“Ah, I see. Well, it seems like I’ll be the final victor. Don’t you think it’s time for you to give up, Chae Soo-hyun?”

Despite hearing Chae Soo-hyun’s words, Lee Soo-ah didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

“What did you say?”

Naturally, Chae Soo-hyun couldn’t hide her discomfort.

A strange tension was brewing between the three female hunters.

“Chae Soo-hyun, you’ve only just joined Blue Guild, haven’t you? That makes you the junior here. On the other hand, I’m Lee Soo-ah, the lead hunter of Blue Guild. I understand what you’re trying to say, but wake up from your delusions. Our Ji-hoon has zero interest in you.”

Lee Soo-ah spoke confidently.

‘Hah… ridiculous. What do you mean he’s not interested? Ji-hoon oppa still misses me. Not to mention, I’m his ex-girlfriend.’

Chae Soo-hyun debated whether or not to reveal that she was Ji-hoon’s ex, but decided it wasn’t the right time.

“Lee Soo-ah, you’re seriously mistaken. If you were such a prominent lead hunter, you should’ve been dating Baek Ji-hoon by now. Oh wait, isn’t it true that Baek Ji-hoon is already dating Chae Isul?”

Chae Soo-hyun smirked, her expression turning teasing.

“What… what did you say!?”

“Hmph. Anyway, that’s enough. I’ll be going to Baek Ji-hoon now. I don’t have time to waste on either of you. I’ll be heading to the S-rank dungeon~”

With a dismissive wave, Chae Soo-hyun walked away, leaving Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na behind.

“That… that b****.”

Lee Soo-ah looked visibly upset.

Losing Baek Ji-hoon to Chae Isul had struck a nerve for her.

‘This guild was mine… how did it end up like this?’

“Lee Soo-ah, did you hear that? We need to hurry up and finish this. If we don’t, Chae Soo-hyun is going to get ahead of us!”

“Sigh… okay.”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na refocused on their tasks.

 

“Woooooo!”

We had just acquired the item. It took three attempts, but we got it.

‘Wow. Something that looks this plain is worth 50 billion won?’

It was simple in design—a sword adorned with ruby decorations.

Though the base stats were nothing extraordinary, the special option was what made it valuable.

“Wow… hyung... you’ve conquered the weapons category too. If we keep making money like this, we’re set for life. I think we should just make Baekho Guild our regular customer instead of going through the auction. It would be faster that way.”

‘Hmm...’

The truth was, I had met with Jin-hyuk mostly because of Chae Soo-hyun. I wasn’t sure if I should continue doing so.

“Hyung, are you really going to put this up for auction?”

“Yes, list it.”

“Aw... I feel like we should just keep it as a memento…”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but I had a goal.

I wanted to surprise Chae Soo-hyun.

I needed her to see just how well I was doing—enough to shock her into realizing what she had lost.

To fully move on and live my best life, this was a step I had to take.

“Let’s go. We’re done for the day.”

“Yes, hyung!”

As I led a grinning Park Hyung-seok out of the dungeon, a familiar voice rang out.

“Oppa!!!”

‘What the...? Why is Chae Soo-hyun here?’

I was momentarily caught off guard. Though I quickly composed myself.

Not far behind her, Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na came rushing up as well.

Seeing them, Chae Soo-hyun quickly changed her demeanor.

“Hello, Baek Ji-hoon Hunter.”

Her greeting was awkward, almost comical. It was obvious that she hadn’t told anyone about our past relationship.

“Ji-hoon…”

Panting, Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na arrived right after her.

“Where are you going? Are you done already? We worked really hard on what you asked us to do…”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na looked like anxious puppies, desperately waiting for me to respond.

“Yes, I’ve finished what I needed to do. I’m heading back now.”

“Baek Ji-hoon Hunter…”

Chae Soo-hyun blocked my path.

“What do you need, Chae Soo-hyun Hunter? What brings you here?”

I kept my tone cold and indifferent.

“I was wondering if there’s anything you need. I’d like to help you...”

Chae Soo-hyun’s expression was one of longing, as if begging me to use her.

“Did you come all this way just to ask me that? This is something you could’ve said back at the office. And if I recall correctly, I already gave you an answer. I. Don’t. Need. You.”

I left her standing there and walked past.

“Ji-hoon~~ Ji-hoon~~ We finished everything you asked us to do!”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na excitedly followed, practically bouncing behind me.

 

“Haa…”

Left alone, Chae Soo-hyun clenched her fists, staring at the ground.

“It’s because of Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na, right? You just couldn’t say anything because of them, right? Ji-hoon oppa, you still have feelings for me, don’t you… right...?”

Her resentment toward Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na began to fester.

In her mind, she was convinced that Baek Ji-hoon couldn’t possibly have abandoned her.

She was certain that he would have taken her back if Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na hadn’t shown up.

‘I saw it in his face—he was surprised and happy to see me.’

In her delusion, she decided that the two other women were obstacles that needed to be dealt with.

‘How should I get rid of these two…?’

 

“Ji-hoon~~ We finished everything!”

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na continued chattering as they trailed after me, desperate for my attention.

It was clear that they were trying to report their success and win my favor.

“Good job.”

I wanted to head back and sell the Ruby Sword as soon as possible, but their constant chatter was making it difficult.

“Ji-hoon~ what should we do next?”

“Can you be quiet?”

Their incessant babbling was starting to give me a headache.

“Pfft.”

Park Hyung-seok, who had been listening nearby, couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na glared at him so coldly, it was as if they were ready to slice his throat.

“Ah, sorry!”

Intimidated, Park Hyung-seok shrank under their icy stares.

“Fine… we’ll be quiet…”

“And can you walk a bit farther behind me? You’re too close, and it’s uncomfortable.”

“Okay…”

Grudgingly, Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-na fell in line behind me and Park Hyung-seok, following like scolded children.

 

“Hyung… are you really going to list this? It’s such a waste… We’re already rich, why not keep it?”

Park Hyung-seok asked for the 50th time, just before pressing the upload button.

“List it. We’ll be swimming in gear like this soon enough. Don’t be sentimental.”

It was true.

I was confident that I’d keep acquiring items, so this one wasn’t particularly important.

“Alright…”

Within minutes of listing the item, word began to spread like wildfire.

Given that we had over 2,000 followers on the auction platform, it didn’t take long for people to start reacting to the new listing.

“Wow, word spreads fast now. It’s already blowing up on social media.”

[Ruby Sword Listed] [Insane! They’ve unlocked the weapons category too.] [Who’s this Parfaris guy? Another new item.] [This is nuts. Whoever this is, they’re making bank.] [Even with a 90% tax, that’s still a fortune.] [I’m jealous. I wish I could do that...]

No matter where I looked online, every community was buzzing about the Ruby Sword. As expected, weapons were the hottest, most in-demand category.

[Does owning this mean you can level up from A-rank to S-rank?] [But normal people won’t be able to afford it. It’s probably going to go for hundreds of billions.] [So it’s just for show?] [I bet someone from the U.S. will buy it. I heard they’re pooling money to invest over there.]

What I was most curious about now was whether Baekho Guild would try to buy the item.

‘How much money does Jin-hyuk have left…’

At the same time, my thoughts drifted to Chae Soo-hyun.

I wondered how she would take all of this.

After all, she had placed her bet on Baekho Guild’s success by siding with Jin-hyuk.

But in reality, Blue Guild—with me at the helm—was doing far better.

No doubt, this would cause her some heartache.

‘It’s all good for me. I get to rub it in her face and get rich at the same time.

 

“Uh… Hyung.”

Just as I was lost in thought, Park Hyung-seok’s urgent voice broke through.

“Jin-hyuk from Baekho Guild is trying to contact you. I think you should take this call directly.”

“Got it.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what Jin-hyuk had to say now.