The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 20

"Hmm, it looks much more proper than I thought. I was thinking of a small building when you said guild."

Lee Shin muttered, looking at the large building in front of him for a moment, then went inside and spoke to the person at the information desk.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

The woman at the information desk smiled kindly at Lee Shin, who was dressed simply in a black shirt and jeans.

His simple attire, which probably cost less than ten thousand won, and his shaggy hair covering his face made him look suspicious, but the woman decided to exercise her professionalism for now.

And that professionalism saved her from becoming unemployed.

"I'd like to meet the guild master here."

"Um... do you have an appointment?"

"No, I don't have an appointment, but I heard this would be possible."

Saying so, Lee Shin took out the business card Cheon Yuhwa had given him from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

Seeing the business card, her and her colleague's mouths and eyes widened in surprise, and at their reaction, Lee Shin chuckled and said once more.

"I'd like to meet the guild master of the [Wonderland] guild."

At his words, she quickly came to her senses, composed her surprised face, and hurriedly made a call somewhere.

***

A huge table that could hold an enormous amount of documents.

Other than that, a practical room filled with various home appliances, which seemed more like a room where a person who hated going outside had put everything they needed to live, rather than the luxurious term 'guild master's office'.

Slurp-

Slurp-

There, Lee Shin and Cheon Yuhwa faced each other, sipping the coffee Kim Jae-hyun had made.

"The fact that you've come to our guild like this means I can assume you've made up your mind, right?"

At Cheon Yuhwa's words, Lee Shin nodded calmly.

"Yes, well. I looked over the contract after that, and it didn't seem to have any clauses that were disadvantageous to me. I also needed a quick and simple way to dispose of monster carcasses, and it was too annoying to be any more picky."

"......Why are you suddenly using formal language?"

'Well, since you seem useful for now, I'm just trying to get on your good side.'

However, since he was not a fool, he hid his true feelings and instead gave an answer that she could accept.

"Because back then, you were someone who was annoyingly following me, and now you're a business partner who brings me profit."

At his words, Cheon Yuhwa looked at him for a moment, then nodded with a 'right, this is what he was like' expression and sipped her sweet coffee.

"Well, I understand. Since you said you've already looked it over, I'll just tell you about the major parts of the contract."

Saying so, Cheon Yuhwa gestured to Kim Jae-hyun to point at the table, and following her gesture, he brought the pre-prepared contract and placed it in front of Lee Shin.

"First, I'll say it again. If you sign the contract, you will have to provide our guild with a certain quantity of monster carcasses regularly every month."

"About 100 a month. And if there are unforeseen circumstances, it can be postponed to the next month and divided... right?"

At his words, Kim Jae-hyun nodded.

"If you just do that well, our guild will do its best to support you."

"But what exactly does that support entail? It just says you'll provide support at the level of an executive guild member."

He hadn't cared about it, thinking it didn't matter as long as they handled the monsters he caught, but hearing Kim Jae-hyun's words made him curious, so he decided to ask.

"You can purchase items from our guild's production-class players at a discounted price. In addition, you can use most of the guild facilities that our guild members use. The facilities include a bathhouse and a lounge..."

"Ah, right."

As Lee Shin was listening to the endless benefits pouring from Kim Jae-hyun, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Cheon Yuhwa.

"How did you find me? Even if I cleared a dungeon, it wouldn't have been easy to specify, right?"

Although he asked as if it were nothing, like asking what she had for dinner, his eyes were shining sharply.

At that, she smiled slightly and answered.

"We have our own information network, you know. Both in reality and in Pantheon."

"Is that so?"

Lee Shin nodded once without any particular comment and signed the contract.

Cheon Yuhwa, who confirmed that he had signed the contract, extended a hand to him with a smiling face.

"I look forward to working with you."

Lee Shin also responded to her smile with a smile and shook her hand lightly.

"Me too."

This was his sincere feeling.

When he first met her, he had a very strong feeling that many interesting incidents would occur around her.

But that was just based on a hunch.

It was just a phantom with no basis.

But with the light question and answer just now, that vague feeling had turned into a certainty.

'I only played the tutorial in Pantheon, and I haven't been outside for nearly three years in reality, yet you found me with your information network... not a chance.'

It wasn't that she had made a mistake.

Her answer could be any answer within a wide range.

It was just that he had happened to be outside that range.

'The guild facilities are one thing, but this person seems the most interesting.'

The smile on his lips deepened.

***

After finishing the contract that was satisfactory to both of them in many ways, Cheon Yuhwa stood up and asked him.

"If you don't have anything particular to do after this, would you like to take a simple tour of the guild before you go? It would be more convenient for you to get around in the future if you take a look around when you have the chance."

"I'd love that. I was just wondering what it looked like."

At her suggestion, Lee Shin thought for a moment, then answered with a smiling face.

For him, who was interested in her in many ways, it was a proposal he had no reason to refuse.

"Then, Guild Master, I will guide Mr. Lee Shin."

Kim Jae-hyun, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, said to her.

However, she smiled gently and shook her head.

"No, I wanted to rest a bit too, so let's go together."

"Yes, I understand."

At her unexpected words, Kim Jae-hyun paused for a moment, then nodded and took a step back.

Thus, Cheon Yuhwa's guild tour began.

"This is where the guild's blacksmith players make items. There are only five of them for now, but we plan to gradually increase the number."

"This is a place made for tired guild members to rest. You can use it too if you want."

"This is where the alchemy-class players conduct research to make things like potions."

Following her, Lee Shin was surprised by the guild's larger-than-expected scale, the systematic division of labor, and the variety of guild members' jobs and duties.

"I wasn't expecting much since it was just established, but the level is higher than I thought."

"Well, the basic guild system was already established in Pantheon, so we just had to bring it over. The remaining part was capital, and we were able to handle that somehow."

"Hmm..."

Lee Shin let out a breath that was hard to tell if it was an exclamation or a sigh and walked down the corridor, guided by her.

'It seems I've made a much better contract than I thought.'

Although the number of players was still insufficient, the underlying facilities were already more than enough.

'At this rate, once players start coming in, it will spread its wings and soar in an instant.'

Swoosh-

'By the way, what is this person? Is she what they call a second-generation chaebol or something?'

As he continued the tour, thinking various things about her, she, whether she knew his thoughts or not, guided him to a room that looked ridiculously sturdy just by looking at the door.

Kugugung-

"This is a training room made for our guild members to focus on their training. And it also serves as a sparring room."

"Hmm?"

"Huh?"

"Eh? Guild Master?"

And the moment the door was fully opened, the guild members who were training in their own ways inside the training room looked at Cheon Yuhwa, Lee Shin, and Kim Jae-hyun with surprised faces.

There were three people inside the training room.

One was a large man with a muscular body, another was a short-haired woman with a nimble body, and the last was a man with slit eyes and a friendly impression.

Cheon Yuhwa greeted them slightly and approached them.

"Let me introduce you. These are our guild's team leaders, and you might see them often in the future, so get to know their faces."

She approached the largest, most muscular man.

To use an analogy, he had the feel of a soldier.

He didn't have a fierce impression, but his body was so overwhelming that it gave the feeling of a solid rock.

"This is our guild's 1st team leader, Mr. Choi Seok-ho. He's a psychic who uses aura and has the ability to manipulate steel."

The next person she introduced was a woman holding a bow.

Her height, close to 170cm, and the firm muscles on her body were reminiscent of a leopard.

"This is our guild's 2nd team leader, Ms. Shin Ye-eun. She also uses aura and is a ranger skilled in both long-range attacks with a bow and arrow and close-range attacks with a dagger."

Finally, she introduced the man with a sword at his waist.

"This is our guild's 3rd team leader, Mr. Jo Yu-hyeon. He's a martial artist who uses a fast sword."

"And although they're not here, there are a total of five, including the 4th team leader, Mr. Ja Yi-hyeon, and the 5th team leader, Ms. Ja Yi-yeon."

Finally, she introduced Lee Shin to all of them.

"This is Mr. Lee Shin, who has signed a freelance contract with our guild. You might be working with him a few times in the future, so get to know his face in advance."

At her explanation, the three bowed their heads slightly to Lee Shin with bewildered faces, and he also bowed his head appropriately to the three of them.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Cheon Yuhwa spoke playfully.

"Come to think of it, everyone, how was your challenge in the boss room yesterday?"

At the sudden change of topic, they were a little flustered but answered obediently.

"Uh... it wasn't that difficult. We had prepared thoroughly in advance."

"Then no one was particularly injured."

"No."

Choi Seok-ho, though flustered, answered her question obediently.

Satisfied with the answer, she turned to Lee Shin.

"In that case, how about a light spar with Mr. Lee Shin? I think it would be a good experience for both of you."

At her words, question marks appeared in the three's eyes, and a smirk appeared on Lee Shin's lips.

It seemed that, unlike what he had thought, she also had a shameless side.

(End of Chapter)