Honestly, the deal wasn’t that bad because it was 150 million won. They were offering 1,500 gold as a down payment and 700 gold was my salary, which meant that my salary would be 70 million won.

I didn’t know how rookies were evaluated here yet, but I felt like they were being thoughtful.

The amount that I heard sounded like a large amount, but they weren’t welcoming me afterward. I knew they had a lot of reasons for it, but I was sure they didn’t know about the fact that my potential stat was below average.

After seeing their status window, I noticed none of them had a similar attribute as Mind’s Eye. I was sure that I lost points because of the alchemist job and my relatively low magic stat. I was basically a white elephant because I had little value to them, but they didn’t want to dispose of me.

‘Right.’

It felt like they were asking, ‘Is it really worth it to invest in this one person in order to recruit all the party members?’

While I was organizing my thoughts, Lee Sang-Hee spoke again. “It doesn't end there. I can’t explain it all to you right now, but we’ve prepared a lot of benefits and you can think of it as being similar to the benefits on Earth. Not only will you be provided with accidental and death insurance, but you can also use the facilities within the guild for free. We can even provide you with a personal trainer. Oh! If you happen to get married and have children, you’ll receive basic aid from us. Although, there aren’t that many people that get married…”

“Oh, I see. Is there a reason why?” I asked.

“It’s probably because we’re exposed to unknown threats. The situation may be better than the tutorial dungeon, but monsters and dungeons exist in this place too. The Blue Guild maintains the guild through dungeon exploration and monster hunting…of course if you go out to hunt, there will be a performance-based system. When you return from the hunt, the monsters’ by-products will be divided between the guild and the party members by 40 percent and 60 percent. The exact figures are…”

“So you’re saying that we’re exposed to danger. Does the down payment and salary include hazard pay?” I asked, interrupting Lee Sang-Hee.

“Yes, I’m sure it’s a lot more than you think,” she answered.

She was honest and I couldn’t help but think about how professional she was.

I wasn’t sure how long the earthlings have been living here, but it felt like they had gained a good amount of understanding of this place.

I never imagined that they would even offer insurance here.

‘They’re smart.’

“If you need a catalyst as an alchemist, then we’ll do our best to provide it for you, although it'll be difficult for us to provide items that are expensive…” she said.

“Miss Lee Sang-Hee…” Someone called out.

“It’s better to be honest,” said that person.

“Hm…”

“These are the things that the Blue Guild can offer,” she said.

At least Lee Sang-Hee’s attitude wasn’t that bad. She seemed like she was respecting me while showing how desperate she was at the same time. However, the old men that were beside her were the problem. They would constantly sigh or would look as if they were grading me, so I was certain that they were nothing more than stagnant, rotting water.

I was sure that they didn’t know what kind of relationship I had with Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan. Although I thought that being labeled as comrades that had cleared a dungeon together would hold greater meaning, I guessed that wasn’t the case in the outside world.

‘I’m sure it happens often.’

They might have seen people split up after clearing the tutorial dungeon together because of certain conditions, money, or even personal circumstances.

Comrades that had experienced life and death together was putting it nicely.

Considering the fact that we were strangers three months ago, it wasn’t impossible to split up because of what was happening around us. Seeing as how even siblings, families, and best friends on Earth could split up due to personal interests, I was sure that the same was applied here.

Of course…

‘It doesn’t apply to our party.’

I couldn’t imagine Park Deok-Gu doing that since we were close, Jung Ha-Yan wouldn’t abandon me, and it was the same for Kim Hyun-Sung since he had invested a lot in me. We were closer than they thought and we were intertwined because of an interest, which they didn’t know about. Considering this, their attitude towards me was amusing.

I applaud them for making such a great offer in order to recruit the four of us, but if they were really desperate, then they should have been humble about it.

It put me in a bad mood, but at the same time, it didn’t. Actually, I found this situation to be very amusing.

‘Idiots.’

I wanted them to treat me poorly. I wanted them to look down on me because that would make it more advantageous for me.

“I can’t really tell, but it seems like a good offer and I understand that you worked hard on this negotiation,” I said.

“Yes, you won’t be disappointed,” Lee Sang-Hee said.

“Are there non-combatant members within the guild?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

When I brought it up, one of the gramps that was beside her spoke up. “Yes, Mr. Ki-Young. To be frank, an alchemist is categorized as a non-combatant job and I’m sure no other guild will give this kind of offer to an alchemist,” he explained.

“Oh, I see. That’s strange. I’m certain I saw alchemy magic as a choice…” I said.”

“It’s because it’s not that effective. Alchemy magic is activated using a catalyst, but…a monster’s by-product is expensive. Even the magic circles that alchemists use aren’t that effective,” he explained.

“Oh.”

“It’ll be a different story if you have a lot of mana as an alchemist…would it be okay if you told us your magic stat?” he asked.

“It’s eight,” I answered.

“Hm…despite changing your job twice, it’s not that high. Could it be that the growth of your magic stat is a bit slow…”

“You’re right. Compared to my intelligence, it’s not growing as fast. Of course, this is compared to my fellow mage,” I said.

“Ohh…I see. I understand,” he said.

He looked as if that was what he expected. Because of the conversation just now, I deduced that their evaluation of me had gone down. It was as if they were saying that they were only recruiting me because of Kim Hyun-Sung and Jung Ha-Yan.

“If you put in a good word when you talk to the others, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. What do you think?” the grandpa asked.

It was funny to see him quietly push the contract towards me despite what happened. After glancing at the contract, I continued the conversation. “Well, I think I’ll have to think about it some more,” I said.

“What do you…”

“Oh, I’m thinking positively about it, but I was hoping you’d be able to give me some time to think about it,” I said.

“Ohh. I hope you’ll give us your answer as soon as possible since we don’t have a lot of time…” he said.

“Okay, I’ll think about it and let you know as soon as possible,” I told them.

“And I hope you’ll put in a good word for us with the other members,” he added.

“Yes, of course.”

When I tried to stand up, Lee Sang-Hee quickly spoke up. “It’s information that’s included in the Blue Guild’s catalog and the contract. If you read it while thinking about our offer…I’m sure it’ll help,” she suggested.

“I’ll read it later,” I told her.

It wasn’t even worth reading.

‘Because within a few days, all the information is going to change.’

When I exited the room, I saw Park Deok-Gu, Jung Ha-Yan, and Kim Hyun-Sung waiting for me. They looked at me as if they were asking if it went well, but I answered by quietly smiling.

“Hyung-nim, didn’t you go through a test of some sort?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Well, somewhat,” I answered.

“I think they’re actually treating us pretty well,” he said.

“Really?” I asked.

“It’s true, Mr. Ki-Young. I personally did some research and it seems like the other big guilds aren’t offering contracts as good as this one, so I think they’re telling the truth. They’re offering this much despite not seeing our growth potential…” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Yes. I think they’re good people, oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“I’m sure they’re somewhat gambling from their side too. They’re probably feeling the pressure because they need to make sure this recruitment is successful since people are resources for them,” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

They didn’t seem to be like that.

“It may be a bit early to decide, but what do you think? I think it’ll be a bit better to receive complete support from them rather than joining a larger guild,” he said.

“If hyung-nim agrees, then I agree,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Me too…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

As expected, the loyal Deok-Gu and the lovely Ha-Ya wouldn’t abandon me, but the problem was Kim Hyun-Sung. He seemed very fond of the Blue Guild and not only that, but he also seemed to be in a hurry.

Rather than personally creating a force, it felt like he was trying to lay his foundation here. Although if I were him, I would make the same decision.

Personally creating a force had its advantages because not only would the guild adjust based on our orders, but there would be many guilds for us to choose from. However, there was an advantage in joining the Blue Guild too. The advantage was that I would be able to swallow the framework that the guild had been building so far.

It wouldn’t be difficult to make Kim Hyun-Sung or Jung Ha-Yan join the guild’s main force and I was sure that they would adapt really fast.

Kim Hyun-Sung’s decision was definitely reasonable.

“Of course, there’s no need for us to rush. I think it’ll be better to think and talk about it a bit more, but…I kind of like this guild,” Kim Hyun-Sung said as he looked at me for an answer.

I spoke calmly without hesitation. “I think it’ll be better if we think about it for a little bit.”

“Oh…do you not like the guild?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just...”

“Yes?” he asked.

“I think we can raise our worth,” I answered.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m talking about our value. Better a castle of bones than of stones. I’m sure there’s a way to increase our worth,” I said.

“Oh…” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

It would be a different story if Kim Hyun-Sung really cherished the Blue Guild, but it didn’t seem to be that way. In the end, he simply needed power.

Seeing his surprised reaction made me think that he was in a hurry, but I guess he must have returned to his senses. Right now, he must have realized his position.

I didn’t know what his plan was, but our party still had some time. Since we completed the tutorial dungeon in record time, I was sure that us bidding our time wouldn’t disrupt the future that Kim Hyun-Sung was thinking about.

“I think I understand…what you mean,” he said.

“Yeah, there’s no need to rush in signing the contract, Mr. Hyun-Sung. The more we drag it out, the more anxious they’ll become,” I said.

Kim Hyun-Sung definitely understood what I said.

“Then…are you saying that we can get more than what we were offered? Honestly, money doesn’t really matter…” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Well, that’s true,” I commented.

“Are you…are you thinking about joining a different guild, hyung-nim?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Y-You can’t do that oppa!” Jung Ha-Yan yelled.

“I’m not thinking of doing that because I want to stay with you guys and of course with Mr. Hyun-Sung too. Isn’t that right?” I asked him.

“Yes, although we were brought together through a strange place like this…I would like to stay with Mr. Ki-Young, Mr. Deok-Gu, and Miss Ha-Yan,” he answered.

It was a very heartwarming sight.

When I looked at Kim Hyun-Sung, I couldn’t help but grin.

‘Hyun-Sung, this hyung of yours will help you make a lot of money.’