfaction.

Behold, magic-monger. Who is it that proves useful to our Lord!

"Just wait until the magic corps numbers go up, you iron head!"

Hahaha! Look as much as you like. You may look right now.

"Urrrgh."

Young Master. How long must I keep this body, exactly?

"Ah. Right, you were here too."

If I was going to put the self-proclaimed archaeology contact to proper use, how should I remodel him? A style that used agile movement to exploit an enemy's openings. Of the undead I could currently produce, the best fit was…

"A ghoul, maybe."

"As expected of Master. I thought that was the appropriate choice myself."

My Lord's insight is truly outstanding.

Both subordinates reacted with fierce enthusiasm to my idea.

I'd rather not, Young Master.

The man himself objected, though.

"Why not?"

Ah. Ghouls dig up and eat corpses, do they not?

"You're not becoming a ghoul. I'm just remodeling you in that direction."

Please make me something cooler! Like Madam!

Then show your face in my dreams first, would you.

He said he refused to look like a gaunt, withered ghoul, so what could I do? If there's anyone else out there who respects their subordinates' opinions the way I do, step forward and say so.

With the additional forces reinforced, confidence started bubbling up. My fingers itched. I was dying to know how much power the cavalry-type undead Tigris would show in real combat.

I'd rested long enough.

I called President Baek on the spot.

"I was just thinking you'd contact me soon."

"When can I start entering gates?"

"Immediately."

Our president.

Could he read my mind or something?

"I've already canceled a few of the gates we'd won the rights to clear."

"Isn't there a penalty for that?"

"Given the recent incident, the Rift Administration was understanding."

That was a relief.

Because of Mir Guild's interference, we'd put in for a ridiculous number of gate clearances. Winning those bids had piled the work sky-high. Even after clearing more than half, there had still been over ten left. Having the Rift Administration cut us some slack was good news.

"Which gate will you clear?"

"Let's go for the one that looks the hardest."

"I'm not sure whether to call this good luck or not."

President Baek's tone was oddly complicated.

What now?

"We just won the bid on another gate a short while ago, but the difficulty is rather high."

"Perfect."

A high-difficulty gate. Ideal for Tigris's first real battlefield. How much force would undead heavy cavalry generate on a charge?

Eheheheh! I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trample everything flat.

"It's a B-rank gate. Will you be all right?"

Hold on.

B-rank?

This was the gate we'd just won from the Rift Administration.

Weren't B-rank gates that someone of my class could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enter supposed to be rare?

"I pulled a few strings."

President Baek said it proudly, then caught himself with an ah.

"That isn't the point. Are you truly all right with this?"

"I've rested enough, and my forces are restored."

"Didn't you lose a great many thralls in the last fight?"

"I'm stronger than I was then."

It wasn't empty talk. The knight order was back at full strength, and the undead heavy cavalry Tigris—Armed Zombie Warriors fused with Bloodsucking Steeds—had joined the roster. My class climbing to C had raised production efficiency as a bonus, and the enhancement effects from the shattered soul stones were stacked on top of that.

The one flaw was that I still hadn't replenished my magic forces.

"Hohoho. Just leave it to me."

Ingrid accounted for more than eighty percent of my magical firepower on her own, so it would probably be fine.

"Ah. You'll have company this time."

If he meant the support team kids, that wasn't exactly news.

President Baek shook his head left and right.

"Hunters dispatched from the Rift Administration's Audit Bureau."

"Huh. If they're coming along, why bother awarding us the clearance contract?"

"Chinese hunters forced their way into the last raid, if you recall."

The gate had a maximum capacity of ten. Rift Administration hunters would enter with us to prevent a repeat of last time.

"They won't help with the hunting, though?"

"Correct. I stressed that they are not to intervene, so you can rest easy."

You didn't have to stress it that hard.

I'd been hoping for a free bus ride. Wrong again.

The first time I saw the support team since the Chinese hunters' ambush:

"We're sorry, hyung-nim."

"We weren't much help."

"We'll try harder too, hyung!"

"We'll endure high-intensity training!"

Every one of them was wound tight with fighting spirit.

Hahaha! Eyes tempered with resolve—most pleasing.

"Good. I'll teach you even more harshly."

Both of my subordinates looked thoroughly entertained.

We were exchanging light greetings when a Rift Administration staff member approached.

"A pleasure to meet you, Hunter Park Minho."

"Ah. Yes. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Lee Seongwon. I'll be supervising today's hunt. I look forward to working with you."

They'd already said they wouldn't help during the raid itself. Still, busy people coming out just to protect me was something to be grateful for.

After a brief exchange of names, we stepped into the blue rift.

"Hyung-nim. The natives of this gate are trolls."

"I heard from the president."

"Their durability and regeneration are excellent, so you have to put them down in one go."

The poster child of regeneration. Troll blood was said to boost potion effects, and it sold for high prices as a magic catalyst and for other uses.

"Kroooooh!"

Not much for manners.

We hadn't been inside the gate long at all before we ran into a troll. A four-meter giant. Its gray skin was rough as stone and looked extremely hard.

A Tigris burst up from the shadows.

"Trample it."

"Groooooh!"

Five Tigris charged straight ahead without a hint of finesse. The hunters dispatched from the Rift Administration let out a sharp gasp.

"Engaging a troll head-on is dangerous!"

"Their strength rivals A-rank monsters!"

"You could lose your summons for nothing!"

Don't worry so much.

Those guys.

They're not that weak.

The instant the Tigris pack collided with the troll—

BANG!

KRA-BOOM!

"Huh?"

A deflated little sound slipped from the dispatched hunters' mouths.