Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Healing Favorability
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Raising a familiar's favorability could help with its growth.
That was why, ever since acquiring the Sprout Cultivation skill, I'd been working tirelessly to boost the favorability of all my familiars.
I'd cut back on nagging and made sure to give them treats every time.
But familiars were inherently creatures that didn't care much about anyone besides their owners.
Baek Young especially embodied that trait more than most.
Yet healing Kang Han had somehow raised its favorability?
"Baek Young, what's gotten into you?"
It even rubbed its head against my hand as a sign of gratitude.
Right then, the whirlwind genius Im Cheong-su emerged from his workshop.
And perched atop his head, nestling into his hair as if it belonged there, was Maeng-i.
I wondered what it was munching on—turns out it was sunflower seeds.
"Cheong-su, come here for a sec."
"Why? I'm busy."
"I know. That's why you should get healed first."
At my suggestion, Im Cheong-su trotted over.
I glanced up at Maeng-i on his head, then flashed a bright smile.
"You've been working so hard on your research, haven't you, Cheong-su?"
"What? Why are you acting like this?"
"Why? Because I'm proud of you. Now, give me your hand."
Im Cheong-su eyed me suspiciously for a moment with narrowed eyes before extending his hand.
I let go of Kang Han's hand and took Im Cheong-su's instead.
Ping~
The anticipated sound effect rang out, and favorability went up.
That was Im Cheong-su's favorability.
What? It was surprisingly low.
I was thinking I should work on raising the guild members' favorability too, not just the familiars', when Maeng-i finally reacted.
...Familiars and their owners alike.
Still, better than nothing.
And Maeng-i showed its affection, just like Baek Young had.
It scampered down Im Cheong-su's body like climbing a tree, dropped something into my hand with a plop, and returned to its perch.
"Sunflower seeds."
Three pitch-black seeds.
"Thanks... for the heal, at least."
Im Cheong-su grabbed another bottle of water and headed back to his workshop.
"No need to thank me for something like this."
I picked up one of the three sunflower seeds Maeng-i had given me, cracked it open, and ate it with a grin.
I thought things would stay peaceful like this for a few days.
But that evening, casually checking Stargram's DMs turned out to be a mistake.
"Huh? What's this?"
The familiar yet formal format reeked of an official document.
After a moment's hesitation, I opened the DM.
Someone had mentioned that companies sometimes sent collaboration proposals via Stargram these days.
Hello.
We wish for the eternal prosperity of Justice Guild.
Taesan Guild has diligently worked under the motto of protecting the safety of Korean citizens and the weak.
Until the day Korea is safe, Taesan Guild will not retreat but press forward.
Taesan Guild wishes to share this vision with your guild and proposes a joint raid on a regular gate.
We kindly request your positive consideration. For specific plans, please contact Taesan Guild, and we will respond with utmost sincerity.
Thank you.
It was full of unnecessary fluff, but boiled down, it was: "Wanna team up for a gate raid?"
Regular gates were different from guerrilla gates, where you rushed in whenever one popped up.
The Gate Prediction Headquarters released prediction data at least a week in advance, sometimes a month.
At that point, gates were rated by expected rank—A, B, C, D, E, F, just like awakeners—and further divided by size: super-large, large, medium, small.
Then, the Awakener Association held auctions for raid rights among the guilds.
Even though the prediction data was accurate, you couldn't peek inside the dungeon beforehand, so it was like a mystery box auction.
In any case, for regular gates that were medium-sized or larger and C-rank difficulty or higher, most guilds couldn't solo them.
Of course, mega-guilds like Camellia, Fantasia, and Sama Guild were exceptions.
That's why they formed alliances.
The raid contributions that affected rankings would be split, but something was better than nothing.
"A joint raid proposal for Justice Guild."
We'd never gotten one before.
Because Justice Guild had basically been ostracized.
Joint raids were typically with guilds you could trust to watch your back.
With Justice Guild's reputation in the gutter, no one wanted to get involved.
"Let's discuss it together first."
The sender being Taesan made it awkward, but this wasn't a decision for me alone.
When I showed them the document, the guild members' reactions were just as I'd expected.
"Huh? Why Taesan?"
"Aren't they super busy lately?"
"Yeah, every guerrilla gate raid stream has been them."
While the three high schoolers chattered, Jang Su-ho—who usually chimed in—stayed silent.
Taesan was the guild where he'd accidentally injured someone.
And the guild that had ultimately kicked him out.
For them to propose collaboration with his new home, Justice Guild—it was bound to stir up thoughts.
Yet Kang Han asked Jang Su-ho's opinion first.
"Su-ho, what do you think?"
Jang Su-ho paused in silence.
"Taesan could be a good alliance partner. They're mid-sized, have plenty of joint raid experience, and their reputation isn't bad."
His brow furrowed on that last part.
"Speaking of reputation..."
Then Seong Yo-na cautiously raised a hand.
"I've heard some not-so-great things about their guild master, Gwak Ho-young. They seem to have died down recently, though..."
She trailed off, but it seemed she'd heard stories from her time at Fantasia.
Probably from before Gwak Ho-young started his full image makeover.
These days, he was the picture of a charming hero.
Han Ji-seong, who usually went along quietly with others' opinions in cases like this, surprisingly opposed.
"They kicked out Su-ho, no matter what. I don't want to work with them."
The mood shifted toward opposition.
But I thought differently.
"I'm for the joint raid."
Everyone's eyes widened at my words.
They hadn't expected me to vote yes.
"A joint raid proposal is a great opportunity for our guild. One reason we've only done guerrilla gates is because no one invited us."
I kept explaining.
"This could open doors to other guilds."
The first step was always the hardest, no matter what.
Once word got out that Justice Guild could handle joint raids, more proposals would follow.
And turning to Han Ji-seong, I added,
"You didn't object much to taking Fantasia's commissions either, oppa."
Han Ji-seong didn't argue back but looked worriedly at Jang Su-ho.
"I just hope personal feelings don't mix with official business."
This was the first time I'd spoken so firmly, so they all seemed a bit shocked.
But it couldn't be helped.
We needed to draw a line now.
Everyone in Justice Guild had circumstances that forced them here.
Seong Yo-na, who'd just joined, was the same.
If we filtered out guilds one by one over personal reasons, Justice Guild's options would shrink to nothing.
'Taesan gets absorbed by Sama Guild soon anyway.'
I recalled the novel's plot.
'And there's someone I want to pull out before that.'
So we needed to build rapport now—and stack some favorability if the chance arose.
"Let's do this, then."
Kang Han, who'd been listening quietly, stepped in to mediate.
"We'll hear what Taesan proposes first, then decide."
After spending the day grinding favorability with the familiars and holding an unexpected meeting in the evening,
I was exhausted from everything, but I didn't head straight to bed.
Instead, I went to my room, turned off the lights, lay down, and pulled out my phone.
"Guild ranking live stream... Ah, found it."
I opened Nutube to watch the weekly guild ranking announcement.