Chapter 20: An Irresistible Proposal

Se-hyeon intended to make Park Sang-soo and the porters deeply indebted to him. Since he didn’t plan on revealing his Subspace ability anytime soon, he needed reliable porters to accompany him. Besides, traveling with them made it easier to explore hidden spaces—like the one they found yesterday—without drawing outside suspicion.

“By the way, what are your classes?” Se-hyeon asked out of the blue.

Park Sang-soo was the first to answer. “Class? Well, I’m a very common Warrior. Sometimes rare classes get invited to parties even at F-rank, but for someone like me—a dime-a-dozen Warrior—it’s nearly impossible. Most F-ranks working as porters are in the same boat.”

Even F-rank hunters can grow, and reaching Phase 2 allows them to at least function as hunters in F-rank dungeons. However, most remained porters because Phase 2 growth was grueling. While F-rank Tanks or Healers could easily squeeze into E-rank parties, the “leftover” common dealer classes had no such luck. Forming a party of only weak dealers was a suicide mission. Thus, most spent their days as porters, waiting for a miracle.

“I’m a Ranger,” one porter added. “The most common of the archer classes. If I were a Sniper, I might have a shot, but I just can’t get there.”

“Haha, I’m a Warrior like Manager Park.”

“Me too. Damned Warrior class. Why couldn’t I awaken as a rare melee dealer? Warriors are so common you trip over them. Growth is a pipe dream, so here I am hauling trailers. Hahaha.”

Their laughter lacked bitterness; it was the sound of people who had long since abandoned hope. Se-hyeon stared at them for a moment before dropping a bombshell.

“I see. Then… how about forming a party with me?”

The group froze.

“Huh? A p-party? Suddenly?”

Normally, being in a party meant splitting the experience points (EXP) gained from every kill. If Se-hyeon hunted alone, he’d take 100% of the EXP. By forming a party, he would be giving away a portion of his “growth” to people who weren’t contributing to the combat. It was a massive sacrifice.

Park Sang-soo was the first to regain his composure and politely declined.

“Haha, it’s a generous offer, and believe me, we’d love to, but we’d be no help in combat. We’d just be stealing the EXP you worked for. Please, don’t worry about us.”

The other porters looked disappointed but remained silent. Se-hyeon had already paid them more than they’d ever dreamed of; asking for EXP on top of that felt shameless.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter to me since I don’t gain EXP from hunting monsters anyway,’ Se-hyeon thought. ‘But since they don’t know that, they’ll think they owe me their lives. For F-ranks, Phase 2 growth is the ultimate dream.’

Since Se-hyeon grew by absorbing life force into his ring rather than through standard system EXP, a party actually benefited the porters even more—they would receive the lion’s share of the experience.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just grow together. I’m sending the party invites now.”

“Wait, he really sent them…”

Reluctantly but with trembling hands, they accepted.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

Se-hyeon smiled. “It’s fine. If you feel bad, you can pay me back later. We’re bound by secrets now, aren’t we? Haha. Shall we move?”

Inside the D-rank Giant Ant Colony, they reached a five-way split.

“The first and fifth tunnels have markers—other parties are already there. Let’s take the third one in the middle,” Se-hyeon suggested.

They marked their entrance for other hunters and moved in. Se-hyeon told them to keep a safe distance, as Giant Ants were more agile than Orcs.

“Kieeeeeek!”

Five Giant Ants appeared.

“Five of them. Perfect. Shadow Orb.”

Five orbs manifested instantly, matching his current limit of simultaneous control.

Boom! Crash!

Two hours into the hunt, everything was going smoothly. Just like the Orcs, the Giant Ants were being one-shotted.

“I can’t believe this. It’s a D-rank dungeon, but they’re melting like butter,” one porter whispered.

“His clear speed in a D-rank is the same as an E-rank. That’s insane.”

“My trailer is full!” a porter shouted. Giant Ants were bulky; a trailer could hold about 20 to 25 at most.

“I’m almost full too! The speed is just too much!”

Se-hyeon was clearing the dungeon faster than most C-rank parties. Soon, they reached 100 kills—the limit of their four trailers.

“Let’s wrap it up for today,” Se-hyeon said. “The ant density is dropping, and efficiency will go down from here.”

Park Sang-soo nodded. “The payout for 100 Giant Ants is going to be massive.”

In D-rank dungeons, a corpse sold for 800,000 won and a mana stone for 1.2 million. 100 kills equaled 200 million won. Even after 20% tax, that was 160 million won in a single afternoon.

During the settlement, Park Sang-soo gasped again.

“Wait… the tax is only 8%? How is this possible?”

“Oh, the Association made a mistake with me earlier, so as compensation, they granted me a 60% tax reduction for the next 18 months. Looks like it’s already active,” Se-hyeon explained nonchalantly.

“A 60% cut for a year and a half? Just who are you? The Association almost never gives tax breaks like that.”

Se-hyeon just shrugged. “The notice will be on the website soon. By the way, what will you do if you reach Phase 2? Will you leave the company and become full-time hunters?”

Park Sang-soo smiled wryly. “Probably not. Even at E-rank, common Warriors struggle to find parties. I’d probably keep doing this until I can afford better gear and skills.”

Se-hyeon grinned.

“Then, how about this? Once you reach Phase 2, become my private porters. Instead of a fixed salary, I’ll give you 3% of the total settlement from every hunt. And if we find a secret room? I’ll take care of you separately like last time.”

The porters were stunned. 3% of today’s 200 million won was 6 million won per person. If they hunted five days a week, they could make over 100 million won a month. It was several times more than what an average E-rank hunter made, and infinitely more than a porter’s salary.

Se-hyeon had effectively bought their loyalty forever.