The Novel’s Villain

5. Irrejectable Contract (2)

A -D-rank competent person at that young age. She was the same character from the original story. Her attractive appearance was impressive, but it might be natural since she was an important supporting character in her way.

‘She’s like the main character’s first love.’

It seemed that the original author was trying to write a rather tragic story, but it became a little ambiguous. She played the role of mentor to the main character and became a member of the living dead because of the Emperor of Greed. At first, she was an extra who admired the speed and ability of the main character, but when some comments said that she was pretty and such, she suddenly rose to a supporting role.

‘As expected from an original character, her abilities are good.’

Personality Evaluation: A+ (Strong older sister, Unlucky guild master)

[Trying so hard to save the Silver Arrow guild inherited from the previous guild master.]

*[B] Fortitude: Never gives up on anything that doesn’t go against her moral standards.

*[C] Warm Sister’s Arms: Possessing warm leadership. She gives a warm feeling to younger people.

She deserved to be the main character’s first love. She also had decent passive skills. It was uncomfortable to take a character from the original story, but it would waste her ability to just let her go.

‘For the one that saved the degraded main character during the Gate bombing incident to be like that…’

The ending wasn’t good. The protagonist took her life with his own hands after she turned into a monster. Given what had happened, it was very awkward when he was swayed by another heroine who suddenly appeared sobbing. He was the main character who admired other women without even blaming himself.

‘I hope it doesn’t happen in real life.’

Don’t tell me it would also happen in real life? Jin-woo didn’t think so. Anyway, Rachel was a coveted talent.

“I have only lived for today!”

“I think our guild is much more suited to that role. We will become faithful soldiers of Lee Jin-woo. We…”

“It’s not all good to have a large number of people. We are made up of a few elite people. As far as skills go…”

“In terms of guild ability evaluation, our guild is among the…”

As Jin-woo kept his silence, the interview became a discussion forum. Yoo-na once again glanced at Jin-woo, who was lost in thought and didn’t stop the noisy situation. While they were appealing to each other’s strengths, Rachel remained silent. Then, her eyes met with Jin-woo’s.

Her eyes fluttered slightly.

“If you give me a chance, I’ll do my best. I won’t let you down.”

They didn’t show it overtly, but the interviewees around her seemed to laugh at her. Her guild was ranked 102nd in the domestic mercenary guild rankings. They were outside the top 100 despite their skills because their financial evaluations lowered their scores. The death of the former guild master was the main cause. They were even deprived of the items they commissioned and were forced to pay a huge compensation.

Who would choose a guild with a bad credit rating and a bad financial condition? If Jin-woo hadn’t told Yoo-na the selection criteria, she would have been rejected in the first round. They were the ones who no one could care about if they disappeared.

Jin-woo pondered for a moment and then nodded. After all, he needed someone he could trust. Rachel sacrificed her life for the main character she had just met, so she was more than qualified.

“All right.”

Interviewees around Jin-woo were very surprised by his words. Rachel looked puzzled. She was ignored no matter where she went until now. She thought that Jin-woo would do the same, but she was surprised to hear the unexpected answer.

“Pardon?”

“Sincerity is the most important thing.”

“Yes! I am confident in that part.”

“I understand.”

The other interviewees tried to appeal to their sincerity, but Yoo-na cut them off coldly and sent them out. The interview continued.

‘I like this guy, too.’

He was a man who felt like a bandit, but he was more talented than Rachel and had an A+ personality. It also followed his guild rankings. Just like Rachel, he was struggling financially. He was a would-be Knight, so the fact that he didn’t have a guild network seemed to play a big role.

A would-be Knight tended to ignore the guilds of competent people. Not only the Mercenaries but also the League Guild felt inferior to such would-be Knights, so they hated them extremely. It was a very funny story.

‘It’s finally over.’

Jin-woo stretched out after the interview. No guild caught his eyes except for those two. He also felt sick and tired of being flattered. They might have caught his attention if they had been more cheeky. The feeling of ‘I’ve never seen a guy like this before in a drama made a little bit of sense.

It was all the same except for those he had his eye on.

“You seem to have made up your mind.”

“Well, I like the Silver Arrow Guild, but I also like the White Dragon Guild.”

“Both guilds are at the bottom of the list, though…”

“Well, they’re still there anyway.”

“Alright.”

The guild ranking was a comprehensive ranking evaluation based on many factors, including force, finances, credit, and evaluation of guild members.

“Let’s just pick both.”

“Yes, then I’ll notify them and write the contract.”

Originally, he was going to hire only one guild, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was Lee Jin-woo who could choose both if he liked them. He had plenty of money to hire both with no problem, after all.

“Um, what’s next on the schedule?”

“The British Royal Knights Commander has requested a meeting. In the evening, there is a memorial service for Knights being held at the Blue House.”

“I can only have the dinner one, right?”

“Yes, I will arrange it.”

This week’s schedule was full. He was very busy even though he was only participating in the major things.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a break.’

Jin-woo had been very busy since his potential ability evaluation recorded a huge number. The problem was that he was likely to be even busier in the future. Many invitations were pouring in from the political world, the politicians, and the alliance of competent people to connect with Jin-woo.

A comfortable life. He was getting farther away from being a rich unemployed man. After his busy schedule, Jin-woo officially took a vacation. The officials only knew that he was going on vacation to the Gate. However, his purpose was to level up and investigate the Emperor of Greed. Of course, no one knew that. It was much safer for Jin-woo to keep it to himself because of the various risks it posed.

Jin-woo examined his information in detail.

Lv.1

Name: Lee Jin-woo

Age: 21 years old

Potential Rank: Unmeasurable [Lv. No limit]

Physical Ability: F

[Muscular Strength: F / Agility: F / Durability: F]

Mana Rank: C

It was amazing every time he saw it. It was like a mass-produced fantasy novel that people’s abilities were shown in such a game format. If he continued to train hard like Choi Hee-yeon, his level would go up, but there was a more efficient way. By using the Magic Eye of Information, he could hunt monsters and absorb their experience points completely.

It was a bit of a forced setting, but it was convenient now. Anyway, it was just the right time to level up. His mana wouldn’t rise anymore even if he continued to eat good things, and his body was at its highest level-up efficiency. After preparing for a long time, it was now time to properly experience the power of this unmeasurable potential.

Jin-woo was wearing a lot of hard-earned artifacts. These were the reasons for the slight delay in leveling up.

[D+] Ring of Growth

Experience acquisition increases by 20%.

[D] Hatching Necklace

Experience acquisition increases by 20%.

[C] Hero Growth Set

Experience and growth rate are doubled.

It was Jin-woo who collected all the items and unknown artifacts that the protagonist’s rival had. No one had yet recognized their true values, so they were available at a very low price. Jin-woo moved to Anyang JW Gate wearing all of them. Of course, JW was the initials of Jin-woo so that anyone could tell that Jin-woo was its master.

‘Come to think of it. It’s my first time at the research institute.’

The research institutes and companies that Jin-woo recently established were placed around the Gate building. Although he made a huge investment to increase his Waste stacks, it was the first time he saw it in person.

G&P Building

G&P Research Institute

G&P Gate Industry

Cursive letters were engraved on each building.

G&P. It was an abbreviation for Gate and Peace, the name that Jin-woo chose. They were built by remodeling existing buildings, but they had risen significantly in just half a year. The buildings went up at his words. Once again, he felt the greatness of money.

When he went to the parlor, two guild masters were waiting for him.

‘Now it’s kind of like a fantasy.’

It felt straight out of a fantasy novel because he was wearing Gate items. It looked like something out of The Lord of the Rings, but it was quite unusual with the modern designed building. Rachel’s appearance in leather armor was very attractive. She looked like an elf with the bow on her back. It felt more so because she was of mixed race, so it gave her an exotic feeling.

The Guild master Kim Moo-jin of the White Dragon Guild partially wore metal armor, giving off a typical mercenary feel. He seemed to have jumped out of some morning cartoon. The heavy feeling he emitted was reassuring.

“How are you? Greetings again. I am Kim Moo-jin, the guild master of the White Dragon Guild.”

“It is an honor to meet you. Just call me Rachel.”

Kim Moo-jin and Rachel greeted each other politely. Jin-woo nodded lightly as he received their greetings, glancing over them carefully.

‘Um, but…’

Jin-woo looked closely at the items they were wearing. The items were indeed Gate artifacts or made of Gate resources, but they were too sloppy. Most of them had no rank, and only their main weapons were F-rank. Even the items without rank were tens of millions of won and often proved difficult to find because there were no such items for commercial sale.

‘But, it’s before the Gate artifacts poured out…’

It was after the JW Gate incident that the Gate artifacts showed up. Until then, it was like being in a drought, so that kind of thing was also something to be thankful for. When Jin-woo looked at them, the two flinched away slightly. Although it was not his intention, the charisma that he emitted implicitly was considerable. After all, his body was completely integrated with mana.

Jin-woo quietly looked at Rachel and Kim Moo-jin one at a time.

“Are you both familiar with the terms of the contract?”

“Yes. I will keep it strictly.”

“I am aware of it. Do not worry.”

Their words were sincere. Jin-woo nodded and looked at Yoo-na, who came with a tablet. Jin-woo signed it.

“I will give you the full amount in advance. Please check it out.”

“Pardon?”

“Right now?”

Rachel and Moo-jin blinked and looked at each other’s phones with no small amount of alarm.

“Kyagh!”

Rachel was so startled that she dropped her cell phone on the floor. Her hand, leaning down to retrieve her phone, was shaking. It was because her account was stamped with a number that far exceeded the contract amount. Moo-jin was no different from her.

“I…I think there is a mistake in the amount.”

“T-that’s right. Something is wrong…”

“Is that so? I’m sorry. Then we will pay more on the day the quest is completed.”

Rachel and Moo-jin jumped in surprise at Jin-woo’s words.

“What? It’s not…”

“I mean…”

Yoo-na raised a hand to cut them off. Only then did the two know that the amount wasn’t a mistake. He didn’t say anything, but the two felt overwhelmed because it seemed that Jin-woo had acknowledged their abilities. Rachel barely calmed her trembling heart. This amount was enough to pay off the debt and maintain the guild for the time being.

“T-thank you!”

“Thank you. We will repay you with our results.”

The edge of Rachel’s eyelids turned red, and Kim Moo-jin seemed like he was struggling to hold back tears. Jin-woo nodded with a soft smile. It looked very bright to both of them. There was even an illusion of a halo coming out from behind his head.

Rachel couldn’t take her eyes off Jin-woo. It was only after Yoo-na gave her a glance that she barely looked away.

‘As expected, the Waste stacks went up.’

Jin-woo laughed simply because the Waste stacks increased. Indeed, it was a waste of money as he just put five times the amount to be paid after completing the quest into their bank account on the spot. Maybe he could raise the Waste stack even more. He could never miss an opportunity like this.

Good! Let’s waste a lot.

“I want to see the guild members in person.”

When Jin-woo said that, the two ran out of the parlor, saying they would prepare them right away. Yoo-na looked at Jin-woo and smiled.

“Now, you’re good at dealing with people.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Yes, I believe so.”

Yoo-na was thinking very highly of him. Jin-woo smiled and left the parlor. There were members of the White Dragon Guild and Silver Arrow guilds standing outside, having just received basic training from the Anyang JW Gate employees. There were sixty-two people in total, including the guild masters.