Even a Third-Gen Chaebol Can't Stand This (1)

In the 39th floor safe zone of the Tower of Pilgrims, Ryu Hwimin blinked. A notification window had popped up right in front of his eyes.

“...First?”

The fourth floor of Egen Tower?

The Tower of Beginners—mockingly called Egen Tower or Ha-nam-ja’s Tower, with every insult under the sun slapped on as a prefix. Even in South Korea alone, over a thousand Awakeners had come from this place. No matter how clear its growth ceiling was, plenty of people still didn’t want to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠risk their lives. So a first clear? After so many had already passed through? Hwimin was momentarily stunned for that very reason.

“......Ah!”

They must be treating the changed setting as an entirely different story!

That was his guess after a moment of thought. Right, the setting had changed. So the system was registering it as a completely new story and handing out a first-clear reward. “Sweet.”

Hwimin nodded in understanding. They barely changed the content… even the Tower sometimes takes the easy route.

Internally, he clicked his tongue, not realizing the Tower had completely rewritten the storyline. These guys pull the same recycling tricks as everyone else.

If the Tower had free ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will, this would have been more than enough to piss it off. After all, it had completely rewritten the entire scenario. The distant descendant of the Third Prince and the Princess would one day trigger the demon race’s uprising. And the normal tower’s future where that future was saved because Hwimin stopped their union. It had even prepared a touching production for all of it.

But what did Hwimin do? Even after the setting was changed, he didn’t show his face once in the important normal tower route. If he had moved even once, the Tower could have seen what kind of changes each of his adventures caused in the future. It could have given him hints about the past from the future.

Instead, he ignored everything and just climbed the tower. As a result, the heroic tale of saving both past and future at the same time…

Would’ve been nice if they at least changed the gay ending.

From Hwimin’s perspective, it had turned into a comedy that ended with Geom-bak’s coming-out scene. The Tower would have been justified in grabbing him by the collar.

But the Tower only moved according to its system. It was busy preparing a reward for the climber.

Ding—!

Notification windows filled Hwimin’s vision.

“Whoa.”

Doubled, huh.

And this was the special reward the Tower had carefully prepared. Hwimin’s reaction upon seeing it?

Kinda stingy?

It felt a bit disappointing to him. Since freeloading was basically his daily life, a mere doubling of the reward didn’t trigger any dopamine. “Come on, at least throw in a little more. Don’t be so cheap.”

If anyone else knew, they would have grabbed their spears in pure rage at how full of it he was. Fortunately, no one was around to see it. Only the Tower’s brown status window flickered sadly.

* * *

He had somehow ended up receiving double the reward. The number was a little stingy, but well, it’s still something.

Come to think of it, the effect wasn’t bad at all. An extra 20 stat points, double the potions, and it even applied to stigmata. Might as well gratefully accept whatever was given.

First, let’s collect the reward.

“Move.”

Click. He reached out and pressed the movement button. Along with the notification that the Ruler of the Tower trait had activated, his vision was dyed red.

If this had been the doubled one, I really would’ve been disappointed.

The moment he arrived, he collected the reward first. The double reward he’d received earlier was a bonus applied only to the boss reward, so this one was just 20 stat points and some random junk items. He didn’t bother looking at them closely. Reading them in detail felt too tiring.

“Huuuam~ Man, I’m sleepy.”

It had been about a day since he started climbing the tower. He had gone twenty-four hours without sleep, running nonstop, so of course he was tired. He had almost dozed off while studying etiquette on the 38th floor, too.

I should take a quick nap before challenging the boss.

He decided to rest right then and there. He could beat an Egen Tower or normal tower boss in his sleep, but this time he planned to challenge a hard-mode boss. He had no intention of going in exhausted. Having grown up hearing about the infamous “coffin” that was the hard tower, it was only natural.

What should I eat first?

“Move!”

He moved to the Tower of Beginners ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first. He returned to reality, headed to a nearby soup restaurant, and when he came back to the tower, his stomach was full of hot, hearty soup.

“Huuuam… Dohwa, summon.”

“Kyang!!”

“You need to eat too, right? Here you go~.”

“Kyaeung~.”

He fed Dohwa while he was at it. Alright, shall we check?

While Dohwa buried her nose in the nearly-expired 1+1 chicken breast, Hwimin lay down on the bed and reached out. There was one more thing he needed to do in the 39th floor safe zone.

Time to sell Baekri-hyang’s Soul.

The third-generation chaebol trapped on the 39th floor of the Tower of Pilgrims. He had promised to sell her the hidden piece. He had told her to think about the price three days ago. He wondered how much she would offer. His mouth was already watering, but—

Aaaargh, Hee-chan hyung!!!

I even solved the brake for you. Is this how you repay that favor?

“There’s a limit to how much you can ruin someone else’s business.”

“…Kyaeung?”

“Dohwa, you just keep eating. Trait reinforcement swap, inventory.”

Grab. He immediately took hold of the sword. The unique-grade blade that the wraith had used—the Moonlight Sword. After trying it once, the rare-grade swords felt like trash in comparison, so he had used it constantly throughout the fourth floor.

He held it in a stabbing stance and—

“Blood Explosion!!”

He activated the stigmata that boosted his stats in proportion to self-inflicted damage. A glowing red pattern appeared on his forearm, and a faint muscle ache rose in his arm. He stabbed the sword straight into the air—more precisely, into the wall of dimensions.

—Shunk!!

Okay, went in perfectly.

“Hup!!”

He pulled the sword back just a little. Not much—just enough to peek through to the other side.

Ding—!

After consuming a bit of mana, countless notifications popped up.

It’s open!

He had managed to make a peephole at least. Her voice should be audible too. He brought his mouth close to the hole in the air.

“Excuse meeeeeee!!!”

He shouted loudly. He wanted to prove he wasn’t some malicious troll. As a bonus, he deliberately made his voice nasal so she wouldn’t recognize it.

“…Hweh?! W-who is it!”

“Sorry if I woke you!! It’s me, Yagadakun!!!”

“……Eeeeeeek!!!!?”

His voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must have carried through. A scream of shock rang out from the other side of the dimensional wall. Alright, this should be enough.

“My arm’s getting tired, so the rest through the channel!!”

Shuk! He pulled the sword out cleanly. The crack in the air immediately began to close again.

“Wait!! How did you—.”

A voice called from the other side, but it lasted only a split second. Snap—. With the sound of the crack sealing shut, peace returned to the safe zone. Only Dohwa’s eyes sparkled brightly as she stared at him.

“Dohwa, you done eating?”

“Kyang!”

“Good girl. Then let’s take a nap together~.”

“Kyaeung~.”

He flopped straight onto the bed. Dohwa scampered over and curled up on top of him. Feeling her pleasant weight, he opened the community again.

“Alright, Dohwa, let’s sleep…”

After cleanly finishing the deal, Hwimin closed his eyes while hugging Dohwa. The sleep he got after climbing nine floors in a single day was incredibly sweet.

* * *

“……Ugh, damn.”

It felt like he had only closed his eyes for a moment, but five hours had already passed.

“Kyaeung…”

“Sorry, Dohwa. I’ll call you again later.”

“Kyang!!”

After dismissing Dohwa’s summon, he took out his phone and turned off the alarm. Then he sat up slightly. He had slept and recovered from his fatigue, so now it was time to check the net.

“Oh.”

They were offering physical assets worth about 300 billion won. They would pay the deposit with the third-gen chaebol’s own items and cover the rest through Cheonghwa. Cash would have been best, but… there was too much risk of being tracked. It was only a matter of time before Yagadakun was revealed to be Cheol-gang-min, so he would quietly accept goods instead.

“Okay.”

Looked like he wouldn’t have to worry about spending money anymore. No matter what his little sister wanted, he could get it all for her.

“…One trillion?”

They were even offering to raise the price. Well, if he cleared the fourth floor, Hwang Hee-chan would basically be his subordinate too. They must have judged that investing a trillion was worth it.

What an excellent payment attitude!

As expected of Cheonghwa. They could have just ripped him off, but they were honestly giving him a proper cut. Since they paid well, I should give them a proper reward, right?

“Move!!”

He immediately moved through the tower and returned to reality. When he came back, he was holding a pot in his arms.

I changed clothes, put on a mask and a hoodie, so we’re good!!

“Let’s go, Blood Explosion!!!”

Kwaak—!!! He stabbed the sword into the air. Unlike a few hours ago, he was using full power this time.

And then—

Kiiik, kiiiik—!!!

He began slicing through the dimensional wall.

“Huuuup!!!”

His mana drained away like an ebbing tide. Cutting through the dimensional wall was now slightly burdensome even for him, who had surpassed level 900. Of course, only slightly.

—Craaaack.

“O-oh my god…!!”

The dimension split apart. A hole had been pierced through the insurmountable gap of the safe zone. Just in case, he had cut out a door-shaped section of the surrounding space before throwing himself through.

Door completed in any direction!!

“Hup!!!”

Still holding the sword, he used footwork. His target was the third-gen chaebol’s safe zone. His body leaped across the dimensional rift—

—Shoop.

Okay, transfer complete.

Tap. He finally came face to face with the third-gen chaebol trapped on the 39th floor. Even after long years of confinement that had left her haggard, she still possessed an androgynous beauty. Korea’s current top ranker—Lee Hyeon-seo. Their eyes met.

“You’re… the Laborer…”

“Before we greet each other!!”

And then… with a bright smile, I held out the pot.

“You must have been struggling eating only that tasteless bread, right? I brought a proper meal, so please eat first.”

“T-that, that is—!?”

A mouthwatering aroma wafted from the pot in my arms.

“It’s braised pork ribs with kimchi.”

Alright. Time to start. Time to raise the third-gen chaebol’s favorability.