Lee Juncheol sighed as he checked the records in his office.
The number of transactions in the past two months was significantly less than the previous ones.
The problem lay on the monopoly of the large guilds on monster hunting, so he couldn’t do much to fix this problem on his own.
“Those bastards.”
Hunters from large guilds only did transactions with either the association or with merchants who signed deals with the guilds.
As a result, organizations hiding and trading behind the scenes were naturally forced to fall behind.
One has to join hands with a guild in order to escape this quagmire.
If this continues, they would have to lay off most of the employees in this office.
“Hyungnim, there’s someone who wants to do business with me.”
(T/N: Hyung or Hyungnim is used by younger males to refer to older males.)
Lee Juncheol’s face brightened a bit upon hearing his subordinate’s words.
Any load that brings steady results in this time of recession is valuable.
“Is he the one who wanted to do business with you?”
“Yes. He keeps calling every day, saying he doesn’t trust my words.”
“Stop complaining and treat him very well. He’s a valuable customer.”
“Understood.”
After his subordinate answered cheerfully and left the office, another subordinate stood up from his seat.
“I also have someone who wants to do business!”
Lee Juncheol looked blatantly disappointed when he saw that Jo Hyungil, the subordinate entrusted with measly chores, was the one who just spoke.
“Alright… Come in.”
“Hyungnim, isn’t your reaction too different from earlier?”
“Well, the only people who contact your number are yellow, rotten bastards.”
Jo Hyungil’s number was given mostly to low-ranking hunters who looked desperate enough to sell their organs because they had no money.
Sometimes they get lucky with some of them who sell monster corpses, but that was a very rare occasion.
Even if there is one, they’re only able to sell small scale monsters, so it’s only a small amount of earnings at best.
“It’s different this time, hyungnim.”
“Different? How?”
Lee Juncheol’s curiosity increased as he saw Jo Hyungil’s bright expression.
“He said he wanted to sell monster corpses. Fifteen goblins.”
“What did you say?”
Lee Juncheol’s voice rose unknowingly as he jumped from his seat.
“Are you sure he’s not just selling some useless leftovers from large guilds that they want to dispose of?”
It’s hard to tell whether it’s fifteen whole goblins or just fifteen green blobs of leftovers.
Jo Hyungil shook his head and denied Lee Juncheol’s suspicions.
“He said the goblins’ corpses were perfectly intact, except for the damaged head.”
“Why is he selling it to us?”
“Hyungnim, you’re not supposed to care about those things… Do you want our business to fail?”
“No, it just doesn’t make sense.”
It was strange that he wanted to sell the perfectly good corpses to an illegal organization instead of the association.
“I’ll have to come with you.”
“What? I thought you’re leaving early today because you don’t feel well, hyungnim.”
“Shut up and tell me where the deal location is.”
Lee Juncheol continued to talk as he put on his coat.
“I’ll have my men wait there in advance.”
“If the person was lying, will you have him thrown into the water?”
“Did I say that? Anyone who tries to trick us should know that it’s not gonna end well.”
* * *
The time agreed by Jo Hyungil and the customer was 4 PM.
The current time is 2 PM, just a few hours after lunchtime. They had to prepare now so they wouldn’t be late.
Upon receiving Lee Juncheol’s instructions, his subordinates ran to the agreed location and hid themselves in an unnoticeable place.
There was plenty of room to hide because the location was a neglected, kind of abandoned, underground parking lot.
Lee Juncheol and Jo Hyungil arrived at the scene, while their subordinates held their breath as they hid behind cars and pillars.
The person who contacted Jo Hyungil appeared right on time.
Lee Juncheol internally snorted upon seeing Kang Jinhyuk’s face.
‘He said the corpses were intact, but this guy looks like a total beginner.’
Jinhyuk wanted to show a confident attitude by straightening his shoulders and back, but it just made him look more immature.
In Lee Juncheol’s eyes, Jinhyuk looked like a tame herbivore trying to bluff by making his body look bigger.
‘You’re telling me this bastard caught fifteen goblins?’
One look at Jinhyuk tells him that he didn’t personally catch and earn those monsters.
Juncheol thought that such a beginner hunter couldn’t have caught those goblins without help from large guilds.
That’s why he made a request as soon as he saw Jinhyuk.
“Can we check the goblin corpses first?”
Jinhyuk seemed flustered because they skipped the normal greeting first.
‘Are transactions usually done like this?’
Although he was a bit rude, Juncheol’s request wasn’t unreasonable.
Jinhyuk quickly regained his composure and took out the goblin corpses one by one, just as Lee Juncheol requested.
Lee Juncheol and Jo Hyungil’s expressions changed gradually as the goblin corpses piled up one by one.
Juncheol didn’t have much trust in Jinhyuk’s skill, so seeing real goblin corpses in good condition surprised him.
“There, that’s fifteen right?”
There was no need to count them with their fingers.
There were exactly fifteen goblin corpses lying side by side on the parking lot floor.
“…At what price did you want to sell them?
After he confirmed that the customer wasn’t playing with them, Juncheol took the matter seriously.
When the negotiations began, Jinhyuk said the price he was thinking of.
“Including the Holy Stone, how about 5 million Won total?”
“Hmm… the head is severely damaged, so how about 3 million?”
“Tsk, hey no one even uses a goblin head. These guys’ faces are so ugly so even if they weren’t damaged, you’d have no use for them.”
“Kekeke…”
Jo Hyungil burst into laughter unknowingly, but he feigned ignorance when he felt Juncheol glare at him.
“Then how about 3.5 million?”
“4.5 million. I’m not selling it below that price.”
He’s selling it for 4.5 million, way below the expected price of 7.5 million for these pieces of corpses.
Jinhyuk doesn’t intend to lose more than that.
It’s a steal for this organization that they’re getting it for such a low price.
Lee Juncheol noticed Jinhyuk’s expression.
He knew that Jinhyuk was inexperienced with these kinds of transactions just by looking at his eyes.
“Alright.”
The truth was, the goblin corpses brought by Jinhyuk were so high quality that he’d have no loss even if he bought them for 6 million won.
If he buys it for 4.5 million for 15 pieces it’d bring a great benefit for his business.
“I’ll buy everything for 5 million won, just as you originally called it.”
Jo Hyungil was surprised by what Juncheol said.
He approached Juncheol with a frightened face and whispered.
“What are you doing, hyungnim? Why did you return to the original price when you already got a discount?”
“Just stay put.”
Juncheol pushed away Hyungil with his hand.
He knew that it was foolish to raise the price back up voluntarily.
But he had his own thoughts.
“If I buy these for 5 million, can I know where you got these monster corpses?”
“…I came here because the deal was I don’t have to reveal that information.”
“Oh, I’m not trying to penalize you at all. I’ll make sure to keep it a secret. I was just asking.”
Juncheol wanted to know if Jinhyuk got these by luck, or if he had a place to hunt.
If he got to an area where he could hunt such a large number of monsters without getting noticed by the large guilds, then Jinhyuk could be said to be a quite talented person.
Although he doesn’t look like one at all from the outside.”
“I really don’t want to tell you.”
Juncheol nodded when Jinhyuk refused.
“Then, I don’t have any choice.”
Juncheol looked disappointed on the outside.
But Jinhyuk’s rejection was what he wanted.
If Jinhyuk obtained the monsters by luck, he wouldn’t hesitate to reveal where he got them.
Because he would know that there’s no way he’d get this kind of luck again.
The fact that he hid the information on where he got the monsters means that he can get more of them.
Jinhyuk asked a question, oblivious to what Juncheol was thinking.
“So, you won’t be able to give me 5 million won since I didn’t reveal the information?”
“That’s right. It’s gonna be hard for me to offer you more than 4 million.”
Juncheol had a smile on his face.
There was no prior agreement that they would give up on the transaction just because the other doesn’t want to reveal the information he wanted.
He wants the information, and he wants it for a cheap price.
It’s like catching two birds with one stone.
No one would survive this job if they were weak-hearted.
“Hmmm…”
“There’s no need to think about it so deeply. I bet other businesses would offer you the same thing we are offering.”
Lee Juncheol spoke confidently, but it’s obviously a bluff. He had no way of knowing that information.
Although it was annoying, it’s better than opening an uncertain deal at the expense of millions of won.
“I’ll think about it first.”
Kang Jinhyuk picked up the goblin corpses and refused the offer.
As the goblin corpses returned the Jinhyuk’s inventory one by one, Juncheol’s internal conflict intensified.
‘Should I just concede to him?’
It’s quite a waste to miss this opportunity because the quality and size of the products were good.
However, he knew that he would lose the lead in future transactions if he turned back on his words here.
He has to choose whether to take this loss and hope for future transactions with other people or give up having big gains for now.
Juncheol hesitated.
‘Hmm, if we lose him to a different organization, we’ll be in another crisis.’
Lee Juncheol made up his mind and was about to give Jinhyuk his deal.
However, at the entrance of the parking lot, one of Juncheol’s subordinates ran towards them with a flustered face.
“A monster appeared, hyungnim!”
“What?! Impossible!”
It was hard to believe that monsters, who numerous hunters look for with their eyes wide open, appeared in a place like this just in time.
Juncheol realized that he had overlooked one fact when he saw the goblins’ corpses laid out.
‘The corpses attracted other monsters!’
One of the tricks that guilds use to attract other monsters was to lay out monster corpses.
The success rate of this method was less than 10%, but it’s clear that it works.
“We’re so unlucky.”
They never imagined that this moment would be that 10% probability.
It was already late when they realized it.
Lee Juncheol and his men panicked as they watched the monsters enter one by one at both the entrance and exit of the parking lot.
“O-orcs!”
“Hurry and contact the association! We’ll all die at this rate!”
“Ah s**t, I already did that!”
How long can they endure against the orcs before the association sends hunters?
There were at least 2 orcs that B-rank hunters could catch.
If they make the wrong move, it might result in them being ripped open.
“Hey, you’re a hunter, right? Do something!”
Jinhyuk was surprised at Lee Juncheol’s shouts.
“What should I do?”
Although he levelled up inside the dungeon, his current level was only 15.
There’s no way that a D-rank hunter like him will be able to easily face the Orcs that even B-rank hunters struggle with.
But the orcs had no intention of showing any mercy.
The two orcs rushed in, screaming at Jinhyuk who was holding the goblin corpses.
“Euaaahh?!”
The orc charged to him like a tank as he swung the club he was holding with explosive power from his heavy body.
If he gets hit with such great force from the orc, he’s closer to being dead meat than the corpses he held in his inventory.
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Kang Jinhyuk would be just fine.