37 chapter - Mountain Guild (2)
Mountain Guild Equipment Depot.
This place was basically a department store exclusively for Hunter gear.
Every item on display across this massive space was Hunter-only equipment processed with Mana Stones.
“What do you want to check out first? Weapons? Armor?”
“I’d like to start with armor.”
Conveniently, the armor section was right in front of us.
An employee standing nearby stepped forward.
“Shall I guide you?”
“It’s fine. I’ll take them myself.”
“You, Director-nim? Personally?”
“Yeah, so don’t worry about it.”
“Understood.”
The employee gave a polite bow and backed away.
Lee Yechan walked right past the nearest storefront and headed into a corner.
He opened a door boldly marked "Authorized Personnel Only" and called out,
“Ajusshi! I’m here!”
Inside was a small workshop.
Unidentifiable piles of leather were stacked around, and a cluttered desk held sewing machines and half-finished work.
It looked deserted.
“Ajusshi—!”
As Yechan kept calling, a privacy curtain in the corner rustled, and a man appeared.
“Director-nim, you’re here.”
The man looked to be in his early forties.
A tired-looking middle-aged ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ man with dark circles hanging heavy under his eyes.
He glanced at us and asked,
“These the ones who got promoted?”
“Nah. They’re the new recruits.”
“Newbies?”
A sharp gaze swept over us.
“And they’re Gold-grade already?”
“Yeah, I scouted them personally.”
“Hmm? You, Director-nim, personally?”
There was a flicker of curiosity in that once-irritable gaze.
“Yup. So I’m asking you to take good care of them.”
“What do you need made?”
“Four Elite-grade leather suits and one Warlord-grade.”
“Got it.”
He rummaged through a pile of leather, pulled out a measuring tape, and turned to me.
“I’ll need your measurements.”
“Ah, okay.”
Starting with me, he took down all our measurements on his phone and disappeared behind the curtain again—probably to take a nap.
Yechan, watching him go, turned to us.
“Let’s go.”
I followed after him and asked,
“What does Gold-grade mean?”
“Oh, that? It’s just an access tier. Normally, newbies start at Bronze, and custom gear is only available from Gold and up.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. If you got recruited directly, you skip Bronze and Silver and start at Gold.”
So all five of us who were scouted by Yechan were automatically Gold-grade.
I still had more questions.
“Are Elite-grade and Warlord-grade names based on Orc ranks?”
“Not just based—they’re literally made from their hides.”
Elite and Boss-class.
Their hides were tough enough to stop bullets. Total treasures compared to the cheap leather armor I was wearing.
“But don’t rely on the suits too much. The reason those things can tank bullets is the muscle underneath. The suits won’t get pierced, but if you get hit, it still hurts like hell.”
So basically, these suits could block bullets.
And they were Hunter-exclusive equipment.
Considering my current cheap armor cost several million won, these had to be worth at least ten million.
Elite-grade aside, Warlord-grade would easily sell for tens of millions at auction.
“That’s an incredible level of support. All this for free…”
“Sorry, but it’s not free.”
“……What?”
It felt like someone had just smacked me upside the head.
Like joining a company that seemed legit, only to find out it was a pyramid scheme forcing employees to buy overpriced junk.
‘So that’s how they chain Guild members. Shackles disguised as support.’
Dumping gear worth tens of millions on us like it’s nothing—it felt like being robbed with a smile.
But the performance was too good to turn down now.
‘Whatever. If I make good money in Mountain Guild, this expense is nothing.’
And since it was custom-made, I wanted it even more.
‘Tying people down through debt, huh. Scary, Mountain Guild.’
That even the Director himself would step in and fleece people like this… Society really was a place where you couldn’t let your guard down.
Yechan then spoke.
“They’ll charge you 3 million won per suit for the production fee. Half of that’s covered by the Guild. The other half, you pay.”
“Sorry, how much?”
It now felt like someone had smashed me in the face with a sledgehammer.
I asked again, stunned.
“Three million?”
Not thirty million—just three?
That was absurdly cheap.
And with the Guild covering half, my actual cost was only 1.5 million.
Might as well be free.
“Don’t stress over it. You guys killed Orcs, right? If we use those for the materials, it’ll be even cheaper.”
He scratched his cheek and added,
“But really—if it feels like too much, just tell me. We’ve got plenty of gear you can borrow for free. If you want to cancel—”
“No!”
I cut him off in a panic.
“I was just shocked because the price is too low.”
“Ah, that’s what it was?”
Yechan chuckled and went on.
“You’ll have to pay for the high-end stuff too, but it’s all dirt cheap for the performance. So if you need something, don’t hesitate to buy it, got it?”
“Yes.”
“Suit production will take about two weeks. In the meantime, you’ll need something to wear. Let’s go pick that out.”
So we swapped out our leather armor with new sets and picked up a few outfits we could wear inside Gates.
Clothing with the Mountain Guild logo on it.
Yechan grinned as he looked at us dressed up.
“Looks good.”
After that, we headed over to check out weapons for Im Jin-sol.
There was a bow section nearby.
But Jin-sol didn’t seem excited.
“Nothing you like?”
“It’s not that…”
Unusually for her, she hesitated before speaking.
“I’m actually thinking of switching my main weapon to a gun.”
“A gun?”
“Yes. I’m aiming to become a sniper. My Skill’s aligned with that too.”
“What Skill?”
After hearing her Skill, Yechan immediately gave his approval.
“Nice. Against Orcs, a sniper’s basically a must. If the Skill matches, specializing isn’t a bad idea.”
“Right?”
“But you know bullets are kinda expensive, yeah?”
Jin-sol asked nervously,
“Uh, how much?”
“What kind of gun are you thinking?”
Yechan explained the price ranges by ammo type.
After hearing it, Jin-sol’s eyes went wide.
“That’s about the same as what I pay for arrows! Why’s it so cheap? Guild support?”
“We make our own. So it’s way cheaper than market price. You could call it support, yeah.”
“Whoa, seriously. Mountain Guild is amazing!”
“Damn right it is. And I’m the Director of this amazing Guild.”
While they were geeking out about the Guild, I noticed Lee Yuna standing off in a corner, staring blankly.
I walked over to her and asked,
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah, oppa.”
She was standing in front of the crossbow display.
Yuna said,
“After everything we’ve been through, I started wondering what else I could do.”
Honestly, just her buffing me was enough.
Her abilities were so good, she more than pulled her weight even doing nothing else.
But Yuna wasn’t the type to be satisfied with just that.
“So you’re thinking about a crossbow?”
“Yeah. It’s easier to get used to than a bow, I think.”
“Why not switch to a gun like Jin-sol?”
Yuna’s shooting during the Orc ambush had been impressive enough to use in real combat.
But she shook her head.
“I think Jin-sol unni alone is enough with guns. There might be times we need a crossbow instead—like when noise would be a problem. I want to be ready for that.”
She really did think everything through.
“Sounds like a smart idea.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Give it your best.”
“Okay!”
With Jin-sol’s help, Yuna picked out a crossbow.
“If you’ve got questions, just ask. I’ll teach you.”
“Thank you, Jin-sol unni.”
After that, Jin-sol picked a sniper rifle from the firearm section, and each party member was issued a sidearm for self-defense.
“Now we just need to check out swords and wands, right?”
That’s when I remembered we’d planned to get a custom wand for Hong Soo-ah.
“Director-nim, I’d like to ask you something about a wand.”
“Yeah? Go ahead.”
I explained the situation with the Snow Leopard and handed him the Mana Stone.
“This should be good enough to make something solid. Leave it to me.”
“Thank you.”
Finally, Seong Yohan and I each picked out a decent sword, and we wrapped up everything.
Yechan then made a surprise announcement.
“Alright. I’ll cover everything we picked today out of my own pocket. Consider it a welcome gift to the Guild.”
Jin-sol looked genuinely regretful.
“Whatt?! I should’ve picked something way more expensive!”
“Too late!”
**
Best Officetel.
A Carnival van pulled up in front.
“Have a good night.”
“Thank you for the ride.”
“No problem. It’s my job.”
Yuna and I got out of the car.
Our driver was Yoon Sang-ho, a manager from Mountain Guild.
He was assigned to handle our party—everything from Gate applications to writing reports.
“Take care.”
“See you next time.”
After he left, we headed into the building.
Yuna said,
“Big Guilds really are nice.”
“Right?”
Managing the party myself had taught me how annoying and exhausting admin work could be.
Now, I didn’t have to worry about any of that and could focus entirely on training and clearing Gates.
‘Good call joining up.’
Just getting out of all the miscellaneous work made it worth it.
“So for F-Rank Gates, he’ll pick us up too?”
“No. Only D-Rank and up. We’ll handle F-Ranks ourselves. He’ll still take care of the paperwork, though.”
“Ah, I see.”
Technically, we could ask for pickup, but there wasn’t really a need.
I had a car anyway.
“Jin-sol and Yohan need help moving too, but let’s not bother him when he’s busy.”
“You’re right.”
Besides, the F-Rank Gates nearby were a short drive away.
“I booked one for tomorrow. Let’s get you some crossbow practice.”
“Got it!”
“It’s late. Go get some sleep.”
As I unlocked the door, Yuna grabbed my arm.
“Hey, oppa.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Right as she said it—grrrrrrrr—my stomach roared.
We hadn’t had dinner, since we left the Guild at an awkward time.
“I ordered chicken… it should be here soon. Want to eat together?”
There was no need to even think about that.
“Hell yeah. You ordered two, right?”
“Obviously.”
The timing was perfect. The food arrived right as we stepped in, and we demolished a chicken each.
After devouring a whole bird on my own, I was finally satisfied.
“That hit the spot.”
“You heading out?”
“Yeah. It’s late.”
“I’m gonna make ramen.”
I sat right back down.
“Make three.”
“Okay~!”
By the time the house started smelling like instant noodles—
Ziiiing!
“Huh?”
A Gate suddenly opened up, right in the middle of the living room.
“It’s ready, oppa—can you grab a tray—huh?”
Yuna froze mid-step, ramen in hand, staring at the Gate.
“What is that, oppa?”
“……Looks like a Gate.”
Normally, we should’ve reported it to the Bureau or called 112.
Then a designated Hunter would come to clear it.
“Judging by the size, it’s F-Rank.”
“Right?”
The size was unmistakable.
It was my first time seeing one form in front of me, but by all accounts, this was definitely F-Rank.
“Should we just clear it ourselves?”
“Isn’t that fine? I mean, it’s inside our apartment…”
“Yeah. Let’s go test out that crossbow.”
“Okay!”
We suited up casually and stepped into the Gate—
Ziiiing!
—completely unaware that the Gate was starting to grow larger behind us.