Chapter 79: Recruitment for the Guild “Radiance”

[<Guild Member Recruitment Board> Recruiting Guild Members]
(Edited 10 minutes ago)

Guild Name: Radiance
Guild Master: HERO (Yoo Heero)
Guild Attribute: Undecided
Openings: 3
Gender: No restriction
Requirements: None
Recruitment Method: Application → Individual Interview

<Submit Application>

• ?

• lol the title’s kinda slick

• Is this for real?

• Wow, no guild intro, not even one line about the guild master—this feels sketchy as hell

• What’s with the gender option LMAOOOOOOOO
  └ lol who would even apply
  └ ? It says no restriction though?
  └ Oh it got edited just nowㅋㅋㅋ earlier it said “eunuch (inanimate object)” wtf is this guy insaneㅋㅋ

• Can I apply just to see Yoo Heero once?
  └ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• I don’t even have specs worth flexing;

• Even the system might get nervous

• But why is the guild name Radiance?
  └ Isn’t it saying that just being with him is radiance? Crazy confidence, but it’s backed up so it’s just badass
  └ Like “foolish ones, I shall show you the light” type vibe?ㅋㅋㅋ
  └ But Yoo Heero’s ability is darknessㅋㅋㅋ what is thisㅋㅋㅋ
  └ Feels more like “turn yourself in and seek the light”ㅋㅋㅋ

• Where’s the interview location?
  └ The Sacred Pilgrimage General Store
  └ So it really came to this

• What do you think the competition ratio will be?
  └ 1,000,000,000,000,000 : 1
  └ Surprisingly, I don’t think many will actually apply
  └ 2222 probably not many

“Pwahahaha! Hey, what is this? Are you serious?”

The moment Lee Hyerin saw the guild recruitment post uploaded jointly by Sung Jiwoo and Yoo Heero, she came running over barefoot.

Just to laugh at Sung Jiwoo.

She laughed so hard the whole general store shook, and Sung Jiwoo covered his ears, complaining that his eardrums were about to burst.

“Is it really that funny?”

“Ah, seriously, this is killing me! Are you insane? This is hilarious!”

Yoo Heero seemed completely unaware of what the problem even was, while Sung Jiwoo was starting to get irritated.

He should’ve stopped him when he said he’d post it himself. When Sung Jiwoo later saw that Heero had written things like “eunuch” and “inanimate object,” he nearly had a heart attack.

When Sung Jiwoo asked who in their right mind would apply if it was written like that, Yoo Heero had replied:

“You never know… someone might.”

A line capable of curing even nonexistent low blood pressure. Sung Jiwoo hastily edited the gender section and waited for applications.

But even after an hour passed, there were none.
More precisely, there were no normal applications.

Most people just wanted to confirm whether this was really Yoo Heero’s post, or they applied half-jokingly to poke around.

Sung Jiwoo’s mood sank lower and lower. Lee Hyerin slung an arm over his shoulder and said,

“Our friend’s starting a guild—should this big sister join and take a seat?”

“What? You?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Helios?”

“Well… I haven’t been there long. Wouldn’t it be easy enough to leave?”

That wasn’t what Sung Jiwoo meant.

Why would she abandon Helios—the guild she’d dreamed of joining since high school—to enter his half-baked guild?

From Sung Jiwoo’s perspective, it made no sense. He wondered if she was joking, but instead, it felt like a sincere truth hidden inside a joke.

Sung Jiwoo remembered Lee Hyerin from his previous life—how she never once sent him a recruitment offer. When he’d asked why she didn’t invite him, she’d instead asked if he even wanted to join her guild.

He remembered that unexpected consideration.

“What are you talking about? You wanted to go to Helios. You should become the guild master there. As for us… meeting occasionally for alliance parties and running gates together wouldn’t be bad, right?”

Back then, he’d only reached vice–guild master before the world ended.
But now, guild master was within reach.

Lee Hyerin made a complicated expression.

“I’m serious. I can’t take responsibility for your hunter career.”

“Got it. This noona will work hard and take over Helios.”

She nodded, understanding him. Beside them, Shin Yoonjae spoke up.

“If you need help, just say the word.”

“Yeah. Ask this senior about anything you don’t know.”

Somewhere along the way, “noona” had turned into “senior.” Shin Yoonjae ignored it and continued.

“Well, you’ll probably do just fine without us anyway. Still—just in case.”

Sung Jiwoo said he’d let them know if the need arose.

“So then, how did you end up making a guild anyway?” Lee Hyerin asked.

“My brother promised me,” Yoo Heero replied immediately, as if he’d been waiting. “He said he’d grant me a wish.”

At Lee Hyerin’s questioning gaze, Sung Jiwoo sighed and nodded.

“Back in high school. You know… when his grades shot up. I was in a good mood back then…”

It was karma from his past.
And now was the time to pay it back.

Lee Hyerin made a knowing face.

“You kept that bottled up all this time? Wow. Impressive.”

“Right? He didn’t even forget.”

As Sung Jiwoo muttered in resignation, Yoo Heero met his eyes and smiled gently.

“How could I forget a promise I made with you?”

“….”

“And… that was the first time anyone praised me like that. You even hugged me…”

Hearing that, Sung Jiwoo felt like trash for having found the wish-ticket such a nuisance.

As he stared silently, Shin Yoonjae grabbed Lee Hyerin’s arm.

“Anyway, we’ll get going. We just stopped by on the way.”

“What do you mean ‘on the way’? I was about to ask you to eat lunch together—mmph!”

“Call us when the guild’s set up. Let’s run a gate together sometime.”

“…Yeah. Sure.”

For reasons unknown, Shin Yoonjae dragged Lee Hyerin out of the store in a hurry.

“Well. Since it’s come to this, let’s give it our all.”

His heart wasn’t ready, but his mind was. Sung Jiwoo began filling out the documents.

And just as he wrote Radiance in the guild name field—

“By the way, I’m curious. Why ‘Radiance’?”

Honestly, it was because he couldn’t think of anything else.
Second, because Park Sujin had nagged him endlessly for not using that name for the store.

But he couldn’t tell Yoo Heero that.

“It just… sounds cool.”

“Mm. Yes. It’s cool. It suits you, hyung.”

“Why? Because I’m a light-type esper?”

“Not just that.”

Yoo Heero smiled meaningfully. Sung Jiwoo brushed it off as nonsense.

And so, interview day arrived.

The interviews were held over two days—twenty candidates on the first day, sixteen on the second.

Considering that there had been five hundred applicants, most had been swept away during document screening like fallen leaves.

Far more people were rejected on paper than expected. The applications were such a mess that selecting even halfway-decent candidates was exhausting.

Without Gam Jooan and Park Sujin’s help, he might’ve pulled several all-nighters.

“…Should we stop? It doesn’t seem like any decent people are coming,” Yoo Heero suggested.

Sung Jiwoo handled most of the questioning. Yoo Heero had already said to just pick whoever Sung Jiwoo liked.

That didn’t mean Yoo Heero was useless. Simply sitting there, he did more than enough.

Whenever candidates made eye contact with him, they flinched as if burned and hurriedly lowered their gaze.

A few brave ones openly stared at him like he was an exhibit. In those cases, Sung Jiwoo immediately dismissed them.

At first, he’d politely said, “You may leave now. You’re not who we’re looking for.”
After it kept happening, he switched to:

“Get out.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said get out. Why are you looking at him like that?”

I’ll gouge your eyes out.

At the unspoken threat, the applicants retreated in shock, some even hurling curses on the way out.

Whenever Yoo Heero stood up with killing intent, they fled outright.

During a short break, Sung Jiwoo silently drank cold water. Yoo Heero suggested stopping.

But Sung Jiwoo shook his head.

“Making a guild is your wish. Then we keep going until it’s done.”

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

The next applicant entered—a woman with short hair tightly tied back. She walked in with confident strides and sat down immediately.

“Hello.”

She bowed while seated.

“Yes, hello. Your name…?”

“Chae Minjung.”

“Ms. Chae Minjung… ah, here you are.”

Sung Jiwoo skimmed her application. Nothing remarkable. No flashy self-introduction.

And that was precisely why she’d been selected.

“What kind of work did you do before?”

“I did miscellaneous tasks for various guilds.”

She was twenty, freshly out of high school. Normally she would’ve served mandatory duty at an X-Gate, but since Yoo Heero had cleared it, she became a hunter immediately and began looking for a guild.

“You wrote ‘production-type ability’… is it alchemy?”

“I specialize in potions. I’m also good at making poisons.”

Sung Jiwoo’s eyes lit up. A rare ability.

“Why did you apply?”

“I heard the vice–guild master is a supporter. And this is the only guild where a supporter holds a core position.”

Supporter—instant bonus points.

“Do you have any field experience?”

“Yes. I’m not great at combat, but I have gathering skills. I usually handled things with paralysis or poison.”

Self-sufficiency, not relying solely on DPS. Perfect.

Then came the final question—the most important one to Sung Jiwoo.

“What would you say is your life goal?”

Chae Minjung looked baffled, as if asking why that even mattered.

“I don’t really have one… I guess I want to win the lottery and live off it.”

“….”

Sung Jiwoo took a deep breath, closed his eyes once, then spoke gently.

“You’re accepted.”

And just like that, the first guild member was chosen.