Chapter 3

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Translator: Wjin

Chapter: 003

Chapter Title: Dragon Lair Owner

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Yeowon Han's hobby was watching Tower Streams after getting off work.

However, she preferred watching the streams of noobs over famous streamers.

"The obvious stuff just isn't fun."

It wasn't some artistic rejection of the mainstream.

It was simply—

"...I've had enough of that kind of thing just from watching it at work."

—because her job was at the Awakening Management Bureau, in the High-Rank Hunter Management Division!

Sure, talented hunters got ahead for similar reasons.

But the noobs failed in all sorts of fresh and diverse ways.

In other words, they were entertaining to watch.

And among them.

Yeowon Han's top pick was this one guy.

"'TalentAllInOnPassion'."

Not his official activity name—it was the temporary label she'd saved when she subscribed.

He had anonymous mode enabled, so there was no proper name to call him by.

Anyway.

A passionate Awakened who had challenged the 1st floor of the tower over a hundred times.

He failed every time but never gave up.

In contrast, his combat sense was utterly abysmal.

"Judging by how he never used any special abilities, his unique ability probably wasn't anything special either..."

He was the kind of guy you just wanted to root for somehow.

But as someone working on the front lines of the hunter industry, she knew better.

"Guys like this don't last long."

Awakened without real power who let their heart lead the way died quickly.

It was better to give up early and find something they could actually do.

She genuinely believed that.

And that was why...

...she had been the one relentlessly spamming malicious chats in that stream.

'Honestly, I want to cheer him on... but realistically, this is the right call.'

He deserved support, but who cared?

If he got the wrong idea from empty cheers and ended up dead? She'd just feel bad for nothing.

It seemed to have worked.

'TalentAllInOnPassion' stopped streaming at some point.

Meaning he wasn't entering the tower anymore.

His account was still there, so he wasn't dead.

He'd probably found another job.

'Good for him.'

She forgot about that noob just like that.

Then one day.

"...Huh?"

He was back.

"Why'd you come back? Just stay quit already."

Yeowon Han frowned but entered the stream as if drawn in.

And out of habit, she started trolling.

But this time, he didn't react.

"Tch. Decided to ignore me completely?"

Couldn't be helped.

She must've trolled him pretty hard over time.

What was strange was that something felt different this time.

'TalentAllInOnPassion' didn't charge stupidly at the Goblin Triplets like always, get wrecked, and barely limp back.

Instead, he was mumbling to thin air.

"...What the hell is he doing?"

He still ignored her chats.

Unfortunately(?), he seemed perfectly fine.

"Oh? What's that, a summon?"

A strange new creature had appeared out of nowhere.

"He's a summoner? Then why didn't he use it before...?"

Yeowon Han naturally assumed he was a summoner.

But even so, she didn't think he could clear the 1st floor.

It was too much to expect that...

"Whoa, insane. What even is that thing? He could make a living just streaming as a pet channel...!"

The summon was just too adorable.

Tiny enough to fit in one hand.

Flopping around and plopping to the ground like a dummy (adorable).

Even its big watery eyes welling up in pain (insanely adorable)!

Plus, it was obviously a hatchling.

The age where it should handle cuteness, not power.

Yeowon Han immediately began advocating for the little cutie's rights(?).

Of course, she had no idea what was really going on.

KWAAAAAAAAA───!!!

"......What the fuck did I just see......?"

The attack from that adorable little guy's mouth had obliterated the Goblin Triplets in an instant.

Yeowon Han just blinked at her monitor screen.

What snapped her out of it was the system-wide announcement.

She herself was a hunter climbing the 34th floor.

In other words, an Awakened.

"SSS+...? ......!?!?"

She shot up from her seat!

"N-No way, does that mean the guy I just watched... broke the world record for tower climbing?!"

No doubt about it.

If she wasn't hallucinating, it was certain.

Bzzz— bzz— bzzzz—

Texts from her boss started pouring in right on cue.

Whether she'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clocked out or not didn't matter right now.

An ultra-prospect with an SSS+ clear record?

He was Korea's future.

And.

"In this situation, I'm the one who knows that prospect best...?"

She was the only one who'd witnessed his clear live.

"...".

'TalentAllInOnPassion' on the monitor hadn't ended the stream yet.

He was probably checking rewards inside the tower.

If he ended it now, the connection would be lost.

By the time he streamed again challenging the 2nd floor, competitors would appear.

Yeowon Han grew urgent.

She had to win his favor right now.

She texted her boss.

The reply came instantly.

Riiiing—

She ignored the incoming call.

It was urgent.

She had to send a sponsorship to 'TalentAllInOnPassion'.

A ridiculously impressive amount.

Right now.

Ding!

"Finally!"

Haegyeom Yi let out a cheer.

After awakening, he'd challenged it countless times and concluded he couldn't clear the 1st floor on his own.

In other words, impossible.

But now.

He'd done it.

The clear he'd deemed impossible...!

"Whoa. I tried that hard, huh."

188 failures.

It hit him anew.

Clear time: 0.1 seconds.

Time started measuring the moment his attack left the safe zone, so that's probably why.

"...That's why the grade is SSS+."

Even with 189 attempts, the high grade was likely thanks to the overwhelming clear time.

Haegyeom Yi waited with bated breath.

And.

Fwaaah—!

First, a brilliant light enveloped him, strengthening his physical abilities.

A kind of level-up.

He felt his body lighten and his strength increase.

'Not a huge difference anyway.'

His base stats were pitiful to begin with.

A little growth wouldn't mean much in combat.

But.

'The main event comes now.'

Strengthening his unique ability.

This was the main reward for clearing the 1st floor.

"Huh?"

Something felt off.

"Inventory... purpose change?"

What, like rezoning a building?

"This is ridiculous..."

And why was the system message glitching?

Still, it wasn't bad for him.

If anything, it was good.

"Maybe this could meaningfully boost my combat power."

The most important thing for a hunter life was combat strength.

Even if his inventory got more slots for items, it wouldn't change his situation much!

And right now, Haegyeom Yi's combat power was 99.999% dependent on the hatchling.

"Not sure exactly how much better residential will be..."

But at least better than now.

In other words, tenant welfare!

Haegyeom Yi chose without hesitation.

"Number 2, purpose change."

"...Tenant Management Window?"

Ding!

"Oh, nice."

The messages overlapped each of the inventory's four slots.

"Doesn't mean I can't store items just because it's residential now."

And on top of that.

"...10 times!?"

SSS+ grade clear reward was a whopping 10x the standard!

1.1 million won in mana stones alone.

For just clearing the 1st floor, it was an insane amount...!

Haegyeom Yi looked at the hatchling with honey-dripping eyes.

"You're my lucky charm."

Ppeok? Ppeaa...

The little guy looked exhausted.

"Oh right, it said fatigued. Wanna go back in?"

Nod.

Haegyeom Yi carefully picked up the hatchling and placed it in inventory slot 101.

And—

Sseu... sseu...

It curled up and fell asleep immediately.

"Must be really tired."

Two massive attacks today—it deserved the rest.

Still a baby, so it needed proper downtime.

"Gotta look up what to feed it once I'm out."

Needed a way to fix the 'hungry' status too.

Anyway.

The tower run was a success.

SSS+ clear and satisfying rewards.

If he could keep this up, paying off debt quick and living stably as a hunter seemed totally doable.

"Alright, time for me to head back and regroup..."

As Haegyeom Yi tried to exit the tower—

"...Nationwide announcement!?"

Didn't these only pop up for world boss raids?

"Crazy. Good thing I have anonymous on."

Fortunately, no one would know it was him.

Pow!

"......Ah."

Come to think of it, there was one person.

That malicious viewer.

Damn.

"...Wait. So this is from that troll?"

The guy who'd only spewed hate—why drop this much cash all of a sudden?

And impersonating a government agency to boot?

Haegyeom Yi couldn't make sense of it.

Pow!

"......"

Really.

He couldn't understand it at all.