There were six guilds on Earth that everyone recognized as the best, and they had six Guild Masters. Those Guild Masters were called the Six Masters: Son Chae-Won of the Silent Moon Guild, Shin Sung-Hyun of the Goblin Guild, Christine Lewis of the Silver Constellation Guild, Shoot of the Labyrinth Guild, Tenmei Yugo of the Sky Soul Guild, and Milphage of the Hallem Guild. What they had done was unprecedented. They usually never took a step off the 2nd floor, but one day, they all went to the 1st floor. They all visited Korea, even though only two of them had any connection with the country.

"Is this Specter’s country? It's my first time coming here in person.”

Milphage, the Mercenary King, said as he entered the conference room of the Korean Player Association. There were already five guests sitting on chairs in the conference room, but he received no reply.

"Tch, you guys are boring. You only live once, so you should have fun."

Shaking his head, he munched on the snacks and sandwiches in the room.

"Is there no meat here? It doesn't taste very good."

"You animal. If you don't have the will or the ability to be formal, just sit quietly."

Pause. 

Milphage's huge hand, which had been constantly taking food into his mouth, stopped in the air. Turning his head quietly, he looked at the old man wearing a yukata with a surprised look.

"Hey, I heard there's a culture of respect for the elderly in the East. I'm sure you’re relying on that, but don’t expect that from me."

"Do you even know respect?"

"Huh, now, it's getting fun. Did you go senile in the time I haven’t seen you? Do you want me to massage your shoulders?"

Son Chae-Won blocked Milphage, who was showing his teeth like a beast.

"Didn't you hear that if you cause trouble, you'll be disqualified from the auction?”

"Why did you tell him that? It was an opportunity to reduce competition."

Shin Sung-Hyun, sporting a comma-shaped hairstyle, sighed lightly and rebuked Son Chae-Won.[1]

She asked back in bewilderment, "Then should we have just let them fight here?"

"Can't we?"

"Of course not!"

There were only two people who remained silent in the noisy conference room.

"Generous Sun God, may you help those young lambs...”

“…”

Christine Lewis quietly prayed while Shoot sat silently next to her. The man named Shoot was thin, and he was dressed in a suit with a Guy-Manuel Helmet on his head.[2] The golden helmet’s screen displayed the emoticon (-_-) drawn with LED lights as if to show that he was bored.

"Haaa, I wonder how the world would feel if they saw this pathetic scene...”

The moment Son Chae-Won sat down while pressing her fingers on her throbbing temple—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the conference room’s door. At the same time, the noises in the conference room instantly disappeared like the room had always been silent.

"Hmm, the Korean Player Association has a decent one.”

Milphage calmly sat down with a look of interest upon sensing the energy behind the door. It was only Shin Sung-Hyun who smiled faintly and skillfully covered his mouth with his fingers.

‘He’s grown again.’

The man who opened the door and entered the conference room was Seo Jun-Ho. He sat down after a polite bow to the six individuals in the room.

‘Their eyes are so...’

Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue inwardly. Their gazes felt like thousands of bugs crawling all over his body. They were evaluating him with their eyes.

'I'm not doing it.’

It was only Shin Sung-Hyun who revealed a sly look and showed his hands without evaluating him.

"Hoh, he looks so skinny, but how impressive…"

"This is only his second year...”

"Khmm."

Each of the five Masters came to a conclusion. The value of the product was the best! It was to the point where they thought that it wouldn’t be a waste to pay for him at this auction.

"It's surprising. It’s surprising, but…"

Thud, thud.

Milphage pounded the table with his fist.

"I didn't come this far to meet only you."

His sharp eyes turned to Seo Jun-Ho.

"Where's Specter?"

Seo Jun-Ho’s skills had more than satisfied him since he was a rookie who had just recently found success. However, the biggest reason they came down to the 1st floor was ‘Specter,’ not him. They wanted to greet Specter, Players-to-Players.

"First of all…"

When Seo Jun-Ho spoke, the atmosphere changed. The chaotic atmosphere became heavy as if the room were a cram school specializing in entrance exams. The eyes of the Six Masters became as clear as those of high school seniors.

"There will be no auction for Specter-nim today."

"What?"

"What do you mean by this?"

"…I think we’ll need more explanation."

"You’ll have to give a convincing reason."

The expressions of some who thought they had come in vain became stiff.

There was only one reason why they hurriedly came down to the 1st floor—it was to hire Specter. They wanted to minimize the damage their guild would sustain in the S-grade commission. Despite that, however, there was actually no auction for Specter?

The atmosphere in the room felt like everyone stood on a thin ice sheet, which would seemingly break with one wrong step. Nonetheless, Seo Jun-Ho continued to speak, undaunted by the atmosphere.

"It would be faster to take a look at the video than to tell you a hundred times."

When Seo Jun-Ho flicked his finger, the light in the conference room slowly turned off. At the same time, a hologram projector filled one wall.

"Specter?”

Tenmei Yugo’s murmur was right—the man in the video was Specter. Sitting alone in the dark room wearing a familiar mask, he spoke.

[Go together.]

It was a short phrase that disappointed their expectations. The video ended with just that. However, Specter’s distinctive low, hoarse voice overflowed with dignity. At the same time, the glint in the eyes of the Six Masters changed.

‘Go together?’

‘He’s not having an auction for himself, but… He’s going to join us?’

‘Was the rumor true?’

They quickly reached their own conclusion. Subsequently, the way their eyes looked at Seo Jun-Ho had changed.

‘Seo Jun-Ho, the ice elemental user.’

‘Rumor has it that it was his skill that woke up Specter and his comrades...’

‘Given how much Specter cares for him, there’s a very high chance that it’s true.’

The ‘go together’ Specter had said could only be interpreted as going together with Seo Jun-Ho. It could be a matter of pride that made Specter not go up for auction, but the Six Masters thought otherwise.

‘He’s trying to protect Seo Jun-Ho.’

‘If he dies, there will be no way to wake up his two remaining comrades forever.’

‘We’ve been making a mistake on whom we need to persuade.’

It was Seo Jun-Ho, whom Specter held dearly. If they could win Seo Jun-Ho’s favor, it wouldn't be difficult to develop a relationship with Specter. After calculating with the abacus in their heads, the Six Masters slowly nodded.

The Mercenary King Milphage asked for confirmation, "If my interpretation is correct, then if we hire you, Specter will follow, right?"

It was a straightforward way of speaking.

Seo Jun-Ho nodded. "That's right, Specter-nim has declared that he will protect me during this commission. In other words, when you hire me at this auction, I'll be accompanied by Specter-nim.”

"Hoh..."

The Six Masters’ thoughts deepened. In fact, Seo Jun-Ho's skills were overwhelmingly good compared to the general ‘second-year Players.’

'It's an incredible skill level to the point it’s incomprehensible, but…’

‘If we look, there are quite a few talented people like him in our guilds.’

‘In this commission, Seo Jun-Ho is an existence that would make us feel a little regretful that we are without him, but it’s also fine to not have him around.’

It was like that until a little while ago. However, Specter’s announcement of going together made them change their minds altogether.

‘In fact, today's auction is not an auction to hire Seo Jun-Ho.’

‘It's an auction to hire a Specter. Seo Jun-Ho is like the bonus prize that follows.’

‘He’s like the wooden chopsticks included for free when you buy a bento box.’

This also meant that they had to raise a high sum for Specter’s face, and to defeat their five other competitors. Thinking of this brought a frown to the Six Masters’ faces.

‘I can't even predict how high it'll go today.’

'But my wallet is thick. I'm confident that I won't lose with the Goblin Guild’s wealth.’

‘Huhu, I'm the Mercenary King and also the Gold King, and I'll show them what it means to have money.’

‘This is also a battle of pride between the Big 6. Of course, I need to be the final winner.'

The moment the Six Masters became full of confidence, Seo Jun-Ho lifted an index finger.

"Once."

“…?”

"Everyone in the world knows that all of you are rich and have no time to waste. So just once."

There was a subtle smile around his mouth. However, it was a troubling smile that seemed like the devil’s to the onlookers.

"We will only bid once. The guild with the highest amount raised will be the winner."

“…”

“…”

The Six Masters' expressions became more distorted. They were already having a headache, but the method of bidding had just become more difficult.

‘If it’s like this, the first to go is at a disadvantage.’

'Of course, we wouldn’t do such a thing, but... it meant that collusion between guilds would be fundamentally prevented.’

'It's a thorough and vicious rule.’

‘I wonder how much everyone will spend?’

It was a typical psychological battle, and you only had once chance. Furthermore, if the amount the Guildmaster in the last place wrote was too low compared to the other guilds, it would be a disgrace to the guild.

Just that one rule provoked the Six Masters’ pride to make the decisive move.

‘Oh, this damned auction.’

This situation was what Seo Jun-Ho had already drawn up in his head. While the masters frowned and wondered what number to write, he smirked.

"I will give everyone ten minutes to think about it."

Seo Jun-Ho checked his Vita and set the alarm. At the same time, the Six Masters' heads began to work the fastest in recent years.

***

"The Silent Moon Guild, 151.1 billion won. The Goblin Guild, 151 billion won. The Silver Constellation Guild, 110 billion won. The Labyrinth Guild, 130 billion won. The Sky Soul Guild, 80 billion won. The Hallem Guild—”

Seo Jun-Ho opened the last note and stopped talking for a moment. He found it surprising.

‘Unlike other guilds, I thought it was the only guild that didn’t build any connection with the imperial family...’

The Hallem Guild gave up the capital, but they attacked all other areas. Hallem was currently Ruben Empire's strongest and best mercenary group.

‘But I still thought it was just a mercenary group.’

However, he hadn’t expected it to be this much. Seo Jun-Ho opened the note.

“250 billion..."

"Mmm."

"250 billion you say.”

Perhaps a little shocked, the faces of the other Masters darkened. Although they were called one of the best guilds in the world, it would still be a burden for them to pay hundreds of billions for a single commission.

"Kuhahaha! It's no fun to auction with these beggars!”

The winner of the auction, Milphage, slammed the armrest of his chair in excitement and joy. He seized this opportunity and started teasing Tenmei Yugo.

"I knew the Japanese were frugal, but you couldn't even write 100 billion? Shouldn't you have some more manners?"

"Tsk. What a wild fellow.”

"Huh? I can't hear someone who only raised 80 billion.”

“…”

With a frown, Tenmei Yugo suddenly stood from his seat.

"If the auction is over, I'll be taking my leave. I've got a lot of work to do."

"Hahahaha! The defeated dog ends up leaving with his tail tucked between his legs. I won't see you off!"

"You..."

Tenmei Yugo stared at Milphage for a while before he angrily turned around and left the conference room. The other Masters also rose from their seats one by one. Everyone's faces were regretful, but Shin Sung-Hyun wore a more stiff look than others.

‘Everyone thought the Hallem Guild would be able to afford it, as they had never lobbied the imperial family.’

However, he still ended up with a strong sense of defeat in the auction.

'Only 100 million...'

He raised 1 billion more to bid 151 billion won for possible redundancy. However, Son Chae-Won had thought further ahead and spent just 100 million more for a total of 151.1 billion. If the Hallem Guild hadn't gone crazy with their money, he would have lost Seo Jun-Ho and Specter to the Silent Moon Guild.

‘Did I lose in a battle of minds?’

Phew… 

Shin Sung-Hyun suddenly felt exhausted. People only compared Shin Sung-Hyun and Kim Woo-Joong when comparing Goblin and Silent Moon. However, he thought that Son Chae-Won was more responsible for the reason why the Silent Moon Guild became one of the best guilds. She was a woman who treated Kim Woo-Joong as a mere chess piece.

‘These tricky guys...’

Shin Sung-Hyun lightly clicked his tongue and left. After missing the opportunity to nab both Seo Jun-Ho and Specter, he had to find another way to minimize the damage to his guild.

“…”

After a few moments, the Six Masters had left the conference room. Seo Jun-Ho, who had his head lowered the whole time, slowly raised his head. His face full of politeness just a moment ago was now full of pride.

"Contractor, you look very happy."

"I feel like laughing more than happy." He sat down and tasted the macaroons and champagne in front of him before continuing, "Frost, I started my career as a Player in my 20s. Out of all the people who used to be Players with me at that time…”

He was the only one who treated the Big 6 like toys, even after thirty-one years later. Knowing that, how could he not laugh?

"Cheers to 250 billion."

"…Cheers."

A champagne glass and a tea cup lightly clinked.

1. Comma-shaped hairstyle is with your hair down in front that forms a shape of a comma. You can also search ‘korean comma hair’ into google images to get an idea. ☜

2. A helmet that looks kinda like a space suit helmet with the see-through glass portion extending all the way up to the middle of the head. ☜