Chapter 99: The Hellish Trials of Jumping Rabbit and a Deal for Survival

– Guild Office Support Policy

1.

[Is this for real? Silent Swordsman’s chat manager?]

The moment she got the manager role, she unleashed mindless whip strikes and took down a thousand viewers.

 Isn’t it simple? Just don’t type bad words?

 I typed “insane chick” in three syllables and got a warning. Seriously insane.

 Where did she even find someone like herself?

 Like streamer, like manager.

 Whatever, it was funny, so it’s fine.

 Sigh… I’ll let it slide because she’s pretty.

 A beautiful streamer whipping people? Damn, whip me too.

The first-ever chat manager of the Silent Swordsman’s stream C-rank Awakened, “Venomous Eyes” Lee Sohye.

Viewer opinions on her appointment were completely divided, but given how Silent Swordsman was known for pulling crazy stunts,

the general consensus was that she fit the stream’s theme perfectly.

In the end, everyone agreed Silent Swordsman had somehow found a manager who suited her eerily well.

“Heheh, unnie, seriously. Where did you even find a manager like that?”

[Did you finish your training?]

“Of course, without a doubt!”

[Did you also complete the Blood Path exercises I prepared in advance?]

“Naturally!”

[I’ll check your basic techniques. Show me the Three Calamities Sword Style.]

“Ugh… Unnie, you’re like a private tutor.”

Even after finally seeing her sister’s face, Joo Ahyoung was the only one who seemed happy about it.

Annoyed by how her sister only had harsh words for her, she pouted exaggeratedly.

But as soon as Hae Eung Eung narrowed her eyes with a serious gaze, Ahyoung quickly assumed a proper stance.

‘At least she hasn’t been slacking off.’

Hae Eung Eung soon relaxed her eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

Even though Ahyoung liked to complain, she had diligently kept up her training.

Feeling proud, Hae Eung Eung gave her some praise, making Ahyoung beam with happiness.

“You two always seem so close.”

“Too bad, unnie’s mine! I won’t share!”

“Haha, I wouldn’t dare. Maybe Jiwoo would, but not me.”

Seo Kyungseok, who had been watching the training with a pleased expression, met Hae Eung Eung’s gaze and bowed respectfully.

“I came to report on a matter.”

[You’ve been working hard as always.]

After taking down the Baekmokgui of the Scrap Yard and logging out of the game,

Hae Eung Eung had spent the past few days refining the internal energy she had absorbed.

She also took the time to oversee Ahyoung’s training and provide martial arts instruction at Daesan Guild.

However, she had refrained from getting involved in administrative tasks, so Kyungseok had come to give her an update.

“I found a suitable guild office location that meets your criteria. “

“However, securing a property with training facilities, accommodations, and office space will be quite expensive.”

[How much are we looking at?]

“I found an 80-pyeong branch building in Myeongho-dong. “

“Based on today’s official land value, it costs 1 billion won per pyeong, making the total price around 80 billion won. “

“Negotiations with the owner are possible, but I recommend closing the deal quickly.”

[I don’t have that much financial flexibility right now.]

“The prices dropped due to the monster raid alert and recent terrorist incidents, but we don’t know when they’ll recover.”

Kyungseok, who had a knack for gathering intelligence, had dug up another piece of information.

“I also found out that both factions within Myeongho Guild have been completely wiped out.”

” The remaining members have been reassigned to the Association’s Dispatch Support Division.”

“Even if they were scum, as long as they focus on public safety and law enforcement,

they might be able to restore Myeongho Guild’s tarnished reputation.”

Myeongho Guild’s elder master, Shin Seonggak, had been reforming the guild’s structure since his return.

[Are there any cheaper properties available?]

“There are… but they were excluded from the candidate list because they might cause some issues.”

2.

[Show me.]

Buying it was the issue, not just looking.

With that lighthearted thought, Hae Eung Eung received the documents.

Her focus wavered instantly.

[Urgent Sale]

• Myeongho 1-dong Mansion Site (120 pyeong)
• Official Land Price: ~120 billion won
• Listing Price: ~45 billion won

A spacious property at a bargain price.

A tempting choice for a guild office.

But there was one glaring problem.

[Owner: Shin Seonggak]

[Reason for Urgent Sale]

1. Property damage due to terrorist attack
2. Relocation of current resident, Shin Seonggak

‘Wait… isn’t this the house I destroyed?’

Even someone as ruthless as Hae Eung Eung had at least a shred of conscience.

Buying the house she herself had wrecked with her own money?

Shin Seonggak would never allow it unless she literally held a sword to his throat.

‘Myeongho Guild was doomed to fall anyway, so I don’t hold a grudge for their mistaken accusations… but I do feel a little bad for Shin Seonggak.’

She couldn’t bring herself to make an offer while feeling personal guilt toward him.

“As expected, this one is a bit… difficult, isn’t it?”

[It certainly is.]

The two of them stared at the mansion listing, longing for it like a cake in a display case they couldn’t afford.

‘What’s that?’

Min Woosung, passing by by chance, caught sight of them and narrowed his eyes.

3.

Lately, Min Woosung’s standing within the guild had been on shaky ground.

• Woo Jiwoo had been tirelessly contributing to the guild.
• Seo Kyungseok had proven himself with his incredible intel-gathering skills.
• The two Association-trained Awakened had provided flawless support.

With all of them excelling, Woosung’s role within the guild had become increasingly irrelevant.

To make matters worse, the Taesan Guild’s USB footage had revealed that he had deliberately obstructed Hae Eung Eung’s gaming streams his attempt to prevent returnee massacres.

Since then, Hae Eung Eung’s gaze toward him had been anything but kind.

[From now on, just focus on taking care of Ahyoung.]

A de facto demotion ordering him to stay out of official business and just be a glorified escort!

‘At this rate, I’ll spend my whole life playing Jumping Rabbit until I get nerve damage from post-death trauma.’

Even with control over his synchronization rate, ensuring minimal pain and side effects, dying was still painful.

And if it were any other game, it might have been tolerable.

But Jumping Rabbit… was a brutally punishing game, filled with countless instant-death traps.

Especially since he played alongside Joo Ahyoung.

As her designated gaming companion, he had to match her expectations in real-time.

This meant prioritizing risky, thrilling plays over safe ones every session was a nerve-wracking challenge.

“AHAHAHA! I did it! I finally did it!”

Still, until last night, there had been a glimmer of hope.

After grueling effort, he had finally gathered all the strategy items and cleared the game for the first time.

“Wow Congratulations, mister!”

“Haha, you’re too kind. It’s all thanks to Ahyoung’s generous guidance.”

“The air at the top is refreshing, isn’t it?”

“Since we cleared it, how about playing a different game now?”

Min Woosung had hoped that completing Jumping Rabbit would mean moving on to another game.

“You still have a long way to go. Since you cleared the normal difficulty, now it’s time to challenge the extreme difficulty, right?”

“…This game has difficulty levels?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know. Someone who even knows about strategy items is suddenly clueless? Once you clear it once, you can increase the difficulty level with challenge modes.”

His hope was shattered last night.

Jump height limit.

Increased wind intensity.

Added flying monsters.

Additional traps.

Higher chances of landslides.

A game that was already hard enough now had 100 insane challenge conditions that made it exponentially harder!

Even if someone managed to clear the game without any challenge conditions, the veterans of Jumping Rabbit would only consider them a level 0 newbie rabbit who had just gotten started.

By stacking challenge conditions, players could rank up

Clearing with 20 conditions? Level 20 Rabbit.

Clearing with 50 conditions? Level 50 Rabbit.

And at the top of it all was the ultimate challenge
The Level 100 Rabbit.

An unofficial, hellish endgame content for Jumping Rabbit veterans.

‘I’d end up crippled from post-death fatigue long before I finish all that!’

Sensing a serious threat to his survival, Min Woosung wandered around the guild during the day, desperately searching for a way out of the hellish escort gaming.

And finally, he found his opportunity.

Min Woosung: I want to purchase Shin Sung-gwak’s estate through a proxy and sell it to Hae Eung Eung.

Min Woosung: It’s a perfect chance to expand my influence in the guild while tying down a dangerous figure like Hae Eung Eung.

Min Woosung immediately contacted the National Security Bureau about his plan.

Agent: That’s a waste of government funds. Do we really need that estate?

The agent rejected the unexpected expense.

But Min Woosung had a very simple way to change his mind.

Min Woosung: Let’s play Jumping Rabbit for just one day.

After all, there’s an old saying seeing is believing.

Rather than explaining, he decided to force the agent to experience Jumping Rabbit firsthand.

“What’s so hard about sitting around and playing some game for a mission? Stop whining.”

“No need for words. Just jump with me once. You’ll see for yourself.”

The head of Hae Eung Eung’s task force scoffed at Min Woosung’s supposed complaints.

[You have died from falling.]
[87th Death]
[Restarting from the beginning.]

After dying 87 times in a row, the head finally snapped.

He force-quit the game in rage.

“This… This is Jumping Rabbit!?”

“Damn it… I have a conscience too. If I keep playing this demon’s game, I’ll die before I reach retirement. Approved.”

A few hours later…

The National Security Bureau officially purchased Shin Sung-gwak’s estate and set up a fake support policy to cover it up.

[New Guild Support Policy]
[Free Guild Office Rental for 5 Years]
[Available Slots: 1 (Click for location)]

Holding the policy approval document, Min Woosung confidently approached Hae Eung Eung.

“Guild Leader, the government just launched a new support program for newly established guilds. And guess what? There was only one open slot, and I applied just in case… and we got selected! Shall we go check it out?”

The National Security Bureau’s real plan
To boost Min Woosung’s status in the guild, solidify his position as a key figure, and place him close to Hae Eung Eung.

That way, they could monitor the Returnee’s every move and prevent unexpected incidents.

“…Guild Leader? You don’t look very happy. Is something wrong?”

[Five-year rental means that after five years, we might have to leave, right?]

To a martial sect, a headquarters wasn’t just a temporary training ground

It was a second home, a sacred place that carried the rise and fall of the sect.

As the founder and master of the sect, there was no way Hae Eung Eung could accept such a fleeting offer.

[I don’t like it.]

Neither the proposal nor the person who brought it.

Rather than scoring points, Min Woosung had offended Hae Eung Eung, who valued a warrior’s pride more than money.

Caught between the Returnee and the National Security Bureau, Min Woosung forced a hollow laugh.

‘What am I supposed to do if they refuse free real estate?’

But then, he caught a flicker of hesitation in Hae Eung Eung’s thoughts

“If it were a permanent lease, I might consider it.”

“…Wait.”

Had she just read his mind?

Min Woosung suddenly had a serious crisis to think about.