The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 17

17. Head of HR (2)

It was a classic reception room, decorated in an Eastern style with Western-style furniture arranged in a way that seemed unbalanced yet harmonious. Knowing Seok Si-myung’s personality, all the antique furniture here was undoubtedly genuine.

As I sat on the black leather sofa, I was offered a drink. Here we go again, they’re going to ask about the type of coffee beans.

“Orange juice, please.”

“Juice for me too,” Park Ye-rim said, sitting next to me.

Seok Si-myung, sitting across from us, wore a benevolent smile. He had a gentle demeanor, as if he would respond with a kind, ‘Hahaha, I see,’ even if I suddenly launched into a string of curses.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for choosing Haeyeon Guild as your priority,” Seok Si-myung said in a voice that felt more than polite, almost saccharine. I had noticed it the first time I met him, but his voice was truly remarkable. A gentlemanly, likable appearance combined with a great voice—he seemed born to be a top salesman.

Ye-rim also seemed half-charmed by his voice. But I, who knew how ruthless he could be, wasn’t fooled. Being stabbed with kind words was suffocating.

“To be honest, family ties played a big role,” I said, smiling along with Seok Si-myung.

“Before that, it was also thanks to Park Ye-rim’s trust in you, Mister.”

“The main reason is that you acted in a trustworthy way, Mister,” Ye-rim said, grabbing my arm tightly. *Don’t cling to me while I’m working. This is an important contract for you.*

“Park Ye-rim doesn’t have any offensive skills yet, but Shadowless Day and Cold Lament alone are enough to consider her a combat-capable Hunter. Her Strength stat is slightly below the average for S-rank, but she can buff herself, so there won’t be any problems,” Seok Si-myung explained Ye-rim’s condition quite accurately. He didn’t know, but the former Park Ye-rim was a combat mage, so Strength wasn’t very important. If she could smoothly acquire Ice-type attack skills, then buffing her Magic stat with Ice-attribute skill buffs…

She’d be unstoppable. With additional buffs, she would sweep through monsters. And with Hermes’ Shoes providing Agility buffs, flight, and teleportation, it’s completely overpowered.

I looked at Ye-rim with a fresh perspective.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, just…”

An S-rank with optimized skills has amazing synergy. She was strong even when she only used Ice-type magic, but now she’ll become a complete monster. She’ll be slapping Yoo-hyun’s cheeks.

*Come to think of it, I should check Yoo-hyun’s status window too.*

I hadn’t checked because my baby’s skill cooldown was still a long way off. I should see if there are any optimization skills he hasn’t received and adjust his skill usage accordingly.

“The guild contract conditions for combat Hunters usually focus on dungeon allocation and equipment provision. For A-rank or higher dungeons, each guild has a set allocation.”

The prestige of a guild varies depending on how many A-rank or higher dungeons it can manage. Currently, Haeyeon Guild probably manages the most dungeons right after the top three guilds.

“Since Park Ye-rim is still a minor, she can only attack B-rank dungeons. If you want to attack A-rank or higher dungeons more quickly, I recommend clearing C or D-rank dungeons 10 times.”

“I don’t plan to rush attacking high-level dungeons,” I said. Ye-rim is only fifteen years old. Rather than rashly attacking A-rank or higher dungeons, it’s better to get used to combat and skill usage in mid-to-low-level dungeons.

Skill application is especially important for a combat mage, so she needed plenty of practice.

“I want to focus on growth for the next year.”

“That’s a good choice,” Seok Si-myung nodded slightly. “We would also recommend that. It’s best to slowly gain experience and work with various guild members before forming a new S-rank attack team.”

An S-rank dungeon attack team must include at least one S-rank combat Hunter. An A-rank team could attack lower-level S-rank dungeons with established strategies, but it was impossible from the mid-level onwards. The upper levels were out of the question. So, for Haeyeon Guild, it was much more advantageous for Park Ye-rim to gain experience and form her own team rather than joining Yoo-hyun’s team.

Having two S-rank attack teams meant they could claim more rights to jointly managed S-rank dungeons.

“However, that would naturally lead to a longer contract period. In return, we will spare no support for Park Ye-rim’s growth.”

“I understand that there are no S-ranks exclusively contracted to a specific guild yet.”

Except for one government-affiliated S-rank, all domestic S-ranks are guild leaders. Overseas, most were also guild leaders or government-affiliated, and the remaining few were all freelancers, as far as I remembered.

Freelance Hunters work by cooperating with the government or guilds through short-term contracts when requested.

“So, even if she’s only affiliated without attacking dungeons, it would be a significant benefit for Haeyeon Guild. Trying to extend the contract period under the guise of growth support is excessive greed.”
A guild with two S-rank Hunters! The first and only one in the world—the increase in reputation alone would be enormous.

The more I thought about it, the less I understood why Yoo-hyun was nitpicking about the guardian yesterday. Is that what a guild leader should do? He should be selling his brother to get the contract signed, not just a guardian.

“You seem to have a better understanding of the Hunter world than I thought,” Seok Si-myung looked surprised.

I rolled around in that world for five years. I don’t know the world of high-ranking Hunters in detail because I was just hitting rock bottom, but who knows the overall trends better than me? No one right now.

I’m the best unless you’re a prophet.

“As you said, it’s a great benefit for us just to have Park Ye-rim affiliated with the guild. I tried to take advantage too hastily and got a hit,” Contrary to his words, Seok Si-myung seemed quite pleased. *What, did he set another trap?*

“For A-rank Hunters, the average contract condition is a basic 5-year contract with a 200% upper limit renewal based on performance every year from the second year. So, how about a 3-year contract with renewal based on performance without an upper limit every year from the first year?”

In the future, S-ranks affiliated with guilds basically had 1-year contracts with renewed conditions.

But considering Ye-rim’s age and the growth rate of Haeyeon Guild, a 3-year contract wasn’t bad. She’ll be exactly 18 in 3 years, so she won’t need my help anymore. It’s adequate.

“What do you think?” I asked, turning to Ye-rim, and she shook her head slightly.

“I don’t really understand even if I listen. Please take care of it, Mister.”

“Simply put, you’ll be affiliated with Haeyeon Guild for the next 3 years. You can’t go to other guilds.”

“What about you, Mister? Do you have a contract like that too?”

*Huh? Why am I coming up here?*

“Well, me… I’ll just stay like this? Reputable guilds don’t accept F-ranks.”

Unless it’s a neighborhood social club-level guild with a D-rank or lower guild leader, even a C-rank guild leader won’t take in F-ranks. Well, they do use them as non-Hunter errand runners.

“No. Mister has to sign a 3-year contract too,” Park Ye-rim said firmly. *Is she planning to include me as a bonus, not just as a guardian? Why is she doing this?*

“You can include it in the contract conditions, right?”

“Of course, it’s possible,” Ye-rim and Seok Si-myung exchanged words. *Excuse me, wouldn’t you mind asking for my opinion too?*

“What contract? I’m not doing it. I’m just going to help you settle in and re… rest.”

Kim Seong-han will just give up and occasionally use skills on Ye-rim, Yoo Myung-woo, and Yoo-hyun, and then be done. I’m going to live leisurely while raising monsters instead of humans, so why would I join a guild?

Even if I only raise one high-level ride beast a year, I can live well while spending money freely, so why would I suffer?

Park Ye-rim made a tearful face at my words.

“You said you’d take responsibility! Just 3 years, sign a contract for just 3 years!”

Stop pulling my arm. It hurts.

“I’ll be your guardian for 3 years even if I don’t sign a contract, so don’t worry. I’ll write you a new contract if you don’t believe me.”

“Still, it would be nice if we were in the same guild.”

“My brother is the guild leader here. I haven’t signed a formal contract, but I’m already halfway in, right? So I’m not going anywhere else.”

I’m going to freeload here, why would I go anywhere else? Ye-rim nodded with a slightly relieved expression.

“Okay. You’re really not going anywhere else, right?”

“I’m not going. No one else will take me.”

Right now, that is. Once I raise a ride beast, any guild will welcome me with open arms. Of course, I have no intention of moving.

After appeasing Ye-rim, I went back to negotiating the contract conditions.

The basic salary for an S-rank Hunter is about 10 million dollars per year. It seems small, but that’s just the basic salary, and the real income comes from dungeons. In the case of S-rank dungeons, the average distribution rate was 8:2. The guild covers all the preparation costs for the dungeon attack, and the attack team takes 8.

The S-rank Hunter, who is the leader of the team, takes a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 8 from the attack team’s earnings, depending on their contribution. Conquering an S-rank dungeon once makes 10 million dollars a joke. That’s why most Hunters valued the profit distribution rate more than the basic salary.

“This is your first Hunter contract, but you seem more skilled at negotiating than I am,” Seok Si-myung said, scanning the long list of conditions.

*Well, you’re in your 3rd year, and I’m in my 5th year. Besides, I had been hanging around the Hunter world because of my brother even before my awakening. In other words, if you only count the amount of accumulated information, it’s a whopping 8 years, so I can’t help but be more skilled.*

I had watched the S-rank Hunter special series on the Hunter channel more than ten times. I know the contract conditions by heart.

“This is good enough to be used as a standard contract for S-rank combat Hunters. I don’t know when we’ll be able to recruit an S-rank Hunter again.”

That’s right, it’s a standard contract. It came out about 2 years after the Awakening Center was established and S-ranks gradually increased, after going through various incidents, probably.

To be exact, it was a standard contract slightly modified to fit Ye-rim’s situation. The standard contract is based on adult combat Hunters.

“I won’t use the S-rank equipment priority and auction rights yet. It’s better to decide after checking the skills at level 10.”

She’ll level up to level 10 quickly. I hope Pale Rain comes out. Then I can immediately equip her with Ice-type magic-focused equipment.

“I understand. You’re really perfect in many ways. You deserve Park Ye-rim’s trust. It’s like you’ve been active in the Hunter world for years.”

“Haha, I just awakened a few days ago.”

Did I show off too much? Still, it’s a waste not to use the knowledge I’ve accumulated.

After finalizing the contract conditions, I printed the contract and signed it. I also stamped it with my fingerprint.

Ye-rim rubbed the ink from her finger on the back of my hand. *Hey, don’t draw a heart.*

“You can go register as an Awakened tomorrow. I’ll let them know.”

He’ll probably contact the reporters too. It’s a big issue, so he’ll try to package it nicely and send it out.

“And this is the data related to the inheritance that should have gone to Park Ye-rim. You’ll be able to use it effectively,” Seok Si-myung handed over a document envelope. *Oh, thank you.*

“I’ll use it well.”

Is everything roughly done now? I was about to get up when Seok Si-myung stopped me.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Yes? Is there something else left?”

It seems like everything’s done. Seok Si-myung’s enthusiastic gaze pierced me straight on.

“I would like to sign a contract with Han Yoo-jin.”

…Why me again? I said I wouldn’t!