Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Denied!
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‘......Did I just do something regrettable.’
A sticky unease prickled at the back of my neck. Normally, I would have headed straight home, but out of basic courtesy, I returned alone.
I wasn’t entirely immune to the allure of TowerSoul. The conditions Yu Ji-hye had offered were quite enticing, and every employee seemed decent enough.
But the core philosophy driving their operations was fundamentally off, turning what could have been a partnership into an unacceptable proposition.
Back in the central hall.
Beneath the majestic aquarium’s scenery, people gathered in small groups, chatting naturally.
They said they’d chased out Rex, and sure enough, the place felt noticeably cleaner.
‘Juseon, we’re businesspeople.’
Yu Ji-hye’s voice, drifting amid cigarette smoke, still rang clear in my ears.
Yeah, she wasn’t wrong.
That’s just how marriage agencies operate.
‘It’s just not for me.’
I returned to my seat.
The host, seeing everyone assembled, immediately grabbed the microphone.
“Yes, everyone. Please forgive the earlier disturbance. I also apologize for any shortcomings in our hosting. But today isn’t over yet, right?”
Her voice rose deliberately.
Her effort to shift the mood seemed to work; people gradually relaxed their shoulders.
“We’ll now proceed with the 1:1 rotation conversations!”
“What?”
Yu Ji-hye, who had lit up another cigarette in the smoking area after Kim Juseon rejected her scouting offer, suddenly craved nicotine again fiercely.
“On the rooftop?”
“Yes, he’s on the rooftop.”
“You’re sure he’s dead?”
“Positive. The staff who saw him are puking their guts out.”
“Fuck, maybe I should’ve gotten a shaman to pick a lucky day.”
Could luck be this bad?
Yu Ji-hye rarely swore like this as she let out a deep sigh.
She could see the clients engaged in 1:1 talks. They’d just started, and the atmosphere was heating up nicely—
“Ah, my head.”
Cradling her face, Yu Ji-hye asked to confirm.
“It wasn’t one of our people, right? This is a total shitshow.”
“Absolutely not. We have video evidence.”
She exhaled a deep sigh like cigarette smoke.
“Video evidence? How? Did you rip out an eye cam or something?”
“Retinal implants made that impossible. But who’d have thought those 6th Floor freaks would embed cameras in their eyes.”
“To them, bodies are just parts. So how’d you check the footage?”
“We tracked the streamer’s name. It was live on a Cyber City platform, so the TowerSoul Cyber City branch downloaded the archived replay from their site and sent it over.”
The tablet the staffer held showed a bizarre figure standing there.
Visible only thanks to the moonlight; otherwise, you’d walk right past without noticing.
‘Outfit from the Old Martial World, weapon from Cyber City......’
This is fucked.
The figure in the video spoke in a noisy, distorted voice.
The video cut off there.
“They called it a snuff film over there...... Site admins blocked it as gore or murder porn, but we barely got a copy.”
The words went in one ear and out the other.
Yu Ji-hye’s gaze fixed on the Heavenly Clan’s proxy.
The only bigwig here who’d summon an assassin was Heavenly Clan.
“You looked into this guy?”
“No trace. Looks like he bolted.”
“Right......”
Probably confirmed Heavenly Clan wasn’t attending and bailed.
“I’m not usually one to curse this much. We almost got royally fucked.”
The proxy’s presence was a godsend.
“Guess worrying about assassins wasn’t paranoia.”
Brushing down her face, Yu Ji-hye decided to count it as a blessing.
An event where they gained nothing and lost plenty.
But at least they hadn’t lost more—
“Alright, then explain to the clients and—.”
Call the cops.
“Ha, unbelievable. What a joke.”
“Ah...... What time is it?”
“This is straight-up creepy.”
Late night, after police questioning.
Fourteen people who’d ended up doing their 1:1 rotation talks with the cops due to the sudden murder.
Everyone’s statements matched, so they were all released together.
“Like I’ll ever join a matchmaking agency again.”
“TowerSoul’s the industry best? Bullshit.”
“Ah, what a waste of money.”
“Urk! My stomach’s churning. That guy we saw earlier—.”
Amid the varied reactions, I glanced at the Heavenly Clan proxy.
Not sure if it was coincidence, but our eyes met—or seemed to.
Just in case, I nodded politely, and sure enough, no misunderstanding; he strode right over.
“Mr. Kim Juseon, you run a marriage agency, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“May I have your business card?”
At his words, everyone’s eyes turned to me.
Like watching a drama scene, they gawked as I pulled a card from the case I always carry.
“We find your miracles. Meracle.”
“Miracles......”
Looking at the card, the proxy’s smile deepened.
“Young Master of Heavenly Clan would love a phrase like that.”
“Glad you think so.”
He might be looking to switch from TowerSoul to Meracle.
Matchmaking agencies are like dentists—people shop around for prices and consultations.
But TowerSoul’s fiasco today clearly disappointed.
“Ah, give me one too.”
Starting with Mage Ophelia, others took my cards.
Most skipped it, fed up with agencies—but not all.
“I’ll contact you if there’s a chance.”
Seo Ha-jin of Prism.
“......”
Raychen, disciple of Great Mage Gellwind.
The heavy hitters took Meracle cards.
Whether they call or not, recruiting potentials of this caliber was—
‘A major win.’
In the car heading back to her lodging.
Seo Ha-jin sat comfortably in the back seat, courtesy of her manager who’d come to pick her up.
Modern cars had massage functions per seat—perfect for easing her weary body.
“Man, everything with you is a spectacle. Hajeen, this could be prime variety show fodder, right?”
“How would I even spin it, oppa? Going to a matchmaking thing was already iffy, and now someone’s dead.”
Humoring her chatty, immature manager sporadically, Seo Ha-jin slipped a hand into her coat pocket and felt a hard rectangular shape.
The business card she’d taken because everyone else did.
<In countless worlds, we find your miracle.>
Hunter-specialized marriage agency, Meracle.
‘Hunter-specialized......’
As a former hunter trainee, targeting that niche made sense.
The guy seemed decent.
“Oh, and don’t worry about the party footage, Hajeen. Boss tried to pull it, but the Upper Harmony folks already paid the site big to scrap it all. No one knows you went unless they were there.”
“Okay......”
What did it matter?
She was retiring soon anyway.
Gazing out the window, a huge billboard showed a young idol chugging soju to flaunt freshness.
A CF she’d once headlined.
‘I thought it’d last forever.’
Even the brightest lights fade eventually.
It was brutally routine in her industry.
Calling a 27-year-old washed up— wasn’t the world harsh?
Bitter reflections soured her mood further; she pulled out her phone idly.
“And about the Goodbye Concert, the boss said—”
“Sorry, oppa. Just need to make a call.”
“Ah, sure! I’ll turn down the music.”
Volume dropped, and moments later—
Ryu Seram’s voice from Seo Ha-jin’s phone.
—Hello?
“Seram unnie, long time no talk. Busy right now?”
—Nah, mid-workout. What’s up? Another commission?
They’d met via a Blackline Risk job—client and contractor.
But chats turned personal; they’d grown close.
“No, nothing big. Met someone you know today, so I called on impulse.”
—Come on, 3rd Floor Earth? Who don’t I know?
Quintessential confidence.
Seo Ha-jin chuckled.
Talking with the reliable girl-crush Ryu Seram was always fun.
Weight-clanging paused, like she’d stopped exercising.
—So who? Actor? Idol? Haven’t taken entertainment gigs since the owl incident.
“That guy—”
She checked the card for the name.
“Kim Juseon.”
—......
“Unnie?”
—Ah, haha. Juseon? Ohhh?
What?
Her voice trembled slightly.
Then it dropped low fast.
—Where’d you meet?
“TowerSoul had a wedding party. Met him there. Your memory’s sharp, unnie. You said you only met him at training camp.”
—Heh, haha...... Oh, wedding party?
“Unnie?”
What?
Laughing voice, but an eerie chill.
—Haha, that bastard......
“Pardon?”
—No, nothing. So, what’d he do there?
“Uh...... Just normal intro. Pretty popular—”
Crunch.
“Unnie?”
—Ah, sorry Hajeen. Unnie’s phone got a bit smashed?
‘Why?’
The question stuck in her throat; idol instincts said don’t ask.
—I’ll call back later.
“Ah, okay...... See you, unnie.”
But the call didn’t end.
“Unnie?”
—Sorry, can you hang up?
“......?”
—Touch panel’s busted?
“Report: Mission failed. Reason: Assassination target absent.”
—Absent?
“Affirmative.”
The woman who’d decapitated Rex, Ja-o Weiran, passed under a streetlamp and melted back into darkness.
—They say Upper Harmony has sharp eyes for flows, and it’s true. No pretext to hit 5th Floor now. Still bummed about the Azure Dragon last time.
“......”
Ja-o Weiran walked aimlessly.
No idea how many hours; she just kept going.
—4th Floor timing looks good, though.
“Query: Success?”
—Yeah, 4th Floor succeeded. Seal’s broken; demon revival confirmed.
Demon.
Past inter-floor war.
Those from the 1st Floor hellhole, dubbed demons.
Scars lingered throughout the Tower, unerasable.
“Confirm.”
—Head back soon.
Comms cut.
To return, meet the contact.
But first—
Grrrowl.
She was hungry.
Cybernetic replacements didn’t erase hunger.
Gloomy dawn.
Walking led Ja-o Weiran to a lone glowing sign on the street.
‘Convenience store.’
24-hour operation.
Unimaginable back home in the Old Martial World, now a faded memory.
She entered.
Ding-a-ling.
“Welcome.”
The pink-haired elf at the register, mid-cash handling, cracked her eyes open to peer at a triangle kimbap.
“Writing it this tiny, how’s an elf like me supposed to read it......”
Ignoring the grumbling, Weiran swept all the food from the shelves onto the counter.
“Uh-oh.”
The flustered elf scanned each barcode. Clumsy, it took time, but she managed.
“Phew! Total 72,000 won!”
Proud as if she’d slain a dragon.
Weiran extended her arm impassively.
Trying to pay via wrist implant—
“Uh, our store doesn’t take that.”
The elf, flustered in her quirky speech, demanded alternative.
“Card or cash! They make special ones for tourists now—”
“Response: No compatible payment methods.”
“......”
“......”
The elf stared blankly, then slyly pushed the items toward Weiran.
“Go put ’em back where they belong.”
Weiran stared at the food.
Hungry, no time to waste.
Then—
‘Judgment.’
Just kill her?
As she pondered—
“Lemme see—”
The elf ducked into the staff room beside the counter, grabbing a mop and a propped bow.
“Ugh, dusty.”
“......”
“Outfit’s all drab anyway. Better put it back quick—for your sake. I’m not that merciful for my age.”
The bow’s sudden appearance triggered Weiran’s built-in simulator instantly.
‘Observation.’
[Defeat.]
[Defeat.]
[Defeat.]
[Defeat.]
[Defeat.]
[Repeated defeats block view... No victory outcome.]
[Combat Denied]
[Escape Impossible]
[Surrender Recommended]
Weiran stared at the results, then asked the elf.
“Query.”
“Hm, speak.”
“First-In-First-Out?”
“Ah, obviously. Hurry up.”
Weiran swiftly hugged the items and started shelving them.