Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Director - 2
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I returned to the inn with Seo Ji-woo.
"Earthbound Spirit. Who's this adventurer? Their outfit is quite unique."
"Someone I... know. They have some business here for a bit."
"Lately, it feels like I'm seeing a lot of new faces. This one isn't planning to settle down here too, right? At this rate, your nickname 'Earthbound Spirit' might lose its charm."
"That sounds like good news to me, Raymond."
Thinking about it, I'm not the only adventurer hanging around the first floor anymore. Doesn't the nickname 'Earthbound Spirit' feel a bit unoriginal now?
...I'll save these pointless worries for later.
"If you need a room to stay in, don't hesitate—just say the word. This is the best inn in the village, after all."
"......"
"Haha, you're the quiet type, I see."
Raymond scratched the back of his head awkwardly at the complete lack of response.
There's only one inn in the village, so claiming it's the best is logically true.
Was it the lame joke, or did Seo Ji-woo simply see no need for conversation?
They didn't even glance at Raymond.
"So, where's Sua's room?"
Unlike me, who wakes up relatively early and wanders around the village, Sua is still sound asleep, fully enjoying her late morning.
Considering the hectic workload she's handled as guild master all these years, it's understandable for her to lounge around lazily for a few days post-retirement.
Serving as the guild's public face as an adventurer must have built up considerable mental fatigue too.
Perhaps learning the tower's height allowed her to easily shed the burdens weighing on her shoulders.
Lately, Sua has been living with the bare minimum of adventurer activity.
She always trailed behind me whenever I went to pick up requests from Ellie, and she'd 'coincidentally' bump into me at the same restaurant right at mealtimes.
I often spotted her buying snacks at shops, but I never saw her chatting with the other villagers.
Even slime hunting seemed more like an excuse to tag along with my routine than for the rewards—she showed no effort toward other quests.
Her eat-and-sleep lifestyle has no issues, though.
Just the money she's hoarded would sustain a life of leisure for decades.
If she dumped it all into the village economy, it might warp things in a bad direction.
She seemed to be rolling around excessively, but since she was genuinely enjoying her rest, I saw no reason to interfere.
Now that the interferer has come down to the first floor themselves, though, there's nothing I can do.
"This way. It's right next to mine."
"Still sleeping?"
"Should I knock on the door—"
- Thud thud thud!
Seo Ji-woo pounded the door with their fist before I could finish.
"The door's gonna break. Go easy."
Rustling sounds came from inside, as if Sua had woken from the creaking door noise.
But the door stayed firmly shut, and the squirming under the blankets soon quieted.
"Looks like they're still in bed. Should we just go in?"
"You think that'll fly? We're already filming with a camera—now add breaking and entering?"
"We're acquaintances. What's the harm?"
Any more knocking, and we'd hear the innkeeper weeping, so I opted for another approach.
She seemed awake, so just jolt her mind into gear.
Nothing fancy—calling her name directly should get a reaction.
"Sua!"
"Ungh..."
"Get up, Park Sua!"
"Eh...? Huh?"
She was definitely awake now—sounds stirred from inside the room.
Bumping into the floor, tumbling off the bed—crashing noises followed.
"Wh-what? What's going on? What's happening?"
"Come out for a sec."
"N-now? I just woke up..."
The sounds grew more frantic.
Frantic footsteps joined in.
"Wait a minute! Give me 30 minutes—no, 40!"
Sua clearly wasn't coming out right away.
Maybe I should've led with 'the director's here,' but then she might've faked sleep or refused to open up.
"Where're you going?"
"To stand here for 40 minutes in front of the door?"
I stopped by the potion shop and downed a red potion.
It had a sweet taste, like strawberries and cherries blended halfway.
Nothing better to ease a 40-minute wait.
Seo Ji-woo, camera rolling under the guise of monitoring me, ordered the same potion as mine.
They drained the cup faster than me—must've suited their taste.
Normally, we'd chat midway while sipping across the table, but right now, only slurping straw noises filled the air.
Forty minutes later, we returned to Sua's room.
The door swung open, revealing Sua.
She'd somehow finished getting ready and even donned adventurer gear in the scant time, but her hair was slightly disheveled from the rush.
"Sorry! Kept you waiting lon— ...?"
Sua's face drained of color in an instant.
After a few eye locks with Seo Ji-woo—
"Kyaa!"
- Bang!
She shrieked and slammed the door shut again.
Should've told her the director was here from the start.
"I didn't see that wrong, did I? Right?"
"You saw right. Open the door, Park Sua."
"Why are you here!"
"Open it. Counting to three."
Seo Ji-woo's cold baritone pressed down on Sua.
- Creak
She flung it open herself in fright, before the count even started.
"How'd you know I was on the first floor...?"
"Haa..."
Sua glanced nervously at Seo Ji-woo, her voice shrinking.
The response? A sigh, followed by a fist.
"Come here."
"Spare me! I was wrong!"
"You won't die here anyway. Just enough to snap you out of it."
The punches carried clear emotion, but mercifully no real force.
I recalled Seo Ji-woo wasn't particularly combat-strong among adventurers, yet Sua couldn't budge against her—puzzling.
"One word! If you'd notified before leaving! What am I supposed to do as director!"
Each stressed syllable landed with rhythmic punches.
"I was wrong! I get it! Stop!"
"It was your idea from the start! After all the effort raising you, this is your repayment?"
Sua shot me a look of pure resentment.
"You jerk! You should've covered for me! How could you just blab my location!"
"That's why I asked if you could handle it..."
A director losing their lead wouldn't stay calm.
"Cut the nonsense and reverse your retirement."
"I've already handed over the guild master spot..."
"No guild member would object to you returning. Few even know you bailed on your own—if you go back now, it's like nothing happened."
The director was desperate.
Even if not perfect substitutes, there were options for footage, yet they refused to accept Sua's exit.
"No."
"What?"
"I've changed my mind. I don't want to be in your videos anymore. Don't want to climb the tower either."
Adventurers entering the tower face similar environments, but their core drives differ subtly.
The Sword Saint's goal differed from mine. Thus, true cooperation proved impossible.
Rien's goal differed from mine. Thus, she didn't hesitate to climb after seeing my records.
Sua shared my purpose.
Our drive to see the end fueled us both.
I lost mine confronting it head-on; she lost hers realizing its impossibility through me.
Same goal yields the same conclusion in the same tower.
Gave up after a mere 60 floors?
—We didn't share that thought.
Sua might seem shortsighted at times, but she's an adventurer with unmatched insight.
Her actions across countless loops climbing together, plus her current fame, prove it.
You sense the difficulty spike per floor.
Reaching 60 demanded immense effort—yet hundreds more, even harder, lie ahead.
As 'guild master,' command a massive force; as 'Amelia,' stand stern and confident before the masses.
Above all, as 'adventurer,' conquer the next floor amid constant death threats.
Imagine that stress dragging on for centuries, millennia.
No way original purpose reignites motivation to climb.
Then what of adventurers like Rien, who climb despite knowing?
Simply: seeing the end isn't their goal.
The process en route fulfills theirs.
Seo Ji-woo knows of regressions—unclear on tower height—but they'd never stop climbing, even knowing.
"If you vanish on your whim, skip the videos—what'll people think!"
"They'll figure I quit or died. Such a big deal?"
"Massive. The idol sparking their envy vanishes."
The director's videos capture first clears exclusively.
No already-conquered floors—known content draws low views.
If pure views were the aim, filming failures for shock value would've been more effective.
The director never did.
"Remember? When we entered the tower, we were all reality escapees. But now?"
Abandon viable realities to enter the tower.
Like VR game or manga protagonists.
But if top star Amelia vanishes?
Died or quit—either spells trouble.
"Even that powerhouse, guild rep, faces death."
Or: "Tower climbing's so grueling, even elites bail."
"Such reactions kill the envy. They'll pity us escapees entering the tower."
Seo Ji-woo climbs the tower
to film adventurers growing, achieving.
Capture romantic moments, make everyone aspire to adventure.
"My camera tracked you to 60 floors nonstop—I made you the tower's star—and now 'no thanks'?"
In a word: they wanted to pretend thriving in the tower.