Chapter 8: Whips, Scissors, and Power Plays

I’d spent a fortune on enchanting and material conversion, so my gear makes those mass-produced female hunter suits look like cheap knockoffs. I don’t know why Baek Jangmi is so threatened by me, but this is getting interesting.
Teasing people is fun. No, more than that—watching Baek Jangmi squirm, terrified of losing her spot, is both pitiful and amusing. She even looks kind of cute, whining like a kid in front of an adult.

“Ugh, you wanna keep talking back like that? Stop it!”

Who started this fight again?
They’re the ones desperate here. She must think I’m some rolling stone trying to dislodge her, ready to bite.
But I’m not joining this guild, nor do I plan to, and I’m definitely not here to seduce anyone for personal gain.

“Who started picking a fight? The guild master approved me. Are you above the guild master or something?”

She must know she’s being unreasonable, but what can she do?

“You think you can just talk big like that?”
“If you’re gonna come at me like this, I’ve got no choice.”

Finally, Baek Jangmi pulled out what looked like a weapon—a whip.
A whip? It suits her perfectly. Well, two can play that game. Even a storage character has weapons they can use.
I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out…

“Oh, look at that. The pack mule’s got a weapon?”
“Eat this.”

I raised my right hand, flipping her the middle finger. Naturally, Baek Jangmi lost it and started swinging her whip. I dodged nimbly.
Sure, I don’t have combat skills, but among lifestyle skills, I’ve got survival ones—like hunting animals.

[Crisis Sense: Heightens animal-like instincts when threatened.]

I never thought I’d use it like this, but since I didn’t master this skill, it has clear limits.
In the end, I was the one who got tired first.
Baek Jangmi must be a named hunter—her whip skills were no joke.

“Hahaha, got you!”
“Baek Jangmi, stop it! Why are you so mad?”
“What, you’re taking some random girl’s side?”

Despite her guildmates’ attempts to stop her, Baek Jangmi—whether to hide her embarrassment or just being stubborn—pushed them aside and kept attacking.

Swish!

Her whip came flying at me. As it came into view, I could see thorns protruding from it, like it was trying to kill me.
That wasn’t just a whip—it was more like a plant.
More precisely, a plant shaped into a whip, probably an item from a dungeon with plant attributes.
But let’s think this through.
I don’t have weapons to match a main character’s combat power, but I’ve got plenty of items and skills for survival and lifestyle.

[Pruning: Allows you to trim plant branches.]

The Pruning skill isn’t your average gardening tool.
In Terra Chronicles’ fantasy setting, there are all sorts of plants and trees, and this skill lets you cut their branches.
Best of all, you don’t even need specialized tools—just scissors will do.
I decided to test it out.

[Rainbow Scissors: Can cut through anything with ease.]

I pulled out the shimmering rainbow scissors from my inventory.
Baek Jangmi’s thorny whip would be my test subject.
Who knows? It might work.
These scissors were a prize from a million-won cash gacha, even earning a “server-first” title. Sure, people laughed at me for pulling scissors from a gacha, but…

Snip!

I sliced her whip clean in two. Effortlessly.
Baek Jangmi’s face contorted in a way words can’t describe.
Yeah, she never imagined her long, sturdy whip would be cut by a single snip.

“Aaahhh! My… my whip!”

Baek Jangmi wailed, desperately trying to piece her whip back together.
She looked so pitiful that I decided to help.
I’m not narrow-minded like her. I pulled out some glue and reattached the whip’s pieces.
Just like that—slapped some glue on and stuck it together.
This isn’t ordinary glue, mind you. Let’s just say it’s the best glue in the world and leave it at that.

“Pretty easy, huh?”
“Are you mocking me? You actually fixed my precious whip?”

Yeah, I fixed it, you leech.

“Let’s stop playing around.”

I opened my inventory and dumped out all the materials and stones I could show.

Crash!

A mountain of stones piled up.
Naturally, Baek Jangmi and the other hunters stared in disbelief.
Yeah, makes sense. Even their guild master’s jaw dropped at this. So, what now, Jangmi?

“See that? Good enough for you? Or want more? Since you provoked me, you’ll help me put it all back, right?”

“If you’d shown this earlier, this wouldn’t have happened!”

In the end, Baek Jangmi personally picked up the stones and put them back in my inventory.

“Do you know how annoying it is to take these out and put them back? Unbelievable. I’m complaining to the guild master about this.”
“Hey, don’t call me out!”

In the end, Baek Jangmi surrendered. She grabbed my arm with both hands, clinging to me.
I’m not into petty girl fights. More importantly, this woman’s got some serious misconceptions.

“Stop it. You’ve been misunderstanding me this whole time.”
“What?”
“I don’t know why you keep treating me like I’m joining your guild. I haven’t joined, and I don’t plan to. That’s it.”

At my words, she froze, her embarrassed expression replaced by a cough as she straightened up.

“You should’ve said that earlier.”
“Did you ask?”
“You’re such a jerk!”

Who’s been acting entitled this whole time?
If she’s gonna keep this up, I need to push back harder. Fighting over some queen bee spot doesn’t suit me, and I don’t want to be mistaken for some chick trying to seduce guys to join the guild because of her nonsense.
Should I mess with her more?

“Nah, I’m done. I’m leaving.”

I put on a sulky face and acted annoyed.
I’m not part of this guild—I’m here on a contract, as an equal partner. That needs to be clear. But this queen bee didn’t get it and came at me, so I’ve got every reason to walk away.
If I lose this power struggle, Baek Jangmi will keep picking fights with me.
Even if it’s just one job, as long as she feels threatened, she’ll want to assert dominance over me.

“What?”
“Hey, hunters, tell the guild master that Baek Jangmi pissed me off, so I’m out.”
“You think you’ll get another chance like this? A pack mule?”

Bingo. She’s banking on that. Still hasn’t grasped reality. Sure, like she said, once White Tiger puts out their fire, they might not need a mule, and other guilds might be the same. But so what? That’s not my problem.
Should I rile her up more?

It’s just one job. I don’t know how things will go with White Tiger, but this woman’s the type to badmouth me on every community board—“Some pack mule chick came to White Tiger thinking she was hot stuff, so I put her in her place.”
I need to flip that narrative.
I’m the one in control here, and she’s the one begging.

“No big deal. There’s more than one guild out there. Someone’s bound to need a pack mule. Or I could pay a guild to escort me into a dungeon.”

Unlike them, desperate for storage space, I’ve got options. There are plenty of ways to make money.
So, the only thing left is for Baek Jangmi to bow her head.
But she’s still fuming, her face red with anger.

“Grrr.”
“Mad? Then be a pack mule yourself. I’m out.”

Screw it!
I turned to leave. At this point, the other hunters would step in. They’re the ones desperate, after all. Baek Jangmi provoked me, but all she can do is grind her teeth when I push back.

“Hey, what are you doing? Baek Jangmi, apologize!”
“What? Are you seriously saying that to me?”

Baek Jangmi looked betrayed, silently pleading for her guildmates to take her side, but they were rational.

“You think a pack mule like her is easy to find?”
“Ugh…”

Tears welled up in Baek Jangmi’s eyes. She probably didn’t expect her own guildmates to turn on her.
That’s how much White Tiger needs a pack mule right now.

“What the hell is going on here? What’s Warehouse doing?”

Perfect timing. The bald guy and Guild Master Baek Harang showed up.
The guild members were already gathered, and the guild master should wrap up this farce.

“Well, this Baek Jangmi lady insulted me, saying I don’t look like a pack mule. I’ve got no bad feelings toward you or baldy, Guild Master, but my pride as a pack mule has its limits. Looks like our partnership was short-lived.”

I stated my case confidently, glancing at Baek Jangmi. She glared at me with fierce eyes, but if she doesn’t want her precious whip cut again, she’d better stay quiet.

“GM, hold on. Is that true? You don’t trust the person we contracted with?”
“No, Harang, I…”

Heh heh heh. The brazen Baek Jangmi deflated in an instant.