NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
Chapter 42. The Leader’s Conditions (6)
“Shin Woo-jeong. I’m tired of playing along with your guild.”
“Goodbye then.”
“What?”
The warriors of Shin Woo-jeong’s party turned their backs on the Guild Master.
Shin Woo-jeong, looking up, stared at their backs in shock.
“We’re on the same team! Let’s stick together until retirement…”
“You were the one who abandoned us first.”
“Th-that was just a momentary mistake! Please, just let it slide this once!”
“What? A mistake?”
“Don’t mess with me. It’s disgusting.”
“……!”
Shin Woo-jeong appeared taken aback by the party members’ insults.
“Your sister Moon-ah must feel sorry for having a brother like you.”
“……Hey! No matter what, don’t talk about Moon-ah like that!”
“This punk still hasn’t learned!”
“Damn it! You should have thought twice before acting like that!”
“Do you not realize that Moon-ah got hurt because of you?”
“Wow, what on earth did I see in this guy to join the guild? Was I temporarily blind?”
As soon as Moon-ah was mentioned, Shin Woo-jeong and the warriors started bickering.
Nearby heroes also turned their heads to watch the escalating argument.
Yoo Ji-han, who had quietly been observing, felt his mouth itching.
‘This is popcorn-worthy.’
It might be a little rude to those in front of him, but it felt like watching an addictive morning drama.
While Yoo Ji-han thought so, he maintained a serious expression on the outside.
“Get lost. You selfish jerk.”
“…….”
Turning their backs again, the warriors walked away, leaving Shin Woo-jeong standing alone.
It was the moment their connection, which had formed from Hero Academy to guild establishment, was severed.
Instead of leaving the building immediately, the warriors approached Yoo Ji-han.
“Ji-han, and Si-hoo. Thanks to you, we made it out today.”
“I’d like to thank you properly later. Could I have your contact info…?”
After a brief moment of thought, he gave them his number and exited the golf course with Kim Si-hoo.
There were no more parties there that he needed to meet or relationships he wished to maintain.
*
The next day.
“Ha…”
Yoo Ji-han lay slumped over the office chair of Sweet Fun.
A feverish forehead and body aching in various places.
He felt a little sweat on his back and butt.
Though he didn’t cough, he seemed to be suffering from body aches.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this sick.’
It had indeed been a long time since he felt so unwell.
He had been running around carrying a heavy iron plate inside the MA and even diving into a lake, possibly with injuries…
He certainly thought that he might have overdone it yesterday.
Kim Si-hoo spoke in a worried tone.
“I told you not to come to the office today.”
“I’m fine.”
When he was with Kim Hyun-tae’s party, he didn’t show any symptoms of being sick.
He didn’t want to be scolded for his health condition.
The fact that Yoo Ji-han wasn’t hiding his condition now was a sign that he was gradually changing since joining Sweet Fun.
He let out a long sigh and summoned a Sylph.
Ping!
However, as soon as the Sylph appeared, it smoothly landed on the desk where Yoo Ji-han was slumped over.
Today, even though it had done nothing, it seemed to be on the brink of exhaustion.
“Even it isn’t feeling well.”
“…….”
Kim Si-hoo watched the Sylph rolling around on the desk and thought.
‘It’s a bit strange for a spirit to be like that.’
Contractors and spirits are connected by an unseen thread.
One piece of information researchers believe is contained in that thread is the contractor’s coordinates.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t explain why spirits only appear near their contractors among so many locations on Earth.
While the bond between contractors and spirits is strong, they usually do not share their conditions with each other.
Even if a spirit falls into exhaustion, it doesn’t have a significant effect on the contractor and vice versa.
‘No way…….’
But right now, it seemed like they were sharing each other’s physical conditions.
In such cases, people often say that their resonance has increased.
This phenomenon typically appears only among higher-grade Spirit Masters.
‘No way, that can’t be right.’
Kim Si-hoo shook his head inwardly.
He was already aware that the Sylph was unusually attached to Yoo Ji-han.
However, even so, the increased resonance phenomenon had only been officially confirmed in a handful of individuals like Yoon Do-ha from Dice or Jennifer Dean from America.
Given that he had been researching spirits more recently, Kim Si-hoo didn’t doubt his thoughts.
“If you’re struggling, just go back and rest now.”
“I’m fine. I’ll feel better after a short break.”
The stamina and recovery abilities of heroes are significantly superior compared to ordinary people.
Even a slight wound can heal without a scar in a day or two with proper care.
Yoo Ji-han’s palm, which had been stabbed by a seed, was also healing at a rapid rate.
With magical patches all over his body, he hoped to recover with that energy.
“Have you heard about that golf course?”
“It’s been upgraded to Rank 3, right?”
“I see you’ve already heard.”
“I watched the news this morning.”
The golf course where the incident occurred was upgraded to a Rank 3 Monster Area instead of the previous Rank 4.
Rather than deploying a higher-level party temporarily, they had completely barred Rank 4 parties from approaching.
The reason being that there had been casualties due to the Giant Dandelion Monster from the Rank 4 party.
Just witnessing the corpses of more than four people before he dove into the lake made it understandable.
“It feels like the number of casualties is increasing these days.”
“Well, that’s the nature of the job.”
“…..”
Yoo Ji-han spoke calmly.
Kim Si-hoo nodded, recalling again the purpose of heroes, who exist to protect humanity from monsters, a natural phenomenon and intruders from another world.
While some people simply see it as a lucrative and glamorous career, those who enter the field risk their lives constantly.
Death was always close by.
‘This is really powerless.’
Kim Si-hoo felt powerless in the golf course filled with Giant Dandelion Monsters.
He had followed almost all of Yoo Ji-han’s commands, but that’s where it ended.
If a well-known magician had been present, they could have overwhelmed the monsters with wide-area magic.
It was likely that the same process had enabled them to clear the first hole at the golf course yesterday.
‘More than anything, the firepower is lacking.’
In magic theory and magical control, Kim Si-hoo was confident enough not to lag behind anyone.
Thanks to his extraordinary proficiency, he was recognized even in Hero Academy.
However, he was still immature when it came to powerful, large-scale spells beyond basic elemental magic.
If his current style were to be defined, he could be classified as a technical wizard focused more on technique than pure power.
He excelled in small to medium-scale skirmishes but felt limited when it came to larger confrontations.
‘Growth is needed.’
Powerful spells require a concentration of a significant amount of mana.
However, Kim Si-hoo’s mana levels weren’t particularly high compared to other wizards, and his ability to concentrate mana was only average.
This aspect was influenced by innate traits from birth, making it not something easily changed in a short period.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“We should start investing in equipment or potions soon.”
“It might be a bit early, but… it is definitely necessary.”
Yoo Ji-han responded while glancing at Kim Si-hoo’s face.
He roughly understood what Kim Si-hoo was thinking.
‘Just enhancing the Sylph’s spirit won’t be enough.’
There were three main ways for a wizard-type hero to grow.
The first is to consume potions that boost mana.
The second is to use equipment or artifacts with special effects.
And the third is the rare breakthrough moments of ‘enlightenment’ that heroes experience.
However, enlightenment cannot be gained just by wanting it…
Thus, getting help from potions or equipment was the most realistic approach.
“Si-hoo.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t rush it.”
“……”
Kim Si-hoo, caught in his thoughts, awkwardly scratched his cheek.
Yoo Ji-han smiled warmly while sipping the Giant Cat Monster’s whisker tea.
He felt the familiar salty taste in his mouth.
“Wasn’t there a wizard named Lim Si-yeon in Kim Hyun-tae’s party?”
“Right.”
“How do I compare to her?”
“Are you asking about skill?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Si-hoo compared himself to the wizard from Kim Hyun-tae’s party that Yoo Ji-han was in.
Deep down, he wanted to at least match the skill level of the wizard from the party he used to belong to.
“Of course, Lim Si-yeon is more talented.”
“……”
“But I believe your potential is greater.”
“Why is that?”
“Her personality is a bit… unpleasant.”
Kim Si-hoo let out a bitter laugh at his answer.
He took it as a light joke.
‘I’m not joking, though.’
If compared, Kim Si-hoo was superior to Lim Si-yeon at the time when Kim Hyun-tae’s party was at Rank 4.
Thus, Yoo Ji-han was confident that Kim Si-hoo would do better than her in the future.
And there was no doubt about the fact that Lim Si-yeon had an unpleasant personality.
“I received a text this morning from the warriors whose numbers I got yesterday.”
“Really? What did they say?”
“They were asking if we had plans to recruit new guild members.”
After seeing Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hoo’s skills at the site, the warriors became interested in the Sweet Fun guild.
It was only natural for them to want to be with outstanding heroes.
Yoo Ji-han asked Kim Si-hoo.
“What do you want to do?”
“To be honest, I don’t really want anyone from among them.”
“I feel the same way.”
Unfortunately, both Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hoo found no particular charm in the two warriors.
They weren’t bad, but gave off an impression of being just ordinary heroes.
Recalling the memory of fighting alongside Min Yu-ri in the apartment complex parking lot, they didn’t seem particularly impactful.
“I’ll let them know we don’t have plans to recruit members for now.”
“Okay.”
“And there’s other news; it seems the Woojeong guild has received disciplinary action from the Hero Department.”
The Hero Department can also impose disciplinary actions for incidents that occur within guilds.
However, while they knew there had been a significant trouble among them, the fact that they had received a disciplinary action was surprising.
Kim Si-hoo, astonished, asked back.
“Disciplinary action?”
“The warriors filed a report with the Hero Department, claiming that the party leader abandoned the party members and left.”
“So they get punished for that…….”
“The temporary disciplinary action is demotion to Rank 5, prohibiting re-promotions for a year. And if they dissolve the guild within a year, they won’t be able to reestablish it for two years. Unless they contest it, the penalties will likely be finalized within a few days.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
The Woojeong guild would descend from Rank 4 to Rank 5, followed by being blocked from promotions for a year.
Though it sounds like a year, their record within the guild would remain forever, making it highly likely they’d continue to struggle with promotions afterward.
It would likely be better to disband the guild a year later.
Considering the leader’s action of abandoning his party members in anger, it was a fitting penalty.
“Our leader is different, thankfully.”
“Ah! Speaking of leaders, I had something I wanted to say too.”
Kim Si-hoo looked at Yoo Ji-han and said.
“From now on, you’ll take over as party leader in my place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, I’ll be both the guild master and a party member, and you’ll be the party leader.”
“……?!”
It was unprecedented for an active guild master to relinquish the party leader position.
A guild master and party leader from different parties.
At least for Yoo Ji-han, it was a bizarre party structure he had never heard of until now.