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Five hundred million was stamped into the account. I decided not to deposit the 200 million I stole and kept it separate.

This brought my total assets to around 700 million won.

I had more than this when I began my life as a hunter before my regression, but, of course, that was only in the early stages when I had received my initial payment.

I hadn't been aware of the poison-pill clause for such a large sum, so I had eagerly signed the contract.

[What did you do with all that money?]

"I was such a sucker… damn!"

Thinking about it again just left me with regret.

I wondered why I did that. The money disappeared a lot faster and easier than it had been earned.

Of course, that wasn't easy money, I had earned it from hunting in the gates, risking my life.

However, the money earned by hunters in a few hunts was more than that which ordinary people could earn in a lifetime.

It must have looked like easy money in their eyes.

[So, what did you do with it?]

"I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to share those memories. It's too embarrassing."

[It's obvious. You must have spent it all on that Yujin.]

"It's not necessarily because of her."

[Don't bother making excuses… let me tell you about women. It's all up to the men.]

"Mr. Heavenly Demon speaks as if he knows women well. If you know that much, why don't you just share that part of your memory?"

[Ahem, sharing memories doesn't make it all possible. There is such a thing as the right time and atmosphere.]

"Why is your voice shaking? Does the Heavenly Demon also have a bad eye for romantic relationships?"

[N-No… what I want to say is...]

"Look, you're stuttering."

I didn't believe a word the Heavenly Demon was saying, so I was about to ignore him, but then I heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Lee Byeong-gi?"

It was Lee Seong-jin.

When I turned to look around, he approached me with a business-like smile.

"You're really Mr. Byeong-gi. I wasn't sure just by looking at your back."

The last time we met, I had a shopping bag over my head, so he couldn't recognize me by my face.

"How did you know me?"

Despite my sullen remark, his business smile didn’t slip.

"There are already rumors going around about a C-Rank awakened Proby. There are pictures of Mr. Byeong-gi circulating as well. I'm used to seeing you from behind, so I called you just in case."

[Well, you are indeed tall. You sure stand out.]

'I heard that women like tall men.'

[Men must be the best in strength and ability. Your face is the next most important thing.]

'Aren't you pretending to know about this?'

[I'm not, it's based on experience.]

'You're lying through your teeth.'

[I don't have teeth! Are you making fun of me because I don't have a body?]

As I didn't speak for a while, Seong-jin called me again.

"Mr. Byeong-gi?"

"Oh, sorry. By the way, you said rumors have already spread?"

It had only been three or four hours since I registered as an awakener, and rumors were already spreading?

At this rate, the management office staff must have filled their pockets by selling that information.

"Rumors travel fast in this field. So..."

"I don't want to."

"Sigh, you are still too firm."

As he sighed, someone else called my name.

“You must be Lee Byeong-gi, correct? I'm Lee Min-ho from the Blue Sky Guild."

The man, dressed in a neat suit, handed over a business card.

More people began to appear.

"I'm Kim Jong-kook from the Turbo Guild."

"Hello. I'm Angimo from Jean Bitz Guild.

"I'm from the Phoenix Guild."

Within seconds, scout managers from several guilds surrounded me. Amongst them, I noticed a woman wearing distinctive makeup.

'They sent that woman.'

Her name was Lee Seo-yoon, and she was a beauty who drew everyone's attention.

She was the scout manager of the Phoenix Guild, the one I had joined in my previous life, and the team leader of their talent development team.

There were rumors she boasted a 100% recruitment rate. If she set her eyes on a Proby, they were as good as taken.

[She is a natural beauty.]

'She has a pretty face but a lousy personality. And she will soon no longer be available.'

[Not available? No way… It's not what I think, is it?]

'That's correct. Before I time-travelled, she was dating Kim Gangsuk.'

[You poor bastard! I guess you don't have luck with love.]

'I've never thought of it that way.'

[Then, did Kim Gangsuk abandon Lee Seo-yoon and go to Yujin?]

I had no intention of delving into the specifics of their romance.

'I'm just saying they're all a bunch of sons of bitches.'

They only pursued their interests, so I didn't want to care too much.

In any case, the fact that they sent the team leader of their talent development team meant the Phoenix Guild was serious about recruiting me.

Generally, other team members recruited the Probies from E to F ranks.

'That face tricks them into signing the contract.'

[A face like that would also go far in the Martial World.]

Recruiting Probies who had awakened to a high level, using her beauty, was one of the methods used by the Phoenix Guild.

It was a common trick, and it certainly worked.

Kim Gangsuk, who was recruited later than me, also served as a scout manager for female hunters, given his celebrity-level attractiveness. Anyway, the real problem was the Phoenix Guild's contracts.

They would be taken in by Lee Seo-yoon's beauty and sign the contract without reading it thoroughly. Later, they would be treated like slaves.

As their level and rank increased, it didn't seem like much of a problem, so most Probies signed without giving it much thought. I had been like that in the past, too, and got abused...

I was even proud of myself for sticking to such a place for fifteen years.

[Your feelings towards the Phoenix Guild aren’t good.]

'It's not like I want to get rid of them.'

[That's up to you to figure out. Anyway, it's pretty noisy.]

'Right.'

As the Heavenly Demon said, the scout managers of each guild, including Lee Seo-yoon, were holding out their business cards and noisily competing with each other to be the ones to catch my interest.

'I hate this kind of atmosphere.'

I had no intention of joining any of their guilds. But even if I worked as a freelancer, they would continue to bother me.

That's why I wanted to create my own guild.

[Why don't you just sweep them away?]

'I would like to, but we're not in the Martial World. There are a lot of restrictions.'

[Then what are you going to do?]

'I originally wanted to create a guild to work freely, though I was worried about how to operate it. But, that turned out well.'

[Well?]

'Take a look.'

I calmed down the raucous scout managers.

"I'm sorry, but I've already talked with the Luna Guild. So please go back."

My words made the scout managers more raucous.

"We will offer you better terms."

"How much do you want? We will fix everything to your needs in our guild."

"We promise to give you the best conditions in the industry."

Each of them put forward unreasonable demands.

I was well aware of what they were asking for. C-Rank Hunters were so much more powerful that they could reduce the amount of time they had to spend in training, thus shortening their onboarding period.

Naturally, they weren't satisfied with the prices I had proposed.

Their aim was to bring me to the negotiating table, where I would be at their mercy.

"I said I have finished my conversation with them."

When I put my arm around Seong-jin's shoulder, he looked bewildered.

Ignoring that, I turned around to leave with him.

I heard the other scout managers whispering behind my back.

"What? Was he already acquainted with Lee Seong-jin?"

"Isn't the Luna Guild already a ruined guild?"

"It's their fate. He’ll need to find someone else soon."

"Does anyone here have Woo Seol-ah's number?"

"Does he think he can save the Luna Guild by going there? He thinks he's so good when he's just a Proby…."

That last one bothered me. I recognized it as Lee Seo-yoon's voice.

"Did you say your name is Lee Seo-yoon? Did you just say that for me to hear?"

As I turned around, Seong-jin grabbed my sleeves and pulled me back.

"Mr. Byeong-gi, be patient. They're the Phoenix Guild."

It was understandable that Lee Seong-jin was being careful. The Phoenix Guild’s influence was strong in this industry.

"You're right. Mr. Proby."

She provoked me. However, I had no intention of getting caught up in her pace.

"Why? Does it hurt your pride that your beauty didn't work?"

"Beauty? Thank you for acknowledging it."

"If you mean heavy makeup, you're right."

"It's just that I covered my more attractive face with makeup, so I don't stand out too much."

[Huh, she's good.]

As expected, she wasn't easy to outwit.

"I can show you when you come to Phoenix. In a tranquil place."

"I'm not interested in what’s hiding underneath."

She came close to me. Lee Seo-yoon tried to tempt me, but somehow her behavior felt vulgar.

I could hear Seong-jin and the other scout managers gulping.

To that extent, Lee Seo-yoon possessed a fatal charm.

But even the scent of her heavy makeup was disgusting.

"Well, I'll admit you're pretty, so please step back. It's uncomfortable."

"Thank you for admitting it. Then, shall we sign the contract in a quiet place?"

"What if you’re pretty? The rest of you stinks. Stay away from me."

Her expression turned ferocious.

"What did you just say?"

"It's just that your makeup smells like real garbage. Don't get me wrong. I'll be on my way."

I didn't want to waste more time here, so I dragged Lee Seong-jin to a nearby coffee shop.

Seo-yoon angrily yelled behind me.

"Jong-kook! Do I really smell like garbage? Tell me."

***

"What is this all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry for this. You're older than me, so can I call you Hyung?"

"What? Oh, I don't mind."

"Then feel free to speak without honorifics."

"S-Should I?"

Looking at Lee Seong-jin's expression, he seemed to be expecting something.

"Rather than that, what did you mean by saying you've talked to my guild?"

"I'm sorry about that."

His expression darkened.

I had to ask him.

"You're having a hard time these days, aren't you?"

"Sigh… no one wants to join the guild because of what Choi Yoo-hwan did."

His complaints began.

Seong-jin said the Luna Guild was just him alone now. His guild would be revoked if he didn't fill in their members' list within a certain period.

Choi Yoo-hwan's conduct had also been investigated by the Hunter Management Bureau, but it was taken care of quickly, as though Yoo So-eun pulled some strings.

That's also why I wasn't investigated by the Bureau.

According to Lee Seong-jin, Yoo So-eun had connections with someone high-ranking in their organization.

In any case, his guild was currently only maintaining its name.

The Luna Guild was founded by Kim Seong-ho and Seong-jin, who had resigned from the company he was employed at after awakening and used his severance pay and a bank loan to establish the guild.

At first, the two of them ran the guild while hunting relatively easy Gates. Choi Yoo-hwan, working as a freelancer, joined them later.

They had made a considerable amount of money from his high-level performance.

Subsequently, when the Second Cataclysm began and the Hunter Management Bureau issued a request, they took the risk of going to the Hyehwa-dong Gate.

Choi Yoo-hwan was part of that decision.

Unfortunately, Kim Seong-ho died there.

Lee Seong-jin provided consolation money to his bereaved family from his savings and even cleared Seong-ho's remaining debt. However, he was unable to settle his own debts, and as a result, he now had difficulty making ends meet.

[He's like a kid who only cares about his ideals.]

'To me, he just looks like a pushover.'

"Can't you sell mana stones through gate hunting?"

"After that incident, no other party will accept me."

"That's bad. But why did you try to recruit me? What were you going to do about the down payment?"

"I was attempting to secure a loan with my house as collateral. If I could recruit you, I thought we could clear most of the obstacles. Then the debt would be easily repaid..."

"Is that so?"

[He appears to be meek, but he seems to be responsible and devoted.]

'You haven’t had enough time to ascertain that.'

[We don't need to take a long time to get to know someone. He seems like a pretty decent person to me.]

'I don't know on what basis you’d make that assumption.'

[His eyes look nice.]

‘…’

In fact, his status window revealed there was no deception going on. He might be trustworthy, just as the Heavenly Demon had said.

'Should I trust him? If he betrays me, I can always give him a good beating with a stick.'

[It depends on what you do next. So, are you planning to entrust Lee Seong-jin to manage the guild?]

'He seems to be the perfect fit for a paid puppet boss.'

I didn't say anything for a while, during which time Seong-jin nervously sipped his coffee.

“Seong-jin Hyung.”

"Y-Yeah?"

"Will you listen to me?"