The Healer Auction
The Bureau had just announced the reintroduction of the competitive raid league, and every Guild in League 1 was now laser-focused on one particular resource.
Healers.
The aristocrats of the hunter world.
“Haa! Am I seeing this right? 85 billion?! That kid was barely scraping 20 billion just the other day, and now it’s 85 billion? Are you kidding me!”
Guild Master Han Jin-chol hurled the scouting report like it disgusted him. The recruitment team leader in the passenger seat quietly picked it up and slipped it back into the file.
“There’s nothing we can do. This was before the competitive raid announcement, remember?”
Competitive raid.
A format where four raid parties enter the same gate and compete directly. Depending on who you asked, the points of emphasis differed.
Fans obsessed over speed.
Since clear time made up the largest portion of raid points, it was like watching a race—everyone’s eyes glued to the finish line.
Analysts and experts focused on strategy.
At the highest level, the difference in raw power was minimal. What mattered was which strategy could squeeze out even a few more points.
And finally, the part that people like Han Jin-chol cared about the most—
Injuries.
“If someone gets injured during a competitive raid, they’re immediately out of commission. If our main competitive roster loses key players to bad luck…”
“I know that! I know it’s better to overpay for a healer now than risk losing our entire lineup! But still, this is just too damn expensive!!”
“What choice do we have…? Healers are in demand everywhere.”
That was exactly why healers were called aristocrats.
Because the competition was brutal.
Dealers and tanks competed against other guilds.
But healers? They competed against guilds, hospitals, research institutes, government agencies—everyone. The demand was on a completely different level, so their market value kept skyrocketing without end.
As a side note, this was also why so many guilds were obsessed with potions. No matter how expensive a potion was, it was pocket change compared to a healer’s transfer fee.
“Still, we’re actually quite lucky. Other guilds are buying up random nobodies at ridiculous prices. At least we’re going after a twenty-year-old with verified potential—a holy healer.”
“A healer’s still a healer. They’re hard to use in the competitive league anyway.”
“Who knows? Maybe her potential will explode and she’ll become a ranker-level healer like Cross. Then she could dominate the competitive scene too.”
“Hah, dream on.”
Just then, the car stopped.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Right. Let’s go see this 85-billion-won healer.”
The recruitment team leader quickly opened the door, and Han Jin-chol stepped out in a hurry.
The name written on the small but neat signboard—
It was a typical League 4 livelihood guild that had started by nurturing talented children from poor families and gradually evolved into a selling guild.
Normally, a League 1 guild like Haemu would have zero reason to pay attention to such a tiny outfit.
League 1 was the major league every hunter dreamed of. They could pick and choose from the talents who came to them voluntarily. If they were really desperate, there was always League 2.
But now, things were different.
“Oh my, it’s an honor. Guild Master Han Jin-chol.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo Kyung-woo, Guild Master of Moonshadow Guild.”
“And this must be your daughter. Hello, Miss Seo Ye-na. I’m Han Jin-chol.”
“……”
“Ahem, Ye-na.”
“…Hello.”
As soon as Han Jin-chol entered the director’s office, his gaze shifted to one side. A young woman was staring at him with clear displeasure, as if something about him rubbed her the wrong way.
The aristocrat of the hunter world—a holy healer.
Among them, Seo Ye-na was considered the purest of the pure, a holy healer who wielded divine power.
“Well, since we’re all busy, shall we proceed with the contract quickly? The transfer fee will be 85 bil—”
At that moment, Seo Ye-na suddenly raised her hand.
“90 billion.”
“!!”
“Ye-na, what are you—!”
“Dad, stay out of this. Mr. Guild Master over there, I looked up Haemu Guild. Your image is terrible.”
There wasn’t a single member without a scandal, and the front office’s behavior was beyond disgraceful. The most recent article that came up in her search was about tax evasion.
Their reputation among fans was rock bottom. It was so bad that even though they were the only League 1 guild in the region, the locals still shunned them.
“If I’m going to a guild like that, you should at least pay me more.”
“…Miss Ye-na, the transfer fee doesn’t go to you.”
“Do you think I don’t know the difference between transfer fee and salary?”
“……”
“If you don’t like it, forget it. I’m only here because my dad says I need to go to League 1 for my future. I have zero desire to join a guild with such a horrible reputation.”
So? Are we doing this or not?
At Seo Ye-na’s words, Han Jin-chol scratched his head with a troubled expression.
Arrogant little bitch…
Look at this dutiful daughter putting on a show.
This was exactly why he hated smart brats.
While he cursed her internally with every swear word he knew, an affable smile remained perfectly plastered on Han Jin-chol’s face.
“Very well. 90 billion. It’s an honor to be able to help your father’s good cause.”
Seo Ye-na glanced at her father and nodded. With that amount, they could provide sufficient support for the children left behind.
“Good…”
The moment she was about to finish saying “deal”—
BANG!!
“100 billion!”
Lee Shin kicked the door open and strode in.
He completely ignored Han Jin-chol, who was staring at him in shock, and slammed a contract down on the table.
Then he shouted again.
“100 billion!”
Click.
Hijacking.
How far have you gone?
* * *
Many guild masters mistakenly believe their position is one of honor. It is not. Strictly speaking, it must not be. A guild master’s job is to be cursed at. If you are a guild master and you are not being cursed at, then you are doing something wrong…
……
The perfect example of this is the Stove League. To put it crudely, this is the season where everyone competes to see who can be the biggest son of a bitch. The curses you hear during this time are, sexually speaking…
* * *
100 billion.
Without any haggling, the contract was completed in an instant. Lee Shin walked out of the guild with a satisfied expression.
Han Jin-chol followed right behind him, fuming.
“You son of a bitch…!”
“……”
Yun Cho-a stepped between them and grabbed Han Jin-chol’s shoulder.
Her eyes clearly warned him not to come any closer. But Han Jin-chol was also a former hunter who had retired from the major leagues. He wasn’t about to back down.
He growled back.
“Fuck off. Who the hell are you?”
“……”
Yun Cho-a stared at him with cold eyes. Han Jin-chol glared right back, hackles raised.
That was when Lee Shin smiled slyly and gestured.
“Let’s not embarrass ourselves here. Shall we take this outside?”
A short while later, two groups faced off inside a café.
When the Haemu Guild members, including Han Jin-chol, glared at them, Chae Dong-ha refused to lose and glared right back, eyes wide.
Yun Cho-a was already wearing her spiked gauntlets.
In contrast, Lee Shin—
“Whoa, what is this? Hey, hyung, noona, try this adlay tea. It’s seriously good. We should serve this at our café too.”
He was happily sipping the fragrant tea with a bright smile, looking completely oblivious to the tension.
Han Jin-chol let out a hollow laugh at the childish behavior and opened his mouth—only to immediately regret it.
“Listen here, Guild Master Lee Shin.”
“It’s Mir Guild Master.”
“…?”
“Call me Mir Guild Master. My name is far too expensive for the likes of you to casually throw around, old man.”
“…!!”
The moment Lee Shin’s gaze landed on him, the air changed.
Lee Shin’s charisma (Dominance 85) completely dominated the space.
“Since we’re not exactly on friendly terms, I’ll speak first.”
He didn’t bother bringing up the Park Jeong-seok incident. That would be embarrassing.
The Stove League was a contest to see who could be the biggest bastard. Han Jin-chol had simply done his job as a guild master, and Lee Shin had simply taken the hit.
Now, it was Lee Shin’s turn to do his job as a guild master.
Like a bastard.
“Turns out I have quite the monopoly complex.”
“……??”
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to take Busan for myself.”
“!!”
It was a declaration of war.
The guild representing Busan now belongs to us.
So start packing your bags.
“We’ll talk about Mr. Jeong-seok another time.”
With that, Lee Shin’s group disappeared.
The stunned Haemu Guild members left behind finally realized—
That bastard just said whatever he wanted and ran off!
But there was no need to feel too disappointed.
Han Jin-chol would get to meet Lee Shin again much sooner than expected…
* * *
“Find her! Hurry!!”
Having lost the healer right before his eyes, Han Jin-chol was losing his mind as he searched for another.
Fortunately, there was a Plan B. And a Plan C as well.
“Ryu Hong-seok from League 2. Thirty years old. Shaman-type healer.”
“Shaman-type? How much?”
“88 billion…”
“Are you fucking kidding me? That little brat Seo Ye-na was 85 billion!”
“I told you. With the competitive raid premium now in effect, healer prices have gone through the roof.”
One step below holy healers were the ‘shaman’ and ‘magic’ healers.
Buying a shaman healer at this price… Just thinking about those arrogant bastards’ faces made his stomach churn.
What made it even worse was that there was no time.
“There aren’t many League 2 healers left. This one might disappear soon too.”
“What is this, a home shopping channel? Damn it… Let’s go!!”
When they arrived—
Thankfully, unlike before, the contract proceeded in a rather pleasant atmosphere.
“Then, please sign here.”
“Yes…”
At that exact moment—
Just like before, the door burst open with a bang!
“95 billion!”
Just like before, a voice shouted.
“95 billion!!”
It was Lee Shin.
He appeared, coat dramatically flapping behind his suit.
It was the worst reunion imaginable, happening in less than twenty-four hours.
And so, Han Jin-chol left empty-handed for the second time in a row.
“That fucking lunatic!!”
Cursing at thin air, he had no choice but to head to Plan C.
“Jegal Min-gi. Thirty-eight years old. Magic-type healer. He is a bit older… Um, Guild Master? Are you listening?”
“Sigh… Just shut up and tell me.”
“…He is a bit older, but he can also attack and is quite the veteran. The price is relatively cheap at… 70 billion.”
“Haha… 70 billion is cheap? 70 billion??”
“…This is the last League 2 healer available.”
It was enough money to buy ten decent dealers, yet he had to spend it on a thirty-eight-year-old whose prime had already passed?
His pride took a massive hit.
Han Jin-chol wanted to just quit everything. But what hurt his pride even more was the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to tell the driver to turn the car around.
But then—
“75 billion!”
The guy showed up again like the wind.
“75 billion!!”
Like the wind, he added another 5 billion and completely shattered Han Jin-chol’s pride.
Once again, Han Jin-chol left the guild empty-handed, trudging along dejectedly.
Through the window of a passing Rolls-Royce, Lee Shin looked at him and pointed two fingers at his own eyes.
See you again.
Han Jin-chol’s body trembled violently.
It couldn’t be… right?
Oh, it absolutely was. Lee Shin was a man of action.
“30 billion!”
Even when Han Jin-chol gave up on League 2 and started looking at League 3 healers—
He showed up.
“15 billion!”
Even when he looked for drug-type healers, considered the worst cost-performance among all healers—
He showed up.
“8 billion!”
Even when he half-gave up and went all the way down to League 4—
He showed up.
“3 billion!”
Even when he went to see a healer from a random pub crawl party—
He showed up.
“Stop buying, you crazy bastard!!”
* * *
A few days later.
Inside the Haemu Guild Master’s office.
The owner of this room, Han Jin-chol, sat there. The mental suffering must have been severe; he looked like he had aged ten years in just a few days. It was almost pitiful.
But his eyes were still alive.
They burned with blazing hatred and deep resentment.
If a glare could kill, the bastard sitting in front of him would have died over a hundred times already.
Today, I will definitely pay him back.
With that firm resolve, Han Jin-chol opened his mouth.
“…Let’s make a deal.”
“2,000 billion.”
“!!”
The amount made his upper body sway.
“Are you insane…!! 2,000 billion?”
“Yep.”
The entire tank line including Park Jeong-seok, all supporters, and reserve dealers.
A total of nine people.
“2,000 billion! Not a single won can be discounted.”
Lee Shin was smiling.
In stark contrast to the half-dead Han Jin-chol, his face was glowing with a healthy sheen.