Rank One

What exactly is a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠virgin ghost?

In the original sense of the word, it refers to an adult woman who died unmarried, consumed by bitter resentment, and returned as a spirit.

Which made it a rather poor fit for a sixteen-year-old kid.

"Um… Miss Oksun?"

"The Summoner is this maiden's clear superior. Please address this one simply as Oksun."

"Right. Okay."

Being an old-fashioned sort, her excessive formality was a little overwhelming, but I pressed on anyway.

"Oksun, I always thought virgin ghosts were women of marriageable age…"

"That is so."

"Isn't sixteen a bit young for that?"

I did my best to ask, as delicately as possible, why a virgin ghost would be so young. It wasn't information I strictly needed — but honestly, I was dying of curiosity.

As if she'd read my intent, Oksun answered with a bright smile.

"In the Joseon era this maiden lived in, one was considered an adult at sixteen so long as the coming-of-age ceremony had been performed."

"Ah. That makes sense."

The reason was simpler than I'd expected. In her time, adulthood wasn't defined by turning nineteen — only by completing the coming-of-age rites. Well, of course there would be cultural differences between Joseon and the modern day.

I still had plenty of other questions, and I was just about to open my mouth again when a skill window popped up unbidden.

Whether by coincidence or design, the extra information had appeared at the perfect moment. I had no reason to refuse, so I hit accept.

The moment the status window opened, Oksun's entire life flashed through my mind like a rush of déjà vu.

The scene of a little girl who could see ghosts becoming a shaman. The scene of her smiling brightly through painted makeup at her coming-of-age ceremony. And finally, the scene of her dying mid-exorcism, forced into an impossible rite by an unjust royal command.

…Not exactly a cheerful set of memories.

Once her death played out, no further images came, and a dull ache settled in my chest. To die so young, so unfairly, at only sixteen — and yet she still smiled so brightly. It made her seem both admirable and heartbreaking.

"…? Is there something further you wish to know?"

"No. Let's do well together, Oksun."

Offering empty pity to someone smiling so bravely felt like an insult, so I simply asked her to take care of me.

Ah — come to think of it, I'd never properly looked at Yeonbi's information either. Since I'd already checked Oksun's, I pulled up Yeonbi's status window as well.

Scene after scene flooded my mind. Her casually incinerating entire mountains for fun during training. Clouds splitting apart at the mere twitch of her toe. Compared to Oksun's past, it was shocking in an entirely different way.

"Hah! Summoner! Your complexion has gone quite pale!"

"Is something the matter?"

So a genuine monster had been living in my house this whole time.

My hands were trembling before I even realized it, but I forced myself to stay calm.

"Haha. We've got a new family member now, so how about we climb the Tower again?"

Please only use that strength inside the Tower, Yeonbi. Seriously. This place has monthly rent.

"Ugh, dusty."

The new floor of the Tower opened onto a vast, sprawling plain. A peaceful vista of stars glittering brightly across the night sky — or it would have been, if not for all the skulls standing on it.

"Whoa… how many of them are there?"

A skeleton horde wasn't just bare bones, either. Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Archers — elite variants of every kind packed the plain in a dense swarm. Even at a rough count, there had to be over five hundred of them. I still wasn't particularly worried.

"Will this take long?"

"As if it would."

"This maiden shall do her utmost!"

The two formidable women standing at my sides stepped forward. Huh. Having them flank me like this almost made me feel like a kept man.

"All heavenly gods and myriad spirits, sun and moon and stars, every divine being — descend upon us!"

Oksun moved first. Chanting an incomprehensible incantation, she fluttered her sleeves in sweeping arcs, and blue energy began peeling free from the skeletons. One by one, the approaching undead toppled over with soft thuds and vanished.

"Summoner! Please step back behind this maiden!"

The way she flapped her arms nonstop was adorable, and she was steadily whittling down the enemy numbers.

…Though honestly, it barely mattered.

KRA-BOOM!!

Yeonbi flicked her fingers and lobbed a single fireball. Every skeleton in the vicinity exploded.

Oksun, flapping away with all her might, had managed twenty-three skeletons. Yeonbi had taken out over four hundred with one casual click.

"Uh…?"

She froze mid-flap and stared at me in utter desolation. I felt bad for her, but there was nothing to be done about it.

"Huhu. Once again, Yeo has established her prestige!"

"Oh, absolutely. Absolutely."

In this world, the number of stars is everything.

Just like after clearing Floor 1, I was returned straight to my studio apartment the moment the floor was done. There was one difference this time, though.

"This maiden could have done well too!"

"Then you should have been faster. Watching you nearly made Yeo burst with frustration."

"Uuuu…"

My summons hadn't been dismissed. Whether it was because this was Floor 2, or because I had more of them now, I couldn't say — but the two of them had settled right into my apartment.

"Incidentally, Summoner. Might there be any leftover provisions? Yeo grows somewhat hungry."

"Oh, should I make some food?"

I hadn't realized it, but summons apparently still had basic needs — sleep, appetite, the works. Well, they were living beings in the end, so it made sense.

I was about to get up and boil some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ramen for her when Oksun suddenly exploded in indignation.

"Ahem! How dare you assign such menial tasks to the Summoner!"

"No, I'm fine with it, really…"

"Absolutely not. Such a thing must never be. This maiden shall prepare the meal herself."

Virgin ghost or not, she wasn't translucent and she could exert physical force just fine — so she rolled up her sleeves and marched straight into the kitchen.

"But where might the cooking hearth be?"

"…I'll just order delivery."

I opened the delivery app on my phone and ordered fried chicken. When the delivery driver walked up to our door and Yeonbi nearly incinerated him as an intruder, I decided to quietly let that particular mistake slide.

"Hoh. So they deliver meals right to one's doorstep. You must come from quite a well-to-do household."

"Most admirable, Summoner!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just eat well and get some rest."

My summons tore into the chicken with gusto, no doubt still riding the high of clearing the Tower. Listening to them gush about how it was the finest food under heaven, better even than royal cuisine, I collapsed onto my mattress.

I was just as exhausted from the climb as they were.

Honestly, I didn't do anything myself, but it still took a mental toll.

My summons had handled the entire clear, yet the fatigue had piled up all the same. I figured I'd take a long-overdue nap, and the moment I shut my eyes, a status window rudely shoved itself into view.

"…Ah. The new difficulty."

So the Extreme Tower — that new difficulty I'd checked before — was finally normalizing. Rankings for challengers, detailed clear guides, the whole package, just like every other Tower.

As for the nickname… I always agonized over these things.

"Ah, whatever. I'll just use my usual game handle."

My gaming nickname had always been Shooting Star. Nothing grand about it — just a nickname my friends had given me back in school. My name was Yuseong, so they'd teased me by linking it to that famous ice cream brand. I had no particular objection to it, so I set it as Shooting Star.

"Nickname set: Shooting Star."

"Oh, so they have this too."

In other Towers, the challenger rankings were treated as the root of all flame wars. I was apparently one of the early frontrunners myself, so I looked at the status window with a quiet flicker of anticipation.

"…? What rank am I?"

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, certain I'd misread it. My record was far higher than expected — no, the gap between me and every other hunter was overwhelming.

I'd figured it would be tough since it was supposedly harder than Hard difficulty, but second place was nineteen hours?

My head was still spinning with disbelief when my phone started buzzing with notifications.

"…You've got to be kidding me."

I was twenty-five years old.

And I had just become the number one hunter in the world.