Chapter 84
Biting his lower lip hard, Jung Seongbaek of the Reaper Guild pondered for a moment before nodding once.
Immediately after, he pushed back his chair and stood up.
"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm afraid Reaper cannot proceed with a contract under these conditions. I wish you success in reaching a good agreement."
With a brief farewell, Jung Seongbaek also left the meeting room.
Now only three remained.
'Phoenix, Aqua, Neuro.'
Lee Seongjun looked at the scouts with a relaxed expression.
"Do you intend to disclose your terms?"
"..."
Though they remained silent, the resolve in their eyes was enough to understand their intentions.
"Let's start with the signing bonus. How much can you offer?"
Once again, Lee Yerin of the Phoenix Guild was the first to speak.
"I'll offer 250 billion won."
"Aqua Guild will offer 29 billion yen."
29 billion yen, equivalent to about 280 billion won, was an enormous sum.
However, the amounts presented so far could be considered a sort of exploratory phase.
Indeed, as soon as Hoshino of Aqua Guild finished speaking, Lee Yerin opened her mouth again.
"I'll raise it to 300 billion won."
"33 billion yen. I'll need to consult with our Guild Master, but given Hunter Lee Seongjun's abilities, I'm sure he'll approve."
As expected, once the competition began, the signing bonus quickly started to soar.
Gathering the scouts in one place to hear the contract terms was indeed a wise decision.
Even as a satisfied smile spread across Lee Seongjun's face, the signing bonus continued to rise.
"350 billion won."
Perhaps because he had shown an overwhelming performance that broke the record at the Sandra Block Party?
Although the detailed terms hadn't been confirmed yet, just looking at the signing bonus, it was reaching the standard for SSS-rank.
'...This is quite surprising.'
The potential was certainly there.
But it was only potential.
You never know what variables might interfere and ruin things.
'Of course, that would never happen...'
It was natural for the scouts, who didn't know about the existence of the Demon God, Lee Seongjun, to lack such confidence.
In the worst case, they would have to take the risk of not even recovering half of their investment, yet the scouts continued to raise the price.
"37 billion yen, which would be about 355 billion won. Furthermore, Aqua Guild will cover all fees incurred during currency exchange."
As they seemed to be nearing the limit, the increments became smaller and additional conditions started to be attached.
Seeing Hoshino looking anxious, a faint smile appeared on Lee Yerin's lips.
"360 billion won! Additionally, I'll transfer 40 billion won worth of my Phoenix Guild shares!"
Hoshino's eyes widened in an instant.
"Are you serious? You're offering a signing bonus of 400 billion won?"
As mentioned earlier, even SSS-rank hunters typically received signing bonuses of around 350 billion won.
Although Lee Seongjun had built an overwhelming career, his current estimated rank was at most SS+.
Yet now, Phoenix was offering a whopping 400 billion won, an amount not just for an ordinary SSS-rank hunter, but matching that of a lower-tier ranker.
"Yes, absolutely. We at Phoenix believe Lee Seongjun is worth even more than that."
At Lee Yerin's confident answer, a shadow fell over Hoshino's face.
Shifting his gaze, Hoshino looked at Lee Seongjun and carefully made a different proposal.
"Although 37 billion yen is the limit we can offer as a signing bonus right now, Aqua Guild will provide additional conditions to ensure Hunter Lee Seongjun can maximize his profits. We'd be grateful if you could give us a chance."
Lee Seongjun's face remained impassive at Hoshino's words, causing an undisguisable smile to spread across Lee Yerin's lips.
She sensed victory.
But that was merely her own delusion.
Janet McCurdy of Neuro Guild, who had been silently observing the situation, quietly spoke up.
"400 million dollars. If you prefer payment in won, we can make it 500 billion won."
"...?!"
At Janet's shocking offer, Hoshino and Lee Yerin's eyes widened like full moons.
Naturally, Lee Seongjun's gaze also turned to Janet.
'As expected... living up to their reputation.'
One of the world's top 10 guilds, though at the bottom of that list, Neuro Guild proudly held its place there.
In other words, it was truly a world-class guild.
In terms of power and financial strength, it could be said to surpass any of the guilds present here.
"In addition, we'll match the industry's best conditions for base salary, incentives, and byproduct processing fees. If you wish, we'll also provide a mansion for Hunter Lee Seongjun to stay in, as well as a private vehicle and private jet."
Along with the enormous sum exceeding 500 billion won, additional options that could be described as excellent were also attached.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these were conditions offered to rankers, even those in the top tier.
Perhaps because they couldn't realistically surpass Janet's conditions, deep shadows fell over Hoshino and Lee Yerin's faces.
However, Lee Seongjun had no intention of immediately accepting Janet's offer.
'This is too much.'
There are no one-sided deals in this world.
Especially a company positioned as high as Neuro Guild, called world-class, wouldn't be willing to take a loss.
'Janet herself doesn't seem too greedy, at least for now...'
But Janet was merely a scout.
He didn't think the beings beyond her, the core executives of Neuro Guild, would be without greed either.
'No, it's not just Neuro Guild's executives.'
When contracting with a foreign guild, the country must give the Korean Hunter Association emergency mobilization authority.
This meant that the U.S. government and Hunter Association would also try to make up for their losses.
'They'll probably try to make me a U.S. affiliate, or use clever methods that don't violate the contract to assign work commensurate with the amount paid.'
In other words, Neuro Guild and the United States would try to bind him in every way possible and become the center, seeking to gain as much profit as they could.
The direction of the relationship that Neuro Guild and the United States desired now was clearly different from what he, Lee Seongjun, had in mind.
If he signed the contract, it was obvious that troublesome issues would arise in the future.
'There's no need to create conflicts unnecessarily.'
Certainly, with the help of Neuro Guild and the United States, he could quickly and comfortably walk the path of the Emperor.
But even without their help, there would be no problem.
It was a path he would walk soon enough anyway.
'I shouldn't make the foolish choice of walking a thorny path later just for a little comfort now.'
Moreover, he had no intention of revealing his thoughts to the scouts before him.
After organizing his thoughts with a nod, Lee Seongjun smiled and opened his mouth.
"You've all made such good offers that it's difficult for me to make an immediate decision. I'll think it over carefully and contact you again."
After giving a brief greeting to the scouts seated in front of him, Lee Seongjun rose from his seat without hesitation and disappeared.
* * *
That night.
A deep shadow fell over Janet's face as she continued her phone call in a 5-star hotel room.
The reason was simple.
She couldn't give a proper answer to the question from her current conversation partner and superior, Mylo.
-So, how was it seeing him in person? What kind of potential does he seem to have?
"I'm... sorry. I couldn't assess it."
-Didn't you say Lee Seongjun himself would attend? Did he suddenly cancel?
"No, that's not it. Hunter Lee Seongjun definitely attended. I just couldn't assess him."
-...
The conversation that had been continuing suddenly broke off, and silence fell.
This was inevitable because Janet hadn't been dispatched as a scout without reason.
She possessed an S+ rank skill, Limitless Vision, which could roughly estimate the growth limit of the observation target.
'But... I couldn't see anything.'
To be precise, she couldn't read it.
Pitch-black darkness formed a thick wall, blocking the ability of Limitless Vision.
'It felt like looking at the Master.'
Victor Wiseman, the master of Neuro Guild and a member of the Guardians.
An aura similar to his, one of the handful of strongest in the world, was flowing from Lee Seongjun's body.
'Is this even possible...?'
Usually, returnees gain strength and knowledge proportional to the time they spent in the other world.
In fact, returnees who excel in various fields are those who spent at least 10 years, sometimes up to 20 years, in the other world before returning to Earth.
But according to the data she had researched beforehand, Hunter Lee Seongjun was clearly a returnee who had only been to the other world for 5 years.
'Moreover, Lee Seongjun is a returnee who hasn't even been back on Earth for half a year.'
It could be said to be an unprecedented case.
'What kind of life did he lead in the other world? Where exactly is his growth limit?'
While Janet was deep in thought with endless questions arising, unlike her, laughter filled with joy burst from Mylo on the other end of the phone.
-Hahaha! Great! This is great! He could really be the master key we've been looking for! No matter the cost, make sure to close the deal and bring him to Neuro Guild.
Perhaps because she had reported earlier at lunchtime that Hunter Lee Seongjun had postponed the contract, Mylo's voice was full of hope.
However, having seen Lee Seongjun's cold gaze when she made the offer, Janet couldn't give a positive answer.
"I'll do my best, but... I think there's more than a 90% chance he won't sign a contract with our Neuro Guild."
-What? Is there something else he wants besides money?
"That's not it."
-Then?
Due to Limitless Vision not activating, she couldn't assess Lee Seongjun's abilities and limits.
But her position as Head of Human Resources wasn't obtained solely through the ability of Limitless Vision.
Her sharp eye for assessing countless people was also an ability that had elevated Janet to the position of Head of Human Resources.
"...It seems he doesn't want to become affiliated with a specific guild, but rather to become a leader."
-Is that so?
Despite the situation not flowing as desired, Mylo's voice remained calm.