Chapter 445. Why Is Business...?(4) |
Chapter 445. Why Is Business...?(4)
...Several days had passed since the alien's company got off to a smooth start. The humans, carrying silver rods, entered various dungeons and reported their soil exploration results. So far, there hadn't been any income from golem materials. Still, in the meantime, the new company had managed to grow its staff quite a bit.
"That's fast."
Without the guild master knowing, it was as if some kind of multi-level marketing had been happening. Honestly, new hunters were joining at a pace that could almost be considered suspicious.
"Alright, I can understand C- and D-rank hunters from my hometown joining as freelancers, but... have we already recruited a total of twenty hunters?"
Naturally, there was a reason for this radical change. Until now, people had been too intimidated by South Korea's fourth-ranked S-class hunter to even consider joining. But now, the initial recruits had experienced the company firsthand, and the unfounded fear of Kim Giryeo's guild had considerably subsided.
"Hmm."
The starting point was a simple incident. The low-rank hunters of this new company had recently been working tirelessly, like ants. Then, about three days ago, an F-rank hunter team got caught up in a strange dispute.
"This is why hunting work is such a problem. When you work roughy out in the field, you end up encountering all sorts of crazy people."
"Once a hunt is finished, it becomes very difficult for others to claim ownership of that dungeon. Maybe the other side just blurted out their claim without thinking..."
Choi Jin reviewed the outline she had heard from her acquaintances back in her hometown.
Anyway, the employees of Kim Giryeo's guild had spent their entire careers in other cities, so in certain areas, they were completely unknown.
"You're all fresh recruits who've just awakened, right?
So it's no wonder that when they met someone who had been active in the capital for a long time, conversations like this would come up. At first glance, the transferees from the (faith) Guild seemed so unfamiliar that you'd worry if they even had a week of experience. And just a glance aside, there were low-tier gates teeming with high-value monsters, like spring crabs in abundance—so who could easily stick to their conscience?
Because of all the underlying circumstances, the hunters on the other side of the double-booking incident reportedly said the following.
"Ah- sorry, but we actually reserved this gate much earlier.
Don't you have a screenshot of your reservation time or something?How could we possibly have that? Anyway, this is a gate on the verge of a Dungeon Break, so we need to clear it quickly. Please check the records with the Association afterward.The procedure seems a bit off...?"Of course, Kim Gi-ryeo's employees, who were somewhat experienced, couldn't accept this. Even though they were trying to be assertive, the F-rank newcomers refused to back down, so the opposing side soon fired off this remark.
Oh my! How many times do we have to explain this? It's frustrating. If we wait for the institution to correct the gate, it'll break. You know how long it takes to get connected with their coordinator, right? So, people have to enter first, don't they?This is exactly why freelance hunters can be problematic... Nobody teaches them, so they have no way of knowing the basic unwritten rules. Honestly, if this point, insisting this is no different from being stubborn.Wait a moment. We also have a perfectly legitimate affiliated company.Up to this point, it wasn't enough to spark an actual fight.
Really? You have an affiliated company? Wait, then how small is it that they let the employees handle work like taskmasters...?The veterans of the capital, after the argument, ended up getting annoyed. According to witnesses, a rather dramatic line was uttered soon afterward.
Hey, enough. Look, just try asking their guild master to give us a quick call!If they're even picking up bottom-tier F-rank hunters, chances are this is a brand new guild with barely any name. By contrast, the hunters appearing in the capital had far superior affiliations in terms of recognition, history, funding, and so on.
1. E. D.
Moreover, for these low-tier hunters to operate smoothly in the market, they clearly couldn't go up against the guild, which was like a dinosaur at the bottom rung. It seemed they were just putting on airs to boost their confidence.
"--...
...But of all things, it just so happened that the company where the transferees from the Faith Guild had gathered—
Do you really want me to call our guild master?Is everyone... okay with this?There was no need for further explanation. Hearing that something had gone wrong, Kim Giryeo jumped in surprise and rushed to the scene. The dungeon was close to his rented office, so it wasn't difficult to get there.
What's going on? Did our guild make some kind of procedural mistake?Huh? K, Kim...No, could it be that these people actually have an affiliated guild...!They had assumed these folks were from some petty, insignificant guild and boasted freely, but then—an S-rank Awakener, notorious for their foul demeanor, suddenly appeared. The scene instantly turned into chaos. Afterwards, fearing they might anger Kim Giryeo, the opposing team panicked and fled, bringing the incident to an abrupt end. In the end, the overlapping dungeon reservation problem was neatly resolved.
'But later, I checked with the association. They said the reservations there were actually a few seconds earlier.'
This was the moment that instilled a sense of loyalty in the guild members. F-rank, or even E-rank—these superpower individuals might only be considered minor earners from the company's perspective. Yet Kim Giryeo rushed straight to the scene, genuinely concerned for the well-being of such employees.
Am I, being an alien, somehow messing up this corporation?In fact, it was partly because he himself felt a bit guilty about certain circumstances. Anyway, the company's low-rank hunters still kept repeating the following line.
Hunter Kim Giryeo is the best!The emotions that followed were admiration, awe, and gratitude.
Working in this industry, we've been treated like insects more than once! He really treats us with dignity!This sentence contains expressions that don't match reality. Yet, the mammals who didn't know the truth simply enjoyed their joy.
'Moved by the company's humane treatment, they even posted anonymous messages on communities hoping it would do well. They actively recommended it to acquaintances, saying that it was still accepting applications, and that's how the scale grew.'
The recruitment must have gone so well that the guild's promotional page, which elsewhere would stay open for several days, was taken down in just one day.
'Not bad for a first start.'
Honestly, if the business owner hadn't been Kim Giryeo, such rapid success would have been impossible, even if one were to die and come back to life. What, then, are the limits of talent? At this point, Choi Jin thought about it lightly. One step taken by an S-rank Awakener had already earned the loyalty of the employees, and from her perspective, it was genuinely impressive.
'Being strong and having a good character at the same time... that's not something that comes easily.'
Moreover, that wasn't the only thought that crossed her mind. The newly established guild had been struggling with a shortage of staff just a few days ago, while the hunters she had brought along, on the other hand, had a hard time with insurance payments because they couldn't find employment.
'At this rate, it's a win-win for everyone. Honestly, I'm a bit happy that things worked out so well for all of them.'
Choi Jin felt a sense of pride. And with that good mood still lingering, she strode briskly down the corridor of a certain office.
[Current time - 8:31]
It was just 8 a.m. At this time of day, when the workday was beginning, she needed to meet the guild master to receive a new metal rod.
"Huh?"
But this was a stroke of luck.
"Hunter Kim Girye..."
She didn't even need to go all the way to the office; she quickly spotted the person she needed to meet halfway down the corridor.
"No, should I be calling him Director Kim Giryeo now? After all, he returned his license."
At the end of the dimly lit corridor of the rental building, a man appeared. For now, he wasn't a hunter. At the same time, he was somewhat too young to be considered a teacher or a superior.
"Boss?"
The dyed-haired man in front of him continued the conversation naturally.
"Boss, boss... Somehow that doesn't sound bad."
"Hmm."
"But I don't want you to keep calling me that."
"Why?"
"If you use that word, doesn't it unconsciously make you think of things like 'company' or 'going to work,' which is kind of off-putting?"
He looks like someone who would wield power better than anyone, yet when actually offered the position of director, he recoils and refuses.
'So is that why he gave up his hunting license, which lets him freely use his awakened abilities, so easily? Or did he really, as the rumors say, get hit by some special dungeon curse that made him lose his powers...?'
Without overthinking, Choi Jin took her chance of her business first. She asked the alien standing before her for a new measuring rod.
"Should I give you six again today?"
"Yes."
But the moment Kim Giryeo heard that, he hesitated for a moment.
"Hmm?"
The man, whose dry, frizzy hair made him prone to static, rolled his unusually fierce eyes. Once he seemed to have chosen his words carefully, he clasped his hands together in front of Choi Jin and finally spoke.
"But I have something I'd like to say seriously."
"What is it?"
"Could you... take it a bit easy with the work?"
"Yes?"
Just from his demeanor, it was clear that he was serious.
"Honestly, I'm saying this because I can hardly understand it myself."
"What part?"
"Honestly, I'm already covering the hunters' living expenses with the basic salary."
"That's right."
"But why do you insist on overworking yourselves? At this rate, we'll practically be building the pillars of the building with the fees we'd be skimming from Hunter Choi Jin."
Building the guild's pillars just from the fees alone... isn't that a good thing, then?
Choi Jin opened her eyes wide and asked, as if to say, "The company seems to be running smoothly—what exactly is there to worry about?"
"Hey, you mammal. Please, don't make our guild too noticeable to others..."
But in reality, there were quite a few problems.
'The more attention journalists pay here, the more my reckless act of handing in that irresponsible resignation pops back up. Thanks to that, I got the triple amount of trash talk online today.'
The hunter's license was going to be restored anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. The main reason Kim Giryeo was displeased with the company's prosperity, however, was the items.
In other words, the loot.
'And please, stop making Archmage use [Appraisal] skills——! The lower-level gates have a low chance of rewards, and how many magic stones have you sorted in just this week? Huh?'
The motivation-boosting resources dropped by the monsters in the gates were giving the alien guild master a hard time. Since there were only a few employees anyway, he had figured he could handle appraisal work as a weekend pastime... but just a few days later, there were so many items to sort that he now had to clock in at the rental office every day. How could anyone possibly welcome this?
The alien had no desire for the company to thrive. Yet if the guild master were to seriously limit the activity levels by his own authority, that in itself would become a serious problem.
'As if it wasn't enough, it's a Guild that's like a hole-in-the-wall store'
The salary that the alien provides as a baseline is merely enough so everyone doesn't fall behind on rent or go hungry. For a top-tier awakened like Choi Jin, just repeating hunts would already grow their wealth considerably. But what if a company with poor benefits dared to limit the number of hunts?
"[The Kim Giryeo Guild blocks the 'Survival Path'... Prices are already high, and now they're restricting hunters' activities!]"
If that happened, there would be nothing to say even when facing such a headline in the future.
Therefore, the alien carefully chose his words.
"Just... try to gradually reduce your workload from now on. What does the company's profit matter anyway? If you keep cramming six tasks a day and run through the dungeons, it'll just wear out Hunter Choi Jin."
"Hmm."
"Please don't ever think about thanking me. That won't make me happy, so just take it easy."
Actually, Kim Giryeo just wanted to care about his own well-being, ignoring the employees' income and all that, but not wanting to come off as a villain, he carefully chose his words.
"Take it easy...?"
The moment those words reached the employee's ears, their meaning got completely twisted. A person in a position to earn more money the more the employee worked—insisting, instead, that they take a break. And the one giving this suggestion was none other than a superpower presumed to have retired due to illness. Naturally, for Choi Jin, who had lived her entire life in a capitalist society, this statement could only sound... simple.
'Huh? This person really seems to care about my health.'
Choi Jin nodded, as if she'd just heard a kind word.
'I've been thinking this for a while, but despite his appearance, Kim Giryeo seems to have a really nice personality.'
In conclusion, Kim Giryeo's request slipped away, and the employees' behavior remained unchanged. The black-haired, A-rank hunter maintained the same hunting pace for a while afterward. She truly showed off her competence.
But 48 hours later, the alien guild master suddenly sent a message summoning Choi Jin...