AECS 80

Chapter 80

The Price of Discontent (2)

• Daughter. You’re doing okay, right?

“Yeah, Dad! Don’t worry too much. If I do well, I think I can even earn more money!”

• Money? More than the 1 billion you mentioned back then? How much?

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that right now.”

Hwang Ji-woo kept in regular contact with her parents.

Because of the confidentiality agreement, she couldn’t go into details, but she reassured them that she was doing well and could earn a lot.

• Nothing’s too difficult, right?

“Yeah. Even if it’s hard, it doesn’t feel that way.”

Of course, it was hard. That was a given.

After collapsing from the physical training, Baek Jin-woo kept increasing the intensity. On top of that, the Dragon Sorcerer was always by her side, leaving her no personal time at all.

It was a life of training only, cutting off all other dopamine.

Most people couldn’t last a week.

‘But…’

She had to endure it.

It was only 100 days.

And during those 100 days, the pay was 41.66 million won per day, plus she would receive the best consulting every player in the country would want.

If you asked anyone on the street if they wanted this chance, they’d probably kneel begging.

If you had any conscience, you had to endure it.

‘If I had 100 billion won…’

There would be so much I could do.

Buy a nice house for my grateful parents, get myself a luxury house and car…

Then invest the rest in high-return dividend stocks or real estate to enjoy financial freedom.

And as a player?

I could treat it as a hobby, or take it seriously!

‘Of course…’

If I learn properly and become a national team player, even better.

And, yesterday, I saw Baek Jin-woo’s expression—he seemed genuinely impressed.

‘I’m doing well, right?’

Flames of hope lit Ji-woo’s eyes as she glanced at the Dragon Sorcerer training beside her.

“Jin-woo?”

Bang!

Yu Ji-a entered the conference room.

Ever since testing Hwang Ji-woo yesterday, Baek Jin-woo had been deep in thought.

‘Should I raise her or not?’

In fact, if a player had talent, raising them wouldn’t hurt.

It wouldn’t take long, and it wouldn’t be hard.

The proper training would all be handled by Hun-gyo anyway.

In fact, Hun-gyo was a peculiar character who enjoyed having a busier training schedule.

The real issue was:

“You want to create a guild?”

“Yes. Yubaek will remain as it is, but I want to establish a guild under its umbrella.”

“Why the sudden thought…? Could it be because of Hwang Ji-woo training with you?”

Yu Ji-a, as always, was sharp.

“That’s part of it, but there are other reasons too.”

“Other reasons…?”

“Remember the gang infiltration incident? It was lucky my students happened to be in Yubaek City. Imagine if they hadn’t been—terrifying, right? There’s no guarantee something like that won’t happen again.”

Baek Jin-woo wanted more trustworthy rankers stationed in Yubaek City.

“…So, you want to increase your strength.”

Exactly.

Technically, it was a guild, but in reality, it was a sort of armed unit—legally recognized by the government.

Baek Jin-woo had many people he needed to protect.

It started with family, but now included people who had grown important to him.

Yu Ji-a, his students, the Yubaek staff—they were all his people.

To protect them?

Strength was necessary.

“Of course, I don’t want it to be grandiose. Just a small, elite group with only the people I want. That’s perfect.”

There’s no need for the mediocre ones.

One properly trained player is worth more than a hundred average ones.

“Hmm, that sounds good.”

Yu Ji-a seemed interested as well.

“Honestly, making money from a guild is much easier than making money from single-player management.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Well, getting a guild license is tough… but with your reputation, Jin-woo, you could definitely pull it off. You’ve got Chang-seok too. And the facilities are already better than most guilds. Heh heh.”

True.

Even the Big Three of South Korea couldn’t match the grandeur of Yubaek City.

They were all in expensive rented buildings in Seoul.

Someday…

Yubaek would also have a Seoul branch.

“Then! I’ll organize it according to your plan and report back! You know I’ll fully support whatever you want.”

“Thanks for saying that. Oh, and could you fetch some summons for me?”

“Which ones?”

Baek Jin-woo listed them: past ice-element summons.

One A-rank, three B-rank, one C-rank.

Of course, he wouldn’t hand ownership to Hwang Ji-woo immediately.

Her test wasn’t over yet.

Skill, determination, loyalty—all had to be assessed before she could join the guild.

Fail the test?

‘I’ll use them myself. No big deal.’

Limits were clear, but it was still a strong combination once considered “broken.”

Someday, it would come in handy.

Gangnam, Baekho Headquarters.

Knock knock.

Guild Master An Gijeong and Sub-Guild Master Hwang Joo-won of Ilwol knocked on Baekho’s door.

“Ah, you’re here! Master!”

Baekho’s Guild Master, Park Ho, greeted them with a smile.

“Why summon us? We see each other every week anyway.”

Hwang Joo-won, 53, played the adult, national-team role.

Ilwol’s rankers were generally older.

For some reason, that’s how the atmosphere developed.

Those in their late 30s preferred Baekho, those in their mid-40s preferred Ilwol.

Early 40s? Split down the middle.

For reference, the 20s went with Arirang, the teens with Carpe Diem…

“Please, have a seat.”

Park Ho led them in politely.

Of course, he had a reason.

After some casual conversation to ease the mood, Park Ho got to the point.

“Brothers.”

“Hmm?”

“Isn’t something strange about Hong Ah-ri and the Carpe Diem kids?”

It had been discussed within Baekho before.

Hong Ah-ri, Ki Jae-hyeok, Kang Ji-ho.

These three suddenly became very strong, and apparently were taking tutoring in Yubaek City with Oh Sun-young of Arirang.

This was clearly a contract violation, preferential treatment, and corruption!

“Hmm, that happened?”

Hwang Joo-won chuckled.

“No wonder the kids became unbeatable… I thought they just had fast growth due to youth.”

“That’s not something to laugh off, Master. Baek Jin-woo even received an extra 1 trillion won in government funds. If the teaching is unequal, how could that be acceptable?”

“Hmm.”

Hwang Joo-won closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened them.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“So what do you intend to do? Confront Baek Jin-woo?”

“Yes.”

Hwang Joo-won immediately understood Park Ho’s intention.

Currently, four Baekho rankers are in the national team.

Kang Geon-ho, Park Ho, Bok Jeong-hee, Seo Sang-won.

Add two from Ilwol, totaling six, planning to file a claim together.

More heads mean more power.

“Think carefully. Baek Jin-woo is strong and a good teacher—recognize that. People even speculate he might be the incarnation of the famous Jinwoo-god. But if he only favors Arirang and Carpe Diem… we would naturally be left behind.”

“You mean you want Ilwol’s support?”

“Yes.”

“What about negotiating instead of claiming?”

“…Give more to someone who already received 1 trillion?”

“That’s all well and good, but it’s too risky. What if Baek Jin-woo flips and excludes us entirely?”

From Ilwol’s perspective, it could be a legitimate grievance. But from Baek Jin-woo’s perspective, it might not matter.

After all, it’s not illegal for Baek Jin-woo to tutor whomever he prefers.

Whatever he teaches, that’s his right.

“Ho.”

“Yes, Master.”

“This seems too hasty. I understand Baekho wants to maintain first place domestically. But we must also acknowledge reality. Baek Jin-woo is strong, and he has the right to use his knowledge and skills as he pleases.”

“…Still, to lose first place just because of Baek Jin-woo… it’s infuriating.”

“What can you do if you’re frustrated? You have to get stronger. Honestly, we’re not first in Ilwol either because we’re weak?”

“Baekho isn’t weak. MK Group and Mirae Group back us, and we have political connections too. Even Baek Jin-woo can’t ignore that.”

“….”

Sigh.

That’s the problem with Baekho.

The guild master and sub-guild master are young.

Master Ho is 35, ranking first Geon-ho is 33.

Not too young, but still emotionally inexperienced to lead a large group.

The age of hot blood!

Of course, he understood their frustration.

Losing a secure position because of one player’s favoritism would infuriate anyone.

But that’s Baekho’s problem, not Ilwol’s.

“Fighting is fine,” Hwang Joo-won spoke.

“But leave us out.”

“Master!”

“You know, it’s rude to join a path you know leads to failure.”

It’s an obvious losing battle.

The world had already shifted.

Connections, family ties, conglomerates, politicians?

All irrelevant.

If a player alone is overwhelmingly strong, that’s all that matters.

Just look at Rachel in England.

No combination of CEOs or politicians has more influence than her words.

“And frankly, we haven’t even asked Baek Jin-woo yet. We should ask to be summoned to Yubaek City too.”

“You should ask first. I’m talking about the case if we’re refused.”

“Tsk tsk, then you scoundrel!”

Hwang Joo-won stood up.

“Ask first, then think. And make sure we’re excluded.”

Showing up uninvited to demand tutoring would just make him dislike you.

‘Ugh.’

Hwang Joo-won didn’t want to be on Baek Jin-woo’s bad side.

If you’re competent, he’ll teach willingly.

‘Honestly,’

Even the current curriculum is already tough to keep up with.

Sigh.

‘Looks like Baekho won’t last long either.’

A group must have a smart leader.

You must quickly read the changing trends and adapt fluidly to survive.

Currently, the trend is not Baekho, it’s Baek Jin-woo.

Align with him, and even if you can’t be first, you survive.

“Master, do you really have no regrets?”

“…You, too, listen carefully and heed the advice.”

Until now, Baekho’s success had mostly been due to luck.

The level in Korea was just terrible.

They were frogs in a well, forming alliances and cliques, and that’s how Baekho was made.

The executives may have skill, but they lack social experience.

‘Hmm.’

Curious.

The outcome remains to be seen.