The End of Leave
Seven people.
That was far too few.
Even adding Yujin, Lee Sia, and Park Ji-hoo only brought the total to ten.
Well.
When Yujin had gone down to the 5th Floor not long ago, roughly fifty players had managed to reach it, hadn’t they? Thinking about it that way, the number seemed about right.
Still, once they get these supplies, their climbing speed should pick up a little.
Especially Kang Mu-hyun and a few of the more exceptional ones might start moving even faster. The same would hold true for the other nations.
They need to climb up quick if we’re going to punch through the 16th Floor.
Yujin scratched his head roughly and rose from his seat.
“Leaving already?”
“You’ve shown me everything there is to see, haven’t you?”
“That I have.”
Lee Ki-seok nodded.
The scroll, the carbon-nano-whatever sword, and the syringe. For things created in a mere few months, they were truly outstanding pieces of work. If research continued at this pace, something that could one day be of real help even to Yujin might eventually come out of it.
“Keep the research going hard.”
“I intend to do exactly that whether you ask or not.”
Lee Ki-seok’s eyes were gleaming as he stared at the mountain of material items stacked high around them. Watching the man practically itching to start experimenting on the spot, Yujin let out a short snort of laughter.
“Then I’ll be going. Contact me if you need anything. And if any troublemakers show up, call me. I’ll handle them for you.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Lee Ki-seok smiled and stood as well, intending to see him off. Yujin turned to leave the lab, then stopped short with a sudden “Ah!” and looked back.
“And finish that thing I asked for soon. Preferably before I return.”
“…Understood.”
Weapons in numbers that couldn’t even begin to compare to the material items. Remembering the task of configuring them so they could be used inside the Tower, Lee Ki-seok’s face went ashen. Items stolen from the U.S. military. How the hell was he supposed to clean up that mess? Just thinking about it was enough to make his head throb.
“See you then.”
Of course Yujin didn’t give a shit. He walked straight out of the lab without a second glance.
“Park Ji-hoo.”
SID agent Jeon Jeong-tae let out a sigh as he called the boy’s name.
There was no answer. Ji-hoo simply kept his head bowed low, lips pressed tightly shut. Jeon Jeong-tae’s expression twisted with mild discomfort at the sight.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
They were inside a building owned by SID. After half-killing a tattooed player, Park Ji-hoo had been arrested on the spot and brought here. The atmosphere wasn’t particularly hostile. He was a minor, a player, and—most importantly—Seong Yujin’s companion. The man who had played the biggest role in SID’s very founding. There was no way they would treat Park Ji-hoo poorly.
“Because I used my fists?”
That finally drew a response—a somewhat timid one. Jeon Jeong-tae nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“…Excuse me?”
He had turned a man’s ribcage into absolute scrap, and he was asking if that counted as doing something wrong?
“Well, it was assault, but…”
“I was acting in self-defense.”
Self-Justification [D]
The trait Self-Justification [D] activated. Park Ji-hoo, who had once loathed violence to an extreme degree, now lifted his head and stated his thoughts with absolute confidence. Jeon Jeong-tae looked at the boy whose entire demeanor had just flipped, and a small smile tugged at his lips.
“Of course you were.”
A reaction he had never expected. Ji-hoo blinked.
“We didn’t bring you here because you did anything wrong, Park Ji-hoo. If anything, it’s the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
What did that mean? Were they going to give him a medal or something? Still unable to make sense of it, Ji-hoo tilted his head as Jeon Jeong-tae continued.
“Seong Yujin, Lee Sia, and Park Ji-hoo. The three of you have been designated for special management within SID.”
They were different from every other player. Their levels alone made that clear. The agents hadn’t been able to measure them precisely, but the timing of their first emergence outside the Tower had already set them apart. They had been faster than any other player not only in Korea, but in the entire world. Special treatment was only natural. Hell, if one of them had simply beaten some random guy they didn’t like on the street, the matter would have been quietly swept under the rug. And that player named Gwak Jun-yeong had dug his own grave, hadn’t he? Even if Ji-hoo had taken the man’s life, the higher-ups would almost certainly have hushed it up.
“I should introduce myself properly first. I’m Jeon Jeong-tae, head of SID’s Talent Management Team 3.”
Talent Management. There were currently five such teams, and their purpose was crystal clear: provide every possible convenience for the players. Team 1 handled Seong Yujin. Team 2 handled Lee Sia. Team 3 handled Park Ji-hoo. Teams 4 and 5 covered everyone else. In other words, Jeon Jeong-tae was the team leader personally responsible for Park Ji-hoo.
“We brought you here so you wouldn’t get dragged into any unnecessary trouble.”
“Ah.”
The tension drained from Ji-hoo’s shoulders in a slow slide. No matter how strongly Self-Justification [D] was active, standing in front of a national agency officer still made him nervous. Especially when he was only nineteen. His heart couldn’t help but pound.
“Gwak Jun-yeong—the player you assaulted—has been transported to a hospital. His life isn’t in danger, but they say he probably won’t recover before it’s time to return to the Tower.”
“I don’t really care.”
Whether that bastard lived or died meant nothing. He would vanish long before he ever climbed high enough anyway. With a personality like that and only that much power, the Tower was far too cruel a place for him to rise.
“We’ll smooth everything over so that none of this touches you, Park Ji-hoo.”
“Th-thank you.”
The worry that this incident might somehow cause trouble for Seong Yujin or Lee Sia completely evaporated.
“And I have one proposal for you…”
“What is it?”
He asked with an earnest, pure expression.
“Are you interested in maintaining public order?”
“Public order?”
“Nothing major has happened in Korea yet, but other countries are already dealing with some very troublesome crimes.”
“You mean crimes committed by players?”
“That’s right. The problem is that there’s no proper way to subdue them.”
Jeon Jeong-tae discreetly studied Ji-hoo’s face. The words he had just spoken were a lie. Outside of Seong Yujin’s group, most players could already be handled to some degree thanks to the items developed by Director Lee Ki-seok and his research team. In an actual test against one player, they had managed a difficult but successful subdual. There was still a long way to go, of course, but the situation was nothing like the other countries where restraint was simply impossible.
Even so…
Having a player step in directly is still better.
And if that player was Park Ji-hoo, all the better.
“It won’t be particularly bothersome. There aren’t that many incidents to begin with. Just lending a hand once in a while when needed would be more than enough.”
At those words, Ji-hoo fell into brief thought. He didn’t look especially positive, so Jeon Jeong-tae pressed on.
“If you help us, we will spare no effort in supporting both you and your younger sister.”
“I’ll do it.”
He took the bait immediately. Whether it was pure-heartedness or deep affection, the love Park Ji-hoo held for his sister was something even Jeon Jeong-tae could clearly see was extraordinary.
“Thank you.”
Jeon Jeong-tae bowed politely with a smile. There was nothing fake about it—he meant every word.
“What about Nuna…?”
“I was already planning to make the same offer to her. Weren’t the two of you originally scheduled to meet together tomorrow?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Now that he thought about it, the agents who had met them in front of Lee Sia’s house yesterday had suggested meeting with Lee Ki-seok.
“Things just happened to unfold this way, so I met with you first. But tomorrow the Director will make the proposal again himself.”
“Yes… okay.”
Player agents for player crimes. It was one of the things SID had planned. The period would only be a week, and irregular at that, but—
Even that much is more than we could hope for.
The higher a player’s level climbed, the greater the danger they posed. Having those two step in even occasionally would create a powerful deterrent. Jeon Jeong-tae let out a quiet sigh of relief and stood.
“I’ll drive you home.”
“I’m fine…”
“If you go outside right now you might get caught up in unnecessary trouble. It’ll be more comfortable if you take my car.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Park Ji-hoo nodded and rose from his seat.
Was this what soldiers felt like when leave was over?
Lee Sia prepared for her summoning with a thoroughly dejected face.
“Aah, I don’t wanna go.”
Monsters, blood, chunks of flesh, ghosts. She hated all of it, but the thing she hated most of all was the hunting itself. It was nothing less than a hell of pure laziness where you had to keep moving without a single moment of rest. She must have thought hundreds of times that she just wanted to lie down and catch her breath for even one minute. And now she had to crawl back into that hell? She genuinely wanted to desert. Not that it was possible.
“It’d be nicer if I could just keep playing hero out here.”
As expected, Lee Sia had also accepted SID’s proposal. She and Park Ji-hoo would help them out whenever they had spare time. It wasn’t particularly difficult, and she figured cleaning up trash would be a good way to blow off stress. Unfortunately, no such trash had appeared this time, so there hadn’t been anything for them to do.
“Nuna, are you ready?”
Park Ji-hoo’s voice called from outside the room.
“Yeah, I’m done.”
When she opened the door, she saw Ji-hoo standing there in light clothes, holding hands with Si-yeon.
“Did you say goodbye already?”
“Yes. I can leave right away.”
Time was almost up. Maybe a minute or two left at most.
“But what the hell has that guy been doing this whole time? He definitely came outside, but…”
This time they hadn’t run into Seong Yujin even once. He hadn’t appeared on MeTube or the news either. The only thing that stood out was how strange Lee Ki-seok’s expression had looked a few days earlier. Every time Seong Yujin’s name came up, the man’s dark circles seemed to grow longer. She hadn’t asked out of some vague sense of unease, but she had a strong feeling he had caused another massive incident.
“Well, we’ll find out once we’re back inside.”
She had no desire to run around with that lunatic even outside the Tower, so maybe it was for the best.
“Ah, it’s starting.”
She felt mana concentrating on her sense of awareness.
“Si-yeon, Oppa will be back.”
“Listen well to Mom. Take care of yourself.”
As the two of them said goodbye to the teary-eyed little girl, light erupted.
Fwaaaaaaaaaah—!
At the same time the scenery around them transformed. From an ordinary living room to the central plaza of a desert city. Hot air rushed in through their noses and began to bake their lungs. The short leave was over. The realization settled in hard.
“You’re here.”
The first to greet them was Vivian. Just as she had said, she hadn’t gone outside and had remained here the entire time.
“Unnie!”
Lee Sia waved with a bright expression, and Vivian gave a rough nod in return.
“Where’s the old man?”
“He hasn’t come back yet.”
“When did he leave?”
“A little after you two left. He’ll probably return soon.”
Lee Sia didn’t particularly care. She brushed the answer off and latched onto Vivian’s side, chattering about everything that had happened outside.
“So America is a total mess right now, apparently.”
“Is that so?”
In the meantime Kang Mu-hyun and his companions also returned to the Tower. They were exchanging greetings and catching up when—
Fwaaaaaah—!
A stone pillar shone with light, and the person they had all been waiting for finally appeared.