Taxi Date

The inside of the taxi on the way home.

It had been so awkward at first that we couldn't even make eye contact.

"You seriously got into the Tower because you were talking in your sleep?"

"Isn't that... more common than you'd think?"

"Ahahaha! That's ridiculous! I bet no one's ever entered the Tower in their sleep like you, Jaeha!"

I was overwhelmed with emotion at how naturally we were talking now.

Even if I was the only one getting teased.

"I really didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

"You're such an idiot! An idiot! Ahaha!"

She even kept playfully smacking my arm while laughing.

Ow. That hurts.

Take it easy.

But...

Why does it feel so good?

Maybe I've awakened to something new....

Heuuung....

When Sia got out of the car, the sweet scent that had filled my lungs drifted out with her.

"Get some good rest!"

"Yeah, you too."

"I'm fine. You need to rest properly, Jaeha. Heehee! See you later!"

"Okay."

The taxi pulled away again.

Her figure waving until the very end lingered in my mind.

How am I going to buy time?

I needed to come up with a plan.

It was 8:30 in the morning.

I arrived at the Hunter Association earlier than training time.

Time to sell off the stuff I farmed.

I'd skipped it yesterday because Sia was waiting.

"Hello."

"Ah! Hunter Yoon Jaeha, welcome."

"Is the support staff available?"

"Yes, I'll contact them right away."

"Thank you."

I checked what I could sell first.

A 500-gram gold bar and... honestly, there's not much else worth selling.

The clothes I'd originally planned to sell might need to be put on mannequins, so I held off.

Same with the bag.

I'd kept the Energy Cube at home as a souvenir.

The miscellaneous items were for reinforcing armor.

All that was left were the LP record, ballpoint pen, and cigarettes?

I really don't have anything to sell, do I?

Did I call the support staff for nothing?

After waiting a bit,

"Hunter Yoon Jaeha."

"Hello."

"Hello. You mentioned you had items to sell?"

"Yes. But I'm sorry... after looking through everything, this is all I have left...."

"Haha, that's perfectly fine."

The staff member checked the items.

"We'll purchase the gold bar immediately through the Hunter Association. The rest can be put up for auction."

"Even the ballpoint pen will sell?"

"Of course. The Association also buys scrap metal, lumber, and plastic."

Come to think of it, they use them for equipment crafting requests, right?

Items from outside the Tower can't be brought inside.

But equipment made using resources from inside the Tower can be taken out.

It's not as good as finished products from inside, but getting basic gear at a cheap price is still a win.

"I see. Then I'll just sell these for now."

"Understood. Let's see... the total comes to about 100 million won."

Huh?

Did I hear that wrong?

"100 million?"

"Yes."

A 500-gram gold bar? Wasn't that just a souvenir?

It's so small and thin, yet it's worth 100 million won?

"Th-thank you...."

"Haha, yes. I'll contact you once the settlement is complete."

The staff member left the training room.

It didn't feel real.

I'd thought This escape didn't yield much, but a single gold bar was worth 100 million won.

"Hehehehehe."

"Trainee, we do not laugh during training."

"Yes!"

Even while smashing dummies with a hammer.

"Trainee, do not get distracted."

"Yes!"

Even while climbing up and down the rope.

"Trainee, move faster!"

"Yes!"

Even while parkouring between buildings.

Hehehehehe.

The laughter wouldn't stop.

A whole 100 million won!

I had 100 million won now.

Suddenly, a post I'd seen on the community forums came to mind.

If you had to give up one cuisine for life—Korean, Western, Chinese, or Japanese—for 100 million won. Would you do it or not?

Back then I'd seriously considered it.

Not anymore.

Why the hell would I?! I'm not giving up a single one, and I'm still getting 100 million won! I'll buy everything with that money!

I no longer needed to worry about such things.

Because I was the guy who made 100 million won in just two days!

"Bwahahahaha!"

"Trainee, we do not laugh!!"

"Yessir!!!"

In reality I was crawling through alleys on my stomach in exhaustion.

"Trainee, when is your next entry?"

"In two days."

"Very good. That will be all for today."

"Thank you, Instructor!"

Training ended earlier than expected, at 6 PM.

"Make sure to get plenty of rest the day before entry. Understood?"

"Yes!"

Whew, I thought I was going to die.

Why did I ever agree to this training?

What kind of wealth and glory was I hoping for?

Brrrr.

My phone vibrated. I checked it.

Ding.

"Kuhahaha! Of course this is why I did it! This is the wealth and glory I was after! Next time I go in, I'm bringing back a billion, just watch."

As expected, nothing beat money for dopamine.

Suddenly I was filled with motivation I didn't even know I had.

"Let's go for extra training, baby!"

I sprinted back into the training room.

I bestowed will upon a dummy.

"We're sparring. Attack me like a zombie."

It nodded.

The sparring began immediately.

"This is too easy?"

Even after increasing it to three dummies, it was still too easy.

Maybe I've gotten way too strong.

Walking corpses probably wouldn't even count as training anymore.

"Switch to running corpse mode and attack."

It nodded.

Tadat——

Tat——

Tatatak—

The speed and pressure were on a completely different level from before.

However.

Swoosh—

I caught the arm reaching for my shoulder,

pressed it down,

and smashed the exposed head with my hand axe!

Crunch!

I yanked the captured arm so it wouldn't make noise,

gently lowered it,

then stepped aside as a hand belatedly swiped through empty air.

Whoosh.

I stepped on the railing and leaped up,

grabbed the upper floor railing with one hand,

and smashed the skull of the running corpse that had just arrived.

Thwack!

"Up we go."

I wrapped my legs around the collapsing body,

gently landed on the ground,

and finished the last one.

Crack!

"Easy. Too easy."

My body felt impossibly light.

It wasn't just the coffee doping.

Simple repetition training really is the best.

The movements had become as natural as using chopsticks.

I could clearly feel the results of my training.

"Disconnect."

I released the will I'd bestowed on the dummy.

Fwoosh!

A blue light burst from the dummy, and its joints returned to their original state.

Of course, I could repair the dummy again.

Since it was registered as an item, I could repair it through the Tower of Calamity app shop.

I could use the new additional option to repair them.

But.

I'm not taking the dummies inside anyway.

For now, it was easier to treat them as consumables.

[Staff, I need some items.]

[Yes, just tell me what you need and I'll get them.]

[I'll text you the list. Please get them in their original form if possible.]

[Understood.]

I'd bought what I needed.

"Since I made a lot, I should treat myself a little."

While riding the taxi home, I opened the delivery app.

Normally I'd agonize forever and use coupons or time deals to pick something.

But today I don't need to worry about that.

I didn't even bother checking coupons and just tossed chicken and pizza straight into the cart.

Hmm... but picking it up myself for takeout is still fine, right?

Walking to get it would count as exercise too.

Oh, right!

I quietly closed the delivery app.

It was all thanks to Sia that I earned this much money.

It'd be nice to treat her big this time, wouldn't it?

After hesitating a bit,

I pressed the call button.

Tururururu.

The ringtone broke the silence.

It's just a phone call, so why am I getting nervous again?!

"Hello?"

"Uh, it's, it's me."

Ugh, I didn't expect her to pick up so fast!

I wasn't mentally prepared yet!

"Oh, yeah. Training's over?"

"Yeah, it's done. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Not yet. You?"

"Me neither."

Saying Want to grab dinner together? was surprisingly hard.

"I'll buy. Want to come out? I just got the settlement for the stuff I farmed."

"Wow, now you can really call yourself a hunter, huh?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"I couldn't say it back then. It couldn't be helped."

"I know, I know. So where should we go?"

Now that she mentioned it, where should we go?

A random local soup place felt lame.

But it also felt weird if I suddenly suggested an expensive place first. What if she felt burdened and turned me down?!

In times like this...

"It's all thanks to you that I got the settlement, so I'll leave the choice to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Perfect. I passed the ball to Sia and cut off my decision paralysis in one clean move.

"Okay. Let's meet in front of the cafe from last time! But is it okay if we eat somewhere expensive?"

"Of course. We can go to the most expensive place. I earned in the hundred-millions range."

"What? Oh, did you sell the Energy Cube?"

"No, that's still at home."

"Then what did you sell?"

"I'll tell you when we meet."

"Got it. You're really okay with somewhere expensive?"

"Yeah, yeah! As expensive as you want!"

Hmm.

I'd said it on impulse, but...

That's right! When else am I going to enjoy this if not now?

I steeled myself and headed to the cafe.

"Jaeha! Over here!"

I unconsciously held my breath.

"Oh, you're early?"

"Yeah, I just finished a shoot and was on my way home."

The moment our eyes met, we both looked away.

Ughhh!

I thought all the awkwardness had disappeared when we parted yesterday.

Why is it awkward again?! So awkward!

"Where are we going?"

"Just keep going this way."

"Okay, let's go."

Wait a second.

This way?

Without taking a car?

Is there really somewhere that expensive in our neighborhood?

The place we arrived at was a pork belly restaurant.

"Here?"

"Yep!"

"Weren't we supposed to go somewhere fancy and extravagant?"

I'd never been to a place like that before.

I'd come mentally prepared for it, too.

"Ahaha! That was a joke! Just a joke!"

"We really could have gone somewhere expensive."

"Hehe. It's fine. I like it here."

Her voice was soft.

As Sia looked at the restaurant sign, she seemed to be reminiscing about something.

"Alright then, let's go in. Order whatever you want."

"Okay!"

The pork belly sizzling nicely on the charcoal grill.

The doenjang jjigae bubbling away in the earthen pot.

Maybe it was because I'd just finished training, but I felt like I could eat forever.

"This looks delicious!"

"Right... I was seriously about to die from hunger."

"Was training that hard?"

Nod nod.

There was no way to explain it all in words.

"You must have worked really hard. Good job."

Pat pat.

Huh?!

The sudden physical contact made my back snap straight.

"Ah!"

Sia must have realized what she'd done and quickly corrected her posture.

A sudden touch... Hmmmmm... Interesting....

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barely managed to pull my mind back before it flew off somewhere.

With some small talk,

"So why did you suggest this place?"

"It's nothing special."

Sia lowered her gaze.

"Actually, I don't live in this neighborhood."

"Oh, then...?"

"That's right. This is where my mom lives."

Ah, so she was staying at her mother's house for a while because her mom was sick.

"Before Mom got sick, whenever I came to visit her house, we'd always come here."

Hmmmmmm.

What should I say to comfort her in a situation like this?

"Hey, don't make that face!"

"Hup. What kind of face was I making?"

"I just wanted to come here again. It felt a bit weird to come alone, you know?"

I'd never been here before either.

Solo pork belly was rough.

"To be honest, I've been a little worried until now, but I'm not worried anymore!"

"Yeah, yeah. You've got me too!"

"Hmmmm? I don't remember saying I'd go with you, though?"

"You're going to abandon me now?!"

"Who knows? Hehe."

Sia covered her mouth as she laughed.

"I'll think about it."

"You'll seriously regret it if you don't take me."

"Will I? Oh! It's burning, let's eat!"

Ugh, dodging the answer until the very end!

"Yeah, let's eat first."

Right. We hadn't made any promises yet.

It would be fine.