The F-Rank Guild Master Has Too Much Money Chapter 15

 

The appraiser entered the guildmaster’s office, a look of great excitement on his face, and gave a deep bow.

 

“Hello, Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo.”

 

“Ah… yes. Hello.”

 

“Do you know him?” Gumiho leaned closer and whispered.

 

“Yes. He’s the one who appraised the by-products from that dungeon I went to with An Bom.”

 

Standing beside the appraiser was another man in a suit.

 

“Please, come in.”

 

“I’ll bring you some tea.”

 

“Hello. I’m Lee Jae-ho, the Seoul Branch Manager of the Hunter Association.”

 

“Yes, hello.”

 

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I wonder if all the amandatium beads have been sold! How much profit did we make this time?

 

After shaking hands, Lee Jae-ho and the appraiser sat on the sofa. A moment later, Gumiho entered carrying a tray with coffee cups.

 

“Please have some coffee.”

 

She set the coffee cup down and brought the tray with her as she left, and the appraiser grabbed my hand firmly.

 

“The auction this time was incredible!”

 

“Incredible enough for you to come here personally?”

 

“You should have seen how fierce the bidding was. As soon as the word ‘amandatium’ came up, guilds from the U.S., China, and Japan all jumped in.”

 

Lee Jae-ho added his own comment.

 

It wasn’t exactly a common by-product, but to attract overseas guilds into a bidding war—that was impressive attention.

 

“Which domestic guilds participated?”

 

“Kanghyeon Guild, Chanyeon Guild, and Hyeonun Guild.”

 

“And Kyunghee Guild?”

 

“They haven’t secured that kind of funding yet.”

 

Strange… a guild with two S-rank hunters, yet short on funds? Maybe Kyunghee Guild isn’t as big as I thought.

 

“Although the auction was anonymous, other guilds are very curious about the source of the amandatium beads.”

 

“I see.”

 

“I also noticed your recruitment notice. If you plan to expand the guild significantly, obtaining amandatium could be a major promotional opportunity.”

 

As I fell into thought, Lee Jae-ho seized the moment to speak again.

 

“If your guild expands, you’ll be able to take on more dungeons, which means more by-products. The Hunter Association will ensure VVIP treatment.”

 

“Guild Master, this is an opportunity. There’s no better promotional tool!”

 

I crossed my arms, watching their impassioned pitches with a cool expression, then asked one simple question:

 

“…What’s in it for the Hunter Association?”

 

The appraiser, who had been eager to persuade me, froze.

 

“It’s hard to believe you’d make this kind of offer without any benefit for yourselves. Am I wrong?”

 

The Hunter Association had a reputation among hunters for favoring big guilds and squeezing small ones.

 

“You make a sharp point.”

 

“I’m not at an age to fall for sweet talk.”

 

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Such insight. Truly impressive.

 

“But the proposal I’m making right now is purely out of goodwill.”

 

“Goodwill?”

 

“Yes. The amount Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo has already provided us is on par with what a major guild would give. I’m saying this purely because I want your guild to grow bigger.”

 

‘Pure goodwill, huh? Maybe I’m imagining things, but it feels like someone else’s influence is behind this.’

 

I glanced between the appraiser, nodding enthusiastically, and Lee Jae-ho, whose expression remained blank, then shook my head.

 

Of course, being underestimated as an F-rank, any publicity would be welcome. It could be an opportunity to change public perception.

 

But the risk would rise just as much. A small but wealthy guild with Korea’s first A-rank healer…

 

From a major guild’s perspective, it could be a tempting target—

 

Nicely put, they might call it a merger; otherwise, they could crush us instantly.

 

I was eager to grow the guild, but I didn’t want to take such a dangerous path.

 

“I’ll consider that once our guild is a bit bigger.”

 

“But this is the perfect timing for promotion—”

 

“And just as perfect for us to become an easy target.”

 

At my words, even Lee Jae-ho fell silent.

 

“Then how about this?”

 

“What is it?”

 

“The Hunter Association will assist in growing your guild.”

 

“What kind of assistance?”

 

“We’ll provide you with a list of awakened individuals who are looking for a guild.”

 

“…A list?”

 

“While this list is normally premium data reserved for large guilds and not shared with new guilds, we’ll make an exception for Guildmaster Ji Yeon-woo.”

 

‘Why are they so eager to help our guild grow?’

 

I was suspicious, but receiving a list of high-level awakeners had no real downside. If they didn’t fit our criteria, we simply wouldn’t recruit them.

 

I nodded in agreement. The manager pulled a thick document from his bag.

 

“This is a list of job seekers managed by the Hunter Association.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Once you’ve reviewed it, please dispose of it yourself.”

 

I flipped through the bundle and set it down on the table.

 

“How much did the items I put up for auction sell for?”

 

“They went for 9 billion won each. The rabbit hides sold for 5 million won apiece.”

 

I had expected higher, given how fierce the bidding was, but it wasn’t as much as I’d hoped.

 

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I want to give you more amandatium. I really do. May our dear Aether only walk on flower paths!

 

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“And the commission?”

 

“Since the items came from a government-operated dungeon, there’s a 10% commission for the state and 3% for the Hunter Association.”

 

Lee Jae-ho handed me the paperwork regarding payment.

 

I’m the one who killed the monsters. I’m the one who found the items. And they still take 10%? This country sure knows how to leech.

 

“When will the money be deposited?”

 

“This evening.”

 

I signed the auction results document and handed it back to Lee Jae-ho. Once everything was settled, both he and the appraiser stood to leave.

 

“When will you be entering another dungeon?”

 

“No set schedule yet.”

 

“Please be sure to use my services again next time!”

 

Even as I said goodbye to Lee Jae-ho, the appraiser kept promoting himself. I gave him a nod, and the two men left the guildmaster’s office looking satisfied.

 

After they were gone, Gumiho came in carrying a tray.

 

“Why were they here?”

 

“You’ve heard about the amandatium we found where An Bom and I went, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s why.”

 

Gumiho tilted her head, puzzled. I explained what the Hunter Association had proposed.

 

When I told her I had refused—and why—she nodded.

 

“Good call. If you’d made the wrong move, you could’ve been an easy target.”

 

“Yeah. Want to take a look at these résumés with me?”

 

“Is that okay?”

 

“Sure.”

 

I sat down and handed Gumiho half of the thick stack of documents.

 

As expected, S-ranks never bothered job-hunting—they were snapped up by guilds the moment they awakened.

 

It was similar for most A-ranks, but within the same rank, unpopular defense-types often still looked for work.

 

For dungeon raids, it was generally better to take two offense-types than one defense-type, so it made sense.

 

“They’re all A-rank,” she remarked.

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

The résumés from the Hunter Association were all A-rank. One specialized in endurance, another in summoning defense, and another in… singing?

 

Is this really VIP-grade material? Looks more like leftovers.

 

‘Tsk. Not a single one worth taking.’

 

The more I flipped through, the more it felt like none of them would fit our guild.

 

“They’re not great. What do you think, Gumiho?”

 

“They’re bad.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Almost all of them are useless A-ranks. No one I’m interested in.”

 

I put down the last résumé with a sigh.

 

If possible, I had wanted to scout an A-rank, but there wasn’t a single decent candidate.

 

“Let’s just wait and see. Things could change.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Please discard these.”

 

I handed her the rest of the papers I was holding, then leaned back against the sofa.

 

Starting the guild was one thing; growing it felt daunting. Recruiting hunters was proving tough. My only option might be to track down people on the verge of awakening.

 

‘Do I really need to awaken a genuine S-rank? Who’s still unawakened?’

 

I had never paid much attention to hunters, so I barely knew who was who.

 

If I’d known I would return to the past, I would’ve made an effort to learn more about them. Regret always comes too late.

 

Sometimes I would use my clairvoyance on people walking outside, but most turned out to be ordinary. Finding An Bom had been pure luck.

 

I let out a deep sigh, glanced at the clock, and got up.

 

“Gumiho, I’m going to grab dinner. Stay on the 8th floor.”

 

“Got it.”

 

I left the guild while she fed the résumés into the shredder.

 

Luckily, there were plenty of good restaurants around Myeongdong offering takeout.

 

I grabbed food from the closest place, humming on the way home, when I saw a man bent over and staggering down the street.

 

‘Drunk in broad daylight? Seriously?’

 

I tried to sidestep him, but he lifted his head.

 

“…Ji… Yeon-woo…?”

 

“Who…?!”

 

Before I could respond, his body leaned.

 

Not wanting him to hit the ground, I caught him as he collapsed.

 

“Ugh!”

 

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What the heck?! What is this?! Why are you hugging him? Is this turning into an R-rated scene all of a sudden?!

 

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I approve of this development.

 

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What the hell! Why is he falling into my Aether’s arms?!

 

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Who is this guy? And how does he know Aether?!

 

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New character alert! Who’s the man in Aether’s arms?!

 

‘In my arms? Excuse me? I’m catching him, not hugging him!’