[No title provided]
After getting absolutely wrecked by Mina from the Min-tu Guild with that intense "education," I huddled in the corner of the room, wiping away tears.
"Sniff... sniff..."
While I was crying my eyes out, Mina and Elroen kept chatting away. The two of them were laughing together, clearly amused by what I'd just gone through.
Huhu... Watching that fool get his comeuppance feels so satisfying. My mood's through the roof.
"Ahem. Anyway, you're pretty good at this yourself, huh? I never imagined 'education' like that was even possible. Thanks to you, I got a real kick out of it."
I am a scholar. 'Education' is something this body is all too familiar with. Punishments involving humiliation? I know plenty. If you desire, I can teach you other methods as well.
"Oh? Really? Hehe. What? At first, I thought you were just some weird squid-legged freak, but turns out you're full of surprises."
You mongrel!! Squid-legged freak?! Apologize to this body right now!!
"Sorry to this body."
You mongrel!!!
While the two of them bickered, I managed to pull myself together. Maybe it was the Body-Self Synchronization Potion, but my emotions swung wildly—happy one moment, down in the dumps the next. Still, it helped me bounce back quickly.
Whew... Alright. Time to get back to business.
"Mina. And Elroen. Let's pick up where we left off. So, how do you plan to make use of Bri's existence?"
Elroen had brought up Bri because it would help with founding the guild. She planned to leverage Bri for something. I could guess what, but I wanted to hear her out first.
Hehe. Very well. Then allow this brilliant mind to share her wisdom. When establishing the guild, we must actively utilize Bri's existence.
Being able to craft Magic Scrolls was an insane level of technology. It could usher in a new era. Naturally, it would draw massive attention from the world.
That would lead to the obvious question: how did they acquire that tech? Of course, we didn't have to answer. But if we didn't want pointless rumors, it was better to reveal just enough.
Bri, who renewed the Tower Floor 1 ranking with an overwhelming score, will make others somewhat buy into the Magic Scroll tech. Plus, it'll be great publicity for the guild.
Elroen suggested founding the guild in Bri's name. It was a reasonable idea. If the hot topic Bri created a guild—and that guild started producing and selling Magic Scrolls—it would generate huge buzz.
But I didn't think it was a great plan. Elroen didn't know, but Mina and I were well aware. The hunter world wasn't that forgiving.
Mina spoke up first. As an S-rank hunter herself, she shared my view.
"I'm against it. We absolutely can't found the guild in Bri's name."
A hunter's strength was national power. In a world where Towers and Gates were commonplace, hunters were the most precious human resource.
Bri, who cleared Tower Floor 1 with an overwhelming score, would attract massive attention—and just as much scrutiny.
The label "rising star" in the hunter world carried heavy weight. If they couldn't recruit you, they'd crush you. They'd nip you in the bud before you could bloom. That was how rising stars were handled.
I picked up from Mina, voicing my own thoughts.
"If we found the guild in Bri's name, it'd face widespread scrutiny and pressure from the start. Especially the US and China—they'd do anything to naturalize him into their countries."
The United States and China. Even amid the changes from Towers and Gates, they remained superpower heavyweights.
No matter how confident we were in our abilities, making enemies of those two was foolish. The risks of using Bri's name carelessly were too high.
"That's why Bri and the guild will operate independently. Bri as Bri, and the guild as the guild."
Of course, there was a big flaw. No matter how much we claimed no connection, they'd eventually catch on.
"Given the guild's founding timeline, people will easily guess the link to Bri. Especially with something as groundbreaking as Magic Scrolls—they'll be even more convinced."
Bri's existence was already public. Delaying the guild founding wouldn't help if Bri hid his identity; the Magic Scroll tech would create an undeniable link.
As Elroen said, it was a feat only someone who topped Tower Floor 1 with an impossible score could pull off.
No matter what, the connection between Bri and the guild would surface. So, we'd reveal it ourselves—on our terms. Flip the relationship.
"We'll go with Bri being the guild master's disciple. He cleared Floor 1 with that miraculous record thanks to the guild master's Magic Scrolls."
For starters, this downplayed Bri's achievements. Dealing with a mysterious hermit was far harder than a newbie rising star who'd just hit Floor 1.
The other factions wouldn't pressure our guild so easily.
"The guild master will maintain strict secrecy but deliver overwhelming performance. Bri is just a tool to prove the guild master's abilities."
Of course, scrutiny and pressure wouldn't vanish entirely. We'd just shifted the focus from Bri to the guild master, but the attention would remain.
Still, it was manageable. As I'd said, unknown hermits were hard to handle—especially in the hunter world.
They'd suspect a top-tier hunter hiding their identity, so they'd pivot to recruitment instead. And with S-rank Mina's name involved, even more so.
This would give us room to maneuver freely.
"The government and other guilds will dig into our identities. Even transactions need to be airtight."
Payments only in cash dollars. We couldn't use bank accounts if we wanted anonymity.
For trades, we'd use the Hunter Gallery's system. It was based on the Tower's system, with item swaps ensuring perfect anonymity.
No one could hack the Tower's system—not even Elroen, the floor manager, could touch its security.
This setup would keep our identities hidden. But it wasn't enough. For true secrecy, we needed to be even more thorough.
"They could tag cash with tracking magic or tamper with it somehow. We need to watch for that. Elroen, can you use magic to block tracking spells?"
Hehe. Of course. I could do that magic blindfolded. No tracking spell can get through.
Perfect. Her competence was undeniable.
"Mina, do you know any cash laundering outfits? Ideally ones with tight security and solid skills."
"Hmm... I know some that specialize in dollars, but none in Korea. And even they can't handle huge sums at once."
"That's fine. No plans for big spending right now anyway."
Plus, we had plenty of startup capital. Before "dying," I'd given Mina half my fortune. An S-rank hunter who lived frugally and cleared Gates and Towers steadily had no small savings.
I didn't know guild operating costs, but money wouldn't be an issue for a while.
"Whew... Alright, we've got a rough plan."
We'd outlined guild founding, but plenty was still missing. Magic Scroll production details—who knew what spells to store, production volume, pricing, etc.
But we didn't need to decide everything today. We had time.
The real crunch would come when the guild went public. Until then, prepare meticulously and thoroughly.
"Once we start, there's no stopping. So let's prep until we're dead certain of success."
If we had a big team or guild experience, it'd be easier. But we didn't. Neither Mina nor I had ever been in a guild. Elroen went without saying.
So, maximum caution was key.
"Hmm... Thinking this hard wore me out... I wanna nap so bad..."
Since becoming a girl, I'd napped every single day without fail. Glancing at the clock, it was about that time.
Let's call it here and continue later.
"Uuu... So tired... Mina... I wanna sleep..."
"Hehe. Our little Seol's so sleepy, huh? Okay. Come on, big sis will carry you to bed."
Nod... nod... I was so drowsy my eyes were half-closed.
Mina gently scooped me up and carried me to bed.
Mmm... The blanket's so fluffy and nice...
Pat... pat... Mina pulled the soft blanket up to my chest and patted my tummy in a steady rhythm.
It lulled me right to sleep.
"Seol-ah. Have you decided on a guild name yet?"
Uwwoong... Guild name...? Not yet...
It's not urgent...
Shake shake. I turned my head slightly to say no.
Mina stroked my squishy cheek and asked,
"Can I pick the guild name then? I wanna name our guild."
A name could become its brand and reputation. It needed careful thought.
Uwwoong... But I dunno... Just wanna sleep now...
Mina's smart anyway... She'll do great...
"Okay... You pick the guild name..."
I didn't hear anything after that. With those words, I drifted off to dreamland.
When I woke later, I learned the guild name.
Mina had named it Min-tu Guild.
When I asked what it meant, she said it came from Baek Minwoo and Seo Mina—both sharing the "Min" syllable, so Min-two, or Min-tu.
Honestly, my first thought was it sounded kinda basic. But I didn't object.
After all, Mina named it thinking of me. How could I suggest something else for such a precious name?
And so, the guild name was set: Min-tu Guild.
The guild I would lead from here on out.