After finishing breakfast, Jong-sik headed straight to the guild. The office of the ‘Dungeon Strategy Team,’ organized by Pyeong-ari, was located on the 29th floor just below the chairman’s office. As he entered the office, the team members greeted him warmly.
“Ah, our esteemed leader Dok Jong-sik! Have you arrived?”
Led by the tanker, Baek hodam, and including the elemental mage Seo Sanghoon and the ranger Seo Sunhwa.
“Hello.”
“Oh, the tiger came when I mentioned it! Our team leader is here!”
There’s nothing better than a drinking session to help people become familiar with each other. The team members had certainly become more comfortable after just one company dinner.
“Oh, Sunhwa. If you were thinking of mentioning yesterday’s incident, it might be better not to.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, come on! What could I possibly say?”
However, there seemed to be something odd about the atmosphere in the office. Jong-sik raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Were you guys cursing me or something?”
Half-joking, half-serious. Then, Baek hodam clapped his hands and replied loudly.
“Oh, what a big deal you’re making out of it. While others might do it, I’m not the kind of person who bad-mouths others behind their backs. I’m someone who can live without laws.”
“For the record, I’m not that kind of person either. I was just talking about something that happened during the company dinner. Specifically, it was about Sunhwa’s drinking habits.”
The elemental mage Su Sanghoon chimed in. Sunhwa pouted and glanced at Sanghoon.
“Oh, really, I don’t have drinking habits like that. I’m a complete lightweight!”
“It didn’t seem that way at all.”
“Hehe. Nowadays, even lightweights can get dizzy and their tongues twisted.”
“Ugh, seriously… Then, why don’t you ask the team leader directly! Team leader, did I make a mistake yesterday?”
Baek hodam rubbed his forehead, and Sanghoon shook his head.
‘A mistake… Is that what she’s talking about?’
Upon receiving the question, Jong-sik recalled the events of the previous day. Sunhwa being dragged away by Pyeong-ari to find instant noodles, claiming they were going to eat ramen together.
“Oh, right. Forget about it~ I’m going to eat ramen with Team Leader Dok , so everyone else go ahead and go in! Let’s go, Dok Jong. It’s our turn for round two. Let’s go, let’s go~~”
“If the incident you just remembered is true, I might have felt a bit uncomfortable, but I wasn’t really paying much attention, right?”
“Tsk, look at that!”
“Oh, Team Leader Dok , you’re more romantic than I thought.”
“But did I really act loud? I just sat there listening to what the team members were saying…”
“Mm. Sunhwa, since the team leader is overlooking it, it’s probably best to just leave it at that.”
It was at this point that the conversation continued with another trivial topic.
“Everyone’s here. I have something to discuss, so please take a seat for a moment.”
Pyeong-ari, the team leader, entered the office belatedly. She immediately got to the point regarding the reason for summoning the team to the office instead of the field.
“The reason I called you all here to the office is because I have something to tell you about our profits. And I also want to get Dok Jong-sik Team Leader’s agreement on something.”
The team members nodded as if they had anticipated the profit discussion. Pyeong-ari addressed them.
“As you all know, the profits from our recent dungeon conquest far exceeded our expectations. To say it was significant seems like an understatement. Anyway, it goes without saying that it’s all thanks to Team Leader Dok.”
There was one reason for conquering the Fire Lizard Dungeon—to apply for the upcoming dungeon bid. Therefore, profit wasn’t a major consideration, especially since it was a C-grade dungeon. But thanks to Dok Jong-sik, the situation had changed.
The profit from conquering the C-grade Fire Lizard Dungeon amounted to approximately 10 billion won. This was twenty times higher than the originally expected profit of 500 million won. It was the highest profit ever achieved from a C-grade dungeon conquest, both domestically and internationally.
So, summarizing, with the increased amount, there were undoubtedly some issues that needed to be addressed properly.
“Firstly, regarding the Fire Lizard corpse, we’ve received a purchase offer from an overseas pharmaceutical guild. The approximate amount is in the range of 100 billion won.”
“Wow. 100 billion?”
“Hehehe. Making 100 billion from a C-grade dungeon. That’s impressive.”
“We’ll probably have knights coming out soon. But before that happens, I think we should mention it and discuss it in advance. It’s a sensitive topic, though.”
Upon hearing Pyeong-ari’s words, Seo Sanghoon nodded and spoke up. It seemed he understood exactly what she wanted to convey. Baek hodam also expressed his agreement.
“Just hearing that much, I understand what you’re saying. Honestly, there’s nothing to discuss about this. I’ll just take the on-site deployment fee specified in the contract. That seems appropriate.”
“Hehe, I agree with Sang hoon. Why would we be greedy over something we didn’t really do? I have enough integrity for that.”
Sunhwa raised her hand.
“If it’s alright, could we distribute my share of the profits into thirds? It’s kind of uncomfortable for some to receive it while others don’t. And we should all share the rewards equally among team members.”
Sunhwa confidently expressed her opinion.
Seo Sanghoon and Baek Hodam exchanged subtle glances at Sunhwa, reflecting on their earlier criticism of her drinking habits.
At that moment, Dok Jong-sik, who had been silent, spoke up. He fully agreed with Sunhwa’s suggestion of sharing the rewards equally among team members.
“There’s no need to discuss it. Let’s just distribute it according to what’s written in the contract, right? It seems like the two of you might be at a disadvantage because of me, and I don’t want that. Also, I don’t think it’s good to argue over money issues all the time…”
“As expected, Team Leader!”
Although he seems to like money, he doesn’t show it at times like this. He’s a man of many surprises. Pyeong-ari smiled and spoke up.
“If Team Leader Dok agrees, following the contract would be the cleanest option. But since it’s a large amount, I thought it was best to mention it.”
“I’m okay with it. Was that what you were asking for my agreement on?”
“No, that’s a separate matter. It’s about… the strategy for conquering Fire Lizard.”
Pyeong-ari cautiously broached the subject. The essence of her words was whether they could disclose the strategy for conquering Fire Lizard to the Hunter Association. Jong-sik shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and replied.
“Of course. It’s not like it’s a secret anymore. Everyone knows now, including you, Pyeong Team Leader, and the rest of the team. Is there anything left to disclose? Do as you please.”
Upon hearing this, Pyeong-ari and the other team members looked at Jong-sik with admiration.
“He may seem rough, but he’s not at all. He must have considered the survival rate of the hunters. He’s younger than me, but he’s a man worthy of respect. Hehehe.”
“There’s a lot to learn from him. With him, maybe even I could eventually get promoted to A-grade.”
“He’s so incredibly cool! Hmm, how can I make him mine?”
Why wouldn’t they? For example, if they were to sell the strategy to a pharmaceutical guild or an information guild right away, they might receive an amount that could sustain them for a lifetime, even if they didn’t know it.
However, to give up on it so easily with a nonchalant face. He truly is a Generous man.
“The value of information known to a minority and information known to a majority is different. Anyway, it may not have been an easy decision, but thank you for agreeing. Thanks to you, the survival rate of hunters will be much higher. And through various experiments, many beneficial products will also be developed.”
Pyeong-ari spoke sincerely, and Jong-sik simply scratched his chin in response.
“But did you really ask us to come out early because of this? Some kind of livelihood safety support or something, wasn’t that scheduled for the afternoon?”
“…Yes. Actually, I anticipated that the meeting would be quite long, but ten minutes were enough.”
In general, problems involving money are not easily resolved. In that regard, Jong-sik is Jong-sik, but the team members who quickly gave up their share are also noteworthy. Pyeong-ari smiled and said.
“If I had known, I would have told you to come in for the afternoon as usual. But since it’s already happened, please understand.”
“Hehe, what a fuss over nothing! Then, we have free time until the afternoon?”
“Yes.”
“Hehe. I should take this opportunity to tour the headquarters.”
“Come to think of it, excluding interviews, today is the first time you’ve come to the headquarters for work, right? Jong-sik, you came before, but only for the interview, right?”
Jong-sik nodded.
“Then let me introduce you to the headquarters. We have a massage shop, and we also have an aesthetic and beauty salon operated within the guild, so feel free to use them.”
Upon hearing this, Sunhwa grabbed Jong-sik’s sleeve excitedly.
“Yay! Since you’re here, let’s go get a massage, Team Leader Dok!”
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Yeona and Jong-pal were busy serving a continuous stream of customers, with no time to spare.
“Dad, two more orders of Cockatrice set menus, please.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Excuse me! Can we get the bill here?”
“Sure! I’ll be right there.”
Jong-pal tirelessly prepared Dorias, while Yeona moved back and forth between the hall and the kitchen, lending a hand.
“Thank you for waiting. I’m sorry for the delay. Let me help you with the bill quickly. You had two Cockatrice set menus for table 5, right? That would be one hundred thousand won.”
“Here’s my card. And thank you for the delicious meal. To be honest, we thought this place was just an ad.”
“Huh? An ad? What do you mean by that…?”
Yeona responded with wide eyes to the customer’s words, who seemed unfamiliar with English.
“Do you not know? Your restaurant was featured on Seoul Foodstagram! We saw it and came all the way from Suwon to here.”
“Oh… it was featured there?”
Now it made sense!
Suddenly realizing the cause, Yeona was dumbfounded. At the same time, she remembered the guest who had come in the morning asking if they could take photos. It must be her.
In an instant, the customer held out her phone in front of Yeona. She wanted to show the picture that was posted on Seoul Foodstagram.
“Look here. This picture. This is the food from this restaurant, right? We came after seeing this. Actually, this is the first time the account owner has posted something like this. We came with some doubt, but it seems like we made a really good choice!”
“Haha, thank you. It’s really the food from our restaurant. I was wondering why there were more customers than usual. We haven’t even spread the word yet….”
“Will it be like this every day now? I’ll start spreading the word from today too. The food here is so delicious!”
Yeona chuckled and the guest withdrew her phone, saying.
“But I heard the menu changes every day. Do you manage any social media?”
“No, we just opened yesterday.”
“Hmm. People like me who come from far away might find it a bit difficult to call every time to ask about the menu. It would be great if you could run some social media accounts.”
“Now that you mention it, it seems really necessary. I’ll talk to the boss about it today!”
A restaurant targeting the local neighborhood, but becoming a famous restaurant nationwide in just one day. It was both exciting and surprising.
Then, at that moment.
“I’d like to place an additional order.”
The customer who had already finished one dish raised their hand and shouted for another order. Then, the customer standing in front of the counter nodded and left the store.
“Hurry, you’re busy. And please do start using social media.”
At the customer’s almost pleading request, Yeona chuckled and agreed. She would deal with the customers first and then think about it!
