Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Victorious Potion Negotiation
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“H-how can that be...?”
Geum Eun-dong blurted out in frustration.
“Think about it. Once this potion starts selling properly, how many people do you think will flock to Maestro to buy it? In short, we're giving you a bait product.”
“Th-that makes sense, but...”
“And our potion master plans to develop this potion even further. We can price them differently based on effects to boost sales volume. Plus, since it enhances concentration, it'll draw in not just hunters but regular civilians too, skyrocketing your foot traffic.”
For a moment, the conference room fell completely silent.
I savored the quiet, glancing sideways at Kang Han seated next to me.
What on earth is he thinking so deeply about?
The Maestro folks were probably too busy running mental calculators on my proposal, but Kang Han was just as lost in thought, staring out the window at the towering skyscraper beyond.
Is there a side effect to the potion?
That would be a disaster.
Or maybe the effects were just too good.
“E-even so, demanding a contract fee from the consignment seller... Th-there's no precedent for this!”
Geum Eun-dong shook his head as if snapping back to reality.
“Fine, then.”
“Y-yes?”
“Got it. If that's Maestro's stance, what can we do?”
“Th-then...?”
“No precedent, so you can't accept my proposal? Nothing I can do about that. I'll head out now. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
This wasn't just a bluff.
Maestro might be the most famous and largest, but there were other crafting guilds running shopping malls in our country.
Like the second-largest, Makers Guild, or Hunter Market with its solid distribution network.
...Excluding Sama Hunter Market, of course.
Bottom line: we had no reason to feel desperate.
“W-wait a second!”
As I started to rise, Geum Eun-dong panicked visibly and shouted.
“Le-let's talk more!”
He looked like he might burst into tears.
“Our proposal is simple. The concentration potion is unprecedented, so we want unprecedented treatment from Maestro.”
“Th-then... does that mean no consignment fees at all...?”
In the end, Geum Eun-dong backed down.
Hooking someone already enchanted by the concentration potion's effects was easier than pie.
I glanced at Jeong Je-hwa, who was silently observing as promised, then grinned and said,
“Shall we start the real negotiations now?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Of course, I was the winner of the negotiations.
We secured 10% of the full potion sales revenue from Maestro—no commissions.
“Bird in the hand, eggs too. Perfect.”
One meeting, two revenue streams from the concentration potion. A resounding success.
And we even got a 7 billion won exclusive sales contract fee.
I'd asked for 10 billion originally, but cut it to 7 when Geum Eun-dong looked ready to actually cry.
“Ah, where should I spend this money to make waves?”
I hummed a little tune, prioritizing uses for the contract fee, when I realized Kang Han had been awfully quiet.
“What've you been thinking about since earlier? It's not a potion side effect, right?”
“No, nothing like that. Just...”
Kang Han gazed up at the Maestro building piercing the sky and continued.
“I was thinking it'd be great if someday I could be as helpful to you as them, Nayeo-ju-ssi.”
He seemed to be talking about Jeong Je-hwa.
I grabbed the arm of Kang Han, who was half a step ahead, and stopped him.
Staring straight into his green eyes, I said,
“Why think like that?”
“I'm always just receiving from you, Nayeo-ju-ssi.”
Kang Han gave a faint smile.
“I believe in repaying favors tenfold, but I've received so much I can't even grasp how.”
“Just tenfold? I'm aiming for a hundred—no, a thousand.”
I snorted.
“Don't worry. You can give me something way bigger than Maestro ever could.”
“You think so?”
“I'll make it happen.”
Protagonists oblivious to their own destinies.
The man destined to save this world, intimidated over mere money?
Plus, succeed in stopping the apocalypse, and Justice Guild becomes the world's top guild.
It had to happen—and I'd make sure it did.
“And just in case, don't envy their building. We'll have one just as impressive soon enough.”
Concentration-boosting elixirs meant money was only a matter of time.
Though it'd require some investment, of course.
In the taxi back to the guild, I organized my next steps.
For now, quietly rake in the cash.
That evening.
While eating dinner with the news on idly in the background, a breaking news ticker appeared at the bottom.
It felt like the world was whipping me.
Work more.
Seong Yona, emerging from the kitchen with a massive salad bowl, also caught the ticker.
Crash!
The bowl slipped from her hands and shattered spectacularly on the floor.
“M-Min-jeong unnie...”
Fear, shock, joy.
A whirlwind of emotions flickered across Seong Yona's pale face.
The screen had switched from regular news to a live broadcast outside the Korean Awakener Hospital.
I rose quietly, stepping around the shards, and approached Seong Yona.
“Yona-ya.”
“Yeo-ju unnie, Min-jeong unnie...”
“Yeah, I saw.”
“Then, does that mean I...”
“Maybe.”
If Kim Min-jeong, who rampaged in the dungeon, awoke from her coma, Seong Yona could finally clear her name.
Free from the stigma of a fugitive who killed all those people and vanished, free from the ignorant fingers pointing her way.
But Seong Yona, her eyes trembling as she reread the single ticker line over and over, wasn't purely joyful.
She couldn't be.
I steadied her quivering shoulders and said,
“It's not confirmed she's fully awake yet, so rest in your room. I'll look into it more.”
“So, what's her condition right now?”
Seong Rosa demanded sharply of Hospital Director Seo Yu-baek.
“Hunter Kim Min-jeong, who was in an unexplained coma, is now showing rampage reactions.”
“Rampage?”
Standing by the bedside overlooking Hunter Kim Min-jeong, Seong Rosa whipped around at the word.
“The monitor on the right is the Awakener Rampage Reaction monitor.”
Seong Rosa's gaze followed Seo Yu-baek's finger.
The screen, graphing needle-sharp spikes, flashed red relentlessly.
It looked like a silent scream from an old friend. Seong Rosa gritted her teeth.
“I heard she was showing signs of recovery.”
“Compared to the past two years where her vital signs were frozen in time with no reactions, this is an improvement.”
Seo Yu-baek rubbed his forehead in response.
Whether from Fantasia or the hospital, the rumor about Kim Min-jeong had leaked to the press—a mistake.
They'd only updated the registered guardian, Seong Rosa, on the patient's changes during an emergency, but it snowballed.
Ignoring his throbbing headache from nonstop action since dawn, Seo Yu-baek pressed on with his duty as a doctor.
“Looking at the current graph, rampage symptoms should manifest within 24 hours. But we can't rule out her reverting to her previous state afterward.”
“So you know nothing, ultimately.”
Seong Rosa irritably swept back her hair.
Then she said to Seo Yu-baek,
“Kim Min-jeong is important—to me and to Fantasia.”
No patient was unimportant, but given the scandals still dogging Fantasia—one of the top guilds—her feelings were understandable.
“Understood. Spend some time with Patient Kim Min-jeong.”
Seo Yu-baek gave a curt bow and left the room.
“Haah. So much for going home.”
With no telling when Kim Min-jeong might rampage, she was stuck at the hospital for at least 24 hours.
Seo Yu-baek quickened his pace toward his office for a brief nap.
Then his phone buzzed in his white coat pocket.
Vrrr—
Checking the caller on his weary face, Seo Yu-baek smiled faintly and answered.
“Yes, Nayeo-ju-ssi. Long time no talk.”