Chapter 7 — Preparation to leap forward (3)
[Active Skill]
Name: Sacrifice
Rank: Unique Skill
Mana Consumption: 100
*As a skill copied with the consumption of a blank card, the penalty does not apply.
JaeHyun grinned happily.
As expected, the penalty of Sacrifice, where the caster’s life force is consumed, was completely erased. It was the effect of the blank card.
Yoo Sung-Eun smiled at JaeHyun, who was reading the skill’s information, as she asked.
“So, what do you want from our guild?”
Yoo Sung-Eun, who’d seen for herself how JaeHyun used 《 Sacrifice 》, had her interest piqued by him.
Just the fact that he could cure her illness made him interesting enough, but what increased her opinion of him was his flexibility and his skillful way of communicating with others.
‘How exciting.’
A smile spread on Yoo Sung-Eun’s lips.
JaeHyun spoke without any concern.
“Please become my backing.”
“Backing? To help you grow as a raider…… something like that?”
“That’s correct. I have a pretty big dream right now. But to grow, I need money, comrades, and even social connections. I found out that I needed a lot of things. During these times, I would like Yeonhwa Guild to lend me its support.”
JaeHyun already knew.
The fact that no matter how great his aptitude and talent, he wouldn’t be able to grow if his environment and those around him couldn’t support him.
And to think of a way to grow by himself, there were too many things he had to pay attention to.
Yoo Sung-Eun thought for a while, then she nodded.
“Ok. If you have the guts to do something like this, you’re worth the investment. You also have the talent. However, I have a condition.”
JaeHyun swallowed his saliva. He narrowed his eyes and stared intensely at the black-haired woman in front of him.
‘To think she is that calm when she just found out that her illness could be cured…… Is it because it’s Yoo Sung-Eun?’
JaeHyun questioned in a calm voice as he kept his eyes on her.
“A condition?”
“That’s right. A condition.”
Yoo Sung-Eun smiled brightly and continued speaking.
“My illness is, as you also know, something personal. What I mean is that it has nothing to do with Yeonhwa Guild. But what you want is the support of not just myself but the whole guild. To support you for no reason is…”
“What you mean to say is that it is not an equal exchange. I will decide after hearing your condition.”
‘Either way, there’s no chance that it would be an unreasonable condition. To begin with, there’s nothing such a big guild would want from me. Well, I guess it would be along the lines of keeping her illness a secret.’
In any case, Yoo Sung-Eun was the one who was suffering from being unable to cure herself, not JaeHyun. In this kind of situation, it wasn’t likely for the other side to give an unreasonable condition.
But at that moment—
Something JaeHyun did not expect at all came out of Yoo Sung-Eun’s mouth.
“You, do you have a guild you want to join?”
“……what?”
Was there a problem with his ears?
JaeHyun was unable to quickly understand what she meant.
No, he was bewildered by the question that was so absurd.
In the eyes of JaeHyun who experiences many years as a raider, this was clearly a scouting request.
“……are you telling the truth?”
“You must already be aware that I am not someone who would joke about something like this, right?”
Yoo Sung-Eun’s gaze became quite serious.
JaeHyun found himself embarrassed. He wasn’t sure how to react.
Even though Yeonhwa was a guild that would break up due to a certain incident soon,
at this point in time, it was truly worthy of its title as the top guild in Korea.
There was no reason to recruit a total newbie like him.
After organizing his thoughts, he asked once again.
“Why? There is no reason for Yeonhwa Guild to recruit me……”
Yoo Sung-Eun replied as if she had been waiting for him to ask.
“First, there’s the fact that you found out about the illness of the guildmaster of Yeonhwa Guild. Although it was top secret information known to very few people, it would probably be correct to say that you finding out means your ability to acquire information is very high.”
Although it was really because of his trip back in time, it was not something he could say here.
JaeHyun had no choice but to continue listening to her words carefully.
“Second, you copied my 《 Sacrifice 》 perfectly. I haven’t heard of anyone being able to copy a unique skill until now. How many more skills you will be copying from here on… The possibilities are endless.”
“……there isn’t a third, is there?”
“The third is the most important.”
Yoo Sung-Eun leaned her body forward a little as she closed the distance between herself and JaeHyun.
“Third, you’re not showing a drop of nervousness in front of me right now. A kid who is bold enough in front of the guildmaster of Yeonhwa… It’s rather appealing. What do you think? I think all this is reason enough to recruit you.”
JaeHyun thought frantically.
If he entered Yeonhwa Guild right now, he was sure to receive good treatment and respect as he acted. And many said that one needed to enter a guild to truly grow.
But one’s cards should only be shown when one is at the highest position. This was the rule JaeHyun had created for himself.
Easily agreeing at this moment would only lower his own worth.
JaeHyun calmly met her gaze and spoke.
“As far as I know, making a contract between a guild and a student who is not yet a legal adult is illegal……”
At his words, Yoo Sung-Eun’s lips went up as if she had been expecting it.
“Have you heard of ‘priority negotiation rights’?”
JaeHyun’s pupils contracted.
‘…Is she showing her sincerity?’
Priority negotiation rights.
It was the right of a guild to support the growth of raider cadets that were not yet adults, with the promise of the guild getting priority in signing a contract once the cadets became adults.
Normally, it was a chance only available to those ‘genius’-rated monsters.
At the unmerited suggestion that wasn’t a part of JaeHyun’s destiny, he wasn’t sure what to do.
‘A day where I get such a recommendation also comes, huh. Before I came back, I was refused admittance into even the low-tier guilds……’
JaeHyun smiled bitterly as he remembered the past.
Normally, for a raider, being part of a guild was the safest and most efficient way to make money.
But aside from a few government-established guilds, the rest worked like private companies. In a capitalist society centered around private interest,
JaeHyun, who was a low-leveled raider and a Warrior at that, was not needed anywhere.
As a result, he was naturally eliminated from every selection.
Although he received a high commission, it was difficult for a lone raider to get work.
But there was no other way.
However—
To him, who was so unwanted, the best guild in Korea that was worth its name ‘Yeonhwa’ was recruiting him using priority negotiation rights?
‘It’s something others would criticize me for even if I said it was a dream.’
Yoo Sung-Eun smirked after taking a look at JaeHyun’s face.
‘Even so, he has a child-like side that makes him cute.’
“We will send the contract to your house once you tell us your address. Think about it carefully and decide.”
“Healing first. Since it isn’t finished yet.”
“Right. I look forward to it.”
JaeHyun quickly changed his mind.
‘This is clearly a good opportunity. But I don’t need to decide right away.’
He still had a lot of time left. Nothing good would come from making a hasty decision.
‘Let’s concentrate on healing first. It’s not too late to think about what to do next later.’
“Then, I’ll start again now.”
JaeHyun thus said with a resolute face.
Yoo Sung-Eun replied with a slight smile.
“Please.”
***
***
‘I can’t follow what’s happening.’
Park SungJae couldn’t understand what was happening right now at all.
Min JaeHyun was really able to perfectly copy the unique skill 《 Sacrifice 》 as he had said.
‘There’s no way to be suspicious since I saw it with my own eyes.’
What JaeHyun showed was something that was not possible normally.
How many healing raiders and doctors did they search for to cure this illness?
It was an illness that even those who put their whole lives into healing could not cure.
It was never something that could be easily cured.
“Here we go.”
一 Active Skill 《 Sacrifice 》 has been activated.
一 A wave of healing magic is leaving your body.
A wave of dark-green healing magic left JaeHyun’s body and slowly moved to Yoo Sung-Eun.
Zzzziiiing……
The healing continued for several minutes, and some color returned to her pale face.
Yoo Sung-Eun shook her head in disbelief as she looked at her body that was slowly getting better.
‘It’s really…… recovering!’
The smile on her lips showed what Yoo Sung-Eun was currently feeling.
Park SungJae, who appeared beside him without notice, bowed deeply toward Min JaeHyun.
“I apologize for what happened before. Please take good care of our guildmaster.”
“It’s fine. Even I wouldn’t have believed a kid’s words.”
“I will truly apologize for my untoward actions at a later date.”
Park SungJae had been a little surprised at JaeHyun’s placid reply.
Traditionally, it was normal for a male student in the midst of puberty to get angry at this point.
But JaeHyun calmly continued healing and did not say anything awful to him.
After Park SungJae’s words, the welcome sound of the system was heard.
一 You have succeeded in healing the illness of the targeted person.
一 Passive skill 《 Emergency First-Aid 》 has leveled up to 19.
JaeHyun made a satisfied face. He nodded at Yoo Sung-Eun and said,
“It’s all done now. Try moving a bit.”
At JaeHyun’s words, Yoo Sung-Eun stood up, swung her arms and stomped her feet to check the state of her health.
With overflowing joy, Yoo Sung-Eun tearfully spoke.
“The symptoms…… all disappeared. Thank you.
……but with this, won’t you get the penalty?”
“I’m fine. The copied 《 Sacrifice 》 does not have a penalty.”
At JaeHyun’s reply, Yoo Sung-Eun and Park SungJae once again couldn’t hide their surprise.
A unique skill was copied but its penalty did not apply?
JaeHyun unknowingly increased his worth. Yoo Sung-Eun offered JaeHyun her business card as she spoke.
“I’ll try my best to meet all of your demands. Call whenever you want. And try to see the contract we talked about in a positive light.”
At her words, JaeHyun paused for a moment, scratched his head and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“The thing is, actually… I have something I would like to request right away.”
“Hmm? What is it that you’re having such difficulty speaking? Just say it. You’re the one who saved my life. If it’s something the guild can provide, we shall try to do so.”
“Please lend me one of the guild’s low-level dungeons.”
Yoo Sung-Eun’s eyes once again shone with brilliant light.
JaeHyun gathered his strength and continued.
“And I want to…… enter the dungeon by myself.”
***
<>Yes, thank you.<<No, I’m more thankful.As promised, a message came from Yoo Sung-Eun.“A support fund… how much would it be?”After sending a message thanking her for her consideration, JaeHyun clicked on the phone banking app.一 Deposit: 100,000,000一 Total amount: 100,035,000“A-A hundred million!?……As expected, the scale of Korea’s top 1 guild is enormous.”The feeling was refreshing.A huge amount of money he had never touched prior to returning to the past.Vrrrr…… Vrrr……<<This is only the support fund for now, there will be a supplementary living allowance of 5 million won every month. Not only that, I’ll make it so you can use the guild’s public resources.<<Your ID card will also be issued, so come get it in a couple of days.]The messages that came one after the other did not enter his eyes at all.‘5 million won every month even if I don’t work… if it’s this much, even if I give up being a raider……’Editor: 5 million won ≅ 5,000 dollarsAlthough it was just for a moment, JaeHyun almost fell on a new path due to temptation.He shook his head as he reprimanded himself.“No. I finally got a Mythic item in my hands, I can’t stop at 5 million won a month.And…… I can’t quit this job until I have gotten my revenge.”JaeHyun promised himself resolutely.“Millaes Academy gathers geniuses together and makes them compete against each other. To survive at that place—”A confident smile spread across his face.“Of course, I have to level up.”____
