Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

The miners’ excavation was nothing short of a jackpot.

The collection team had harvested so many magic stones that their value easily surpassed tens of billions of won.

But that wasn’t all.

There hadn’t been a single casualty, nor even the slightest injury — a perfect operation.

“Sir, with results like these…!”

Administrator Kim Lee-gang, who had received the tally of the collection, struggled to contain his excitement as he reported to Bae Dong-hyuk.

Bae Dong-hyuk, already expecting significant results, couldn’t hide his own delight.

“Yes, Hunter Ahn has given us a tremendous gift.”

Although the contract period had been shortened by several months due to the special recruitment, Nexus had still received a generous offering.

Of course, the ‘offering’ here wasn’t just referring to the income generated by the mining team’s collection of magic stones.

The truth was, Nexus hadn’t even been sure how to tackle the Earth Keepers’ mine gate.

It had been a problem.

Due to the gate’s unique nature, if left unattended, it could become a sealed gate, a government asset taken away because of its risk classification.

“But with Hunter Ahn taking on the gate himself, we not only made a profit but also preserved the guild’s reputation.”

Corporate image is something that even billions invested might not restore.

Imagine the impression if the government seized the gate because Nexus couldn’t handle it.

Given that Suho had resolved such a potential image disaster, Bae Dong-hyuk’s gratitude was beyond words.

So, as soon as he received the final collection tally the next day, he immediately summoned Suho.

“Yes, sir.”

In the Guild Master’s office, located at the very top floor of Nexus headquarters.

Suho met with Bae Dong-hyuk alone.

It was a private meeting that Bae Dong-hyuk had intentionally arranged.

When Suho entered, Bae Dong-hyuk greeted him with a warm smile.

“Hunter Ahn, I really can’t thank you enough.”

“Not at all. I’m not even fulfilling the full contract term, so this is the least I could do.”

“Haha, what’s ‘the least’? In this world, nothing is a given. Initially, the special recruitment issue wasn’t even within our contract. And these days, everyone’s too busy lining their own pockets; it’s rare to find someone like you, who values loyalty and integrity.”

“With words like that, I can only feel grateful.”

“And actually…”

Bae Dong-hyuk trailed off, taking a few documents from his desk and handing them to Suho.

“What is this?”

“This is the preliminary valuation summary of the items collected by the mining team.”

Suho accepted the papers and checked the contents.

7.2 billion won.

It was clearly written on the document.

Bae Dong-hyuk continued.

“The magic stones buried in the mine were of higher quality than expected, and their size led to a far higher valuation. If our guild’s workshops carry out secondary processing, our net profit will easily surpass 10 billion won.”

Wow.

Even after accounting for deductions, the net profit exceeded 10 billion won.

Suho could barely suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Considering the value of the magic stones collected by the Nexus team, Suho’s own harvest of minerals from Bulgasari was far greater… no, several times larger.

“So just the raw stones I collected alone would easily exceed 10 billion won.”

He was satisfied.

One of the reasons he had used the Dominion Gem on Bulgasari, which could only control a single entity, was precisely for this.

Financial resources were essential to Suho.

Before the reform of the Hunter Association, Suho’s salary would be modest, and even if reforms were implemented, his income wouldn’t compare to that of ordinary hunters.

“My living expenses are fine, but considering my future plans, I need a lot more money.”

Furthermore, once he officially gained civil servant status through the special recruitment, economic activities would be even more restricted.

Of course, he’d still make more than the average person, but considering Suho’s ambitions, it would fall far short.

In this situation, Bulgasari’s mining activities were like a lifeline in a drought.

Bae Dong-hyuk continued.

“So, I’ve thought it over carefully… and I’d like to offer 10% of the gate’s profits to your team.”

“Pardon?”

“Even if you did it out of loyalty, it would be wrong for me to ignore such a significant gain. It would make me feel like a thief.”

At those words, Suho quickly waved his hand.

“Oh, no, it’s fine, sir. Really, it’s fine.”

“But I insist. Please accept it, Hunter Ahn. I’d feel more at ease.”

Suho was genuinely trying to refuse.

Accepting a 10% bonus felt wrong, considering the minerals he had discreetly secured.

But Bae Dong-hyuk was just as sincere.

It wasn’t a strategic move to foster ties with Suho for future benefit; it was a genuine gesture from one person to another.

Perhaps that was why?

For a while, the two engaged in a back-and-forth discussion.

Finally, Suho offered a compromise.

“Then how about this?”

“What is it?”

“I have something in mind, and since you’re insisting on the bonus, I’d prefer if you granted me a request instead.”

“Alright.”

“But I haven’t even told you what it is.”

“If it’s a request from Hunter Ahn, I’m sure it’s reasonable. Whatever it is, I’ll make it happen.”

“Haha, you’re something else, sir…”

Such a straightforward personality.

Yes.

This was why he’d chosen Nexus.

With that, Suho felt comfortable enough to bring up the issue.

“Actually, I wanted to discuss this with you anyway… As you know, I’m joining the Korean Hunter Association as a special recruit.”

“Yes, and?”

“With the gate raid as a pretext, I’d like to establish a secret task force within the Nexus Guild.”

“A secret task force?”

“Yes, it’s essentially a personal team… As I mentioned, since I’m joining the Korean Hunter Association soon, it’ll become difficult for me to run a personal raid team. That’s why I’m making this request.”

“Well, that’s true. Civil servants are generally prohibited from holding multiple jobs. So, what exactly do you want?”

“Exactly as I said. I’d like to register my personal team under Nexus, so they can receive support and care as guild members. But it’ll need to be done discreetly. It won’t be a bad offer for you, sir. Though it’s a personal team, they’ll take on assignments from the guild and complete them well. They’re a team I’ve trained myself, and I’ll continue to oversee their development.”

Bae Dong-hyuk couldn’t help but smile.

Although Suho hadn’t directly stated it, he could read the hidden intentions behind the request.

‘So, he wants to continue his hunter activities even after joining the Korean Hunter Association.’

But he couldn’t just operate secretly — there would be too many limitations.

By integrating the team under Nexus and working from within the guild’s shadows, he’d achieve what he wanted.

It was as clear as day.

And so, Bae Dong-hyuk smiled and nodded.

“Understood. I’ll treat them with the same care as I do for you. Are these the same members I saw in front of the gate?”

“Yes, that’s them.”

“Including Hunter Kang Dae-han?”

Hunter Kang Dae-han.

Upon reflection, he had only been brought in temporarily.

After a moment’s thought, Suho shook his head.

Although they’d cleared the gate together once, he didn’t yet trust him enough to have him join the team.

“It’s better to use him as a mercenary when needed, for now.”

In this life, as a hybrid tanker, he would undoubtedly achieve far greater growth than he had in his previous life.

But for that, gaining diverse experience in different teams would benefit him more than directly joining Suho’s team.

He’d come whenever Suho called anyway.

“And Kang Dae-han and the Banshees have different objectives to begin with.”

Suho said.

“I’ll exclude Hunter Kang Dae-han for now.”

“Understood.”

“And since all the members will be performing tasks according to their grade, would it be possible to grant them at least an A-grade designation?”

“A-grade…”

An A-grade designation.

Hearing this, Bae Dong-hyuk hesitated.

S-grade promotions could sometimes be given special reasons, even if levels were lacking, like Suho’s exceptional skills.

But for Suho’s team, aside from Suho himself, their skills hadn’t yet been proven.

The only evidence they had was their performance in the mine gate raid.

Bae Dong-hyuk asked.

“Could you tell me their levels?”

“They’re all below level 100.”

“Hm…”

His frown deepened.

That made things more challenging.

However, it was a request from Suho.

After a long pause, Bae Dong-hyuk finally said.

“Alright, but I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

“Even if it’s a secret task force, we must at least mark some information on paper. It’s required by law. So, if all members reach level 100, I’ll guarantee an A-grade designation. Until then, we’ll temporarily contract them at B-grade. Oh, and feel free to continue using the academy’s training room. You plan to keep using it anyway, right?”

Suho smiled at that answer.

As expected of Bae Dong-hyuk.

He was perceptive.

By asking about the training room usage, he’d given Suho his answer about the underlying intention.

So, Suho readily nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct. I’ll need to keep using it. There’s no other private place like it. Thank you, sir; with your support, I’ll bring everyone up to level 100 and get the certification.”

“Thank you for understanding. Then, as for the 10% bonus I promised, I’ll allocate it to your team.”

“Thank you. Oh, and please set aside a little extra for Hunter Kang Dae-han.”

“Haha, yes, we’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

“Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”

“No, it’s us who should be grateful. Now, how would you like the team’s payment to be structured?”

“If possible, a format with a base salary and bonuses would be ideal.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange it that way and let Administrator Kim Lee-gang handle the details.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the two exchanged a handshake once more.

Both were satisfied that this ensured an ongoing relationship with Nexus.

As they shook hands, Suho thought.

“If I hadn’t been a regressor, I wouldn’t have been able to make this kind of offer.”

Suho was originally someone who believed in trusting others first.

He believed that offering a hand before waiting for an apology would lead to a cycle of goodwill.

But after being killed by those he had trusted as allies, he’d become distrustful of people.

For that reason, he wouldn’t easily trust anyone who hadn’t already proven their character.

In that sense, Bae Dong-hyuk was a proven individual.

And so, he could establish this connection.

After the meeting, Suho headed to the academy’s training room by car.

Inside the training room, all the original team members except for Kang Dae-han were training through Infinity.

Suho operated the external device to log them out.

Seo Giwon, the first to emerge from the capsule, greeted Suho warmly.

“Hyungnim, you’re here?”

“Yes, I’m here. How’s everyone’s training going?”

“Yes, thanks to the field experience, I think we’re a bit better than before.”

“Really?”

At Suho’s question, Gu Yeonhwa and the rest of the Banshees nodded.

Suho sat at the table and spoke.

“I came because I have an announcement to make.”

“An announcement?”

“As of today, you’re all officially registered with Nexus.”

“……!”

At Suho’s words, everyone’s eyes widened.

He continued.

“Due to personal circumstances, you all left your stable jobs to train here, right? So, I registered you with Nexus so you’ll receive a salary. You’ve been assigned to my personal team and will start with B-grade. But under certain conditions, you’ll receive A-grade designation, and your salary will increase with it.”

Everyone quickly nodded.

Although no one had openly discussed it, one of the Banshees had even dropped out of school to be here.

Turning on his laptop, Suho spoke.

“From today, all of you will focus solely on leveling up. Target level is 100. Seo Giwon, would you lend a hand?”

“Ah, yes. But Hyungnim, am I included too?”

“Of course, you’re included. Now, here’s the laptop. Set up the hunting grounds.”

“Oh…”

Seo Giwon took the laptop with a sulky expression, while the others looked puzzled.