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Chapter 12
[Regular Raid Approaching in One Month]
[Season 202X. The keyword to watch: LeeDo’s children?]
[What are the promotion prospects of the ‘Mir Guild’ supported by the LeeDo Group this year?]
└ Promotion nonsense lol
└ Damn it. I reported it. They’re raging over promotions, not teasing anyone.
[(official) Mir Guild’s Next (D-7)]
└ HOXY, are they leaving in 7 days?
└ Does D-7 mean the roster will be revealed in 7 days?
•
•
* * *
Chungnam’s LeeDo Hotel.
A man entered a suite that costs thousands per night.
“……Yes, yes, I know.”
Holding the phone between his shoulder and ear, the man roughly loosened his tie, rummaged through the fridge, realized nothing was there, and kicked it in frustration.
Bang—!
The noisy movement opened the door, and a woman in a silk slip yawned as she leaned on him.
“Haa~ Honey’s back…….”
“Shh—.”
The man covered the phone and muttered, “Old fogey, old fogey.” The woman exaggeratedly gestured, saying, “Ah!”
“No, there’s no one here. I’m alone. And ‘woman stuff’? I don’t have a second to think about that with all the guild work. I can’t even drink the alcohol I liked.”
The man stripped roughly until fully naked and sat on the sofa. The woman, as if it were natural, held a whiskey bottle and sat on his thigh.
The whiskey, worth far more than an average salary, poured into the man’s mouth like water. His mouth, which had just sworn off drinking, showed no discipline whatsoever.
“Yes, yes, I’ve been using the materials you gave me. I also secured additional intel on the troubles with the Kirin side. Once I locate them, I’ll begin recruitment immediately. Yes, personally.”
──────!
“Leaking information? That’s impossible. We already control all information. If I can’t recruit, no one can.”
──────!
“Father, please don’t worry unnecessarily and trust me. I’m Lee Myung-hwan. Have I ever disappointed you even once?”
Indeed.
This man, drinking the finest whiskey with a beauty at his side, was Lee Myung-hwan.
He was the eldest son of Lee Chan-bin, head of LeeDo Motors, admitted to Seoul National University with top honors, and considered the perfect heir among the Lee family—a treasure of the Lee clan.
“Understood. Yes, yes. Enjoy your meal. I’ll come up sometime.”
Click—
The call ended.
“Anyway, old fogeys are always scared.”
“What’s up, honey? Why the boss?”
“What else? He’s rushing me.”
“Oh, why would he rush? There’s no guild running smoother than yours.”
So far, the LeeDo Group has acquired 14 regional satellite guilds.
Among them, five were directly operated by the royal family.
Until now, Myung-hwan’s guild had clearly been the leader among them.
There was nothing to criticize, yet the nagging continued. Myung-hwan rolled his eyes and drank more whiskey.
“Smooth sailing? What’s the point when some damn brat is causing trouble?”
This LeeDo Group’s guild expansion wasn’t just about owning a guild—it was the final step to the lifetime ambition of Chairman Lee Sang-byeok, the last rung for the group to become truly flawless.
Naturally, all attention would focus here, and faction leaders and executives prayed their faction would achieve results.
But suddenly, a reckless brat threw mud in this sacred proxy battle—that brat was Lee Shin. Just thinking of him made Lee Myung-hwan grind his teeth.
“Huh? Competition? I mean, he’s in League 4 and I’m in League 2.”
“Competition? No, it’s annoying that a crazy guy is showing off with a parasite-like face.”
“Ah……”
“Such a vulgar guy. Doesn’t know shame.”
Currently, all media coverage concerning the LeeDo Group focused on Lee Shin.
It made sense; there was no bigger story in the off-season stove league.
Whether good or bad, all attention inevitably fell on ‘Lee Shin’.
‘Shame……’
Lee Myung-hwan called him shameless, but the woman unconsciously nodded, recalling the Lee Shin she once knew.
The effect would be definite.
“Let’s talk business. What happened to what we discussed before?”
“Who am I? I finished fact-checking yesterday. The ‘Sanwang’ and Kirin Guild are far more misaligned than we thought.”
“Ho! That means, essentially…”
“The recruitment probability has increased!”
Fans first have hope when a new leader comes.
Better players, better results, more investment.
The new leader’s first test is to meet that expectation. That’s why someone like Lee Myung-hwan throws himself into the recruitment market.
As the new head of the <Dynasty Guild>, Myung-hwan was in a rush for results.
Even with support from the LeeDo Group and his father, the key was ‘immediate’ results.
Thus, his target was a massive, top-tier recruit, and the first choice was Sanwang Kim Jong-pil.
“Who knows this?”
“Only me and my informant for now.”
“Is that informant trustworthy?”
“Yes, my younger brother.”
“Perfect. I’d fall for that.”
“Kyaaa~!”
Once called one of the three kings, he had dominated the world in the past.
Though older and no longer at his peak, Lee Myung-hwan didn’t expect skill from him.
Legend. Icon. The symbolism of the name Sanwang.
That alone was enough. Recruit him, attract rookies, maybe pass on knowledge—that would be ideal.
Moreover, Lee Myung-hwan had another reason to recruit Sanwang.
When the LeeDo Group first planned to enter the guild scene, Chairman Lee Sang-byeok’s first pick was Sanwang due to his regional origin.
A capable grandson fulfilling his grandfather’s wish.
A recruit offering enormous benefits in every aspect—enough for Lee Myung-hwan to stake his life.
“You checked where he went?”
“Trimmed down to a few places. Hallasan, Geumgangsan, Baekdusan—likely one of these three.”
“Loves mountains, huh? The name suits him.”
“Position should be confirmed in a few days. Be ready.”
“Too long—make it within two days.”
“Tough, but I’ll try.”
“I must personally recruit ‘Sanwang’.”
Recruiting Sanwang personally would secure his grandfather’s full favor.
If that worked, nothing would stop him from jumping a generation straight to heir.
Lee Myung-hwan smiled, drank, and lay on the bed.
“Ha, this one move will boost my presence.”
Dreaming of rosy results.
Little did he know, the sweet dream he was chasing was already reality for someone else.
•
•
“Is ‘Sanwang’ really here?”
“Yes, he is.”
Lee Shin had just arrived at Geumgangsan.
* * *
There was once a heated debate among GM’s users.
What exactly is GM’s ending?
GM is a development simulation. You buy and sell your hunters every season, promote them, and there really isn’t a structure that counts as an “ending.”
Users surely knew this, but humans naturally want to see the end once they start.
After quite a fierce discussion, it was ultimately narrowed down to two options.
[The final showdown of continental champions, “Champions League” victory.]
[The national competition held once every four years, “World Raid” victory.]
Some argued that in terms of participating with one’s own guild, “Champions League” is correct.
No, the pinnacle of honor, after all, is the national competition, “World Raid,” they argued.
Despite days of intense debate, the two sides could not reach a conclusion and eventually sought out GM’s ultimate authority, Veteran Lee.
And Lee Shin gave an answer that left everyone in shock.
“Ending? That’s seeing all the character story endings.”
The “story ending” comes from completing the hidden affection levels of characters. You have to see them all to truly say you’ve seen GM’s end, right?
Everyone fell silent at that one statement.
Hidden affection? All characters? Are they out of their minds?
Seeing the endings of every character—a number reaching into the hundreds—was a realm so deep that even the so-called veterans dared not step into it.
And Lee Shin was the only being to have conquered this abyss.
The first character Lee Shin chose was none other than a member of the “Three Kings,” who raised Korea to the world’s top rank 30 years ago, Sanwang Kim Jong-pil, a legend of the past.
•
•
Ddal-ddal-ddal!!
The Rolls-Royce rattled violently. Compared to the extreme quietness it had boasted until now, the ride quality was terrible—but the car felt wronged.
Who would have expected a lunatic to drive this precious body up the unpaved roads of Geumgangsan?
“Ahhh, Noona! Our Rollin is dying!!”
“Calm down and fasten your seatbelt. Do you think off-road vehicles exist for no reason?”
Anyway,
“Could you continue that story?”
“What? Ah, Sanwang?”
“I can’t believe it. Why is Sanwang-nim, who should be in <Kirin Guild>, in Geumgangsan?”
“Wow, our hyung really likes Sanwang.”
“Isn’t it obvious? Which Korean doesn’t like Sanwang-nim?”
“Really? Noona, do you like him too?”
“……”
“Guess not. Eek!”
Ddal-keo-deong!
The car shook, and Lee Shin held onto the handle while continuing the conversation.
“Enough, we still have a way to go to the summit. Tell me, Dong-ha hyung, what exactly do you like about Sanwang?”
“Why pretend not to know? You know better than I do.”
“Ah~ come on~”
“…Sanwang-nim, you see, is a legend in and of himself.”
Thirty years ago, the Korean guild scene had entered an unprecedented dark age.
A period of despair where Korea was outmatched not only by traditional rivals China and Japan but even by Taiwan, which had been considered a step below.
Into this deep darkness, three figures appeared like a comet.
Tu-wang (Fighting King), who proved that physical bodies outside the standard were useless before absolute skill.
Man-wang (Ten Thousand King), who could perform every role—attack, defense, healing, buffs, debuffs—maximizing utility.
And Sanwang (Mountain King), who reached the world’s peak alongside the other two.
“Sanwang-nim opened a new horizon in the domain of summoners. Before him, summoners—whether spirits, familiars, or necromancy—were all treated with disdain. But Sanwang-nim overcame all of it.”
Right in the head.
“The term ‘brain-logical’ was coined then.”
The smartest hunter in history.
Not just summoning powerful creatures, but summoning low-tier creatures according to need.
Maximizing utility to free his teammates’ hands and feet, boosting the abilities of the entire raid rather than just himself—a role close to omnipotent in another sense.
The modern “commander” role in raids was established by Sanwang.
“From then on, the need for a commander who reads the battlefield became evident. The saying that raids are divided into before and after Sanwang-nim comes from this.”
He shifted the era from leader-centric to order-centric, emphasized the need for utility trios, and diversified strategies by considering team synergy.
Sanwang completely changed the paradigm of raid strategies.
“The Three Kings, who conquered Guild War Champions and the World Raid, split at the top. At that time, Sanwang-nim and Man-wang founded the Kirin Guild—the very Kirin we know.”
Around the time major guild restrictions were lifted, Kirin Group offered astronomical salaries.
Recruiting Sanwang and Man-wang simultaneously made Kirin the best guild in Korea.
As Lee spoke passionately, Dong-ha found it even harder to believe.
Who is Sanwang?
A living legend who obtained every honor a hunter could earn.
Also a founding contributor to Korea’s top guild, Kirin, and one of its two hearts alongside Man-wang.
And this great man, at a time when guild affairs should be keeping him busy, is being sought in a remote corner of Geumgangsan?
Why? Lee smiled wryly at the question.
“Why? He got kicked out.”
“Ah, kicked out….”
!!
Dong-ha dropped his jaw in shock as Lee Shin confirmed with a crisp remark.
“That man is unemployed now. He was retired—‘forced out’—from Kirin.”
