Suho's 'Woojin Guild' had just one simple criterion for selecting dungeons: Leveling up as quickly as possible.
In other words, high rank dungeons or those with a large number of magic beasts were the best for gaining experience. But naturally, such gates were also popular with other hunters. This was because the remains of strong monsters were often valuable, and the more monsters there were, the more valuable materials could be obtained. And because of that, the rights to raid such dungeons were expensive.
Currently, Suho's guild had 1 billion won in funds. This was an ambiguous amount of money, neither a fortune nor a small amount, so they had to make a choice. Either split the guild's 1 billion won and raid multiple low- to mid-level dungeons. Or all-in and purchase a single higher-level raid license.
Both of these would be decent choices for a typical guild focused on profit. However, for Suho, whose main goal was leveling up, neither option was ideal. Having surpassed level 50, he could no longer gain experience, let alone level up, in low- to mid-level dungeons. And even a high-level dungeon might not guarantee a single level up. Of course, once the larger payments from the Scavenger Guild started coming in next month, everything would be resolved. But he couldn't just sit idly in the office until then.
...So the option Suho chose was neither of the two. Even if it was somewhat inefficient from a profit-oriented guild perspective, there was another way if the goal was just leveling up. Enter a dungeon already claimed by another guild. This third method could be further divided into two approaches. One was to act as mercenaries, responding to another guild's request for assistance. If a guild that had won a bidding competition determined that the dungeon's difficulty was higher than expected, they might request support from other guilds or hunters. However, this was quite rare. Most guilds purchased raid licenses only for those dungeons they were sure could clear on their own.
That left one option. Acquire the raid license from another guild. Usually, it would be transferred at a higher cost than the original purchase price, with a premium added. But this was also difficult for Woojin Guild with its limited funds, so the method Suho came up with was to utilize 'blood ties.'
'...That's why I was trying to buy the raid license from the Reaper Guild through Lim Dogyoon as an intermediary.'
After the Lee Minsung incident, the Reaper Guild was suffering from a severe manpower shortage. It was only natural that they no longer had the capacity to clear all the dungeons they held raid licenses for. They might even need to urgently sell their licenses to maintain cash flow. And since it was the guild his son belonged to, they might be willing to hand over the raid license at a slightly lower price…
Suho's plan was perfect… Except… There was something He hadn't considered...
'So the Reaper Guild is in that much trouble?' Lim Tae-Gyu was ruined. The Reaper Guild, once considered the best guild in South Korea, had steadily declined after the Lee Minsung incident. Thanks to Que who after his death handed over all of his hidden funds to Lim Tae-Gyu, their financial difficulties, which put them on the verge of bankruptcy, were alleviated.
The problem was that this didn't make the hunters who had already terminated their contracts and left the guild return. The company's image had already hit rock bottom. So Lim Tae-Gyu made a bold decision, saying he would go back to basics. Instead of recruiting new guild members, he used the remaining funds to increase the value of the guild members who had remained loyal despite the circumstances. Then, he shed the image of a large guild and started operating as a small, elite guild. Just like the Woojin Guild led by Suho.
Anyway, because of this situation, Lim Tae-Gyu was in a similar predicament as Suho. The Reaper Guild he led decided to operate as a mercenary group for a while, as it was the most cost-effective way to utilize their funds.
Contrary to their tarnished public image, they were instantly welcomed in the industry, as it was unprecedented for a mercenary group to include an S-rank hunter. And the first guild to send a love call to them was the 'Knights' the representative guild of the Yeongnam region.
"...As you probably already know, our Guild has the most A-rank hunters in the country." On their way to the office, B-rank healer Lee Juhee explained about her guild to Suho.
"However, while we have many A-ranks, we don't have a single S-rank hunter, which sometimes leads to difficult situations like this. So we're very grateful to Hunter Lim Tae-Gyu for coming as a mercenary this time." Every time Lee Juhee mentioned Lim Tae-Gyu's name, Lim Dogyoon, walking beside Suho, flinched and stiffened. Seeing this, Suho chuckled and lightly patted Lim Dogyoon's back.
"Relax. You look like you're going into battle."
"Y-yeah, s-sure." Lim Dogyoon was already a nervous wreck.
"..." And finally, the inevitable moment arrived.
"This is the office. It seems they're in the middle of a strategy meeting."
Knock, knock! Lee Juhee knocked on the office door and entered, followed by Suho and Lim Dogyoon. At that moment, the gazes of all the hunters who had been in a heated discussion turned towards them.
"What?"
"Who's suddenly interrupting the meeting..." Those who were about to speak fell silent when they recognized Lee Juhee beside Suho.
"The additional mercenary support has arrived" At her answer, the hunters' eyes momentarily lit up. At the same time, their gazes quickly scanned Suho and Lim Dogyoon standing beside her.
The people gathered here were the leaders of the Knights Guild. This was a meeting to address the emergency in Haeundae, Busan, so any skilled hunter was welcome. However, things were different if they couldn't prove their skills.
'Woojin Guild. According to the information, it's a newly established guild.'
'And it's a small guild with only three members, including the guild master.'
Under normal circumstances, they would never accept such an unproven guild as mercenaries. In an emergency like this, if unskilled people got in the way, it could lead to a major accident. But the person who recommended Woojin Guild was none other than Lim Tae-Gyu. Although technically a mercenary, as an S-rank hunter, he was essentially the core and de facto leader of this operation and the Knights Guild, which lacked an S-rank hunter, had been heavily influenced by his opinion.
'If Lim Tae-Gyu recommended them himself, they must have some hidden potential, right?'
'Judging by their small numbers, they might be a guild focused on buff skills or healing.'
Various thoughts crossed their minds, but ultimately, they couldn't help but underestimate Suho seeing Lim Dogyoon's frozen expression beside him.
"Uhhh..."
'Tsk. They're just kids after all.'
'This is worrisome. Hopefully, they won't just hold us back.'
At the sight of Lim Dogyoon standing there like a statue, unable to even breathe properly, the hunters couldn't help but click their tongues. They all, without exception, glanced at Lim Tae-Gyu, who was leading the meeting from the podium.
'Even with Lim Tae-Gyu's recommendation, we'll have to oppose this... Hmm?'
'What was Lim Tae-Gyu thinking... Hmm?'
But what was this? Lim Tae-Gyu, who had been strategizing with charismatic authority on the podium, now had the same frozen expression as Lim Dogyoon.
"Uhhh..."
"Uhhh..."
"...What's going on here?" The hunters exchanged puzzled looks, alternately glancing at the two who had frozen upon seeing each other.
"..."
"..."
The father-son reunion, made possible thanks to Suho, began in a tense atmosphere. Seeing Lim Tae-Gyu and Lim Dogyoon, both lacking the courage to speak first, even the Knights Guild leaders couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Upon realizing that Lim Dogyoon was Lim Tae-Gyu's son, they remembered the heartbreaking story in their information network.
'On the day he awakened, his wife turned into a Mist Burn.'
'And that Mist Burn attacked his son.'
'To save his son, Lim Tae-Gyu had to kill his own wife, with his own hands...' This incident was a well-known story.
'And his son ran away from home after that, right?'
'It's understandable. No matter the circumstances, he witnessed his father killing his mother.' Knowing the situation, they could understand the atmosphere. However...
'Why are they doing this here...'
'I wish they would just leave.' It was suffocating.
'We're so busy.'
Park Jongsoo, the president of the Knights Guild, and Suho ignored the awkwardness and shook hands.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Jongsoo, an A-rank hunter leading the Knights Guild."
"I'm Sung Suho, the president of Woojin Guild." Park Jongsoo was quite a polite and courteous person. Or rather, he had no choice but to act that way. Unlike the other leaders, he had heard about Suho from Lim Tae-Gyu beforehand.
'The mysterious person in the photo taken with Hunter Lim Tae-Gyu during the Lee Minsung incident.'
The drone photo had been of such poor quality that the face of this unknown individual couldn't be clearly identified. Countless guilds had been desperate to uncover his identity, hoping he was a promising new hunter. And now, he had come to them on his own. This was an opportunity. If, as Lim Tae-Gyu said, he turned out to be a tremendous talent in the future, there was no harm in forming a good relationship with him. Park Jongsoo gave a friendly smile and personally pulled out a chair for Suho.
"Here, President Sung Suho. Please have a seat. Since time is of the essence, let's have a more in-depth conversation after the meeting."Finally, the meeting began.
Lim Tae-Gyu, unable to have a proper conversation with Lim Dogyoon, went back to the podium to continue the meeting.
Lim Dogyoon, who ended up sitting next to Suho, gradually calmed down as he watched his father.