When Celia was plotting on the El Dorado Continent, Yerin Jeong in Korea was also busy in her own way.
Her first goal was to completely take over the Fire Bird Guild.
The heavy door of the conference room opened, and the high-ranking executives of the Fire Bird Guild gathered in one place.
Their faces were stiff with tension.
A week had passed since the Minotaurus Dungeon incident, but the official meeting could only be convened now.
In the meantime, Yerin Jeong had been busy dealing with guild emergencies.
It was the case of the death of the vice guild leader of a top guild.
That incident was by no means trivial.
She had to deal with investigators from the Hunter Association and government agencies, avoid the persistent questions of the media regarding the vice guild leader’s death, and prevent the guild members from panicking.
Especially if the fact that there were multiple A-Rank monsters was revealed, there was a high chance that the country or other guilds would target the dungeon.
Therefore, it was necessary to properly tamper with the report on the vice guild leader’s death.
The incident, in which the vice guild leader was killed by Baalcherit, a 5-star vampire, was downplayed as dying at the hands of the Minotaurus Chieftain, and at the same time, the appearance of the Death Knight, the Vampire, and the Lich was kept a secret.
Of course, it was also necessary to synchronize the testimonies of key survivors like Namgung Hyuk.
It was a secret between the Fire Bird Guild’s top management and the parties involved that a secret contract was written in this process.
Even with this alone, a week had quickly passed.
Only today could the high-ranking executives attend the meeting.
“I believe you all know why this meeting has been convened today,” Yerin Jeong began in a calm voice.
“Our guild has undergone great changes due to the Minotaurus Dungeon incident. The sacrifice of Vice Guild Leader Jung Taeyoung was one of the greatest losses in the guild’s history.”
The atmosphere in the conference room became heavy. Some people bowed their heads.
However, Yerin Jeong’s heart felt not heavy, but rather light.
No, it felt refreshing.
The Minotaurus Dungeon was a dangerous place.
Baalcherit, whom she saw, was actually a dangerous being that should have been reported to the state.
However, she did not do so.
The reason was obvious.
‘If I play my cards right, it could be beneficial to our guild!’
Baalcherit, whom she saw, was merciless.
Didn’t he kill the Minotaurus, a monster in the same dungeon, in an instant and not give its skin?
In Baalcherit’s actions, Yerin Jeong saw a glimmer of hope.
A give and take.
It was a sort of dangerous transaction.
Although it would surely cause problems if discovered, she also had her own confidence.
‘Kanghyeon’s abilities were stronger than I thought.’
Kanghyeon Lee’s abilities shown inside the Minotaurus Dungeon were truly amazing.
Although Maru, the familiar, finished most of the work, wasn’t the ability of the familiar the ability of the summoner!
From that perspective, Kanghyeon Lee’s rank was definitely not F-Rank.
‘Why is he hiding his rank?’
She couldn’t understand the reason.
Hiding one’s rank was usually something villains did, but Kanghyeon Lee didn’t show any signs of that.
It seemed like he was hiding it for some reason.
‘Besides, he seems to have been to the El Dorado Continent…’
The tea she drank at his house when she went to scout Kanghyeon Lee.
That tea was definitely from the El Dorado Continent.
It wasn’t just a tea that came from the El Dorado Continent, but a rare high-quality tea that was difficult to obtain, so there were no stocks on the market.
It was as rare as Kim Suho, who had returned after receiving the title of Paladin from the White Church on the continent.
Yet, Kanghyeon Lee had such a tea.
What could that mean?
‘A powerhouse comparable to Kim Suho…!’
Yerin Jeong couldn’t help but doubt.
Then why was he hiding his abilities?
‘Perhaps he performed a more important mission than Kim Suho?’
For example, working under the Emperor of the Empire, or securing a position in the Church’s leadership.
‘It might really be the case!’
If not, how could he have known the weakness of the Goblin Lord, and how could he explain the ability of his familiar, Maru?
Of course, all of Yerin Jeong’s thoughts were mere misunderstandings, but she had no way of knowing the truth.
Therefore, to her, Kanghyeon Lee was nothing less than the foundation that would help the Fire Bird Guild soar in the future.
“Um… Vice Guild Leader Yerin Jeong?”
When Yerin Jeong was silent for a long time, an executive called her.
The title attached to her name had risen from Team Leader to Vice Guild Leader.
Although she hadn’t officially ascended to the position of Vice Guild Leader, there was no one among the executives present who didn’t recognize Yerin.
Rather, they admired her foresight, and no one rebelled.
The Guild Leader’s eldest son, the royal family, was dead.
And the second son was useless. Then who would it be?
Even if she was the child of a concubine, Yerin Jeong had the Guild Leader’s blood in her.
Then, it was natural for Yerin Jeong to take the position of Vice Guild Leader, and she was a candidate for the next Guild Leader.
Moreover, who was the one who achieved great things in this incident?
It was Kanghyeon Lee.
The one who brought Kanghyeon Lee was Yerin Jeong, who was sitting at the head of the table.
In their eyes, Yerin Jeong was already preparing to take over the guild, including recruiting Kanghyeon Lee.
Therefore, it was best to bow down no matter what happened now.
“Ah, I was just lost in thought for a moment,” Yerin Jeong snapped out of it at the sound of her name.
“First… for the past week, we have been investigated by the government and the association. Fortunately, the official stance of an accidental death by the Minotaurus Chieftain has been accepted, and we have been able to maintain ownership of the dungeon.”
The operations manager of the Fire Bird Guild opened the report.
“As Vice Guild Leader said, our media response team built a story of the ‘Legendary Minotaurus Chieftain’ and glorified the Vice Guild Leader’s death as a heroic sacrifice. Thanks to that, the guild’s image is currently on the rise.”
Yerin Jeong nodded.
“However, we know the truth. There are powerful beings other than the Minotaurus in the dungeon, and we haven’t even explored all areas.”
And this fact should never leak out.
All executives knew that fact, so they quietly nodded.
If this dungeon were revealed, it would be immediately taken over for national security reasons, and the problem would be passed on to the Fire Bird Guild.
That alone meant a massive loss of resources.
“However, even in crisis, we found opportunity. Our guild members gained valuable experience through this incident and discovered new talent.”
New talent.
No one present didn’t know that this referred to Kanghyeon Lee.
Although he wasn’t present at this meeting, no one could ignore him.
“Now, the Fire Bird Guild must make a new beginning. The systems that have been in place until now will all be overturned. And—”
Yerin Jeong’s next words were the important part of this meeting.
“I plan to grant Kanghyeon Lee the official role of Advisor to the Fire Bird Guild. I will also appoint him as the manager of the Minotaurus Dungeon. Does anyone have any other opinions on this?”
No one spoke up at her words.
It was an implicit agreement.
It couldn’t be helped.
Dungeons were important elements for a guild.
However, dungeons that the guild couldn’t control would be placed under the management of the country and the Hunter Association.
It was no different from effectively losing it, and none of those present wanted to lose an A-Rank dungeon.
To do that, they had to manage the dungeon well to prevent monsters from multiplying, to prevent monster waves, and they couldn’t think of anyone other than Kanghyeon Lee as the right person for this.
Everyone knew.
That at this very moment, the power structure of the Fire Bird Guild was changing.
“Then we will proceed with that understanding. Let’s move on to the next agenda. Next is…”
Yerin Jeong’s words continued.
However, there was one thing she was hiding from the meeting.
That was the information about the Mana Potion made from Terrilif leaves, which Kanghyeon Lee had mentioned.
* * *
Yerin Jeong’s heart was still unsettled when she thought about yesterday.
The day before today’s meeting, she had met Kanghyeon Lee alone.
And a moment later, Yerin Jeong was forced to wear a shocked expression.
“What?! There’s a Mana Potion made from Terrilif leaves?”
Yerin Jeong’s eyes widened.
Her body leaned forward, and she grabbed the table with both hands as if she had lost her balance.
She carefully examined Kanghyeon Lee’s expression, as if to verify if what he said was true.
She couldn’t possibly not know about the potion made from Terrilif leaves, also known as Terrilif Mana Potion.
It was so famous, and wasn’t the Terrilif Mana Potion something that couldn’t be bought even with money now?
That’s how desperate the supply was.
Terrilif trees were officially plants that only grew inside dungeons.
Various governments and associations around the world had conducted numerous experiments, but they couldn’t even grow them outside of dungeons.
No, in fact, the Terrilif tree would die within a few days if touched by human hands, even inside the dungeon, due to the extremely difficult management.
However, Kanghyeon Lee said he had a Mana Potion made from Terrilif leaves.
“Th-that’s impossible!”
Kanghyeon Lee smiled at Yerin Jeong’s reaction and slowly put his hand into his pocket.
His movements were slow, and he even showed a relaxed attitude.
At first, Yerin Jeong thought it was a lie.
Her lips slightly twisted with suspicion.
But when Kanghyeon Lee actually took one bottle out in front of her, her expression changed in an instant.
From suspicion to surprise, from surprise to wonder.
Yerin Jeong, who looked at the blue liquid contained in the small glass bottle, reached out without hesitation and took the potion.
Her fingers trembled slightly. Holding the potion, she looked at Kanghyeon Lee with eyes asking for permission.
When he nodded, she carefully opened the cap and took a sip.
Her eyes widened even further.
“I-it really fills up my mana! No, it feels even more than that…!”
Yerin Jeong raised her hand and touched her chest.
She seemed to feel a flow of mana that felt like it would explode.
The Terrilif Mana Potion that Kanghyeon Lee brought wasn’t just a simple mana recovery effect because it was packed with leaves.
It was a ‘cheat’ potion that not only recovered mana but also increased the total mana capacity.
“H-how much of this Mana Potion do you have, Kanghyeon?”
This was an important question.
No matter how good the effect was, it was useless if the quantity was small.
* * *
“H-how much of this Mana Potion do you have, Kanghyeon?”
Faced with Yerin Jeong’s question, I had no choice but to contemplate for a moment.
‘It’s too much, it’s a big problem.’
Even now, the Terrilif trees were growing well under the care of Ciel, an elf.
Indeed, since an elf was growing them, the Terrilif trees were growing well outside the dungeon without dying.
In other words, if Ciel and the trees were safe, they could be extracted infinitely.
However, I wasn’t going to tell her everything directly.
‘Of course.’
Humans are selfish beings, after all.
Even if it was Yerin Jeong, if I said I could make an infinite amount of Terrilif Mana Potion, she would want to know the secret method.
It was possible that the price would crash or rumors would spread.
So, I decided to vaguely brush it off.
“I have enough to ‘sell’ to the guild.”
I wasn’t just supplying it for free.
After all, I wasn’t an official member of the Fire Bird Guild.
Wouldn’t I want to get the most profit?
“How much do you need?”
Above all, I didn’t intend to sell only to the Fire Bird Guild.
‘Business must be diversified.’
Betta, the subordinate officer of Incubus Azmo, was already looking for sales channels.
I didn’t know how he was looking for them, but since they started this business, I decided to trust and follow them as much as possible.
Because of that, I wasn’t in a position where I absolutely had to sell to the Fire Bird Guild, so I calmly waited for Yerin Jeong’s next answer.
I was even prepared not to sell it if necessary.
“I will buy it at the highest… highest price!”
Yerin Jeong’s answer was enthusiastic.
