Guild (02)
<<New Wind in Awakened One Guilds>>
Recently, a new movement has begun in Awakened One guilds to recruit civilians into their guilds.
Guilds were originally craftsmen’s associations that started in medieval Europe, but now they mainly refer to alliances of Awakened Ones.
Until now, guilds have maintained a closed form composed only of Awakened Ones, but starting with the newly launched guild “Eternal,” they are gradually changing to a form where civilians can also join. The Awakened Management Bureau is also actively organizing related systems and spurring civilians to join Awakened One guilds.
As civilians are also showing great interest in guild membership, Eternal Guild is reportedly receiving so many inquiries that their work is being paralyzed.
Guild income consists of dungeon byproducts and compensation money paid by the state when conquering dungeons. Because of this, attack-type Awakened Ones have indeed been given preferential treatment.
However, operating a guild requires various personnel besides attack-type Awakened Ones. Until now, existing guilds have operated such tasks through outsourcing to external companies or in a makeshift manner. The inevitable mistakes or delays that resulted from this have made smooth guild activities difficult.
Since guild activation is directly linked to the safety of the people, we hope that the Awakened One industry will become more active with the new wind stirred up by the new guild Eternal.
Reporter Kang Owon. [email protected]
┕ I submitted my application to Guild 01. Keu. 01-nim, please pick me
┕┕ What did you submit for? Civilian?
┕┕┕ Yeah, I’m an accountant
┕┕┕┕ I applied too. I’m a lawyer
┕┕┕┕┕ Bullshit. These days everyone’s an accountant or lawyer? Why would people like that apply to guilds? Unemployed basement dwellers trying hard.
┕┕┕┕┕┕ If you don’t know, just stay quiet. You think professional jobs are like the old days? Everyone around me is talking about changing careers, this and that chaos. Seoul’s 3rd dungeon appeared right in the middle of Jongro, in front of K&J Law Office, remember? When a dungeon appears, your lawyer’s license won’t save your life.
┕ For real. My cousin brother is a doctor, and he’s inquiring whether Guild 01 is recruiting doctors right now.
┕┕ Kekekekeke Doctor… So pitiful. He must have studied like hell to get into medical school, but his luck is terrible. Being a doctor is a declining profession, I admit. One potion bottle and it’s over.
┕ Don’t you know that when doctors or pharmacists make potions, the effects are higher? Besides that, when they make other medicines, the efficacy is amazing, so there are even some Awakened Ones who deliberately try to get into pharmacy or medical school
┕┕ No. They don’t.
┕┕┕ Kekekekeke So firm.
┕ Kekeke My stock holding paid off. K.O. Corporation stock skyrocketed. Going to the daily limit up!
┕┕ What does K.O. have to do with Guild 01?
┕┕┕ 01’s guild master’s father is a K.O. executive and invested in 01 this time.
┕ Wow, did you guys see the photos of Guild 01’s guild master and vice guild master? I saw that and submitted my application. Are those faces real? They’re not going to beat monsters with their faces, right?
┕┕ ?? Are the faces orc? Golem? Kek Going to see.
┕┕┕ What the fuck are you saying. What did you just say about our guild master? Give me your address.
┕┕┕┕ You’re still just submitting applications, what do you mean “our guild master.” Stop the nonsense. He’s my guild master-nim.
┕ ??? I just searched the article and looked at the photos. With that face, he’s an Awakened One? Wow, heaven is really heartless. How does it give everything to one person? Is this a stacking game? And the guild master being a King, is that real?
┕┕ Not just any King. Royal Road.
┕┕┕ What’s Royal Road?
┕┕┕┕ Kekekekeke Where did you come from? Were you in a cave for several years?
┕┕┕┕┕ Fuck, someone can not know. Do you attack people over things like this? Are you even an Awakened One? Or just fuck off
┕┕┕┕┕┕ I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, but right now this kind of information is directly connected to life and death. Please look it up on the internet and study. Royal Road is someone the system picked as King from the beginning. You can become King in other ways besides Royal Road, but the skills they have are different from the start. Especially defense-type. So if you want to become a subject, Royal Road is the best.
┕┕┕┕┕┕┕ Thank you sir. So Guild 01 master Shin Jaehee is Royal Road? Then if I join the guild, will he accept me as a subject?
┕┕┕┕┕┕┕┕ Looking at the announcement that’s up now, it says he will.
┕ Don’t all get excited for nothing. Just because they accept civilians doesn’t mean they’ll treat you the same as Awakened Ones. Awakened Ones get their whole families accepted, but who knows what will happen to civilians. First put it in neutral gear and wait. If a low-level newbie like Guild Eternal does this, soon the big major guilds will also open civilian membership. It’ll be hard to change guilds after that.
┕┕ !!! It’s real. Sahae Guild announcement is up!
┕┕┕ I don’t like Sahae Guild. They always copy what others do. If you’re the #1 guild, act like the #1 guild. Always copying like that.
┕ It’s fine. Still, Lee Shinhoo is better looking than you.
┕┕ It’s Woo Jeongwoo over Lee Shinhoo. If you actually see Woo Jeongwoo, his aura is insane. I’m Woo Jeongwoo’s classmate, and seriously when I’m with him, everyone else instantly becomes a squid.
┕┕┕ Wait, Woo Jeongwoo, 01’s vice guild master, isn’t he the Hongdae entrance exit 9 guy?
┕┕┕┕ What’s that?
┕┕┕┕┕ Search “Hongdae entrance Demon King” on YouTube.
┕┕┕┕┕┕ That’s him! Ah, but then is 01’s guild master the guy who received that proposal back then?
┕┕┕┕┕┕ Heol
┕┕┕┕┕┕┕ Heol
┕┕┕┕┕┕┕┕ Heol
***
“Hey, Jeongwoo, people are talking about you in the article comments.”
“Huh? What are they saying?”
“Well… you know. That you’re handsome.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that they were calling him the Hongdae entrance exit 9 guy, the Hongdae entrance Demon King.
It seemed like there was someone who had captured Jeongwoo on camera without missing him even in that chaotic situation when the tutorial began.
Jaehee thought he should quietly search on YouTube when Jeongwoo wasn’t around.
Jeongwoo and Jaehee were cleaning and organizing in the office that Jaehee’s father had found for them.
Since they needed an office address first to apply for a guild, it was a place his father had hurriedly found for them.
The furniture used by the previous people was left as is, making it look like an office where men in their 50s and 60s would gather to smoke. The angular black synthetic leather sofa looked wrong no matter how you looked at it.
It was also scratched and torn in places, roughly covered with cushions.
The desk was an enormously large wooden desk with a giant chairman’s chair. The desk was too large for the overall space, but that was understandable, though the billiard table next to it was really inexplicable.
Fortunately, the location was good. It was in front of a subway station area, and the building was fairly clean.
“You two cleaned the office thoroughly. I told you that you could hire someone to clean.”
“Father!”
When they had finished cleaning the office to some extent, his father came to visit. His father looked around the office he had found and nodded.
“Still, it’s fortunate that there’s furniture. The interior might not be to your liking, but how about changing it slowly after getting permission?”
“It’s fine. The things are quite usable as they are.”
“Pick out what you like on the internet. If it’s bothersome, it’s also fine to just call professionals to do the interior.”
“Oh, no. I’ll slowly look for things one by one myself.”
“Good. The name is nice. Eternal. Eternal Guild.”
“But father, aren’t you… pushing yourself too hard?”
“This isn’t pushing hard, it’s an investment. I told you. The company also wants to invest in our guild.”
“Ah, we don’t need that much money yet though.”
“After recruiting new guild members, you’ll need to pay salaries, and there will be more things that cost money than you think. And everyone is investing because they think it’s worth investing this much. You don’t need to worry. Do you like the office? Tell me if you need anything.”
“Yes… It’s good, but…”
“The interior is a bit disappointing.”
While Jaehee was trailing off and reading the mood, Jeongwoo suddenly interjected. Jaehee was startled and glanced at his father’s reaction.
“Right, the interior is a bit disappointing. I couldn’t touch it separately because I found it in a hurry. Then let’s do this. Let’s use this as just a temporary office.”
“For the guild to develop in the future, even if it costs a lot of money, it would be better to purchase an entire building. And it doesn’t matter if it’s not Seoul, but we need a wide space where we can have dormitories. A place to train Awakened Ones while living together. We’ll also need transportation to go back and forth there.”
“Right. I’m also looking into purchasing a building. However, I haven’t found a suitable one yet… For now, let’s just decorate this place roughly until we move. Jeongwoo is very sharp. Jaehee, no, the guild master chose his vice guild master very well. Haha.”
Jaehee’s face turned bright red at his father’s words calling him guild master.
His father and stepmother kept calling Jaehee guild master or King. He understood that they were proud, but it was burdensome to hear.
After Jaehee revealed that he was a King, the atmosphere at home became incomparably harmonious compared to before. It was a completely different result from what he had thought would become awkward if he revealed he was a King. Especially after the Daejeon Station dungeon, he became much closer to his stepmother, and his relationship with his father also became softer.
But why did he feel more uncomfortable the better the family atmosphere became? He kept thinking that this wasn’t where he belonged. Jaehee suppressed his uncomfortable feelings and moistened his dry lips with his tongue.
“Father, thank you for helping. I wouldn’t have even dared to do this alone.”
“What are you saying? It’s natural to help with things like this. I should be the one thanking you. People are making a fuss saying they’re envious that I have such a good son.”
Unmistakable pride flowed from his father’s face. Jaehee felt strange about becoming such a proud son. His chest felt stuffy and also ticklish.
His father hesitated for a moment, then patted Jaehee’s back. Jaehee was startled by the touch on his back. This kind of contact with his father had been really long overdue. Jaehee stiffened and made a strange expression until his father removed his hand, but his father standing behind him couldn’t see this expression.
“All this time… I’ve been really sorry to you about many things. I made you, a young child, heartbroken over adult matters. But I’m grateful that you grew up so well despite that. I’ll do my best to help with whatever I can, so you should freely do what you want to do. Jeongwoo, thank you too for working hard in various ways by our Jaehee’s side. Hmm, see you at dinner.”
At his father’s clumsy encouragement, Jaehee bit his lips.
Not knowing what to answer, while he remained still, his father, who hurriedly left through the door, was no longer visible.
Jaehee blankly recalled the words his father had said.
He had never imagined there would be a day when his father would apologize to him and say such things.
His father had left, but the feelings left behind were uncomfortable and awkward. Jaehee walked creakily like a broken robot and flopped down on the sofa.
The cheap sofa cushion used by the previous tenants poked his bottom.
“Jaehee, what’s wrong? Do you have a headache? Should I get you some water?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Jaehee curled his body into a ball.
Suddenly he missed his mother.
