Gold, Guns, and Soju
The moment we stepped out of the Gwanghwamun Tower entrance, a barrage of welcome messages flooded my vision.
Some skills had leveled up, others hadn't. From the looks of it, pretty much every skill had gained a bit of experience.
An achievement and a trait, huh. I'd seen a few of these before.
Checking the details, it seemed like it temporarily boosted my strength after taking down hunters. Come to think of it, this time I'd killed more hunters than monsters.
"Alpha Team, all members returned! Good work!"
"Hey, grab the gear quick!"
The bureaucrats loafing around near the Gwanghwamun Tower entrance suddenly got busy. Normally, you'd hit the baths and grub right after escaping a tower... but this time, things were gonna go a bit differently.
Go Ji-ho, our team leader, had asked us.
"Wanna do the settlement first?"
"Aye."
This damn backpack—we'd burned through supplies, but it still weighed around 50kg. Sure, my Martial Arts skill made me stronger, but heavy was heavy.
No way in hell was I hauling this crap up and down twice.
"Whoa, how much is all this even worth...?"
The other team members seemed shocked too—they'd never hauled back this much before. Then again, with dead weight like Choi Il-hyeok on the team back then, it was no surprise.
"We'll hit our shop first, so book a spot at the restaurant. Beef!"
"Yes, Team Leader."
Ignoring the bureaucrats, we touched the tower.
"To the shop!"
Whoosh!
Finally, we could settle up properly.
"Buy all this junk!"
We started by offloading the loot from Floor 2—anything that might fetch a coin. Hunter trash from criminals, so nothing big. Cheap guns and a bit of medical supplies.
"I'll give you 2,000 gold."
"Next up, gun parts."
"Ho... you've brought quite the haul."
The Goblin Merchant actually sounded impressed—a rarity. Go Ji-ho placed the order like a pro.
"If you've got any 6.8mm MCX Spear parts, set 'em aside."
"Got one trigger group."
"Nice, saved some cash."
Probably 'cause I'd bitched about the vest not piercing—they were gearing up new rifles for us.
Go Ji-ho ran something like a submachine gun version...
Sang Ha-jun was our sniper, Han Ju-won the LMG gunner.
Only me and Kim Yu-na used rifles.
"Excluding the parts you mentioned, total buyout... 20,000 gold."
"Whoa! Just the gun parts net that much?"
"Indeed."
Kim Yu-na was so thrilled she bounced out of her seat.
Triggers and bolt carrier groups were pricey, obviously. Plus all the optics—made sense it'd add up.
The cheaper stuff like barrels had netted 2,000 gold at the inter-floor merchant.
Worth dragging this heavy shit down three floors.
Total haul: 50,000 gold so far. But expenses weren't settled.
"Kang Hyun and Yu-na used recovery potions, right?"
"Yeah, both chugged by Kang Hyun. Transcendence backlash..."
"Two recovery potions, and main parts for two rifles like I said. How much?"
"Two recovery potions: 600 gold. Rifle barrels—16-inch?"
"13-inch!"
With Perfect Sense, accuracy wasn't an issue. Shorter was lighter, handier.
"Total: 2,000 gold."
Last time with vests and helmets, it'd been 3,000. Two rifles' worth still stung.
But one thing bugged me.
"Huh? This mag's only 20 rounds?"
"Ammo's big and heavy. Drums exist, but I don't recommend."
Go Ji-ho handed me a 6.8mm sample round from the merchant. Way chunkier and heavier than 5.56mm. Basically 7.62mm territory.
"This bullet weighs three times a 5.56. Heavier than 7.62 even."
"Three times? Why the difference?"
"High-pressure round—heavy projectile and casing."
So carry capacity tanks. Was switching a mistake?
But those stupid expensive 5.56 AP rounds failing the vest was a shock.
50-round 7.62 drums were compatible, supposedly... but this heavy? Would the spring even feed right? Drums already jammed plenty.
"I'll stick with 20-rounders."
"Smart call. Total?"
From 50,000 gold, expenses shaved off 5,000.
Net: 45,000. Then 20,000 to the Hunter Association.
"25,000... 5,000 each?"
"Keep this up, we'll be rich quick."
5,000 gold straight in my pocket? Speechless for a sec. Could I really blow it however?
Sang Ha-jun said, a bit worried.
"Kang Hyun, spend wisely. Don't sell easy if someone asks. No more money worries ahead."
"Huh? Why?"
"That 20,000 to the Association ain't free—they buy our gold. Settlement hits tomorrow-ish."
"Got it."
That made sense. Hunter work was pure meritocracy.
I'd barely scraped gold on my first escape, so I hadn't known. Selling artifacts would've banked big, but I couldn't bear to.
"Alright, shower up and grub. Starving."
Oh yeah, skipped the inter-floor bath this time. Escape was way shorter overall.
"Huuuuh..."
Quick rinse, straight to the grill. Team ordered booze like it was nothing.
I balked, and LMG gunner Han Ju-won chuckled.
"What, quitting the sauce?"
"Last time I woke up from a bender in 7F."
"Didn't hate it though? Perfect time then."
"...Huh?"
"Re-entry cooldown anyway—can't go in."
Oh?
Yeah, one-month lockout. Booze now was fine.
Go Ji-ho slapped my back.
"Sweet, mix Kang Hyun a soju bomb!"
"On it, sir!"
"...Just one."
Said that, but one sip in, I knew.
Ah, screwed today. Too damn good. Post-mission booze hit different.
"Kuh... Ju-won, how you mix so perfect?"
"Landed me in Alpha Team."
Kim Yu-na joined, shocked.
"You got Kang Hyun drinking? Gimme!"
"Scouting speed changed after her. One sweep, done."
"Kang Hyun's in trouble—Team Leader won't let go now."
"Damn right. Ribeye here."
"Thanks for the grub."
Smartphone on auxiliary battery streamed hunter news nonstop. No sound, but captions rolled. Wild dinner vibe.
Stuff I'd have scrolled past before. Now it stuck.
Guess my EX-rank status hadn't leaked? Over a month plus some.
It was classified, but Choi Il-hyeok—who escaped with us—knew.
"Surprising."
"What?"
"Thought Choi Il-hyeok would've blabbed by now—guy we booted from Alpha."
Kim Yu-na snickered at my honesty.
"He gonna brag about the dude who got him fired? Didn't peg you as a bad boy, Kang Hyun."
"Oh, does that not track?"
Yeah, tough for him to spread.
"Plus... he needs rehire. Leaking secrets? Nah, unless overseas."
"Fair."
Bzzt!
"Hm?"
Go Ji-ho, mid-grill, scowled at his phone and stepped out. Odd—he ignored Association calls during dinners.
Team noticed too.
"Who? Family?"
"Nah, he snapped pics for them earlier."
"Add three more ribeye and short rib!"
Back after a long call, grinning.
"Good news."
"What?"
"Buddy in US spec ops—America's scrapping 8F assault."
"What?!"
8F. Unlocked after I escaped 7F skill-less. We were curious, obviously. Not rushing in, though.
"They hyped it weeks ago—four S-ranks, one A, dream team. Insane supplies."
"Why bail suddenly?"
"Planned max intel this morning... but unforeseen limit."
Carry weight cap. Brutal one. Couldn't even pack essentials.
8F entry meant ditching most gear and supplies.
"Canceled whole op. Plans trashed."
"What kinda limit...?"
"Can't just haul gold?"
Sharp me—sidestep on hearing the snag.
Go Ji-ho shook his head.
"8F's standalone—all exits direct. No inter-floor merchant."
"Gold useless then."
"Why's key info like this surface now?"
Even with orders to skip 8F, someone'd try. Drunk slip like me...
"Newbies can't enter 8F at all."
"Ah..."
Way different from prior floors. But 8F conquest was time—higher floors meant god-tier loot. Treasures beyond imagination.
Our big farm was mostly 5F this run. Direct exits? Even better merit.
"We ain't going soon. Oh, right—heads up, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi soon. Prep."
"Hwaseong? What's there?"
"After Kang Hyun's talk, requested training ground. Tower terrain replicated best we could."
Tower Escape map data. Spec ops built set-like fields per op.
"3F and 7F were tough."
"Small city vs. metropolis..."
Scaled sets, but key interiors 1:1.
Kim Yu-na perked up.
"Perfect. Shooting allowed? Me and Kang Hyun go day early, film."
"Film what?"
"New gun review vids!"
Oh yeah. Active hunter team perks—legal range, vids.
Association censor, sure. Rare content in Korea.
"Pass review?"
"We're Alpha—fine."
Kim Yu-na oozed confidence.
"Why those guns gifted?"
"Uh, foreign hunter in Korea?"
"'Cause you're Alpha. Top 1-tier under Association."
Hunter teams had ranks too.
Alpha, Gamma, Bravo: 1-tier. Full Association backing, first to deploy. Most clears.
Red, Yellow, Green: 2-tier. Color-named.
Behind Alpha in rank, skill, vets—but solid teams.
"3-tier?"
"Below? No divide. Basically civvies."
"Ah..."
Like that hunter who stole Escape Life's girl. One or two 1-2F clears.
I followed the team to rounds two and three before hotel crash.
Next morning, habitual Association check-in. Vacation til tomorrow, nothing else. Plus staff buffet slaps.
Solo chow, checked channel...
Tons of piled comments. Collab boosted viewers. Familiar nicks too.
Who the hell was this Yuki? Any comment irking her, boom—wall of text. Trolling my channel on purpose?
I scowled...
Suddenly, staff scrambled.
"Emergency! Medical team to Gwanghwamun—all hands!"
"Wh-what happened?"
"Beta Team back—leader solo!"
"Shit, leader alone...?"
Not invincible, even 1-tier. Cold sweat, wolfed breakfast, headed to training ground.