Renegotiating the Deal
Mu-hyuk suddenly recalled the words he'd heard from the station head at the same time.
"Handle it within the line you've drawn!"
So he composed his expression.
"It's fine."
"Is it?"
"Let's look at the contract first."
"Sure."
"To confirm the information is accurate, you'll need to send it via email by tomorrow evening. That way, this week's broadcast can proceed without issues. Also, the signing bonus has been raised to ten million won. For incentives, we've agreed to pay an additional 700,000 won for every 0.1 percent increase."
"What's the viewership benchmark?"
"The average over the past four weeks."
Mu-hyuk raised an objection.
"The average over the past four weeks?"
"Yes."
"But that's when viewership spiked because of my tips."
"True."
Thanks to the information Mu-hyuk had provided, viewership ratings had stayed exceptionally high over the past month.
Averaging them out would lock in much higher numbers than the previous contract, drastically reducing the chances of earning incentives.
Do they think I'm a pushover?
Mu-hyuk smiled as he stood up.
"I figured since we'd contracted once before, we'd aim for something mutually beneficial. Guess not."
"Pardon? M-Mu-hyuk-ssi?"
"I'll be going now."
He turned and strode out of the cafe.
Kim Min-ho PD, who had been left stunned, chased after him desperately and grabbed his arm.
"At least tell me why you're doing this..."
"You know. Calculating incentives based on last month's ratings makes them pointless."
Kim Min-ho PD gave a wry smile.
"I know."
"And yet this contract..."
"What can a salaried worker do?"
His words struck Mu-hyuk in the chest.
Hmm.
Still, he couldn't sign this contract.
Time to play hardball, then.
That way, he won't even bother reporting it up.
If the higher-ups deemed Mu-hyuk's info valuable, they'd offer proper treatment.
If not, he could just take it elsewhere.
Mu-hyuk had nothing to lose.
"Pass this up the chain."
"What...?"
"That Illusion-related shows aren't exclusive to your station."
With that, he walked off briskly.
Meanwhile.
Kim Min-ho PD immediately reported to the station head.
(What? Get to my office now!)
"Yes."
He hung up and hurried to the station, entering the station head's office. The man stared at him with a hardened expression.
"He turned it down?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He didn't like the terms."
"Hah, that's more than enough. What does he want, the moon?"
Kim Min-ho PD furrowed his brow.
"Station head."
"Hm?"
"Honestly, didn't the last info skyrocket our ratings?"
"It did."
"This one's even bigger. If it leaks to another station, our ratings will tank. He was dead serious about it. They might already be talking to competitors. We need to decide fast."
The station head's face darkened.
"Sigh."
There was no helping it.
"Give him the top treatment!"
"Got it!"
Kim Min-ho PD stood, left the office, and immediately made a call as he rushed out.
*
About 40 minutes later.
Vrrr.
A call from Kim Min-ho PD, but Mu-hyuk didn't pick up.
Two calls, three.
Then a text came instead.
Mu-hyuk pulled out his laptop and checked the email.
He skimmed the contract slowly.
Hmm, now it's decent.
The three-month average viewership was 20.3 percent. Incentives were 900,000 won per 0.1 percent.
Signing bonus: 12 million won.
They'd shown maximum sincerity.
He called.
(Ah, Mu-hyuk-ssi!)
"Yes, I checked the email."
(How is it... to your liking?)
"Looks good."
(Phew, what a relief. Then...)
"I'll head over now."
(Perfect!)
They set the meeting and hung up. Mu-hyuk then called Sung Min-woo, telling him to hunt solo for a bit.
With the strategy and four spirits summoned, there shouldn't be issues.
"I'll log in soon and meet up."
(Got it.)
He left the house.
Meanwhile.
Kim Min-ho PD hung up and crossed the first-floor lobby to leave the station.
That's when he ran into Yura.
"Oh? Uncle."
"Just getting here?"
"Yeah, heading out?"
"To sign a contract."
"Weren't you back from earlier?"
Kim Min-ho chuckled hollowly.
"That guy's no ordinary fellow."
"What do you mean?"
"He saw the terms and walked out without a backward glance. So we switched to top-tier treatment."
"No way, he's so young..."
Kim Min-ho shook his head.
"It's a world where the foolish lose out. Can't fault him for being shrewd."
"Still..."
"Truth is, I wanted to give him the best deal from the start. The info was worth it. But the bosses said squeeze as much as possible, so no choice. Thanks to him pushing back, I could report it up and secure the value properly."
"Sigh, that's your problem, Uncle."
"What?"
"You like people too much."
"Hmm..."
Kim Min-ho stared at Yura intently.
"W-Why? What!"
"You're awfully chatty."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Want to tag along?"
"No!"
"Strong denial means strong affirmation, they say."
Yura clamped her mouth shut with a pout.
Kim Min-ho snickered.
"I'll be back, so prep for the broadcast."
"Tch, fine."
He left the station, got in his car, and hurried to meet Mu-hyuk.
*
The two wrapped up the contract smoothly.
"Looking forward to working with you."
"That's my line."
After shaking hands, Mu-hyuk grabbed a quick bite and headed home.
He logged into Illusion right away, but Sung Min-woo wasn't there.
As discussed, he was hunting solo.
Mu-hyuk knew the path well, so finding him was easy.
BOOM!
The vibrations already meant he wasn't far.
Sure enough, he spotted Sung Min-woo soon.
He was locked in fierce battle with four spirits.
"Tough?"
"Freaking exhausting! Help!"
Mu-hyuk partied up and joined the fray.
"Ice magic?"
"Okay!"
He issued the magic command, and ice particles formed in the air.
They shot toward the Sandman. Its wet sandy body grew sticky, dripping plop, plop.
The exposed core drew fire from Sung Min-woo's spirits.
You destroyed the Sandman's core.
The Sandman's HP will no longer recover.
The Sandman's HP drops by 30 percent.
The sand comprising the Sandman's body loses its function.
With the core shattered, the Sandman was just an EXP piñata.
Pop! Bang bang!
Bone arrows flew in sequence, followed by Sung Min-woo's skill strikes, then timed mage spells.
A few spirit hits later, the coreless Sandman melted away limply.
Experience increases.
Sung Min-woo checked his gains and sat.
"Dismiss."
He sent back the spirits and pulled out disposable crafting tools.
"I'm out of MP. Short break."
"Sure."
Sung Min-woo swung the hammer he'd somehow acquired.
Clang, clang!
He started crafting something.
"..."
Mu-hyuk watched, his expression subtly frowning.
Feels like he's staring at me.
He shrugged and sat too, pulling out his own disposable tools to prep.
What to make?
Shields were hot lately.
Everyone needed one regardless of class, so even mediocre ones sold fast.
Shield it is.
Visualizing a shield, he raised the hammer.
A grain appeared.
He swung to match it.
Clang!
Focus sharpened instantly.
He hammered precisely at the grain.
Clang!
Hitting advanced progress, erasing the grain for a new one.
Misses left it and dropped progress, but Mu-hyuk's proficiency avoided that.
You hit the grain.
Progress (4.1%) increases.
He swung again.
Clang, clang!
Progress rose.
The shield's shape formed quickly. Bigger jumps meant bigger changes.
As his envisioned image emerged, focus peaked.
Nice!
Grip tightened instinctively.
Clang, clang!
Completion hit.
Shield completed.
Crafting Skill level increases.
Title effect applied.
A smile formed at the messages.
Crafting skill hit 5.
Great, options will boost more now.
He examined the finished shield. Roughly triangular, with long, horn-like protrusions on the top left and right.
Feels solid.
Stats check.
◈ Defense: 13
◈ Shock Absorption (66%)
◈ Vitality +3
◈ Additional Defense +5
◈ Durability 210/210
◈ Use Restriction: Vitality 38
"Oh ho...!"
No in-game income lately, but this felt like a win.
Clang, clang!
Sung Min-woo was still crafting.
Slower than Mu-hyuk, but his strength stat helped him finish soon.
"Phew, whaddya think?"
"Shape's good. Stats?"
"Gonna check."
No real expectations on his face.
But then.
"Huh...?"
Sung Min-woo's head tilted.
"What?"
"This... hold on."
Shocked, but thrilled underneath.
Ah, no way...
Mu-hyuk reached out.
"Lemme see."
"Y-Yeah."
Item check.
The hologram filled his view.
◈ Defense: 11
◈ Shock Absorption (62%)
◈ Strength +2
◈ Additional Defense +3
◈ Durability 180/180
As expected.
No use restriction.
"Whoa, jackpot."
"Not seeing things?"
"Nope, no restriction."
Sung Min-woo finally cheered.
"Woooo! Jackpot, jackpot!"
After jumping around, he sobered up.
"How much we get?"
"Dunno..."
Mu-hyuk wasn't up on shield prices.
"Few hundred gold at least."
"Kuh, yeah? Auction now?"
Mu-hyuk pondered.
Public auction?
Rich bidders for sure.
But would true buyers show? Doubtful.
The general auction system might be better, visible to all users.
I can help hype it.
"List for 72 hours."
"Okay!"
Sung Min-woo registered it and calmed down.
"Phew."
"Back to hunting?"
"Sounds good."
The duo swept floor 6.