Chapter 12: Creditor of 1.06 Trillion Won
Lee Geonho's scream filled the office.
The loan shark, Friend, calmly 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.
When the door closed, one of Friend's subordinates approached.
"Boss. Do you really think that man can repay eighty billion won?"
"Of course not."
"Then what happens?"
"We strip his assets first. After that, he pays with his body."
The subordinate's expression hardened.
"Are we going back to the old days?"
"What old days? He's an A-rank Hunter. He can grind in the Tower. He'll work under us for the rest of his life. We just need his signature on a contract."
The loan shark grinned.
His gold ring glimmered.
"That's what I call a legal slave contract."
My house.
I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling.
"Fifty-six billion won..."
My grin stretched from ear to ear.
If the loan shark recovered eighty billion won, I'd receive fifty-six billion after his commission.
But can he really collect it?
I had my doubts.
Still, he was a professional in that field.
He'd probably handle it.
More importantly...
I pulled [Shadow Dagger] from my inventory.
[Shadow Dagger (S)]
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Allows use of the active skill [Shadow Ambush (S)].
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If a target struck by Shadow Ambush is killed, its cooldown resets.
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Equipping this weapon grants the Assassin class.
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"Shadow Ambush..."
It seemed to be the skill Hunter Lee Jinho had used when he attacked me.
He had disappeared and reappeared behind me in the blink of an eye before swinging his dagger.
What if I hadn't had the Silent Assassin title?
I might have died.
Just thinking about it gave me chills.
Shadow Ambush!
I swung Shadow Dagger.
Whoosh!
My body instantly moved about three meters forward.
It felt as if I'd teleported from one side of the living room to the other.
"Oh... Ooooooh!"
This was pretty useful.
And it looked cool.
Shadow Ambush! Shadow Ambush!
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
I teleported around the living room over and over.
Bang!
"Ow!"
Then I slammed my head into the wall.
"Ouch..."
Yeah.
Using this outside the house might be a little dangerous.
Still, it was fun.
Ding!
At that moment, a text message arrived.
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This is Kim Cheolsu from Friends Capital. We have begun liquidating debtor Lee Geonho's assets. We are currently processing the real estate first.
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Already?
That was fast.
Professionals really were different.
Apparently the name of one of the loan shark's employees was Kim Cheolsu.
A surprisingly ordinary name for someone who looked like that.
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We estimate the currently recoverable amount at approximately 75 billion won.
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Seventy-five billion?
That's less than I expected.
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This estimate reflects current real estate market conditions and discounts required for urgent sales. We will do our best.
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Hmm...
Then the commission?
Fifteen percent of seventy-five billion is...
I opened the calculator.
"11.25 billion won!"
That sounded smaller than expected.
No.
What was I saying?
11.25 billion won was an enormous amount.
But I'm a man worth four billion won an hour.
That was barely three hours of my time.
It was a little disappointing, but...
The commission can't be helped.
You couldn't make people work for free.
Can't they recover the whole eighty billion?
Five billion won was a huge difference.
That was more than an hour of my time.
Ding!
Another message arrived.
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We are also liquidating the debtor's stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. We expect an additional recovery of approximately 15 billion won.
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Oh!
Then the total was ninety billion!
Wait. Don't we only need eighty billion?
I had common sense too.
Honestly, I had expected that beyond the deposit written in the contract, there probably wasn't much else we could collect from Lee Geonho.
I immediately called the loan shark.
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Friends Capital speaking.
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"Boss. It's DivineMan."
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Oh, yeah. What's up?
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"What happens if you recover more than eighty billion?"
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Obviously, we collect all of it.
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"What?"
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The contract amount is 1.06 trillion won. We'll recover as much as we legally can. But here's the thing.
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"Yes?"
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We can make that bastard Lee Geonho earn money like crazy inside the Tower.
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The loan shark's voice dropped.
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Do you know how much an A-rank Hunter can make if he risks his life grinding in the Tower?
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"How much?"
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One hundred million.
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"One hundred million? Per day?"
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Yeah. So over thirty days, he can probably make about three billion.
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"That's way too little."
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...What?
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I earned four billion won an hour.
And an A-rank Hunter could only earn one hundred million a day?
Oh, right. I'm EX-rank.
It wasn't fair to compare an A-rank Hunter to an EX-rank Hunter.
"Never mind."
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Hmm. Anyway, it's money Lee Geonho will be risking his life to earn. Don't you feel a little bad just taking it?
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"Why would I? Who signed the contract?"
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Hahaha! You're right. A contract is a contract.
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The loan shark laughed loudly.
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Fine. Let's keep watching. We'll see how much money that guy can make.
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Three days later.
Lee Geonho was fighting monsters on Floor 52 of the Tower.
"Hyaaaaah!"
A huge water bomb exploded and swept away a group of Goblins.
Not every Tower floor existed to defeat a Boss.
There were also floors where endless waves of monsters continuously respawned.
There was only one thing to do there.
Grind.
Hunt like crazy!
You sold the flood of items entering your inventory and made money.
If you hunted every waking moment except for sleeping and eating, you could make about one hundred million won a day.
"Haa..."
Lee Geonho collapsed onto the ground.
His entire body was covered in wounds.
Three days. Three hundred million won...
One hundred million every day.
He had hunted like a madman.
Barely slept.
Barely ate properly.
To repay eighty billion...
It would take eight hundred days.
But his deadline was thirty.
Impossible.
Despair washed over him.
Then...
Ding!
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Friends Capital: Dear customer, we have confirmed deposits totaling 300 million won so far. You're doing well. You only have 79.7 billion won remaining. Fighting!
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"You fucking bastards...!"
Lee Geonho nearly threw his smartphone.
But he stopped himself.
He had already smashed one phone by throwing it before.
79.7 billion won...
A truly staggering amount.
He couldn't see the end.
Seven days later...
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Friends Capital: Total repayment confirmed so far: 1 billion won. Your pace is a little... slow, isn't it? At this rate, reaching your target may be difficult.
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Lee Geonho let out a hollow laugh.
"Of course it's impossible..."
He was already at his limit.
Even as an A-rank Hunter, if he continued like this for thirty straight days, his life would be in danger.
He didn't have the energy to hunt anymore.
I'm actually going to die at this rate.
Then a private message arrived on HunVen.
[Title: Hello, Lee Geonho]
[Nickname: Friend]
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You've been having a hard time lately, haven't you? I have a good proposal for you. Would you like to meet in person and discuss it?
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Friend?
That was the owner of Friends Capital!
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I'll meet you.
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Lee Geonho replied as if grabbing onto his last lifeline.
Friends Capital Office.
"...A slave contract?"
Lee Geonho's voice trembled.
"The wording is a little harsh, but basically."
The loan shark pushed a contract toward him.
"You work under us for ten years. In return, your debt is forgiven. How about it?"
"Ten years?"
"Yeah. For ten years, everything you earn from the Tower belongs to us. We'll give you two million won a month for living expenses."
Two million won per month.
For an A-rank Hunter, it was absurdly low.
"This is..."
"Don't like it? Fine. Keep repaying the eighty billion. You have twenty days left. You've earned one billion so far, so you only need another seventy-nine billion."
It was impossible.
It felt as if everything was collapsing.
Signiel Tower.
His father's inheritance.
His dream of becoming an S-rank Hunter and being admired by everyone.
Everything shattered.
"..."
Lee Geonho's hand trembled.
Should he grab the contract or not?
"Just so you know."
The loan shark placed the cigar between his lips.
"If you refuse the contract and fail to pay the debt, we'll liquidate everything you own. If that's still not enough, legal debt collection follows. You'll spend the rest of your life with destroyed credit. Isn't working for ten years better than that?"
Lee Geonho bit his lower lip.
How did I end up like this...?
It was all because of DivineMan.
If only that bastard hadn't existed!
"...Fine. I'll sign."
In the end, Lee Geonho signed the contract.
"Good. From today onward, you work for me. Work hard."
The loan shark smiled in satisfaction.
At the same time.
My house.
I received a phone call from the loan shark.
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Lee Geonho signed.
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"Signed what?"
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A ten-year labor contract. He'll work under us now.
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"Then what happens to the eighty billion?"
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We can't collect it immediately. But over the next ten years, everything he earns is ours. In the long run, it's more profitable.
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"Hmm..."
I was speechless for a moment.
Whether it takes one month or ten years, if he eventually repays eighty billion, I guess it's still repayment.
Honestly, there wasn't any need for me to receive it immediately.
Why?
"What about the money from selling Lee Geonho's inherited assets?"
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Oh, that? It'll be settled soon. Once the cash comes in, I'll send it to you.
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"How much?"
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Around ninety billion?
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"That's more than I expected. Then he only needs to repay seventy billion, right?"
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No. He still owes eighty billion.
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"What?"
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I gave him a ten-year extension. If the deadline gets extended, he has to pay interest, right?
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This man...
He really was a vicious loan shark.
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Out of the ninety billion, my cut is 13.5 billion... I'll transfer the remaining 76.5 billion as soon as the money comes in. Or do you want cash?
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"No. Bank transfer is fine."
13.5 billion won.
I had agreed to pay it.
But it still felt painful.
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Oh, and another thing.
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"Yes?"
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Lee Geonho will be working for ten years now, right? That means he'll earn money every year.
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"I suppose so."
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I'll take my fifteen percent and give you the other eighty-five percent. Every month.
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Every month?
"Then..."
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If Lee Geonho earns three billion a month, you'll get 2.55 billion. That's 30.6 billion a year. Not bad, right?
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Not bad?
It was fantastic.
This makes landlords look like amateurs.
People said landlords stood above even the Creator.
At this level, I was above landlords.
But then...
Lee Geonho risks his life working while I sit here and receive the money?
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What? Don't like it?
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"No. I love it."
I felt like I could fly.
