The Guildmaster's Offer

"Let me ask you one more time, Han Jin. Any interest in joining Geumgang?"

"Haha."

At Han Min-joon's question, I deflected with a laugh.

One wrong answer here and I'd be the one in an awkward spot.

Why on earth did he pick a cafe of all places to trap me in...

I'd left the house to run gates, and before I knew it, I'd been practically kidnapped and dragged to this table. With Han Min-joon having come all the way here in person, refusing outright wasn't really an option.

"So, what will your answer be?"

At his question, the secretary standing at his side fixed me with a glare.

Scary.

For some reason, a chill ran down my spine. Not just cold — cold beyond what the word could describe.

I have to refuse.

My answer was already decided. The problem was all the eyes around me.

Everyone's staring.

If I turned him down here, this would end up on the news, and the headlines would be merciless. But saying yes was equally out of the question. Joining a guild came with far too many strings attached.

"Ah, first I should go over our terms."

Saying that, Han Min-joon took a sheet of paper from his secretary and slid it toward me.

"Annual salary of 200 billion won guaranteed, plus a 50 billion won signing bonus."

The room around us erupted into murmurs at his words.

Two hundred billion a year, and fifty billion up front. That was the kind of money usually put on the table when signing an S-rank. Absolutely not the kind of figure offered to a C-rank — let alone one barely scraping the bottom of the grade.

What's he thinking?

I couldn't read Han Min-joon's intentions at all. The longer we talked, the less transparent he became.

"If there are any additional conditions you'd like, I'm prepared to accommodate them."

A bombshell offer. The old me, before my regression, would have accepted on the spot. But now I knew better — a contract always has a flip side.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

I asked straight, without circling around it. Fencing with this kind of thing only invited misunderstandings. It had to be out in the open — what Han Min-joon stood to gain from me that justified such an extraordinary offer.

"You've cleared quite a few C- to B-rank gates recently, haven't you?"

"That's right."

"What we want is that clearing capability."

It was true — I'd been running gates at a borderline obsessive pace these past few days. I needed to hit level 100 as fast as possible.

So that's what caught his eye.

Frankly, if I were in his position and saw that kind of throughput, I'd want to hire the guy too. The problem was that the party in question had zero intention of being hired.

"That's not a sum someone like me, a mere C-rank, could justify accepting."

"You're worth at least that much."

By the time the conversation reached that point, one thing was crystal clear to me: his mind was made up. He had decided to bring me — Han Jin — into Geumgang.

That's why he came in person.

Love him or hate him, Han Min-joon was one of Korea's national heroes. How many people in this country could actually turn down an offer from him?

Well, one was sitting right here.

"...I'm sorry. I must decline."

"Why, you insolent—!"

At my answer, the secretary moved to strike me, but Han Min-joon stopped her.

"Might I ask your reasons?"

The salary, the signing bonus — neither was money a C-rank could dream of. And yet I'd refused. Anyone would be curious why.

"There are two reasons."

Calmly, I began to explain.

"First, the amount is simply too large."

"And that's a bad thing?"

I shook my head.

"A sum like that becomes a burden on me. It's not money I should be taking."

"I see."

Thankfully, Han Min-joon accepted the first reason. I calmly moved on to the second.

"Second... I'm reluctant to place myself under anyone's command."

"If you want, I can make you a team leader."

"That's not what I mean."

Even from a team leader's seat, who would ever follow the orders of a C-rank? An A-rank certainly wouldn't.

"What I'm saying is that I don't want to join a guild at all."

At my blunt answer, Han Min-joon stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. I was probably the first Awakener in history to declare he hated the very idea of joining a guild. Everyone wants to join one — solo hunters and parties alike hit a wall eventually.

And yet I'd stood in front of a guildmaster and told him guilds weren't for me.

Did that get the message across, I wonder...

The secretary clearly didn't appreciate my answer, but I chose to ignore her. Even if she was cold, I ignored her anyway.

"Hahahahaha!"

Then Han Min-joon burst into roaring laughter. That hearty guffaw betrayed his good mood.

Thank goodness I haven't offended him.

After laughing heartily for a while, Han Min-joon finally stopped and spoke.

"I never imagined I'd meet an Awakener who'd say he doesn't want to join a guild."

"It's not that. I just... have some reservations about guilds, that's all."

Hearing my answer, Han Min-joon considered for a moment before speaking again.

"If you won't become a guild member, would you consider accepting sponsorship instead?"

"A sponsorship, Guildmaster?!"

Sponsorship — a form of patronage, typically offered to promising rookies showing signs of awakening before they actually awaken. Sponsored Awakeners naturally end up joining the sponsoring guild down the line.

"Of course, I'm not asking you to become a member later."

"Then..."

"I'd simply like to build a good relationship with you."

As he said it, a smile spread across Han Min-joon's lips. Sponsorship was definitely attractive. But if he later used it as leverage to demand something from me, that would be a problem.

"I have absolutely no intention of using this as leverage to demand anything of you."

As if he'd read my mind, Han Min-joon moved first, preempting the very thought I hadn't voiced. He had read me exactly and said precisely what I wanted to hear.

"What exactly does this sponsorship entail?"

Typically, sponsorship meant financial support or combat-supply support. But I was an Awakener already — I needed neither.

I could net over 300 million won just selling what's sitting in my inventory.

Money was good to have, but when I already had plenty with nowhere to spend it, it hardly mattered.

"I'll grant you access to gates. How does that sound?"

"Gates?"

It was, admittedly, exactly the offer I needed most right now. Leveling up required gates, and I couldn't keep leeching off the Association's public gates forever.

The exp rewards are garbage.

The experience they gave was pitifully low compared to gates of the same rank. All the high-efficiency gates were owned by guilds.

"If you accept the sponsorship, I'll grant you free access to every gate our guild owns."

An offer that generous, I couldn't help but welcome — if it were coming from anyone but a major guild.

What's his angle?

At the level of a top-tier guild, nothing moved on sentiment or goodwill alone. These were organizations that ran on cold, hard calculations of profit and loss.

"Why would you sponsor a C-rank like me?"

So I threw the fastball again. And Han Min-joon gave me the exact same answer as before.

"Because I'd like to be on good terms with you."

Watching him say it with that warm, easygoing smile sent an odd shiver down my spine.

It's too good an offer to turn down, but...

Accepting it blindly was hard too. A major guild was exactly the kind of place that came with that many strings.

"Give me some time to think it over."

"Of course."

Apparently satisfied with my answer, Han Min-joon rose from his seat.

"Once you've made up your mind, please contact us here."

The secretary said this and handed me a business card, then followed Han Min-joon out of the cafe.

"Guildmaster, why did you offer conditions like those?"

"Haha."

Faced with his secretary's probing, Han Min-joon simply laughed.

"You rarely make an offer like that even when scouting an S-rank."

Even among S-ranks, there were tiers. What Han Min-joon had just offered was the kind of deal occasionally extended only to S-ranks above level 200.

And he offered it to a C-rank.

In the secretary's eyes, Han Jin showed absolutely nothing that justified such an offer.

"You'll understand soon enough."

There was one trait Han Min-joon had never told a soul about.

One Who Stands Above.

A trait acquired when he became a national hero of Korea and the guildmaster of Geumgang. With its power, Han Min-joon could see any person's limits.

That boy had none.

In all his years, he had never once seen an S-rank without a limit. But that young man was different.

At minimum S-rank. Perhaps something even greater.

If so, then he absolutely had to be on friendly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠terms with the boy. Even if Geumgang took a loss doing it — absolutely.

How will the other two guilds respond, I wonder...

"Kyaak!"

The boss monster shrieked and collapsed.

No level-up message appeared anymore.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"The experience here is way too skimpy."

At this rate, my leveling would stall out. I was doubling my experience gain with the Supernova buff and Fighting Spirit, but even that had its limits.

"Maybe I should take that sponsorship..."

If I could get gate access, my growth rate would double overnight.

I chewed thoughtfully on the elixir I'd obtained from this gate, grinding it between my teeth.

I wonder if the Geumgang-owned gates have some decent elixirs?

As I mulled it over, I swallowed the elixir down.

With this elixir, every one of my stats had reached 100. And as my mana hit 90, the Taeheo Heart Method began to change.

The effect that had been labeled as "magic power" now read as "mana," and its attainment rank had climbed as well.

I guess that's what the increased mana did.

The effects had grown by another 5% each — good news for me either way.

Leaving the gate, I headed straight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠home. Maybe because of what had happened that morning, I no longer had the stomach to run more gates.

"I'm home."

"Back early today?"

"Yeah. Something I need to think over."

I exchanged only a few words with Mom before retreating to my room.

"Ha..."

Guilds couldn't be trusted. Organizations that ran on profit and loss rather than loyalty were never trustworthy.

There has to be a real way...

It wasn't that no method existed. The problem was the odds of getting caught were high. Even if I slipped into a gate using Am — my shadow step — the moment the gate got cleared, it would be obvious. Major guilds had information networks that thorough.

"Ha..."

Letting out a long sigh, I pulled out my phone. And made a call.

"Hello?"