Chapter 57

Team Building (2)

After he had finished rubbing his face, Secretary Kim spoke with a slightly hollow look.

“The Hunters are leaving faster than we’ve thought.”

They had experienced something in the previous life, and the rumors about the internal situation were still spreading. I did not feel surprised upon hearing this.

“Hunters who were recruited by the late Assistant Guild Master hope to leave almost 100 percent, and many have already notified the guild.”

This was also expected.

“However, the bigger problem is that seems to be a serious commotion among those originally in support of the Assistant Guild Master, and those who took a rather neutral stand.”

“About how many people?”

“Please read this.”

Secretary Kim sent me a file. I naturally frowned while reading the contents on my terminal.

‘I don’t think it was this bad in my previous life. The number of people trying to leave at once has increased.’

Meanwhile…

“Did you, Secretary Kim, figure this out by yourself, investigate, and organize it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You must have had a hard time. Thank you.”

No, this wasn’t something you could make just by working hard.

Even though his personality may seem misleading, I could tell that he was definitely bright-eared and quick-footed.

“Just looking at this one sheet clearly tells me what’s going on inside.”

The data he created was about the tendencies for certain ranks of hunters belonging to the guild to possibly walk out of the guild.

“Even those Hunters who didn’t follow Han-Seol mean to leave if they are above A-Ranks.”

“Yes, and the reason that’s a big problem is ···”

“It’s the guild stake.”

“Yes, it is.”

A Hunter Guild’s organization was easy to mistake as just that, for its name was in the form of a loose union of the Middle Ages, but this was 2038.

For many reasons, such as taxes and voting rights, preferential measures under the special law, and limitations of responsibility held by individual hunters, large Hunter Guilds mostly had the form of corporations.

“Chance of Hunters above A-Rank owning a stake is about 100%, and they own stakes that’re either a lot or small, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Seo Gyu…. My dad’s share was 32 percent when I left home. Has there been any change?”

Since there were no official announcements on such, there was no way to track it in real-time.

“It’s about 35 percent now.”

It had slightly increased.

It must have been the pie that he completed under the purchase of stakes of hunters who had already left.

“35% ··· Including the existing friendly shares, it would still be slightly over 50 percent.”

“That’s right.”

Being the heir of Celestial Dragon Guild meant that some of those 35 percent would be passed on to me in the future.

No matter how talented you were as a hunter, you couldn’t control everything with your power, as this was not the kingdom of animals.

However… Seo Gyu-Cheol’s stake is very ambiguous.

‘To pass the inheritance to me was only Seo Gyu-Cheol’s delusion, only possible on the premise that Han-Seol is alive and all the other Hunters are in favor of it, and that the power structure in the guild will not change at all.’

Only 35%.

‘It’s not small compared to other guild situations, but ···.’

In the case of a Hunter Guild, no major shareholder alone had more than a majority stake. This was because they had to attract high ranked hunters with the shares.

Hunters who had acquired such shares received dividends on guild profits in cash and items in addition to annual contract salary and performance-based payouts.

‘It is not even enough in this situation.’

I then asked, “What if all the Hunters who want to leave summed all their shares together?”

“Excluding the Assistant Guild Master’s share, which the search for the successor is ongoing, it’s about this much.”

The statistics made me frown.

If someone bought all the stake that would suddenly be released, they could join hands with the friendly forces under Seio-Gyul’s command in order to change the head. This could lead to a casting vote.

“Since it is a one-sided notice of withdrawal, the Guild Master has the right to buy their shares first, following the terms of the contract.”

“But my father doesn’t have the cash to buy it all by himself. With his private money, and not of the guild’s treasury, I mean.”

“Exactly. The Guild Master must purchase their shares in cash within a certain period. Otherwise, the negotiating power would be offered to the outside. We’re also contacting the financial sector to raise money, but it doesn’t seem easy.”

No matter how popular the industry was, the fact that being a Hunter was a high-risk industry did not change. Banks were reluctant to lend large sums of money.

It was the same for all industries that were in danger of dungeon breaks, but fighting in the front line was not comparable.

But then···

“What did you mean when you said, outside?”

“The Grand Croix Guild, the Destruction Blade Guild, the six large business groups and the government organizations that are openly expressing their intention in purchasing the stake.”

In the previous life, the conclusion of the incident was stopped when Celestial Dragon’s rivals, Grand Croix and Destruction Blade, were involved in voting rights. After that, the guild itself began to deteriorate rapidly.

However, Seo Gyu-Cheol remained a Guild Master and CEO at that time.

Things were different now. The number of hunters wanting to leave had increased from the previous life. In this case, the owner may change.

‘That’s not going to work.’

I had to take the Celestial Dragon under my command.

“It’s understandable that even large corporations, not guilds, are showing interests….”

Since it was not in the form of a union, individuals and corporations, and non-hunters could buy shares of the guild. Large companies’ path to operate the guild under their leadership had long been available, and Celestial Dragon was prey that seemed delicious enough from looking at its reputation, capital, and know-how accumulated or even as a symbolic meaning.

However…

“Why is the government getting involved? If we’re branded as a government guild, more of the high ranking hunters will leave.”

“It seems that they want to buy the stake of Celestial Dragon from the Reconstruction Fund and have a guild that can do whatever they want them to do, even when they are not in a state of emergency. The workforce they need doesn’t have to be above B-Rank. Lower-ranking Hunters may welcome them rather than leaving.”

“They’re just going to gather a mediocre level of hunters and create a multi-job-specialized guild that is assigned by the country?”

“I guess so.”

My brain calculated things fast. The situation was a little different from my past life. First of all, I needed to find the cause.

“Even if the people of Han-Seol were bound to, why are the neutrals and the support of the Guild Master acting so in all of a sudden?”

“Oh, well….”

Only then did I hear why Secretary Kim’s expression looked so emaciated.

“The Guild Master ···I think.”

He hesitated for a long time, unable to find a suitable word. He was not the same as he used to be blunt.

“I think ···”

After some hesitation, he managed to get the word out of his throat.

“I think he’s gone mad.”

*

Let us imagine in the previous life, what Seo Gyu-Cheol’s state must be in after the Siheung 8 Dungeon attack.

Han-Seol, who served as the lighthouse that shed light on the guild’s future with a vision of the future, had died. Seo Jin-Wook, a rare genius who expected to improve Celestial Dragon more as his successor, had also died.

He must have struggled with despair, anger, sadness, and loss. At this point, it would be strange if he did not lose his sanity.

‘But it didn’t go that far in the previous life.’

He did not literally become insane.

Although Seo Gyu-Cheol had continued to decline since then, he led the Celestial Dragon Guild until the end.

‘On the other hand, aren’t things better now?’

For Seo Gyu-Cheol, his son was missing, but was still alive. Instead, his mental damage should be reduced.

‘But why are there more people who want to leave?’ I had asked.

“If he’s out of his mind, what state is he in?”

Secretary Kim spoke with a dark face, “Even after hearing the results of the Siheung 8 Dungeon clear… He’s getting even more heated on the Team Leader’s search.”

“Me?”

No, yes, of course. He must have looked for me. Even though he considered me his ‘tool,’ he still had no successor, so how could he be relaxed? However, Secretary Kim’s subsequent description was not what I expected.

“It’s not just a level of search. As I see it··· this is more like madness. Obsession beyond normal levels. It’s not the parents’ feeling that worries about what happened to their son. I’ve never heard him worrying about your state, and I have never felt that way from him. It’s only that there’s a constant sense of enmity and a sense of hostility to bring you in right now.”

Secretary Kim crushed his lips as he spoke.

So far, when it came to things about me, people had changed, but it wasn’t this bad.

The man, who seemed like a being carved with ice, which rarely reflected his feelings, had already disappeared.

The office was said to be observed with things flying and shouting every day.

“I understand the situation, but this is not the time. They even gave orders to hunters belonging to the Celestial Dragon to find the Team Leader.”

Oh, dear. I hit my forehead. I understood why everyone now wanted to head out. While the guild was still reeling from the departure of Han-Seol’s Hunters, the Guild Master was giving out a personal order to find his son without focusing, and was now losing his sanity.

Would a hunter with a sound mind want to remain?

‘At this rate, the guild will collapse before I can assume it.’

I felt the need to own the voting rights of the guild quickly.

‘But why is it worse than in the previous life?’

There was only one difference.

In the previous life, Seo Jin-Wook died, and this time, he lived.

Considering that the madness was definitely due to a curse···

‘Did the living status of Seo Jin-Wook affect Seo Gyu-Cheol’s curse?’

A clue resurfaced to mind once more.

Those who were cursed all showed an unusual obsession with Seo Jin-Wook. There was also the case about the size of the seed in my heart, which was much bigger than the others.

“‘It’s clear that the curse on me somehow interacts with the ones on them.’

Secretary Kim asked while I was thinking, “Are you coming back?”

Upon peering at him closely, I could guess how much Seo Gyu-Cheol was tossing him, who was my escort, around.

“Not right now. Please be patient for just a bit more.”

Every day would be hellish days, suffering from Seo Gyu-Cheol’s madness. It may be worse than suffering from the original self from the past.

I felt genuinely sorry for Secretary Kim.

He was also a man who could leave at any time if he wanted to. However, he remained in the Celestial Dragon and continued to be my ears.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Thank you.”

I greeted him with sincerity.

Secretary Kim asked me carefully, “Well, what’s your plan for the future?”

I told him what I had been thinking of. “It is almost certain that Seo Gyu-Cheol is cursed. Still, it is not very helpful to take over Celestial Dragon by even immediately assassinating Seo Gyu-Cheol, which only makes me a bastard.

If Seo Gyu-Cheol dies and his son, who inherited the 35 percent stake, takes charge, would other hunters follow me?”

At the point that it has only been a few months since my Awakening, and with the notoriety of being a mentally ill person?

‘The smoothest process is to have enough shares to have more than that of Seo Gyu-Cheol has right now and to prove my ability.’

Secretary Kim listened to it seriously and said, “I don’t doubt that you’ll come back with an ability that everyone can approve of you. I’ve already seen some of it. But capital is a little different.”

“Is the way to raise that kind of money quickly mean dungeon exploration?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“As I said, even if you inherit all of his shares, you still have to worry and buy other Hunters’ shares. We need to add additional benefits to beat our competitors. To raise such money, we need to dispose of a huge sum of items in a short time··· For now, the Korean Hunter society is not capable of handling such a quantity at once. So will the Hunter Store in Yangji, as well as the Black Market.”

“You don’t have to worry about that at all,” I reassured him. “If the Korean market can’t handle it, we can sell it through another method that can digest it neatly, without any problems, and quickly.”

I couldn’t tell him about the Senator’s identity, but I told him that I had already made connections in the foreign black market.

“Ah!” Secretary Kim looked surprised. “That’s what you went abroad for!”

Well, that was not all of it.

“Also, for the time being, I’m going to be busy making the rounds at dungeons in both legal and illegal ways.”

So far, my top priority when choosing the dungeon had been focused on whether there was a high risk of collapse if left it as it was.

And when I chose items, I focused on strengthening my colleagues rather than selling pricey ones and receiving expensive money. The reason why I searched for dungeons where Mana cores were available the most was not to sell them to the government, but to increase my Mana capacity.

However, I knew I would have to go out for a while in the next few weeks.

There were no dungeons on the brink of collapse right now, so I just had to focus on one purpose.

‘Dungeons that don’t help build up power right now, but those that have items that can be disposed of expensively through Hunter’s Store or Black Market.’

Among them were monitored dungeons that were already identified by the government.

Including expanding Nate and Hibiki’s training, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

‘But they won’t let E-Ranks in.’

The promotion review was scheduled for tomorrow.

‘Well, after we raise our ranks, shall we make some money for a while?’