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com
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The Novel’s Extra

소설 속 엑스트라

Waking up, Kim Hajin finds himself in a familiar world but an

unfamiliar body.

A world he created himself and a story he wrote, yet never

finished.

He had become his novel’s extra, a filler character with no

importance to the story.

The only clue to escaping is to stay close to the main storyline.

However, he soon finds out the world isn’t exactly identical to his
creation.

Author(s): Jee Gab Song, 지갑송

Artist(s):
Year: 2018
Country: Korea
Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Psychological, School Life
Tags: Academy, Alternate World, Average-looking Protagonist, Battle
Academy, Beautiful Female Lead, Cheats, Demons, Dungeons,
Futuristic Setting, Game Elements, Guilds, Gunfighters, Hard-Working
Protagonist, Heroes, Hiding True Abilities, Hiding True Identity, Lucky
Protagonist, Magical Technology, Male Protagonist, Military,
Misunderstandings, Mob Protagonist, Modern Day, Monsters,
Mysterious Past, Romantic Subplot, Scheming, Special Abilities,
Sword And Magic, Transmigration, Unique Weapon User, Weak to
Strong, Writers
Source: Wuxiaworld

ASIANOVEL VERSION: 3.4

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PDF VERSION: 1.4

UUID: fe66b4a0-48e8-11e9-950d-f38de5ead58d
USER: deskorpion
DATE CREATED: 2019-03-17
LANGUAGE: English

More info and chapters:

https://www.asianovel.com/series/the-novels-extra

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Chapter 151
Source: Wuxiaworld

Creator’s Sacred Grace, guild leader’s office. Kim Suho and Yi

Yeonghan were sitting in front of Yun Seung-Ah. However, all three
parties present seemed to have their own worries as their
expressions weren’t good.

“Here, it’s the official application form.”

Yun Seung-Ah initiated the conversation as she put two application

forms on the table. Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan picked up the forms
simultaneously.

[Creator’s Sacred Grace Application Form]

Starting salary of 400 million won plus performance-based

benefits. Compared to the 150~200 million won salary average Cube
graduates received, it was a hefty amount, especially considering
Creator’s Sacred Grace’s current situation.

“Oh?”

Yi Yeonghan’s expression brightened. He seemed to have had

monetary worries. However, Kim Suho was the opposite. He looked
more worried than anything at the high salary he was offered.
Creator’s Sacred Grace has been in the red for a while. This was
something most of the public knew because of the numerous articles
that popped up daily. Creator’s Sacred Grace suffered astronomical
punitive damage in lawsuits and settlements to wounded or killed
victims of their failed Tower campaign. To make up for their losses,
they had to conquer at least 30 small Dungeons.

“…It might not be enough, but this is the best we can do.”

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Yun Seung-Ah misunderstood Kim Suho’s expression. In truth,
Creator’s Sacred Grace’s budget was at its limit. Not only could they
not afford to give out any more, some of the amount that was offered
also came out of Yun Seung-Ah’s pocket.

“No, it’s fine.”

“I’m happy too with this amount.”

Kim Suho didn’t say anything in consideration of Yun Seung-Ah’s

pride, and Yi Yeonghan signed the form satisfied.

“Great… then you can go take a look at your assigned offices.”

“Yes!”

“…Yes.”

Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan left, and Yun Seung-Ah was left alone in
her office.

“Haa.”

She let out a deep sigh. Money. Money. Money. This word
continued to haunt her from all directions. She never thought money
would be a problem she had to face, but the amount of debt she
incurred in the past two years was 5 billion won.

“My net worth used to be 5 billion won….”

Yun Seung-Ah laughed self-mockingly and picked up her phone.

She no longer hesitated to make calls to borrow money. Her pride
was long gone from all the bank trips she had to make in the past
two years. Rather than worrying about today, she was more
concerned with figuring out how to survive the next day.

Tiriring—

—Hello?

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“…Hello? Unni?”

—Oh, what’s up?

“It’s me, Yun Seung-Ah.”

—I know.

“Ha, haha, right.”

Yun Seung-Ah laughed awkwardly. After hesitating for a bit, she

chose the easy way out.

“How have you been doing lately?”

—Hah? Anyways, do you want to reconsider? We still have seats

open.

Aileen quickly made a counteroffer. Taken aback, Yun Seung-Ah

was at a loss for words.

—Why do you care so much about that guild anyways? Do you

want to be a guild leader that much? Even when you have to go
through so much? Last time I checked, your guild was still at rank 20.

“…It’s rank 13 now. We recovered a bit. Plus, it’s been my dream

to become Creator’s Sacred Grace’s guild leader ever since I was
young. I achieved my dream, so um… Unni.”

—What.

Thanks to what Aileen said, Yun Seung-Ah’s tension loosened. She

decided to be a bit more shameless.

“Can you lend me some money?”

**

…2028, June. Because of the ‘Silver Moon’ phenomenon, monsters

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all over the world began to go wild. Governments began to issue a
state of emergency and ordered guilds to destroy monster habitats.
Creator’s Sacred Grace’s Hero, Kim Suho, showed fantastic results.
He destroyed a settlement of ‘Blood Bears’ located in Suwon’s
mountain range and became the youngest intermediate-rank Hero as
a result. Soon afterwards, Shin Jonghak achieved a similar result and
also became an intermediate-rank Hero.

…2028, August. Essence of the Strait’s businesses, ‘Monster

Corpse Dismemberment and Refinement’ and ‘Mana Crystal
Refinery’, were founded. Even in Korea, these two factories contained
state-of-the-art mana technology.

“We’ll start the ribbon cutting ceremony~”

The opening ceremony was grand. Essence of the Strait’s guild

leader, Yoo Jinwoong, its vice-leader, Yi Jin-Ah, SH Agency’s CEO, Park
Soohyuk, the mayor of Uijeongbu, and Yoo Yeonha were all present.

Clap, clap, clap— Along with a roaring applause, the ribbon cutting
ceremony ended.

“Good work.”

Yoo Yeonha shook hands with Park Soohyuk. These two factories
were made possible thanks to Essence of the Strait’s partnership with
SH Agency. SH Agency’s numerous hunters provided them with
monster corpses, making the cost of production much cheaper.

“So from now on, we should transfer all the monsters Fenrir kills to
this place?”

“Yes, but in front of me, you can just call him Kim Hajin.”

“Ah… yes, understood.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

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“Yes, see you later.”

After giving Park Soohyuk a warm smile, she approached Yoo

Jinwoong who was waiting for her by the limousine.

…2028, October. The number of aerial and oceanic monsters

exploded. Because of this sudden increase, island countries like
Japan and England were greatly impacted. A portion of England’s
islands and Japan’s Kyushu island were immediately designated as
intermediate-rank danger zones.

…2028, December. Japan requested assistance from Korea and the

Hero Association, while England put out mercenary recruitment ads
to deal with the situation themselves. Frankly, their decision was met
with ridicule from the rest of the world.

Then… 2029, February.

On Baekdu Mountain’s summit, where fierce wind blew…

“Ready.”

A battle was about to take place. Strangely, even the spectators

were clad in qi reinforcement. This was because Baekdu Mountain’s
mana-infused wind was different from ordinary wind. As today’s wind
carried especially threatening energy, it was no different than knives
that could cut skin.

“….”

Amidst this iron wind that would have cut apart ordinary people’s
flesh, Chae Nayun was glaring at a man. Her muscles were tense,
and nervousness cooled her head.

“Start.”

As soon as the start of battle was signaled, Chae Nayun pulled out
a 1.8-meter longsword. Highlander’s Claymore. It was a historical-

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grade artifact gifted by Chae Shinhyuk. On the other hand, her
opponent only had an ordinary sabre.

“Come.”

Chae Nayun didn’t rush forward. Instead, she swung her sword
from a distance. Her longsword instantly transformed into a 20-
meter-long beam. However, her opponent was no slack. He calmly
blocked her sword and rushed towards her. Woong— As the man’s
sabre shot towards her, Chae Nayun jumped high enough to touch
the clouds. From the sky, she changed to a reverse-grip. She was
clearly trying to strike down with her sword, an ultimate technique
she learned secretly.

“…Haaaaap—!”

With a roar, she descended. Objectively speaking, what Chae

Nayun did was only a simple jump-and-strike attack. Her opponent
easily dodged her attack. The simple nature of the attack made him
suspicious. However, the ‘real’ attack was what came next. Chae
Nayun twisted her sword, which was still stabbed into the ground, in
a 90-degree angle. Magic power instantly erupted from the ground.

“What!?”

The man didn’t have a chance to react. A thunderous roar rang

out. As though a volcano was erupting, cracks appeared throughout
the entire arena, and terrifying pillars of magic power shot out.
Looking closely, one could see that the pillars all had the image of
swords. Swept by the wave of giant sword pillars, the man flew
backwards helplessly.

“….”

Their battle ended in only three breaths.

“…Chae Nayun wins.”

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The judge pronounced the victor.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

Chae Nayun sheathed her sword and bowed. The man who was
sent flying raised his upper body and gave her a thumbs up. The
spectators watching the battle broke out into cheers and applause.

“Heh.”

Yoo Sihyuk stared at Chae Nayun with a satisfied smile. Chae

Nayun wiped off the sweat on her forehead and bowed to Yoo Sihyuk.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

Yoo Sihyuk was genuinely impressed. Chae Nayun was only 21.
Only two years had passed since she began to train in Baekdu
Mountain. However, she grew faster than anyone else who trained in
Baekdu Mountain. She poured every second of her free time into
sword and magic power practice, allowing her to achieve victory over
the instructor who taught her for the past two years. At the same
time, Yoo Sihyuk felt a bit sad.

“…Like you said, you’re more than ready to return to the secular
world.”

Today was the day Chae Nayun was leaving Baekdu Mountain. She
still had an old grudge to resolve and old debts to repay. As her
master, Yoo Sihyuk wanted to hold her back. Although she grew in
might, he knew her heart was still wavering.

However, Chae Nayun was firm in her conviction. KWANG! After

putting her sheathed sword down, she bowed.

“Thank you for everything.”

Yoo Sihyuk stared at her with a somewhat dissatisfied look. Then,

he decided to ask her one last question.

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“Do you really plan on joining a guild?”

With Yoo Sihyuk’s recommendation, Chae Nayun was able to

become a Hero without going through an apprenticeship. However,
Yoo Sihyuk knew Chae Nayun well. For the work she wanted to do,
being a mercenary was more suited than being a Hero.

“Yes.”

Even so, Chae Nayun nodded firmly. The twisted smile on her face
bothered Yoo Sihyuk slightly.

“If you want, I can introduce you to the Vast Expanse.”

“I will have to decline that offer.”

“Why?”

“…You sure have many questions.”

“What’d you say?”

Heh. Chae Nayun smirked.

“It’s been my dream to become a Hero, so it’s only obvious. I don’t

want to give up on it with lame excuses.”

She remembered hearing about it. That it was foolish to give up on

a dream because of a man. She agreed with it one hundred percent.
Out of spite, out of refusal to lose, she planned to become a Hero.

“…Fine, then pack your belongings and leave. I assume you can go
down by yourself.”

“Of course.”

“….”

Yoo Sihyuk turned around to hide his hurt expression. Chae Nayun

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remained bowing as Yoo Sihyuk walked away. Koong. Chae Nayun
didn’t raise her head until her master’s office door closed shut.

“You’re the best, Unni!”

“That was amazing, Noona~!”

After waving her hand at the younger disciples who looked at her
like an idol, she returned to her room. Living here for the past two
years, she had grown quite accustomed to this place.

“Let’s see, what do I need to pack…”

After opening her suitcase, she looked around the room for things
to pack. But because she didn’t bring much to begin with, there
wasn’t much to pack. Then suddenly, she saw a pack of cigarettes
sitting on her desk.

“…How many did I smoke today?”

She tilted her head as she put one in her mouth. When she lit it,
cigarette smoke entered her mouth.

“Cough. Auu, so bitter.”

She couldn’t get used to this acrid smell no matter how many
times she smoked. It was likely that her body just wasn’t suited to
smoking. Even so, she still smoked three times a day. She felt it was
her duty. So that she doesn’t forget. So that it doesn’t weather from
time. So that she doesn’t forgive subconsciously. For these reasons,
she took on this hated smell three times a day.

“…Eh?”

While she was looking around the room smoking, she caught sight
of a gaming helmet sitting in the corner of her drawer. A bitter laugh
came out. She remembered often playing with it four years ago. To
reminisce the past, she picked up the helmet.

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“…Hmm.”

She put her cigarette out and lied down on the bed. Tok, tok. She
pressed the button on the helmet and found that it still worked.

“Should I give it a try?”

She put the helmet on for the first time in years. The helmet’s iris
scanner activated as the world around her turned dark.

[Iris scan has been completed.] [Nayunjajangman-ssi, welcome

back.]

“Yeah, hi.”

She didn’t plan on playing anything. She only wanted to reminisce.

But when she logged in, there was an alert in front of her.

[Today is the last day of service for ‘Gladiator of the Century’. We

would like to give a warm thanks to all the support you have given us
over the years.]

“Eh?”

The game she used to enjoy that once dominated the gaming
scene had met its end. It seemed it couldn’t withstand the test of
time. Feeling somewhat bitter, Chae Nayun logged into Gladiator of
the Century.

—I logged in one last time T.T —Me too~ I used to love this game.
—Is anyone from the Hero clan~?

The lobby was full of people who came to reminisce like her.

“Should I play it one last time?”

Wondering if there was anyone to play with, Chae Nayun looked

through her friend list.

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“…Ah.”

There, she found someone who was more like a memory than a
friend.

[Extra7 (currently online)]

A smile emerged on her face. She opened the private message

window, but seeing the conversation she had with him before, her
face stiffened. She was embarrassed and annoyed at the same time.

“Auu, you crazy idiot loser.”

Chae Nayun was about to wipe the message log but stopped.
Although she couldn’t bear to watch her younger self’s immature
conversation… she knew they would disappear once the service
ended.

‘They’ll disappear even if I don’t erase them.’ Telling herself so,

she slowly typed on the message window.

[Um, Hyung-nim. Are you… awake?]

**

I was lying in bed. Recently, there hasn’t been much to do. The
laptop update was still underway, and there was a while to go before
the start of the next episode I knew. As a result, training and playing
around was all I’ve been doing lately. I’ve gotten quite used to this
lifestyle thanks to finding a few dramas and variety shows to watch.

“…Ehew.”

The most painful part was going to bed. I had trouble falling asleep
as all sorts of thoughts constantly plagued me. Insomnia. It was a
chronic condition I suffered from.

“Oh right.”

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I suddenly caught sight of the VR helmet by my bed. Thinking I
could put on a sleep-inducing video, I put it on. As soon as I entered
the lobby, an alert popped up.

[Today is the last day of service for ‘Gladiator of the Century’. We

would like to give a warm thanks to all the support you have given us
over the years.]

“Ah, so this is disappearing too.”

I suddenly realized how much time went by. I remembered playing

this game a lot in the past. I even made a friend. I never said
goodbye as I naturally stopped playing the game when I got busy.
Curious, I logged in.

“A lot changed, huh.”

I was put into a waiting room which didn’t exist in the past. It
seemed the game developers did everything they could to not fall
behind.

“Hm.”

Looking around here and there, I reminisced on the old features

and observed the new ones.

[Um, Hyung-nim. Are you… awake?]

Ding— Suddenly, I received a message. The sender was

Nayunjajangman. I immediately recalled the past. To be honest, I was
happy to the point my drowsiness washed away.

[Yeah, I’m awake. It’s been a while, man. ㅋㅋ]

[I think so too.]

“Oh?”

After four years, the way he talked seemed to have changed. It

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was more… mature. It made sense. After all, he had to be an adult
now.

[Do you want to play a match?]

Nayunjajangman asked.

[Match?]

[Yep.]

[Sure.]

Since the game was closing soon, I felt more than happy to play
one last time. In the middle of pressing buttons to host a room, I
suddenly stopped. I used to be his master, so I didn’t want to lose to
him so easily.

[Let me relog real quick.]

I took off my helmet. —Scan. Then, I logged back in after

consolidating my helmet.

**

Extra7: [Go?]

[Go.]

The match began after a brief exchange. I had a sabre and a shield
while my old master, Extra7, had an axe and a shield. The control felt
a bit weird as I hadn’t played for a while, but my sharper senses and
experience were more than enough to cover it. At least, that’s what I
thought.

“Uuk!”

Boom. Extra7’s axe struck my shield, pushing my character back

against the wall. I quickly rolled to the side and dodged his follow-up

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attack.

“Iik!”

Koong. This time, he attacked my face with his shield.

“Ah, dammit!”

I tried to counterattack after barely dodging his attack. Whoosh—

However, my character shot up into the air from his sudden
summersault. That was it. I was hit and killed with a 108-hit combo in
the air. The first set was a complete loss.

“Ha, what the hell was that combo? Jesus.”

An astounded laugh came out. It seemed my old master was still

worthy of being my master.

“…He’s so good.”

As soon as my murmuring ended, the second set began. This time,

I took the fight more seriously. I changed my weapon to a longsword.

**

[Victory]

“…I almost lost.”

Nayunjajangman was much better than before. Or maybe I got

worse. In any case, his sharp and reckless counterattacks were hard
to deal with.

[Thank you for the match. I see that you’re just as good as before.]

As soon as the match ended, Nayunjajangman messaged me.

[You improved a lot. Did you continue playing?]

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[No, what about you?]

[I didn’t play either. I just logged in after hearing that the service
was ending soon.]

[Wow, then you must be super talented. I’m impressed, Hyung-

nim.]

“…Pft.”

The way he talked made me laugh. The kid who used to ask me for
dating advice was now a full-fledged adult.

[Ah, Hyung-nim, you’re currently active, right?]

Jajangman suddenly asked a strange question. Active? This word

had many meanings in this world.

[Well, I guess you could say that. What about you?]

Did he also become a mercenary?

[I’m not active yet ㅋㅋ but I will be soon.]

[Oh? Are you a trainee?]

[Something like that.]

I see, so that’s why he became so serious.

[Good luck.]

[Thank you. Ah, don’t you think we’ll meet one day? ㅋㅋ]

I smiled. ‘Regardless of whether you’re an apprentice hero or an

apprentice mercenary, I’m no longer someone you can meet so
easily.’

[Maybe, if you continue to work hard.]

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[I see. Ah, apparently the service is ending soon.]

[ㅋㅋ kk.]

I received an alert too. —The service will end in 30 seconds. I

smiled bitterly and slowly typed my goodbye.

[Good luck. Be happy.]

Jajangman’s reply came instantly.

[It’s too late for me, but be happy too, Hyung-nim.]

I wanted to reply to him. I didn’t know what happened, but I

couldn’t bear to watch a kid be so hopeless. However, before I could
type anything, my surroundings changed.

[The service has ended.] [We offer our greatest gratitude to all
users who supported Gladiator of the Century.] [Goodbye.]

Only the game developers’ final messages were left in front of me.

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Chapter 152
Source: Wuxiaworld

2029, April 3rd. In Chameleon Troupe’s secret hideout located in

England’s Bristol Channel, I was fully relaxed and reading a
newspaper on the couch. to me, Boss was playing a game.

[English Royal Court guild partners with mercenary groups….]

[English Channel’s high-intermediate rank monster, Megalodon, has
been defeated by English Royal Court guild’s Team 1. Rachel, the
guild’s youngest team leader, shows her exceptional skills…]
[Princess Rachel appointed as the Royal Court guild’s youngest vice
leader.] [Trust in England at an all-time low.]

Currently, popularity of England’s leadership was steadily going

downhill. Ordinary newspapers and even the Violet Times predicted a
grim future for the country.

“Hm…”

Looking at the headline, I sighed and put down the newspaper. The
news I was hoping to see was nowhere to be found. The news about
‘entrance tickets’ should be popping up soon. How much longer was I
supposed to wait?

“Knng~”

Feeling a bit sore, I stood up and stretched. Then, I looked around

Chameleon Troupe’s hideout which was about 65% complete. A lot
had changed in the past 3 years. In a way, it was quite dramatic. To
be honest, I was proud of the changes I brought.

The dome ceiling above had crystal chandeliers and gem-like lights
beautifully hanging down. The red, vintage-style walls were full of art
Boss brought back from her secret stash. It wasn’t just the interior I

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was proud about. The hideout had many convenient facilities. The
goblin coffee shop in the corner of the lobby provided highest-grade
coffee, and many of my magical furniture pieces were also placed
around the hideout. In the center… what was that again? A
ginormous mana crystal that was almost as big as Cheok
Jungyeong’s thigh was purifying the air inside the cave. For the
record, that almond-shaped crystal was something I took from Boss’
secret vault. I remembered Boss throwing a tantrum about not
wanting to keep it. She reluctantly agreed when I threatened that I
wouldn’t comb her hair ever again.

However, that was still only the tip of the iceberg. What I just
described was only the hideout’s lobby. Outside the lobby, there was
a hot spring, a shooting range, a training room, a library, a game
room, a cafeteria, etc…

“Kuhaha—!”

The door to the lobby suddenly shot open, and a giant stormed in.
Boss, who was playing a game on the couch, looked up with a frown.

“It’s crazy out there, Boss!”

“…Did something happen outside?”

“Oh, Newbie! You’re here too?”

Cheok Jungyeong smiled brightly as he held something up. It was a

sea monster twice the size of his body.

“Monsters underwater are going crazy!”

“…Gyeong, what is that.”

“A sea monster. This blind bastard kept bumping into me, so I

hooked it up. It’s a blue ocean fish.”

Blue ocean fish. It was a delicious species of fish that was classified

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as a fish rather than a monster. Hearing these three words, Boss
smacked her lips. Then, she glanced up at me. She was clearly telling
me to cook it for her.

“Blue ocean fish, huh.”

I started cooking for Boss three months ago, mostly because

controlling her with just combing her hair could get difficult. Like how
the monkey in the story of the ‘monkey’s flower sandal’ grew too
used to wearing sandals, my strategy was to slowly get Boss
addicted to things I provided until she couldn’t live without me. Not
that Boss was a monkey, of course.

“You know about it?”

Cheok Jungyeong laughed and threw the blue ocean fish down. For
the record, other members didn’t know I was good at cooking.
Because I was too lazy to cook for everyone, I only revealed it to
Boss. She considered it special treatment and enjoyed it.

“You can keep this guy in the fridge and eat it later.”

Hearing his kind offer, I looked down at the blue ocean fish. I
wasn’t sure if it was still alive or spasming out after death, but the
way it violently flopped around was scary.

“Boss, come out if you’re bored. It’s really fun.”

“…I’m fine. You can enjoy it alone.”

“Hehe, don’t regret it later.”

Cheok Jungyeong’s latest hobby was fishing. Because having to

use the Portal was too troublesome, I created a secret pathway
connecting the hideout to the ocean (obviously, it was covered with
an illusion magic and a fortress-grade seal to prevent outsiders from
recognizing it). Ever since Cheok Jungyeon took a liking to it, he’s
been using it once a week to go fight sea monsters. I remembered

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him saying something about wanting to overcome the restraint of the
ocean.

“Anyways, I’m going back out!”

Cheok Jungyeong left the lobby. KOONG! He should really stop

slamming the door close.

“Oh right—!”

Cheok Jungyeong quickly came back in.

“I almost forgot. Oi, Bling, give me an americano.”

The barista goblin quickly reacted to Cheok Jungyeong’s command.

As expected of a barista with a year’s worth of experience, the goblin
named Bling made an americano in the blink of an eye.

“Perfect.”

Gulp, gulp— Cheok Jungyeong emptied the 2-liter cup in only three
seconds before leaving.

“Guys.”

When I clapped, the six normal goblins gathered around the blue
ocean fish.

—Krrk. —Kururu.

The goblins discussed which part of the fish to grab then ended up
equally putting it on their shoulder.

“…Newbie?”

Boss, who was watching from the couch silently, suddenly asked.
For some reason, she was already drooling.

“Yes?”

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“When is breakfast?”

Boss was honest when it came to food. In fact, most strong people
were like that. They could rein in their sexual desire or desire to
sleep, but they couldn’t withstand hunger because of their bodies’
high metabolism.

“30 minutes later.”

“…I see, ssp.”

Boss nodded with a look of anticipation. I grinned and turned on

my smartwatch. Just in case, I checked Violet Banquet for any news
on ‘entrance tickets’, but the only thing that popped up were tickets
to amusement parks. Disappointed, I checked the trending topics.

[Fenrir unseen for six months! Was he just another seasonal

mercenary?]

There was another article about Fenrir. When I was active, they
criticized me for using my Gift for money, but now that I wasn’t, they
were berating for a different reason. I skipped the article and
checked the comments.

[Rachel0418] Then what, you expect a mercenary to work for free?

-.- I’m sure Fenrir is taking a rest because people like you keep
bothering him. -.-

“Pft.”

As I expected, there was another comment from Rachel. Was she

looking at online articles all the time? Click. I liked the comment
without much thought. Then suddenly, a lightbulb went on in my
head.

“…Oh right.”

The Royal Court guild was fated to obtain ‘entrance tickets’ faster

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than other guilds. When it came to entrance tickets, their ‘rank’ was
the most important. Still, it was nice to have extra tickets. Since I was
also worried about England’s situation which was worse than what I
predicted…

“Boss.”

“Mm?”

“I have an idea.”

Staring at Boss’ eyes, I began to choose words for a negotiation.

But regardless of what my idea was, Boss was likely to agree with the
blue ocean fish being my negotiation tool.

**

April. The Royal Court guild greeted its new apprentice heroes. In
any other year, England should be booming with tourists who would
come to enjoy its beautiful spring.

“…Haa.”

The weather was great, but the Royal Court guild’s vice-leader
Rachel was sighing.

“I didn’t learn any of this in Cube…”

She became the youngest vice-leader because the previous vice-

leader was scouted by a guild in Korea. As the position was
practically pushed onto her, she didn’t know what to do with the
heavy responsibility she now had. England and the Royal Court
guild’s situation was that bad. Rachel didn’t blame the vice-leader
who ran away either.

“…Ehew.”

Rachel scrolled through the emails on her computer screen and

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sighed.

[Thank you for contacting Desolate Moon. We received the Royal

Court guild’s request for aid, but military negotiations should be done
through the Association…]

The Royal Court guild’s requests for aid were all declined. Of
course, as the above example showed, not all were flat-out
rejections. In fact, most advised to request aid from the Hero
Association. However, Rachel knew all too well what that meant.
Once the Association was brought in, the Royal Court guild would
lose too much influence and control. Just like how Roton Corporation
schemed to take control over Clancy Islet, the Association was likely
to ask England something similar. England couldn’t afford to set its
house on fire to catch a flea. …Though, the flea was absurdly big.

“Sylvie, how many representatives are we scheduled to meet

today?”

Rachel called her personal secretary.

—13 in total. 11 of them are already waiting in the building.

When the number of monsters exploded, the Royal Court guild

decided to partner with mercenary groups. It only made sense as
they were separate from the Association’s influence.

“So most of them are here.”

Of course, as the number of monsters in England increased, the

Royal Court guild and its Heroes would gain more experience. Then,
their guild ranking would naturally go up and they would have more
monster corpses to use for research and development. However, the
question was whether England had the power to overcome the odds.

—Shall I send them in?

“Yes, one at a time.”

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**

England, London outskirt. Ordinary citizens were full of tension as

they walked around the streets. Nowadays, they didn’t feel safe even
in their country’s capital. The monsters living in River Thames were
too ferocious.

“I’m going to leave the country for a while.”

“Where are you going?”

“Korea. My older brother has residency there. He’s not in Seoul,

but it should still be safer than here.”

“Ah, I’m jealous.”

They didn’t sound too hopeful either as they worried about their
country’s future and their loved ones’ safety. Almost as if to confirm
their worries…

Wiing— Wiing—

The siren suddenly went off, alerting that monsters had invaded. At
the same time, a manhole in the middle of the street shot open and
monsters began to climb up. Sea Moles, Greed Toads, Giant Catfish,
etc. They were all low-rank ~ low-intermediate rank monsters, but
not only were they too much for ordinary civilians to deal with, there
also were just too many of them.

“Uu, uwaak!”

Monsters that popped out of the manhole quickly took over the
streets. Flashing their bloodthirsty eyes, they chased people who
were running away. The civilians did all they could to avoid being
devoured. However, without guns, even low-rank monsters were too
much for ordinary people to handle.

—Ribbit!

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A Greed Toad jumped on top of a woman.

“L-Let me go!”

She punched the toad’s face, but it was futile. The toad opened its
mouth with a cheeky smile. …It was then. BOOM! The toad’s head
suddenly exploded.

“Uu, uuu….”

A mysterious attack saved the woman. Suddenly being covered

with the fluids of a monster, the woman was unable to properly
assess the situation. But knowing that she was saved, she began to
escape. At that moment, another monster jumped towards her. This
time, it was a Sea Mole.

—Grrr…

“Ah…”

However, the Sea Mole’s head exploded before it could even touch
her. Seeing this, the woman finally realized that something was off.
Other people who were running away had also stopped to stare
behind her. The woman followed their line of sight and turned
around.

“….”

Streaks of light were raining down from the sky. It was a scene she
had seen before in a YouTube video.

Tudududu— Bullets that obliterated monsters. This terrifying

barrage of bullets was lighting up the sky as it annihilated hundreds
of monsters. From the onset to the end, only three minutes passed
by. The screams of chaos ringing out from the streets were long
gone.

“…Wow.”

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“My god….”

The civilians were all staring at a single man who was sitting on a
bike. Because of his helmet, no one could see his face.

Vroom— His bike roared. While everyone stared at him in awe, he

quickly disappeared.

“T-That, that must have been Fen, Fenrir!”

A motorcycle-enthusiast who loved to slaughter monsters with a

mystical gun. He was a mercenary who was famous even among
ordinary people.

**

Vice-leader’s office of the English Royal Court guild. Rachel was

currently in a meeting with representatives of mercenary groups.

“As you know, we achieved rank 10 in the most recent mercenary

group rankings.”

Her first meeting was with the Skid Row Mercenary Group. The
group’s leader initiated the negotiation with a haughty attitude and
tone. Albeit reluctant, this was something Rachel could accept. But
because he was asking for too much, she instantly rejected him
despite the Royal Court guild’s current situation.

“Ha, I’m speechless.”

“You can speak.”

“How can you be so beautiful?”

“…Pardon?”

Her next meeting was with the Great Tiger Mercenary Group,
which was around rank 14. Its leader was a man in his mid-30s, and
he was interested in Rachel’s appearance above anything else.

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Although he made it seem like the meeting was a blind date, the
conditions he offered were reasonable.

“England is in a bad spot, right? Of aerial, land, and sea monsters,

sea monsters are accepted as the most difficult to deal with. Why
don’t you just ask the Association for help?”

“That’s our own business.”

“…Are you looking down on mercenaries? You think we wouldn’t

understand just because we’re uneducated?”

“No…”

Just like that, Rachel continued her meetings. Many of the leaders
were arrogant or stupid. Leaders from the higher ranked mercenary
groups were especially so. The leader of the world’s rank 5
mercenary group was particularly distasteful. The way he ogled her
with his lustful eyes made Rachel want to pull out her weapon.

“Huu.”

After a long time, all 13 meetings came to an end. She didn’t feel
that it was a waste of time. Rank 14 and rank 9 seemed to be
reasonable.

—Um, vice-leader.

At that moment, her secretary suddenly called her.

“Yes, what is it?”

—Um, someone from another mercenary group just showed up.

“…Weren’t we done?”

—We were, but this one claimed to be a mercenary and asked to

meet vice-leader.

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‘Then why don’t you just kick him out?’ Rachel pressed her
forehead.

—I wanted to send him back, but he seems to be someone famous.

“Oh… I see.”

‘Do mercenaries get more arrogant with more fame? I didn’t want
to be biased for the sake of that person…’

“If he didn’t contact us before… ehew, just let him in.”

‘It’s not like I’ll lose anything by seeing another person.’

—Understood.

The secretary replied. Rachel let out a deep sigh as she tapped on
her desk. After about five minutes… Tok, tok— Someone knocked on
her door.

“Come in.”

Rachel spoke with an exhausted voice. Kiik— The door slowly

opened and heavy footsteps rang out. Rachel slowly raised her head.
She saw the mercenary that just entered. It was a man clad entirely
in black. His hair was in a clean pomade-style and his well-kempt
beard made him particularly handsome. As soon as Rachel saw him,
her eyes widened. It was only natural. Despite the slightly different
aura he had, Rachel was too familiar with him.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The man greeted her casually with a charming baritone voice.

Then, he sat down in front of her naturally, exuding a pleasant scent.

“Ah…”

Because of their sudden reunion, Rachel was at a loss for words.

Her voice didn’t come out. Her five senses seemed to have frozen.

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“I’m Jeronimo’s Fenrir.”

Rachel was unable to tell whether the man knew of her plight.
However, she saw the warm smile he had on his face.

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Chapter 153
Source: Wuxiaworld

Tower of Hero’s 101st floor. In an office created solely for Aileen,

her office workers were staring at a pile of documents.

“Hnng…”

After painstaking effort, they had summarized countless number of

documents to only 30 pages. These documents were all related to a
mysterious entity designated as Black Lotus.

“This is all we have on him?”

Aileen asked as she glanced at the summarized documents. Black

Lotus, the new black color of ‘that’ group and the one who caught
Aileen’s attention. He was responsible for eleven terror incidents that
happened in Pandemonium.

“Yes, we picked out the core information gathered from our

informants who live in Pandemonium.”

“…Ah~ really~ it sure is flawless~”

Aileen tried her best to sound sarcastic, and no one blamed her for
it. None of the documents had anything that might identify Black
Lotus’ identity and only contained records of his achievements. To
make matters worse, Aileen already knew all these records, which
were as simple as [destruction completed with a single arrow], [black
lotus symbol engraved on the ground], etc.

“Er, he always disappears immediately afterwards, so there’s really

no information about him. He might have a Gift related to
teleportation…”

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“Yeah~ yeah~”

Aileen didn’t pay attention to their excuses.

“It’s my fault for expecting anything use… huh? Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, a lightbulb went on in her head, and she got

goosebumps on her skin. She widened her eyes and stared at her
employees.

“He always leaves after a single arrow… Then… could he… no,
could she be the Divine Archer?”

“…Pardon?”

“Divine Archer. You know, Jin Seyeon the Divine Archer.”

It was a ridiculous claim. However, the office workers had trouble

discerning whether Aileen was serious. After staring at her
expression for a while, they shook their heads.

“There’s no way it can be Jin Seyeon-ssi.”

“She should be busy doing volunteer work…”

“…Right? I was kidding too.”

Aileen quickly changed her tone. Jin Seyeon the Divine Archer. She
was a Master rank Hero titled the ‘god of the bow’. It was worth
noting that she was only rank 70, putting her on the bubble when it
came to Master rank territory. Furthermore, she had retired from
active duty and only showed up every once in a while in North Africa.

“By the way, why is she even doing volunteer work?”

“….”

“….”

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The office workers saved their breath. Jin Seyeon was an idol to
people in their early 20s to 30s. Her kind heart and righteous deeds
melted the hearts of men, and her upright personality and popularity
made her a Master rank Hero.

“I just don’t understand. Why did the Association put her in the
Master rank class?”

Aileen expressed her displeasure. Members of the Temple of

Justice were excluded from the Association’s ranking system, but Jin
Seyeon’s Master rank designation was always a point of contention.
Aileen acknowledged that Jin Seyeon was the best archer. The
question was why Jin Seyeon was a Master rank Hero rather than Yoo
Jinwoong.

“I’d win If I fought her too.”

Grumbling unhappily, Aileen suddenly got curious. Like asking

which side would win in a fight between a tiger and a lion, it was akin
to an instinctive curiosity that any human would have.

“Hmm…”

Given all the same conditions, who would win between Jin Seyeon
and Black Lotus? After mulling over the question for a while, Aileen
turned her gaze to the office workers.

“Girls, how strong do you think he is~?”

“Erm, I’m not sure…. Can you elaborate?”

“Mm~ you know, try estimating his rank. How do you think he
fares compared to Jin Seyeon?”

Hearing Aileen’s explanation, the four office workers fell in thought.

Although they were elites who graduated from top ranking
universities and passed the Association’s difficult tests, they were
still incapable of answering whether a lion or a tiger would win in a

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fight.

“Um, Black Lotus probably didn’t use 100% of his strength, right?”

The youngest office worker asked. It was a sharp question. Aileen

rubbed her chin and mulled it over. Black Lotus’ arrow was
undoubtedly powerful. There wasn’t a single target he couldn’t
destroy with a single arrow.

“Let me think…”

In reality, archers had difficulty amplifying the power of a single

arrow. At the same time, it was what they desired the most as
archers wanted to finish off their enemies in one blow. Otherwise,
their location would be found out. Without a warrior to protect them,
they would then be in great danger.

There was a reason archers had trouble doing this. Pouring too
much magic power into a magic arrow made its form fainter and
harder to control. In order to properly control their magic arrows,
archers had to limit their power.

“40%…”

However, Black Lotus always managed to obliterate his target with

one arrow. This meant that his control over his arrow was superb,
which also meant that he didn’t use his full power.

“Maybe it’s only 20~30%.”

“Eh? That small?”

The surprised office worker voiced her doubt. For Black Lotus to
have only used 20~30% of his power, the results he showed were too
brilliant. He had destroyed a tower that could have withstood most
explosions and a hideout with a high-rank barrier surrounding it. He
had even assassinated an executive of Pandemonium’s rank 10
private organization.

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“If you’re going to doubt me, don’t ask in the first place.”

Aileen looked down at their doubts. As far as she was concerned,

they were bookworms who rarely saw the world outside.

“…K-Kuhum, no, I apologize. Hey, you! Continue with what you

were saying before!”

The flustered office worker quickly retracted her words and yelled
at the youngest office worker who talked before.

“Ah, yes. So assuming that we’ve only seen 25% of Black Lotus’
full strength…”

The youngest office worker furiously typed on her laptop,

performing complex calculations. When she arrived at the answer,
her expression turned pale.

“This…”

“What? Hurry up and say it.”

“Well… in terms of numbers… he’s at the level of a Master rank

Hero.”

“Eh? Really?”

Everyone in the office was surprised.

“Yes, the estimated value of the magic power explosion he caused

is similar to Divine Archer Jin Seyeon-nim’s crystal arrow, which she
used to defeat the Basilisk three years ago.”

“Oooh.”

Where did she learn how to do this? Aileen smiled.

“That’s interesting.”

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“Remember that this is only theory.”

“Still, it’s interesting.”

Aileen was suddenly filled with anticipation. Two archers aiming

their bows at each other, letting go of their bowstrings in high
tension, two arrows shining in different colors and flying towards
each other, and the final clash… Frankly, she hoped Jin Seyeon would
lose. Aileen didn’t like women who always acted kind, noble, and
refined.

“Alright, that’s it for today. You can all go home.”

“Yes!” “Thank you~” “See you tomorrow!”

The office workers smiled brightly and bowed.

“Yeah~ yeah~ see ya~”

Aileen was certainly a boss with many complaints and outbursts.

However, she was still popular with her subordinates because she let
them go home early.

**

Rachel had changed a lot in three years. She now had a perfect V-
line after losing her baby fat, and her innocent eyes looked more
mature. Was it because of all the troubles she faced? She had a thin
dark circle under both eyes, but even that looked charming on her.

“It… it’s been a while.”

Rachel stuttered. Although many things had changed, her voice

was still the same.

“Yeah.”

I replied simply. Then, I purposely stayed silent. I was curious how

she would react.

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“…Mm, mmn.”

Her fidgeting hands were toying with her computer mouse. Seeing
this awkward side of her, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why aren’t you talking? Is it because I came too late?”

“Y-Yes? Ah, no, that’s not it…”

Rachel suddenly froze and looked straight at me. Meeting her eyes,
I waited for her next words.

“Your beard… you grew it out.”

However, what came out of her mouth was something I didn’t

expect.

“Oh, this?”

I rubbed my chin. I had a cool nickname like Fenrir, but because

Aether kept making me look younger, I grew out my beard. In a way,
I looked like Western movie stars. Oh and for the record, it wasn’t a
goatee.

“A famous barber trimmed it for me. Does it look weird?”

I found the son of the master barber I met in the past. Although he
wasn’t as skilled as his father, he was also working as a barber.

“No, it looks great.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

Thanks to him, I was under a 0.4-point charm buff. Since I was

meeting Rachel for the first time in years, I put in some extra effort.

“But I’ll shave it off soon.”

“Eh? N-No, it really looks nice on you. Really.”

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Rachel waved her hands, and I smiled. Sometimes when I saw
myself in the mirror, I arrogantly thought I looked like Jake
Gyllenhaal. But because Evandel didn’t like it, I planned to cut it off
soon.

“…Anyways, I heard you were taking a break from mercenary

work…”

Rachel carefully changed the subject.

“I’ve been busy with other things.”

For the past six months, I was focused on the Chameleon Troupe’s
missions. Robbing a rich Djinn, hunting a Jewel Whale in the deep
Pacific, destroying hideouts of Pandemonium’s organizations, etc. I
tried to make the Chameleon Troupe attack Djinns as much as
possible.

“Well, we can catch up on personal matters later. For now, let’s

talk about our partnership.”

“Ah, yes… wait, partnership?”

Rachel’s eyes widened.

“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”

I smiled.

“Don’t you remember? I said we’d probably work together through

a mercenary partnership.”

“…Ah, r-right~ I remember~”

It didn’t look like she remembered, but she nodded excitedly

anyways.

“It’s coming back to me. It was… really sunny that day.”

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“…It was raining.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at her.

“R-Right, it was raining. I got confused for a moment…”

“I’m kidding, it was sunny.”

“…Sunny—”

“Or maybe I’m remembering wrong.’

“….”

In the end, Rachel closed her mouth and glared at me while

pouting.

“Haha, I’m just joking. Here are our conditions. Take a look.”

I took out the contract I brought and gave it to her. Rachel picked it
up respectfully. Jeronimo Mercenary’s conditions were as follows.

=== 1. The Royal Court guild is not to interfere in Jeronimo’s

business. 2. England is to provide information on all Dungeons within
its territory. If the Royal Court guild conquers a Dungeon, all acquired
loot is to be revealed to Jeronimo Mercenary. 3. Jeronimo Mercenary
is to have first priority in purchasing loot acquired from Dungeons. 4.
… ===

There were only six clauses in total. After carefully reading each
clause, Rachel looked up.

“If you agree to these terms, we can help England deal with its
monster crisis. We’ll be forming an official partnership.”

“Partnership!”

Rachel’s eyes immediately lit up.

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**

[Royal Court guild forms partnership with Jeronimo Mercenary!]

[How did England move Jeronimo?] [Fenrir slaughters thousands of
sea monsters in one hour.]

As soon as the news went out that the Royal Court guild partnered
with Jeronimo, the international community blew up. Headlines all
over the world reported on England and Jeronimo’s new relationship,
and the Royal Court guild’s stocks skyrocketed. The prime minister
even invited Jeronimo’s mercenary leader (Jain in disguise) to a
banquet. Additionally, Rachel was appointed as the successor to the
guild leader for her achievement in this negotiation. Of course, there
was also a fair amount of negative rumors, particularly about sexual
favors.

In any case, a month flew by.

England’s situation had mostly calmed down, but it was hard to say
it was all thanks to Jeronimo Mercenary. Jeronimo Mercenary only
had 24 members. Even then, they were all fake identities, and there
were only 5~6 active members.

However, the goal of this partnership was to destroy the monsters’

habitats. Once the habitats were destroyed, monsters would
naturally stop reproducing, and over time, the increased monster
count would naturally dwindle.

In only a month, Jeronimo destroyed six habitats of sea monsters, a

feat Cheok Jungyeong achieved alone. I only had to tell him where a
monster habitat was located, and Cheok Jungyeong would run over
and destroy everything in sight. As an ally, Cheok Jungyeong couldn’t
be more reliable.

“I’m glad it was resolved without any civilian casualties.”

Currently, I was walking with Rachel along the English Channel’s

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beach.

“I agree.”

We arrived here just ten minutes ago after a report that a large
number of carnivorous tunas appeared.

“By the way, I’m going to make you pay for my bullets.”

Using the heavy machine gun mode, I took care of everything in

just seven minutes. Since we had time left over, we went on a stroll
along the beach.

“….”

Rachel was still reticent. She strolled silently as she watched the
waves glistening under the sun with a relaxed smile on her face.
Feeling a bit bored, I put my finger up to my face. It was then.

“Oh right.”

Poke. Rachel suddenly turned around, making my finger poke her

cheek.

“….”

Rachel froze and stared at my finger. Then, she stared at me

asking for an explanation.

“…Er, anyways, Rachel-ssi. Or rather, vice-leader.”

I pulled my finger back and asked as if nothing happened.

“The Royal Court guild conquered several Dungeons in the past

few months. Have you gotten any paper as loot?”

“…Paper?”

“Yes, something that looks like an entrance ticket.”

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A piece of paper that looked like a ticket and shone in different
colors. This was not an ordinary piece of paper nor was it a ticket to
an amusement park. It was the entrance ticket to the Tower of Wish,
the next major episode.

“Mm… I don’t think so.”

Rachel replied after mulling over it for a moment, and I shook my

head regrettably. Then, we went back to strolling.

Vrrr— Suddenly, my smartwatch rang. It was loud enough for

Rachel to hear as well. I quickly looked down at my watch.

[The laptop update has been completed.]

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Chapter 154
Source: Wuxiaworld

=== [The laptop update has been completed.] [Stigma recovery

rate has been increased.] [You receive 3 Points.]

*A few functionalities have been added.

[Overclocking] —Using your vitality as cost, you can temporarily

boost Stigma’s power. —The boosted amount will depend on the
amount of vitality used. Note, you can die from using all of your
vitality.

[Device Link] —You can link electronic devices to the laptop (max:
4). —Linked devices cannot be used by anyone else. You can operate
linked devices with your will.

[Spatial Modification] —You can now modify environmental

settings. —However, the specified environment must be limited in
scope.

[1000 SP has been consumed for the update.] [Current SP: 3053]

……

▷Variable Stats 「 Usable Points: 3 」 [Strength 6.4 (+6.000)]

[Stamina 6.435 (+6.000)] [Speed 8.655 (+6.000)] [Perception 9.235
(+6.000)] [Vitality 6.105 (+6.000)] [Magic power 3]

*Stat increase from ’Magic Dysfunction Physique’ has reached its

limit (+6.000).

▷Invariable Stats [Intelligence – 4.470 / 10] [Perseverance – 7.207

(+0.5) / 10] [Luck – 9.100 / 10] [Charm – 5.535 (+0.4) / 10]

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▷Gift 1. 「 Master Sharpshooter 」 [Intermediate rank] [Spirit
attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 4 – Proficiency EXP: 87%] 2.「Random
Consolidation System」[Low-intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [3-
stage consolidation] 3.「Dexterity」[Low-intermediate rank] [Null
attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 5 – Proficiency EXP: 51%]

▷Physique (2/3) 1. 「Magic Dysfunction Physique」 2. 「Medicinal

Memory Physique」

▷Art (2/3) 1. 「Parkour」 2. 「Charming Voice」 ===

The information I’ve been dying to know popped up. For the three
years that the laptop was updating, I was still able to modify settings
of objects and see their information, but I wasn’t able to see my
status (other than my Gift). In other words, I was seeing my stats for
the first time in three years.

“The heck.”

My charm stat was only 5.535? Aesthetic Greed raised by charm by

0.002 points every 24 hours up to a maximum of 1 point. I also made
sure to use Random Consolidation System on Aether every day, so
my charm increase should have been much bigger. …Well, I guess
that’s how it got to 5.535. Since it was originally around 4.1,
assuming I was getting an average of 40% on each consolidation,
5.535 points came out exactly. Oh, for the record, I used 1500 SP one
year ago to raise Random Consolidation System’s maximum limit to
54%. But even with all that and the charm buff I got from the barber,
my charm stat was only at 5.935.

“Mm.”

For some reason, I felt a bit bitter. Jake Gyllenhaal… you’re too far
away! …Of course, I wasn’t being all that serious. It was just a little
self-evaluation that everyone did once in their lifetime.

“What’s wrong?”

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Seeing that I was staring at my smartwatch in a daze, Rachel
asked. I replied with a smile.

“Let’s go back now.”

Rachel tilted her head, not knowing what happened. Meanwhile, I

tried using one of the laptop’s new functions. I clicked on the ‘Device
Link’ button that was newly placed in my smartwatch. After scrolling
through the list of available devices that I owned, I clicked on a
picture of a motorcycle.

[Kim Hajin’s ‘Agusta Vigilante’ has been found…] [Device Link

complete.] [Agusta Vigilante will now move according to Kim Hajin’s
will.]

I tried to send a thought. ‘Come to me. Come to me.’ After about a

minute, the parked motorcycle drove up to me with a cool engine
sound. Interesting. Without much thought, I got on.

“Wait!”

Then suddenly, a powerful hand grabbed my hand.

“…?”

Obviously, it was Rachel.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hajin-ssi, wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

Rachel pointed at my bike as she shuddered slightly.

“Didn’t you park your motorcycle by the road?”

“Uh, I did, but…”

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“Who is it—!”

As soon as I said a few words, Rachel pulled out Galatyn.

“…Hello?”

“Sh, I think it’s an assassin. That motorcycle just drove here on its
own.”

She murmured in shock as she held her sword up. Her sword then
shone in a golden light.

“Show yourself.”

Her voice carried a hint of killing intent. But obviously, no one

answered her. Rachel then repeated the same words in English.

“…Show yourself.”

“….”

“Stop hiding like a coward.”

Rachel was shadow-boxing with an invisible enemy, but it felt like

she was sure of her suspicion. From the looks of it, she must have
experienced similar situations many times before. Just how many
assassination attempts did she go through to react like this? I
couldn’t help but feel sorry. However, I just continued on and got on
my motorcycle.

“Hajin-ssi! That motorcycle is dangerous!”

“Don’t worry, it’s a self-driving vehicle.”

“…?”

“Look.”

I willed the motorcycle to move. At the same time, I voiced out my

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command for Rachel.

“Make a circle around us.”

Vroom, vroom. The motorcycle began to run through the sand at a

frightening speed. On the other hand, Rachel was staring at the
motorcycle in a daze. Her pupils were suffering from miniature
earthquakes.

“Ah….”

“I understand. Technology has improved a lot in the recent years.

Just don’t try to fall behind the times too much.”

“…Ah, uaah.”

Rachel was at a loss for words from embarrassment. She covered

her face with her hands and shook her head fiercely. What saved her
from her embarrassment was a sudden call. Tiriri—

“W-Wait one moment. I need to take this. …Hello?”

Rachel walked away, using the call as an excuse. The call didn’t
last long, and she quickly came back with a serious face.

“Hajin-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Apparently, strange papers came out of the Dungeon we

conquered.”

**

One week later.

[May Guild Rankings… The English Royal Court guild on the rise.
Essence of the Strait maintaining rank 1 for three consecutive
months.] [Creator’s Sacred Grace on the verge of revival. Kim Suho

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and Yi Yeonghan, the world of Heroes is watching them.]

Inside a luxury limousine, Yoo Yeonha was reading the Violet Times
along with an ordinary newspaper.

“…Hnn.”

For some reason, Yoo Yeonha was pouting. She was jealous. The
English Royal Court guild entered the top 20 with the help of
Jeronimo, but this partnership was something Yoo Yeonha wanted for
Essence of the Strait. It was just that she never had the chance to
bring it up with Kim Hajin.

“We’re here.”

The limousine stopped. Yoo Yeonha glanced outside the window.

She could see a luxury cruise ship anchored to Han River’s dock.
Today, she had planned a gathering for Noble Society.

“…Thank you.”

Noble Society. It was the name of a friend group Yoo Yeonha made.
She had started it as a fun project before she entered Cube, but
starting from her second year, she began to expand the group
proactively. First, she invited high-ranking officials with the help of
her father. Then, she donated to universities and charities under
Noble Society’s name. Afterwards, she began to snatch up promising
cadets with good family backgrounds. Now, Noble Society had over
200 members. All 200 of them were undoubtedly Korea’s future
leaders.

“I will be waiting nearby.”

“Alright~”

Yoo Yeonha got off. Tak, tak. Walking with high-heels that she was
used to wearing by now, she arrived at the entrance to the cruise
ship. The ship’s guards recognized her and let her in without

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verifying her identity. Yoo Yeonha then walked onboard.

“…Hm?”

She scanned the deck and quickly noticed a guest who had arrived
early. This guest was leaning on the deck’s railing and staring
intently at something. Yoo Yeonha held her bitter heart and slowly
walked up to her.

“…Nayun?”

“Uwaah!”

Startled, the guest turned off her smartwatch. The girl unnaturally

leaning against the railing was Chae Nayun.

“O-Oh, hi.”

“…What were you doing?”

Yoo Yeonha glanced at Chae Nayun’s smartwatch.

“N-Nothing.”

Although that was what Chae Nayun said, Yoo Yeonha quickly
found out about it through her own smartwatch.

[Master, a user by the nickname ‘imgosu’ requested for a

background check on Kim Hajin as well as his current whereabouts.]
[For now, we’ve put the request on hold.]

Yoo Yeonha read the message she received and looked back up at
Chae Nayun.

“…hui, hui~”

She was whistling with a cold sweat. Yoo Yeonha forced herself to
smile. She had already heard rumors that Chae Nayun was looking to
investigate Kim Hajin. She also knew that Chae Nayun was scammed

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a dozen times because of her low Violet Banquet rank.

“Do you want to come inside? I prepared a private room.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Yoo Yeonha led Chae Nayun to a private room she prepared for her
close friends.

“What is this place for?”

“We can hang out here. You don’t like parties anyways, right? The
other guys will come soon.”

“…I see.”

Pool, VR, bowling, darts. The room was full of games. Chae Nayun
sat down on the couch without much thought.

“Oh right, what’s this on my nametag?”

Then, she asked Yoo Yeonha.

“Nametag?”

“Yeah. Over here, it says ‘executor’. Shouldn’t it say low-

intermediate rank hero?”

[Essence of the Strait’s Hero, Chae Nayun] 「Executor」

“Oh~ that?”

Executor was a new title Yoo Yeonha created for Chae Nayun.
Although Chae Nayun easily surpassed low-intermediate rank Heroes
in power, she couldn’t be promoted due to a lack of results.

“The Association classifies Heroes based on a rank and a grade,

but I don’t plan on following their system indefinitely. I tried creating
one myself.”

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In reality, not many people were happy with the Association’s rank
and grade system. Thus, Yoo Yeonha created new titles to match
Heroes’ diverse characteristics. For now, she had five titles: Executor,
Destroyer, Guardian, etc. Of these, the Executor title was the highest.

“Yep, that would be the rank most team leaders are in.”

“Oh? That’s surprisingly good.”

Tok, tok— At that moment, a knock rang out from the door.

—Guests have arrived.

“Looks like they’re here.”

Yoo Yeonha smiled at Chae Nayun.

“Yeah.”

Chae Nayun nodded nonchalantly.

“Come in.”

With Yoo Yeonha’s invitation, the door opened, and three familiar
faces walked in. Shin Jonghak, Kim Suho, and Yi Yeonghan. They
were three superstars who had risen to fame at only 21 years old.

“Hey~ it’s been a while~”

Kim Suho waved his hand with a bright smile.

“Move it.”

“Whoa!”

Shin Jonghak pushed Kim Suho aside and stood in front of Chae
Nayun.

“…How have you been?”

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His voice was wistful and emotional. Yoo Yeonha shook her head as
she watched Shin Jonghak.

“So-so. What about you? You look even more creepy now.”

“…Hahaha, that’s a funny way to say I’m handsome.”

“You crazy?”

“Ah, I’m so tired.”

Yi Yeonghan ignored Chae Nayun and Shin Jonghak and trudged up

to the couch. After jumping down on his back, he wriggled around
like a giant cockroach and murmured.

“Ah~ Creator’s Sacred Grace is too cut-throat. They’re sending me

to three Dungeons a month~”

“…Didn’t you say you wanted to go? You said you wanted to buy
that Lambo something”

Feeling guilty, Kim Suho poked Yi Yeonghan’s back as he muttered

back.

“It’s Lamborghini. Oi, Team Leader Kim, you think you’ll be safe if I
report you to the Association for overworking me?”

“Oh please, you got what you wanted, right?”

“…I did put in an order.”

Kim Suho had already become a team leader. Yi Yeonghan was a

member of his team. When there was a big difference in rank
between two people who joined a company or guild at the same time,
there were often minor tensions that broke out between them.
However, there was nothing of the sort between Yi Yeonghan and
Kim Suho.

“Chae Nayun, do you want to spar later?”

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“Sure, but I’m letting you know, you might lose.”

“…We’ll see.”

While Chae Nayun and Shin Jonghak were planning a spar, Yi

Yeonghan turned on the huge flat-screen TV on the wall.

—…Emergency report.

“Hm?”

“What’s up?”

“There’s apparently an emergency.”

The sudden news report grabbed the party’s attention.

—A mysterious Tower has appeared in the middle of the Atlantic

Ocean. This Tower of unprecedented size seems to have risen from
the depths of the ocean. Nearby sea monsters are also reported to
be acting more violent…

**

The same time. After hearing about the emergency report, Yun
Seung-Ah quickly turned on the TV.

—A mysterious Tower has appeared in the middle of the Atlantic

Ocean…

A newly discovered Tower was being shown on TV.

“…What the hell?”

Yun Seung-Ah was almost shocked to the point of fainting. Just 10

minutes ago, Violet Banquet had no reports about a new Tower. The
fact that there was little delay between the release of information to
the public and Violet Banquet indicated that this was sudden and
completely unexpected.

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—There is currently nothing known about this Tower. It seems to
have risen from the deep-sea earthquake that occurred eight
minutes ago.

“….”

Yun Seung-Ah stared at the Tower in a daze. She could only think
about one thing. That was the only scenario in which Creator’s
Sacred Grace’s can revive perfectly, the only way for Creator’s
Sacred Grace to reclaim the coveted rank 1 spot.

**

=== [Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout] [Comfortable] —Comfortable

Space You will become rejuvenated the more you stay in this area.
*Staying here for more than 8 hours will cleanse your mind. *Staying
here for more than 24 hours will make you happy. *Staying here for
more than 96 hours will increase all stats by up to 0.5 points. —What
a Great Air. The area’s high mana density keeps the air fresh.
*Staying here for more than 8 hours will cure light illnesses. ===

As shown above, Chameleon Troupe’s hideout was turned from hell

to heaven. Four members of the troupe, Setryn, Jain, Boss, and
Cheok Jungyeong, were now living here as well. Sitting on the couch I
made, I was watching TV.

—There is currently nothing known about this Tower. It seems to

have risen from the deep-sea earthquake that occurred eight
minutes ago. —The Hero Association has already deployed
investigators, but because of how deep the Tower reaches, it is
thought to be impossible to enter the Tower in a normal way…

The Tower of Wish. A Tower that was huge as though it contained

all of humanity’s hopes, wishes, and resentments.

“Oh? What’s that?”

Setryn, who was in the middle of receiving a back massage from

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the goblins, asked.

“Newbie, is the entrance ticket you were talking about…”

On the other hand, Jain turned to me with widened eyes. She really
had sharp senses.

“Yep.”

I nodded. Currently, I had an entrance ticket in hand. It was the

ticket into the Tower of Wish. The entrance ticket I had was an
orange-tier ticket.

“…Let me see.”

Jain took the entrance ticket.

“What is it? Let me take a look too.”

Boss woke up from her nap and glanced up at the entrance ticket.
Jain read the words written on the back of the ticket.

“By having this ticket in your possession, you can enter a

designated place on a promised date. The promised date is…”

July 1st. After July 1st, all entrance tickets will disappear, and new
tickets will be issued. The next promised date will be September 1st.
*Note – participants entering this place will undergo a small ‘balance
change’ to even the playing field.

“Oh? This sounds fun. Little Apprentice, are you going to use this?”

“No.”

Entrance tickets had different tiers. Although the orange-tier was

above average, it wasn’t the one I wanted.

“Why not?”

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“This color isn’t the one I want.”

“…Color?”

“Yep.”

Entrance tickets had the following tiers.

White. There was no benefit to having a white ticket.

Consequently, white tickets were even rarer than red tickets.

Green. Green ticket owners could choose the difficulty level of the
Tower’s tutorial.

Yellow. In addition to green ticket’s benefits, yellow ticket owners

were also given an additional tutorial-only food supply.

Orange. In addition to yellow ticket’s benefits, orange ticket

owners could receive a basic weapon.

Red. In addition to orange ticket’s benefits, red ticket owners could

choose one companion to enter together. Of course, they could enter
alone if they wished.

“I’m looking for a black ticket.”

The entrance ticket I wanted was black. Without the black ticket,
there was no reason to enter the Tower early.

“Black?”

Boss asked.

“Yes, black.”

The black ticket worked a bit differently than other tickets. Black
ticket owners didn’t receive benefits from the previous tier tickets. In
fact, they could only choose the highest difficulty tutorial. In this
sense, they were at a disadvantage. However, the black ticket had a

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benefit that far outweighed its disadvantages.

‘Skill’. The concept of ‘skills’ didn’t exist in this world. However, it

existed in the Tower of Wish. If used properly, you could win against
someone you normally would never beat and achieve a goal that
would be impossible in the real world. That was why it was called the
Tower of Wish. In a way, this Tower was a chance for those
abandoned by heaven to shine.

In that regard, the black ticket was the VVIP ticket. By entering the
Tower of Wish with a black ticket, I would obtain a ‘bonus skill’ at no
cost.

“Black ticket?”

“Yep.”

“Do color of tickets matter? How do you know that in the first
place?”

“I have a good source of information. That said, I don’t know too

much about it either.”

The distribution of entrance tickets had already begun. They could

appear anywhere: sandboxes children played in, corpses of monsters
killed by hunters, treasure chests found in Dungeons. And on the
promised date, these tickets would become Portals linked to the
Tower of Wish.

“Even if you have a good source of information, it’s only been… no,
nevermind, I won’t nitpick.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my policy to not nag.”

“I see… so, did we hear anything from Pandemonium?”

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Because of the series of terror incidents, there were many
organizations in Pandemonium who were fearful of the Chameleon
Troupe. Using this to my advantage, I made an open declaration that
I would reconsider attacking them if they offered any entrance tickets
they found.

“Nothing so far…”

The moment Jain shook her head… Woong— Her smartwatch

suddenly rang. Jain looked down at her watch without a change in her
expression.

“Hm?”

I could tell that my luck was working in full.

“I just received a message. Apparently these guys found a ticket…”

Jiing— Jain projected the picture of the entrance ticket someone

sent.

“…Haha.”

A smile emerged on my face. The black ticket inside the hologram

was just as beautiful as I thought.

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Chapter 155
Source: Wuxiaworld

Pandemonium’s 30th ranked private organization, ‘Hounds of the

Demon Realm’. Its executive, Kim Goohwan, was walking in stifling
nervousness. He was in a daze so much so that he didn’t even know
where he was. He was solely focused on following the puppet in front
of him and not straying off course.

After about 30 minutes… Clunk. The puppet stopped and pointed

deep into a desolate alleyway. Kim Goohawn nodded as he took a
deep breath. The puppet soon disappeared, and Kim Goohwan
walked into the alleyway. There, he found a Portal created through
magic power.

“…Gulp.”

He swallowed hard. They were beyond this Portal. The ones who
shook the whole of Pandemonium were waiting for him. His stomach
churned from nervousness. He was starting to regret coming forward.
However, Kim Goohwan clenched his fists and stepped into the Portal
courageously.

He could feel himself traveling through space.

Chwaaa… Was it the sound of leaves rustling? Or was it the sound

of waves crashing? He opened his eyes in an unknown place.

“You’re here?”

In a completely dark space, an excited voice rang out from a

dilapidated staircase. Kim Goohwan looked up and saw an Eastern
woman with white hair. The mysterious woman greeted him.

“Hi.”

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“Y-Yes, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Kim Goohwan.”

He tried to maintain his composure as much as possible. However,

he was sweating profusely, and his breathing was starting to get
rough.

“Where’s the item?”

“H-Here.”

He felt dizzy as though he was going to faint at any moment.

Thankfully, he had practiced what to say and what to do over a
hundred times. Kim Goohwan reached into his pocket and took out a
ticket. Even while maintaining respect, he wasn’t showing any
weakness or submissiveness.

“No.”

“…Pardon?”

However, the woman didn’t take the ticket.

“I won’t be taking it. There’s someone else who wants it.”

Although Kim Goohwan didn’t expect this situation, he quickly

adapted to it.

“Yes, understood.”

He backed off and waited.

“…Oh, there he is.”

Tap, tap. Footsteps echoed out in the empty space. Kim Goohwan
turned his gaze to the direction of the sound. At first, he thought a
shadow was walking towards him. But he soon realized that it was a
man dressed entirely in black. Kim Goohwan stared at the man
calmly. Unlike the woman, he didn’t give off any imposing aura or
pressure. However…

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“I heard you guys call him Lotus.”

The woman’s next sentence caused his body to freeze cold. Kim
Goohwan stared at the man walking towards him. He couldn’t
breathe as though he was being choked. A ghastly aura seemed to
be emanating from the man’s slow footsteps. Of course, it was only a
hallucination.

Black Lotus. The man who destroyed several towers and hideouts
with a single attack, and even assassinated an executive of Blood
Poison, Pandemonium’s rank 10 organization.

This man was currently standing only a foot away. Kim Goohwan
felt a chill run down his body. He had to introduce himself, but his
mouth refused to move. Although the man was covering his face with
a black mask and hoodie, his eyes seemed to pierce through
everything.

“What’s wrong? He’s waiting.”

“…Ah, y-yes, here, here you go.”

Kim Goohwan snapped out of his daze and gave the item to the
man clad in black. The man stared fixedly at the ticket, then took it
off of Kim Goohwan’s hands. Kim Goohwan gulped and waited for the
man’s next move. Suddenly, the man raised his hand.

Was he unhappy with something? Kim Goohwan couldn’t bring

himself to close his eyes. He simply stood in terror, waiting for the
man’s hand to behead him… Tak. The man put his hand on his
shoulder. Tak, tak. Then, he lightly hit him a couple of times. It was
almost as though the man was giving a compliment. For a moment,
Kim Goohwan forgot who he was, where he was, and what he was
doing. After barely holding onto his consciousness for a long time…
Thud. Kim Goohwan fainted and fell on the ground.

“…What, what happened?”

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The person most confused by this was the man who praised Kim
Goohwan. Kim Hajin.

**

After the exchange, I returned to Chameleon Troupe’s hideout.

“Is that what you wanted?”

Jain canceled her disguise and asked.

“Yes, but…”

I thought about the man I just met who fainted from a single
praise. Jain seemed to understand my worries as she smiled playfully.

“You can add that to your resume.”

“….”

To be honest, my notoriety in Pandemonium was too much. People

began to be fearful especially after I killed Blood Poison’s executive.
In my defense, that executive wasn’t physically powerful. Although
he was decent with magic, the reason he became an executive was
his unusual craftiness and cleverness.

“Oh, by the way, can I enter the Tower too if I have a ticket?”

Jain sounded interested.

“Yep. You can use the orange ticket that we have.”

It didn’t hurt to have extra tickets as they could be used in many

ways. The most obvious way was to sell them to others. You could
also give it to someone in exchange for them becoming an ally inside
the Tower. Furthermore, the scant amount of available tickets made
them all the more valuable.

200 whites, 1000 greens, 800 yellows, 500 oranges, 300 reds, 5

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blacks. The total number of people who could enter the Tower was at
most 3105 people every two months (each red ticket counted as 2
people). Considering the size of the Tower of Wish, 3105 was tiny.

“Will we see each other once we’re inside?”

“Probably. I don’t know for sure though.”

“This sounds fun~”

It seemed Jain was interested in going. I took off my hoodie and put

the black ticket in my pocket.

“Then I’m leaving now.”

“You’re going home?”

“Yes.”

“Alright~ I’ll take a nap then.”

Jain returned to her room, and I came back to Seoul through

Khalifa’s Portal. However, I didn’t go home. Instead, I headed to an
underground facility located in the Seocho District. This huge, 650-
square-meter space with high-rank mana density was a training room
I created for Evandel. It was an underground bunker I purchased from
some rich guy.

“Let’s see… ah, there she is.”

It was hard to see Evandel since she was so small compared to the
size of the space.

“Hiyaap~ hiyaap~!”

Wearing a magician’s hat and holding a wand, she was seemingly

performing a rhythmical dance routine. There was also a small army
of ghosts following her guidance. A horse, a tiger, a crocodile… wait,
is that a unicorn? And that’s… a velociraptor!?

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“…Yep, that’s talent alright.”

I was planning on bringing her home, but she had a new ‘friend’
every time I visited. Perhaps this was why it was good to expose
children to movies and fairytales.

“Wave of Honor~”

Evandel was working hard on her own right. Ever since she started
watching PreCure, she started adding names to her moves as well.

“Spinning Swirl~”

“….”

“Shoooot—!”

It seemed I needed to ask exactly what she watched.

“Evandel?”

I called her name as I approached her. Evandel stopped training

and turned towards me. Her eyes curled into crescent moons, and
she hopped over to me.

“Hajin~”

“Did you have fun?”

“Un!”

“Then you must be tired.”

It was time to go home.

“It’s still okay.”

“Really?”

“Un!”

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Evandel smiled brightly and nodded. It seemed she liked training
more than I thought. But I was also pressed on time… Then, I
remembered the wolf sleeping in my chest.

“You can play with Fenrir for ten minutes. We can leave
afterwards.”

I called Fenrir out.

“Grrrr—"

Fenrir ran out excitedly and licked Evandel’s leg.

“My wolf!”

As expected of Evandel’s first Servant, Fenrir grew a lot over the

past three years.

=== 「Ghost Wolf」 [Servant] [High-intermediate rank] —The first

Servant created by the witch, Evandel.

▷Basic Stats [Strength 9.950] [Bite force 10.850] [Stamina 6.535]

[Speed 11.550] [Perception 11.605] [Vitality 6.750] [Magic power
7.850] ===

As you could guess from his incredible stats, he didn’t lose to most
low-intermediate ~ intermediate rank Heroes.

“Ebebebe, ebebebe.”

“Krrrr, rrrrr.”

But in front of Evandel, Fenrir was only a gentle puppy. Seeing

them playing around together, I laughed bitterly. Once I entered the
Tower of Wish, I wouldn’t be able to see Evandel for at least a month
and a half. Though, I should be able to come back for 2~3 days once
the tutorial ended…

“Evandel.”

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I called Evandel’s name in a slightly more serious tone.

“Hnn?”

“…I need to tell you something.”

I already asked Haeyeon’s parents if they could take care of

Evandel for 1~2 months, and they happily agreed.

“From July 1st, I’m going to be away for a month.”

“….”

Evandel froze.

“But it’s nothing dangerous. I’ll come back soon.”

“….”

Evandel didn’t say anything. I was worried that Evandel would cry
for the first time in 4 years. After a long period of silence, Evandel
asked instead of crying.

“…A month? 30 days?”

“Yeah.”

“…I can’t go?”

I shook my head silently.

“….”

Evandel bit her lips. Her eyes watered, and her lips trembled. Still,
she didn’t cry.

“I’ll come back soon. You can think of it as a month-long break.

Meanwhile, you can have fun with Hayang and Haeyeon. You can
sleep in or watch TV late into the night.”

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I consoled Evandel. I even picked her up and gave her a peck on
the cheek. Or at least, I tried to.

“No beard!”

“….”

Evandel rejected me. Turning away with a pout, she refused to look
at my face.

“I’ll shave tomorrow, no, today.”

“….”

Evandel looked back at me with watery eyes. The only thing I could
do now was smile.

**

2029, middle of May.

The biggest Tower in the history of mankind had been given the
name ‘Tower of Wish’. At the same time, information about ‘entrance
tickets’ began to spread quickly. Many ordinary people were posting
comments online stating that they picked up an entrance ticket.

The Association wanted to establish a system to control the tickets

ordinary people found, but it was too late. It didn’t take long for
people to find out about the tickets’ value, and they began to sell
them online.

“…Hm.”

Currently, inside Essence of the Strait’s team leader office, Yoo

Yeonha was staring at a computer monitor in thought. Entrance
ticket. Although she wasn’t sure how it worked, she knew she had to
obtain as many as possible.

“Why do something so risky?”

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Frustrated, she muttered with a sigh. Many people who posted
about tickets online had gone missing. They were most likely
attacked by Djinns.

“13 might be enough…”

Thanks to the Falling Blossom guild, Yoo Yeonha already purchased

13 entrance tickets. What she wanted now was information about the
Tower. She didn’t want to lose precious members of her guild to an
unknown Tower.

—Tok, tok.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

—Team Leader Yoo Yeonha, a package arrived.

“…Come in.”

The door opened, and a guild employee walked in with a

mysterious piece of furniture.

“What’s this?”

“Um, a chair.”

It indeed looked like a chair, albeit a bit futuristic and strange.

First, it had two legs instead of the standard four, and the back of the
chair looked like a tidal wave.

“Who sent this?”

“It’s from uh… Kim Hajin-ssi.”

“Kim Hajin…? Oh right, it’s my birthday present, right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s what it says here.”

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A week ago, Yoo Yeonha had received a text message from Kim
Hajin saying that he would send a birthday present.

“He sent a chair as a birthday present?”

‘A bit weird, not that I have any problems with it.’

“Thank you. You can go back.”

“Yes.”

Yoo Yeonha put the chair down and tried sitting on it.

“It’s not like I’m lacking chairs in my…”

She paused in the middle of talking. No, she couldn’t speak.

Feeling a strange sensation, she leaned against the chair. A strange,
indescribable comfort wrapped around her body. It was as if the chair
was hugging her tightly.

Kwang, Kwang!

“Hey!”

At that moment, someone kicked open the office door.

“Hey, Yoo Yeonha!”

It was Chae Nayun. Startled, Yoo Yeonha quickly shot up.

“A-Ah, geez, I’m a team leader, you know!”

Yoo Yeonha shouted at Chae Nayun who didn’t give her any face
as a team leader.

“Oh, sorry, I was just in a hurry.”

Chae Nayun smiled wryly as she scratched her head.

“Geez… huu. So, what’s up?”

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“Send me there!”

“…Where?”

“The Tower! The Tower of Wish. I heard you have tickets. The guild
can keep whatever I bring back, so just let me go.”

“Oh, it’s about that.”

Yoo Yeonha knew Chae Nayun would want to go.

“Let’s talk about that.”

“Oh, what’s up with this chair? It looks so weird.”

At that moment, Chae Nayun sat down on the chair she got as a
birthday present. Yoo Yeonha blinked a few times and stared at Chae
Nayun.

“It looks… weird… but, wow… this is… amazing…”

Seeing Chae Nayun looking comfortable and happy, Yoo Yeonha

felt an unknown anxiousness.

“…Hey, get up. That’s mine.”

“Eh? It’s not for guests?”

“N-No. It’s a su~per precious chair I got for my birthday.”

“Oh.”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at it. Now, get up.”

“…Alright, alright.”

As soon as Chae Nayun got up, Yoo Yeonha changed the chair she
has been using with the one Kim Hajin gifted. She didn’t want to put
it off and have to worry about Chae Nayun asking for it.

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**

2029, early June. Guilds like Essence of the Strait, Desolate Moon,
Frost Sanctuary, and Creator’s Sacred Grace managed to obtain
entrance tickets and began to meet for discussions. Meanwhile, the
English Royal Court guild was also in a meeting. The topic of their
meeting was also the newly discovered Tower, but compared to other
guilds, they were in a much better position.

“We have a total of seven tickets.”

The English Royal Court guild was lucky enough to obtain 10

tickets: eight greens, one orange, and one red. However, they sold
their two off-color tickets and one green ticket to Jeronimo
Mercenary, and only had seven green tickets left.

The purpose of today’s meeting was obviously to decide who would

use the entrance tickets.

Although there were many ideas, no one actively came forward.

Everyone was secretly afraid of what was lying inside such a giant
Tower. The entrance ticket stated, ‘participants can freely exit once
the tutorial is over’, but there was no information about this ‘tutorial’.

“I’ll go.”

Someone volunteered resolutely. Immediately, everyone in the

room stood up.

“N-No!”

“If something happens to vice-leader…”

“There’s little chance that guild master will agree.”

However, the Royal Court guild’s vice-leader, Rachel, made her

decision clear.

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“No, I’m going. And you don’t need to worry…”

She hesitated slightly before continuing.

“Um, Jeronimo’s Fenrir will be entering as well.”

“Ah~”

“In that case, I’m sure it’s fine.”

The atmosphere changed instantly. That was how much Fenrir was
loved in England (although England didn’t know, Cheok Jungyeong’s
achievements were all changed to Fenrir’s).

“Ah, could it be!? Did Fenrir say he would protect you!?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m curious too. Did he say he’d protect you!?”

The meeting suddenly transformed into a press conference.

“I can tell that you’re flustered~”

“F-Flustered? N-No! Everyone be quiet!”

“Now you’re angry~”

“No, I’m not! We need to proceed with the meeting…”

The young, 21-year-old vice-leader was an easy target for the

other, more experienced members in the room. As many of them
knew Rachel from when she was young, the English Royal Court guild
had become quite like a family.

**

2029, July 1st. The promised date arrived. Currently, I was inside
Chameleon Troupe’s hideout, waiting for the Portal to open.

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“Huaam~ I’m so bored. Newbie, when is the Portal opening?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked.

“Just wait a bit.”

Other than me, Jain, Cheok Jungyeong, and Boss had tickets. Other
members showed interest, but they were either busy or didn’t mind
waiting for the second round of tickets.

“Ah, I’m itching with excitement. Jain, you’re following me as my

companion?”

“…You’re my companion, idiot.”

Jain glared at Cheok Jungyeong uncomfortably. Jain obtained a red

ticket, and Cheok Jungyeong annoyed her until she agreed to let him
accompany her.

“Everyone be quiet and wait.”

Boss spoke. At that moment…

Ssssss—

Our entrance tickets glowed with magic power. We threw down our
tickets on the ground. Immediately, the tickets sucked in nearby
magic power and created three pillars of light. Orange, red, black.
The three pillars all had different colors.

“So we just walk in?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked as he smacked his lips.

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll see you inside, Newbie.”

“Ah, before you go, I think you should choose the lowest difficulty

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level for the tutorial. We want to meet up as soon as possible.”

“I don’t mind… but I doubt this idiot will do that.”

Jain smiled wryly while Cheok Jungyeong agreed.

“Obviously I’m going for the highest difficulty.”

“…Then Boss, at least you should—”

I turned to Boss.

“Hm?”

Recently, Boss’ trust in me had greatly risen.

“…Oh, o-okay, then I will go with the, um, lowest difficulty.”

But by the looks of it, she was planning on doing what she wanted.

“Alright, I’m going in.”

Without hesitation, I walked into the black Portal. Immediately…

“Uwoah!”

The world flipped upside down, and I landed on my back.

“Uuu… what the heck.”

A cold ground, chilly wind, an unusual sensation. Even my voice

was coming out staticky, like a broken television. Although it was
exactly like how I described it in my novel, it still felt strange
experiencing firsthand. I quickly got up and took a look around. I was
in a pitch-black space.

“I wonder when it’s going to start.”

After waiting for about five minutes, blue words popped up in front
of me.

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[Welcome to the Tower.]

It was a more realistic 3D text than what was shown in VR games.

[Before you start, please choose your nickname.]

Nickname. The Tower seemed to have the same setting as the one
I created.

“Nickname, huh….”

I already knew what nickname everyone would use.

Kim Suho should be MasterHolysword, Shin Jonghak should be

YoungFly, Jin Sahyuk should be StrongestWill[1], and Chae Nayun
should be ImGosu.

After thinking for a moment…

“I guess I’ll go with this.”

[Extra7]

I decided on my nickname.

[Extra7-nim, welcome.] [Your nickname will replace your name in

the Tower's Community.]

1. ”Will” in this instance is the same word as “dick”. A fun, little

pun here by the author…

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Chapter 156
Source: Wuxiaworld

—…Members of Essence of the Strait, Desolate Moon, Frost

Sanctuary, and other top-ranking guilds have entered the Tower of
Wish. The Hero Association is worried that the Tower campaign will
become too much of a free-for-all race, but they acknowledged that
what happens is out of their control…

“….”

Pandemonium Arena, Demon rank fighter Jin Sahyuk’s waiting

room. The arena’s hottest star, Jin Sahyuk, was currently staring at
the TV with sunken eyes.

—Entrance tickets will transform into Portals on specified dates.

This mechanism, which cannot be explained with our understanding
of science and magic, shocked researchers all over the world…

On TV, Heroes were walking into the Portals that spawned from the
entrance tickets. Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk’s eyes were filled with
sadness, regret, and rage.

“That son of a bitch…”

Gritting her teeth, she spat out her resentment. As far as she was
concerned, she should have been inside the Tower of Wish by now.
Rather than sitting in this empty waiting room and watching TV, she
should have been beyond that Portal.

“I’ll kill him. I’ll tear his limbs apart and grind them up into bits and
pieces…”

Jin Sahyuk’s anger was driving her insane. In truth, Jin Sahyuk had
obtained a ticket (given to her by a fan) and was leisurely waiting for

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July 1st. She even bragged about it to Bell and others who couldn’t
find any. She thought she would be the one having fun while the
others were sitting at home, bored.

But yesterday, once she was packing her stuff while whistling with
excitement, she noticed that her entrance ticket was gone. She
ransacked her room trying to find it, but it wasn’t anywhere. After
about six hours, she suddenly thought of Bell. She hadn’t heard from
that son of a bitch in a while. With trembling hands, she called him.
As she expected, he didn’t pick up. Clearly, he had run off with her
entrance ticket.

—The eyes of the public are now on the first wave of challengers…

“Just wait two months, you motherfucker…”

Jin Sahyuk mumbled in her blood-boiling rage.

**

Tower of Wish, tutorial waiting room.

[After taking off all equipment and clothes, please put on the

tutorial uniform.]

“Got it.”

Following the directions of the messages being shown, I undressed

and put on the tutorial uniform, a leather armor that looked rather
shabby but was rather tightly woven.

“Done.”

[Confirmed. Now, please put all your belongings into the storage.
Items from the outside world cannot be taken inside the Tower.]

A black storage box appeared in front of me. I put everything I had

inside. Of course, I had my way around it. My smartwatch, Desert

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Eagle, and Aether were hidden inside Stigma.

“Done.”

[Please put all your belongings into the storage. Items from the
outside world cannot be taken inside the Tower.]

“I did.”

[Please put all your belongings into the storage. Items from the
outside world cannot be taken inside the Tower.]

“….”

It seemed I couldn’t avoid the eyes of ‘that existence’. Without any

other choice, I took the items hidden inside Stigma out and put them
into the storage box.

“Will they be given back?”

[‘Black Entrance Ticket’ has been confirmed. You will have the
chance to take some of them once the tutorial ends.]

“That’s good.”

The Desert Eagle was one thing, but Aether was a necessity.

[Player Scanning will now commence.]

A handprint scanner appeared in front of me. I put my hand on it.

[Scanning in progress… 33%]

I felt a strange sensation of magic power running through my body.

“Auu.”

[66%… 99%… completed.] [Player Kim Hajin has been confirmed.]

=== [Kim Hajin]

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▷Variable Stats … ▷Invariable Stats … ▷Traits □ 「 Master
Sharpshooter 」 [Intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [Evolving]
[Grade 4 – Proficiency EXP: 89%] □「Random Consolidation
System 」 [Low-intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [3-stage
consolidation] □「Dexterity」[Low-intermediate rank] [Null attribute]
[Evolving] [Grade 5 – Proficiency EXP: 55%] □「Magic Dysfunction
Physique」 □「Medicinal Memory Physique」 ===

[During the tutorial, your variable stats will decrease by 65%.] [5

Traits have been detected.] [All Traits are sealed inside the Tower. As
a Player, you may choose one Trait to use.] [Please make your
choice.]

“…Huu.”

It was finally time for the ‘balance patch’. In this Tower, Traits
included both Gifts and Physiques. Of the five Traits that I had, I
could only choose one to bring with me (Arts are not included as they
are considered as acquired abilities). However, this wasn’t too
disadvantageous for me. The same restriction applied to other
challengers of the Tower, and I even knew about a ‘hidden piece’.

“I’ll go with Master Sharpshooter.”

This hidden piece would let me acquire a second Trait. I didn’t

need to think much about the first Trait. Master Sharpshooter was
practically my identity at this point.

[Will you choose the Trait ‘Master Sharpshooter’?]

“Yes.”

[For the sake of balance, the Trait ‘Master Sharpshooter’ has fallen
to grade-7.]

“Understood.”

I wasn’t happy with it, but it was better to treat the system politely.

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[‘Black Entrance Ticket’ has been confirmed.] [You’ve been
assigned to the highest difficulty level.] [In exchange, you will
receive a bonus skill.]

“Thank you very much.”

It was finally time. This benefit was practically a cheat code. This
was because the number of skills you could acquire from the Tower
was limited. 1 unique skill, 3 normal skills, 2 special skills, and 1
ultimate skill. Players could only learn 7 skills in total. In this sense, it
was easy to see the advantage of having an extra skill.

[You may choose one bonus skill from this catalog.]

“Thank you.”

Players who performed well could return to the outside world with
half of the skills they acquired. However, my goal was grander, to
keep all 8 skills. Recently, my stats have stopped rising. I planned to
use this Tower as a foundation to force myself up.

=== ▷Vitality Recovery *You can instantly recover 30% of lost

vitality. *One charge is restored every 24 hours. Can be used twice a
day. ▷Rage Gauge *Rage builds up as you strike and destroy. This
rage… … … ===

I scrolled through the list with nothing catching my attention. Then,

I found one.

=== ▷Blink *You can teleport to a point within a 15-meter radius.

*One charge is restored every 8 hours. Can be used three times a
day. ===

This would be the skill Kim Suho chooses in two months when he
enters the Tower of Wish with a black ticket. Although it was an
excellent skill, it didn’t suit me.

“Pass~”

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After scrolling some more…

=== ▷Random Dice *You obtain one dice every 9 hours. *Random
Dice will transform into a raw material or a completed item once
rolled. The chance of obtaining a completed item is much lower. *You
may select a ‘category’ as you roll the dice. ===

“This is it. Um, I’ll take this.”

Random Dice. A bonus skill that utilized my luck and synergized

with Dexterity. I chose this skill without hesitation.

[‘Random Dice’ has been chosen as a bonus skill.] [You may now
say the words ‘status window’ to open Extra7’s status.] [The tutorial
will begin in one minute.] [You will enter the highest difficulty
tutorial.]

**

One minute later. After a burst of bright light, I was sent to an

unknown place. Looking around, I found myself in an open field dyed
in the sunset. Dirt, rocks, leaves, and weeds filled the area.

[This tutorial will allow you to estimate your basic battle prowess.]

The first tutorial was simple. Like in most tutorials, you just had to
beat up monsters.

“…Damn.”

But there was just one problem. The monsters I had to beat up
were a bit special.

“…How am I supposed to kill them without a weapon?”

I was up against goblins. That was fine in and of itself, but the
problem was that these goblins came with descriptors.

—Kerrek. —Krrrrk.

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A goblin shaman and a goblin warrior.

Like Nunu and Willump[1], the goblin shaman was sitting on the
goblin warrior’s shoulder.

“Ehew.”

I was confident before coming in, but now that I couldn’t use my
Desert Eagle, my future was looking bleak.

[You spotted a goblin warrior and a goblin shaman.] [Their

information has been recorded in the ‘Player Encyclopedia’.]

Player Encyclopedia. As one of the Tower of Wish’s support

systems, it stored all information discovered or experienced by
Players.

“Open Player Encyclopedia.”

Information was usually key in situations like this. I stopped what I

was doing and read up on the two goblins.

=== Monster Encyclopedia [Goblin Warrior] [Intermediate-rank

Grade-7] [Goblin Shaman] [Intermediate-rank Grade-8] ===

“…That’s it?”

Well, it’s true that the encyclopedia only had cursory information.
It was enough to know that they were weaker than the ones I fought
in Incheon.

“Hm…”

For now, let’s think. How did Kim Suho get through this situation in
the original story?

…Right, they were slaughtered by the metal attribute magic power

of Sword Saint. Being able to only bring one Gift in was too
advantageous for Kim Suho.

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Let’s think again. I’m different than Kim Suho.

—Krrk.

Thankfully, the goblins were talking to themselves and had not yet
noticed my existence.

“….”

In that case, it was probably right to search for this stage’s hidden
piece first. Narrowing my eyes, I used Stigma’s magic power….

[Warning! The activation of an unnatural power has been detected.

This power may not be used in the tutorial!] [Ignoring this warning
may result in grave consequences!]

…or not. By the looks of it, I would have to search for it directly.

I lowered my body and walked silently. Thanks to my mercenary

work over the past three years, I was used to sneaking around. I
walked up to the closest boulder and flipped it over. Thud. There was
nothing under it. It looked like it might have something, but I had a
feeling I was only being baited. I began to walk again. Crack.

“…Huup.”

I accidentally stepped on a branch. I anxiously turned around.

—Krrrk. —Guoooo.

Thankfully, they seemed to be busy arguing about something.

“Whew.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, I continued onward. Because of how

slow and carefully I was moving, walking half of the length of a
soccer field took about one or two hours.

“…!”

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Then, I found a leaf on the ground. Of course, there were other
leaves on the ground as well. But the one I was looking at was clearly
special. It was glowing and practically shouting that it was special. I
quickly ran up. As soon as I held it up, a window popped up.

[Yggdrasil Leaf]

I found it. I held my breath to prevent an excited yelp from coming

out.

[The Yggdrasil Leaf blesses you with calmness and adventurous

courage.] [Hidden Piece – you may choose one of the following three
blessings.]

—Acquire an additional Trait. —Restore 10% of lost stats. —Cradle

of Wisdom.

It had to be the first option. The second option was for stat
monsters like Boss and Kim Suho, and the Cradle of Wisdom was
crap. As I created the Tower of Wish in detail, I knew exactly what it
was.

—You can acquire an additional Trait.

…But I was at a loss for what to choose between Medicinal Memory

Physique and Dexterity. The Tower should have all sorts of precious
medicine I’ve never seen before. If Medicinal Memory Physique
remembers just one of them, my future should be much easier.

“Medicinal… no.”

However, there was too much risk in choosing Medicinal Memory

Physique. I didn’t know how much of a medicine I would have to
consume to remember it.

“…Dexterity, I’ll go with Dexterity.”

With Dexterity, I could just make items without having to buy

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them. Since I knew another way to acquire an additional trait (though
it was a lot more difficult), going with Dexterity seemed to be the
right choice.

[Yggdrasil’s blessing has unsealed your Trait, Dexterity.]

“Whew.”

Now, I could finally fight. I turned to Nunu and Willump, or no, the
goblin warrior and shaman. At that moment, I received a system
message.

[You can store the Yggdrasil Leaf inside your inventory.]

I almost forgot.

“Ah, thank you~ Inventory!”

Inventory, the highest-quality extradimensional space only

available inside the Tower. I stored the Yggdrasil Leaf inside it and
took out the Random Dice that was also inside.

“Huu.”

I held the dice which had a question mark on each side. An

unbelievable nervousness filled my body. If I were to defeat those
goblins, I needed this dice to turn into a weapon.

“…Blade. Give me something with a blade, please.”

I rolled the dice as I prayed in my head. Drrr— As soon as the dice

disappeared, a primitive dagger appeared.

“YES!”

Holding the precious dagger, I thought of my next move. This

dagger looked too dull to kill the goblin warrior. However, it should be
possible to kill the goblin shaman as long as I hit its head.

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“…Wait a minute.”

Then suddenly, I had a different idea. A method to kill both the

warrior and the shaman at the same time.

“….”

Holding the dagger, I began to dig a hole. It had to deep enough

for the 2.5-meter tall goblin warrior to be stuck. Like a mole, I dug a
trap quietly.

[Warning! You have two hours remaining.]

After digging for dozens of minutes, by the time I was covered in

sweat and the goblin shaman and warrior were moving separately…

“Done…”

I finished digging up a huge hole. It was large enough that even

the goblin warrior would have no way out. I covered the trap up with
leaves and branches, then got up with my dagger.

—Kieeek!

Immediately, I caught the attention of the goblins. I threw my

dagger at the shaman, promptly piercing its head and killing it.

—Kieek…

The shaman staggered for a moment before collapsing. An

intermediate rank goblin shaman was still a shaman. Its defensive
power couldn’t even compare to a low-rank monster.

—….

The shaman was out of the picture, and now it was time to deal
with the warrior. The goblin warrior was staring blankly at the corpse
of the shaman.

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“You’re not gonna move—?”

—Kuooo!

Then suddenly, the goblin warrior roared and madly charged

forward. I simply stood still without moving. The clever goblin
shaman would have noticed something was strange, but the goblin
warrior was in a fit of rage after losing its friend.

—Kerek?!

Soon, the goblin warrior stepped on the trap, and its 2.5-meter
body fell into the hole.

—Guooo!

As it struggled inside the hole, I quickly ran up to the shaman and

retrieved my dagger. Then, I stabbed down at the goblin warrior
stuck in the hole. Die, please just die. After about two hours, an alert
finally popped up.

[You have cleared the first stage, ‘Basic Battle Prowess

Assessment’.] [You will be moved to your private waiting room.]
[After 12 hours of rest, you will be sent to the second stage, ‘Way of
Survival’.]

“…Argh, I’m exhausted.”

[Rest well.]

“…Thank you.”

I told myself to treat the system politely no matter how difficult

things got. This was the ironclad rule of the Tower of Wish, which
only I knew about. In truth, it was designed with Kim Suho’s righteous
personality in mind. After all, who else other than Kim Suho would
talk to a system so politely?

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**

The private waiting room was a personal space that every Player in
the Tower of Wish possessed.

[Player Extra7’s waiting room]

Waiting rooms could be modified or decorated however its owner

wished. Once the tutorial ended, Players could invite other Players to
their waiting room as well. Using ‘Points’, they could expand the size
of the room or purchase furniture as well.

“It’s so empty.”

Of course, for now, there was nothing but a single wooden board.
…In the past, I didn’t think the waiting room mattered all that much,
but now that I think about it, the waiting room was quite important.
As ‘Waiting Room Return’ could be used once every four days, it
could be used to escape enemies or death.

“For now… let’s sleep.”

No matter, I was too tired to think properly. I decided to sleep until

I gained another Random Dice.

“Huu.”

I lied down on the hard wooden board. …Just like that, seven hours
went by.

“Argh, my back.”

My body felt sore after sleeping on a hard surface. It was a

sensation I haven’t felt for a long time due to my high stats. Frowning
deeply, I checked my inventory.

[Random Dice] [Yggdrasil Leaf]

“Haa.”

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I took the dice out and immediately rolled it. As I did, I thought to
myself, ‘ore, ore, give me an ore so I can make a fishing rod and a
weapon.’

Plop!

The dice stopped and an ore popped out.

“…Oh?”

A translucent, red-colored ore. When I laid my eyes on it, I became

speechless.

“This is…”

=== [Red Crystal] A crystal formed from compressing fire attribute

magic power. *A crystal specialized for crafting equipment. ===

It was a low-intermediate ~ intermediate rank crystal that was sold

at a hefty price in the real world. In this situation, it was even more
valuable.

“Ooh…”

If I had to choose one thing I did right after being sent to this world,
it would have to be raising my luck to 9.1.

“Ah, I have things to do now…”

Private waiting rooms didn’t count as part of the tutorial. Stigma’s

magic power couldn’t be used during the tutorial, so I had to use this
opportunity to craft items.

“Huhu.”

Even the Tower’s system couldn’t have known I would craft items
in the waiting room.

[One of the administrators has detected the activation of an

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unnatural power.]

But unfortunately, the administrators’ eyes were better than I

imagined. One of the administrators. It was most likely the mythical
existence with the ability to see everything, the divinity in charge of
the third-floor residential area, Heimdall.

“I’ll use just a little bit.”

I tried to bargain. After all, it was true that the waiting room wasn’t
the tutorial.

“Hello?”

The system didn’t reply. But seeing that I wasn’t getting any more
messages to halt…

I began to use little bits of Stigma’s magic power to make crafting

tools. Ssk, ssk. Then, I began to handle the red crystal while walking
on eggshells.

1. League of Legends reference.

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Chapter 157
Source: Wuxiaworld

With the red crystal, I worked on making equipment to use in the

next tutorial stage. Using a tenth of Stigma’s magic power, I
separated the red crystal into three equal parts. The sharp crystal
was for a spear, the wide crystal was for an axe, and the remaining
was for a fishing line.

The spear, axe, and fishing rod were simple. I just had to take
apart the waiting room’s wooden board, trim it, and put the crystal
on the tip. The problem was the fishing line. I wasn’t sure what to do
at first, but it ended up being easy using Stigma’s magic power. As
soon as I infused the red crystal with it, the crystal transformed into a
squishy, semisolid substance. After some tinkering, the substance
became a long, sturdy fishing line.

“…Hm.”

I looked at the spear, axe, and fishing rod I made. With my

Dexterity’s proficiency grade being so low and with Aether being
absent, they didn’t look all that aesthetically pleasing. Still, they were
most likely better than most mass-produced goods. At the very least,
they were good enough to be used in the tutorial. At that moment, a
system window popped up.

[You obtained the technique, ‘Lv.1 Crafting’.]

“Oh right.”

The Tower had a technique system as well.

=== [Crafting Lv.1] *You can easily craft Lv.0 items. ===

The Tower of Wish was kind of like an RPG game. Performing

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certain actions awarded Players with ‘unrealistic’ bonuses. The
Crafting technique should let me craft items instantly, skipping all
the intermediate steps. This also included a leveling system like most
RPG’s..

[There are 10 minutes remaining until the second tutorial begins.]

[Try accessing the Community.]

While I was practicing swinging my axe and spear, the system

gave me another recommendation. I thought about one of the
Tower’s most important systems, the ‘Community’.

=== [Tower Community] 「Public Forum」 「Auction House」

「Group Creation」 … … 「Messenger 「Player Profile」 ===

As expected, the Tower Community had many functions. The

auction house was exactly as what it sounded like, and group
creation was for creating parties. The player profile was similar to
Facebook but far superior.

「Player Profile」

Players could create two profile pages, one using their nickname
and one anonymously. Each Player had full control over how to
decorate their profiles. They could turn it into a shop by putting up
items for sale or use it to buy and sell information.

I tried clicking on each function.

[Player Profile can be used after the tutorial.] [Auction House can
be used after the tutorial.] [Messenger can be…]

As I thought, the public forum was the only function that was
currently available.

「Public Forum」

= [Am I the first poster? (3)] [Wow, this is interesting. Someone

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comment on this thread! I need to know if anyone else is alive. (6)]
[Has anyone cleared the tutorial yet? (2)] =

There were only three posts on it. It seemed everyone was busy
trying to clear the tutorial. I created a post as well.

[Let’s share information.]

The view count went up as soon as I posted it, and someone

commented on the post.

—?? Extra7-nim? Why are you here? Wait, are you the Extra7 I
know?

“…How does this guy know me?”

I tilted my head and checked the commenter’s nickname. The

commenter’s nickname was… ‘Nayunjajangman’. The ‘Nayun’ part of
the name made me a bit uncomfortable, but because I was so
familiar with it, I was surprised more than anything else.

“He’s here too?”

[The second tutorial stage, ‘Way of Survival’, will begin at any

moment.] [Please get ready.]

I tried to comment, but another system alert popped up. I turned

the Community off and got up with all the equipment I made.

“I’m ready.”

[You will now be transferred to the second tutorial stage.]

“Yes.”

Along with the system alert, a burst of white light erupted. I closed
my eyes. I could feel the warmth from the particles of light
enveloping my body, as well as a strange sensation as though I was
floating in the air. Tssss. Soon, I could feel that I landed on a soft

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surface. I opened my eyes.

“I’m here.”

Chwaaa… The sound of a serene wave rang out. Standing still, I

looked in front of me. A boundless ocean was spread out across the
horizon. I was standing on a sandy beach. Behind me, numerous
palm trees were forming a dense forest. This place was a tiny
uninhabited island.

[Tutorial Goal – survive for 14 days.] [From the second tutorial, you
will be ranked based on your performance and will be rewarded
accordingly.]

The goal of the second tutorial was survival. To stay alive in this
boundless area for 14 days. However, it was worth risking more
danger in this tutorial. Its ‘performance-based reward’ was
something that surpassed the standard of a tutorial.

[Try thinking or shouting ‘Status Window’.]

Another system alert popped up. I did as it said.

“Status window.”

=== [Nickname – Extra7] ○Vitality – 43/100 ○Magic Power – 30/30

○Skill Count – [1] ○Skill – Bonus Skill 「Random Dice」 ===

My vitality and magic power, effectively my HP and MP, were

numericized. My magic power wasn’t 0 most likely because I lost my
Magic Dysfunction Physique. But why did the system want me to see
this?

[Vitality is affected not only by damage but also hunger and

fatigue.] [When your vitality reaches 0, Player Extra7 will die. Players
who die in the tutorial cannot revive.]

I see, so it was telling me to eat something. It must have been

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worried about me, a kind, polite… kuhum.

“Thank you.”

I answered energetically and took a look around. Although I was

standing on land, there wasn’t anything to eat in the highest
difficulty island. In other words, I had to find food in the ocean. That
was the reason I crafted a fishing rod and an axe. To fish and to craft
a boat.

Growl—

My stomach growled. I was starting to get hungry. Before creating

a boat to set out onto the ocean, I took out the fishing rod from my
inventory. Since I could use coconuts from the palm trees as my
source of water, finding food was my first priority.

“Let me think…”

I stared at the fishing rod in my hand, then held it with both hands.
Before coming into the Tower, I practiced fishing for this exact
purpose.

“…Huup!”

I swung the fishing rod with a big motion. Whish— The fishing line
drew an arc in the air. It felt more natural than I thought. It was
partly because I practiced fishing beforehand, but it probably had
more to do with the fact that Dexterity and Master Sharpshooter
helped with fishing.

Plop!

The hook sank into the ocean. …Time passed in silence. I was
getting hungrier, but the fishing rod remained unmoving. I didn’t use
any bait, but because the hook was made with the red crystal, I
didn’t need one. Sea monsters should smell the scent of magic power
and come.

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“…Haam.”

I continued to wait. I had a firm belief in my luck. After about 30

minutes, the surface of the water showed a hint of change.

“Ah!”

The fishing line tensed up. Something had clearly bit it. Whatever it
was, it was incredibly powerful. The wooden fishing rod was bending.

“….”

After repeatedly trying to reel the fish in, I picked up my spear.

With my vitality low, doing this was a waste of time. In the end,
killing it then reeling it up was the same as reeling it up then killing
it. Holding my spear firmly, I calmly observed the fish moving
underwater. Then… Chweek! I threw the spear. Although my strength
stat was 65% sealed, it was still above 2 points. Struck with the
spear, the fish stopped moving, and I easily reeled it in.

[You obtained the technique, ‘Lv1. Fishing’.] *You have an

increased chance of fish biting your hook. [You spotted a glossy
seafish. Its information has been recorded in the Player
Encyclopedia.]

“…A sea monster.”

○Monster Encyclopedia [Glossy Seafish] [Low-rank grade-7 sea

monster] —A sea monster that tastes like a mackerel.

I retrieved the spear sticking out of the fish’s back then started a
campfire. Starting the fire was easy. I only had to rub some wood I
collected with the red crystal axe. Once the fire was up, I strung the
glossy seafish over it. Tssss. The glossy seafish dripped with delicious
fish oil as it was cooked.

**

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Same time. Boss, who cleared the first stage of the hardest
difficulty tutorial in the blink of an eye, was sitting on a sandy beach
in meditation.

“….”

Repeating deep breaths, she tried to move her shadow to the

water. However, the shadow didn’t stretch far, only swirling around
her before disappearing. It was because of the 93% stat restriction
she was under.

“…Huu.”

She tried over a dozen times but failed each time. In the end, she
gave up on trying to fish with magic power. Growl. She pondered,
‘I’m hungry. I have to eat something. Should I have saved the orange
ticket’s emergency food supply?’ She got up and began to walk
around. Soon, she found a large boulder. She immediately hoped to
find some crabs underneath it.

She slowly approached the boulder. Then, she picked the rock up
and threw it aside. There was a startled hermit crab underneath it.
Boss quickly moved and grabbed the hermit crab.

“….”

Now, she needed to cook. She opened her inventory. Although she
already ate all the food that came with her ticket, she still had the
burner and frying pan that came as a set.

Tak, tak.

She turned the burner on and put the hermit crab on the frying
pan.

“…ssp.”

Food. Food. Food. As she mumbled, the sun began to set.

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**

18 hours passed since the start of the second tutorial. Koong,

koong, koong. I was striking down a tree with my axe. As the red
crystal axe was a fire attribute weapon, the tree didn’t last all that
long. Kiiik— With just five swings, the tree fell.

“That should be enough…”

That was the thirtieth tree. They were all used to craft a boat. The
highest difficulty island had no food, and from the second tutorial,
there was a performance-based ranking system. How far I
adventured, how many sea monsters I hunted. These things all
contributed to the ranking, so leaving the island was a must.

“Inventory.”

My inventory was currently filled with useful materials, like bones

and skins of sea monsters. I took out an item labeled by the system
as ‘Red Fish’s Tough Skin’.

“Craft.”

Then, I used Crafting to make a string.

[Red Fish’s Tough Skin has been used to produce a twine.] [Trait
‘Dexterity’ applies to crafting.] [You crafted a Lv.1 Tough Twine.]

Using Crafting, I could skip intermediate steps of crafting like in a

real game.

“Whew.”

Now that that was done, I picked up my axe and went to where all
the logs were gathered. Ssk, ssk. With Dexterity’s help, I began to
shave the surface of the logs. To create a proper sailboat, I needed to
make the surface of the logs as smooth as possible. Sssk, sssk. After
about an hour of hard work…

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[Yggdrasil Leaf is impressed by your effort.]

I received another system alert.

[Try checking the Yggdrasil Leaf.]

“Ah, hold on a bit.”

I immediately put everything down and opened my inventory.

=== [Yggdrasil Leaf] —Blessing of Adventure *Your body becomes

lighter while you have this item in your inventory. (minor
improvement to your physical ability) *You can grant small blessings
to items. Blessings will get stronger the more they have to do with
adventures. ===

Just like the system said, Yggdrasil Leaf had a new effect.

“Nice.”

Although the first effect gave a ‘minor’ improvement, I liked how it

had a wide range of applying to my entire physical ability. The
second effect just seemed good since it said ‘blessing’.

“Thank you.”

I closed the inventory and went back to working on the boat. Ssk,
ssk. The sound of logs being cut. Chwaak, chwaak. The sound of logs
being tied together with a string.

“…Uuu!”

After three hours of hard work, I was finally done. I got up and
stretched. I felt a bit lightheaded.

“ up is…”

Coconuts. I began to throw coconuts on my boat to use as water.

One, two, three, four, five… twenty-three. Almost half the boat was

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filled with coconuts.

[Try granting the vehicle a small blessing.]

“…Oh right.”

I almost forgot. This was why it was nice to be friendly to the

system. There was a high chance that the Yggdrasil Leaf got a new
effect because I’ve been so polite to the system. I took out the
Yggdrasil Leaf from my inventory and waved it over my sailboat.

[Yggdrasil’s Blessing envelopes the sailboat.] [The surface of the

sailboat becomes coated with magic power.] [You will now have a
smoother adventure.]

“Status window.”

I opened up the status window and checked out the sailboat’s

specs.

=== [Lv1. Sturdy Sailboat with Lv.2 Yggdrasil’s Blessing] —Lv.1

Sturdy Sailboat ○Durability Lv.1 ○Speed Lv.1 ○Safety Lv.1 —Lv.2
Yggdrasil’s Small Blessing Increases all effects of the Sturdy Sailboat
by one level. ===

“…Oh?”

Levels were an important aspect of equipment. Yggdrasil’s

Blessing raised items’ levels? This wasn’t a small blessing at all!

“Thank you ve~ry much.”

‘I won’t forget this gratitude. Until I conquer this Tower, that is.’

Now, it was time to set sail. I pushed the sailboat into the water.
Then, I hopped up with a paddle. A pleasant breeze blew over me. I
paddled forward. The sailboat began to press forward.

My goal for the second tutorial was simple. Going as far out as

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possible and killing as many sea monsters as possible. Although
things might get a bit dangerous, that would only serve to increase
my ranking.

“…Huh?”

But after about 30 minutes of paddling, I caught a glimpse of

another island. That wasn’t the problem. There was a silhouette of a
person on the beach.

“Am I seeing this correctly…?”

Narrowing my eyes, I focused on the distant island. Instantly, my

vision expanded, and the view of the island became clear.

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Chapter 158
Source: Wuxiaworld

“Who is it…?”

There was someone on the island. He didn’t look too unfamiliar.

Although I couldn’t remember his name, he was likely a high-
intermediate rank Hero who often appeared on variety shows.

“Wait…”

Could it be that all Players in the highest difficulty level shared the
same sea? It was something I never thought about when writing my
setting.

—…O-Oi! Oiii!

The man seemed to have discovered my boat as he waved his

hand. I sailed forward. Although I had no intention of letting him on
board, I was willing to give out some of the food I was overflowing
with.

“…Must be a green ticket.”

The man didn’t have anything with him, not even the basic weapon
and food supply provided by the tutorial. In reality, choosing the
hardest difficulty with a green ticket was akin to committing suicide.
The system should have warned him about it as well, but it seemed
he wasn’t the type to listen.

—Here! Here! Uhaha! Over here!

The man jumped excitedly. I took out a glossy seafish from my

inventory. It was then. A dark shadow was cast underneath the
island. I didn’t have much time to think about what it was or why it

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was here.

Puaaaa—

Suddenly, the mouth of a giant fish shot up from the water. There
were two sharp fangs growing on each side of its jaw, which promptly
swallowed the island whole.

[You spotted an Island Devourer.] === ○Monster Encyclopedia

[Island Devourer] [Tutorial-only Monster] —This monster hates those
who stay on one island. However, who it seeks is solely dependent on
luck. ===

A system alert popped up.

“Whoa, whoa.”

I broke out into cold sweat and stood a bit dazed. However, I didn’t
have time to sit still. The shadow that swallowed an island whole was
now creeping up on me. I quickly began to paddle away. However,
the shadow was only getting closer. I couldn’t do anything against it
with a mere paddle. I quickly opened my inventory.

[Inventory] [Random Dice x3]

I could keep a maximum of five Random Dice. Since it could

become anything depending on my desire, I was saving them up to
use in emergency situations. I picked up a dice and thought hard.

‘Please become something that can save me from that thing.’

Something like an engine that can be attached to my boat… Drrr—

I rolled the dice with my dearest wish.

“…What?”

However, the dice mercilessly betrayed my wish and became a

strange mango. At first, I didn’t even know it was a mango. It was

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yellowish-orange but was as big as a watermelon.

[Lv.3 Big and Juicy Mango]

If it wasn’t for the status window, I would have thought it was some
exotic fruit.

“The hell is this?”

I checked the item description just in case.

=== [Lv.3 Big and Juicy Mango] —A big, juicy mango. It is a very
precious fruit that is sometimes used as medicine. ○Lv.2 Vitality
Recovery ○Lv.4 Satiability ===

A Lv.3 item! As most items in the tutorial were only lv.0~lv.2, this
mango was certainly a good item. The problem was that it was
useless in this situation. What would filling up my belly do when I was
about to enter a belly myself?

—Drrk.

“Shit…”

The Island Devourer’s fin grazed my boat. I had a strong hunch

that it wanted to eat me. My heart thumped violently, but I was used
to it by now. As a mercenary, I had lived through much more
dangerous situations… Now, I didn’t even have time to throw another
dice. I racked my brain frantically. Mango. A delicious, juicy mango. A
lightbulb went on in my head.

“…H-Hey! Eat this instead of me!”

I held the mango forward and wafted it back and forth. The shadow
slowed down, or at least, that’s what it looked like.

“This is a precious food you can never taste in the tutorial.”

As I said before, Lv.3 items could not be found inside the tutorial.

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“So… take it!”

I threw the mango as far away as I could. Whiiish— With Master

Sharpshooter’s support, the mango drew a beautiful arc and landed
400~500 meters away.

Plop!

Water splashed on my face. The giant creature underneath my

boat changed course and began to swim towards the mango.

“…Whew.”

The giant shadow was getting farther away. Thud. I fell on my butt.
Although I didn’t do much, I was out of energy. I most certainly didn’t
put such a creature in my tutorial.

“…I knew this would happen.”

But I wasn’t too surprised. In the original story, I often had

comments saying, ‘isn’t the highest difficulty tutorial too easy?’ My
excuse was always, ‘it’s not that the tutorial is easy. Kim Suho’s Gift
is just broken.’

“Haa…”

In any case, I just barely avoided death. The scene of an entire

island being swallowed still lingered in my mind.

“Mango, mango, mango…”

I murmured the same word in a daze.

**

“…Auu, I’m getting seasick.”

Six days had passed since then. Today, the waves were fiercer
than usual. The past few days have been quite spectacular and

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dynamic. I almost fell overboard from a sudden storm, and I was
almost eaten by an intermediate-rank grade-8 sea monster. Both
times, I barely managed to survive using my red crystal weapons and
Random Dice’s power.

=== [Lv.2 Sea Tiger’s Oil] —An oil that drives away sea monsters.
○Lv.1 low-intermediate rank or lower monster repellent ○Lv.1 Shock
absorbent, waterproof coating

[Lv.2 Magical Repair Ointment] —A mystical ointment that works

on items. ○Restores durability of items under Lv.1 ===

These two items were especially helpful in my journey.

“I want to be on land.”

After staying on a boat for six days, I was starting to miss land.

[Your Sailing technique improves to Lv.2] —You can now cross

waters more easily. —Your sense of direction on sea improves.

No, please just give me a land of some sort! I widened my eyes

and peered out into the distance. In the distance, I caught a glimpse
of a small island.

“…Nice.”

With my new destination discovered, I began to paddle towards it.

Sploosh. Perhaps because of my improved Sailing technique, the
boat seemed a bit faster than before.

After about 20 minutes of paddling, I could finally see a portion of

the island.

“Eh?”

When I saw the island, I exclaimed in shock. There was a familiar

face on the island. I shot up and shouted.

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“Boss!”

**

Seoul, Essence of the Strait’s team leader office. Yoo Yeonha was
chatting with Yoo Jinhyuk.

[Why are you so curious about this?]

[I’m not curious, I just want to know the truth.]

Yoo Yeonha shared what she knew about the Kwang-Oh Incident
with Yoo Jinhyuk. However, Yoo Jinhyuk still kept some matters
secret, which Yoo Yeonha was now in the process of investigating.
Under the assumption that Kim Hajin was really the survivor of the
Kwang-Oh Incident, Yoo Yeonha wanted to know why Chae Joochul’s
assassin didn’t kill him and who the assassin was.

[To be completely honest, I don’t know.]

“…He’s lying again.”

Yoo Yeonha frowned.

[You’re lying.]

[No, I’m serious.]

[You said you saw him being admitted to the orphanage.]

As she typed, Yoo Yeonha suddenly wondered. How would Kim

Hajin have looked like as a baby? She found it a bit difficult to
imagine his face on a baby’s.

[Yeah, some kid left him there.]

[Kid?]

[Yeah, 5~7 years old or 8 at most. Black hair… er, actually maybe

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it was covered with a hijab or something.]

[Do you have dementia?]

[Heh, I’m getting old. Time travel isn’t like what it used to be.]

As inaccurate information introduced needless bias and noise,

having more information wasn’t always better.

[Anyways, it was a young girl.]

[…Okay, thank you. Ah, by the way, have you thought about my
offer?]

[No.]

“…Tsk.”

Yoo Yeonha suggested Yoo Jinhyuk to enter her information guild,

Falling Blossom. As far as she was concerned, he was lazing around
most of the time in his office.

[Think about it, I’m already being watched by Chae Joochul. What
would he think if he sees you so close to me?]

[I get it.]

[Good, then send me some assault rifles.]

[…What do you need those for?]

[I decided to form a small militia. You know how to go about it

without being discovered, right?]

[Yeah, no.]

[What? Oi, Niece, you—]

Yoo Yeonha left the chat and leaned against her chair. Ssss— Her

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eyes closed automatically.

“…It really is amazing.”

If she were to describe this sensation, she would say it was like
leaning on an angel’s wings or sleeping peacefully in Noah’s Ark
while the world was crumbling down. As she spent 16 hours a day in
her office, her new chair was the best gift she’d ever received.

“Hnnng…”

Buried in the chair, Yoo Yeonha thought about many things. Her
guild members who were in the Tower of Wish, the high-intermediate
rank monsters, the Dungeons her guild was planning to conquer, a
cup ramen… hamburger… ssp. She began to drool.

**

Boss seemed to have gotten skinnier since the last time I saw her. I
wanted to give her a big hug out of joy, but we were both too dirty
from staying in the wild for several days.

“It’s been a while.”

Boss smiled leisurely as she said that. However, she didn’t look to
be in all that good a shape.

“Boss, did you eat?”

“I did.”

She nodded affirmatively, but I was a bit suspicious.

“What’s your vitality right now?”

“Vitality?”

“Yes.”

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She looked at the air blankly. She was probably checking her
status window.

“…90.”

“90?”

“…Yes.”

Boss nodded.

“Are you sure it isn’t just 9?”

“…Pft, as if.”

Her unnatural smirk confirmed it. Her vitality was definitely 9. In

fact, it couldn’t be anything but 9. Boss’ stat restriction had to be
incredibly high. Kim Suho received an 80% stat restriction, so Boss’
should easily surpass 90%.

“It was hard at first, but I got used to it.”

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

“No, I went back and forth to find food.”

“Ah…”

Thankfully, it seemed she wasn’t targeted by the Island Devourer.

“Then let’s eat something first.”

“…Okay.”

I opened my inventory to take out a seafish. But before that, Boss

moved first.

“Follow me.”

With a kind smile, she turned around and began to walk into the

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forest.

“Boss? Where are you going?”

“I thought this might happen, so I kept some emergency food

supply.”

“Ah… okay.”

I followed her for now. Boss walked to the middle of the forest and
stopped in front of a giant palm tree engraved with an X mark. She
moved the leaves underneath it and took out the tutorial-only food
supply bag.

“Here.”

Boss opened the bag proudly. Inside, there were all sorts of
seafood: clams, sea pineapples, crabs, snails, and two small fish.
They were certainly good enough for a meal.

“Wow.”

I was genuinely surprised. Boss’ main stat was ‘magic power’. This
stat displayed exponential power as it grew but unless it surpassed a
certain point, it was more or less useless. In other words, Boss had
fished all these up without any tools, using only her physical abilities.

“There’s a lot.”

“Of course. Thanks to this place, I got to relive the old days of
training.”

Boss stuck her chest out proudly. Since she kept the food inside
the tutorial bag instead of her inventory, she clearly had a good
survival sense. Unlike the inventory, the tutorial bag kept food fresh.

“You must be hungry since you paddled all the way here. Wait.”

Boss seemed to be worrying about me as she quickly took out a

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burner and frying pan and began to cook the seafood. Tsss. I stared
at Boss who was watching her food cooking on the frying pan. After
flipping them a couple times, she turned the burner off and gave the
frying pan to me.

“It’s done. You can eat.”

“…What about you, Boss?”

“Ehem, like I said, my vitality is at 90.”

She was saying she didn’t need it.

“….”

At that moment, I felt something warm rush into my heart. Was

this why she was the boss? Was this the duty of a boss? Feeling a
surge of emotion that was hard to put into words…

“Aren’t you going to…”

I took out a fish from my inventory.

“…eat?”

It was a large glossy seafish. Boss’ eyes lost focus as she glanced
back and forth between the frying pan and my glossy seafish. On the
frying pan were tiny seafood gathered together. On the other hand,
the glossy seafish was too big to fit in the frying pan.

Boss’ face turned red.

**

30 minutes later. We ate all the glossy seafish in my inventory.

[Cooperation is an important factor in climbing the Tower.]

While I was sitting on the ground digesting my food, the system

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messaged me.

“Alright, let’s start moving.”

“…Moving?”

“Yes.”

The second tutorial’s performance-based points used both an

absolute and relative evaluation. In other words, even if you achieved
first place overall, you had to surpass a certain threshold to receive
the reward.

“Let’s set sail. It’s dangerous to stay on the same island.”

“Sail?”

“Yes, there’s a monster called Island Devourer. It attacks you if you

stay on the same island.”

“I don’t quite understand but sure.”

Boss and I went back to the beach where my boat was.

“…Hmm.”

But now that I looked at my boat, it seemed too small.

“We’re going to ride that thing?”

Boss had doubts as well.

“Mm… hold on.”

I took out a Random Dice. Since I had five, it was fine to use one.

“…I don’t know if this will work though.”

I thought as I rolled the dice, ‘a boat or materials to build a new

one.’

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Tk. The dice became stuck in the sand without rolling. It seemed
my wish was too big as the first dice turned into a wooden plank.

“Oh? What was that dice?”

“Uh… hold on.”

I rolled another one. Tk. It got stuck in the sand once again. But
this time, the dice was shaking strangely. Then, the dice grew in
size…

“Oh?”

And it transformed into a boat. Although it was only half as big as

my sailboat, it was shaped like an actual boat.

“What is this mysterious thing?”

“….”

“Newbie?’

“….”

Newbie?”

I couldn’t reply to Boss’ question. I just felt… betrayed. Why did I

cut down trees, shave them, tie them together, and repeat tiring
tasks? All I had to do was roll the dice a couple times…

After tying my old sailboat to the new boat, Boss and I set sail.
Voyaging became more fun with someone to talk to. I obtained food
by fishing, and Boss focused on training her magic power.

“Ah, my magic power stat just rose by 0.3 points.”

After about 6 hours of sailing, Boss spoke with a bright face.

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“Wow, it’s increasing fast. When do you think you’ll be able to hunt
sea monsters?”

“Now.”

“What is it at?”

“2.3”

“…Let’s just eat.”

“Okay.”

While Boss continued to meditate, I began to cook. Today’s menu

was seafish sashimi. Although sashimi was low in calories, eating it
had a chance of increasing magic power. While I was cutting up the
fish…

Pssssh—

A large waterspout shot up from the ocean. At the same time, the
surface of the water split, and a house-sized fish shot up. It had fierce
eyes that took up half of its face and a mouth that protruded out
sharply. The ugly fish blocked our boat as it stared down at us.

[You spotted a giant fish. Its information has been recorded in the
Player Encyclopedia.]

=== ○Monster Encyclopedia [Giant Fish] [Intermediate-rank

grade-9] ===

“Boss?”

“Don’t worry.”

Boss stood up and reached out to the fish blocking our way.
Gueeee— The fish opened its mouth with a strange roar. It was
clearly trying to swallow us, but trying to fight Boss from a close
range was foolish no matter how much her stats were restricted.

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—Pervading Shadow.

Along with a soft whisper, black magic power shot out of Boss’
fingers, entering the fish’s mouth. Soon, the fish’s body began to
distort as though something was trying to dig its way out.

Gueeee—

A different scream rang out. The fish was in pain. However, the
pain didn’t last long as black thorns pierced out from inside its body.

“….”

Boss sat down on the boat with a peaceful look. I pulled the giant
fish’s corpse near. I checked to see if it had any useful materials, but
there was nothing.

**

[The second tutorial will end in 10 minutes.] [Good work surviving

until now.]

A system alert notified the end of the 14-day tutorial. Boss spoke
from next to me.

“The tutorial is ending soon.”

“I heard.”

Boss looked at me and smiled.

“Good job.”

“Thank you. But Boss is just dead weight here.”

“Dead weight… is too harsh. Didn’t I kill all the sea monsters?”

“That’s because I kept us fed. You were starving every time you
used your magic power.”

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Boss narrowed her eyes. She seemed to be glaring at me, but it
wasn’t scary at all.

“I’m kidding. Good work.”

“You too, Newbie…”

We smiled while looking into each other’s eyes.

[You cleared the second tutorial.] [Player Extra7 obtained 2008

performance points.] [You are currently ranked first out of the 78
Players who cleared the hardest difficulty tutorial.] [You are the only
Player who surpassed 2000 points – you will be given the second
tutorial’s reward of honor.] [You will be transferred to your waiting
room in three minutes.]

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Chapter 159
Source: Wuxiaworld

[You will now be given 24 hours to rest.] [Prepare for the final
tutorial.]

A warm light enveloped my body, and I closed my eyes. After a

brief moment of feeling afloat, my feet touched hard surface once
again.

I opened my eyes and saw my waiting room. Seeing the empty

white room, I smirked and sat down on the floor.

[First place reward – you obtained a tutorial reward box.] [You

obtained 1000 TP (Tower Point)]

Although all I did was continue to adventure, because the first

wave of challengers had no information on how the Tower worked, I
obtained first place easily. The competition would get much harder
than now from the third wave onwards, since Kim Suho was destined
to get first place in the second wave.

[TP is a currency useable in all floors of the Tower.] [Try opening

the Lv.1 Player Shop.]

“Yes, thank you.”

I thanked the system. The Player Shop was exactly what it sounded
like, a shop useable only by Players. This shop sold special items like
the Tower Re-entrance Ticket and the Earth Return Ticket. Of course,
neither of them could be used during the tutorial.

“Player Shop.”

As soon as I voiced the phrase, a shop window popped up.

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=== [Lv.1 Player Shop] —Physical Ability —Magic Power
Development —Faith —Consumable —Special Items [TP: 1000] ===

The Lv.1 here didn’t refer to my level. Players didn’t have levels,
but everything else in the Tower did: equipment, technique, skills,
NPCs, the Player Shop, and even the ‘system’ that I was talking to so
politely. I clicked on the ‘physical ability’ category.

[Muscle Growth Catalyst] … … [Vitality Boost Pill]

The shop was selling items that increased 0.05~0.10 stat points for
1000 TP. It was the same for the ‘magic power development’ and
‘faith’ categories. With my 1000 TP, I could only buy a few
consumable herbs.

[Blue Herb 30TP] [Luminescence Herb 50TP] … … [Magic Power

Clover 100TP]

“There’s nothing but herbs.”

I remembered putting vitality and magic power recovery potions

even in level 1 Player Shops, but it seemed that was modified as well.
In fact, all of the items listed here weren’t cost effective. As TP was a
shared currency within the Tower of Wish, it was likely better to buy
items from NPCs through NPC shops or from other players through
the auction house. Ah, of course, crafting items personally was the
cheapest option.

[Earth Return Ticket – 1000TP]

“This got more expensive too.”

Even the return ticket was 1000 TP and that wasn’t even taking
into account the 1000 TP needed for the re-entrance ticket. In total,
going back and forth between the Tower and Earth was four times
more expensive than in the original story.

“…Looks like I won’t make it back in a month.”

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TP was important especially in earlier floors of the Tower. I
promised Evandel I’d come back in a month, but it looked like I
needed at least two months. , I checked the reward box.

=== [Tutorial Performance Reward Box] You will obtain three

random upgrade scrolls. (This box will disappear unless opened
within 12 hours) ===

My luck probably didn’t apply to this box as it contained similar

level scrolls. I opened the box without hesitation. Three scrolls
immediately popped out.

[Skill Upgrade Scroll] [Item Upgrade Scroll] [Upgrade Scroll] [All

scrolls must be used within 12 hours.]

All three scrolls were rare scrolls that were hard to find even after
the end of the tutorial.

“…They’re different, huh.”

They were different than the scrolls Kim Suho would obtain. The
only common scroll was the skill upgrade scroll. This scroll obviously
had to be used on Random Dice. I wanted to save it if possible, but it
would disappear in 12 hours if I didn’t use it. First, I ripped the skill
upgrade scroll in half.

[Would you like to upgrade your bonus skill Random Dice?]

“Yes.”

=== [Choose the direction of the upgrade.] [Lv.1 Efficiency]

*Decreases Random Dice’s recharge time. [Lv.1 Limit Increase] *The
rank of the items you can obtain from the Random Dice increases.
[Lv.1 Intelligence] *Random Dice will recognize your intentions
better. ===

Three upgrade directions popped up in front of me. I clicked on

‘limit increase’ without thinking for too long. Thunk. The sound of a

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metallic bar closing rang out.

[Random Dice can now transform into Lv.4 items. In exchange, its
recharge time increases by 30 minutes.]

The upgrade was over. was the item upgrade scroll.

“What item do I have anyways…?”

I opened my inventory.

[Random Dice] [Lv.1 Fleshfish’s Skin] [Lv.2 Black Horn Octopus’

Heart] [Lv.1 Red Crystal Spear] [Lv.1 Red Crystal Axe] [Lv.1 Red
Crystal Fishing Rod] [Lv.2 Yggdrasil Leaf] [Glossy Seafish’s Tough
Skin]

My inventory was full with only eight items. It couldn’t be helped

since my inventory was only level 0.

“Hm.”

I pondered. None of the items from the tutorial were worth keeping
forever. Upgrading the red crystal spear seemed too… wait.

“Yggdrasil Leaf.”

Was it upgradeable? I tried rubbing the scroll on the leaf.

[Would you like to use the item upgrade scroll on Lv.2 Yggdrasil
Leaf?]

“It works?”

I confirmed it immediately.

[Lv.2 Yggdrasil Leaf becomes Lv. 3] —The effectiveness of

‘Yggdrasil’s Blessing’ increases. —Yggdrasil Leaf’s physical ability
increase improves. *Your strength, vitality, stamina, and speed stats
increase by an additional 0.1 point.

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“Alright, that does it for items….”

Now, it was time for the ‘upgrade scroll’. This scroll didn’t have a
prefix as if to say it could be used on anything. I immediately decided
how to use the scroll.

“I’d like to upgrade the system.”

With that, I ripped the scroll in half. One second. Two seconds.
Three seconds. The system, which always responded immediately,
popped up three seconds later.

[Are you sure you want to upgrade ‘Lv.0 Extra7’s System’?]

The system seemed to be taken aback. Perhaps, it was even

happy.

“Of course.”

I smiled and nodded.

[‘Lv.0 Extra7’s System’ becomes ‘Lv.1 Extra7’s System’.] [Your

personal waiting room becomes bigger.] [Your inventory becomes
Lv.1] [The Community…]

A string of system alerts let me know that my decision was correct.

By upgrading the system, my inventory space increased and with a
rumbling noise, my waiting room also got bigger.

“Great.”

I looked around the waiting room. I would be coming here often

from now. I planned to bring my friends here as well. Of course, the
Tower had an incredibly large floor called the ‘Residential Area’,
which was almost the size of Korea, but in other floors, this personal
waiting room was the only place I could go to rest in peace.

“Now let’s make some furniture.”

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This was part of my training as making things should help increase
my stats and Dexterity’s proficiency. First, I needed some material. I
took out a Random Dice from my inventory and threw it on the
ground.

[Well-cut Oak Tree]

Not having a level actually meant that it was Lv.0. In other words,
it was a bust, a trash that could only be used for drawers or floor
tiles. So, I rolled another one.

[Lv.3 High-quality Black Wood]

“Sweet.”

A large log popped out. With this, I should be able to make a bed. I
created a tool with Stigma’s magic power and started working.

“Huup.”

…12 hours quickly went by.

[Trait ‘Dexterity’ improves to grade-8.] [Crafting technique

improves to Lv.2] —Adds finishing touches to handmade equipment.
—Automatic crafting becomes more elaborate. —You obtain
'Blueprint-seeing Eyes’. [Your strength increases by 0.1 point.] [Your
stamina increases by 0.1 point.] [Your vitality increases by 0.1 point.]
…

After falling to grade-9, Dexterity was restored to grade-8, and my

physical stats increased by 0.1 points.

=== [Lv.3 Comfy Bed] ○Lv.3 Recovery *Completely restores

vitality in 6 hours. ○Lv.3 Comfiness *Clears your mind. ===

I built an amazing single-sized bed. Now, I had 12 hours remaining.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to rest. The reason I was working so
hard was to bully that bastard… or I guess that bitch ‘Jin Sahyuk’ as

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much as possible. I had to get stronger faster than her.

“Argh, I’m sore all over.”

My shoulders felt like they were going to pop off, but I still had
many things to do. , I had to make ‘equipment’. I was thinking of a
mask and hoodie to hide my face, and I also wanted a simple armor. I
rolled another Random Dice to get more material.

**

In 9 hours, I crafted three more equipment.

=== [Lv.3 Black Hooded Robe] ○Lv.2 Temperature Control ○Lv.3

Auto-fit ○Lv.1 Sound Muffling === [Lv.2 Black Eagle Mask] ○Lv.2 Air
Purifier ○Lv.2 Face Protection === [Lv.3 Leather Armor] ○Lv.3
Defense ○Lv.3 Durability ○Lv.3 Ease of Movement ===

“Auu, I’m so tired.”

Thankfully, Stigma’s magic power worked well, and they all ended
up with effects I wanted. There was little chance that someone else
in the tutorial had better equipment than me.

[You acquired the technique, ‘Lv.1 Magic Power Infusion.’] —The

effect of magic power infused into items improves.

[The final tutorial will begin in one hour.]

Looking at the system alert, I pondered. The final tutorial wasn’t

that hard. The first tutorial’s concept was ‘battle’, the second
tutorial’s concept was ‘survival’, and the final tutorial’s concept was
‘society’. Before the final tutorial began, I entered the Community.

「Public Forum」 [Read this if you are Extra7.]

“Huh?”

While I was scrolling through the public forum, I found a post

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looking for me. I could tell who created the post before even reading
it.

[Read this if you are Extra7.] 「Nayunjajangman」 —Are you still

alive? If so, answer me.

He must have thought I died because I suddenly stopped

responding last time. I laughed and typed my reply.

—What, you finished your tutorial?

He seemed to have received an alert as he quickly responded.

ㄴAs expected, you’re still alive, Hyung-nim ㅋㅋI’m waiting for the
final tutorial. ㄴWhat difficulty are you in. ㄴYou first, Hyung-nim.
ㄴI’m in the highest. ㄴWow… Hyung-nim must really be someone
amazing… so scary.

[Soon, the final tutorial will begin.]

“Ah, I don’t have time to talk.”

I didn’t have enough time. It wasn’t possible to enter the

Community during the tutorial.

ㄴHey, I’m starting the final tutorial. Don’t die and follow me
properly. ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yes Hyung-nim!

“Hm.”

The long string of ㅋs made it sound like he was looking down on

me, but I didn’t bother to reply.

[Final tutorial – Maintaining Profit] [You will now be moved to

‘Tutorial Town’.]

Light burst out like a thick fog. Feeling the warmth of the light, I
closed my eyes.

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**

[You are in the highest difficulty level’s Tutorial Town.] [For ten
days, obtain as much TP as you can in the tutorial’s society.] [At the
end of ten days, you must possess more than 1000 TP to clear the
final tutorial.] [All TP earned by Players will be theirs to keep.] [Lv.???
Mercenary’s Pub]

When I opened my eyes, I saw a flurry of system alerts along with

the status window of the building in front of me.

“…It’s practically a city.”

I looked around. Behind me were houses built with yellow bricks

and medieval-style shops. In front of me was a pub made entirely out
of wood. The whole scene looked like it came out of a fantasy novel.

For the first time in my life, I entered a pub. Kiiik— After opening
the stiff wooden door, I walked on the creaking wooden floor.

“Uhahaha.” “Hahahaha.” “Kuhahaha.”

As soon as I entered, rowdy laughter rang out. First, I took a good

look around the place. Many muscular NPCs were talking and having
fun. For the record, it was hard to distinguish between NPCs and
Players in the Tower. As such, it was better to pretend to be an NPC
as much as possible. I lifted up the hood on my robe and sat down at
the counter.

“What can I get ya?”

The owner asked. I glanced at the menu in front of me and ordered

fluently.

“One gin.”

“That’ll be 50TP.”

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[You can take out 50TP from your inventory.]

“It shouldn’t be that expensive.”

“…20TP.”

The owner lowered the price by over 50%. However, 20TP was still
too expensive. I pretended to reach into my pocket and took out five
1TP coins. The owner poured gin into a glass without saying
anything.

=== [Lv.1 Gin] ○Lv.1 Alcohol ===

It seemed the drink wasn’t drugged. I chugged the glass. It was

then.

Kiik—

The wooden door I just used opened once again. I turned around
instinctively. Immediately, my eyes widened in shock. Standing at
the door was a man and a woman.

The woman was Caucasian and short. Her white hair was
noticeable even from a distance, and her puppy-like eyes shone like
jewels. Anyone looking at her would wonder how such a small face
could contain such beauty.

to the woman was a well-built Asian man. His appearance was just
as praiseworthy as the woman’s.

“Where is this? How mysterious.”

They were Heroes from the honored Temple of Justice, the

strongest members the Hero Association had to offer. ‘Aileen the
Spirit Speech Master’ and ‘Hellfire Yi Yongha’.

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Chapter 160
Source: Wuxiaworld

According to the system, there were 78 people who passed the

second tutorial in the highest difficulty level. The size of the Tutorial
Town was about the size of Yeouido, and all 78 highest difficulty
challengers were now in this town. Even among those 78, the two
Heroes closest to the Master rank status were here. Hiding my
nervousness, I observed them.

“Where is this? How mysterious.”

They walked into the pub, and I pulled my hood over my head.

“This is the Mercenary Pub it says. Look, there are missions on the
bulletin board there.”

“Ah~ so we have to make money by completing missions~”

Aileen nodded her head at Yi Yongha’s words. At a glance, they

looked like an uncle-niece pair.

“Looks like it.”

“How much do we need to make again?”

“1000 each in ten days.”

“That should be easy~”

The third tutorial’s goal was simple. To make TP. Players who
possess more than 1000 TP at the end would move on to the real
Tower, but those who didn’t would have to stay here until the start of
the next tutorial on November 1st.

“Destroying a goblin settlement, wiping out a group of bandits,

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dismantling an illegal gambling house…”

Yi Yongha read the missions on the bulletin board.

“We can probably complete them all today.”

Aileen spoke impatiently.

“…Please, you’re going to be dead tired by the end of a single

mission.”

“What? Are you underestimating me?”

“I’m being realistic. Your magic power is restricted right now.”

Since Aileen was Yi Yongha’s superior and they arrived together,

Aileen must have entered the tower with a red ticket with Yi Yongha
being her companion. Kiik— At that moment, the door creaked open
once again. Yi Yongha and Aileen turned to the door, and so did I.

“Where the hell is this? The last tutorial was more interesting…”

“Can you be quiet?”

I could tell who they were just from their voices. A giant and a
seductive Western woman. It was Cheok Jungyeong and Jain.

“How the hell are we supposed to make… eh?”

“…Oh?”

They found Aileen and Yi Yongha who were standing in front of the
bulletin board. Aileen and Yi Yongha also saw them and received
their gazes. 2 vs 2. Four sets of eyes glared at each other. None of
them said anything, but the atmosphere was filled with hostility.

“Owner, give me two of your strongest alcohol.”

I ordered two drinks from the owner, paying 20TP. The owner took

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the two silver coins and handed me two highly concentrated alcohol.
I pulled my mask up and held the glasses up.

“You two know me, right?”

Aileen was the first one to break the tension, speaking as she
glared at Cheok Jungyeong and Jain.

“Haha, that’s right, kid. We’ve seen you once before.”

Cheok Jungyeong replied.

“…Kid?”

“Maybe it’s more appropriate to call you a brat.”

“…Ha, haha, I dare you to say that again.”

Aileen’s face turned red from Cheok Jungyeong’s clear provocation.

However, now wasn’t the time to fight.

“Both of you, come…”

Aileen’s power, Spirit Speech, neared the level of an Authority. I

quickly twisted my wrist. Vodka shot out of the glasses I was holding
and flew into Aileen’s mouth in a beautiful arc. Yi Yongha tried to
block it with his body, but I prepared two glasses for this exact
situation.

“Here— kek!”

Yi Yongha blocked one stream of vodka, but the other stream

entered Aileen’s mouth. With hard liquor suddenly ending up in her
throat, Aileen coughed but was unable to spit it out.

“Aak! Neck, m-my neck is… burning… haak…”

Spirit Speech was useless if you couldn’t speak. As Aileen was

weak with alcohol to begin with, she started picking up and drinking

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other NPCs’ drinks.

“Ptui! Ah, this is also alcohol! W-Water—!”

“Um, Aileen-ssi, calm down. Take a deep breath…”

“You think I can calm down!?!?”

Normally, Aileen would have quickly recovered using her magic

power that rivaled Boss’. No, normally, she wouldn’t have been
affected by alcohol at all. However, her stats were restricted at the
moment, making her all the more vulnerable.

“What the hell’s up with that brat?”

“Cheok Jungyeong.”

I walked up to Cheok Jungyeong and Jain and whispered.

“Huh?”

Cheok Jungyeong’s eyes widened. I held my index finger up to my

mouth, signaling Cheok Jungyeong to keep his mouth shut. Then, I
dragged them outside and ran for five minutes straight.

“O-Oi!”

Cheok Jungyeong shook off my hand once we arrived at an

alleyway. Now that we were far away from the pub, I let him go free.

“The hell’s wrong with you? Why’d you drag me here?”

“It looked like you were about to start a fight, so I brought you
outside.”

“What, I can’t fight?”

“….”

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I looked at Jain who was standing next to Cheok Jungyeong. I
wanted her to do something about this muscle-brained fool, but Jain
only shrugged.

“Their stats are restricted like the rest of us, right? I want to beat
up that brat Aileen too.”

“…You’ll be arrested if you fight inside the town. Haven’t you seen
the town’s vigilante group?”

I looked around carefully. Thankfully, there weren’t any Players

watching.

“By the way, where is Boss?”

“Who knows? We just arrived here too…. Oh wait, there she is.”

Jain pointed to the middle of the street. I turned to where she was
pointing.

“…She really is there.”

Boss was tilting her head in front of a street vendor who was
selling candies and chocolates.

“Looks like Boss wants sweets.”

Just like Jain said, Boss smacked her lips and began to rummage
through her pockets.

“I guess so. She does like chocolate.”

“Oi, Newbie, what’s up with your clothes?”

“Oh yeah, where did you get that?”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain seemed interested in my clothes.

“I made them.”

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“Oh! Make one for me too.”

“Me too, me too.”

“Sure, if you’re paying.”

“…Then nevermind.”

Jain backed down as expected, but Cheok Jungyeong was different.

“How much? I have 300 won right now.”

“300TP?”

“Yeah.”

I stared at Cheok Jungyeong and carefully spoke.

“…For all of what you have.”

“Hahaha, brat, do I look like a pushover?”

“….”

Despite looking and acting like an idiot, he wasn’t that stupid. I let
out a dry cough and changed the subject.

“Kuhum, let’s go to Boss first.”

Boss seemed to have figured out how to take out TP, as she pulled
out a gold coin. Gold coins were worth 100TP each, and the one she
had was likely gained as a reward from the second tutorial. Boss
stared at the street vendor with the gold coin in hand. The vendor’s
face was full of greed.

“…She’s going to get scammed at this rate.”

Tutorial Town. Although it sounded kind and helpful, close to 70%

of its residents were scammers. I went to Boss with Cheok Jungyeong

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and Jain.

“Oi, Boss!”

Cheok Jungyeong called her, and Boss turned around just as she
was about to give the vendor her gold coin.

“Oh, it’s Gyeong. Jain and Newbie are here too.”

Boss greeted us expressionlessly as Cheok Jungyeong practically

stomped towards her. I also approached her quickly and took away
the gold coin in her hand.

“Hm? Newbie, why are you taking my money?”

Boss frowned.

“I’ll give it back to you later.”

I faced the candy vendor instead of Boss.

“This chocolate, how much is it?”

“Pardon? Uh….”

I could practically hear him racking his brain. However, NPCs

thought the same way as humans. Seeing Cheok Jungyeong towering
over behind me…

“They’re 10TP each.”

“….”

Wow, he’s trying to scam me in front of Cheok Jungyeong.

“Give me one, no, two.”

Boss spoke up. Because she hasn’t eaten chocolate in over a

month, she seemed pretty desperate.

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“No.”

“W-Why? I have 20TP…”

“I know, but that’s enough to buy ten chocolates.”

Leaving the struggling Boss to Cheok Jungyeong, I faced the candy

vendor once again.

**

With 20TP, I bought 20 chocolates and 20 candies. Now that that

was taken care of, we headed to an inn. While Boss was happily
eating junk food, we arrived at a nearby inn.

“Let’s see, four people… that will be 300TP per night.”

Even the innkeeper was a scammer. But knowing the real price, I
only took out six silver coins.

“Let’s make it 60TP.”

“Ehey, that won’t do at all. Go somewhere else.”

“I’ve been to all the inns in town. It only got cheaper each time.
This is the last place.”

I glanced at Cheok Jungyeong as I said that. Cheok Jungyeong

noticed my eye signal and began to glare at the innkeeper.

“…150, let’s do 150TP per night.”

“60TP.”

“60TP for a 4-person room? That’s impossible…”

“60TP, but we won’t ask for food. You only have to provide us with
the room.”

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“.…”

“Let’s not make it difficult.”

The innkeeper was silent for a long time. I also kept quiet. After
about three minutes of dead silence, system alerts let me know that
my haggling was a success.

[You acquired the technique, ‘Lv.1 Haggling’] —You can see the
rough estimate of the minimum price desired by NPCs with low-level
Haggling.

[‘Lv.1 Haggling’ links with your ‘Charming Voice’.] —Extra7’s voice

will now contain ‘Minute Persuasion’.

‘So Charming Voice can be used like this…’ I grinned and looked at
the innkeeper.

“F-Fine, 70TP!”

…He still wanted 10TP more. I threw 60TP on the counter and took
the key. I brought Boss, Jain, and Cheok Jungyeong upstairs and
entered a large 4-person room.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Jain sat down on the edge of the bed and asked.

“I’m planning to go steal something. I’m sure you’re going to go off

and do your own thing. The problem is…”

Jain looked at Boss and Cheok Jungyeong.

“These two with low social experience.”

“I’ll take Cheok Jungyeong with me. You should take care of Boss.”

“What? You? You’re going to take me with you? Ahahaha, you’ve

gotten funnier, kid.”

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Cheok Jungyeong laughed as he hit my shoulder. My bones would
have been broken if this was the outside world, but thanks to the
balance patch in this world, I was unexpectedly okay.

“Also, invest all the money you have on me.”

Jain’s eyebrows twitched.

“…What for?”

“Gambling.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

The Tutorial Town also had a gambling house. The problem was
that over half of the gamblers were scammers, making victory or loss
not completely luck-dependent.

“Ah~ is that why you bought a pack of cards before coming here?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked.

“Yes.”

On our way to the inn, I stopped and bought a pack of cards. To

make money in a room full of scammers, you just had to be the best
scammer in the room.

“Are you confident?”

Jain asked doubtfully.

“Of course, would I ask Jain-ssi for money if I wasn’t?”

Money was life to Jain. Stealing money from Jain was no different
than declaring war on her.

“…Really?”

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“Of course.”

Before coming into the Tower, I studied and practiced cheating

with cards. Double dealing, hand mucking, base dealing, sleight-of-
hand, etc. Thanks to my Gift, Dexterity, I was practically a
professional scammer.

**

One hour later. I arrived at a gambling house with Cheok

Jungyeong, asking NPCs nearby for direction.

—Threes full of fives. —Fucking hell, you cheated, didn’t you? —Oh
please.

The gambling house was loud and full of the acrid smell of smoke. I
went to an empty table and sat down. A scammer who was smoking
and looking bored flashed his eyes.

“Oh~ are you two new here?”

“Yes.”

“Oho~ a bodybuilder and a skinny boy… what a strange

combination. Are you two friends?”

I smiled without answering him. Cheok Jungyeong also grinned.

“It’s true, this guy is skinny.”

“Anyways, welcome. I’ll treat you two well.”

I could tell that he was a scammer as soon as I saw him. Since I

was going to cheat as well, I didn’t care all that much.

“Alright, why don’t we begin?”

The man picked up a pack of cards. I simply smiled.

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*

Two hours. It only took two hours for me to win most of the money
in the gambling house. I cheated when I was playing against
scammers and relied purely on luck when playing ordinary people. Of
course, scammers caused a scene knowing that I was cheating
somehow, but Cheok Jungyeong was there to stop them every time.

“How boring. All cowards.”

NPCs who were only good at scamming shrunk in front of Cheok

Jungyeong’s muscles. It was quite funny to see.

“Now let’s run away.”

“Eh? Why? We can still make more.”

“No, look over there.”

I pointed at the fierce-looking man who I just felted. He was glaring

at me as he chewed on a cigarette.

“He should be a scammer hired by the owner of this gambling

house.”

“…So?”

“The owner will come soon with hired hands. Let’s exchange
money and leave before then.”

There was no reason to fight NPCs. I brought Cheok Jungyeong to

the exchange place.

“10200 chips, confirmed. Hold on a minute.”

The employee working at the currency exchange confirmed the

number of chips I made. 300TP from Cheok Jungyeong, 200TP each
from Boss and Jain and 1000TP that I originally had brought my
starting total to 1700TP. In two hours, I had more than quintupled it.

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“Here you go, 10200TP.”

The employee gave me ten 1000TP banknotes and two gold coins.

“How much do I get?”

Without answering Cheok Jungyeong, I put everything in my

inventory. Ssss— The two gold coins and some of the banknotes
transformed into dust and entered my inventory. Right, ‘some’. There
were still five banknotes in my hand.

“These are fake.”

I stared at Cheok Jungyeong.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, that’s why they don’t go in the inventory.”

Cheok Jungyeong’s face immediately contorted and turned red

with rage. His muscles also bulked up, and… KWANG—! A thunderous
sound rang out.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Hiik!”

“Do I look like a pushover? I dare you to try that again, you…!
Mother… father…!

He began to spit out all sorts of curses I couldn’t describe with

words.

With 10200TP, I returned to the inn. Boss was working out, and Jain
was preparing to go steal something in disguise.

“Oh, you’re back? Where’s my money? If you lost it all…”

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“Don’t worry. First, take a seat.”

I gave Boss, Jain, and Cheok Jungyeong their money back and an
additional 1000TP.

“Whew… good.”

“Just by keeping the 1000TP I just gave you, you’ll be able to go up

to the next floor.”

“Well, that was easy. Is this it for this floor?”

“No, stay on your guard. There are pickpockets all over the town.
They can even steal money that’s inside your inventory.”

Although it was easy for us, this place was still the highest
difficulty Tutorial Town. There was no way anyone could know that
most of the people in this town were scammers. Even a great sage
would have no choice but to be tricked once.

“Do we get a performance-based reward like the last tutorial if we

get the most money?”

“Probably not. The system would have told us about it if that were
the case.”

The third tutorial reward was simple.

“The TP we earn in this place should be our reward.”

**

On the other hand, in a goblin settlement some distance away

from the Tutorial Town.

“What? You said it was 700TP!”

Someone’s angry voice rang out. Birds sitting on branches flew

away and squirrels fell from the trees in surprise.

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“Agh, do you need to be so loud?”

Aileen glared at the mercenary leader who hired her.

“You think I can be quiet? Huh?! You said it was 700TP before!”

“As I said, that’s if we didn’t suffer any damage. Look at the state
these guys are in.”

“What?”

Aileen looked around her surroundings. There were mercenaries

who were clearly suffering from great pain. She bit her lips silently.

“It’s written in the contract. That the amount paid might change
depending on other mercenaries’ condition.”

“…But I don’t think it’s right to not even give us half the listed
amount.”

This time, Yi Yongha spoke up. The mercenary leader was

unreasonably saying he would lower the 700TP mission completion
reward to 300TP.

“No, no, that’s just how it is.”

“At least give us half.”

“I can’t. If we consider how much it’ll take to get these guys

treatment, we can’t spare even a single TP.”

“You—”

“Fine! I don’t need your dirty money!”

Aileen shouted sharply and snatched the three gold coins in the
mercenary leader’s hands. She wanted to use Spirit Speech to have
things her way, but because she used up most of her magic power
fighting, she couldn’t do anything about it.

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“You better pray we don’t see each other again. If we do, I’ll kill
you for real.”

“I-I’m just going with what’s written on the contract. You don’t
have to be so mad.”

“What, you son of a bitch—!”

“…Stop Aileen-ssi. We won’t gain anything from fighting.”

“B-But this bastard is…!”

Yi Yongha dragged Aileen back as she struggled with her short

legs. …After separating from the mercenary group, they began to
walk back to the town.

“Forget about today. Let’s just buy some potions on our way back.”

Yi Yongha spoke as he wiped his sweat.

“But the Player Shop doesn’t sell potions…”

Aileen’s voice was especially meek today. She was lively even on
an uninhabited island, but a few people had managed to make her
depressed. Yi Yongha made a bitter smile.

“No, not the Player Shop. I’ve seen potion shops around. Ah,
there’s one right there.”

Yi Yongha pointed at a potion shop nearby.

“Aileen-ssi is low on magic power, right? Let’s go and buy some

magic power potions.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

The two of them ran to the potion shop. …Then.

“100… 100TP?”

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“Yes, magic power potions got expensive recently.”

“…Still, there’s no way they can be that expensive.”

“It’s true. It should be the same everywhere else. Though, I don’t

think many shops are open because it’s so late.”

“Ha….”

Although the price was hard to believe, the shopkeeper looked too
honest and righteous to be lying. Even Yi Yongha had no choice but
to believe her. He looked at Aileen who was looking dejected and
sad. It easy to see how unhappy she was with the whole situation.

“Haa.”

Yi Yongha sighed. Suddenly, he had a great desire to see his wife

back home. But since Aileen overused her magic power today, she
needed a magic power potion if she were to regain enough energy
for tomorrow.

“…I guess it can’t be helped. We’ll take one.”

“Ah, yes, sorry about that…”

“No, it’s not your fault at all.”

“ time you come, I’ll add in some additional bonuses.”

“Ah, thank you.”

In the end, Yi Yongha used up his money to buy a magic power

potion.

“Here you go, Aileen-ssi.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Aileen took the magic power potion and put it inside her inventory.

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=== [Poor Magic Power Potion] ○Lv.0 Magic Power Recovery.
Restores 10 magic power upon consumption. ○Lv.1 Food Poisoning.
Increases your chance of getting food poisoning upon consumption.
===

The item description was a bit weird, but because magic power
potions were normally expensive, Aileen didn’t think much of it.

“Then let’s find an inn.”

“Un!”

…10 minutes later, they found an inn to stay in. However, the
innkeeper glanced at them and delivered another shocking news.

“Let’s see, two people… that’ll be 150TP per night.”

“…Pardon?”

As soon as they heard the innkeeper, they felt as though their

souls left their bodies.

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Chapter 161
Source: Wuxiaworld

[Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town]

A new morning arrived. As soon as I woke up, I left the inn and
began to do my morning stretch. Then suddenly, a loud, ringing voice
struck my ears.

“Oi, what are you doing?”

I turned around and saw Cheok Jungyeong who was topless. He

seemed to have been working out as his body was red and his
muscles were bulked up.

“Just some morning workout.”

“Workout? Ha, you call that a workout?”

Cheok Jungyeong approached me as he sneered.

“Listen, Newbie, doing push-ups is for kids.”

“…Pardon?”

“When it comes to training your body, breathing is the most

important thing. Got it? To breathe properly…”

Cheok Jungyeong suddenly began to lecture about breathing. I was

half-ignoring him, but suddenly my mind became clearer. Cheok
Jungyeong pushed his face closer.

“Listen, breathing isn’t just done with your body, it’s done with
your mind.”

The man who was standing in front of me was the famous ‘Cheok

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Jungyeong’ of the Goryeo era. As the most powerful general in the
history of the Korean Peninsula, his understanding of martial arts was
something no one could argue against.

“Look, this is what’s known as inner core breathing.”

Ssp, haa… Cheok Jungyeong began to breathe. It might look like

normal breathing, but it was different. I carefully observed his body.
As he inhaled and exhaled, his muscles moved along with him.

“I’m moving the muscles in my body by breathing. Get it? We’re on

a completely different level of breathing!”

Cheok Jungyeong stood proudly after finishing his demonstration. I

watched Cheok Jungyeong’s muscles for a bit, then muttered with
doubt.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do this.”

“It’ll be hard for sure. There are lots of rookies swinging their
swords around claiming they’ve achieved the ‘one with the sword’
realm, but they are unaware that becoming one with your mind and
body is the hardest thing in the world. But I can do it. Do you know
why?”

No… I gave him an apathetic look, but Cheok Jungyeong continued

on without minding my disinterest.

“The strongest man in all of Goryeo, the martial god who could
uproot trees with his bare hands and change the fate of countries
alone.”

Cheok Jungyeong hit his chest proudly.

“It’s because that’s who I am.”

He smiled and faced me. His expression contained an ineffable

pride and self-conviction. I stared at him silently. Cheok Jungyeong’s

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smile turned into a big grin.

“Are you starting to respect me now?”

“…No, I’m just cringing. Isn’t that your past life anyway?”

“What? Say that again, I dare you.”

In any case, I obtained a good hint. Breathing through the entire

body. Although it was impossible for my current self, I should be able
to imitate it using Stigma’s magic power.

“Hajin~”

At that moment, Jain peeked her head out of the third-floor

window.

“Yes?”

“Do you know how to cook? I think Boss is hungry from all the
training she did last night. She wants you to cook for her.”

—Jain! W-When did I say that!?

“Boss says you’re a good cook. She wants bulgogi rice.”

—Jain! Y-You!

I could hear Boss’ voice as well. I chuckled and looked at Cheok

Jungyeong.

“Let’s go shopping, Cheok Jungyeong-ssi.”

“Cheok Jungyeong-ssi? Just call me Cheok Jungyeong.”

“Alright, Cheok Jungyeong.”

“…You wanna die?”

Cheok Jungyeong and I went out to the busy streets.

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“Isn’t it interesting?”

“What is.”

“The scenery here.”

This place looked exactly like a town from a fantasy novel. Most
houses were built with bricks or wood, the only form of transportation
were horses and carriages, and there were shops that sold potions
and magic supplies.

“I guess so.”

Eventually, Cheok Jungyeong and I arrived at the town’s market

district, a long stretch of alleyways filled with street vendors that sold
food. After picking the freshest ingredients, I looked up at the vendor.

[Lower limit – 30TP]

“How much for all this?”

“Let’s see. Onions, mushrooms, pork…It should be about 100TP.”

“I think 35TP should be enough.”

In this town, talking politely was the same thing as announcing

that you were a pushover.

“35TP? That’s a bit…”

“Make it 35TP.”

“Then you can go elsewhere. I doubt you’ll find any place that’ll
sell at such a dirt-cheap price.”

The vendor tried to refuse, but he was an NPC with a low haggling
level. It didn’t take long for me to crack him.

“Ehew, fine, take it.”

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Using the intimidating aura Cheok Jungyeong was giving off, I
succeeded in haggling down the price.

“Are you done?”

“Yes, let’s go back now.”

Afterward, I returned to the inn with Cheok Jungyeong. Seeing our

hands full with bags of ingredients, Boss and Jain welcomed us.
Before I even started to cook, Boss sat down at the table.

“Wait just a bit.”

Grade-8 Dexterity was more than enough for cooking. Using a

recipe I had memorized, I quickly made a 4-person meal.

“Wow.”

“Oh~ You’re a good cook, Newbie—!”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain expressed their surprise, while Boss

quickly ate like a vacuum machine.

**

After our meal, the four of us stared blankly at the ceiling of our
room.

“Oi, Newbie, what are you doing next? Gambling?”

“No, we went yesterday.”

I already beat the casino hard. Since they knew my face, I should
be on a blacklist, preventing me from entering. If not, I would be
kidnapped the moment I entered.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to open up a street stall.”

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“Street stall?”

Jain’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

The Tutorial Town’s NPCs had a lot of money. Of course, as this

town was part of the tutorial, there weren’t any Lv.3 equipment or
items. On the other hand, NPCs were Lv.2 or Lv.3 at the very least,
and the captain of the vigilante corps could potentially be Lv.10 or
more. That was because ‘Tutorial Town’ was located in the basement
of the Tower of Wish. In other words, it was one of the first floors
created. All NPCs in this place should have lived here for at least 5
years.

“Why a street stall? Aren’t you just going to get scammed?”

“No, as long as you sell above the lowest price, opening a street
stall is actually the easiest way of making money. There’s no way for
NPCs to force you to sell something.”

“Mm, then what are you going to sell?”

“This.”

I took out my red crystal axe and red crystal spear. Although they
came in handy during the second tutorial, I no longer had any use for
them.

“I’m also going to make more.”

With the materials in my inventory and materials I could gain from

rolling Random Dice, I planned to make more items. Although I
wouldn’t be able to use Stigma’s magic power under the watchful
eye of the administrator, I could make up for it with this special leaf.

=== [Lv.3 Yggdrasil Leaf] —Lv.3 Blessing of Adventure *Your body

becomes lighter while you have this item in your inventory.

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(improvements to your physical abilities) *You can grant small
blessings to items. Blessings will get stronger the more they have to
do with adventures. ===

“And actually, there’s something I need you to do, Jain-ssi.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

“Really? What is it?”

Jain tilted head as she pointed her finger at herself.

**

At the end of a street leading to the inn, where not too many but
not too few people passed by, I set up a stall. In case I ran into other
Players, I made sure to have my mask and hooded robe on.

[General Store] [From weapons to armors to herbs to fruits, we sell

everything and anything.]

I put my sign down and sat down on the ground. Before I could
even put down a piece of cloth to put my items on…

“Hey, who are you?”

Thugs who were in a union with the street vendors of the same
street approached me. I was surrounded by five thugs, but I
maintained my composure.

“I got permission to sell here.”

“What? Whose permission…”

“Mine.”

A deep voice rang out at just the right moment. The five thugs

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turned around simultaneously.

“Ah, Boss!”

At the same time, the five NPCs bowed at a 90-degree angle. Tak,
tak. Along with imposing footsteps, the man who the NPCs called
‘Boss’ stood in front of me.

“I gave this person permission.”

“Ah, our apologies, we didn’t know…”

“It’s fine.”

The boss frowned heavily. His eyes of contempt were clearly

showing that he didn’t want to bother himself with trifling matters. As
expected, ‘her’ acting was superb.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to in the first place.
Why don’t you buy something from him.”

“Y-Yes, understood!”

With a single command from the man, the five NPCs faced me
once again.

“This looks nice. How much is…”

The first NPC pointed at an armor I put out without much thought.
However, in the next moment, his eyes widened.

“Whoa, h-hey, isn’t this a Lv.3 armor?”

“Lv. 3?”

“Ha, as if that’s possible.”

Their attention all fell on the armor.

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“This is Lv.3?”

“I think so.”

Although NPCs couldn’t check item descriptions like Players, they

had discerning eyes that could appraise the level of most items.

“But there aren’t any Lv.3s in our time!”

Even so, they displayed doubt and suspicion. I spoke.

“This isn’t a Lv.3 armor.”

=== [Lv.3 Leather Armor with Lv.3 Yggdrasil’s Blessing] ○Lv.3

Defense ○Lv.3 Durability ○Lv.3 Easy of Movement —Lv.3 Yggdrasil’s
Small Blessing ○Increases all effects of the Leather Armor by 1 level.
○This blessing will disappear after 24 hours. However, the owner of
the Yggdrasil Leaf can choose up to five armor to receive permanent
blessings. ===

“See, he says it isn’t. I’ve never seen a Lv.3 equipment before in

my life.”

“It’s almost Lv.4.”

“Exactly, it’s only… what? Lv.4?”

“Yes, you should be able to tell if you look close enough.”

This was an armor I made in the waiting room using Stigma’s

magic power. Although it felt a bit wasteful to sell it now, TP was
much more important at the moment.

“Here, let me see.” “Ah, let me see too.”

The five NPCs took turns looking at the armor.

“Ah, fuck, stop being so selfish!” “You don’t even have money!” “I
do, you fuck!”

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They even began to fight amongst themselves. I looked beyond
their shoulders at the boss of the group of thugs. The boss, Jain,
mouthed silently.

—Hajin, don’t forget to give me 5%.

I nodded.

“This, I’ll buy this! How much is it?”

“Mm… it’s going to be a bit expensive.”

“How’s 500TP?”

“8! I can do 800TP!”

“1400!”

The sudden auction caught the attention of others in the street.

More people began to wander over in curiosity, and after hearing that
a Lv.4 item was being sold…

“3000!”

“3000. Is that the final bid?”

“….”

“Good, 3000 it is.”

The leather armor I made was sold for 3000TP. The NPC who
bought it seemed to be quite wealthy. After checking that the TP I
got wasn’t fake, I gave him the armor, and the NPC returned with a
happy expression. However, the other customers seemed to have no
plans to leave. They began to ask all sorts of questions on other
items I had out for sale, some of which were Lv.3 items. The fools
who tried to sneak off with my items were caught by Cheok
Jungyeong and taught a lesson of love.

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…While I was busy dealing with the influx of customers, all of a
sudden, a familiar voice rang out along with a gentle breeze.

“…What’s going on here?”

This faint voice set aside the booming voice of all the other
customers and landed in my ears. My eyes immediately shot open,
and my head turned to the direction the voice came from.

There, I saw a girl on her tiptoes, trying to peek at what was being
sold.

“A general store…?”

She was someone I knew well. Her face was one that I could never
forget, to the point that my heart stopped a beat when I saw her. She
was… Chae Nayun.

“Argh, move over if you’re not buying!”

Chae Nayun worked her way in front of me. I couldn’t say anything.
I thanked the mask and hooded robe I was wearing and lowered my
head further.

“…Red crystal spear? Um, do you have a red crystal sword?”

I shook my head at Chae Nayun’s question. Her voice was still the
same as ever.

“I see… then how much is this spear?”

I was put into a situation where I had no choice but to speak. I

cleared my throat and changed my voice.

“250TP.”

“250TP?”

“I’ll give you a bonus too.”

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“Uh…”

Chae Nayun fell in thought. It seemed she didn’t find anything

suspicious with my voice. I thanked my ‘Charming Voice’ once again.

“Hm… I really want this, but I only have 200… or no, 150TP.”

“….”

“I-It’s true. I understand if that’s too little. I can just go to another

shop.”

Her haggling made no sense. There was no logic, technique, or

emotion behind it. But I pretended to be tricked.

“Then you can take it for 150TP. Here, have this too.”

On top of the red crystal spear Chae Nayun wanted, I threw in a

money pouch which also had a bento box I made for lunch.

“Oh, I don’t need the bonus… How about you shave off another
50TP instead?”

“…You crazy?”

She made an absurd offer.

“…I’m kidding. Thank you, have a nice day.”

Chae Nayun turned around with the red crystal spear in one hand
and the leather pouch in the other. Just like that, she walked away.
Her steps were light. She must be thinking that it was her haggling
technique that cut down the price. I watched her leave for a long
time. Her hair was still short and was dyed black. I grabbed my chest.
My heart was still beating violently, refusing to calm down. …It was
then.

“Oi, answer me.”

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Some man walked in front of me and blocked my line of sight. His
face was oily and generally unpleasant.

“How much is this?”

He pointed at the red crystal axe and asked. I retorted briefly.

“1500TP.”

“What? You just sold the spear to that girl for—”

“1600TP.”

“What? Why did it go up by—”

“1700TP.”

“You…”

**

Five minutes later. Chae Nayun ran to a nearby bench and sat
down.

“Let’s see… Oh? It even has a blessing.”

=== [Lv.2 Red Crystal Spear with Lv.3 Yggdrasil’s Blessing] ○Lv.2
Burn Damage ○Lv.2 Fire-attribute Power —Lv.3 Yggdrasil’s Small
Blessing ○Increases all effects of the red crystal spear by 1 level.
===

“Huhuhu….”

‘What’s this, I bought a half-Lv.3 item for 150TP?’ Chae Nayun

smiled happily as she read the item description.

“Looks like NPCs can’t read item descriptions. Should I sell it? No,
why would I sell such a good item?”

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Chae Nayun tightly hugged the red crystal spear.

“…Oh right.”

Then, she suddenly remembered the leather pouch she got from
the street vendor NPC. Chae Nayun opened the pouch without much
thought. Inside, she found a warm bento box.

“…Bento box?”

She checked the item description first. Thankfully, it wasn’t

poisoned. Feeling hungry, Chae Nayun smiled and took the bento box
out.

“Oh?”

However, there were things she didn’t buy placed inside the pouch.
Five gold coins. Right, the pouch contained 500TP.

“….”

Chae Nayun stared at the coins blankly. Thinking about it for a

moment, she quickly came to an explanation. The street vendor NPC
must have placed the sales from today in it. Clearly, he gave the
pouch to her mistakenly. However, looking at the shining gold coins,
a flame of greed rose up from Chae Nayun’s heart. Five gold coins.
500TP. She only had 150TP on her…

“N-No.”

‘It’s only right to give it back. You already got such a great item for
150TP. Don’t lose your conscience, Nayun.’ Chae Nayun shot up and
went back the way she came from.

“…There he is.”

Thankfully, the street vendor was still there. Chae Nayun worked
her way through the crowd once again and gave the gold coins to the

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vendor.

“Um, here, you left 500TP inside the leather pouch.”

“…What?”

“I came to give it back. Take it.”

However, the NPC refused to take the coins and instead glanced at
the giant man standing behind the stall.

“Oi.”

A giant walked in front of her. While Chae Nayun was confused, the
man shot back intimidatingly.

“Screw off if you’re going to argue with what you got.”

“N-No, I’m not arguing with what I got. I got five gold coins with it.
These are yours.”

“…Hm?”

The giant glanced at the street vendor NPC. Chae Nayun couldn’t
hear what the vendor said, but the giant sneered and shot back.

“Screw off, idiot.”

“What? Idiot? Say that again!”

“Just leave, little brat.”

The giant man raised his arm and threatened Chae Nayun. He
must have thought that he could intimidate her away but in reality…

“What? Are you crazy!?”

Chae Nayun kicked the man’s leg without cowering down. Kwak!
Her foot dug into his calf.

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“…Uk!”

A sharp pain coursed through the giant’s body, causing him to fall
on one knee. Chae Nayun quickly ran away.

“Y-You crazy bitch—!”

“Hmph, I was doing you a favor!”

She stuck up her middle finger at the giant’s threat.

“I, I’ll remember your face! You little—!”

Only Cheok Jungyeong’s angry roar rang out in the streets.

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Chapter 162
Source: Wuxiaworld

By the time Chae Nayun completed a mission, the sky was already
dark. She trudged back to the inn she stayed in the night before.
Although she completed a 500TP mission, she only received 200TP,
and after paying for her lodging, she was only left with 125TP.

“Hey, you need to pay another 75TP.”

“Ask my companion for the other half.”

“…Hm, fine.”

“Alright, then I’m going back to my room.”

After walking past the greedy innkeeper, she returned to her room.
Lying on the empty bed, Chae Nayun stared at the ceiling. She was
tired, but she couldn’t fall asleep. In an empty room, she was all
alone. Suddenly, her heart rate slowed down, and her mood turned
sour. Lonely thoughts began to distract her.

Tk, tk, tk.Rain began to fall.

“…It’s raining.”

She opened the door, thinking that she was perhaps hearing
things, but it really was raining. She let out a small sigh. Thinking
about it now, the first two tutorials were much easier. Back then, she
was so physically exhausted that her brain didn’t have the time to
function. But now that she had idle time… in complete solitude,
everything began to come alive once more. Fragments of her
memory swept through her head. Her mental illness had gotten
worse ever since she entered the Tower. Was it because she wasn’t
eating her pills? Her breathing became rough and her head hurt.

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“…Uk!”

An unbearable headache struck her. She clutched her head.

Beeeeep— A ringing noise buzzed in her ears. She felt like the
strange sound was making her surroundings quake.

“Ah… fuck….”

Blood dripped down from the lip she was biting. Things she
couldn’t understand flashed before her eyes. The conversation from
that day rose up in her foggy consciousness. She still had many
questions left unanswered.

“Argh….”

If it really was him that did it or if he was making up an absurd lie.

And if it really was him who murdered her brother… Why, why, why?
Just why did he do it? Her questions repeatedly rattled her mind.
Resentment and sadness came together and formed a restrictive
chain that bound her.

Click—

At that moment, a clear clicking sound rang out. The door to her
room slowly opened. Chae Nayun raised her upper body slightly. She
could see a man with disheveled hair trudging in. His face was that
man’s face. Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin, Kim Hajin. The face she could never
forget… was now in front of her. She stealthily reached towards the
spear standing next to her bed.

“You’re already back?”

However, her hallucination scattered away with a single sentence

from the man. With a sigh, Chae Nayun closed her eyes before
opening them back up. She now saw who the man really was.

“Why you are sitting in bed like a ghost?”

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Shin Jonghak asked. Chae Nayun scrutinized his clothes. As though
he spent his day rolling in mud, there was dirt all over his body.

“…Did you make some money?”

“Pft, is that the first thing you ask? Is this what it feels like to have
a nagging wife?”

“Shut up.”

Chae Nayun encountered Shin Jonghak purely through coincidence.

When she was looking for a mission to take on in the mercenary’s
pub, he had suddenly appeared with a stupid smile. Although Chae
Nayun was freaked out at first, she decided to share a room with him
to save money.

“What’s this bento box?”

Shin Jonghak pointed at the bento box sitting on the bed.

“Oh, this? It came with an item I bought…”

Chae Nayun glanced at the half-empty bento box.

“I didn’t finish it though.”

“Why? Is something wrong with it?”

“No, it’s actually pretty well made according to the status window.”

“Then why didn’t you finish it?”

“No reason. It just wasn’t to my taste… Why do you keep asking

anyways? For the record, I didn’t leave it behind for you.”

The truth was that she couldn’t taste it. After ‘that’ incident, Chae
Nayun lost her sense of taste. Ironically, she had overcome her picky
taste by losing her sense of taste entirely. For the current Chae
Nayun, food was only a method of obtaining sustenance.

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“Also, you bought an item? Are you sure you didn’t get scammed?”

“…Please, if anything, I’m the one who scammed the seller.”

Chae Nayun held up the red crystal spear proudly.

“…Is it good?”

“Yep. I think it should be worth at least 1500TP, but I bought it for

a tenth of that price!”

Huhuhu— Chae Nayun made a big smile.

“I went on a mission with this thing. It cut through goblins like

butter!”

“….”

However, Shin Jonghak didn’t react. Seeing his serious expression,

Chae Nayun smiled awkwardly.

“Don’t force yourself to smile.”

“…What?”

“It hurts me to see you like this.”

“What are you blabbering on about.”

Chae Nayun brandished her spear in front of Shin Jonghak who

promptly raised his hands and backed away.

“I’m kidding. Anyways, doesn’t that mean you used TP?”

“Yeah, but I ended up making money from it.”

“What?”

Shin Jonghak frowned. He clearly had doubts. Seeing this, Chae

Nayun took out five gold coins from her inventory and told him about

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the lucky incident she had today.

“…I was going to give it back, but they chased me out while calling
me an idiot.”

“….”

Shin Jonghak normally would have made a snarky comment, but he

stayed quiet. Chae Nayun caught him looking at the coins with a
complicated expression.

“So, how much do you have?”

“…H, Huh?”

As expected, he was flustered. Chae Nayun sneered.

“Pft, I bet you’re poorer than me.”

“…Pft, as if. Of course I have more than you. Who do you think I
am? I’m the man who will become the world’s youngest high-
intermediate rank Hero, Shin Jong—”

“Then show me.”

“…I’m getting sleepy all of a sudden.”

When Chae Nayun put her hands out demanding him to show his
money, Shin Jonghak pretended to be drowsy and collapsed on the
ground. Chae Nayun snickered and looked down at Shin Jonghak.

“Oh right.”

Suddenly remembering something, she nudged his shoulder with

her foot.

“If you’re going to sleep, stay on the floor. If you try to put a leg
over the bed like last night…”

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“…I’ll give it my best, but my only flaw is my bad sleeping habit.”

“Try it if you want to break your leg.”

“….”

“Actually, since I slept on the bed last night, I’ll sleep on the floor
tonight.”

“What? You don’t need to—”

“Hurry up and move.”

Despite Shin Jonghak’s resistance, Chae Nayun dragged him onto

the bed.

**

Tk, Tk.Late night with drizzling rain.

“Ssp… huu.”

Boss was the only one inside the room. She was sitting cross-
legged and was focused on regaining her lost stats.

“….”

For some reason, her attire was more daring than usual. Wearing
only a black tank top and hotpants, her well-developed muscles were
being outlined every time she breathed. I quickly walked past her
and lied down on the bed.

“Did something happen?”

Boss asked with her eyes still closed.

“…No, nothing.”

“Did the stall not go as well as you expected?”

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“No, I sold everything. I made a lot.”

“Then did you get scammed?”

I shook my head. Before going to sleep, I took out two Random

Dice for my daily routine. Thinking ‘good items to sell’, I rolled the
two dice.

[Lv.4 Krill Dragon Leather] [Lv.3 Big and Juicy Mango]

A good material and a nostalgic fruit from the second tutorial. With
these, I had things to sell tomorrow.

“….”

Then, feeling a laser-like stare, I turned around. Boss was staring at

me intently. Heh. I grinned.

“Are you hungry, Boss?”

“No.”

Boss furrowed her brows with a pout.

“Do you think I’m a glutton?”

“No, it’s just that you were staring at this mango.”

“…That’s a mango?”

She showed interest in the mango. Her eyes were clearly flashing
with greed. However, Boss soon retracted her gaze and got up with a
dry cough.

“Kuhum, it’s not that. You don’t look so good today, Newbie.”

“…I just get a bit depressed on rainy days.”

Things that made me angry, things that made me sad, things that

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made me apologetic… For a long time, I’ve been burying my
emotions deep inside my heart. Otherwise, I would only be in pain
every day. But when these emotions were subconsciously pulled out,
they always came with great distress. …Just like now.

“Anyways, Boss.”

“Hm?”

“How are your stats looking like right now?”

To be honest, Boss was currently a NEET. After I gave her 1000TP,

she stayed indoors all day without doing any work. She spent all of
her free time either eating or training. Since that was the case, she
surely must have seen some improvements to her stats.

“My magic power is at 3.5. Other stats entered the 2-point range
too.”

“Oh?”

Even while considering the increased stat gain inside the Tower,
her growth speed was incredible. This was why division of labor was
important.

“You’re like a max-level NEET.”

“…What’s that?”

Boss narrowed her eyes. Max-level NEET. It meant she was a bum
who played around all day without working but could easily dominate
whatever she set out to do.

“It’s a good thing.”

“I don’t believe you… I’m hurt. I think I need to eat that mango to
feel better. Give it here.”

Boss reached for the mango, but I stopped her by putting the

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mango in my inventory.

**

For the ten-day duration of the third tutorial, I continued to make

new equipment and sold them at my street stall. Because I spent all
my time either crafting or selling items, I couldn’t increase my stats
by much. However, the most important aspect of the third tutorial
was money. Since I now had over 20000 TP, I was more than
satisfied.

“I should be able to buy it now.”

Today was the last day of the third tutorial. I stood in front of a
dilapidated shop in the outskirt of the town. The pouch in my pocket
was overflowing with money.

[Miscellaneous Item Shop]

Although it looked like the town didn’t sell anything special, there
was actually a shop that sold rather unique items. As the shop that
only existed in the highest difficulty tutorial, it could be said that this
shop was what made the highest difficulty tutorial worth the trouble.

Kiiik—

With a trembling heart, I walked into the shop. The moment I

passed through the door, an aged smell of wood and dust spread out.

“Uh….”

The shop was quite battered, and the shopkeeper was reading a
newspaper without even looking at his customer. First, I took a good
look around.

“You have quite the collection of items here.”

“….”

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The shopkeeper NPC didn’t say anything. However, his silence
made him more trustworthy. After all, being talkative was one of the
key characteristics of a scammer. I pretended to look around the
shop once again.

[Lv.2 Magic Contract] [Lv.2 Illness Cure Potion] [Lv.2 Speedwell

Grass] [Lv.2 Sprite Shield] [Lv.2 Kim Joonghon’s Claymore] … …

There were all sorts of items in the shop. However, the real
specialty of the shop was on the counter. I walked up to the counter
and pointed at the egg sitting on it.

“Is this egg for sale too?”

[???]

An egg with question marks as its item description. The

shopkeeper finally reacted.

“That egg is the egg of a special bird that only lives in this town.
It’s not something a nobody like you can buy.”

The man spoke with a husky voice that wasn’t hospitable in the
slightest. I retorted with a smile.

“Who else would buy it if not me?”

“…That’s 40000TP, kid.”

40000TP. Even if someone knew about this before coming into the
Tower, 40000TP was an impossible amount to acquire in only ten
days. However, this egg was certainly worth every TP. This egg was
laid by Muninn, a raven that belonged to the god Odin. In other
words, this egg was Muninn’s descendant. Since Muninn was the pet
of a god, this egg would surely be… Well, I actually didn’t know the
real answer. This egg was introduced as an Easter egg and was
something that not even Kim Suho could buy in the original story.
Instead, the shop NPC would see through his sense of justice and

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righteousness and gift him a different item. Of course, since I didn’t
have Kim Suho’s disposition, I had to make do with money.

“How about half of that amount? 20000TP.”

“….”

The shopkeeper gave me an odd look.

“Isn’t that reasonable? I don’t have any more than that, and this
egg isn’t an item you can sell here anyways.”

There was no way a 40000TP item would be sold. Not even a

business god like Yoo Yeonha would be capable of earning that much
money in only ten days.

“You mean to say you have 20000TP?”

“Of course.”

I took out twenty 1000TP banknotes from my inventory and

showed it to the shopkeeper. His eyes flickered conspicuously.

“…Why don’t you take that hood off first? It’s rude, don’t you
think?”

“Ah, yes, sorry.”

As one of the only polite customers he would have met in this town
full of scammers, I was surely seen in a favorable light. I quickly
pulled my hood down.

“So, do you know what this is?”

“…Yes, I do.”

“What is it?’

“The egg of an eagle, I think?”

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The shopkeeper’s eyes widened. As I said before, Muninn was a
raven. But when I was writing my novel, I thought it was an eagle and
wrote it as such. Of course, there were commenters who pointed out
my mistake, but because it was too late to make edits, I remembered
saying something like, ‘an eagle sounds cooler’.

“You have good eyes. You’re right, it’s the egg of an eagle. But
most people won’t be able to raise this beast. In fact, they won’t
even be able to hatch it.”

“Ah… but you see, I’m not really an ordinary person.”

“….”

The shopkeeper gave me a meaningful look.

“Otherwise, how would I have made 20000TP?”

I received the shopkeeper’s gaze and spoke with ease.

**

[In three hours, the third tutorial will end.]

On the other hand, in the forest near the outskirt of the town, a
wooden tent was barely standing in front of a campfire.

“This dumb, stupid town.”

One of the owners of the tent, Aileen, had a haggard and

impoverished face after only ten days.

“Everyone in this town is trash, every single one of them!”

The humiliation she suffered all this time flashed before her eyes.
Having to eat a restaurant’s leftover food, her money being
pickpocketed out of her inventory, accidentally spilling a juice she
worked so hard to buy on a noble’s clothes and having to kneel and
beg for his forgiveness… They were all things she never would have

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faced on earth.

“But we managed to get enough TP somehow.”

Yi Yongha was in a similar circumstance, but precisely because of

all the trouble they went through, the sense of accomplishment they
currently felt was overwhelming. They slept outside, skipped meals,
and gave up on living like decent human beings to scrape together
2000TP.

“…I know, hic…”

Aileen began to tear up.

“Are you crying?”

“Uun… they’re tears of joy.”

Aileen was proud of herself. She was so proud of herself for being
able to gather 2000TP while her stats were restricted that she
wanted to shower herself with kisses.

“…Oh, by the way, they’re them, right?”

“Them?”

“You know, the people we met on the first day at the pub.”

“Ah, yes, they should be members of the group Aileen-ssi is

chasing.”

Aileen didn’t know their names. However, she was familiar with
their faces. She met them before in an artifact scramble. With an
impeccable strategy, she had almost arrested them both.

“Wasn’t there someone else?”

However, there was someone else in the pub other than the two
people they saw.

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“You know, the person who made me drink alcohol.”

“I’m not sure, but only one person comes to mind when I think of a
mask and hood.”

“I agree.”

Aileen nodded. In truth, she was quite confident. Black Lotus. That
he entered this Tower too.

[The third tutorial has ended.]

“…Finally, this damn tutorial is over.”

“I’ll bet my honor that less than half gathered more than 1000TP.”

Exhausted and enervated, Aileen and Yi Yongha leaned on a tree

and read through the system alerts popping up.

[Of 78 challengers, 50 currently possess more than 1000TP in their

inventory.] [Congratulations. You managed to protect your profit
from pickpockets, robbers, thugs, and scammers.]

Aileen turned towards Yi Yongha. He laughed awkwardly.

“…There’s a bit over half, haha.”

However, the system alerts weren’t finished yet.

[Hidden Reward – Profit Master] [The profit of victorious

challengers will be revealed along with their nicknames (expenses
excluded).] [Top 5 challengers will be given 100% of the profit they
gained as a bonus.] [Rank 1 – Extra7, 21300TP.] [Rank 2 –
PhantomThief, 7800TP] [Rank 3 – …]

“…Eh?”

“…What?”

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Aileen and Yi Yongha became speechless. The difference was too
overwhelming.

“It’s not 2130TP but…”

“21300TP? How the fuck is that possible!?”

Aileen cursed inadvertently, mixing Korean and English together.

“Who is it!?”

Aileen felt wronged. She suffered through one humiliation after

another to scrape together 2000TP, but someone had earned
21300… He had to have used a cowardly method!

“Who’s Extra7!?”

**

Three hours later. A burst of light brought me back to my waiting

room. I didn’t say goodbye to Jain, Cheok Jungyeong, and Boss, since
we should be able to contact each other soon through the messenger
system.

[Congratulations on achieving first place.] [21300TP has been

deposited.]

“Ah, thank you, thank you~ you did well too, System-nim~”

I bought Muninn’s egg with 20000TP. Although I was left with only
3000TP because of it, with the hidden reward, I obtained 100% of the
profit I made, making me rich once again. It was a setting change I
didn’t expect. I thought the co-author only made things harder, but it
seemed I was wrong. A little bonus wasn’t so bad every once in a
while.

“…Ah.”

I took out Muninn’s egg from the inventory as quickly as possible. It

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was a 20000TP egg. Huu, huu. I blew on it just in case it was cold and
carefully placed it inside my bed. Wondering what cute eagle would
pop out of this egg, I pulled my blanket over it. However, that wasn’t
the end of the good news.

[Your black entrance ticket has been confirmed.] [As the tutorial
has ended, you may take out three items you deposited.]

It was the alert I’d been waiting for. Equipment that could make up
for the stat gain I neglected while crafting and selling items. I
kneeled respectfully. I decided long ago what items to retrieve.
Aether, Desert Eagle, and my laptop-linked smartwatch.

[Soon, your equipment storage will be transferred over.] [Come to

a decision within one hour.]

Of course, the Desert Eagle had limited use because of bullets. But
there was a reason I was choosing it despite its disadvantages.

“…Jin Sahyuk.”

Killing Jin Sahyuk. That was the only reason.

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Chapter 163
Source: Wuxiaworld

Shoong— The storage box from before the start of the tutorial
appeared in front of me. A window popped up with the list of items I
had stored inside. From the list, I picked three items to take out.

[Aether] [The armament, Aether, will have its battle prowess

restricted by 50%.]

First was Aether. Aether, which I hadn’t seen in a while was

sagging down like a sad slime. I reached out to Aether. When I made
contact, Aether twitched like a cute caterpillar before trembling and
coiling up my arm. I smiled at it and took out the next item.

[Smartwatch]

I put the laptop-linked smartwatch on my wrist. Aether seeped into

the smartwatch and made it look more elegant. It looked somewhat
like a Patek Philippe watch. Aether really had great taste.

[Desert Eagle]

And finally, I grabbed the Desert Eagle. The platinum handle’s

coldness and thickness felt too nostalgic.

“Hm….”

I examined the Desert Eagle then tried fusing it with Aether.

Shotgun mode, sniper rifle mode, assault rifle mode… After trying out
each mode once, I was able to confirm that the Desert Eagle had one
magazine loaded for each form. One handgun magazine, one assault
rifle magazine, two shotgun shells, and five sniper rifle bullets. That
was all I had.

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“Um, System-nim?”

Feeling like this wasn’t enough, I raised the Desert Eagle, showing
it to the Tower’s system that should be watching over me. The
storage box contained a box full of magazines. Of course, since that
box had hundreds of bullets in it, I didn’t expect to get the entire
thing. Even a small portion of it was enough.

“Um, you see, this is a gun. Although it might be a bit special, a

gun can’t be used without bullets…”

I tried to ask just in case. —Extra7 used Lv.2 Haggling. —Extra7's

Lv.2 Voice of Trust activates. I was hoping that the system was
getting such messages.

“With that in mind, can you give me some extra magazines? I don’t
need too many.”

…Even after a long time, the system didn’t reply. Dejected, I put
my hand down. It seemed the system couldn’t make an exception.
Just when I was thinking so…

[Considering that this weapon is a gun, your request has been

accepted.]

“Oh!”

I bowed respectfully as soon as I heard this message.

[However, we hope that you will not use the 「mysterious power」
you possess at lower levels of the Tower.] [There is a chance that the
administrator of the lower levels will consider it an unfair advantage
and punish you accordingly.]

“Understood. Thank you.”

I nodded. The ‘mysterious power’ was most likely referring to

Stigma. It didn’t matter too much since my use of Stigma was

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restricted anyways. Currently, I could only use two streaks of Stigma
at most. Any more than that and my body wouldn’t be able to handle
it.

[Magazines will now be transferred over.]

Soon, various magazines appeared in the air. Two handgun

magazines, one assault rifle magazine, three sniper rifle bullets, and
six shotgun shells. Since I only wanted some spares, this was more
than enough. I put them all into my inventory.

[After 24 hours of rest, you will be able to advance to the Tower’s

2nd floor.] [From now, you may use all system functions.]

[Here is a brief explanation.] [About the ‘personal waiting room’]

—Normal Entrance *When there are no hostile Players nearby or
when you are not in a combat zone, you can teleport to your waiting
room. —Emergency Teleportation No matter where you are what or
situation you are in, you will teleport to your waiting room. (This
function has a cooldown time of 96 hours.) —Personal Waiting Room
Entrance Ticket You can provide other Players with entrance tickets
to your personal waiting room.

[‘Deaths’ in the Tower] —After the end of the tutorial, Players are
given 7 lives in total. Once killed, Players will revive at the nearest
Residential Area and they will receive a penalty that differs based on
their circumstance. (Note. If you die on the 2nd floor, you will lose all
stat gains you’ve acquired, and you will restart from the tutorial.)

[About the ‘auction house’…]

I already knew everything, and there wasn’t anything new or

changed from the original setting. As such, I turned on my
smartwatch. Then, I stared at the egg sitting on my bed.

[???]

I wasn’t able to read the egg’s information with the current Tower

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system. However…

=== [Lv.6 Muninn’s Egg] [Tower – Mythical] —The egg laid by

Muninn, the Eagle of Memory. ===

My smartwatch could perfectly read the egg’s item description. As I

thought, my laptop was superior to the Tower’s system.

“Hm… what do I do now?”

24 hours of rest. Although it seemed needlessly long, it was

actually barely enough to utilize each of the system’s functions.
Currently, members of the various guilds should be having
conferences together.

“Oh right.”

I remembered something to do. I unleashed Stigma’s magic power

at Muninn’s egg. In case something went horrifyingly wrong and the
egg ended up being fried, I infused Stigma’s magic power into the
blanket covering the egg rather than directly feeding it to the egg. As
a result, the little blanket nest I made for Muninn’s egg turned
incredibly warm. …

“24 hours, huh…”

I lied down on the floor as I thought about what to do.

[Remaining time – 23h 35m 39s]

I couldn’t waste an entire day doing nothing. I got up once again.

“…I’ll fix up this place until Random Dice’s cooldown ends. Once I

get more material using the Random Dice, I’ll start making some
equipment.”

I came up with a plan.

“Um, can you please bring up a list of items from the Player Shop

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that could be used to renovate the waiting room?”

I asked the system which immediately pulled out a list of items

from the Player Shop’s ‘miscellaneous’ category.

[Lv.1 Marble Slabs – 30TP] [Lv.1 Timber – 20TP] [Lv.1 Warehouse –

300TP] [Lv.1 Training Room – 500TP] … …

“There’s even a training room?”

I bought the marble slabs. I could make a warehouse or a training

room myself.

Shoong, shoong—

A bundle of marble slabs was transferred to my waiting room.

Although it was only Lv.1, marble was still better looking than wood. I
began to tear out the waiting room’s wooden flooring and began to
install the marble tiles. Of course, with my stats being so low, even
doing such a menial task took a lot out of me.

[Your strength increases by 0.003 points.] [Your vitality increases

by 0.003 points.] [Your strength increases by 0.003 points.] [Your
vitality increases by 0.003 points.] …

Doing the same thing for about six hours, I received many similar
alerts.

“…If only I had the Goblin Tablet with me.”

I murmured as I wiped off the sweat from my forehead.

Tiring—At that moment, a message popped up in front of me.

[Player ‘PhantomThief’ has invited Player ‘Extra7’ to a group chat.]

[Would you like to accept?]

PhantomThief was Jain’s nickname. It seemed she figured out how

to use the messenger system. I accepted the request.

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[Extra7-nim entered the chat room.]

PhantomThief: 「Hey Newbie~」 PhantomThief: 「There’s even a

group chat. Isn’t this interesting?」 Goryeo’sStrongest: 「Whadup?」
PhantomThief: 「Look at Cheok Jungyeong trying to type ㅋㅋㅋ what
an idiot ㅋㅋ」 Goryeo’sStrongest: 「The screen is too small for my
fingers. You’re next to me anyway, so why do I even need to chat?」

[‘Boss’ entered the group chat.]

PhantomThief: 「ㅋㅋㅋ Hey Boss~」

Boss: 「Hi.」

PhantomThief: 「Look, our nicknames are similar.」 [1]

Boss: 「Similar? How?」

PhantomThief: 「Isn’t that obvious?」

Boss: 「…No.」

When I put my hand up to the chat window, a holographic

keyboard popped up.

Me: 「 What’s everyone doing? 」 Boss: 「 I’m training. 」

PhantomThief: 「 I’m looking around the Community for any
information. There’s already an anonymous information café set up.
People sure are quick-witted~ it looks like a great way to earn TP.」
Me: 「Is the owner a Djinn? Or is he from a guild?」 PhantomThief:
「I don’t know yet. I think I’ll set up my profile too.」 Boss: 「Profile?
How do you」

Boss’ sentence cut off mid-sentence. She was quite a slow typer.

Boss: 「do that?」 PhantomThief: 「It’s going to be too hard for

you, Boss, no matter how well we explain it.」 Boss: 「I can do it.
Teach me.」

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[9 hours and 30 minutes have passed by. Your Random Dice has
been recharged.]

I got another Random Dice at just the right moment. I put the chat
window aside and grabbed the Random Dice. Because I sold
everything that could be sold, my inventory was completely empty.

“Good material, good material.”

Murmuring a wish, I rolled the dice. The dice hit the marble floor
and transformed into a shining piece of leather.

[Lv.4 Black Gargoyle Leather]

“Oho.”

It was practically screaming that it was special.

**

12 hours later. The waiting room of the Player ‘CaptainBritain’.

Rachel opened her eyes on a shabby wooden floor. Wondering if

the waiting room was normally this cold, she shivered and rubbed
her arms.

“Huuu….”

After chattering her teeth for a bit, she let out a sigh. She had
woken up from the middle of sleep once again. It wasn’t because of
the coldness but because of her body clock. Since she was awake,
she opened the Community.

[Confirming members of the Royal Court guild. Please leave

comments.]

This was the post Rachel made as soon as she finished the second
tutorial. Thanks to this post, she was able to meet up with members
of her guild, but there was still one person she wasn’t able to meet.

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Kim Hajin. She wondered what he was doing as there wasn’t any
news about him. Of course, she believed he was doing fine on his
own… Rachel turned off the Community and lied down on the ground
once again. Without a blanket or a pillow, there was nothing
comfortable about her current living space.

“….”

After waking up once, it wasn’t easy to go back to sleep. Although

she cleared the high-intermediate difficulty tutorial, all sorts of
worries rose up in her head: England’s current situation, the Royal
Court guild’s situation, and the person whose life or death was
unknown. In the end, Rachel got up. Working out seemed to be the
best solution to shake off complicated thoughts.

“Huu.”

She bent down and began to do push-ups. Three sets of 40 push-

ups followed by three sets of 60 curl-ups followed by squats then the
Royal Court’s basic sword training routine…

After four hours of training, she accessed the Community once

again.

===Public Forum=== [Tutorial clear records.] [Is there anyone

with a Lv.2 sword willing to trade for a Lv.2 axe?] —Me. I’ll put it up
on the auction house. —The auction house has high fees though…
[Difficulty doesn’t matter from the 2nd floor onwards, right?] —Looks
like it.

The public forum seemed to be quite busy. In truth, Rachel was

also busy until about eight hours ago. At the time, all seven members
of the Royal Court guild gathered in Rachel’s personal waiting room
to hold a meeting.

“…Hm?”

At that moment, an interesting post caught Rachel’s attention.

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There were dozens of people commenting on the post.

[Everyone, there’s someone who earned 20000TP in the third

tutorial.] —No way, who? —Don’t lie, please. —No, no, it’s already
been confirmed by everyone who cleared the highest difficulty
tutorial. His nickname is apparently Extra7. —Extra7?? —Yes, people
are guessing it’s either Vast Expanse-nim or a member of the Nine
Stars.

“Eh…? 20000TP…?”

Rachel’s mouth opened in shock. In the high-intermediate difficulty

Tutorial Town, she was only able to collect 3500TP. Even then, she
was labeled as vicious by other Players. So to have six times as
much…. Rachel refreshed the page while feeling a bit jealous.

[Oh! Hey, there’s a Lv.3 armor in the auction house!]

At that moment, a new comment popped up.

“…?!”

Startled, Rachel jumped slightly. She immediately entered the

auction house.

=== [Lv.3 Gargoyle Leather Armor (J – White Order)] ○Lv.2

Resistance ○Lv.2 Ease of Movement ○Lv.3 Durability [Starting Bid –
500TP] [Current Bid – 600TP] ===

A Lv.3 item had appeared when the real Tower climb hadn’t even
begun. Although Rachel couldn’t tell what ‘White Order’ meant, it still
sounded cool. As soon as she laid her eyes on the armor she thought,
‘I want it. I want to make that armor mine.’ With a dazed look, she
clicked [make bid].

**

On the other hand, Player Nayunjajangman’s waiting room.

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[Wow, there’s someone from the third tutorial who earned
20000TP!]

Chae Nayun was looking at the same post that Rachel was reading.
Chae Nayun already knew that ‘Extra7’ earned 20000TP in the third
tutorial. After all, she had seen it with her own eyes.

“Could he really be Vast Expanse-nim?”

However, the thought that he could the famous ‘Vast Expanse’ had
never passed through her mind.

“Who?” “Who are you talking about?”

Hearing her, members of the Essence of the Strait, who were in her
waiting room, showed interest. Chae Nayun had let them in using the
‘personal waiting room entrance ticket’ system.

“Extra7.”

“Oh, him? The public forum is filled with people talking about him.
Did he really make 20000TP?”

This cheerful voice belonged to a former classmate from Cube, Yi

Jiyoon. She had chosen the lowest difficulty tutorial. Chae Nayun
retorted briefly.

“Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes. It was slightly more than

20000TP.”

“No way, really? How the heck did he make 20000?”

“I’m not sure… by the way, aren’t you being a bit rude?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Don’t use words like “heck” when you’re talking about him. Do
you think he’s your friend?”

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“….”

Hearing this, Yi Jiyoon became speechless. Soon, Chae Nayun

retracted her sharp gaze and opened the ‘List of Encountered
Players’, a system functionality that was only available inside the
personal waiting room.

—List of Encountered Players— [Goryeo’sStrongest] … … [Extra7]

“…Eh?”

To her surprise, she saw Extra7 in this list. Chae Nayun’s eyes
widened. However, she quickly accepted it. Since they were both in
the highest difficulty tutorial, it wasn’t strange to think that they had
passed by each other at least once. Clearly, neither side was able to
recognize the other. With a small smile, she sent a friend request to
her old master.

[You have sent a friend request to the Player ‘Extra7’.]

**

[You crafted a Lv.4 equipment.] [Your Lv.2 Crafting technique

improves to Lv.3]

“Huu.”

I let out an exhausted sigh. After 9 hours of hard work, I finally

succeeded in crafting a Lv.4 equipment. It was the best equipment I
made thus far, requiring the help of both Aether and Stigma’s magic
power. I called it the Black Messiah’s Horrible Suit.

=== [Black Messiah’s Horrible Suit] ○Lv.3 Resistance ○Lv.4

Durability ○Lv.3 Temperature Control ○Lv.3 Stealth ===

“My naming sense… sucks.”

I gave the item a name using the Tower system’s item naming

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function. It seemed I went a bit mad when I finally succeeded. But
well, I could just change it before selling, so it wasn’t too
embarrassing.

I put the suit on. It was light, yet it stuck to my body. It was a
‘wearable armor’ that made moving easier.

“Amazing.”

It was much better than the failed products I made. At first, I used
half of the Lv.4 material to make a Lv.3 armor, a complete failure. I
gave that one a random name and tossed it in the auction house. If I
remembered correctly, that armor was called [Lv.3 Gargoyle’s
Leather Armor (J – White Order)]. Here, the ‘J’ stood for ‘Jin’, the
second part of my name, and ‘White Order’ meant it was a lowest-
grade item.

“I guess I’ll see how it’s doing.”

Feeling bored, I was about to check out the auction house when,
tiring—, an alert popped up on my group chat.

PhantomThief: 「 Ahhh, this waiting room sucks. How am I

supposed to stay in here for 24 hours?」

Jain was complaining.

Me: 「ㅋㅋㅋ Why don’t you buy a bed? There’s one in the Player
Shop.」 PhantomThief: 「Are you crazy? That’s such a waste of TP.
Auuu, Cheok Jungyeong reeks of sweat.」

The red entrance ticket’s waiting room was twice as big as other
Players’ waiting rooms. Naturally, it was because two people were
sharing the same room.

Boss: 「Jain, you should train like Gyeong. A beautiful flower only
bloims in solutudr.」 PhantomThief: 「Stop making typos, Boss.」
Me: 「Boss, have you eaten anything?」 Boss: 「Of course.」 Me:

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「Hold on, I’ll send you a ticket to my room.」

I planned to invite Boss over to my room since it wasn’t likely that

she ate anything. However…

[Player ‘Nayunjajangman’ has sent you a friend request.]

“Hm?”

Suddenly, I received a friend request. Tilting my head, I looked at

the alert. It was a familiar ID, ‘Nayunjajangman’.

“What?”

I was taken aback. How did he send me a friend request? Didn’t I

block people from sending me friend requests through the public
forum? A sudden suspicion sank into my heart.

“Erm….”

I hesitated for a moment, but soon I accepted the request.

Ding—As soon as I accepted the friend request, Nayunjajangman

messaged me.

「Hyung-nim! What happened? I heard you made 20000TP!」

1. Their nicknames share the same first character in Korean

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Chapter 164
Source: Wuxiaworld

[Player ‘Nayunjajangman’ has sent you a friend request.]

I was taken aback. How did he send me a friend request? Didn’t I

block people from sending me friend requests through the public
forum? A sudden suspicion sank into my heart.

“Erm….”

I hesitated for a moment, but soon I accepted the request.

Ding—As soon as I accepted the friend request, Nayunjajangman

messaged me.

「Hyung-nim! What happened? I heard you made 20000TP!」

Looking at his message, I checked my system setting once again.

[Allow friend requests through the public forum (OFF)]

It was still the same. Knowing that things could get annoying after
having my name spread in the third tutorial, I had the friend request
option blocked. As a result, Players couldn’t send friend requests to
me unless they were within a 20-meter range of me at some point.

「Hey, how did you add me as a friend?」

I messaged Nayunjajangman as a strange feeling began to rise up

within me.

「ㅋㅋ I think we passed by each other in the third tutorial. I saw

Hyung-nim’s name in my List of Encountered Players.」

「You’re also in the highest difficulty?」

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「Yes ㅋㅋ」

“…Eh?”

I took my eyes off the chat window for a moment. My neck

suddenly began to hurt. I needed time to think. Only 50 people had
cleared the third tutorial, and of those 50, Nayunjajangman was one
of them. Nayunjajangman. Even though he always said ‘hyung-nim’
and talked like a man, the first two characters of his name had
always bugged me. Was it just a coincidence? Or was it part of the
fate that I changed?

「Hyung-nim, how did you make so much TP? I have mad respect
for you.」

I closed the chat window and typed ‘ImGosu’ in the public forum.

[There is no comment or post under that Player name.]

There was nothing. , I typed ‘Nayunjajangman’.

—Anyone clear the highest difficulty tutorial? —The highest

difficulty tutorial is filled with scammers. Be careful, everyone.
Pickpockets here can also steal money from your inventory. —Yep, I
got 150TP stolen from my inventory while walking in broad daylight.
—Also, there are thugs all over the dark alleyways. They’re clearly
gunning to steal your money. —I don’t know if the hardest difficulty
tutorial has any benefit. —ㅋㅋ I really am in the highest difficulty
tutorial. —Screw off if you don’t want to believe me. —Fuck you too~

Reading through his comments and posts, cold sweat began to

form on my forehead. I pushed my hair back. A chill went down my
spine, and my head became hot. With trembling hands, I tapped on
the holographic keyboard.

「It just happened.」

「 You just happened to make 20000TP…? Hyung-nim, are you

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really Vast Expanse? I’m a big fan of him. 」

After a bit of back and forth, I asked a seemingly random question.

「By the way, are you really a guy?」

「?? Why? That was kinda sudden.」

「 Just asking. You know, your name is jajangman. Are you

supposed to be a Chinese restaurant? How did a Chinese restaurant
clear the highest difficulty tutorial? 」 [1]

「ㅋㅋㅋ I’ll tell you when we meet. Like I said before, I think we’re
going to meet one day.」

Nayunjajangman avoided the question. I didn’t dig into it too much.

I was afraid that the suspicion I had was real. He sent me a few more
messages after that, but I told him I was busy and exited the
conversation. At that moment, Boss messaged me.

Boss: 「 Newbie. 」 「 Yes? What’s up? 」 Boss: 「 Do you have

anything to eat?」 「ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Didn’t you say you had food? ㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋ」

I was laughing in the chat, but in reality, my expression was stiff. I

subconsciously touched my mouth. It was hard and cold.

Boss: 「W-Well, the Player Shop has bento boxes for sale.」 Boss:
「I just thought I shouldn’t waste TP on bento boxes.」 「Oh, okay,
hold on a second. I’ll invite Boss to my place. We can eat together.」
Boss: 「Ok.」

I sent Boss an invitation. Then, I sat on the edge of my bed and

sighed. It was nice that Boss was coming over since I didn’t want to
be alone. …But even after a long time, Boss didn’t come to my
waiting room. 15 minutes later, a message arrived.

Boss: 「How do I use the invitation letter?」

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“….”

「 Just take it out of your inventory and rip it in half. If there’s

anything else you don’t know, you can just ask the system.」 Boss:
「Ah ㅋ okay!」

Soon, a light flashed inside my waiting room and Boss appeared.

She stood imposingly with her eyes closed, then slowly opened her
eyes.

“…?”

Her eyes widened.

“W-Where is this?”

“It’s my waiting room.”

“…What?”

Marble tiles, a comfy couch and bed, a storage closet made using
the wooden flooring I pulled out, a wooden table, tableware, etc… It
was probably very different from Boss’ empty waiting room.

“You know how it is, I like decorating things. Wait just a moment.
I’ll cook something for you.”

**

[The final bid has been completed.]

“Yes!”

Rachel clenched her fists. After three hours of fierce battle, she
managed to obtain the [Lv.3 Gargoyle Leather Armor (J – White
Order)]. Happiness rose up from the depths of her heart. She
considered this a strategic victory. She had raised the bid by 500TP
30 seconds before the end of the auction, causing other Players to be
too shocked to bid any higher.
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“Huu, huu.”

Rachel collected her thoughts and calmed herself down. The

coldness that made her shiver had disappeared a long time ago.

[‘Lv.3 Gargoyle Leather Armor (J – White Order)’ will be transferred

to Player CaptainBritain’s personal waiting room.]

Shoong—

Soon, a cluster of light descended from the ceiling of her waiting

room and changed into the Gargoyle Leather Armor. Rachel quickly
ran up to it and held it up. The black leather armor was incredibly
light and elegant. She especially liked the white symbols engraved
on the leather.

“Hehe…”

‘Good purchase, good purchase.’ Rachel stared at the armor

joyfully, then carefully put it on.

[To facilitate the trading of equipment, the size of equipment will

be adjusted to fit your body.]

The slightly big armor shrunk to fit Rachel tightly. It was so light

that it felt like she wasn’t wearing anything. Plus, she didn’t need to
tie the strings together in the front of the leather armor. As though
they were polarized, they came together like magnets and tied
themselves together automatically.

“Oho~”

Rachel hummed happily as she looked at herself through the

mirror in the waiting room. Then, she entered the Community,
looking to brag.

[Whoa ㅋㅋ the Lv.3 armor got sold for 3000TP] —Isn’t that too
much? —Much be someone who’s rich. I’d pay that for a Lv.4 armor,

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but not Lv.3.

“…You’re just jealous.”

Rachel pouted and commented.

—It’s actually very cheap considering the tutorial just ended. ㄴ Are
you the one who bought it? ㄴ No. ㄴDon’t you remember what you
had to go through to earn 1000TP? 3000TP is a lot.

“Ehew.”

Rachel shook her head. As far as she was concerned, she actually
bought the armor cheap. Unwilling to comment any further, she
moved on to the next post.

[What is everyone using their TP for?] —I bought some furniture for

my waiting room, a bed and a blanket. Oh, and some bento boxes.
ㄴIt’s the same for me. It’s too hard sleeping on a wooden board. I
think it was money well spent. —How’s the Player Shop’s bento box?
ㄴThe 5TP one is trash, but the 10TP is actually pretty good.

Seeing the comments, Rachel felt a bit proud. She was able to buy
the Lv.3 armor precisely because she gave up on having comfort in
her waiting room.

[In 10 minutes, you will be moved to the Tower’s 2nd floor.] [From
the 2nd floor, the system’s help will decrease.]

“Sunshine.”

A system window popped up. Rachel called her wind elemental,

Sunshine, who became a lot smaller after entering the Tower.

—Yeeeah?

“Get ready.”

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—Okay~

Sunshine entered Rachel’s leather armor. As expected, the

combination of wind and leather was good. Feeling her body
becoming lighter, Rachel prepared to enter the second floor.

**

[Lv.3 Gargoyle’s Leather Armor has been sold for 3000TP.] [You
will receive 2700TP after a 10% deduction.] [You obtained 3 auction
house trust points. Your trust level will increase to grade-9 with 7
more trust points.]

“Oh? That much?”

I was shocked when I saw the amount. I even double checked to

make sure I wasn’t seeing things. My inventory really had an extra
2700TP.

“I guess people don’t know the market price because it’s still so
early.”

Of course, there were NPCs that bought Lv.3 armor for 3000TP. But
that was only because I was selling in the highest difficulty level
Tutorial Town. Naturally, NPCs in Tutorial Towns possessed more TP
with higher level difficulty.

However, Lv.3 items were common outside the tutorial. It might

not be the case now, but it would become common soon. In fact, they
were easily acquirable starting from the 3rd floor. That said, the
armor I made was most likely the best Lv.3 armor around.

“Was it Jain?”

In the auction house, the buyer’s name and the seller’s name both
remained anonymous. I promptly messaged Jain to ask, and she
immediately replied, ‘I’m not interested in such a thing’.

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“Then who was it?”

Was there someone else who could use 3000TP so easily? While I
was pondering, a system alert popped up.

[In 10 minutes, you will be moved to the Tower’s 2nd floor.] [From
the 2nd floor, the system’s help will decrease.]

“Ah, it’s starting soon. Boss, wake up!”

I shook Boss who was sleeping on my bed. However, she grabbed

the blanket tightly and refused to get up.

“It’s time to leave, Boss.”

“…Uaaauu.”

“What?”

“Auuuii…”

“What?”

I yanked the blanket out. Koong. Boss fell on the ground with the
blanket. Only after slamming her head on the ground did she open
her eyes and scratch her head.

“Mm, mmm… your bed is very nice….”

“Get ready.”

I began to do exactly that. I wore the [Lv.4 Black Messiah’s Horrible

Suit], put the [Lv.3 Temperature Control Robe] over my body,
equipped the [Lv.2 Protection Mask] on my face, wore [Lv.3 Utility
Footwear] on each foot, and put a [Lv.3 Ice-attribute Dagger] made
with frozentium on the holster around my thigh.

“Now this is what you call overgeared.”

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Using materials from Random Dice, Stigma’s magic power, and
Dexterity, I was fully loaded with various equipment.

[Desert Eagle (firepower restriction: 60%)] —A portion of the

restriction (10%) will be lifted when you reach the 3rd floor. —A
portion of the restriction (20%) will be lifted when you reach the 5th
floor. —A portion of the restriction (30%) will be lifted when you
reach the 7th floor.

Even with restricted firepower, I had great confidence in my Desert

Eagle.

“Ooh…”

Feeling a gaze on me, I turned around and saw Boss staring at me

with envious eyes.

“Oh right, there’s something for you too, Boss.”

“Oh?!”

Boss shot up in surprise.

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha, I see that you treat your boss with respect. So, what is
it?”

Boss walked up to me with a hearty laugh. I took out a black robe

from my inventory. Thanks to Aether, it was quite beautifully
designed.

“How is it?”

“Mm, I like it. It’s very good.”

Boss put it on with a satisfied smile. She even pulled the hood over

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her head. A system message popped up at the perfect timing.

[You will now be moved to the 2nd floor.] [Please prepare yourself.]

**

Whoosh— With the feeling of being carried away by wind, my feet

touched the 2nd floor’s land. It was the start of the Tower of Wish’s
real stages. I opened my eyes. Boss was standing next to me. Us and
2000 others were gathered in a huge field. They stared at each other
in surprise and soon began to look for their companions.

“Where are Jain and Gyeong?”

“Let me see… oh, they’re there.”

I pointed behind us. Jain and Cheok Jungyeong were together, and
it wasn’t hard to spot Cheok Jungyeong in a crowd.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

We walked up to them.

“Oh~ Boss and Newbie~ Hi~”

“Hey.”

Just like how we gathered, hundreds of groups began to form.

“Hello—”

At that moment, a man appeared on the other side of the field. His
wide hair, unique clothes, and ringing voice distinguished him from
other Players.

“My name is Luke. I am the administrator of the 2nd floor.”

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He only gave a simple self-introduction. However, his voice echoed
out across the entire field.

“Nice to meet you.”

Luke bowed lightly. His respectful tone, formality, and mystical

voice captured the attention of all Players.

“I’d love to talk to each and every one of you, but unfortunately,
we don’t have time. I will cut straight to the main topic.”

Luke received the gazes of countless Players and pointed into the
distance.

“As you can see… the 2nd floor of the Tower is chaotic. It is filled
with all sorts of frightening aspects of nature.”

As the administrator said, the 2nd floor’s scenery was chaos itself.
There was no way to tell if a region was supposed to be a jungle or a
forest, a volcano or a glacier, or a swamp or a marshland. I widened
my eyes and peered into the distance. In an instant, my Thousand-
Mile Eyes pierced through dense leaves and traveled forward.
However, this floor’s strange mixture of land wasn’t something a
grade-7 Thousand-Mile Eyes could comprehend.

—Interesting. —An impossible terrain…

Other Players didn’t seem all too surprised. In fact, they might be
thinking that it was average for a Tower of this magnitude.

“Your goal is simple. Pave through this chaotic nature filled with
traps and monsters and find the elevator to the 3rd floor.”

As Luke continued his speech, I looked around my surroundings. I

was looking for one person – Jin Sahyuk. However, I couldn’t find her
and instead, I found someone else I was familiar with. A girl with
blonde hair that shines like gold and beautiful facial features. But
rather than her appearance, the armor that she had caught my

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attention.

“Vice-leader, where did you get that armor?”

“Oh… it’s nothing.”

“It’s so pretty.”

“Huhu, it’s really nothing special.”

Contrary to what Rachel was saying, she stood proudly and

imposingly. So Rachel was the pushover who bought my armor… I
wanted to go say hi to her, but I couldn’t because members of the
Chameleon Troupe were next to me.

“There are 10 elevators hidden in the 2nd floor.”

Meanwhile, Luke’s explanation continued.

“Each elevator can hold 50 people, which is quite a lot.

Unfortunately, they are very slow. Each elevator takes 8 hours to
travel back and forth. In other words, once the elevator departs, it
will not come down for the next 8 hours.”

In other words, many Players would be staying on this floor for a

long time. In reality, it didn’t matter all that much. Entering the 3rd
floor early didn’t have any benefits. In fact, it was better to go there
later.

“That is all.”

The 3rd floor was the first ‘residential area’ Players had access to.
However, it was in extremely poor conditions, so much so that
staying in this floor’s nature could be a better choice.

“Oh, I’m sure you all know this by now, but I will explain it once
again. When your vitality falls below zero on the 2nd floor, you will
have to start over from the tutorial.”

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After finishing his explanation with a small smile, Luke sat down
under the shade of a tree and began to read a book.

—What are you going to do? —We don’t have much of a choice.
—Shouldn’t we hold a meeting first? —I don’t see the need for it.
Looks like we only have to find the elevators.

Players quickly left. They clearly didn’t want to stay in this strange
place for too long.

“How interesting. We should hurry up too.”

Cheok Jungyeong spoke. However, I didn’t follow them.

“You guys can go ahead.”

“Eh?”

“What are you going to do?”

I gave a simple reply.

“I have something to do.”

“…I see.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll chase after you soon.”

“Mm… if it’s you, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Alright, we’ll go ahead.”

Boss, Jain, and Cheok Jungyeong went on ahead. They’d chosen to

go north. After watching other Players leave one by one, I climbed a
zelkova tree. It was to locate Jin Sahyuk from a higher vantage point.

“Hu, I should be able to see everyone from here.”

By the time I arrived at the peak of the tree…

“Yeah, you should.”

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“…?”

Someone replied to my murmuring. A chill ran down my back

immediately. With shock and surprise, I turned to the right side
where the voice came from. Amidst the leaves, a man I had met once
before was staring at me.

“Hello~”

“….”

A handsome man resembling Legolas. Jin Sahyuk’s acquaintance.

He appeared out of nowhere and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Are you looking for someone?”

I quickly jumped down from the tree. Legolas also followed suit.
Tak. Both of us landed lightly.

“Good landing~”

The man applauded. I took a deep breath. I was tense to the point
my tongue was freezing, but I knew I didn’t need to be scared. Inside
the Tower of Wish, I shouldn’t lose to anyone. I walked forward
silently.

“Oi, you should answer when someone asks you a question. I’ll ask
again. Are you looking for someone?”

He chased after me. Huu. After a brief sigh, I stopped walking.

Then, I turned around.

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

I didn’t know if he was really expecting me to tell him, but I did so

anyway.

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“Your companion.”

“My companion… oh, the girl who fought you before in Busan?”

The man asked with a voice full of interest.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“…Do you really need to ask?”

I took down my hood. By the looks of it, he already knew who I

was.

“I’m looking for her so I can kill her.”

“…”

In an instant, the man’s expression turned stiff. I took out my gun

from my holster. The Legolas look-a-like, a man who didn’t exist in
my setting, glared at me. But soon, he regained his smile.

“Iya~ so cool. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to put that off

for a bit.”

I furrowed my brows without replying. The man grinned.

“You see, I stole her ticket. I used it instead of her.”

“…What?”

“Her black ticket, I used it. I even got something called a bonus
skill because of it. Want me to show you?”

I was completely taken aback. Considering that he mentioned

getting a bonus skill, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“Oh… well, I see.”

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I quickly regained my composure. It didn’t matter all that much.
Although it might have been delayed a bit, Jin Sahyuk would
undoubtedly enter the Tower of Wish, and I could always kill her
then.

“In that case—”

Right when I was about to say something…

Chweeek— Puuk.Something sharp or blunt struck me from the

back. Was it a dagger? An arrow? Or a club?

“…What’s this?”

I found a dagger lying on the ground.

[Lv.1 Well-sharpened Dagger]

A blade without a handle. Seeing this dagger, I realized that I was

attacked.

“Oh~ sorry, sorry. My companion must have gotten angry. She

likes Sahyuk a lot, you see.”

“…That’s good to know.”

“Sorry, I only told her to stand by and watch.”

“You don’t have to feel sorry.”

I raised my gun. It was extremely easy for me to pinpoint the

location of the attacker using the trajectory of the dagger. Above a
needleleaf tree in the north. I fired my gun in that direction.

—Uk!

Soon, a short scream rang out along with the sound of something
heavy falling on the ground.

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“If you’re going to feel sorry about something, you shouldn’t do it
in the first place, right?”

I muttered. I even added a confident smile. Inside the Tower of

Wish, especially at the earlier stages, I simply had no confidence in
losing no matter who I fought.

1. Jajang noodle (i.e. black bean noodle) is a Korean-Chinese fusion

dish that’s very popular in Korea.

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Chapter 165
Source: Wuxiaworld

Looking at the man in front of me, I fell in thought. I didn’t know his
ability. I couldn’t detect any change in setting either. Was it because
he was too strong? Or was it because he wasn’t in the original story?
But regardless of what his Gift was, there was no reason for me to be
scared inside the Tower. Although I couldn’t guarantee victory, I had
no confidence in losing like I said before.

“I guess you’re right.”

The man retorted. His expression was constantly changing. His

glaring eyes were filled with killing intent, and his small smile was
like that of a serpent.

“I shouldn’t do something if I’m going to feel sorry about it….”

Suddenly, the man’s body flickered. Although it happened

instantaneously, I could capture the change in his body. His body had
transformed into magic power.

“Yeah, it was my bad.”

The man murmured to himself, then suddenly burst out into

laughter. The corners of his mouth were practically hanging on his
ears. I held up my gun. At the same time, the man transformed into a
current of magic power and flew back.

“What…”

I wasn’t mistaken. He definitely transformed into magic power.

However, he was slow enough that I could trace his movements with
my eyes. I pulled the trigger. One. Two. Two bullets passed through
his body. On the third bullet, however, I utilized Stigma to infuse the

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bullet with an anti-magic attribute.

“Uup!”

The bullet struck his shoulder. His body materialized and fell on the
ground.

“…That hurt.”

Sitting upright, the man rubbed his wounded shoulder. I also

remained calm and transformed the Desert Eagle into its assault rifle
mode. After infusing more bullets with an anti-magic attribute, I
approached him.

[The administrator of the second floor, ‘Luke’, is watching you.]

However, I could feel the administrator’s gaze falling on me. I

flinched slightly but still pointed my gun at the man.

“It’s not easy having my power restricted.”

The man got up and sighed.

“Ehew, fine, I’ll admit it. You’re the strongest person in here. My
shoulder hurts so much, I can barely move.”

I could feel sincerity from his words.

“I should have brought a gun too. My weapon is so heavy that I

can’t even hold it yet.”

The man grumbled and slowly moved. Meanwhile, I thought about

the system alert I got. It said Luke was ‘watching’. Since the alert
wasn’t a warning, I judged that it was fine to fire another bullet.
While I was thinking, the man had walked over to his companion, the
woman who threw a dagger at me. She seemed to be heavily
wounded as she was clutching her chest and gasping for breath.

“Lacors…”

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The man murmured something, and ancient language began to be
engraved on the ground below him.

“…?”

“Interesting, isn’t it? It’s the skill I chose with my black ticket.”

“Mass Teleport?”

“You know about it?”

The man grinned.

“You took the worst one.”

I shot back coldly and aimed my gun.

“Really? It sounded pretty useful to me.”

I had to kill him before he left. Carefully infusing Stigma’s magic

power into the bullet…

KWANG—!I fired.

Tudududu—My anti-magic bullet easily tore through the shields,

which were created from a mixture of magic power and dirt, but the
12-layered shields halted the momentum of the bullet.

—Kuk!

With its power diminished, the man easily blocked it with his body.

—Huu… it’s been a while since I’ve felt this much pain…

An exhausted voice rang out from the other side of the shields. At
the same time, a spiraling current of magic power signaled the
activation of ‘Mass Teleport’.

[Warning! Luke, the administrator of the 2nd floor, is watching you

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carefully!]

A warning popped up. It seemed I fought too close to the

administrator. If only we fought a bit farther away, I was confident I
could have killed him once. I should take this into account for when I
kill Jin Sahyuk.

I put my gun down. Then, I put on airs and spoke as though I was
being generous.

“…Alright, you’re free to go. I’ll let you live this one time.”

—Hm?

A flustered voice came back. I retorted simply.

“I’m letting you go. I’m quite touched that you stopped to pick up
your friend.”

The man didn’t reply. I was acting to hide my weakness, to prevent

him from finding out that I couldn’t freely use anti-magic bullets in
front of an administrator.

—…Thanks.

I didn’t know whether he bought it or not, but that’s what he said.

—Then I’ll let you live once too later. My name is ‘Bell’. Remember
it.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Shooong— In the next moment, two clumps of magic power shot

up into the air. I stood still and watched them fly away.

“…Ehew.”

I sighed. I didn’t expect Jin Sahyuk to not be here, but this was
actually to my advantage. If she was entering the Tower two months

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later, that only meant that I had more time to display a more
overwhelming difference in power.

“For now….”

I concentrated and peered at the direction that my companions

took.

Kuoooo—

A large gorilla was roaring in the distance.

—Kuhahaha!

The man fighting the gorilla was Cheok Jungyeong who was
perhaps more gorilla-like than a gorilla.

—Come, I’ll fight you—!

Cheok Jungyeong began to wrestle with the gorilla. But no matter

how powerful Cheok Jungyeong was, he was fighting a gorilla from
the Tower of Wish. Naturally, he was on the losing end at first. He
simply couldn’t surpass the gorilla in pure strength. Cheok
Jungyeong’s hands interlocked with the gorilla’s, and the gorilla
began to push him back. It was then.

———!

Cheok Jungyeong roared like a beast and his muscles suddenly

bulked up. The tide of battle turned, and Cheok Jungyeong was soon
strangling the gorilla’s neck. Despite the gorilla’s fierce struggle,
Cheok Jungyeong strangled it to death.

—Little imp, don’t get so eager…

With those words, Cheok Jungyeong fell on the ground as though

he passed out. Jain looked down at him from a little distance away
and shook her head.

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—Do you think he knows this place isn’t a dueling arena, Boss?

Chuckling at Jain’s question, I began to run towards them. I wasn’t

sure if they were purposely walking slower for me or if they were
delayed because of the gorilla, but I was able to catch up to them
quickly.

“I’m back~”

“Oh? That was quick.”

Boss spotted me first.

“Hajin, what were you doing~?”

Jain dragged out the end of the sentence like we were close
friends. In response, Boss gave Jain an odd look.

“….”

I looked around our surroundings without replying. As the 2nd floor

exploration had only just begun, there were many people within a
1~2km radius. Chae Nayun was also among them. She seemed to be
traveling with members of Essence of the Strait. I purposely looked
away from them.

“…Hajin?”

Boss asked again.

“Yes? Oh, it’s nothing. Have you run into anyone?”

“No, I don’t think other Players are looking to cooperate with

people they don’t know.”

Jain replied. It wasn’t too surprising as most Players tended to

travel with the guild members.

“Mm… for now, let’s sit.”

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“Sit?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Shouldn’t we walk?”

In response, I pointed at the gorilla Cheok Jungyeong hunted.

“I want to dismantle this first. Wait for me for just a bit.”

“…Do you need to?”

“Its leather is important, and we also need a source of food. We’ll

be staying here for a long time.”

“Long time? Nah.”

Cheok Jungyeong, who was practically passed out until a moment

ago, suddenly shot up and spoke. His recovery speed was quite
frightening.

“Didn’t that white-haired guy say 50 people could go on each

elevator? He said there are 10 of them… so two days should be
enough. Can’t you do multiplication and subtraction?”

“No, it’s not a matter of math.”

It was a matter of efficiency, ethics, selfishness, and altruism. Each

elevator could fit 50 people. However, that was only the ‘maximum’
number they could hold. There was no condition that said an elevator
needed to be full.

“The administrator said ‘at most 50’ people.”

“Yeah, so if 50 people get on each one…”

“Use your brain, you dimwit.”

Jain stepped in and made my job easier.

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“If you don’t need all 50 people to get the elevator going, that
means even a single person can leave with it.”

“Exactly.”

What Cheok Jungyeong said was only the best-case scenario. But
considering the innate greed and selfishness of humans, it was likely
that only 20 or so people would go up each day. In other words, we
could be stuck here for over a hundred days.

“Hm, I see… but doesn’t that mean we should try to find an

elevator as quickly as possible?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine if we’re a little late.”

The 3rd floor was a terrible place. As such, I needed at least 3~4
days of preparation before going up.

“Argh, fuck, then what do you want us to do?”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t explain things in detail.

“Rather than rushing into things, let’s take things slow.”

I sat down near the gorilla and began to dismantle it. Skinning the
gorilla with a knife, cutting out its flesh, pulling out its teeth… I had
gotten used to this process while cutting up fish during the second
tutorial. Although it was hard at first, I kept telling myself that I was
cutting up clay and it became easier. Of course, a huge gorilla was
still more disgusting than a fish.

[Lv.1 System can use ‘Sanity Defense Mode’.]

While I was dismantling the gorilla, the Tower system suddenly

messaged me.

“Ah, thank you for the suggestion, but I can take this.”

“Hm?”

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“Why are you talking to yourself?”

Boss and Jain gave me a strange look.

“Oh right, don’t yell or get angry at the system messages you
see.”

“…Why?”

Jain tilted her head in bewilderment.

“Well, if you think about it, we should be grateful to it. It’s helping
us climb without receiving any compensation.”

“….”

When I said that, Jain and Cheok Jungyeong gave me strange looks
and took a step back. They were treating me as though I’d gone mad.
Only Boss was nodding fervently. Soon, I finished dismantling the
‘Jungle Gorilla’.

[You acquired the technique, Lv.1 Dismantling.] —You can instantly

dismantle low-level monsters.

[Lv.2 Jungle Gorilla’s Leather] [Jungle Gorilla’s Meat] [Lv.2 Jungle

Gorilla’s Teeth]

I put everything into my inventory and got up.

“Now let’s get going again.”

**

3 hours later. Rachel and six other members of the Royal Court
guild were walking through a fierce snowstorm.

“…Vice-leader! The snowstorm is too harsh!” “How did a jungle

suddenly change into Antarctica? Auu, I’m freezing.”

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Rachel’s Royal Court guild chose the northwest jungle. However,
this floor’s terrain was too fickle. After toiling through a dense jungle
for three hours, a large snowfield appeared.

“Let’s stop and rest!”

Rachel shouted. Her companions stopped and huddled together.

They didn’t need to build an igloo. Rachel faced the blizzard and took
a deep breath. Then, two elementals that were visible only to her
formed a circular barrier around them.

“Huu… there’s just no end to this. We don’t know where the

elevators are, and we don’t really know what’s in this place.”

Inside the warmth created by Rachel’s barrier, a guild member

initiated a conversation.

“Vice-leader, I think we should split into two teams. The Tower’s

messenger is still functional.”

As members began to drop different ideas, a system window

suddenly popped up.

[The first elevator has departed with 9 people.]

“…Hah?!”

Everyone yelled in shock. Nine people. 50 people could have taken

the elevator, but only 9 people had departed with it.

“Nine?! Dammit!”

“These fools blinded by greed…!”

“Let’s split up.”

Rachel immediately decided after seeing this message.

“We’ll split into the teams we discussed before and locate an

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elevator as quickly as possible. The first one to find an elevator can
send everyone else its coordinates.”

With that, Rachel took off her armor. Then, she gave the 3000TP
‘Gargoyle Leather Armor’ to the second team’s captain, Davin.

“Um, vice-leader, what is this?”

“Wear it, Davin-ssi. My team can deal with the cold with my
elementals, but that’s not the case for you. This armor has a
temperature control function, so you can rotate it amongst
yourselves if needed.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Davin received the armor with a moved expression.

“Now let’s go. We need to hurry!”

Just like that, the seven members of the Royal Court guild split into
two teams.

“Don’t forget to send periodic reports. Good luck.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

As the leader of the first team, Rachel went east with two other
guild members. Just like that, they paved through the fierce blizzard
for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes… After walking for a long
time…

“…Wait, what, what is that?”

One member pointed at the distance. A sharp, golden object was

shining in the snow.

“It kind of looks like a… snowmobile.”

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“Let’s go. It might be a hidden piece.”

With bright expressions, the two male guild members walked up to

the golden object. Rachel had an eerie feeling, but she soon followed
after them.

“It is a snowmobile!”

“Hurry, vice-leader!”

The male guild members stood in front of the mysterious object

and called Rachel.

“A snowmobile?”

Rachel felt excited hearing that the object was a snowmobile. In

this place, a snowmobile was undoubtedly one of the best methods
of transportation.

“Yes, I’m certain!”

“Wait, how do we use this?”

“I got it, I’ve driven this befo—”

Unable to hold back their excitement, the two male guild members
touched the golden snowmobile. Immediately…

“Uk!”

“Huup!”

Pzzt—! A powerful spark shot out. There was no way for them to
react to the instantaneous mind-numbing current of magic power,
and the two men fainted on the spot.

“Re… Refel! David—!”

**

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“…Dwarven Supercar?”

On the other hand, in a jungle cave serving as a temporary base,

Jain tilted her head and asked.

“Yes, there’s apparently an artifact by that name that you can’t

normally touch.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Ah, well, you’ve seen it too, right? The administrator was reading
a book.”

“…Huh?”

The administrator of the 2nd floor sat down under a tree and
began to read a book the moment he finished giving an explanation.
That was meant to be a hint. Being kind and social, Kim Suho would
provide Luke company before setting off. He would then spot the
book in Luke’s hands and ask what it was about. Luke would then
smile meaningfully and give the book to Kim Suho.

“I sneaked a peek. Apparently, the elevators and the supercar are

both artifacts left behind by dwarves.”

“Ah~ so that’s why you’re late? What does this supercar look like?”

“It should look like a snowmobile.”

There were several hidden pieces considered ‘dwarven artifacts’.

My goal in the 2nd floor was to find the hidden ‘steles’ along with the
supercar.

“So things will get easier if we find it?”

“Yes, it’ll be helpful on other floors as well.”

Inside the Tower of Wish, horses were the main method of

transportation. However, even horses had levels in this place, and

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low-level horses couldn’t be used in areas of battle. Of course, there
were famous steeds like the ‘Red Hare’, ‘Bucephalus’, and the
slightly lesser ‘Reckless’, but it wasn’t easy to obtain such horses.

“Do you know where to look?”

“No, but I’m confident in being able to find it with my eyes.”

There should be three Dwarven Supercars on the 2nd floor. Since I

planned to give Kim Suho a map of the 2nd floor, there should be no
problem with me taking one.

Koong. Koong.

Outside, the sound of huge footsteps rang out. Glancing sideways,

I saw Cheok Jungyeong who just came back from hunting. As always,
his body was full of injuries. However, his injuries were even worse
today. There was a huge cut on his side that revealed his ribs, and
something seemed to have bitten off a part of his calf.

“…Off doing weird things again?”

Jain remarked as she shook her head. Cheok Jungyeong received it

with a big grin.

“I tasted ecstasy inside the boundary between life and death.”

“So… where’s the corpse?”

“….”

However, he didn’t reply to my question.

“…You didn’t bring it again? You should have brought it back if you
could.”

I grumbled as I handed him a potion. It was a healing potion I made

using herbs I bought from the Player Shop. Because I didn’t have a
proper recipe, it was only a Lv.0 item, but it was better than nothing.

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“…Kuhum.”

Cheok Jungyeong took the potion as he scratched the back of his

neck.

“Where is it? I’ll go bring it back.”

“It’s not that far. Keep going straight and you’ll see it.”

With that explanation, he gulped down the potion. Then, he

immediately fell asleep on the ground.

“Eat, fight, sleep, eat, fight, sleep… if he isn’t a beast, then what is
he?”

“Jain-ssi, take care of the food. You just have to cook it.”

“Huh? Oh, okay~”

I left the cooking to Jain and went outside.

“Hm? Where are you going?”

I ran into Boss who also just came back.

“Cheok Jungyeong left a monster corpse behind so I’m going to

fetch it.”

“Then let’s go together. You’ll need someone to guard you.”

“Thanks.”

Boss and I began to walk forward. After about 15 minutes, we

discovered the traces of a fierce battle. A huge area in the middle of
the jungle was caved in, with trees and grass both crushed. In the
middle, there was a huge monster lying lifelessly.

“…He killed a Lv.3 Grizzly Bear?”

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The monster Cheok Jungyeong defeated was a ‘Grizzly Bear’. Was
that even possible bare-handed? I was once again awed by Cheok
Jungyeong’s strength.

KOONG!I chopped off the bear’s head and began to dismantle it.

“Hm?”

=== [Lv.3 Grizzly Bear’s Head] ○Lv.3 Durability ○Lv.1 Air Purifier
○Lv.3 Face Protection ○Lv.-1 Hygiene ===

Even without any refinement, the bear’s head was usable as a

helmet. If treated right, it had the potential to become a valuable
equipment. Using Stigma’s magic power, I cleaned the inside of the
head and made it wearable like a helmet. As a result, the Lv.-1
Hygiene disappeared. With just this, it was good enough to be a
helmet. I put the head aside.

‘I guess I could make a helmet and gift it to Cheok Jungyeong.’

I went back to dismantling the bear.

“…Mm.”

At some point, a satisfied murmur struck my ears. I glanced to the

side for a moment then went back to focusing on the bear. However,
I immediately glanced to the side once more.

“…Um, Boss?”

“It looks a bit weird, but it’s fantastic otherwise.”

Boss was wearing the bear head. With her face peeking out from
inside the bear’s mouth, Boss had a childlike, happy expression.

“Look, Newbie. If I close the mouth, it defends my entire face.”

“….”

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Boss closed the bear’s mouth. A girl wearing a bear mask was in
front of me. I stared at Boss silently.

—Isn’t it cool? Huhu.

From the bear’s mouth, a satisfied voice rang out.

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Chapter 166
Source: Wuxiaworld

—Hit me. I need to test its durability.

Boss spoke while wearing the bear head. Seeing her triumphant
expression, I hesitated for a moment before striking the bear’s head
weakly.

“How is it?”

—I don’t feel anything. Try hitting harder. Is that all you’ve got?

“…Hm.”

I raised my hand and clenched my fist harder. After a light stretch,

I struck down with full force.

KOONG!A small echo resounded out in the jungle.

—…!

On the moment of impact, Boss’ neck trembled and shrunk down.

“How is it?”

—…

After staying still for about 30 seconds, her head creaked up, and
two deceased bear eyes glared at me. I should probably take them
out and use them as glass eyes.

“Kuhum.”

After letting out a dry cough, I went back to dismantling the Grizzly
Bear. Meanwhile, the bear head’s mouth and eyes were glaring at me

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fixedly without even the slightest movement.

[Lv.2 Grizzly Bear Leather] [Lv.3 Grizzly Bear’s Gall Bladder] [Your
Dismantling technique improves to Lv.2.] —You can instantly
dismantle monsters Lv.2 and lower. —Monsters you personally
dismantle will receive a boost in Hygiene.

“…Done.”

The Grizzly Bear’s meat was inedible because it was too heavy with
muscles. As such, I only collected its leather, which could be used to
make various equipment, and its gallbladder, which could be used to
make medicine.

“We’re done, so let’s go back.”

I got up. However, Boss was still sitting on the ground looking up at
me. Was she still in shock from being hit by me? I grinned and
grabbed Boss’ wrist.

“Let’s go eat. We have deer meat.”

—…

“And you should really take off that bear head.”

—…It’s not a bear head. It’s a helmet.

Boss finally opened her mouth. She seemed to be sulking.

Afterwards, Boss and I returned to our temporary camp. As soon as

we entered the cave, we smelled the scent of savory meat. Boss
smacked her lips. Today’s menu was deer meat marinated in my
special sauce.

“Oh, you’re back?”

Jain, who was grilling meat, greeted us. Then, she tilted her head
after seeing Boss’ head. Right, she was still wearing the bear head.

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“Boss, did you get eaten by a bear?”

“No, despite what it looks like, it’s a good helmet.”

Boss took off the bear head proudly and gave it to Jain. Jain
narrowed her eyes to examine the bear head’s item description.

“…Wow, it’s Lv.3! Isn’t this the same as the armor Newbie sold on
the auction house?”

“Yes, but the one I made is better.”

Not all Lv.3 items were the same. There was a reason that the Hero
Association evaluated Heroes with a ‘rank’ and a ‘grade’. For
example, the difference between intermediate-rank grade-9 and
intermediate-rank grade-1 was huge. Even six grade-9s were unable
to defeat one grade-1 unless the grade-1’s Gift was directly
countered. This difference only became bigger between different
‘ranks’. In this sense, the [Gargoyle Leather Armor] I made could be
considered a grade-1 item, and this [Bear Head] could be considered
a grade-9 item.

“Mm, I see.”

Jain nodded. At that moment, Boss quickly snatched the bear head
out of Jain’s hands and immediately put it away in her inventory. It
seemed she liked it a lot.

“Alright, let’s eat. I cooked a lot.”

“Yes.”

We gathered around the frying pan and burner where the deer
meat was being cooked.

“These are done, right?”

“Yes. Go ahead, Boss.”

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I respectfully let Boss take the first bite. Boss nodded and put the
deer meat in her mouth.

“…Mm.”

As the cook who marinated the meat, I enjoyed seeing Boss eating
with a happy face. was Jain. After chewing on the meat a few times,
her eyes widened.

“Oh, shi… kuhum, this is amazing! You made this sauce here?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. Oh, then is it not worth spending TP to buy bento boxes

from the Player Shop?”

“Bento boxes? Mm, well, they’re only for the tutorial anyways. You
shouldn’t be able to buy them now.”

The Player Shop’s bento boxes were called ‘Tutorial Bento Box’.

“What? Really?”

“Yep, you can check it easily.”

Food was an important aspect in conquering any Tower. The Tower

of Wish had residential areas that sold food, but on ‘mission floors’
like the 2nd floor, food became one of the most important factors.
After all, starving to death and being killed in battle had the same
result.

In this Tower, dying meant that the number of skills you could
bring back to the real world decreased. Depending on how you died,
it was possible to lose all 7 lives simultaneously.

Simply put, it was best to not die.

“You’re right, they’re not being sold anymore.”

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Of course, I didn’t really worry about the bento boxes. Lv.2
Dismantling. Lv.3 Cooking Lv.3 Crafting. Random Dice. With these
four, I never had to worry about starving. I picked up my chopsticks
and grabbed a piece of deer meat. It was delicious just as I expected.
I could practically feel my HP going up.

“Eh? Why can’t I access the public forum?”

“What? Really?”

Hearing Jain, I tried to access the public forum.

[You cannot access the public forum in mission floors.]

“Oh….”

Another setting had changed from the original story. However, I

didn’t look at my smartwatch. There were way too many changes to
the Tower, most of which were minor. They were also all things I
could ask the system.

“You didn’t know about it?”

“No.”

“Really? I thought you knew everything.”

“Haha, it’s not like I’m the master of this Tower.”

KUAA. At that moment, the roar echoed out in the cave. It was
almost as though a drunk man just woke up from his sleep. It was
Cheok Jungyeong. Having woken up, Cheok Jungyeong stretched and
walked over to us.

“….”

Then, he quietly grabbed a handful of deer meat and stuffed it in

his mouth.

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“…Got any more?”

“Hold on.”

I took out another chunk of meat from the inventory. Since Boss
took the bear head I planned to give him, I should at least feed him
well.

Tsss—

“Hehe, it’s looking great.”

Cheok Jungyeong stared at the meat being grilled and grinned.

While Cheok Jungyeong ate, I began to pack up the items placed
around the cave. Since we stayed here for a long time, it was time to
get going again.

“Auu, I’m stuffed.”

7 minutes to cook, 1 minute to eat. Cheok Jungyeong swiftly

finished his meal and got up.

“Then let’s get going.”

“Alright~”

“Okay.”

Jain stretched, and Boss put on the bear head helmet. Just like
that, we left the cave and walked through the jungle. Man-eating
plants, gorillas, giant mosquitos, etc. While defeating all sorts of
monsters, we looked for an elevator.

“Oh?”

Before we noticed, our surroundings had changed. It was like we

passed through a barrier that separated two regions, the greenery on
the ground instantly changed into white snow. Taking a step back
didn’t change anything. It was almost as though we were transported

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to a different area.

“Where are we?”

“It looks like Antarctica.”

“…How mysterious. We were just in a jungle.”

A fierce blizzard was blowing in the snowfield. The area’s freezing

temperature made it as though the hot, humid jungle we were just in
was all a dream.

**

Same time. A blizzard was blowing endlessly in the bitter cold.

Rachel used the power of her elementals in full force and barely
managed to finish an igloo. She brought her two fainted guild
members into the igloo and put a couple of blankets over them.

[Your strength increases by 0.005 point.] [Your stamina increases

by 0.005 point.] [Your special stat, elemental affinity, increases by
0.005 point.]

Stat increase alerts didn’t make her all that happy. Rachel looked
down at the two guild members with mixed feelings. They had
fainted the moment they touched the snowmobile. Thankfully, they
were still alive. Rachel opened the messenger.

[Communication is being hindered by the mission floor’s natural

phenomenon, ‘snowstorm’.]

However, it was still unfunctional.

“Haa…”

Rachel sighed and turned back to her guild members. They were
lying on the ground like corpses. The Tower’s system said that each
Player had 7 lives but also that there were penalties involved with

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dying. As the vice-leader of the Royal Court guild, Rachel couldn’t let
her guild members die when she didn’t know what the penalties
were.

“….”

Her stomach growled. Rachel opened the Player Shop as she

rubbed her belly. She had already eaten all the emergency food
supply provided by her ticket. But since she still had 500TP on her,
she wasn’t worried about food. With that in mind, she clicked on the
5TP tutorial bento box.

[As the tutorial ended, the tutorial bento box may no longer be
bought.]

“…Eh?”

Her eyes widened in shock. Why now? Hoping for the best, she
clicked on the 10TP bento box. However, it was the same. After
trying to buy food multiple times, she realized that there was only
one bento box available in the Player Shop.

[Emergency Bento Box – 200TP]

It was a bento box worth 200TP.

“Argh….”

She covered her face and stomped on the ground. 200TP for a
single bento box? She felt like she was being punished for spending
3000TP on an armor. Like the saying went, bad things came all at
once. The current situation was too much for the mere 20-year-old
vice-leader to handle.

“Huu. I can do this. Cheer up.”

Rachel lightly slapped her face. She didn’t know when the blizzard
would stop. Not knowing when the two guild members would wake

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up, she felt she needed to go find food.

With a plan in mind, Rachel left the igloo. The fierce snowstorm
seemed to swallow up her senses, but she forced herself to walk
through the snow. She was able to endure the bitter cold with her fire
elemental Fiery’s help.

“….!”

After courageously walking through the snow for a while, she

suddenly came to a stop. Along with her sudden halt, the snow
around her feet slid forward and fell off a steep cliff. A huge crevice
was in front of her.

“I almost fell…”

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the crevice.

“Ah, over there!”

Under the 15-feet tall crevice, she discovered a golden elevator. It

was easy to spot because of its color that contrasted with the snow
and its unique shape that couldn’t be anything else but an elevator.
However, her joy only lasted for a moment. Soon, she bit her lips
bitterly.

—[email protected]#[email protected]%#&

—[email protected]*&!^[email protected]!#@#?

Another group had already taken over the elevator. Rachel

examined their faces. Thankfully, they were people she recognized
as they often appeared on Korean news. They were members of
China’s number 1 guild, ‘Empire of Glory’. Unfortunately, they
seemed to have met up with the rest of their guild members as they
were preparing departure.

“Ah, wait!”

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Rachel hurriedly shouted as a result. Eight people looked up at her
from the ground. Upon secondary inspection, Rachel saw pride and
joy on their faces from being able to overpass their competitors. Her
intuition told her that they wouldn’t wait for her or her group.

“Don’t stay quiet after calling out! If you want to come with us, you
should hurry up!”

The man suspected to be their leader reached out to her. Rachel

was able to sense lust from the man’s eyes.

“…Thank you for the offer, but I have comrades who fainted.”

“Ah, I see. But if you’re not alone, I don’t think we can wait. Who
knows how many people will come here if we do?”

However, his look of lust disappeared in front of his competitive

spirit. Seeing him coldly turn around, Rachel hurriedly shouted. She
used her only negotiation tool.

“I understand, so I’m willing to pay 500TP. No, I’ll pay 1500TP for
my two comrades too.”

“Ehey, vice-leader, do we look like beggars? Despite how we look,

we’re one of the best in China.”

“…I also have a Lv.3 armor. Although I don’t have it on me right

now…”

“Oh? You were the fool who bought the Gargoyle’s Leather Armor?
Hahaha.”

“F-Fool?”

“Anyways, good luck with your passed-out friends. We’ll go on

ahead—”

Despite having offered everything she had, Rachel was met with

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ridicule. The eight people walked into the elevator, and soon, the
door closed shut.

“Ah…”

Woong— The elevator gave off a resounding vibration and shot up

into the sky. Rachel could only stare at the elevator leave.

[Alert! Once activated, an elevator will reappear in a random

location.]

Rachel despaired once more at the system alert.

Tak, tak.At that moment, the sound of footsteps rang out.

“A human…?”

Her guess was half-correct. Turning around, she saw a strange

half-human, half-beast monster. It was a monster commonly found in
cold regions of Earth, a Yeti.

“…!”

Rachel quickly raised her rapier. It was a level 1 sword she bought
in Tutorial Town, but it was the only thing she could rely on.

=== [Lv.3 Baby Yeti] ===

A Lv.3 monster. It was the highest leveled monster she faced since
entering the Tower. The Yeti glared at her and bared its fangs. Rachel
didn’t have much time to think. The Yeti’s mind seemed to be coded
with the command ‘kill all humans’, as it quickly charged towards her
in the blizzard.

Rachel quickly jumped to the side and dodged the Yeti’s charge.

KUOOO—!The Yeti’s enraged roar rang out.

As it charged towards her once again, Rachel decided to fight it.

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However, its movements were smarter this time. It leaped up using
its powerful legs and instantly descended on Rachel.

KOONG—!

Along with a destructive fall, the Yeti brandished its fists. Rachel
dodged the Yeti’s attack with the help of her elementals and
attacked openings in the Yeti’s defense. She wasn’t sure if her
attacks were effective, but she could still say that the fight was
evenly matched.

Clang— Clang—

The steel rapier clashed with the Yeti’s fists, producing ringing
echoes. Rachel’s acrobatics-like swordsmanship dealt with the Yeti
gently, and the Yeti was unable to come out ahead.

However, Rachel knew that she couldn’t drag out the fight. The
Yeti was in its native environment whereas Rachel needed to expend
magic power just to stay warm.

—GUOOOO!

The Yeti’s rage exploded first before Rachel’s worry had any
meaning. Annoyed by Rachel’s constant dodging, the Yeti roared and
swung its arm in a wide arc. Rachel decided to use this opportunity to
strike.

“….!”

But almost as if it had led her on, or as if it had a powerful battle

sense encoded in its DNA, the Yeti lifted its foot and kicked Rachel’s
rapier away. Clang! Seeing her rapier fly away… Rachel clenched her
fists. Using the gum if toothless! She infused elemental power in her
small fist and punched.

—KOONG!

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Along with her simple punch, a huge sonic boom rang out from the
distance. If she wasn’t paying attention, she might have thought the
sound came from her fist.

Regardless, the sudden attack drilled a huge hole in the Yeti’s

chest, and its flesh and blood splattered on Rachel.

“…?”

Rachel stood blankly in a daze. The Yeti had stopped moving

completely. Soon, it fell forward. Beyond the fallen corpse of the Yeti,
Rachel spotted her savior. A man wearing a black hood and all sorts
of equipment. Even at first glance, he looked extremely warm.

“Who….”

Before she could finish her sentence, the man pulled his hood
down. When Rachel saw the man’s face, her jaws dropped open.
Rather than surprise or delight, she first felt a sense of ease. He
spoke.

“Nice to see you again.”

“Ah…”

As Rachel originally thought, there was no way that he could have

died in the tutorial. In fact, seeing the robe, armor, mask, and other
equipment he was wearing, Rachel felt dumb for ever worrying about
him. In fact, he was doing far better than her no matter how she
looked at it.

Seeing the smiling Kim Hajin, Rachel became lost in thought.

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Chapter 167
Source: Wuxiaworld

It wasn’t a coincidental meeting as I ran here as soon as I saw an

elevator flying up and heard a girl’s scream. Rachel seemed to be in
danger, so I had to use three of my precious bullets, but I decided not
to regret it too much since a Yeti’s horn was a good material. In any
case, after our reunion, Rachel led me to her igloo.

“Come in, it’s surprisingly warm.”

“Thanks.”

“Um… no, nevermind.”

It seemed she had many questions to ask. However, she didn’t dig
any further, and I entered the igloo without saying much. Inside,
there were two other people who seemed to be in poor conditions.

“…What happened to them?”

“They suddenly fainted.”

“Suddenly?”

Rachel nodded.

“Yes, they touched a snowmobile and suddenly—”

“Snowmobile?!”

I interrupted Rachel. There was only one thing a snowmobile could

be referring to.

“Y-Yes, a snowmobile…”

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“Where?”

“…Um, you shouldn’t touch it. You’ll become like them if you do. I
think it’s a trap.”

Rachel’s expression darkened. I, of course, knew about the

fainting. If they touched a dwarven artifact bare-handed, they should
be passed out for about two days.

“Don’t worry, I know how to handle it.”

I planned to use the Book of Truth if I really couldn’t find one on my

own, but it seemed I could reserve the Book of Truth for finding the
steles.

“Eh? How? Where?”

“Um, in the book the 2nd-floor administrator is reading… well, I’ll

explain later. For now…”

Before heading out to find the dwarven artifact, I took out the
Jungle Gorilla’s leather from my inventory.

“Here. This should keep them warm.”

“Ah, thank you!”

Rachel put the leather over her guild members as soon as she
received it. They looked a bit like corpses in a morgue, but they
looked warm.

“Judging by the color of their faces, they should be waking up

soon.”

“…That’s what I’m hoping.”

I smiled reassuringly. Touching the snowmobile without

preparation caused one to faint for at least a day, but it wasn’t life-
threatening whatsoever.

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“Then let’s go find the snowmobile. Do you remember where it is?”

Rachel still looked worried but nodded anyway.

“…Yes, I can ask my elementals for direction.”

**

“Mm….”

I arrived in front of the snowmobile with Rachel. Buried under the

blizzard, only a vague outline of it remained. I wanted to claim it for
myself immediately, but now that I was here… there wasn’t much I
could do.

In truth, this hidden piece was rather easy to find. The 2nd floor
was only as big as Daegu Metropolitan City. Not only were there
three of them on the 2nd floor, but they were also extremely
noticeable.

However, this hidden piece had a barrier surrounding it. Touching

it thoughtlessly immediately caused one to faint. Although Kim Suho
could cut the barrier apart with his Sword Saint Gift, I had nothing of
the sort.

“Ah, I want to see Suho.”

“…Suho? You mean, Kim Suho?”

Rachel tilted her head at my murmuring.

“Ah, yes. It’s been three years since I last saw him.”

In truth, I did see him from the distance a few times. I asked Yoo
Yeonha to gift him medicine, even going as far as tricking him into
thinking they were vitamins since Kim Suho didn’t like getting
stronger through medicine. Although the sender of the gifts was
always anonymous, he probably knew it was me who sent them.

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“Ah, maybe…”

After mulling over it for a while, I came up with an idea. I

immediately turned on my smartwatch.

[Device Link]

My laptop’s newest function, ‘Device Link’. Broadly speaking, this

dwarven artifact was an equipment.

[Search Nearby Device]

I swallowed hard and clicked ‘search’.

[Searching for devices within 300 meters…] [Search complete.] [1.

Dwarven Supercar] [This device has no owner. Would you like to set
its owner to Kim Hajin and link to it?]

I was only half-sure that this would work, but thankfully it did. I
clicked ‘yes’.

[Setting its owner and linking to it requires 200SP.] [Would you like
to continue?]

200SP. It wasn’t cheap by any means, but this artifact was

something I could ride until the 7th floor. It was certainly worth its
cost. As such, I clicked ‘yes’ once again.

Woong—

In an instant, golden light shot up from the snowmobile. This

blinding light spread warmth in all directions and melted the snow
and ice nearby. Just like that, the supercar revealed itself. It had a
black body engraved with golden symbols and was big enough to
seat three to four people. It operated without wheels and by
resonating with mana, truly making it a mystical dwarven artifact.

[With the transfer of ownership, Dwarven Security Barrier has been

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deactivated.]

Now the barrier was also gone. I hopped on the snowmobile which
seemed to have a heating function as the seat was warm.

“Ah, be care… eh? Are you okay?”

“Yes, this is part of my Gift.”

I gave a brief explanation to Rachel who looked at me with a

shocked expression.

“Get on, Rachel-ssi. I’ll drive you to the igloo.”

“Um… can I ride it too?”

“Of course. You won’t get hurt, so don’t worry.”

Rachel blinked a few times, then got up behind me.

“Let’s go.”

Wiing— Driving the dwarven supercar wasn’t too different from

driving a normal snowmobile. Using the path we took to get here, we
went back to the igloo. The 30-minute walk was reduced to 3
minutes.

“…Oh, um, I’m sorry about this.”

After dropping Rachel off at the igloo, I scratched my neck feeling

sorry. Rachel was the one who found this artifact, but I was taking it
for myself. Rachel smiled brightly.

“You don’t need to feel sorry at all. I wouldn’t have been able to
use it anyways.”

“But still… Ah.”

I walked into the igloo and took out a [Lv.1 Wooden Storage Box].

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“I’ll give you this.”

“…?”

Rachel looked back and forth between me and the storage box.

“It’s a storage box. I made it in the jungle. I put an ice-attribute

setting on it, so it should function as an icebox too.”

I opened the storage box.

“There’s food inside. It’s marinated deer meat. You can just pan-fry
it.”

“Food?”

Rachel’s eyes shone as she looked inside the storage box. Sniff,
sniff. She smelled the sauce used to marinate the meat.

“Ah… thank you so much, Hajin-ssi.”

Then, she expressed her sincere, heartfelt gratitude. I answered

with a small smile. Afterward, Rachel sat down on the floor.

“I’m fine, so you can go. Your comrades must be waiting for you…”

Growl— Rachel’s belly growled. Her face flushed red and she
quickly took out a frying pan and a burner.

Tak, tak.She turned the burner on and put the frying pan on it.

“Um, would you like to join me…?”

“No, I’m fine. I already ate.”

Rachel looked at me fixedly, then she nodded and placed three

small pieces of deer meat on the frying pan.

“…You should cook more. You must be starving.”

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“I have more guild members than just these two. I need to save
some for them.”

“Mm, I see, then I’ll take my leave. You can send a friend request
later. My ID is…”

I paused. My ID was Extra7.

“…Extra7, but if anyone asks, don’t tell them my ID.”

“Got it.”

Rachel didn’t ask for a reason and simply agreed.

“…Wait, Extra7?!”

Then, as though she suddenly remembered something, her eyes

shot open.

“The one who made 20000TP is…”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Ah… right… then that equipment… with 20000TP…”

She murmured to herself. It seemed she came to some sort of a

conclusion. I grinned as I left the igloo. The blizzard was still blowing
as fiercely as ever. I put on my hood again and jumped on the
dwarven supercar.

“For now…”

Let’s go to Boss. I took out a GPS receiver, which I bought from the
Player Shop before separating from the others. Although it cost
700TP, I considered it a good purchase as it could be used
indefinitely.

[No.1 GPS – Northeast, 680m]

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Boss’ GPS wasn’t too far away. I stepped on the accelerator, and
the dwarven supercar charged through the snow. Feeling the
refreshing air provided by the speed of the supercar, I crossed 680
meters in exactly 20 seconds.

—In any case…

As soon as I stopped the dwarven supercar, I heard Boss’ voice. I

turned northeast from where I was standing. Thousand-Mile Eyes
pierced through the curtain of snow hindering my vision.

—You have seven lives in this Tower.

I could see Boss’ figure standing in the snow. However, she wasn’t
alone but surrounded by four to five people.

—So I’m sure dying once won’t be a big deal.

—Kahaha!

Boss’ warning was only met with sneers and ridicule.

—What, you’re going to kill us? Do you think we’ll just stand here
and do nothing?

—Why don’t you take off that bear head? Or do you want us to do

it for you?

She had run into thugs. I quickly raised my Desert Eagle. However,
I had no chance to intervene.

Chwaak—

The shadow underneath Boss shot up. Black magic power formed
the shape of a blade and pierced the neck of one of the more
talkative men.

—Kuk! —W-What!? —F-Fuck! —H-Hey, just kill her!

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The thugs quickly jumped back and unleashed their magic power,
but Boss’ application of magic power was too extraordinary. After
easily neutralized the thugs’ magic power blasts and even reversing
the spell used by the magician, she counterattacked with her shadow
blade, tearing their limbs apart.

—Kuaaak! —Kuak.

Screams of despair and pain and the sound of bones breaking and
flesh being torn apart rang out. A shadow danced above a white field
of snow, with blood and internal organs of humans flying in all
directions. The situation came to an end in just a minute.

“…Haa.”

Silence returned to the snowfield. Amidst severed body parts, Boss

let out a tired sigh. There was a single drop of blood on her white
skin, which looked especially cold.

“…Boss.”

I called out. At that moment, her shoulders slightly flinched. Under

the fiercely blowing blizzard, Boss turned around. Her eyes were
slightly flickering as she stared at me. However, she soon returned to
her usual self and muttered.

“You’re back.”

“…Yes, it was quite a spectacle.”

I joked. However, Boss didn’t react or say anything in response and

simply walked past me. Tak, tak. Walking forward in the white
snowfield, she left behind a trail of blood. Her footsteps were elegant
and powerful but lonesome. I followed her silently. …Whish. The wind
blew coldly. I tried my best to ignore the bear head helmet she was
wearing.

**

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“…Chameleon Troupe?”

On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha was in the outside world, having a
video call with Yoo Jinhyuk.

—Yeah.

Yoo Jinhyuk finally revealed a new piece of information to Yoo

Yeonha. She decided not to ask whether he had been hiding it or had
just found out.

—By the way, are you not entering the Tower?

“It’s hard for me to find the time. It apparently takes a month to

finish the tutorial… I’m sure you don’t need me to explain further.”

Past the video call screen, Yoo Yeonha was looking at news
regarding the Tower of Wish being reported. People returned from
the Tower after clearing the tutorial by buying some sort of a ‘ticket’
and those who died without being able to clear the tutorial. News
regarding them was causing a stir.

—Mm, yeah, that makes sense.

“Anyways, please continue with what you were saying.”

With Yoo Yeonha asking, Yoo Jinhyuk continued.

—Right, so I think this Chameleon Troupe is the group behind the

Kwang-Oh Incident orchestrated by Chae Joochul.

Yoo Yeonha strained her ears with a stiff expression. The assassin
hired by Chae Joochul and commanded by Yoo Jinwoong. Yoo Jinhyuk
was currently telling her the identity of this assassin.

—The problem is whether this Chameleon Troupe is the same as

the current one.

Yoo Yeonha stared at Yoo Jinhyuk silently. Her eyes were

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demanding an explanation. Before talking about this any further, Yoo
Jinhyuk first surveyed his surroundings. There was only a single fly
sitting on his window.

—Jesus, how can a fly be that big? Hey, hey, chase that thing out.

“You don’t have to worry about a fly.”

—It’s just too big. What the heck? Did it come back?

“Geez, just ignore it. You’re in North Hamgyeong Province. No one

knows about that place anyways.”

—…Oh, it’s gone. Okay, I won’t say it again, so listen carefully.

After chasing the fly away, Yoo Jinhyuk let out a dry cough and
began to talk about the Chameleon Troupe. A mysterious group that
appeared 30~50 years ago. An unknown goal, unknown members.
Using the traces they left behind, he could only guess that they were
a crime syndicate with at least 10 powerful members.

—…But you see, back in the day when I was hot stuff, Chameleon
Troupe’s leader died.

“Eh? Died?”

—Yeah. I think it was Chae Joochul who killed him, but I’m not
exactly sure. Now, look at the terror incidents that have been
happening in Pandemonium.

Yoo Jinhyuk put up data regarding terror incidents in

Pandemonium. Although terror incidents weren’t rare in
Pandemonium, what made the ones shown on the screen unique was
the ‘black lotus’ symbol.

—The Chameleon Troupe must have picked a new leader and

resumed their activities.

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“Hmm… so who’s their new leader?”

—I don’t know. But! This is where Kim Hajin you love comes in.

“L-Love? We’re just allies—”

—Anyways, it was a young girl who dropped Kim Hajin off at an

orphanage.

Yoo Jinhyuk had seen this with his Gift.

—I’m almost one hundred percent positive that this girl is a

member of the Chameleon Troupe. In other words, Kim Hajin will be
looking for the Chameleon Troupe in the future.

Yoo Yeonha nodded. She agreed with what he was saying.

“If things are as you say… it’s really complicated.”

Yoo Yeonha drew a map in her head.

[Chae Joochul = A] [The Chameleon Troupe’s previous Boss who

carried out the Kwang-Oh Incident = B (now deceased)] [Working
with B, the young girl who brought Kim Hajin to an orphanage = C] [C
is surmised to be a member of the current Chameleon Troupe]

A total of four main characters: A, B, C, and Kim Hajin.

“It’s too complicated….”

—It is. Kim Hajin is only a small fish compared to these giants.
That’s why it looks and feels so dramatic.

“Dramatic? How?”

—…Think about it.

Yoo Jinhyuk suddenly put on a weird face and shouted.

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—Chae Joochul! The child you tried to kill has come back alive!

“…What.”

However, Yoo Yeonha only frowned.

—Chae Joochul will end up being killed by a main character he

wasn’t even aware of. An ‘extra’ if you will.

“….”

Yoo Yeonha crossed her arms without replying to Yoo Jinhyuk’s

nonsense. She then thought of Chae Joochul.

Chae Joochul the Immortal. The owner of Daehyun and an

undoubtable giant of Korea. She had the feeling that it wouldn’t be
long until she would face off against this giant. A part of the reason
was the increased pressure from Chae Joochul as Essence of the
Strait continued to grow.

—But Chae Joochul’s granddaughter is your friend and subordinate.

“…She’s my friend only.”

—But be careful. Chae Joochul isn’t someone who would care about
his granddaughter.

Yoo Yeonha nodded. Even if Chae Nayun was her friend and a Hero
of Essence of the Strait— if a day came where she had to swing a
blade against Chae Joochul, if a day came where she had to fight him
head-on… She would never hesitate.

**

Same time, Chameleon Troupe’s hideout. In a room called [Droon’s

Playroom], which Kim Hajin made with special care…

“…What an interesting story~”

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Droon stretched big. In his eyes, the conversation Yoo Yeonha and
Yoo Jinhyuk had was being replayed.

“Is my mission over now?”

In the past, Boss and Jain tried to employ several information

guilds to look into Kim Hajin’s past. However, they had failed every
time. Droon, who was investigating Kim Hajin’s past independently,
made an unexpected harvest. Well, calling it a ‘harvest’ was a bit
misleading. It was the only result he obtained from Mimyo’s 133-day
stakeout.

“Should I tell them…?”

Droon pondered. Mimyo, who was disguised as a fly, brought back

an interesting conversation. Regardless of whether it was true or
false, things were sure to become touchy once either side found out.

“Nah.”

After mulling over it for a long time, Droon shook his head.

“Everything they talked about were ‘speculations’. Telling Boss or

Hyung about it will only cause problems.”

Droon didn’t want Boss and Kim Hajin to fight yet.

“Hajin Hyung made this playroom for me, and Boss took me in.
Yep, that’s right.”

Droon grinned and came to a decision on his own.

“…But if everything is true.”

But he couldn’t help but think of this possibility. If everything Yoo

Jinhyuk said were true. ‘The young girl who dropped a baby off at an
orphanage’ — If Hajin Hyung really was this baby and Boss was this
young girl… Then Boss killed Hajin Hyung’s parents?

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“Yikes, how scary.”

Trembling at just the thought of this brutal truth, Droon quickly hid
under his blanket.

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Chapter 168
Source: Wuxiaworld

After commanding the dwarven supercar to follow us, I walked with

Boss. We walked forward inside the snowstorm without a clear
destination.

Ssk, ssk.The sound of our feet touching the snow vividly

resounded.

“…What do you think?”

She sounded gloomy. I wasn’t so insensitive as to not know the

meaning of her question and tone.

“Still the same.”

In the past, Boss asked me what I thought about murder. That to

be with her, I would have to kill many innocent people. My answer
was still the same as it was back then.

“I’m a murderer too.”

Whether someone is beaten to death, shot to death, or cut up into

bits and pieces, the result was the same.

“….”

Boss stopped. Behind her small shoulders, I also stopped. Perhaps

she was afraid that I was disappointed. After all, she had never killed
anyone so brutally in the three years we worked together.

“…I see.”

Boss left behind these two words and began walking again.

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“They’ll be revived anyways. Though they’ll have to start over from
the tutorial.”

In truth, being dismembered was a rather severe way of dying.

Those thugs should have lost 2~3 lives from it. Also, with the pain
they must have suffered, they wouldn’t be able to avoid mental
trauma either.

But they were the ones who started it in the first place. Boss had
given them a chance to back down before it was too late.

“They were probably Djinns anyways. I heard about 500 tickets

were released in Pandemonium.”

“…Yeah.”

Boss muttered. She didn’t sound as dejected anymore. This was

probably the right time to show her my new artifact. I called the
dwarven supercar over.

Shoong—Seeing the supercar slide towards us, Boss became

startled and unleashed her magic power.

“What is it?!”

“It’s mine. It’s our transportation.”

I jumped in like I was getting in a sports car.

“Get in, Boss.”

“…What is this?”

“Like I said, there are lots of useful items on the 2nd floor.”

I smacked the back seat with a grin.

“Hoee…”

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Before getting on the dwarven supercar, Boss examined the
vehicle with curious eyes.

“Is it pure gold…?”

As expected, that was what caught her attention first. Boss rubbed
the golden symbols engraved on the vehicle before jumping in.

“Alright, it’s rather fast, so hold on tight…. Oh, also…”

Before setting off, I took out the Yggdrasil Leaf and casted a
blessing on the dwarven supercar.

[Yggdrasil’s Blessing envelops the Dwarven Supercar.] [All effects

of the Dwarven Supercar increase by 1 level.]

“Hold tight.”

“Okay.”

I stepped on the accelerator. Vroom— Driving the quick

snowmobile, I sneaked a peek at Boss. She was leisurely watching
the scenery. She looked beautiful except for one thing.

“Boss, you should take off that bear head now.”

“…Ah?”

Boss’ eyes widened, and in the next moment, she quickly took off
the helmet.

“…I, I forgot I was wearing it. I was thinking about other things.”

Her face turned slightly red. It was the most meaningful change in
expression I had seen from her.

**

Day two. Like Rachel, we built an igloo to spend the night. By the

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time we woke up, the fiercely blowing blizzard was gone. A blinding
sunlight reflected off the snowy field.

As soon as I came out of the igloo, I took out the dwarven supercar
from my inventory. Since Cheok Jungyeong and Jain were starting to
get bored, I had to quickly find the dwarven steles and go up to the
3rd floor.

“Let’s see…”

Murmuring, I took out the Book of Truth. It was the first time I was
using it in the Tower of Wish. Although the system warned me about
using Stigma, I hoped Luke wouldn’t notice if I used less than a single
streak. After all, the 2nd floor administrator, Luke, wasn’t a highly
ranked NPC.

“…Hm.”

Speaking of NPCs’ ranks, the 3rd floor’s administrator should be

the famous magician, Medea. Unfortunately, her personality wasn’t
too good. To think that the administrator of a trash-like residential
area would be a mythical-rank NPC… what a shitty setting.
…Anyways, I asked Book of Truth the question I currently needed an
answer to.

[Is there a dwarven stele within a 3km radius?]

The Book of Truth immediately sucked in 0.5 streaks of Stigma,

and along with it came an intense pain.

“Argh.”

As I thought, using Stigma in the Tower came with a greater

backlash. However, the pain was worth enduring as the Book of Truth
revealed the stele’s location to me.

“…It’s not far.”

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Northwest, 1.3km. I got on the dwarven supercar and stepped on
the accelerator. It took less than 3 minutes to get to the coordinate
shown in the Book of Truth. Inside a huge crevice at the edge of the
glacier land near an ocean, a stele-like object was buried under the
snow.

I slowly drove the dwarven supercar down the cliff. As this

snowmobile could go down vertical paths, going down a cliff was no
problem.

“Found it.”

A dwarven stele was buried under the snow. I dusted my hands off

in front of it. At the same time, a system alert popped up.

[You discovered a dwarven stele.] [The contents of the dwarven

stele have been stored in your database.] [Ecorld Qowemr FcmoE
Roalz….]

Although I couldn’t understand it at all, I could leave the translation

to the Book of Truth. I immediately asked the Book of Truth for the
translation of the stele’s content. Was it because the dwarven
language was easy to translate? It didn’t take too much Stigma.

[Young Dwarf’s Diary of Enlightenment] [Today, Old Man Hairy

Nostrils taught me the most important mindset as a descendant of
Hephaestus…]

“The heck is this?”

I frowned in the middle of reading the translation. A diary? What

happened to the potion recipes? After continuing to read the diary, I
walked up to the stele to check if there was something else to it. But
when I touched the stele, a burst of light erupted from the stele. It
was a brilliant golden light that I had experienced a few times before.
Right, it was the light from the activation of accumulation of luck.

Chwaaa— The golden light emanating from the dwarven stele

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poured into my eyes. I stood still and received it fully.

[‘Young Dwarf’s Enlightenment’ resonates with your Trait

‘Dexterity’.] [Trait ‘Dexterity’ disappears.] [It has been replaced by
‘Young Dwarf’s Dexterity’. Its rank has been increased.]

“…Ha.”

I trembled in excitement from the series of system alerts. Dwarves,

the descendants of Hephaestus. The innate dexterity possessed by
this mystical race. I clutched my beating heart and took a deep
breath. There was only one thing I could say in my current level of
excitement.

“Jackpot.”

**

After the blissful activation of ‘accumulation of luck’, we stayed on

the 2nd floor for another 36 hours. Meanwhile, the landscape
changed from Antarctica to a volcanic zone, and I found two more
dwarven steles. One had a recipe for brewing ‘Special Dwarven
Potion’ and the other had a recipe for crafting ‘Special Dwarven
Shoes’. Both of these recipes resonated with Young Dwarf’s Dexterity
and entered my head. Now, I was able to make them as long as I had
the ingredients.

“Now, everyone, let’s go up to the 3rd floor~”

“I almost died from boredom. We’re finally going up?”

Cheok Jungyeong grumbled. I smiled in response.

“Didn’t you have fun fighting the Flame Octopus? You said it lasted
12 hours.”

“…I’m tired of it now. I want to fight with humans.”

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Judging by Jain and Boss’ expressions, they were probably thinking
the same thing. Of course, I didn’t blame them since there wasn’t
anything fun to do in this place. Cheok Jungyeong shot up.

“Alright, we’re really going up now, right?”

“Yes.”

“You better not be lying. Otherwise, I’ll squash your head.”

Cheok Jungyeong sounded impatient, but in truth, none of us were

too worried. It was because I had already found an elevator.

We left our temporary base and walked towards the elevator. We

arrived not too long afterwards. As it was covered in granite from the
magma we poured on it before, it didn’t look like an elevator at all.

“I’m breaking it.”

“Yes.”

Cheok Jungyeong immediately punched the granite mound.

KWANG! The granite covering the elevator shattered, revealing the
elevator within.

“Alright, let’s get on~”

“By the way, Hajin, is everyone going to be able to come up? There
were about 2000 people, and only four of us are taking a single
elevator right now.”

Jain asked.

“I’m not too sure, but I’m guessing about 80% will be able to make
it up.”

In truth, the speed of the elevator would double after a week from
something called the ‘acceleration phenomenon’.

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“Really? Hm, I can’t see more than 50% going up though.”

“Well, we’ll see… anyways, hop on. We don’t have time.”

“Oh, right, okay.”

With that, we got on the elevator, which only had three buttons:
floor 3, open, and close. After pressing the 3rd floor button and the
close button without hesitation, I sat down on the floor.

Wooong—Along with a huge roar, the elevator began to float up.

“…Ah~ I’m hungry. Hajin, let’s eat some deer meat.”

“Oh, I gave all of it away to my friend.”

“What? All of it?”

Jain was shocked. It was understandable since it was enough to

feed all four of us for a week even if Cheok Jungyeong ate three
people’s worth every meal.

“Yes, but you know the dwarven supercar, right? You could say I
traded it for the meat. We also have lots of boar meat left.”

“…Ah, I see. If that’s the case, then I guess it’s fine… though I
don’t know what kind of an idiot would trade that artifact for food.”

Knowing the versatility and usefulness of the dwarven supercar,

Jain quickly accepted it.

“By the way, is this thing going up?”

“Probably? Haam.”

A yawn came out. It took eight hours for the elevator to travel back
and forth. In other words, we would be in here for the next four
hours…

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“This is the perfect time to sleep~”

We decided to sleep until the elevator arrived. I took out four

pieces of monster leather from my inventory for each of us.

“Good night, Boss~”

“Yes.”

“You too, Newbie~”

“You too, Jain-ssi.”

I checked my messenger before going to sleep. I had a few new

messages.

[Nayunjajangman.] 「Hyung-nim, did you clear the 2nd floor?」

「If not, you can join the elevator we found. We decided to wait for
about three hours before leaving. I’ll give you the coordinates if you
want to come.」

“….”

The message was sent 30 minutes ago. At first, I turned the

messenger off without replying. But if Nayunjajangman was really
that girl…

「I’m on the 3rd floor now.」

I felt like Nayunjajangman would wait for more than three hours if I
didn’t reply. So, I sent a brief reply.

Nayunjajangman: 「Oh ㅋㅋ as expected of Hyung-nim.」 「Oh

right, before you go, make sure you stock up on food. 」
Nayunjajangman: 「Food?」 「Yep. Deer or wild boar. If you’ve never
dismantled wild animal before, now is the time.」 Nayunjajangman:
「Got it. Is there nothing to eat on the 3rd floor?」

I didn’t say anything more than that. Of course, I wasn’t sure

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whether Nayunjajangman was Chae Nayun yet. But because my
heart felt heavy, I cast the thought away with a deep sigh. Zzz—
Zzzz— Zzzzzz—

“Pft.”

My depression didn’t last long hearing the unique snoring length of

each member.

“I should sleep too.”

I closed my eyes and began to breathe regularly. One, two, three…

…DING!

In my blurred consciousness, a clear ringing noise echoed out. I

opened my eyes and got up. The elevator door was slowly opening.

“Haam~”

“Kuhu, I like this leather. It’s from the bear I defeated, right?”

“…Yes.”

I put the bear blankets back in my inventory and stood in front of

the door.

[3rd floor. You are now on the 3rd floor.]

Along with the system alert, the elevator door fully opened. I
looked out. 3rd floor. The first residential area which Players would
soon come to label the ‘worst’ without hesitation. Its name was
‘Prestige’.

[Welcome to the 3rd floor’s residential area, 「Prestige」] [Inside

residential areas, you can freely use the messenger, personal waiting
room, and Community.] [However, please be careful of sudden
attacks by hordes of undead monsters.] [Prestige Boost – stat
increase rate is increased by 5% (7% for magic power).]

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“…What is this place?”

Jain frowned as she looked out at the outskirts of the city. That was
how poor the city looked. Even I thought it looked poor and I knew
how bad it would be beforehand. Even at first glance, the city was
filled with run-down shacks, with homeless drunks sleeping by the
road. There was a mysterious knee-depth fog blanketing the city, and
the air had a thick smell of coal.

“…It’s a city.”

“This is a city?”

“Yes, the system called it a city, so it’s a city.”

Roads filled with life and death. Lifeless NPCs. As the 3rd floor
didn’t have a sun, the entire world was black and dark blue.

“Now, let’s enter.”

But since it was a place where people lived, it surely had things
like shops. This part of the city was a bit more hopeless only because
it was on the outskirts.

“Wait, wait, let me rest in my waiting room first. This place smells
too bad… uwek—”

“Be patient. We have to figure out what kind of a place this is first.’

Going to the waiting room right away wasn’t such a good choice.
Not only would you be unaware of anything happening outside, but
you also wouldn’t receive Prestige’s stat increase buff.

“Right, don’t overreact and just endure it, Jain.”

“…Okay.’

Jain had no choice but to nod with Boss chiming in. And with that,
we walked through the city. The way NPCs looked at us were similar

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yet different from the tutorial city. Some were aiming for our pockets,
while some were innocently begging for help.

“…Oh right, where did the Players go?”

“They’re probably working. You know, to make TP.”

“Auuu, this smell!”

Jain seemed to hate the nasty smell of the city more than anything
else. It was the same for the other two. Cheok Jungyeong had a harsh
frown on his face, and Boss had put on her Lv.3 Bear Head Helmet.

“…Wait just a little longer. I’ll make a gas mask for you soon.”

I consoled Jain. For now, the group quest Prestige City Hall gave
out came first. Although it was a little annoying that I had to deal
with that damned Medea, I had no other choice since there was no
way to live in Prestige if we got on Medea’s wrong side.

**

Same time, 2nd floor. Rachel was energetically walking towards

the coordinates sent by the second team. The two guild members
who fainted after touching the dwarven supercar were also with her.

“Vice-leader~!”

“Over here~!”

She could see two members waving their hands in the distance.
Rachel wanted to quickly run up to them, but she purposely walked
slower to match the two members who weren’t fully recovered yet.

“Geez, look at those two. They’re nothing but burdens.”

“I heard you two fainted… Why didn’t you just die!? You’re going to
revive anyways, right!?”

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“…Sorry, vice-leader.”[1]

“…Sorry.”

The two guild members dropped their head in shame. However,

Rachel only smiled kindly.

“It’s fine. No one expected such a thing to happen.”

Just like that, the seven members of the Royal Court guild reunited
in front of an elevator. There was just one worry.

“…Should we wait? 50 people can ride the elevator.”

Davin, who was the leader of the second team, asked. Rachel also
thought for a moment. She recalled the ‘Empire of Glory’ guild, which
she met not too long ago. Rachel didn’t want to be like them. As a
vice-leader, however, she knew there were times when she had to
make cold-hearted decisions. In this place, kindness would only be a
burden.

“Let’s go up.”

Rachel came to a decision and got into the elevator with her guild
members.

“You can do the honors, Vice-leader.”

“Yes.”

Rachel pressed the 3rd floor button. Then, as the elevator door was
closing…

“Waaaaaait—!”

A loud voice rang out. Startled, Rachel pressed the open button
instinctively.

“Let me go with youuuu—!”

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The elevator door opened once again, and Rachel could see a
white-haired kid and her supposed guardian. They looked dirty and
tired, but their running speed was extraordinary.

“Uwak!”

The child stumbled on a stone and fell forward. Then the man
following her quickly snatched her up and entered the elevator.

“Ah, thank you so much!”

The man bowed and expressed his gratitude.

“No problem…”

Rachel responded aloofly. For some reason, she felt like she had
seen the man’s face before.

“Thank god, thank god….”

She was also familiar with the white-haired child’s face. She felt
like she could remember it if her unmade hair was properly combed.

Tap, tap.At that moment, one of her guild members tapped on her
shoulder and whispered.

—Vice-leader… I think they’re Aileen and Yi Yongha. They’re

Heroes of the Temple of Justice.

Immediately, Rachel’s hair stood on end. After hearing their

names, she easily matched their faces with the faces in her memory.
In fact, white hair was almost a symbol of Aileen.

—But what do you think is wrong with them?

Rachel whispered back. Why was Aileen, who reigned as one of the
strongest Heroes in the world, in such a state?

—It must be because they both heavily rely on magic power. As

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you know, magicians are heavily disadvantaged in this place.

He was right. In this Tower, one had to know how to ‘use their
body’ to easily get through it. Even the greatest magician couldn’t do
anything if he was hungry.

“Ah, thank you, thank you~! Really, you guys are the only ones
who opened the door.”

Even so, Rachel was still curious. Aileen’s Gift, Spirit Speech, was
well-known for being able to control people’s actions. Was her magic
power restricted that much?

“No, it’s only obvious. Nice to meet you, Aileen-ssi, Yi Yongha-ssi.”

Rachel reached out to Aileen who was about 20cm shorter than
her. Aileen looked at Rachel’s hand then grabbed it with a grin. It
seemed she had not washed it for a while as it was dirty and sticky.

“You know us?”

“I don’t think there are many who don’t.”

“There were. No, actually, they just pretended not to know. They
must have been scared of me.”

Meanwhile, the elevator door closed on its own. Its destination was
obviously the 3rd floor. Ssss— The elevator began to move.

“Anyways, thank you so much~!”

Relieved, Aileen smiled like a child and plopped down on the

ground.

“Ah~ but I’m hungry. No, I’m starving. Yongha, do you have
anything to eat?”

“No, we already ate everything we had.”

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“What do you have? Hmm…”

Afterwards, Aileen naturally turned to Rachel. She was too

ashamed to directly ask for food, but she seemed to be asking with
her eyes.

“We don’t have any either.”

Rachel shook her head. Of course, it was a lie. Her inventory still
had a lot of the deer meat Kim Hajin gifted her.

“Mm? Ah~ no, I wasn’t asking for food or anything. I’m thankful for
the ride alone~”

“Ah, yes.”

=== [Lv.2 Kim Hajin’s Special Sauce Deer Meat] ○Lv.2 Satiety
○Lv.3 Taste ===

Letting them in the elevator was one thing, but Rachel couldn’t
share this Lv.2 food with them. It was an extreme~ly delicious food
that she planned to share with her guildmates.

1. The vice-leader here refers to the vice-leader of the team. The

members call Rachel vice-leader since she’s the vice-leader of the
entire guild. The RAW uses the exact same word, so I kept it the
same as well.

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Chapter 169
Source: Wuxiaworld

—Kueeek. A red crystal spear shot forward, piercing the neck of a

Lv.1 Ribbon Pig. The pig collapsed with a painful roar. Chae Nayun
then pulled the spear out of the dead pig’s neck.

“…Dismantle.”

With her soft murmur, the pig’s corpse split into meat and leather.
Chae Nayun picked up the edible parts of the meat and put them in
her inventory.

[Your inventory is full.]

“Mm, can’t you fit more in?”

[No.]

Chae Nayun’s inventory was filled with food she collected for the
past four hours.

“…Nayun, are you done~?”

Yi Jiyoon’s voice rang out from behind her. She sounded tired and
worn out.

“Yeah, I’m done now. What about you? Is your inventory full?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… yeah, mine is full too with food~”

It was clear that she was lying, but Chae Nayun didn’t want to dig
into it.

“Let’s go back now. More people are gathering at the elevator.”

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Essence of the Strait’s team had already found an elevator five
hours ago, but with Extra7’s advice, Chae Nayun had delayed setting
off and began to hunt nearby monsters.

“Nayun, we have to go!”

However, none of the other guild members were interested in

hunting. Even when Chae Nayun told them it was advice from her
master(?) who was already on the 3rd floor, they only repeated
telling Chae Nayun to hurry up. Of course, their reactions were
understandable. If other Players rushed into the elevator while they
were busy finding food, it was entirely possible for their elevator to
get stolen.

“How many people do we have?”

Despite the Essence of the Strait members’ uncooperative attitude,

Chae Nayun managed to obtain enough food to last the entire team
1~2 weeks.

“27… or maybe 28. We have to hurry. If it fills up, a fight might

break out.”

Although Essence of the Strait had found the elevator first, other
Players had also gathered because they delayed setting off. Because
of the messenger system, only one member of a group needed to
find an elevator to get the entire group to come over. It wouldn’t be
surprising if a huge group arrived at the elevator soon.

“…Okay, let’s go.”

Chae Nayun decided to go back.

“Ehew, good. Follow me~”

Holding the red crystal spear in her hand, Chae Nayun followed Yi
Jiyoon. The two of them ran and arrived at the elevator in just 15
minutes. It was obvious to anyone watching that Essence of the

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Strait’s members were unhappy. It was clear that they were annoyed
but holding back because Chae Nayun was Yoo Yeonha’s friend. Still,
Chae Nayun ignored their gazes and stood in front of them.

“Chae Nayun, you delayed us by five hours. Five. Whole. Hours.”

This time, however, it seemed they had something to say. Chief

Officer of Essence of the Strait’s Tower Subjugation Team, high-
intermediate rank grade-2 Hero, Kim Youngjin, stood in front of Chae
Nayun.

“….”

“Don’t you have anything to say to us?”

“I suggested hunting together, leaving behind one team to defend

the elevator and taking shifts.”

“What?”

Kim Youngjin frowned intimidatingly.

“Like I said, we need to stock up on food for the 3rd floor.”

“…The 2nd floor’s administrator said that the 3rd floor is a

residential area. You think a residential area will be low on food?”

“….”

Chae Nayun didn’t reply. Extra7, who was already on the 3rd floor,
told her to stock up on food. However, she didn’t want to explain the
same thing again and again. She knew her words would only be seen
as an excuse because of their bias.

“We’re delayed because of you. Do you understand that?”

“…Yes, sorry. I won’t let it happen again.”

As such, Chae Nayun simply dropped her head and apologized.

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Following the chief officer’s orders. That was one of the conditions
Chae Nayun accepted to get the Tower’s entrance ticket.

“…Tsk.”

Kim Youngjin didn’t say anything more and opened the elevator
door. Following him, the other members of Essence of the Strait
entered the elevator, and some other bystanders also got in. The last
person to get in the elevator was, unsurprisingly, Chae Nayun.

[Departing to the 3rd floor.]

There were 29 people in the elevator. Not only were they stuck in a
small space, but the atmosphere was extremely awkward as well.
Thinking about having to stay in this suffocating atmosphere for four
hours, Yi Jiyoon clapped her hands and tried to lighten up the mood.

“R-Right, so, um, did you guys meet anyone famous in the Tower?”

“Famous?”

“Yeah. I’m sure there are many famous Heroes, mercenaries, and
hunters in the Tower… so?”

Everyone ignored Yi Jiyoon, making the atmosphere turn even

more awkward.

“….”

‘Shouldn’t they say something since we let them join our elevator?’
Yi Jiyoon grumbled inwardly.

“I met someone.”

At that moment, a man wearing a black robe raised his hand.

“Wow, really?”

“Yes.”

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“Who?”

The man smiled at her question. Until then, Chae Nayun wasn’t
interested in their conversation. She was simply looking through the
auction house for any useful items and wondering if she should sell
her red crystal spear.

“I saw Fenrir.”

“…!”

But at that moment, Chae Nayun’s head shot up. She seemed to
have been struck by a bolt of lightning. She turned her head and
looked at the black robed man. Jeronimo’s mercenary, Fenrir. Chae
Nayun knew who he was. There was no way she wouldn’t. In this
world, there was only one person who could wield a gun so well.

“Ah… really?”

In truth, people who were in Cube with Kim Hajin all knew about
this. However, Yi Jiyoon pretended to be oblivious out of courtesy.

“Um, was he strong?”

“Yes.”

The man smiled bitterly and took off his robe. Yi Jiyoon blushed
when she saw his handsome face resembling Legolas.

“My friend and I almost died picking a fight with him. He was quite
scary.”

“Oh… I see…”

“Yes, I suspect he’s the strongest one in the Tower. If you ever
meet him, don’t try to fight him. You’ll die.”

Enchanted by the man’s handsome appearance, Yi Jiyoon nodded

blankly.

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Gzz—Chae Nayun clenched her teeth. The hand holding the spear
shaft turned white.

“Ah… dammit.”

Her head seemed to be splitting in half. She felt like she was going
to lose herself in this intense pain. Rage and fear rose up from her
heart, as did hatred and sadness. Doubt seemed to devour her
rational thinking. There’s no way he killed Oppa. There must have
been a misunderstanding. Such thoughts flashed through her head,
breaking apart intermittently. She believed only what she wanted to,
yet there were things she just couldn’t come to believe. Such things
drove her crazy and stifled her breath…

“My, my head…”

An unbearable headache struck her. It felt like a hammer was

beating on her head. In the end, Chae Nayun smashed her head
against the elevator wall and collapsed.

“Eh? N-Nayun?!”

Yi Jiyoon quickly helped Chae Nayun up. However, no one else was
interested in her. Even the members of Essence of the Strait backed
off and glanced at the chief officer to take care of this situation.

“…Ha, what a mess.”

Kim Youngjin sighed. Just how long did he have to take care of that
silver spoon?

“Argh, my head hurts too…”

He massaged his sore temples.

**

[3rd floor, residential area – 「Prestige」] [TIP! To purchase

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citizenship, find a guard.]

We were currently walking through Prestige. As we got closer to

the center of the city, less and less NPCs were sprawled on the
ground and more proper buildings began to appear.

“What’s that?”

After about 40 minutes, a tall wall with a large gate appeared in

front of us.

“It’s a gate, it looks like. Let’s go near it and see.”

When we walked closer, a guard stopped us.

“The inner city is off-limits to non-citizens. If you want to go in,

show us your proof of citizenship.”

“….?”

Everyone except me blinked in confusion. Soon, Cheok Jungyeong

began to crack his knuckles. I quickly stopped him.

“Stop, you won’t be able to beat him.”

“Haha, kid, are you looking down on—”

“Ask the system.”

“Ask what? I’m sure it’ll say…”

Cheok Jungyeong stopped talking. He should have gotten a system

alert just now that read something like this. —All guards inside
Prestige receive 250% boost in their stats. We were only at the 3rd
floor, but guards were at least Lv.5. With a 250% stat boost on top of
that, we wouldn’t be able to defeat them until we become strong
enough to clear the 6th floor.

“…Uhahaha, that only makes me want to fight more.”

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“Shut up and stay put.”

Jain restrained Cheok Jungyeong who was smiling mischievously.

The guard spoke once again.

“You can pay 1000TP to register as a temporary citizen or return to

the outer city.”

“…What do you guys want to do? I plan on buying the citizenship.”

I turned around and asked the others. In truth, I was only asking
out of courtesy. Citizenship was an extremely important aspect of
Prestige as you couldn’t do anything without it.

“I have 1000TP.”

“I told you, I think I can beat him in a fight!”

“I don’t have a lot of TP.”

Jain, Cheok Jungyeong, and Boss spoke respectively.

“Then I’ll pay for Cheok Jungyeong and Boss.”

I took out three 1000TP banknotes from my inventory.

“What about me?”

“I know Jain-ssi is rich.”

“…I should have said I was poor too.”

Jain pouted as she took out 1000TP. I considered haggling, but I

was dealing with a guard. Guards were the most inflexible lot
amongst NPCs. Haggling probably wouldn’t work on them unless it
was at least at Lv.10.

“Here, 4000TP.”

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“…Confirmed.”

The guard turned around and gave the money to a clerk who was
waiting at the front entrance. The clerk wrote down the amount in
her accounting book and produced four identification cards in the
blink of an eye.

“Here. You are not official residents, so you will have to renew your
identification card once a month for 700TP. If you lose your
identification card, it will cost 1000TP to replace them, so keep that
in mind.”

We received our identification cards, which were proofs of our

temporary citizenship. Extra7. Boss. PhantomThief.
Goryeo’sStrongest. Our nicknames were written on our ID.

“How did they know our nicknames? We never told them.”

“It’s probably that NPC’s Trait.”

“Oh, NPCs have Traits too~?”

“We call them NPCs, but as far as the Tower is concerned, they’re
humans just like us.”

At that moment, a series of system alerts popped up.

[You obtained Prestige’s Citizenship.] [Common Player quests have

been issued.] [1. Undead Monster Subjugation] —You will receive
50TP per 50 Lv.1 undead killed. —You will receive 75TP per 25 Lv.2
undead killed. —You will receive 100TP per 10 Lv.3 undead killed.
—You will receive 125TP per 2 Lv.4 undead killed.

[2. Land Spider Subjugation] —You will receive 50TP per 4 Land
Spiders killed.

[3. Demon Subjugation] —There are 666 demons in Prestige. Each

demon has a special bounty on its head.

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“There’s a lot.”

“There sure is.”

Prestige wasn’t the prettiest city from the outside, but it was
certainly a place where you could earn TP thanks to common quests
for its citizens, Medea’s special quests, and other NPC quests.
However, these benefits would be the cause of its downfall. The TP
earned by Players would grant no benefit to the NPCs here and would
only fill the belly of the administrator Medea.

Of course, I had no plans to let that happen.

Here, I wanted to see a different ending with Kim Suho. Rather

than destroying the world within the Tower, I planned to only destroy
the shell that was the Tower. This was the best ending I came up with
during my three years of planning. I planned to turn this Tower into a
supporter of its own ending.

“Your inventories are full of food, right?”

“Yep, just like you wanted.”

To obtain meat on the 3rd floor, we had to kill at least 66 demons.

Before then, monsters and wild animals all spawned as undead, so
we could only eat grass. That was the shortcut to losing vitality and
stats.

“Aren’t you going in?”

Seeing us standing still, the guard asked as if to urge us.

“We will. But before that…”

I pointed at the building right next to the wall.

“How much is it for a building like that?”

“You should be able to buy it for 5000TP.”

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The guard answered my question. If I didn’t have citizenship, he
probably would have ignored me completely.

“Why, do you want to buy a building?”

“Yes, I plan to.”

“…Why?”

“I just thought it’d be nice to have a shop.”

I answered Jain’s question. Afterwards, system alerts popped up.

[You can purchase the ‘Lv.2 Wooden Building Outside the Inner
Wall’ for 5000TP.] [You currently have 24000TP.] [Would you like to
purchase this building?]

Buying buildings sure was easy in a world without real estate. I

clicked ‘yes’.

[You obtained ownership of ‘Lv.2 Wooden Building Outside the

Inner Wall’.] [There is currently nothing inside the wooden building.]

With a single click of a button, a building became mine.

“Let’s go in.”

“Hm? Don’t you have to buy it?”

“I already did.”

“…What?”

Leaving my three puzzled companions behind, I asked the guard

once again.

“Is it possible for us to meet the 3rd floor’s administrator?”

“No, it’s too early to have an audience with her.”

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“How long do we have to wait?”

“Just another week.”

“…Hm.”

In that case, there was no reason to go into the inner city. I crossed
my arms and fell in thought. Then I turned on my smartwatch to read
the ‘abandoned settings’ in my settings book. These were the
settings that I wrote in my settings book but never included in the
real story.

=== [3rd Floor Residential Area NPC – 1. Kiri and Henry.] *Brother
and sister duo. Give them money or food to get the [Black Pouch].
*The [Black Pouch] allows you to bring back one item from Earth.
*Kiri and Henry are both clever and have high growth potentials.
Worthy of becoming named NPCs. ===

“…Oh right, these two kids were here too.”

Kiri and Henry aside, the Black Pouch was quite a useful item.
Since I couldn’t meet Medea, I had about four days of free time. I
should obtain the Black Pouch and go back to Earth to bring back the
Goblin Tablet. That way, I could also meet Evandel.

“Boss, Jain, can you two go inside and look for a hideout?”

“A hideout?”

“Yes, just a place for us to stay. You can just rent a house.”

“…Sure, but where are you going?”

“I’m going back to Earth for a bit.”

Just like that, I let the three of them enter the inner city. Then, I
took out the Book of Truth and asked.

[Where are the NPCs ‘Henry’ and ‘Kiri’?]

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The Book of Truth sucked in about 0.5 streaks of Stigma and
displayed the location of Kiri and Henry in real time. They weren’t too
far away, wandering around near the outskirts of the city. I walked
over. After about 15 minutes…

“Buy some flowers~ they’re edible~”

I could see Henry and Kiri in the distance. They were selling
flowers. However, no one was interested or even capable of spending
money for flowers. To make matters worse, the flowers in their
basket were all withered.

“Flowers, buy some flowers~ they’re edible~”

“….”

I watched them silently. I had nothing to say. Two starving children

were trying to sell flowers no one wanted. Did it have to be so
realistic?

“Haa…”

Sighing away any depressing thoughts, I walked over to them.

“Ah, um, flowers… buy some flowers…”

Kiri and Henry were startled when they saw me. It was
understandable considering I was entirely covered in black clothes. I
took off my hood and mask and smiled brightly.

“How much are they?”

“Eh…? You’ll buy them?”

“Yeah.”

The younger sister, Kiri, talked to me. Kiri hesitated without being
able to meet my eyes.

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“…10, 10TP.”

“Each?”

“Yes? Ah… um, no. Everything in this basket is 10TP.”

Kiri gave the entire basket to me. Meanwhile, Henry was standing
next to her, trembling in fear. Did they think I wouldn’t buy anything
if each flower was 10TP? I looked at them silently, then discovered a
black cloth peeking out of Henry’s back pocket. That must be the
Black Pouch.

“By the way, what’s that? That black thing.”

I knelt down to Henry’s eyelevel and pointed at the pouch in his

back pocket. Kiri turned to Henry nervously.

“This… this? Um…”

Henry began to fiddle with the pouch in his back pocket with a
troubled expression.

“Um, this is… um…”

His small body trembled greatly as he contemplated on what to

say. Soon, he came to a decision and took the pouch out.

“W-Will you buy this too? This pouch is really good!”

“O-Oppa! Dad said never to—”

“Shh.”

The surprised younger sister Kiri stepped in, but Henry stopped
her. Kiri bit her lips with a sad look.

“How much is it?”

“This is a bit more expensive. It’s um… 200TP.”

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200TP. I looked at Henry’s face. His cheeks were thin, and his eyes
clearly showed that he was afraid. I suddenly thought. These two
NPCs were created from the setting I abandoned. A setting that was
disregarded because I was too much in a rush to advance the story
or because I was too lazy to write about it. What would have been
their fate in the original story? …They should have starved to death.

“Um, 150TP!”

Henry must have misunderstood my silence for dissatisfaction as

he lowered the price on his own.

“Mm…”

“I-Is it too much?”

“No, I think it’s too little.”

When I said that, Henry and Kiri’s faces lit up. I took out two 100TP
coins and gave one to Henry and other to Kiri. Kiri and Henry took the
shiny coins with their small hands. They stared at them blankly and
swallowed their saliva.

“Ah, Oppa, give him the item.”

“Oh right, h-here!”

Hearing Kiri, Henry gave me the Black Pouch.

“And um, take this too!”

Then, Kiri quickly gave me the flower basket she was holding.

“I didn’t buy this.”

“You can have it! Um, these flowers are edible! If you want, I can
also teach you where they grow. I’m the only one who knows about
this!”

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“….”

Kiri was too kind. Such a young girl was braver than her older
brother. I couldn’t help but worry about them.

“It’s fine.”

I shook my head. I put the Black Pouch away and tapped their
shoulders.

“Hey, aren’t you two hungry?”

“…Yes?”

This time, they both put up their guard.

“You see, this Hyung is a building owner.”

[Lv.2 Persuasive Voice activates.]

Although they were born and raised in a harsh environment, they

were still children. My voice was more than enough to persuade
them.

“…Building owner?”

“Yeah. Also…”

I took out my identification card.

“Wow, a citizenship identification card…”

“Uwoah…”

Henry and Kiri’s eyes shone brightly. Collecting money and buying
citizenship. This must be their dream. I spoke to them as warmly as
possible.

“If you follow me, Hyung will make you lots of delicious food.”

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Since I wrote that they were worthy of becoming named NPCs, I
had more than enough reason to bring them along. Not to mention, I
needed employees to take care of my new building.

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Chapter 170
Source: Wuxiaworld

Henry and Kiri were easily persuaded, and I went with them to the
building I bought. It was a bit weird to think of it as my building since
I only bought it 30 minutes ago. I walked inside with Henry and Kiri
who were marveling at the building.

“…Hiik!”

When Henry and Kiri saw the inside of the building, they gasped.
The more quick-witted Kiri noticed that something was unusual.

“T-There’s nothing here…”

“Huh? Oh.”

I could understand where their misunderstanding came from. An

empty place like this was usually where crimes took place.

“…Hiyaak!”

KWANG! To make matters worse, a fierce wind shut the door

closed.

“It’s empty because I only bought it a little while ago.”

I tried to calm them down, but Kiri’s legs were shaking

uncontrollably. She quickly hid behind Henry, and Henry glared at me
with a terrified expression.

“W-What do you want!?”

“S-Save us! We’re sorry, please don’t kill us!”

“Um, kids, I’m not a bad guy…”

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Their faces turned purple. I approached them slowly to calm them
down.

“Guys?”

“W-We’ll give you back the money! Please don’t kill us!”

“Ah, aaak! Aaaak!”

“…Uh.”

Talking any more would probably make the situation worse. As

such, I sat down on the ground. I took out the burner and frying pan I
bought from the Player Shop and then took out my special marinated
boar meat.

“…Hic.”

“Hic.”

The brother and sister became quieter, only sobbing slightly. I put
the meat on the frying pan and glanced at them. They were still on
guard and in fear, but they were also sniffing the air and smacking
their lips. I opened my mouth.

“Of course there’s nothing here. I only bought it just now. Come
eat. You must be hungry.”

Starvation was a huge issue in Prestige. I had even written

something about a group of people who practiced cannibalism.
Because of this, the two children’s suspicion was only natural. Kiri
was still hiding behind Henry, and Henry stuttered as he asked.

“…Re, really?”

“What would I gain from hurting you two anyway?”

Tzzz— The marinated boar meat gave off a savory smell, tempting

the two children.

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“Come eat. It’s fine.”

“…That, that’s not human meat?”

“It’s boar meat.”

“W-Where did you get it? I… I heard livestock can only be found in
the inner city.”

“I showed you my ID, didn’t I?”

“Ah.”

Kiri and Henry were finally convinced. They approached the frying
pan hesitantly, drooling with saliva. I took out two plates, put pieces
of boar meat on them, and gave them to Henry and Kiri.

“M-Me first!”

“Ssp. Wait.”

Henry took the two plates and stopped Kiri from rushing to eat.
Then, he took the first bite. Nom, nom. He seemed to be checking
whether it was poisoned. As he chewed, his eyes became livelier and
more sparkly.

“O-Oppa, can I eat it too?”

“Yeah, eat.”

They finally began to eat the meat with their hands. Worried that
they would get sick from the germs on their hands, I took out two
forks I made before and handed them to them.

“Thank you!”

“Huu, huu!”

They ate quickly. I watched them silently with a smile on my face,

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then carefully asked.

“How old are you guys?”

“I’m 13, and Kiri is 12.”

Henry’s reply was surprising as they looked like they were 10 years
old at most. It seemed they couldn’t grow properly due to
malnutrition.

“Are you two living by yourselves?”

“Yes~! Hehehe.”

Kiri nodded joyously as she chewed on the boar meat. For some
reason, it sounded bitter. Kiri had said that the Black Pouch was
something their father left behind. Now, she was saying that they
lived alone. It was clear what that meant. …I took out another large
chunk of meat and put it on the frying pan. Once it was cooked, I cut
it in half and put each half on their respective plate.

“You guys can stay and eat while I’m fixing up this place.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Thank you!”

I patted their heads before standing up.

“Hm…”

Looking around the empty space, I pondered. How should I

decorate the place so that it would become well-known around here?
Of course, I already had an idea in mind.

**

30 minutes. That was the time it took me to transform the building

into an actual shop. With brand new shelves, display cases, stands,

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and a counter, it should be the best-looking shop in the outer city.

“Wow… you’re so good at making things!”

“Uwoaah…”

Henry and Kiri exclaimed in shock. They were sitting with their
bellies full after eating all the boar meat I cooked for them.

“I’m just talented.”

“Uwoah, talented….”

“Wow….”

They were impressed with whatever I said. How cute.

“Alright, you guys don’t have to sell flowers anymore. Just work
here instead.”

“Here?”

“Yeah, and I’ll provide three meals per day with a monthly salary of
200TP.”

“2-200!?”

Their jaws dropped from shock.

“W-What kind of work do we need to do?”

“Cleaning the shop and selling items.”

“W-We’ll do it! But um… what items?”

“Oh right, hold on.”

Coming up with items to sell was easy. I took out the four Random
Dice in my inventory and rolled them thinking, ‘please change into
anything that can be sold.’ The four dice transformed into four items,

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of which the only sellable items were a Lv.3 sword and a Lv.2 leather
armor. But, well, it was better than nothing. I put the sword and
leather armor in a display stand then took out other equipment I’ve
made so far: bear leather jacket, red crystal axe, gorilla tendon wrist
protector, etc.

“I’m opening the shop tomorrow. The sword is 1500TP, the axe is
1000TP, the armor is 600TP, and the jacket and wrist protector are
300TP each. You can sell them for higher, but don’t lower the price.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

Henry and Kiri nodded excitedly. I smiled and added another

sentence.

“From now on, think of this place as your home. You can live here
too.”

There had to be an attic in this building considering its size. I

wasn’t sure how I knew this exactly, but I guessed it had something
to do with the dwarven knowledge I obtained from the different
steles.

“…Here?”

“Yep, that’s okay with you, right?”

“….”

Henry and Kiri stared at each other. They looked happy at first, but
their expressions darkened after a moment.

“N-No.”

“Our dad might come back, so we have to stay home….”

“You can just leave a note behind.”

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“…Oh!”

They were easily persuaded. Kiri tightly grabbed Henry’s hand and
spoke.

“Then we’ll be back soon.”

[TIP – Players can become friends with NPCs as well.] [Friended

NPCs can be contacted through the messenger.] [You can become
friends with the NPCs Henry and Kiri.]

“Sure, but before you go…”

I friended Henry and Kiri. It was simple. I just had to think about it
while holding their hands. Once that was done, Henry and Kiri went
home to leave a note behind, and I began to clean up the attic. After
crafting a bed, a table, a mirror, and a dressing table, I bought a
refrigerator from the Player Shop to furnish their room. Since I was
going to go back to Earth for a few days, I put some boar meat and
sandwiches in the fridge for them to eat. As for the bathroom, they
could use the one on the first floor.

“…Oh right.”

Looking at the sandwiches in the fridge, I came up with a good

idea. I made a new sandwich and left the shop. Then, I went straight
to the guard standing outside the inner wall.

“Good work.”

I greeted the guard and gave him the sandwich.

“…What’s this?”

“A sandwich.”

The guard looked at the sandwich but didn’t take it.

“Ah, you see, as a fellow ‘citizen’, I was just grateful for all the hard

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work that you do. It’s lunchtime, so I brought you a sandwich.”

I emphasized the fact that I was a citizen. As guards were one of

the strongest existences in this city, befriending one would only be
beneficial. In fact, Medea was likely the only one who was above
guards in strength, but that was obvious.

“…Kuhum, thank you, citizen.”

The guard took the sandwich. After examining it more closely, he

swallowed his saliva. I laughed and bowed. Ding— A system message
arrived.

[Player ‘CaptainBritain’ sent you a friend request. Would you like to

accept?]

I accepted it immediately.

CaptainBritain: 「Hajin-ssi, are you on the 3rd floor? ^_^ 」 「Yes,

what about you? 」 CaptainBritain: 「 I just arrived, but I’m in a
meeting right now in my waiting room. We’re deciding whether to
buy citizenship to enter the inner city. Also, thank you for the deer
meat. I just ate some with my guild members, and they all said it was
delicious ( o uo)b!」

Rachel sounded as energetic as ever in her messages.

「Haha, I see. Um, you should buy the citizenship. Otherwise, you
won’t be able to do much. Also, I’m returning to Earth for a bit. 」
CaptainBritain: 「Earth?」

「Yes, there’s someone I need to check up on.」

As soon as I sent this message, I received a message from

someone else.

Boss: 「Newbie, when are you coming back?」

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It was Boss.

「I’ll be gone for about 2~4 days. Do you want to come with me?」

Boss: 「Should I?」

「ㅋㅋㅋ Actually, Jain and Cheok Jungyeong can’t do anything

without Boss, so you should stay.」

Boss: 「I guess you’re right ㅋㅋ」

I was half-kidding, so it wasn’t a lie entirely. In battle, Boss’

judgments were always spot on. After ending the conversation with
Boss, I left behind a message for Henry and Kiri before closing the
messenger.

「I’m going to be away for a while, so just keep the place clean
while I’m gone. Eat lots and do some workouts. If something
happens, ask the guard in front of the inner-city gate to help. Also,
bring him a sandwich every day for lunch. There should be a lot in
the fridge in the attic. 」

With that, I bought a return ticket and a re-entrance ticket from the
Player Shop.

[Would you like to leave the Tower using the return ticket?] [You
will return to the place where you used the entrance ticket.]
[Warning! If you do not have a re-entrance ticket, your record will be
deleted from the Player Database.]

I equipped the bracelet-shaped re-entrance ticket on my wrist.

“Yes, I’ll leave now.”

[You used the return ticket.]

Along with the system alert, a black portal shot up.

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=== [Lv.??? Black Pouch] ○Special Item —Allows you to copy one
item from the outside world and bring it into the Tower. —The copied
item can only be used inside the Tower. ===

Holding the Black Pouch I got from Henry, I walked into the black
portal. I came out to the same empty space I was in when I first
walked into the black ticket’s portal.

[Here is the storage box owned by Player Extra7.]

A system alert popped up along with the storage box.

[You can bring these items back to Earth or you can leave them
inside.]

“I’ll just go. Oh, this is okay, right?”

I held the Black Pouch up.

[…Special item has been confirmed. The ‘Black Pouch’ can be

brought outside the Tower.] [The exit portal will now be created.]

Another portal shot up. This time, it was a portal that led to Earth. I
closed my eyes and walked in.

**

“…Huu.”

I opened my eyes with a sigh. I was in a familiar place, Chameleon

Troupe’s hideout. Goblins were busily running around doing work.

“…Auu.”

As I exited the Tower, I was no longer under its stat restriction.

However, I felt more sore than light. I likely needed some time to get
used to my changed stats. I stretched and looked around the lobby.

“Oh? Newbie, when did you come back?”

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“Ah, hello.”

I found Setryn who was lying on the couch. to her was a man I
wasn’t too familiar with, but I still knew who he was.

The seat of Indigo, Yoo Kyunghwan.

Although we were members of the same family, I had to be on

guard around him. It was because ‘Indigo’ swung the other way. [1]

Of course, Yoo Kyunghwan surely preferred handsome men. For

example, Kim Suho or Shin Jonghak.

He looked at me and nodded.

“H-Hello, Yoo Kyunghwan-ssi. This is the second time we meet.”

“Yeah, I heard from Setryn that this place got better, so I came to
look.”

“I, I see.”

I did my best to ignore him and walked up to the Goblet Tablet.

Then I took out the Black Pouch and brought it up to the Goblin
Tablet. The Black Pouch seemed to suck something in and soon
became full. However, the Goblin Tablet remained unchanged. So
this was how the copying mechanism worked.

“What did you do?”

“I copied the Goblin Tablet.”

“…Copy?”

“Yes.”

Leaving behind Setryn and Yoo Kyunghwan who were observing

me with interest, I looked for Khalifa. He came out of his room and
opened a portal for me.

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Just like that, I arrived in front of my apartment building. I ran as
quickly as possible. I didn’t want to waste any more time. At first, I
went to my room, but no one was there. Then, I remembered that I
left Evandel in Haeyeon’s place. I practically flew over to the
apartment complex down the block and rang the bell.

—Who is it?

It was Yun Seung-Ah’s voice.

“It’s me, Kim Hajin.”

—Oh? You’re back?

Kiik— The door opened. Yun Seung-Ah came out looking tired and
disheveled, but she didn’t seem to mind it. I went inside and looked
for Evandel. Evandel was sitting on the couch with Haeyeon. Unlike
when she was home, she was sitting modestly like a lady.

“Evandel.”

I called Evandel’s name. Evandel flinched. Then, she slowly turned

towards me. Her pretty eyes widened when she saw me.

“…It’s been a while.”

“Ha, Hajin—!”

Evandel shouted and ran into my embrace. She buried herself in

my chest and wept.

“Hajiiiiin…”

“Don’t cry. I came back safe and sound, didn’t I?”

“Hello.”

While I was consoling Evandel, Haeyeon came over and bowed.

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“Hi, it’s been a while.”

Haeyeon had grown since the last time I saw her. She must be
around 120~130cm. Why wasn’t Evandel getting any taller?

“…How cute.”

Yun Seung-Ah murmured apathetically. I glanced at her, still

hugging Evandel. I was shocked. I didn’t notice too well at first… but
her hair was a mess, she had thick dark circles under her eyes, and
her lips were swollen. I would have believed it if she told me she was
homeless. Just what happened while I was gone? I took a few steps
back.

“Where are you going?”

Yun Seung-Ah asked coldly.

“H-Home. I’m going to eat with Evandel. Haeyeon, do you want to

come too? Uncle will cook you steak again.”

“Yes!”

Yun Seung-Ah stared at me fixedly.

“You entered the Tower of Wish, right? Are you doing well? Or did
you give up half-way?”

“Ah, I’m going back. I’m paving the road for Suho, so don’t worry.”

September 1st was coming up. Kim Suho and Jin Sahyuk would
finally enter the Tower. When that time came, I would be a lot busier
than I am now. But for some reason, Yun Seung-Ah tilted her head.

“…For Suho? Didn’t you guys break off your friendship?”

“What? No way.”

I smiled.

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“We’re just doing different things for now.”

**

On the other hand, the three members of the Chameleon Troupe

were walking through the inner city. The difference between the
inner city and the outer city was like heaven and earth. The former
had cleaner air and much better structures overall.

“Look, they must be Players.”

Jain pointed to the distance. A huge group of people was gathered

around a pond lit up by streetlights. However, most of them had dark
expressions. Judging by the serious tone they were talking in, things
didn’t seem to be going well for them. Jain guessed that it was
because they spent 1000TP to buy citizenships when they were low
on money.

“What’s wrong with them?”

Hearing Cheok Jungyeong’s question, Jain smirked.

“You would have been there too if not for Hajin.”

“…What did you say?”

“Think about it. Finding food, cooking food, advising us to find

food, and even lending us money. It was all Hajin.”

“….”

Cheok Jungyeong became speechless. He rubbed his chin and

pondered. Now that he thought about it, it was indeed thanks to Kim
Hajin that his body was in such a good condition. He never had to
worry about food or money because of Kim Hajin too.

“I guess you’re right.”

“Sh, quiet.”

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Boss strained her ears and eavesdropped on the Players standing
far away.

—Wouldn’t it be better to go back down to the 2nd floor? We can

come back after we stock up on food. —What if we can’t find an
elevator to come back? Plus, our citizenship becomes voided if we go
back. We’ll have wasted 1000TP! —Then what the fuck do you want
us to do? Haven’t you seen the shitty food situation we’re in? It’s
better to come back with food and sell it. —I have food. I brought
some from the 2nd floor. —What? Show us.

The group suddenly began to fight. Boss watched the fight from
the side then turned around.

“…Let’s go find our base.”

“Okay~”

The Chameleon Troupe members walked away. Walking through

the city without sunlight, they looked for a ‘hideout’ like Kim Hajin
said. After looking around for about two hours, they found a decent
building to rent for 300TP a month.

[Player ‘PhantomThief’ has rented a hideout.] [The following

bonuses will apply when you’re in your hideout.] [+10% vitality
recovery rate.] [+2% stat increase rate when training.]

“So there are bonuses for having a hideout? Like I thought,

listening to Newbie is never wrong~”

Jain smiled and sat down on the floor of the hideout. Cheok
Jungyeong began to exercise the moment he saw the system alerts,
and Boss opened the Community. It was then. Tzzzk— A mysterious
screen popped up in front of them.

[Hello, Players.]

“Whoa!”

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“…What’s that?”

The three of them stopped what they were doing and stared at the
screen. Speaking on the screen was a breathtaking beauty with
blonde hair and green eyes.

[I am the administrator of the 3rd floor, Medea.]

“…Hm.”

Jain crossed her arms and murmured to herself. To be honest, she

was jealous of Medea’s beauty.

[You must be surprised by the horrendous condition Prestige is in.

Regarding this, I am also heartbroken. So while I explain how you can
get to the 4th floor, I plan to help everyone out.]

Medea smiled brightly.

[First, to climb to the 4th floor, you need to kill at least half of the
demons on this floor. This is because the demons and their undead
army are blocking the pathway to the 4th floor, located in the four
cardinal directions around Prestige.]

Medea made a somber expression and another screen popped up.

It was a map showing the bases of these so-called demons.

[I’ll make it so that you can access this map from the system
whenever you want. Also…]

Medea snapped her fingers.

[I’d like to give everyone a gift… but I, unfortunately, don’t have

the resources. So, I will gift the Players with the highest point in each
stat area. In other words, six of you will be getting a gift for having
the highest point in strength, vitality, speed, perception, stamina,
and magic power. I hope you don’t think I’m being too cheap.]

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Boop— Suddenly, a flashing light shot into Cheok Jungyeong and
Boss’ pockets.

“Boss? Cheok Jungyeong? What did you two get?”

“Uh… I got a gauntlet.”

Cheok Jungyeong took out a gauntlet from his inventory, while

Boss took out what seemed to be a magnifying glass.

=== [Heart Piercing Magnifying Glass (3 uses)] ○Special Item

—You can see what a target Player or NPC thinks about you.
(Remaining time: 119 hours 29 minutes 23 seconds) ===

“Boss, what’s that?”

“….”

Without replying, Boss held the magnifying glass up against Jain.

She didn’t mean anything by it. She simply wanted to try it out. Plus,
the inner thoughts of a comrade was the most important to her.

[Sister] [Comrade] [Bond] [Familiarity] [Responsibility to Look After

You] [Light Pity]

The first three were good. The fourth made sense, but the last
two… light pity? She pities me?

“What does it do, Boss~?”

“…Shut up.”

“Hm?”

Offended, Boss looked away. was Cheok Jungyeong.

“Huh? What’s up?”

The magnifying glass zoomed in on his face.

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“Hehe, you want to see my handsome face?”

Above the grinning Cheok Jungyeong, a series of words popped up.

[Loyalty] [Master] [Desire to Return the Favor] [Gratitude for

Awakening His Past Life] [Desire to Win Against You] [Thinks He Can
Win Against You]

Just like last time, the last two bothered her, but it was still better
than Jain’s. Deciding to use the last one on Newbie, she put the
magnifying glass away.

“Now.”

She clapped her hands.

“Since we found ourselves a hideout, let’s eat and go hunt.”

1. I translated it so that it was easy to understand, but in Korean,

the first character in Indigo can refer to ‘male’. Author’s basically
using this as a pun to say that Indigo is gay.

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Chapter 171
Source: Wuxiaworld

There was no sun in Prestige and, consequently, no day and night.

When Rachel woke up, it was around 8 a.m. Inside [English Royal
Court Guild’s Hideout], Rachel was the only one awake. The other six
members of the Royal Court guild were still asleep, which spoke to
how tough their previous day was. After buying their citizenship the
day before, they had spent the rest of the day hunting undead
monsters.

Together, they hunted 157 Lv.1 undead and 78 Lv.2 undead.

Almost 30% of this was Rachel’s achievement. Her light elemental
‘Lux’ had performed greatly.

“Huu….”

They made 375TP, and since they still had enough of Kim Hajin’s
deer meat to last another week, they didn’t need to spend money on
food. As such, Rachel felt refreshed even though she felt a bit sore.
Rachel stretched and opened the Community.

—Does anyone want to go down to the 2nd floor to get food? —The
food situation here is hell. Fuck, how can they call this place a
residential area? —Argh -.- I can’t go down because I already bought
my citizenship. Fuck, don’t buy the citizenship, everyone. It screws
you over if you want to go back down. —I made a [group] for an
undead hunting party. Click on the link to join or ask questions.

Many Players were expressing their dissatisfaction in the

Community. However, Players on the 2nd floor wouldn’t know
anything about it, since the Community couldn’t be used on mission
floors.

Rachel scrolled through the angry posts looking for useful

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information. After a few minutes, an interesting post caught her eye.

[There’s a Lv.3 longsword being sold outside the inner wall.]

There was a screenshot attached to it as well.

—Brother and sister NPCs are running the shop. This shop looks
like an important one. It’s selling items Lv.2 and above.

The post even contained a list of items being sold at the shop. Lv.3
Decent Steel Longsword Lv.2 Red Crystal Axe Lv.2 Bear Leather
Jacket … After looking through the list in a daze, Rachel found herself
rummaging through her pocket.

“Oh, this place got famous real quick.”

A guild member’s voice rang out from behind her. Rachel was
startled but turned around pretending to be unfazed.

“…Do you know about it?”

“Yes.”

It was Devel, a male member who was four years older than her.
Because of his handsome appearance, he was quite a celebrity in
England.

“I think this post went up two days ago. But even the cheapest
item in that shop is 700TP. We can only watch for now.”

“Ah…”

Rachel let out a dry cough and glanced at her inventory. Lv.3
Gargoyle’s Leather Armor. ‘Was it a waste to buy this…? N-No. It was
thanks to this armor that I couldn’t be hurt by undead monsters.’
Rachel quickly got rid of the doubt in her heart.

“First, let’s eat. Wake everyone up. Today will be just as busy as
yesterday.”

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“Yes!”

Devel quickly woke up other members while Rachel began to cook

Kim Hajin’s deer meat on a frying pan. She sat around the frying pan
with members who just woke up and ate breakfast.

“Thank god for this. Without it, we would have been screwed.”

“We’d either be starving or buying the Player Shop’s emergency

bento box.”

“Vice-leader, I have the utmost respect for you.”

“…It’s nothing.”

Because the deer meat came with a Lv.2 Satiety effect, eating just
a little bit was enough to make them full. Since it was also delicious,
no one had any complaints. In fact, they were extremely grateful to
Rachel.

“Oh right, will those two be okay? They’re both magicians, and it
didn’t look like they brought any food.”

One member suddenly asked about Aileen and Yi Yongha, who left
them yesterday.

“They should have food.”

Rachel spoke firmly.

“They asked me if I learned the Dismantling technique.” —Kid, did

you learn the Dismantling technique? Rachel replayed Aileen’s child-
like voice.

“…Dismantling technique?”

“Yes.”

To obtain the Dismantling technique, one needed to ‘properly’

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dismantle a monster with their own hands. Since Aileen and Yi
Yongha would have never experienced such a thing on earth, the
Dismantling technique was likely hard for them to get.

“I think they have monster corpses in their inventory. It wastes a

lot of space, but the inventory can fit one or two corpses.”

“Oh… as expected of vice-leader, you have great insight.”

Speaking of the devil, a system alert popped up.

[Player WorldsStrongestMagicHero sent you a friend request.]

From the nickname, Rachel could guess who it was. For now, she
delayed accepting it.

“After we’re done eating, why don’t we go visit this famous shop?”

“…Pft.”

Other members began to laugh.

Rachel narrowed her eyes and glared at them.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing!”

“Forming a close relationship with a shop is very important, you

know.”

“…Yes, of course, let’s go! Get ready, you guys!”

**

For two days, I spent time with Evandel. I went to Disneyland in

America along with Haeyeon and Hayang, toured Michelin 3-star
restaurants, and personally watched how far Evandel’s spirit magic
progressed.

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To expand on this, Evandel’s growth was exponential. Though I’d
have to exaggerate ever so slightly… her ghost army could likely
fight Shin Jonghak on even grounds.

“You’re leaving her with me again?”

After having fun without regrets, I returned home. Yun Seung-Ah

visited me, saying she had something she wanted to say.

“…Yes, I don’t really have any other choice.”

Evandel was sleeping soundly on my lap. I stroked her head and

smiled bitterly.

“Evandel didn’t cause you any problem, did she?”

“Not at all. She even helped me do laundry when I said she didn’t
need to. Oppa adores her too.”

“…That’s great to hear.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“But um… I think we’re going to sell this place soon.”

Yun Seung-Ah brought up something concerning.

“This one too?”

“Yeah, I don’t think Oppa’s work is going well either. I came to say
that.”

“Ah….”

“But don’t worry about Evandel. I’ll take good care of—”

“Then I’ll buy it.”

“Her…”

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In an instant, Yun Seung-Ah’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’ll buy your house, and you can keep living here. It’ll be my way
of paying you back for all the trouble I caused. You don’t need to pay
rent or anything either.”

“Erm… you’re that rich? It’s expensive to live around here, you
know.”

I simply smiled. I haven’t been checking my account recently with

all the mercenary work I had to do as Fenrir and preparing for the
Tower, but when I checked today, I jumped in surprise. 5% of
Essential Armory’s stocks, 15% of SH Agency’s, 15% of Essential
Pharmacy’s, and other stocks of Essence of the Strait’s businesses…
Just the ‘dividend’ I got from them came out to 30 billion won. With
how much I made as Fenrir, that amount jumped to 50 billion.

“As you know, I’m Fenrir.”

“But still, bullets are expensive. This apartment is crazy expensive

too. We refused to sell it at first at even 13 billion, but we only
decided to sell it because we were offered 20 billion.”

20 billion won for a 165~200 square meter apartment. Although it

might sound expensive, it was understandable considering that Seoul
was the safest place on Earth. In fact, the cost of living in Seoul
would only go up as time went on.

“I can buy it, so don’t worry. Is this why you haven’t been looking
well?”

“Me?”

Yun Seung-Ah smirked.

“I’m fine. Even if I don’t have a house, I can just sleep in my office.
The problem is, well… the entrance ticket.”

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“The Tower of Wish entrance ticket?”

I tilted my head.

“Yeah, those things are no joke. Do you know how much they’re
going for right now?”

I didn’t. Even if I did, they would have surely changed by now.

“Green tickets are 200 million each, yellow tickets are 400 million,
oranges are 700 million, reds are 1.5 billion, and black is practically a
blank check.”

“Then…”

My face darkened as well. I suddenly had a bad feeling. If Yun

Seung-Ah couldn’t get a ticket for Suho…

“We wanted to enter the Tower too! Those damned loan sharks!”

Yun Seung-Ah slammed her fist down on the table.

“I don’t know how, but they found out about every ticket we
obtained and seized them!”

At the same time, my heart sank. But my brain spun quicker in

urgent situations. It was a skill I gained from working as a mercenary.
Thankfully, I quickly came up with a solution. With the Book of Truth,
I should be able to find one with one day of hard work.

“You don’t have any left?”

“…Haha, who do you think I am?”

But it seemed that wasn’t necessary. Yun Seung-Ah grinned and

held up her index finger.

“I have one. Plus, it’s the best ticket you could get, the black
ticket.”

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“Oho… I’m glad. That’s for Suho, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the least I can do for him.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. After entering the Tower, Kim Suho

should find one hidden piece after the other and become Creator’s
Sacred Grace’s wings.

“Oh, before I go…”

I checked my Gift.

=== ▷Young Dwarf’s Dexterity [Intermediate rank] [Illusion-

attribute] [Evolving – grade-7] [Growth EXP: 3%] ===

As I thought, it didn’t revert back. As long as I didn’t die in the

Tower, I was able to return to Earth with newly synthesized Gifts and
improved ranks. Anyways, to think that it would be intermediate-rank
at just grade-7… It might even reach Master rank at grade-1.

“…Before you go back, what?”

“Oh, um, I have a gift for Suho. With a black ticket, you can bring
up to three equipment with you into the Tower, but I doubt Suho’s
equipment is top-class.”

“….”

Yun Seung-Ah flinched, feeling guilty. Currently, Kim Suho should

only have Misteltein. Normally, guild members’ equipment were
sponsored by the guild, but Creator’s Sacred Grace just wasn’t in a
situation to provide top-class equipment.

“W-We can still provide low-intermediate rank artifacts… like a

wrist protector.”

Low-intermediate rank artifacts. I laughed lightly and looked at my

hand. The modern era’s new descendant of the dwarven race. With

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this Gift, everything I make would become an artifact to last the
ages. In fact, I had ordered a couple of items as soon as I arrived in
Korea. ‘High-intermediate rank grade-1 Mountain Tyrant’s leather’
and ‘suppressed magic stone’. With these, I should be able to make
an item rivaling an intermediate rank artifact.

“…Uh, okay, if you say so. Ah! I just got called in! I’ll see you
later!”

Called in at 11 p.m., Yun Seung-Ah ran out of the apartment.

Koong, kwang. The sound of footsteps rang out a few times, then the
world became quiet.

“Nnng…”

Evandel tossed around, seemingly bothered by the noise. I

carefully picked her up and placed her on the bed. Then, I sat down
at the edge of the bed.

“Huu…”

A silent room, flowing time, and a ticking clock. Looking down at

Evandel sleeping soundly, I suddenly thought of Boss.

“…I hope she’s doing okay.”

I didn’t know why Boss overlapped with Evandel. But I knew what
kind of a life she lived. Perhaps, I knew more about it than anyone
else. Obviously, it was because I was the one who created her
background story. A child who walked a path of sadness and pain
more than anyone else, hated by everything in the world, a monster
who grew up being betrayed. Although she was suppressing the
monster within her by abandoning her name… there were just too
many things in this world I didn’t know. I opened the Book of Truth, a
mysterious book formed with magic power. Using all 4 streaks of
Stigma, I asked.

“Tell me Boss’ past that I don’t know about.”

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However, the Book of Truth was incapable of revealing even
Chundong’s past.

[…You do not have enough Stigma.]

Was it because a person’s past contained too much information?

Or was it simply because 4 streaks of Stigma were incapable of
handling it?

“Between January 1st, 2020, and January 3rd, 2020, tell me what
Boss was doing and where.”

[…You do not have enough Stigma.]

It was the same.

“What do you know?”

This time, 0.1 streaks of Stigma was consumed. That wasn’t even a
question…

[Everything. It is your ability that is lacking.]

“…I guess you’re right.”

I didn’t have much to say to that. Scratching my neck, I closed the

Book of Truth.

**

day, early morning. It was time for me to go back to the Tower. I

knelt in front of Evandel who came to see me off. However, she
refused to look at my eyes.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Facing the floor, she didn’t say anything. She was hugging a rag
doll that I made that looked just like me.

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“Evandel?”

“…When are you coming back?”

When I asked again, she asked back with a trembling voice.

“I’ll come back in a month.”

“….”

Evandel pouted and shook her head. Then, with a tiny voice, she
expressed her sadness.

“…Earlier.”

Something rose up from the bottom of my heart. Did my parents

feel the same thing when they were raising me? I embraced Evandel
tightly.

“Okay. You can order anything you want to eat and have fun with
Hayang and Haeyeon. Before you know it, I’ll be back.”

“….”

“There are sandwiches and hamburger patties in the fridge, so you

can eat those too. Ask Haeyeon’s parents to cook the patties. They’ll
be great.”

“…Un.”

Our long yet short hug ended, and I stood up. Hayang walked up to
Evandel as if to console her. Hayang scratched Evandel’s leg. She
seemed to be telling Evandel to do something. Evandel was on the
verge of tears, but she didn’t cry and waved her hand.

“…Come home safe.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

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With that, I left the apartment. But before going back to the Tower,
there was one more person I had to meet. She was someone I didn’t
need to visit myself. When I came out to the front of the apartment, a
limousine was waiting for me. Its window went down, and Yoo Yeonha
peeked her head out.

“You’re really back.”

I smiled and sat down next to her. Yoo Yeonha stared at my face
fixedly, then suddenly asked.

“…Did you cry?”

“No. Anyways, you must really be busy. You’re working even when
you’re in a car?”

I glanced at the documents sitting on the table inside the

limousine.

“I’ve been driving around a lot because of our businesses and the
matter with the Tower of Wish.”

“Mm. Oh right, here.”

I handed her a plastic bag.

“…What is it?”

“A handmade burger. I just made it and brought one for you in

case you were hungry.”

“….”

Yoo Yeonha blinked her eyes. It looked like she was thinking about
what to say. After a brief moment, she nodded and took the bag.

“…I haven’t had time to eat proper food lately. Thank you.”

The smell of hamburger rose up from the bag. Yoo Yeonha peeked

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into the bag and swallowed her saliva. From the way she licked her
lips, it was obvious how much she was looking forward to eating it.

“Anyways, how are things going inside the Tower?”

“I’m doing fine, but your informants probably won’t come out. TP is
extremely important in the earlier stages. They won’t have any to
spare.”

“I heard. The return ticket is 1000TP and the re-entrance ticket is

also 1000TP, right?”

I nodded and stretched.

“Yeah. Aaah~”

“…Um, the Tower is one thing, but…”

She peeked at me and carefully brought up another topic.

“It’s… about that furniture. The chair you gifted me.”

“Oh, the chair? It’s amazing, right?’

“….”

Yoo Yeonha nodded silently.

“I was just thinking, um, if the maker also makes other furniture,
I’d like to ask him to make me a bed…”

“You liked it?”

“…Yes.”

Yoo Yeonha muttered quietly. Did she think she was the loser if she
liked something?

“So um, can you ask him?”

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“I can, but it’ll be expensive.”

“…Oh? How much is it?”

As she asked, she crossed her arms as if there wasn’t anything she
couldn’t buy. It was a look worthy of Seoul’s queen.

“A billion, I guess?”

“That’s nothing at all. If the bed is the same quality as the chair—"

“But it’ll be a used bed.”

“…Eh?”

“It won’t be a new one.”

I didn’t have time to make one for her. A bed was the hardest
furniture to make. Even at my current level of skill, I needed at least
half a day to make one. However, I could send her the bed I use.
Since I planned to make a new one with Dwarf’s Dexterity, I didn’t
mind too much.

“A used one?”

“Yeah, I can give you the one I have.”

“…Eeeh?!”

Yoo Yeonha screamed.

“W-What, what do you mean!?”

“It’s not dirty or anything, so don’t worry. It might smell like me,
but it’ll do its job. Oh, I guess it might smell like cigarettes.”

“S-Smell…”

“But once you sleep in it once, I promise you won’t even think

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about other beds.”

Yoo Yeonha’s face slowly reddened as she glared at me. It looked

like she had something to say, but nothing came out of her mouth.
When her face changed color from an unripe strawberry to a tomato
on the brink of exploding…

“Are, are, are you crazy—?!”

She screamed loud enough to shake the entire limousine.

However, I only shrugged leisurely.

“I mean, I can’t just whip out furniture of that level in a flash.”

“…B-But you can just tell me the maker’s contact address.”

“The maker doesn’t have time. Don’t worry, the bed is clean.”

“….”

Yoo Yeonha looked anguished. I could practically see the internal

conflict she was having.

“Huu… okay. So, where is this bed?”

She finally came to a decision. I grinned. If a clean freak like Yoo

Yeonha wanted it that badly… well, I guess she was just really tired
from all her work. Objectively speaking, my bed worked wonders on
the exhausted body and mind.

“Just tell me the address you want it sent to. I’ll handle it.”

Evandel would be surprised if I gave her the one in my apartment,

so I decided to give her the one I was using in Chameleon Troupe’s
hideout.

“…I’ll pay for it immediately.”

“Okay… Oh, but that wasn’t why I wanted to meet you.”

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I put on a serious expression once again. I ended up off-topic
because of the bed.

“I want to ask you for a favor.”

“…A favor?”

“Yeah.”

The request I had for Yoo Yeonha was rather simple. The Book of
Truth didn’t tell me anything about Chundong’s past. I tried to
investigate it on my own, but it was too hard for me to do alone.
Chundong was too much of an extra, an almost dust-like existence.

“You know that I’m an orphan, right?”

“….”

When I asked, Yoo Yeonha’s face turned cold. She stayed silent for
a moment, then replied quietly.

“…I do.”

“It’s related to that. I’m wondering, kuhum, what happened to my

biological parents. To be more exact… I want to know how they
died.”

Chundong’s biological parents were dead. That was the one thing I
could find out about Chundong from the Book of Truth. Even that
took 3 streaks of Stigma from me.

“I need you to investigate for me. I don’t think I can do it alone

anymore. I don’t have the time either.”

“….”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything. She was looking down and taking
deep breaths. Because her hair was longer than before, I couldn’t see
her face either.

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“But well, it’s not a number one priority. I’m asking only because
I’m curio—”

“Okay.”

She suddenly interrupted me. Raising her head, she looked straight
into my eyes.

“I’ll give it my best.”

She looked determined yet hesitant. Her eyes were firm, but her
fingers were wriggling nervously on her knees. Looking at these
conflicting parts of Yoo Yeonha, I nodded.

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Chapter 172
Source: Wuxiaworld

Inside the limousine, after Kim Hajin left, Yoo Yeonha was looking
outside leaning her head on the window. Han River, the Tower of
Hero, guild buildings shining with their respective insignias. Seoul’s
sky was unusually grey. It seemed it was going to rain soon.

“…Haa.”

Yoo Yeonha let out a small sigh and pondered. Kim Hajin had asked
her to investigate the truth behind his parents’ deaths. In that case,
how much did he know? That he was a victim of the Kwang-Oh
Incident? Or even that Chae Joochul was behind it?

Feeling a headache, Yoo Yeonha pressed her temples. This was

why one-sided knowledge of information was unfair. Because she
didn’t know how much he knew, she couldn’t decide how much to
reveal.

“…And this.”

A plastic bag caught her attention. It was the homemade

hamburger Kim Hajin made. Although it smelled good, Yoo Yeonha
didn’t have the energy to eat.

“Um… driver?”

She called the driver to ask if he wanted it. But when she held the
plastic bag up, the burger’s smell spread out even more. Its savory
and fragrant scent made it clear that it wasn’t an ordinary
hamburger.

“Yes, Miss? Do you need something?”

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The driver asked. In this short amount of time, countless thoughts
flashed through her head.

“N-No, it’s nothing.”

In the end, she brought the plastic bag closer and took out its
content. A hamburger that wasn’t too big or too small. Not only was
it appetizing, it even looked beautiful. Gulp. Swallowing her saliva,
Yoo Yeonha took a bite. Nom, nom… Her mouth stopped moving. She
became surrounded by starlight. It was a taste that temporarily
isolated her from the rest of the world, a flavor of pure rapture that
she had never tasted before.

“…Nyam.”

After staying in a daze, she took another bite. The flavor of the
burger exploded in her mouth. Mentally, she was depressed and
troubled, but her body was honest. Her mouth was talking. That it
had to eat this burger no matter what. Amidst this chaos, Yoo Yeonha
slowly ate the burger, savoring every single bite.

**

I returned to Chameleon Troupe’s hideout. I didn’t have any time

to waste. I sent my bed to Yoo Yeonha as soon as I came back, then
touched my bracelet-shaped re-entrance ticket to go back into the
Tower.

“Wait, Coal!”

Setryn suddenly shouted. For the record, ‘coal’ referred to the

color black. Setryn liked to call me by different black objects. For
example, she’s called me coal, petroleum, oil, blackie, and black
cloud.

“Yeah?”

“Our magician wants to come live here too.”

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“Magician… you mean Brown?”

“Yep.”

The seat of Brown, Hirano Arashi. The master of destruction magic

and stronghold creation. That perverted woman wanted to come? On
one hand, I felt reassured, and on the other, I was worried.

“Then… tell her she can use my room for now. I don’t have time to
make another one.”

“Sure, Blackie.”

That seemed to be her only business as she hopped back on the

couch once again. to her, Yoo Kyunghwan smacked his lips as he
glanced at me.

“Kuhum, then I’m going back.”

I immediately activated the re-entrance ticket. This time, a portal

wasn’t created. My vision blurred, and in the next moment, I found
myself inside the Tower. I knelt and retched. Direct teleportation had
taken a toll on me.

“Argh, my head…”

[Welcome back, Player Extra7.] [Please get changed.]

“…Yes.”

I put on the clothes I had when I left the Tower.

[Confirmed.] [The portal to the 3rd floor residential area will be

created.]

Along with this system message, a portal shot up from the floor. I
stepped into it without hesitation.

[Welcome back to the 3rd floor – Prestige.]

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The outer city of Prestige entered my sight. It was still infested with
hunger and poverty. I could easily spot Players walking around the
streets. Since I was on Earth for four days, it wasn’t too surprising.
More people must have climbed up to the 3rd floor.

Boss: 「You’re back, Newbie?」

Boss messaged me as soon as I returned.

「Yes. Have you been doing well, Boss?」

Boss: 「Yeah, I already earned 1600TP.」

「Ooh, that’s a lot.」

Boss: 「Hehe, fighting helps my stats grow quicker. Anyways,

where are you??」

「I’m walking towards the inner wall right now…」

I replied as I walked forward. Then, I suddenly became curious how

Henry and Kiri were doing.

「Keep hunting. I have something to do, so I’ll join you in three

hours.」

After sending Boss this message, I changed course to the shop I

bought.

—The items they sell here are too poor. Are you sure it’s a named
shop?

It didn’t take long for me to find my shop. It was noticeable even

from a distance as it had ten or so people wandering around it.

—It sells Lv.3 items and attribute-infused items. It’s the best place
outside the inner city.

—Oh, by the way, I heard you can receive common quests without

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having to buy citizenship.

I pushed my hood down further and walked past the chattering

Players. There were six Players inside the shop. They were debating
whether to buy a Lv.3 longsword. Henry and Kiri were staring at them
from the counter.

“Henry? Kiri?”

Using this opportunity, I glanced at Henry and Kiri. When they

noticed me, their faces turned bright.

“Ah, everyone, it’s time for us to restock. Can you talk outside?”

“Oh? There are even more items coming in?”

“Yes, the shop is closing down for the day.”

“Ooh~ alright, I’ll come back tomorrow then.”

Kiri skillfully drove the customers away. The Players glanced at me

on their way out, but they seemed to have thought I was an NPC as
they didn’t show too much interest.

“You’re back!”

“Welcome back!”

Kiri and Henry bowed in a 90-degree angle.

“Yeah, I’m back.”

I took off my hood and smiled. Thankfully, their complexions had

gotten much better than before. They looked healthy and fed, and
they seemed to be taking baths too as they were exceptionally clean.

“Are we getting many customers?”

“Yes, I don’t know why but more and more people have been

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visiting lately.”

“What about the items?”

“We sold two!”

“Two?”

“Yes!”

Kiri replied energetically. I looked around the shop. The two items
sold were the cheapest items in the shop, the Bear Leather Jacket
and the Gorilla Wrist Protector. I wasn’t too surprised. Most people
still couldn’t fill their bellies properly, so they would be hard-pressed
to come up with money to find the Lv.3 Steel Sword.

“The jacket sold for 600TP and the wrist protector sold for 500TP!”

“Oh? That’s more than I expected!”

As I thought, they were talented. I would have been happy with

just getting 300TP for each of them.

“Um, are there any other items for us to sell?”

Kiri asked enthusiastically. I grinned. I told them I’d give them 5%

of whatever they sold, so it wasn’t surprising to see them so zealous.

“Ah, um, it’s just that many customers are disappointed. They
always say we don’t have enough variety.”

“Hold on a bit, I’ll go make some now.”

I said that and walked downstairs. The basement was still empty. I
took out the Goblin Tablet from the Black Pouch and infused Stigma’s
magic power into it. Shooong— Three lumps of light shot out of the
Goblin Tablet, becoming two normal goblins and one goblin shaman.

“Hello.”

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—Kerek, kerek. —Kurorok.

“Oh, we haven’t met before. Anyways, I have work for you guys…”

I commanded the goblins to make potions. As goblins, potion

recipes and brewing techniques were engraved in their DNA. As long
as they had the ingredients, they should be able to make them on
their own. I opened the Player Shop and bought all the herbs that
could be used as potion ingredients. Although it cost about 10000TP,
I should be able to make five times that amount once I sold
everything.

“…I hope they sell well.”

The reason I set up a shop was simple. To prevent the 3rd floor
from falling into ruin, a redistribution of wealth was necessary.
Ripping TP away from the Players and distributing it to NPCs, thereby
letting them topple the wall preventing their growth on their own. My
final goal was for NPCs to hold ‘desire to exist’ rather than ‘desire to
disappear’. Of course, I didn’t plan on doing this myself. That was
why I hired Henry and Kiri.

“Um… Boss?”

At that moment, Kiri peeked her head into the basement.

“Oh, come down.”

“Eh, eeh?”

Kiri was startled when she saw the goblins, but when I patted their
heads, Kiri approached them with interest.

“Um, what are these strange creatures…?”

“Think of them as friends. They’re going to be making potions

down here. You just need to take them up and sell them. You can
order them to clean the shop if you want, and if it’s necessary, you

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can order them to fight.”

“Ah… okay…”

“Good, then go back up.”

Kiri went back upstairs, and I sat down on the floor. Ignoring the
goblins who were rummaging through the basket of herbs, I opened
the Tower’s system.

=== [Special Dwarven Potion Recipe] 1. Sylaon Grass (5g) 2.

Krumin (3g) 3. Ketelin (1g) … ===

It was the recipe that was recorded in the dwarven stele. There
was a high chance that it was leagues above anything the goblins
knew how to make. But because there was a rather special
ingredient – ketelin – in the recipe, I needed to borrow Random Dice’s
power.

[Random Dice x5]

I already had the maximum amount. I wasted three dice over the
four days I was gone. I quickly threw the dice.

**

For three hours, the goblins made 10 potions and I made 3. The
goblins took a long time to make potions because of the Goblin
Tablet’s low level, and I didn’t have enough ingredients to make any
more. Instead, I used the remaining time to make three Lv.2
equipment and one Lv.3 equipment, making it better for the overall
variety of the shop.

“Come back soon!”

“We’ll do our best!”

“Yeah, make sure you eat properly.”

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“Okay~!”

I left all the equipment with Henry and Kiri and went outside.

PhantomThief: 「Hajin, where are you? We’re walking to your shop

right now.」

「I’ll wait then.」

I stood near the shop and waited. Not long afterward, Jain arrived.
She was wearing the robe I gifted Boss.

“Where are the others?”

“They’re coming soon~ anyways, Newbie, is making TP the only

thing we need to do here~?”

“For now.”

The 3rd floor took a long time to finish because the demons we had
to defeat formed a society of their own.

“By the way, did you get any skills?”

I asked Jain.

“Skills?”

Skills were one of the most important aspects of this Tower. Here,
no matter how much you increased your stats, you could be
countered by a single skill and have all your efforts wasted.

“You didn’t get any skillbooks as drops?”

“Ah~ I don’t really like hunting that much. You should ask Boss~”

“Oh, okay.

There was only one skill I wanted to obtain from this floor. One of

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the best among skills that only took up one skill slot – [Permanent
Materialization].

“Oh, here they come.”

At that moment, Jain pointed down the street.

“Where…”

In the distance, I caught sight of two very noticeable people

walking towards us.

“…Wow.”

I muttered in shock. Boss was that beautiful. Her slender legs and
elegant figure made her look like a goddess, and her delicate face
looked like the perfect combination of all the good points of
Westerners and Easterners. The leather jacket she was wearing gave
her a cool look. The Bear Leather Jacket… so Boss was the one who
bought it. And that’s why Jain was wearing her robe. She really
started to take interest in fashion.

“Welcome back, Newbie.”

Boss walked up to me and said. She seemed to have found boots

from somewhere as she was almost at my eye level. I pretended to
be blinded by her beauty, and Boss smiled in satisfaction.

“Alright, that’s enough, what is it that you wanted to ask me?”

When I came back today, I had asked her for a favor.

“Ah, you see, I want to rob a mansion in the inner city.”

The Professor’s Mansion. It was the place where the skillbook I

wanted was hiding.

“Stealing? Sounds fun.”

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Cheok Jungyeong chuckled. Boss also nodded. Then, she suddenly
held up her index finger as if she remembered something.

“But before that.”

Something appeared on her hand. It looked like a magnifying glass.

What item was this again? Rather than looking through my settings
book, I asked Boss first.

“What is it?”

“…Just a fun item.”

Boss gave a vague reply and pointed the magnifying glass at me.
The convex side of the lens made my face distort unattractively.
…After about a minute, the magnifying glass turned into dust and
scattered.

“Um, Boss?”

I couldn’t help but be curious about what just happened.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Uh…”

“Boss?”

A never before seen agitation and surprise was spreading out

across her face.

**

‘Tower of Wish’. This Tower of unprecedented scale had the entire

world in an uproar. Television channels dedicated to the Tower of
Wish appeared, relevant websites popped up, and the internal
structure and overall progression of the Tower became something of
an entertainment for even the ordinary people.

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The same passion existed in Pandemonium. Without any federal
authority restricting its residents and guests, ‘entrance tickets’
became the hottest item to be sold and traded. Multiple auctions
were held every day, and both big and small fights broke out over
attempts to take them with force.

“…Hm.”

On the other hand, in Pandemonium’s eternally popular Thousand

Demon Arena, Jin Sahyuk was sitting in her waiting room, not as a
Demon-rank fighter but a Fiend-rank fighter. Naturally, her waiting
room had gotten several times larger than before.

“This is the real thing?”

With her legs crossed arrogantly, she asked as she straightened

out the ticket in her hand.

“Y-Yes, certainly.”

The man bowing in front of her replied. Jin Sahyuk looked down at
him with a bored look. The man was curled up like the larva of a
cicada and trembling in terror.

“What if it isn’t?”

“P-Pardon?”

Jin Sahyuk lit a cigarette and put it in her mouth. Huuu… Thick
smoke spread out across the room. As expected of a magic power
circulation catalyst that cost millions of won, it tasted quite good.

“Are you deaf? I asked, what if it isn’t?”

“I, I’m certain. I swear that it isn’t fake.”

Jin Sahyuk grinned. With Bell no longer around to restrain her, she
went wherever she wanted and caused a huge mess. She forced

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herself into wherever entrance tickets were said to be and checked
the tickets’ color. However, she didn’t steal tickets that weren’t
black. What she wanted was the best entrance ticket and nothing
else.

“Yeah… I guess I have to trust you. What other choice do I have,

right?”

Murmuring to herself, she stared at the black ticket given by the

man. The Tower of Wish was currently the focal point of the entire
world. Things that happened in the Tower, how the world inside the
Tower was like, everything of such nature became a newsworthy
topic. But this was precisely what was driving Jin Sahyuk mad. A
world where each person had seven lives. The fact that she wasn’t a
part of such a world was driving her crazy. Likewise, she couldn’t
restrain her killing intent for the person who stole her ticket.

“But I heard that the black ticket is a double-edged sword. You can
only choose the hardest difficulty, but the benefit you get from it is
less than the others…”

“Shut it.”

Jin Sahyuk flicked the ashes of her cigarette. Then, she infused her
magic power into the ticket. Until now, she had burned all fake
entrance tickets to ashes. The fools who brought those tickets to her
had likewise become ashes. However, this entrance ticket was
different. Not only could it withstand her magic power, but it also had
the ability to circulate it within itself. This entrance ticket was… real.

Jin Sahyuk stared at the man who brought her this ticket. He was
kneeling respectfully, shaking in fear. Yet, he was still sneaking a
peek at her every now and then. Jin Sahyuk decided to forgive his
filthy look. She knew she dressed rather skimpily as well.

“You’re right, this looks like the real thing.”

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With a grin, she got up and opened her safe. A countless number of
jewels were shining beautifully inside it. Jin Sahyuk took out the jewel
she promised as a reward, a ‘blood diamond’. Then, she threw it as
though it was a piece of trash.

“H-Huk!”

“Take it and scram.”

“Y-Yes, thank you!”

The man ran away as soon as he received the diamond. He was in

such a hurry that he tripped and fell several times.

“Why run if you’re going to fall… fucking idiot.”

Jin Sahyuk watched the man leave, then sat down on her chair.
After putting her cigarette back in her mouth, she examined the
ticket once again. At first, a satisfied smile emerged on her face, but
soon, her face distorted viciously. Her clenched teeth severed the
cigarette in half.

“…Just you wait, you motherfucker. I’ll tear you into pieces…”

She spat out the pent-up rage in her heart. She had already made
full preparations to go into the Tower. She wasn’t just playing
around. She hunted down people who left the Tower after the
tutorial. Sometimes she tortured them and sometimes she asked
kindly. With the information she got from them, she practiced
necessary skills and techniques.

…For some reason, the rage boiling inside her suddenly subsided.
Jin Sahyuk tilted her head with a strange expression. Just now, a
strange sense of foreboding enveloped her. Apprehension? Unease?
Regardless of what it was, the ‘intuition’ she was born with told her it
was something she couldn’t ignore. Jin Sahyuk looked down at the
entrance ticket seriously.

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[Black Entrance Ticket]

“Pft.”

…However, she sneered and coldly shook off the uneasy feeling

she got. No matter what it was, I just had to do well. No matter who it
was, I just had to kill them.

“Just you wait….”

Jin Sahyuk trembled once again with excitement and rage.

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Chapter 173
Source: Wuxiaworld

We were currently walking through ‘Citizen Boulevard’, one of the

main streets in Prestige’s inner city. However, the atmosphere wasn’t
as natural and relaxed as before. In fact, there was a heavy and
awkward silence blanketing us. —Poke, poke. Jain nudged me.

“What did you do?”

She asked as she sneaked a peek at Boss. Just like she said, Boss
was wearing a grave expression, but I could only shrug helplessly as I
had no clue why.

“I’m not sure.”

“Did you do something wrong?”

“It’s only been 30 minutes since we met.”

“…Right.”

Jain pondered as she rubbed her chin. Then, she suddenly widened
her eyes.

“Ah, is it that time?”

“That time?”

I asked. That day. Was it an anniversary of some sort? Perhaps this

was a good opportunity for me to peek at Boss’ past.

“You know, that time of the month~”

“…Oh, kuhum.”

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I shook away the silly thought and focused on the task at hand. We
were quickly approaching the Professor’s Mansion. Despite being
quiet, Boss followed us as well. As such, it didn’t take long for us to
reach our destination.

[Lv.6 Professor’s Mansion]

“We’re here.”

An imposing mansion standing tall amidst Prestige’s darkness. This

mansion, which looked like a medieval castle, shone with a silvery
blue light.

“….”

“Mm~ so this is the place? How do you want to go about it~?”

I stared at Jain without answering her. I had no clue how to rob a

house, much less a mansion of this scale. Even if I did, I would
undoubtedly pale in front of the professional in front of me.

“…Why are you staring?”

Jain tilted her head as she met my gaze.

**

15 minutes. That was how long it took for us to occupy the

Professor’s Mansion. It was rather simple. First, Cheok Jungyeong
caused a scene outside the mansion, pulling the attention of the
guards and vigilantes away. Meanwhile, Jain and I walked through the
front door with the help of her ‘Disguise’ Gift.

However, it was hard to suppress the [Lv.4 Professor’s Soldiers]

with just me and Jain. Using my gun would reveal our presence to the
guards outside, and Jain didn’t have a weapon. That’s when Boss
stepped in. In her shadow form, she joined us and easily subdued six
soldiers. …Well, it wasn’t ‘easy’ per se, since she used 6 magic power

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potions. Each soldier was powerful, having at least one basic skill.

“Uup, uuup—!”

Just like that, we arrived at the professor’s private study. The [Lv.6
Professor] who was reading a book inside was subdued by Boss’
shadow and tied up. Ah, for the record, a high level didn’t necessarily
correspond to greater strength. This professor was a high level
because of his intelligence.

“Uuup! Uuuuup!”

“Stay quiet~”

“Kek.”

The professor struggled with his entire body, but Jain simply
pressed a few pressure points and shut him up. The professor’s
shaking body calmed down as he fainted. Now, the study was quiet. I
looked around the study, which was larger than most auditoriums.
Even with a cursory glance, I could estimate that the study had at
least 10,000 books.

“There are people dying in the streets and this guy built a castle
out of books… People are the same no matter what world they’re
from, eh~?”

Jain muttered as she nudged the fainted professor with her feet.

“So, Hajin, what are we looking for in here?”

“Look for skillbooks.”

“Skillbooks?”

“Yes.”

Officially, a skillbook was called a ‘skill acquisition book’. Like in

MMORPGs, it let you learn a skill with the click of a button. Of course,

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improving an acquired skill still required individual effort.

“What’s a skillbook?”

Jain asked, staring at the air.

“Ah~ okay, got it. Thanks.”

The system must have explained it to her as she happily nodded.

“….”

However, unlike Jain who looked excited at the prospect of

stealing, Boss continued to stare at me silently. I spoke.

“You should try it too, Boss.”

“…Try what?”

Her response was a grumbling, complaint-like mumble.

“Ask the system what a skillbook is.”

“….”

Boss mumbled curtly.

“What’s a skillbook?”

Then, she stared at the air just like Jain.

“Aha.”

“…”

Now that Boss knew what a skillbook was, I clapped my hands and
caught their attention.

“We shouldn’t stay for too long, so let’s search for them for the
next 20 minutes.”

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In the original story, the professor used skillbooks as bargaining
chips to force Players to do his bidding. So, I planned to take as many
skillbooks as I could from this place and release them to the auction
house. Of course, at a proper price.

“Skillbooks are noticeably different from other books, so you

should be able to recognize them.”

“Okay~”

We began to rummage through the study. Drrk— drrk— The sound

of books moving rang out in the study.

“Hey, Hajin, I think I found one.”

Soon, Jain held up a book.

“Oh? Let me see.”

“Here~”

I caught the book she threw and checked its information.

=== [Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Law of Thinking] [Average

– Low] ○Lv.0 Efficiency – increases the speed of your arithmetic
operations. ○Lv.0 Intelligence – increases the speed of your
calculations. ===

“…Just keep it in your inventory.”

“Right? I didn’t think it was good either. You can have it.”

“No, I don’t really… ah, okay, I’ll take it.”

I could give it to Henry and Kiri. Unlike Players, NPCs couldn’t learn
skills with the click of a button. However, they could still acquire
skills. I put the skillbook in my inventory. Then, I went back to looking
for skillbooks.

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“Hajin, I found another one.”

“Where?”

As expected of someone who was nicknamed PhantomThief, she

was good at finding hidden treasures.

“Here.”

I checked the information on the skillbook she threw.

=== [Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Charging] [Average –

Intermediate] ○Lv.0 Limit Break – charges forward with your strength
doubled. ○Lv.0 Flexibility – moves quickly for an instant. Maximum
range: 100m. ===

Charging. It was a simple yet useful skill. It was especially useful

for someone like Cheok Jungyeong who had high physical stats.

“Looks like this can go to Cheok Jungyeong.”

“I agree. I’ll sell it to him for 1000TP.”

“Does he have money?”

“Yeah, he has a lot. He’s only been hunting the past few days~”

While were having a friendly conversation, I felt a sudden stinging

gaze on me. I glanced to the side. Boss was glaring at us with a
somewhat dissatisfied expression. But when our eyes met, she
quickly retracted her gaze and went back to looking for skillbooks.

…After 20 minutes of searching, we found a total of 21 skillbooks,

including [Glass Barrier], [Sand Manipulation], [Monster Taming],
[Elemental Reinforcement], and [Snatch]. However, we couldn’t find
what I was looking for. While I was stamping my feet, wondering if we
had to go back…

“Newbie.”

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Boss approached me. Her mood still seemed to be down as she
handed me a skillbook. I checked its information.

=== [Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Permanent Materialization]

[Rare – High] ○Lv.0 Limit Break – permanently materializes a
formless existence. ===

“Oh!”

My eyes shot open. I finally found it, Permanent Materialization. It

was the best basic skill I knew. It only had one effect, but that only
made it easier to level up.

“This is the skillbook I was looking for. Thanks, Boss, I’ll use it
well.”

“…I never said I’d give it to you.”

Boss put out her hand. She was clearly asking me to hand the
skillbook back.

“Come on, I’ll make you a good equipment later.”

“…Good equipment?”

“Yes, of course.”

Before Boss could say anything else, I put the skillbook into my
inventory. Boss looked at me suspiciously before turning back.

“Now let’s hurry. The city’s vigilantes should be charging in any

second.”

“Okay~ by the way, how much is everything we looted?”

Curious myself, I did a cursory calculation in my head. We stole 25

skillbooks in total. To sell them in the auction house, we would have
to wait two weeks for the [stolen good] property to disappear, but in
total…

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“Once Players start making money seriously, we should be able to
get at least 50000TP.”

“Wow~”

Jain smiled happily. At that moment…

—In here! —Get them!

A thunderous roar rang out from outside the study. With my

Thousand-Mile Eyes peering through the wall, I could see ten
vigilantes running over. However, we already had an escape route
planned. Boss escaped using ‘Shadow Pool’, instantaneously
transforming herself into a liquid. Jain and I disguised as [Lv.4
Professor’s Soldier]s, who we subdued on our way here. Jain
thoughtfully made injuries on our bodies. I immediately broke the
window.

“Intruders! Release the professor—!”

As soon as the vigilantes barged in, I pointed at the shattered

window.

“T-They escaped through the window!”

“W-What?!”

“Are you two okay? Your injuries…”

The vigilantes had terrifying levels. The lowest member was Lv.8,
and their leader was Lv.11.

“We’re fine, so please catch them! They kidnapped the professor!”

“What?”!

It was Jain who spoke out next. Hearing her, the vigilantes
immediately jumped out of the window. With the vigilantes gone, we
leisurely walked out of the mansion’s premise and joined up with

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Boss at a predetermined meeting spot. There, Cheok Jungyeong was
waiting for us, looking sleepy.

“You’re back.”

“Hey, Cheok Jungyeong, do you want to buy this~?”

Jain asked as she handed him the skillbook.

“What’s this?”

“A skillbook. It’s perfect for you~”

“…Skillbook?”

Cheok Jungyeong stared at the skillbook curiously. As he read the

system message, a smile of interest emerged on his face.

“Oho… how much is it?”

“2000TP.”

“…Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain started to negotiate, and I sneaked off.

There was something I needed to do.

“Newbie.”

However, Boss, who just arrived, stopped me. Grabbing my wrist

hard, she looked into my eyes with a serious expression. Her eyes
were fierce like she wanted to eat me.

“Y-Yes?”

“Where are you going?”

“Ah~ I’m going to go buy something. I’ll be back soon.’

Before learning [Permanent Materialization], there was something I

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needed to do. Thankfully, I only needed TP to do it, so it shouldn’t
take long.

“What are you buying?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“….”

Boss clenched her teeth, clearly outlining her jawline.

“You have lots of secrets.”

“…Yes? What do you…”

“….”

Without replying, Boss walked past me and walked towards Cheok

Jungyeong and Jain.

“Boss?”

“…Don’t talk to me.”

…She really was in a foul mood today. It seemed I needed to make

her something delicious later. Still, I had to do what I had to do. I
faced forward and began to walk towards Medea’s temple.

[Lv.7 Temple of Medea]

The temple wasn’t far away. As its name suggested, it was a place
where visitors had to be polite and respectful. Naturally, I took off my
mask and hood. Kiik—

[Lv.4 Medea’s Priest]

As soon as I opened the temple’s door, a priest greeted me with a

warm smile.

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“Welcome.”

“Ah, yes, I came to buy an item.”

“Our temple sells the following items.”

The priest snapped his fingers, and a holographic system message

popped up in front of me. It was the list of items being sold in this
place. I picked three items from the list.

[Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Synthesis] [Basic Skill

Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Extraction] [Lv.0 Basic Skill Consolidation
Scroll]

[Lv.0 Extraction] and [Lv.0 Synthesis]. By themselves, they were

rather useless. However, after looking through my settings book
hundreds of times, I was certain that these skills were the best for
me.

“I’ll take these three.”

“…That’ll be a total of 15000TP.”

15000TP. The Temple of Medea was famous for being cost

ineffective. In truth, buying skillbooks here was a waste. However,
this was what the Book of Truth said.

[Lv.0 Synthesis and Lv.0 Extraction are only sold in ‘Temple of

Medea’.]

So I didn’t have any other choice. This temple was the only place I
could buy them, and it wasn’t like I could create them myself.

“…Here, 15000TP.”

I gave the priest 15 1000TP banknotes. The priest took the money
with a bright smile and handed over two skillbooks and a scroll.

“Thank you for your purchase. Ah, would you like to become a

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member of our temple? If you do…”

“No, it’s fine.”

As I said before, the Temple of Medea had terrible cost efficiency.

There was no reason to become a member. Rather, I wanted to set it
on fire and burn it to the ground. I declined the priest’s offer and left
the temple. Then, I moved to my waiting room to begin my ‘work’.

“…Ah, there’s sunlight in this place.”

For some reason, there was sunlight in the waiting room unlike in
Prestige. I sat down at the edge of my bed and took out the
skillbooks I bought.

[Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Synthesis] [Would you like to

learn the Basic Skill – Lv.0 Synthesis?] [Warning! Learning a skill uses
up a skill slot. Once used, a skill slot cannot be recovered.] [Warning!
The ‘Synthesis’ skill is a half-skill that can only be leveled up with
scrolls!]

“Thank you for worrying about me, but I already know.”

I went ahead and learned the skill.

[You acquired the Basic Skill – Lv.0 Synthesis. You can still learn
two more skills.]

=== [Basic Skill – Lv.0 Synthesis] ○Lv.0 Limitation – you can

synthesize Lv.-1 or lower items. ===

‘Lv.-1 or lower’. It was easy to see that it was a trash skill that
couldn’t be used without consolidation scrolls. I took out the
consolidation scroll I bought and leveled up the Synthesis skill.

[Lv.0 Basic Skill Consolidation Scroll upgrades your Synthesis skill.]

[Lv.1 Synthesis] ○Lv.1 Limitation – you can synthesize Lv.0 or lower
items.

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“There.”

was the important part. Using Synthesis, I combined the two

remaining skillbooks, [Lv.0 Extraction] and [Lv.0 Permanent
Materialization].

[You used Lv.1 Synthesis!] [Warning! The chances of successfully

synthesizing a skill are extremely low. Would you like to do it
anyway?]

“Yes.”

As I always said, playing with probability had little meaning to me.

[Synthesizing!] [What will be the result!? Dudududududu….]

“…I didn’t know you could be so lively.”

[…Extrapolating results.] [Synthesis successful!] [With great luck,

the two items successfully fused!] [You obtained a new skill,
「Normal Skill Acquisition Scroll – Lv.0 Extraction and Permanent
Materialization」].

Unsurprisingly, the synthesis succeeded.

“Huu.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. There was a reason I went through all

this trouble to synthesize a skill.

[Extraction and Permanent Materialization]

Extraction pulled out the essence of an existence. , Materialization

provided a form to the formless. Finally, Permanence made the form
last for an unlimited time.

The secret plan I had for this skill was simple and obvious. To
materialize my strongest weapon, Stigma’s magic power. That was
my first goal.

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Chapter 174
Source: Wuxiaworld

Once separated from my body, Stigma’s magic power didn’t last

long. The same applied to any other form of magic power. Although
people could materialize magic power for an instant, it usually
disappeared within 10 minutes unless the user provided a constant
supply of magic power to maintain its form.

[You obtained a new skill, 「Normal Skill Acquisition Scroll – Lv.0

Extraction and Permanent Materialization」].

However, this skill made condensing magic power and

materializing it possible. In other words, ‘mana crystals’, which
usually took a long time to create, could be done in an instant.
Although the skill was still low-level, it should be possible.

[You activated 「Extraction and Permanent Materialization」].

I used the skill on the Stigma on my upper arm. First was the
extraction process. It felt like my arm was being ripped off, but I
clenched my teeth and endured it. From my arm, Stigma’s magic
power faintly glimmered. The skill’s power forced its magic power to
form a certain shape. Meanwhile, the pain grew more intense. From
my arm to my shoulder, from my shoulder to my head. It felt like I
was being trampled by dozens of horses.

“Kuuak…”

Then suddenly, the pain stopped. When I opened my eyes, a

crystal was resting on my palm. The unrefined crystal was rocky like
an uncut gem. Additionally, it gave off a white glow rather than a
blue glow. I checked the item’s description.

=== [Lv.2 Pure ‘Origin’ Mana Crystal] ○Lv.2 ???? ○Lv.2 ???? ===

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Origin Mana Crystal. Despite its grand name, its effects were a
complete mystery. However, I felt like I knew how to use it.

[The chief administrator is observing you with interest.]

Suddenly, I received a rather interesting alert. Chief Administrator,

the existence overseeing all floors. I smiled at its interest and turned
on my smartwatch. Then, I typed in the effects I desired in the mana
crystal’s question marks.

=== [Lv.2 Pure ‘Origin’ Mana Crystal] ○Lv.2 Permanent Strength

Increase Upon Consumption ○Lv.2 Permanent Speed Increase Upon
Consumption ===

The SP required was zero, as expected. I had created something of

a blank check with my Stigma. Since I made one, I put it in my mouth
without hesitation.

[Consuming an Origin Mana Crystal increases your strength by

0.05 points.] [Consuming an Origin Mana Crystal increases your
speed by 0.05 points.]

Perhaps because my stats were still in the 2-point range, it went up

by quite a lot. If I gained 0.05 points in the Tower, I should gain about
0.01 in the outside world.

“…Great.”

Great, simply great. It was completely worthy of being called a

cheat skill. However… My body hurt, and I felt drowsy. Although it
didn’t specifically limit me in any way, once a day was
unquestionably my limit. I thought about jumping on the bed then
stopped when I remembered the egg sleeping on it.

“…When are you going to hatch?”

Muninn’s egg still showed no signs of hatching. Rub, rub— A

rubbed the reflective surface of the egg to scare it.

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“If you won’t hatch, I’ll extract your power and absorb it all. In fact,
I’ll fry you!”

However, the egg showed no signs of change. Instead of making a

fried egg, I put the egg down and put the bed in my inventory. To
hatch, it only needed the blanket.

“Hyung’s leaving now.”

After saying goodbye, I left the waiting room. Although I put a lot of
effort into making my waiting room hospitable, sleeping in Prestige’s
hideout provided more of an advantage. Plus, being alone was lonely.

“Auu, I’m so tired.”

I trudged back to the Chameleon Troupe’s hideout.

“Oh~ Hajin, you’re back~”

It was now 11 p.m. The three members of the Chameleon Troupe

were grilling meat.

“Come eat.”

Cheok Jungyeong gestured with his index finger, and Boss stared
at me silently.

“Ah, it’s okay, I’m too tired.”

I took out my bed from my inventory. Jain and Boss’ eyes widened.

“Oh~ where’d you get that bed~?”

“I brought it from my waiting room.”

=== [Lv.3 Comfy Bed] ○Lv.3 Recovery *Fully restores your vitality
in 6 hours. ○Lv.3 comfiness *Clears your mind ===

I lay down on the Lv.3 bed I made. I couldn’t hold back my

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drowsiness any longer. Boss and Jain looked at me with envy, but I
had no intention of giving up the bed for today. I closed my eyes,
hoping for the fatigue from using Extraction and Permanent
Materialization to go away.

**

…A perilous land. Reddish-black fragments scattered down from

the shattered sky. The world was dark. There was no hope, no light,
and only death. I was there, resenting my birth, rejecting my
existence.

I had parents, parents who regretted giving birth to me. They

called me a fabrication of a curse, an origin of evil. They condemned
and cursed me several times a day until eventually, they decided to
kill me. I killed them in order to survive. I cut the flesh of the very
person who gave birth to me. I slashed the neck of the person who
held me when I was a baby. I died above the corpses of my parents
and was reborn.

…That was the story of my childhood. At the same time, it was a

world I could live in. I was happy to have parents, even though they
hated me. I was happy to have a place to call home. I was happy to
have parents who I had no choice but to love and hate.

But when I killed them, everything disappeared.

I wandered in the void. Occasionally, there were people who made

me smile. However, they were all schemers who wanted to use me
for their purposes. Tricked by the snakes’ smiles, I killed more and
more people. Soon, the snakes began to fear me, and I killed the
snakes that tried to kill me. While living in this perpetual cycle, I met
a certain man. There was nothing special about the way we met.
There was no reason for us to be together. However, he treated me
honestly. He told me to do what I wanted, that he would become my
new fence if I wanted. I agreed. That was when the real killing began.
I never resented anyone. I was simply an existence born to kill…

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“….!”

My eyes shot open with a resounding vibration in my chest. The

scenes of the past crumbled down, and reality appeared before my
eyes. I was drenched in sweat, and my face was heated. An
unprecedented unrest shook my body.

“Haa….”

Was it because I wasn’t sleeping on my special bed? I ended up

having a nightmare I haven’t had for a long time. This was the reason
I hated going to sleep. My past always crept up in my sleep, but my
dream-self was always too young to resist it.

“Huu….”

I calmly swallowed my saliva. Using magic power, I smoothened

my flow of blood and cooled my heated body. However, what I
couldn’t understand only became harder to understand. I opened my
system log. Kim Hajin’s inner thoughts towards me were recorded
here. He was full of emotions I couldn’t comprehend.

[Longing] [Responsibility] [Affection] [Sadness Towards Your Past]

[Trust] [Desire to Look After You]

Longing, responsibility, affection. Such embarrassing emotions

weren’t the sources of my trouble. It was the ‘sadness towards my
past’.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. My fingernails dug into

my skin. Rage rose up from the bottom of my heart.

“…How laughable.”

What do you know about me to have such a feeling towards me?

Just what do you know to dare to have such a thought? Did you
investigate my past secretly? …My stomach churned. Something
inside my deepest subconscious squirmed. An uncontrollable hostility

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was rising up. I got up from my bed and walked. I moved as my
emotion told me. I stopped in front of his bed and looked down at
him.

“….”

I wanted to ask him. What have you found out about me during the
past three years? What is your purpose for being with me? In the
end, are you also one of ‘them’? Magic power ignited on my hands.
The black magic power of Shadow spread out towards him. I had to
kill him. I had to kill anyone suspicious. I had to kill him before he
betrayed me.

“….”

However, my hands refused to move. The past three years flashed

before my eyes. Among his inner emotions were ‘affection’ and
‘longing’. How was I supposed to interpret them? While I was
contemplating…

“…Huaam.”

He tossed and turned his body. Immediately, my magic power

flickered off, and I took a few steps back.

“…Hm?”

Soon, he woke up. After blankly staring at the ceiling, he raised his
upper body.

“Boss?”

He called my name. His drowsy eyes looked straight at me.

“….”

Facing his stare, my body froze. Gulp— I swallowed. There were

many questions I wanted to ask. Where the emotions you had for me

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were coming from. Whether I can trust you. Why you were staying
with me. However, what came out of my mouth was…

“I’m… hungry.”

A stupid word. For a moment, he looked at me in a daze. Then, he

burst into laughter.

“Pft, at this hour? Ah… well, I guess you were tired today.”

He jumped out of his bed and headed to the kitchen.

“I’ll make you something special to revitalize you.”

He turned on the lights. Tak, tak, tak, tak. The sound of him cutting
vegetables and meat rang out. Tzzzzz. He ignited the burner and
poured the ingredients onto the frying pan. Standing behind him, I
watched him cook for a long time.

**

day, [Lv.0 Essence of the Strait Hideout] Chae Nayun raised her
sore tired body. Although it was still early in the morning, all the guild
members were already awake and making their beds.

“Mmm~”

After her morning stretch, Chae Nayun sat down on the ground.
Then, she took out her frying pan, burner, salt, and boar meat.

“Nayun~ Nayun~ my favorite Nayun~”

Yi Jiyoon snuggled up to her, giggling happily. On the other hand,

the other guild members were walking on eggshells around her.

“What’s everyone doing?”

As she grilled the meat, she called them over like she always did.

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“…Huh?”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Y-Yeah, we, we will…”

Only then did they approach her one by one.

“Kuhum, we’re really lucky to have you, Nayun-ssi.”

“I agree. What a godsend~”

Almost 2 weeks had passed since they came up to the 3rd floor.
Essence of the Strait’s guild members were relying on Chae Nayun’s
food.

“Kuhum, everyone, before eating…”

Kim Youngjin, the Chief Officer of the Tower Subjugation Team,

gathered the attention of the guild members.

“Essence of Strait is able to advance faster thanks to Chae Nayun,

so let us each give her a word of grati—”

“Don’t need it~”

Chae Nayun herself didn’t have any opinion on the matter. She no
longer expected anything of anyone. She didn’t wish for anything,
and thus there was no disappointment. That was it. Kim Youngjin had
acknowledged his mistake and apologized to her already. She knew
how difficult that was for a high-intermediate rank Hero to do.

“O-Oh, okay. Ah, you can give me the tongs, I will grill the meat for
you.”

“…Okay.’

She didn’t reject his offer. Leaving the cooking to Kim Youngjin,
Chae Nayun opened her messenger.

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「Thanks again, Hyung-nim. Your advice really saved us.」 「Oh
right, do you want to meet up sometime?」

“Is he busy…?”

Two days had gone by since she messaged Extra7, but he hasn’t
answered. The only replies she had were from Shin Jonghak.

YoungFly: 「Where are you? Let’s go hunting together if you have

time.」

「Do it with your guildmates.」

YoungFly: 「I’m too strong for their standards.」

Chae Nayun simply ignored him.

“Right, Nayun, are you going to buy that longsword?”

“Longsword?”

“Yeah, the Lv.3 longsword that’s being sold in the shop outside the
inner wall.”

“Oh….”

The named shop outside the inner wall. Players called it the
[Brother and Sister Shop]. A longsword was perfect for Chae Nayun.

“I don’t know… I already have the Red Crystal Spear.”

Without saying much, Chae Nayun secretly touched her left

shoulder. Immediately, a burning pain pulsed out. She had received
this injury when fighting a [Lv.3 Banshee] four days ago. She initially
believed the injury would heal over time, but because the pain was
only getting more intense, she couldn’t even use two-handed
weapons properly.

“….”

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Chae Nayun examined her injury through the system window.

[Lv.2 Curse of the Vengeful Spirit]

The curse was Lv.1 yesterday. As expected, it was getting stronger

over time. Still, Chae Nayun feigned healthiness and asked Yi Jiyoon.

“Jiyoon, you still can’t use Healing Factor?”

“Eh? Oh, yeah, I still don’t have enough magic power. Why? Are
you hurt somewhere?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

It was then. Pshhhu! A strange alarm rang, and a holographic

window popped up in the air. Medea was on the screen.

“Oh, it’s Medea-ssi.”

The 3rd floor’s administrator. The male members even put down
their chopsticks to focus.

[Hello, Players. I’m Medea, it’s been a while~ I’m here to give you
all a new goal.]

Tada— Medea snapped her fingers, and a thick spire appeared on

the screen.

[This is a Demon Spire. There’s one located in each of the four

cardinal directions. You can think of them as control towers.] [I will
reward the Player or group that destroys one of these with 5000TP.]
[Each Player’s ‘damage contribution’ will also be estimated. Players
with the highest contribution points will receive special rewards.] [It’s
not fun telling you what they are in advance, but…]

Tada— Medea snapped her fingers again. This time, three windows
with different item information popped up.

[Special Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.1 Lightning of Thor] [Artifact –

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High-intermediate] [Special Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.2 Wind of
Odyssey] [Artifact – Low-intermediate] [Trait Recovery Coupon]

“Oh?!”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. The rewards were the so-called skillbooks
they had only heard about in the Community. Not to mention, they
were ‘special’ skillbooks rather than basic skillbooks.

“H-Hey, aren’t those like… really good?”

Chae Nayun was especially agitated. Her injury made her more
impatient.

“Calm down, everyone. We should formulate our plans carefully.”

Kim Youngjin calmed the excited guild members down and initiated
a meeting.

**

I left the city and entered the field as soon as I saw Medea’s
announcement, bringing a handmade bow along with 20 arrows.
After walking through the dark monster field for a bit, I discovered
three skeletons. I nocked three arrows on my bow. Chweeek— I
aimed at them and lightly fired. The three arrows pierced their head
directly.

—Wow, who’s that? —That was a good shot. —Where did he get
that bow? It looks like it’s high level. —Should we ask him?

My performance caught the attention of a few other Players in the

area. I ignored their murmuring and approached the skeletons. I
placed my hand above them and used my skill.

[You activated 「Extraction and Permanent Materialization」].

The lifeless skeletons transformed into dust. However, the dust

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didn’t scatter away and instead coalesced into a crystal.

[Lv.0 Skeleton Soul] ○Lv.0 Vengeful Spirit

At first glance, the crystal was useless, filled with only a vengeful
spirit. However, by collecting these and using [Synthesis], I could use
them as grenades that would blow up the Demon Spires. Once all
three skeletons turned into crystals, I turned around to return the
way I came from. Tap, tap Then suddenly, someone tapped on my
shoulder.

“Um… you’re a Player, right?”

Hearing a voice, I turned around. Startled, I jumped inwardly.

Standing in front of me was the white-haired Aileen. She was a lot
skinnier than the last time I saw her, but her unique confidence was
still present. As expected of Temple of Justice’s Hero, Aileen had
survived just fine. But why was she here? Did she recognize me? No,
that was unlikely. Although I was still wearing a hood, my equipment
was completely different from what I was wearing in the tutorial.

“I saw you doing something just now… is that the Dismantling

technique?”

Thankfully, it seemed that she just misunderstood my Extraction

skill for the Dismantling technique.

“Dismantling technique?”

I changed my voice and spoke.

“Yep.”

“…Why do you ask?”

“Ah, well, I have food, but I don’t know how to dismantle it.”

“Oh?”

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So she was asking someone she just met to do it for her? Should I
say she was amicable or naïve…? Ah, no, it was because she kills
anyone who tried to scam her.

“If you help me, you can have some of it!”

Aileen suggested. At that moment, I suddenly received a message.

PhantomThief: 「Hajin, I see you. You’re with Aileen, right? Keep

her there and catch her attention. I’m going to try the Snatch skill I
learned.」

Basic Skill – Snatch. It was a skill that stole items or TP from the
inventory.

“How about it? It doesn’t hurt to use it, right!?”

“…Yeah, I guess.”

As I said that, I peeked over her shoulders. I could see a woman

waving her hand excitedly from the distance.

“Sure, I’ll do it.”

“Really? What level is your Dismantling technique?”

“…3.”

“Reaaally? Nice! So that’s why those skeletons instantly

disappeared~”

Aileen smiled brightly. She tapped on the air a few times and
pulled out a giant boar from her inventory. Although it wasn’t rotten,
it wasn’t fresh either. If I didn’t dismantle it soon, it would surely rot.

“Big, isn’t it? I’ll give you a fifth… no, a fourth.”

“….”

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I nodded silently. Meanwhile, Jain had sneaked up to Aileen.
Judging by the way her hands were moving, I suspected that the
following was happening to Aileen’s pocket. -10TP -20TP -10TP -20TP
…

“Hmm….”

I examined the boar.

“W-Why? Is it too big?”

Aileen stared at me with worried eyes.

“…No, it should be doable. Dismantle.”

After Jain finished her work and backed away, I used Dismantle. In
an instant, the giant boar was split into meat and leather. With my
high-level Dismantling technique, the boar was cleanly cut.

“Uwoah!”

Aileen widened her eyes in surprise. While she was busy gawking
at the boar meat, I quickly messaged Jain.

[How much did you steal?]

PhantomThief: 「ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 989 TP ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I took it all ㅋ

ㅋㅋㅋㅋiiya, the kid sure had a lot ㅋㅋㅋㅋ un~ but they’re all mine
now~ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

I scratched my neck and looked at Aileen.

“Uwoah, look at all these!”

With her tiny hands, she was putting the meat into her inventory.
Unaware that she just had her money stolen, she seemed happy like
she just won a lottery. I felt a bit sorry, but the food I got her was
enough to last two weeks. She could sell them to other hungry

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Players, so I didn’t feel too bad. Leaving Aileen behind, I turned
around and walked towards the undead cave I came here to visit.

“Ah, you should take your portion!”

Aileen shouted. However, I responded without looking back.

“You can have it.”

Aileen. She was a powerful competitor for Medea’s quest. I ended

up giving her food in exchange for taking her money. I wasn’t sure
how effective it would be in slowing her down. But well, I just had to
perform well and get first place.

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Chapter 175
Source: Wuxiaworld

[Boar Thigh] [Boar Neck] [Boar Belly] [Boar…]

“Great, great~”

Aileen smiled in satisfaction as she stared at her inventory. The

boar that was filling up her inventory had now turned into food that
could be cooked. Even if she ate three meals a day until she was full,
it was enough to last her two weeks.

「Yongha, I got the boar dismantled.」

First, she messaged Yi Yongha. He was complaining a lot about

being hungry, and Aileen was excited to present herself as a reliable
older sister.

FlameWizard: 「What? …Why? -.-」

“…?”

However, his reaction caught Aileen off guard. Aileen tilted her

head, wondering if he went crazy from hunger, as she typed a reply.

「Why not? Didn’t you say you were hungry?」

FlameWizard: 「If Aileen-ssi dismantles it, a lot of edible parts will

become wasted. Dismantling a wild animal isn’t easy, you know -.-」

“Ah~”

‘So that was what he was worried about. Heh, what a fool.’ Aileen
snickered as she typed proudly.

「I didn’t do it. I asked a passerby for help.」

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FlameWizard: 「Oh? You finally got Spirit Speech to work on a
person?」

「 No, my magic power hasn’t recovered enough to command

someone, but I can induce a positive response.」

Although the man probably didn’t notice, Aileen used Spirit Speech
when she asked him to dismantle her boar. Her intent was to induce
the man to agree.

FlameWizard: 「Great! What level was his Dismantling technique?」

「Lv.3. My inventory is filled with meat now, hehe.」

FlameWizard: 「He had a Lv.3 technique? Wow, that’s amazing.

Anyways, let’s meet up now.」

「See if you can buy some lettuce on your way here so we can eat
ssam.」

Their conversation ended here, and Aileen began to walk back to

the city proudly. But not long afterward, five zombies rose up from
the ground. They emitted strange cursing auras and blocked Aileen’s
path.

“Hmph.”

Aileen snorted and unleashed her magic power. At first, she

planned to simply destroy them. But because she was in a good
mood, and to test how much her power recovered, she condensed
her magic power into a blunt weapon.

“Listen up.”

Lv.1 zombies had no intelligence and only acted on their instincts.

In Spirit Speech, ‘speech’ was only a means. The true power of a
Spirit Speech Master wasn’t restricted to just speech.

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“This hammer~”

She pointed at her blunt weapon formed from magic power. At that
moment, a strange power descended on the weapon. The ‘power of
words’, an incomprehensible phenomenon manifested by speech.
This was Spirit Speech, a tangible power that transcended simple
hypnosis.

“Is going to crush your heads.”

Immediately, the blunt weapon moved, or perhaps it didn’t. One

could only guess that it did from the faint afterimage seen in the air
and the crushed heads of the five zombies.

“Huhu.”

Aileen smiled proudly. Even though her stats were suppressed, the
art of wielding magic power was engraved in her body, just like how
blood flowed through her veins.

[Your magic power increases by 0.02 points.]

A system alert popped up, boosting her morale even higher.

“Oh right.”

Just as she was about to pass by the zombies, she remembered to

rummage through the zombies’ corpses for anything useful.
However, all five Lv.1 zombies died without dropping any items.

“Absolutely trash.”

Aileen began to hop back to Prestige. Perhaps because of her

earlier display of might, no zombies bothered her again. Once she
returned to the city, she passed by several starving Players and
returned to her hideout.

[Lv.0 Temple of Justice Hideout]

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After reading on the Community that hideouts had the ability to
boost rest and stat increase, Aileen and Yi Yongha had hurriedly
purchased this hideout of 150TP monthly rent. They were relieved to
find out that the price of land wasn’t as astronomical as the price of
food. As soon as she entered the hideout, Aileen took out her frying
pan and burner. Tak, tak. Around the time she put meat on the frying
pan…

“Aileen-ssi!”

Yi Yongha ran into the hideout with a touched expression.

“Oh, you made it back just in time. Come grill this for me.”

“Before that, let me see your inventory.”

“Fine, go ahead.”

It seemed Yi Yongha couldn’t fully believe Aileen until he saw it

with his own eyes. Aileen flipped her hair back proudly and shared
her inventory.

“Wow… if we’re frugal, all that might last a month. Thank god we
brought a boar from the 2nd floor.”

“Yeah.”

As far as they were concerned, only complete idiots would forget to

bring food after suffering in the Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town. For
this reason, Aileen felt sorry for the Players who came from a lower
difficulty tutorial. In her eyes, they were suffering because they
chose the easy way out initially.

“This is all thanks to me, right~? I’m the one who caught that Lv.3
boar on the 2nd floor~”

“Yeah, yeah, ssp. Sure, ssp…”

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Aileen replied to Yi Yongha half-heartedly while staring at the meat
and swallowing her saliva. Although she had many questions she
wanted to ask him, her mind turned blank when she saw the meat.
Five minutes later…

“I think they’re done, Aileen-ssi.”

“Yeah, let’s eat.”

The meat that took five minutes to cook disappeared in a minute.

“How about some neck meat this time?”

“Sounds good.”

Aileen took out more meat, and Yi Yongha glanced at the

Community as he grilled the meat.

“Ah!”

“Hiik! …Ah, geez, what?!”

“Aileen-ssi, look at this.”

Yi Yongha showed Aileen a post on the public forum.

=== [The Brother and Sister Shop has new items.] Posted by:
Prementium The Brother and Sister Shop has a Lv.3 Magic
Amplification Staff and three Lv.2 equipment. Oh, they have potions
too, the standard mana potions and health potions. They also have
other potions, which all averaged about 150TP. The thing is, these
potions are leagues above the trash potions sold in the Tutorial
Town… ===

“…Magic Amplification Staff?”

Aileen’s eyes shone.

“Let’s go after we finish this. If anything, we can buy some mana

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potions.”

“Good idea. How much money do you have?”

“I have about 1500TP.”

“That much?”

“As you know, my Gift is specialized for hunting monsters.”

Yi Yongha flipped over the meat as he laughed. Meanwhile, Aileen

fell into thought, ‘since I have about 1000TP, we’ll have 2500TP total.
With that, we should be able to buy something nice…. Exactly how
much do I have again?’ Aileen opened her inventory to check her
balance. Then…

“…Eh?”

She blanked out. Thinking something was wrong with the system,
she closed her inventory and opened it again. However, nothing
changed. She rubbed her eyes and looked at it again. She was
confused and flustered. Aileen blinked in a daze then rummaged
through her pockets.

“…What’s wrong?”

Sssk, sssk Seeing Aileen rummaging through her pockets like a

crazy woman, Yi Yongha asked suspiciously.

“Ah, um, you see….”

Her TP was gone. There wasn’t even one remaining. The TP she
worked her ass off to gather up had just disappeared. ‘Where, just
where did they…’

Aileen spoke with her voice trembling.

“M-My money, it… it disappeared….”

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As she softly muttered these words, tears flowed down from her
eyes.

**

[Lv.5 Grahamson’s Cave]

I stood in front of a cave, where the demon ‘Grahamson’ lived. The

reason I was here was to find an item. Although it wasn’t quite good
enough to be called a hidden piece, it was still too good to be an
ordinary item.

“Hmm….”

Click. Before entering the cave, I checked the Desert Eagle. It was
nothing special, just seeing whether the trigger was jammed or
dulled.

[Warning! If killed by a demon, you can lose up to three lives!]

While I was checking my equipment, a system alert popped up. As

you can see from the alert, Players having seven lives was a form of
a trap. It made Players lazier and less tense in battle. In truth, unless
a death resulted from a very clean PvP (Player versus Player), each
death shaved off at least two lives. Furthermore, being killed by one
of the Tower’s four hostile races – ‘demons’, ‘celestials’, ‘giants’, and
‘hellwraiths’ – shaved off at least 3~4 lives. As a result, each Player
could only revive two to three times.

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll be careful.”

As always, I replied to the system politely. Then, I checked the

Book of Truth once again.

[Lv.6 Grahamson] —Lives in ‘Lv.5 Grahamson’s Cave’. —Wields

many undead monsters. A monster trainer who commands an army
of undead monsters against Prestige. —Strength: necromancy
—Weakness: physical resilience

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Grahamson was Lv.6. Although its highest stat should be 5~6
points, I should be able to beat it thanks to its low physical resilience.
One bullet from a shotgun should send it off easily. Still, I made full
preparations. First, I took out the [Dwarven Supercar] from my
inventory.

“Ooh.”

It was just as beautiful and elegant as the first time I saw it. I
hopped on and casted a blessing with [Lv.3 Yggdrasil Leaf].

[The Dwarven Supercar has been granted with a blessing!] [‘Lv.3

Yggdrasil Leaf’ whispers its ability to you.] [TIP! ‘Lv.3 Yggdrasil Leaf’
says it can grant permanent blessings to five equipment.] [Would you
like to grant the Dwarven Supercar with a permanent blessing?]

Was this the system helping me? I nodded.

[The Dwarven Supercar has been granted a permanent blessing!]

[All of its effects permanently increase by 1 level.] [A dormant magic
effect awakens.] ○Lv.2 Like the Wind —You can strengthen or
weaken its frictional force. —For a short period of time, it can glide
through the air at a low altitude.

“Oh?”

On top of being amphibious, it could also fly?

“Amazing.”

After finishing my item check-up, I drove the Dwarven Supercar

inside. Ssss— The car entered the cave slowly and quietly. Although
the cave was pitch-black, my surroundings lit up brightly when I
turned on the light. After about 15 minutes of driving…

“Hm?”

The cave began to rumble. Dudududu— The entire cave was

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shaking. To be more precise, something seemed to be digging itself
up from the ground. I stopped the car and observed my surroundings
carefully.

“…Oh, undead monsters.”

From the ground, undead monsters were rising like rice in a rice
field. There weren’t just one or two of them. There were at least a
hundred, two hundred, three hundred…. It was a large army, but I
wasn’t particularly nervous as they were all Lv.1s or Lv.2s. Ah, there
were also a few Lv.3s mixed in.

“Pft.”

I snickered inadvertently. Unfortunately for them, the Dwarven

Supercar also had offensive capabilities. I just had to drive fast and
run them over. As always, weaklings didn’t pose a problem to me no
matter how many of them there were.

Guoooo— Kegelgelgel—

Hundreds of zombies, skeletons, ghouls, and will-o-wisps advanced

towards me from all sides. I simply stepped on the Dwarven
Supercar’s accelerator. Sss…. Its magic engine ignited. Young
Dwarf’s Dexterity surely applied to my ‘offensive driving’ as well.
Believing so, I drove the car forward. Bzzzzz—! A thunderous
explosion rang out. The Dwarven Supercar shot forward, radiating a
golden light and crackling with fierce sparks. The Dwarven Supercar
wasn’t affected by terrain, height, walls or open air, narrowness or
wideness, and ceiling or ground. It was unhindered, in every sense of
the word. As the car burst forward, it crushed everything it touched.
The flesh of zombies, bones of skeletons, and nails of ghouls
scattered in the air.

[Your Driving technique improves to Lv.4] —You can more cleanly

drive vehicles. —Your perception of ‘roads’ reaches the creative level
of a genius.

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It only took 10 minutes for the above alert to pop up. By the time I
finished my crazed joyride inside the huge cave area, the army of
monsters was decimated.

“Auu, I’m dizzy now.”

There was one side effect. The smell of blood and dizziness from
driving made me retch. To collect my breath, I got down from the
car. While I was blocking my nose and frowning… magic power
suddenly ignited in front of me.

“….!”

A beam of magic power filled with killing intent was hurling

towards me. The attacker was a [Lv.3 Skeleton Mage]. Blue light
flickered from its hollow eyes. It was too late to dodge it. However, I
didn’t need to anyways.

[You activated the skill, Extraction and Permanent Materialization.]

I stood still and activated a skill. The beam of light stopped in front
of my face and was condensed into a solid substance. Tk— A cube-
shaped lump of magic power dropped to the ground.

“…Whew, I thought I was gonna die. That surprised me.”

Can’t it shout out a skill name or something before attacking? I

breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the cube.

[Lv.3 Skeleton Mage’s Curse Crystal]

I put it in my inventory for now. It was surely good for something.

At the same time, I raised my Desert Eagle and immediately fired.
The bullet pierced the mage’s head, and the light in its eyes flickered
off.

“Wait, come to think of it…”

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Taking all the items lying around was going to be a problem. I
looked around. The huge cave area was littered with corpses and
bones. Among them were a few items, the so-called ‘drops’.

“I’ll deal with Grahamson first and pick them up later.”

I hopped back on the Dwarven Supercar and drove deeper into the
cave. Soon, I arrived at a dead end. A throne was placed in the large
empty space I was in. Grahamson was sitting on the throne, trying to
look imposing. I got off the Dwarven Supercar.

“…A human?”

Grahamson muttered. Since it didn’t look like he needed an

answer, I didn’t say anything and simply walked closer with my gun.
Tap, tap. Eerie footsteps rang out in the empty cave.

“This is the problem with humans.”

Grahamson continued. I also kept walking closer, changing the

Desert Eagle into its shotgun form. The reason I was walking closer
was to enter the ‘shooting range’ for a shotgun. Each of my footsteps
should be something he’s working to stop.

“They are incapable of understanding who is in front of them and

how to act properly.”

However, Grahamson remained arrogant and impertinent, only

muttering the lines of a third-rate villain. I continued walking,
ignoring his useless rambling. Soon, I was at an appropriate distance.
I checked my shotgun’s magazine. It was loaded with two shells.

“Foolish human…”

“You’re the fool, idiot.”

“…You dare!”

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I aimed my gun at the demon from 20 meters away. However,
Grahamson didn’t seem to know what my weapon even did.

“What’s that?”

“You don’t have to know. You won’t need to soon.”

KWANG! Along with my reply, I pulled the trigger. A shotgun shell

shot forward, scattering a trail of magic power behind it.

“Kuhuk—!”

The bullet struck the demon’s chest.

“Y-You trash…!”

To my surprise, Grahamson was able to withstand the first bullet. It

seemed his armor was quite high-leveled, despite being made of
leather.

“Rise, my crea—”

However, a third-rate villain deserved a cliché death. KWANG! I

fired at his chest once again. The demon race’s weakness wasn’t the
head but the heart.

“….”

Grahamson died, without being able to finish his sentence or

summon the creations he was so proud of. He slumped down and
landed head-first onto his throne. Ssss— His corpse turned into dust
and scattered. Only a single book was left behind in his wake. That
was the item I was looking for. I approached the throne and grabbed
the book.

=== [Lv.6 Special Magic Record Book – Demon’s Cunning Speech]

[Unique] ○Recorded Page —The owner of this book can cast the
spells recorded in this book using his own magic power. ===

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This book was a very useful item. Simply put, it was a book
containing skills. Using this as a medium, I could use the following
‘effect skills’.

=== ○Deceitful Quest —You can arbitrarily grant quests to

Players. —The difficulty, rank, and reward of the quest can be set by
the user. The reward does not have to be paid. ===

First was Deceitful Quest. This skill was perfect for pretending to be
an NPC and ordering Players around. After all, Players were crazy
when it came to quests.

=== ○Suggestive Voice —You can cast a hypnotic suggestion on

yourself or others. —However, you cannot make unrealistic or
detailed commands. The effect of the hypnotic suggestion increases
with the amount of magic power used (more effective when cast on
yourself or targets with low intelligence). —When used, you can
change your voice for 30 minutes (the hypnotic suggestion may see
improved or lowered effect depending on how trustworthy your
changed voice sounds). ===

was Suggestive Voice. This was an especially good skill. Casting

hypnotic suggestions on others wasn’t particularly useful, especially
since it was unlikely to work on anyone stronger than me. However,
self-hypnosis would be incredibly useful for ‘training’.

=== ○Cowardly Lie —You can make magic power-infused lies to

Players or NPCs. —Overly unrealistic or nonsensical lies will not work,
but ‘believable’ lies become more trustworthy. ===

Last was Cowardly Lie. This… Tiring— While I was looking at the
book, my messenger rang.

CaptainBritain: 「Hajin-ssi, have you visited the shop?」

It was from Rachel.

「Shop?」
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CaptainBritain: 「The Brother and Sister Shop. That’s the only well-
known shop in Prestige… ah, have you not been checking the
Community lately?」

「No, I didn’t have any time.」

CaptainBritain: 「You can’t do that!! (#｀皿´)」

A smile emerged on my face. Rachel never said much when we

were together in person, but she was incredibly expressive in text.
Was it because of the emoticon? She sounded especially cute.

CaptainBritain: 「 Anyways, this Brother and Sister Shop is

currently the most important named shop in the outer city. They’re
selling potions now too, and they’re cheaper and higher quality than
the ones being sold in the inner city. I’m standing in line, so Hajin-ssi
should hurry over too…」

While I was wondering how to reply to her long message…

—…What is this place?

Someone’s voice echoed out from the other side of the cave.

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Chapter 176
Source: Wuxiaworld

I opened my eyes and looked at the far side of the cave. The
familiar voice belonged to someone I knew well. With a bobbed
haircut and the Red Crystal Spear in her hands, she was biting her
lips as she often did when she was nervous. The person wandering
around the cave entrance was… Chae Nayun.

“….”

I looked at her from a place where she couldn’t look back. From the
deepest corner of my heart, a bitter feeling arose. Was it sorrow? Or
was it guilt? An emotion that was hard to describe with words
resounded.

—Hey, hey, come out.

Chae Nayun waved her spear around, suspicious of any traps. The
way she moved her hand was also somewhat strange.

—Is it empty…?

She stepped into the cave. But I couldn’t let that happen. As such, I
took out the [Lv.6 Demon’s Cunning Speech] book I just acquired and
infused Stigma’s magic power into it. The effect I wanted to activate
was Deceitful Quest.

=== [Assign a quest to the Player 478m away.] [Quest Info]

○Rank —Intermediate ○Summary —Warning! This cave is full of
traps and monsters that are at least Lv.4. It is recommended that you
enter this cave with at least 8 people. Detailed quest information will
only be revealed once there are at least 8 people. ○Reward —???
===

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—Whoa!

Startled, Chae Nayun widened her eyes. She stared into the air
blankly then shouted as she shuddered.

—Yes! It’s a quest! I found a quest!!

Then, she quickly cusped her hands over her mouth and looked
around the cave.

—Hm….

After checking that nobody overheard her excited holler, she

slowly backed off. Her next action was strange. She gathered large
leaves and branches and began to cover up the cave entrance. She
was clearly trying to conceal the cave.

“….”

I smiled bitterly. It seemed she got at least a little smarter. While

Chae Nayun was running around, I also collected the item drops
scattered in the cave. Thanks to my high luck, there were many item
drops, but only a few were useful.

[Lv.1 Skill Consolidation Scroll] [Inventory Expansion Coupon]

[Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Summon Skeleton] [Lv.3 Skeleton
Warrior’s Bone Armor]

The skill consolidation scroll could be used to upgrade [Lv.1

Synthesis], and the rest could be sold.

—Mm, perfect.

From the distance, a voice echoed out. The cave entrance was now
completely blocked, and Chae Nayun nodded in satisfaction before
walking back.

“Whew…”

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Now that Chae Nayun was gone, I went back to doing what I
needed to do. I looked at the countless corpses sprawled around the
ground. They were all sacrifices to increase my skill proficiency, but
there was just one problem….

“…How am I going to get through all these?”

**

[Inventory] Lv.0 Skeleton Crystal x123 Lv1. Zombie’s Vengeful

Spirit x121 Lv.1 Ghoul’s Evil Heart x108

For two hours, I used Extraction and Permanent Materialization on

all the undead souls in the cave. Of the 400 corpses, 352 were
successfully converted. With my luck, Extraction and Permanent
Materialization had a success rate of almost 90%.

[Basic Skills (3/3)] [Lv.3 Extraction and Permanent Materialization

(2 slots) [Lv.2 Synthesis (1 slot)]

Thanks to my two-hour grind, Extraction and Permanent

Materialization became Lv.3. But there was a better harvest.

[By repeatedly using skills, you acquire the special stat ‘spirit
power’.] [On top of vitality and magic power, your status window will
now also show ‘spirit power’. Spirit power will be consumed when
using skills.] [From now on, you can train spirit power.]

Spirit power. It was the power needed to use skills, as skills were
considered ‘the power of souls’ in this world.

Before acquiring spirit power, Players needed to use their vitality to

use skills, which was why I had to consume 13 health potions in the
last two hours.

[TIP! Players can fuse magic power and spirit power together.] [In
this case, the fused spirit power will be stored in your heart.] [This is
recommended to allow for easier activation of skills.]

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“No, that’s okay.”

Like the system suggested, most Players would opt to do this. To

them, spirit power was something they weren’t used to, and fusing it
with magic power made it much easier to wield.

Spirit power could only be obtained from the Tower. As Master

Sharpshooter and Aether were my only weapons, I need to make
spirit power into my new weapon. But if I were to fuse spirit power
and magic power together, I would be unable to use skills outside the
Tower.

[You chose to not fuse spirit power with magic power. Spirit power
scatters in your bloodstream. To use it, you require training to
manipulate it more elaborately.] [With the skills you currently have
as basis, an attribute has been assigned to your spirit power.] [Your
spirit power acquires the matter interference attribute.] [Skills of this
attribute will rank up, but skills of other attributes will have their
efficiency lowered.]

Like magic power, spirit power also had attributes. There were the
obvious ones like water, wind, earth, and fire, and then there were
the more unique ones like ‘eternal resistance’, which Kim Suho would
gain, and ‘reality manipulation’, which Jin Sahyuk would gain.

“Matter interference….”

Mine sounded like an inferior version of reality manipulation. I

wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad, but I felt it was fitting. In any
case, I left the cave, leaving behind a Lv.3 longsword I got from a
Random Dice for Chae Nayun.

“…Ah, I’m so tired.”

The sunless Prestige was always dark. I walked through the

darkness and returned to the city.

“Everyone! Look at this!”

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However, the city was a bit louder than usual. A group of thin
people were holding onto pickets and shouting as though they were
protesting.

“We have to join hands!”

I looked at the pickets they held.

[Looking for Players of ordinary background to join our alliance!]

[Us ordinary Players must join hands against the tyranny and
information control of guilds!] [The Ordinary Player Alliance is waiting
for you!]

“…I guess it’s about time.”

The Ordinary Player Alliance. An annoying group was starting to

form. The Ordinary Player Alliance was no different than a cult that
practiced pyramid schemes. On paper, their purpose was to bring
together Players who weren’t Heroes or Djinns, since guilds and
Pandemonium Djinns formed cartels of their own. That was admirable
in and of itself. The problem was that they were incredibly corrupt
and violent internally. For now, I ignored them and walked to my
shop.

[Riry Shop]

Soon, the shiny sign I made was in full view. There was a long line
of Players waiting in front of the shop. Among them were also
members of the Ordinary Player Alliance.

“Everyone, us ordinary Players need to unite! Guilds are refusing to

provide us with information. They look down on us and ignore us….!”

One particularly passionate man caught my attention. He was

screaming his lungs out, trying to convince those around him.

“I, Zurahan, will help you! I will help carry your burden!”

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His name was Zurahan. He gave off a kind first-impression, but he
was the main villain of this floor. I pondered. Should I just kill him
now? Or should I watch his foolish conduct a bit more?

“…Hm.”

For now, I decided to leave him alone. Since he would revive,

killing him here wouldn’t be too meaningful, and a sudden attack
would only give his followers greater faith in him. I passed by the
long line and entered the shop through the back door. There were
many Players inside the shop. Among them, the most eye-catching
one was Rachel. She was looking at something with a serious face.

“This….”

She was looking at the Lv.3 wrist protector. For a swordsman, a

wrist protector was one of the most important pieces of equipment.
Her face showed that she wanted to buy it, but she soon shook her
head and turned to the potions.

“Berserker potion… external injury healing potion… mana recovery

potion….”

She was murmuring seriously, thinking about what to buy.

“Vice-leader, you’ve been doing the same thing for the past 30
minutes.”

When a member of her guild finally called her out on it, the shop’s
door opened and two people Rachel was familiar with walked in.

“Ei~ Aileen-ssi, don’t be so depressed. It happens. At least we

don’t have to worry about food. We can even sell some of it.”

“….”

Aileen looked as though she was about to cry, and Yi Yongha was
consoling her.

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“Now, let’s take a look. You wanted to see the Magic Amplification
Staff, right?”

“…I don’t have any money, so I can’t buy it.”

Aileen muttered with a tearful voice. Yi Yongha scratched his head.

“…Who knows, maybe it’s cheap.”

“It’s says it’s 2200TP right there….”

[Lv.3 Magic Amplification Staff – 2200TP] Aileen pointed at a staff

inside a display case. Then, she took a deep breath and turned
around. She was clearly trying to hold back her tears. At the same
time, Rachel’s voice rang out.

“Owner, I’ll take five of these.”

She had finally decided to buy potions.

“I’m buying in bulk, so do you think you could knock off 100TP?”

Rachel carefully haggled, but…

“No.”

Kiri was firm in her rejection.

**

After the shop closed for the day, I stood in front of Kiri and Henry.
They were cheery and clearly itching to tell me how much profit they
made.

“How much did we make?”

“Look!”

“A lot!”

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They immediately opened the safe and showed me… 7000TP.
Players were generally hesitant to use their money in early stages of
the Tower, but it seemed they didn’t hesitate to buy potions as they
could save their lives. The Player Shop not having any potions for
sale was benefiting me greatly.

“Good, good.”

Now, I had to use this money to buy land. I already thought of a

long-term solution for redistributing the TP I made from Players to
NPCs. To do this properly…

“Here, take this.”

Henry and Kiri needed to grow. I gave them a total of four books.
Two taught them how to read and write, one taught them about
business management, and the other was a skillbook called ‘Law of
Thinking’.

“What are these?”

“They’re books you need to study. For one… no, two… no,
whenever you’re free, study them.”

“We’re studying?!”

“Wow!”

“…Hm?”

They quickly snatched the books and turned around. Their reaction
honestly surprised me. I thought they’d hate studying. Stomp,
stomp— They ran up to the 2nd floor, as though they were afraid I
would take their books back. I watched the two children with a proud
smile.

“…Study hard, okay?”

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I murmured to myself and left the shop. Now, it was time to buy
the land I’ve been eyeing. I walked to an empty plot of land, which
was devoid of even a single stock of grass.

“Um, I’d like to buy the land from here to way over there.”

[Would you like to purchase the following plot of land with

6000TP?]

“Yes.”

Although this plot of land looked desolate now, that would change
after 33 demons die. It would become the only fertile land outside
the inner city and would produce a crazy amount of food with the
magic power infused in the land. I planned to turn this place into a
farm, selling cultivated crops to Players and distributing them to
NPCs. With this, I planned to make Prestige a habitable place.

Once that happens, Kim Suho would surely change his mind about
this place. That this place wasn’t a pit of despair where the
administrator and Players treated NPCs like second-class citizens.
That was the important part. No matter how much effort I put in, the
real ‘hero’ who would climb to the peak of this Tower will be Kim
Suho.

**

On the other hand, in the Creator’s Sacred Grace guild building

outside the Tower, Yun Seung-Ah called Kim Suho to her office. With
only a week left until the second opening of the Tower of Wish, there
was something she needed to give him.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, Guild Leader.”

“Come sit.”

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Yun Seung-Ah spoke with a smile, and Kim Suho sat down in front
of her. First, Yun Seung-Ah placed a ticket on the table. Kim Suho’s
eyes widened when he saw it.

“You know what this is, right? It’s a black ticket.”

“….”

Kim Suho stared at the ticket in a daze then turned his gaze back
to Yun Seung-Ah.

“H-How did you get this?”

“Huhu~ I have connections.”

Yun Seung-Ah crossed her arms proudly. In truth, she had

practically begged her old master Yoo Sihyuk, saying that it was her
final wish. In front of her tears, Yoo Sihyuk had no choice but to make
a request to his best friend, the famous ‘Vast Expanse’. Vast Expanse
offered it for the cheap, discounted price of 3 billion won. In this
sense, it was more or less Kim Hajin who bought this ticket for her. It
was only because he made a single payment of 20 billion won to buy
her apartment that she had the financial leisure to buy this ticket.

“Anyways, I got you the best ticket. I have high expectations of

you.”

“…Ah, but.”

Kim Suho scratched his neck.

“What? Do you need something else?”

“No, it’s not that…. You see, I found one too.”

“…What?”

Kim Suho smiled bashfully and took out a green ticket. Yun Seung-
Ah stared at it fixedly then smiled.

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“Green ticket… it’s not bad. You can bring someone with you
then.”

Kim Suho stared at Yun Seung-Ah.

“…Except the guild leader and vice-guild leader. We’re too busy.”

“Oh, I see. I understand.”

“Like I said before, you don’t have to be so formal with me… Oh,
also.”

Yun Seung-Ah took out a huge box from underneath her desk.
Inside was a leather armor Kim Hajin made for Kim Suho.

“I was surprised too when I got this.”

Wanting to know how Kim Hajin made this armor, Yun Seung-Ah
had given it to a professional seven times for analysis.

“It’s an armor rivaling an intermediate-rank artifact.”

“Whoa, intermediate-rank artifact?”

Kim Suho's expression brightened. Yun Seung-Ah made a small

smile. Kim Suho was unexpectedly a big fan of equipment.

“Yep, it’s made with the leather of a high-intermediate rank

grade-1 Mountain Tyrant…”

She opened the box as she gave him an explanation. When Kim
Suho laid his eyes on the armor, he became lovestruck.

“Amazing design, isn’t it?”

“…Y-Yes, it’s fantastic.”

He nodded with his mouth open. The analyst Yun Seung-Ah asked
to appraise the armor said the same thing. Although it was on the

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lower end of intermediate-rank artifacts, he said he wanted to rate it
a high-intermediate rank because of its design.

“Take this. It’s effect manual is written by the manufacturer.”

“Manufacturer? Who’s that?”

“Kim Hajin.”

Kim Suho slightly flinched.

“Ha, Hajin?”

“Yep, apparently he got something from the Tower that helps him
craft items. Who knew he could make something so amazing?”

Kim Suho read the effects of the armor, then looked at the armor
once again.

“You don’t look very happy.”

“…No, I am. It’s just that…”

Kim Suho pouted.

“I’d rather that he came to see me.”

“Pft.”

Yun Seung-Ah found his complaint adorable.

“He’s busy too. Be understanding.”

“But Vice-leader, didn’t you meet him?”

“…That’s because we’re neighbors.”

Although Kim Hajin’s status had elevated to being a great

benefactor, she was too embarrassed to explain it to Kim Suho. For
the record, her apartment now belonged to Evandel.

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“…If you see him again, tell him I said thanks.”

“Okay. Oh, he left another gift too.”

“Another one?”

This time, Yun Seung-Ah took out a small notebook.

“This is…?”

“Memorize it before you go. Hajin left this behind for you.”

The cover of the notebook had the following words. [Tutorial Guide
Book]

“He said he’ll be waiting for you.”

“Ah… I see.”

Hearing this, Kim Suho laughed silently. Then, he slowly opened

the notebook. The first page of the guide book was densely packed.

—Hey. Has it been 3 years now? Well, writing a greeting is too

awkward, so I’ll skip it. I’m sure we don’t need it. —This notebook is a
guide book for the tutorial. I’m sure you can plow through any
obstacles on your own, but I prepared it just in case you needed it.
—Don’t show this to anyone else. Don’t even tell anyone about it. —I
won’t be able to clear this Tower, but it should be possible for you. I
trust you. I made you an armor too, so don’t disappoint me.

“…What a long introduction.”

Kim Suho grinned and began to read the rest of the guide book. At
times he was expressionless, and at others he was snickering.
Watching this, Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t help but be curious.

“W-What’s so funny?”

Yun Seung-Ah stealthily reached out to it, but Kim Suho turned his

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body and rejected her advance. Even though Yun Seung-Ah pouted
and narrowed her eyes at him, he didn’t change his mind.

**

Another two weeks passed by in Prestige. The new tutorial began

10 days ago, and several factions appeared in Prestige.

However, during these two weeks, Medea’s quest had not

progressed in any way. If any one group tried to challenge a Demon
Spire, I hindered them. When I wasn’t enough, I borrowed Cheok
Jungyeong or Boss’ power.

Although there was an ill rumor floating around the Community

because of it, I couldn’t care less. The first place was mine, and I had
no intention of letting anyone else have it.

“…By the way, are you sure those things will work?”

“Of course.”

Today, I finally left Prestige to destroy the control towers.

“They’re more than enough.”

I reaffirmed Cheok Jungyeong and took out a grenade from my

inventory.

[Lv.5 Cluster of Hundreds of Vengeful Spirits] ○Lv.5 Explosion

A cluster of vengeful spirits made by synthesizing hundreds of

undead crystals together. After imbuing an ‘ignition’ attribute with
Stigma’s magic power, simply hitting a Demon Spire should send it
crumbling down.

“Just that tiny thing is enough?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked again in doubt.

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“Yep. We’re going to destroy one Tower every day for the next
three days.”

“Mm~ Boss~?”

Jain turned to Boss and asked. Boss, who was fiddling with the
mosquito bite on her finger, quickly shoved her hand in her pocket.

“What?”

“We have to inscribe that.”

“That?”

“You know, Hajin’s signature.”

My signature. She was most likely talking about the ‘black lotus’
symbol.

“….”

Boss nodded and unleashed her magic power, which became a

black lotus that inscribed itself on the ground.

“Is it okay to do this? Won’t people know that it was us?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Boss was firm. Well, now was around the time that the name and
strength of ‘Chameleon Troupe’ was starting to spread, so it was
surely intended.

“Oh right, once we’re done knocking down the three towers, I’m
going back to Earth for a bit.”

“Earth? Again~?”

“Yes.”

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I didn’t have anything else to worry about, and soon ‘she’ would
arrive as well.

“And when I come back, I’m going back down to the 2nd floor.”

“2nd floor? Why?”

Boss asked curtly, but I explained with a smile.

“There’s something I need to do. It won’t take long. I’ll bring back
food too.”

“…Always a secret.”

Boss stuck out her lips and grumbled but didn’t dig any further.

“Anyways, I’m throwing it now.”

I raised my hand holding the grenade.

“…Is that really enough~? That tower looks real hard~”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just barge in and destroy everything?”

Jain, Cheok Jungyeong, and even Boss looked at me with doubt. I

didn’t say anything in response. A vengeful spirit grenade made from
repeatedly using [Lv.2 Synthesis]. I threw this little ball in a perfect
baseball pitcher form. Whiiiish— The baseball-sized grenade shot
through the air and hurled towards the Demon Spire. As a Master
Sharpshooter, my aim and form were perfect. Tk. The grenade
landed. At first, there was no change.

“Hey, kid, nothing’s hap—”

When Cheok Jungyeong furrowed his brows… Booom— The

grenade exploded. First, a ring-shaped shockwave pulsed out.
KWAGWAGWAGWANG—! Then, a heaven-shaking explosion followed.

“…Oh?”

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Cheok Jungyeong’s eyebrows jumped in surprise. It only took 3
seconds for a single grenade to destroy the tower. Fragments of the
building rained down from the sky, and a cloud of dust rose up. Just
like that, the grenade toppled the Demon Spire. Furthermore, I still
had two grenades left.

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Chapter 177
Source: Wuxiaworld

With Cheok Jungyeong, Jain, and Boss, I destroyed the east, west,
and north control towers. As other Players would destroy the south
tower on their own, the gate to the 4th floor should be found within a
week.

[Player ‘Extra7’ has made great contributions to Medea’s quest.]

[The performance ranking for Medea’s quest has been updated.] [You
gained the interest of the 3rd floor administrator, Medea.] [The
remarkable power of your explosive unlocks an achievement.]
「 Terrorist 」 —Destroy three or more buildings with a single
explosion. [You acquired a Trait!]

“…Oh?”

I got several system alerts, but I was most surprised with getting a
Trait. The Tower of Wish had unlockable achievements that gave
bonus rewards for being the first one to complete it. Although it was
rare for Players to meet the requirements for an achievement, it was
even rarer for the reward to be a Trait. I checked the Trait I received.

=== 「 Bomber 」 [Low-intermediate rank] [Special attribute]

[Static] *Explosive Reinforcement —Increases the power of
explosives by 30%. *Explosion —‘Explosion attribute’ can be added
to certain objects. The power of the explosion is dependent on the
value of the object or its rank. The object will disappear on explosion.
===

It was quite a good Trait. In fact, I would have been happy with
even a lowest-rank Trait. A Trait was equivalent to a Gift, meaning
that I just received a free Gift.

“Oi, can I fight with those guys?”

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While I was distracted by the Trait, Cheok Jungyeong cracked his
knuckles and asked. I looked out front. Demons that survived from
the Tower’s collapse were running over.

[Lv.4 Demon Foot Soldier] [Lv.5 Demon Soldier] [Lv.6 Demon

Centurion]

The Lv.6 demon should be a bit tricky, but Boss and Cheok
Jungyeong should have no trouble dealing with it.

“Do as you want.”

As soon as I gave the okay, Cheok Jungyeong activated his skill,

[Charging]. His already massive body became atrociously bigger.
Guooo— His magic power covered his body, making it seem as
though he was on fire. Cheok Jungyeong shouted at the demons.

“Come—!”

Although that was what he said, it was Cheok Jungyeong who

impatiently charged towards them. KOONG—! The Lv.6 demon
centurion was sent flying backwards in one blow.

**

[Lv.5 Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout] —Your vitality recovers 30%

faster. —You can have sound rest while staying in this place. —After
waking up, your stats and skill proficiencies’ rates of increase will
receive a 7% boost.

After working up a sweat, we returned to our hideout. As for why

our hideout suddenly jumped up to Lv.5, though I don’t mean to
brag, it was all thanks to me. Unlike other Players who were renting
their hideout buildings, I purchased ours entirely, expanded it, and
put in several handmade furniture pieces. There were four
‘masterpiece beds (made by Kim Hajin)’ and two ‘masterpiece
couches (made by Kim Hajin)’. Furthermore, I also built a shower
room and turned the entire basement into a training room. Jain even

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stole an air purifier from a noble’s castle. I was confident that our
hideout was the best hideout in all of Prestige.

“Ah~ my home~ I love the air here~”

Jain hopped on the couch, full of smiles. Boss sat down next to her
and opened the Community. Recently, Boss had taken a liking to
browsing the Community. I couldn’t blame her, since there really
wasn’t any form of entertainment in this place.

Other Players were having fun doing things like adventuring,

finding quests, and learning skills, but Boss didn’t seem interested in
any of them. In fact, she had yet to even learn any skills. She was
even pickier than me. Seeing Boss focused on the Community, I
asked.

“Boss, aren’t you hungry?”

“…I already ate.”

Boss replied shortly. Recently, Boss has been acting curtly around
me. I still didn’t know why. Was it because of the Community?

I slowly sneaked up to her and peeked at her Community screen.

Players could see what each other did once they friended, so
naturally, I could see her Community screen as well.

[To be continued.] —5TP per chapter! —I am aiming to have at

least 10,000 characters per chapter! —With my skill, ‘Story Imprint’,
you will be able to have a more realistic reading experience!
—Readers who donate TP will be able to choose the name of a
character! ===

“….”

Boss was reading a webnovel being serialized on some unknown

Player’s personal profile. I was slightly taken aback. Of course, I did
remember writing something like this in the original story.

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[After contemplating on how to earn TP, Ordinary Players decided
to do what they were best at, creating novels, manhwas, alcohol, and
cooking.]

However, I didn’t expect Boss to read a novel. After finishing

chapter 19, Boss pressed on the screen.

=== Would you like to donate 75TP to Player ‘Wallet’? [Yes] Player
‘Wallet’ gifts you a character name selection coupon! ===

…She was even donating to the guy. I became a bit curious what
name she would give to the character. While I was looking at her
screen curiously, Cheok Jungyeong suddenly asked.

“Oi, Newbie.”

“…Yes?”

“What’s the most dangerous thing here?”

“Most dangerous thing?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for something or someone who’s worthy enough

for me to fight with my life on the line.”

Cheok Jungyeong was stretching his muscles. He still wanted to

fight someone after battling the Lv.6 demon centurion? I pondered.
The most dangerous thing in Prestige…

“Other than the demon king, it should probably be the banshee.”

“Banshee?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to deal with its curse.”

The banshee’s curse led to death unless treated immediately. It

wasn’t just a singular death, but a true death. This curse prevented
Players from leaving the Tower and caused them to slowly suffer for
up to three months before dying. Being able to revive didn’t mean

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anything. The curse wasn’t lifted upon death and even followed
Players to their respawn locations.

“I see.”

“If you get cursed by a banshee, you have to tell me immediately.”

If the curse was only Lv.1, I should be able to get rid of it with
[Extraction].

“Heh, you think I’d get done in by something like a curse?”

“Well… the same goes for Boss and Jain. If you get the banshee’s
curse, just tell me immediately.”

With that, I turned to Boss’ Community once again. However, Boss

seemed to have submitted the character name already as she was
browsing the public forum.

“Kuhum, then I’ll be going now.”

When I got up, Cheok Jungyeong and Jain called out.

“Can you make some food before you go~? I’m hungry~ Hajin, you
always only ask Boss~”

“You’re not going to train before you go?”

I could understand Jain asking me, but even Cheok Jungyeong

expressed his regret. It must be because I’ve been training with him
recently. Although Cheok Jungyeong’s training was hellish enough to
kill me, I barely held on with self-hypnosis. ‘I can still do it.’ ‘I don’t
feel pain.’ With these two hypnotic suggestions, I could barely keep
up with Cheok Jungyeong.

“Do you want to come to Earth with me?”

“No, I like it here. It’s fun fighting with my strength restricted.”

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Cheok Jungyeong smiled as though he was truly having fun.

“…If you say so.”

For Jain, I quickly walked over to the kitchen and made a boar
steak.

[Lv.3 Kim Hajin’s Boar Steak]

“Wow. How is it Lv.3? It’s surprising no matter how many times I

see it.”

After smiling at Jain who was complimenting me, I teleported to my

personal waiting room. Once I was there, I stretched and took a deep
breath. One good thing about the waiting room was that it had
sunlight. Muninn’s egg was bathing under the warm light.

“…Wait.”

I examined the egg closer.

“I knew it!”

The egg had gotten bigger. Was it about to hatch? I smiled and sat
down next to it. I planned to go back immediately… but I decided to
wait for 30 minutes. The egg surely needed its master’s love.

“Mm.”

I held the egg in my embrace.

**

[Lv.??? Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town]

The Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town had troubled many Players

including Chae Nayun and Aileen and had gained quite a bit of
notoriety outside the Tower. Here, Kim Suho was currently leading a
leisurely lifestyle. Although he couldn’t avoid getting less than what

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he was promised from the mercenary missions, by being extremely
frugal on a living space and food, he managed to gather the 1000TP
needed to pass the tutorial.

It was all thanks to Kim Hajin’s tutorial guide book, which

contained the best haggling price for various shops and inns. But
other than this, the guide book only gave general advices and told
Kim Suho to look for things on his own. However, this actually led Kim
Suho to find several hidden pieces.

“…?”

The first advice was [walk slow and steady to find hidden pieces.
There’s no need to hurry. Direction is more important than speed.]
Following this advice, Kim Suho carefully explored the outskirts of the
town and encountered someone unexpected.

“….” “….”

Kim Suho stood in a daze, while the girl he was facing was sitting
on a bench like a thug. They were both caught off guard by the
unexpected encounter.

“…I’m in a bad mood, so screw off.”

The girl broke the silence first. Kim Suho let out a dry cough.

“I had a feeling I’d meet you here.”

“I said screw off.”

Kim Suho observed Jin Sahyuk’s condition. Her hair was disheveled,
her clothes were a mess, and her lips were swollen from stress. It
was clear that she wasn’t having a good time.

“You don’t look… too good.”

Kim Suho spoke honestly. Jin Sahyuk shot back at him sharply.

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“Are you looking to die right now?”

“….”

Kim Suho didn’t react to her provocation and simply sighed. He

knew he was walking a completely different path than her. Still, he
knew she was the only remaining person from his home world.
Knowing the saying that ‘a battle can be won without fighting’, Kim
Suho decided that talking things out would be better than fighting
her to the death. Kim Suho took out a beef jerky from his inventory,
which he got from a boar that was terrorizing a farm.

“Do you want some?”

“…You can shove it up your ass.”

Jin Sahyuk declined his offer then got up from her bench and
glared at him. Her ferocious look was very Jin Sahyuk-esque.

“I want to kill you now if possible, but you’re far behind in line.”

“Line?”

“That’s right. You got pushed back to rank 237. You should thank
everyone else.”

“…There are 236 people in front of me?”

Kim Suho smiled bitterly. However, it didn’t take him long to come
to terms with it, as Jin Sahyuk had always been the center of trouble
in his hometown. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say she had been one
of the most well-known people.

“Even after I kill them all, you’ll only be rank 2, so don’t count your
chickens before they hatch.”

“…What?”

Kim Suho furrowed his brows. He couldn’t quite understand what

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she was saying. There was someone Jin Sahyuk wanted to kill more
than him? Who could it…. Ah!

“…Are you talking about Kim Hajin?”

“Is that his name?”

Jin Sahyuk grinned. Knowing fully well what this smile meant, Kim
Suho’s expression stiffened.

“I wanted to kill him before I learned about his name.”

Jin Sahyuk added apathetically. Kim Suho placed his hand on his
scabbard. Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk instantly unleashed her magic
power.

“You’ll die the moment you take it out.”

“….”

Kim Suho faced off against Jin Sahyuk silently. His sword was
shining inside the scabbard, and Jin Sahyuk’s magic power surged
fiercely. Kim Suho’s hostility and Jin Sahyuk’s killing intent mixed
together. A cold and heavy atmosphere descended. But soon, Kim
Suho gave up on attacking. It was because he realized he was
worrying about the wrong person.

“Heh.”

A small smile emerged on Kim Suho’s face. He remembered a past

incident and knew what to say.

“Didn’t you already lose to him?”

“…What?”

Jin Sahyuk’s face instantly distorted.

“I didn’t see it clearly, but didn’t you get done in by a coin?”

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“….”

“I bet the same thing will happen if you challenge him now.”

Although Kim Suho was clearly provoking her, Jin Sahyuk didn’t say
anything. For some reason, she just had an odd feeling. It wasn’t
because of rage. Rather, it was from finally finding out what the
uneasy feeling that was bothering her was about. However, Jin
Sahyuk still didn’t know why she felt this way.

“Hajin is the same.”

The tutorial guide book, a leather armor rivaling an intermediate-

rank artifact, his career as ‘Fenrir’. With all these as basis, Kim Suho
was certain that Kim Hajin was just as strong as him, if not stronger.

“…Screw off.”

Jin Sahyuk shot back at Kim Suho. At that moment…

“Suho-ssi! This is where you were?”

Kim Suho’s companions found him. The Fermun brother and sister.
They had first met half a year ago and decided to travel together
after meeting in the tutorial. Kim Suho put his hand down, and Jin
Sahyuk also calmed down.

“What are you doing here? Yeonghan-ssi is looking for you~”

“Pft, I see that you still have annoying flies hovering around you.”

“…Who’s this? I’m not like that!”

The older sister, Venessa Fermun, cut in.

“If anything, it’s natural for butterflies to be attracted to flowers.”

Vanessa bashfully grabbed the hem of Kim Suho’s shirt. Jin

Sahyuk’s eyes narrowed immediately. It was as though she was

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looking at something so disappointing that she couldn’t find the
words to describe it. However, Vanessa tactlessly pointed her finger
at Jin Sahyuk and laughed.

“From what I can see, you’re a butterfly too.”

…Jin Sahyuk retorted quickly.

“Shut your trap if you don’t want to die, crazy bitch.”

**

I came home. Four weeks had passed since the last time I was
here. Thankfully, Evandel was doing just fine. She was the leader of a
small group which included Hayang, Haeyeon, and a four-year-old kid
that lived on the next block.

“…Mm, so you don’t want to go anywhere?”

“I like it here~”

Evandel replied and quickly went back into her tent.

“….”

Left alone, I was slightly flustered. There was a tent sitting in the
middle of the living room. It seemed to be something like a secret
base. I did something similar when I was young, so it wasn’t too
surprising. In a small, tight space, close friends would eat together,
play games together, and tell scary stories.

“…Then I’m going out, okay?”

—Okay~ —See you later~ —Meow~

I could hear their voices from the tent. I felt a bit sad, but it was
too cute for me to not smile.

Just like that, I left my apartment. September was about to end,

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and the garden outside the apartment was decorated with beautiful
autumn leaves. I walked past the garden towards the local
playground. Soon, I saw a familiar figure. She was sitting on the
swing and gliding back and forth. I walked up to her silently and sat
down next to her.

“…You didn’t take a limousine today?”

Kiik, kiik. Her swing creaked until it came to a stop. Ssss— The
leaves rustled from the blowing wind. Yoo Yeonha looked up at the
sky and sighed.

“Did something bad happen?”

“….”

When I asked, she finally turned and faced me. She looked
exhausted and troubled. Was something bothering her? I faced her
empty gaze and asked softly.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

Yoo Yeonha had called me here. Well, to be more precise, left a

message, telling me to contact her when I was out of the Tower. I
replied as soon as I saw her message, and Yoo Yeonha came here
afterwards.

“…It’s about what you requested before.”

“Oh, that’s done already?”

Yoo Yeonha nodded. I was surprised at the Falling Blossom guild’s

information network. It seemed to have grown quicker than I
originally anticipated.

“But…”

Yoo Yeonha looked down at the ground. Kicking the sand, she

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carefully continued.

“There are things I can and can’t tell you about…”

“…Huh? What’s that?”

Yoo Yeonha sighed and raised her head.

“You can choose. Do you want me to tell you everything? Or do

you want me to tell you what I can.”

She seemed to be nervous as her voice was trembling. Her serious

face made me take this conversation seriously as well. Suddenly, I
was a bit scared. Just how bad was Chundong’s past?

“Then… tell me what you can first.”

The answer was easy. I didn’t want to force her to say what she
didn’t want to.

“…Is that okay with you? You don’t know which details I’ll leave
out.”

“You can tell me the rest when you’re ready.”

I smiled.

“I don’t know what you’re hiding from me, but I can wait.”

“….”

Yoo Yeonha bit her lips. Then, she moved her swing once again.
Kiik, kiik. Her swing swayed, the wind blew, and leaves fell. Time
passed until she was ready again…

“…Um.”

“Yeah?”

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Yoo Yeonha looked at me and asked.

“Have you heard of the Chameleon Troupe?”

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Chapter 178
Source: Wuxiaworld

After talking to Yoo Yeonha, I came back to my room alone. I could

hear the kids whispering inside the tent in the living room.

—Did someone just come in? —Nn~ I don’t know~ ah, maybe it’s a
ghost?! —Meow~

I walked past the tent and entered my room. Haa… With a deep
sigh, I lay down in my bed. Today, Yoo Yeonha told me something I
didn’t know. There were some speculations mixed into what she said,
and although I had no way of knowing whether they were true or
false, I still had mixed feelings about it.

—Chameleon Troupe? What’s that?

When I heard her asking me about the Chameleon Troupe, that’s

what I said. Although I was trembling on the inside, I acted as calmly
as I could on the outside.

—You probably haven’t heard of them. They’re hidden deep in the

shadows. A group of some of the strongest people on Earth. In my
opinion, I think their strength rivals that of Vast Expanse.

Yoo Yeonha replied seriously. I stood still, looking at her blankly.

She softly continued, looking at me.

—I… I think they’re the ones who killed your…

She sentence cut off in the middle. However, I understood what

she meant. Chundong’s past I didn’t know about. I blanked out as
though I was hit with a hammer.

—…Are, are you sure?

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—I’m almost certain. These two are the people predicted to be
your parents.

Yoo Yeonha took out a few documents and handed them over. Kim
Yoohon. Shin Yiyeon. Two unknown names and faces were written on
the documents.

—They’re predicted to have passed away on the day of the Kwang-

Oh Evacuation Shelter Incident. This is a portrait…

This time, she gave me a portrait.

—of the person who left you at your orphanage. Only half of her
face is shown and it’s from 20 years ago, so I doubt it helps much.

Lying on my bed, I took out the portrait and looked at it again. The
portrait depicted a young girl who was cute and pretty but had
somewhat of a dangerous aura. With half of her face covered and it
being 20 years ago, it would be hard to determine who she was now.
However, I felt like I knew who it was. In fact, I was almost certain. It
was ‘Boss’ when she was young.

“What a shitty remake…”

I muttered. Frankly speaking, none of these had anything to do

with me. Chundong’s past was Chundong’s past, and I was Kim Hajin.

However, I was still concerned somewhere in the corner of my

heart. If Chundong knew about this… what would he think? Rather,
what would he have thought? Of course, that was something
impossible for me to predict. Chundong was gone. There was nothing
left of him anywhere in this world.

“Chundong….”

A life that disappeared because of me. Rather, a life that ‘became’

me.

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“It looks like you weren’t an extra after all.”

**

Same time. Yoo Yeonha returned home alone. Her large mansion
felt especially empty today.

“…Mom? Dad?”

She knew they were in a guild conference, but she called out to
them anyways. She wanted to see her scary mother and overly
attached father. She knew that they’d be happy if she suddenly
hugged them.

However, she was currently alone, at a moment when she needed

her family the most.

Yoo Yeonha trudged to her room and sat down on her work chair as
usual. She picked up her pen and began to look over contracts as
usual. She did some calculations as usual, thought about things as
usual, and was troubled by things as usual.

Then suddenly, an unbearable self-hatred rose up within her.

“…Uk.”

She clenched her teeth. ‘I have to endure it. I have to get stronger.
I have to get colder. I have to harden my heart. Self-contradiction
and selfishness, concealing the truth and lies. I have to become
shameless for my family, for my guild, and for my dream.’

Despite what she constantly told herself, she couldn’t stop herself
from being bothered by deep-seated self-hatred. The way she left out
her father and Chae Joochul from the story. The way she was smiling
and feeling relieved that Kim Hajin didn’t ask further questions. The
way she was happy that Kim Hajin’s anger wasn’t directed at her.
She couldn’t help but be disgusted by her own unsightliness.

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“Uuk…”

She felt her stomach churn. She threw the documents to the side
and ran to the bathroom. Putting her mouth over the toilet, she
cleared her stomach. Seeing the dirty filth that came out of her
mouth, she threw up once again. This cycle continued until yellow
stomach fluid came out of her mouth.

“Uuu… aah….”

After an unknown amount of time, around the time her vomiting

was changing into coughing up blood… Tiriring— Tiriring— The
smartwatch on her wrist rang.

“…Hnng.”

After glancing at the name of the caller, Yoo Yeonha closed her
eyes and took a small breath. She spat out the blood and saliva in
her mouth, washed her hands and face, then shook off the bad
feeling in her mouth by brushing her teeth. She then wiped herself
off with a towel. The caller had already hung up.

Tiriring— Tiring—

Soon, her secretary called her again. This time, she quickly picked
up.

“Yes, what is it, Sechan-ssi?”

Her voice was different than any other time.

—Miss, the government returned the offer we made.

“…Did they?”

Yoo Yeonha’s eyebrows twitched. However, she maintained her

composure and asked.

“What did they want?”

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Chwaaa— She turned on the faucet and began to wash her hands
again. Her mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder had
gotten worse recently.

—Environmental concern… is the reason they gave, but that’s

obviously false. They’re not willing to negotiate with us. It seems
Chae Joochul bribed or threatened them.

Chae Joochul. It was Chae Joochul again. Looking at her hands, she
thought about what Kim Hajin once said to her, ‘if your hands are
already dirty, use it however you want…’

—What should we do?

Her secretary cut off her self-deprecating thought.

“…There’s nothing we can do against someone who doesn’t want

anything.”

Yoo Yeonha replied with a smile. Although she was bitter on the
inside, she decided to give up on it cleanly.

—…Understood. Also, we captured a spy who was trying to make a

copy of our monster database. Unfortunately, some information has
already been leaked. That said, they weren’t anything too
expensive…

This time, Yoo Yeonha’s composure was greatly shaken. Today

seemed to be the day when all bad things came at once.

“Another spy? What do you think, Sechan-ssi? What should we

do?”

—I…

“Should we cut off one of his arms?”

Yoo Yeonha left the bathroom and sat down on her office chair

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once again.

—Y-Yes?

“Regrowing a severed arm isn’t too difficult nowadays. There’s that

potion we developed too.”

She turned her laptop on. Her secretary had already sent the
detailed report to her email. [Yi Jonghwa] The name and face of the
traitor was shown on the screen.

—…Just leave it to me.

“What will you do? Are you going to cut off his limbs and throw him
in a Dungeon?”

—…Pardon?

Yoo Yeonha already lost count of how many times something like
this has happened. It wasn’t something that could be solved with
lawful means like a lawsuit. Her opponents always covered up their
crimes with unlawful methods. Chae Joochul had almost always
played a part in it, and even when he didn’t, other large corporations
had bribed officials to go against her.

“You should know this too, Sechan-ssi.”

Over the past four years, Yoo Yeonha experienced and learned
many things.

“I, Yoo Yeonha…”

She experienced her first betrayal four years ago. At the time, she
thought it would be her last one. However, there were many more
attempts afterwards. There was even an attempt to overthrow her
that almost succeeded.

As far as she was concerned, the reason these things happened

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was because she was too soft. If she had cut off the heads of her
traitors, others would have been warier of doing so.

“Can no longer forgive such a thing.”

With that, Yoo Yeonha hung up the call. There was only one
principle left in her. Kill or be killed. She immediately gave a
command to the Falling Blossom guild.

[Understood.]

A reply came back immediately. Yoo Yeonha stared at the

message… Thud. Then slammed her head on her desk.

“Haa….”

She let out a deep sigh and pondered. ‘Now is a rough time, both
in my personal life and professional life. I’m in the middle of a storm,
but a storm can’t last forever. It will eventually go away, and the sky
will become clear. Remember it, be patient, and endure it.
Eventually, an opportunity for victory will come.’

“…I’m so sleepy.”

Yoo Yeonha got up in a daze and walked over to her bedroom. She
could see her beloved bed. She staggered towards it and fell down.
The moment she laid her body on the soft mattress, she felt like she
was melting. A magical bed that resolved stress and exhaustion.
Never in her life would she have thought that a piece of furniture
would console her, but she was extremely grateful for it. Yoo Yeonha
stayed still for a moment. Sniff, sniff. Then, she sniffed the mattress.

“…Why doesn’t the smell of smoke go away?”

She had washed the mattress several times. However, her sharp
nose was still able to smell the faint scent that remained. Calling it
Kim Hajin’s smell… was a bit weird, so she called it the smell of
cigarettes. Yoo Yeonha rolled over to the part of the bed that smelled

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the least, then curled her body like a cooked shrimp. Although the
faint scent still remained, she slowly fell asleep inside it.

**

Prestige’s final control tower collapsed. Essence of the Strait,

Desolate Moon, Frost Sanctuary. A total of 27 Players, including the
above three guilds and three other ‘Rankers’, participated in the
conquest.

The result was a success. The western control tower was the
biggest of the four cardinal towers, but the group had not suffered a
single casualty.

After finishing their joint attack, Essence of the Strait’s tower

subjugation team returned to their base following a brief item
transaction with the other two guilds. When they arrived at their
hideout, they found their injured comrade waiting outside.

“Chae Nayun?”

The chief officer, Kim Youngjin, called the comrade’s name.

“Ah, Team Leader.”

Chae Nayun hurried over. Her left arm was wrapped with a
compression bandage and was even in a cast.

“Why are you outside? You should take care of your body.”

“Well, I was just wondering… Was Fenrir among the Rankers?”

Chae Nayun asked with a serious face. Kim Youngjin looked fixedly
at the Chae Nayun. Chae Nayun had been fixated on Fenrir too much,
almost as if he was the only reason she entered the Tower. Her
obsession had only gotten worse since she was injured.

“No. Since you asked, I checked to see if any of them used a gun,

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but there wasn’t anyone like that.”

“Team Leader is right. Maybe that man we met in the elevator just
misspoke.”

Yi Jiyoon muttered as she approached Chae Nayun. Then, she

whispered into her ears.

“…But Nayun, why do you want to find Kim Hajin that much?”

Hearing this, Chae Nayun turned to the side and glared at Yi Jiyoon.
However, Yi Jiyoon didn’t seem the least bit intimidated.

“Why~ I wonder why~”

“…You don’t have to know.”

“Hnnng? But I think I already do~”

“…Screw off.”

Chae Nayun shot back and turned around roughly. Thud. However,
she immediately bumped into something hard.

“…Huh?”

Chae Nayun looked up instinctively and saw a big, burly man.

“Eh?”

The man frowned. He was a ‘giant’, and she felt like she had seen
him somewhere before.

“Oh~?”

The man seemed to remember her too as a huge smile emerged

on his face.

“We meet again, little girl.”

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“…Tsk.”

Chae Nayun finally remembered who he was. He was the man who
was acting as a bodyguard for an NPC in Tutorial Town. Chae Nayun
clicked her tongue and stepped back. Cheok Jungyeong smiled
threateningly and tried to approach her.

“Stop.”

However, Essence of the Strait’s guild members quickly stepped

forward. Kim Youngjin pointed his sword at Cheok Jungyeong and
asked Chae Nayun.

“Who is he?”

“He’s… someone I quarreled with in Tutorial Town.”

That’s all Chae Nayun said. In response, Cheok Jungyeong smirked.

His gaze was fixated on Chae Nayun’s chest.

“What, you’re Chae Nayun?”

He was looking at the nametag on her chest. [Essence of the Strait

– Chae Nayun] Cheok Jungyeong found it funny that guilds had
already begun to make nametags for themselves.

“…You know me?”

Chae Nayun asked, maintaining her composure. Cheok Jungyeong

furrowed his brows.

“Why are you talking so casually?”

“You did it first. So what?”

“….Mm.”

Her logic momentarily put Cheok Jungyeong at a loss for words.

After being in a daze for a moment, he quickly snapped out and let

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out a dry cough.

“Kuhum, so why are you looking for Fenrir?”

“…You know him?”

Chae Nayun’s eyes widened. Cheok Jungyeong flinched but soon

shook his head calmly.

“…N-No.”

“It looks like you’re lying.”

“…I, I fought him once before.”

“You fought him?”

“Yep, and I won. But he was a tough opponent.”

Kim Hajin had told Cheok Jungyeong to remain silent on anything

related to him, and Cheok Jungyeong was the type who listened his
comrades’ requests. Of course, whether he was able to hide it was
another matter.

“Whee, whee—”

Cheok Jungyeong began to whistle and looked away. Chae Nayun

glared at him suspiciously, then asked another question.

“…But how do you know me?”

“Ah, well, you’re quite famous.”

“Am I?”

Cheok Jungyeong had a habit of making a list of the strong, people

who would become strong, and people who are said to be strong.
That said, he could rarely remember their faces.

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“Also, a Djinn bragged to me a long time ago.”

“…A Djinn? What does that have to do with me?”

In that instant, a deep, dangerous smile emerged on Cheok

Jungyeong’s face.

“That crazy bastard left quite an impression on me… he said he

killed your mother.”

“…What?”

The killer of Chae Nayun’s mother had always been a taboo for her.
Immediately, Chae Nayun’s face heated up. An unbearable rage
spiraled up from her heart.

“Y-You fucker!”

She punched him instinctively. Thwack! However, her small fist

was easily blocked by Cheok Jungyeong’s palm.

“Listen, kid, I’m not the one who killed your mom.”

Cheok Jungyeong was about to twist her wrist. With a little bit of
pressure, he felt he could crush her bones. However…

“Hm?”

Her bones were surprisingly tough.

“Oh? You have a surprisingly strong—”

Koong! While he was murmuring in surprise, a fierce kick struck his

face. From the lightning-fast flying kick, a shockwave shot out.

“…Haha, what a daring girl.”

Cheok Jungyeong didn’t expect her to attack with one of her arms
in a cast and the other in his hand. After receiving her kick, Cheok

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Jungyeong stood still and revealed his teeth in a grin. He could see
Chae Nayun swallowed up in rage. It was the type of face he loved to
see.

“…Tell me.”

“Tell you?”

“You just said it. The Djinn who killed my…”

“Now? In this situation? You can’t be serious.”

Chae Nayun stared at Cheok Jungyeong. After calming herself

down, she bowed.

“Sorry, I got angry and lost my cool.”

“…I got angry too when I was hit. So no.”

Cheok Jungyeong turned around coldly, and Chae Nayun

immediately grabbed him. She opened her inventory and took
something out.

“I’ll give you this.”

“…Hm?”

It was a crimson spear with a strangely intimidating tip. Cheok

Jungyeong checked the item info. Lv.2 Red Crystal Spear. Although
Lv.2 items were nothing noteworthy in his eyes, it was the first time
he was seeing a weapon infused with a fire attribute.

“Chae Nayun, even if it’s a personal item, you can’t just give it
away…”

Kim Youngjin stepped up with a worried face. An attribute weapon

was something anyone would desire. However, Cheok Jungyeong
rejected her.

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“You see, kid, I don’t use weapons.”

In Goryeo, Cheok Jungyeong had conquered the land with a sword,

not his body. He cut down countless barbarians and protected his
country. Naturally, his sword’s name resounded through the land
along with his name. However, he was taking a different path this
time. When he held a sword, he felt as though the world sank down.
With a sword, the world became as light as a feather, becoming
something that was no longer worthy of having. Cheok Jungyeong
didn’t like that. Challenge and duel. Killing or death. He wanted to vie
for supremacy with nothing but his bare hands.

“…Then.”

Chae Nayun didn’t give up. In fact, she became certain that the
man wasn’t lying. If he was, he would have taken the Red Crystal
Spear.

“Here.”

She took out two stiff banknotes. They were two 1000TP bills. This
time, Cheok Jungyeong showed a little more interest.

“This is all I have.”

“…I don’t need it. Use it to treat your arm. I don’t want my future
opponent to be a cripple.”

Cheok Jungyeong reigned in his desire for wealth and coldly

declined the offer. When he turned around once more, Chae Nayun’s
sharp shout rang out.

“Hey! F-Fuck, that was a lie, right?! If you weren’t going to tell me,
why did you even say that!?”

Hearing her scream, Cheok Jungyeong paused. He looked back by

turning his head slightly.

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“…Sir.”

The moment Chae Nayun met his eyes, she changed her tone to a
respectful one. Cheok Jungyeong calmly replied.

“I like people who are strong.”

“…What?”

“This one’s sobriquet is Goryeo’sStrongest.”

He took on an imposing tone and stared at Chae Nayun. His face

still stung from the kick of a girl who barely came up to his chest.

“You can send me a friend request. If I like you, I might tell you.
Challenge me whenever you want. I’ll accept it.”

“Goryeo’sStrongest is your nickname? Ah, hey!”

Cheok Jungyeong waved his hand and quietly walked away. Chae
Nayun didn’t chase after him any further.

“Haha, this place is full of interesting people.”

He had already found over ten people to put in his ‘strong people
list’. Kim Ohsung, one of Satan’s servants. Kim Hakpyo, the executive
of Evil Society. The high-ranked Heroes, Oh Junhyuk and Seo Youngji.
And Kim Junwoo, the hunter of the Vast Expanse.

“This really is the perfect place for something big to happen. Heh,
I’m happy there are so many people to fight~”

Cheok Jungyeong grinned, and at that moment…

“Na, Nayun!!”

A ruckus rose up behind him. Cheok Jungyeong looked back

without much thought. The girl that was yelling at him rudely was
now collapsed on the ground.

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“…What an interesting girl. Truly.”

Cheok Jungyeong shook his head.

**

Outskirts of Prestige.

After taking care of matters on Earth, I returned to the Tower. I put

out an announcement, notifying that Truth Agency was taking a
break for a little longer, then I contacted SH Agency’s CEO, Park
Soohyuk, to buy a special artifact from the auction house when the
time comes.

“…Hmm.”

Currently, I was in front of the elevator to the 2nd floor. I didn’t tell
Boss or any other members of the Chameleon Troupe what I was up
to. With what I found out from Yoo Yeonha, I wasn’t quite sure how to
face them. However, I wasn’t worried. I had already made full
preparations. I was covered in all sorts of high-level equipment that
Players on the 2nd floor couldn’t even dream of having. My skills
were Lv.3 as well. I was fully confident in being able to kill Jin Sahyuk.

“Huu… let’s go.”

Still, she was the final boss I designed. I couldn’t help but feel a bit
scared, but I shook it off with self-hypnosis and entered the elevator.
I pressed the button to the 2nd floor.

[Going down.] [Warning – you will need to get a new citizenship

identification card when you come back.]

“That’s okay.”

The elevator moved. The time it took to reach the 2nd floor was 4
hours. Wondering what to do during this time, I took out Muninn’s
egg, which I brought from my waiting room. From its original chicken

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egg size, it grew bigger until it was now as big as an ostrich egg. I
brought it with me, since it looked like it was going to hatch soon. At
that moment, a system alert popped up.

[A certain Player has entered the 5th floor!]

“…Already?”

That was quicker than I thought. Well, the 4th floor wasn’t hard, so
it wasn’t too surprising. But Players should start getting stuck from
the 6th floor. Furthermore, I only had to prevent them from reaching
the 9th floor. Because of the calamity on the 9th floor, it had to
opened as lately as possible. I took out a blanket and lay down on the
elevator. The 9th floor was the 9th floor. For now, I decided to only
think about Jin Sahyuk.

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Chapter 179
Source: Wuxiaworld

While I was stuck in the elevator, I talked to Muninn’s egg. It wasn’t

anything interesting. I just told it fun folktales like the story of the
rabbit and the turtle and the story of the three little piglets. As the
egg periodically shook, I knew it would hatch soon.

Ding— [You arrived on the 2nd floor.]

Exactly 4 hours later, the elevator stopped on the 2nd floor. I put
on my mask and hood, then did a maintenance check on the Desert
Eagle. 0.5 seconds to load and reload, 1.5 seconds to transform the
gun with Aether. That was enough.

Shooong—

The elevator door opened with a futuristic sound. Beyond it was a

vast forest. Warm sunlight shone down from the sky, and hot air
enveloped my skin. I stepped into the grass and surveyed the area
with my Thousand-Mile Eyes. Thankfully, Luke wasn’t too far away.
Judging by the empty plaza in front of him, the second wave of
Players still seemed to be in their waiting rooms.

First, I climbed a tree. Then, I jumped from tree to tree, looking for
a place where the entire plaza was in full view.

“…Hm.”

After checking out dozens of trees, I finally found a tree that could
fully view the plaza and was by a cliff so there was little chance of me
being ambushed. I sat down on the branch. Now, I just had to wait
until Jin Sahyuk came up.

…Time passed. 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 90 minutes… then three

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hours.

“I can wait. I like staying hidden. It’s fun. It’s great.”

Using [Lv.6 Demon’s Cunning Speech], I casted self-hypnosis. I no

longer felt bored out of my mind and suddenly felt full of energy. It
was quite mysterious. In any case, I was now fueled up to wait even
longer. 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours… During the course of a day, the
extreme heat changed to extreme cold and day turned to night.

Finally, Players appeared in the plaza. Close to 2000 Players were

instantaneously summoned. The burst of light that flashed out upon
their arrival almost blinded me.

—W-Where are we? —This must be the 2nd floor. —Shh, don’t
reveal any information.

Some looked confused, while some seemed to know about the 2nd
floor. The former should be ordinary people (or Djinns) or those from
small guilds. The latter should be members of large guilds or Djinn
groups. I scanned the crowd and looked for a specific target.

—Wow, look, it’s Kim Suho. —Tsk, why did he have to come here?
He could have stayed outside and become the world’s youngest high-
intermediate rank Hero.

Kim Suho stood out even among the crowd of 2000 people. His
handsome face was shining like it was covered in gold. I was happy
to see him, but my gaze coldly grazed past him. Not long afterwards,
I found my target. She was someone who was just as important as
Kim Suho. Jin Sahyuk. She was standing with her arms crossed like an
iron-blooded general. I tightened my grip on the Desert Eagle. When
Players died on the 2nd floor, they had to start over from the tutorial.
Furthermore, they would lose the right to keep all the skills they
acquired in the Tower. It wasn’t a coincidence that Players had 7
lives and could have a maximum of 7 skills (with the black ticket
being an exception).

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I planned to kill Jin Sahyuk at least twice. I wanted to ambush her
right away, but with Luke being so close by, I had no choice but to
wait. Even the 2nd floor’s administrator was far stronger than me in
the real world. As such, I had to fight Jin Sahyuk far away from him.

**

“As you can see… the 2nd floor of the Tower is chaotic. It is filled
with all sorts of frightening aspects of nature.”

“Haam~”

Players were carefully listening to the administrator’s speech. Jin

Sahyuk was the only one yawning. A few Players even glared at her
loud yawn.

“Your goal is simple. Pave through this chaotic nature filled with
traps and monsters and find the elevator to the 3rd floor.”

Luke gave the second wave of Players the same speech he gave to
the first. Jin Sahyuk was bored. Even without an explanation, she was
confident in steamrolling through everything that hindered her.

“Each elevator can hold 50 people, which is quite a lot.

Unfortunately, they are very slow. Each elevator takes 8 hours to
travel back and forth. In other words, once the elevator departs, it
will not come down for the next 8 hours.”

That was all Jin Sahyuk needed to hear. Listening to the rest of
Luke’s speech with distracted ears, Jin Sahyuk turned around and
began to walk away.

“But be careful. In this place, there may be hunters other than

monsters who are out to prey on you.”

The administrator gave a final warning. Bothered by this particular

sentence, Jin Sahyuk stopped and looked at the administrator. For
some reason… he seemed to be staring at her.

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“There are Players who remained on the 2nd floor or came back
from an upper floor to attack and steal from newer Players. You will
need to watch out for these ‘Newbie Hunters’. They know that you
have at least 1000TP, and that you are at your weakest.”

The crowd stirred. It seemed this was the first time guild members
were hearing about this. Because guilds were so focused on how to
climb the Tower quicker, they had forgotten about other Players who
had ill-intentions.

“Now, go out and find an elevator.”

With that, the administrator sat down under a tree and began to
read a book. The majority of Players including Jin Sahyuk stopped
paying attention to the administrator and headed off. Even Players,
who weren’t among the majority only gave the administrator a light
bow before going on their way. There was only one group who stayed
and approached the administrator. Unsurprisingly, it was Kim Suho
and his companions.

“…Being nosy again. Tsk, tsk.”

Jin Sahyuk sneered at Kim Suho and headed north. Unlike many
others, she was alone. In Jin Sahyuk’s eyes, Newbie Hunters were just
a source of money and food. She wasn’t afraid of them in the
slightest.

“Come get me.”

She walked with confidence. With every step, a thin current of

magic power shot up. After 30 minutes of her come-and-get-me
walking, a boar appeared that was attracted by her magic power.

[Lv.2 Blackblood Boar]

—Kueeek! The large boar charged forward. Jin Sahyuk lightly shot a
bolt of magic power. Kueek— The boar’s internal organs were blown
up, killing it instantly.

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Jin Sahyuk approached the corpse and carefully emitted her magic
power, dismantling the boar’s meat and leather. She took only the
most delicious parts of the meat and the thickest parts of the leather.
Everything was done with the information she gained outside the
Tower.

“…How easy.”

Afterwards, Jin Sahyuk continued forward. Contrary to her

expectations, no Newbie Hunters challenged her, and only
unintelligent monsters appeared. It seemed even the weakest
humans recognized a predator. Jin Sahyuk let out a disappointed
sigh.

Whiish—

Suddenly, an unnatural current of wind blew, a strange spiral of air

stormed past her. Immediately, an alarm rang in her head. Jin Sahyuk
instinctively twisted her body and clad herself in qi reinforcement.
The next moment, a beam of light pierced her shoulder. Blood
spurted out, and an intense pang of pain struck her. Strength
instantly left her body, her legs gave out, and she fell backwards.
However, she quickly picked herself back up.

Using her magic power, she stitched up her wound. She made up
for the large amount of blood she lost by circulating her blood
quicker with her magic power. At the same time, she calculated the
direction that the attack came from and threw a bolt of magic power.
Her attack shot forward like an arrow and completely destroyed all
trees in its path.

“…Come out.”

Jin Sahyuk spoke in a low tone. But with her voice carrying her
magic power, it spread far and wide. The attacker reacted to her
voice with another bullet. This time, she didn’t let it get her. The
bullet touched the magic barrier she quickly created. The barrier was

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shattered the moment it touched the bullet, but it managed to
change its course just slightly. That was enough. Jin Sahyuk quickly
twisted her body and dodged the bullet.

She had already learned from the initial attack. Now, long ranged
snipes would no longer work on her. She didn’t know who could be so
daring to attack her, but as far as she was concerned, it was his loss
the moment he couldn’t kill her with the first blow. However, the
attacker shot another bullet. It seemed he wasn’t a learner like her.
Jin Sahyuk grinned and unleashed a barrier.

However…

“…?!”

The bullet suddenly curved in the air, ignoring the laws of nature
and flying towards the blind spot of her barrier. It was impossible to
dodge it. Jin Sahyuk hastily calculated the bullet’s point of impact
and concentrated her magic power in that spot.

“…!”

This time, her thigh was hit. Her quick concentration of magic
power managed to prevent her leg from being blown off, but an
unbearable pain coursed through her.

Psssh—

With the rustling sound of leaves, a man jumped down from a tree.
The man predicted to be the sniper was wearing a mask and a hood.
However, he then threw them off and revealed his bare face. He
began to walk towards her. Jin Sahyuk carefully observed his face.

“…You.”

She knew exactly who he was.

**

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“Huu.”

After firing three bullets, I deactivated the sniper rifle mode. Then,
I jumped down from the tree I was sitting on. I considered mixing in
Stigma’s magic power in a bullet to kill her in one blow, but I decided
otherwise. If she dodged, my ultimate attack would have been
wasted, and even if it did hit her, she would only lose one life from it.
To take at least three lives from killing her, I had to blow her head off
with a shotgun. That was the only way. I approached Jin Sahyuk.

“It’s been a while, eh?”

“….”

Jin Sahyuk was glaring at me. I thought she had fallen backwards,
but she was already up. Behind her, dozens of magic power weapons
undulated. It was her special application of magic power. Her magic
power capacity surpassed even Chae Nayun’s, and her magic power
control and magic power adaptability were the greatest in the history
of mankind. Her Gift, Magic Arms, was a simple yet devastating
ability with the power to create thousands of weapons with magic
power. But as that should be something the current Jin Sahyuk was
incapable of handling, I furrowed my brows.

“You obtained a hidden piece, didn’t you?”

“….”

Jin Sahyuk didn’t reply, but I was confident in my guess. I didn’t

know exactly how she found it, but she must have chosen ‘remove
10% of the stat restriction’ as her reward.

“Oi.”

Jin Sahyuk, who was only glaring at me, finally spoke up.

“What.”

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“Did you come down to get killed?”

I smirked. It seemed she was wondering why I didn’t just kill her
from the tree. Of course, if I wanted to, I could have easily done so.
Without her finding out who killed her, I could have killed her slowly
or swiftly. But there was a reason I came down from the tree.

“It was to kill you thoroughly.”

“You…!”

That lit her fuse. Dozens of edged weapons, blunt weapons,

arrows, and harpoons shot towards me. However, they were all
toothpicks in front of my eyes. I transformed the Desert Eagle into an
assault rifle.

Jin Sahyuk’s weapons shot towards me like a torrential rain, but in

Bullet Time, they were moving like turtles. The movements of each of
her magic weapons were clear and obvious.

First, I needed to test how many bullets I needed to strike down

one weapon. I fired two bullets. The first caused her magic weapon to
waver, and the second made it disappear. After learning that two
bullets were enough, I began to shoot down her weapons, starting
from the ones closest to me. The lighter arrows only took one bullet,
and the rest took two. However, Jin Sahyuk’s barrage of weapons
never ceased. Her magic power capacity was seemingly endless. As
such, I began to space out the usage of Bullet Time. Kwang—! After
firing a round of bullets, I deactivated Bullet Time. The world instantly
hastened.

“You!”

Jin Sahyuk’s mouth moved once again. I instantly scanned my

targets, then reactivated Bullet Time. By deactivating Bullet Time for
a split second and reactivating it, I was conserving as much time as
possible. Eventually, Jin Sahyuk should run out of magic power. On

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the other hand…

[Assault rifle bullet x119]

I wouldn’t run out of bullets any time soon. Kwang, Kwang, Kwang!
Magic power continually clashed with bullets. Dust and wind swirled
in the air. Through this drawn out exchange, I became confident that
I would win. There simply wasn’t a way for me to lose.

“….”

Jin Sahyuk must have felt the same thing. Her expression was
honest, being clearly muddled with rage. She seemed to be running
out of steam, as the strength of her magic power dwindled. I couldn’t
help but wonder what she was thinking right now.

“…Mm.”

When Jin Sahyuk’s attacks clearly became much weaker, I decided

to stop wasting my bullets. I put my gun down and activated a skill.

[Lv.3 Extraction and Permanent Materialization]

A skill that could be used for both offense and defense. Jin
Sahyuk’s magic power would now condense into crystals and fall
before reaching me.

[Lv.2 Jin Sahyuk’s Mana Crystal] [Lv.1 Jin Sahyuk’s Mana Crystal]

Tk, tk, tk, tk…. The crystals fell on the ground like tiny droplets of
rain. By the time twenty-six crystals fell on the ground, Jin Sahyuk’s
attacks stopped. She glared at me with frozen eyes.

“….”

Her eyes were wet with tears. I didn’t know whether they were
from anger or resentment, but I knew they weren’t from fear or
sadness.

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“You crying?”

I sneered as I approached her. Because she squeezed out every

drop of her magic power, she shouldn’t be able to move even a
finger. I walked up to her and transformed the assault rifle into a
shotgun. Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth.

“…I’ll admit it. Right now… you are stronger.”

Jin Sahyuk muttered.

“But ask yourself this.”

Glaring at me with eyes full of hatred, she continued.

“Will you be able to kill me seven times?”

However, it wasn’t even a question worth answering. Seven times?

I only needed to kill her thrice. I strongly kicked her knee.

“Uk!”

After forcing her to kneel in front of me, I pointed the barrel of the
shotgun to her head. Looking down at her, I grinned. Before she went
back to the tutorial… I said this.

“See you later.”

Hoping for these words to instill fear in her heart, I pulled the
trigger. A slug clad in Stigma’s magic power shot out.

KWANG!

Soon, a deep silence descended. Because the death was

instantaneous, no blood spurted out. Her body dispersed into blue
particles of light. Whiissh— The blowing wind carried the particles
away.

“Huu….”

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I breathed a sigh of relief. The first killing of Jin Sahyuk was a
success. It was so easy that I felt stupid for worrying about it so
much. To be honest, there simply was no way for me to lose. Even if
her Magic Arms struck me directly, my Lv.4 armor would have
protected me. Should I have let her hit me a few times?

I stretched with satisfaction. Then… Wiiing— My smartwatch rang.

[You won from a duel with a Target!] [Target ‘Kim Hajin’ acquires
the following victory reward!]

“…Hah?”

An incomprehensible system alert was written on the screen.

**

4th floor, final area. Boss, Jain, and Cheok Jungyeong were
standing in front of one of the 4th floor’s crystal stele.

“I think I will have to go outside.”

Reaching the crystal stele meant that they had cleared the 4th
floor. The 4th floor’s mission was to defeat the eight undead kings in
eight compass directions. To advance to the 5th floor, one only
needed to defeat one of the eight kings and find the crystal stele in
its palace.

“Outside? To Earth? Why~?”

“It’s starting to get fun, Boss. Why don’t you wait until you clear
the 5th floor?”

Jain and Cheok Jungyeong tried to persuade her.

“No, I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

However, Boss was determined. She was no longer able to ignore

the doubt and suspicion in her heart. She wasn’t sure whether the

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magnifying glass was faulty or if Kim Hajin was mistaken, but she
needed to know why Kim Hajin would have such a feeling to sleep
soundly.

Jain, who was calmly watching Boss, stepped up.

“Move aside, Jungyeong.”

“What? Why always me….”

“Move it. You’ve been exiled before in your past life, right?”

“What does that have to do with any—”

After sending Cheok Jungyeong off, Jain walked up to Boss.

“Something’s been bothering you, right? Tell me.”

She whispered in her ears.

“…I can’t tell you yet.”

However, Boss remained silent. In a situation where she couldn’t

be certain of anything, she didn’t want to bring discourse among
troupe members.

“Mn?”

“Just wait.”

‘I’ll find out the truth, no matter what it takes.’ Seeing Boss’
determination, Jain didn’t dig into it any further.

“If you say so….”

“Alright, I’ll see you two later then.”

“Don’t go and hurt yourself, okay?”

After nodding, Boss looked through the Player Shop to buy the

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necessary tickets, while Jain and Cheok Jungyeong walked up to the
crystal stele. After about five minutes…

“Are we going up right away~? Do you have enough potions?”

“I’m always ready.”

“Okay, then let’s go~”

Boss slowly approached Jain and Cheok Jungyeong, who were

talking excitedly.

“…Jain.”

“Boss? You still haven’t left?”

Jain widened her eyes and tilted her head. Boss stared at Jain for a
moment, then mumbled softly.

“…Lend me some money.”

“…Hm?”

“I, I need to buy a return ticket and re-entrance ticket, but I’m
short 300TP.”

Jain stared at her, blinking in surprise. Boss quickly added an

excuse.

“…I ended up spending too much.”

Jain immediately furrowed her brows.

“Boss, you donated to authors again? I told you not to do it!”

She didn’t donate to just novel authors. She even donated to

manhwa authors and artists. Even if she liked art, it wasn’t like she
was from the House of Medici…

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“….”

Boss swallowed her saliva.

“Sorry… that’s been my only source of entertainment recently… I’ll

try to curb my habits when I come back. My sense of money has
been muddled when compared to reality—”

“Ah, this is all Hajin’s fault! It’s because he spoils you that you
can’t think rationally….”

Jain began to nag her. Boss was about to say that she should be
more respectful to her boss, but she swallowed her words and
listened to Jain’s nagging. Boss knew that Jain became terrifying
when it came to anything related to money.

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Chapter 180
Source: Wuxiaworld

“…!”

Jin Sahyuk’s eyes shot open. Like someone who almost drowned to
death, she began to hyperventilate. She was breathing, but she felt
like she couldn’t breathe because of the overwhelming pressure
pressing down on her.

“Huu… huu….”

Only after taking a few more breaths did she snap out of her daze.
She touched her forehead, which was dripping with sweat. She finally
came to the realization that she died.

“….”

She pulled her hair back and looked around her surroundings. The
floor and walls were made of wooden boards, and the ceiling was
white. She was in her personal waiting room. When she realized this,
a system alert popped up in front of her.

[You died. You must stay inside your waiting room until the start of
the next tutorial.] [The next tutorial will begin next month on
November 1st.]

She was at a loss for words even at the damned system. She
began to boil with rage. She seethed with unbearable hatred and
killing intent. Her arms, legs, and the rest of her body trembled.
—See you later. His final words echoed in her ears. Fine, if that’s
what you want, I’ll accept it. I will kill you. No, I will make it so that
you cannot live or die.

…However, her heated rage was only short-lived.

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After experiencing death, a powerful listlessness and exhaustion
struck her. The rage boiling inside her quickly subsided like the tide
beginning to recede. But while her body was feeling increasingly
enervated, her mind became clearer. Emotions she normally wouldn’t
have been able to feel rose up within her.

“Haa….”

She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. She had lost without
any room for excuses. No, thinking about it rationally, there were
many excuses that could be made. Her stats were restricted, and her
opponent had started two months in advance… However, Jin Sahyuk
didn’t continue such thoughts. She had already died, and there was
no use making excuses. She simply sat still in a daze.

‘I lost again. Was it twice now? Did I really lose to the same guy
twice?’

Strength left her body, like her bones had liquified. She laughed at
herself.

‘Is this it? Will you be able to fulfill your life-long wish like this?’

She opened her eyes within swirling skepticism. The white ceiling
of her waiting room seemed to be shining brightly.

“…Is there anything I can do before starting over?”

She asked the empty air.

“Something to kill time with.”

[Time is a concept. Therefore, it cannot be killed. I recommend

studying to get smarter.]

However, the system seemed to be happy that she died.

“…Are you fucking with me?”

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[I recommend reading.]

“Hm, reading…”

Now that she thought about it, she had never read a book since
coming to Earth. The last time she read a book was in her hometown,
when she was forced to read a few books as part of compulsory
education.

“Then give me something to read.”

[History of Losers]

In an instant, a comic book appeared in the air. Jin Sahyuk stared

at the book’s cover, then frowned.

“You piece of shit… give me something else.”

[How to Overcome Illiteracy]

This time it was a proper book, but the title wasn’t appealing in the
slightest.

“…Fucker, give me a proper book.”

[How to Overcome Anger-management Issues] [How to Talk

Positively] [Friendly Way of Talking]

Suddenly, several books began to fall from the sky.

[Anne of Green Gables] [100 Facts Every Idiot Should Know] [How
to Maintain One’s Composure]

“Are you messing me, you piece of— aak!”

A book falling from the sky struck her head. It was a particularly
heavy book, and she was hit by its edge. Jin Sahyuk clutched her
head and groaned.

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“Uuu, you son of a bitch…”

However, the attack(?) wasn’t over. Tudududu— Countless number

of books fell from the sky like hail.

[The Bird That Drinks Tears] [The Little Prince] [The Prince]
[Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty] [On the Origin of Species]
[Anatomy] …

Soon, Jin Sahyuk found herself buried under books. Inside this tomb
of books, Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth and mumbled.

“…If only it had a body.”

Jin Sahyuk felt a strong urge to beat up the system, but she knew it
was formless. She shook off her frustration with a sigh, then looked
through the books around her. There was one book that caught her
attention.

[The Prince]

“…Hm.”

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

Jin Sahyuk smiled. There was something about the book’s title and
author that she liked. She saw herself as someone who would one
day become a ruler, so she picked up the book without hesitation.

**

[You won a duel with a Target!] [Target ‘Kim Hajin’ acquires the
following victory reward!] […As the Target is a ‘sworn enemy’, all
stats increase by 1. (Only 35% of it will be applied in this place)] [You
obtained 2 ‘Special Consolidation Ticket’.] [You stole 1479TP from
Player ‘StrongestWill’.]

“….”

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I sat on the ground and stared at the system alert. Unable to
remember anything no matter how much I thought about it, I even
looked through the entire system log. Then, I looked at my laptop’s
system log with my smartwatch. 2029, 2028, 2027… Going back
three years, I finally found my answer.

[Magic power of rage and obsession has formed a spell in a distant

place. You have been selected as a ‘target’.] [However, a miraculous
luck strikes!] [A mysterious power reverses the spell!] [An unknown
person’s Gift, ‘Targeting’, has been changed to benefit Kim Hajin!]
[Narrow Escape from Death (4/9) – a special stat, accumulation of
luck, becomes partly unlocked.]

“…Hm.”

Using this log, I tried to figure out what exactly happened. First, Jin
Sahyuk selected me as a ‘target’. My luck ended up reversing her
spell, and she became the ‘target’ instead. By killing the ‘target’
today, I’d gained the above rewards.

It seemed this ‘target’ ‘thing was Jin Sahyuk’s second Gift. …How
complicated. First, I looked at the reward I got.

=== [Special Consolidation Ticket] —A consolidation ticket formed

from a special Gift. —By using this ticket, you can strengthen a Gift,
equipment, Physique, or Art. ===

“Oh…?”

It was amazing item that didn’t exist in the original story. Of

course, I would have to use it to know what ‘strengthening’ meant.
Should I use one on Master Sharpshooter? While I was considering
my options, a series of system alerts popped up.

[Two days later at 8 p.m., a merit conference will be held in

Prestige’s [Lv.11 Medea’s Castle]!] [As an influential candidate, you
must participate in this event.] [If you don’t, you will earn the ill-will

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of Medea, and you will not be able to receive any rewards.]

Rewards for completing Medea’s quest. There should be a few

special skillbooks and a Trait Recovery Coupon. Since I should be first
place, I should be able to recover a Trait with it.

“Hm.”

I got up. It could think about what Trait to choose later.

“Ah, I should pick up Jin Sahyuk’s mana crystals.”

[Lv.1 Jin Sahyuk’s Mana Crystal x22] [Lv.2 Jin Sahyuk’s Mana
Crystal x4]

I wasn’t sure what to do with them, but since Jin Sahyuk’s magic
power was obviously high-ranked, I was sure it would come in handy
one day.

After putting the crystals in my inventory, I checked the current

time. 3 p.m. Since the conference was two days away, I felt like I
could do more ‘hunting’, taking care of Djinns that would become
problematic in the future. Who would have thought I would become a
Newbie Hunter?

In any case, I climbed up another tree. Then, I expanded my vision

and looked across the horizon. Among the people paving through the
harsh conditions of the 2nd floor, I found someone who was on my hit
list.

—It’s so hot~ fan me properly~

Cecilia, a Djinn who had the ability of a succubus. She was

currently ordering around some men she enslaved with her ability. I
transformed the Desert Eagle into an assault rifle. Using a sniper rifle
bullet was too wasteful. The assault rifle was enough for anyone
other than Jin Sahyuk.

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Of course, to increase the power of the bullet, I had to shorten the
distance. I jumped from tree to tree until I was about 400 meters
away. When I could see Cecilia with the naked eyes, I raised my
assault rifle. Aiming it at Cecilia, I pulled the trigger.

Shooong—

The rifle bullet shot through the air and pierced Cecilia’s forehead.
She immediately scattered into particles of light.

[You stole 3568TP from Player ‘CharmCharmCharm’.]

—W-What? —H…Huh?

With the succubus’ enchantment lifted, the freed men looked

around the forest in a daze.

**

In 24 hours, I killed seven Djinns and procured enough food to feed

100 people for three days. I also found another dwarven stele.
Satisfied with what I achieved, I was thinking about going back, when
I suddenly got curious what Kim Suho was doing. After finding Kim
Suho and observing him for a while, I returned to the elevator. As
expected, Suho was doing well on his own.

“…?”

When I was about to get on the elevator I found with the Book of
Truth, something in my pocket suddenly vibrated. It was Muninn’s
egg, which was sitting in the large pocket of my robe.

I quickly took the egg out. On its surface, cracks began to form.
The cracks got bigger as the egg continued to shake.

“Oooh.”

I was slightly taken aback. The descendant of the king of the Norse

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gods’ beloved pet was being born. What was I supposed to do in this
situation? For now, I unleashed Stigma’s magic power, wrapping the
egg so that it could be born comfortably. The egg stopped shaking
inside the soft membrane of magic power. Soon, the eggshell broke
and a small bird peeked its head out. Its feathers were wet, and it
couldn’t open its eyes yet. For a descendant of the bird loved by a
god, it looked incredibly ordinary. However, the information displayed
on the membrane was nothing but ordinary.

=== [Lv.5 Descendant of Muninn] [Strength 0.2] [Bite Force 0.2]

[Stamina 0.2] [Speed 0.2] [Perception 6] [Vitality 0.2] [Magic Power
6] ===

A Lv.5 newborn with perception and magic power stats at 6 points.

My jaws dropped. I held the newborn baby in my arms. It must have
felt the warmth of my body, as it slowly opened its adorable eyes and
looked up at me.

“…Hi.”

I didn’t know whether it could understand human language, but I

smiled and greeted it anyways. Then, it tilted its head to the side as
birds often did. It was trying to get a better look at me.

—…chirp.

Then it cried. At the same time, a system alert popped up.

[‘Lv.5 Descendant of Muninn’ recognizes you as its master.] [Make

a name for ‘Lv.5 Descendant of Muninn’!]

“A name….”

I pondered. I never thought about what name to give to this sacred

bird. After a moment of thought, I came up with a name.

“Ah! How about Ppomi?”

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Ppomi frowned.

—Chirp, chirp chirp!

It didn’t sound happy at all. Did it sound bad?

“Then how about Phoenix?”

Phoenix pouted. Wasn’t it a cool name?

“Hm… then how about Lionel Ronaldo.”

—Chirp!

“Son Heungmin?”

—Chirp!

“Vermillion Bird?”

I suggested every name I could think of, but Muninn’s descendant

wasn’t easily pleased. After about 30 minutes of back and forth….

“…Is this really okay?”

—Chirp chirp.

The little bird finally smiled, its eyes forming a cute crescent moon.
I didn’t understand it, but it seemed like the name just sounded good
in its ears.

“…Alright, then from now, you’re Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze Macbeth
Junior.”

—Chirp, chirp!

[Muninn’s descendant loves the name you gave.] [The naming

ceremony has been completed.] [‘Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze Macbeth
Junior’ activates its first Trait, Ring of Perception.] [From now, you

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can share your vision and thoughts with ‘Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze
Macbeth Junior’!]

“Hm?”

[Second Trait – Information and Shop] [‘Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze

Macbeth Junior’ allows you to use the Tower Re-entrance Ticket and
Earth Return Ticket for free.] [Furthermore, it will gift you 2~3 items
per day.] [‘Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze Macbeth Junior’ will awaken more
Traits as it grows up.]

A chick that was only just born had this much potential. Investing
20000TP was undoubtedly the correct choice. As expected of the
descendant of a divine bird, Spartan was amazing.

“Alright, Spartan, let’s go up.”

—Chirp.

I put down Spartan (short for Mr. Spartan Keyser Söze Macbeth
Junior) on the ground. Spartan waddled into the elevator, and I
followed suit. Also, since I gave Spartan a male name, I decided that
it was a he.

[Going up.]

I pressed the 3rd floor button. The door closed, and the elevator
began to fly up. Meanwhile, Spartan continued to chirp as he
explored the elevator. I opened the messenger to kill time.

Nayunjajangman: 「Hyung-nim, you don’t happen to have a curse

antidote, do you?」 Nayunjajangman: 「Ah, not that I was inflicted
with a curse, haha. It’s actually my friend.」 Nayunjajangman: 「It
looks like the curse is getting stronger as time goes by. I think it’s
still bearable… but anyways, if you have one, I can pay up to 2000TP
for it.」

A message that I received two days ago caught my attention.

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“A curse…?”

The only curse that one could get on the 3rd floor was the
banshee’s curse. Although the ingredients were expensive, I knew
the recipe for making the ‘curse counteragent’. I still had several
Random Dice in case I needed them too. However, I was afraid to
meet Nayunjajangman. I was afraid to find out whether he… or she…
was the Nayun I knew.

“Mm….”

But I also couldn’t let Nayunjajangman’s friend die. I leaned

against the elevator wall and fell in thought.

—Chirp, chirp!

Then, hearing Spartan’s loud chirp, I glanced over.

—Chirp! Chirp!

Spartan was flapping its wings. Was he already trying to fly? He

was only born 30 minutes ago!

—Chirp…

Spartan’s eyes were closed, and he was clearly trying to focus his
strength on his wings.

—Chirp…! Chirp!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t fly just yet. He seemed to be dissatisfied

that he couldn’t, as he opened his eyes and glared at his wings.

—Chirp, chirp!

After letting out a disgruntled cry, he put his wings back. I couldn’t
help but smile at how adorable he was.

**

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On the other hand, Boss returned to the Chameleon Troupe’s
hideout on Earth. Because the Tower’s stat restriction was lifted, she
felt a bit sore. However, she didn’t waste any time to stretch, and
headed straight into the hideout’s lobby.

“Boss, you’re back.”

Setryn discovered her first. Setryn ran over and tried to hug her,
but Boss pushed Setryn back with a light emission of magic power.

“…Meanie. Why can’t you love me as much as Newbie?”

“Where’s Droon.”

“Droon?”

Setryn tilted her head and pointed at ‘Droon’s Playroom’.

“He’s been inside his room recently. What do you need him for?”

“….”

Boss didn’t say anything and walked over to Droon’s room. Knock,
knock— Droon reacted to Boss’ harsh knocking. The door opened,
and Boss’ gaze fell down.

“Droon.”

“Boss?”

A small child that only came up to her chest was looking up at her,
blinking in surprise.

“Why’d you call me?”

“Tell me where Yoo Jinhyuk is hiding.”

“…Eh? S-So suddenly?”

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“…Didn’t I tell you to investigate his whereabouts? That was a long
time ago too.”

Droon flinched at Boss’ unusually irritable manner. It was a side of

her he had not seen for a long time thanks to Hajin Hyung. Did
something happen inside the Tower?

“I, I found out where he lives. B-But why are you looking for
him…?”

“There’s something I want to ask him. I don’t think he’s going to

respond to my messages on Violet Banquet, so I’ll have to go find
him instead.”

Boss was sure that Yoo Jinhyuk knew something. Watching Boss’
determination, Droon swallowed his saliva.

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Chapter 181
Source: Wuxiaworld

After returning to Prestige, I checked up on ‘Riry Shop’ and the

‘6000TP plot of land’ first. Thanks to the goblins’ hard work, Riry
Shop was making great profits, while Henry and Kiri were already
starting to learn the business management skillbook. When I asked
them about their incredible learning speed, they said they only
needed four days to learn to read and write. (For the record, Players
had automatic language support inside the Tower.)

was the currently empty plot of land. It was already showing signs
of fertility, with weeds beginning to grow.

[Random Dice x5]

Looking at the empty plot of land, I rolled the dice. Two gave
equipment that could be sold in Riry Shop and two gave crops that
could be cultivated in this land.

[Lv.2 Clear and Clean Rice] [Lv.3 Incredible Meat-Flavored Corn]

Afterwards, I went to work. By asking Henry and Kiri, I searched for

NPCs who had farming experience. I was able to find five NPCs in the
span of an hour, and after I fed them until they were full, I ordered
them to plow the land for farming. Because they didn’t have homes, I
purchased a few dilapidated houses nearby and fixed them up into
decent-looking cabins.

All this only took half a day to complete. ‘Young Dwarf’s Dexterity’
was that amazing.

“We’ll do our best, Lord!”

The five NPCs bowed respectfully with teary eyes. Well, including

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their family members, there were eight of them. …It was a bit
embarrassing to say this, but as Prestige’s richest man, I took the
responsibility of noblesse oblige and casted hypnotic suggestions.

“Work hard but don’t overwork yourselves.”

Encouraging words from a person of power often improved the

efficiency of work. After checking that a faint trace of magic power
entered their bodies, I returned to Chameleon Troupe’s hideout.

“I’m back…?”

However, there was no one inside. I looked around the dark and
cold hideout before turning the light on.

“Hm….”

Was it because I couldn’t smoke in the Tower? Being alone was a

bit sad.

—Chirp, chirp.

At that moment, Spartan chirped on my shoulder.

“Right, you’re here too.”

I realized that Spartan shared my thoughts. I reached over to my

shoulder and stroked Spartan’s head.

—Peep, peep.

Spartan flapped his wings in joy. I thought about what to do. There
was still one day until Medea’s conference. Should I grind my stats
and skills with monsters on the 4th floor? Or… Suddenly, a lightbulb
went on in my head.

“Training.”

Spirit power training that used Stigma’s magic power. Trying to

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make spirit power flow out more naturally and fluidly. Meditation to
make spirit power circulate my bloodstream better.

“….”

As spirit power would follow me to the real world, I needed to get

better at using it. I walked down to the underground training room
with Spartan. After putting Spartan down, I sat down cross-legged
like martial artists did in wuxia novels.

My spirit power was currently level 2, which was only enough to

use basic skills 30~40 times. In fact, because my basic skills leveled
up, I could only use them 20~30 times if I didn’t rely on potions.

Cheok Jungyeong told me that breathing was done with the entire
body. Wouldn’t spirit power be similar? I closed my eyes and relaxed
my body.

“Huup….”

I inhaled. I tried to feel the spirit power scattered in my

bloodstream. Although it wasn’t tangible or clear, I could certainly
feel its existence.

I exhaled. I fused the flowing spirit power with Stigma’s magic

power. By injecting Stigma’s magic power into my body, I gathered
the scattered spirit power into a cluster. Once the spirit power was
fused with Stigma’s magic power, it began to circulate on its own.
From my head to my heart to my hands and feet, it was ‘breathing’
that used my entire body.

First breath. Second breath. Third breath. Fourth breath… …Dukun.

My heart throbbed. Spirit power fused with magic power surged

from my body. A yellow-colored aura that was different than magic
power. I saw this light with my own eyes.

“…Uuk.”

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At the same time, I groaned in pain. Something sticky was stuck in
my throat.

“Uu, ueeeek—!”

I vomited uncontrollably. A black lump that was indescribably

disgusting and sticky came out of my mouth. I then continued to
vomit two more black lumps.

“…Ueek.”

My retching finally stopped. I wiped my mouth and stared at the

mysterious black lumps.

[Lv.-2 Impurities from Kim Hajin’s Body]

“…Ah, it’s tar.”

Considering how much I smoked before entering the Tower, I

wasn’t too surprised. Geez, I thought I was going through the bone
and marrow cleansing process I heard about in wuxia novels. To keep
the training room clean, I put the black lumps in my inventory for
now.

“Huuu….”

Then, I tried moving my neck and waist. I felt refreshed, but there
wasn’t any real change. If there was, the system would have told me
about it…. Blinking my eyes, I looked up at the sky.

[…It seems a single training session is not enough.] [But

continually using that method to train may produce an unforeseen
result.]

“Ah, I see, thank you.”

System-nim kindly explained. Not even the system knew

everything about the Tower. This time, it sounded a bit surprised.

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Obviously, this was a good thing.

“Hmm….”

I decided to take a five-minute break before giving it a second go. I

wiped away the sweat on my body and opened the Community.

=== 「CaptainBritain」 [(Item List) Selling items dropped by an

undead monster. Message me if there is something you want.]
[Comment(s)] —Is ‘Skeleton Legacy’ still available? Are you also
trading items? ㄴIt’s sold ^^ ㄴ;; It’s not ;; I don’t know who this is,
but please don’t make false statements :( And yes, trading is okay.
Come to English Royal Court’s hideout in Prestige’s district-3. ===

I saw a post from Rachel. She said she’s been busy recently with
no time to use the messenger. It seemed she really was working
hard. While looking through the public forum with a smile… Another
post caught my attention.

=== 「JiSUPERYoon」 [Does anyone know how to get rid of the

vengeful spirit’s curse? ㅠ.ㅠ my friend is dying ㅠ.ㅠ if you do,
please come to Essence of the Strait’s hideout. We’ll reward you not
only in the Tower but outside the Tower as well.] [Comment(s)]
—Who cares? We have 7 lives anyways. —Just tell him or her to die
once. ㄴNo, that’s not it… haven’t you heard of banshee’s curse? It
permanently killed several people recently. ㄴOh that. Yeah, I heard
there was no cure for that. Good luck. ===

The effect of the banshee’s curse became widespread after ten or

so people permanently died from it.

“Essence of the Strait….”

Looking at it, I remembered Nayunjajangman mentioning the

banshee’s curse four days ago. Chae Nayun was also in Essence of
the Strait. It was unlikely to be a coincidence. Of course,
Nayunjajangman said a ‘friend’ got the banshee’s curse. But since

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Chae Nayun was never the type to show any weakness….

—Chak!

I slapped my cheeks. ‘Stop thinking about strange things and just

focus on training!’ I sat cross-legged again and closed my eyes. Huu,
huu… Then, I continued my ‘spirit power awakening breathing
method’.

**

…30 minutes later.

[Lv.2 Essence of the Strait’s Hideout]

In the end, I found myself standing in front of Essence of the

Strait’s hideout. I wasn’t wearing a mask in case they saw me as a
suspicious person, but I put on a fake beard so they couldn’t
recognize my face.

“….Um.”

Seeing me loitering in front of the entrance, Essence of the Strait’s

guild member standing guard called out to me.

“Who are you?”

He seemed to be wary of me. I couldn’t blame him since my huge

hooded robe was suspicious no matter how one looked at it. I used
‘Demon’s Cunning Speech’ to change my voice.

“I saw the post in the public forum.”

“Public forum…?”

The guild member tilted his head. At that moment, someone else
walked down the stairs and came out to the entrance. Her eyes were
swollen from crying. I could immediately tell who it was. I called out
to her.

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“I came here to get rid of the curse.”

“Pardon?”

“…?!”

Yi Jiyoon, who was looking depressed, quickly ran over.

“…C-Curse?! W-Who is he?”

“Uh, he says he’s a mercenary. He apparently saw a post in the

public forum, but we didn’t post anything…”

“Ah, I posted it not too long ago!”

Yi Jiyoon examined my face. I looked away purposely, hoping she

wouldn’t notice me.

“Hey, can you take off your hoodie?”

The guild member whose name I didn’t know spoke, but Yi Jiyoon
quickly exclaimed in surprise.

“…Ah! Um… this person is fine. Let him in.”

Her voice turned soft and relaxed. I was just as surprised as the
guild member who looked startled.

“We need to know who he is….”

“Don’t worry, I’m really good at recognizing people’s faces.”

Yi Jiyoon said that as she poked my side. Judging by the

mischievous smile she was making, it seemed she found me out.
Without any other choice, I followed her closely.

“Where’s the patient?”

“…You’ll see. By the way, you never cut your beard?”

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When I heard this, I realized how stupid I was. She had recognized
me because of my beard.

“No, this beard is fake. I don’t grow beards anymore.”

“That’s nice. Anyways, let’s hurry.”

Yi Jiyoon pulled on my wrist. As expected of an advanced guild,

Essence of the Strait was using a 3-story hideout. We went up to a
room on the third floor.

“…It’s here.”

Kiik—

Yi Jiyoon opened the door. A white hospital-like room appeared.

There, two patients were lying unconscious. One was a man I didn’t
know. He wasn’t inflicted with a curse either. But the other one….

“….”

I walked in. Rather, my feet moved on their own towards the girl
lying half-dead on the white bed.

“She’s been unconscious since two days ago.”

The girl was only faintly breathing, and the black curse was
encroaching upon her neck. It was as I thought. I couldn’t deny the
truth any longer. Nayunjajangman was… Chae Nayun.

“Her curse is already at level 5… is it possible to treat her? It is,

right?”

I looked down at Chae Nayun. Her face was pale, and her body
trembled every time she breathed. Looking at her, my chest felt
heavy. The tar I spat out today seemed to be going back into my
throat.

“…How did she get it?”

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“Ah, um, one month ago… Nayun was trying to save me… hic… I
thought it was okay back then… uaaaang.”

Yi Jiyoon began to sob, then burst into tears before she could finish
her sentence.

“…I can treat her, so don’t cry. You’re too loud.”

According to the system’s explanation, a level 5 curse was

something a human couldn’t withstand. On the other hand, the
ingredients needed to make an antidote could only be found on the
6th floor. But since I already made a counteragent with my ability, I
should be able to lower the curse’s level with it and extract the rest
using [Extraction and Permanent Materialization].

“Hic, what, hic, should I do? Hic.”

“I’m telling you, you’re too loud. Here, take this.”

I took out the counteragent from my inventory and gave it to Yi

Jiyoon. It was a precious medicine that took 1500TP to make.

“…What’s this?”

“A curse counteragent. You have to apply it on her skin directly.”

“…A-Amazing! Amazing—! Amazing—!”

“Hurry up, will ya?”

“Y-Yeah!”

Yi Jiyoon pulled the shoulder area of Chae Nayun’s shirt down. A

black spot on her left shoulder was giving off an eerie smoke.

“I just have to put it on her?”

“Yeah.”

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Yi Jiyoon opened the counteragent’s lid and practically poured it on
the ‘curse root’, which was shaped like a human face. The moment
the counteragent touched the curse root, a strange smoke and a
horrifying shriek rang out.

“W-What’s happening!?”

Yi Jiyoon jumped in surprise but didn’t back off. She continued to

courageously apply the counteragent on the screeching face of the
curse.

“Die, die, die you bastard!”

“…It’s fine now. Get back.”

I pulled Yi Jiyoon back and rolled up my sleeves. Now, it was time

to extract the curse. By focusing my body’s spirit power and using it
in one go…

“…What?”

However, an unexpected phenomenon took place. Before I could

extract the curse, it began to die on its own. I couldn’t understand
what was going on. But from what I could gather with my eyes, the
curse was being ‘devoured’ by Chae Nayun’s magic power.

“What’s happening?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Chae Nayun’s magic power shot out, enveloping the curse. Was
her magic power revolting after being suppressed by the curse all
this time? No matter the case, the situation had flipped, and it was
the curse that was now under attack by Chae Nayun.

“It looks like it’ll be okay.”

I looked at Chae Nayun. She was clenching her teeth and shaking

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as though she was having a nightmare. Was she fighting the curse
alone in her sleep? I wanted to help her out if possible.

…I took out a handkerchief and wiped off the sweat on her

forehead. I was probably mistaken, but it looked like she became
more relaxed.

“Hmm….”

In any case, it looked like I was no longer needed. I smiled bitterly

and turned around.

“I’m leaving.”

“Eh? W-Wait, we have a reward for you. Take it when Nayun fully
recovers.”

“…I don’t need it. In exchange, don’t tell her it was me who treated
her.”

I spoke, even utilizing hypnotic suggestion. However, Yi Jiyoon

tilted her head and asked.

“What if she asks? She’s going to try to figure out who helped her.
She’s not going to leave me alone until I do.”

Yi Jiyoon was right. I knew Chae Nayun’s personality too. After

mulling over it for a moment… I left behind a solution that would
cause the least amount of trouble.

“…Tell her that an ‘extra’ treated her.”

“Extra? What’s that?”

“Background actor? You don’t even know that?”

“But….”

“It’s fine. She’ll understand what it means. Just tell her that.”

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**

Outside the Tower, ‘Yoo Jinhyuk’s Office’. The usually peaceful

North Hamgyeong Province was currently faced with a calamity. The
inside of Yoo Jinhyuk’s office looked as though a tornado had gone
through it, and it was even filled with hot magic power.

“Not even a match… kuhuk. Dammit.”

Yoo Jinhyuk was lying in the middle of this pit of hell, coughing up
blood.

“Argh, my body. Can’t you go easy on me?”

Three minutes ago, a monster had visited him. There was no room
for negotiation. The monster asked about Kim Hajin the moment it
arrived, and when Yoo Jinhyuk remained silent, it began to rampage.
Three seconds. Three seconds was all it took for him and his office to
turn out like this. Although he was no longer an active Hero, the
difference in their power was too unbelievable.

“….”

Yoo Jinhyuk’s eyes met the eyes of the girl looking down at him.
She looked like a lion. Her hair fluttering in the air through her magic
power looked like a lion’s mane, and her sharp eyes looked like a
cat’s.

However, the lion didn’t seem hungry for blood. A lion that
revealed its fangs because it was scared, a lion that was only trying
to look threatening, that was what she looked like.

“I don’t know why an overpowered monster like you is interested in

Kim Hajin, but just so you know….”

Yoo Jinhyuk pulled himself up. Then, he sat down on his half-broken
chair and turned on his computer. The hard drive contained
information regarding Kim Hajin. However, Yoo Jinhyuk planned to

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delete it. An informant was someone who made a living by being
heavy-mouthed.

[Delete]

When he was about to press this button…

—Ah! Something happened in Lord Jinhyuk’s house! —Bring your

weapons! —Who dares to trouble our lord…!

Foolish voices rang out outside the window. The girl glanced out,
then looked back at Yoo Jinhyuk with an evil smile.

“…Haa.”

Yoo Jinhyuk sighed. Since his weakness was revealed, he had no

choice. The moment the villagers were taken hostage, it was over for
him. He clicked his tongue and moved his hand off the keyboard.

“You want to know that much?”

The girl nodded.

“Why? You’re going to kill him?”

The girl shook her head.

“I see.”

The girl didn’t say anything. Yoo Jinhyuk stared at her fixedly. Her
beauty was enough to put him in a daze even in this situation, but
the first thing he thought of was a certain scene. A girl leaving Kim
Hajin in an orphanage. She looked too much like the girl for it to be a
coincidence.

“…I’ll tell you, so let me ask you one thing. You’re the new leader
of the Chameleon Troupe, right?”

As expected, the girl didn’t say anything. However, Yoo Jinhyuk

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decided to take silence as a yes. If someone this strong wasn’t the
leader but an ordinary member, he would have been too
embarrassed.

“Alright.”

That was enough. Pieces of the puzzle fell together in Yoo Jinhyuk’s
head. He transferred the data he was about to delete into a USB.

“This should have everything you want to know.”

The girl stepped towards him, but Yoo Jinhyuk quickly held his hand
out and stopped her.

“But wait, your old boss and I were acquaintances. We even fought
once, though the result was… something I’d rather not talk about.”

The girl’s eyebrows twitched.

“Anyways, listen up, it’s advice from an adult.”

Yoo Jinhyuk continued.

“There is a high chance you’ll regret seeing this. No, I’m certain
that you will. Whether you want to kill Kim Hajin or keep him alive, as
long as you’re related to him, you will not like what you see.”

He held the USB out.

“Are you still curious?”

The girl reached out without saying anything. Her lack of hesitation
made Yoo Jinhyuk pull the USB back. The girl frowned. Yoo Jinhyuk
felt like a trainer trying to tame a lion.

“You don’t know the contents of a box before you open it. That
makes you want to open it even more. But after you do….”

“…Shut up and hand it over.”

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The girl unleashed her magic power once more. Yoo Jinhyuk
shrugged and put the USB down.

“Let me ask you one final question. Do you remember everyone

you killed?”

“….”

The girl didn’t reply and reached towards the USB. Yoo Jinhyuk
picked up the USB again, and the girl sighed.

“If you don’t remember or if you don’t want to remember… uwuk!”

A sharp pain struck his stomach, and he blacked out. Yoo Jinhyuk’s
memory of the day ended there.

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Chapter 182
Source: Wuxiaworld

Boss sat in her chair and stared at the flash drive. The first thing
she thought of was ‘where do I put this?’ She had learned it from Jain
before.

“……Oh.”

Fortunately she realized not too late. The smartwatch. Boss opened
the flash drive to reveal a small piece and plugged it into the smart
watch. The information stored inside then popped up as a hologram.

[Kim Hajin] —174.3cm, 73kg, body fat 8% —2025, admitted into

Korea’s Hero Training School [Cube] at rank 934. —2025, achieved
rank 334 after the first Cube final exam. —2026, achieved rank 121.
—Went up 813 ranks in one year. The biggest increase since the
beginning of Cube's history. —However, he suddenly dropped out
after the ‘Destruction’s Cube Attack Incident’ that took place the
same year. —Since it was a pretty interesting turn of events, the
media covered it ferociously. Some say he felt turned off by the
restrictions that would be placed on him when he became a Hero.
—Subsequently joined Jeronimo Mercenary.

It was Kim Hajin’s career that everyone already knew. Staring at it,
Boss’ eyes sank coldly. Should I go back and this time, kill him for
good? Fortunately for Yoo Jinhyuk, more interesting information soon
followed.

[Private records of Yoo Jinhyuk] —July 2025, started investigating

Kim Hajin at the request of my niece.

At first, it was again a series of useless information, so she quickly

scrolled down. But then.

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“……!”

Her fingers that were touching the hologram tightened. The

following information was recorded at the spot where her trembling
fingertips stopped.

—October 2025, found vital keyword. [‘Kwang-Oh Incident’]

“……”

‘Kwang-Oh Incident’. As soon as those letters were reflected in her

pupils, BEEP--- a loud noise filled her ears. Those characters kept
repeating themselves inside her head. Kwang-Oh Incident, Kwang-Oh
Incident…. It happened more than 20 years ago. She had buried it
deep within her subconsciousness but still it was an unforgettable
day. The first test she faced at the order of the ex-boss who took her
in.

—Found possibility that Kim Hajin may be the sole survivor of the
‘Kwang-Oh Incident’. —Not baseless but evidences are still weak.

It was a story from a long time ago. It rained heavily that day.
When we showed up at the dark shelter, the people inside trembled.
They were afraid, and so was I. But my partner at the time, Bell– the
former Black– spoke. Kill or be killed. Otherwise I will be abandoned
by Boss. Bell made me do everything under the pretense of ‘training’,
and I, being a child, carried out the massacre.

—Evidence #1: There was a full-blown pregnant woman there.

Labor was imminent.

That day, I killed many people. But there was one life that I did not
take away. A baby, crying, covered in blood. A baby hiding in his
mother’s arms---no, a baby that the mother had desperately tried to
hide.

—Evidence #2: The date that he showed up at the orphanage and

the date that the incident took place are about the same.

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A child too young to kill me. I couldn’t kill a child who didn’t have
the ability to kill me in order to save myself.

—2026, discovered new information.

A strong headache arose. The pain was tearing her brain into
pieces.

—According to the informant, it was confirmed that the assassin

who attacked Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter left a baby intact. Very
strong connection to Kim Hajin’s birth. —Then, is that baby Kim Hajin,
and did the assassin leave him at the orphanage? —Not sure yet.

[Warning:This information is stored in Violet Banquet’s personal

database, and will automatically be destroyed if it comes into contact
with magic power other than Yoo Jinhyuk’s.]

Memories of that day loomed before me. Bell smirked at me who

couldn’t kill the baby. And he said: “We were ordered to kill 96
people. No orders were given about the unexpected 97th life. So,
Byul, you can let him go. It’s up to you.”

Maybe that was part of the test. But still I did not kill that child.

“Well, if that’s your decision, I’m sure Boss will understand.”

I, who never should have been born, was born and raised in curses
and hatred. But the child who deserved a happy childhood and love
from his parents was now buried in blood and death because of me.

‘……If I had not been born, you would have lived an ordinary life.’

I felt sorry for all that. And I felt excruciatingly guilty. That’s why I
couldn’t kill him.

“……”

Back from the past, I opened my eyes. The reality laid before me.

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Suddenly, all those feelings that Kim Hajin harbored toward me came
to a new meaning. Although I had learned the truth, my tears didn’t
flow. I was not angry, either. As if my emotional flow had been
blocked, I became more calm.

……Did Kim Hajin know all of this? And to show no intention of

killing despite that– does that mean he forgives me? Or is this just…
some kind of ‘probation’ or ‘test’?

I have no idea. From the start, I wasn’t that smart. Right now, all I
want is…… To stop thinking for just a moment. So I closed my eyes.
Soon, sleep crawled in and gnawed away my consciousness.

**

morning. Chae Nayun woke up basking in sunlight shining through

the windows. The view that was normally blurry was clear today for
some reason. Still her mind was a bit hazy. She kept lifting her
eyelids up and down, trying to control her breath. Then…

[Although you received the help of a counteragent, you are the

first to overcome the vengeful spirit curse.] [Achievement Unlocked -
「 Hard to Kill 」 ] [Because you received the help of others, the
achievement bonus is limited to 50%. The other half will be unlocked
once you reach the sixth floor.] [Trait acquired - 「Magic Power that
Swallows Curses」]

“……?”

Words she could not understand popped up on the ceiling. She

couldn’t grasp what they meant even after she finished reading
them. ‘Did I become stupid? Both my body and my head don’t work
the way I want them to.’

“…..Oh, Nayun! Are you up?”

Suddenly, Yi Jiyoon’s face popped up in the corner of her eyes.

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“You are up! Oh, thank God!”

Yi Jiyoon smiled brightly, but suddenly frowned and hugged her

tightly. Chae Nayun could not breathe. The feeling of her neck
becoming wet with tears was disgusting. But thanks to that she
regained her consciousness.

“……Get off.”

“Mm? What?”

“Get off of me.”

However, Yi Jiyoon held her tighter and pushed her face closer.

“Thank goodness….”

“……Haa.”

After letting out a heavy sigh, Chae Nayun lifted her upper body
and pushed Yi Jiyoon away.

“…So what happened?”

She then asked Yi Jiyoon who was crying tears of joy.

“Oh, um, I posted on the forum, asking if anybody had the antidote
for the curse.”

Yi Jiyoon answered, fiddling with her fingers. Because she had been
requested by Kim Hajin to “not tell anyone”, she obviously looked
awkward.

“…And?”

“And, a man who had the antidote by chance came. And he helped
us.”

“……”

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But of course Chae Nayun didn’t believe that so easily and stared
at Yi Jiyoon with a suspicious look.

“What, what?”

“I mean thanks, but… he just helped?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Without asking for anything in return?”

Chae Nayun had grown to doubt kindness without reason. She had
a chronic distrust of human beings.

“Yeah, but anyways Nayun, how’s your arm?”

But the solution to that is simple. Turning Chae Nayun’s attention

away from something was easier than fooling most kids.

“……Arm?”

Chae Nayun coughed and turned her left arm up and down.
Although it was stiff from not being used for a while, it certainly had
been cured.

“It’s good. Fine. No, but more than than, who in the world─”

“Oh, right. You could use the longsword now, then?”

“……Longsword?”

Longsword. At that one word, Chae Nayun had already forgotten

what she was about to ask, and a spark of interest rose in her eyes.

“Yeah. The thing you got from the quest.”

“Of course I know what it is. Back then, I……”

About three weeks ago, it was the first group quest she got ever

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since she entered the tower.

“…was really happy.”

The recollection of that day, still considered one of her greatest

accomplishments, came back alive.

[Hidden Quest!] [Intermediate-rank group quest has been found. At

least 8 people are required to continue this quest.]

Upon receiving the quest, she immediately summoned eight

members of Essence of the Strait. At first, a few undead monsters
were all there was, but soon they found a sword glowing blue at a
blind spot in the cave. Everyone screamed with joy. She almost
fainted after checking the item information. They were nearly out of
food when they found this rare item.

=== [Lv. 3 High-quality Longsword Polished with Ice Crystal]

[Rare] ○Lv.3 Attribute - Ice ○Lv.3 Frost Damage ○Lv.3 Attack Power
○Lv.3 Durability ===

A weapon that was almost equal to… no, a weapon that

overpowered Lv.4 weapons.

“……Did team leader leave it behind?”

However, Team Leader Kim Youngjin had been using it these past
3 weeks. Chae Nayun had not been in the condition to use the sword.

“Uh-huh. He left it behind today, saying he couldn’t possibly use it

when you are sick. Instead he took the Red Crystal Spear.”

“……As expected of the Weapon Master.”

Weapon Master. That was Kim Youngjin’s Gift which enabled him to
wield any weapon as if he had been using it for years. His magic
power was plain, but it was thanks to this Gift that he would become
a high-rank Hero by next year. Yi Jiyoon grinned and grinded her face

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into Chae Nayun’s shoulder.

“This shit again.”

“It’s to celebrate your recovery~”

“I’m not fully recovered yet. Stop pushing, it hurts…… Oh, right.”

Chae Nayun opened her eyes wide. It was as if she remembered

something.

“Hey. Who was it that gave you the antidote?”

“……”

“Stop evading the question and answer.”

Yi Jiyoon shook, but soon smiled. If it was something else, Chae

Nayun would have surely forgotten about it for days. This must really
be getting on her nerves. Maybe she felt something intuitively. A
woman’s intuition, so to say. ‘I’m in a good mood, so maybe I’ll just
tell her.’

“……He, well. So…… Um.”

‘Oh, but not now. Later, I’ll tell her when we get into something
dramatic. I’ll give her a surprise.’ Yi Jiyoon suddenly put on a serious
look.

“He said you would know if I tell you that a ‘background actor’
stopped by.”

“Background actor?”

“Yeah.”

“The heck is……”

Chae Nayun’s eyes widened.

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“Do you know who he is?”

When Yi Jiyoon asked, Chae Nayun smiled softly and held her face.

“Hehe…… yeah, I know. I got it. Now go.”

“Who is he?”

Yi Jiyoon tried hard not to smile.

“Just an old teacher.”

“T-teacher?”

Yi Jiyoon almost burst out laughing just now. At that moment, Chae
Nayun asked urgently.

“Hey, hey. Did you tell him my nickname?”

“No, no. I didn’t”

“……Good then.”

Chae Nayun nodded and turned on the Messenger.

[I heard from my friend that you gave her the antidote. Thanks ㅋ
ㅋ You didn’t answer back so I thought you deleted me cuz I kept
bothering you OTL] [……Btw the person you cured is my friend ㅋㅋ
not me ㅋㅋ]

She sent the above messages to “Extra7”. Then she turned again
to Yi Jiyoon.

“How did he look? Did he look old?”

“Uh….. He did look a bit old, with a beard.”

Beard. That was a biggest hint Yi Jiyoon could provide.

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“Beard?”

“Yeah.”

“Beard……”

But Chae Nayun only smiled as if she had something else in mind.

“That does sound like him. I thought of him as an old guy who’s
good at playing games.”

Chae Nayun mumbled, suddenly feeling her heart warming up.

‘Even in a world like this, there is one person I can believe in. No,
no. Now that I think about it, there’s surprisingly many. Dad.
Grandpa. Yoo Yeonha. Kim Suho. And although he’s a little idiotic, my
childhood friend Shin Jonghak.’

“……”

Despite saying that she wanted to die everyday, she realized one
thing after almost dying. In the end it was human nature to want to
live. Don’t be so pitiful. Move forward. Stronger. Harder. Chae Nayun
shook her head and jumped to her feet.

“Where are you going?”

“To work out. I didn’t get to practice my sword for 3 weeks. I think I
might have… forgotten a lot. I gotta get back on track.”

**

Afternoon. Because of Prestige’s lack of a sun, it was as dark as

night. Players who were busy conquering the higher floors returned
to Prestige for the very special event that would take place in
Medea’s palace.

“Yo, Newbie.”

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“Hey Hajin~”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain, who were loitering in front of the

palace, walked over to me. They said they were playing around on
the 5th floor, and their higher-quality equipment told me that was
true. Jain was wearing a high-quality cape and a jeweled necklace,
while Cheok Jungyeong was wearing a gauntlet made of bones.

“How was the 5th floor?”

“Fun and exciting. You should come next time.”

The 5th floor was designed to look like the demon realm. Its theme
should be ‘adventure’. Breaking through six fortresses, ten gateways,
eight outposts, and five castles to arrive at the end of the world. That
was the goal.

“How far did you go?”

“I’m not sure. We stayed in the ‘Swamp of Beginnings’ for about

two days. There were idiots waiting there to find party members.”

The 5th floor was half the size of the Korean Peninsula. As such,
two days was nowhere near enough to get anywhere.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

As I said that, I peeked over Cheok Jungyeong’s shoulder. The

person that should normally stand out the most was nowhere to be
seen.

“Where’s Boss?’

“Boss~? Ah~ she must have something to do~”

Immediately, Jain put on a scary frown.

“She left with a face like this, so something serious must have
happened. Anyways, let’s go in~”

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Jain hopped over and linked her arm to mine. I would have been
fine with it if not for the fact that Jain was currently disguised as a
man.

“Oh right, disguise me too.”

“Okay~”

Because the black lotus symbol was left at the site of the
destroyed towers, I had no choice but to go into the palace as
Chameleon Troupe’s Seat of Black. As such, I changed my face
through Jain’s help.

After disguising ourselves, we walked to the main gate of the

palace. We presented our citizenship card to the guard standing in
front of the gate, and the guard gave us different badges after
checking our contribution points. My badge was made of diamonds,
while Cheok Jungyeong and Jain’s were gold.

“Go in.”

We entered the palace safely. As soon as we entered, we saw a

beautiful, wide lobby. The floor was covered with a red carpet, the
ceiling was high like the Pantheon, and a beautiful chandelier hung in
the center. There were even maids and butlers dressed formally and
standing nearby.

“We will check your badge rank.”

An old man who seemed to be the chief butler walked in. I was
first.

“Diamond-rank has been confirmed. Please tell us your honorable

name.”

“….”

Honorable name… didn’t mean real name, right? As though he

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read my mind, the butler quickly added.

“A false name or a nickname is fine.”

“…Ah, then I’ll go with Buyong.”[1]

The old butler quickly made a nametag.

[Diamond - Buyong]

was Cheok Jungyeong and Jain. Cheok Jungyeong seemed to have

thought that the names had to be two characters as he went with
‘Jungyeong’, while Jain went with an anagram of her name - ‘Anji’.

“Follow me.”

After putting the nametag on our chests, we followed the butler

past the lobby. Soon, we found ourselves standing in front of a huge
silver door. However, we quickly walked past it. was a golden door.
The butler stopped in front of it.

“Anji-nim and Jungyeong-nim may go in through the golden door.”

“Eh? We’re not using the same door?”

“The door you use is determined by your rank. But no worries, you
will all end up in the same reception hall.”

The butler calmly explained. Just like he said, Medea’s palace was
an extradimensional space formed from magic power. The different
colored doors would all lead to a single reception hall. In other words,
Players would gather in the same place to receive their rewards. The
reason Medea split up the doors was to make their entrances more
flamboyant.

“…But we get different rewards, right~?”

“That is right.”

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“Ah, if I knew beforehand, I would have destroyed the tower
myself. Hajin’s going to end up taking everything~”

Jain glanced at me. I laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll share the rewards with you.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.”

“Yay~”

Jain hopped over to the golden door, and Cheok Jungyeong

followed. When Cheok Jungyeong entered the golden door, his back
muscles fiercely tingled. Wondering what was causing such a
reaction out of him, I peeked at the reception hall beyond the golden
door.

“Ooh.”

As expected, the room was full of powerful people who were

making Cheok Jungyeong’s blood boil. Kiiik- The golden door closed
shut.

“, I will guide you to the Diamond-rank door.”

I followed the butler, walking past a ruby door, sapphire door, and
an emerald door. By the time we arrived at the diamond door, my
body was completely tense. I was only a mere fish compared to the
whales inside the room.

“Are you ready?”

The butler asked.

“Um… it’s okay for me to wear this robe, right?”

I was still in Jain’s disguise, but I didn’t want to reveal my face if

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possible.

“Yes, it’s fine. Medea-nim enjoys wearing robes as well. In fact…”

The butler glanced at my robe.

“That robe is beautiful enough to make Medea-nim envious.”

“……Haha.”

It was made by Aether who loves beauty, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Then I’m going in.”

“Yes, I hope you enjoy your stay.”

The butler opened the door for me. The highest-ranking door
opened with a loud roar. I stepped into the reception hall.

“……”

There were two long tables joined together, forming a single 100-
meter table. The gazes of the people inside all fell on me.

Essence of the Strait, ‘Kim Youngjin’. High-rank Heroes I met while

I was in Cube, ‘Oh Junhyuk’ and ‘Seo Youngji’. Satan’s Servant, ‘Kim
Ohsung’. Hunter of the Vast Expanse, ‘Kim Junwoo’. Desolate Moon,
‘Shin Jonghak’. It was nice to see him again. Heroes from the Temple
of Justice, ‘Aileen’ and ‘Yi Yongha’. And… a mysterious man wearing
a robe. The ones gathered here were all powerful men and women
who had made great achievements in the Tower. Shin Jonghak was
obviously the weakest one among them.

“The Diamond-ranked Buyong-nim has arrived.”

The butler introduced me respectfully. I walked in as leisurely as I

could and sat down on the diamond-adorned seat near the head of
the table. The mysterious robed man was sitting in front of me, and
next to me was Aileen.

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“….”

Aileen stared at me with sparkling eyes. No, it wasn’t just Aileen.

The moment I sat down, everyone in the room began to observe me.
Not many were kind. If I had to describe their gazes… mm… it was
like they were trying to estimate the power of the strongest person in
the room. I pushed my hood down. If they were tigers, I was only a
hyena. It was too uncomfortable.

1. Buyong = Lotus

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Chapter 183
Source: Wuxiaworld

Chief Officer of Essence of the Strait’s tower subjugation team,

‘Kim Youngjin’, guessed the contribution rankings for Medea’s quest.

First was the destruction of the demon’s control towers. In this

aspect, guilds were severely lacking. This was because relationships
between guilds had deteriorated to the point that cooperation was
near impossible.

One side would suddenly ambush the other after planning to

cooperate, or one side would suddenly say different things than what
was originally discussed. Although no one would ever find out, these
conflicts were all caused by Jain, who were messing with them in
disguise.

While the guilds’ relationships were in shambles, an ‘irregular’ had

taken care of the control towers.

Even to this day, Kim Youngjin became dumbstruck whenever he

thought about it. He had woken up like any other day, but three
control towers had been destroyed without leaving behind a trace.

That day, leaders of each guild quickly ran to the places where the
tower ‘existed’. However, the only thing that was left there were
remnants of the tower and a black lotus symbol engraved with magic
power.

As Essence of the Strait’s executive, Kim Youngjin knew what the

black lotus symbolized, as Pandemonium’s serial terror incident was
something high-ranking Heroes often talked about.

In any case, ‘Black Lotus’ had taken all the contribution points
related to control towers. Shocked by this incident, the guilds came

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together and conquered the final control tower. It was thanks to this
that Kim Youngjin was able to achieve at least the Ruby-rank.

up was the hunting of demons and undead monsters near the city.
Although the rewarded contribution points were lackluster compared
to destroying the control towers, analysts from guilds concluded that
one was able to achieve Gold to Ruby-rank by faithfully doing this.

Finally, there were the various quests. Prestige’s quests were

determined to also give contribution points. Although not all quests
gave contribution points, some quests, like the [Lv.3 Longsword
Forged with Ice Crystal] quest Chae Nayun received, gave rewards
that made any Player envious.

‘…In that case.’

Kim Youngjin looked around the reception hall nervously. Exactly

100 Players were in the hall. They were the top 100 Players in terms
of contribution points.

The 100 Players were all sitting around a long table, looking at
each other. At first glance, they seemed to be on equal standing, but
in truth, there was a clear hierarchy among them.

First were the ones close to Medea. One Diamond, three Emeralds,
and six Rubies including Kim Youngjin himself. Although the Diamond
seat had yet to arrive, the most eye-catching Hero was… the Emerald
seat’s Aileen.

“Ah, I’m starving. When is the administrator getting here?”

The Hero Association’s ultimate weapon, known as the ‘Human

Dragon’ and the ‘Final Spirit Speech Master’. This white-haired expert
was a true giant, and Kim Youngjin felt honored to be in her
presence. She had made great contributions in the destruction of the
western control tower and slaughtered a countless number of undead
monsters. She was undoubtedly worthy of sitting on the Emerald

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seat.

“The most important person isn’t here yet.”

At that moment, ‘Seo Youngji’, the high-rank Hero sitting next to

Kim Youngjin, whispered. Kim Youngjin was also thinking of the same
thing.

“Right, Black Lotus isn’t here yet.”

The only Diamond-rank seat undoubtedly belonged to ‘Black

Lotus’.

“Since he carved his signature inside the tower, he must be

planning to reveal himself more and more.”

Seo Youngji muttered as she gave Kim Youngjin a strange look.

“By the way, Youngjin-ssi, I heard you found a rare item in one of
your quests.”

“…Us?”

“Ei, don’t pretend like you don’t know. I saw you swinging that blue
sword. Ice-attribute right? It looked amazing. Where did you get it?”

Kim Youngjin shook his head. In his mind, the blue longsword
wasn’t just a weapon. The ‘Tower of Wish’ was determined to have
all sorts of valuable items, and as items from the outside world
couldn’t be brought in, good weapons found inside the Tower were
valuable assets for any guild. Although Seo Youngji was a senior from
his days in Cube, Kim Youngjin couldn’t tell her any info.

“Kuhum, rather than that, don’t you think Prestige has been
changing rapidly?”

Kim Youngjin changed the subject. Seo Youngji also accepted his
indirect silence.

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“…The outer city became more energetic. Crops are growing too.”

As their conversation was coming to an end…

DUN—!

A large gate that stayed shut all this time suddenly roared. The
gazes of all Players in the room turned towards the gate decorated
with beautiful diamonds.

Kiiik—

The beautiful door slowly opened, and a man walked through it

with steady steps. The butler standing near the door introduced him.

“The Diamond-ranked Buyong-nim has arrived.”

The man didn’t look simple. He was wearing a black robe

embroidered with white patterns, which was elegant and beautiful
enough to capture the eyes of the crowd. In fact, magic power was
flowing along the surface of the robe. What level could it be? Kim
Youngjin couldn’t help but wonder.

“….”

The man sharply scanned the Players in the room. His hawk-like
eyes seemed to pierce through their secrets. After five seconds, the
man concluded his brief observation and sat down on his seat. At the
same time, the room became louder.

“So he is….”

“Sh.”

Seo Youngji put her index finger to her mouth.

“Nothing good will come from being involved with him.”

“….”

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Kim Youngjin nodded silently. That man was without a doubt the
strongest Player in the room. Kim Youngjin was thankful that he met
the Black Lotus in the Tower. In this place where everyone’s abilities
were restricted, he felt he stood a chance.

“By the way, is it true?”

Kim Youngjin asked Seo Youngji.

“What is?”

“That the Divine Archer Jin Seyeon-nim is also looking for a ticket.”

“…I don’t know.”

“You’re her direct junior and a member of the Association.

Shouldn’t you know?”

Seo Youngji laughed and shook her head.

“Members of the Association don’t know everything regarding what

Heroes are doing in their spare time. But why do you ask?”

“Black Lotus uses a bow. I think that we Heroes need someone who
can suppress him.”

“…Why can’t that be someone from a guild? You guys sure like to
bring up the Association when it’s convenient.”

Black Lotus likely destroyed three control towers with a single

arrow each. Only an archer was able to suppress an archer of such a
level. No matter how amazing a warrior was, he would never be able
to defeat an archer hiding in high-ground. In fact, he could only hope
that he wasn’t a sitting duck in the archer’s vision.

That was also why Jin Seyeon was given the Master-rank title. The
peak of the bow was a realm much harder to reach than the peak of
the sword.

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“…To be honest, I hope she doesn’t come. I don’t think the Divine
Archer can beat him either.”

Seo Youngji spoke as she shook her head.

“No way, there’s a reason she’s called the Divine Archer.”

“No, I’m positive. Look, there’s an ominous and dangerous aura

about him, and he hasn’t even shown his face.”

What Seo Youngji didn’t know was that Kim Hajin’s aura was
coming from Jain’s ‘Disguise’ Gift, which was unstable because of her
restricted stats. Seo Youngji mistakenly thought Kim Hajin was
emanating a ghastly aura because of his level of attainment.

“…I guess you’re right.”

“I hope nothing bad happens here.”

“It should be fine. Aileen-nim is here as well.”

“…I don’t like her that much.”

Seo Youngji grumbled. It was then. Tk, tk, tk, tk. The lights went
off, and the room became dark. Not long afterwards, a white sphere
of magic power rose up and lit up the room.

“The administrator of the third floor and the master of this palace,
Medea-nim, has arrived.”

Along with the butler’s introduction, the door behind the head of
the table opened. Wearing a blue dress and a red robe, Medea
walked in elegantly and gracefully.

However, Medea’s entrance felt a bit boring because of the huge

impact left behind by Black Lotus’ entrance.

“Welcome, Players.”

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Medea was about to sit down at the head of the table but stopped.
She stared fixedly at Black Lotus, who was right next to her.

“…As expected, the administrator recognizes his strength.”

Seo Youngji murmured quietly.

“It looks like it.”

Seeing this, the Players once again began to talk among

themselves.

**

“Welcome, Players.”

After her grand appearance, Medea suddenly stopped and looked

at me. To be exact, she was looking at my robe. It seemed the butler
wasn’t lying when he said it was beautiful enough for Medea to take
interest in it.

“…Kuhum, I am the administrator of Prestige, Medea.”

Medea soon turned back and finished her introduction. The 100
Players in the room all greeted her together. Medea returned a kind
smile then sat down at the head of the table.

“I am glad that we are able to gather on this joyous day. You all
must have walked through your respective door of contribution.”

Snap. Medea snapped her fingers.

[You received Diamond Door’s Blessing.] [The amount of TP gained

by completing Prestige’s ‘common quests’ permanently increases by
11%.]

A system alert popped up.

—…Hm? —What’s this?

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Players widened their eyes in surprise. Medea smiled.

“Huhu, that was the first reward. Don’t be surprised. This is only
the beginning.”

This time, she clapped. Classical music began to play, and several
servants walked in carrying food.

“First, let us enjoy our meal.”

[Lv.3 Steak] [Lv.3 Beef Soup]

High-quality food began to be served. As good food was hard to

come by in Prestige, Players smacked their lips as they glanced at
Medea.

“Dig in. You must be starving.”

Hearing this, Players began to eat. I looked around the table as I

cut my meat. The top 8 other than me were all people I knew. The
robed Emerald-ranked Player in front of me… although I couldn’t be
certain, he was likely Bell. Just like me, he was someone who didn’t
exist in the original story.

“Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. Players should work

together, right?”

Medea laid the groundwork for a conversation. Immediately, a gaze

fell on me. I turned my head, wondering who it was. Surprisingly,
Shin Jonghak was staring at me passionately. It seemed he wanted to
talk to me strongly. Of course, I ignored him.

“You.”

Poke. The woman sitting next to me poked my shoulder.

“…?”

“Hi.”

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When our eyes met, she waved her hand. Aside from the Nine
Stars, she was the Hero considered the strongest individual force –
Aileen.

“You know me, right?”

Aileen asked.

“….”

However, I focused on my steak without answering her.

“We met before in Tutorial Town. We met~ we met before~ it was

you who threw the vodka at me~”

Annoyed by her incessant talking, I activated [Demon’s Cunning

Speech].

“…I don’t recall. Can you eat quietly?”

However, even I was surprised by how fierce my changed voice

sounded. Players, who were more concerned with eating the food in
front of them, quickly turned their gazes at me. …I should have
learned how to use it properly.

“Oh? You’re using magic power in your voice… are you provoking
me?”

Aileen was still smiling, but her gaze was sharper. Her hostility had
also gotten clearer.

“It’s you, isn’t it? The ‘black’ color.”

Everyone in the reception hall was focused on me and Aileen. Bell

and Medea were obviously among them. Well, Medea liked fights and
conflicts, so it wasn’t surprising.

“….”

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I turned towards Aileen. She was glaring at me. I wasn’t scared.
After all, she looked like a kid. However…

“First, take off that rob… uup!”

Aileen spoke with magic power. But before she could finish her
sentence, I stuffed a big chunk of steak in her mouth.

“Eat.”

I had an item that let me cast hypnotic suggestions, which was

similar in function to Spirit Speech. Of course, it wouldn’t work on
someone with high magic power stat like Aileen, but if the content
was something that was hard to be picked up as a hypnotic
suggestion, it should work much better.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

For example, this. Hypnotic suggestion that amplified flavor.

“….”

Aileen stopped glaring at me and quickly began to chew. Nom,

nom, nom, nom. Nom, nom, nom. Because of her small mouth, it took
her ages to finish chewing and swallowing the meat. I breathed a
sigh of relief inwardly and leaned back. I looked at the Players who
were staring at me for a while. When our eyes met, they quickly
averted their gaze. However, the ‘giants’ I mentioned continued to
look at me with interest.

“….”

I shook my head. At that moment, Medea clapped her hands.

“Great, it seems the rank 1 Player has the heart to give away his
own food to others. That was a fun spectacle.”

Medea spoke up.

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“Now then, let’s begin the conferment ceremony.”

Her announcement was too sudden. The startled Players hurriedly

finished their food or stood up with food still on their plates.

“No, no, you don’t have to stand.’

Medea smiled and stopped them.

“Feel free to continue eating. I’ll take care of the reward ceremony.
I dislike unnecessary and uncomfortable formalities.”

That was a lie. Medea would probably not hesitate to throw

disrespectful people in jail or use them as sacrifices in magic
experiments.

“Kuhum.”

Before starting the conferment ceremony, Medea cleared her

throat.

“First up, rank 51~100. Silver-rank Players will receive 500TP on

top of the Silver Door Blessing.”

50 butlers walked into the room and gave five gold coins to each of
the Silver-ranked Players.

“ up, rank 11~50. Gold-ranked Players will receive 1000TP on top

of the Golden Door Blessing.”

1000TP was given in the same way.

“Finally, rank 1~10. Their rewards are… as follows.”

An inventory-like window popped up in front of the top 10 rankers.

[Trait Recovery Coupon] [Special Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.1

Lightning of Thor] [Artifact – High-intermediate] [Special Skill
Acquisition Book – Lv.2 Wind of Odyssey] [Artifact – Low-

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intermediate] [Orb of Regeneration] [Mystic Key] ….

“…Rank 1~10 Players will be able to pick their rewards from this
list. First up is the Diamon-ranked Buyong-nim. You may pick four
items from this list.”

Medea looked at me with interest. Four items. It was indeed a

reward worthy of first place. However, if I took all the skillbooks, the
Players behind me would undoubtedly be discontent. That was likely
the outcome Medea was hoping for as well. Of course, I was
confident in being able to pave through the Players’ unhappiness, but
the skillbooks weren’t what I wanted anyways.

“Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes.”

“Haha, I guess it’s not too hard of a decision. Announce your

choice.”

I selected my items in front of the other nine rankers.

First was the [Trait Recovery Coupon] Second was [Special Skill
Acquisition Book – Lv.2 Wind of Odyssey].

The others likely expected this. However, the final two rewards I
chose were…

[Orb of Regeneration] [Mystic Key]

Immediately, the room stirred. Medea also looked surprised.

“…D-Did you click the wrong button?”

“No.”

Orb of Regeneration. Mystic Key. Since I needed much better skills

than Medea’s special skills, I chose the ‘evolving items’ that would
only get stronger in the future and could only be acquired from

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Medea.

**

“Why didn’t you choose the other skillbook?”

Even after we left the palace, Jain was still grumbling about my
choice.

“Lightning of Thor isn’t all that good.”

Although Medea offered two special skillbooks as rewards, neither

of the two were particularly good, even for special skillbooks. Yes, the
Lightning of Thor was a high-intermediate rank artifact. However,
skillbooks followed the grades: ‘average - rare - artifact - historical -
legend - mythical’. There were three grades above the artifact-grade.

“Jain-ssi can learn this.”

I gave Jain [Lv.2 Wind of Odyssey]. I didn’t learn it to save my skill

slots, but Wind of Odyssey wasn’t a bad skill.

“Eh~? You’re giving me this~?”

Jain’s attitude did a 180.

“Yes, it suits Jain. And for Cheok Jungyeong, here. 5000TP.”

I gave Cheok Jungyeong 5000TP. However, he was standing in a

daze. He seemed to have gone delirious after not being able to fight
anyone in a room full of powerful rankers. Or, maybe he fell for
Medea.

“…You don’t want it?”

“….”

Cheok Jungyeong didn’t say anything. I put the 5000TP back in my

inventory.

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“By the way, Jain-ssi, doesn’t this face look too much like mine?”

Then, I remembered the disguised face I was wearing, which

wasn’t all that different from my real face. Kim Hajin’s general look
was still there. It was just that I had a beard and a more clearly
defined facial features. Admittedly, I looked more like Jake Gyllenhaal
now.

“Ah~ I didn’t have a choice because my ability is being restricted.

Any more and someone would have noticed. But don’t worry, they’ll
never think it was you. Your real face is a lot uglier, hehe~”

“…Not a lot.”

“Hm? I’ll change your face back. You can be the judge.”

The beard on my chin disappeared and my face returned to

normal.

“How is it?”

“Hm.”

Well… maybe I was just a ‘little’ uglier. While I was being hurt at
my appearance, I caught sight of a woman walking towards us. It was
Boss.

“Oh, it’s Boss~!”

“Boss!”

Leaving behind Cheok Jungyeong who was still standing in a daze,

Jain and I ran over to Boss. A week had passed since the last time I
saw her. Of course, there was a part of me that felt a bit
uncomfortable because of Chundong’s past. But as Kim Hajin, I
already decided to bury the matters of the past.

“Welcome back, Boss. What have you been up to?”

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When I asked, Boss looked at me silently for a long time. Did
something happen on Earth?

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Then, she sighed and shook her head.

“Your face looks a lot skinnier for it to be nothing.”

“…My face.”

“Yes, let’s go back to the hideout. I’ll make you a good meal.”

I began to walk to our hideout. However, Boss didn’t move. She

was only staring at me with somber eyes.

“Boss, aren’t you coming?”

“Hajin.”

The word that came out of her mouth startled me. Unless it was
something serious, Boss always called me ‘Newbie’.

“…Yes?”

However, Boss soon shook her head.

“…It’s nothing.”

Her awkwardness made me feel awkward too, but I spoke brightly.

“Oh right, Boss, we have a new family member in our nest.”

“Family member?”

“Yes.”

Right, we had a new member in our ‘nest’.

**

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[Lv.5 Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout]

—Chirp?

Spartan tilted his head. He scanned the four people in front of him
with clear eyes.

“…So this is your pet?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked.

“Yes. He’s quite loyal, so he should only like me.”

“Oh?”

“He’s clever and only follows one master. His name is Spartan.”

Chirp— chirp— Spartan chirped and flapped his wings at the three
people he was meeting for the first time.

“Isn’t he cute? He’s flapping his wings to protect his owner. He’s
worried that you’d hurt me.”

“…Is he?”

“Yep, so don’t hate him too much.”

“How cute~ he’s loyal to his master~?”

Cheok Jungyeong seemed skeptical, while Jain stared at Spartan in

awe. Chirp, chirp— Spartan chirped a few more times, then hopped
over.

“C’mere, Spartan.’

I opened my arms.

“…What?”

However, Spartan didn’t jump into my arms. Instead, he hopped

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over to Boss, who was sitting on the couch reading a novel, then dug
into her embrace. Boss was startled by Spartan’s sudden snuggling
as well.

“…?”

Boss looked back and forth between me and Spartan. I fell into a
daze. However, Spartan didn’t even spare me a glance.

—Chirp, chirp.

He rubbed his head on Boss’ chest, coaxing her into petting him.
Cheep~ cheep~ He was even singing. The hell?

“…I see, he’s very loyal. Heh, hehehe.”

Cheok Jungyeong snickered as he held back his laughter.

“How funny~ Spartan is definitely a male~”

And Jain discussed Spartan’s gender.

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Chapter 184
Source: Wuxiaworld

Spartan ended up staying with Boss. …I, Kim Hajin, allowed it as

his owner. I told him to liven her up as a good pet often would.

“Huu.”

Spartan had already followed her into her bedroom. Currently, I

was staring at items I’ve been too busy to deal with. First was the
special consolidation ticket I got from killing Jin Sahyuk.

=== [Special Consolidation Ticket] —A consolidation ticket formed

from a special Gift. —By using this ticket, you can strengthen a Gift,
piece of equipment, Physique, or Art. ===

This ‘ticket’ existed in my smartwatch rather than my inventory. , I

took out the three items I obtained today.

[Trait Recovery Coupon] [Orb of Regeneration] [Mystic Key]

Finally, I checked the amount of SP I currently had.

[Current SP: 4,483]

I had about 4,200SP this morning. I had earned almost 300SP in a

single day, likely because I was making a name for myself on a huge
stage. In any case, I only needed a little more until I could create a
good Gift.

“For now….”

I decided to use the special consolidation ticket. The Gift I wanted

to strengthen was obviously ‘Master Sharpshooter’. There was no
need to hesitate, but before I used the ticket, I opened my status

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window and checked its current level.

=== ▷ 「 Master Sharpshooter 」 [Intermediate-rank] [Spirit

attribute] [Evolving — Grade 4] [Proficiency EXP 95%] ◇「Master
Sharpshooter」 [Intermediate-rank] [Spirit attribute] [Evolving —
Grade 6] [Proficiency EXP 86%] ===

The first line was the real-world version, and the second line was
the Tower version. As you can see, the ‘restricted’ version was
quickly catching up to the real one. Inside the Tower of Wish, stats
and proficiency EXP went up quicker. As a result, Players would
regain their real abilities around the 9th floor. But well, that was a
story for another time. I tapped on the special consolidation ticket in
my smartwatch.

[You used the special consolidation ticket.] [Gift ‘Master

Sharpshooter’ increases in power.] [Gift ‘Master Sharpshooter’
increases in potential.]

“…Hm.”

The ticket didn’t add anything special and only strengthened the
Gift’s fundamental effects. I decided to hold onto the other special
consolidation ticket I had. I still wasn’t sure whether I should use it on
the Desert Eagle or another Gift. The important thing was this.

[Trait Recovery Coupon]

The biggest gain from today was the Trait Recovery Coupon, which
would let me recover one of my three remaining Traits.

▷ 「 Random Consolidation System 」 [Low-intermediate rank]

[Spirit attribute] [3-stage consolidation] ▷ 「 Magic Dysfunction
Physique」 ▷「Medicinal Memory Physique」

Which one of these three should I choose? I needed to think about

this carefully. Recovering a Trait didn’t mean a simple boost in battle
prowess. Just like how ‘Dexterity’ evolved to ‘Dwarf’s Dexterity’,

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another fortuitous event could happen. I pondered. Should I choose
the Medicinal Memory Physique like I originally planned?

“No.”

If I were to choose the Medicinal Memory Physique, I would have

chosen the Orb of Regeneration for nothing.

=== [Orb of Regeneration] [Magic Artifact] —An orb with the

power of regeneration. ○Evolving Item – EXP 「0/100」 ○Lv.1 ???
===

A ping-pong ball-sized orb that glowed green. It didn’t have a level,

and the only effect is had was ‘○Lv.1 ???’. However, I could check the
item’s description with my smartwatch.

○Lv.1 Recovery and Regeneration

Its sole effect looked wide-ranged even at first glance. Like the
saying went, simplicity was sometimes best. Not even I knew how
wide-ranging ‘recovery and regeneration’ was. If I brought this item
out to the real world and let it grow, I could, in theory, become half-
invincible.

“And this key….”

=== [Mystic key] [Magic Artifact] —A mystical key. ○Evolving Item

– EXP 「0/100」 ○Lv.2 Unlocking ===

It had the same size as an ordinary key, but it looked a bit special.
It was hard to tell whether it was solid or liquid, and the way its
surface gave off a blue glow made it look like a key from a fairytale.
This mystical key would also have an increasingly wide range of uses
as it grew. Not only would it have an unlocking function, but it would
also gain offensive and defensive uses.

“Alright.”

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As such, I came to a decision. Rather than the Medicinal Memory
Physique, I decided to go with the Trait that would let me use the
items I had more efficiently.

[Random Consolidation System]

In a way, the choice was obvious.

“Come.”

I murmured as I tore the ticket in half.

=== [Choose the Trait you wish to recover.] ○ 「 Random

Consolidation System 」 ○ 「 Magic Dysfunction Physique 」 ○
「Medicinal Memory Physique」 ===

In an instant, system messages popped up in front of me. Three

Traits I had lived without for a long time. Of these three, I grabbed
the ‘Random Consolidation System’.

[You recovered a Trait!] 「Random Consolidation System」 [Low-

rank] [Spirit attribute]

For obvious reasons, its power was restricted. I could still scan up
to five items, but the consolidation percentage dropped from
[0~54%] to [-10%~30%]. However, I was more than satisfied with it.
30% was more than enough to make a significant difference.

[You acquired a new Trait.]

I smiled as I held up the Orb of Regeneration. Then, I murmured

happily.

“Scan.”

The number engraved on the orb was… 24%. My luck still seemed
to be working well. Piring— While I was being content with myself,
someone sent me a message.

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CaptainBritain: 「 Hajin-ssi, have you seen the Community?
Something huge happened at the palace today.」

The sender was CaptainBritain, or in other words, Rachel.

“Oh right.”

I suddenly remembered something. I vaguely recalled seeing

Rachel among the 100 people in the palace. I didn’t get a good look
at her because she was sitting among the Gold-ranks. Thinking about
it now, it wouldn’t make sense if she weren’t there since the English
Royal Court guild should have made huge achievements as well.

I smiled as I wrote back.

「Something huge?」 CaptainBritain: 「Yes, take a look at the

public forum. Ah, by the way, why weren’t you at the palace?」 「Oh,
um… I didn’t make enough contributions. I went back to Earth and
only came back recently, haha.」 CaptainBritain: 「Ah, I see. That’s
okay, don’t worry about it too much. I can help you. I was rank 33
this time. :) 」

I took a look at the public forum like Rachel wanted.

=== 「Public Forum」

[Holy jesus, Aileen and Rank 1 got into a fight in Medea’s palace.]
—I was there and saw it myself, hehe. —For real?? ㄴ Yep, apparently
they got super strong. In the end, it looks like your talent determines
where you’ll end up in the Tower of Wish. ㄴ Nah, it’s all skills. Better
go grind the ones you have (if any, hehe).

[Anybody want to release the footage from the palace?] —You can
record videos here? ㄴ Yeah, you just have to buy an item from the
Player Shop. I think it was called the One-use Recorder. —Someone’s
selling the video. I already bought it and saw it. ㄴ How much did you
pay? ㄴ 50TP. It was pretty intense. Rank 1 and Aileen were

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exchanging magic power. I would have fainted if I was caught
between it. ㄴ Damn, I want to see it too. Can you share it with me?

[Second wave of Essence of the Strait members, please leave your

name here.] —Essence of the Strait’s Yohei. I have arrived. ===

“….”

Over 300 posts were uploaded to the public forum every day, and
over half of them were about me. Not to mention, it was quite a bit
exaggerated. But well, I didn’t have any complaints. I stared at my
smartwatch.

[You gain 1SP.] [You gain 2SP.] [You gain 1SP.] …

So this was the reason that my SP was still going up… If it was ever
revealed that I was Rank 1, I would probably gain an astronomical
amount of SP in exchange for having my life turned upside down.

“…I don’t even want to think about it.”

Tiring— I received another message.

CaptainBritain: 「Also, the English Royal Court guild got close to

Prestige’s Riry Shop. If there is a potion or an equipment you want,
feel free to tell me…」

This was actually my doing. I’d told Henry and Kiri to make items
cheaper for Rachel.

「How? I heard the owner there is strict.」

I replied, pretending to be oblivious.

CaptainBritain: 「Ah… well (≧∀≦) It’s a bit embarrassing to say

this myself, but it looks like the English Royal Court is fairly influential
with them. While other guilds were busy conquering the 4~5th floors,
we were focusing on working in Prestige. ^.^」

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Rachel has been especially lively lately. Most likely, it was because
she was genuinely enjoying the Tower of Wish. Here, she was free
from the burden known as ‘England’ and the ever-present threat of
Lancaster.

CaptainBritain: 「Oh right, we bought a plot of land too and crops

started to grow on it. (๑ᴗ๑) You should come see it later.」

Reading her messages that had a completely different tone than

the way she spoke, I couldn’t help but laugh.

CaptainBritain: 「…Ah, sorry, I got too excited and talked too long.
I got too excited. :(」

「No, it’s fine with me.」

I could understand why she wanted to brag. On the outside, she

probably had to keep her solemn image as a vice-leader.

「You can use our messenger as a diary if you want.」

CaptainBritain: 「Diary? ㅋㅋ It’s fine. Ah, we have a hunting

session planned for tonight, so I have to go now. If you’re having
trouble with something, let me know. I’ll help to the best of my
ability! (＞Д＜)ゝ”」

That was it for my conversation with Rachel. I hopped on my bed

with a grin. Then suddenly…

[Sudden Quest!]

A quest suddenly popped up.

[Special Quest – ‘What Medea Wants’.] [Summary – Medea wishes

to have your robe.] [Rank – low] [Reward – favorable impression from
Medea among others.]

“…What?”

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Was she thinking about my robe this entire time? If a quest popped
up, she must have wanted it strongly… I checked the robe’s item
description once again.

=== [Lv.3 Masterpiece Robe Crafted by a Master Craftsman]

—Elegant yet not flamboyant, imposing yet not outlandish. A
masterly designed robe. ○Lv.3 Magic Seal – Durability Increase ○Lv.4
Outward Appearance ○Lv.3 Scent ===

‘Magic Seal’ was an enchantment I made with Stigma’s magic

power.

“She really must have liked it.”

Since I could make another one whenever I wanted, I decided to

give it to her if the opportunity arose. I turned off the system and laid
on my back. Although I was tired, there was one last thing I needed
to do before going to sleep.

[Lv.3 Extraction and Permanent Materialization]

Extracting Stigma’s magic power with this skill. It wouldn’t hurt

today, right? After all, I had the Orb of Regeneration… I held the orb
in my hand and used the skill on Stigma.

“…Uuk!”

Alright, it hurt. Now that the skill was at level 3, the pain seemed to
be stronger than ever before. The intense pain swept through my
body like a waterfall. After struggling while foaming at the mouth, I
quietly closed my eyes like someone on his deathbed.

**

…I slowly opened my eyes. The room was dark. However, there

was nothing to worry about. Prestige was always like this. Without a
single streetlight or a torchlight, the city was completely shrouded in
darkness.

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However, there was a figure looking down at me from the
darkness. The figure sat on the edge of my bed, looking at me with
cold eyes. The only light in the room came from the eyes of this
human figure. Was it an assassin? Or was it a mysterious being living
in Prestige?

“….”

I swallowed hard. Although it was a sudden, there was no need to

panic. I could simply take the Desert Eagle out from my inventory,
and…

“…Eh?”

From the window, bright moonlight shone through. The white light
washed away the darkness shrouding the assassin and revealed the
figure’s appearance. She wasn’t an assassin. The person sitting at
the edge of the bed was a person I was all too familiar with.

“…You’re awake.”

Boss spoke, as expressionless as always. How long had she been

here? I met her eyes.

“…Boss? What’s up?”

“Pasta wanted to come here.”

Boss shrugged. Pasta… was she talking about Spartan? I glanced

at my blanket. Spartan was indeed curled up next to me, sleeping.

So he still wanted to sleep by his owner. I grinned and stroked his

back. Zzz— zzzz— Spartan shook, matching the movement of my
stroking.

“Then I’ll be leaving now.”

“Ah, wait, how was Spartan?”

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“…He’s cute.”

Boss muttered quietly and got up from the bed. Seeing that she
was about to leave, I held her back.

“Boss, you didn’t forget that we’re going together to the 5th floor
today, right?”

Her legs stopped. She slowly looked back at me and nodded as she
smiled bitterly.

“…Of course.”

“Okay.”

Boss left the room, and I stretched. Koong, koong, koong. I could
hear Cheok Jungyeong’s footsteps. It was time to train.

—Chirp, chirp.

Looking at my blanket once again, I saw that Spartan was up and

stretching. I waited for him to finish, then went downstairs together.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

I greeted Cheok Jungyeong and sat down on the floor. Sitting cross-
legged, I started with a breathing exercise for awakening spirit
power. This breathing exercise normally tired me out after 30
minutes, but now that I had the Orb of Regeneration, I should be able
to do it a bit longer.

Huu… huu…

I repeated the deep inhaling and exhaling 15 times. By the time

my back and waist began to spasm, I opened my eyes. I had yet to
gain any of the insight or enlightenment talked about in martial art
novels.

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“Ah, so tiring….”

I looked around the hideout while I rested. Spartan had run off and
was nowhere to be seen.

“…Where’d he go?”

“I cooked him. He’s in my stomach now.”

“….”

Ignoring Cheok Jungyeong’s dumb joke, I closed my eyes. Spartan

and I could share our thoughts and vision. Now was a good time to
give it a try… Soon, a blurry scene rose up before my eyes. It was
what Spartan was seeing. There was steam rising up. Was he near
boiling water?

‘Where is this? Is he really being cooked?’

I was watching in astonishment. Suddenly, Spartan jumped up. I

could finally get a better view. Boss was lying down, enjoying a warm
bath. Spartan was in the bathroom.

—…What?!

Boss, who was deep in thought, splashed water at Spartan’s

sudden appearance. Because of her sudden action…

“….”

I quickly cut off my visual connection with Spartan and opened my

eyes. Chak—! I slapped my cheeks hard.

“What are you doing, Newbie?”

Cheok Jungyeong smirked. I couldn’t say anything. What I just

saw… let’s wipe it from my memory. Even if I didn’t mean to peek, if
Boss found out… Well, to be honest, I didn’t see much. That is, I
didn’t see any of the important parts. Just seeing her skin shouldn’t

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be a crime… right? Kuhum, this was all that bastard’s fault. I stood
up.

“Ah, hey, where are you going in the middle of training?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked. I looked back at him.

“…To cook a certain bird.”

**

[5th floor, Materialized Demon Realm]

After properly scolding Spartan and checking up on ‘Riry Shop’, I

went up to the 5th floor with the members of the Chameleon Troupe.
The starting area of the materialized demon realm was a harsh
volcanic region, which was constantly spewing out lava and black
smoke.

“Newbie, what’s your plan for the day? Jain and I are already
registered to the third crystal stele.”

Cheok Jungyeong asked. The 5th floor had a total of 15 crystal

steles. They served as checkpoints. After all, it didn’t make sense to
have to start over every time one went back.

“I….”

My plan was to look for NPCs like Henry and Kiri who were
abandoned in the original story. I would clear hidden quests if there
were any and find hidden items similar to dwarven steles. Although it
shouldn’t take too long, because the 5th floor had many strong
enemies, it was a bit dangerous to go about it alone. Not to mention,
there were also boss monsters that were impossible to kill alone.

“Let’s split into two teams and go explore.”

Jain and Cheok Jungyeong nodded.

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“Alright, I’ll go with Cheok Jungyeong~ there was a quest we were
doing before~”

“Sounds good.”

Jain and Cheok Jungyeong quickly came together. They were

surprisingly very close to each other.

“Then…”

I looked back. Boss was standing there, looking around the

volcanic region. She seemed to find the demon realm interesting as
her eyes were full of curiosity.

“Boss? Do you want to come with me?”

For some reason, I felt awkward around her. Boss looked at me for
a moment before nodding.

“Yeah.”

“O-Okay.”

I took out the Dwarven Supercar.

“H-Hop in.”

“Okay.”

Boss got on the Dwarven Supercar, then asked.

“Why do you keep stuttering?”

“…I, I wonder why. Maybe I’m having a withdrawal symptom from

not smoking for a while.”

I could only give a poor excuse.

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Chapter 185
Source: Wuxiaworld

I tighten my grip around the accelerator of the Dwarven Supercar.

It was a speed-driven drive, riding through the magic power and
flames shooting up from the ground. The hot breeze mixed with
ashes irritated our faces, but it was bearable since we both had our
masks on.

“…Wow.”

The demon realm I’ve only seen in the movies or read in books
passed right by me. Dark pillars of flames shot up from the ground,
and monsters were screaming and chasing the Dwarven Supercar. It
was quite noisy.

However, my traveling companion said nothing. With the bear

helmet on, she simply watched the whole scene, not even asking
where we were headed. So I just focused on driving. Ignoring all the
obstacles, we drove for about 30 minutes towards the GPS coordinate
shown in the Book of Truth.

[Lv.6 The Strange Valley of Darkness]

I finally found one of the settings I had discarded. I stopped the

Dwarven Supercar at the entrance of the valley.

“We’re here, Boss.”

Many of the Tower of Wish’s settings had been abandoned. The

original story had changed a lot as well from when I was initially
planning it. It had become more shallow and its uniqueness had
disappeared completely. I was very passionate while coming up with
the settings, but when I was writing the actual story, I was less
focused due to pressure and the lack of time.

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This won’t be fun to use. I only have half an hour until the deadline.
I don’t have time so let’s just skip this. Ah, this one is too difficult to
describe, etc… Dozens of NPCs were discarded this way, along with
more than ten episodes.

As such, the Tower of Wish arc became incomplete and full of

holes. Lazy me from the past left it that way. But now, I wanted to
finish that story. That’s probably what the co-author, who should be
watching me from somewhere even now, wanted to see as well.

“Where are we?”

I was being emotional when Boss asked curiously.

“Huh? Umm…”

How should I explain? I stroked my chin and thought for a moment.

“Well, …Ah.”

Then suddenly something crossed my mind. I just had to come up

with a similar excuse as the one I always gave.

“……I read some books over at Prestige.”

“Books?”

Boss widened her eyes. Then, for some reason, she smiled a little.

“I’ve been reading a lot of books recently as well.”

She probably thought we had similar hobbies.

“Not webnovels.”

“…Webnovels count as books too.”

Boss pouted. It’s been a long time since I saw her usual self.
Spartan must have healed her somehow.

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“Look. This author here is earning a lot of TP with his webnovel…”

But then she even tried to show me the novel she was sponsoring,
so I stopped her there.

“Anyways. I found this description in the book.”

I cleared my throat then recited to Boss what I had written in my

settings book.

“The ‘Demon Prison Camp’ is hidden somewhere on the 5th floor.

In this prison camp, human NPCs are treated as slaves to demons…”

Inside the canyon, there should be a pair of husband and wife:

‘Kedrick’ and ‘Lirko’.

=== [5th Floor Slave NPCs - Lirko and Kedrick] 1. Two human
NPCs locked up in the ‘Valley of Darkness’. 2. Kedrick is a master
blacksmith, and Lirko is a talented lancer. 3. Kedrick possesses an
item called [The Mysterious Pocket] and Lirko is hiding an item called
[Kedrick’s Ghost Sword]. 4. [The Mysterious Pocket] is a unique item
that enables the user to bring something from inside the Tower to
the outside. 5. [Kedrick’s Ghost Sword] is an excellent Lv.6 sword. 6.
Kedrick and Lirko have high potentials.They can grow up to Lv.55,
equivalent to most administrators. ===

In addition to those two, the Valley of Darkness also had 'Krakoon',

who was the acting commander-in-chief of the demons.

“This valley must be that prison camp.”

“I see.”

Boss looked at the valley lying before her eyes. There was a
narrow canyon placed between two mountains. It obviously looked
dangerous. After watching for a while, Boss turned to me again.

“But what do we get from saving the NPCs?”

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“Huh? Oh, that’s……”

I couldn’t tell her. ‘The NPCs will help us at a crucial moment. No,
we have to make them help. Not just for the ‘Tower of Wish’, but also
for the many obstacles and devils that would come in the future.’ …I
couldn’t say something like that.

“NPC are useful to us.”

“They are?”

“Yes. Just look at my Riry Shop. Henry and Kiri are both on my side
now, right? I earn more than 3000TP per day, it’s almost like I’m
cheating.”

Henry and Kiri grew rapidly. Now that the famine was taken care
of, they became very tall…… well, maybe not very but they certainly
have grown and already mastered a passive skill called the [Law of
Thinking]. In addition to that, since they seemed to want to learn
more, I gave them a skill book called [Sharp Eyes].

For the record, [Sharp Eyes] was a rare-rank basic skill. It was a
pretty decent active skill that could measure an NPC’s abilities and
hidden potential. However, since I couldn’t learn any more skills, I
decided to leave it to Kiri. Just like that, being able to indirectly use
skills that I couldn’t learn was another advantage of winning an NPC
over to my side.

“And, well, if we get rid of all the demons in there, there will
probably be an additional reward.”

Plus, this couple was even more important. Unlike Henry and Kiri
who didn’t possess any profession, Kedrick, the husband, was a
blacksmith, and Lirko, the wife, was a talented lancer. I even had this
description written down for Lirko. ‘Lirko, when freed from her
shackles, is able to overpower Kim Suho with limited abilities by
force.’ I didn’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that sentence.

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“So let’s go. Together.”

I spoke, looking at Boss. Boss returned by gaze. Her sparkling dark

eyes were always like jewels.

“…If you say so.”

Boss nodded and headed towards the valley. Together we entered.

We were only a few steps in when everything became dark. The
sound of stepping on sand filled the air. Living up to its name─The
Valley of Darkness─my vision was blocked. In exchange, it seemed
my hearing became sharper.

“Boss, where are you going?”

Suddenly Boss changed directions. No, not changed. It was more

like she suddenly leaned towards the right.

“…I have no idea. It’s too dark to see.”

I caught Boss’ wrist before she went too far ahead.

“…?”

“Just follow me. I can see well.”

Boss nodded silently. We kept on walking like that. For some

reason, the inside of the valley was strangely quiet. Since ‘dark ores’
were buried in this valley, slaves were supposed to be working to dig
them up.

“…Eh?”

In any case, I kept going forward, and soon came across a dim
source of light. It was a withered flower, buried under the valley’s
dark soil. I checked its information at once.

[A Nearly-Withered Shamrock Plant]

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It was a shamrock plant, a valuable herb whose bud gleamed with
white light. You could chew it whole, and it was also used to make an
Elixir, which has the power to resurrect even the dead. It was a herb
that I had to get my hands on at some point. Unfortunately, this one
was almost dead…

“Boss, wait just a second.”

I stepped over to the shamrock plant. Sitting in front of the dry,

thin plant, I took out the Orb of Regeneration. Then I brought it close
to the flower. The orb touched the leaves and began to give off a
faint glow.

Recovery and regeneration progressed slowly. The dried leaves

gradually stood up, and the withered stems begin to stand.

But it was too slow. To speed things up, I inserted my magic power
into the orb. Woong. All of a sudden, the orb glowed brightly. In an
instant, a flash of light erupted, rushing through the shamrock
plant…

[Lv.4 Healthy Shamrock Plant]

The plant regained its healthy look of the past. The white light
flowing out of its bud was beautiful. I put the shamrock plant in my
inventory.

“…?”

When I stood back up, Boss was looking at me with widened eyes.

“What was that?”

“Oh, that? That was the item Medea gave me as a reward.”

“Reward?”

Koong─! A loud noise suddenly rang out.

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“What?”

“It seems there’s someone else here besides us. I've felt a strange
presence for a while.”

At her words, I quickly activated Master Sharpshooter’s eyes. The

Thousand-Mile Eyes stretched far towards the direction that the noise
came from and stopped at a spot. Standing there was a mysterious
Player draped in a robe.

—…Mmm?

He was holding the NPC ‘Kedrick’ by the neck. There was no doubt
that he was trying to kill him. He glanced my way, as if he felt my
gaze.

“There is an enemy. Follow me.”

I held the Desert Eagle in one hand and Boss’s hand in the other as
I ran. Boss didn’t ask any questions and simply followed me. …Soon
we reached the spot where the player stood.

[This place is a prison camp.] [‘Dark Veil’ of the Valley of Darkness

will be removed temporarily.]

The darkness disappeared along with the system alert, and the
man’s figure was revealed. He was draped in a robe, but I could
guess who it was.

The second or maybe the first existence that wasn't in my original

story. He called himself ‘Bell’.

“……Shoot.”

He stared at me and at the Boss who was standing besides me. I

could see his face beneath the robe. He seemed startled, but then
smiled.

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“…You guys got the quest, too?” “Quest?”

I frowned.

“I guess not. That’s fine. Long time no see, huh?”

He said, scratching his head.

“…Yeah.”

I answered and tightened my grip around the Desert Eagle. I didn’t

know how he got here, but this was a good chance. His existence had
been bothering me. I wanted to kill him at least once today. However,
the man standing in front of me suddenly blurted out something
strange.

“No, not you.”

Bell grinned and looked at the Boss. Complex feelings were

embedded in his gaze.

“Hey, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“…?”

“You’d better get out of her way.”

At that moment, huge magic power leaped out. The ground

vibrated at the resonance of magic power which shook the whole
place. Only then did I look at Boss.

“…Boss?”

Unlike her blazing magic power, her facial expression was calm. It
was the type of calm face that gave off an ominous and dangerous
feeling. But there was one thing that was clearly different. The color
of her eyes… They were blood-red. They were the eyes of ‘Yasha’,
something that I came up with in my settings.

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“Hello.”

Bell said to Boss.

“Long time no see, Byul.”[1]

**

[Lv.3 English Royal Court Guild’s Hideout]

Essence of the Strait, Frost Sanctuary, Desolate Moon. Along with

these three guilds that competed for the top rank even in real life,
the ‘English Royal Court’ was one of the highest-level guild hideouts
in Prestige.

—You know me, right? We met in Tutorial Town.

The events that took place yesterday were being played as a video
in the lounge of the hideout. The title of the video was: Aileen and
Rank 1 in a Battle of Nerves. Rachel had recorded it for members
who could not attend the important event. The Royal Court guild
members were watching the scene from that day in stifling silence.

—I don’t remember. Why don’t you just eat quietly?

Those words stopped Aileen’s prodding. It was a voice imbued with

precise magic power, causing a concentrated echo of the soul.

When that voice filled the room, the guild members stiffened a bit.
They felt overpowered and overawed even though it was from a
video footage.

“…To think there was someone other than the Spirit Speech Master
who could use magic power this way.”

The vice-team leader, Davin, said nervously.

“It’s a big world, and there are many people with great powers.”

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Rachel returned Davin’s remark. Containing magic power in one’s
words without the help of an artifact was difficult and also inefficient.
Without real talent, it only served to increase the volume of one’s
voice.

However, Aileen and this mysterious Rank 1.

They fought only with magic power imbued in words. This short
battle was much more fierce and violent than soldiers exchanging
blades 1000 times.

“You’re right. Really, I feel quiet inferior.” “…Inferior? It’s not like
we stood there and did nothing.”

Rachel smiled bitterly. The gap in strength was too overwhelming.

Even though they all started at the same place, those two had gone
far, far ahead. That was why Rachel was convinced once again that
she was right to choose to focus on raising the guild on the 3rd floor,
rather than aiming to go higher. If a crow-tit wanted to win against a
stork, rather than stretching its legs, it had to compete in a different
field.

“For now, let’s stop watching the video.”

Rachel turned off the video.

“Land prices have gone up a lot lately, haven’t they?”

“Yes. The profit is already 2500TP.”

Kimbol, who was in charge of the guild’s finances, answered. The

Royal Court guild invested 4500TP to buy two buildings and 500
acres of farmland. It was all a result of their efforts in hunting down
undead monsters, attacking hidden dungeons in Prestige, and
chatting with NPCs to complete even the most mundane quests.

“By the way, Vice-leader.”

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However, Davin was worried.

“If there is another residential area on the upper floors……”

“Of course I thought about that.”

Rachel lightly cut off his remark.

“If the level of civilization in the new residential area is better than
that of Prestige, I think all of the land should belong to NPCs. We
won’t be able to buy anything with the money we have. However, if
it’s worse, that means there isn’t a residential area better than
Prestige, so our investment would be a success.”

Davin thought for a moment and then nodded.

“……Right. You would be perfect if you did a little less shopping.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly. Cut back on shopping? As far as

she was concerned, she was saving as much as she could and
spending the extra money very cautiously.

“Anyways, let’s go take care of today’s work.”

“Yes!”

Today, they were scheduled to hunt monsters on the 4th floor. As

the Undead King and his minions continuously respawned, they could
obtain item drops while training and leveling up their skills. Rachel
stepped outside with the Royal Court guild’s members. Walking
through the familiar darkness of Prestige, they headed towards the
crystal stele. Then suddenly……

“Eh? Rachel?”

Somebody called Rachel’s name. It was a familiar voice. Rachel

looked back with her head tilted. Standing there was an old
classmate. The man who was always first place at Cube, Kim Suho. It

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was the Sword Saint from Creator’s Sacred Grace.

“Suho-ssi?”

“Wow. It’s so nice to see you again.”

Kim Suho approached with a smile. to him was a hoard of people.

As always, he was the center of attention.

“It’s been a while…”

But one of Kim Suho’s companions particularly stood out. Rachel’s

eyes were fixated on her.

“…I met them on the 2nd floor. Ah, you guys all know her, right?
This is Rachel, the vice-leader of the English Royal Court guild.”

Oblivious to Rachel’s confusion, Kim Suho introduced her to his

group.

“H-Hi. D-Do you remember me? I, uh, I was in school with you,
too…”

Yi Yeonghan stuttered. Rachel, still looking straight at ‘her’, nodded

without hesitation.

“Yes, I remember.” “I’m Vanessa Fermun, and this is Paolo

Fermun… We're from the Colaion family.”

A woman with an Italian look, Vanessa Fermun, introduced herself

along with her brother. Rachel also greeted them. There was only
one person left who had yet to introduce herself. It was the woman
whom Rachel had been looking at this whole time. Rachel couldn’t
keep her cool in front of her. It was the same for all other members of
the Royal Court guild.

“Ah… Kuhum.”

It was only natural. The woman standing in front of them was one

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of the only 70 Master-rank Heroes in the world. A ‘Hero among
Heroes’, a powerhouse who could kill a calamity-grade monster with
a single arrow and whose skills and character were widely respected
by others. A Hero whose title was just as brilliant as her
accomplishments. Jin Seyeon, the Divine Archer.

“Nice to meet you, Vice-leader of the Royal Court guild.”

Jin Seyeon smiled at Rachel.

“I’m Jin Seyeon.”

“Ah, y-yes. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Rachel.”

“I know. I’ve seen you a lot on TV. Haha.”

Surprisingly, Jin Seyeon had a very straightforward personality. It

was different from how she was portrayed in the media, where she
came off gentle and almost saint-like.

“Why don’t we shake hands, to celebrate our meeting?”

Rachel couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or awake, even when Jin
Seyeon reached out her hand. Rachel was dumbstruck. Of course,
she had heard the rumors saying that Jin Seyeon was looking for a
ticket. But those rumors said that Jjin Seyeon was ‘looking for’ one,
and not that she ‘already found’ one.

“…Ah, y-yes.”

‘Let’s think about it later’ Rachel forced her trembling hands to

still, and took Jin Seyeon’s hand.

1. Byul (Boss' name potentially?) means "star" in Korean.

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Chapter 186
Source: Wuxiaworld

Yasha Transformation. It was one of the numerous abilities

included in Boss’ Gift, ‘Shadow’. In this state, her eyes, including the
pupils and the sclera, turned red, and her iris took the form of a
beast’s, resulting in her dynamic vision and physical ability
increasing indefinitely.

If her abilities and stats weren’t being restricted, simply staring at

the opponent would have released magic power that could tear down
the entire space. But inside the Tower of Wish, the only effect Yasha
Transformation had on her was an increase in physical strength.

She rushed forward recklessly like a beast. Her body moved like a
bullet at a speed that couldn’t be captured by the naked eye.

However, Bell easily returned her attack. No, it was not even
necessary to return. His body vaporized. Boss could not bring down
Bell, who rose to the sky in the form of blue magic power.

Still, Boss did not give up. She pursued him, swinging her shadow
blade in every direction. The edge of the blade shattered the valley
and cracked the earth. The entire valley was turned into a chaotic
battlefield.

“You haven’t changed.”

Bell spoke as his magic power clashed with Boss’. Hearing this,
Boss flew in with greater rage. The number of her shadow blades
multiplied, and her shadow deepened to the point of devouring
darkness. However, Boss couldn’t maintain this form for long. It took
up too much magic power. I sighed and took out the Desert Eagle.

I was curious why Boss lost her cool all of a sudden. However, now

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wasn’t the time to ask. I surrounded the bullets with Stigma’s magic
power. The magic power attribute I needed right now was… anti-
magic.

Bell and Boss were tangled up with each other. Boss continued to
chase after Bell who was constantly running away. Of course, if I
couldn’t hit a foe while avoiding a friend, it would be shaming the
name of my Master Sharpshooter Gift.

I aimed at Bell and activated Bullet Time. The world slowed down.
Still, Bell and Boss were incredibly fast. Which angle should I choose
to strike Bell and not Boss? The calculation and the decision were
instinctive. I pulled the trigger lightly.

Chwaaa—

The bullet shot towards Bell. The trajectory displayed an exquisite

combination of speed and angle.

“…!”

The bullet touched his shoulder. Immediately, he regained physical

form. Boss put in a good punch, not missing the chance. Her fist,
loaded with magic power, flew straight towards Bell’s stomach. Bell
was sent flying, coughing up blood.

Kwang—!

His body dug into the cliffside of the valley. One could tell at a
glance that the wound wasn’t fatal. That blow ended the battle, but
Boss couldn’t finish him off.

“…Uk!”

The magic power needed for Yasha Transformation was much more
than what Boss could currently handle. The color of her pupils had
already returned to normal. Her magic power probably wouldn’t last
another three minutes. Boss stared at Bell with killing intent but

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couldn’t move her body.

Instead, I stepped towards Bell.

“Hello.”

Bell grinned at my greeting.

“Pft…. Yeah, hi.”

But I could tell that he was just acting tough. His battle with Boss
probably lasted less than 3 minutes, but the battles of the strong
always end in a moment. He no longer had the strength to stop me.

“Last time, I let you go… but there won’t be a second time.”

I said that and pointed the shotgun to his forehead. Letting an

injured enemy go or other kinds of cheesy clichés— such a thing
wouldn’t happen.

“I know. I shouldn’t have met you here, what a shame. It’s hard
enough dealing with one of you, but 2 versus 1?”

However, Bell answered unperturbed. Even considering the fact

that he had seven lives, he was way too calm.

“Say hello to your boss for me.”

He even grinned a little and returned what I had said to Jin Sahyuk
sometime ago.

“See you later.”

“….”

So this was what it felt like to hear that remark. How shitty. I
wrapped anti-magic power around the bullet and fired without
hesitation.

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KWANG—!

A loud bang filled the air. Soon, everything became silent, and his
body scattered into a current of magic power. Just like that, he died.

“….”

It was a simple ending. But I couldn’t rejoice. There were too many
questions I wanted to ask. What was his relationship with Boss? What
happened between them for Boss who was always so calm to lose
herself like that? While I was pondering— a strange noise came from
behind.

“…Ah, Boss!”

I turned to my back and saw Boss spazzing out. I quickly ran over.

“Hey, hey. Relax. Relax!”

Boss was still trying to use her magic power. She lost her reason
and was still fighting Bell inside her head. Her eyes were turning red.
She was struggling to pull out Yasha once more.

“It’s over! Calm down! Hey!”

At this rate, all her blood vessels would burst and she’d die at least
once. I had no choice but to restrain Boss in order to stop her from
using magic power and from moving. I took her into my arms, and
our bodies crossed each other. Boss trembed in my arms. I could feel
her shake vividly.

“Please calm down. Calm down.”

I even used ‘Suggestive Voice’’. Still, I felt that wasn’t enough, so I

stroked her with my best effort.

“…It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

Perhaps Dwarf’s Dexterity worked even in these kinds of situations.

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Boss began to calm down, and the magic power of Yasha that would
likely burst her blood vessels also subsided.

“….”

I held her without saying anything. Her body was as cold as ice,
and her breathing was disconnected. The outburst of magic power
had stopped, but now the side effects of using too much magic power
were appearing. Still, this was better than going on a rampage.

“…Sleep tight, for a while.”

I whispered, took out the Orb of Regeneration, and infused the orb
with my magic power. Soon green light rose from the orb, wrapping
Boss in warmth. Thanks to the warmth, her trembling stopped and
the freezing body temperature returned to normal. But at the same
time, Boss’s consciousness was broken into bits. She sunk into deep
slumber, and I turned my head with her in my arms. The NPC Kedrick
was looking at us.

“…!”

The moment our eyes met, he turned his head in surprise. I

carefully laid Boss down on the ground and stepped towards Kedrick.
After all, he was the reason we were here. I wasn’t expecting this big
of an event to happen in the first place.

“Hello.”

“…Huh? Oh, yes. Hello.”

Despite the fact that Bell was holding him by the neck just a few
moments ago, Kedrick seemed okay.

“Haa….”

If this was a game, there would have been a lot of conversation

needed at this point. Maybe cheesy self-introductions and an

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exchange of greetings. But I jumped straight to the point. I was too
tired to chatter.

“I came to save you.”

“…What? All of a sudden?”

“You were held captive here, no?”

I pointed at the shackle wrapped around Kedrick’s neck.

“Ah….”

Kedrick nodded. Unlike his muscle-blown body, his personality

seemed meek and docile.

“But why did the man who was just here try to kill you?”

“Huh? Oh, that’s… I don’t think he was trying to kill me.”

“…Hmm?”

That was a little unexpected. When I looked at him curiously,

Kedrick fumbled around with his shackle.

“I think he was just trying to break this shackle. I told him he

wouldn’t be able to by force, but he kept trying. I almost died of
suffocation.”

“Uh… Aha. So that’s it.”

Only then did I realize that Bell was holding his neck out of good
intentions. …He shouldn’t have done it so violently.

“I’ll get rid of it for you. By the way, he was a villain.”

I spoke, pointing at the spot where Bell was just a moment ago.

“Oh, I see. Thank you, but that won’t be possible. This shackle

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can’t be destroyed by normal means. You have to kill Krakoon and
get his key.”

Kedrick was devoted to his role as an NPC. I took a look at the

quest he gave me.

=== [Kedrick’s Quest.] [Subquest - Rescue] [Rank - High-

intermediate] [Goal - Infiltrate the office located at the end of the
Valley of Darkness and kill Krakoon or steal his keys and escape.]
===

“I don’t need to.”

However, I shook my head. With Boss like this, I didn’t intend to

continue the quest. I didn’t need to either.

“Show me your neck.”

“Eh? No. I mean, this is not a matter of necessity….”

“It’s fine.”

I said, and took out the [Mystic Key] from my inventory. In the first
place, I had chosen the Mystic Key to save time in situations like this.
Quests were more fun when you destroyed the given process in a
creative and radical way.

“What’s that?”

Kedrick opened his eyes wide and tilted his head in a cute way. It
really wasn’t befitting of a man with a beard and all that muscle.

“…A key.”

I answered lightly and shoved the key towards Kedrick’s neck.

Kedrick seemed surprised, but the Mystic Key dug into the shackle. A
keyhole wasn’t even necessary. It was a gentle contact, as if putting
the key into water. Click. The key which had infiltrated the shackle

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stopped at a certain point. At that, I turned the key 180 degrees.
Click— The disassembled restraint fell onto the ground.

“Huh? But how….”

There was no time for me to enjoy his surprised face. We had

made quite a scene just now. The demons in charge of this valley
would soon come rushing.

“We have no time. Is there anyone else to go with you?”

“…Oh, right! M-my wife, she’s also locked up here!”

Kedrick started running towards somewhere. I carried Boss on my

back and followed him. *

[Lv.3 English Royal Court Guild]

“This is our guild’s hideout.”

Click— Rachel turned on the light. Though not glamorous, the well-
managed hideout that looked like a private home appeared before
their eyes.

“There’s something called the ‘Hideout System’ in Prestige. It’s a

system that allows you to earn boosted stat increase and various
buffs if you stay in the hideout for a fixed amount of time. The level
of the buffs depend on the level of the hideout.”

Kim Suho, Jin Seyeon, the Fermun brother and sister, and Yi
Yeonghan followed Rachel who was explaining the system.

“Our Royal Court guild hideout is probably one of the five best
hideouts in Prestige.”

Rachel bragged unassumingly and scanned for their reactions. Kim

Suho and others were looking around with interest.

“Hu, Huhu.”

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She shrugged with pride.

“Mm…. It’s a good hideout. But how do we get to the upper level?”

Jin Seyeon asked. As expected, her goal seemed to be climbing the

Tower.

“If you want to make it to the 4th floor, you first have to build
performance points.”

Destroying the demons’ control towers helped them discover

crystal steles which led to the fourth floor, but to enter the fourth
floor Players need something called ‘performance points’. Players
only had to clear a couple of common quests, so it wasn’t that hard
to meet the requirements.

“Performance points…?”

“They’re given out every time you clear a common quest. You
should have gotten a system alert with a list of common quests when
you bought your citizenship.”

“Ah, those. So we just have to kill monsters. Sounds fun.”

Jin Seyeon nodded enthusiastically.

“….”

Rachel observed her childhood hero standing before her. She’d

heard how Kim Suho and Jin Seyeon had gotten together on the way.
It wasn’t anything dramatic. They just happened to be on the same
elevator that Kim Suho discovered.

“…Oh and, sometimes the administrator Medea will give out

quests. You should definitely clear those. The rewards are good.”

“Aha….”

Kim Suho, who had been listening to Rachel, asked Jin Seyeon.

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“So what will you do now, Senior?”

“Oh, me?”

Jin Seyeon grinned.

“First I’ll meet up with the people from the Association. Youngji and
Junhyuk are here as well.”

High-rank Heroes from the Hero Association, Seo Youngji and Oh

Junhyuk. Jin Seyeon had added them as friends as soon as she got on
the elevator to the 2nd floor. From them, she heard something
interesting.

“…I want to hear more about this ‘Black Lotus’ too.”

Jin Seyeon muttered with a serious face, unseen until now.

“Then, I’ll leave now.”

“U-Um.”

Rachel subconsciously grabbed Jin Seyeon who was about to

depart. Jin Seyeon smiled and tilted her head a bit. She was asking
why Rachel had caught her. But Rachel had nothing particular in
mind, so she just said this.

“I saw you… on TV. I watched you do… volunteer works.”

“Oh, that? I’m a bit different from how I appear on TV, huh?”

Jin Seyeon scratched the back of her neck bashfully.

“Half is just pretending, and the other half… I’m a little shy in front
of cameras. Haha.”

She laughed heartily and bowed.

“Anyways, I’ll be leaving now.”

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“Ah, yes. It was nice to meet you.”

…Rachel thought while looking at Jin Seyeon. She had only met her
for only half an hour.

“Please come back anytime. I can offer you a place to stay.”

But during that half an hour, she realized why Jin Seyeon was
admired and respected by others so much.

“Those words are enough, Vice-leader Rachel.”

There was no other Master-rank Hero in the world who would use
polite speech to a junior. Rachel was touched once again at Jin
Seyeon’s courteous farewell. * A lot happened, but we successfully
rescued Kedrick and Lirko. The rewards were the [Mysterious Pocket],
[Kedrick’s Ghost Sword], and some [Treasure Chest] that Kedrick
kept hidden from Krakoon.

Together we arrived at the 3rd floor, Prestige. They were originally

Prestige’ residents before they were kidnapped by the demons, so
this would be the first time they visited their home in a long time.

“…We’re back again.”

“Right.”

But they didn’t seem too happy. Kedrick glanced at me and

explained why.

“You see, our relationship is a bit complicated. I was a blacksmith

working for the government, and Lirko was captain of the inner city’s
vigilante group. We wouldn’t be allowed to exchange even a glance.”

“…I see.”

This was the NPC’s past that I didn’t set. Love beyond status and
money; it was a likely romance story.

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“But you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“What?”

Lirko and Kedrick tilted their heads.

“Prestige has changed a lot since then.”

Only three months had passed since I first arrived in Prestige. But
that was enough time to change the city greatly. A lot had changed.
First, I succeeded in cultivating [Lv.3 Amazing Meat-flavored Corn]
and [Lv.2 Clear and Clean Rice]. I handed them out to NPCs for free
or for a very low price. Second, a commercial district rose up around
Riry Shop. As part of the strategy to appear more high-class, Riry
Shop didn’t treat low-priced items. So the players had no choice but
to sell their drops to resident NPCs. Riry Shop repurchased these
items from NPCs and made potions out of them. The result of this
cycle was the following.

“…Huh?”

Kedrick and Lirko blankly looked at the Prestige before their eyes.
It was undoubtedly a different Prestige than the one they
remembered. Residents working as street vendors, mothers
returning home with distributed corn in their hands, fathers heading
towards farms or mines to work, and players walking here and there.
Many things had already changed in Prestige. …For the record, at
least a fourth of the land was mine. I invested in land everytime I
earned money.

“It changed a lot, right?”

I smiled and asked. Kedrick was still stunned, so Lirko answered

instead.

“Yes, yes. You’re right. I think we could live in happiness without

going inside the walls.”

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Lirko said and looked at Kedrick. But Kedrick was too busy looking
around Prestige. Lirko pinched Kedrick’s side lightly. Kedrick’s face
crumpled.

“Kuaaak—!”

…Maybe it wasn’t ‘lightly’.

“Well then, follow me. To pay you back for what I’ve received, I'll
let you stay here for free.”

“…For free?”

I brought the astonished Kedrick and Lirko to the house I had

prepared beforehand. The first floor would be Kedrick’s workshop,
and the second floor would be the home that they use together.

“By the way, aren’t you uncomfortable?”

On our way there, Lirko asked me. She was looking at Boss who
was on my back.

“Ah, don’t worry, she’s really light.”

“Oh.”

Was she asleep or did she pass out? Anyway, with the unconscious
Boss on my back, I walked onwards.

“We’re here.”

After about 10 minutes of walking, we arrived at the house-cum-

workshop. Lirko and Kedrick looked around in surprise.

“It’s a blacksmith’s workshop.”

“Yes. I’m also good at making things. Only the first floor is the
workshop, the second floor is a regular home.”

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I made this place to utilize Dwarf’s Dexterity. I just haven’t had the
chance to use it.

“For now, stay here. We’ll talk more later… There’s a kid called
Kiri. I’ll send her over.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much for helping us.”

“Oh, don’t bother. I’ve already got compensation.”

The sincerity of their gratitude made me feel a little awkward. In

any case, after taking them there, I returned to the hideout. It was
hard walking with Boss on my back. She was surprisingly voluptuous.

Chirp—! Chirp—!

Spartan rushed towards me the second I opened the door. I headed

towards the bedroom with Spartan by my side, and laid Boss down
on the bed.

“Argh, my back…?”

I was a bit startled. I wasn’t sure when she woke up, but she was
awake.

“Ah, geez. Boss, when did you wake up?”

“…About 5 minutes ago. Was I that heavy?”

Boss asked.

“No. You were light.”

I smiled and covered her with a blanket. Boss snorted in disbelief.

“You just said I was heavy.”

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“Rather than that, I have a lot of things I want to ask you. You went
on quite a rampage today. Our plan almost went awry.”

Boss moved only her eyes and looked at me. She looked rather
embarrassed and sorry.

“But I have a feeling that you won’t tell me even if I ask, so for now
I’ll let you rest.”

Leaving exploring the Demon Realm to another time, I stood up.

Click. I turned off the light and was about to step out of the room.

“Hajin.”

Boss called me. I looked at the bed again. Boss, lying straight in
the bed, muttered.

“…I can’t move my body.”

“…Wah?”

I rushed to Boss. Was it magic power exhaustion? She was just

blinking, looking at the ceiling.

“…Is it magic power exhaustion?”

“Yeah. I can’t move at all.”

At that moment… Growl— Suddenly, a thunderous sound came out

of Boss’s stomach.

“….”

“….”

We observed each other for a moment. After staying s till for about
five minutes…

“…Are you hungry?”

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I asked first.

“…Yes.”

She answered looking embarrassed, and added one word.

“…Sorry.”

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Chapter 187
Source: Wuxiaworld

Fresh carrots, beef, rice, and water. Using the best ingredients, I
made a porridge. Seeing the boiling pot, I checked its item
description.

=== [Lv.3 Porridge Filled with Kim Hajin’s Care] ○Lv.1 Recovery
○Lv.2 Satiety ○Lv.3 Taste ===

‘This should be enough.’ I put the completed porridge in a bowl,

put it on a tray, and brought it to Boss’ bed.

Boss was lying down and busily moving her eyes. She was
probably reading a webnovel or looking through the Community.

“Your food is here.”

Boss raised her body as I brought the tray to her bed. Her eyes
were blinking repeatedly as she stared at me.

“….”

I never even fed Evandel before… I silently scooped up a spoonful

of porridge, then brought it up to her mouth. Boss seemed to be
embarrassed as well as she only opened her mouth slightly. I put the
spoon into her mouth.

“…Nom.”

Boss swallowed after chewing only a couple of times. I picked up

another spoonful of porridge. Boss opened her mouth and sucked the
porridge off the spoon. After repeating this ‘nutrient consumption for
survival’ a few times, Boss suddenly muttered.

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“…This doesn’t happen normally.”

“What do you mean?”

“…Losing my temper.”

She seemed to be embarrassed about what happened today. I

spoke nonchalantly.

“Is that so?”

“I just didn’t expect to encounter him. It was because I wasn’t

prepared at all that I… uup.”

I pushed another spoonful of porridge into her mouth, cutting off

her sentence.

“…Don’t feed me when I’m talking.”

“I don’t have much time. You should eat quickly.”

There was a mountainload of things to do today. I had to open the

‘treasure box’, decide how to use ‘Kedrick’s Ghost Sword’ and the
‘Mysterious Pocket’, and introduce Kedrick to Henry and Kiri.

“….”

Boss furrowed her brows and expressed her displeasure, then went
back to eating the porridge.

“I will be calmer the next time I see him. I only snapped this time
because… uup.”

Seeing that she was making another excuse, I stuffed her mouth
with another spoonful of porridge. She must not have expected it, as
some of the porridge got on her mouth. Boss glared at me with
narrowed eyes.

“….”

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“So, who is he?”

I asked about ‘Bell’, pretending not to know. Boss flinched slightly,

then looked away from me.

“Weren’t you sulking last time because I kept secrets from you?”

“…When did I sulk?”

Boss pouted. Her mouth wriggled as she seemingly pondered.

Then, she sighed. I strained my ears as it was a good sign. Boss
looked back at me and whispered softly.

“He is… the previous black seat.”

“…Eh?”

I was genuinely surprised. I stared at Boss in a daze. My

consciousness froze for about five seconds before recovering.
Technically speaking, this was indeed an empty hole in the plot. The
black seat I currently possessed originally belonged to Shin Jonghak,
but I had never written about its past owner.

“He is also a traitor who betrayed the previous boss and murdered
him.”

Boss continued to explain a setting I didn’t know. Chameleon

Troupe’s ex-boss. I had not written anything about that either. But
since Chameleon Troupe had a long history, it made sense for there
to be a boss or two besides the current boss. I scooped up another
spoonful of porridge as I listened to Boss’ explanation carefully. Boss
glanced at my hand.

“It’s already been 10 years, but I haven’t forgotten his face for a
single day… nyam.”

When I held the spoon up, she bit down on it. After chewing on the
porridge, she announced with determination.

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“…I’m going to kill him. I will eliminate the traitor.”

“I understand what you’re saying… but you can’t do what you did
today.”

Boss nodded.

“…So what will happen to him next?”

“He died, so he should revive on the 3rd floor in 48 hours.”

I didn’t know exactly how many lives he lost, but he should have
lost at least two.

“I see….”

Boss stared at me with a smile.

“Thank you for killing him.”

I smiled back. Without Boss, I wouldn’t have been able to kill him
either. If Boss wasn’t acting as both the frontline tank and damage
dealer, Bell would have easily closed the distance. I didn’t know how
much of his abilities he recovered, but there was a chance that I
could have been killed.

“You too, Boss….”

At that moment, the door opened.

—I’m back~

Jain’s voice rang out. Perfect timing. I put the bowl of porridge back
on the tray and left Boss’ room. Jain was taking off her shoes while
beaming with a smile.

“Ah, that was so fun~ Oh, Hajin, when did you come back~?”

“It’s been a while. Rather than that, can you feed Boss?”

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“…Eh?”

Jain tilted her head at the unexpected request.

“Feed her? Me?”

“Yes, she’s in her bedroom.”

“…Why?”

“You’ll see once you go in. Boss went wild and fell into magic
power exhaustion.”

—Kuhum! A displeased harrumph rang out from the slightly

opened door to Boss’ room. When I glanced back at her, she was
glaring at me with a clear ‘don’t leave it to Jain’—kind of look. Of
course, I ignored it.

“…Hnn, I see.”

Jain’s confused expression quickly changed to that of mischief.

“Okay~ I’ll do it. Ehehe~”

After making a lewd and wicked smile, she hopped into Boss’ room.
When Boss saw Jain’s face, she flinched.

“Boss~ I heard you couldn’t move~ Ah, let’s close the door first~”

Kiik— As the door slowly closed, I could see Boss’ pitiful eyes
requesting a rescue. Unfortunately, I had other things to do.

—Jain, I’m already full.

—Are you sure? Ah, can you not move your tongue because of
magic power exhaustion? Should I feed you mouth-to-mouth?

—N-No! I can move well! See!?

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Ignoring the fierce shouting reverberating in Boss’ bedroom, I
returned to my room. Then, I took out the treasure chest Kedrick
gifted.

=== [Lv.6 Treasure Chest] —Krakoon’s treasure chest. It seems to

contain various items, but a key is needed to open it. ===

The treasure chest Kedrick hid out of defiance to Krakoon. Since it

was a Lv.6 treasure chest, it was sure to contain good items.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t open it with my ‘Mystic Key’. I already tried
it, but the key’s [Unlocking] level was too low.

“Is the key too low-level?”

It was a problem easily solved with SP. I could probably take any
piece of paper and use ‘Setting Intervention’ to rewrite the paper’s
description as [Item Experience Coupon]. Then, I could use the paper
to level up any item I wanted. But this was too wasteful. I only
needed 700 more SP until I could make my desired Gift.

“Auction house.”

To see if there was an alternative, I went into the auction house

and typed the keyword [Item] and [Experience].

[Searching listings with the keywords ‘item’ and ‘experience’.]

[…13 items were detected.] [Item Experience +23 Coupon x3] [Item
Experience +17 Coupon x2] [Item Experience +11 Coupon x7]

“Eh?”

They were there. The highest bid was 50TP, which was very cheap.
Even the instant purchase price was 300~400TP. I was confused at
first but soon understood. These coupons could only be used on
‘evolving items’. Without them, they were no different than a piece of
paper.

It was yet another benefit of having more information about the

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Tower. I immediately clicked the ‘instant purchase’ button.

[You purchased Item Experience +23 Coupon x3] [You purchased

Item Experience +17 Coupon x2] [You purchased Item Experience
+11 Coupon x7]

The coupons were sent to my inventory. I immediately used them

on the [Mystic Key] and the [Orb of Regeneration].

=== [Orb of Regeneration] [Magic Artifact] —An orb with the

power of regeneration. ○Evolving Item – EXP 「11/200」 ○Lv.2 ???
===

=== [Mystic key] [Magic Artifact] —A mystical key. ○Evolving Item

– EXP 「9/200」 ○Lv.3 Unlocking ===

The items’ effects leveled up.

“Is Lv.3 Unlocking good enough?”

I held the Mystic Key and muttered softly.

“Scan.”

The number engraved was 27%. Jackpot. I put the key into the
treasure chest’s keyhole. Unlike before when the key wouldn’t even
fit, it practically slid in this time. Click— A clicking noise rang out.
Was it working? I turned the key to the right. Kiik— A heavy metallic
sound rang out and the treasure chest became unlocked. I opened
the lid with high expectations. Brilliant light burst out of the chest.

“Oho.”

I muttered in astonishment. As expected of an administrator, he

was hoarding many shiny items.

=== [Lv.4 Blue Diamond] [Lv.5 Pure Dark Ore Ingot x3] [Lv.3 Skill
Consolidation Ticket] [Lv.3 Item Consolidation Ticket] [Lv.1 Basic Skill

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Acquisition Book – Tempering and Smelting] [Lv.4 Red Sapphire]
===

The most eye-catching item was undoubtedly the [Lv.5 Pure Dark
Ingot]. It was the first time I saw a Lv.5 ore.

“…Should I use it to make arrows?”

That was the first thought I had. Of course, making arrows with
such a valuable ore could only be thought of as insane. After all,
arrows could only be used once.

But that changed depending on the person involved. Like the

saying went, time was more valuable to a rich person than money. I
was exactly such a person. By making proper arrows with these ores,
I would have a powerful weapon other than my gun. That was the
important thing, since I couldn’t use my gun when I was working as a
member of the Chameleon Troupe.

“…Hm?”

Then suddenly, a lightbulb went on in my head. I thought of a

method to make arrows reusable. I looked at my smartwatch. Then, I
looked back at the dark ore ingots. If this worked, I didn’t even need
many arrows. In fact, I could use ‘Synthesis’ to compress and
strengthen them together. With this method, the arrow only needed
to be powerful and durable.

“….”

I fiddled with the smartwatch with one hand as I gathered Stigma’s

magic power with the other.

**

day. I returned to the 5th floor’s [Valley of Darkness]. Although I

was alone, I wasn’t worried since I was thoroughly loaded with all
sorts of items. This time, I walked up to the highest point possible,

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which was the mountain peak that protruded up on both sides of the
valley.

—So two of them escaped?

—Yeah, Boss went wild because of it.

—Haa….

I looked down at the dark valley below and saw demons talking
about yesterday’s incident. Human NPCs were doing hard labor under
their watch. The security was tighter due to yesterday’s incident, but
it didn’t matter.

I nocked five arrows on my bow. Both the arrow tip and the arrow
shaft were black. Black had unintentionally become my symbolic
color.

I aimed the arrows downward and fired.

Chwaaak—

The arrows flew out, moving independently from one another. The
first arrow curved to the left, the second arrow flew straight, the third
curved to the right… And all five pierced the necks of demons. The
valley immediately fell silent. Seeing their bodies scattering into
dust, I muttered a certain keyword.

“Return.”

Then, the five [Lv.7 Dark Ore Arrows] I shot suddenly flew up.
Sssss— They retraced the path they took and returned to my hand.

“Perfect.”

Reusable arrows. It was easy once I thought about it. I added a

setting to the five [Lv.7 Dark Ore Arrows] I created. ‘Lv.0 Remote
Control’. Because I made it Lv.0 to save SP, for now I could only use it

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to ‘retrieve’ the arrows. But once I leveled up the effects, I should be
able to control them with my will.

“Now…”

There were 11 prison camps left. Now that I confirmed the arrows’
effectiveness, I moved swiftly and lightly like a ninja.

The dark ore arrows didn’t leave behind any evidence. They flew
silently like an owl hunting in the night and delivered eternal
darkness to their targets. This wasn’t an exaggeration in the
slightest. The moment I fired the arrows, they transformed into
invisible darkness to kill their targets.

Using this method, I killed all the demons guarding the 11 prison
camps.

Now, Krakoon was the only one left. I began to make my way to his
office.

“…?”

Then suddenly, I felt a fierce gaze fall on me. Two piercing eyes
glared at me with killing intent. I turned towards the direction of the
gaze. There, I saw a man wearing glasses. His skin was blue, and he
had a horn protruding from his head. I immediately knew who he
was.

[Lv.8 Administrator of the Valley of Darkness, Krakoon]

“Krakoon.”

—…Who are you?

Krakoon asked. I couldn’t hear him well because he was too far
away, but I answered anyways.

“That’s none of your business.”

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—Pft.

Krakoon snickered. He was clearly looking down on the human

race.

—…You must be the one who attacked us yesterday. Regardless,

you won’t be able to escape. Do you think I didn’t make any
preparations?

In an instant, a huge tremor of magic power erupted.

—Hundreds of soldiers will gather here soon.

A purple magic power appeared on the ground. It was a large-scale

spell requiring the usage of a magic circle, ‘Mass Teleport’.

—Your punishment shall be death by dismemberment… no, I will

make it so that you wished you were dead.

Krakoon’s confident laughter rang out through the valley.

However, I remained silent and took out the Mystic Key. It was still
strengthened by 27%. To temporarily boost its strength even further,
I infused Stigma’s magic power into it. Then, I stabbed the key into
the ground.

“Hey, Kraken.”

—It’s Krakoon, not Kraken. If you want to surrender, tell me where

Kedrick and Lirko are. If you do, I will generously allow you to die.

“No, um…”

I turned the key and spoke calmly.

“Have a nice day.”

Magic power flashed from the key and seeped into the dirt.
Immediately, the mountain began to rumble. Using this mysterious

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key, I had just ‘unlocked’ something that was holding the mountain
together. What resulted was a landslide. As the valley was right
underneath the mountain, it was obvious what would happen to it.
Since I focused the landslide in Krakoon’s direction, the human NPCs
should be able to live.

—W-What is…

Like a third-rate villain, Krakoon muttered a boring line. Trrrrr—!

Dirt began to slide down, and the Mass Teleport spell disappeared
without ever activating.

“Ehew….”

I sighed and turned to the side. As though I was a movie star, my

eyes met someone else’s. Well, to say that our eyes met, we were
too far away. Without the Thousand-Mile Eyes, she would have
looked like a tiny speck of dust. Did our eyes really meet? Or was it a
coincidence? I narrowed my eyes with such a thought… then pulled
my hood down a bit more.

Standing over yonder was one of the strongest characters I

created. Jin Seyeon, the Divine Archer. For some reason, she was
with Chae Nayun. However, that wasn’t important at the moment. Jin
Seyeon was staring at the me with her Divine Archer eyes. There was
no shaking in her look nor a hint of doubt. She was staring at me
fixedly.

**

“…Haha.”

Jin Seyeon was staring at a faraway distance. Without the

supernatural eyesight provided by her Gift, ‘Divine Archer’, it would
have been too far to see even for her. For ten minutes, she had been
staring at that person’s actions. Finally, she smiled at the man who
just met her eyes.

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“Um, Senior, did you feel that tremor?”

Jin Seyeon was distracted for a split second by the innocent voice
beside her. It was Chae Nayun who was curious about the sound of
the landslide.

“A landslide just happened.”

Jin Seyeon answered her then looked back. The man who was
standing at the mountain peak was already gone.

“A landslide?”

Chae Nayun asked. Jin Seyeon nodded but hid one truth. That the
landslide was purposely caused by one person. Even if she told the
truth, there was a chance that no one would believe her. Unless a
mountain was extremely unstable, an ‘artificial landslide’ could only
be caused by 5-star magicians who were specialized in that field. An
archer was able to cause a landslide? In the Tower of Wish where
everyone’s abilities were restricted? If Jin Seyeon didn’t witness the
strange flow of the man’s magic power, she wouldn’t have believed it
either.

“Yes, a landslide far away from here buried an entire valley.”

“…Um, Senior, you don’t have to talk so politely. Feel free to use
casual speech.”

Chae Nayun spoke uncomfortably.

“How could I to Chairman’s granddaughter? I am more comfortable

speaking like this.”

However, Jin Seyeon firmly refused Chae Nayun’s request.

Although Jin Seyeon’s polite speech made Chae Nayun
uncomfortable, Chae Nayun was still a little happy inside.

“…Do you know Grandpa?”

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“Mm… you could say that.”

‘Though it’s not a good relationship.’ Jin Seyeon swallowed her

next sentence and smiled.

“In any case, that’s why I met up with Nayun-ssi.”

“Ha, haha, I see.”

“K-Kuhum. In that case… what do you think about my grandfather,

Hero Shin Myungchul?”

Shin Jonghak, who was walking on eggshells around Jin Seyeon,

finally worked up the courage to ask. Even Shin Jonghak couldn’t act
arrogantly in front of a Master-rank Hero. As if to prove her status, Jin
Seyeon had even caught up to their strength in just four days.

“He is an amazing person. I’ve heard many good things about

him.”

“Ha, haha, hahahaha. Kuhum.”

Shin Jonghak’s expression brightened. He then let out a dry cough,

and tightened the grip on his spear. Jin Seyeon spoke.

“Rather than that…”

She had already heard everything from her comrades Seo Youngji
and Oh Junhyuk. That many people were pitting her against ‘Black
Lotus’ for the title of the strongest archer.

As Jin Seyeon had been losing her motivation, this new opponent
was a welcomed one.

As such, she had never slept since she entered the 3rd floor. In
other words, she had remained awake for 72 hours. It was all to focus
on regaining her abilities and acquiring skills. The effort she put into
improving herself made her feel like she had returned to her younger

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days.

“Let’s move. I see a demon camp nearby.”

Jin Seyeon looked back at the direction where the mysterious

archer stood. It was extremely likely that he was ‘Black Lotus’. The
landslide had ended, and there was no one on the silent
mountainpeak.

…Where was he all this time?

After staring at the empty mountain peak for a long time, Jin
Seyeon finally looked away with a happy smile on her face.

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Chapter 188
Source: Wuxiaworld

[Lv.11 Medea’s Palace]

Standing in the heart of Prestige was a lofty palace that served as

the symbol of the city. The Gothic spires and stained glass decorating
the walls gave it an antique charm, and the mana crystals adorning
the ceilings and walls shone even in Prestige’s eternal darkness.

This mystical palace was built and sustained with only the power of
magic. It was a symbol of sovereignty of the ‘abandoned princess’,
Medea.

The halls of the palace were a maze that one could only enter with
Medea’s permission, and the palace’s walls had magic cannons that
could shoot down any outside enemy. The fact that she even added
eight legs to the palace so she could escape with it if it was
necessary showed how much she loved the place.

“Hnn…”

Currently, Medea was surrounded by her faithful servants, who

followed her every wish, and was looking at a table filled with
delicacies that came from the upper floors of the Tower. Despite all
these, she was in a bad mood.

There was just one thing that was bothering her.

‘…There shouldn’t be anyone in Prestige with the skills to craft

such an item.’

Medea thought back to the event she held four days ago. The robe
that the first ranked man who introduced himself as Buyong was
wearing. The surface of the robe was soft like flowing water and its

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beautiful engravings exuded a faint aura.

‘Aura’.

It was a flow of magic power and art that could only be seen by
those who possessed the Aesthetic Eye. Medea could see the aura
being emitted from his robe. The aura was very natural as if it had
been that way ever since it was first created.

‘…Who could have made such a robe?’

Medea was simply curious. To her knowledge, there wasn’t anyone

in Prestige with such skills. If there was, she would’ve brought them
to the palace a long time ago. It wasn’t something that could be
found outside the 3rd floor either. A civilization that could produce
such luxuries would be on a much higher floor than Prestige.

“Could it be…?”

Suddenly, she thought of Hephaestus who should be hiding

somewhere. But she quickly shook her head. That ignorant man
wouldn’t be able to make something so delicate. It was that
blacksmith’s fault that dwarfs, who possessed far more dexterity
than elves, avoided cloth and weaving and focused only on gold and
iron.

“…Tsk.”

It all seemed so pitiful to Medea after a while. Everything in

Prestige was cheap anyway. She was a bit curious about the robe but
that was all. It wasn’t something she was dying to get her hands on.
Only items like the ‘Blue Wave’ and the ‘Song of Sorrow’ were worthy
of holding her attention.

“Reiley.”

Medea stopped thinking about the robe and called in the old butler
who had been working for her for a long time. Suddenly, a part of the

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room trembled and the old butler appeared out of the blue. It was a
simple teleportation that only worked inside the palace.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“When is the next Administrator Conference?”

The Tower’s administrators, who were in charge of a floor or a sub-

floor, frequently held meetings.

Of the many administrators, some were apathetic to the whole

thing, some were kind enough to help Players go higher up, and
some tried their best to disturb them..

Medea was the self-indulgent type, an apathetic administrator.

She couldn’t care less about who died. She only wanted to focus on
gathering performance points and TP, so she could manifest herself
in the phenomenon realm. After all, being stuck inside this damn
Tower for the rest of her life would be very boring and sad.

“The meeting is scheduled… 10 days from now.”

“Is that so?”

Medea smiled oddily and licked her lips.

“Then, let’s get one more thing done before then.”

There was still one thing left to do. Although it was a bit of a
difficult and impertinent task, she knew it wouldn’t be her that would
shoulder the burdens.

“Isn’t it about time that Prestige gets a sun?”

Medea’s enchanting voice filled the spacious palace.

**

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[Lv.6 Strange Valley of Darkness]

I entered the valley to escape Jin Seyeon’s sight.

“It should be around here somewhere….”

It was hard to see through all the dirt and ores, but I finally
managed to find [Krakoon’s Vault] using my Thousand-Mile Eyes. It
was a tightly-sealed, cubic safe. Again I opened it easily using the
Mystic Key.

“…?”

But there were only documents inside. I looked at them carefully

and found they were land documents and slave contracts.

=== [Magic Land Document] —A land document made from magic

power. —Upon the death of the original owner, ownership can be
transferred to another person. === [Magic Slave Contract] —Slave
contract made from magic power. —Upon the death of the original
owner, ownership can be transferred to another person. ===

First, I infused my magic power into the land document.

[The owner of ‘Valley of Darkness’ has been changed to the Player

‘Extra7’.] [Currently, there are about 480kg of dark ore buried within
‘Valley of Darkness’.]

“…Oh?”

So, there was something like this. But even if I become the land
owner, how was I supposed to dig up all this dark ore?

[TIP! Lv.1 Player Shop sells an ‘automatic miner’ for 800TP.]

“Ah, thank you.”

So there was something like that. There was a lot I didn’t know. I
purchased an ‘automatic miner’ from the Player Shop. It was a

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machine that looked like a drone.

=== [Lv. 1 Automatic Miner] —A cute machine that searches for

ores buried in a mine and automatically digs them out. ○Lv.1 Ore
Mining —Digs up to 1kg of ores per hour. ○Lv.1 Ore Searching ===

I bought three automatic miners and released them. Then, I began

to search the Valley of Darkness for enslaved human NPCs.

“Aah!”

“W-Who are you?”

The sudden incident threw them into confusion. I approached them

gently so they wouldn't be surprised, asked for their hometown, and
released the shackles around their necks.

There were 16 of them in total. They were all formal Prestige

residents.

I tore up their slave contracts, collected the ores they had dug, and
sent them back to Prestige. I also sent a message to Henry and Kiri,
asking them to introduce the freed slaves to Kedrick. Since Kedrick
went through tough times with them, he was likely to take care of
them somehow.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“I won't forget your kindness!”

We were standing in front of the crystal stele that let one travel
between the 3rd and the 4th floor. The moment the 16 NPCs shed
tears, a system window popped up.

[You defeated Krakoon, the administrator of the Valley of

Darkness, and rescued the NPCs.] [Subquest complete. “The Wishes
of the NPCs at the Prison Camp - Murder of the Valley Executive”] [All
of your stats increase by 0.3 points.]

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“…Mmm.”

All stats by 0.3. I nodded my head in satisfaction and wondered

what to do next. I didn’t want to act hastily with Jin Seyeon so close
by. Should I go check out the 5th floor for a bit?

With my Master Sharpshooter Gift, scouting was extremely easy. I

climbed up a mountain, which was very commonly found in the
Demon Realm, focused Stigma’s magic power in my eyes, and looked
around. I was able to see the entire land with my eyes.

Among the many Players struggling on the fifth floor, I studied the
alliance team that was moving together. A group of about 50 people
were busy discussing a ‘castle attack’. The two best guilds ‘Essence
of the Strait’ and ‘Frost Sanctuary’ were getting ready to attack [Lv.7
Demon’s Castle No.1] along with the English Royal Court guild.

—Inside the No.1 Castle are about 150 demons and 800 undead.

Those were Rachel’s words. She appeared delighted to be with the

upper guilds and couldn’t hide her excitement.

—Are you sure?

Kim Youngjin, Essence of the Strait’s team leader, asked.

“Yes. My wind elemental personally investigated the area.”

Rachel nodded with a needlessly solemn expression. In response,

Kim Youngjin smiled.

—An elementalist has a great tactical value for sure.

—…No, I'm still just a beginner.

Rachel seemed happy at Kim Youngjin’s praise but still kept a

humble attitude. She was probably jumping with joy on the inside.

—There are only 50 of us. Maybe the difference is too much.

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—What do you think about asking Aileen-nim for help?

Kim Youngjin’s concerns were answered by Jung Hosun, the team

leader of Frost Sanctuary.

“…Aileen.”

Hearing this, I wondered where Aileen was. I took my eyes off of

them and started looking for Aileen. She was easy to spot. After all,
she was the only white-haired shorty in the world.

—Yongha, I have 1030TP on me right now. Remember that.

—Huh? Why are you telling me that?

Aileen and Yi Yongha were surrounded by at least 100 undead and

5 demons.

“Well, I just thought we should check them beforehand. I can’t lose

them again.”

Even with so many enemies before them, Aileen’s only concern is

how much money she had in her pocket. She was probably thinking
that she lost the TP that Jain had stolen from her by mistake.

—Okay. 1030TP. I’ll remember that.

—Good.

Aileen nodded and looked ahead. Not daunted by the ghastly

undead and the demons, Aileen smiled.

—Hey kids. Hail is falling from the sky right now.

The demons were confused. The sky above was as dark as ever,
without any sign of precipitation. However, to them, her words were
equivalent to a death sentence.

—You see, those hailstones will… split your heads!

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Anything a Spirit Speech Master said became true. Hailstones filled
with magic power poured down from the sky at that instant.
Kugwagwagwagwang!

It was hard to tell whether it was hail or a meteor shower. The

enormous magic completely wiped out the demons. The armors they
had on were crushed as soon as they came into contact with the
masses of ice; the skin and flesh of the undead monsters cracked
and pulverized before they walked even one step.

“….”

I scratched the back of my neck as I watched the massacre. For the

past month I was Lu Bu or the “Hegemon-King” Xiang Yu. Was that
all just a midsummer night’s dream?

“Ehew.” I should try harder from now on. Now that I could get more
dark ore, I shouldn’t lose to them. Every time I obtain a dark ore, I
could use [Synthesis] to compress them into my arrows.

In any case, that was it for my surveillance. I took out the Dwarven
Supercar from my inventory and returned to Prestige.

[Lv.5 Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout]

“I’m back.”

—Is that you, Hajin?

As soon as I stepped inside I heard Boss’ voice coming from the

bedroom. I smiled and headed towards her room. Boss was lying on
the bed with my [Orb of Regeneration] in one hand and patting
Spartan with the other.

“How do you feel?”

“Much better. I think I’ll recover by tomorrow. This orb is effective.”

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“That’s good to hear.”

I sat next to Boss’ bed and made a comb out of Stigma’s magic
power. With it I brushed Boss’s messy hair and began thinking.

Chameleon Troupe was the product of my ideas. I didn’t write

much about it in the settings book, and everything was just in my
head. That was because I was agonizing over what kind of
background to set. To be more specific, I purposely left it blank to fill
it with more attractive settings.

But all that agonizing was in vain, since I stopped writing the novel
before Chameleon Troupe and Kim Suho became equal. In terms of
time, it should be about 2 or 3 years in the future.

I regretted it. Now, there were too many things I didn’t know. Jin
Sahyuk’s relationship with Bell. Bell’s relationship with Boss. Boss’
relationship with the former boss. Had I known this would happen, I
would have written more. Well, that was probably why I was a failed
writer. Kim Hajin, the pitiful writer who couldn’t even finish his own
novel.

“Hmmm….”

A low humming came from under my hand. I glanced and saw Boss
enjoying my combing with her eyes closed. I looked at her calmly.
There was only one way for me to know what I don’t know. I had to
ask Boss directly.

“Hey, Boss.”

—Oh? Looks like Hajin is here.

A noise came from the entrance. I tilted my head and stood up.

“Wait just a moment.”

I stopped brushing her hair and stepped outside. At the entrance

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was Jain and one other person.

“When did you get back, Hajin~? Right, so this time we’ve got two
more members in the Tower. You know him, right?”

Jain spoke first. Then, the gentle-looking man next to Jain smiled at
me.

“Hey, Newbie.”

It was Jin Yohan, the Seat of Green. I smiled back at him.

“Yes, hello.”

I sounded composed but my mouth twitched with tension.

Chameleon Troupe’s vital members had started to gather. Silver
should be the next color to arrive. What that meant was that there
wasn’t much time left until we met Kim Suho.

**

“Auu, I’m exhausted~”

On the other hand, Kim Suho had returned to [Lv.1 Creator’s

Sacred Grace’s Hideout] after grinding his stats and skill levels on the
4th floor.

Today, he had more guests than usual. On top of his usual

companions, Chae Nayun and Shin Jonghak had also followed him
back. The small 55-square-meter Lv.1 hideout thus became crowded
with people.

“You didn’t have to follow me all the way back… Anyways, come
in.”

Kim Suho scratched his neck as he guided them in.

“Pft, what a tiny place.”

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Shin Jonghak’s sneer came out naturally. However, he was clearly
different from before. Although he was still a little rude, he wasn’t
going out of line like he did in the past. Did he become an adult? Kim
Suho grinned and nudged Shin Jonghak’s shoulder like they were
close friends.

“…Are you crazy? Did you just shove me?”

Shin Jonghak immediately turned serious. Startled, Kim Suho let

out a dry cough.

“Stop being so noisy. Here, it’s a housewarming gift.”

At that moment, Chae Nayun gave a bundle of potions to Kim

Suho.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“A potion set from Riry Shop. It’s worth 1000TP, so you better be
thankful.”

“1000TP? Wow, thanks. Call me if you ever need help. I’ll be there
right away.”

Kim Suho took the potions gratefully. Seeing Kim Suho’s child-like
excitement, Chae Nayun smiled.

“Take a seat everyone~ I’ll make dinner~”

Venessa Fermun went into the kitchen and the rest sat down near
the kitchen table.

“Hey, doesn’t this remind you of the good old days?”

Yi Yeonghan began to chatter the moment he sat down. He was

reminiscing about the past. Looking around the familiar faces at the
table, he spoke.

“We’re only missing those two. Yoo Yeonha and Kim Ha— huuk!”

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Before Yi Yeonghan could finish saying ‘his’ name, Kim Suho
pinched his side. However, it was too late. Chae Nayun’s expression
turned sour, and Kim Suho glared at Yi Yeonghan.

“Uuuu, my side….”

Yi Yeonghan was too busy enduring his pain to feel anything amiss.
Kim Suho quickly changed the subject.

“So Nayun, how have you been doing? I heard you got inflicted
with a curse.”

“…Oh, that? How did you know? I guess rumors travel fast.”

It seemed Chae Nayun didn’t want to think about such things as

she smiled bitterly and shook off what Yi Yeonghan said.

“I heard from Yi Jiyoon.”

“Yi Jiyoon? That girl is too light-mouthed….”

Chae Nayun sighed hearing what Kim Suho said. She once again
reaffirmed her belief that Yi Jiyoon shouldn’t be told any secrets. She
was just too bad at keeping secrets. Now, everyone knew about how
she was embarrassingly cursed…

“It’s fine now. Someone I know treated me.”

“Oh? Who?”

Yi Yeonghan asked.

“I’m not going to tell you, but he’s really famous in the Tower.”

Chae Nayun made a smug face. Because of her background, Chae

Nayun naturally knew many people. However, she only had a few
acquaintances she really trusted. With this incident, Extra7 had
become an acquaintance she could really trust. His status had risen
at least two levels in her heart.

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“What’s his nickname?”

“Extra7.”

The Player who made a name for himself in the tutorial, Extra7. His
achievement became a legend that was still being told in the
Community.

“…Ah~ that’s the person who made 20000TP in the tutorial!”

Chae Nayun widened her eyes at Yi Yeonghan’s sentence.

“Eh? You knew? How?”

“He got famous outside the Tower too. You don’t know what’s
going on outside, right? The world is only talking about the Tower of
Wish. I’m not even exaggerating. Every news station is reporting on
the internal structure of the Tower and analyzing the tutorial, 2nd
floor, 3rd floor, and so on.”

“Oh? Interesting… Ah, then keep it a secret that I know him. You
guys aren’t like Yi Jiyoon, right?”

In case Extra7 Hyung-nim would be bothered, Chae Nayun asked

the others to keep their relationship a secret.

“Sure, but how do you know Extra7?”

Hearing Kim Suho’s question, Chae Nayun replied with a confident

smile.

“I’ve known him for a long time. I first met him when I was a
cadet.”

Although she had never met him in person, she had interacted with
him like a normal friend. Back in the day, they had played a match
together at least once a day.

“…Oho. Hey, can you ask him to lend me some money? There’s an

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item I want to buy.”

Yi Yeonghan asked with a smile.

“Shut it.”

Chae Nayun looked at him with disgust. At that moment, system

windows suddenly popped up around them.

[Hello, everyone. This is Medea.]

“Uwoah!”

Startled, Yi Yeonghan jumped out of his seat and fell backwards.

This was the first time he was encountering Medea’s quest.

“Be quiet. This is really important.”

On the other hand, Chae Nayun quickly became focused. Last time,
she had failed to participate in Medea’s quest because she was sick.
This time, she was determined to do well and rank in the top 100.

[I hope you’re having a nice day, Players. I believe you know what I
will say.]

Medea’s breath-taking beauty quickly attracted the attention of Yi

Yeonghan who had run away from her just a moment ago.

[It is time for another quest.]

Medea made a dazzling smile.

[The name of the quest is ‘Sunlight’. This is a very important

quest.]

It was the kind of smile that gave off a creepy feeling because it

was too perfect.

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Chapter 189
Source: Wuxiaworld

Paris, France. Grand Duchess Ah Hae-In’s residence. Unlike the

gloomy Prestige, the outside world’s sky was clear and blue.

“…Thank you once again. We will do our best not to disappoint you
in your partnership with Essence of the Strait.”

Yoo Yeonha was successfully completing her contract with Ah Hae-

In, the female progenitor of the Ah family and an 8-star magician who
was on the verge of becoming 9-star. Ah Hae-In, sitting in front of
Yoo Yeonha, gave a faint smile.

“I could say the same to you. I heard a rumor that my nephew is

also in Essence of the Strait.”

Yoo Yeonha smiled in satisfaction at Ah Hae-In’s remark.

“Yes. Baire Moren-ssi is taking an active part in the Guild.”

More than four years ago, ‘Baire Moren’ participated in the same
archery competition as Kim Hajin at the Cube Festival. At the time,
he had lost to Kim Hajin even with the help of Ah Hae-In. Now he was
a member of Essence of the Strait. The only reason for his
recruitment was to win the favor of Ah Hae-In

“Then, will my nephew enter the Tower of Wish this time?”

Yoo Yeonha couldn’t give an affirmative answer to that question.

“We are… not so sure about that yet. The will of the individual is
the most important thing when deciding to enter a Tower… But if
Moren-ssi wants to, then I don’t see why not.”

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“Haha. You don’t have to try so hard. I know my nephew’s strength
well. If he goes into the Tower now, he will only become prey to
others. I want to see my nephew around for a long time. It’s not like I
expect him to become a great hero.”

Ah Hae-In gave a meaningful smile.

“But still, wouldn’t my nephew's looks guarantee him success in

the entertainment industry?”

That was what Yoo Yeonha wanted as well. She replied with an
assuring smile.

“…Of course.”

“Good then. I look forward to working with you.”

Her meeting with Ah Hae-In was a success from beginning to end.

Yoo Yeonha clenched her fists with joy. The news of Ah Hae-In joining
hands with Essence of the Strait would surprise their foes and
encourage their friends. How would the public and their rivals react
to the partnership? Yoo Yeonha couldn’t help but look forward to it.

“Oh, by the way, what is that guy Fenrir up to nowadays?”

Then suddenly, Ah Hae-In asked a rather strange question. Yoo

Yeonha widened her eyes in surprise at the sudden appearance of an
unexpected name.

“Were you interested in mercenaries as well?”

“It’s not that, he just left a deep impression on me. It’s already
been four years, yet I still remember him.”

“Ah… You mean the archery competition, right?”

Yoo Yeonha recalled what happened four years ago. During Cube’s
Class Competitions, Kim Hajin had showed off a mystical curve shot

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against Baire Moren. With just one arrow, Kim Hajin had gained a
number of admirers and brought several guilds’ attention to himself.

“Yes. To an old fellow like me, it seems like a waste for a master
archer like himself to be using guns.”

“…Still, he has broadened our horizons as the one and only

‘Gunner’. He’s already considered a god-like figure in the field.”

Ah Hae-In smiled with her eyes. The smile was absent from
wrinkles despite her age.

“Is that so? Anyhow, I heard that Fenrir is on good terms with
Essence of the Strait. Does that mean I’ll get to meet him sooner or
later?”

“Currently he’s inside the Tower, so I can’t be absolutely certain.

But surely he won’t hesitate to meet Grand Duchess Ah Hae-In.”

“Hahaha. Really?”

Friendly exchange of words continued to take place between them.

Yoo Yeonha laughed and talked, being careful not to act frivolous or
behave in a bad manner as she closed the conversation.

“…Then I’ll take my leave now.” “Mm. Would you look at the time.
Farewell. Spending time with a young beauty has made me feel
young as well.”

Ah Hae-In didn’t stand up and simply stretched out her hand in her
seat. Yoo Yeonha grabbed her hand while smiling brightly. Ah Hae-In
was self-conscious about her height. She hated getting up in case
she was shorter than the other party even with heels on. For that
reason, Yoo Yeonha wore flat shoes today.

“However, seeing that it’s already late, you may stay the night if
you’d like. The guest rooms are better than most five-star hotels.”

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Ah Hae-In offered kindly. She found today’s meeting to be quite
satisfactory.

“…I appreciate the offer, but how can I bear to stay here for just
one night? This place is so beautiful, I’ll be filled with regrets when I
have to leave.”

Yoo Yeonha gracefully declined the offer.

“Is that so? Well, you must be busy.”

Ah Hae-In understood what she meant. …But in truth, this meeting

was the last thing on Yoo Yeonha’s schedule for today. Furthermore,
tomorrow was a ‘rest day’, which was a special day Yoo Yeonha set
aside for herself once every six months.

“Then, rest well. I apologize for taking up so much of your time.”

“No, no. It’s nothing.”

Yoo Yeonha was planning to return home right away. It wasn’t that
she didn’t like Ah Hae-In or her mansion. Ah Hae-In was a hospitable
French lady who had learned Korean from historical K-dramas, and
her mansion was much more impressive and cozier than Yoo
Yeonha’s place.

The problem was sleeping. To be exact, it was the bed. Yoo Yeonha
had no reason to sleep elsewhere when she had a such a lovely and
efficient bed at home. No, at this point, it was more like she couldn’t
sleep anywhere else. Before she realized, the bed Kim Hajin gave her
had become her most precious treasure.

‘I’ll go home and sleep for the rest of the day~’

Yoo Yeonha left Ah Hae-In’s mansion and skipped happily towards

her limousine. The limousine started smoothly and headed towards
the portal station.

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“…?”

Yoo Yeonha was looking out the car window in delight when she
suddenly encountered a scene that she could not possibly pass by.

“Hold on, Driver. Slow down a bit.”

The limousine slowed down, and Yoo Yeonha could see the two
people walking down the street with clarity. A tall woman and a child
were holding hands. Both stood out from afar. The tall woman had
sunglasses on… but anyone could tell that she was Yun Seung-Ah.

—Evandel, isn’t traveling abroad fun?

—Yeah~ It’s fun~

—I don’t know why Haeyeon doesn’t like it~

Yun Seung-Ah must be in France for a vacation, but it was the child
next to her that stood out. The child had blonde hair and an adorable
eye-smile that was easily noticeable even from afar. Yoo Yeonha
stared at the child with a serious look on her face.

“I… I’ve seen her before….”

She had seen the child somewhere in the past. It must have been 3
or 4 years ago. She couldn’t remember the exact date, but she was
certain that she had seen the child. She was quite confident in her
memory. That girl was definitely with Kim Hajin. Back then, the two
seemed to be heading somewhere hand in hand, just like Yun Seung-
Ah and the blonde child right now….

“But why…?”

Why is that girl with Yun Seung-Ah? More than that, just who was
she?

“…Could it be?”

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When her thought reached this point, her mind turned blank.
Ding— The sound of a bell rang inside her head. Ding— All the
thoughts in her head were cleared out. Ding— Strange speculations
filled the empty space. If that really was the case… Did that child dye
her hair blonde just so that their ‘relationship’ won’t be exposed?

“Uh….”

Yoo Yeonha leaned back against the seat. No, no. Such a natural
color couldn’t be made from a dye. Then, it must surely be a
coincidence…

“Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, a certain thought crossed her mind. Resenting herself

for being so smart, Yoo Yeonha quickly turned on her smart watch
and looked up a conversation log.

[I’m a little short on money. Lend me some so I can buy a house.

Selling my stocks seems like a waste.] [Huh? What house?] [Here.
Address. It’s worth 20 billion won. I have 18 billion on me, so just lend
me 2 billion.] [You’ll need 2 billion more to cover taxes. Anyways, I’ll
wire you the money soon.]

Yoo Yeonha had lent Kim Hajin 4 billion won. Yoo Yeonha quickly
looked up the registration certificate for Seocho Apartment. The
owner was Kim Hajin, but the building was already rented out. The
name of the tenant was Yun Jiho. He was Yun Seung-Ah’s brother and
the CEO of an entertainment company.

“Things are getting stranger by the minute…”

Yoo Yeonha unknowingly put her hands on her head.

“Nah… No way, no way….”

Despite denying so, Yoo Yeonha’s hairs were starting to stand on

end. It was an old habit that came out whenever she thought of

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something bizarre and impudent. ** [Tower of Wish, 3F Prestige]

The next day.

“….”

I was currently observing the new member of Chameleon Troupe,

the Silver Seat’s Kaita. Kaita, who had just arrived, was chewing on a
piece of gum as he watched Medea’s quest.

[In order to install an artificial sun in Prestige, we will need 100kg

of dark ore, 1111 pyrogen grass roots, 1 shamrock plant, and
‘Essence of the Sun’ from the 5th floor’s 「Castle No.5」.]

The ‘Sunlight’ quest was rather simple. You just had to gather the
materials for an ‘artificial sun’ and deliver them to Medea. But since
the last ingredient could only be found through conquering a castle,
there was a good chance that a fight would take place.

“Huam. A quest? Hey, Archer, can I get anything good out of this?”

Kaita asked me. The more I look at him, the more he looked like
one of those ‘skinheads’ from Russia.

“The reward will be announced in the video shortly.”

“Ah~ Really?”

Medea began to recite the rewards.

[For the reward, you will be given 1000TP per 1kg of dark ore,
100TP per pyrogen grass root, and 3000TP plus a special gift for the
shamrock plant. The team that brings me the Essence of the Sun will
receive 10000TP and five very special rewards.]

I already had dark ore and a shamrock. But frankly, the price
Medea was giving for the dark ore was too cheap. A fair price should
be 2000TP per 1kg.

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In any case, this quest was one of the incidents where Kim Suho
and the Chameleon Troupe collide. Kaita would team up with
‘Zurahan’, the representative of the Ordinary People Alliance, and act
rashly before getting himself killed by Kim Suho. This leads to Kaita
holding a grudge against Kim Suho. He then chases after Kim Suho in
the real world which eventually leads him to ‘real death’.

I had no intention of stopping him. This guy was the most lunatic
out of all Chameleon Troupe members. He considered murder,
mutilation, and other unspeakable hate crimes as “hobbies”. He was
a real villain who was designed to drive Kim Suho into the storm of
righteous indignation. If left alone, he would one day become a
traitor and turn on Boss. If Kim Suho wouldn’t kill him, I would have
to do it myself.

“…Hey, Newbie, by the way.”

Jin Yohan, who was looking through the Community, suddenly

spoke up.

“What is this ‘castle attack’ that everyone is talking about? They’re

saying there is a castle attack today.”

I took a look at the post.

[At 6 p.m. today, we will begin the castle attack on Castle No.1.
Ordinary people should stay away from area-3 of the 5th floor.]

“Oh, it’s exactly what it sounds like. They’re going to destroy a

castle.”

“Oh really?”

“These bugs sure are doing all kinds of weird things~”

Kaita commented sarcastically as Boss came out of the bedroom,

limping. As expected of Boss, it seemed Boss had already recovered
most of her stamina.

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“Boss, are you all better now?”

“Uh, uh. B-Boss. H-Hi.”

Jin Yohan greeted Boss with a smile but Kaita seemed visibly
shaken by her appearance. Sure enough, this guy was afraid of Boss.
Well, I would be scared too if I was beaten to the verge of death.

“…Kaita, you’re here too.”

Boss welcomed Kaita in a manner quite different from when she

dealt with me. Even I was frightened by the way her eyes flickered
coldy with magic power.

“Y-Yeah. Oh, but I didn’t do anything o-on the way. Really.”

Despite Kaita’s meek standing, Kaita was one of the original

members of the Chameleon Troupe, and he was 4 years older than
Boss.

“…You.” “N-No~! I’m telling you the truth! Plus, don’t people
revive even if you kill them!? Still, I didn’t do anything!”

I watched Kaita protest for a while, then got up.

“Boss, I’m going out.”

“Mm? Where are you going this time?”

Boss quickly took the threatening aura back.

“To my shop. I probably won’t return today. I have something to

do.”

“…Is that so?”

She looked a bit sullen.

“I’ll go now~”

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“…”

I nodded my head and went outside. Through the door crack, Boss’
eyes were fixed on me. I knew those eyes. They were eyes craving
for food.

Since there wasn’t much time, I decided to ignore her eyes for
today.

I walked quickly and arrived at Kedrick’s workshop. There were a

lot of people inside. It seemed that most of the NPCs I saved back at
the prison camp were here.

“Ah, it’s Master!”

“Oh—!”

Muscular men greeted me. I smiled bitterly and approached

Kedrick.

“How are things going?”

“Good. Very good. Rice is good, and so is the corn. Hahaha.”

“…That’s a relief. Ah, and these.”

I took out a bunch of items in front of the plump Kedrick.

[Steel Ingot] [Frozentianium Ore] [Building Stone] [Casted Steel] …

I had bought out most of the miscellaneous ores that Players put
up for auction.

“Use these as materials. Also, I’d like to borrow the workshop for a
while.”

“Why, of course. You there! Move these!”

“Yea~!”

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I stood in front of the furnace as the NPCs vigorously carried
around the ores. Ssss— I turned on the furnace with Stigma’s magic
power. Then, I melted the dark ore ingots down and used Young
Dwarf’s Dexterity and Stigma’s magic power to make [Dark Ore
Arrows]. The whole process took 3 hours. I could have finished faster,
but it took time for the ore to melt and to cool.

[Lv.5 Dark Ore Arrow x15]

Like that, I made 15 dark ore arrows.

“Aiya, you turned all of those expensive ingots into arrows….”

An NPC said in a worried voice, but I just smiled. Using [Lv.3

Synthesis], I fused the 15 [Lv.5 Dark Ore Arrows] with 5 [Lv.7 Dark
Ore Arrows].

[Warning! The items’ high level reduces the chance of success.]

[Synthesis success!] [Warning! The items’ high level reduces the
chance of success.] [Synthesis success!] [Warning! The items’ high
level reduces the chance of success.] [Synthesis success!]

The probability of success was so low that I only succeeded 12 out

of 15 times even with my absurd luck. Because of that, my dark ore
arrows were still at level 7, but thankfully their destructive power and
piercing power increased by a level.

=== [Lv.7 Dark Ore Arrow] —Lv.6 Destructive Power —Lv.6

Piercing Power —Lv.6 Dark Trajectory —Lv.5 Magic Destruction
—Lv.1 Remote Control ===

All five had the same options.

“Ah, Master. Henry and Kiri said that the shop needs more
shelves.”

Kedrick said immediately after Synthesis ended.

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“Yeah, I already got the message. I have everything planned out.”

I planned to do a major renovation for the shop. I would hire more

staff and divide the store into different sections so that one section
had potions, another had weapons, and another had armor… The
shop would then continue to grow until it becomes a ‘land mark’ of
Prestige.

Young Dwarf's Dexterity combined with Aether’s eye of beauty

should be enough for me to come up with an admirable design.

“Where will you go now?”

As I got ready to leave, Kedrick asked me.

“Huh? Oh….”

After a short pause, I simply said, “I’m off to climb the Tower.” **

[Tower of Wish, 5F Materialized Demon Realm]

After I upgraded my arrows, I went up to the fifth floor. Now that

my weapons were ready, my goal today was to reach the 6th floor.
How is that possible when I’m not even half done with the fifth floor,
you ask? That’s because there’s a ‘hidden path’ on this floor just as
with many other games.

“Let’s see….”

I took out the Book of Truth. The question I want to ask was as
follows.

“Where is the Fairy Lake?”

Fairy Lake. It was a pathway that Kim Suho would use in the future,
but the order didn’t really matter. A reward was given to the first
person who reach the sixth floor, but it wasn’t anything great. It was
fine even if Kim Suho didn’t have it.

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[…The Fairy Lake has been located.]

Soon, the location of the pond was marked with GPS on the Book of
Truth. I drove the Dwarven Supercar towards that direction as I
glanced through the public forum.

=== [How’s the castle attack going?] —Looks like they’re still
going at it? [But why is the Royal Court Guild with Essence of the
Strait and Frost Sanctuary? Are they the decoy?] —Their vice-leader
is an elementalist. Elementalists are extremely versatile and useful
for attacking fortified strongholds. ㄴOh, I see. — Wouldn't 1
elementalist be better than 100 you? ㄴ? What was that for? Wanna
PK? ===

“Hmm….”

Everyone was talking about was the first castle attack taking place
right now.

As I was driving while reading, Pzzt—! Pzzt—! I saw mana surge

into the sky not too far away.

Come to think of it, Castle No.1 was nearby. I stopped the Dwarven
Supercar for a moment and looked around. The Thousand-Mile Eyes
penetrated all obstacles and showed me what I wanted to see.

—Aim for the magicians above the wall!

At a glance, the battle seemed to be a tough fight. I noticed three

familiar faces. Rachel from the Royal Court guild, and Chae Nayun
and Yi Jiyoon from Essence of the Strait.

—West gate, attack the west gate! Earth! Give me an earthquake!

Fiery!

—Rachel, I need to go up the wall! I need your elemental’s help!

Both Rachel and Chae Nayun were performing exceptionally as an

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elementalist and a swordsman. However, the situation didn’t look too
good. It was to be expected. There were very few magicians on the
side of humans, yet there were many on the side of demons. In
fantasy novels, magicians were always most important during castle
attacks.

“Hmm….”

I thought for a moment. ‘Maybe I can freeload off a bit.’ The

rewards for the castle attack were given out by the system, so it was
possible to obtain them by helping them out in secret. Plus… I also
couldn’t ignore Rachel and Chae Nayun who were struggling.

“I’ll help them deal with the magicians just once.”

I climbed up a nearby tree. It was quite tall, so I could see the

faraway castle clearly.

“….”

I sat on a sturdy branch, took out my bow, and put five arrows on
the bowstring. My targets were the ones who were casting magic
spells with demon energy. Two per arrow. I decided to kill just 10
magicians. Of course, since I was shooting from afar, the enemies
should notice and put up a defense magic. But mere fifth floor
magicians shouldn’t be able to stop [Lv.7 Dark Ore Arrows]. On top of
that, dark ore was used specifically to counteract magicians in the
first place.

There was about a kilometer between me and the castle. It’s pretty
far, but I fired the arrows without hesitation.

Chwaaaa—

The arrows traveled in darkness. Their trajectories were invisible,

but because they carried overwhelming wind pressure with them, the
targets could easily detect their presence. They put on defense
magic along with barriers. But of course, their attempts were futile.

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After all, my arrows were level 7.

Krrrrrk—

The arrows destroyed all magic and pierced right through the
magicians necks. The demons died instantly without a sound. 5 out of
the 13 magicians were dead.

But then the arrows that were supposed to ram into the ground
after piercing through the demons once again started to move. They
soared from the bottom to the top, drawing an impossible curve on
their trajectories. Chweeek— Lights flashed from the corner of my
eyes. The five arrows killed five more enemies.

“…Hm.”

Only ten demons died. However, they were magicians who

accounted for a large part of the castle’s strength. Consequently, the
tide of the battle was soon overturned. The Players on the battefield
were not interested in who shot the arrows. They couldn’t afford to
be interested. They were too focused on what was in front of them.

“Return.”

After collecting the arrows I fired, I got back on the Dwarven

Supercar. Then, I drove away without looking back.

…About 30 minutes later.

I arrived at the ‘Fairy Pond’ located in a very remote spot where

most would only glance over. Despite its pretty name, the lake was
full of mud and dirt. This was the ‘hidden path’. Although the lake
seemed like it would be home to monsters, nothing lived inside, and
the bottom of the lake contained a pathway to the 6th floor.

“…Phew.”

A nasty smell filled the air. I needed to prepare myself mentally. I

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held my nose and took off all the armor I was wearing to prevent the
smell from sticking to them. I did warm-up exercises just in case…
took a deep breath about three or four times, then…

Plop!

I jumped into the lake. Ueeeek—! I threw up as soon as I got in.

The vomit clung to my face inside the water. Ueeeek—! It was so
disgusting that I threw up again. Kim Suho’s sincerity was able to
purify this lake, but it seemed that was outside of my capabilities. I
endured the filth for 5 minutes, shivering in repulsion. Suddenly there
was a twisting sensation, and the system message I had been waiting
for popped up.

[You are the first to reach the sixth floor!] [3 hours from now, the
news of your advancement will be announced to all players.]

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Chapter 190
Source: Wuxiaworld

[You are the first to reach the sixth floor!] [3 hours from now, the
news of your advancement will be announced to all players.] [All
stats increase by 0.3 points.] [You acquire two Lv.3 Skill Level-Up
Coupons.] [You acquire one Lv.2 Consolidation Coupon!]

I arrived at the sixth floor alone, bathed in mud, vomit, and

garbage.

“Uuuk—!”

I fell to the ground and threw up again. My stomach churned as

yellowish gastric juices gushed out of my mouth.

“Ugh….”

I came to my senses only after completely emptying my stomach. I

brushed the disgust aside with a sigh and got back on my feet. It was
then that I finally had a full view of the 6th floor. What I came to face
after traveling through the most disgusting passage was…

“…Wow.”

…the most beautiful sight in the entire world.

[Welcome to the 6th floor, ‘Splendor’.] [The 6th floor is a neutral

floor.]

I was at a loss for words. My mind blanked, and my heart stopped

beating all because of the stunning, breathtaking view. The sun and
the moon gave off a magnificent flash in unison. The sky was painted
blue and navy, and clusters of stars and milky ways were glowing in
it. There was the emerald waterfall, where the water shot out from

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the ground into the air, and the pink forest full of trees with leaves
that sparkled like jewels.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the spectacular sight. If Heaven existed,

this was surely what it looked like. Even the Garden of Eden wouldn’t
be as wonderful.

“…Ah, ah.”

But soon, I shook my head. I came to my senses and recalled the

reason I had come here in the first place.

My top priority was to get to the 8th floor. Then I had to impede
the ‘bridge’ that connected the 8th and the 9th floor. Why? It was
because the 9th floor contained a calamity that needed to be
delayed as much as possible. I didn’t know what would happen if
people rushed in like they did in the original novel. I would probably
get an alert saying something like: [It was determined that the
‘calamity’ as described in the original is too weak…], significantly
increasing the level of difficulty of the calamity. I could expect that
much from my experiences so far.

Of course, Players who were risking their lives to climb the Tower
would still try to proceed to the 9th floor without delay. I had to stop
them. Currently, I could think of only one way to do so. Shooting
arrows and showing them that they were not ready for the next floor.
To do that, I needed to hone my skills first.

“…Hm.”

I stretched my limbs as I looked around. The 6th floor’s crystal

stele was nearby. As soon as I touched the crystal stele to save my
current location, someone appeared before me.

“U-Uwoah! That surprised me….”

Without a sound, a woman appeared out of nowhere and stood like

a stone statue. But I knew who she was. Eirene, the administrator of

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the 6th floor.

“Uh… Nice to meet you. Are you the administrator?”

I introduced myself politely. Yet all Eirene did was smile.

“Put your clothes back on first.”

She waived her hands lightly. Refreshing magic power flowed out
from her fingertips. It caressed me and removed the mud on my
body.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Eirene watch me as I put my clothes back on in a hurry. Then she

asked.

“Did you come here alone?”

Her voice was soft and tender, just like that of a mother speaking
to her son.

“Yes, yes. But I do plan on… bringing more people in the future.”

“Is that so?”

Eirene smiled. It calmed me down.

“Yes, yes….”

“Oh, that’s right. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m ‘Eirene’, the
administrator of the 6th floor.”

I already knew that but, nonetheless, I nodded my head with

sincerity.

“As you can see, the 6th floor is very peaceful. And I wish to retain
this peace.”

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“Yes.”

“For that reason, one cannot stay here for long, nor can many
people stay here at the same time.”

Then, a system window popped up over my head.

[1/111] [199:57:58]

I was surprised and elated at the same time. I had 200 hours,
which was not much different from Kim Suho. For the record, the
length of the 'time limit' depended on how you treated the system.

“…It seems that the child watching from above has taken a liking
to you. So I gave you extra time.”

Eirene smiled.

“Now, I shall not interfere any longer. Do what you must. Oh, the
ticket to the 7th floor is hidden somewhere on this floor.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, a ray of sunshine fell on me.

The light was too bright, and I had to close my eyes. When I opened
them again, Eirene had already vanished.

“Phew….”

I took a deep breath. Eirene skipped a lot of details. The 6th floor
was one of the most important floors I set up. Here, one could
improve their skills dramatically over a short period of time.

The objective of the 6th floor appeared straightforward on the

surface. It was a treasure hunt. Players had to find tickets to the 7th
floor while evading illusory beasts that came out from time to time. If
a Player failed to find a ticket in time, then his climb would end there,
since one could only stay on the 6th floor for as long as the time that
was given to them.

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But there was no need to worry. The tickets were literally
everywhere. That said, it was simply foolish to move on to the 7th
floor immediately after finding a ticket. It was better to spend all the
time allotted on this floor. Why? That was because the 6th floor was
the ‘Floor of Growth’.

“….”

I checked the time. 3PM. I’ll spend just 12 hours today.

“Mm… Ah, hmm….”

But in the next moment, my thoughts halted. ‘What was it called

again?’ There was a hot spring that Kim Suho used, but I couldn’t
remember the name. I glanced at my smartwatch and took a look at
the settings once more.

[Spring of Peace]

“Ah, that’s right.”

Spring of Peace. It was a natural training ground. Filled with half

water and half spirit energy, the spring restored all energy as soon as
it was consumed, whether it be magic power or spirit energy. I found
the location of the spring through the Book of Truth and got on the
Dwarven Supercar. The system alert popped up again just as I was
about to drive off.

[Your pet ‘Spartan’ is growing!] [Spartan awakened a new Trait.]

[3rd Trait — ‘Summon’] [It can now be summoned by its master
whenever and wherever.]

“…Oh?”

The timing was perfect. Spartan could become stronger if he came

here. We should train together.

“Summon.”

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I muttered quietly. But no matter how long I waited, there was no
sign of a summon, and the 6th floor remained as silent as a library.

“…Summon?”

I assumed that a portal would show up, but nothing happened.

‘What is this?’ I bobbed my head in confusion.

Kieeeek—!

Suddenly, a loud cry filled the air. I looked up, startled, and saw
Spartan fly in between the clouds, the sun, and the moon.

“What?”

There was no trace of magic powers or magic. Spartan just

appeared out of nowhere.

Kiiiiii—!

Spartan circled the sky, flying between the sun and the moon, then
landed on my shoulder. His dashing figure finally looked a little like
an eagle.

“…Let’s go do some training.”

—Peep!

His chirping sounded a bit more mature now. I headed towards the
hot spring with Spartan.

After driving the Dwarven Supercar for about 10 minutes, I arrived

at the hot spring. The spring was surrounded by sapphire rocks, and
the color of the water was very bright.

I took my clothes off and went right in. Spartan hesitantly followed

me.

[The heat from the hot spring engulfs your body.] [Stats increase

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30% faster.] [Stamina, magic power, and spirit power recovers 100%
faster.]

It gave a series of incredible buffs. But before I began my training, I

decided to close my eyes and enjoy the hot spring itself.

“Ah, so good….”

My body became warm and my head turned foggy. ‘This must be

what Heaven is like.’ About 3 minutes in, I suddenly gave a loud
laugh. Spartan was floating on the surface of the water with his
stomach up. If someone was watching, Spartan would surely be
mistaken as a bird that drowned.

“Hey, hey, sit up straight…?”

Suddenly, something caught my attention. I could see something

black in between the leaves and through the steam from the hot
spring. At first, I thought I was mistaken. Then I realized that I
couldn’t be wrong. The Thousand-Mile Eyes were always right.

“H-Hey, Spartan!”

I pulled myself up. I was naked, but that didn’t matter.

“Spartan, go that way!”

I pointed towards the direction where the dark figure was just at.
Black fur, glossy mane, and a sleek yet well-built body. If what I saw
was correct, just now that should have been the legendary horse
‘Bucephalus’.

**

The first castle attack came to an end. The result involving 53

participants from 3 different guilds was… a ‘success’. After much
struggle, the Allied Team managed to break down the gate, kill all
the demons inside, and occupy the castle.

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“…Auuu.”

With the castle attack being successful, the 53 Players were

enjoying their victory to the fullest… not. In truth, their fatigue had
them sprawled all over the ground.

“…Haa, haa.”

Chae Nayun caught her breath in silence. Her arms ached as if

they were about to snap, and there were sharp pains in every muscle
of her body. How many times did she swing her sword? How many
sword strikes did she fire and how much magic power was pulled out
of her? It was at least enough for her to worry about the durability of
her longsword. She’d heard of a new blacksmith’s workshop opening
in Prestige. She decided to pay a visit there when she got back.

“….”

Chae Nayun looked at a spot not too far from her. About 10 steps
away was Rachel.

Being a member of a royal family, Rachel surely had a refined way

to rest. She was on her knees with her eyes closed as she breathed
in and out slowly. With every breath, the nearby wind and earth
shook. ‘…So it’s an elementalist’s way of breathing, not a royal
family’s.’ Chae Nayun watched in awe before finally speaking.

“…Hey.”

Rachel heard Chae Nayun’s whisper and opened her eyes.

“…”

Rachel didn’t answer and simply stared at Chae Nayun.

“Uh… Umm.”

Although she was the one who called on Rachel, Chae Nayun was

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at a loss for words. She finally said just one thing.

“Good work.”

“…You too.”

Rachel answered casually and went back to meditation. Chae

Nayun carefully observed Rachel.

“Hey.”

She called again.

“…”

Again, Rachel didn’t answer and stared at Chae Nayun.

“…I mean, it’s nothing. It’s just, we fought together… and I want to
ask you something.”

Something was bothering Chae Nayun. It didn’t come up suddenly;

it had been bugging her for a while. Every time she saw Rachel, a
thought sprang up in her mind. Sometimes, the thought would make
her blood boil with blind anger. Everybody knew the relationship
between the English Royal Court and Fenrir.

“Uh, um… you see….”

If things ended there, there wouldn’t be any problem. But rumors

had been circulating that Rachel and Fenrir were in a scandalous
relationship.

That really bothered her. She knew it wasn’t any of her business
and thinking about it only made her angry. Still, forgetting about it
was… just too hard. A person’s feelings weren’t something they could
control.

“You and Kim Ha….”

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But it was difficult for her to speak that name out loud. Chae Nayun
stopped. She clenched her teeth while looking at Rachel, who was
tilting her head in curiosity.

“Anyway, you and him…”

The reason Chae Nayun entered the Tower of Wish. Her top priority
right now was to find Kim Hajin. In the first place, she was interested
in the Tower of Wish because she was confident that Kim Hajin would
come here.

“Have you guys met? Inside this Tower?”

Chae Nayun finally managed to bring up the question. However,

Rachel shook her head in denial.

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“It’s true.”

“…”

Chae Nayun licked her lips at the straightforward response. A

princess of a kingdom wouldn’t lie without blinking an eye, right?

“Then, is there… something between… you and him?”

“…What do you mean?”

“No, I mean… Well, um… Sigh.”

After a moment of hesitation, Chae Nayun finally frowned.

“No, nevermind. Just let me know if you happen to run across him
later. Keep it a secret from him.”

“…Why?”

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Rachel’s crystal-like eyes stared at Chae Nayun.

“…You don’t need to know why. I mean, it’s better to stay on good
terms with each other. I’m pretty influential in the Strait, so I’ll tell
them good things about you and the Royal Court guild.”

“Pft.”

Others must have been eavesdropping as quite a bunch, not just

one or two, snorted out loud. Of course, they all lowered their heads
when Chae Nayun glared at them.

Chae Nayun blushed in embarrassment and glanced at Rachel. To

her surprise, Rachel smiled softly and nodded without a hint of
mockery.

“…Okay.”

“….”

That made Chae Nayun even more embarrassed.

“…B-By the way, I got this sword from a quest. Do you want to
see?”

She fiddled with the rare longsword for no reason.

“It’s nice. Can I hold it?”

“Oh, y-yeah. Here you go.”

Rachel’s eyes widened as she examined the sword. ‘Yup, it’s

awesome.’ Chae Nayun secretly smiled in satisfaction.

“Oh, that sword is upgradable too. The blacksmith told me that I

could get it to level 5 or 6.”

“Wow, really?”

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“Good work, everyone! The alert for the rewards should be coming
out at any time!”

It was right then that Kim Youngjin shouted, clapping. Players who
participated in the castle attack screamed with joy. Soon, a system
window popped up.

[You successfully conquered the first castle!] [Contributions are

being calculated based on merit….]

Players watched the system in silence.

[…Calculation complete.]

“Oh!”

The team leaders of each guild had a different reaction. Essence of

the Strait’s Kim Youngjin appeared confident, Rachel pulled her
hands together as if she was praying, and Frost Sanctuary’s Jung
Hosun licked his lips.

And thus, the 53 participants looked at the system window, each

with different expectations in mind.

[Participants — 3 parties and 1 individual Player.]

[Party 1: ‘Essence of the Strait’] [Contribution – 32%]

[Party 2: ‘Frost Sanctuary’] [Contribution – 27%]

[Part 3: ‘English Royal Court’] [Contribution – 24%]

[Individual Player] [Contribution – 17%]

“….” “….” “….”

There was no cheering. There were no pats on the shoulder.

Without a sound, the crowd became completely silent. There was
only one reason for the deadly stillness.

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[Individual Player] [Contribution – 17%]

It was all because of the existence of an ‘individual player’ who

shouldn’t exist. Amidst the confusion, the system kept spitting out
new messages.

[Rewards will be given out based on contribution.] [A total of

15000 TP will be divided according to the contribution ratio.] [The
lottery for a ‘special item’ will now proceed.] [The higher the
contribution, the higher the chances of winning the lottery.]

“L-Lottery? What is this?”

The whole place became noisy again.

[Lottery in process…]

Gulp. The sound of nervous swallowing filled the castle. They didn’t
know what this lottery was for, but it was surely for an amazing item.
‘A special item is most likely to be a skill book, so our guild should
get it if possible….’ Such a thought was in the minds of every Player.

[‘Individual Player’ is the winner of the lottery!] [The special reward

will be sent to the individual player.]

Icy silence filled the air.

“…Younghyun.”

Kim Youngjin broke the silence and called out the name of his
subordinate.

“Y-Yes!”

“…I did ask you to record a video of the castle attack, right?”

“Yes. I did record it with the Player Shop’s Recorder….”

“Show it to me.”

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However, before the Allied Team had a chance to grasp the
preposterous situation—

[Notification: an unknown Player has reached the 6th floor!]

A new storm of shock struck them.

**

[3F Prestige – Riry Restaurant]

This was a restaurant owned by Henry and Kiri and was the first of
its kind to stand outside the inner walls.

“…So you’re saying it’s all Black Lotus’ doing?”

Jin Seyeon asked as she stuffed the restaurant’s best dish, (meat-
flavored) corn fried rice, into her mouth. to her was Seo Youngji.

“Yes. An arrow came flying from somewhere and killed 10

magicians simultaneously. Kim Youngjin wanted to know if it was you
who did it, but since you said no, it must have been Black Lotus.”

Jin Seyeon grinned delightfully.

“So, this Black Lotus guy helped finish the first castle attack, then
ran all the way to the 6th floor?”

“Probably? They’re not sure if it was him who climbed to the 6th
floor.”

“…Amazing.”

Jin Seyeon laughed out loud at the interesting turn of events. It was
then that a particular individual caught her eye.

“Oh? Youngji, over there.”

“Let’s see… Hm? It’s Aileen Hero-nim.”

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Aileen was plodding her way through the entrance of Prestige. For
some reason, she had her hands stuck in her pockets.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Jin Seyeon asked out of pure curiosity. Aileen was on guard and
walking in a cute manner.

“Oh, I heard she lost some TP before. Ever since then, she’s been
on alert in the city….”

Right then, Jin Seyeon and Aileen’s eyes met.

“Aah?”

Aileen grimaced. Jin Seyeon gave a polite nod regardless. Aileen

looked at her with disapproving eyes, then approached her and Seo
Youngji in quick steps.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Aileen.”

Jin Seyeon stood up and greeted her.

“…So you came?”

Aileen pouted, slightly humiliated at having to look up at Jin

Seyeon who was more than 20cm taller than her.

“Haha, yes. I did.”

“…Hmph.”

Seo Youngji looked at their battle of nerves. Well, it was more like
Aileen picking a fight.

In any case, she thought to herself. ‘Who was stronger between

the Temple of Justice’s Hero and a Master-rank Hero?’ The subject
was quite controversial. Some said it was the former, while others
said it was the latter.

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“It’s an honor to meet the Spirit Speech Master. I apologize for the
late greeting, I had a lot going on.”

However, Aileen was one of the strongest members, even in the

Temple of Justice. As she was treated as a giant who was second only
to the Nine Stars, Jin Seyeon adopted a modest attitude without a
moment of hesitation.

“…Anyways, what brings you here? You should have just kept
doing volunteer work.”

Aileen decided to use polite speech, too. The difference in their age
wasn’t that big, and she didn’t want to become friendly enough to
speak casually.

“Ah, did you not hear the rumors?”

“Rumors…?”

Aileen appeared oblivious at first, but soon nodded knowingly.

‘She’s probably talking about Black Lotus.’

“You’re here to catch him too?”

“…Does that mean Miss Aileen is here to do the same? That’s right,
did you hear about what happened at the castle attack today?”

Aileen didn’t answer. It was a tacit consent. Suddenly, Jin Seyeon

pointed down the street.

“Ah, here comes the participants themselves.”

Kim Youngjin, Jung Hosun, Rachel, Chae Nayun, Yi Jiyoon, etc….

The so-called ‘Rankers of the Great Guilds’, revered by all players,
were approaching the restaurant.

“Miss Aileen, why don't we hear what happened directly from the
participants?”

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“…Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Then please, have a seat.”

Jin Seyeon pointed to the seat next to her.

“….”

Worried she might lose her money again, Aileen slowly sat down
with her hands still in her pockets.

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Chapter 191
Source: Wuxiaworld

Perfectly cooked rice with corn sprinkled on top like snowflakes. A

fried rice made of only rice and corn, cooked over a frying pan with
corn oil. On the outside, it didn’t look delicious at all.

“…Mm.”

That’s what Rachel thought, too. So she plunged her spoon into the
rice roughly, and brought it to her mouth. Nom, nom. She tended to
chew food slowly if she expected it to taste bad. The movement of
her chin was cautious.

“…?”

However, Rachel’s eyes widened not long after. As time passed,

her chewing became faster as well.

“Is it good?”

Jin Seyeon grinned at her. Rachel nodded without a word.

“….”

Nom, nom, nom— The precocious princess turned into a hungry

hamster. The dish felt and tasted like pork rather than corn.

“This flavor….”

Kim Youngjin and the others reacted in the same way. Although
this restaurant had opened 4 days ago, they hadn't visited it until
now due to suspicion. But now they could finally understand why the
Community was filled with such excellent reviews.

“…Does it taste bad, Nayun?”

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Except for one person. Jin Seyeon looked at Chae Nayun. She was
chewing mechanically as if she was eating rubber.

“Huh? No, it’s good.”

Startled, Chae Nayun put more food into her mouth and chewed
faster. Nom, nom, nom, nom— She feared her reaction would hinder
others from enjoying their meal. Both of her cheeks were now full
with fried rice, but she didn’t seem to enjoy it at all.

“So, he took away all the special reward items?”

At that moment, Aileen, who had already finished eating, asked.

Essence of the Strait’s Kim Youngjin shook his head with a grim
expression.

“No. There are 5 special rewards and a team could receive up to 3.

The individual player took the maximum number.”

“Ah~ really? He must be really lucky. I’m envious.”

The lottery process was simple. A total of 100 tickets were placed
in a virtual container. The number of tickets that belonged to a party
varied depending on the party’s contribution. For example, Essence
of the Strait, which made 33% contribution, received 33 tickets.
Naturally, the unknown individual received 17.

“Right?”

“But why did he help you? Or wait, can we really call that helping?
…Excuse me, waiter?”

Aileen stopped and grabbed the arm of a waiter passing by.

“Yes?”

“Give me one more plate of this.”

“Sure~”

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She turned again towards Kim Youngjin after placing her order. Kim
Youngjin sighed.

“Actually, we recorded the footage of the castle attack.”

“Eh? You got a video?”

“Yes. I ordered a subordinate to record a video to help prepare for

the next castle attack… Without this mysterious Player’s help, the
siege would have been very difficult, and we may have even failed.”

“Oh? Let me see. Show me the video.”

Their conversation captured the attention of many around them.

All the nearby Players, not just Aileen, showed interest.

“Here. You can see that something came flying from the sky and
killed 10 magicians….”

Kim Youngjin projected a hologram of the video in the air. Only

those who were friends with Kim Youngjin could see the hologram.

—Attack the magicians first! —That’s too difficult! There are too
many guards surrounding them!

The video started from the beginning, and Rachel and Chae Nayun
strained their eyes trying to concentrate.

“…What are you guys doing?”

At that moment, Kim Suho suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh geez, you surprised me. When did you get here?”

“Me? Just now. I’m here to eat.”

Chae Nayun was startled but soon pointed to the seat next to her.

“You too, sit down and watch this.”

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Chae Nayun pointed to the hologram.

“What’s this?”

“A Ranker.”

“…Ranker?”

Kim Suho, who was already friends with Kim Youngjin, quickly fixed
his attention on the video.

The flow of the video was straightforward. Five black streaks flew
through the sky. For now, no one could tell whether they were
arrows, spears, or some sort of magic spells.

The attack, surround by fierce winds, clearly headed towards the

throats of five magicians. The magicians detected the murderous
intent and casted defense magic, but the black streaks broke through
the barriers with ease and pierced the magicians to death. It was
then the observers could finally tell that the attacks were from
‘arrows’.

“…Oh?”

“Eh?”

What happened next was even more surprising. The arrows which
pierced the magicians suddenly changed course; they shot up and
killed another five magicians.

As a result, a total of 10 magicians died. Each magician gave 1.7%

contribution, so 10 times that was 17%. They could see where the
individual player’s contribution came from.

“…Haha. Now, isn’t that a mysterious and wonderful archery skill?”

Jin Seyeon smiled.

“Even his arrows are black. He obviously designed them like that

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on purpose. How childish.”

Aileen, on the other hand, hid her astonishment and faked

indifference.

“More than that, what are you going to do with the other castles?”

Aileen asked Kim Youngjin.

“…Although it was proven that there is a way to reach the 6th floor
without destroying all the castles, we decided to focus on conquering
the 5th floor for now.”

“Hello, everyone. We are the Ordinary People Alliance!”

Suddenly, a loud voice filled the restaurant.

“Please contact us if you are an ordinary person and still not a

member!”

They were members of the Ordinary People Alliance who had been
crowding the streets recently. The group’s leader and followers
stormed in and sat down around a big table.

“…Hey, Divine Archer, What do you think of them?”

Aileen asked, glancing at the loud bunch.

“Well, they need a way out, too. I think they’re alright for now.”

Jin Seyeon gave a neutral answer.

“Hey. What're ya doin’?”

Suddenly, a hoarse voice called them. Because the voice stood out
so much, it caught everyone’s attention.

“Ah, are you an ordinary person?”

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“Huh…? Uh, well, I guess I am.”

A bald man with scars under his eyes that made him look like a
criminal. It was ‘Kaita’.

**

[Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town]

Meanwhile, two weeks had passed since the start of the 3rd
tutorial. Jin Sahyuk started from scratch after dying and was now
back inside Tutorial Town.

“….”

She recognized some familiar faces: an NPC she had fought to

death last time, an NPC she caught trying to pickpocket her, etc.

However, Jin Sahyuk walked right past them with a smile. It was
her second time going through the tutorial, and she was already used
to everything.

“Hmm.”

She took a look at the 1000TP she had on her. It was a reward she
got from coming first in the second tutorial. Now, she somehow had
to increase her wealth and acquire better weapons and armors
before climbing to the 2nd floor. Surely ‘he’ was waiting for her there.

She first headed towards the Mercenary Pub. While walking, she
opened the Community. The Community and the public forum were
available for viewing from the Tutorial Town. Of course, some
information was hidden if the poster put a checkmark next to the
‘disable read for players below __th floor’ option.

“Mm?”

She came across an interesting post while browsing through the

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forum.

=== [List of Rankers for Beginners Provided by the information

team ’Small Business Enterprise’.]

Hello, we are the information team ‘Small Business Enterprise’. We

are part of the Hero Association’s Department of Statistics. We
entered the Tower to carry out our duty to examine and evaluate
Players inside the Tower of Wish.

Of course, the Tower of Wish has no official ranking system.

However, we were able to learn about the greatness of ‘High-Players’
from the information we gathered directly inside the Tower.

We have selected the top 100 Rankers based on a certain set of

criteria in order to encourage other Players and to set guidelines for
newcomers.

…(Omitted)

We apologize for the long introduction. Below is the ranker list.

(Some players may have been omitted if their information has not
been made public.)

1. Black Lotus A mysterious player thought to have been the first

Player to reach the 5th and 6th floor . His nickname, real name, and
everything else are unknown. The only thing certain about him is that
he is a male. Although he is officially an ‘archer’, he seems capable
of utilizing other weapons as well. …(Omitted) This Player, whose
speed of growth is on a whole different level, is thought to be a
‘hermit master’, known only in legends and novels. There is no doubt
that he is powerful, for even Vast Expanse-nim, who has been
assessing the situation from the outside world, has called him ‘very
interesting’.

2. Aileen …We’ll leave out the details. She is no different from the
Aileen we know on Earth. Daunting magic power, overwhelming Spirit

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Speech. She is humanity’s great Hero.

3. Yi Yongha A hero from the Temple of Justice. Although he pales

in comparison to his partner, Aileen, the Hellfire Magician has a Gift
specialized for hunting and is practically rolling in TP as a result. No
monster should be able to withstand his hellfire.

4. Kim Junwoo A Vast Expanse hunter. He only plays solo. Not

much is known about him since he takes care of everything alone….

5. … ===

Jin Sihyuk walked while looking over the list of ‘Rankers’, the so-
called big shots of the Tower. Before, she would have stopped after
reading a few lines, but now reading had become somewhat of a
hobby to her.

[Lv.??? Mercenary Pub]

While reading, she arrived at the Mercenary Pub. Jin Sahyuk turned
off the community and stood in front of the owner behind the
counter.

“…Oh, what’s this? You’re down here again?”

The owner recognized her and frowned. It was quite a rude

reaction. She would’ve started by giving him the middle finger in the
past. But Jin Sahyuk today simply smiled and answered:

“If you recognize me, you should know you won’t be able to rip me
off.”

**

[6F, Splendor]

Bucephalus, a legendary horse loved by Alexander the Great who

ruled Macedonia in the distant past. It was one of the most priceless

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treasures that existed within the Tower of Wish, which contained all
of humanity’s legends, histories, and myths.

I wanted to tame it no matter what.

I observed the direction it ran off to with the eyes of the Master

Sharpshooter. My sight stretched faster than my body could move.
Soon, I spotted a galloping horse with a rich black mane. Right. It…
no, she was undoubtedly the legendary Bucephalus. I took out the
Dwarven Supercar in a hurry.

“Scan.”

I immediately stepped on the accelerator and chased after

Bucephalus. From the sky, Spartan was following me in an awl-like
flight.

After driving for about 3 minutes, I finally caught a glimpse of

Bucephalus.

[Lv.13 Bucephalus]

The information shown on the smartwatch reminded me once

again that the female horse running in front of me was Bucephalus.
For a mere horse to be level 13 meant that she was undoubtedly a
legendary creature. She should level up further as time passes too.

I didn’t necessarily want to ride her. I could just tame her and set
her loose, and she would trample over everything that blocked her
way…. Should I give her to Evandel as a gift?

In any case, I had to catch her first. I should be able to bring her
back to the real world once I tame her.

“…!”

Black smoke came out of the Dwarven Supercar which had been
running beyond its limit. Suddenly, Bucephalus stopped. I stopped

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after her. We stared at each other, Bucephalus above the hill and my
Dwarven Supercar on a slope.

Prrr—!

Bucephalus looked down at me and wailed in discontent. Prrr—

Prrr—! She breathed heavily through her nose in an intimidating
manner.

“…Oh, um. I didn’t follow you, I just happen to be heading in the

same direc-”

—Prrr!

Bucephalus in history was famous for her hot temper. Even the
brave Alexander the Great had a difficult time taming her. As such, I
couldn’t do anything rash. It was impossible to tame her in one day.
But I really didn’t want to let her go either.

“….”

Suddenly, the famous story of ‘the monkey and the flower shoes’
came to my mind. The strategy was to offer the flower-patterned
shoes to the barefoot monkey so that he eventually couldn’t live
without it. But did I even have something she might want? …Maybe I
did.

[Random Dice x3]

I held on to three Random Dice in case I needed them. Even the

famous Bucephalus couldn’t survive without food. Rather, the
smarter an animal, the more likely it placed value on the taste of its
meal.

‘Let’s lure her with food.’

Drrr— I rolled the three Random Dice.

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[Lv.4 Salmon Powder for Enhancing the Taste of Food] [Lv.4 Master
Grade Grains]

They were excellent items.

“Um, wait.”

I excused myself, then poured the grains and the powder on a

large plate and threw in an ample amount of raw meat which I had
planned on eating myself. I placed the plate on the ground while
Bucephalus watched me.

“…This is really good stuff.”

I used Suggestive Voice. An animal surely couldn’t resist it… Prrr—!

However, Bucephalus resisted the magic power. What a mighty
fellow.

“Okay, okay. I’ll go. Leaving now.”

I stepped back slowly. I left the plate where it was and got on the
Dwarven Supercar. I decided to retreat for today, but I ordered
Spartan to keep an eye on her location.

Vroom—

I drove slowly and returned to the hot spring. I didn’t get a chance
to check whether or not she ate the food, but I would find out when I
went back and retrieved the plate later.

“…Phew. Anyway, let’s get some training done for now.”

I lowered myself into the water and took a deep breath. I let the
spirit power circulate through my veins and breathed repeatedly in
order to let it reshape my body. According to my will, scattered spirit
power gathered around my heart and helped it beat faster.

Koong—!

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The thumping was strong enough to hurt my ribs, but this way I
could train the ‘interior’ of my body, including organs and blood
vessels. The inside of the body was as important as the outside.

…I was engrossed in training for about 30 minutes. Suddenly, a

hoard of system messages appeared before me.

[You successfully conquered Castle No.1!] [Your contribution rate is

17%] [You receive 2550TP.] [You receive special rewards.] [Special
Skill Book – Lv.1 Wind of the Spirit] [Item – Lv.4 Purifying Wand] [Item
– Lv.4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker]

“…Ah. They succeeded.”

I sat up straight and began to examine the rewards in satisfaction.

[Wind of the Spirit]

This is a special skill that enabled the user to vaporize their body
for a short amount of time. It was useful for escaping or sneaking up
on an enemy, but there wasn’t much merit to it because it was a
‘special skill’. It would have been amazing if it were a normal skill.

, [Lv.4 Purifying Wand]

This wand helped magicians control their magic power more easily.
It refined the impurities in magic power— thus giving it the name,
‘Purifying Wand’.

“Hmm….”

Lastly, [Lv.4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker] I needed to

investigate further to figure out how I could utilize this one….

“This obviously looks like it goes hand in hand with the hot spring
water here.”

First, I took out the beaker.

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**

For the following week, I continued to travel back and forth on the
6th floor. My routine was the same everyday. First, I located where
Bucephalus was with Spartan’s help and offered her delicious food 3
times a day. While doing so, I came across other legendary beasts
such as the ‘unicorn’ and the ‘Black Tortoise’. However, I decided to
give up on them since they couldn’t be tamed in the first place.

After feeding Bucephalus, training was up next. I did breathing

exercises at the Hot Spring of Peace for more than an hour everyday.
I improved Master Sharpshooter’s grade with Spartan’s help and
honed my skills through [Extraction and Permanent Materialization].
For the record, it was possible to extract Stigma’s magic power two
times per day inside the hot spring.

As a result, my stats increased by… Dududududu… No less than

‘2.015’ in a mere week.

Perhaps because my stats outside the Tower were low to begin

with, my stats inside the Tower would catch up to my stats outside in
a short while. That’s when the real growth would begin. Once my
stats caught up completely, my growth should accelerate greatly.
…My stats should go up by another 2~3 points. Whether or not that
was ‘great’ was subjective.

“Kuhum.”

In any case, there was one more piece of good news. I was inside
the Hot Spring of Peace. Currently, I was in the middle of ignoring
Bucephalus, who was circling around me.

Prrr, prrr.

Her pride didn’t allow her to approach me directly, but she was
certainly letting me know that she was there. Yesterday, I had
completely cut off the food that I’ve been giving her three times a

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day for the past week.

Bleep—

At that moment, I received a message.

Boss:「I’m at the place you said. The filthy lake.」

“Mm.”

I informed the members of the Chameleon Troupe of the pathway

to the 6th floor. Of course, that didn’t include Kaita. Currently, Kaita
should be on his way to destruction along with Zurahan.

「You have to jump into the lake. Are you with anyone?」

Boss: 「I’m alone. Cheok Jungyeong, Jain, and Jin Yohan said they
had something to take care of.」

Well, the three of them would certainly try to attack a fortress or a

gateway. They were experts when it came to attacking strongholds.
Jain would disguise as the enemy commander, infiltrate the castle
and opens the gate from the inside. Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Yohan
would then destroy everything within.

Boss:「You want me to jump in this thing?」

「Yeah. Hang in there even if it’s dirty.」

Boss:「…Okay. I’ll head in now.」

Prrr— At that moment, I heard heavy breathing. I glanced back and

saw Bucephalus in my line of sight, obviously angry. It was quite a
funny yet cute scene. I held back my laughter and continued to
ignore her. Give an animal an inch and she'll take a mile.

Prrr— Prrr— Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—

I ignored the darting sound and stood up. I put my clothes back on,

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got on the Dwarven Supercar, and headed towards the lake where
Boss would soon arrive.

…From the distance, Boss came into sight. It seemed she had
already finished speaking to Eirene, as she was clean.

“Boss!”

“…?”

Boss noticed me. The way she put her hands up and waved her
arm back and forth was pretty cute.

“Hajin, you came.”

“Yeah. Boss, how many hours did you get?”

“Me? I….”

I didn’t have to wait for her answer. The number 59:58:32 was
floating above her head.

“60 hours is pretty average.”

“Mm. Is that so? But where do I find the tickets to the 7th floor?”

“You can worry about that later. Here, you have to get some
training done first. Your stats grow really fast on this floor.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hop on.”

I got on the Dwarven Supercar with Boss. I was about to start when
Boss suddenly called me.

“Hajin.”

“Yes?”

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“…What is that?”

Boss pointed at Bucephalus, who was grooming her mane from

afar. She did seem startled when I got on the Dwarven Supercar; she
must have followed me all the way here.

“Hmm. Must be a wild animal.”

I gave a small smile and continued to ignore her.

“Anyway, let’s go to the hot spring.”

“Sure. I don’t know where, but…? W-What? Hot spring? We’re

going to a hot spring?”

Behind me, Boss’s flustered voice echoed.

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Chapter 192
Source: Wuxiaworld

I was driving the Dwarven Supercar through the 6th floor Splendor.
Gentle wind blew past us. Colorful flowers could be seen everywhere,
and the eyes of deer twinkled from the mountains afar. The scenery
put my mind at ease.

In this simple state of happiness, I couldn’t help but reminisce. I

didn’t know why, but the memories from a far past flickered in my
head.

In my teenage years, I felt invincible with my friends by my side. I

studied hard for the college exam. Years passed, and I was in the
military long before I had a chance to enjoy my life as an adult. After
I was discharged, I started writing. Things went well, I earned some
money and finally left home. Back then, I thought I had achieved
everything solely on my own. But I was wrong. The support from my
parents and relationships I had established with others over 25 years
were what made me who I was back then.

Well, I spent 25 years there, and 5 years here. How would they
have changed in five years? Was the world I lived in still the same
world I knew? A strange anxiety rose from the depths of the beautiful
scenery.

“Hajin.”

Suddenly, Boss called my name.

“…Yes?”

Absorbed in thought, I answered her a little late. The weather was

especially nice today on the 6th floor. I felt as if I was in the center of
a glittering universe.

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“…”

Boss stayed quiet. The silence incited me to turn around, and I saw
Boss glaring at me.

“What?”

“Where did you say we’re going?”

“Huh? I said, the hot spring… Aah~”

I scratched my head. No wonder she misunderstood. My mind was

completely occupied with the landscape that I forgot to explain.

“I don’t mean anything strange by it. The hot spring is used for
training. There, your stats go up really fast.”

Kieeek— Suddenly, Spartan descended and sat on Boss’ shoulder.

It was quite skillful of him to catch the Dwarven Supercar at such a
high speed.

“…For training?”

—Prrrr. Spartan looked at Boss with twinkling eyes. He seemed to

be having strange thoughts again.

“Yeah. My stats went up by 2 in a week.”

“…Really?”

It seemed Boss finally took interest. The way she mumbled ‘hot
spring, hot spring, hot spring…’ even made her look excited.

“Also, that horse is still following us.”

Hearing her, I smiled wryly. Just like what Boss said, Bucephalus
was indeed still following us. She appeared to be speed walking and
not quite running, yet her speed was equal to that of the Dwarven
Supercar running at 100 km per hour.

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“She’s super fast, right?”

“…”

Boss nodded in silence.

“Look carefully, and you should be able to obtain some

information.”

“…? I can’t see anything. Just a question mark.”

“Ah, I forgot.”

The information of a Lv.13 creature couldn’t be viewed on the 6th

floor. Players gained increased access to information the higher they
climbed, and the highest level that one could access on the 6th floor
was Lv.10. The reason I was able to view Bucephalus’ information
was because of my smartwatch.

“Have you heard of Bucephalus?”

“Bucephalus?”

Boss’s eyes widened a little. It seemed she’d heard the name

before.

“Of course. She appears in the novel I’ve been reading.”

“…I see. Anyway, that’s her.”

“Hm? How is that possible? Didn’t that horse die a long time ago?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t know. It’s just that anything’s possible in the
Tower….”

We continued talking and soon enough we arrived at the hot

spring. White steam obscured the view of the water sparkling like
diamonds, surrounded by rocks reminiscent of emeralds.

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“We’re here.”

“Oho….”

The scenery was indeed beautiful enough to impress Boss.

“…!”

Boss, who had been scrutinizing the hot spring, suddenly widened
her eyes. She must have received the system notifications regarding
the ‘skill increase’.

“Um… Hajin, should I go in, just like this?”

“Huh? Oh… um…”

I looked at Boss. She had clothes on: Lv.4 Leather Armor and Robe,
both of which I had made for her.

“It’s better to get undressed. Completely.”

“…What?”

Boss frowned at me.

“Well, we’re like a family, so it’s noth-… I’m joking. Boss, you know
how to put up a barrier.”

I could sense her face turn grim, so I quickly took my words back.
She didn’t know how to take a joke.

“…Barrier?”

Boss asked back in seriousness.

“Yes. Just get naked inside a barrier. The hot spring will be most
effective that way. It’ll help you train your magic power. Would you
like to give it a go now?”

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“Hmm… Okay.”

Boss walked into the hot spring fully-clothed. I stopped Spartan

from trying to go after her.

—Pieeek… The bird was about to throw a tantrum when I managed

to cover his beak. Boss glanced back at me and Spartan, then formed
a black, dome-like barrier around her. The barrier divided the hot
spring exactly in half. Half for me, and the other half for Boss.

—Prrr!

I let go of Spartan since the barrier was already up. Spartan rushed
towards the barrier as soon as I set him free.

“Hey, you can’t go in anyways…?”

Swoosh— To my surprise, Spartan penetrated the barrier with

ease.

“…What?”

I tapped on the barrier as a precaution. Tok, tok. It was firm

enough to make knocking sounds.

“…”

To enter Boss’ barrier without losing a drop of blood…so this must

be the power of a divine bird. Feeling somewhat envious of Spartan, I
took off my clothes and entered the hot spring. Then I opened my
inventory and went over what I had to do.

[Lv.2 Consolidation Coupon] [Lv.3 Skill Consolidation Coupon]

I got these two last week as part of my reward for being the first to
enter the 6th floor. Of the two, the [Lv.2 Consolidation Coupon]
obviously had to be used to upgrade the system. Chwaak— I ripped
the Consolidation Coupon in half without any hesitation.

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[You used a Lv.2 Consolidation Coupon.]

“I’ll apply it to the system.”

[Consolidating ‘Lv.1 Extra7’s System’.] [‘Lv.1 Extra7’s System’

became ‘Lv.2 Extra7’s System’.]

I raised my system to level 1 last time. Now it became level 2.

[Your waiting room increases in size and its efficacy improves.]

[Your inventory level increases from Lv.1 to Lv. 2.] [You can now
access a wider array of information.] [Community…]

I quickly glanced over a myriad of system windows. Now, it was

time to use the Lv.3 Skill Consolidation Coupon.

‘Let’s see where my skills stand right now.’

[Basic Skill List (3/3)] [Lv.4 Extraction and Permanent

Materialization (2 slots)] [Skill Exp 55%] [Lv.3 Synthesis (1 slot)] [Exp
0]

[Extraction and Permanent Materialization] could be upgraded

through repetitive training and was at level 4. However, [Synthesis]
was still at level 3 since it could only be upgraded with Skill
Consolidation Coupons. As such, it was quite obvious which skill I
should use the skill consolidation coupon on.

[Synthesis increases to Lv.4.] [You can now apply the skill in a

more diverse way.]

Just like that, [Synthesis] was now Lv. 4. The maximum level for a
normal skill was 11. I was about halfway there, so now I should be
able to do what I’ve been wanting to do.

“Now then…. Let’s take the ‘Hot Spring of Peace’ to my waiting

room.”

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I took out the reward I got from the castle attack, the [Lv.4 Special
Chemical Activity Beaker].

=== [Lv.4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker] -—Lv.4 Property

Transformation ===

As soon as I filled the 1L beaker with the water from the hot spring,
‘Property Transformation’ activated. The water inside the beaker
turned into heavy liquid similar to mercury.

Then I used the [Synthesis] skill on the hot spring water. Synthesis
also had the power of compression. The semi-solid water became
compressed, making extra space in the beaker.

From here, I just needed to repeat this process multiple times.

I used the beaker and [Synthesis] to gather and compress the

water from the hot spring. 1L to 2L, 2L to 4L, 4L to 8L… In the end, I
was left with 128L worth of spring water compressed inside a 1L
beaker.

“All done.”

I spoke with a wide grin. Now I just had to bring this over to my
waiting room. Then I’d turn the compressed water into liquid again
and release it inside the mini hot spring I prepared.

To leave the hot spring as it is seemed like a waste, so this was the
solution that I came up with after much deliberation. Of course, the
spring water would lose its purifying ability after compression, but
Stigma’s magic power could take care of that.

In any case, I was about to return to the waiting room with the
beaker…

Splash—

…when the water splashed. I looked up and saw Bucephalus

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splattering water with her front legs. Splash splash Splash splash The
water splashed all over my face.

“…”

I faked indifference and messaged Boss.

「Boss, can you help me with my training after you’re done?」

Boss 「Trauning?」

「Yup. Training.」

Boss 「Ok. But what kind of traoning are you referring to?」

「Archery practice. And it’s training, not traoning. I’ll shoot, so all
you have to do is evade.」

Boss 「It’s a typo.」

In addition to the Hot Spring of Peace, there were many other

training grounds on the 6th floor. For example, the Jewel Forest and
the Dark King Mountain Range were nearby. The Jewel Forest was a
great place for training skills, and the Dark King Mountain Range was
great for training Traits.

「But first, spend 3 more hours in there. It feels nice, right?」

Boss 「Yes. It’s good.」

After a short pause, Boss sent one more message along with a
screenshot. So she learned how to take a screenshot. Good for her.

Boss 「(Photo)」 Boss 「Lol.」

It was a photo of Spartan splashing water. In it, Spartan was

smiling like he was the happiest bird in the whole wide world.

“….”

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For some reason, I felt bitter. Why was I jealous?

“Ku, kuhum.”

I closed my eyes slowly and was about to share vision with

Spartan… but held back. I endured the blazing desire. It was all
thanks to my endurance stat which amounted to an amazing 7.207.

**

Time flew, and Boss and I spent our time well.

Leaving aside other details, Boss restored 3.5 points of magic

power. As for me, I raised my Trait ‘Master Sharpshooter’ to 57%
grade 5, and ‘Extraction and Permanent Materialization’ to level 5. I
also succeeded in creating a scaled-down version of the ‘Hot Spring
of Peace’ in my waiting room. It wasn’t as good as the original, but it
was still worth 1-2 hours of my time per day.

—Prrr, prrr.

Most importantly, after 4 additional days of playing hard to get… I

finally tamed Bucephalus.

—Hiiing.

[Lv.13 Bucephalus consents to becoming your pet!] [This

relationship can break anytime because Bucephalus’ loyalty is weak.]

I was satisfied with the temporary ‘master and servant’

relationship between us. I had enticed her by saying I’d give her good
food everyday if she became my pet.

“Boss, can you recommend me a name?”

And now, Boss only had about an hour left to spend. I asked Boss
as I stroked Bucephalus’ mane.

“Can’t you just call her Bucephalus?”

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“No. That stands out too much.”

“Hmm….”

Boss rubbed her chin, deep in thought.

“Kwangmyung. What do you think? Kim Kwangmyung in Korean

style.”

“…”

Suddenly, my mind went blank. It was such a weird name that I

had to doubt my hearing.

“Hm. Do you not like it?”

“Huh? Ah… It’s….”

‘Well, I suppose it’s better than Spartan,’ I thought.

“It’s good, but she’s a girl.”

“Ah. That’s right, a girl. Then… How about Sannuri?”

“Oh? I like it.”

Sannuri. It was an unexpectedly pretty name. I asked Bucephalus

for her opinion, but she didn’t seem to care about her name and
simply nibbled the grain I had given to her.

“Alright, let’s go with Sannuri.”

[Lv.13 Bucephalus’ nickname has been set to ‘Sannuri’.] [Lv.13

Bucephalus secretly likes her new name.]

For the record, you could park(?) tamed animals in the waiting
room. I already prepared a stable with an automatic feeding machine
in the waiting room as well.

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“Then, I’ll see you later.”

I said to Boss. Currently, there was a ticket in her hand.

=== [7F Ticket] —Use this ticket to travel to the starting point of
the 7th floor. —You cannot return to 6th floor ever again after using
this ticket. ===

“Okay. I’ll go on ahead.”

Despite saying so, she didn’t use the ticket. Instead, she placed
her hands on the crystal stele nearby and went down to the 3rd floor.
She was probably trying to save the first-time rewards for me.

“….”

She was unexpectedly considerate when it came to things like this.

I stood there for a while, then turned around. I had about 4 hours left
now. There was nothing left that I needed to do in a hurry, but there
was one more person that I had to meet.

‘I wonder what he’s doing now?’ I closed my eyes and shared

vision with Spartan. Spartan was flying across the sky on the 5th
floor just as I had ordered.

“He’ll be here soon.”

I confirmed that he had arrived near the Forest of Fairies, then

headed back to the Hot Spring of Peace. I dipped my body in the hot
spring that I’ve grown a little bit tired of and waited for him to arrive.

Tik, tik—

30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours went by…. I now had about 40 minutes

left on my watch.

Rustle—

Suddenly, I felt a presence approaching behind me. I didn’t bother

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getting up. I simply sat with a smile on my face and waited for the
presence to unveil. The rustling sound grew louder, and the sound of
footsteps grew more vivid. My heart beat a little faster as the
distance between us shortened. After 5 minutes that felt like 30
minutes— His scent finally touched my nose.

“…Oh?”

A confused voice rang out behind my back. However, I didn’t turn

around. I leaned against the rocks surrounding the hot spring and
simply grinned. I didn’t have to check to know who this person was.

“You’re here.”

I stared at the surface of the water, which acted like a mirror and
reflected his face. A well-tended undercut and a flawless appearance.
Kim Suho looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Long time no see.”

It was a reunion after three years. I was glad but also a little bit
nervous. I was to face him not as ‘Black Lotus’ but as Fenrir— as Kim
Hajin.

**

Around the same time, 5th floor, [Materialized Demon Realm]. A

party made up of Aileen, Yi Yongha, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak
was exploring deeper into the Demon Realm.

“The executives of the demon race aren’t anything to worry

about.”

Shin Jonghak smiled as he thought about the demon whom he had

pierced to death a moment ago.

“Haha, right, you were outstanding. You have the potential to

become a spear god in the future….”

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“I don’t know about that~”

Jin Seyeon played along with him, but Aileen seemed rather
uninterested. In truth, Jin Seyeon’s original plan was to travel alone.
However, when Shin Jonghak asked her to join them, she had no
choice but to accept. Afterall, she owed a great debt to his
grandfather, Shin Myungchul, though it happened more than 20
years ago.

“Shall we set out again?”

“Yeah, whatever. Let’s go.”

Aileen answered Shin Jonghak, evidently annoyed. As a member of

this amazing party, Shin Jonghak had nothing to fear for. He walked
with confidence. The monsters that appeared from time to time were
indeed no match for them.

For one, most enemies were killed by Jin Seyeon’s arrows before
reaching them. Even if they managed to come close, Aileen’s Spirit
Speech and Yi Yongha’s hellfire, and, although not on an equal level,
Shin Jonghak’s spear easily destroyed them all.

“Then, let’s walk a little bit faster.”

Shin Jonghak led the way. He felt a little strange at the fact that he
was not the leader in a group, but he was satisfied enough to be just
a member. It felt as if he had become a Hero of an equal degree.
They continued on for about 10 minutes.

“Ah, there’s the crystal stele.”

Suddenly, Jin Seyeon pointed to a distance.

“Where? Where?”

Aileen widened her eyes and looked in the direction indicated.

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“It’s about 3 km away, so you might not be able to see it, Miss
Aileen.”

“…You’re joking.”

“Haha….”

Jin Seyeon smiled and observed the scene. There were three robed
people standing next to the crystal steles. One of them was very tall,
probably over 2 meters in stature, and had a sturdy build. Another
one was slim and held a spear in his hand. The last seemed like a
woman as she was wearing heels.

“….”

Jin Seyeon couldn’t figure out who they were. They seemed familiar
enough, but she couldn’t identify them clearly. Suddenly, the largest
one turned his head and looked in her direction.

“Who is it, what is it? What or who are you looking at?”

Aileen asked in a hurry. Jin Seyeon whispered without averting her

eyes.

“They certainly don’t look friendly… We might have to confront

them to use the crystal stele.”

“Yeah? Then let’s confront them.”

As expected, Aileen continued forward without a hint of hesitation.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Yi Yongha, Shin Jonghak, and Jin Seyeon followed her.

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Chapter 193
Source: Wuxiaworld

A lonely castle stood on a cliff somewhere near the Mediterranean

Sea. It stood there for a hundred years without belonging to anybody
before a man of wealth purchased it as his vacation home a year
ago.

Its appearance preserved the style of the Middle Ages. But in

contrast to the fancy exterior, it was completely empty inside. In a
room without a single piece of furniture, a conference was currently
taking place.

“…There was some resistance, but we achieved our goal.”

The secretary in a neat suit bowed.

“That’s good.”

A low, solid voice filled the room in return.

“You did well.”

“…Thank you, Chairman.”

In the deepest part of the old castle was a single throne. There sat
an elderly man. His name was Joochul, also known as Changdo, the
owner of Daehyun which wielded great influence in all of South
Korea, and the head of the Chae family, considered to be one of most
prestigious families. Chae Joochul sat, filling the empty room with
only pressure and his presence.

“However, we are still unable to identify them. They are too

human-like to be considered Djinns, but much too violent to be
considered humans.”

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Today, the secretary’s report was unusually long. Something that
was neither Djinn, monster, nor human. Something stronger than
Djinns possessing intelligence equal to humans. Chae Joochul
listened with his eyes closed and grabbed the cane beside his throne.

“…Strange beings.”

Koong. Chae Joochul’s cane touched the floor. Immediately, a

shockwave pulsed out. The magic power in the atmosphere trembled,
shaking the entire castle.

“The Association exists to deal with such things. Just leave it to

them.”

“Understood.”

The secretary nodded with respect.

“There is also another matter that requires Chairman’s attention.”

This time, a strange hologram appeared. Seeing this, Chae

Joochul’s face showed a faint change. Light flickered from his sharp,
frowning eyes.

[Black Lotus]

It was a symbol Chae Joochul already knew. It symbolized that the

children who scattered long ago had resumed their activities. At the
same time, it symbolized the roar of return of a pet he had once
abandoned.

However, Chae Joochul didn’t feel anything. His heartbeat was just
as slow as always, and his emotionless skin was as cold as ice.

“We’re currently in the process of contacting guilds and

information agencies to gain information about him.”

“….”

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Chae Joochul put his hand out without a word, and the secretary
put a stack of documents on his hand.

“The first page is our top choice.”

[Truth Agency]

Chae Joochul had heard of the name of the information agency on

the first page. Truth Agency. Its motto was swiftness and accuracy,
and over the years, it had quietly become a giant in its field through
its detailed and accurate reports. Of course, as members of the Violet
Banquet were generally selfish, the general public didn’t know about
this agency.

“We planned to request this agency first and even sent them a
message about it, but they’ve recently entered a hiatus. We believe
they are in the middle of expanding their business and network of
informants.”

“…Hm.”

Chae Joochul flipped through the documents one by one, then

threw the stack away.

“…Don’t concern yourselves with it.”

Thinking about it now, there was no need to investigate them. If

they had memories of their past, they should be unable to bite him
easily. After all, even an abandoned dog remembered their master.

Chae Joochul was about to end the conference… when a trivial

curiosity struck him.

“…How is my granddaughter doing?”

“Young Lady Nayun is doing well inside the Tower. She is said to
enter the top 100 ranking soon….”

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“That’s enough. You can leave now.”

“Understood.”

At Chae Joochul’s words, his secretary disappeared like smoke.

Inside the huge, empty castle, the old man slowly closed his eyes.
Suddenly, he remembered the past when he still faintly had his
‘emotions’.

The rookies who introduced themselves as the Chameleon Troupe

and dared to offer him a deal. The children who were drunk on their
unstable power and tried to grab onto his sleeve… Unfortunately, the
memory was too old for him to recall clearly.

Ssss–

At that moment, the small lamp lighting the room flickered off. A
thick darkness descended in the spacious castle. Inside this
darkness, Chae Joochul opened his eyes. His eyes glowed with
immeasurably deep magic power. ** The leaves swayed in the
blowing wind. From the ground, hot water bubbled and shot up.
Gentle sunshine engulfed everything.

The footsteps of wild animals filled the quiet mountain. I waited for
Kim Suho to speak in midst of the peaceful scenery fit for classical
music.

“…Kim Hajin?”

Finally, Kim Suho called my name. Only then did I grin and turn
around.

“Hey.”

“…Is that really you?”

“You bet. Stop spacing out and come in. I don’t have much time
left.”

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Above Kim Suho’s head was the number [216]. That was 16 hours
more than me. I’d guess that we were both equally courteous to the
system. Kim Suho must have received more time because his
alignment was ‘righteousness’. As for me, I’d imagine my alignment
was ‘neutral’ – perfectly fit for a side character like me.

“….”

Kim Suho came towards me without a word. He stopped right in

front of the hot spring and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“Come in.”

Once I said that, Kim Suho finally stretched his leg towards the
water.

“You’re gonna keep your clothes on?”

“…Oh right.”

Kim Suho moved opposite me and took off his clothes behind the
bushes. I couldn't see him, but I could hear the sound of his clothes
falling on the ground. It was… how do I put it… quite unpleasant.

After placing his heavy leather armor and other garments on the
ground, Kim Suho entered the hot spring. We were finally face to face
with each other. Splash splash Clearly dazzled by the sparkling
water, Kim Suho splashed the water a few times with his hands
before throwing me a question.

“…Where are we?”

“6th floor, the Hot Spring of Peace. The system should’ve told you
that already.”

“It did, but….”

Kim Suho looked at me with suspecting eyes.

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“What?”

“…Nothing. Anyway, it’s good to see you.”

Kim Suho suddenly raised his upper body and tried to approach
me. I quickly reached out to stop him.

“Don’t come near me.”

“Hm? Why?”

“…Just because. I feel kind of uncomfortable.”

Kim Suho’s body was most likely flawless. Not only did he have the
perfect body with well-balanced muscles, but his symbol of manhood
should also be perfect. I wasn’t too bad myself, but I still didn’t want
to compare myself to him.

“…Okay, sure.”

Kim Suho sat back down. I started the conversation first.

“Has it been… 3 years?”

Kim Suho gave a small smile and shook his head.

“4 years.”

“That long?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while… Oh, by the way, thanks for the armor and
guidebook. I’m still using the same armor.”

“That’s good.”

Silence followed. It was our first reunion in nearly four years, yet
we didn’t have much to say to each other. It was really awkward, but
that was okay. I wasn’t here to have a little chit-chat anyways.

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“By the way, Kim Hajin, are you the only one here?”

Kim Suho asked me first. From the suspicious look on his face, I
could sense that there was a hidden meaning behind the question.

“Hmm? Ah~”

I quickly realized what he was referring to. Right about now,

everyone else should be thinking that it was ‘Black Lotus’ who
entered the 6th floor first. Kim Suho was smart and knew how to read
the air, so he must have perceived the connection.

“No. There was one other person besides me.”

I answered. It was true that there was another person. Kim Suho
widened his eyes at my words.

“Then, Kim Hajin, you saw?”

“Saw who?”

“Black Lotus.”

The way Kim Suho spoke just now was somewhat boy-like.
Enjoying challenging a stronger opponent. It was one of the clichés
for a protagonist.

“….”

I nodded in silence. It seemed the notion that ‘Kim Hajin=Black

Lotus’ didn’t exist in Kim Suho’s mind. It must mean he trusted me
that much. There was no need for me to shatter his faith.

“Ah~ Then, Hajin, did you fight the Black Lotus?”

“…Huh?”

Kim Suho’s eyes began to twinkle all of a sudden. Well, I was

indeed in a constant battle against myself over smoking, but….

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“No wait, maybe you won? After all, Black Lotus isn’t here and you
are.”

“…Well, no. I didn’t need to fight him. The 6th floor is huge, and
the time given to each player is different. I just caught a glimpse of
him. Just the hair.”

“Ehh… You’re lying.”

I managed to come up with an excuse, but Kim Suho kept teasing

me.

“Oh, whatever. Anyway, you do know that you have to train for 216
hours here, right?”

In an attempt to change the topic, I got straight to the point.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah, judging from all the buffs, that sounds reasonable.
And I already found the 7th floor ticket.”

Kim Suho took out the ticket from his inventory.

“But you know what they say, ‘never hastily spend what you
earned with ease.’”

“Exactly.”

But that still wasn’t enough. Kim Suho needed to become stronger
than he was in the original story. Today, I was even willing to
sacrifice myself. Anything that was good for him was good for me as
well.

“I don’t have much time left, so I’ll be quick. Listen carefully.”

First, the Hot Spring of Peace.

“If you meditate here, your stats will increase really fast. So spend
at least 3-4 hours here every day doing breathing exercises.”

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Kim Suho knew an effective breathing exercise. It was a unique
technique that he learned in the Otherworld. During his stay here, he
should be able to easily raise all of his stats by 3 points.

“Also, to the right of this place, you’ll find a bamboo forest that
looks like it’s made of jewels.”

, the Jewel Forest. Then the Dark King Mountain Range… I taught
him all the places that he could use for training. This should have
saved him the 12 hours that he otherwise would have spent looking
for information.

“…You got it?”

“Y-Yeah. I took notes through the system.”

“Good. And here.”

I had only 3 minutes left. There wasn’t enough time for me to

explain anything else. Lastly, I took out the Stigma Crystal. There
were 8 crystals in total. I extracted 2 crystals every day and saved 8
just for Kim Suho.

“What are those? Gemstones?”

“They’re really good medicine that speeds up your growth. Take

one every day.”

[Lv.4 Origin Mana Crystal – Growth Bonus] ○Lv.4 Stat Increase

Bonus –Upon consumption, you receive 7.777% growth increase for
24 hours (Only valid on 6F)

“…Eh?”

Suddenly, Kim Suho’s expression became somewhat strange. Even

his cheeks appeared rosy, perhaps due to the hot spring.

“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

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“Huh? Oh… It’s just that… I’m really grateful, but why are you
doing all this for me? Did you know I’d come here? How come your
explanation is so detailed? I’m moved.”

“….”

Fair questions. But as my time was almost up, I didn’t have time to
answer any of them.

“…Don’t worry about that. Just start training.”

Again, what I wanted was for this Tower and reality to not stray far
from each other. In other words, I want this Tower to coexist with the
outside world. To make my wish come true, I needed Kim Suho’s
help. That was why I was helping him out. In any case, I did
everything I could. The rest was up to Kim Suho.

“It was good to see you.”

The moment I finished talking, system windows popped up.

[0:00] [Time is up.] [Returning to the 5th floor.] [You can no longer
enter the 6th floor.]

“Hey, wait….”

Kim Suho was trying to say something, but my vision distorted

before I could hear him. The warmth of the hot spring disappeared in
an instant, and I felt cold ground beneath my feet. Icy wind blew past
me and my whole body trembled.

[5F, Materialized Demon Realm]

I was back on the 5th floor.

“Ugh, so cold.”

I took out my gear from the inventory and put them back on. Then
I tried to use the ticket to the 7th floor right away. However…

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–Boom!

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang coming from a distance.

“Whoa! …What was that?”

The sound was too big to ignore. I scouted the area with the
Thousand-Mile Eyes. It was pretty far, but everything was clear as
crystal to me.

“Oh?”

There was a huge fight. And not just one or two. Or three or four. A
group of almost 20 Players was creating a real chaos. I couldn’t really
grasp the situation. All I knew was that everyone was fighting against
everyone else in the midst of pandemonium.

“…Hmm.”

This wasn’t on my schedule, but I couldn’t simply ignore it. I

approached quickly. Watching others fight was fun and all, but I
recognized many familiar faces as well.

I drove the Dwarven Supercar and arrived at the site of the fight
soon enough. I didn’t want to get caught up in the fight, so I climbed
to the top of a nearby mountain and observed the battlefield below.
Other Players were also watching the fight from a distance.

“…Wow.”

The most notable Player was without a doubt Cheok Jungyeong.

Simply put, he was a war god, a monster shrouded in high-level
equipment that I had given to him. The price people had to pay for
messing with the monster named Cheok Jungyeong was too great.
KWANG–! BOOM–! With just one punch, the earth cracked and a huge
explosion burst into the air. Most Players couldn’t even dream of
approaching Cheok Jungyeong, and even Aileen struggled to stop him
with her Spirit Speech.

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“Hajing.”

I was completely absorbed in Aileen and Cheok Jungyeong’s fight

when someone grabbed at my sleeve. I glanced back, but nobody
was there. A ghost? I was getting goosebumps when a voice came
from below.

“Over here.”

I lowered my gaze and discovered a little girl. A Caucasian, maybe

6 or 7 years old. Her skin was fair, and she had beautiful blonde hair.

“…Who are you?”

The girl gave a lopsided grin, seemingly unfit for her age.

“It’s me~ Jaaiin~”

“…Huh?”

**

Jain revealed the whole story. Apparently, a quarrel broke out

between the three members of the Chameleon Troupe and the party
made up of Aileen, Jin Seyeon, Yi Yongha, and Shin Jonghak. All
because the crystal stele that the Chameleon Troupe found was a
special one.

“Mm. So it doesn’t work as a checkpoint, but gives out quests

instead.”

A quest-giving crystal stele. Rewards from quests were quite

decent, so fights often broke out over quest-giving crystal steles on
the 5th floor.

“Kest~? Ah~ It did give us a kest.”

Jain, disguised as a child, answered.

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“What was it about?”

“Protecting the crystal stele for 3 hours. The reward ish a special
skill book called ‘Secret March’.” “Ah~”

Well that was understandable. Secret March was a good skill. I

would’ve fought if I was in their shoes, too.

…In any case, the aggressive fight between the Chameleon Troupe
and Aileen’s party over the quest captured the attention of many
Players. Of course, most Players wouldn’t dare to intervene, but a
few Djinns, blinded by the reward, didn’t keep away.

Evil Society’s ‘Kim Hakpyo’, Satan’s Servant’s ‘Kim Oh-Sung’, and

other famous Djinns and their followers had bravely jumped into the
fight.

“…What about you, Jain?”

“I~ ran awaay~ I didn’t wanna fight~”

The way the young Jain spoke was quite amusing. Her way of
talking was the same, but her pronunciation was funny and her voice
was high-pitched.

“…By the way, is that what you looked like as a child?”

“Ah? Yeah.”

“Doesn’t a child stand out more?”

“That’s true, but people hesitate before attacking me in this state~

And when they do, it’s the end for them~ Because I’ll kill them
first~”

Um. Such harsh words didn’t suit her cute appearance. Anyways, I
formed a bow with Aether. A black bow, quite refined in design.
People might even mistake it for a peak-grade artifact. And the

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reason I took out this bow was, of course, to participate in the fight
below. I nocked 5 arrows on the bow and pulled on the bowstring.

“You’re gonna shoot them?”

“Yeah. Just the Djinns.”

“Hajini reaallyy hates Djinns~ Always trying to kill them~”

I gave a small smile. Although I hadn’t anticipated this kind of

situation, it was a good chance. Djinns that I’ve been wanting to get
rid of were all gathered in one place. I only let them be because
killing them one by one would be a waste of time.

“Jain, you get out of here first.”

I infused 2 streaks worth of Stigma’s magic power into the bow and
the arrows. Woong– The bow resonated with my magic powers and
glowed darkish red. I planned to shoot from multiple angles. The five
arrows would kill exactly 10 Djinns. Well, maybe not Kim Hakpyo and
Kim Oh-Sung. They knew how to take a hit.

“But, if you shoot from here, won’t you stand out?”

“It’ll be fine if I run away right after.”

“How?”

I smiled.

“You’ll see.”

I just had to use the 7th floor ticket in my pocket right after
shooting the arrows.

“Okay. Then I’ll get going~”

Jain disappeared with quick steps. I waited for her to get far
enough, and then let go of the bowstring.

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Chwaaak–

Each of the five arrows, wrapped in Stigma’s magic power,

stretched in different directions towards the targets. It happened in
less than a second. The arrows danced in the middle of the
battleground. There were no noises, no screams. The victims fell to
the ground without even knowing what had happened.

Chweeek–

The arrows returned to me after completing their tasks. The

moment I retrieved the arrows, I tore the ticket in half. Before others
could locate me, my whole body shook violently.

[Entering the 7th floor.]

And, a system window appeared.

[Welcome to the 7th floor, ‘Game Center’.]

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Chapter 194
Source: Wuxiaworld

The situation quickly fell into chaos. Aileen and her party weren’t
intending on fighting. At first, they just wanted to register themselves
on the crystal stele’s checkpoint. If the mysterious people
surrounding the crystal stele refused to let them, she planned to try
to persuade them before using brute force.

However, the crystal stele wasn’t a checkpoint.

=== [Quest discovered!] [Summary – you discovered a group of

people trying to steal an ownerless crystal stele.] [Goal – steal the
crystal stele from that group.] [Reward – Special Skill Acquisition
Book – Lv.3 Secret March, Lv.5 Crystal Stele] ===

A quest suddenly started, and the opposing group labeled her as

an enemy. Aileen was slightly taken aback. A giant from the opposing
group smiled at her. Aileen was familiar with him just as he was
familiar with her.

“…You.”

The moment she muttered that one word, the fight began. The
giant man took off his robe and shot forward like the wind. He was
clearly asking for a fight. However, Aileen stopped his charge with a
single word.

“Stop.”

Just one word froze the man who arrived in front of her. His feet
dug into the ground as he tried to resist the power of Spirit Speech.
However, Cheok Jungyeong was still stopped. And that was the start
of the true fight. Another man shot up from behind Cheok
Jungyeong’s large body. It was a slim man holding a spear.

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“…I’ll be your opponent!”

Shin Jonghak stopped the man with his own spear. Koong—! A
heavy pressure fell on his spear upon contact. However, the pressure
was still manageable.

“Hold on just a bit.”

From behind, long-ranged reinforcement arrived. Yi Yongha’s

hellfire shot toward them, and Jin Seyeon shot arrows without using
the medium called a ‘bow’.

Cheok Jungyeong’s body clashed with Yi Yongha’s fire, and Jin

Yohan’s spear clashed with Jin Seyeon’s magic arrows. Shockwaves
bursted out and whirlpools of magic power erupted. The ground
cracked from a single exchange of attacks, and the following
exchange shook heaven and earth. The full-power attacks of these
high-ranking superhumans were even able to split the clouds in the
sky.

…When Cheok Jungyeong and Aileen began to run low on magic

power, the ‘hyenas’ jumped in.

“Miss Aileen, there are more enemies coming. I’ll shoot them
down.”

Jin Seyeon was the first one to notice them with her excellent
eyesight. Along with her announcement, several hundred arrows
rained down from the sky. They clearly distinguished friend from foe
and only hurled towards the enemy. In response, Djinns who were
aiming for an opportunity to attack burst out at once. Of the 50
Djinns that shot out, half were swept away by Jin Seyeon’s attack.
However, Evil Society’s executive, ‘Kim Hakpyo’, blocked Jin Seyeon’s
arrow with tentacles of demonic energy, and Satan’s Servant’s ‘Kim
Ohsung’, created a powerful barrier around him.

“Uhahahaha…!”

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Cheok Jungyeong burst out into laughter at the sudden appearance
of Djinns. His powerful laughter shook the earth, and he faced the
pandemonium with sincere happiness.

“Come—!”

He roared, and the resulting shockwave caused blood to burst out

from the ears of a few Djinns. Subsequently, Cheok Jungyeong began
to go wild. As his opponents’ attacks could hardly pierce his armor,
there was nothing stopping him from being reckless. He jumped up
like a gorilla and crushed the heads of every Djinn he came across.

“…He really is crazy.”

Aileen murmured apathetically and chased after Cheok Jungyeong.

KWANG—! KWANG—! While Cheok Jungyeong’s fists were sweeping
through Djinns, Aileen unleashed another wave of magic power.

“Stop, you gorilla bastard.”

Spirit Speech restrained Cheok Jungyeong’s movements. Frozen in

place, Cheok Jungyeong’s eyes turned towards Aileen.

“Where do you think you’re running away to? You should play with
me~”

Aileen smiled, and Cheok Jungyeong returned a similar smile. The

moment they were about to estimate each other’s true level of
power…

——

Silent streaks of light flashed through the battlefield. Black light

flickered through the sky as the world seemed to stop for a moment.
Heartbeats stopped in the chaotic battlefield. Thud, thud. Eight
Djinns who were pierced by the mysterious streaks of light fell to the
ground. Blood flowed out from their pierced necks, and their bodies
soon scattered away.

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No one had seen this attack coming.

Everyone in the battlefield fell silent and tried to comprehend the

situation. Ssss— Meanwhile, Jin Seyeon unleashed her magic power
and restrained the movements of her allies.

“…?”

Yi Yongha and Shin Jonghak looked at her curiously.

“Don’t move.”

Jin Seyeon muttered. In her mind, the previous attack was a

warning. If anyone moved, the mysterious attack would turn towards
them next. At the same time, Jin Seyeon used the eyes given to her
by her Divine Archer Gift to search for the sharpshooter’s location.
However, she couldn’t detect the sharpshooter at all. The silence on
the battlefield continued for a while…

“…Fuck!”

Until Kim Hakpyo’s shouting broke it. His body was completely
black as he had been in the state of Devil Transformation. It was
thanks to this that he was able to survive the sudden ambush.

“Waiting room!”

The remaining Djinns were also unable to locate the mysterious

sharpshooter. Quickly realizing that they were at a massive
disadvantage, they escaped using their [Emergency Waiting Room
Teleportation Tickets]. The hyenas all fell back, and the battlefield
was left with the original forces once more.

“Tsk.”

Cheok Jungyeong clicked his tongue, seemingly having been

contacted by someone.

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“Screw off.’

He gestured to shoo Aileen’s party away as though his interest had

dwindled. However, Aileen stood still at the forefront of the battlefield
without moving a single inch. Jin Seyeon noticed Aileen’s desire to
fight and approached her.

“Miss Aileen, let’s fall back for now.”

“….”

Aileen clenched her teeth silently. Was she shocked, or was she
just too proud to give up?

“…We didn’t plan on fighting anyways. We’ll be at a huge

disadvantage if we continue.”

If the previous streaks of light attacked them, the ambush would

have taken their lives instead. However, the mysterious sharpshooter
only attacked the Djinns. Jin Seyeon didn’t know why, but since the
sharpshooter seemed to want to let them go, it was best to go in her
mind.

“Aileen-ssi.”

Yi Yongha also chimed in.

“Haa.”

Aileen finally let out a sigh and turned around.

“Fine, I’ll leave.”

Aileen’s party slowly began to distance themselves from the

crystal stele.

…Just like that, the huge battle between many high-ranking Players
was ended by a single sharpshooter.

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**

[7F, Game Center] [Welcome to the Game Center.] [As you are the
first Player to enter the 7th floor, you receive the ‘Special Skill
Acquisition Book – Lv.4 Algorithm’ as a reward.]

Along with new system alerts, I arrived at the 7th floor lobby.
Although it was called the Game Center, it didn’t look like an arcade
from Earth. It was much more futuristic, like something out of a
science-fiction movie. Humanoid robots were walking around, and
there was a huge, grey pathway leading to an unknown destination.

—Welcome, customer.

At that moment, a robot wearing a suit approached me. Its body

was similar to a human’s, but its face was clearly that of a machine. I
was the one who designed this floor, but it was still cool to see it in
person.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

I knew who this robot was, so I talked politely on purpose.

—I am APG-365. It is my duty to identify and register your

existence. You have the choice to refuse, but you will have to return
to the lower floor.

“No, that’s fine.”

I emphasized that I was willing to cooperate.

[Lv.??? APG-365]

The robot in front of me was high-leveled enough for me to only

see question marks. Of course, with my smartwatch, I was able to
confirm that it was level 55. The robot’s name was meant to be a
reference to the ‘Great One’, and there were 365 of them on the 7th
floor. Each of them was strong enough to obliterate the current

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Cheok Jungyeong or Aileen in one blow.

—Please stick your wrist out.

As such, I didn’t dare to offend it in any way. All hail AlphaGo-nim.

“Ah, yes.”

I put my arm out. The robot grabbed my wrist.

—You can pay 5000TP to get an advanced neurotech chip

implanted. The advanced neurotech chip is definitely worth its price.
If you are lacking in funds, you may choose to pay 1000TP for a basic
electronic chip.

“I’ll go with the advanced chip.”

I took out 5000TP without hesitation. This was the only difficult part
of the 7th floor. 5000TP wasn’t a cheap price at this point. Most
Players would choose to go for the 1000TP chip and think about how
to skip the 7th floor with it. But that was the worst choice. This
‘advanced neurotech chip’ was one of the best gifts the 7th floor had
to offer.

“Here you go.”

I gave the robot 5000TP.

—Confirming…

A beam of light shot out of the robots’ eyes and scanned the TP.
After confirming that the bills I gave weren’t fake, it collected the
money and jammed a chip into my wrist. A sharp pain instantly
traveled through my arm and shook even my spine.

“Kuuk!”

—This chip is linked to your nerves. Causing any sort of trouble on

this floor will have you restrained.

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“…Got it. Argh, that hurt.”

I slowly stretched the sore parts of my body and stared at the

series of system alerts I received.

[Your body has been linked to the 7th floor’s advance neurotech
chip (now to be called Extra7’s Personal Chip).] [You are a lucky
person!] [You received a master-grade chip!] [Your strength and
speed increases by 0.5 points.] [Extra7’s Personal Chip is being
analyzed for unique effects…] [You receive ‘battle sense’ support
from your chip!] [You can upgrade your chip inside the Game
Center’s ‘Upgrade Center’.]

The 7th floor was one of the methods to artificially enhance my

innate physical limits. Although it was easy to reach the 8th floor
from the 7th, I had to spend some time on the 7th floor for this
reason. Of course, I would end up spending a lot too.

—Player Extra7 has been confirmed.

“How many are inside right now?”

—There are four people enjoying games at the moment.

“Mm.”

The four people should be administrators. One of them should be

the 7th floor’s administrator, and the other three should be from
other floors. Players weren’t the only ones who could climb the
Tower. Prestige’s citizens could climb the Tower if they wanted to. It
would just be unadvised and difficult, since they didn’t have benefits
that Players received like the inventory, private waiting room, etc.

—The Game Center has many fun games. You can purchase many
things with the points obtained from games, so please take your time
to look around at what we have to offer.

With that, APG-365 left.

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“Hmm.”

I scanned the 7th floor’s scenery past AlphaGo’s shoulders. The 7th
floor’s concept was science fiction and games. The science fiction
part was the chip that was just implanted in my wrist, and the game
part was exactly what it sounded like. Fighting games, RPGs, board
games, poker… all sorts of games could be found on this floor. At
that moment, a system alert popped up.

[53 kinds of games exist on the 7th floor.] [Players may receive
special rewards depending on the records they set on different
games.] [The special rewards will be given out once 1000 Players
enter the 7th floor.]

First, I headed towards the section of the Game Center specializing

in virtual reality games. Wiing— Wiing— Meanwhile, my smartwatch
continued to vibrate.

[You obtain 7SP.] [You obtain 6SP.] …

It seemed the arrows I just fired caused a bit of a commotion. In

any case, I followed a sign reading [Virtual Reality Games] and
arrived at an arcade. Rows of virtual reality capsules were lined up in
a huge room.

[Virtual Reality Gaming Capsule] [There are 27 games stored in

this capsule.] [You can purchase special items with points obtained
from playing games on the 7th floor.] [To play games, you must
exchange your TP for ‘Cash’. The Game Center’s currency. (Note, you
cannot re-exchange Cash for TP)] [You may receive Cash as a reward
depending on your performance.]

Just like the system said, the Game Center had its own currency
called ‘Cash’. Players could use this currency to purchase items. The
‘8th floor ticket’ was among them. If I remembered correctly, it
should be about 10000 Cash.

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“Hnng~”

I stretched and stood in front of a capsule. Then, I put my wrist

against it. Sss— The capsule opened. This virtual reality console
looked like a bubble chair. But before I sat down, there was one thing
I needed to do.

“Scan.”

The number 26 was inscribed on the capsule. That was more than
enough. [Young Dwarf’s Dexterity] would help me with all-important
physical aspects of different games, and the [Random Consolidation
System] would enhance the capsule’s overall functionalities. Fighting
games, RPG games, FPS games, and MOBA games were all available
on the capsule. I was confident that I could take first place in any
single player game.

“How comfortable.”

I lied down on the capsule. As everything about the capsule was

strengthened through the Random Consolidation System, the
comfortableness of its seat was included as well.

“Oh right.”

「Boss you can come up now.」

Before I closed the capsule, I sent Boss a message. Soon, the

capsule closed, my vision turned black, and system messages
popped up.

—Welcome, Extra7. —Here are the list of games you can play.

1. Fierce Charge 2. Gladiator’s Battle 3. Princess Maker …

**

Prestige, Riry Restaurant.

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“We were taught our standing in the hierarchy, haha.”

Jin Seyeon laughed amidst a somber atmosphere.

“…You think this is funny?”

Aileen furrowed her brows.

“And what do you mean we were taught our standing in the

hierarchy? We only retreated because you couldn’t find where that
sharpshooter was! Shouldn’t a sharpshooter handle the opposing
side’s sharpshooter?”

“…Kuhum, you’re right. It seems I am still lacking in training.”

In truth, Jin Seyeon’s performance couldn’t be called lacking. After

all, it was her rain of magic arrows that killed 20 of the 50 Djinns that
attacked. But because she couldn’t do the most important task, she
didn’t make any excuses.

“Hnnng, how embarrassing. Just how many people were watching

that fight…?”

Aileen buried her head on the desk and squirmed. Wiggle, wiggle
Soon, she raised her head slightly, revealing a wood mark on her
forehead.

“Because of the Tower’s system, most people have seen the

footage by now. I suggest you don’t look at the public forum for a
while.”

Koong—!

Aileen slammed her head on the wooden table once more.

“…How’s everyone else doing?”

Jin Seyeon stopped paying attention to the depressed kid and

turned towards Shin Jonghak. He was looking down at his food with a

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somewhat solemn look.

“Shin Jonghak-ssi?”

“….”

He didn’t answer even at Jin Seyeon’s calling. The shock he

received seemed to be great. In truth, Shin Jonghak spent the entire
duration of the fight battling one on one with the unknown spearman.
The result of the fight could be easily guessed by looking at his face.
Although their fight didn’t reach a conclusion, if they were being
scored by a judge, the outcome would have been one-sided. In terms
of technique, Shin Jonghak was overwhelmed. He could see that his
opponent was going easy on him too.

“…How come you’re the only one who’s unaffected?”

Jin Seyeon looked at Yi Yongha. He was eating fried rice, looking

like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Eh? Oh, um, I’m the type of person who doesn’t get stressed out
by such things.”

Yi Yongha’s favorite word was ‘leisure’. His motto was ‘living a

leisurely life’. It was only with his innate talent that he joined the
Temple of Justice. If he put in effort, his standing would undoubtedly
be equal to Aileen’s. After all, he was known to be a genius whose
Gift and talent were equal to Aileen’s.

“What about you? You don’t seem affected either.”

Yi Yongha asked. Jin Seyeon made a bitter smile and shook her
head.

“No, I’m affected.”

The mysterious sharpshooter’s attack was one thing, but his

‘stealth’ was what really astonished Jin Seyeon. Where did he go

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after shooting his arrows? Could it be that he fired from beyond my
eyesight’s 4km radius? Even if that were the case, there was still
another question. Just how did an attack from such a distance carry
such killing power?

“I’m very uncomfortable as well.”

…Simply put, even the Divine Archer Jin Seyeon was feeling
threatened.

**

「Fierce Charge」 [1st – Extra7]

「Gladiator’s Battle」 [1st – Extra7]

「Mini-game Heaven」 [1st – Extra7]

「Spring Gunner」 [1st – Extra7]

「2031」 [1st – Extra7]

……

Of the 27 games stored in the virtual reality gaming capsule, I took

first place in every game other than the three that Kim Suho would
get 1st place in. As my performance was overwhelming, not even an
administrator should be able to surpass my results.

[Cash – 38,624]

Naturally, I received more than enough Cash to purchase the 8th

floor ticket. With that, I was done with the 7th floor. I could go up to
the 8th floor after a single day. However, there was one last thing I
had to do before that.

“…Huu.”

I sighed. Jin Sahyuk would soon arrive at the 2nd floor. Just like I

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promised last time, I would have to pay her another visit. I put on my
hoodie and robe and left the arcade.

“Uwoah!”

“Hmm?”

I almost bumped into someone. White-hair, sly-looking face. It was

the stereotypical face of a Western noble.

“Oh~ how’s it going?”

He looked at me and smiled. I felt like I knew who he was and

smiled back.

“Ah, yes.”

“I’m the 7th floor’s administrator, Simad.”

Simad reached out and grabbed my hand.

“Ah, yes, nice to meet you too.”

“Haha, I’m happy to have my first customer. Not to mention…”

He glanced at the arcade and put on a thin smile.

“Such an accomplished customer too. I have a suggestion. Do you

want to play cards with us?”

“Cards? Us?”

I tilted my head. I didn’t expect the 7th floor’s administrator to

make such an offer so easily.

“Yep. Someone ran away, so we’re short one person.

Administrators often don’t hang out with Players, but you’re the first
one to enter my floor.”

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“….”

I looked at Simad. In truth, I didn’t know what kind of a person he

was. Just like how I completed all my task on the 7th floor today, this
floor didn’t appear much in the original story either.

“Sorry, I don’t really have time.”

I was confident in winning no matter what game we played. Still, I

didn’t want to follow him. Not only was there no merit, but gambling
on this floor would all happen in ‘Cash’. For the record, ‘Cash’ could
only be used on the 7th floor, and it was stored in the chip that every
Player was required to buy. Although TP could be exchanged for
Cash, the other way wasn’t true. As I already had an ample amount
of Cash, I didn’t need to waste my time trying to make more. All I had
left to do was to upgrade my chip at the Upgrade Center.

“We’ll be gambling with TP. Your pocket seems to be full, so—”

“I’ll join.”

Now, the story was different.

“Ohoho~ what a bold young man. Great, follow me.”

I followed Simad without hesitation. The only thing on my mind was

how much I could get out of them without angering them too much.
Walking past a lobby guarded by several robots, we arrived at a VIP
room adorned with gold.

“Open.”

The door opened at Simad’s command.

“I’m back. I found someone, so we can play for a bit longer.”

“…Hm? Who did you bring? I told you, I’m not going to play with
robots.”

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Inside the room, a familiar voice rang out.

“I brought a Player, not a robot.”

“…What? Are you mad?”

“I’m completely sane. He’s quite rich, and we can always go easy
on him. We’re playing for fun anyways, right?”

Simad glanced at me as he explained himself. I walked up and

stood next to him. Then, I looked at the inside of the VIP room.

“…Eh?”

A short exclamation of surprise came out of my mouth. At the

center of the huge room was a gambling table. One of the two
administrators sitting around the table was…

“…Oh?”

The 3rd floor’s administrator, Medea.

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Chapter 195
Source: Wuxiaworld

Floor administrators were existences summoned using the

immense magic power condensed in the Tower. Some, such as
Medea, Eirene, and Heimdall, were mythical heroes, and others, such
as Luke and Simad, were my original creations.

Mythical hero or not, they were far from perfect. They had their
own obsessions and desires as they possessed self-consciousness far
greater than any human. This was also precisely the reason that they
helped or hindered Players from climbing the Tower.

At any rate, TP was an important asset to the administrators as

well.

“Raise.”

Medea threw an additional 5000TP on the table.

“Call.”

I put down 5000TP as well.

“Hmm~”

Medea rested her chin on her hand, keeping a poker face.

…I was currently playing poker without any complicated rules like

the high-low rule. It was just the traditional Texas hold’em where the
Player with the better luck and guts won.

Surprisingly, we were evenly matched in the beginning. I didn’t get

anything better than two-pair and I was often the one with a worse
hand. I panicked a little thinking the administrators were scheming

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against me together.

But economies of scale and the law of large numbers finally played
their part. Over time, as the number of rounds increased, I gained
the upper hand.

“….”

And this was the result. My opponents were Simad, the 7th floor
administrator, Cadmus, the 5th floor administrator, and Medea, the
3rd floor administrator. Half of the money they had on the table was
now in my possession, and the last two standing were Medea and
me.

“How much did you win from me?”

Medea asked casually. After two hours of playing, I had won quite a
sum of TP from her, totaling at least 100,000. That was the reason
Medea had abandoned her formalities and started addressing me
more casually.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe 130,000~140,000?”

“….”

Medea silently bit her lip. Then she threw a golden bill worth
10000TP on the table.

“Will you keep going?”

I smiled at Medea.

“Yes, of course.”

I had no idea what kind of cards Medea had. In fact, I didn’t even
know the proper amount to bet and generally had no clue how poker
worked. Still, the only way I could lose at this point was if she
cheated through ‘card forgery’. However, the cards we were using

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were made with great magic. Even I couldn’t see through them with
my Gift. Medea couldn’t possibly forge cards like these. Well, perhaps
she could, but the magic power needed to do something of that level
would surely be noticeable.

“Really? Your must have a nice hand.”

“….”

I put forward 10000TP in silence. Currently, the money on the table

was 148000TP. The bet was large enough that even Medea couldn’t
casually glance over it. Yet, she added another 30000TP on top of
that.

“You calling?”

I finally started getting anxious… or not. There was really no

reason. I pretended to think long and hard, scratching the tabletop
with my fingernails to fake nervousness. Then, with a sigh, I took out
all the TP I had in my inventory.

“I only have 23000TP left….”

I took off the robe that Medea had been eyeing for a while.

“Will this work?”

A small smile spread across Medea’s face but she buried it quickly
and then nodded hesitantly.

“…Yeah, sure. That’s okay.”

It was now time for us to reveal our hands. Although I was a little
nervous, I was confident that I wouldn’t lose. The best Medea could
have was probably a four of a kind.

“Please, go first.“

“…Pft. Sure.”

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Medea opened her hand with a smile. Four aces, as expected. It
was a four of a kind made up of aces.

“…!”

I deliberately put on a shocked expression. I widened my eyes and

shivered with my gaze fixated on her cards. In truth it wasn’t acting
but a natural physiological phenomenon. To think that all this TP
belongs to me now….

“Well then, I’ll take them now.”

Medea’s lips curved into a smile. She put both of her arms on the
table and wrapped them around the 200000TP. She started raking in
the money and the robe, when… Squeeze! I grabbed her.

“…What? Are you crazy?”

“Ah, a bummer.”

I spoke in a trembling voice to the frowning Medea.

“Oh, I, I won.”

I showed my hand. Medea’s body stiffened instantly. Her eyes

which had been sparkling like diamonds just a moment ago were now
robbed of their vitality. Every gesture of her hand and her body used
to be so elegant but now she was nothing but a frozen statue.

“Oh?! A straight flush? Wow, this is, wow~”

Simad, who had been watching from the sidelines, expressed

amazement.

“I played poker for 100 years and I’ve seen this hand only 1001
times. Uhahaha, congrats!”

“…I’m sorry.”

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I pushed Medea’s arms off the table. She moved without resistance
and leaned her back against the chair. Her face looked as if her soul
had escaped from her body.

But she only had herself to blame. There was no room for
manipulation or fraud in this game. Medea probably knew better than
anyone else that magic or a trick could never deceive them.

The game was played fair and square with only luck and skill as
assets.

Medea was lucky enough. Only, I was the emperor of luck when it
came to games of chance.

“Good game.”

I put the 200000 TP in my inventory. Medea vacantly watched the

money disappear into thin air.

“N-no way….”

Gambling is the path to ruin. That was probably right… for most
people. Just not for me.

[363,324TP]

I had over 360000TP. Considering that I started with 25000TP, I

really robbed them big time. About two thirds of the money I won
probably belonged to Medea originally.

“A straight flush over quads… W-What’s going on? Just what is….”

Yet to recover from the shock, Medea buried her face in her hands.
It was such a pitiful sight that I set the robe back down on the table.

“…You can have this robe.”

‘Think of it as a winner’s tip.’ But I didn’t bother saying the last

part out loud. After all, nothing good would come from provoking an

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administrator too much.

**

I got out of the gambling house and stood in front of a sign in the
corner of the 7th floor with the words [Upgrade Center] written
across it. Now that I had the money, I was going to spend every last
bit of it on enhancements.

—Welcome to the Advanced Neurotech Chip Upgrade Center.

A robot that looked similar to APG but with a more mechanical

style of clothing welcomed me.

“Hi. I’m here to make enhancements.”

— Please select what you would like from this list.

The robot projected the catalogue in the air.

[1. Increase Strength by 1 point — 15,000TP] [2. Increase Dexterity

by 1 point — 15,000TP] [3. Increase Endurance by 1 point —
15,000TP] [4. Increase Sensibility by 1 point — 15,000TP] [5.
Increase Stamina by 1 point — 15,000TP] [6. Increase the unique
function of Extra7’s Personal Chip, ‘Battle Sense’ — 30,000TP] [7.
Add function ‘Connection & Synchronization’ — 120,000TP] [8. ……

—You can repeat the enhancements as many times as you’d like,

but the price will increase by twofold with every purchase.

“Yeah, I know. For now, I want to do everything from 1 to 6.”

I could do anything now, but I noticed a subtle ambiguity.

“What does number 7, ‘add function’, mean?”

—I have detected something other than your personal chip

wrapped around your body. You can connect and synchronize it to
your personal chip, and you will be able to utilize it more easily.

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“My body… Ah, you mean Aether?”

I gathered Aether surrounding my body onto the palm of my hand.

The robot scanned the transparent ball of Aether that was about the
size of a baseball.

—Yes. This appears to be the material. It is special and marvelous.

It only adheres to you and makes your body stronger.

“Uh, so that means I can connect my personal chip to Aether?”

—Yes. Because the procedure is complicated, the price is high.

However, after the initial sync, this ‘Aether’ will become much
stronger.

Robots did not lie. I couldn’t even dream of spending 120000TP

under normal circumstances, but I didn’t have any reason not to
undergo this procedure right now. In other words— thank you,
Medea.

“Then I’ll do everything up to number 7. You’re the one performing

the procedure, right?”

—Yes, that is correct.

“Before that, can you give me your hand?”

The surgeon robot stretched his arm towards me. I grabbed his
wrist and whispered.

“Scan.”

Robots, despite their intelligence, were treated as objects. At my

words, the number ‘22' appeared on his wrist. With this, he’ll be able
to perform the surgery better.

“Here, 225000 TP.”

After that, I paid 225000 TP in cash. The surgeon robot checked

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them for counterfeit and then opened the door which led to the
operating room.

—Please follow me.

“How long will it take?”

—An hour should be enough.

“That’s good. Can you do it so that it doesn’t hurt?”

—That is impossible.

“….”

**

[3F, Prestige]

English Royal Court’s hideout was home to a total of 23 guild

members. The hideout was already at level 4—it even has an office
for the vice-leader now—all thanks to Rachel whose reputation as an
elementalist was growing day by day. Inside the hideout, the
dignified vice-leader was browsing the public forum.

=== [Anyone see Black Lotus on the 5th floor?] —I did. Too bad I
didn’t have a Recorder on me :( └How was it? └I couldn’t see clearly.
He shot arrows instantly killing the Djinns, then everyone stopped
moving. He was like “I’m here to finish the war~!” └Why didn’t they
move though… └;; To evade any arrows that might come their way?
Have you never fought before?

[Seriously though isn’t this Lotus or whatever basically on the

same level as Nine Stars in reality? It doesn’t make sense otherwise.]
—Probably as strong as the Immortal, I’d say. └But isn't Chae Joochul
stronger than the Nine Stars? —Here’s my verdict as someone who’s
seen the battle. Chae Joochul wins in close combat and Lotus wins in
long-ranged combat. └Is Chae Joochul or Lotus your friend? Who are

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you to judge them?

[Has anyone been to Earth recently? Is there a bounty on Black

Lotus??] —What bounty? He hasn’t committed any crime yet; And
even if there was, who the hell is going to kill him? ㅋㅋ They’d be
dead long before they even get to see his face. —lololol what can you
do even if there was a bounty lolol —Black Lotus is gonna come and
find you now after reading this ㅋ ===

“….”

Rachel had just returned from a castle attack, but everyone was
only talking about Black Lotus. Rachel put on a sullen expression and
pursed her lips in a pout.

“…Hmm.”

After scrolling through the forum a bit, Rachel checked to make

sure there was no one nearby and searched for her own name.

「Search ▷ Rachel, Elementalist」 [How did the castle attack turn

out this time? Heard there was an elementalist.] [Elementalists must
be super effective in castle attacks for the top guilds to be letting
that lousy English Royal Court guild keep participating.]

“….”

However, it just made her feel worse. ‘If you’re gonna compliment
me, do just that, but don’t talk bad about my guild.’ She regretted
looking herself up. Afterwards, Rachel pulled up the Guild Alliance
group chat.

「Guild Alliance (25/25)」

This was a chat room consisting only of the leaders and executives
of each guild. There was a new announcement.

[Before we capture the 5th castle, there will be 2~3 days of rest.

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Everyone can return to Earth or do what they want in the Tower.]

WeaponMaster: 「 Essence of the Strait will leave behind 7

members and return to Earth.」 Youngfly: 「Desolate Moon will leave
behind 6 members.」

The purpose of this announcement was to prompt everyone to take

a break together. If some took a rest while others worked, then the
ones taking a break were likely to feel left behind. To prevent this,
everyone would rest at the same time. Rachel agreed readily. It was
about time she went back to England anyways.

Ding—

Suddenly, she received a message. It was from 「Extra7」. He

finally replied back to the message she sent two days ago.

“…36 hours.”

A reply in 36 hours. Rachel narrowed her eyes and stared at the

message.

Extra7: 「Oh, rest days? Yeah, I read about it on the public forum
ㅋㅋ There was even an announcement. I plan on heading out then,
too.」

The Guild Alliance was actively encouraging participation in the

rest days. They even asked the individual Rankers for cooperation.
‘You worked hard until now and it’s about time you take a break’ was
what they wanted to say.

「Where are you now, Hajin-ssi?」

As she sent the message, she sulkily thought to herself: ‘Will the
reply take about 48 hours this time?’

Extra7: 「Me? I’m on the 4th floor. I’m just grinding away because
there’s something I need to make.」

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But to her surprise, the reply returned quickly.

“….”

She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and wrote her
message in a more lighthearted tone.

「 Aha =) Then come see me in England. There’s a festival on

Clancy Islet around this time of the year (๑＞‿＜๑)」

Extra7: 「ㅋㅋㅋ Okay. You said things were going well in England?」

「 Yes ◕‿◕. Please give me a call when you arrive. I’ll send
someone to pick you up.」

Then, a minute passed. 5 minutes… 10 minutes…

“….”

As expected. The reply stopped shortly after. She had already

gotten used to it. Something probably came up, or maybe he ran into
somebody. Rachel turned the messenger off and opened the auction
house.

“…?”

Immediately, something caught her eye.

「Lv.4 Black Suit (J - Green Order)」

Rachel didn’t know this, but the real name of this suit was 「Lv.4
Black Messiah’s Horrible Suit」. Kim Hajin had been using it for a
while and he put it on the auction house to switch to a better piece of
gear.

“Ah….”

The moment she laid her eyes on the suit, she gave an involuntary

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exclamation. The design was beautiful. It was cool and efficient and
had great effects as well. Rachel swallowed her saliva and slowly
moved her finger towards the [Bid] button.

**

The next morning. The third tutorial had ended and Players had
arrived on the 2nd floor.

“….”

Jin Sahyuk was hiding herself thoroughly. She put on a robe she
bought in Tutorial Town and even applied stealth oil all over her
body. She even had that skill she got from the black ticket, survival
shouldn’t be too difficult. It was humiliating to have to hide like a
cockroach, but she consoled herself with the thought that she had
only taken a step back now in order to move forward two steps in the
future.

And things were going well in the beginning. She didn’t place her
magic power on display like she stupidly did last time. Instead, she
concealed it just like a wild beast. During this time, strange men
calling themselves ‘Newbie Hunters’ attacked her, but she easily
fought them off and even stole their TP. Really, everything was going
smoothly.

However… when she was wandering about the Jungle in search of

the elevator, she suddenly felt a chill. At the same time, a wind blew
that shook the atmosphere. Before she was even aware of the attack,
Jin Sahyuk had thrown herself on the ground out of instinct.

“Kuuk!”

Something that had shot toward her brushed her side. Even though
it was only a graze, a lump of her flesh had been cut off. She stopped
the waterfall of blood with magic power and thought to herself:

‘He’s here.’

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Her body trembled and her heart rate went up.

‘Where is he?’

She scouted the area by infusing magic power into her eyes but
found nothing. Streaks of light, much stronger than before, began
pouring down on her again.

KWAAAANG—!

Jin Sahyuk shrouded herself in magic power and rolled on the

ground. The air pressure cut her hair and left a scar on her cheek.

“…Fuck.”

Jin Sahyuk couldn’t predict the attacks. She couldn't point out
where he was. The black trajectories made it difficult for her to track
their source. The shooting from afar was tens of thousands of times
more threatening than a blade out in the open.

With no other choice, Jin Sahyuk ran. She ran with all her strength,
making her way through the bushes and jumping over swamps. She
could feel her hands and lips tremble. Not out of excitement nor
exaltation. Not happiness, joy, nor delight. She had never felt this
way before. She didn’t want to admit she was having this feeling, yet
the streaks of light poured down again as if to ask for her recognition.

KWAAAANG—!

Arrows caused explosions all around her. Jin Sahyuk managed to

jump into an animal hole in the ground in time.

“…Haa, haa.”

She covered the hole with a barrier and caught her breath. Then
she checked her HP.

[Vitality: 33/100]

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The situation was dire. It was only a matter of time before she was
killed. She would die once again at his hands. Anger and resentment
brought tears to her eyes. Her lungs filled with blood and her nose
reddened.

“That fucking bastard….”

Jin Sahyuk whispered in a trembling voice. Then suddenly, a pillar

of unknown magic power shot up from the ground. The wave of
magic power slowly began to take the form of a man. Jin Sahyuk was
well aware of the phenomenon taking place before her eyes.

“…Bell!”

She called his name out loud. The magic power completely
materialized shortly after, and its owner gave a small smile. But Jin
Sayhuk was more furious than welcoming.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Don’t get so upset. I came to help you, after all.”

The first thing Bell did was put up a barrier. Sssss— A dome-
shaped barrier engulfed the hole they were in.

“You asshole, if you hadn’t taken my ticket in the first place….”

“Shh. You’ll break the barrier if you create a disturbance.“

KWANG—! The next explosion shook the hole. It was the arrows
again, but Bell’s barrier managed to block them just once. And that
was enough. A violet light filled the hole. It was Bell’s skill— ‘Mass
Teleport’.

“What the hell is this? You, you fucker.”

“Teleportation.”

“…What?”

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“Let’s go home. Even I can’t win against him right now.”

Bell said that with a grin. Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth. Bell was
right. She needed to escape right now.

“I’m gonna kill you. I’m gonna kill you for real.”

“…I know. I said it myself, right? That someday, you’ll have to do

so.”

Bell and Jin Sahyuk. They shared words that could be either a
greeting or a curse and then turned into violet magic power and flew
away.

…About 3km away. Atop a tall zelkova tree, a man tilted his head.

“Woah.”

Kim Hajin put his bow and arrows away without much deliberation.
It didn’t really matter that the target had escaped. From the start, his
goal today had been to make sure that she ‘didn’t notice’. As long as
she didn’t realize what was on the arrow that grazed her, or if she
realized too late, she would, without a doubt, face death.

“Return.”

He collected the dark ore arrows with a murmur. The arrows took
about 3 seconds to fly back. He had shot his arrows from an
incredibly long range. The only reason Jin Sahyuk could survive the
initial shot was because of the distance between them.

“….”

Although he failed to kill his target, Kim Hajin looked at the tip of
an arrow without a hint of regret. A small amount of dark, sticky
liquid was there.

[Lv.4 Liquified Banshee’s Curse Crystal]

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This was a solution made from the crystals that Kim Hajin collected
on the 4th floor by deliberately being cursed by 13 banshees. After
extracting them from his body, he had put it on the arrowhead. By
now, the curse should have seeped into every part of Jin Sahyuk.

“I wonder how long she’ll last.”

Mercy was never an option to begin with. The moment he did, he

would be the one to be killed in the future. He stared at where Jin
Sahyuk was, then tore up the entrance ticket to the 8th floor.

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Chapter 196
Source: Wuxiaworld

[You are the first Player to enter the 8th floor!] [Welcome to 8-1F,
‘Field of Trials’.] [You gain the first-entrance rewards.] —Your bones
become sturdier. —Your muscles become thicker. —Your spirit power
capacity increases.

[The news of your advancement will be announced to all Players in

12~36 hours.] [This is the ‘middle stage’ of the Tower.] [You can
advance to 8-2F when you reach the end of the Field of Trials.] [Be
careful! There are those who despise outsiders at the end of the Field
of Trials. They will try to hinder your advancement.] [But when you
reach the end after breaking through all obstacles, they will
acknowledge you.]

I arrived at the 8th floor, or more precisely, the floor 8-1. I was
close to the half-way mark of the Tower of Wish. Strictly speaking, I
had climbed about 40% of the whole thing. But in a way, it wasn’t
wrong to call it 60~70% as I would climb much quicker after the 9th
floor. In the original story, the 9th~14th floors ended in about 7
chapters. Of these, about three were about the 9th floor’s
‘calamities’.

“Huu…”

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. A beautiful scenery

spread out before my eyes. A vast grassfield, blue and clear sky,
sunlight streaming down from cracks in white clouds… Staring at the
horizon, I examined Aether, which was fully fused with my body.

=== [Aether Infused with Neurotech Chip – Awakened, Fused]

[Mystic – Formless] [Evolving] A corporeal but formless weapon.
Adheres to its master or his weapon, reinforcing their strength. A

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portion of its potential was awakened through a mystical elemental’s
power.

○Master Selection *Will not adhere to another being once a master

is chosen. ○Physical Body Reinforcement *Increases all variable stats
of its owner by 0.7 points. ○Weapon Reinforcement *Adheres to its
master’s weapon and strengthens the weapon’s attack power. Aether
itself can also form a weapon. (Current weapon-form Aether rank –
‘high rank’) ○Detail Materialization *Aether can manifest color and
texture (cannot be too complex). ○Evolving Weapon All of the above
functions evolve with its owner. Depending on the state of Aether’s
awakening, other functions can develop.

▷Mysteries of Science —Fused with the Neurotech Chip, Aether has

been connected to your veins and internal organs. ○Internal
Strengthening —Increases physical stats by 1.4 points. ○Battle Sense
—Aether can support you in battle. ○Mechanical Movement —Can
concentrate your body’s kinetic energy to desired parts of your body.
===

While I was tracking Jin Sahyuk, I was able to experience firsthand

the benefits of the new Aether.

“…It sure is amazing.”

The new Aether had completely changed my body’s mechanism. I

felt the change when I sniped Jin Sahyuk from a distance. As common
sense would show, humans were incapable of shooting a target from
3 kilometers away. The same applied to superhumans in this world.
This was precisely why archers used ‘magic arrows’, which had
almost zero air resistance.

However, I was able to hit such a faraway target with a physical

arrow. This couldn’t be explained with just a Gift. Having to see the
target was one thing, but to shoot an arrow that far, one’s bowstring
also had to be strong enough. If a bowstring was strong, the
‘strength’ needed to pull the arrow also increased drastically. That

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was why such a shot was normally impossible without the help of
Stigma.

But after Aether fused with the neurotech chip which was
connected to my body, my body moved like a machine when I was
pulling on the bowstring. With Mechanical Movement, I was able to
display power that surpassed what I could display alone. At the same
time, I could feel that an invisible force was helping me move.

“…By the way, can I take this with me when I return to Earth?”

I asked the system.

[Yes. A few special items acquired inside the Tower can be brought
to the outside world.] [TIP! The same applies to the ‘Mysterious
Pouch’ in your inventory.]

“Thanks. That’s good to know.”

With this, my strength was greatly enhanced. ‘Let’s worry about

the outside world later and focus on clearing the 8th floor.’ I
surveyed the surrounding area and muttered quietly.

“Summon.”

In an instant, a black clump of light descended from the sky. This

acted as a portal that transported a black horse to this floor.

—Prrr.

Sannuri snorted unhappily as she was wet with warm water.

“…You were taking a bath?”

—Prr.

She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

“Sorry, but there’s something for you to do right now.”

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I took out special pieces of armor that I made for her to wear. They
were also made with dark ore and each piece easily reached Lv.5.
Click, click. Chest, back, head…. Soon, most of her body became
covered in armor. I even fed her ‘body strengthening medicine’ just
in case.

“All done. How is it?”

—Prrr, prrr.

She seemed to like it as her eyes arced to a smile.

“Nuri, this field stretches for about 200 kilometers.”

This floor was fairly simple. We just had to travel through the field
and reach the end. Of course, that didn’t mean it was easy. The
world looked bright and beautiful from the starting line I was
standing on, but the moment I took a step forward, the earth should
turn black, the sky should turn red, and unimaginably powerful blasts
of magic power should rain down on me.

However, I believed in Sannuri.

“You think you can do it?”

—Prrrrr.

As expected, Sannuri was full of confidence. Before setting out,

there was one last thing I had to do. I took out the [Special Skill
Acquisition Book – Lv.4 Algorithm] from my inventory.

“Use.”

I learned the special skill without hesitation. Since I just

experienced Aether’s power firsthand, this skill was worth the
investment. With this single skill, Aether would reach a whole new
level of power.

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[You acquire Lv.4 Algorithm.]

[Lv.4 Algorithm] [Equipment you wield will become stronger and

more precise.] [You can now set or change your body’s physical
response algorithm.]

“Algorithm set, Aether, automatic defense.”

[‘Aether’ is connected to your body.] [‘Aether’ will now defend

against hostile attacks on its own.]

“Algorithm set, Aether, skill delegation, [Extraction and Permanent

Materialization].”

[‘Aether’ has been delegated a skill.]

From now, Aether should cleverly protect me from any attacks

coming my way. As for its power… I could start testing it now. I
jumped on Sannuri.

“Nuri, run to the end of this world!”

—Prrrr!

She responded enthusiastically. Since she was so confident, I

wasn’t worried either. I pulled on her rein.

—Hiiing!

Sannuri shot forward like the wind, stepping into the field. At the
same time, the scenery changed, and arrows began to rain down on
us from the distance. Sannuri zigzagged masterfully, and Aether
blocked any attacks that Sannuri couldn’t avoid.

“Hiyaa!”

Sannuri reacted to my spirited shout. At the same time, magic

cannon shells shot up from the horizon. Their goal was to blow up the
ground to force me to stop.

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This time, Aether reacted first.

Using [Extraction and Permanent Materialization], Aether

crystalised the magic cannon shells before they touched the ground.
The explosives were no longer a threat, and Sannuri charged forward
without hindrance.

Meanwhile, I stared into the horizon at the ones firing arrows and
magic…

“Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, I felt a bit drowsy. Strength left my body, saliva leaked

out from my mouth, and the world spun.

‘…Why is there an illusion circle there?’ The moment I laid my eyes

on the illusion circle in the distance, my mind fell into chaos.

“Urgh….”

Normally, I wouldn’t have fallen for such a thing so easily.

However, my Thousand-Mile Eyes could see the illusion circle clearer
than anyone else, and when the circle entered my eyes, my body
stopped. I had to drink a potion to cure myself, but I couldn’t
remember which one I needed. My head turned blank. I leaned
against Sannuri’s back. Thankfully, Aether’s automatic defense was
still working, and Sannuri was unhurt. As such, I could only trust in
them for now. That they would protect me until I woke up…

**

[Lv.8 Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout]

Prestige’s Players thought this building belonged to a rich NPC.

Naturally, it was the best-looking building outside of Medea’s palace.
Currently, a discussion was being held regarding the ‘rest day’
suggested by the Tower’s main guilds.

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“Are you also returning?”

Boss asked Jain.

“Yep~ ah, by the way, take a look at this, Boss~”

Jain took out a small box as she grinned ear to ear. The box was
filled with shiny jewels.

“…What are these?”

“Jewels I can take out of the Tower~”

Items that could be taken to Earth. Such items were called

‘effective goods’ and were sold for a high price. Most effective goods
were ores or gemstones. Jain had refined bought gemstones from the
auction house and turned them into jewels.

“What are they good for?”

“I’m going to keep a few of them for viewing only and turn the rest
into necklaces and other accessories~”

“…Ask Hajin to do that for you.”

Hajin’s craftsmanship was far superior to most artisans.

“Ah, good idea~”

“Rather than that, where’s Gyeong and Jin Yohan?”

“Cheok Jungyeong is training his special skill right now. Secret

March, I think it was called…? Jin Yohan’s been having fun training a
basic skill too, so I don’t think either of them are leaving.”

Boss nodded. Then, she thought about her position for a moment
before looking at her messenger.

Extra7: 「Boss, when you get to the 7th floor, don’t skimp out and

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buy the 5000TP chip. You can go to the bank there and tell them my
name. I left a currency called Cash for you, so you’ll be able to buy
the 8th floor ticket immediately.」

Tap, tap. While Boss was typing up a response with her

inexperienced fingers, Spartan’s eyes suddenly shot open.

“PIEEEEEK—!”

“Kyaak!”

Jain jumped at Spartan’s sudden shriek and fell on her butt.

However, Spartan’s rampage didn’t stop.

“PIEEEK—! PIEEEK—!”

“W-What’s going on? What’s wrong with him?”

“PIEEEEEEK—!”

Taken aback, Jain blocked her ears and tried to drown out the
sound. On the other hand, Boss calmly examined Spartan. PIEEEK—
PIEEEK— Not only was Spartan shrieking, but he was also pulling on
her clothes. He seemed to want to take her somewhere.

“What’s…”

Then suddenly, Boss was struck with a bad feeling. She quickly
opened her friendlist and looked for Extra7’s location.

[Current location – ???F]

Question marks. It meant he was at least on the 7th floor. Spartan

seemed to be going crazy because he had lost his connection to his
master.

“…Don’t tell me.”

The small ripple in Boss’ heart quickly grew bigger.

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“Jain, wait for me here.”

“What? Why? What happened?”

Boss didn’t reply. She put on the most serious expression she’d
had in 3 years and tore up the ticket to the 7th floor.

**

[6F, Splendor]

Woong. Magic power undulated like falling cherry blossom petals. A

longsword transformed into several blades, stabbing a black bear.
Neck, stomach, arm, leg… the parts of the body touched by the
longsword immediately froze cold. The bear’s injury would have
easily been critical for a human.

KUOOO—!

Even so, the [Lv.6 Gem Black Bear] moved. It brandished its claw
to wound its opponent. Clang—! A longsword clashed with its claw.
On the moment of impact, the magic power condensed around the
longsword exploded once again. KWANG—! The explosion swept the
black bear’s face, putting an end to the fight.

“…Hua.”

Immediately afterwards, Chae Nayun wiped off her sweat with a

sigh. A mountain-sized bear promptly fell next to her. A one-on-one
victory. The monster she had been chasing for two days had finally
been killed. Speed of growth was indeed unimaginably fast inside the
Tower.

Chae Nayun turned back without much thought when a system

window popped up.

[Pick up the items, will you?]

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“Hm?”

Chae Nayun turned around, hearing the system message. Indeed,

an item list was projected above the bear’s corpse.

“Oh right, thanks.”

She thanked the system and put the items into her inventory.

=== [Lv.5 Invitation Letter to the Love Room] ○Summoning —You

can summon a chosen Player to your location. Note, you cannot be in
a battlefield when using this item.

[Lv.3 Infinitely Multiplying Origami Letter] ○Lv.3 Delivery of

Feelings —You can send a letter to a Player whenever you wish.

[Lv.6 Gem Black Bear’s Gall Bladder] ○Lv.5 Medicine —Eating this
will probably increase your stats. ===

Consumable items that randomly dropped from monsters such as

the [Heart-Piercing Magnifying Glass] and [Card of Fate] often had
amazing and mystical effects.

“…Are any of these good?”

At least for Chae Nayun, the item drops this time didn’t seem all
that useful. She didn’t want to summon anyone, and she didn’t want
to send any letters either.

“Guess I’ll sell everything other than the gall bladder…”

When she was about to take her leave, she was struck with a
sudden flash of insight. Rather, she remembered the reason she
entered the Tower of Wish in the first place.

“….”

Chae Nayun looked at the [Invitation Letter to the Love Room].

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—You can summon a chosen Player to your location.

Its description made her think of only one person. After staring at
the item with trembling eyes, she clenched her teeth with a light
sigh.

“I don’t know his nickname anyways.”

Faulting her stupidity, Chae Nayun began to walk back to her

companions. She left the Dark King Mountain Range and headed
towards the Hot Spring of Peace.

Soon, she discovered Yi Jiyoon and Kim Suho, who were busily
chatting by the hot spring. She was about to call out to them when
she overheard their conversation and quickly hid herself.

—…Really?

Kim Suho had a surprised expression. to him, Yi Jiyoon was making

a mischievous face.

—Yeah~ really~

—Wow… ha… ha.

Kim Suho then returned an astonished laugh. ‘What are they

talking about…?’ Chae Nayun wondered. However, the words that
followed prevented her from speaking out.

—Hajin really came to see Chae Nayun?

—Ah, quiet! Keep your voice down. It’s still a secret….

**

I opened my eyes. To my surprise, I was looking at an unfamiliar

ceiling. It was okay that the ceiling was unfamiliar, but why was there
a ceiling on floor 8-1?

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“…?”

And why was I lying down on such a comfy surface? Looking

around, I realized that I was on a bed. There was even a blanket over
me.

‘Where am I? There isn’t a system alert, so I couldn’t have died.’

“You’re awake?”

At that moment, a low, scary voice rang out. I glanced towards the
direction of the voice. A muscular man was standing by a door.

“…Who are you?”

“If it were up to me, I would have let an outsider like you die
outside, but…”

The man began to mumble about something that had nothing to do

with my question. This guy… he was a proper NPC.

“Consider yourself lucky. The Ironblood Duchess wished to keep

you alive.”

“Ironblood Duchess?”

I asked with genuine curiosity. Who the hell was that?

“Right.”

“Er, who’s… or rather, where am I?”

“This is the Crevon Frontier.”

“…?”

I fell into greater confusion. Crevon? That was the name of the
second residential area, a civilized world with magic and science.
Furthermore, the ‘World’s End Bridge’ I needed to protect was also

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located at the eastern end of this residential area.

“How is your body?”

The NPC suddenly asked how I was doing. Before replying, I

checked the NPC’s information fist. [Lv.8 Royal Guard]

“Ah, yes, I’m fine….”

“Then get up. Ironblood Duchess wishes to see you.”

“…Yes, sir.”

I got up without much thought. Since I was unhurt, I wanted to

satiate my curiosity first – finding out how I came here and about this
‘Ironblood Duchess’.

“Oh right.”

When I came out to the hallway, I suddenly remembered about

Bucephalus. She was most likely 80% of the reason I was alive.

“Where’s my horse?”

“In the stables.”

“…Is she getting along?”

“No, all the other horses were kicked out by her. She’s quite a
violent one. She’s galloping around the front lawn right now.”

“…Kuhum, sorry.”

Considering her personality, I wouldn’t have believed him if he said

she was getting along with common horses. Only a horse on a similar
level like Red Hare should meet her eyes. In any case, I followed the
NPC and walked forward.

But even after walking for several minutes and opening door after

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door, no end came to sight. Was I in a maze, or was this a prison?
After passing through dozens of doors, I finally arrived at a giant
door.

“It is my honor!”

The NPC guiding me greeted the two knights guarding the door.

[Lv.12 Moonlight Knight]

The two knights in full platemails lightly nodded in response.

“…You may leave.”

“Yes!”

The NPC backed off respectfully. After he left through the door, the
knights grabbed the doorknob.

“The Ironblood Duchess wishes to…”

—Geez, just let him in already.

Before the knights could carry out the formalities, an annoyed

voice rang out from the other side of the door. The knights coughed
awkwardly, then opened the door.

“You may go in.”

I walked through the door. Despite the flamboyant decorations on

my way here, the reception room was rather informal and empty. In
the center of the room was a long wooden table, and a person was
sitting at its head.

“Hiya~”

When she spoke, my mind blanked for a moment.

“…Eh?”

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I couldn’t think of anything as though the neurons in my brain were
malfunctioning.

“Where’s your reply?”

“…Eh?”

Slightly brown skin, athletic figure, and a beautiful foreign look.

The woman sitting in front of me was unfamiliar yet all too familiar.

“…Heh, I’m… hehe, the Ironblood… hehe, Ironblood Duchess.”

I stood dumbstruck in front of the woman who introduced herself

as the Ironblood Duchess. How was she here? She was someone who
shouldn’t be here! As my head spun with countless questions, she
continued.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about me?”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I was incapable of understanding what was

going on.

“We went to the same school together.”

The questions filling up my mind all boiled down to a single one.

How was she here?

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Chapter 197
Source: Wuxiaworld

[8-3F Crevon Mainland, Ironblood Duchess’ Mansion]

“Follow me.”

The Ironblood Duchess led me to her office without any further

explanation, unaware of how confused I was. I absentmindedly
followed her. I tried hard to piece together what was happening
inside my head but failed, so I took a peek at the smartwatch as a
last resort. …No new message. Recently, the smartwatch had
stopped warning me about changes like this. It was probably because
I changed the present too much.

“Hehe, you have a funny face. Were you that surprised?”

I was in her office now. The Ironblood Duchess offered me a seat in

front of her and smiled at me, who was still puzzled.

“S-Stop joking around. Seriously, tell me how you’re here.”

“Should I explain that first?”

“Yes, please.”

She finally began to explain why and how she came to be here. As
her explanation continued, my expression became more and more
dumbfounded. The gap between my upper and lower lips widened
and my jaw dropped as if it were about to touch the floor. However, I
soon realized that just because things didn’t align with my novel, it
didn’t mean that they were impossible. But still, the first question
that came out of me was an unconditioned response.

“…What? An invitation?”

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My question harbored both confusion and astonishment. Unlike
me, who was still bewildered, the Ironblood Duchess just nodded
casually.

“Yeah. You came in with an entrance ticket, right?”

“…”

I stared at her who had a perfectly calm expression. Crevon’s

Ironblood Duchess Kim Hajin’s past classmate. The villain that I
created and converted to good, ‘Tomer’, had once again appeared in
the main story after a dynamic turn of events. Was the co-author
determined to give a main supporting cast an important role?

“…What exactly is the invitation?”

“An invitation is an invitation, just like the word says. It invited me

to the Tower.”

This was what had happened to Tomer according to her. About 4

years ago, shortly after dropping out of Cube, she joined a group of
mercenaries. She planned to transfer and become a Hero after
gaining some real-life experience.

By a strange twist of fate, the mercenaries discovered an

underground Dungeon that winter. Although it was illegal to conquer
an unregistered dungeon, the mercenaries decided to proceed in an
attempt to evade taxes. Tomer, their best soldier, naturally
participated in the mission.

With Tomer’s help, the mercenaries successfully conquered the

Dungeon. But with Tomer being Tomer, she met an unfortunate end.
The mercenaries had convinced her to take a break and then left her
inside the Dungeon. They then ran away after sealing the entrance.
Tomer woke up from her nap and realized that they had betrayed
her. She searched for an exit with her life on the line and ended up
discovering the ‘invitation’.

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“…What did it look like? There must have been some words written
on it. What did it say?”

Tomer shook her head.

“It was just an invitation. ‘You are invited to the land of fantasy’…
something like that. I assumed anywhere would be better than the
damp, soggy Dungeon, so I tore the ticket right away.”

“Did anyone else receive an invitation?”

“Probably a dozen or so?”

“A dozen?”

I panicked. It meant that there were at least a dozen people who

existed outside the setting.

“Yeah, but no one is as important as me. At least, not on the 8th

floor.”

“….”

That was good to hear. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“…If you entered through the invitation, does that mean you
started on the 8th floor?”

“That’s right.”

Tomer grinned mischievously. I examined her for a moment. Her

appearance had changed a lot since the last time I saw her. After
overcoming her trauma, she had obviously lived a good life. Her face
was rounder and so were her eyes. She used to be a sharp-looking,
voluptuous Latino, but now she looked more soft and Asian-like.

“Also, what’s up with the ‘Ironblood Duchess’ title’?”

“That’s my nickname, I guess. I trained hard as soon as I arrived

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here. Unlike you guys, I have something called a ‘level system’. I can
get much stronger by leveling up. So I trained a bit and voila, I’m
stronger, just like that.”

Tomer cheerfully continued.

“And there are battles here all the time. Monsters come pouring in
every month. While fighting them, I made a name of myself in no
time. I’m already at level 35.”

“…35?”

“Ya, and I’m also super rich. I even got a title, and that’s how I’m
posing as a noble here. What do you think? Cool, right?”

I had no choice but to admit that she was strong since ‘Minotaur’,
one of the stronger calamities waiting on the 9th floor, was level 40.

“So you can take it easy here. I’ll show you how reliable I am. I'll
pay you back 10 times, 100 times, 1000 times for what I owe.”

Tomer smacked her chest and boasted. That’s right, she owed me
money. Couple hundreds of millions, I think. I’d been making so much
money lately that I forgot.

“So, thanks to you I skipped floor 8-2?”

“Yep. Oh, but if you want to go down there, that’s fine too. If you’d
like to train there, that is.”

After making it to the end of Field of Trials, a Player could go to the

8-2 floor, ‘Crevon’s Temporary Fortress’. It was a city-sized fortress,
and Players had to clear special tests and quests to receive enough
performance points to reach the 8-3 floor.

“No, I don’t really need to.”

But I declined. Fighting was a good training method but only for

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those with potential. I couldn’t get stronger through normal means
since I was already at the limit of my innate talent.

“Why, because you’re already at the top?”

“…?”

Tomer grinned as if she knew something.

“I’m pretty close with the administrators. I’m like their right arm,
so I know a thing or two about secrets.”

“…Really?”

“Yup. Who would have thought you would actually take all that
money from Medea?”

I stood up silently, approached the window behind Tomer’s seat

and stared beyond it.

A full view of Crevon was before my eyes. Shops were lined up

beside neat sidewalks. They were bigger than a house but smaller
than a building. They looked nothing like those of the modern times
but didn’t have any similarity to those of the Middle Ages either. A
new world in a category of its own, populated by thousands of
people.

“Are we on the west side?”

“Yeah. Northwest, to be exact.”

In the original novel, Crevon was divided into three districts with a
river in the middle. First, the South and the North. They were both
residential areas similar in size to Gyeonggido. But the most
important district was the East, a narrow plot of land between the
South and the North. The East, also called the ‘World’s End’, was off-
limits to NPCs. At the very end of the ‘World’s End’ lay the ‘World’s
End Bridge’ serving as Crevon’s final border.

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“…Here, have this first.”

As I was looking at the view of Crevon, Tomer handed me

something.

=== [VIP Identification] ○You are now a guest of [Lv.15 Duchess’

Mansion]. ===

On the surface, Tomer’s mansion was much higher leveled than

Medea’s Palace. In truth, considering its architectural value, Medea's
Palace was sophisticated enough that even a level 30 palace would
be a downgrade. The only reason its level was set so low was
because of its geographic location, Prestige.

Tomer continued.

“Stay here for the time being. You have other companions, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll look after them, too.”

“Oh~”

I smiled happily. In truth, most Players had to struggle a lot inside

Crevon due to inflation. Think about how the cheapest product at the
Upgrade Center on the 7th floor was worth 15,000 TP. Here, where
the level of civilization was similar to that of the 21st century and
even better in some aspects, the value of TP was significantly lower.
In that sense, Tomer’s words couldn’t be more dependable.

“Trust me. There are loads of fun events here, I’ll show you later.”

In exchange for the inflation problem, Crevon had a number of

huge events where Players could make TP. The Colosseum, Virtual
Reality Game Tournament, Monster Hunt, and Dance Competition, to
name a few. However, since there were no common quests, after
hunting a monster, Players had to dismantle it and sell and negotiate

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the price all on their own. Unlike on Earth, there were no agencies
that helped them with it.

“How’s the weather right now? Is it cold?”

I asked, looking down at the street with patches of snow here and
there. It seemed to have snowed recently.

“Yeah. It’s probably around -23 degrees[1] right now. There are
four seasons here just like in Korea, but they tend to be a bit more
extreme.”

“…Yeah? And how much are the buildings here?”

This time, the system informed me.

[Crevon, due to its dense population and limited residential areas,

does not offer the Hideout System.]

“You guys can’t buy buildings here. It’s overcrowded, so we

decided not to sell any to outsiders.”

“…?”

Once again, this was out of line with the original story.

“Really?”

“Yeah. One day, after getting a revelation about outsiders coming

in, the administrators’ subordinates proposed a legislation about it.”

The revelation happened in the original novel as well, but the

legislation was new. I sighed. But the most important thing— the fact
that the administrators of this floor were ‘Agamemnon’ and
‘Moses’—hadn’t changed, so that was a relief.

“By the way, how did you know that I was here?”

“Because you were the first Player to arrive on the 8th floor. It’s

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been a long time since I saw anyone from Earth, so I went to take a
look, and you were there. I hardly recognized you at first because
your face was so different. Did you get a plastic surgery or
something?”

“…No. It became more handsome on its own.”

Tomer frowned instantly.

“I’m kidding. I didn’t have any surgery. I guess I just lost my baby
fat as I got older.”

“I don’t think that’s it…. Anyway, do you know how to go up?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded without hesitation.

“Oh, really? How did you know?”

“I have a way.”

Since we were on the subject of going up… I fixed my gaze again

on Tomer.

“I want to ask you one more favor. Is that okay?”

Before I could even say what the favor was, Tomer grinned.

“It doesn’t have to be just one. Thanks to you, my dad… Kuhum.

Whatever, continue. I’ll do anything my dad’s friend asks me to do.”

I felt slightly guilty at her touching words. The fact that I was close
to her father had been fabricated. I nodded with a wry smile.

“Thanks. The thing is….”

I explained my plans to Tomer. Tomer thought for a moment and

then nodded.

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“That’s hardly a favor.”

Nice. Now, blocking that bridge should be much easier.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

We shook each other’s hands to celebrate our reunion. Suddenly, a

stern voice came from the crystal ball in the office.

—Your Grace, a player is causing a commotion on the 8-1 floor.

**

8-1F, Field of Trials.

A woman had destroyed all attacks with a terrifying wave of magic

power and reached the end of the field. It took her a mere 15
minutes.

At the end of the field was a bulwark, an army of soldiers, and a

general. They stepped aside with facial expressions that said “You
have earned our respects” and showed her the stairway to the 8-2
floor. The stairway stretched far above into the sky. If she went up
the stairway, she would reach the 8-2 floor. But she didn’t climb the
stairs. Instead, she turned to the general.

“…Answer my question.”

The magic power she emitted was enormous enough to leave

marks on the ground.

“Outsiders are not allowed to ask questions.”

But Crevon’s general who stepped up to stop her was not

intimidated. In fact, he looked as if he was ready to fight, even more
so than her. Ssssss… Magic power that flowed out from his hand
engulfed the blade of his sword. It was an aura of ‘sword

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reinforcement’ which was stronger than ‘sword qi’ which every
swordsman dreamed of having.

“I will ask again.”

The woman spoke up. Her stern voice echoed across the field.

“Then I shall say it once more. No questions are allowed for

outsiders.”

The general answered. He maintained an upright stance just like

that of mountains which didn’t bend or waiver.

“Did a man pass by here or was he killed without making it

through? Answer.”

That was all she wanted to know. Of course, she knew that death in
the Tower wasn’t a permanent death. Still, she believed she had a
duty to avenge the death of her subordinates.

“Questions are not allowed. Take the stairway or step back into the
field again. Those two are your only options.”

Their conversation did not last long. It was only natural that stones
and trees could not communicate with each other. A question left
unanswered could only be addressed through violence. The woman
emitted black magic power. Soon, her eyes turned red. In turn, the
general’s eyes glowed with determination. They were about to fly at
each other… when there was a soft whisper.

“Boss.”

She recognized the voice right away. The woman called Boss
stopped and turned to where the whisper had come from.

“Stop, Sir Kipha.”

And the general stopped after hearing the next voice. The general,

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Kipha, stared at his comrade. The tension between the two melted
away like snow.

**

I arrived in Crevon Mainland, the 8-3 floor, with Boss. Walking in

the unfamiliar streets of Crevon, we held a conversation.

“Hoo… oho… ooh…”

Boss, walking next to me, was just like a child. She seemed curious
about everything here. It was no wonder, since there was a hoard of
airships up in the sky and occasionally, beautiful magic would
decorate the sidewalks. Strangely, horses were still the means of
transportation.

“Hey Boss, why did you try to fight Kipha?”

“…Mm? Ah. I would’ve won.”

“Geez.”

It was really touching that she came all the way here to save me,
but her confidence had to be discouraged. Her opponent, Kipha, was
a legendary Flowering Knight[2] from history. Although he was
inferior to Cheok Jungyeong, Boss shouldn’t be sure of her victory
until at least 70% of her abilities were restored.

“…Are you doubting me?”

Boss narrowed her eyes at me.

“Of course you would win in a regular one-on-one match, but you
haven’t learned any skills yet.”

Boss must be the only player without any skills at this point.

“Learn what I recommend you later. Don’t be so picky. …Actually,

find the skills you want to learn by yourself.”

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“…That’s not how you should talk to your bo—“

I casually interrupted her.

“By the way, how did you come here?”

“You… Haa.”

Boss looked as if she wanted to say something but didn’t and

simply let out a sigh. I didn’t know why, but I felt like recently Boss
was giving into me.

“…Spartan helped me.”

“Ah~ Did you worry about me?”

I looked at Spartan who was sitting on Boss’ shoulder and smiled.

“T-That’s not it.”

Boss waived her hand all in a fluster and suddenly looked up at the
sky.

“L-Look at the sky. I’ve never seen an airship like that in my entire
life.”

“Ah, really?”

BOOONG— Together, we watched magical airships with video

screens on the side fly through the sky. Then suddenly, a system
alert popped up.

[ 「 Lv.4 Black Suit (J-Green Order) 」 has been successfully

auctioned off.]

It was a message about the armor I used to wear. I was about to

check who the buyer was but stopped at Boss’ words.

“This floor seems much better than the 3rd floor.”

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“Well, on the outside, yes.”

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. As I mentioned

earlier, most Players would probably have a harder time here than in
Prestige.

In fact, Prestige wasn’t that bad of a place nowadays. It was full of

potential as it was actively under development. Thanks to the work I
put into improving Prestige, many ordinary people were living there
now. They were artisans and manufacturers who couldn’t obtain
performance points because they couldn’t hunt monsters.

In the original novel, they would have been driven to despair and
forced to scrape up 1000TP to leave the Tower of Wish, but now
there was hope for them as well. Albeit slowly, ordinary people were
also starting to get their hands on ‘skillbooks’, and with the news
about people being able to bring acquired skills to Earth spreading,
they should be motivated enough to continue to develop Prestige on
their own.

“But will you be okay?”

Suddenly, Boss said worriedly.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you continue to climb at this pace… People might find out
you’re the Seat of Black.”

I smiled wryly at her words. Extra7, Black Lotus. It was a

reasonable suspicion. Extra7 achieved first place in the highest
difficulty tutorial, and Black Lotus was climbing at a speedy pace.
With that in mind, I changed my ID to a different one on the Game
Center rankings, but someone was still bound to be suspicious.

“Don’t worry about it. Rather than that…”

“Mm…?”

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I put a hat that I had made beforehand on Boss.

=== [Lv.4 Hat Made by Kim Hajin] ○Lv.4 Heat Preservation ○Lv.4
Looks Good ===

It looked like a beanie, but it had a ball of cotton on the tip like a
Santa hat.

“It’s a present since it’s Christmas soon.”

“….”

Boss suddenly stopped walking. She blinked blankly for a few

seconds and then tilted her head to look at herself in the window of a
shop. There was definitely a smile on her face. But only briefly. In the
next moment, she clenched her teeth. She obviously looked as if she
was having complicated thoughts. For a moment, I wondered if I had
done something wrong. But Boss faked a smile again and looked at
me.

“…Thank you.”

She sounded as if there was a lump in her throat.

“Boss. Did you do someth— Hmm?”

BEEP— I received a message.

“Hold on a second.”

CaptainBritain: 「I’ll be heading home now, Hajin-ssi.」

It was from Rachel. I replied quickly.

「Me too. I’ll see you on Earth.」

With that, I asked Boss.

“…Should we head back to Earth now? It looks like today’s the

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start of the rest day.”

It should take at least a week for Tomer to create the ‘system’ I

asked for and for other Players to reach the 8-3 floor. That should be
enough time for me to enjoy a short vacation.

“Okay.”

“Great, then let’s… No wait, you stay here, Boss.”

I remembered suddenly. Now wasn’t the time for this. I stopped

Boss from buying the return ticket.

“…What?”

I handed the [VIP Certificate] to Boss who was frowning.

“Take this and go to Tom— I mean, the Duchess and decide which
skills you’re going to acquire. She should have lots of skillbooks with
her. You need to choose at least one before I get back. It’s
homework, okay?”

“What? Who in the world gives homework to his boss—“

“It’s all because you’re too difficult. Come, Spartan.”

I called in Spartan, who had been sitting on Boss’ shoulder all this
time. He headed my way reluctantly.

“I’ll be off then. I’m gonna do a homework check when I get back,

so don’t slack off~”

“….”

Dumbfounded, Boss was at a loss for words and looked at me with

blank eyes.

“Let’s go, Spartan. To Earth.”

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—Pururu.

Meanwhile, Spartan used his Authority, the Passage of Light. A

circle of light came down from the sky and surrounded me and
Spartan. In it, the strange sense of returning to Earth enveloped my
entire body.

1. In case in wasn’t obvious, temperature is in celsius.

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwarang

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Chapter 198
Source: Wuxiaworld

In Prestige, where the difference between day and night was

unclear, the flow of time was still identifiable even without the help
from the magnificent invention called the ‘clock’ by the virtue of the
moon-like mass up in the sky.

When this mass sprinkled fragments of light on Prestige, it was

daytime. But these white particles of light only signified half of a
whole day. Currently, the particles were shining faintly from beneath
the western horizon, so it had to be dawn.

“…Haa.”

To Chae Nayun who hadn’t slept a wink since yesterday, the dawn
was rather long. She was on the 3rd floor in Essence of the Strait’s
Hideout. Lying on a bed in a room full of other guild members, she
was deep in thought rather than asleep. She kept thinking about the
accursed words she had heard the day before in Splendor.

—Hajin really came to see Chae Nayun?

—Ah, hey, quiet! Keep your voice down. That’s still a secret….

—…When?

—A while ago, when Nayun was cursed by a banshee.

The moment she heard those words she clenched her teeth.

‘I shouldn’t have trusted anyone.’

The ashes lying deep inside her heart had once again lit up. But at
the same time, Chae Nayun realized that this wasn’t a big deal, at

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least to them.

—Ah… no surprises there. Hajin isn’t the type to stay still after
hearing about that. So? What happened?

—Well, I really shouldn’t talk. Anyways, that’s why I’m wondering…

is it true that they used to date?

Yi Jiyoon incited Kim Suho to speak more to lure something out of

him, to simply satisfy her curiosity.

—I don’t know exactly. Ask Nayun or Hajin directly later.

—…Come on~ Then what was the point in me telling you all that?

Chae Nayun didn’t have the guts to call her out and complain.
After ‘that incident’, she was confident that she had become more
audacious, yet, at that moment, all she could do was stay hidden in
the shadows and listen in on them. Plus, she felt it would be strange
for her to get angry when she was the one eavesdropping on them.

Chae Nayun joined them a while later pretending not to have heard
anything. She tried to act normal in vain and returned to the hideout
after a day of training. She then handed the prizes to Kim Youngjin.
The ‘contract’ was that she would yield everything she earned in the
Tower to them. Although Yoo Yeonha said that wasn’t necessary,
Chae Nayun did so anyways.

Contrary to Chae Nayun’s expectation, Kim Youngjin took a liking

to the [Lv.3 Infinitely Multiplying Origami Letter]. He praised Chae
Nayun in front of other guild members saying that he now had a way
to communicate even when the messenger was dead.

When he put it like that, it did seem like a good item. She blamed
herself for not being able to come up with a use. In any case, as a
reward, she was allowed to keep the remaining items to herself.

That was 6 hours ago.

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For six hours, Chae Nayun had trouble sleeping. Thoughts and
anxiety drove off her sleep. According to Yi Jiyoon, Kim Hajin had
come to see her when she was unconscious and hovering between
life and death.

She tried hard not to think about why, because the image of him
looking down on her in pity filled her with disgust and anger. Instead,
she turned her train of thought to ‘Extra7’. The one who gave her the
antidote, an old acquaintance since her days at Cube. There was
something suspicious about what Yi Jiyoon said. If what she said was
true, then Yi Jiyoon met both Kim Hajin and Extra7 around the same
time. Of course, Kim Hajin and Extra7 should be separate individuals,
but….

‘…Wait.’

Chae Nayun’s eyes turned cold.

‘Maybe that’s not necessarily the case.’

Her gut feeling was that there was some kind of a relationship
between the two. This feeling was far from logical but intense like a
sixth sense.

—…Kuuhuum.

Then a noise came from the next room. It was the sound of Kim
Youngjin, the most diligent and punctual member, waking up. Chae
Nayun, sick and tired of her circling thoughts, also got up.

Zzz….

Yi Jiyoon was sleeping in the adjacent bed. Chae Nayun stood

silently and stared down at her, deep in sleep and drooling….

‘I couldn’t sleep at all because of you… what is it that you know?’

Chae Nayun stared at Yi Jiyoon with cold eyes and then stopped

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abruptly. The halt turned into a small propulsion which rushed to Yi
Jiyoon’s cheek.

SLAP—!

“ARGH!”

The sharp pain woke Yi Jiyoon up. Although her consciousness was
blurry, the pain was vivid. Her eyes filled with tears automatically as
she grabbed her cheek and looked up at Chae Nayun.

“W-W-W-What….”

“A mosquito. A huge mosquito. You okay?”

Chae Nayun showed her hands. There was indeed a mosquito

crushed to death.

“S-Still, i-it hurt a-a-a lot….”

“It hurt? Sorry.”

Chae Nayun had hit her as weakly as possible but Yi Jiyoon still
whimpered. Tears were about to flow from her eyes.

“Alright, get up. Let’s go training.”

But Chae Nayun grabbed her wrist and pulled her up by force.

“Wait, Nayun, I was gonna go home during the rest day… O-

OWW—”

“You can’t. Why do you I think I taught you how to get to the 6th
floor? Today, you’re gonna train with me ‘til death. Let’s get stronger
together. Kim Suho is waiting for us.”

“Wait, wait, it hurts! My wrist! Wrist! It’s gonna break! AAK!”

**

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[It has been more than 100 days since you first entered the Tower.
You can now acquire one skill outside the Tower semi-permanently.]
[Special skill — Lv.4 Algorithm] [Be careful, for death will rob you of
your skill.]

System messages appeared beneath my eyelids. When I finished

reading them and opened my eyes, I was already back on Earth. I
was in the Chameleon Troupe’s hideout that I had personally
reconstructed. Although today was a rest day, Jain and I were the
only returnees. The huge lobby only contained goblins who were
busy cleaning.

“Oh~ So it’s true that you can bring a skill outside. …Oh, by the
way, you have a mission, Hajin.”

“A mission?”

I was about to call Khalifa but stopped and tilted my head to one
side.

“Yeah. Boss told me to give you one. I’m gonna go back to

Jeronimo and fetch it, so get ready in the meantime~”

Jain said and handed me a jewel box.

“And, this.”

“…What’s this?”

“Effective goods. They’re valuable jewels. Can you turn them into
rings or necklaces or something like that~?”

I looked inside. There were jewels considered valuable even with

current technological advancements like blood diamonds and black
opals, and jewels found only inside the Tower like icelight stones and
firesilver stones.

“…When did you get your hands on these?”

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They were all super expensive.

“Hehe, there’s a reason I call myself the Phantom Thief. So, can
you?”

“I can, but what about the cost?”

“…Hmm?”

“I’m pretty expensive.”

Young Dwarf's Dexterity combined with Aether which had become

one with me. The precision of a machine and delicacy of a human
had come together on my hands, making my craftsmanship surpass
the modern era.

“…5, 5%?”

Jain said with a trembling voice.

“There’s about 20 of them. I’ll take four.”

“AH!”

She grabbed my wrist with a single cry.

“…But you, you, you’re rich.”

“I can’t buy things like these with money. How about just three,
then?”

Effective goods could only be obtained through monster hunting

and quests. Though, in this case, Jain seemed to have stolen some
from here and there.

“…Fine. Three.”

Jain nodded reluctantly.

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“But you have to do a good job~”

“Don’t worry about that.”

After I said goodbye to Jain, I hurried home to see her, who was
both my friend and family. However, no one was home. ‘It’s only
evening, so she’s probably with her friends from the next block.’ With
that in mind, I headed to Yun Seung-Ah’s house.

Tiriring— When I rang the doorbell, the speaker turned on.

—Who is it?

“It’s me.”

—Oh, Hajin?

—Eh, who? Hajin Hajin?!

As expected, Evandel’s noisy voice came from behind the door. I

smiled and waited for Yun Seung-Ah to open the door.

“Welcome.”

“Hajin~!”

Evandel ran to me as soon as the door opened. Tatatata. She came

to me in loud footsteps and hugged me right away. I picked her up as
Evandel clung to me like a cicada.

“Hajiiiiin~”

“Long time no see.”

I felt warmth when I stepped into the house with Evandel.

Haeyeon’s parents were not home—for some reason, they were
always busy when I was here—but Yun Seung-Ah, Haeyeon, and
another friend of Evandel were there.

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“Good timing. We were just getting ready for dinner.”

Yun Seung-Ah mentioned. I glanced at the kitchen and smiled.

Luckily, the ingredients were out but the cooking hadn’t started.

“Hajin~ Were you in the Tower~?”

Evandel asked as she rubbed her cheeks against me in my arms.

“Yeah. So you know about the Tower now?”

“I learned about it on TV and YouTube.”

“Aha~”

Two kids and Hayang approached me as I held Evandel in my

arms. The taller was Haeyeon and the shorter was Jiyeon, I think.

“Hello.”

“Hello~”

“Yeah. Hi.”

I patted them on their heads lightly and put Evandel down. Then, I
headed to the kitchen. It looked like today’s menu was tomahawk
steak.

“Can you wait a little bit? I’ll start cooking—“

“I’ll do it.”

With a smile, I picked up the knife that Yun Seung-Ah was about to
grab and sent her back.

…2 hours later.

Yun Seung-Ah called my cooking skills ‘fantastic’. The kids were

also very satisfied. They lay sprawled near the sofa due to languor

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after meal. But Evandel was a little different. While her friends were
half-asleep from eating until they were full, she watched TV and
suddenly widened her eyes. I also looked at the TV. The TV show was
about a festival in England which would take place during Christmas.

“Evandel says she wants to visit England.”

“Huh? England?”

“Yes. I took her with me when I went to Paris for work. It looks like
she’s taken an interest in traveling abroad since then.”

Evandel kneeled in front of the TV and watched it with sparkling

eyes.

“Hmm….”

‘England. I guess she recognizes her home instinctively. Though,

I’m not sure ‘home’ is the right word.’ BEEP- I received a message
and checked my smartwatch. The sender was Jeronimo. It was Jain.

[Hajin. This time, your mission as Fenrir is in England. You like

England, so no problem there, right?]

I smiled as soon as I read it. Perfect timing.

“Well then, we’ll just have to go.”

**

…Mid-December. Fenrir’s gun was fired for the first time in nearly
half a year. England’s Merseyside county was practically carpet
bombed by a ferocious wolf. The power of each bullet exceeded that
of a cannonball, yet the wolf’s aim was as precise as ever. There, he
destroyed the homes of sea monsters as easily as cutting through
tofu. As usual, there were no civilian casualties or any loss of
property. Other experts of the field clicked their tongues at his
meticulous skill. The monsters were removed neatly as if they had

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been cut out using a scalpel. Fenrir let the world know that he came
back from the Tower of Wish stronger than ever.

“Thank you for taking on the mission.”

Rachel called Fenrir both as the princess of England and as the

representative of the English Royal Court guild.

“Apparently there was a subjugation mission planned out, but it

was delayed in order to minimize the damage to the nearby city.”

Sea monsters were able to cause tsunamis, but they only did so
when they were enraged since tsunamis could destroy their homes
as well. However, Fenrir didn’t even give them the time to get
enraged. Mechanical shooting. Error-free destruction. From the start
to the end, it took him only about 15 minutes to destroy their homes
completely. He beat his old record. Just like Rachel, Kim Hajin had
also gotten stronger in the Tower of Wish.

—That’s what partners are for. More than that, you should be
careful. England isn’t as safe as the Tower.

“…You don’t have to worry. I learned a good skill.”

Inside the limousine heading to the English Royal Court guild,

Rachel looked out the window as she talked on the phone and
discovered someone. That someone was talking on the phone just as
she was. He had sunglasses on but his silhouette was similar to that
of Kim Hajin. She had run into the person she was speaking to on the
phone by chance. ‘What a coincidence.’ She was about to roll down
the window happily when she spotted something and froze. Kim Hajin
was holding hands with a child who had her blonde hair neatly tied in
a ponytail….

“…?”

The limousine passed by them and a familiar face was reflected in

Rachel’s eyes. Rachel was startled. The girl smiling next to him. The

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 723 Report
girl skipping down the street happily with one hand in Kim Hajin’s
hand and another hand holding an ice cream. She was also wearing a
cute bunny hat. She was undoubtedly the girl that Rachel had seen
four years ago through what she called ‘Future Premonition’. The
limousine soon turned a corner and the two disappeared from her
view.

“W-Wait. Stop!”

Rachel shouted to the driver in a hurry. Kiiik. The limousine

stopped with a skidding sound.

—Huh? Stop?

Kim Hajin’s voice rang out from her watch as Rachel got off the
car. She had just seen ‘something’ and was sure that she wasn’t
mistaken. She hurried back towards the direction that the car had
just passed by. She turned the corner, to where Kim Hajin was….

“….”

“Stop what? Rachel-ssi?”

—Stop what? Rachel-ssi?

Rachel found Kim Hajin in an unfrequented alley. He was still Kim

Hajin even with sunglasses on. She didn’t have to check that the man
in front of her was Kim Hajin because his voice matched the voice
that came out of her smartwatch. However… The thing next to him
was not a girl….

“Arf arf!”

But a puppy. A cute pomeranian. The puppy ran towards Rachel,

her golden fur fluttering in air. Kim Hajin turned around to follow her.

“Hey, where are you go… Huh? Rachel-ssi?”

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“…”

Kim Hajin’s eyes widened and Rachel nodded at him.

“I passed by you in a car, so I came running.”

That’s all Rachel could say.

“I see… It’s nice to see you. What a coincidence.”

But Kim Hajin’s reaction was quite dull. He didn’t seem too
surprised, as if he already knew that she would be here. Rachel
expressed her suspicion through a different question.

“Excuse me, Hajin-ssi, but weren’t you with someone just now?”

“With who?”

“A child. A girl about this tall.”

“A child?”

But all Kim Hajin did was tilt his head to one side casually.

“Um….”

‘Was it all in my head? Or did I mistake him for someone else?’

Poke, poke Amidst Rachel’s confusion, the puppy pressed her front
paws into Rachel’s legs.

“….”

“Don’t just watch, hold her.”

“Huh? Oh… Okay.”

Rachel did as he said. Grr, grr. The cute puppy snuggled in her
arms. Her smile was just like that of a human. Rachel patted her
head and continued.

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“I thought you left right after the mission….”

“I stayed to watch the festival.”

Around that time, people were starting to gather near the alley. As
the princess of England, Rachel’s popularity was unrivaled in her
homeland. She couldn’t be simply hanging around on the streets.

“I think I need to go now.”

As such, Rachel tried to put the puppy down.

Arf, arf.

But the puppy didn’t want to let go of her, and Kim Hajin had to
separate them personally. After removing her by force, he patted the
whimpering, sullen puppy softly. Rachel spoke.

“Your puppy is… a lot like a human.”

“Is that so?”

At that moment, a limousine approached the alley. Kim Hajin

smiled wryly.

“You should get going. It’ll be a lot harder when more people get
here.”

“…”

“I’ll come see you later.”

As the alley that was getting more and more crowded, Rachel
nodded. She looked at the puppy in Kim Hajin’s arms… then smiled
softly at her and stepped back.

“Princess! Oh, my princess….”

She smiled reluctantly at the people cheering at her and got in the

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limousine. Then, she looked at Kim Hajin from the window.

—Say goodbye.

Kim Hajin grabbed the puppy’s hand and waved it to say goodbye.
It was cute, but Rachel was quite distraught. There was no way she
was imagining things, yet imagination was the only explanation for
her confusion.

“Then, I’ll start the car.”

The limousine proceeded smoothly, and Rachel became absorbed

in deep thought.

**

[Tower of Wish]

At 3 p.m. today, a huge explosion erupted on the 5th floor’s

‘northeast gateway no.5’. This gateway was under the Guild
Alliance’s control under the refutable premise that if ordinary people
tried to capture it, there would be countless casualties. The Guild
Alliance’s rule had not been challenged until now.

Today, the gateway disappeared without a trace. It crumbled down

to nothingness after the explosion. The Guild Alliance hurried to the
scene to reveal the identity of the ruffian who had the guts to do
something like this on a designated rest day.

“Um… We think it was… Black Lotus.”

—What? Seriously?

However, their burden was lightened as they found out that

retaliation was impossible to begin with.

“Yes, there’s no doubt about it. His symbol was on the ground and
I’m looking at it right now.”

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Beside the crumbled gateway was the symbol of Black Lotus.

—…Haa. Withdraw, then.

How could they stop a Ranker from capturing the gateway when he
alone possessed power equal to a single guild? Guild Alliance
members sighed and turned around.

“Yes, sir. We’ll head back now.”

—Yeah.

They turned around feebly.

“Hm. That’s done.”

…However, contrary to their expectations, the mastermind behind

the attack was not Black Lotus. Rather, it was his superior, the
nameless ‘Boss’. She had impersonated her subordinate for his own
sake.

No one could imitate Fenrir because he used a gun. There was no

one else that could display such terrifying power with bullets.
However, Black Lotus could be imitated with a bit of effort. Boss
decided to nip the suspicion that could become her subordinate’s
Achilles’ heel.

Currently, there should be lots of media coverage of Fenrir’s

mission on Earth. So even if it was discovered that Kim Hajin was
Extra7, he would be Fenrir and not Black Lotus.

“….”

Boss waited until the Guild Alliance members reported the

explosion as Black Lotus’ doing and returned to Crevon on the 8th
floor. Imitating the arrows of her subordinate was tiring, but she still
had the homework from that cocky underling.

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Boss entered the Ironblood Duchess’ study. Soldiers, who had been
guarding the study with great intensity, stepped aside like docile
puppies in front of her VIP ID. Out of the many books stocked up in
the study, she picked out only the skillbooks. It was harder than she
thought. There were way too many books. Boss even banged her fist
against the bookshelf out of anger in the middle. But with great
perseverance, she finally managed to pick out 2 skillbooks.

[Basic Skill Acquisition Book — Lv.0 Magic Power Circulation] [Basic

Skill Acquisition Book — Lv.1 Magic Circuit Remodeling]

They were both passive skills regarding magic power. ‘These

should be enough,’ thought Boss as she turned around.

“…?”

She couldn’t help but be startled in the next moment. Someone

was standing right in front of her.

“Hello.”

A woman had been standing behind her all this time without a hint
of presence. Above her head were the following words.

[Lv.??? Ironblood Duchess]

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 729 Report

Chapter 199
Source: Wuxiaworld

That was close. No, she was probably still suspecting something.
Evandel also became excited after seeing Rachel and for the first
time threw a huge tantrum. It seemed it was true that blood was
thicker than water.

In any case, I had to put in two days of effort to appease Evandel. I

did my best to lighten up her mood with Clancy Islet’s festival, made
her a beautiful bracelet using one of the jewels I got from Jain, and
promised her that I would let her meet Rachel eventually.

I wasn’t lying. Evandel had to be revealed to the world eventually.

Of course, now was still too early. But once I had the power to protect
Evandel both emotionally and physically and once Evandel had the
power to protect herself… I would reveal her existence to the world.

It would be wrong to waste her talent just because I was afraid of

something happening to her. In the original story, Evandel had a
peerless talent for stronghold defense. That shouldn’t have changed
in this storyline either.

“…Today was fun, right?”

“Uun~”

After our tour of England, we returned to the underground training

room I set up for Evandel. Over the years, Evandel had created many
spirit animals, which were now flying around the training room.
Eagles, wolves, horses, hippos… a huge mystical army of animals
greeted Evandel. Even at a glance, one could see that there were
over a thousand of them. However, Evandel commanded with a
single flicker of her hand.

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“Guys~ clickety-clack~”

Evandel began to mutter strange onomatopoeias.

“Squish, squoosh~”

Her spirits then began to move according to the different sounds

she was making.

“Chico, chico~”

She waved her arm around like a conductor as she commanded

her spirits to dance.

“Sparkly, sparkly~!”

That one seemed to be an attack command as the army took on an

aggressive stance. Then, they spread apart and began to charge
forward at multiple angles.

“That’s enough. Perfect score! Well done.”

I praised Evandel and held her up high. Evandel smiled happily in

my arms.

“If I have my magician’s hat and staff, I can command them even
better!”

“Oh, really?”

I made a mental note to upgrade her gear later. I looked around

the training room once again. However, I didn’t find any special
spirits.

“Um, Evandel, where’s Fenrir?”

I couldn’t find Fenrir in the sea of monsters, so I asked Evandel

instead.

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“Over there~”

Evandel pointed to the corner of the training room. I followed her

finger and saw a black wolf lying by the wall. He was the only spirit
animal that radiated an imposing aura.

“Little wolf~”

But when Evandel called him, he shot his eyes open… and quickly
ran over with his tongue out. In case it wasn’t obvious, I had left
Fenrir with Evandel, since I knew he would be treated as ‘equipment’
by the Tower’s system.

“He got smaller?”

“Un! Otherwise, he’s too big.”

“I see.”

I checked Fenrir’s stats.

=== 「Ghost Wolf」 [Servant] [High-intermediate rank] —The first

Servant created by the witch, Evandel. ▷Basic Stats [Strength
12.150] [Bite force 12.850] [Stamina 8.635] [Speed 13.950]
[Perception 13.950] [Vitality 8.850] [Magic power 9.950] ===

The word ‘absurd’ didn’t even begin to describe him. If I fought

him, I would surely be crushed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he reached
the level of the real Fenrir soon.

“Alright, Evandel, can you play with your friends for a bit? I need to
do something on the side.”

“Okay!”

Evandel nodded with a cheerful smile. I smiled back and bent my

knees in a sitting posture. I didn’t have a chair underneath me, so my
butt should have hit the ground. However, my butt safely landed on a

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comfy chair. Aether had moved on its own and transformed into a
chair by itself.

Sitting on the Aether chair, I turned on my smartwatch. Then, I

entered Violet Banquet.

[Welcome, Truth Agency’s administrator.] [There are 77 clients

eagerly waiting to hear back from you.]

As expected, there was a huge backlog of requests. I looked

through the list. The ones that caught my attention were requests
from Frost Sanctuary, Desolate Moon, and Essence of the Strait’s
‘Yoo Yeonha’.

‘I can tell Yoo Yeonha that I operate the Truth Agency… right?’

I pondered as I checked the contents of her request.

「I hope you are doing well, Truth Agency-nim. I am LadyU. I’ve

contacted you once before for a request. Today’s request is
something that is purely to satisfy my curiosity. Knowing how busy
you must be, I will not take it to heart even if you decline my request.
In fact, I hope you do not think I am bothering you with trifling
questions…」

Yoo Yeonha had a serious tone. It must be the clause, [respectful

and polite speech may make the response quicker.]

But when I read the main content of her request…

[Is Creator’s Sacred Grace’s ‘Yun Seung-Ah’ in a romantic

relationship with Jeronimo Mercenary’s ‘Kim Hajin’?]

“…cough. W-What, is she crazy?”

I was dumbfounded to the point of choking on air. What strange

fantasy did she have now? Telling myself to look into it later, I quickly
wrote down a reply.

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[They are certainly only neighbors.] [As this request is too simple,
we will not accept any payment.]

With that, I went back to scrolling down the list.

“…Eh?”

Then suddenly, a certain name shot into my eyes like a nail being
hammered in.

[Hello, I am contacting you as the representative of Daehyun’s

chairman, Chae Joochul the Immortal….]

**

Aileen returned to Earth for the first time. Along with her exit from
the Tower of Wish, she felt like she regained the honor and authority
she had been missing for a long time. As soon as the news of her
return came out, requests for interviews flooded in. After all, among
the Heroes who entered the Tower of Wish with the first wave of
entrance tickets, Aileen was the only individual who was regarded as
someone who stood at the peak of her generation.

As Aileen enjoyed interviews, she partook in a public press

conference proudly. She even made it a huge event on the Tower of
Heroes’ front lawn. Her plan was to lay out her accomplishments and
showcase the rewards she got from the Tower. She even made a
mental note to have her hand on her waist proudly the whole time.

Indeed, Aileen became the main character of the press conference.

At least, for the first half.

“We’ve been receiving reports that Pandemonium’s infamous

terrorist, Black Lotus, has also entered the Tower.” “This man known
as Black Lotus….” “If there is anything you know about his
identity….” “Sir Vast Expanse has also made a comment about him.
We would like to hear Miss Aileen’s comment as well!”

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However, their attention quickly turned to another Player. Once
again, it was Black Lotus. Feeling sour, Aileen responded half-
heartedly and sent them away. Although the reporters at this press
conference were all seasoned veterans, they were unable to raise
any objection in front of Aileen.

“I’m not Black Lotus, so why are you asking me? That’s it for this
interview. Please go back.”

‘Please go back.’ With just these three words, the reporters all
packed their belongings and got back in their cars.

“Unni?”

After the reporters left like cockroaches scurrying away, the only
person left was someone that could resist her Spirit Speech. It was
Yun Seung-Ah.

“…What.”

Aileen glanced at her. Yun Seung-Ah was holding a plastic bag with
tofu inside.

“Congrats on leaving the Tower. Welcome back.”

“Hmph, it’s not like I was in jail or anything.”[1]

Even as she grumbled, she took the tofu from Yun Seung-Ah.

“Unni, are you out of the Tower for good or are you going back
soon?”

“I’m going back tomorrow.”

At first, Aileen wanted to make up an excuse and leave the Tower

halfway through. But after witnessing the mysterious power known
as ‘skills’ and because the scale of the Tower made it increasingly
more interesting, she decided to climb the Tower until the end.

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“Anyways, you’re here because you have something to say, right?
Where do you want to go? My house or my office?

Aileen asked Yun Seung-Ah, intending to show off her skill.

“Mm, well… I don’t really care either way.”

“Okay, then let’s go to my office.”

Aileen grabbed Yun Seung-Ah’s hand, flustering her as it was

something she wouldn’t usually do.

“W-Why are you grabbing my hand all of a sudden?”

Aileen didn’t respond. Three seconds later, the world flipped 180
degrees and a new scenery warped around them. Aileen and Yun
Seung-Ah were now in Aileen’s office.

“W-W-What?!”

“Huhu, how is it? That was a skill. As I thought, it’s even stronger
outside the Tower.”

Aileen was perfectly calm unlike Yun Seung-Ah’s panicked self. The
skill Aileen used was ‘Teleport’. Unlike Blink, it needed some time
before activation, making it trickier to use during the heat of battle,
but it was able to transport up to two people as well. Of course, there
was the downside that it ate up more magic power, but it was a
negligible amount for Aileen when she was outside the Tower.

“A chantless teleportation spell that doesn’t even need a magic

circle?”

“I was shocked when I first learned it too.”

“Amazing….”

Yun Seung-Ah put on a face of envy.

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“Why don’t you enter the Tower too? This is a great chance for
you.”

“…You know why. I’m busy with my guild.”

“Why are you sacrificing yourself for a guild? Don’t be stupid.”

Yun Seung-Ah only smiled bitterly at Aileen’s chastising.

“Anyways, why are you here?”

Aileen said as she sat down on her office chair. The difference in
their height had been bothering her for a while, and Aileen was
happy to finally do something about it.

“Well… I’m here to bribe you.”

“…Bribe?”

“There are two kids I’m close with inside the Tower. Unni’s one of
the strongest people in the Tower, right?”

“…Kuhum.”

Aileen let out a dry cough and leaned against her chair.

“I am the strongest~”

“…Right, exactly.”

Aileen’s lips trembled. She was indeed weak to compliments.

“Alright, that much shouldn’t be hard. One should be Kim Suho, but
who’s the other one?”

Yun Seung-Ah hesitated for a moment before carefully opening her

mouth.

“Fenrir, Kim Hajin. You know him?”

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“Fenrir… I do, but I haven’t run into him ever.”

“But if you do happen to meet him, treat him well. Help him too if
he’s having trouble with something.”

Hearing Yun Seung-Ah’s serious tone, Aileen replied confidently.

“I got it. Trust me.”

…After that, Aileen busily popped up here and there. As expected

of someone who liked receiving attention, she threw several media
events, lectures, and conferences. She was completely different than
Yi Yongha who was quietly resting at home with his wife.

In any case, after spending the night on Earth, Aileen returned to

the Tower…. But before she had the chance to even remember Yun
Seung-Ah’s request, she was faced with a shocking piece of news.

[A Player has entered the 8th floor.] [An unknown Player has
cursed you!] [A bounty has been placed on your head!] [Anyone who
defeats you will receive 5000TP.]

Three seconds. For three seconds, Aileen stood still in a daze.

Then, she rubbed her eyes. The system window still filled with
sentences she couldn’t comprehend.

“…What bullcrap is this?”

Aileen spat out a curse.

**

[Tower of Wish, 8-3F Crevon Mainland]

I returned to the Tower of Wish after a five-day vacation. Although I

ended up spending an extra day outside, there weren’t any dramatic
changes inside the Tower. It was just the news of me reaching the
8th floor that was heating up the public forum.

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=== [The Player on the 8th floor must be Black Lotus, right?]
—Almost certainly. ㄴNah, it might not be him! I heard Black Lotus
and Fenrir fought each other with the latter coming out on top.
ㄴWhat? Fenrir? ===

“What?”

While I was light-heartedly looking through the public forum, a

strange comment caught my attention. The Player’s ID was
「JiSUPERYoon」. …She was spreading what she heard from Kim
Suho.

“This girl….”

Was she in charge of spreading rumors? Well, it wasn’t much of a

secret anyways, and it was good that more and more people were
perceiving Black Lotus and Fenrir as different people.

“You go, Yi Jiyoon!”

As soon as I said that, 「JiSUPERYoon」 posted another comment.

—Yep ㅋㅋ Fenrir is using a gun inside the Tower ㅋㅋHe entered
through the black ticket ㅋㅋ He seemed to have brought a gun with
it. ㅋㅋㅋ He’s practically a grand general inside the Tower.

“….”

I exited the public forum and stood in front of the [Ironblood

Duchess’ Mansion].

“You know me, right?”

“Of course, Honored Guest Kim Hajin, welcome back!”

“Thank you.”

After passing by the knights guarding the entrance and walking

through a beautiful garden, I entered the mansion’s lobby. I first tried

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to locate Boss, and Aether reacted in response to my thoughts.

[Aether Algorithm – Vision Improvement]

In an instant, my vision spread out. As my Thousand-Mile Eyes

began to penetrate through the walls of the mansion, Aether
displayed a clearer view of my target.

[Player ‘Boss’ found.] [Vitality – 100/100] [Magic Power – 100/100]

[Status – Reading a book] [Predicted Future Action – 99% chance to
turn the page.]

It was telling me all sorts of extraneous information. ‘Interesting’. I

muttered inwardly as I walked up to the library upstairs.

“Boss~”

I called her with a smile.

“…Oh.”

Boss glanced at me momentarily and then nodded.

“You’re late.”

“I ended up staying another day.”

For some reason, Boss seemed to be hurt. I examined her closely.

As I thought, she had bruises under her left eye, above her
collarbone, and near other parts of her body.

“Boss, did someone beat you up?”

“Mm~”

Boss snickered.

“I’ve been sparring with the Ironblood Duchess recently.”

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“…Huh?”

My jaws dropped. I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Was

she saying that Tomer beat her up? Tomer wasn’t weak by any
means, but she should be a few levels below Boss…

“Boss, how much of your stats have you recovered?”

“About 50~60%.”

50~60%… Boss was only at half of her real strength, but from the
looks of it, Tomer seemed to have beaten her up easily. It seemed
Tomer had gotten incredibly strong inside the Tower.

“…Keep up the good work. Crevon doesn’t have a Hideout System,

but it has bonus stat boosts for sparring.”

Crevon was full of powerful NPCs. Naturally, there were many

quests and events involving them. To fully reap the benefits of this
floor, personal strength was vital.

“I plan on focusing on sparring for the next month. The Ironblood

Duchess seems to enjoying sparring me too.”

“Yo~”

At that moment, a voice calling us rang out. We turned our heads

sideways and saw the Ironblood Duchess, Tomer, walking towards us.
She grinned.

“Here, it’s what you asked for. I got it ready while you were back
on Earth.”

She trudged up to me and handed over a small crystal.

“Oh, already?”

[Lv.7 Location Crystal Stele]

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It was a portable crystal stele. By infusing it with magic power, I
was able to teleport to the ‘World’s End Bridge’ whenever I wanted.
With this, I would be able to combat Players trying to reach the 9th
floor whenever I wanted.

“You should be able to reach the eastern border with this crystal.
It’s expensive, so don’t lose it. It took 20 or 30 times the money I
borrowed from you to make it.”

20~30 times meant that this crystal was worth 6~9 billion won. I
put the crystal stele away and tapped Tomer’s shoulders.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Also, you can only use it five times, so don’t forget
that. And here.”

Tomer handed me a box that seemed even more important than

the crystal stele.

“What’s this?”

“Half a year ago, monsters began to drop strange pieces of paper.

We threw them away at first, but it just seemed too fishy. So we
collected them and put them all in this box.”

“Paper?”

After mulling over it for a bit, a bolt of electricity coursed through

my brain. Paper! If I was right, this box had the potential to be the
most precious treasure chest in the entire Tower. I quickly opened it
up.

=== [Item Experience +50 Coupon x11] [Item Experience +70

Coupon x4] [Item Experience +100 Coupon x4] [Lv.2 Consolidation
Coupon] [Lv.4 Skill Consolidation Coupon x3] [Lv.3 Skill Consolidation
Coupon x2] [Skill Experience +30 Coupon x11] [Skill Experience +60
Coupon x9] … ===

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Gold mine. It was an absolute gold mine. When I saw the item
description windows, I almost fainted from shock.

“I can’t use these, but I figured you guys could.”

“….”

I was touched by Tomer, and my body moved automatically. In the

next moment, I found myself hugging Tomer.

“H-Hey, are you crazy?”

“Thanks, friend.”

“…It’s hot.”

Tomer easily pushed me away with her strength. It was like she
was tossing aside a puppy clinging to her leg.

“Don’t squeeze me if you’re going to hug me.”

“Well, you see, I’ve really been needing these. I still can’t believe
you have so many. How long were you collecting them for again?”

“Six months.”

As I was thanking her with heartfelt gratitude, I suddenly felt a

sharp gaze on my back. I turned around. Boss was glaring at us with
narrowed eyes.

“Oh? Why are you glaring?”

Tomer asked teasingly. Then, what I couldn’t understand

happened. Boss flinched and looked away.

“…Kuhum, Duchess, would you like to spar again today?”

“A spar? Sure, I’d be happy to. Follow me.”

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Boss went outside with Tomer. The way they left made it look like
Boss was inferior to Tomer.

**

…The ‘Guild Alliance’ quickly climbed the Tower. The news of a

Player reaching the 8th floor had been the trigger.

Exactly four days later, they attacked castle no.5. This time, even
Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Yi Yongha participated in the battle. The
attack was carried out under high tension due to the belief that Black
Lotus might show up once again. However, it seemed it really was
Black Lotus who reached the 8th floor as he was nowhere to be seen,
and the castle attack ended without anything special happening. Just
like in the other castle attacks, Rachel made great contributions as
an elementalist.

As expected, the crystal stele that led to the 6th floor was inside
castle no.5, as well as the ‘Essence of the Sun’, which Medea wanted.
After giving the Essence of the Sun to Medea and claiming the
reward, the group climbed up to the 6th floor. Players needed
[100,000] performance points to reach the 6th floor, and most
members of the guild alliance had already surpassed that number.

[6F, Splendor]

Immediately, they were greeted with a beautiful scenic view. Right

in front of them was a wooden sign that someone seemed to have
hammered into the ground.

[Use this place to train.]

‘Was it some kind of a trap?’ Such a thought couldn’t escape the

minds of several alliance members, and while they were discussing
the matter, the administrator arrived to allocate them with time.
Some received 6 hours and some received 100, but the average was
around 48 hours. The alliance members pondered. Should they train

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here? Or should they go straight to the 7th floor?

Essence of the Strait, English Royal Court, Frost Sanctuary,

Desolate Moon. The above four guilds and Rankers chose to train,
and other guilds and Djinn alliances chose to quickly climb up.

The ones who arrived on the 7th floor Game Center were then
faced with an unbelievable sight.

“…What?”

“How is this possible?”

“The hell! It’s SevenPoker again!”

Curses and cries of astonishment rang out throughout the Game

Center. It wasn’t surprising. The first place Player for most of the
virtual reality games was just one person. The alias ‘SevenPoker’
claimed the top spot for practically every game. Players suspected
that it was the floor’s administrator at first, but the letter ‘P’ next to
the name signified that it was a Player just like them.

“It looks like Black Lotus wiped this place clean!”

“…Fucking hell, how can he be so greedy?! Can’t we put a bounty

on his head somehow?”

“We don’t know his nickname, and even if we did, who would dare
challenge him?”

“…I guess you’re right.”

In any case, a week went by since then, and most Players had run
out of the time they were given on the 6th floor. After having
advanced by several levels, they passed the 7th floor’s Game Center
and began to gather in [8-1F, Field of Trials].

“We just have to reach the end of this place?”

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Currently, on 8-1F. A warm breeze blew above a vast field.

“It looks like it, Lady Aileen.”

Aileen’s party, consisting of Jin Seyeon, Aileen, Yi Yongha, and Shin

Jonghak, were standing at the starting line.

“Should we divide the task somehow?”

Kim Suho’s party, consisting of Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, Yi

Yeonghan, Yi Jiyoon, and the Fermun brother and sister, suggested.

“We probably don’t need to. Just look around and see if there are
any Djinns nearby.”

“Djinns? Ah, right, someone put a bounty on Lady Aileen.”

Jin Seyeon furrowed her brows when she thought about how
someone dared to target Aileen.

“You be quiet. Like I care about some idiot putting a bounty on

my… eh?”

At that moment, something caught Aileen’s attention. A cute

squirrel had appeared on the field. Although the squirrel was a little
larger than usual, as Aileen loved cute things, she didn’t suspect a
thing and called the squirrel over.

“Come here, little squirrel~ I’ll give you treats~”

The squirrel stared at Aileen warily, then scurried up to her. After

arriving by Aileen’s side, the squirrel began to act strangely. It was
rubbing its hands on her pocket.

“Haha, look! This squirrel is adorable.”

Aileen only found the squirrel to be cute. She didn’t notice what
was happening at all. -30TP -40TP -20TP -30TP … Jain, who was able
to transform into an animal now, ran to Aileen as soon as she spotted

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her from the forest.

“What are you doing here~? Are you hungry? Are you looking for
food?”

Looking at Aileen who was grinning from ear to ear, Jain thought,
‘idiot.’

A happy smile emerged on Jain’s face.

“Look! This squirrel is smiling. It must like me a lot! Should I take it

in as a pet?”

…Completely unaware that she was being robbed in broad

daylight, Aileen kneeled and patted the squirrel’s head.

1. It’s an old tradition in Korea to eat tofu when you leave prison.

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Chapter 200
Source: Wuxiaworld

The squirrel ran around from Player to Player for about five
minutes before disappearing into tall grass. Aileen looked on in
disappointment as the squirrel left but soon put on a serious face and
looked out to the front.

“What’s the plan?”

Aileen asked Kim Suho’s party. Yun Seung-Ah had asked her to
help out Kim Suho, but she believed he should be able to at least
survive the Tower’s stage without her babysitting him.

“If you really want, I can cover for…”

Aileen’s stopped in the middle as she turned her head sideways

and saw Kim Suho’s party. He was riding on a cool vehicle that
resembled a snowmobile. It was black and golden on the surface and
looked sturdy even at a glance.

“Ah, um, we have a way already.”

Seeing Aileen’s shocked expression, Kim Suho scratched his head

and explained.

“…Looks like he’s more prepared than us, Lady Aileen.”

“Kim Suho, what’s that? Where did you get it?”

Jin Seyeon expressed her surprise sincerely, and Shin Jonghak

asked enviously.

“Er, I found it on the 2nd floor.”

“…It’s fine.”

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Aileen was also envious, but she took out a small kite shield to not
lose out.

“This is enough for us.”

Aileen said as she snorted. As the Spirit Speech Master, her

confidence wasn’t unfounded.

“This shield will become big enough to cover all of us~”

Her words turned fantasy into reality. The kite shield, which was
only big enough to cover half of Aileen’s body, suddenly enlarged.
Although its weight didn’t change, it had become big enough that
Shin Jonghak had to carry it instead.

“Also, for the next 15 minutes, this shield will block attacks lesser
than my total magic power capacity~”

“…Pf, pfft.”

Aileen was speaking seriously, but her cute manner of speech and
the way her small head bobbed side to side caused Jin Seyeon to
snicker. Jin Seyeon instinctively moved her hand to Aileen’s head but
stopped after realizing what would happen if she really did pat her.

“We’re going to go ahead. You guys can follow us after the first
wave of attacks.”

After leaving behind a generous offer, Aileen moved behind the

kite shield with Yi Yongha.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Alright, get ready. Us four are going to move at the same speed
like one body.”

“Understood.”

Aileen’s party accepted Aileen’s Spirit Speech without resistance.

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Three, two, one! After Aileen’s countdown, they shot forward
simultaneously.

“We should get ready too.”

Kim Suho spoke as he watched Aileen’s group leave. Immediately

afterwards, Vanessa Fermun and Paolo Fermun finished their
preparation. Chae Nayun was the only one who remained quiet.

“Nayun, are you ready?”

At that moment, a wave of arrows rained down on Aileen’s group.

However, they were unable to penetrate Aileen’s kite shield.

“…Chae Nayun, are you still wondering who SevenPoker is?”

Yi Yeonghan nudged Chae Nayun who was standing in a daze.

Chae Nayun snapped out and squeezed her longsword’s hilt.

“H-Huh? N-No, I’m just meditating to get to my peak condition.”

“Don’t lie. You weren’t listening at all.”

“…I’m not lying. Plus, I think I already know who SevenPoker is.”

The mysterious ‘SevenPoker’ had dominated most of the games on

the 7th floor’s Game Center. Chae Nayun felt like she knew his
identity. In truth, it wasn’t all that surprising. SevenPoker. Extra7’s ‘7’
and his incredible gaming skills. With these clues, it was easy for her
to guess who SevenPoker was. What Chae Nayun was pondering
about was something else – the true identity of Extra7.

“Anyways, I’m ready. Let’s go, I’ll protect the car properly.”

As soon as Chae Nayun spoke confidently…

“Mm~ as I thought.”

A cheesy, uncomforting voice rang out next to them.

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“Members of the Guild Alliance were here too~”

Kim Suho’s party turned to the side. Ordinary People Alliance’s

‘Zurahan’ had arrived with his party.

“…Zurahan.”

“Nice to meet you, Hero Kim Suho.”

Kim Suho glared at Zurahan with a sharp gaze, which Zurahan

pushed back with a smiling face.

“Hero? What Hero?”

to him, a displeased voice rang out. Although Kim Suho’s party

only knew him as a loud baldy, he was known by a select few as
‘Kaita’, the Chameleon Troupe’s Seat of Silver. Yi Jiyoon whispered.

“Who are they?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Kim Suho’s reply made Kaita frown.

“…She doesn’t need to know? Aren’t you being a bit rude here?”

“Let’s get going. We don’t need to trouble ourselves with these

guys.”

Kim Suho put his foot on the accelerator.

“What? Where are you… wait, where did you guys get such a good
ride?”

Kaita’s snake-like eyes flickered with greed. Kwaaaaa— Kim Suho

stepped on the accelerator. The Dwarven Supercar shot forward,
throwing dirt and pieces of grass on Kaita.

“Pfft. Ah, hey! You little fucker! Stop! I said stop…!”

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Kaita cursed as he yelled, shooting out a silver ray of magic power,
but the Dwarven Supercar had far escaped his range.

**

[3F, Lv.4 Bell’s Hideout]

“….”

Jin Sahuk opened her eyes feeling hazy. To be exact, they opened
regardless of her will. She couldn’t bare the excruciating pain.

“Haaaa….”

Jin Sahyuk let out a cracked and barren sigh and raised her upper
body. She then infused magic power into her blackened body. The
magic power intertwined with the curse burning her flesh and clotted
over the surface of her skin. Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth and
removed what was now a thin film.

“—!”

The severe pain of cutting off flesh followed. But this was the only
way she could survive. The least she could do to continue living was
to remove the curse that was exposed outward. Jin Sahyuk fell to her
knees in excruciating pain.

“A-Argh….”

“…Sahyuk!”

Her comrade rushed in.

“Are you okay?!”

Jin Sahyuk looked at Rumi, the woman looking at her. She wanted
to say something, but her lips refused to budge. As she mumbled
inaudible words, her eyes wandered to Rumi’s hands. In those hands
was a bowl of well-cooked rice porridge. Suddenly, fear struck Jin

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Sahyuk. The curse interfered with eating. So, if she were to swallow
that porridge, unbearable pain would strike her once again.

“Ugh….”

Jin Sayhuk shook her head in fear.

“You have to eat to get better.”

“No, no.”

“Bell-ssi is trying hard to make a counteragent….”

“No, no.”

Jin Sahyuk stood up in a hurry. She meant to run away but fell only
after a few steps. Rumi caught her thin body which was as light as a
feather.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Everything will be alright….”

Rumi gently soothed her. Jin Sahyuk stayed still in her arms. After
a short pause, there was a faint sob.

“…It hurts… so much.”

“It’ll be okay… soon.”

Rumi was heartbroken. Jin Sahyuk she knew wasn’t weak like this.
If her injuries were normal, she would have easily overcome them
with the power of her anger.

“If I… die….”

“You’re not going to die. Who said you will? Now, you should stop
talking.”

However, she had six different parts of her body covered with the
banshee’s curse. These curses, which were already at Lv.5, gave Jin

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Sahyuk pain greater than death.

“…I.”

Nearly a month went by with no cure and no change for the better.
To Jin Sahyuk, this month felt like a year. Over the course of this
month, her strong willpower had melted away.

“I’m so, so tired….”

Jin Sahyuk sobbed in Rumi’s arms. She was almost wailing.

“…It’s okay.”

Rumi clenched her teeth. She wanted to take revenge on the man
who made Jin Sahyuk this way. However, she had no means of doing
so. She didn’t have the power to. Above all, that wasn’t what Bell
wanted.

“Haa….”

With a groan, Jin Sahyuk stopped trembling. But her heartbeat was
still the same. She had fainted again. Rumi put Jin Sahyuk back in
bed. Bell returned at that precise moment.

“Bell-ssi…?”

Bell looked back and forth between Jin Sahyuk lying in bed and
Rumi, then smiled brightly.

“I think I’ll be able to get my hands on the counteragent.”

**

Around the same time, at Ironblood Duchess’ Mansion in Crevon. I

was able to draw a conclusion after watching Boss and Tomer duel.

First— Boss was far greater in terms of talent and innate battle
sense. But the problem was Tomer’s stats and use of skills, which she

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had accumulated and perfected over the last four years. Tomer, who
was originally the owner of Aether, was a genius when it came to
utilizing her environment and tools given to her. She overwhelmed
Boss with her unrivaled understanding and utilization of skills.

“…Uk!”

KWANG! Boss flew to the wall. Tomer was using only

‘Psychokinesis’, a basic skill, to fight Boss. Although Psychokinesis
was one of the best basic skills, what was really amazing was the
synergy between Tomer’s Psychokinesis and magic power.

“…Let’s do it one more time.”

Boss didn't give up. Still, while the process might be a little
different, the result would be the same. Boss would need at least
three months of repeated sparring to become a match for Tomer.

“Hmm.”

I took my eyes off of their duel and checked my inventory. In the

inventory, there were many treasures that Tomer had bestowed upon
me. The mere sight of them made me pleased. But I couldn’t
continue to simply hold on to them.

I took them out without hesitation and tore them apart quickly.

[You used Skill Experience +30 Coupon.] [You used Skill

Experience +60 Coupon.] [You used Item Experience +100 Coupon.]
…

As a result, [Synthesis] became Lv.5, [Extraction and Permanent

Materialization] became Lv.6, and my one and only special skill,
[Algorithm], rose to Lv.5.

[Upgrading Aether with advanced algorithm….] [Skill level 5

achieved!] [Challenge completed — Basic Understanding of Skills]
[All stats increase by 0.25.]

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Finally, at last, the system I had been waiting for was ‘unlocked’.

[You successfully recovered your stats!] [Your body has perfectly

adapted to the environment inside the Tower.]

=== ▷Strength 8.000 ▷Stamina 7.935 ▷Speed 10.055 ▷Perception

10.355 ▷Vitality 8.005 ▷Magic Power 4.5 ===

I had fully recovered my power outside the Tower. The experiences

I gained inside the Tower seemed to have been applied as well, as
my stats were also 1.5~2 points higher than before.

“Ehew~ Finally.”

It was a long wait. The real growth would begin now.

KWAANG—!

Suddenly, there was an earsplitting roar, and Boss fell flat on her
face. Boss and Tomer’s second duel had ended.

“Hey.”

I called Tomer. Tomer tilted her head to the side and turned to look
at me.

“What?”

“Spar with me too.”

“…Huh?”

Tomer stood silently for a moment and then grinned.

“Pfft. Why so suddenly?”

“Just because. It made me feel a little uncomfortable seeing you

bully Boss.”

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Of course, that was a joke. I was used to Boss’ clumsy self by now.
In fact, I was too scared to deal with Boss when she was being
serious.

“Oh yeah? Then come at me.”

I brushed off my knees and stood up with a grin. However, Boss

suddenly intervened.

“…Stop it, Hajin.”

Boss looked at me with the most serious expression on her face

and shook her head.

“I understand how you feel… But I’m okay.”

“…?”

Ah, that’s right. I forgot that she was the type of person who took
jokes seriously.

“I’m the one who asked her for a spar.”

Seeing Boss’ profound gaze, I nodded.

“Oh, okay.”

I then walked over to Tomer. There was no need for a warm up. We
counted in silence. One. Two. Three. First, Tomer unleashed her
magic power. It gathered in one place and then turned into
fragments which soon formed a dome that engulfed both of us.

“…What’s the name of this skill?”

“Dome Prison. It’s invincible not only against one but also against
many. Watch.”

With a shake of Tomer’s hand, several fragments of magic power

which made up the dome flew at me. Aether responded first to the

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series of attacks, grabbing the fragments flying towards me, turning
them into crystals, and putting them in my inventory.

“Oh, looks like you have a pretty cool skill too.”

“Yup.”

“Then… Haa!”

Tomer rushed at me without forewarning. Her speed was difficult

to perceive with the naked eye, but this time my body reacted first.
KOOONG—! Tomer’s fist and my arm came into contact. It was not a
‘movement of the body’, but an ‘operation of the machine’. Aether
had moved my body on its own to block Tomer’s attack.

“….”

“….”

I stopped Tomer’s attack with my right arm. Less than a second

had passed at this point. What came to my mind at that moment was
a gun. Only if I had a pistol in my left hand… Upon thinking so, a
handgun appeared. It wasn’t a miracle or imagination. Aether had
moved and brought it to me. I aimed at Tomer and pulled the trigger.

“Uk!”

The bullet scratched Tomer’s cheek. Of course, it wasn’t a

miscalculation on my part. Tomer had just dodged at the last
moment. To dodge a bullet right under her nose… she was also a
monster. But I still smiled. If what I had in my hand was a shotgun… I
would have won just now.

“I went easy on you, yet you…!”

Tomer’s kick landed on my thigh.

“…!”

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I was horrified. It felt like my leg was about to fall out, even though
Aether’s automatic defense alleviated the pain as much as possible.

Kieeeek—!

Tomer was about to throw me to the ground next when Spartan

appeared out of the blue and wailed.

“What’s that?”

Tomer stopped, and I widened my eyes. This was a sign from

Spartan.

“There are people trying to cross the bridge already.”

I pulled out my hood from my inventory.

“…Ah~ Come to think of it, 30-ish people came in about a week

ago, right?”

“Yeah. Those guys are allied Djinns.”

“Show them who’s boss. I heard they’ve been meddling with the
locals.”

I held the portable crystal stele in one hand. I had already

recovered from Tomer’s kick using the [Lv.4 Orb of Regeneration].

“I’ll be right back. I’m going now, Boss.”

I infused Stigma’s magic power into the crystal stele. The sense of
space warping embraced my entire body.

**

World’s End Bridge, the pathway to the 9th floor. The Evil Society
Alliance arrived there after kidnapping and torturing several Crevon
NPCs.

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“…So we have to get past here.”

Kim Hakpyo muttered and folded his arms. World’s End Bridge. The
name was obviously fit for the bridge. It was so long that one couldn’t
see where it ended, and it looked as if flesh-eating beasts would
jump out any time from the dark forest that stretched from one side
of the bridge to the other.

“Get moving, guys.”

For this reason, Kim Hakpyo sent the others forward first. He
himself stood near the middle of the pack, safely surrounded by his
subordinates.

“Don’t be scared. Nothing’s gonna come out.”

They walked for about 5 minutes amidst Kim Hakpyo’s

encouragement. Suddenly, a flash of light came from the other side
of the sky. It soon turned into a streak of wind and headed towards
them. The thing reflected in Kim Hakpyo’s glare was… an arrow.

“…What!”

His henchman magician put up a barrier in time. TONG! The arrow

couldn’t get past the barrier and fell on the ground feebly. It was an
ordinary wooden arrow. Its cuteness made him embarrassed for
getting scared for a second.

“Ha, hahaha. What’s this? This is supposed to be a trap?”

Kim Hakpyo picked up the arrow and showed it to his subordinates.

They laughed along with him. Obviously, the 8th floor was nothing
they should be scared of.

“Hahaha… Mm? Excuse me, Team Leader.”

‘Silasen’, who was laughing alongside Kim Hakpyo, squinted as if

he had discovered something.

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“What?”

“Um, there’s something dangling at the end of the arrow.”

“Huh?”

Kim Hakpyo looked at the arrow’s tail. There was a piece of paper
hanging from the lower side of the arrow.

“What the heck is this?”

“It looks like a message. You should open it.”

“…You do it.”

Kim Hakpyo had Silasen do the job. He dumped what could be a

trap onto his subordinate.

“Yes, sir.”

Silasen unfolded the note without hesitation and tilted his head to
one side at its content.

“Hmm? This is….”

“What?”

Kim Hakpyo took the note back. The note only had a single
sentence.

[I will allow only 10 steps forward.]

“What’s this?”

“More than that, please look below. There’s a drawing.”

Kim Hakpyo did as Silasen said. There was a drawing of a lotus in

the bottom right corner of the paper.

“A lotus….”

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“It’s drawn with ink.”

Ink drawing of lotus. In other words, a black lotus. It was clear who
the drawing represented.

“…Hmm.”

Kim Hakpyo thought for a moment, ‘So Black Lotus was already on
the verge of reaching the 9th floor….’ But his thought did not last
long and could not change what Kim Hakpyo was about to do.
Including him, there were 20 members of Evil Society Alliance with
him. Up until now, they had stolen various stats boosting items and
skills from other Players and NPCs. Kim Hakpyo was confident that he
could win against anyone.

“Hmph, a mere rookie dares to be so bold? All the praises must

have gotten to his head.”

Pride also played a big part in his decision. To retreat without even
making sure the enemy was serious would hurt his pride, and even if
he was, Kim Hakpyo believed he was far more experienced. Only a
handful of people could look down on Kim Hakpyo in the entire world.

“Set up barriers in case of an attack. You know the spell, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

As expected of an executive of Evil Society, he didn’t gloss over

any detail.

“Let’s go.”

First step, second step, third step…. They walked forward in a

heavy state of tension. Finally, they reached the 20th step as noted
in the message. Black Lotus’ warning was immediately proven to be
true.

Kieeeeeek—!

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 762 Report
A loud cry of a bird rang out, and something black flew in from the
corner of the sky. Kim Hakpyo knew that it was an arrow. As such, he
was prepared to face it head-on.

“Barriers!”

A series of sturdy barriers shot up one after another at Kim

Hakpyo’s command. A total of 15 barriers were layered on top of
each other. A mere arrow shouldn’t be able to get past them all.

“Silasen, you figure out which way that arrow came from….”

Kim Hakpyo was leisurely giving out the next command when he
realized something had gone wrong. As the arrow drew closer, his
instincts were roaring louder. Like a meteor, a trace of destruction
split the dry atmosphere in half. A torrent of magic power caused the
air to burn. An arrow descended downward, tearing clouds apart….

His thoughts didn't last long as a streak of light fell down.

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 763 Report

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