“Kya…”

I let out a sound of admiration.

Honestly, I hadn’t done much today. After coming back from the dungeon with Hyung-seok, we’d been glued to the auction screen.

Yet, despite doing nothing, I felt incredibly satisfied, like I had accomplished something big.

“Hey, Hyung-seok. Should we hit another dungeon?”

“Haah, haah... Hyung, I’d love to, but maybe we should wrap this up properly first? This whole situation is wild enough as it is. Of course, I want to make more money too! Haah haah. But let’s not rush things!”

It was as if Hyung-seok was stopping me from charging ahead.

“Yeah, you’re right. If we suddenly flood the market with items, people might start thinking something’s off.”

“Things already look pretty suspicious. Haha.”

[ Hey, the auction is blowing up right now. The price just went over 60 billion. ] ㄴ Baekho Guild joined the bidding, and that’s why the price spiked. ㄴ Game over. Once Baekho Guild bids, it’s over. They’ll win for sure. ㄴ This is exciting. Popcorn time. ㄴ Don’t other guilds have the money to compete? Are they short on funds? ㄴ Other than Blue Guild, I don’t think anyone else in the country can throw that kind of money around. ㄴ So Baekho Guild will just eat it up, huh? ㄴ Probably. Unless some big corporation buys it for research or something.

[ It’s basically Baekho Guild’s at this point. The game’s over. ] ㄴ Wow, it hit 60 billion in just five hours? Crazy. ㄴ There haven’t been any interesting items for months, so this is exciting. ㄴ Whoever the seller is, they’re making bank. Lucky them, whoever they are. ㄴ But seriously, who is this person? Were they hoarding this item? ㄴ Nah, I doubt anyone was holding onto something like that. People use them for upgrades right away. ㄴ If they were stockpiling this item, they must’ve been incredibly lucky.

The online community was getting more and more heated. It wasn’t just the price—they were hyped because Baekho Guild had entered the fray.

[ How high do you think the price will go? ] ㄴ I’m guessing 500 billion. ㄴ Nah, no way. Maybe if it were an offensive item, but not for a crafting material like this. ㄴ I’m thinking 100 billion. ㄴ Probably around 80 to 100 billion. ㄴ Baekho Guild won’t just throw money around carelessly. They’re careful. ㄴ Man, whoever’s selling this is going to live the high life. ㄴ But after the guild takes their cut, they’ll only get about 10%. ㄴ True, that’s how it usually goes.

People were curious about who was selling the item.

‘Alright, let’s just watch for now.’

Releasing more items all at once wouldn’t be a good idea. People would get suspicious and start talking.

‘It’s fine. I’ll release them one at a time. Hehe.’

There was no rush. From now on, I’d slowly run S-rank dungeons and auction off items as I gathered them.

No one could stop me.

“Hoooly... 80 billion...”

The price kept climbing, but at this point, I wasn’t even excited anymore. It was just numbers on a screen.

“Heh... Hyung-seok, I’m heading out early today. I made plans with Isul earlier.”

“Oh, uh... yes, sure... haha. I... I’m getting 800 million...”

Hyung-seok was practically delirious. It seemed like he was going to stay up all night staring at the auction screen.

I left the office to meet Isul.

‘Kya... today is seriously one of the best days of my life.’

What started as a simple test run in an S-rank dungeon had turned me into a sudden millionaire. All the suffering I’d endured up until now felt like it was being wiped away in an instant.

“Ji-hoon, are you done?”

“Yeah.”

Before I knew it, Cha Isul was already nearby.

“Let’s go to that place we used to visit a lot when we were kids—the tonkatsu place.”

“Huh? Tonkatsu?”

“Yeah.”

“We could go somewhere fancier, you know.”

I had been living like a pauper for so long. I’d been tied down by Che Su-hyeon, and my family wasn’t exactly wealthy either.

But now, I had the chance to become rich, and I wanted to start spending like it.

“Nah~ I want to go somewhere that has meaning, not just somewhere expensive.”

Cha Isul smiled sweetly.

“Alright, let’s go, then.”

We headed to the restaurant we used to frequent as kids.

“Kya… nothing’s changed here, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s the same.”

Isul and I looked around the tonkatsu restaurant, which hadn’t changed in the seven years since we’d last visited.

“I always thought this place was delicious. Maybe it’s because I was with you?”

“Haha, maybe.”

Isul smiled happily.

“So, what have you been up to all this time?”

“Hmm...”

As we started eating, it felt like the real conversation was beginning.

‘What have I been doing? Slaving away for Che Su-hyeon like a dog…’

I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It was too humiliating.

“Well... it’s not exactly something I want to talk about.”

“You don’t want to say, huh? That’s fine. I’ve probably been through something similar.”

I had a feeling I knew why Isul and I had broken up. It was because of her family.

Judging by the sad look on her face, I could guess the reason.

“But hey, you became an S-rank hunter.”

“Yeah. I worked really hard for it. I wanted to change my circumstances, no matter what.”

The reason she had to leave was because her family members were sick. At first, it was her mother, but when her father also fell ill, they couldn’t continue living in Seoul.

As the family breadwinner, Isul had no choice but to push herself and work as a hunter.

“You’re incredible, Isul. I remember seeing you on the news when you became an S-rank hunter. I was really shocked. S-rank hunters usually come from families with a lot of financial support.”

“Yeah, it was tough. I couldn’t stay in touch with anyone. It was hard to even reach out to you.”

She looked like she was recalling some difficult times.

Watching her brought back memories of my own struggles.

‘How much crap did I go through because of Che Su-hyeon?’

Looking back now, the conditions I worked under were ridiculous. It felt like being a slave, stuck under a ruthless employer. Of course, now I had the chance to become rich.

“You went through a lot, huh?”

It seemed she noticed my expression darken as I remembered the past.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I’m about to become incredibly wealthy.”

“Huh? Rich?”

“Yeah. I’m an S-rank hunter now, so I should be able to make a lot of money, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but... even S-rank hunters don’t always become super rich.”

She seemed a little doubtful. And she wasn’t wrong.

While S-rank hunters made good money, most of them didn’t get ridiculously wealthy because they spent most of their time running A-rank dungeons, avoiding the most dangerous jobs.

Only hunters like Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana, who had media exposure, were able to amass serious fortunes.

‘True... being a hunter alone doesn’t always mean making tons of money.’

Plus, every government and guild in the world took 90% of the hunters’ earnings in fees and taxes. Even so, the hunter economy was still booming enough that it was worth it.

“So how are you going to get rich?”

She asked softly, clearly curious.

“I’m thinking of focusing on rare items.”

“Rare items? Like S-rank ones?”

“Yeah, S-rank items.”

“Can you handle that? S-rank dungeons are tough.”

“For me, they’re fine.”

She looked surprised.

“Really?”

There was a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

“Looks like things are finally turning around for you. We both had rough starts, huh?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

We exchanged lighthearted smiles.

“Hey, um…”

She hesitated, her tone becoming more careful.

“What is it?”

“What’s your relationship with Hunter Lee Soo-ah?”

It seemed like she had been thinking about it for a while before finally asking.

“Huh? Lee Soo-ah?”

I kept staring at her, wondering what she was getting at.

“Well... people are saying you and Hunter Lee Soo-ah are dating?”

I flinched automatically.

“No, not at all.”

I waved my hand, drawing a clear line.

“Really? But everyone seems to think so. Even the intranet says it.”

Her expression was full of suspicion, almost as if she didn’t believe me.

“Nooo way. Definitely not. Lee Soo-ah is just obsessed with me and won’t leave me alone.”

“Hmmm.”

She didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“Well, if you say so…”

I couldn’t tell if she believed me or not. Her reaction was ambiguous.

“Hehehe…”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana looked at each other, smiling with satisfaction.

“Everyone, thank you. Because of you, we were finally able to wrap everything up neatly. Hehehehe.”

“Hm, Soo-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Is this how Blue Guild usually operates?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I mean, we helped because you asked, but you and Hana seemed unusually focused. Isn’t it a little weird?”

“What’s going on? Why are you working so hard? There’s no need to push yourselves this much, is there?”

“Something feels different from how things used to be.”

All the S-rank hunters who had come to help at Soo-ah’s request looked at her strangely. They had only helped because she asked them to, but now they were starting to think something was off.

‘Blue Guild has been acting suspicious lately… It feels like they’re hiding something...’

The other S-rank hunters were growing increasingly curious about Blue Guild. While it was already the top guild, recent events made it seem even more interesting, with an air of mystery surrounding it.

‘Maybe I should transfer to Blue Guild too...’

After helping out Soo-ah, they all began entertaining the same thought.