NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Giant Monster (2)
After finishing the hunt, Yoo Ji-han walked out of the MA entrance.
People were still controlling the streets so that citizens couldn’t pass.
‘It’s still far from closing here.’
Although several parties had hunted numerous giant monsters in the MA, the giant monsters had not completely disappeared from this place yet.
The MA would remain open until the inexplicable proliferation of monsters came to an end.
Statistically, that period could be as short as a week or could last for several months.
Unlike Korea, overseas areas, with their vast lands, have cases where the duration exceeds a year.
‘I need to keep coming here for a while.’
The Rank 5 MA in Bucheon had only been established for about ten days.
Ten days was enough time for the strangely proliferating giant monsters to still be prowling around.
Since they had achieved quite decent results with only two people during their first outing…
Yoo Ji-han intended to focus on this place for now rather than wandering around other MAs.
“Ugh, this is quite heavy.”
“Is it hard for you?”
“Not yet.”
Kim Si-hu placed the bundle containing the giant monsters on the ground and lightly rotated his shoulders.
He was personally undergoing stamina training and was stronger than most magician heroes of a similar rank.
“Should we handle this here before heading out?”
“If you just try to carry it out, they won’t let you pass.”
Although they had somehow dragged the bundle to the entrance, taking it outside was another matter entirely.
It was heavy, and carrying monster corpses on public transportation was a no-go.
With no small cars available, Keroes had no means to transport the monsters.
“I’ll call someone, so please wait a moment.”
“Who are you calling?”
“Monster Disposal Company.”
Yoo Ji-han took out his mobile phone from his pocket.
“Do you know a good place?”
“I have a place that Keroes regularly works with. The commission is reasonable and the work is handled cleanly, so it’s trustworthy.”
He searched for the number of the monster disposal company in his phone contacts.
It was a company he often used since the time he was in Keroes.
Before Keroes grew in scale, it often outsourced monster disposal.
Until recently, they had used external companies unless it was an unusual case.
And Yoo Ji-han had previously had direct conversations with representatives from that company.
Other party members, including Kim Hyun-tae, had little interest in such minor tasks, so he handled all of them.
—Hello? Ji-han?
“Yes. This is Yoo Ji-han.”
—Nice to hear from you! It’s been almost a month.
The man from the company greeted him warmly over the phone.
It had been nearly a month since Yoo Ji-han last reached out to him directly.
—What can I do for you today?
“I just left Keroes and switched guilds.”
—Huh? You changed guilds? Which one?
“It’s a small guild called Kkuljaem with fewer than ten members. I contacted you because I urgently need to handle some monsters today.”
—Um… what kind of items are we talking about?
“About 28 giant monsters.”
—Giant monsters?
As soon as he revealed that the monsters to be disposed of were giant monsters, the employee sounded a bit puzzled.
It felt as if he was asking if that was really all there was.
—Uh, is that all?
“Yes, but…”
—…Hold on a minute.
The call was momentarily put on hold.
Yoo Ji-han waited with the phone against his ear.
The employee returned after about a minute.
—Ji-han, I’m afraid we can’t handle giant monsters at our company.
The employee’s tone had become as stiff as a rock.
It made Yoo Ji-han doubt if this was really the same person who had been so warm just a minute ago.
He instinctively realized that the employee had gone to talk to a superior in the company.
Moreover, he could easily guess that the conversation to follow wouldn’t be pleasant.
—And I’m really sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t contact this number in the future.
“…Yes. I understand.”
—It’s a decision from above, so there’s nothing more I can say. I hope everything goes well with whatever you plan to do going forward, Ji-han.
Click.
That was how the conversation with the company ended.
Yoo Ji-han slowly lowered the phone from his ear.
‘Does this mean they won’t deal with small guilds anymore?’
The monster disposal company he had just spoken to had also once been a very small business.
It could be said that it had grown alongside Keroes.
He had exchanged greetings with the employee for about four years now.
And today, his connection with that place had come to an end.
“Not easy, huh?”
“Why? Did they refuse?”
“It seems they don’t want to do business with us.”
“Hmm… Is it that Rank 5 isn’t worth the money?”
Kim Si-hu frowned slightly.
But upon deeper reflection, it made sense.
There were rumors that Park Joong-seob, the Guild Master of Keroes, had acquired a stake in that company.
With such a small amount of work and the risk of appearing to favor a request from a departing hero, it would be awkward for them.
“Well, it’s fine. There are plenty of other places.”
He couldn’t linger on the refusal.
Yoo Ji-han entered a search portal and looked up monster disposal companies.
As a result, a flood of options poured out.
Many companies were promoting themselves as having the lowest fees in the industry and the best service.
‘There are too many…’
All of them looked the same.
Could he just pick any of them?
While he pondered, Kim Si-hu pointed somewhere.
“Hyung, look over there.”
“…?”
A man in a suit was bowing to heroes passing by at the entrance.
“I’m from the monster disposal specialist ‘Mongdang.’ We’re currently running a commission discount, please make full use of our services…”
He seemed to be a salesperson from a monster disposal company.
Though the passing heroes didn’t look his way, he bowed deeply whenever a hero walked by.
His small stature and lack of confidence made him appear quite untrustworthy.
After watching him for a moment, Kim Si-hu spoke.
“What about that guy?”
“Checking conditions wouldn’t hurt.”
Yoo Ji-han approached him.
“Excuse me.”
“Ah, yes!”
“What’s your company’s commission fee?”
“The basic fee is 10% of the sale price. Right now, we’re charging only 7% due to a promotional event.”
“7%?! Regardless of guild size?”
“Yes.”
Ten percent was slightly below the industry average.
And 7% was a quite exceptional offer.
Small guilds, which typically don’t produce much, often have to pay higher commissions.
“What’s your company’s background?”
“Our ‘Mongdang’ was established a month ago. We don’t have any formal transaction history yet…”
“A month feels too short.”
“W-well, but I’ve been working in related fields for quite a while! If you trust us just once…”
“How many employees do you have?”
“Just me as the representative and my wife, so a total of 2 people.”
Mongdang was an operation similar to Kkuljaem, having only 2 employees.
Kim Si-hu felt a slight kinship with him.
But that alone wasn’t enough to trust him with work.
‘Is it a family business?’
Yoo Ji-han narrowed his eyes and asked him.
“What’s the current market price for giant monsters?”
“The average price in the last month is 90,000 won per monster. Depending on the damage level of each body part, popular leg meat can have a maximum defect cost of 20,000 won each, while chest meat can have a defect cost of up to 15,000 won. Conversely, if there are no defects, there may be an additional charge.”
“If I were to sell this giant monster right now, how much could I get?”
Yoo Ji-han pulled one giant monster out of the bundle and handed it to him.
The man carefully took the giant monster and began to inspect it with a very keen gaze.
“…Aside from the undesired head part, it’s very clean. Even the head is split in half, with hardly any damaged areas, making it an excellent specimen. This one can fetch nearly 100,000 won. Chefs will love it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t lie about the item’s price.”
“You accept other monsters besides giant monsters, right?”
“Just as our name suggests, we accept everything.”
“Even monsters that are hard to process?”
“Yes. There’s demand for them everywhere around the world.”
Yoo Ji-han felt a bit impressed by him.
He not only had basic knowledge about monsters but also spoke effortlessly about the recent market prices and defects for giant monsters.
It was hard to say he just memorized the prices; it was impossible without continuously keeping an eye on that market.
Moreover, unlike other companies, he was confident enough to say they’d take any monster.
He saw potential for growth in him.
Kim Si-hu also nodded in satisfaction.
“Let’s do business with our guild.”
“Oh! Th-thank you!”
“What’s your name?”
“Jang Sa-im.”
“Could you pass me a business card? And can you start working right away?”
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll ask you to take care of this first.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu handed over the entire bundle they had been carrying.
After taking each one and placing it beside him, Jang Sa-im said.
“Ugh, I’ve received the items well.”
“How long will it take to sell them?”
“For items like the one you just showed me, there are plenty of interested buyers, so they should be sold within a day or two.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“Just leave it to me.”
Jang Sa-im neatly tied the loose bundle with a string and looked around.
“By the way, where are the other party members?”
“They’re right here.”
“Yes?”
“We’re still just a party and guild of only two members.”
“…!”
Jang Sa-im’s eyes widened at Yoo Ji-han’s response.
“You’re Rank 5, right?”
“Yes.”
“So you two caught this many?”
“That’s right.”
“How long were you in the MA?”
“About 2 hours?”
“It must have been quite a task to find them; that’s impressive…”
Jang Sa-im was stunned by Kkuljaem’s performance.
He was well aware of the average hunting speed relative to the number of heroes involved.
Yoo Ji-han quietly observed him and said.
“Let’s see each other often from now on.”
You’ll have plenty of work to handle in the future.
*
“Hyung, is it really okay to just hand over Ji-han like this?”
“Hey, what do you want me to do when they’re making a fuss right above me?”
Mophal, a cooperative company of Keroes.
The man who had just spoken with Yoo Ji-han and his senior employee were having coffee in the break room.
The man sounded quite disappointed.
“It’s rare to find a hero who is cooperative and checks items thoroughly before handing them over… He made things much easier when working with him. Can’t we just accept him?”
“Do you want to take full responsibility for it?”
“Ah, that’s a bit much.”
The man shook his head.
Trading with Yoo Ji-han could potentially damage their relationship with Keroes, the largest client.
If the company pinned the responsibility on one person, he could be not only fired but also forced to pay damages or have rumors spread, effectively ruining his career in the industry.
Especially in a situation where talks of a merger with Keroes were on the table, he didn’t want to take such risks.
“What do you expect to do with just a few giant monsters? This isn’t a company that only handles Rank 5 stuff.”
“Still, I feel a bit disappointed.”
“I heard that guy seemed abandoned by his guild; why are you so concerned?”
“Who knows? He might become a big shot later.”
“Yeah, right.”
Perhaps because of the good manners shown by Yoo Ji-han.
The man couldn’t help but feel a lingering regret.
And he thought to himself.
The company might one day regret this decision.