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Chapter 7
One week.
It was the time Lee Shin received from Lee Sang-byeok before the guild dispatch.
It should have been a hectic time, busy with research and plan checks, but oddly enough, Lee Shin found it relatively relaxed.
“Th… this… what is all of this…?”
“It’s the guild work you’ve dreamed of, so handle it well.”
A true superior, after all, understands the abilities of their subordinates, places them appropriately, and extracts maximum results.
Lee Shin knew Chae Dong-ha to be a prepared genius.
He had no doubt that Chae Dong-ha could handle this level of work. Go, Dong-ha-mon!
And in fact, Chae Dong-ha lived up to Lee Shin’s expectations, efficiently handling the necessary tasks.
Of course, that didn’t mean Lee Shin was just idling.
He wasn’t physically busy, but in some ways, he was taking on even more important and exhausting work.
This involved securing funds or negotiating investment proposals.
“Breaking confinement without saying a word to me… ignoring the reporting system to negotiate directly with the chairman… doing whatever you please, and now asking for investment?”
“I suppose so?”
“Were you weak again?”
The funds promised by Chairman Lee Sang-byeok were sufficient, and the more money, the better.
Due to a minor misunderstanding, a drug test had to be done, but Lee Shin had constructive discussions with Vice Chairman Lee Young-bin, who was also his father, and secured a fairly generous investment promise.
Well, as long as the result is good, that’s fine.
However, he couldn’t prevent a monitor from being assigned, which he accepted cheerfully. He even requested a competent person to be assigned if one was to be attached.
Thus, a short but fruitful week passed, and finally, the day arrived.
________________________________________
Cars on the highway were accelerating.
Everyone seemed to want to go even one second faster, pressing the accelerator.
The RPMs soared.
Yet in this fierce rush, there was an unusually relaxed space…
A vehicle whose mere presence acted like a speed bump, discouraging overtaking.
It was the Rolls-Royce Phantom that Lee Shin was riding.
“This really was the right choice. Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini—none of that is necessary. A man needs a sedan. Right, Dong-ha?”
“This really is a top 0.1% car… the ride quality is definitely different. It feels like the floor is sliding.”
“Wait until later. The feeling when exiting will be even more amazing. Oh~!! There’s a fridge here too. Want a cola?”
“But sir…”
“Sir?”
“Hmph… you’re unusually tense today. This is your car, yet it seems like it’s the first time you’re riding it.”
“It is the first time.”
It wasn’t just the memory that had been reset.
When Lee Shin awoke in this body, the previous owner had already lost their license due to drinking, leaving Lee Shin to only stare at the parking lot filled with supercars he had never seen before.
“So you should thank that lady too. She goes through trouble because of you.”
“Why are we suddenly talking about that?”
“Because you don’t have a license!”
“Of course I’m thankful. Really, thanks to her, it’s comfortable.”
Chae Dong-ha awkwardly expressed gratitude to the woman behind the wheel, but received no response; she didn’t even glance at him.
Embarrassed, he scratched the side of his head. Lee Shin saw this and mocked him, claiming he had found a good opportunity.
“Ha, look at you. Talking to her just because she’s pretty. Dong-ha, I didn’t think you were this sly.”
“Ah, no! What do you mean sly? I just greeted her.”
“Hehe, okay, okay. But here’s some advice: don’t approach her without serious resolve. That lady is far scarier than she seems.”
Lee Shin could see the “numbers” floating above the woman in the driver’s seat.
The presence of numbers meant she was an Awakened.
Indeed.
She was the monitor assigned by the Vice Chairman.
Perhaps because her role was to report Lee Shin’s actions to the Vice Chairman without personal opinion, she didn’t exchange a single word or show any emotion.
Lee Shin smirked.
“The grandfather uses his grandson like a pawn on a chessboard, and the father plants a blade under his son’s neck. The family’s management is quite something. Right, Dong-ha?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“You’re not denying it.”
“Ahem…”
“Shall we leave the small talk here? It’s getting troublesome for us.”
“Right…”
Though slightly extreme, Lee Shin’s words were not wrong.
If the Vice Chairman had a monitor and placed a blade under the chin, Chairman Lee Sang-byeok was doing no less—perhaps even harsher in tormenting Lee Shin.
Who could have guessed that of all guilds, he would be placed in this one?
Lee Shin laughed wryly.
“‘Mir Guild’… I didn’t think the old man had such grudges.”
Mir Guild is a prestigious guild based in Busan.
Regardless of current performance, the guild had several interesting points.
First, over 60 years ago, it was one of the 20 founding guilds of the Guild War Korea League, giving it strong foundational credibility.
Second, it won the inaugural championship that same year, turning Busan into a hunter city overnight.
History, tradition, and significance—a guild overflowing with fundamental strength.
But amusingly, that’s it. That’s all.
What does that mean? Remove history, tradition, and significance, and there’s nothing—absolutely nothing left.
“But didn’t you already know? It fits exactly with the conditions you mentioned before, sir.”
“Me? What?”
“When we first met, you told me. Once famous but now a fallen provincial guild. Burdened with debt and a ruined talent pool.”
“That’s about it. Who would have thought it’d be this bad?”
It hadn’t just fallen; the guild should have been “disbanded” long ago.
Chae Dong-ha pulled out his prepared materials.
“…League championships: 1. That’s all. Next season, miraculously relegated. Oscillating between League 2 and League 1, relegated to League 3 on the 40th anniversary. Back and forth until now, currently in League 4.”
“Whoa~ brutal low. The chart alone would make one faint.”
“Never done stocks? At this drop, it’d be delisted.”
Exactly as seen.
Mir Guild’s performance had plummeted, hitting bottom, and now struggled in the 4th division.
Considering its history and tradition, it was a pitiful record. How could it have fallen so far…?
Perhaps growing increasingly frustrated, Chae Dong-ha’s tone sharpened.
“Guild management is a sight. The main sponsor disappeared long ago. Even minor sponsors have abandoned them.”
“And the funds? How are they operating now?”
“They seem to rely on broadcasting rights and season tickets, but it’s odd.”
Given the nature of the 4th division, broadcasting rights can’t be high.
No network would contract with a 4th division guild just for charity.
So most revenue must come from season tickets…
But again, who would buy season tickets for a 4th division guild?
“Yet they do. Mir Guild has an unusually high season ticket purchase rate.”
“Ha, right? That’s crazy.”
Honestly, Mir Guild’s finances are poor. “Poor” is even an understatement—desperate.
Yet the money coming in isn’t entirely hopeless.
Even without merchandise sales or special business models, surviving decades in this harsh league ecosystem without emergency reserves is impossible.
Yet nothing improves. The guild is always starving. This means…
“…99% chance money is leaking somewhere in the middle.”
And this also means:
“Clearly, it’s a lack of front-office competence.”
“The story reached that point? Not wrong.”
“Don’t you think so, sir?”
“This is your time to speak. Interesting, continue.”
Lee Shin’s lukewarm attitude made Chae Dong-ha hesitate briefly, but he continued his analysis.
History and tradition, though seemingly meaningless, are a considerable advantage.
Even without success, over 60 years of accumulated social infrastructure is a treasure money can’t buy.
If used properly, the finances wouldn’t be so desperately ruined.
—That was Chae Dong-ha’s conclusion.
“Then it’s obviously a front-office incompetence issue.”
“Not wrong.”
“Not only that, the personnel is a disaster. It’s hard to even put into words.”
Funny enough, this incompetent front office was also unnecessarily bloated.
A 4th division guild should tighten its belt accordingly, yet Mir Guild maintained the scale of its 2nd division days.
“Isn’t it only right to reduce that kind of spending and focus elsewhere? If you want results, strengthen your lineup; if you enter business, reinvest! But look at this, this guild is all half-hearted. Recruitment and business alike. Is this a guild? Is it even a guild?”
“Let me see.”
Lee Shin snatched the documents from Chae Dong-ha, still excited, and checked them.
It was a list of affiliated hunters. Photos and basic information were written, followed by a budding smile.
They were all familiar faces.
He nodded.
This was Mir, the guild he knew.
The “Dragon of the ICU,” that is.
“What do they think?”
“You mean Captain Yang Pan-seok and his assault team?”
“Yeah. I’m curious—your thoughts.”
Chae Dong-ha, who had been excited, answered with a somewhat calmer expression.
“They’re not at a high level. Honestly, I’d rate them as low. Compared to their prime in youth, they’re average or slightly above. Their skills have definitely declined with age. But that’s only by average hunter standards. Considering they’re League 4, they can still fulfill their roles.”
“Yang Pan-seok too?”
“I was about to say. Captain Yang Pan-seok is well-regarded both in character and skill. He could aim for the majors, yet he remains a guild legend.”
“Ho?? That’s high praise.”
“During the investigation, I realized… he’s a pretty charismatic hunter. The fans didn’t call him a legend for nothing. He’s almost too good to be in Mir Guild.”
Thus Chae Dong-ha’s conclusion:
An assault team that wasted their prime due to an incompetent front office, a guild on the decline.
The golden time had already passed.
“To be honest, I don’t understand why this guild is still alive.”
At that moment, Lee Shin, who had been quietly listening, smiled.
“Want me to tell you?”
“…You know?”
“Of course!”
Despite chaotic management, despite results that had bottomed out, the reason Mir Guild still breathes is purely one thing:
“Fans.”
The ones keeping the “Dragon of the ICU” alive with an oxygen mask were none other than the fans.
________________________________________
The Mir gallery on Korea’s largest guild community, “Guild Korea,” was lively today as well.
[ 20-year veteran Yongbung-i, this is X, I’m leaving the gallery. ]
“Yongbung-i” is the nickname for those who support Mir Guild.
A 20-year veteran Yongbung-i’s departure post. In short, it expressed genuine disappointment at the failed promotion.
[ Did I expect too much? League 3. Not League 1, League 3! Major guilds don’t even recognize it, I just wanted them to rise to the third league.
So I’ve bought the expensive season pass faithfully for 20 years to support them, and in the end they made such an absurd mistake… sigh… I don’t even want to talk. I’ve completely lost respect.
If I support this X guild again, I’m no longer human. ]
Most League 4 guilds don’t even have galleries, but Mir had never left the “popular gallery” since its founding, forming an enormous fandom.
Today, as usual, enraged tens of millions of Yongbung-i fans started rampaging.
└ ??: Congratulations. You have gained intelligence.
└ I was wrong, survive at least. (rough hand-waving gif)
└ I’ve been a fan of this guild for 10 years holding my dad’s hand. Ten years changes everything, why hasn’t my guild changed? hahaㅠ
└ Totally unfair. They can’t produce results, yet we suffer ?
└ I don’t get itㅠ;; I became a fan following my mom, why am I suffering?
└ When will we ever be happy;;;;
At some point, as if on cue, their anger all targeted one place:
└ Front office bastards
└ These guys are just incompetent.
└ Ah, I want to work for Mir front office in my next life. Get paid for doing nothing. So sweetㅋ
Eight years.
Eight years without even smelling the third league.
Wouldn’t some kind of change be common sense by now? But the front office acts like their heads are made of stone, stubborn every year.
If that’s the case, don’t hype “This year is different” before the league every year.
Now the Yongbung-i had only one thing to trust.
└ Pan-seok-nimㅠㅠㅠ
└ Pan-seok, sorry and thank you. For protecting this X guild.
The one who stayed, protecting the falling Mir Guild with his youth.
Mir’s guardian dragon, Mir’s legend.
Yang Pan-seok.
The only one to trust.
•
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“What do you mean!! There’s no strengthening of the lineup!!”
