Ch.5858. Farming Company

As I came out of the Hunter Association, Kim Soo-jung, who had been waiting in the car, asked me.

“What’s going on? Why did it take so long?”

I explained briefly.

I had been suspicious of the farming window, so I showed off my skills a bit.

“What? You broke through an S-rank tanker’s shield? Wait. Isn’t Kim Jin-hyeop a team leader at the Hunter Association?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Wow. That’s insane. Were you really that strong, oppa? SSS+ rank really is something else.”

Kim Soo-jung made a big fuss, saying she couldn’t believe it.

It’s natural that SSS+ rank is powerful, but when the comparison is to yourself, it’s normal not to fully grasp the difference.

Especially for Kim Soo-jung, who’s C-rank, the gap isn’t just one or two levels but more than 10 levels, and she’s never experienced it firsthand.

But to Kim Soo-jung, an S-rank hunter is like the sky above.

The videos she watches on YouTube.

The dungeon monsters that appear in them.

The way they fight those monsters is a performance Kim Soo-jung couldn’t even imagine.

Breaking through such a tanker’s shield?

“Kim Jin-hyeop’s shield is said to be impenetrable. That’s his trademark.”

“It seemed to break pretty easily to me.”

“Ah, it would have been amazing if we’d recorded that.”

She was also surprised when I told her about the recruitment offer from the Hunter Association.

“A scout offer from the Hunter Association? Did you hear the terms?”

“They said they could offer assets and cash worth about 20 billion won for a 5-year contract. Plus 5 billion won in hunter support funds each year. They also said they could provide one S-rank equipment if I wanted.”

“Wow… that’s crazy. That beats even major corporate guilds, doesn’t it?”

“On top of that, the benefits aren’t bad—they’d transfer ownership of a secure house, provide 24-hour security guards, and supply whatever I need.”

The reason it took me a bit longer to come out:

I was having an in-depth conversation with the staff member for negotiations.

At first, it was just curiosity.

I had no intention of signing a contract, but I was still curious about how much the Hunter Association, a government agency, would pay for a hunter.

I thought Kim Jin-hyeop was exaggerating.

100 billion won isn’t pocket change.

I figured they might include various assets and things that couldn’t be immediately converted to cash to reach that value.

The conditions were tough.

A 5-year contract is quite a long time.

The Hunter Association won’t disappear during that time, but people’s hearts change, and situations evolve—being tied down for 5 years could be a significant disadvantage.

But looking at it differently, 5 years could be beneficial.

For a hunter.

Considering this is a government agency, you could potentially just coast through those 5 years on the contract money.

Just doing the minimum required while meeting contract conditions.

So the 5-year period wasn’t a major issue.

The staff member explained that they set long contract periods to prevent hunters from being poached by foreign entities.

The assets worth around 20 billion won weren’t a problem either.

Even if I couldn’t sell them immediately, assets don’t lose their value.

In fact, I could dispose of them if I wanted to.

The only issue would be taxes.

The benefits were also better than what most private companies could offer, being from the government.

I honestly wavered a bit during what was supposed to be just a casual inquiry.

If it weren’t for the Rift Dimension, I might have signed the contract first and thought about the rest later.

The Hunter Association probably knows more about dungeons than anyone else, so I could have exploited all the best hunting grounds.

But it still wasn’t the right fit for me.

I have no intention of joining any guild, not just the Hunter Association.

There’s no reason to.

When I go to the farm, I disappear for days at a time—how could I fulfill my role properly in any guild or the Hunter Association?

It would be difficult to match dungeon entry times.

My position isn’t to join a guild that recognizes my value as an SSS+ hunter, but rather to farm resources from the Rift Dimension and receive offers from such guilds.

To hear how much they’re willing to pay.

How much they want my resources.

“Oppa, we need to decide on a company name. What should we go with?”

“You can decide.”

“I may be the CEO, but it’s still a paper company for you. You should be the one to name it.”

“Hmm…”

“Or if you tell me to decide, I’ll go with what I want. Dad already suggested Soojung Company would be nice…”

“Let’s go with Farming Company.”

“…”

“That’s good. It fits perfectly with what our company does.”

I preferred the name Farming Company that I came up with on the spot rather than receiving money from something like Soojung Company.

It also matched the concept of farming in the Farming World or the Rift Dimension.

“Fine… I’ll go submit the application.”

Kim Soo-jung went inside and came back shortly, saying it was done.

“I’ve created Farming Company. It’s just on paper for now, so we still need to set up an office and prepare a few things. But you don’t need to worry about that. Oh!”

After crossing off various items on her checklist, her expression darkened.

“Oppa, I need to go tell my former guild that I’m leaving…”

“You didn’t tell them before you left?”

“I only saw all the messages piling up yesterday after coming back from the farm… heh…”

“Handle it yourself.”

On the way, we stopped briefly at something resembling an office. She stayed there for quite a while before coming out looking relieved.

“Phew. Good thing that old fogey wasn’t there.”

“What happened?”

“I told them I was establishing Farming Company and leaving. They said they understood. I hadn’t been there long anyway. The guild master seemed to know what the guild atmosphere was like. He apologized for not being able to control it. Though he’s probably just saying that to avoid gossip.”

By the time we finished shopping for meat and other groceries for dinner, night had fallen.

“Ugh. Reality seems busier than the farm.”

Kim Soo-jung flopped down on the sofa, and I threw myself down beside her.

That was something I could relate to.

At the farm, time flies by unnoticed while farming or exploring, but in reality, time seems to slip away even when you’re not doing much.

It feels like I’ve done quite a lot since morning.

It’s like living in two different worlds.

Just as I was thinking about resting after eating, Lee Ji-hyun came out of Kim Soo-jung’s room and eagerly presented an ointment to me like an anxious puppy.

“…Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

“No. Would you like to take a look at this? This is how it turned out. I still need to research how to make the potion, but the ointment is exactly like what I saw. No, it’s even better.”

“Wow! Amazing! Is this that skin regeneration ointment? Will I get baby skin if I apply it too?”

“There’s not a lot of it. You’d probably need 3-4 containers to cover your entire body.”

“At 450 million won each, 3-4 containers would be…”

“This could sell for even more!”

Lee Ji-hyun excitedly talked about the price of this ointment, either happy that she could prove her words true or pleased with the experience points she’d gained.

I was glad I had hired Kim Soo-jung for Farming Company.

Despite claiming to be tired, she energetically engaged with Lee Ji-hyun, allowing me to lie on the sofa and half-listen while watching TV.

“Unni, would you like to join Farming Company too? As long as my brother is alive, you’ll have access to these materials, so it’s better if we’re on the same team. You never know when my dad might change and try to exploit you. If you join Farming Company, I’ll take care of everything for you.”

“Are there any conditions?”

“None. We’d be hiring you as a hunter management agency. We won’t take any commission—how about just putting your name on the roster for now? I’ll be busy taking care of my brother anyway, so I won’t be able to pay much attention to you.”

Kim Soo-jung seemed to have a talent for this kind of business.

The most basic quality needed is shameless persistence, and she was so good at it that even Lee Ji-hyun was taken aback.

“Well… I should think about it…”

“Unni, what is there to think about? You come to our house to make potions—you’re practically family. Family management is always better. Sign with Farming Company and let’s all live well together. I’m worried someone might try to poach an A-rank alchemist like you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up becoming my sister-in-law.”

“Oh my…”

“Stop talking nonsense and go grill the meat.”

“Eek!”

I kicked Kim Soo-jung away for crossing the line and checked the ointment before dinner.

[Corrupted Recovery Herb Ointment]

– Grade: A+

– An ointment made from corrupted recovery herb leaves. Filled with pure chaos energy, its performance has been enhanced.

– When applied to wounds, completely heals the wound and recovers 10% of life force. Sterilization effect for 3 hours.

– When applying more than 2g, natural life force recovery +100% for 24 hours

– When applying more than 5g, skin cell regeneration and restoration in the absorbed area

– Remaining amount: 20g

“Wow…”

Looking at the options of the created ointment, I couldn’t help but be impressed, just as Lee Ji-hyun had said.

450 million won?

As someone not particularly interested in cosmetics, it’s hard for me to understand charging such a price for a single ointment, but I could see how it might be worth it.

I’ve heard of people spending tens or hundreds of millions of won monthly on temporary skin treatments, so for permanent skin rejuvenation…

“This auction is going to be really interesting.”

I definitely need to see this before returning to the farm.