The F-Rank Guild Master Has Too Much Money Chapter 14

 

I sat down in the chair the staff had prepared for me and opened my inventory.

 

After being bombarded with messages from the gods for so long, I’d learned to ignore them—but judging by the steadily growing pile of magic stones, their interest in me hadn’t faded.

 

☆I’ve Got Plenty of Amandatium Too has donated 100 Mana Stones.☆

Does any god out there know how to give something other than mana stones?

 

Not all of the gods’ messages were directed at me—sometimes, like now, they used them to chat among themselves.

 

Still, receiving something other than mana stones would be nice.

 

It wasn’t unusual for gods to gift heroes with buff items. Ideally, I’d like something flashy—SS-grade, if possible.

 

☆Business Inquiries has donated 100 Mana Stones.☆

For broadcast inquiries, check with Shayna, the Goddess of Song.

 

Wait—how do they know about the Goddess of Song?

 

…Could it be that they’re using this system to talk to each other even when they’re in the same place?

 

Either way, it seems the gods have a lot of free time on their hands. Then again, if I weren’t the one at the center of all this, I might also find it a fun little distraction from the otherwise dull life of a god.

 

Not that it’s entirely useless, anyway.

 

“Customer!!!”

 

A familiar voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to see the appraiser who had evaluated my necklace last time hurrying toward me.

 

“Hello! Long time no see.”

 

“Oh. Yes, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

 

“Thanks to you entrusting me with that necklace, I received a very generous incentive and have been doing great.”

 

“I see. But what brings you here?”

 

“After that job, I was officially assigned as your personal appraiser. I heard you obtained amandatium this time?”

 

Personal appraiser? Do appraisers even have assigned clients?

 

I tilted my head in curiosity but decided to hand over a piece of amandatium from my inventory. His face immediately lit up with excitement.

 

Unlike with the necklace, he accepted it respectfully with both hands and shouted, “Appraise!” A faint light shimmered in the dull black bead before fading.

 

“This is indeed amandatium!”

 

It was risky for the Hunter Association to buy amandatium directly. If the government purchased it, they’d be accused of monopolizing it, so the only viable option was to sell it through auction.

 

The appraiser’s face bloomed with joy—no doubt already anticipating another hefty incentive.

 

“How many did you get?”

 

“One hundred.”

 

His jaw dropped. Even ten would have been a jackpot—but one hundred? That was probably more than the total amount currently circulating worldwide.

 

When I returned the beads to my inventory, he grabbed my hands.

 

“I will follow you forever!”

 

“Uh, no, that won’t be necessary!”

 

“I will always be your appraiser!”

 

Not that it was needed, but faced with his firm expression, I nodded awkwardly.

 

Satisfied, he let go of my hands and gestured toward a car waiting nearby.

 

“Let’s go. We can discuss the details at the Hunter Association.”

 

The black-tinted car bore an emblem of an angel with spread wings. Isn’t that one of those insanely expensive cars that use rare by-products even for the smallest components?

 

“It’s a VIP-exclusive car. Please, get in.”

 

I thanked the appraiser, who opened the rear door for me, and stepped inside. The Hunter Association’s emblem was visible inside the car.

 

As sleek and expensive as it looked, the car glided away smoothly. On the way to the Hunter Association, the appraiser passionately explained the value of amandatium beads—how rare they were, how powerful, and how many hunters would kill to get their hands on them.

 

Since he was just repeating information I already knew, I gave polite, noncommittal responses. Soon, we arrived at the Association’s underground parking lot.

 

Following the appraiser, I took the VIP elevator up to the second floor, where the VIP lounge was located.

 

The moment I sat on the sofa, the appraiser—who had been silent the entire ride—spoke again.

 

“Not only domestically, but also overseas, there have been countless inquiries about when the auction will be held, ever since word got out that you obtained amandatium beads.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

How did they find out?

 

Obviously, a mole inside the Hunter Association leaked the information.

 

The Association may be officially a government body, but that didn’t mean everyone in it was loyal. If they were, it would be an army, not an association.

 

Especially the higher-ups—they had no qualms about selling intel to other countries for personal gain.

 

‘And Yeon Do-jin knew all of this, yet chose to turn a blind eye.’

 

Then, one day, out of nowhere, Yeon Do-jin exposed the whole mess to the press. The Hunter Association was plunged into chaos under corruption audits for a while.

 

I’d clicked my tongue at the time, thinking, The ones who already have the most are always the worst—but I hadn’t expected to experience it firsthand.

 

“Will you be selling all of your beads?”

 

“No. Just a portion.”

 

“A portion, meaning…?”

 

“About fifty pieces.”

 

If amandatium beads were good for hunters in general, they were just as valuable to our guild’s hunters. I wasn’t about to hand over such valuable material entirely to outsiders.

 

Since I’d agreed to split them with An Bom, I’d sell only enough to cover her share and keep the rest to be forged into weapons once I secured a blacksmith.

 

“I’ll schedule the auction for the earliest possible date.”

 

“No—set it for later.”

 

There was no rush.

 

The more rushed the auction, the less time bidders would have to prepare funds. It was better to give them enough time to gather money.

 

I pulled ten rabbit hides and a pouch from my inventory, then filled the pouch with fifty fist-sized beads. It took a while, but eventually, everything was sorted.

 

“Sell it on a suitable date.”

 

“Understood! Should I send you the invitation?”

 

“No need. Just sell it and transfer the proceeds to my account.”

 

“…Still—”

 

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m busy running a guild.”

 

The rumor had already spread, and neither the Hunter Association nor the government would pass up the chance to capitalize on it. They’d use it to boost the country’s prestige—and collect the commission fees.

 

The final bid price would be reported in the news anyway, so I didn’t need to attend in person.

 

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

 

“Shall I escort you?”

 

“No, that’s fine. Oh, and—same as last time—please keep it anonymous.”

 

“Huh? But this could be great publicity for your guild.”

 

“The risks outweigh the benefits.”

 

In this world, power was everything. Ironically, the most powerful weren’t politicians—they were guild masters.

 

The larger the guild, the greater the influence. Our guild, however, was led by an F-rank master, had an A-rank healer, and a non-humanoid species who wasn’t a damage dealer.

 

Right now, other guilds didn’t pay us any attention. But if word got out that an F-rank guild with such an unimpressive lineup had amandatium beads, they’d swarm us like wolves.

 

If I wanted to grow the guild, publicity could wait. For now, it was better to keep our heads down. Promoting it could come later, once we were stronger.

 

The appraiser nodded, as if he understood perfectly. I took it to mean that while word of the amandatium beads would get out, its source would remain strictly confidential.

 

“I will continue to serve you well!!”

 

Leaving the appraiser—who gave me a deep, formal bow—behind, I exited the VIP room and made my way to the Hunter Division on the first floor.

 

Now that we were an officially recognized guild, it was time to start recruiting members.

 

Upon arrival, I immediately posted a recruitment notice. Recruiting through the Hunter Division was advantageous—it filtered out riffraff and only let in verified hunters.

 

I wrote down the guild’s details, benefits, and salary, handed them to the staff, and paid the posting fee.

 

A satisfied smile spread across my face as I saw the notice appear in bright red letters at the top of the Hunter Association’s announcement page.

 

I had considered using Clairvoyance to track down potential awakeners, but there weren’t as many as I’d hoped, so this was a backup plan.

 

Besides, the more hunters we had, the better our chances of preventing destruction.

 

‘Now all that’s left is to grow the guild.’

 

* * *

 

[Title: Saw a recruitment post for “Yeon Guild.” Does anyone know any Hunters there?] [+99]

 

Post: I’m an A-rank physical-type Hunter who recently awakened. I’m looking to join a guild, and Yeon Guild’s salary and benefits look insane. Does anyone here know a Hunter there?

 

└ Yeah, I saw that too. Their salary’s high. I’m B-rank, so I can’t apply.

└ Same here. Been eyeing it, but there’s no info. Must be a new guild.

└ No info at all—looks like they’re new.

 

└ Dorms, meals, and equipment provided? That’s on par with Kanghyeon Guild or Kyunghee Guild, right?

 

└ Kanghyeon, yes. But not Kyunghee—they don’t provide dorms or equipment.

 

└ Looked up the address on Street View. The building’s insane. They demolished the New World HQ to build it.

 

└ I passed by once. It is insane.

 

└ Just checked Street View myself—holy crap.

 

└ The place was built in four days. The online community went nuts over the money they must have thrown at it.

 

└ I’m with the Hunter Association… not sure if I should say this, but the guild master there is F-rank.

 

└ Seriously?

 

└ Proof first, before you say that.

 

└ You think I’d post proof and risk my life?

 

└ So what’s the problem if the guild master’s F-rank?

 

└ Are you even a Hunter? How do you not know that?

 

└ It means they can’t save you when you’re in danger.

 

└ Part of a guild master’s job is rescuing you in dangerous situations.

 

└ And guiding you the first time you enter a dungeon.

 

└ I feel like they’d just throw a lavish funeral instead of saving you.

 

└ Don’t you know? There are three types of guilds to avoid.

 

└ What are they?

 

└ Guild master D-rank or below, no signing bonus, no guild office. If a guild has even one of those…

 

└ OP, so you’re saying this guild’s a no-go?

 

└ Do I have to spell it out for you?

 

“…”

 

This post appeared on the Hunter forum exactly one week after I’d proudly posted our recruitment ad.

 

And the 999+ comments were all like this.

 

‘Seriously… should I just appoint a figurehead guild master?’

 

I couldn’t believe my guild was being lumped in with the “three types of guilds to avoid.”

 

But why? The pay is high, the benefits are great, and besides—I can!

 

‘I can save people! I might be F-rank, but I have the ability to rescue them!’

 

Oh. I couldn’t say that. Staying silent felt unjust, but speaking up felt just as wrong. I scratched my head in frustration.

 

When I shared this with Gumiho, she responded:

 

“Rumors about the guild master have spread?”

 

I nodded, and her expression turned serious.

 

“This is a big problem. If the guild master is F-rank, people might not want to join.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Why do you think? Because you wouldn’t be able to save them.”

 

“I can save them. I even cleared that raid, remember?”

 

“But you said using your strength hurts you, Guild Master.”

 

“…”

 

She’s right.

 

Using my power did take a toll. That’s why I was recruiting other hunters to fight in my place. But now, they were telling me I’d have to demonstrate my divine power just to get people to join.

 

‘How is that even fair?’

 

At the same time, I couldn’t just blindly ask them to trust me.

 

Avoiding Gumiho’s steady gaze, I muttered,

 

“…Then should I hire a figurehead?”

 

“A figurehead?”

 

“Scout an S-rank to be the face of the guild.”

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

 

I sighed.

 

First, they said I couldn’t save anyone because I’m F-rank, and now she’s rejecting the idea of a figurehead too. What do they want me to do?

 

☆ LoveBboomBboom has donated 100 Mana Stones! ☆

So people still judge a person’s worth by their rank, huh?

 

God of Love, even in the divine world there are higher and lower gods, so it’s only natural that the human world works the same way.

 

“It’s still early since we posted the recruitment notice. If an A-rank or S-rank applies, the situation could change.”

 

“But that’s the problem—they never come through the notice.”

 

Just then, the doorbell rang.

 

‘Who could that be?’

 

I checked the intercom and saw a familiar face—the appraiser I’d met just a few days ago.