Exploitation? You're Too Pure-Hearted.

"Exploitation? You're such a pure soul."

Evelyn had picked up that Han Do-yoon knew nothing about her roots.

He got the gist, but... guess we weren't that close back then.

It made sense why he'd waste his temporary return like this, clinging to her. What this disciple craved was probably nothing more than some simple "praise."

That was all Evelyn Howard would want if she ever reunited with her own master, after all.

Evelyn pulled Han Do-yoon into a hug and murmured,

"...Got it. And I don't know the details of what went down this time, but you handled it brilliantly. Looks like you stopped a bunch of people from getting hurt, thanks to you."

Han Do-yoon wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden, but the ticklish flutter in his chest felt good, so he hugged her back...

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

And the Heavenly Tower alchemists watching the scene...

'Knight-slaying bird!'

'...That's the face of a bitch in heat! Teacher and disciple in an immoral relationship?!'

'That guy's probably laid hands on the Heavenly Tower Lord too...'

They instantly clocked the pair's intimate dynamic and cheered them on inwardly. Wishing for happiness in the Tower World was something to celebrate. Everyone had been dumped into this hellhole, after all.

@

Evelyn, visiting the Heavenly Tower after a long time, said she had business to attend to and left his side.

Han Do-yoon headed to his personal workshop in the "Tower," the Safe House, which he hadn't visited in days.

I wonder if they're doing what I told them to.

Unexpectedly, he'd gained what amounted to "slave" assistants, so he'd tossed them some work and bailed.

The turtle could produce herbal ingredients for alchemy...

The raccoon called "ToughMan" had decent handiwork skills. Engraving magic patterns and transmutation arrays onto tiny mana bullets required serious focus and dexterity, but he could do it.

And the little girl fairy, "Chill Sylph"...

"You look a bit plumper?"

-Deeeet, I've gotten celeb status, desu! All my friends who saw me lately asked if I'm blowing up now, desu!

-Turtle.

-Tesshaat. Birds of a feather flock together, after all. Sylph's friends were obviously the same caliber, so Han Do-yoon sighed and checked the spirits' work.

Lush plants were bearing fruit vigorously. On closer inspection, there were signs of harvesting too. The turtle wouldn't harvest them itself, so it had to be ToughMan or Sylph with their hands and feet.

Guess they didn't slack off.

As a reward, he gave the turtle an aquarium he'd scavenged from outside. The turtle soaked in the little tank's pool, delighting in the waterwheel's stream.

-Turtle, turtle!

It looked just like the small aquarium scaled up. Han Do-yoon checked the water quality... Pond maintenance wasn't easy, but with workers to handle it, no issue.

With a pond now... I could turn this into an ecosystem park and raise various fish.

He hadn't expected the pond, so he had nothing prepared. He'd plan its use for next time.

Next, he inspected ToughMan's work... Mana bullets neatly stacked in a wooden box in one corner of the workshop. Some defectives mixed in, but the yield was decent.

"Good job... The types of mana bullets you need to make will increase from here on. I'll give you the recipes next time."

-Tesshaaaat!

He gave the raccoon a toy: a 3x3 Magic Cube to match colors. It instantly got the point and started fiddling with it—while diving into the pond.

-Tesshaaa!

Watching the delighted raccoon and turtle, Chill Sylph realized it was her turn for a gift and grinned.

-Can I look forward to mine too, desu?

"Yours..."

The turtle specialized in field management, the raccoon handled simple alchemy assists with its dexterity. Sylph? Nothing praiseworthy, and her attitude grated.

...But these were spirits rewarded by the Tower—surely useful somehow. He did have something prepared.

"Here... You did help with mana bullets and harvesting herbs, at least. How about studying this?"

-A book...!? Why does a celeb like me need to study, desu!? That's for ToughMan or turtles, desu!

He gave Sylph a basic alchemy book. Han Do-yoon flipped it open, folded a page, and said,

"I'll quiz you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next time. Study up, or I'll treat you like you don't exist."

-Uwook! That's too much, desu...

While at the workshop, he jotted down the Oracle's structure from memory...

By the time he left the Tower, the sun was setting.

The moment he exited the Tower, a barrage of messages cluttered his vision... All starring Isana as the record-breaker.

She climbed solo, huh... Well, I can catch up quick anyway.

Unlike Isana, Han Do-yoon had tons of prep for breakthroughs... Exoskeleton to handle Last Wish recoil and attack power mods first.

Exoskeleton's priority... Honestly, accuracy tanks after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three consecutive shots.

Without the Thousand-Year Prison, he'd have steadily grown his physical stats through trials to manage recoil... But infinite mana came at the cost of physical limits—no helping it.

Problem is... I can't even utilize infinite mana properly.

Mana was like an external battery. That's why he obsessed over exoskeletons. Compensate their mana-drain drawback ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with his Thousand-Year Prison.

Now that I'm an alchemist, I can make one... Start work tomorrow.

As he walked slowly, the path ahead grew noisy. Various heteromorphs clustered together. Curious, he glanced over—the center was a familiar face.

Isana. No surprise she'd draw crowds after smashing records.

Han Do-yoon rarely showed his face outside the workshop when idle, so few knew him. But Isana? Her beauty transcended worlds.

"Isana, party with us next time...?"

"Debating Floor 21... Mind helping?"

"Teacher, please instruct me in swordsmanship—just once!"

A nightmare for introverted Han Do-yoon. Acknowledging her would draw eyes, so he ignored... But escaping the Sword God's sharp senses? Impossible.

Isana spotted him through the crowd.

"Do-yoon!"

...Pardon? Calling me that in public.

Fresh from the Tower, she was sweat-drenched. Her bandage-trapped breasts bounced as she dashed over, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Her thick scent dizzied him, her molten-soft skin pressing against his body.

Han Do-yoon felt his heart flutter.

"Saw the notice? Blasted to Floor 21... When you heading up?"

"Got prep to do... More eyes on us, anyway."

"Mm... Let's move spots."

Han Do-yoon? That guy who took 1st to Floor 10?

Him? Gotta remember...

Both Earthlings? What's up with Earth guys?

The murmurs heated his face. Isana dragged him by the hand into a nearby tavern.

Like their early Tower World days, she ordered beer first. Wary of eating now, Han Do-yoon stuck to water.

"Heard the commotion last night... Sounded like trouble. All good?"

He briefed her on last night's events. To Isana, like him, Star Beasts were no biggie. The real issue? Actual stars falling.

"Gotta stop that from happening. That's why I saved Estelle Argent."

"Using a girl who mistakes you for someone else. Totally sleazy."

"Exploitation? You're such a pure soul."

"Am I?"

"Ours is even more complicated and sweet."

"...Yeah, pretty complicated."

He shared the new intel too.

"...And I learned something unexpected."

"Me too. You first."

"Seems Orion, the Star Bishop, was my grandmaster. Timeline doesn't add up, but..."

"Weird you only learned your roots now. Shouldn't you have known ages ago?"

"...Last time, I wasn't close to my teacher."

Isana sipped her beer and shared what she'd learned about "Rule Breaker, Shin Tae-jun."

"Skel said there might be traces in the 'Guild' underground in Tower City."

"Tower City underground? That's... dwarf territory."

The Tower City depths were a developed maze; Han Do-yoon had poked around and quit. Too many tasks for a fruitless labyrinth riskier than Tower trials. Trials healed all wounds on clear; elsewhere, scars stuck. That's why Sword God Isana was scar-covered.

"...And I ran into Karia."

"Ah."

He'd totally forgotten her. Fiery temper, great starting conditions—no need to babysit.

"What'd you do to her last time?"

"...Didn't I tell you?"

Too embarrassing to say aloud... Han Do-yoon dodged her sharpened gaze.

"How much drug did you pump her with to break that Karia? She was a drooling junkie mess, couldn't even function."

Eek.

"Junkie mess? Harsh... I used some meds, but not like that. No addiction. I'm not that trashy."

Sure, he'd whipped a hurt girl, dosed an ovulating female with egg-inducers to spill unfertilized eggs, raped her sleeping... but he wasn't trash.

...Mutual feelings, after all.

"Gotta see it myself to judge. I couldn't take responsibility, so I just protected her and left."

"...That bad?"

Isana held back.

Gotta visit soon.

As an old comrade, he hadn't worried. Karia, half-red dragon, started better than Isana. Experienced from her world, innate dragon strength. Strip her obsession, let her grow into a "dragon."

But broken? ...Did I go too far?

Thinking of Karia recalled a Floor 10 reward.

Back then, focused on Isana's recovered memories amid reward floods, he'd forgotten.

Hand it to its owner—could it lift up someone already broken?