CH 46

Chapter 46 — First Class (4)

“What will the Yeonhwa Guild provide me?”

JaeHyun showed his wish to cooperate in a slow voice.

Of course, he would also benefit if Yeonhwa became stronger. If the guild’s power grew, JaeHyun would correspondingly get more benefits and his position in the guild would be that much more stable.

But the guild’s business was just that—the guild’s business.

Moreover, with JaeHyun’s score in the Freshmen Hunt, he was getting more attention from everyone. If he wanted, he could easily join another guild without a problem.

There was no obligation for him to work so hard for Yeonhwa.

‘Of course, Teacher probably asked, knowing all of this already.’

JaeHyun knew how covetous the clever Yoo Sung-Eun actually was.

An almost-instinctual greed that made her do everything she could to get the things she wanted—that was the driving force behind her and the Yeonhwa Guild’s rise to power.

And that made what she was asking of JaeHyun that much more shocking.

With a faint smile, Sung-Eun uttered in a captivating voice.

“As expected of my student. You’re easy to talk with.”

“Thank you.”

Listening to the conversation between the two of them, Park Hana sat beside them aghast.

Having encountered JaeHyun’s rhetoric numerous times before, Park SungJae was used to it already, but it seemed to have given Park Hana quite the shock.

‘…He acts like that in front of Yoo Sung-Eun, the guildmaster of Yeonhwa? Is he really a cadet that’s just enrolled in high school?’

Hana bit her nails and fixed her gaze on JaeHyun.

At merely 17 years of age, he was confidently stating his negotiation terms and conditions in front of the Yoo Sung-Eun.

In addition, he was aware of how great his own worth was.

‘He’s a scary kid…’

She gulped as she took in his calm and collected demeanor, when she suddenly heard someone speak again.

“SungJae-oppa.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.”

Yoo Sung-Eun had gestured slightly toward Park SungJae, who then passed a file to JaeHyun. Inside it was a thick bundle of documents printed on A4-sized paper.

Sung-Eun smiled brightly.

“You don’t have to worry. These conditions are definitely going to be to your liking.”

JaeHyun took the file SungJae had passed to him and busily read the documents.

It was extraordinary right from the title.

<Related to the Renewal of Priority Contract>

A moment later, JaeHyun turned pale as he was reading the contract. He looked at Yoo Sung-Eun and asked in a high-pitched voice.

“…You really plan to give me such conditions? You’re giving me 2% of Yeonhwa Guild’s shares?”

“That’s right. You’ll notice as you read, but depending on the results of your debut as a raider, the percentage might change. In other words, once you sign this contract, you’ll become a part of Yeonhwa right away.”

JaeHyun couldn’t help but smirk.

‘I think I know how Yoo Sung-Eun turned the Yeonhwa Guild into the top guild in the country.’

Yoo Sung-Eun was a talented raider and a great businesswoman at the same time. She wouldn’t have been able to offer such a great condition otherwise.

‘2% of Yeonhwa’s shares will easily go for several billions of won. Teacher is betting that much money on a greenhorn cadet that hasn’t even graduated yet.

…I must do everything possible not to make an enemy of her.’

JaeHyun tried his best not to show his thoughts on his face.

“Why are you offering me such an immense condition? I’m barely even a cadet.”

“I know that you wouldn’t be pulled over to our guild if we offered you twice—no, thrice that amount in the future.”

Saying so, a greedy glint shone from Sung-Eun’s eyes, akin to an eagle that swiftly dove to catch its prey.

“So I would prefer if you signed it right away and didn’t sit on the fence like last time. What do you think?”

“Okay. I’ll sign.”

JaeHyun agreed right away. Yoo Sung-Eun had already offered almost everything she could.

If he stepped away at this point, he would just be looking down on her and damaging his future at the same time. There was nothing good that would come of becoming enemies with the Yeonhwa Guild at this point in time either.

He wasn’t sure why she had given him an offer he couldn’t refuse right from the start, but taking it was absolute.

There was no reason for him to hesitate.

In addition—

‘Becoming stronger for my revenge will take a lot of time anyway, but to have to worry about things because of a lack of money? That would just be stupid.’

With this, even if he graduated right now, he could live without worrying about money. There was no reason for him to be greedier and create enemies for himself. He would merely lose everything that way.

Before he even signed the contract, JaeHyun leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Then, I’ll tell you.”

As he spoke, a smile slowly spread on JaeHyun’s face. The three opposite him took slower and softer breaths to better hear what he was saying.

He made a slightly vexed expression before relaxing, then spoke.

“Magician Seo Ina, Magician Kim YooJung, Warrior Ahn HoYeon. Those three are worth recruiting into Yeonhwa Guild. And…”

“And?”

“There’s one among the seniors that’s pretty useful as well. What do you think?”

“…We’ll give them a big welcome.”

A smile also appeared on Yoo Sung-Eun’s face.

This was what she had wanted from the beginning.

Seo Ina, Kim YooJung, and Ahn HoYeon were cadets that other guilds would also want. There was no need to ask JaeHyun before including them in the list of recruits.

‘But with JaeHyun’s insight, I figured he would have already found some hidden gems.’

And Sung-Eun’s guess was not wrong. The three stared at JaeHyun with eager eyes.

“S-rank Raider Lee JaeShin’s youngest son, Lee JaeSang. We need to recruit him.”

At the unexpected revelation, three sets of surprised eyes stared at him.

Park Hana’s expression was the most interesting. She was looking at JaeHyun with furrowed brows to show her disbelief.

‘If it’s Lee JaeShin’s youngest son, isn’t he the one they call the disgrace?’

Lee JaeSang was someone she had already looked into last year while scouting the freshmen that year. However, she recalled that he didn’t have any skills in battle.

Why is he mentioning that name here?

As if he heard the question, JaeHyun quickly added.

“That guy, Lee JaeSang, will become the greatest alchemist in Korea in the near future.”

Jaehyun smiled as he observed the shocked faces present in the room.

***

Reaper Scans

Translator - Rainypup

Proofreader - Lyze

***

“Then, I will be charging one million points as the contract fee. The monthly rent is 40,000 points. If you hunt in permitted dungeons and fields or participate in class, you will be able to earn more points.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Right after he’d come back from the guild, JaeHyun went to a real estate agency to find a place for him to stay. The real estate agency inside Millaes Academy was not that different from the ones outside.

There were two different ways to rent a house.

Paying a deposit and then paying a monthly rent—

or paying a lot of points at the beginning and only paying the maintenance costs and taxes.

Buying was, of course, not possible. After graduating, they would have to go out in society anyway. It would be meaningless to buy one in the academy, and incoming cadets needed a place to stay while the residences were a fixed amount.

“It has been successfully registered. If you use your cadet ID, you can open the door lock. If you want, you can also change the lock to one with a passcode or fingerprint, but you would have to install it yourself.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll be going, then.”

JaeHyun bid adieu to the real estate agent and went outside.

It wasn’t the best room with the softest bed but a suite room right below it instead.

Of course, he did have to pay almost half the points he had. But he would only have to pay a rent of 40,000 points every month, and he would be able to get the rest back later on.

‘I’ll be earning huge amounts of points anyway.’

JaeHyun planned to go into a low-level dungeon as soon as the probationary period was over next month. That was why he’d befriended people like Seo Ina and Ahn HoYeon.

As a rule, one couldn’t enter a dungeon alone even if they were a Millaes cadet. Moreover, there had to be at least one Warrior in the party.

Ahn HoYeon and the other Warriors and Magicians he had met would be of great help when the time comes.

‘In the meantime, I can gather points by participating in class and not using up too much. If that doesn’t work, I can move somewhere a level lower.’

JaeHyun pushed his plans back into his head and plotted to move carefully.

If he wanted to survive in Millaes Academy—

the more he had, the more favorable it was.

Having the brains to effectively make use of what you have and the wits to avoid sudden danger was much better for Millaes, a jungle-like place where you weren’t sure what would happen next.

‘Okay. Everything’s going smoothly so far.’

With a satisfied smile, JaeHyun headed to the hotel lobby of his rented suite. When he arrived 20 minutes later, his lips curved up without his notice.

‘This is much better than I expected. The classrooms are closeby, too.’

When he’d been looking for a room to rent, he had asked for one close to the school’s main building. After all, if a cadet was late for class, either their points would be deducted or they would be required to do volunteer work after class.

And since the rooms further away weren’t necessarily better, he didn’t have to think too much about it.

“Though, the rooms further away are cheaper. Well, it’s better to pay more than to waste time.”

He was currently faced with many complicated situations. To get out of those, he had to make good use of every second to train and become stronger.

In such times, losing points due to something like tardiness would clearly be a mistake.

Room 802. The room JaeHyun had rented was neither too high up nor too low. Stepping inside, the suite seemed to be much cozier than he’d expected.

With gray-toned black-out curtains throughout, there was a double bed, an expensive massage chair and foot bath, and a computer he could use comfortably.

The best part was that he didn’t have to do any chores like laundry or cleaning. This was a hotel within Millaes Academy. The room service was pretty top-notch.

“As expected, having a lot of money is awesome… Ah, in my case it would be points, huh?”

JaeHyun lay down in bed for a while before getting back up.

“It’s almost dinner time. What should I do… Ah, right! This hotel has a restaurant. Let’s try it out.”

He hadn’t thought about it for a long time. There was no real reason he had to save the immense amount of points he had.

At JaeHyun’s level with his skills, earning points was not difficult. He also had a lot of points on hand for getting top scores in the Freshmen Hunt and the Mana Room test.

After changing his clothes, he took the elevator and went upstairs. The restaurant was already quite full.

Of course, JaeHyun was the only freshman there.

Everyone present was an elite. In other words, they were the top predators in Millaes. One of JaeHyun’s future foes could also be among them.

Just then, JaeHyun heard a commotion from amidst his seniors.

“Hey, that ID color… Isn’t he a freshman?”

“Yeah, that’s right. How did a freshman manage to rent a room?”

“Oh~ He’s that guy, Min JaeHyun. The one that got first place in this year’s Freshmen Hunt.”

“No wonder. If it wasn’t at that level, there’s no way a freshman could rent a room at this hotel.”

JaeHyun smirked at the words he’d overheard.

In the past, he had only been looked down upon. But now, he’d become a topic of interest for everyone.

‘You really never know how things might change.’

“Would you like a table?”

A middle-aged woman wearing a suit prompted.

“Yes, please.”

He was led to a table for two by a window, covered with a white tablecloth and with utensils already placed on it. In front of him, there was an explanation of menu items that needed additional points to buy since they needed out-of-season ingredients.

Cadets could be seen talking excitedly with their friends at each table surrounded by delicate orange lighting.

JaeHyun ordered a simple main dish and some additions.

At first, he bought a pickled tomato salad which was prepared as an appetizer. He forked some vegetables, tomato, and bacon and shoved it in his mouth.

“…Delicious!”

He had exclaimed without meaning to. With the right amount of acidity from the salad plus the ricotta cheese on top, there was the perfect combination of ingredients with the refreshing salad dressing.

It was just an appetizer, but it was delicious enough to be a main dish. It was very different from the cup noodles and triangle gimbap that he used to eat everyday.

As he was starting to get sentimental—

“Here is the main dish you ordered, Wagyu Sirloin Steak.”

The main dish really lived up to its name and seemed to be on a whole ‘nother level compared to the other dishes.

Sizzle sizzle一

The sizzling sound from the freshly-cooked steak made him salivate. JaeHyun cut a small piece and took a bite. The moment he put it in his mouth, a tear gathered in the corner of his eye.

“…Woah. Those rich guys have been eating stuff like this, huh…”

The moment his teeth bit into the meat, the juice burst out inside his mouth. The abundant flavors instantly appeared and awakened all five senses.

A strong sense of satisfaction filled him.

“Haa…”

It was the greatest reaction JaeHyun could give. It felt as if every pain he had endured thus far had melted away, all thanks to this beautiful setting of delicious food and stunning view.

JaeHyun realized.

How great his achievements were.

And exactly how much of a meritocracy Millaes Academy was.

Outside the window, he could see numerous ravaged buildings. The night sky and moonlight filled his sight.

After he finished his meal, JaeHyun fell into deep thought with a visible smile.

He thought about what he should do the next morning—

—for the endurance test.

____