Seong was only halfway certain, still unsure about the situation.

But to offer him such a large sum?

He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Overlord.

With an Almighty-class job, Seong surely held enough value.

No, in fact, he might even be worth more than that.

But then again,

‘They don’t know I’m an Overlord.’

Lee Seong-young couldn’t possibly know Seong had this title.

So why would such an offer come through?

Could this be a scam?

What if they kept stalling on giving the signing bonus and tried to treat him like a slave instead?

Doubts bubbled up in Seong’s mind, but he shook them off.

What if they were offering this in good faith?

He didn’t know for sure.

It would be best to do some research first, and if he was still unsure, maybe ask his sister Mina.

Seong set aside his thoughts, put his phone down on the kitchen table, and headed for the bathroom for a shower.

While he was showering, he heard the familiar sound of a capsule opening from his sister Mina's room.

“Ugh! See? I told you—long gaming sessions leave you stiff.”

Stretching lightly, Mina emerged from her room. After loosening up, she was about to head to the bathroom, but as she passed by the table, she noticed Seong’s smartphone.

Curious, she picked it up and saw the message on the screen. Her eyes widened as she read the strange words.

“Huh?”

Sick Brothers?

1 billion signing bonus?

100 million salary?

Her eyes lit up as she read the message, and with a burst of energy, she yelled:

“Who the hell do these bastards think they are?!”

How dare they target her younger brother?!

Fuming with anger, Mina was about to send a rude message but paused, trembling.

Reading his phone in secret was one thing, but sending a nasty reply was another. She wasn’t sure what kind of trouble Seong would be in.

‘Wait, 1 billion for a signing bonus and 100 million salary?’

For a rookie, those were ridiculously generous terms.

Even though it felt wrong to be tempted by this, Mina was impressed by the hefty offer.

At least from what Mina knew, Sick Brothers was a merit-based guild. They were well-known for not recruiting rookies unless the terms were exceptional.

So why would they be offering such a deal to someone who had just left the beginner village?

‘What’s going on here?’

Mina’s excitement mixed with concern. Seong could’ve been an exceptional player, but the guild’s offer was puzzling.

And then, the name Lee Seong-young popped out.

Mina had heard of him before. He was a well-known scout, highly regarded for his talent in recruiting players.

She couldn’t have mistaken him.

‘If Lee Seong-young is recruiting him, then this is real.’

At least, it seemed genuine. Her mind spun for a moment as she recalled the details of Seong’s recent achievements.

‘Hero!’

Could he really have advanced to the rank of Hero?

Her pulse quickened as the thought crossed her mind.

Unable to wait any longer, Mina rushed to Seong’s bathroom and threw open the door.

“Seong! Did you really promote to Hero?!”

“Ugh! What are you doing?! Close the door!! Crazy sister!!”

Startled by her sudden intrusion, Seong lost his composure. He quickly closed the shower stall to cover himself and shouted.

But Mina wasn’t deterred.

“No!! Just answer me!!”

“No, I’m the Demon King!! Close the door!!”

“Huh?”

Mina tilted her head in confusion at Seong’s words, and just as she processed what he said, Seong splashed water in her direction.

Startled, Mina hurriedly shut the door, her face full of questions.

“The Demon King? What’s that about?”

Seong exploded in frustration.

“Who’s the weird one here, huh?!”

A minor chaos ensued as Seong finished his shower and glared at Mina, still furious.

Even if they were siblings, was it normal to barge into the bathroom while someone was showering?

But Mina, completely unfazed by Seong’s glare, still grinned at him.

“What’s this about the Demon King??”

“Ughhh, are you really not going to back off?”

“Sorry, sorry, but seriously—what’s the Demon King?”

Despite the annoying situation, Seong could only shake his head. As frustrating as it was, Mina was family.

It wasn’t the first time she acted like this, and likely wouldn’t be the last.

With a sigh, Seong gave in, towel-drying his hair as he started explaining from the beginning—his first encounter with Helena, his promotion to the Demon King, and everything that followed.

As he spoke, Mina’s expressions shifted dramatically with each passing moment, her face changing as she absorbed the details. If her friends or guildmates had seen her, they would’ve been shocked by how animated her reactions were.

Seong, however, continued without paying much mind to her changing expressions. By the time he finished, Mina’s face had become deeply serious.

Seong looked at his sister, puzzled by her expression.

What was going on?

Mina, with a furrowed brow, asked again.

“So, did Sick Brothers recruit you? I mean, the amount is pretty low for a Hero, don’t you think?”

“Huh? How do you know... Did you see my phone?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I was planning to ask you about it anyway.”

“So, what happened with Sick Brothers?”

Seong still wasn’t sure what was going on. He hadn’t revealed his status as an Overlord, so why would they offer him such a deal?

It seemed like a scam, but from his sister’s reaction...

‘Could it really be... not a scam?’

“So, they really do give those amounts to rookies?”

Mina asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Yeah, but if Lee Seong-young made the offer, then he must have seen something in you. It means he thinks you’re worth that much.”

“Ah.”

Seong’s eyes widened at Mina’s words.

Could it be? This was really the offer?

Thinking about the 1 billion signing bonus sent a wave of excitement through him.

1 billion.

His family wasn’t poor, but the idea of earning that much on his own was a completely different thing.

“Phew, good thing I have my amazing sister.”

“Huh?”

Mina’s voice broke Seong’s reverie, and he looked down at her with cold eyes.

What confidence did she have, acting all smug?

But Mina’s smirk never wavered.

Did she think she was better than Sick Brothers?

For a moment, Seong wondered if she was part of a higher-ranked guild.

But then he thought better of it.

There was no way Mina, of all people, would be in a better guild than Sick Brothers.

Just as he was about to dismiss the thought, Mina’s voice rang out.

“Signing bonus of 2 billion, salary of 500 million, and 10% of raid ticket sales.”

“...?”

Seong blinked in confusion.

Mina laughed, clearly enjoying his reaction.

“Ranked 9th overall. 3rd in the guild rankings.”

“Huh? What? What?!!”

“Bow down, little brother.”

“I... I was wrong! Please forgive me!!”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

What was truly the best? Money? No, Mina was the best.

3. 

Lee Seong-young, the scout for Sick Brothers.

He had successfully recruited Yeon, a user from the elite job training center, but even that wasn’t enough.

Although he hadn’t seen Seong’s undead firsthand, the fact that Seong single-handedly wiped out the Goblin Settlement was enough to raise suspicions.

‘A level 10 user single-handedly wiped out the entire Goblin Settlement?’

It was unbelievable.

However, with the right training at the elite job center, it wasn’t impossible for someone with a high job rank to achieve such feats, even in a day.

Talent and other factors were needed, but still, if Seong’s job rank was Epic, it meant his talent was remarkable.

Even if he had recruited Yeon, not securing Seong would be a huge loss.

That’s why Lee Seong-young had waited anxiously, wondering if he should have offered better terms.

He became restless, thinking the response might not come today at all.

‘Maybe I should’ve added more conditions?’

The basic principle of negotiation was to start with moderate terms and gradually raise the stakes. If you show all your cards at once, it’s no good.

That’s how Lee Seong-young had approached it, but now he regretted not offering more initially.

Just as his doubts began to surface, his phone rang, signaling a new message.

“It’s here!”

He knew immediately upon seeing it—Seong’s reply had arrived.

With renewed focus, he opened the message, but as he read, his excitement faded. The gleam in his eyes slowly dimmed.

[Seong: Sorry.]

A message starting with an apology.

What was wrong? Was it the conditions?

Should he have offered even more?

Should he have added all the terms upfront?

Since he had some leeway with his guild leader, he could offer more within his limits.

And even beyond that—Sick Brothers was known to accept higher-than-usual terms if a player’s potential was extraordinary.

But then Lee Seong-young read the next part and his hope completely faded.

[Seong: I’ve decided to join the Rapid Guild and continue a good relationship with them. I’m sorry for the earlier offer.]

Rapid Guild.

Ranked 3rd in the guild rankings, and known as the fastest guild in Eternal World.

No matter how strong Sick Brothers was, they couldn’t compete with the likes of Rapid Guild.

Their conditions would be tough to match.

Against the Rapid Guild, the only choice was to step aside.

No matter how many conditions Sick Brothers offered, they simply couldn’t match the prestige and power of Rapid Guild.

Lee Seong-young let out a long sigh of regret.

‘Ugh, I missed out.’

It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do.

However…

‘Rapid Guild is making a move...’

Though they weren’t a large guild in terms of numbers, Rapid Guild was made up of the best of the best, consistently ranking among the top guilds. Some even called them the strongest guild in the game.

And now, they had recruited Seong.

‘Looks like my instincts were right.’

Epic rank at the very least?

No.

‘Rapid Guild only recruits players with Unique-ranked jobs.’

At minimum, Seong’s job rank was Unique. But recently, even some players with Unique-ranked jobs had been rejected due to lack of talent.

This was a guild that didn’t just care about job ranks—they looked at talent and rank together.

Yet, they had accepted Seong, which meant his talent was far above average.

‘Could he even be Legendary?’

Lee Seong-young chuckled softly, his disappointment easing. At least he had learned something valuable.

Shaking off the frustration of missing Seong, he opened his friend list and sent a message to the guild leader of Sick Brothers.

[Lee Seong-young: Rapid Guild has recruited a new rookie. I approached them first, but it seems the offer wasn’t enough to beat theirs.]

Even though he missed the opportunity, he had to report it.

Lee Seong-young smiled wryly and muttered to himself.

It was clear now: Rapid Guild had recognized Seong’s talent and power.

With this realization, he shifted his focus from Seong to Yeon, the new recruit.

And then, for a moment, he remembered Seong’s somewhat naive side.

‘Could it be that Rapid Guild had another reason for recruiting him?’

Lee Seong-young laughed at the thought. It seemed far-fetched.

Rapid Guild was a guild that kept things strictly professional, after all. They had gotten to the top by balancing business and personal matters efficiently.

4.

The fastest guild in Eternal World, Rapid Guild.

In the guild leader’s office, someone let out a deep sigh, staring at the ceiling.

“Ugh…”

It was none other than Yuna, the troublesome yet precious member of the guild.

What to do with her?

Guild Leader of Rapid Guild, Yuna’s brother, furrowed his brows.

‘No way, you want me to recruit your sibling?’

He shook his head, thinking about Yuna, and sighed again.

It wasn’t the first time she had asked him to recruit someone, and he had always considered her requests.

It wasn’t hard to bring someone into the guild, especially if it was Yuna’s sibling.

But the terms she was asking for were beyond excessive.

‘This isn’t a rookie condition.’

A signing bonus of 2 billion and an annual salary of 500 million?

Those conditions were 20 times higher than what was typical for rookies.

If the rookie were truly exceptional, he might have been willing to offer half of that, but a 10% share of raid ticket sales?

‘This is too much.’

It was an absurd request.

Even the most outstanding rookies didn’t get deals like this.

Still, Yuna insisted that she would send Seong’s specs over later, so he agreed to consider it.

But if the specs didn’t meet the guild’s standards, he would have to reject him.

Then, another message arrived.

‘Mina?’

The message was from Yuna, under the nickname Yuna.

What had she sent?

Opening the message, he saw a screenshot along with a message that read:

[Yuna: Our brother’s specs. LOL.]

The guild leader stared at the image, slammed his hands on the desk, and jumped out of his seat.

“Are you kidding me?!”