The F-Rank Guild Master Has Too Much Money Chapter 73

 

 

After dungeons began appearing and hunters emerged, two major competitions were established: the Guild Battle, held every three years, and the Hunter Ranking Tournament, held every five years.

 

The Guild Battle selected guilds to represent each nation and was conducted in a format similar to the Olympics. Winners were determined by how quickly participants cleared designated floors of a special dungeon called Abel’s Tower.

 

Drones were deployed to broadcast the raid live while simultaneously monitoring for cheating. Because of this, not only hunters but ordinary citizens also enjoyed watching the Guild Battle.

 

“Should we participate?”

 

“No. Participation isn’t mandatory, so they probably sent in the application. Many guilds might not have the resources,” Gumiho said.

 

‘Resources’? Of course, our guild had more than enough to participate. But we were founded to prevent destruction, not to show off, so the ranking competitions didn’t appeal to me.

 

“Please send a reply saying we won’t participate.”

 

☆ Why!! has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Why aren’t you joining?! I want to watch the Guild Battle!!

 

☆ Let’s Participate!! has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

I’ll give you lots of Mana Stones! Let’s join! Huh? I’ll lie down and protest if you don’t?!

 

☆ These Days Too has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Isn’t there too little content these days? You’re the main character of the broadcast! Instead of reflecting on that, you’re refusing to join the Guild Battle?! What nonsense is that?!

 

The gods, who didn’t even know what a Guild Battle was, had started shouting and causing a ruckus, threatening a collective strike.

 

The Mana Stones were tempting, but the ones who’d actually lose out were the gods already addicted to the broadcast. So I ignored them with feigned indifference.

 

“Yeon-woo, aren’t you participating in the Guild Battle?”

 

“No.”

 

Emelyn Kiyo, holding Ji Yun-seo as if she were about to nibble her cheek, came over.

 

“Why not? Winning would be a great honor.”

 

“I don’t want that kind of glory.”

 

Emelyn Kiyo smirked at my blunt reply.

 

“You don’t like honor?”

 

“I’d rather our people live well and eat well.”

 

“That’s honestly the best thing.”

 

Nodding, Emelyn Kiyo looked down at Ji Yun-seo, who was staring up at her, and said mischievously,

 

“In that case, I’ll eat Yun-seo’s head this time. Nom nom.”

 

Whether she found the teasing funny or not, Ji Yun-seo burst into giggles. I felt good seeing her laugh—maybe because their mental ages matched well, or maybe because Emelyn Kiyo was simply good at playing with her.

 

“What about the vice-guild master?”

 

“He went to the training room.”

 

“Oh?! I want to go too!”

 

After setting Ji Yun-seo down, Emelyn Kiyo shouted,

 

“Even if you call it a training room, it’s nothing special!”

 

“I still want to see! Let’s go! Please? Let’s go!”

 

When she grabbed my arm and shook it, ready to flop onto the floor in protest, I frowned.

 

‘Even Ji Yun-seo doesn’t throw tantrums like that…’

 

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I looked at Gumiho, who had the exact same expression as me.

 

“Gumiho.”

 

“Oh. Yes.”

 

She quickly fixed her expression and returned to her role as my secretary.

 

“Did Kwon Beom-gaun go to the hospital?”

 

“Yes. Today’s the school closing ceremony, so she said she’d go straight afterward. The blacksmith workshop is currently undergoing interior work.”

 

“Alright. But she probably doesn’t know how to make things yet, so I’m not sure how we should handle it.”

 

For combat-type awakenings—those that breathe fire, control water, or manipulate wind—defensive types that create barriers, or even tamers, sometimes they could use their abilities instinctively after awakening. Like Ji Yun-seo, who had tamed Kero.

 

However, manufacturing-type awakenings were different. If the person hadn’t done that kind of work before, they had to learn everything step by step. A manufacturing-type hunter could imbue items they made with special abilities, but learning to make the items themselves required starting from scratch.

 

I didn’t know how Kwon Beom-gaun had learned to make weapons before my regression, but since she became an SS-rank, I wanted her to start learning from the basics.

 

The problem was that most blacksmiths lived very secluded lives, and even guilds with blacksmiths were reluctant to share their techniques. There weren’t really any places where someone could learn.

 

“Just in case, let’s try looking into it.”

 

“Yes. Understood.”

 

Even without me explicitly saying it, Gumiho immediately understood and left the house. Meanwhile, Ji Yun-seo said she was going to wash up and led the monsters into her room.

 

☆ God of Blacksmiths has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Ahem. If you want, I could give her private lessons.

 

☆ You Can’t Go Down There has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

That’s a restricted area, Blacksmith God.

 

☆ No! has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

I’m saying I’ll teach my own child—who’s going to stop me?!

 

☆ That’s Corne. has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Corne is the master of that world.

 

Perhaps feeling overshadowed by Corne, the God of Blacksmiths went quiet.

 

It would be great if the real God of Blacksmiths could tutor her… is there really no other way?

 

While I worried about Kwon Beom-gaun, Emelyn Kiyo hesitated about going to the training room, looking at me with a pitiful expression.

 

“Yeon-woo… it really won’t work?”

 

“Huh? Uh… I mean, it’s not like we can’t go.”

 

At that moment, light burst from the gate, and Choi Tae-hyuk stepped into the room.

 

“Guild Master.”

 

“Tsk, you’re here already.”

 

Seeing Emelyn Kiyo click her tongue, Choi Tae-hyuk shook his head and walked over to the flowerpot. He stared at it as if trying to bore a hole through it, then lightly stirred the dirt with his hand.

 

“Choi Tae-hyuk?”

 

“I looked it up today. If the soil covering the seed is too compact, it becomes difficult for the sprout to grow through.”

 

So he’d been thinking about the sprout too.

 

After finishing with the soil, Choi Tae-hyuk took out a handkerchief, wiped his hands, and looked at Emelyn Kiyo.

 

“Aren’t you leaving?”

 

“I’m leaving after dinner.”

 

Choi Tae-hyuk stared at her as if in a silent contest, then took out his phone and calmly tapped something on the screen—

 

“Hey! You’re calling Bong Seon-hwa, aren’t you?!”

 

Emelyn Kiyo shouted.

 

The reply came from the phone:

 

—Guild Master. If you don’t want to be confined, you should return home immediately.

 

Bong Seon-hwa’s voice was sharp, her teeth clenched in anger. Emelyn Kiyo’s face instantly turned pale.

 

“N-No! It’s time to get off work now!”

 

—You ran away after doing nothing all day, and you have the nerve to say that?! Get back here immediately!

 

The thunderous voice made Emelyn Kiyo flinch.

 

—I’ll give you ten minutes. For every minute you’re late, your confinement time will increase by one hour.

 

“I’m going now! I’ll step on it and get there!!!”

 

Emelyn Kiyo grabbed the car keys she had tossed onto the sofa earlier, waved wildly at me, and stepped onto the gate. After watching her disappear, Choi Tae-hyuk spoke into the phone.

 

“She’s on her way.”

 

—Thank you.

 

The call ended without even a proper goodbye. But neither Choi Tae-hyuk nor Bong Seon-hwa seemed to care.

 

Choi Tae-hyuk loosened the tie around his neck with one hand and asked, “Are you planning to go out?”

 

“No. Weren’t you in the training room?”

 

“No. I stepped out for a moment to take care of something. I’ll head back to the dormitory now.”

 

“Alright. Get some rest.”

 

When the utterly exhausted-looking Choi Tae-hyuk left, I walked over to the flowerpot. Aside from a little scattered soil, nothing seemed different.

 

‘What did he do?’

 

☆ But Seriously has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

It really isn’t growing. At this point, a sprout should’ve appeared already.

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Hmm. From what I can see, it seems to lack strength.

 

Lack of strength?

 

It felt like there should be more to the explanation, so I waited—but no further popup from Tribus, the God of Plants, appeared.

 

“Lord Tribus? What exactly does it need?”

 

When I called out, a popup appeared as if it had been waiting.

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

You probably need to give it some energy. Since it’s in a different environment from where it originally was, it’ll have difficulty gathering power on its own.

 

* * *

 

The next morning at breakfast, as soon as we arrived on the 8th floor, I stopped Choi Tae-hyuk—who was heading straight for the flowerpot—and roughly explained what I had learned yesterday.

 

“It could be the environmental difference,” he said.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Looking at the flowerpot, Choi Tae-hyuk continued,

 

“For hunters who use nature-type powers among the combat classes, it’s easier to use their abilities inside a dungeon than in the real world.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

 

At my baffled look, Choi Tae-hyuk finally took his eyes off the flowerpot. He opened his palm and generated electricity. The crackling looked the same as usual, but his explanation was different.

 

“If the power I’m using right now is considered 30, then in a dungeon I would only need to use about 10.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Both gathering energy and recovering it are much smoother there.”

 

So dungeons had that kind of effect. Since the power I used was pure divine power, I had never noticed it before.

 

“Then it must be the same for this seed too.”

 

“Yes.”

 

It seemed the Plarin had given me the seeds abruptly, without realizing that the environmental difference between the dungeon and the real world would prevent growth.

 

“Why don’t we give it some healing?”

 

“Healing is for recovery, not for replenishing power.”

 

“Then should we go back into the dungeon…?”

 

“That’s not possible.”

 

I had said it casually, knowing Choi Tae-hyuk always opposed dungeon trips—and sure enough, he rejected it firmly.

 

“Then what other method is there?”

 

Even if he suggested taking it to a dungeon, he would oppose leaving me alone. But I couldn’t just let the seed—a living thing that even had warmth and a heartbeat—die like this.

 

☆ Give It Divine Power has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Just give it divine power. What are you even worrying about?

 

☆ Exactly has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

The reason it’s easier to use power in a dungeon is probably because of Corne’s divine power. Just give it yours.

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

Corne’s divine power and Aether’s divine power could clash. It might become dangerous instead.

 

I had actually thought the same—why not just give it my divine power? But I hadn’t tried it yet, out of caution. Plarin was a lifeform created by Corne, and since it even possessed healing abilities, I suspected it might also carry traces of Corne’s divine power.

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

How about using that human? He seems to have power too.

 

At Tribus’s words, I turned to look at Choi Tae-hyuk. He also seemed disappointed that the seed hadn’t sprouted.

 

“Just a moment!”

 

I couldn’t exactly talk to empty air with Choi Tae-hyuk standing right there, so I ran into the study. After tightly closing the door, I looked up and spoke.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

That human possesses the power of nature, so he wouldn’t be a bad choice for nurturing the seed. And since it’s natural-type power, it mixes well with your power.

 

So… Tribus was saying I should combine my power with Choi Tae-hyuk’s and give it to the seed?

 

☆ God of Plants has donated 100 Mana Stones. ☆

If there’s any of Corne’s power in it, the natural-type energy would act as a buffer and prevent a collision. It’s the safest method.

 

Just as the God of Plants said, mixing Choi Tae-hyuk’s power might indeed be the best option. But how was I supposed to explain that? I would have to show my power directly, which made explaining it even harder.

 

“What should I do…?”

 

I bit my lip and paced across the study, wondering whether to explain everything or make up some excuse.

 

At that moment, a voice echoed inside my head.

 

【Why do you think your power and mine would clash?】

 

It was Corne.