Approaching the Limit
Early morning, with the first train just departing, Mir Guild’s day began at this hour closer to dawn.
“Hey, did you bring over the Lair Cafe sales data I asked for earlier?”
“The article materials have been reviewed, and here are the anticipated interview questions and answers you mentioned yesterday.”
“What?? It’s 5:30—why isn’t he picking up? Are you sure? What kind of insane guild turns off their phone right when the season starts? Call again!”
As expected, the atmosphere in a guild shifted 180 degrees between the off-season and the regular season.
During the off-season, the baseline was punctual arrivals and departures, with a relatively relaxed vibe that included vacations, external assignments, and team outings. Once the season began, all of that changed completely.
No need for a long explanation. The word “punctual” was deleted from everyone’s mind and replaced with “constant.”
Constant work? Constant overtime? Free to come and go as you please? Sure, you were free—because they simply wouldn’t let you go home.
If you never left, then coming in and leaving were both equally free. After all, you were only going back to the company anyway.
“Haaah~ So sleepy……”
The PR team leader emerged from the overnight room with bleary eyes and headed toward the annex building.
Wearing Crocs and a tracksuit, with an apple-shaped hairstyle (called a “poop head” in the guild, for reasons best left unsaid) earned in exchange for ten minutes of sleep, she pressed the button for the seventh floor where the PR office was located.
During the last off-season, Mir Guild hadn’t only built a stadium.
The seven-story dormitory she had just left, the expansion of the main building housing the representative’s office, and this annex that separated the previously cramped departments—all of it had been constructed during the off-season.
And new blood had been transfused into these newly expanded buildings.
““Team Leader, you’ve arrived!!””
“Oh, you’re all here already.”
The PR team leader still felt awkward around the twelve eager rookies and hurried toward her desk with quick steps.
Just last year, this had been a tiny department with fewer than eight people, forced to wrestle with dozens of phones in a corner of the main building because they hated the phone hell.
Now it boasted twenty members and occupied the entire seventh floor of the annex—the sunniest floor—all by itself.
‘Maybe I’ve actually made it a little?’
Just as her shoulders unconsciously lifted, a voice came from behind her. It belonged to the younger colleague who had been with her since she became team leader.
“Team Leader, are you in smug mode again?”
“What smug mode?”
“Calm those dancing shoulders before you talk. How long are you planning to keep that shoulder shimmy going?”
“Like this?”
“Puhaha!”
Laughing, the two entered the conference room.
“Our PR team really needs good results first. The mood is so much better when we do.”
“I agree a hundred percent. Both you and I were so nervous before the season, especially when the opening match was set as ours. Your face was priceless—turned completely pale.”
“You little—put yourself in my shoes. I have to think about both winning and losing.”
It was their first match after promotion from League 3 to League 2.
The Bureau had made it the opening match, as if openly pushing them forward.
With the brand-new stadium and a monumental game shared with over 100,000 fans, the surroundings felt like a festival—but not for her.
The PR team was the department that directly absorbed fan feedback depending on the match result. And she was its leader.
Winning would be a blessing, but what if they lost?
How would she handle that?
The memory of thirteen consecutive losses in the 4th Division was still vivid.
The Molotov cocktails flying from every direction……
“Ugh, I thought of it again. My palms are sweating.”
“Kikiki, but we won perfectly in style. We’re still cruising through Round 4.”
‘1st Round VS ’ — Perfect victory.
‘2nd Round LV6. Mad Scientist’s Golem Factory’ — 1st place thanks to Sanwang’s brilliant command.
‘3rd Round VS ’ — Yu Ri-ra, who had made fans anxious with a slight stumble in the first round, made a ferocious comeback in the third round, recording the season’s first—and League 2’s youngest—pentakill to secure victory.
‘4th Round LV6. Vampire Orc’s Cannibal Palace’ — Park Su-bin’s showcase. He proved why countless experts and officials called him an “all-time genius monster,” tanking a rampaging boss 1-on-1 and claiming 1st place.
“See? Because our results are good, only praise articles come up. No need to blush in front of reporters, the rookies are comfortable, and we’re comfortable. It’s great.”
“Exactly. If we keep this up, I’ll have no wishes left.”
“It’ll be fine. From what I’ve seen, we’ll probably write another undefeated myth this time too.”
“You little.”
Hahahaha.
The PR office was filled with laughter and happiness.
The complete opposite of the strategy analysis room right below.
“We’ve hit our limit, right?”
“We can’t continue like this.”
* * *
Strategy Analysis Room meeting hall.
Amid a heavy atmosphere, the analysis team leader’s presentation proceeded under Chae Dong-ha, the vice guild leader.
“Mir Guild has currently reached its limit.”
Despite being only one floor apart, the strategy analysis team was nothing like the cheerful, optimistic PR team above.
Weren’t Mir Guild the ones who made fans cry and experts gasp in shock? Yet if you opened YouTube right now, it was filled with praise for Mir Guild. And they were calling this a limit?
That was right.
It was the limit.
“In the last 4th Round raid, we were only 31 seconds ahead of 2nd place.”
1st Place
60 hours 02 minutes 40 seconds
2nd Place
60 hours 03 minutes 11 seconds
The throne of the Raid King, which had never once been threatened under Sanwang’s peerless command, was now being challenged.
“In truth, this isn’t a sudden problem. The signs were there, whether we noticed them or not. For example, the issue of rapid collapse in the latter half of the season due to lack of experience in League 4 occurred identically—down to the last detail—in League 3 as well. That was the sign.”
Incidentally, it had always been Lee Shin and Kim Jong-phil who patched things up back then. The two had twisted themselves into knots to plug every hole.
But even taking that into account, they had now reached their limit.
That was why the strategy analysis team had secretly hoped for another unbelievable signing from Lee Shin……
“He hammered the nail in by saying there would be no additional signings at all, so now there really is no way.”
“……”
“Everyone seems to be deluded by the results, but our Mir Guild completed its current roster back in League 4. It’s impressive that hunters who lived two tiers below came all the way to League 2, but…… expecting them to dominate League 2 like always? That would be far too shameless.”
Not a single word was wrong.
Of course, they were all talented individuals. But as the opponents’ level rose, the pressure per match reached an entirely different dimension.
In the past, it had been issues of willpower or inexperience, but that was no longer the case. They were already in an optimally refined state.
If they tried to dominate League 2 without any reinforcement in this situation, it wouldn’t just be Mir Guild— even the Bureau would be in an uproar.
It would mean there was a fundamental problem with the league’s level.
Therefore.
“We need to start considering giving up on records as well.”
Chae Dong-ha, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“First of all, we will not be giving up on records.”
“!!”
Everyone looked slightly surprised at the contrast with Chae Dong-ha’s usual critical stance toward record-keeping.
But Chae Dong-ha also had his position as vice guild leader.
“You all seem to have a lot of questions, so I’ll keep it simple. The board has grown too big.”
This was all because of Lee Shin.
The effect of the bubble strategy that had squandered Lee Shin’s two-year career had been far too good.
League 2 was receiving attention comparable to League 1’s popularity, and the League 2 guilds that had been caught up in Lee Shin’s strategies were grinding their teeth, sharpening their blades against Mir Guild.
‘Mir Guild vs League 2’ was certainly the picture Chae Dong-ha had wanted, but the level of hatred and frustration had far exceeded expectations.
“This is now a case of riding the tiger. We must maintain the record and stay in 1st place. Not just any 1st place—we must remain in an overwhelming 1st place.”
“But at this rate……”
“It’s fine. Since it’s a problem we anticipated, we have countermeasures.”
Lee Shin and Chae Dong-ha were not incompetent enough to miss an anticipated problem.
— “Aren’t you wasting your two-year career? Not at all. That kind of career is nothing if I put my mind to it. I was planning to shake things off around this point anyway. There were too many eyes watching, so it was hard to move.”
— “Now that we’ve shaken off all those annoying flies, we can move a little more freely.”
“The countermeasures are already in motion.”
* * *
A traditional Korean house nestled among lush reed fields.
The name written on the plaque of the mansion, as grand as a noble’s residence from a historical drama.
Choi Family Pharmacy.
According to Lee Shin, it was a prestigious house whose medicinal expertise no one in Korea could match.
And the long-haired woman closing the fermentation jars on the medicine platform was none other than Choi Yeosim, the 14th head of Choi Family Pharmacy.
“No matter what medicine it is, the most important parts are ingredient selection and formulation. Even the tiniest difference in quantity can change the quality. You must always be delicate and careful.”
The young apprentices following her teachings hurriedly took notes.
“The same goes for potions—they’re no different from medicine. If anything, potions require an even more delicate manufacturing process.”
When Choi Yeosim approached the next fermentation jar, one of her followers quickly stepped forward and opened the lid.
She then dipped her mana-infused hand into the medicinal liquid.
Soon, a subtle medicinal fragrance spread as mana light bloomed like an aurora.
“That said, we can’t say potions and medicine are completely the same. Who wants to answer? You there—the one with your hand raised, go ahead.”
“Medicine requires long-term use, but potions need to show immediate effects upon consumption, so they must artificially stimulate ‘mana.’”
“Good. Then what medicinal ingredients are needed to stimulate mana? The person next to them, please answer.”
“Mana Grass, White Ent Root, Purified Orc Blood, Moonlight Forget-me-not……”
Two years ago, Choi Yeosim and Choi Family Pharmacy had been driven to the brink.
The sudden death of her parents and the betrayal of someone she had trusted.
All the trading partners passed down from previous generations had fallen away, and every employee and apprentice who had filled the estate had turned their backs.
Everyone said Choi Family Pharmacy was finished. Some wolf-like merchants had even offered her a fortune in gold if she would sell the family’s manufacturing methods.
But Choi Yeosim hadn’t so much as blinked.
Despite all the cold treatment, she had held her head high.
Even when there was no money to manage the vast estate, she had stayed up night after night, personally cleaning the 365 fermentation jars filled with medicine.
That was what a prestigious house was.
Pride.
Never compromising, never bending.
Even when faced with hardship and every temptation beckoned, she refused to spare them a glance and walked unwaveringly down the path passed down from her father’s father, and his father before him.
Even if doing so led to ruin and sinking, a prestigious house’s pride meant going down with the ship until the very end.
As a member of such a house, Choi Yeosim had worked desperately so as not to bring shame to the proud ancestors of Choi Family Pharmacy. And so, in just two years, she had restored at least some of its former glory.
After class ended and the apprentices left, an elder approached carrying a basin of water. As Choi Yeosim washed the medicine from her hands, she brought up something that had been bothering her.
“Elder, the ‘White Ent Root’ and ‘Mana Grass’ that came in this time aren’t in good condition. Even just a month ago, they weren’t like this. Has something happened?”
“They say it’s because the season has started. White Ent Root is quite difficult to obtain, so they have to commission guilds, but with guilds pouring everything into the season lately……”
“Does the league only consist of one person? If that’s the case, then why is the Mana Grass in such poor shape? That stuff even drops in low-level gates.”
“I’ll pass on the message.”
“Make it a warning. If there’s no improvement next time, we’ll cut off the deal. I’ll check personally. And next……”
While handling business, Choi Yeosim entered the inner quarters and, glancing at the clock, hurriedly prepared to receive a guest.
“You’ve cleared the afternoon appointments, right?”
“Yes.”
“Make sure the apprentices don’t see anything, and restrict access to the inner quarters.”
“Yes.”
“He’s our family’s benefactor, so please pay special attention as well, Elder.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After straightening her attire, Choi Yeosim stood at the main gate of the pharmacy right on time.
Moments later, a black sedan stopped in front of the gate. At the same time, the usually proud Choi Yeosim smiled brightly and bowed respectfully.
“Welcome.”
“Haha, it’s been a while! This is the first time we’ve met in person in two years, right?”
Lee Shin had arrived at Choi Family Pharmacy!