Chapter 34
“Hey, big guy. Why are you so late?”
“…Deroa.”
…She was ready to snap at Mason.
“Instead of taking care of your noona after making all the preparations, this noona has to wait for you? Huh?”
Mason looked at Masika.
“Can you get me a new mage?”
“…?!”
Deroa sat down with a whimper.
Mason chuckled.
The conference room was over half full.
25 ranged dealers, including Masika.
Seo Yeonhee, Deroa, and…
“Long time no see, Mason-gyeong. Now you’re the raid leader, huh?”
Andrei, with his legs sprawled on the table, sporting an American biker gang style.
Powerful players were all looking at Mason.
Mason chuckled.
“Let’s drop the ‘-gyeong’ part, shall we?”
“Then what would you prefer? Boss?”
“Boss is much better.”
As Mason sat down, Masika stood in front of the screen for the briefing.
“Alright, then let’s begin the briefing…”
“Hold on a second.”
Mason asked Masika.
“Are you going to talk about money?”
“Excuse me? Ah, yes. I was planning to give a briefing on the current financial situation and management-related matters.”
“Not interested. Skip it.”
“…What?”
“Skip it.”
Masika sighed.
She knew he was this type of person, but she didn’t realize he would be this extreme.
“…Then what do you want to hear about?”
“Fighting.”
“But we should at least decide on the profit sharing before we proceed.”
“How much do you usually get?”
“The main tanker receives about 10% of the net profit.”
“Then I’ll take that much.”
“Uh…”
Masika looked at Andrei.
“Then Andrei, how much…”
“How much did your raid team pay their sub-tanker?”
“5% of the net profit.”
“Then I’ll take that much.”
Usually, the most contentious part was the profit distribution. Many raid teams split up due to discord arising from settlement issues.
Since it wasn’t just simple money, but money earned by risking their lives, it was often tied to their pride.
However, Mason wasn’t greedy for money, and neither was Andrei. Perhaps it was because he had been a raid leader for a long time.
‘This makes things easier.’
Masika, who had been secretly worried about the finances due to the unorthodox double tanker setup, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Uh… Then let’s just move on quickly. What do you want to hear about?”
When Masika asked, Mason replied.
“The enemy.”
Masika manipulated the screen.
“First, there are two monsters we planned to raid. The B-Rank raid boss, ‘Darkwing’, and the A-Rank raid boss, ‘Horned Gorgon’.”
Darkwing was a larger version of an eagle, and Horned Gorgon was a supersized version of a rhinoceros and a buffalo.
“Which one is harder to k*ll?”
“Darkwing would be more difficult.”
“Because it’s a flying monster?”
“Because it’s a flying monster…”
Flying monsters had the first-strike advantage and could easily escape. Especially if it had abilities like aerial bombardment, they could be wiped out before they could even react.
Just like aquatic monsters, flying monsters were considered one or two ranks higher in difficulty.
“Then is Horned Gorgon better?”
“It is, but it’s also a real monster.”
Unlike Darkwing, about which they had limited information, there was a considerable amount of data on Horned Gorgon.
“It has incredibly high defense, and its attack power is barely manageable by a max-level tanker. Plus, its basic breath is poisonous, and it can breathe a toxic breath in a pinch.”
“Is that all?”
“Attacking from behind is also a pain. It has a spiked tail like a morningstar, coated with poison, so any melee dealer would suffer a critical injury with a single blow.”
“The fact that the data is so detailed means… there are people who have experienced it.”
Masika nodded.
“The Seoul Alumni Association raid team messed with it and got disbanded. This data is their legacy, so to speak.”
“…Seoul Alumni Association?”
“They were the 8th ranked raid team in Korea at the time.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Mason had a subtle look on his face.
“…Alumni association?”
“There are over 10 million people who used to live in Seoul. Of course, there would be an alumni association.”
“That’s true, I guess…”
Mason looked at Seo Yeonhee and Andrei in turn.
“I want to go for the Horned Gorgon. Any other opinions?”
“Do as you wish, boss.”
Andrei said, seemingly disinterested, and Seo Yeonhee just quietly shook her head.
“Then, I’ll report to the government that our next raid target is the Horned Gorgon.”
Masika was about to end the meeting.
Then Deroa raised her hand with a grumpy expression.
“Hey, hold on a second.”
Masika frowned at the informal speech full of disrespect. However, she decided not to confront her.
“Aren’t you getting more mages?”
“We have mages. Deroa Ranieri and Olga Moryova.”
Only then did Masika notice a small girl standing beside Deroa, looking awkward. The girl had a similar height and build to Deroa, but still had freckles on her face.
Deroa burst out in anger.
“Are you kidding me? Two mages are all we get?”
“…How many more do you want?”
“We need at least five!”
“No way. Then we won’t have enough slots for melee combatants.”
“Then get rid of some ranged dealers!”
“That’s not your concern, Deroa.”
“What did you say, you brat?”
Deroa jumped onto the table in a fit of rage.
“Hey! How old are you?!”
“Twenty-two.”
“I’m twenty-three!”
“…Korean age?”
“Yes!”
“Uh, um…”
Masika’s momentum visibly faltered.
Mason had a bewildered expression on his face as he watched the farce.
“My, my, what a uniquely Korean scene.”
Andrei was sprawled out, watching. He looked like he wanted to get some popcorn and enjoy the show.
Mason looked at Seo Yeonhee.
“Seo Yeonhee, do you feel the same way?”
“No.”
Seo Yeonhee said in a calm voice.
“We need to fill the remaining slots with melee combatants. As tough as they can be.”
“Seo Yeonhee!”
Deroa was enraged by the betrayal.
But Seo Yeonhee remained calm.
“With the current raid team composition, we are inevitably vulnerable to unexpected situations. Like it or not, we need people with exceptional adaptability.”
“Mages are the best at adapting to situations!”
“Yes, mages are the best at offensive adaptation. But… that’s not what this raid team lacks, is it?”
Deroa looked around, as if she was wronged, but there was no one on her side. She looked at Olga as her last hope, but…
“Deroa-unni… let’s do our best, just the two of us…”
“…”
“Yes…?”
“Ha…”
Olga had already accepted reality.
Speechless, Deroa slumped down in her seat.
“Just you wait, if you dare blame the mages later. I’ll k*ll you all.”
๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑
The rest of the meeting concluded with minor adjustments.
“By the way, what about the raid team name?”
Except for Mason’s proposal right before the meeting ended.
“Why don’t we just stick with Under Dark Legion? It costs money to change the name.”
“There’s also a saying, ‘Put old wine in new bottles’.”
“…Isn’t it ‘Put new wine in new bottles’?”
“…?”
“…?”
Mason looked at Masika, puzzled, and Masika was puzzled by Mason’s puzzlement.
“Uh… let’s move on for now.”
“Yes…”
Mason said.
“Anyway, let’s come up with a new team name since we’re rebuilding.”
“What do you want to call it?”
“Revengers.”
Masika had a bewildered expression on her face.
It wasn’t exactly a witty name.
But…
‘It’s safe.’
There was nothing particularly wrong with it either.
Masika nodded.
“Let’s go with that. I’ll leave the logo and concept to the professionals.”
“Alright.”
With that, the meeting concluded.
Mason whispered to Deroa.
“But is ‘Put old wine in new bottles’ really wrong?”
“Are you stupid? Why would you put old wine in new bottles?”
Deroa chuckled.
“You put new wine in new bottles.”
“…Why on earth?”
“The importance of diversification, you fool.”
“Oh…”
Masika shook her head.
๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑
After leaving the Holy Knights’ accommodation, Masika provided Mason with a mansion on the outskirts of Gwangju.
Not only were basic necessities and appliances provided, but the wardrobe was overflowing with large-sized clothing, including a custom-made sofa and bed in Mason’s size.
‘Just how long has she been planning to recruit me?’
These were not things that could be prepared in a day or two.
Mason took a bottle of beer from the refrigerator. He flicked the cap off with his thumb, and the beer overflowed with a pop.
Mason sat with his legs stretched out, lost in thought.
Masika would take care of the trivial matters.
Now, only two things remained.
Recruiting the remaining members and… fighting monsters.
‘Fighting, huh.’
Mason was a seasoned veteran when it came to fighting monsters.
However, his fights were mostly defensive, or he was called in during emergencies.
To put it in sports terms, it was a defense with the offensive initiative surrendered, a defense.
But this was the first time he was taking on an offensive role, a hunter’s role, attacking monsters.
He was somewhat confident in his ability to deal with unexpected situations, but how would he fare when it came to planning battles and executing strategies?
Especially, would the newly assembled members be able to work together effectively in combat?
Even with a raid team composition that wasn’t solely focused on ranged damage, there were plenty of uncertainties.
The shadow of the Heavenly King looming over Andrei.
And… Seo Yeonhee.
Above all, the most worrisome thing was the fact that this was their first battle.
Until now, Mason had been supporting already established raid teams.
But this time was different.
‘I hope things go well.’
Mason took a swig of his beer.
๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑
From the next day onwards, there were interviews for new member recruitment.
The agent sent over a list according to their requirements.
All members were A-Rank dealer-tanks with decent defense.
On paper, they were flawless talents.
Many of them were already active raid members.
“Why do you want to transfer to our raid team?”
“To play in the big leagues.”
Most of the answers were similar.
Big leagues. Big money.
‘There’s no one like the Holy Knights…’
Mason was inwardly disappointed, but he didn’t let it show.
Instead of lamenting the absence of people like the Holy Knights, he should be grateful that there were people like them among the players who were so sensitive to profit and loss.
