Chapter 33

Guild Management System – Maple Tree

Guild Name: Maple Tree

Guild Level: 1

Guild EXP: 0 / 500

Max Members: 20

Current Members: 12

Vice Guild Master: [Vacant]

Guild Status: Active

GP: 19,000 (Earned through Guild Level up, Recruitment of Members, and Dungeon Raids.)

---

Guild Overview

Current Members: 12

Kaede Tawata — LV69 — Guild Master

S Rank: 2

A Rank: 9

B Rank: 0

C Rank: 0

D Rank: 0

E Rank: 0

---

Due to the lack of personnel, Kaede had taken on the responsibility of registering the arriving Hunters herself. Fortunately, while the system had already logged the new recruits unofficially, she was still able to complete the physical and official registration process manually.

“Nineteen years old,” the green-haired girl replied as Kaede entered her information into one of the blue-screened registration panels embedded into the receptionist desk.

“And your class?” Kaede asked, her fingers gliding across the interface as she navigated through the advancement job options.

The girl smiled. “Right, I’m a Fighter.”

Kaede gave a small nod. “Anything more specific? ‘Fighter’ is a broad classification that branches into many subclasses.”

The girl hesitated for a moment. Being the last Hunter to register, she already understood what Kaede meant, everyone before her had been asked the same question.

Mages had been required to clarify their specialty, resulting in registrations like Wind Mage, Summoner, and Light Mage.

The two assassins had given very different responses: one identified as a Poison Master, the other as a Stealth Rogue.

Kaede wasn’t being difficult; she simply needed an idea of what subclasses her guild members would be eligible for once they met the level requirements.

After a thoughtful pause, the green-haired girl finally answered, “I’d say I’m a Brawler, since I mostly fight using my fists or gauntlets.”

Kaede nodded again and selected the appropriate subclass before finalizing the entry. “Alright. Your guild card should be ready in a moment.”

A soft chime rang out as a card emerged from a thin slot on the side of the panel. Kaede picked it up and handed it to her. “Here’s your guild card. It also acts as a wallet, a key, and a tracker. It logs your performance, ranks you against other Hunters, and stores points earned from tasks, challenges, and missions.”

The girl accepted the card with a bright smile. “Thanks! I’ll make you proud, Guild Master. Anything for you.”

Kaede gave a slightly nervous smile as she watched her leave, then turned her attention back to the panel. The girl’s name now appeared under the official member list of Maple Tree.

---

Name: Hinata Tsukehime

Level: 1

Job Class: None (Monk. Unlock at level 20)

HP: 970 / 970

MP: 690 / 690

Attributes:

STR: 97 (+30)

VIT: 70

AGI: 82 (+35)

DEX: 87 (+25)

INT: 69

Physical Damage Resistance: 5%

Equipment:

Nimba's Cradle (AGI +15, STR +15, DEX +5)

Nimba's Grasp (STR +10, DEX +10)

Nimba's Stride (AGI +10, STR +5)

Nimba's Steps (AGI +10, DEX +10)

Skills:

-- Heavy Blow (ATK+20%)

---

Kaede nodded with a small smile. “Alright. By tomorrow, we should receive a report from the Hunter Association detailing which gates we’ll have access to outside Musashino.”

The gathered Hunters exchanged murmurs and began speaking quietly among themselves.

“Um, just so you’re all aware,” Kaede continued, “we don’t have a dedicated mining team yet. So for now, we’ll need to handle the mining ourselves.”

A silence settled over the group at that announcement, and for good reason. Raiding high-ranking dungeons typically required three specialized teams to ensure success and maximize profits.

The Strike Squad. the main combatants responsible for fighting off magic beasts.

The Mining Team. tasked with extracting magic crystals from the dungeon walls.

The Hauling Team. responsible for retrieving and transporting beast corpses, which would later be processed into valuable items.

But Maple Tree was still a brand-new guild and lacked the manpower to fill these roles properly.

And without magic crystals or the resources harvested from slain monsters, the guild wouldn’t be able to generate income, or pay its Hunters.

Everyone in the room understood the implication.

Then, Nagi stepped forward. “I don’t think a bit of physical labor will do us any harm.”

Akari raised an eyebrow, but a single look from Kanae was enough to keep her silent.

---

“There’s nothing I can do, Goto.” Matsumoto sighed, the weary lines on his face deepening as he leaned back in his chair. Across from him, Goto Ryuji sat rigid, his patience already frayed.

“As an S-Rank, she’s more than qualified to establish her own guild.”

Goto scoffed, folding his arms. “She only Reawakened less than a month ago. Before that, she was just a D-Rank.”

Matsumoto gave a grunt, pulling a cigarette from his coat pocket and lighting it. “Even as a D-Rank, she’d already completed enough dungeon raids to partially qualify. Add an S-Rank Awakening on top of that, and the system practically rubber-stamps her guild approval.”

He exhaled a plume of smoke and shook his head. “This isn’t something I can block, not without drawing heat from the Association Council.”

Goto clenched his jaw. “The Draw Sword Guild has been the dominant force in Japan for five years. In one week, that girl turned everything upside down. She creates Maple Tree, and suddenly I’m watching three S-Ranks and nine A-Ranks walk away from me like they’d been waiting for it.”

Matsumoto swiveled in his chair, turning toward the panoramic glass wall behind him. The city stretched out below in glittering silence, unaware of the power struggle unfolding in the upper echelons of the Hunter world.

Behind him, Goto’s voice didn’t stop.

“I just lost valuable assets in the blink of an eye. If this continues, people will stop believing that Draw Sword is Japan’s strongest guild.”

Matsumoto tapped ash into the tray. His next words were quiet but carried the weight of finality. “But you’re not.”

Goto froze. “…What did you say?”

Matsumoto turned back, meeting the man’s glare. “Let’s not mince words, Goto. You experienced it firsthand. Kaede Tawata is currently the strongest Hunter in Japan.”

Goto’s fist trembled at his side.

“And that,” Matsumoto continued, “isn’t something we’re going to deny or bury. The Association will be officially recognizing her as Japan’s new top-ranked Hunter.”

The silence in the room grew thick, the only sound being the faint hum of city life far below.

“Maple Tree’s going to explode in popularity. You saw the broadcast. You heard her statement. It’s only a matter of time before Hunters from across the country, and beyond, start flocking to her banner.”

Matsumoto stood, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a manila folder. He placed it squarely in front of Goto. “There’s still a chance for you.”

Goto eyed the folder warily, flipping it open. “The Jeju Island raid?”

Matsumoto nodded. “The Association has approved your request to send Draw Sword as part of the Japanese expeditionary force.”

“We were already preparing for that.” Goto narrowed his eyes. “What does this have to do with Kaede?”

“If you can contribute significantly to the Jeju raid, you’ll earn enough merit to be nominated for National-Level status. At least before Kaede secures that position herself.”

Goto’s brow furrowed. “National-Level… You think she’s that powerful?”

Matsumoto took another drag of his cigarette, then exhaled slowly. “No doubt about it. I was there. Even if every S Rank in the Draw Sword Guild attacked that summoned monster, they would lose. And it's supposedly weaker than Kaede herself.”

He turned and tapped the folder again. “Korea now has ten S-Rank Hunters as of last week.”

“Ten?” Goto looked up sharply. “That means..”

“His name is Sung Jin-Woo. He recently Reawakened. It seems we're having a lot of those these days. He solo-cleared a high-tier dungeon, completely unassisted.”

Goto’s expression darkened.

“Asia’s power balance is shifting. Korea as a player is rising fast,” Matsumoto said, his voice low. “If we don’t act now, Japan’s reign as the top Hunter nation in Asia may be coming to an end.”

Goto clenched the folder in his hands. He understood exactly what Matsumoto was implying. It was underhanded, manipulative in the worst way.

Despicable.

But this was his opportunity. His moment to rise, to stand among the five strongest Hunters in the world. A shot at becoming a National-Level Hunter.

He stared at the document.

'At the minor cost of Hunters I neither know nor care about.'

He made his decision.

Matsumoto smiled.

---

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

"Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!!" Kenzo grunted, swinging his pickaxe in a rapid flurry as he relentlessly chipped away at a glowing crystal vein.

Nearby, Akari let out a sigh before lifting her oversized pickaxe and bringing it down with force, shattering rock and crystal alike in a single strike.

They were joined by several A-Rank Hunters, all diligently mining magic crystals alongside them.

Just a few meters away, the dungeon boss, a massive four-armed centaur, was bound tightly in enchanted chains. Rendered immobile, it could only watch as the Hunters extracted resources within its own lair.

Hinata moved through the area, pushing a heavy mining cart and collecting the crystals harvested by the others. Near the entrance of the boss chamber sat a massive chest, its surface engraved with runic patterns and reinforced with glowing steel bands.

It was one of Kaede’s early purchases from the system shop, a storage chest with near-infinite capacity, designed specifically to hold massive hauls of dungeon loot.

The centaur let out a low, rattling snarl through its gag, its black eyes filled with impotent rage. Thick iron chains wrapped around each of its limbs and neck, reinforced with anti-magic seals that pulsed faintly every few seconds like a heartbeat. Its breaths came in sharp bursts, chest heaving, but it couldn’t break free. It had tried. Oh, it had tried.

But that was over an hour ago. Now, all it could do was watch.

Kenzo let out a breathless laugh, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his glove. “This dungeon’s loaded. The whole damn wall’s practically bleeding crystals.”

“Focus on the larger veins,” Nagi instructed from where he stood near the loot chest. “Fragments are useful, but they won’t pay as much unless we refine them in bulk.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kenzo replied, going right back to work.

Beyond the mining site, the second chest was being used. Corpses of monsters slain during the raid were stacked inside. The lid remained open, a dull blue glow emanating from its interior as it automatically sorted and preserved the contents. One of the system shop’s higher-tier purchases, it could delay decomposition for days, perfect for transporting materials back to Musashino.

Kanae returned from the far corridor, another corpse slung over her shoulders. A scaled beast with three eyes and bladed limbs, still twitching faintly from residual nerve spasms. She dropped it beside the chest with a soft grunt.

Akari glanced over. “You’re not squeamish, huh?”

Kanae gave her a glance, irritation plastered over her face. "I'm helping my sister."

Akari chuckled as she smashed through another crystal. "So when are you guys leaving?"

Kanae turned to her. "Goto wants us moving in two days. Until then, I'll be helping out here."

"The Jeju island raid." Akari sighed. "If it's anything like the dungeon we survived, then you'll have to be extra cautious. You won't have Kaede with you."

"Obviously." Kanae nodded. "I'll be careful."

---

Bang!

A sharp knock echoed down the corridor as a brown-haired girl flinched, standing stiffly before the office door. She turned to the woman behind her, desperation in her eyes.

“Isn’t there something you can do?” she asked quietly.

The woman standing behind her sighed, brushing a strand of white hair away from her face. Her sleek black headband gave her a composed, formal look, fitting for the S-Rank Hunter, Anna Mikoto. She was the only S-Rank member of the lesser-known guild, Brass Den.

“If I’m being honest,” Anna said, voice low, “I’ve never seen the Guild Master like this.”

The door creaked open.

A blue-haired girl stepped out, smiling, arms weighed down by bags brimming with supplies and items.

“Guild Master, please reconsider,” Anna said, stepping forward. “I’m not sure this is the right decision.”

Before she could say more, the brown-haired girl dropped to her knees and clung to the Guild Master’s leg.

“Please, Guild Master!” she cried. “Don’t disband Brass Den! We still need you!”

But the Guild Master, unfazed, continued dragging her forward across the hallway floor. “C’mon, Gine. We talked about this.”

Anna moved to block her path and gently placed a hand on the Guild Master’s shoulder.

“Iz,” she said calmly. “You know we all love and support you. No matter what you decide, we’ll follow you, through hell and high water.”

Iz finally stopped walking. Her smile faded into something more tired, more real.

“Anna...” she said softly. “We’re barely holding on as it is. I’ve been keeping the guild afloat with my own personal funds.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, we’ve known that for a while. What’s the real reason?”

Iz hesitated, then smiled faintly. “Maple Tree. I’m going to join Maple Tree.”

Gine gasped from her place on the floor. “Master! You’re abandoning us for another guild?”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Maple Tree is a relatively new guild. They’re not exactly established. I doubt their funding is any better than ours.”

Iz let out a laugh. “Trust me, with Maple, nothing is impossible. I’d bet anything that Maple Tree will be the greatest guild in all of Asia within the next few months.”

Anna folded her arms. “Who is this Maple, and why do you have so much faith in her?”

“She’s the greatest friend I’ve ever known,” Iz answered instantly.

Gine gasped again.

“Then take us with you,” Anna said. “If you believe in Maple Tree that much, why not bring us along? We’d respect your decision either way.”

Iz blinked in surprise. “But Maple Tree is a new guild. Unlike me, you have no reason to believe in it.”

“But we believe in you, Master!” Gine cried.

Anna smiled. “What she said. We trust you, Iz. And your decision… is our decision.”

Iz looked at them both, silent for a long moment. “Do all of you feel that way?” she asked quietly.

Anna nodded. “Everyone’s gathered outside right now.”

Iz took a breath, then gave a small, genuine smile. “Alright then. We’ll all join Maple Tree.” She glanced toward the door, her eyes wistful. “I’ll finally get to see an old friend again.”