Gacha (1)

The chain effect triggered off the very first golem struck by Thunderbolt.

KRA-KAKAKAKAKAKAKAKOOM!

The emerald lightning spread out like a net, sweeping across all five golems at once.

Fwoosh—!

A wave of scorching heat rolled in, carrying the acrid stench of burnt stone. Every one of their surfaces had been seared pitch black.

And with it, a cascade of messages flickered to life before my eyes.

Crackle-crack, fizzzz!

Three of them had been caught in the Shock status, sparks bursting from their bodies uncontrollably. The remaining two couldn't even hold themselves upright — proof enough of just how much damage they had taken.

"Wh-what on earth…?"

Lee Naksu stared at me with naked disbelief.

Well, of course he did. A Level 3 Ascender had just knocked five Level 10 hidden bosses into a stunned state with a single spell.

Worse, Thunderbolt was lightning-aligned — the very element stone was weak against. By all rights, it should have dealt only trivial damage to stone-attribute golems no matter how hard I pushed it.

Which was probably why Han Gain, too, had stopped weeping somewhere along the way and now stood gaping with her mouth hanging open.

Aish, a fly's going to get in there.

I let a small smirk slip at their reactions and raised my hand again.

"Thunderbolt."

Another trunk of lightning burst forth.

KRA-KAKAKAKAKAKAKOOM!!

The cavern blazed emerald once more.

Two of the goblin statues had toppled to just two castings of Thunderbolt. Both had been the ones hit by back-to-back criticals.

Well done! Their cores must have burned away to nothing by now.

I chuckled at Ellaon's words and raised my hand once more.

"Thunderbolt."

KRA-KAKAKAKAKAKOOM!!!

Along with the emerald lightning blazing brilliantly a third time—

GOOOOOONG!

—I succeeded in bringing down every last goblin statue.

'Good heavens!'

The moment the final Goblin King golem collapsed, Han Gain clapped a hand over her mouth.

'Th-this isn't a dream, is it?'

She stared at the back of the man who had felled five hidden bosses at once with only three casts of Thunderbolt.

Was that man's back always this broad?

The once-skinny frame before her seemed, in that instant, wider than it had ever been.

'What kind of magic did he even use?'

Could he have learned a Mythic-grade Thunderbolt? Even if it were a Mythic skill, lightning was fundamentally opposed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stone — damage reduction should have been enormous. Which meant this man had to possess some trait that ignored elemental opposition altogether.

'He must have a trait that defies the laws themselves.'

The principles of elemental affinity and opposition were among the great laws of the Sky Tower. Surpassing those laws was impossible without a trait of 9-Star rank or higher.

'C-could this man be Unknown?'

Unknown — the one person she had been desperate to meet. A strong conviction was rising in her that Hajun might be exactly that. There was no concrete evidence. But her instincts were evidence enough.

"Kiii-eeek!"

While she was busy wondering whether Hajun was Unknown, the Treasure Goblin had been seized in his hand. It wore a pitifully wretched expression, begging for its life with every fiber of its being.

At the sight of it, all the tension left her in a rush. The knife-edge strain that had coiled her tight unraveled, and she collapsed back onto the ground before she knew it.

'Well — either way, we survived.'

The relief of being alive delivered a rush of dopamine more electric than any stimulus she had ever known. Through hazy eyes, she watched blankly as Hajun stripped the Treasure Goblin of its belongings.

'Whether he's Unknown or not, I need to stay close to him.'

Her instincts whispered to her again: that man had an extremely high chance of becoming one of the great Ascenders of the Sky Tower. She didn't want to miss the chance to forge a good connection.

'Is he affiliated with a clan? If not…'

How wonderful would it be to bring him into theirs? They could actively support Hajun so that he could rise to greatness in short order. Han Gain's eyes were sparkling like stars as she watched him.

"Hand over the rest. Anything else in there?"

"Kiiik, kiii-eeek!"

The Treasure Goblin, trapped in my grip, was weeping streams of tears and snot. I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠busy shaking it down for artifacts and gold coins.

'So this is why they call it a Treasure Goblin.'

I glanced to the side. A wave of gold was piled all the way up to my waist — gold coins, the currency of the Sky Tower, stacked in quantities like this.

With this much, I could probably even afford a home inside the Tower, couldn't I?

Real estate inside the Sky Tower was one of the most coveted assets in existence — more expensive than anything on Earth. I had never even dreamed of buying a home there; the very thought had been delusional.

'And thus the dream of owning my own home is reborn.'

Heh. The corners of my mouth twitched with uncontrollable joy.

- Remember that the Dispel Ring is worth far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more than any pile of gold.

I nodded at Ellaon's words. The very first thing I had snatched from the Treasure Goblin the moment I caught it had been this Dispel Ring.

'This one, I'm absolutely keeping for myself.'

She wouldn't actually ask for it back… would she? However generously she'd paid for the top-grade mana potions, it was I who had contributed decisively to destroying the hidden bosses. If Han Gain put her foot down and refused to part with the ring, a fight would be unavoidable.

'She seems enormously wealthy, so I doubt she'd go there. But human greed knows no bounds, does it?'

I'd better prepare for every possibility. In the worst case, I'd hand over all the gold — but the ring I would keep no matter what. And if the worst were avoided, I'd be taking at least half the coins as well.

I turned my head slightly to gauge Han Gain's reaction.

"Ah…"

And there she was — Han Gain, staring at me with a dazed look on her face.

"Mmm?"

The moment our eyes met, she startled violently and looked away.

Huh? What's with that reaction?

Fine. Let's just sort out the loot first.

"Anything else you've got?"

"Kiiik, kii-eek."

At my words, the Treasure Goblin held out the subspace pouch it had been clutching and shook its head side to side. I really have nothing left, it was saying.

'That pouch would be nice to have too.'

I smacked my lips at the sight of the subspace bag. Unfortunately, it was a Treasure Goblin-exclusive artifact — something no Ascender could ever obtain.

"If there's nothing left to hand over, then it's time to go."

"Kii, krrrrrk!"

Its face went pale. I already gave you everything, what more do you want? — that was the look.

But what could I do? A monster that meets an Ascender always meets the same end. Sending it off without pain was the greatest mercy I could offer.

KRA-KAKOOM—!

The emerald lightning flashed once, and the Treasure Goblin burned to ash.

Thud!

As it toppled backward, a rainbow-colored radiance poured out of the corpse.

Viiiieeeng!

A rainbow-hued cube rose above the Treasure Goblin's remains.

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

"Ah!"

"Th-the Jewel Cube!"

Han Gain and Lee Naksu, who had been staring at me blankly, gasped in unison.

The Jewel Cube. An item that dropped when certain monsters — Treasure Goblins, Mimics — were slain. The reason they were so shocked was simple.

'Because all sorts of rare items appear from a Jewel Cube at random.'

Legendary equipment, artifacts, skill cards — all of them emerged from exactly this kind of cube.

Kwaaaah.

The moment I grasped the Jewel Cube, the rainbow glow it had been pouring out subsided, and a message rose before my eyes.

Yes.

The word Legendary, gleaming in brilliant gold. My very first Legendary-grade item.

Just one week after ascending, I had now welcomed both a Mythic-grade and a Legendary-grade item — things most people could go a lifetime without ever laying eyes on. The only flaw was that, being from Floor 1, its rank was a mere 1-Star. But hey, it was still something.

Steadying my pounding heart, I turned to Han Gain and Lee Naksu.

"What should we do with this?"

In my heart of hearts, I wanted this one too. But having already resolved to claim the Dispel Ring, saying I'd also take the Jewel Cube felt like too much of a stretch.

"Ah!"

Han Gain snapped back to her senses at my words. She shot up from where she'd collapsed and, together with Lee Naksu, came close.

"So this is a Jewel Cube."

"I-I've never seen one before."

Apparently it was the first time either of them had laid eyes on one in person. Even the daughter of a chaebol family had found it hard to see a Jewel cube firsthand — proof of just how rare and precious the thing was.

'Alright then—'

Time to divide the loot.

What I had firmly decided to claim were the Dispel Ring and half the gold coins.

The Dispel Ring was Hero-grade. In practice, though, in any dungeon at Floor 5 or below, it carried an aura no different from a Legendary item.

Nullify magic skills!

Among the boss-grade monsters I'd be facing from here on, the moment one used a magic skill I couldn't handle, this ring would prove itself a genuine lifesaver.

- Take the Dispel Ring, without fail.

Even Ellaon had advised me to claim this Hero-grade ring that might as well have been Legendary. Which was exactly why I'd intended to argue firmly that this one should be mine. As for the gold — I hoped to pocket at least half. And the Jewel Cube… yeah. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't push my luck that far.

Having sorted out my thoughts, I spoke to the two of them.

"I'll take the Dispel Ring and half the gold, if that's all right."

"……?"

They exchanged puzzled looks at my words.

Huh? Why that reaction?

You're supposed to say yes if it's fine and no if it's not. Were they unhappy? Maybe they too had recognized the value of the Dispel Ring — which would mean they resented me claiming it.

Just as I opened my mouth again, Han Gain spoke first.

"Of course you should take all of it. As for saving our lives, I'll repay that separately once we're out of here."

At her words, Lee Naksu beside her nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Wait. Hold on.

Their reaction was nothing like what I'd expected.

'Don't tell me…'

Were they saying I should take everything that came out of the Treasure Goblin?

"Yes. Naturally."

Overjoyed, I nearly seized both of Han Gain's hands in mine.

Get a grip!! Have some respect, she's an elder!

But truly, if I hadn't been there in this hidden dungeon, they would without a doubt have been slaughtered to the last. So even if I'd insisted on taking all the loot, it wouldn't have violated any code of decency.

'Is this because they're from a major clan? Their generosity is on another level.'

For some reason, I could have sworn I saw a halo glowing behind Han Gain. I gave her a mental thumbs-up and glanced down at the Jewel Cube once more.

Jewel Cube (Legendary) (1-Star ★).

Ahh, gorgeous even on a second look.

What would come out of it, I wondered? Was there any way to use Sage's Sight when opening it? That way I might pull another Legendary or better.

Just as I was spinning every happy fantasy imaginable while staring at the cube, Han Gain suddenly lowered the mask covering the lower half of her face.

'Oh?'

Seeing Han Gain's bare face for the first time, I was startled — first, by the sheer beauty of her features, and second, because her face was strikingly familiar somehow.

'N-no way!'

I remembered. She was the scion of one of the Five Great Clans who'd recently been making waves as a super rookie!

As I blinked at her utterly unexpected identity, Han Gain covered her mouth with one hand and smiled. Then she suddenly asked me a question.

"By any chance — if the dungeon clears, do you have some free time?"