The Cleaner's Shadow
The assessment wrapped up without further incident.
Having survived the unprecedented Hound assault, this batch of candidates had demonstrated far superior skills compared to previous groups.
In particular, Yeon Cheong and Jin Hong, along with a few others who had directly confronted the Hounds, left a strong impression on the Deliverymen.
“This time we have quite a few promising juniors.”
Lee Na-young spoke while adjusting the bandage on her wounded face.
As she noted, more people had passed than in previous assessments. Normally only seven or eight out of twenty would become apprentice Deliverymen, but this time ten out of fifteen had been accepted.
“It’s a good sign. More talent means a higher chance for humanity in the Tower to survive.”
At a time when applications for Deliveryman positions were declining, the high pass rate was an encouraging omen.
Bryce, also satisfied, looked over the lined-up candidates and spoke.
“Not bad. In fact, I’d say this is the best group I’ve seen.”
He could confidently claim this batch was the strongest he had evaluated as an examiner. The recent Hound attack had been a genuine combat situation—especially since it had been a surprise assault. Overcoming such a crisis without orders from the Deliverymen was highly commendable.
“At this level, we could deploy them right away, couldn’t we?”
Deliveryman Kang Tae-wan approached Bryce and asked quietly.
Lee Na-young shook her head.
“It’s still too soon. That was only combat experience, not experience outside the Tower.”
“Na-young is right. It’s still too early.”
No matter how short-handed the Deliverymen were, they could not send raw recruits outside immediately. That would be no different from ordering them to commit suicide. Knowing how to fight did not mean knowing how to survive in the field.
Even if Kang Tae-wan’s overwhelming strength gave him that mindset, any sensible senior would give the newcomers at least some training period. At minimum, they needed time to learn group tactics, navigation, and other skills before deployment. That was the surest way to preserve manpower.
“We still have some leeway. We can send them out in about a month.”
Bryce made a rough calculation. He factored in when food supplies would run out, what items needed to be retrieved before then, which dungeons to enter, and which routes to take.
“Even a month is short, though.”
Lee Na-young let out a long sigh. The period was indeed brief for throwing these recruits into life-or-death combat, but with the Deliverymen so understaffed, they had no choice but to accelerate their field experience.
“Applications keep dropping while the number of mouths to feed keeps rising. What a mess.”
Bryce shared her frustration. The Tower’s population was growing, yet fewer people were willing to become Deliverymen. Even the conscription efforts to fill the gaps were not going smoothly.
“Anyway, we should finish up.”
Bryce turned to Lee Na-young. After confirming her bandage was properly secured, he approached the lined-up apprentice Deliverymen.
“You all did well. From now on, you will be the finest workers feeding humanity inside the Tower!”
Jin Hong beamed with joy at his words, and the others cheered. Amid the excitement, Yeon Cheong gazed up at the Tower’s ceiling with a calm expression and muttered under his breath.
‘Now it really begins.’
[Tower of Trials 1st Floor Residential Zone]
“Cheong! Are you ready?”
“Yeah, just tying this up!”
Cheong was packing his belongings into a cloth bundle. He needed to move his things from the residential zone to the training facility, where they would be staying for the duration of their training.
With his knife tucked at his waist, Yeon Cheong picked up the bundle in one hand and spoke to Jin Hong.
“Done. We can head out now.”
Jin Hong nodded and dashed ahead.
“I told Chunja Halmae, and she was really happy about it.”
“Of course she was.”
Yeon Cheong followed after the cheerful Jin Hong. The first floor, sealed against dust and wind, was more pleasant than expected. Though humanity’s struggle to preserve civilization was evident, the smiles and conversations among the people carried a quiet warmth.
The unique atmosphere of the first floor welcomed them, signaling the start of something new.
“I’m so excited to see what the second floor is like.”
Jin Hong had never been to the second floor. Having been born and raised on the first, her curiosity was natural.
“It’s not much different from here.”
“Have you been there?”
For Yeon Cheong, the second floor was familiar territory—both during his time as a Cleaner and as a Deliveryman.
“I haven’t, but I can tell just by looking.”
“Liar. How would you know without seeing it?”
When Jin Hong puffed out her cheeks in protest, Yeon Cheong poked one and replied.
“Besides, we’re not going to the second floor anyway.”
“?”
“If we join a raid party, we’ll be going much higher than that.”
Jin Hong’s cheeks flushed the color of her name. Her eyes widened with excitement as she shouted.
“You’re right!”
“Exactly.”
Yeon Cheong gave a short reply. Once he had begun changing fate, there was no turning back. He possessed an artifact, loyal friends, and the connections he would forge ahead.
[Tower of Trials 1st Floor Military Zone — Training Facility]
Yeon Cheong sat in his room with his eyes closed, organizing his thoughts.
‘Will a month be enough?’
This was the grace period he had been given. He needed to regain control of his body and restore the senses he had possessed as a Cleaner through training.
‘I still can’t read presences in detail…’
The ability to predict every movement as if foreseeing the future was gone. Now he could only sense that someone “was there.”
“Still, it’s much better than right after the regression.”
By continuously focusing on presences and accumulating experience, he had improved considerably. When he first met Jin Hong after regressing, he hadn’t even been able to identify her. Now he could tell where she was and what she was doing.
‘Jin Hong is in the shower room right now?’
Showers inside the training facility were strictly limited to a set number per month. Water was too precious to waste. The thought of her using it made him oddly uneasy—if she used too much, she would have none left for the rest of the period.
His worry proved unfounded. She soon emerged from the shower room.
‘She just went to check it out. Typical.’
Like a curious puppy exploring every corner, Jin Hong was wandering around the facility. Because her presence felt so familiar, it frequently registered on Yeon Cheong’s mental radar. He felt a little guilty for essentially monitoring her every move, but she was the perfect practice partner for reading presences.
“…?”
Suddenly he opened his eyes wide.
“This is…”
A presence had flickered—vanishing and reappearing with the slightest movement. The strange sensation sent a chill down his spine.
“That wavering presence… only Cleaners have it.”
The Cleaner organization possessed a distinctive, subtle presence. Yeon Cheong had trained specifically to detect it.
The presence had just left the training facility and returned.
“Heading toward the Hounds.”
That was the area where the domestication experiments were being conducted. Yeon Cheong grabbed his knife and rushed out of the room.
A Cleaner entering and leaving the training facility had to have a reason. Those who moved on orders from above always brought death with them. This Cleaner had clearly infiltrated to kill someone.
“I had a feeling…”
Back then he hadn’t been able to suspect anything. He hadn’t awakened his martial arts yet, and he hadn’t known Cleaners even existed. Looking back now, the simultaneous release of the Hounds had been highly suspicious. The Deliverymen at the facility had suspected the same, but all evidence had already been erased, making it impossible to determine what had really happened.
‘So it was the Cleaners’ doing.’
Then and now. In the midst of this unresolved suspicion, the Cleaner’s presence had come and gone. That was enough to confirm it—the Hound attack had been orchestrated by this Cleaner.
Thud!
Yeon Cheong sprinted across the facility and burst outside, aiming to get ahead of the presence’s path. He steadied his breathing and scanned again.
“No one else nearby.”
At least there were no other presences in the immediate area.
“Something’s following behind.”
Along with the presence he had identified as a Cleaner, another was trailing after it.
“Another Hound?”
The Cleaner had once again released a Hound inside the training facility. Now that Yeon Cheong knew this was the same person responsible for the previous attack, all that remained was to extract information.
He picked up a hard stone nearby, assumed a stance, and waited.
Tap!
The moment the presence flickered and reappeared, Yeon Cheong hurled the stone with all his strength at the silhouette in his line of sight.
Thud!
The rock struck the man squarely on the temple, knocking the sand-colored figure to the ground. The Hound chasing him skidded to a halt, legs folding beneath it.
“Strike.”
The man glared up at him, blood streaming from the side of his head. Yeon Cheong drew his knife, meeting the man’s murderous gaze.
“Where do you think you’re running? I almost died because of you.”
“A kid?”
The man frowned and yanked the stone from his temple. The throw hadn’t gone deep, but it had carried enough force to threaten his life.
“Hound on your left.”
Yeon Cheong pointed at the Hound charging toward the man.
“This damn mutt!”
As the Hound bared its teeth at the man’s neck, he grabbed it by the scruff with one hand and hurled it straight at Yeon Cheong.
Crash!
The thrown Hound landed on top of Yeon Cheong and immediately opened its jaws, ready to tear into him. Still pinned beneath the beast, Yeon Cheong wore a calm expression as he drew his knife from his waist.
“I’m in a hurry, and I’m wasting time on this brat.”
The man assumed Yeon Cheong would die once the Hound pounced. But contrary to his expectations, Yeon Cheong’s voice reached his ears.
“Throwing a whole Hound? How crude.”
“!”
Yeon Cheong drove his knife into the Hound’s jaw and twisted it aside. Then he rose smoothly and addressed the man.
“You’re a Cleaner, right?”
“How did you…”
The man stared at Yeon Cheong in shock. Cleaners operated in the shadows, handling the dirty work for those above; they were not a widely known group. Hearing the word from the mouth of an unknown, handsome boy left him utterly bewildered.
Seeing that stunned reaction, Yeon Cheong smiled. To think he would encounter a Tower Cleaner here—and the very one who had indirectly caused Jin Hong’s death. He could only be grateful for the twist of fate the time artifact had granted him.
“You’re going to tell me everything. Why you did this.”