Leather Armor Competition 1
Once the testing of the armors was complete, I first crafted sets for the guild members. I made outfits for Jeonghun, Bang Taegeuk, and Yeji first, then for Taeju and Taehee. Taeju, trying his on, couldn't hide his amazement.
"Whoa! You made this? It's so good I could wear it out in real life without any issues. And the defense is on par with S-rank plate armor? Suho, you sure you're human? A potion maker whipping up armor like this... Ow!"
A sharp smack echoed from Taeju's head, cutting him off mid-sentence. As expected, it was Taehee who had struck him.
"You wouldn't be human. What's so shocking about it? And how many times do I have to tell you? It's not Suho—it's Guild Master."
"He said we could use casual speech in private."
"Fine. While you're being casual, how about I make the rest of your life casual too—flat on your back in bed?"
Taeju put up a token protest against Taehee's scolding, but the swift violence that followed turned him into a whimpering puppy with his tail between his legs.
After the brief commotion died down, I asked Taehee about her armor.
"How's it feel, Noona Taehee?"
"It's fantastic. The mobility and defense go without saying, and I love being able to pick my own design. Best of all, it's so easy to put on and take off. And the lining? It's so soft you wouldn't believe it's from monster hide. Compared to regular leather armor..."
Taehee shook her head in disbelief.
The leather armor I'd created differed from conventional pieces in many ways. Mobility and defense were the obvious standouts, but even the finer details set it apart.
Someone once said the devil is in the details—and that those details make luxury goods. My armor wasn't just worthy of being called luxury; it overflowed with it.
"Gu, er, Guild Master. So, how do you plan to sell these? Just open a workshop? What about an auction? With quality like this, we could rake in the cash."
Taeju nearly slipped up on my name again, catching Taehee's raised hand and switching to the formal title just in time before asking about sales.
"Hmm. Honestly, I hadn't thought much about it. I figured I'd just open a workshop and sell them there. But hearing you say that, an auction doesn't sound bad. Since we're at it, I'd like to hear everyone else's thoughts too."
I hadn't considered sales strategies at all while crafting. I thought anything good enough for identity laundering would suffice.
But the armor's performance far exceeded my expectations—so much that now I was puzzled over how to price and market it. It wasn't lacking; it was too good.
The auto-healing potion flashed in my mind. Maybe I was overlooking something again, so I decided to get input from the guild.
"For now, I plan to charge only for labor. The S-rank monster corpses received as payment will go toward making armor for guild members."
Leather workshops and forges typically used one of two payment models: the customer provides materials and pays labor fees, or they buy finished products outright for cash.
Most workshops lacked reliable material sources, so they operated on the labor-fee model like I planned. Places selling finished goods—like the smithy where Jeonghun got his weapon and armor—were rarer.
That was because the latter were usually run by massive guilds or their affiliates.
Even with labor fees, problems persisted. Hunters flocked to proven workshops, leaving others to lag behind. To build skill, you needed to produce constantly—but without orders, opportunities dried up.
That's why associations for leatherworkers and smiths existed. They partnered with mid-to-small guilds, providing production hunters for raids and hosting competitions for hunters to showcase skills.
Win one, and orders poured in—you'd be recognized as a true artisan.
Of course, none of that applied to me. My leather armor was leagues beyond what other leatherworking hunters produced.
My reason for labor fees was simple: We couldn't raid S-rank dungeons with just guild members yet.
Jeonghun and Yeji were a bit short for S-rank. Hell, sending three without a healer into an A-rank was insane to begin with.
Bang Taegeuk made it possible. My buff potions helped, but without him, it would've been impossible.
Even he couldn't solo-cover an S-rank.
To tackle S-rank, we needed more recruits—especially a healer and supporter. Non-negotiable.
Since we weren't raiding S-rank immediately, I tabled recruitment and focused on armor sales.
But before I could dive in, the guild's reactions exploded.
Especially Jeonghun, Bang Taegeuk, and Yeji—they were stunned.
"G-Guild Master. You can make S-rank leather armor too?"
"Whoa! If A-rank leather matches S-rank plate, then S-rank leather would equal SS-rank plate, right?"
Bang Taegeuk stammered, Jeonghun's eyes half-rolled back, and Yeji—usually silent—looked the most shocked, her eyes twice their normal size, face flushed, snorting heavily.
The others were no different.
But one stayed calm, puzzled by the fuss.
"Why the shock over something obvious? You can tell from the A-rank armor. No way you'd make something like that from A-rank hides and not be able to do S-rank, right?"
It was Geonmin. Her words doused the heated mood like cold water.
"R-Right. Of course."
"No, I believed in the Guild Master from the start."
Jeonghun and Bang Taegeuk backpedaled like guilty criminals; Yeji stared off into the distance.
With things settled, Geonmin spoke again.
"Guild Master, what about SS-rank leather armor? Possible?"
She stared intently, tension etched on her face. The others followed suit, eyes locked on me.
SS-rank... I hadn't even considered it. Only the five great guilds could tackle SS-rank dungeons, and even they went all-in with massive prep—success far from guaranteed.
I'd never thought about sourcing SS-rank corpses.
Plus, like the potion shop limits, leatherworking might have restrictions.
So I couldn't promise.
"Honestly, no clue on SS-rank. Can't source the materials anyway, and without trying, I can't say for sure."
"Phew, good."
Her sudden relief prompted a question.
"Good how?"
"Thought you weren't human. Potions alone were nuts, then quests, butchering, tanning—you couldn't even do those right at first. Now SS-rank armor? Too much."
Geonmin sighed genuinely; I was speechless. Taeju nodded vigorously in agreement—until Taehee smacked his head, lightening the mood.
"Haha, no way. He's human—just a weird hunter. Anyway, the issue is how to sell the armor. I was gonna open a workshop, but like with potions, maybe I'm missing something that'll bite us later."
We finally got to the point. Geonmin asked,
"Guild Master, planning to sell S-rank leather armor outside too?"
"No. External sales limited to A-rank max."
She shrugged it off.
"Then no issues like you fear. Miracle potions blew up because they worked on civilians. Hunter-only items? No problem. Grab ten randos and ask who Hespera is—nobody knows. Even most hunters don't, especially non-Koreans. Same for you. Leather matching S-rank plate? Buzz in hunter circles, sure—but 99.99% contained there."
She paused, then added,
"But if S-rank leather hits SS-rank plate levels? Whole different story. Every hunter worldwide might swarm you."
The guild nodded in agreement; Bang Taegeuk continued.
"Geonmin's right. A-rank leather alone would draw lines, but no miracle-potion chaos. But reveal S-rank? Global rush. Be extra cautious on that."
Relief washed over me. I wanted moderate laundering, not potion-level drama redux.
"Got it—I'll keep that in mind. Guess opening a workshop it is."
All worries gone, I decided.
Taeju's auction idea tempted briefly, but no real greed for cash. More corpses just meant more butchering time.
After guild armors, I'd stockpile leather for emergencies—no need for extras. Corpses would likely go to Geonmin. 100% to her, probably.
Auction out; workshop it was.
With full agreement, the leather workshop opened.
I handled A-rank sales disguised as such; Geonmin managed the rest.
Guilt nagged at dumping it all on her, but she was thrilled—like having her own shop.
After three days' prep, the workshop opened.
It went nothing like expected.
No stampede; a week passed without a single sale of my armor.
People came, though. Geonmin's drew ten deep waitlists.
Only mine ignored—a bizarre snub. Even the guild was baffled.
To be continued in the next chapter... The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC