Dungeon Predator Chapter 331. Hye Rim Switches Things Up

Soul dungeons were filled with unique rewards. For example, Moss Cave had the Potion of Explosive Growth, the Beast's Tower had Violf's Platinum, and the Saul Graveyard had dragon materials.

What would the Rocking Stone Cave give?

"Money, precious stones, and Acasus's Book," Sephiro said.

"Acasus must be referring to... The Legendary Tamer, Acasus, right?" Kang Oh asked.

Acacus was the world's most powerful and renowned Tamer, who controlled five legendary beasts that were said to equal dragons in strength!

"Yes. Acasus's Book can be used to either increase a pet's abilities, or teach you a random Tamer skill."

While nurturing Waryong, Sephiro occasionally visited the Tamer Guild. That's why he knew so much about Acasus.

"That book's a must-have for a Tamer."

"Indeed."

"How much do you think it's worth?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to figure it out."

"Ah, I'm so jealous!"

He was jealous that his neighbor just bought some land! And it wasn't just any land; it was a soul dungeon! 

"You already have three soul dungeons."

"And I don't have any," Eder added.

"Greedy people always want more." Kang Oh was well aware of how greedy he was.

"Anyhow, please take care of me, Mr. Dragan." Sephiro bowed his head. Waryong imitated him, and its head touched the ground.

"Let's be good friends," Dragan said.

"Yes!"

With this, Sephiro had become a dungeon master, and Kang Oh remained green with envy for quite some time.

* * *

Jae Woo met with GBS Producer, Park Jin Cheol. He was meeting him with regards to his Despia footage. 

"Have you met with the other networks yet?" Jin Cheol said confidently. 

"Yes. VG withdrew their offer, and TGN offered me 1 billion won ($1 million USD). You said you'd offer me more than any other network. Do you remember?" Jae Woo said.

"Of course. I always offer you my best, Mr. Jae Woo."

"Indeed!" Jae Woo quickly chimed in.

"How does 1.5 billion won sound ($1.5 million USD)?"

"Thank you very much!" Jae Woo clasped Jin Cheol's hands. 'Ah, you sure are generous. Producer, you really are the best!'

"I brought the contract with me. Please sign it right away." Jin Cheol passed him a tablet. All he needed to do in order to formalize the contract was sign it. 

However, Jae Woo stretched out his hands and stopped him.

"One second!"

"What's the matter?" Jin Cheol tilted his head.

"Producer Hye Rim told me she was preparing something big. So please let me call her first. I need to hear what she has to say."

"Go ahead," Jin replied smoothly. No, he even smiled. He knew what would happen. It didn't matter what Hye Rim was planning; she wouldn't be able to offer him more than he could.

Jae Woo slightly bowed his head in gratitude and then called Hye Rim.

"Yes, Mr. Jae Woo?" Hye Rim picked up almost instantly.

"Hello. I'm calling with regards to my Despia footage. I'm speaking with GBS Producer, Park Jin Cheol right now. Do you have an offer for me?" Jae Woo went straight to the point. 

"How much did GBS offer?"

"1.5 billion won."

"Phew, they sure have a lot of money."

"The more money, the better." Jae Woo smiled at Jin Cheol. Jin Cheol replied with a smile of his own.

"We have a new offer for you."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"We'll give you 1 billion won. However..."

"However?"

"We'll give you 10% of the ad revenue!"

"Mm. How much will that give me?" Jae Woo wanted a concrete answer. However...

"There's no way to tell. But you have dozens of videos, so the ad revenue from all of them will be considerable."

"Mm." Jae Woo nodded his head. She was right; the ad revenue would be huge. 

"As you know, TGN is the largest gaming network, and it has the viewership to match; our viewership numbers are even higher than the public networks. We also get the best ads too. Our average viewership rating is in the double digits."

TGN's average viewership rating was between 10 - 11%. They had a double digit viewership rating despite not being a public network! They weren't the number 1 gaming network for nothing.

"I know. This is TGN's best offer, right?"

"Yes. And please at least take into consideration how unprecedented our offer is. It's 10% of the ad revenue."

Broadcasting companies made money via advertisements. And yet, TGN was willing to give him a piece of the pie. Which meant they thought very highly of Kang Oh's footage. Of course, they had to have made a decision like this because they didn't have nearly as much financial support as GBS.

"Yes, I understand. I'll let you know."

"I'll be waiting." 

Jae Woo hung up and stared at Jin Cheol. He must've overheard his phone call, as he looked extremely worried.

"Excuse me... Producer?"

"I listened in. They're willing to give you 10% of their ad revenue?"

"Plus 1 billion won."

"They've raised their offer, so I'll raise mine. 2 billion won ($2 million USD)! How does that sound?"

2 billion won was the absolute maximum he could offer.

"Hmm." Unbeknownst to him, Jae Woo was biting his thumb. That's how deeply he was thinking about the two offers.

'Which is worth more?'

One reeked of money. The 10% ad revenue!

'People are fascinated with Despia right now, and the story about the Primordial Gods and the Mayanes will garner even more interest. That'll increase the viewership a fair bit, and the ads will be sold out. Plus, TGN's viewership is higher than all the rest.'

Jae Woo made his decision. He slightly bowed his head towards Jin Cheol. "My apologies. I'll have to go with TGN this time."

"Please give me a minute. It's not over yet. Please let me speak with my superiors."

"Alright."

Jin Cheol stood up.

A short while later, Jin Cheol returned. His expression was quite dark.

"Mr. Jae Woo."

"Yes?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have a better offer for you."

Just now, Jin Cheol had called the director. He explained that TGN was willing to give Jae Woo a portion of their ad revenue. Thus, they needed to give Jae Woo an even better offer.

However, the director ordered him to back down. He stated that 'If 2 billion won isn't enough, then there's nothing we can do about it. Anymore is too excessive.'.

Jin Cheol had tried to convince him, but he failed.

"Understood." Jae Woo nodded his head.

"I hope your deal with TGN goes well. I'll see you again at the studio."

They shook hands, and Jin Cheol walked out gloomily like the remnants of defeated troops.

Jae Woo called Hye Rim back. 

"What did you decide?"

"I'll sign a contract with TGN."

"You made the right choice! Let's meet immediately and sign a contract."

"Understood."

After that...

Jae Woo and Hye Rim met, formalizing their contract. Several days later, his Despia footage was shown to the world one by one.

He heard that VG and GBS signed contracts with the Storm Guild. Apparently, they planned on life streaming their exploration too.

With this, the top 3 gaming networks began showing footage and news regarding Despia.

* * *

Dream Girl.

Jae Woo picked up his phone. He checked the caller and smiled.

"Yes?" he said softly. Eder and Sephiro had never heard that tone of voice from him before.

"Oppa," Soo Ah said.

Her voice was beautiful; it must be a singer thing.

"Yura?" Jae Woo played dumb.

"Who's Yura!?" she said angrily. Jae Woo could imagine her face red with anger.

"My younger sister."

"That's not funny!"

"Sorry. But the only girls I love are my little sisters and you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, I have a lot of male friends. Do you know how many good looking juniors or trainees we have at our company?'

"What!? This won't do. I gotta keep you somewhere safe. So that you can't meet anyone."

"Kidnapping and imprisonment are huge crimes."

"If you actually cheat on me, then I won't let you off the hook." Half joke, half truth. 

"If you cheat on me, then I'm going to scratch your face. You'll be so embarrassed that you won't be able to show your face," Soo Ah replied.

"Sure!"

"Same goes for me. If you find me cheating on you, then you can do whatever you want!"

"Hoo. But I'm seriously kind of worried. You're a female idol. Moreover, you're really popular too. A lot of guys ask you out, right?"

"I won't lie to you."

"See?"

"But I turn them all down, so don't worry. I'm a loyal girl!"

"I'm a loyal guy too! It's not like there are any girls to have an affair with here anyway."

"What a nice place."

"Right?"

"Hehe. It's nice to talk to you."

"You're crazy busy lately, aren't you?"

"I am."

Her group, Triple Lower, had released their third album, so they were busy appearing on music programs, talent shows, etc.

"Are you done for today?" Jae Woo checked the clock. It was nine o'clock at night.

"No, I'm just taking a quick break in-between the shoot."

"You're still shooting? It's nine o'clock."

"There's still a long way to go."

"That much longer?"

"Yes."

"Aw, must be tough."

"I'm ok!" Soo Ah said enthusiastically.

Jae Woo slightly bit his lip. She was definitely putting up an act. He heard that she only slept two or three hours when an album was released, and focused entirely on her schedule.

Soo Ah was probably doing the same this time too. There's no way she wasn't tired!

"Where are you right now? I'll be right there!"

'I'll go over and give you a big hug!'

"I'm ok," Soo Ah said.

"Where are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Why!? You don't want to see me?" That made him sad.

"I'm busy working. I won't be able to concentrate if you come and visit me! How are you going to get into the broadcasting station? If you come, then I'll have to tell my manager too. It'll become really complicated then," Soo Ah said flat out.

"But still..." Jae Woo said sullenly. 

Soo Ah reasoned with him. "We can see each other every day once I'm done promoting our album."

"When will you be done?"

"In about 2 weeks."

"Ahem, I got it."

"I'll have to get going now. The shoot's starting again."

"Good luck!"

"Hehe, thank you!"

Click.

He hung up, laid on his bed, and stared at the ceiling. Then, he picked himself up and messaged someone.

* * *

Two in the morning.

The shoot was finally over.

"Good work."

"Good job."

Triple Lower's Soo Ah, Hyo Min, and Lee Seol said farewell to the director, staff, and the other cast members.

"Good job."

"Yes, thank you for all your hard work, Producer!"

"You too, Director!"

"Let's go, kids." Their manager came over and took them out. 

"Hoo, we're finally done." The youngest, Lee Seol, stretched out.

"You all did good. Let's go home."

"Ah, Unni," Hyo Min suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"While Soo Ah was out, her father called. He asked if it was ok to come here and see her. I told him it was ok."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yes. He's on the 2nd floor underground parking lot."

"My dad's here?" Soo Ah tilted her head. 'Why's he here?'

"So go on. He said he'd see your face and then take you home. Is that alright with you, Unni?"

"Sure."

"Then I'll be going first." Soo Ah left before everyone else.

"Let's go too." Their manager stood in front.

Then, Lee Seol poked Hyo Min's side.  'Is it that Oppa?' Lee Seol moved her lips without actually saying anything. Hyo Min replied with a smile. 

Chapter end