A Gift of Dawn
In the first timeline.
Among the countless idiots, there had been a few who were relatively decent idiots.
At the very least, each of them had achieved something great enough that even the Akasha System itself recognized it as a magnificent feat.
The most representative ones were the Sword Marquis, the Fighting Ghost, Zygot, the Flame Emperor, the Blade Emperor, and so on.
Named figures who were also called by all sorts of dazzling epithets.
Yujin himself hadn’t particularly liked it, but he had been one of those people.
Among them, however, the epithet Chiyou did not exist.
He had vanished far too quickly for any rumors to spread inside the Tower.
An unlucky predecessor who had fallen before even reaching the 50th Floor.
Thanks to that, the name Chime Kang Mu-hyun was famous only among Koreans—and even then, only among those in the know.
An extremely minor existence.
As expected, he was here.
Yujin felt a slight sense of gladness.
It was a completely different impression from when he had faced someone like Zygot.
Even so, he didn’t bother approaching.
He simply listened to the conversation between the man and Zygot from a short distance away.
“Well, eating well is important, yeah.”
As if agreeing with Kang Mu-hyun’s words, Zygot nodded.
Guessing the hidden meaning inside those words, Yujin furrowed his brow.
Disgusting bastard.
Murderous intent slowly welled up once more.
Maybe just killing him right now would be better for my mental health.
While he was still torn over it, Kang Mu-hyun let out a short chuckle.
“Looking at you, you seem to have eaten pretty well yourself. American food is greasy, huh? Seeing the oil practically dripping off your face.”
“…It wasn’t bad.”
“Be careful. I heard America’s obesity rate is that high. If you just pick up and eat anything because it tastes good, you might be in big trouble.”
“Worry about yourself. The climb is going to get pretty tough from here on. With that rotten spear of yours, that is.”
Zygot laughed and thrust his hand into empty air.
『Subspace』.
Surprisingly, the bastard already possessed his own personal storage.
Yujin’s eyes narrowed.
In the meantime, a long spear slowly revealed itself.
Unlike Kang Mu-hyun’s spear—covered in rust with a blunt edge—this one was different from the quality alone.
Probably D-grade.
Yujin quietly observed the spear Zygot had pulled out.
It was a familiar item.
That’s…
Yes. The 1st Floor.
He had seen it in Terra.
Citadel’s Golden Hammer.
It was definitely a spear made by Citadel, the owner of that shoddy smithy.
Trash.
It wasn’t something you would expect to see on just the 5th Floor.
After all, it was an item that reached D-grade.
A grade that, unless you were among the extremely rare minority of players, you wouldn’t even get to see, right?
But even so, Yujin treated that spear as trash.
Because it was the truth.
It only looked decent on the surface; as a weapon, it had zero value.
It had simply received a D-grade judgment thanks to the good materials used.
If you climbed just a little higher, no player would even glance at it.
Since that guy made it himself, well. That says it all.
Yujin recalled Citadel.
A guy who didn’t show even a speck of talent as a blacksmith.
Because he had extinguished the Heavenly Fire that had been passed down through his family, he had just stomped his feet in place and eventually drowned himself in alcohol. That stupid guy.
A spear made by such a man.
Zygot’s appearance, proudly holding something like that, was laughable.
Yujin wore a sneer.
“Well. I’m fine. This one’s pretty usable in its own way.”
Kang Mu-hyun’s expression showed he hadn’t taken the slightest damage from Zygot’s words.
“A bet is a bet. Originally, a wise person doesn’t dwell on past matters.”
A bet?
Yujin roughly figured out the situation.
That nameless trash spear had originally been Kang Mu-hyun’s.
He had lost it to Zygot over some bet or other.
The old spear.
Thanks to that, Kang Mu-hyun seemed to have climbed the Tower holding that old spear.
And with it, he had taken down the boss monster of the 30th Floor, the Infinite Dragon.
Not bad.
An E-grade item.
Hunting a floor’s boss monster with that was by no means easy.
Especially if it was the 30th Floor.
And Kang Mu-hyun had done just that.
It’s a shame, though.
Yujin smacked his lips.
If he had met this guy first, he would have accepted him as a slave without any hesitation.
But that was all.
As he had thought before, he had no intention of taking him as a slave and turning the 3 No into 4 No.
Still…
A little intervention should be fine.
So that he wouldn’t climb the Tower with that old spear and get murdered by one of the Ten Evils of unknown identity.
He could bestow that much of a small grace anytime.
Then, when Kang Mu-hyun came to be called Chiyou, he would definitely be a great help in smashing the Tower.
Having thought that far, Yujin moved without hesitation.
Toward the stone pillar where the two were exchanging sharp words.
“Impressive. As expected of the man I recognized.”
It sounded like praise at first glance, but it was full of sarcasm.
“Is that so? Thanks. But what to do? You still haven’t earned my recognition. Try a little harder.”
As expected of a Korean, huh?
When it came to smiling and verbally thrashing someone, this side was the overwhelming victor.
“Heh-.”
Yujin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Just imagining what Zygot must be thinking inside after hearing Kang Mu-hyun’s words made the laughter leak out on its own.
Thanks to that, the conversation stopped.
Zygot and Kang Mu-hyun turned their heads to look at Yujin.
One furrowed his brow; the other opened his eyes slightly wide.
“Oh? You’re Korean, right?”
Kang Mu-hyun recognized it the moment he saw Yujin.
“I haven’t seen many Koreans while climbing up to here. Nice to meet you?”
He smiled and held out his hand.
Was it similar to the feeling of traveling to some not-very-famous foreign country and accidentally running into someone from the same country?
Kang Mu-hyun’s expression of genuine gladness was clear.
Looking at the hand he held out, Yujin pondered for a moment.
If it had been Zygot or another player, he would have ignored it without even looking.
There was no value in exchanging greetings.
But this was Chiyou.
And wasn’t he even setting up a confrontation with this disgusting bastard?
That fact alone was enough.
Yujin clasped Kang Mu-hyun’s hand in return.
“Has it been a while since you saw a Korean?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. Aside from my companions, I’ve barely seen any.”
Chiyou, whom he was conversing with for the first time, was quite a pleasant person.
Separate from the serious atmosphere he showed on the outside.
Even so, a sharp presence was hidden within.
Confirmed.
Kang Mu-hyun was the most outstanding among the players Yujin had met so far.
Even including the Sword Marquis and the Fighting Ghost.
Of course, right now the difference was incomparably vast.
Those two were being sharply honed by Yujin’s hands, after all.
But Kang Mu-hyun was polishing himself.
The speed was incomparably slow, yet the thought came that someday he might surpass those two slaves.
Of course.
He has to stay alive until then, though.
The Ten Evils whose identities hadn’t been revealed.
Yujin hoped he wouldn’t die to such trash.
So that later, he could contribute to smashing the Tower by Yujin’s and the 3 No’s side.
“Ah, come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Kang Mu-hyun. Twenty-nine years old. Originally, I was an assistant manager at a major corporation that people would know just by the name. Well, I’ve been forcibly resigned now, though.”
He laughed ha-ha.
Honestly, Yujin wasn’t curious about his life outside of being a player.
So he half-listened and opened his mouth.
“I’m Seong Yujin.”
As he gave his name, he thought.
What did Kang Mu-hyun need to survive longer?
Suddenly, the old spear in his hand caught his eye.
The very spear Zygot had been mocking just a moment ago.
With this piece of junk…
He took down the Infinite Dragon, huh.
Yujin could do it too.
It wasn’t that difficult.
But for other players, it wouldn’t be.
For those Yujin called idiots, it was an extremely near-impossible feat.
And he had done it.
He raised his hand.
An action without any particular deliberation.
Just one thought had come to mind, and he executed it.
“Kkyaaaaaang-!”
The sleeping Chunbae burst into a cry.
Flinch-!
Kang Mu-hyun and Zygot.
The two men’s bodies trembled.
They couldn’t help it.
Yujin’s hand had been shoved into Chunbae’s mouth far too naturally.
And then, slowly—.
Similar to when Zygot had pulled the trash spear from 『Subspace』 a moment ago, but a far more horrifying sight.
“Kkyaaaang-!”
Finally, something emerged from Chunbae’s belly.
As if parting the quiet darkness.
A long metal formed of soft, gently spreading golden light.
It was 『Dawn [C]』.
Yujin, holding a spear of the same rank as the sealed 『Black Wing [C]』, looked at Zygot.
The bastard couldn’t even think of putting on a mask, staring at the beautiful spear that had appeared before his eyes with his mouth hanging open.
“From what I heard, that shoddy spear was originally yours, right?”
Same for Kang Mu-hyun.
Beyond surprise, with an expression close to shock, he stared at 『Dawn [C]』, then flinched and nodded.
“Ah, yes?”
He seemed not to have even heard what Yujin said.
“That trash. You lost it in a bet and it was taken.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. Haha, unfortunately it turned out that way.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off the gently glowing golden spear.
Indeed, compared to 『Dawn [C]』, what Zygot was holding was definitely trash.
“You originally use a spear, I take it?”
“Not exactly, but one of the skills I got lower down pairs pretty well with polearms. So I naturally ended up using a spear.”
In the eyes of Kang Mu-hyun as he answered was full of surprise.
But.
There was no greed.
Just pure admiration.
It was a different part from Zygot.
The eyes that hadn’t even thought of hiding behind a mask were stained with desire.
Seeing that, Yujin held out his hand.
Toward Kang Mu-hyun.
“It’s a spear called 『Dawn [C]』. I can’t call it the best, but it should be pretty usable in its own way.”
A gift.
Or was it a bribe?
Just like he had done for the Sword Marquis someday.
Yujin handed the bribe to Chiyou like that.
It meant he was counting on him from now on.
“…C-grade. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s more than just usable, isn’t it?”
But Kang Mu-hyun hadn’t even realized that this was a bribe being handed to him.
If it were that bastard, he would have snatched it up right away.
Once again, the difference from Zygot showed.
Thinking it was fortunate inwardly, Yujin opened his mouth.
“This is yours now.”
“Pardon?”
His eyes widened.
At the same time, an expression of not understanding.
A person he’d just met suddenly hands over a C-grade item as a gift?
Wasn’t it a strange situation no matter who looked at it?
Like that, Kang Mu-hyun took the extremely common-sense action, and Yujin spun 『Dawn [C]』 once around and held the shaft forward.
“I’m saying I’ll give this to you. It’s not a particularly useful item for me, you see.”
“Why, why?”
Even stammering, he unconsciously reached out and brought his hand to the golden shaft.
Yujin continued speaking to him as his mouth gradually opened wider.
“Let’s make a bet with me too.”