The White Tiger of Geumseong
Wuuuung...
The elevator surged upward at such dizzying speed that it left behind a faint trace of vertigo.
“[...Hmph, it has a scanning function. Good grief. Do they honestly think this is hidden? The data flow is glaringly obvious.]” Wahsh inspected every corner of the compartment, grumbling in annoyance.
Listening to the duck's commentary, something flickered in Mu-saeng’s memory, and he spoke up casually. “Come to think of it, didn't you used to inspect people at the first-floor lobby? I recall having to place my hand on a tablet or something similar for a check.”
It was a rather sudden remark, but Yoon Pyo had to swallow his shock. What Mu-saeng had just said meant he had realized this entire elevator was embedded with scanning functions.
“Ahem. That is still standard procedure down below. However, subjecting a distinguished guest visiting the Chairman to such an indignity would be... somewhat improper. If it caused you any offense, I sincerely apologize.”
Watching Yoon Pyo bend at the waist, Mu-saeng shook his head. There was no reason to take offense. If anything, it could be seen as special treatment.
“No, I understand. A corporation ought to look after its own security.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
It was well known that Geum Byeong-cheol kept no personal bodyguards. That did not mean he acted carelessly simply because he was powerful; rather, it meant he sized up whoever he was about to meet in advance, reviewing their awakened abilities and personal dossiers to ensure he was fully prepared.
Yoon Pyo offered a refreshing smile before continuing. “Still, no one has ever noticed it until now. You truly are extraordinary, Sherpa Kim Mu-saeng. That technology was developed in absolute secrecy within our group and has yet to be officially announced.”
He emphasized the corporate secret as if it were nothing, subtly imparting a sense of weight while fostering an air of intimacy. Since we share the same secret, we are on the same side—it was a masterful display of corporate rhetoric.
“Heh, I was just making a lucky guess,” Mu-saeng murmured evasively, scratching his cheek.
Yoon Pyo shook his head with firm conviction. His reaction made it abundantly clear that his attitude toward Mu-saeng had changed entirely after their run through the 55th Dungeon.
“An Awakener's true ability cannot be measured by objective metrics alone. Intuition, sharp senses, accumulated experience, refined knowledge, and unpredictable reserves of power... Aren't those the qualities that truly matter to climbers like us?”
Even Mu-saeng could not help feeling a flicker of admiration at the earnestness in the man's voice. Yet there was no time to prolong the conversation.
Ding!
The elevator finally came to a halt. When the doors slid apart, they revealed a long corridor terminating in a single set of massive double doors. The immediate impression was one of absurd extravagance; the entire top floor had been cleared out to house nothing other than the Chairman's office.
Yoon Pyo knocked softly on the wood.
“Chairman, it is Yoon Pyo. I have brought Kim Mu-saeng.”
There was no answer. Yoon Pyo waited in silence for about three seconds before pushing the doors open. They parted without a whisper of sound.
The moment Mu-saeng laid eyes on the figure seated in the armchair beyond—
Mu-saeng felt as though a violent gale had struck him.
There was no actual wind blowing in the sealed penthouse, yet an overwhelming, physical force slammed into him, threatening to throw his entire body backward. A terrifying presence bore down on his flesh, crushing his lungs.
‘Mana pressure?! Are you insane—?!’
It was mana pressure, so dense and suffocating that his thighs trembled and his knees threatened to buckle beneath him. Mu-saeng recognized the scale in an instant.
‘This exceeds the 66th Dungeon! How on earth—?!’
Back when he had entered the 66th Dungeon with One Way Group, Mu-saeng had been a mere 3rd-floor climber—an incompetent Awakener who had barely scraped through by clinging to raid parties. But what about now? He had conquered past the 6th floor, sweeping hidden criteria and bonus objectives while reaping astronomical stat increases thanks to Steel Bone. He had grown beyond all comparison to his former self.
Yet even with his current strength, the pressure made him feel this level of strain. Its sheer output unquestionably surpassed the ambient atmosphere of the 66th Dungeon.
“Khhk!”
Even Yoon Pyo was doubled over, wheezing desperately for air.
Only one entity in the room moved without hindrance. A bright yellow rubber duck bobbed leisurely through the air, floating forward with effortless grace.
“[Oho... So this is what happens when a primitive pushes themselves to the absolute limit? A beast, through and through.]” Wahsh hovered directly above Geum Byeong-cheol's head, staring down at him with an amused smirk.
Seated behind the desk, wearing dark sunglasses, the strongest Awakener in South Korea finally spoke.
“...I see. So you didn't pull it off all by yourself, did you?”
Mu-saeng answered without a moment's hesitation. “Well, I've watched the backs of countless Awakeners over thirteen long years. And as for the 55th Dungeon, I had Geumseong’s finest elites at my side.”
He casually sidestepped how he had escaped the 66th Dungeon or what had transpired on the 55th. Geum Byeong-cheol’s lips twitched.
“Haha, that isn't what I meant. I was referring to what your parents passed down to you. That is a remarkably sturdy frame you have.”
He was pointing directly to Mu-saeng’s innate physical traits.
“Yes, there was a note like that in my status window's special traits section. Something about having abnormally high resistance to mana pressure?” Mu-saeng flashed an easygoing, good-natured grin as he tossed out the half-truth.
Only then did the corners of Geum Byeong-cheol’s mouth curl upward. “A child born inside a dungeon, hm?”
At that phrase, Mu-saeng understood completely why the Chairman hadn't bothered asking about the specifics of the 66th or 55th Dungeons. A child born inside a dungeon. Every single detail regarding his background had already been compiled and delivered to this man's desk.
Whoosh.
The suffocating mana pressure vanished in an instant.
“Haa, haa, haa...” Yoon Pyo sucked in ragged breaths, hurriedly regaining his composure.
Geum Byeong-cheol remained seated in his chair, clicking his tongue lightly. “Pyo. Isn't it rather embarrassing to show such weakness right in front of a guest?”
“I apologize, Chairman. I will redouble my training.”
“Haha, very well. Step outside. I'll call you if ‘anything happens.’”
If anything happens.
Yoon Pyo flinched for a fraction of a second, but said nothing. He bowed respectfully and retreated out the double doors, closing them soundlessly behind him.
The vast office felt almost desolate, barren of all but the most essential furnishings. Inside the cavernous room, only Geum Byeong-cheol, Mu-saeng, and Wahsh remained.
Mu-saeng studied the older man. Even under the subdued lighting of the penthouse, Geum Byeong-cheol kept his sunglasses firmly in place—his unmistakable trademark. Yet Mu-saeng watched closely: the micro-tensions around the eyes, the subtle twitches near the bridge of the nose and cheekbones, the faint creases across the forehead, the faint angle of his earlobes. He was checking whether the man was shifting his gaze.
‘A genuine monster.’
Geum Byeong-cheol was not looking at Wahsh. That alone was startling enough, but it was far from the only revelation that caught Mu-saeng off guard.
‘...Floor 59?! That's impossible!’
It was lower than Yoon Pyo’s record? No, being lower than Yoon Pyo wasn't even the half of it.
‘The official record announced to the entire world under the Geumseong Guild's name was the 65th floor! How can this be...?’
Even their public announcement was a fabrication? Those records were supposed to be certified and publicized through the World Awakened Association’s rigorous investigations.
‘As expected of Geumseong...’
Record falsification, bribing officials, or perhaps some illusionary skill deployed during the evaluation itself—there were countless ways they could have rigged it. It was a chilling reminder of Geumseong’s terrifying reach. What was even more staggering was that despite having a lower solo record than Yoon Pyo, every single one of Geum Byeong-cheol's skills, resistances, and traits remained obscured.
‘He is stronger than Yoon Pyo. No, of course he is. That goes without saying. He isn't just slightly stronger—Geum Byeong-cheol is probably...’
He was stronger than Sraken, the Master of Snakes and the boss of the 66th floor. Far, far stronger.
Screeech.
Geum Byeong-cheol stood up from behind his massive desk and walked over to the reception lounge, gesturing toward the low table and leather armchairs.
“I thought I was giving a proper greeting fitting for a former dungeon sherpa, but perhaps I overstepped. Come, sit, sit.”
He was only slightly taller than Mu-saeng, but his torso was remarkably broad and thick. Combined with the crushing aura radiating from his frame, his presence fully justified his title as the supreme combatant of South Korea.
“Haha, not at all. To a dungeon sherpa, information is the greatest asset of all. It was an honor to experience the hidden might of Geumseong Group firsthand.”
Mu-saeng couldn't help but marvel. It wasn't merely about raw power; under normal circumstances, an Awakener's personal stats could only grow by conquering higher floors of the Mythic Tower. There was only one exception to that rule.
‘Just how many legendary elixirs did this man devour? Good grief.’
Elixirs. Just as Mu-saeng had gained high poison immunity by consuming Sraken's Molt (S), an Awakener could permanently enhance base attributes or boost specific skills through miraculous medicines. Naturally, such consumables were rarer and more exorbitant than most artifacts. Being single-use items, their market value was utterly astronomical.
And that was hardly the end of the story.
‘Which means he likely conquered all the way to the 59th floor entirely solo.’
Geum Byeong-cheol's climb had almost certainly been an individual endeavor. That was the only way to hoard all clear rewards for himself, accelerating his growth to an absurd degree. Using elite vanguards like Yoon Pyo to pioneer the upper floors and garner corporate prestige, he would study their recorded strategies and climb solo at his own pace, building an impregnable foundation.
‘Even factoring that in, it doesn't add up. Hidden conditions... sure, those too. But I've been doing that myself; I know firsthand that hidden conditions alone aren't enough to reach this level. There's something else. Something far beyond my current imagination.’
There had to be an underlying secret Mu-saeng hadn't even begun to fathom. The sheer weight of the mana pressure Geum Byeong-cheol had unleashed had pinned Yoon Pyo to the floor. Such monstrous power could never be attained purely through solo bonuses, a few elixirs, and clearing a handful of hidden criteria. Mu-saeng knew the math, and it simply didn't balance out. It was impossible to clear every single floor up to 59 with perfect hidden achievements.
There had to be something more.
“Hahaha, well said. I laid my own cards on the table, so don't feel too wronged. You saw Pyo’s face earlier—I don't show that side of myself to just anyone, you know?” Geum Byeong-cheol spoke in a playful tone entirely unfitting for his age and station.
As Mu-saeng took his seat, the Chairman lifted several canisters from the reception tray. “Coffee? Or perhaps you prefer green tea? I have oolong as well. All of them are the finest grade.”
His demeanor was disarmingly casual. Mu-saeng matched him with an easy smile.
“No matter how premium the leaves, if the Chairman brews it personally, my hands will shake too hard to drink it. A glass of cold water would be plenty.”
“Oh? Teuhahahahat! You have a sharp wit! A man who broke through the 66th Dungeon all by his lonesome has no reason to tremble. Even Pyo and Soo-ah lost an operative when they cleared the 66th floor. Trembling? Not a chance in hell.”
He tossed the words out through hearty laughter, yet every sentence contained top-secret intelligence. Furthermore, he smoothly steered the topic toward the mystery of how Mu-saeng had cleared the 66th Dungeon.
Mu-saeng’s mind raced at blinding speed.
Why had Geum Byeong-cheol summoned him in the first place? Why had Geum Soo-ah sought him out? What had the public believed about Geum Byeong-cheol's record?
Mu-saeng had assumed he understood.
‘I thought he wanted the strategic blueprint—the certainty that would allow him to solo the 66th floor...’
That had been his initial working hypothesis. But now, looking at the true record of Floor 59, Mu-saeng had to admit his premise was entirely flawed. Why would Geum Byeong-cheol desperately need tactical data on clearing the 66th floor when he was already stronger than Sraken?
Then what did Geum Byeong-cheol truly want? Why had he invited Mu-saeng into this room?
“You flatter me far too much, Chairman. How many people in this world wouldn't tremble before you? Even among the Eight Seconds, I imagine the vast majority would break into a cold sweat in your presence.”
More importantly: what could Mu-saeng extract from Geum Byeong-cheol?
His response struck a delicate balance between blatant flattery and undeniable truth. The words seemed to put the Chairman in high spirits. With a smooth, deliberate motion, Geum Byeong-cheol finally removed his dark sunglasses.
The Awakened ability Thunder Tiger (SSR) revealed itself.
His hair, his eyebrows, and even his irises were pure, incandescent white. As the piercing gaze of the White Tiger locked onto him, Mu-saeng braced his resolve and spoke.
“Ah, speaking of which, Chairman... there is one thing I've been meaning to ask you.”
“Hm? What might that be?”
Strike first to seize the initiative. Mu-saeng stared directly into those blindingly white eyes and dropped his bomb.
“Did you know that there's an Administrator in the Tower?”