Chapter 12

Chapter 12

12. Creditor of 1.06 Trillion Won

Lee Geonho’s scream filled the office.

The loan shark, ‘Friend,’ leisurely exhaled cigar smoke as he watched him.

“You’re loud. Quiet down.”

“P-Please...”

“I gave you thirty days. Go work hard.”

Lee Geonho staggered out of the office.

Once the door closed, one of the loan shark’s subordinates approached.

“Boss. Do you really think that guy can repay eighty billion?”

“He can’t.”

“Then what happens?”

“We strip him of every asset he has, and he works off the rest with his body.”

The subordinate’s face stiffened.

“Are we going back to the old days?”

“What old days? He’s an A-Rank hunter. He can grind away in the Tower. He’ll work under us for the rest of his life. All we need is his signature on a contract.”

The loan shark grinned.

His gold ring gleamed.

“This is what you call a legal slave contract.”

* * *

My house.

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling.

“Fifty-six billion...”

My grin stretched from ear to ear.

If the loan shark collected eighty billion, I’d have fifty-six billion left after his fee.

‘But can he really collect it?’

I had my doubts.

Still, he was a professional in that field, so he’d probably handle it just fine.

‘Anyway.’

I pulled [Shadow Dagger] from my inventory.

[Shadow Dagger (S)]

-Allows use of the active skill Shadow Ambush (S).

-If Shadow Ambush kills its target, the cooldown resets.

-Equipping it grants the Assassin class.

“Shadow Ambush, huh.”

It seemed to be the skill Hunter Lee Jinho had used when he attacked me.

He’d teleported behind me in the blink of an eye and swung his dagger.

‘What if I hadn’t had the Silent Assassin title?’

I might have died.

Just thinking about it made my blood run cold.

‘Shadow Ambush!’

I swung the Shadow Dagger.

Swoosh-

My body instantly moved about three meters forward.

It felt like I had teleported from one side of the living room to the other.

“O... Oooooh!”

This is pretty useful.

And it looked kind of cool too.

‘Shadow Ambush! Shadow Ambush!’

Swooshswooshswooshswoosh!

I zipped back and forth around the living room.

Thud!

“Ow!”

Then I slammed my head into the wall.

“Ouch...”

Looks like it’d be a little dangerous to use outside the house.

Still, it was fun.

Ding!

Just then, I received a text message.

-This is Kim Cheolsu from Friends Capital. We’ve begun liquidating debtor Lee Geonho’s assets. We’re starting with the sale of his real estate.

‘Already?’

That was fast.

Professionals really were different.

Apparently, one of the loan shark’s subordinates was named Kim Cheolsu.

Despite his appearance(?), he had an incredibly ordinary name.

-At present, we estimate approximately 75 billion won can be recovered.

Seventy-five billion?

That’s less than I expected.

-This estimate accounts for current real estate market conditions and discounts required for a quick sale. We’ll do our best.

‘Hmm...’

Then what about the fee?

‘Fifteen percent of seventy-five billion?’

I tapped on my calculator.

“Eleven-point-two-five billion won!”

That’s less than I expected.

No, less?!

Eleven-point-two-five billion is an enormous amount of money.

‘But I’m a talent worth four billion won an hour.’

That’s barely three hours of my labor.

It’s a little(?) disappointing, but!

‘The fee can’t be helped.’

You can’t make people work for free.

‘Can’t he collect the entire eighty billion?’

A five-billion difference is huge.

That’s more than an hour of work for someone like me.

Ding!

Another text arrived.

-We’re also liquidating the debtor’s stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. We expect to recover an additional fifteen billion won.

‘Oh!’

Then the total is ninety billion!

‘Wait. Don’t I only need eighty billion?’

I do have common sense.

I had already expected there probably wouldn’t be much I could collect from Lee Geonho beyond the deposit specified in the contract.

I immediately called the loan shark.

-Yes. Friends Capital.

“Boss. It’s Divine One.”

-Ah, yeah. What is it?

“What happens if you collect more than eighty billion?”

-Obviously, we collect everything we can.

“What?”

-The contract amount is 1.06 trillion won. We’ll collect as much of that as possible. But listen.

“Yes.”

-We can make that bastard Lee Geonho earn money like crazy in the Tower.

The loan shark’s voice dropped.

-Do you know how much an A-Rank hunter can make if he risks his life grinding in the Tower?

“How much?”

-One hundred million.

“One hundred million? Per day?”

-Yeah. So over thirty days, he can probably make around three billion.

“That’s way too little.”

-...What?

I make four billion won an hour.

And an A-Rank hunter only makes one hundred million a day?

‘Ah, right. I’m an EX-Rank hunter.’

I suppose you can’t compare an A-Rank hunter and an EX-Rank hunter on the same scale.

“It’s nothing.”

-Hmm. Anyway, that’s money Lee Geonho will be risking his life to earn. Wouldn’t we feel a little guilty just taking it?

“Why would I feel guilty? Who signed the contract?”

-Hahahaha! Right. A contract is a contract.

The loan shark laughed heartily.

-Good. Then let’s keep watching and see how much Lee Geonho can earn.

* * *

Three days later.

Lee Geonho was fighting for his life against monsters on the 52nd floor of the Tower.

“Hyaaaaaah!”

He detonated a water bomb and swept away a pack of goblins.

Not every floor of the Tower existed solely to defeat a boss.

Some floors endlessly spawned all kinds of monsters.

And there was only one thing to do there.

Grind mobs!

Hunt like crazy!

You made money by selling the various items that poured into your inventory.

If you spent every waking moment hunting except when sleeping and eating, you could make roughly one hundred million won a day.

“Haaah...”

Lee Geonho collapsed onto the ground.

His entire body was covered in wounds.

‘Three hundred million in three days...’

One hundred million per day.

He had hunted like a madman.

Barely sleeping.

Barely eating.

‘To repay eighty billion...’

It would take eight hundred days.

But the deadline was thirty days.

‘It’s impossible.’

Despair washed over him.

That was when.

Ding!

-Friends Capital: Customer, we have confirmed payment of 300 million won so far. You’re doing great. You only have 79.7 billion won left to repay. Fighting!

“You motherfuckers...!”

Lee Geonho almost threw his smartphone, then stopped himself.

He had already broken one phone by throwing it before.

‘79.7 billion...’

An amount big enough to make anyone gasp.

There was no end in sight.

Seven days later.

-Friends Capital: Total payment confirmed so far: 1 billion won. Your pace is a little... slow? At this rate, achieving your goal may be difficult.

Lee Geonho gave a hollow laugh when he saw the message.

“Of course it’s impossible...”

He was already at his limit.

Even as an A-Rank hunter, pushing himself like this for thirty straight days would put his life at risk.

He didn’t have the strength to keep hunting.

‘I’m seriously going to die at this rate.’

Then a Hunven message arrived.

[Title: Hello, Mr. Lee Geonho]

[Nickname: Friend]

-I hear you’ve been having a hard time lately. I have a good offer for you. Would you like to meet and discuss it?

‘Friend?’

That’s the owner of Friends Capital!

-I’ll meet you.

Lee Geonho replied as though clutching at his last straw.

* * *

Friends Capital office.

“...A slave contract?”

Lee Geonho’s voice trembled.

“That wording is a little harsh, but more or less.”

The loan shark held out a contract.

“You work under us for ten years. Then your debt is cleared. How about it?”

“Ten years?”

“Yeah. For ten years, all the money you earn in the Tower belongs to us. In return, you’ll get two million won a month for living expenses.”

Two million won a month.

For an A-Rank hunter, that was absurdly low.

“This is...”

“Don’t like it? Then keep repaying the eighty billion. You’ve got twenty days left, and you’ve made one billion so far. That means you only need another seventy-nine billion.”

It was an impossible number.

It felt as though everything was collapsing around him.

Signiel Tower.

His father’s inheritance.

Even his dream of becoming an S-Rank hunter and an idol admired by everyone!

Everything had shattered.

“...”

Lee Geonho’s hand trembled.

Should he take the contract or not?

“Just so you know.”

The loan shark put the cigar between his lips and continued.

“If you don’t sign and fail to repay the debt, we’ll seize everything you own and pursue legal collection for whatever remains. Then you’ll be a credit delinquent for life. Isn’t working ten years better than that?”

Lee Geonho bit his lower lip.

‘How did I end up like this...’

This was all because of Divine One.

If only that bastard hadn’t existed!

“...Understood. I’ll sign.”

In the end, Lee Geonho signed the contract.

“Good. From now on, you work for me. Work hard.”

The loan shark smiled with satisfaction.

* * *

At the same time.

My house.

I got a call from the loan shark.

-Lee Geonho signed the contract.

“A contract? What kind?”

-A ten-year labor contract. He works under us now.

“Then what about the eighty billion?”

-We can’t get it right away. But all the money he earns over the next ten years belongs to us, so in the long run, we come out ahead.

“Hmm...”

For a moment, I was speechless.

‘Whether it takes a month or ten years, if he repays eighty billion, he repays it.’

There was no real need for me to get it all immediately anyway.

Why?

“What about the money from liquidating Lee Geonho’s inheritance?”

-Ah, that? It should be settled soon. Once the cash comes in, I’ll hand it over.

“How much will it be?”

-Around ninety billion?

“That’s more than I expected. Then he only has to repay seventy billion, right?”

-No. He still owes eighty billion.

“What?”

-We gave him a ten-year extension. If you extend the deadline, you charge interest, don’t you?

This man.

He really is a ruthless loan shark.

-Out of the ninety billion, my share is thirteen-point-five billion... I’ll transfer the remaining seventy-six-point-five billion once it comes in. Unless you want cash?

“No. Bank transfer is fine.”

Thirteen-point-five billion.

It’s money I have to pay him, but it still feels painful.

-Oh, and one more thing.

“Yes.”

-Lee Geonho is going to work for us for ten years now. So he’ll earn money every year, right?

“I suppose.”

-I’ll take fifteen percent of that as my share and send you the remaining eighty-five percent. Every month.

Every month?

“Then...”

-If Lee Geonho makes three billion a month, you get 2.6 billion. That’s 31.2 billion a year. Not bad, right?

Not bad?

It was fantastic.

‘Forget being a landlord. This is even better.’

They say landlords are above the Creator.

At this rate, I was above even them.

But.

‘I’m going to sit here doing nothing while receiving money Lee Geonho risks his life to earn?’

-Why? You don’t like it?

“No. I love it.”

I felt like I could fly.