Guild Expansion 1
“You’re already well aware of Elysion Guild’s situation, so let me briefly talk about the other guilds instead.”
I’d asked why he was so insistent on forming new raid teams, but Park Chan-yeol suddenly pivoted to discussing other guilds. It didn’t make sense at first, but he wasn’t the type to bring up irrelevant topics, so I quietly focused on what he had to say.
“Out of the 30 members in the Support Raid Team, excluding the original Support Guild members, everyone else comes from the top five guilds. Breaking it down: Elysion Guild with 6, Royal Blood with 4, Myth with 5, Emperor with 7, and Cheonmang with 5.”
Just as Park Chan-yeol said, aside from Bang Taegeuk, Kang Jeonghun, and Ha Yeji in the 30-member Support Raid Team, all the rest were from the top five guilds.
In the initial document screening, we’d selected quite a few from mid-sized guilds and other large ones. But when the absolute elites from the top five guilds applied, we regrettably had to cut the others.
That turned the Support Raid Team into a gathering of the very best of the best from the top five guilds. It was, in name and reality, Korea’s strongest raid team.
That was why—even with my gear support—they’d cleared an SS-rank dungeon in just six attempts.
“All of them are core members in their guilds, much like Elysion Guild’s situation. Naturally, they’re dealing with chaos there too. Excluding Cheonmang Guild, which has already disintegrated, Royal Blood and Myth are tied up quelling internal unrest. Emperor Guild is especially precarious after Choi Taesu’s departure. Guild Master Kim Seonghyeon is on edge, wondering when a mass exodus might hit.”
I already knew about Cheonmang Guild, but Emperor Guild’s troubles were news to me. Still, it made sense. Direct comparisons were impossible, but Choi Taesu’s status in Emperor Guild was roughly on par with mine in Support Guild.
But I still didn’t get it. Why was he so kindly laying out the other guilds’ situations?
Was he saying the chaos hitting them was my fault? Sure, they were core members, but the guild losing the most was down just seven people. If losing seven could make the top five guilds wobble, wasn’t that the real problem?
“It’s not ‘just’ seven. Though it’s unlikely, if you, the guild master, switched to another guild, do you think Support Guild would stay intact?”
Gasp! What the hell—was he reading my mind?
I jumped in shock at Park Chan-yeol’s words, which hit like he’d plucked the thought straight from my head.
“Of course, they can’t compare to you, Guild Master. But given their positions, each one has that level of capability. Honestly, I was amazed at your ability to recruit them like this. Do you know what hunters prioritize most when choosing a guild? Benefits? Support? Sure, those matter. But what they value even more is their teammates.”
“Teammates?”
“Yes. When we were recruiting for the raid team, rumors spread that Brain Emperor had applied, and applications exploded after that, right? That’s hunters’ instincts. They know strong teammates can protect their lives and help them grow.”
He was spot on.
We’d gotten a decent number of raid team applications at first. But after Choi Taesu submitted his, they surged explosively, saving us a ton of hassle.
“Among large guilds, plenty offer better member counts or benefits than the top five. Yet hunters still flock there—especially the stronger ones. That’s what makes them hunters.”
Now it was starting to click, and Park Chan-yeol pressed on.
“As I mentioned earlier, that mindset has top-five guild members constantly inquiring. The problem is, the numbers are higher than expected.”
“Huh? How many are we talking?”
I’d heard from Bang Taegeuk before that a few raid team members were asking if we planned to add more spots. But we had no such plans back then, so I’d turned it down.
According to him, there were about a dozen recommendations at the time. But Park Chan-yeol’s next words shattered my expectations.
“At least five hundred. Possibly even double that.”
“What? Five hundred? And maybe a thousand?”
I’d figured “more than expected” meant three digits—maybe 100 at the low end, 200 at the high. The vibe from his earlier words suggested that much.
But this made a mockery of my guess. A minimum of 500? And up to 1,000? No wonder I was stunned.
“Yes. It’s not just Korea’s top hunters gathering here—the rumors say our benefits and support are world-class, surpassing even other nations. Of course, no raid team member has spilled details on supplies due to the Oath of Covenant, so don’t worry. It’s all exaggerated rumors fueled by vague hints.”
“I see.”
“And succeeding in the SS-rank dungeon lit a fire under the other top-five guilds’ hunters. They’d challenged SS-ranks for years with no luck or stuck on different ones, yet we cleared it in three months. Plus, losing core members has made their raids even tougher.”
His explanation made the numbers add up. Though it still felt a bit excessive. A thousand people? Come on.
But thinking deeper, a thousand wasn’t that many. We’d received 2,000 raid applications without even solid results yet.
If Support Guild announced unlimited recruitment, probably 90% of Korea’s hunters would apply. So yeah, 1,000 was peanuts.
The issue was that these were top-five guild members—and Park Chan-yeol nailed it.
“Do you know the bigger problem? The five hundred or thousand I mentioned? That’s only combat-class hunters.”
“W-wait, you don’t mean…?”
I stammered as he revealed it was just combat types. A horrifying thought flashed in my mind, and it came straight from his mouth.
“Yes. Over 90% of the top five guilds’ combat hunters want to join Support Guild.”
Just like my half-joking guess—over 90% actually wanted in. I was too shocked to even finish my sentence.
“Isn’t this way too many? I get wanting strong teammates and better benefits. But 90%?”
“Of course, it didn’t start this big. Maybe 150 at most. But the SS-rank clear made it explode exponentially. And hunters who targeted the top five before? They’ve all switched their goal to Support Guild now.”
“Honestly, I still don’t get it. Is clearing one SS-rank dungeon really that big a deal for hunters?”
Once again, I’d missed something. What could turn 50 into 1,000?
“Yes, absolutely. An SS-rank clear is worth that much. Sorry to dredge up bad memories, but Paragon Raid Team was once invited to Japan for an SS-rank demonstration. Know how much Japan paid?”
The moment Paragon came up, a certain face flickered in my mind, but it wasn’t pleasant, so I shoved it aside.
More importantly, how much did they get? Paragon was the world’s strongest raid team. They wouldn’t lack for money—what would move them? Pure curiosity hit me. Hell, if the price was right, I’d want to hire them just to see.
Why? Sure, Support Raid Team cleared an SS-rank, but over half the credit was mine. Without my support, they still couldn’t do it.
While Jeonghun did his job-change quest, the rest spent six months grinding the SS-rank for the optimal strategy. Even now, they relied on my supplies.
Bang Taegeuk’s report on that had shocked me a bit. Part of going public with the quest was this reason too.
I also wanted to show our team exactly how strong the so-called world’s best really were. So yeah, pure curiosity about the price.
“I don’t know the exact figure. But including tech transfers and various compensations, it easily topped one trillion won.”
“One trillion…?”
My voice rose. Money still didn’t sit right with me. Same with Kim Seok-jung, and before that. I knew I could make plenty if I tried.
I had an unlimited card and could get funds from Lee Musin anytime. But my wallet? Just over 100,000 won and one personal card.
So I never thought of myself as rich. Weirdly, hunter awareness hadn’t sunk in for money—I was still that job-hunting kid.
“Yes, one trillion. That’s just the cash, but factoring in the ripple effects from the tech Japan got from Sweden? Rumors say it’s several times that. That’s why the Swedish government personally requested Paragon.”
My jaw wouldn’t close. One trillion was insane—several times that?
“But more crucially, from grinding SS-ranks ourselves, the team consensus is that the top five guilds would need at least five more years to clear one. Word leaked back to them, and reactions exploded. Staying means stagnation for five years minimum. First raid team hunters from each top five started defecting, then second and third teams followed in a chain reaction—leading to now.”
“I see.”
Nothing else to say. For once, I got their mindset.
Not a direct parallel, but if someone told me my work would take five years at best to succeed? Even I might quit.
But accepting them? Still a problem. Five years or fifty.
“I understand completely. I get why the other top-five hunters are reacting this way. But we can’t take them all. And in this mess, adding a few raid teams won’t fix it.”
His story confirmed it: forming a few teams wouldn’t cut it. Might even make things worse.
Why was this my responsibility anyway? Butterfly effect or not—making raid teams crumbling the top five? Expecting me to fix them was bullshit.
Sensing my tone, Park Chan-yeol soothed me.
“I’m not blaming you, Guild Master. This has nothing to do with you. What I want to ask is, now that it’s come to this, what do you think about expanding Support Guild? In a way that won’t burden you, of course. Want to hear my idea?”
To be continued in the next chapter...
The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC