"Guild Master?"
At a café inside the Sword Palace building, Lee Hayeon, seated in a private room, looked stunned by Seong Jihan's sudden proposal.
"You're serious about this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
While it wasn't uncommon for the owner of a guild and its master to be different, typically, the designated guild master was always the best player within that guild.
In contrast, Lee Hayeon was just an ordinary person.
"You have a supporting Gift, don't you?"
"Are you referring to this useless Gift?"
Lee Hayeon displayed her status window showing her Gift.
[Gift – Nurturing (Rank A)]
[A supporting gift. Helps other players grow quickly.]
Lee Hayeon glanced at her bodyguard, Lim Gayeong.
"From our tests, this Gift isn't very beneficial. It doesn't stack with the experience buff that can be purchased with GP in the guild."
"I'm not interested in the experience buff."
"But the supporting Gift only applies to experience, right?"
"No, it wouldn't be rated Rank A if that's all it did."
Despite Lee Hayeon having the Gift, Seong Jihan seemed more confident about its capabilities.
"Have you ever seen a supporting Gift rated higher than A?"
"Not really. Most were rated D or C, and B was rare."
Unlike other Gifts which had ratings up to SSS, the highest grade for a supporting Gift so far was A. This meant that Lee Hayeon's Gift was at the pinnacle among supporting Gifts.
"Don't you find it strange that the highest grade in its category only provides a mere 10% experience buff?"
She had tried to find a use for the Gift, but tests had repeatedly shown it to be of little use.
"Did your experiments include a guild master who invested all points in Growth Rate Increase?"
"Growth Rate Increase? You've invested in that seemingly useless option?"
"Yes, that's why I named the guild 'Daegi'."
Understanding dawned upon Lee Hayeon.
"You named it thinking of your niece?"
"While I deeply care for Seah, she's not the sole reason."
Pointing to himself, Seong Jihan added, "I need to grow as well."
"But there's a consensus worldwide that there isn't much effect to the Growth Rate Increase."
"I believe there is."
Seong Jihan exuded a confidence that seemed to come from knowledge not available to others.
Was there truly an unknown ability in the supporting Gift?
"Still, I'm affiliated with the Divergent Guild…"
"But you're not an official guild player, just an employee."
"That's true."
"So, you can juggle both. You don't need to actively serve as a guild master. Just lend me your name."
"Just my name?"
"Yes. Just having a player with a supporting Gift as the guild master matters."
Lee Hayeon felt an intuition.
This man knew something.
And taking up his proposal might give her insights into her Gift's potential.
"Still, just lending my name seems…"
She trailed off, trying to negotiate a better deal.
"Of course, you'll be compensated appropriately. If you become the guild master, I'll share more valuable betting picks with you, like last time. By the way, did you win big this time?"
Lee Hayeon momentarily lost her composure at Seong Jihan's question, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"… Did you lose even with the exact predictions I gave? Even if you didn't trust the predictions for the Korea-Japan match, you should've at least trusted my Top 100 game."
"Thank you, Mr. Seong Jihan. I did profit because of your advice," Lim Gayeong, stepping in, bowed politely with a faint smile.
It was ironic.
The bodyguard had won, but the one who should have profited, Lee Hayeon, looked disappointed.
Seong Jihan sighed. "I made more than 100 times my initial bet with those two predictions. That's how I could afford to establish the guild."
"100 times?!"
"Yes, but it seems betting isn't for you. Even when given the right predictions, you don't seem to listen."
"No, I will! I promise to follow your advice from now on!"
"Even if you do, you're still likely to lose. Maybe it's better if I give you a different form of compensation."
"Okay, I'll do it! I'll be the guild master! Just lend my name, right? Please…"
Lee Hayeon was almost frantic.
Seeing her like this, Seong Jihan realized why, in her previous life, she had been left penniless despite being the guild master of America First's secondary guild.
He never thought it would be this easy.
Swiftly, Seong Jihan initiated the guild master appointment process.
As he selected Lee Hayeon, a system message appeared in front of her.
[Will you become the master of the Daegi Guild?]
"Miss, come to your senses!"
Before Lim Gayeong could restrain her, Lee Hayeon's finger tapped 'Yes'.
Immediately, multiple messages appeared:
[You are now the master of the Daegi Guild.]
[The guild's growth rate level has exceeded 10. The effects of the Supporting Gift, Nurturing, have been enhanced for all guild members.]
[Growth rate efficiency has doubled.]
[A 30% experience boost is now applied to all guild members.]
"What… What just happened?" Lee Hayeon asked in disbelief.
"I told you," Seong Jihan said, grinning. "The effects are quite significant, aren't they?"
* * * * *
The next day, at the same venue, Lee Hayeon recalled her conversation with her older brother, Lee Sang-Jin, the master of the Divergent Guild and the heir to their family's conglomerate.
["Seong Jihan wants you as a guild master? Did he fall for you?"]
"Brother, it's not that. He saw my supporting Gift…"
["Supporting Gift? That's useless, isn't it? Hayeon, he's attracted to your beauty."]
"…"
["This is good. You didn't have much to do in the guild anyway. Assist Seong Jihan and try to persuade him to join our Divergent Guild. Make sure there are no romantic rumors, okay?"]
"…"
Lee Hayeon smirked bitterly.
Her half-brother, who was 20 years her senior, was always kind to her.
But that kindness stemmed from viewing her as a 'product' to strengthen the conglomerate's matrimonial alliances.
["You have a bodyguard with you, so there shouldn't be any mistakes."]
She glanced at Lim Gayeong standing silently next to her.
Apart from her primary duties of protection, there were…
A bodyguard to monitor her and ensure no male got too close.
Due to the old-fashioned household atmosphere and her circumstances, romance had been a distant dream.
Likely, the bodyguard would be with her until she married.
"Miss Lee Hayeon, you're already here."
"Yes, Mr. Jihan."
She put aside her thoughts as Seong Jihan entered the café's private room.
"I apologize for my behavior yesterday."
"Don't be. Thanks to that, we have a wonderful guild master now."
"About the guild master position… You do know I can resign anytime, right?"
"You wish to resign?"
"No, it's just that now I know how useful my Gift is, thanks to you. I just… I want to be treated according to its worth."
Seong Jihan nodded without hesitation.
From the beginning, he had no intention of exploiting her.
Lee Hayeon's talent, especially her supporting Gift, was unparalleled.
It was best for both if she stayed as the guild master for an extended period.
"I'd like our Divergent Guild to handle your management, especially after the incident with the 'Korea Daily'."
Seong Jihan, after his impressive performance in the Top 100 broadcasted worldwide, was the talk of the town.
If Divergent Guild were to manage such a figure, it would be a significant achievement for Lee Hayeon.
"Sure, I don't really want to shoot many ads. But considering your reputation, let's do one a month."
"Ugh! You have to make hay while the sun shines. You have to do at least one a week considering your newfound fame."
"You have barely got out of the Bronze League."
Seong Jihan smirked. "One a month until I win in the Top 100 Promotion Match – Silver."
"Are you sure you're going to win?"
"Who else could do it but me?"
'What kind of confidence is this?'
Lee Hayeon decided not to delve into his confidence. "Alright. That's settled then. Can I ask for one more thing?"
"Another one? You're quite ambitious."
"Yes, regarding the guild master duties… I want to do them properly."
Seong Jihan was surprised.
'She could've just been a figurehead.'
Lee Sangjin asked her to persuade Seong Jihan to join the Divergent Guild so she had to be in close contact with him.
These were Lee Hayeon's true intentions but, of course, she didn't show it on the outside.
"Mr. Jihan. Honestly, you don't have much interest in running a guild, right? This guild is just for buffing you and your niece, right?"
"…Why do you think that?"
"A guild for buffs, that's what this guild is."
At the spot-on observation, Seong Jihan was slightly taken aback.
'Was Zero this sharp-witted?'
"If you were really going to operate it properly, I thought you would have invested at least 1 point in guild member expansion."
"Well, that's because increasing the growth rate was more important."
"And there's also your BattleTube channel."
'Why bring up BattleTube all of a sudden?'
When Seong Jihan looked puzzled, Lee Hayeon showed him his channel on her smartphone.
"Look at this. You have over 600,000 subscribers, what kind of channel is without an editor? At the very least, you should have extracted highlights or split the videos. They're all full versions."
"Well, a lot of people still watch them."
"We should make even more watch them!"
Lee Hayeon spoke as if she felt more regretful than he did.
"It feels like you're neglecting a diamond mine."
"You're saying you'll manage it on my behalf as the guild master?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm…"
That sounds good.
From the beginning, Seong Jihan didn't have much intention to manage the guild properly.
The longer she wanted to stay and manage the Daegi Guild, the more beneficial it was for him.
'In my previous life, when she was the secondary guild master, she was praised as an excellent guild master, if not for gambling.'
Even during her Zero days, she appeared as a gambling addict, but she was clear about separating public and private matters.
She never touched the guild's funds and always waited for payday.
Considering that, there was no reason to stop her if she wanted to work hard on her end.
"Alright. If you manage it on behalf of me, I'll have more personal training time. But why do you suddenly want to do this?"
"Mr. Jihan, why do you think I bet?"
"Just a gambling hobby?"
"No! My dream was to be a guild owner! I bet to raise funds for establishing a guild. I was an innocent girl who didn't know anything about gambling. Right, Gayeong?"
At Lee Hayeon's question, Lim Gayeong slowly nodded.
"It seems like… she might have been."
"So you want to practice with the Daegi Guild?"
"I don't see it as practice. I'll treat it as if it's my own and give my best!"
"Alright then…"
Seong Jihan opened the guild window, considering how best to support her enthusiasm.
'This seems best.'
He transferred 20% of the guild's shares to Lee Hayeon.