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Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Ilsung Guild (1)

Chairman Kim rubbed his head as if he were bothered. It was true that the Ilsung Guild had been making a lot of noise lately.

Ilsung, the parent company, had been pouring tens of trillions of won into another guild instead of their own,

Of course, that guild might be the chairman’s eldest son’s guild, but it wasn’t directly linked to the Ilsung Guild’s structure.

It’s not like they get a share of the pie just because the money-driven childs guild receives 60 trillion.

“I’m sorry. But don’t worry about rushing the investment. We still have some wiggle room.”

“No, I’m not asking for the investment to be done quickly. We still have plenty of time.”

Minwoo said, shaking his head.

“I’ve heard their arguments vaguely. They say our guild hasn’t shown enough to justify such a large investment.”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

To be very frank…

He could understand their frustration to some extent.

Kim Minwoo and Seo Yerim had just cleared an A+ Gate – a huge accomplishment, especially for only two people, and with a low-level awakened being on their team.

That’s an impressive feat.

But was that achievement worth selling 20% of their guild for a whopping 60 trillion won?

‘From a normal business perspective, probably not.’

While they were used to dealing in astronomical figures, that didn’t make trillions insignificant. That’s an insane amount of money.

Comments online might say Minwoo is priceless, but that’s just nationalistic fervor.

Realistically, most people would agree he and Seo Yerim together might be worth around 20 trillion.

Why such a low valuation?

Even if a guild clears an A+ Gate, it’s not worth 20 trillion won.

If they really excel, they might get around 3 to 4 trillion for giving up more than 100% of the guild’s share.

Even though Gates have become more important and contributed to economic growth, prices don’t usually inflate to that extent.

Clearing an A+ Gate?

Guilds ranked around the 2.5th tier globally can easily achieve that.

[TL/N: Do note it was 2.5 in the raws too so this is not a mistake. And also, I too don’t know what 2.5th tier means]

Normally, there’s hardly any case where values spike to this extent.

‘The only guilds that can command such exorbitant prices are those with top-tier Awakened members.’

These are the ones whose worth cannot be quantified.

There’s a certain threshold for this to apply.

For example, consider an Awakened like Sword Saint.

Not just a regular S-Rank, but one who’s truly exceptional in combat.

These are the Awakened that nations treasure, monitoring their every move and treating them with utmost care. These are the true powerhouses whose value is truly inflated.

Seo Yerim and himself weren’t at that level yet.

The reason was simple.

‘How can they know our true worth when we haven’t shown it all?’

Because they hadn’t disclosed all their power. Of course, if they did, they would undoubtedly be recognized as true powerhouses.

But that would actually be a disadvantage.

‘Why should we reveal our true strength unnecessarily?’

They’ve surpassed the label of mere ‘super rookies.’ They’ve even transcended the title of ‘mega rookies.’

They’re among the very few S-Rank Awakened who are truly recognized as the real deal.

They are people who have been in the field for years, sometimes decades, participating in Gates.

Even the famous Isabella took ten years to be recognized as a true Awakened, surpassing the title of super rookie.

Just this alone was quite an achievement.

These are the true Awakened, even among the seasoned 1st generation Awakened who have fought for decades.

They’ve reached a similar level, or maybe slightly lower. But it’s safe to say they’re approaching that realm.

But how could they be recognized to that extent after only three months of being Awakened?

It’s hard to predict what kind of aftermath will ensue, even for himself.

‘It’s best to be moderately successful.’

If you’re too successful, it just becomes exhausting. That’s why they didn’t reveal everything.

Anyway.

The reason they’re receiving a 60 trillion won investment is because they’ve shown their true worth to Chairman Kim.

People in Korea, or even the world, don’t know that. So it’s not surprising if there are critics calling it overinvestment. It seems like the Chairman is still controlling public opinion to some extent, given the quiet reaction.

If someone says they bought 20% of the shares for 60 trillion, there will be more to it.

‘Maybe they’re accusing them of tax evasion or something.’

Of course, it’s not exactly corruption since they’ve cleared gates, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any controversy.

The key issue was simple.

Is it really worth buying at that price?

Of course not?

This was precisely what the Ilsung Guild was fixated on.

‘We just need to prove that it is.’

The solution was simple.

“Father, let’s have a guild battle.”

A guild battle.

It was one of the matches organized by the system, similar to a duel. Of course, rules could be set up like in a duel.

At that, Chairman Kim chuckled.

“…A guild battle?”

“Yes. Two guilds facing off against each other. Publicly and definitively. With this, there won’t be any more rumors, right?”

“Surely you don’t mean against a 1st team?”

“Of course, it has to be a 1st team. Fighting a 2nd or 3rd team will only fuel the rumors.”

Ilsung Guild is one of the top 5 guilds in Korea. Naturally, the level of its members was also quite high.

There were a total of 30 members in the 1st team. Among them, there were roughly ten S-rank Awakened.

There were 20 A-rank members.

“Among them, the usable awakeneds are…”

Guild Master Nam Cheolmin.

He was an S-Rank archer Awakened in his 40s.

His achievement rank was S, and he had been recognized as a super rookie when he awakened 20 years ago.

Even now, his skills hadn’t diminished. In the world of Awakeners, being in your 40s was close to the prime of life.

The rest of the S-rank members also had achievement ranks mostly between A and B.

‘The guild’s level is decent.’

From top-tier A-rank Gates to lower-tier S-rank Gates, they had enough power to clear them one way or another. In other words, defeating the 1st Team meant…

‘Showing the possibility of clearing an S-Rank gate.’

It was like demonstrating that possibility.

Naturally, their value would skyrocket.

Enough to justify some of the 60 trillion won investment.

“…Are you sure about this? If you lose, your reputation will take a big hit.”

Chairman Kim asked anxiously.

As things were going, they could still make the investment regardless of the outcome.

But if the Money Talks Guild lost?

They might still invest, but the amount could drastically decrease.

Then they would have to stop caring about public opinion.

‘Even if they win, it’s a problem.’

Three people defeating the 1st team?

If they won, the Awakened superpowers might actually show interest in investing.

This was because clearing A-Rank and S-Rank gates was a whole different level.

‘Ugh. But that’s not good either…’

Even if the world didn’t know, he did.

A guild where EX-Rank and SSS-Rank Awakened are gathered.

Ilsung must absolutely get involved. Especially now that there’s a huge discount.

But by then…

‘Will that bastard really accept the investment?’

Chairman Kim couldn’t help but feel anxious.

What if he raised the price?

He’s paying in cash.

It was the first time in his life he worried about money to this extent.

Seeing his concern, Kim Minwoo smiled as if he knew everything and said,

“Don’t worry. We’ll definitely get the investment. The price is fixed too. 60 trillion for 20%.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Who else can I trust in the world besides family?”

Ilsung was a family company.

Would they betray their own family just for the sake of money?

They should focus on growing the company well and utilizing it in various ways.

“Even if you guys win… I hope you won’t look down on the Ilsung Guild too much. It’s still a guild with the Ilsung name.”

“Well… we’ll do our best.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

If they hadn’t talked about the assassins today, he might not have known. But it was already said.

He had taken down S-rank individuals alone. Adding Seo Yerim and Park Siwoo to that?

Chairman Kim might have suspected it too.

There was a high chance the Money talks Guild would win.

‘The concern was probably about the investment issue.”’

Because whether they won or lost, it was going to be a problem.

So, he had given a definite answer.

‘With this, I’ve got the approval.’

Effectively, he had obtained permission for the guild battle from the chairman, who was practically the owner of the guild.

Now, all that was left was to face it head-on.

Honestly, it was a bit cruel for the Ilsung Guild.

‘Maybe it’s not a bad idea to show these old-timers the reality of things… right?’

It might not be all bad?

To be honest, Ilsung Guild wasn’t a completely incompetent guild. If it wasn’t for the 6th stage, but the 5th stage.

‘Just doing this much wouldn’t be too bad.’

There weren’t many S-rank gates in Korea. It would be nice if they could grow more, but maybe it wouldn’t be the worst to settle here for now.

But things were different now.

‘The stage has expanded.’

Human potential had increased.

And there’s no stopping gates from appearing.

Even if gates beyond S-rank emerge, it wouldn’t be too surprising.

‘I’ve already seen the world above that.’

The stage where the Death Lord ran rampant.

The ranking battles of the demon lords, where all the lords participated.

And even the stage of trials.

Various stages that hadn’t appeared in the fifth stage emerged.

Even in the fifth stage…

‘I saw an EX-Rank.’

The Dragon Lord.

He still remembered how his equipment was reduced to scrap metal and fell with a single blow from his dragon’s breath.

The situation where there was a world above even S-rank.

In other words…

‘It might not be enough to be just S-Rank anymore.’

They say that lobsters grow continuously throughout their lives.

They get bigger and their shells get harder as they molt.

But at some point, their shells become so hard that they give up molting.

‘And that’s when they die.’

Awakened are similar.

They grow well up to a certain point.

Then they reach a plateau.

A point where it seems too dangerous to try to molt.

Usually it’s one of two things.

They either push through and try to molt, or they stay there and stagnate.

Unfortunately, Ilsung Guild fell into the latter category.

A guild of lobsters that had given up molting.

They were content with reality, clearing gates moderately and making money from it.

That’s why they were stuck in the 5th place for years.

“Let’s set a schedule for the guild battle.”

“…Tell the guild master. But are we really going to do it publicly?”

“We need to show some performance to prevent rumors from spreading.”

What about having a guild battle in private and winning?

That would be boring.

There would be no impact on the general public.

But if they fought and won on live television, it could shake up Korea.

Blocked investments would suddenly be executed.

If he was fighting alone, he would have to reveal all his strength.

But with three of them, it was different.

He could hide some of his strength while still playing with Ilsung Guild.

“Then let’s go.”

“Oh, wait. Minwoo, about that… Chairman of Dorim keeps contacting me…”

“Him?”

“Yeah. He says he wants to see you. Cough. Cough. Apparently, there’s some talk about it at the Blue House.”

Well…

Dorim had taken quite a beating lately.

Not only had he ascended to the status of a public enemy, but he also heard that their sales plummeted by more than 50%.

It seemed like he couldn’t hold out any longer and was considering waving the white flag.

‘Why did they keep holding on like that?’

If he had surrendered earlier, at least the bleeding would have been less.

“Well, it’s about time. But still, being second in the chaebol world isn’t too shabby.”

“If you really dislike him, you could ignore him, but it wouldn’t hurt to give in a little at this point. He may be annoying, but he’s not someone you can outright kill.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go see him after the guild battle tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

He left the study.

‘I’ll have to accept that.’

There was a business he had his eye on from Dorim’s side. Its scale wasn’t that significant at the moment, so if I asked for it, I could probably get it without much hassle.

‘It’s not a position to be picky.’

He decided to take it tomorrow.

Then, He opened the guild chat.

[Kim Minwoo]

―[Notice] We’re having a guild battle.

[Park Siwoo]

―?

(question mark emoji)

[Seo Yerim]

―?

(rabbit grinning emoji)

[Kim Minwoo]

―We’ve decided to face Ilsung Guild’s first team. It’s to gather funds for feeding, dressing, and putting you guys to sleep, so I request full cooperation.

Anyway, that’s the situation.