A Ten-Minute Clear
Rewards are being distributed.
Another reward?
"Ah!"
The first one was for the achievement.
The next was for leveling up.
Is this one the clear reward?
Flash!
A brilliant light flashed before my eyes.
Thud!
Something dropped from the fading light.
Platinum.
Isn't that the best tier?
Since the order goes bronze, silver, gold, then platinum.
Click!
Grinning, I popped the platinum chest open.
Instantly, the metallic scent of blood wafted out.
"Huh?"
It was a ring.
A blood-red ring that writhed as if it were alive.
◈ Effect: Restores vitality upon killing a living creature.
Another one?!
Wow, what is this...
Is it telling me to go on a crazy killing spree?
Every skill and item I get is so bloody. Absolutely brutal.
Well, not that I'm complaining!
Having just high stats felt a bit lacking, but now I have vitality recovery to back it up!
"Praise the Heavenly Slaughter Star! Thank you!"
I slipped the ring on immediately.
The ring, which felt warm to the touch, fit my middle finger perfectly.
Now then.
Shall we head back to Earth?
"Ugh!"
No matter how many times I did this, I didn't think I'd ever get used to the sensation.
Still, at least the motion sickness wasn't as bad as before.
I gathered my senses and looked around.
I was back at the Tower Entry Station.
Across from me, a government official stood with a look of sheer shock on his face.
"Y-You're back already...?"
"Pardon?"
"You've returned already?"
"Ah, yes."
Is there a problem?
Why is he so surprised?
I turned my head to check the time.
Only ten minutes have passed.
Thirty days in the Hide-and-Seek Map equated to one day in the real world.
However, I had cleared the map in less than five hours.
Thus, only ten minutes had elapsed in reality.
Even for a normal map, ten minutes was an incredibly short time.
No wonder he was staring at me like that.
"C-Congratulations on your safe return!"
The official, finally snapping out of it, helped me up.
"Thank you."
I gave a brief smile and stood up.
"Are you experiencing any discomfort...?"
"None at all!"
Did I answer too cheerfully?
The official's expression grew even stranger.
He glanced back at the entry station chair, as if checking to see if something was wrong with it.
I really am perfectly fine, though...
Well, I suppose it made sense.
I had cleared a map with a maximum time limit of a month in less than a day.
It was bound to look suspicious.
"We will begin with a status check first."
"Got it!"
I followed the official to the designated area.
It was a facility designed to check the physical and mental state of returned hunters.
"Beginning the examination."
Physically, I was perfectly fine.
Aside from my clothes being a bit of a mess, I didn't have a single scratch on me.
However, they checked me thoroughly just in case of internal injuries, before moving on to the mental evaluation.
Naturally, the result was...
"...Mental state: normal."
Of course it's normal.
I'm actually in a pretty great mood right now!
"Thank you for your hard work."
I grinned, gave a polite nod, and walked out.
I could have sworn the official shivered slightly, but it was probably just my imagination.
I even gave him my nicest smile...
Next was the debriefing session.
Hunters returning from the Tower were required to report any information they had gathered inside.
This was to compile data on the Tower so that other hunters could benefit from it.
"Could it be some kind of system error?"
"No, he definitely entered the Tower for ten minutes."
"Hmm..."
"Well, let's begin the recording."
Even though I had returned in just ten minutes, I was no exception to the rule.
The standard questions went as follows:
Did my level increase?
What kind of map was it?
What monsters appeared?
Did I encounter any other races, and were they friendly?
I laid out everything that had happened in the Hide-and-Seek Map without holding back.
"H-Hide-and-seek?"
"And you've returned already?"
First of all, the officials were utterly dumbfounded by the mere fact that I had entered the Hide-and-Seek Map.
"The fastest clear time for the Hide-and-Seek Map is seventeen hours."
"And that was only possible because they barely managed to find the exit."
"If you can't find the exit, it takes at least twenty-four hours."
"Are you sure it was the Hide-and-Seek Map?"
Seventeen hours.
So about three weeks inside?
Ugh, staying there for three weeks?
There was nothing to do, and it was incredibly boring.
"It was, though..."
The officials stared at me with bewildered expressions.
Then, a middle-aged man whispered to the other official who was tapping away on a tablet.
"Is that even possible?"
"Well, Lee Taepyeong did clear the tutorial with exceptionally high marks, but..."
"Still..."
"Is this even physically possible, Team Leader?"
"He even reached level 10."
"On average, it takes clearing a map at least five times just to level up once."
"I know that. That's why I'm asking."
"What should we do?"
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
What was I supposed to do when it was all true?
I had no reason to lie.
The two officials whispered to each other for a long time before turning back to me.
"Understood."
"Am I done?"
"...Yes. For now, you may head back."
Oh, the atmosphere felt pretty heavy, but they're just letting me go?
Works for me.
No matter how quickly I returned, it's human nature to want to rest after working.
"Then, I'll be off!"
I gave a bright farewell and dashed back to my quarters faster than the Sullae running for its life.
The first thing I did upon returning to my room was...
"Yaaawn..."
...take a nap.
I slept so deeply that the pillow left marks on my face.
Waking up after a long, lazy sleep felt amazing.
"Huuuup!"
I stretched and got out of bed.
Life was good!
Perhaps because I had returned so quickly, there was still plenty of time left in the day despite my long nap.
Growl.
Man, did I sleep too much?
I'm already hungry.
It's almost dinner time anyway.
Should I head down early before it gets crowded?
I quickly changed my clothes and stepped out of the room.
"Hehehe."
The walk to the cafeteria was always a joyful one.
I must have been the very first person to arrive for dinner, as the cafeteria was completely empty.
That was actually better.
I was going to feast to celebrate my return!
I quickly grabbed a plate and scanned the buffet.
Oh! They had steamed king crab and lobster!
They definitely weren't here this morning!
I piled two plates high with king crab and lobster, then set them down at a table first.
Next, I gathered thick slices of red sea bream sashimi, sweet shrimp sashimi, rich salmon sashimi, and chewy tuna sashimi.
I grabbed plenty of raw fish, along with a mountain of sushi!
Since I was eating crab, I grabbed a bunch of tamago sushi to pair with it.
Mmh.
It would be a crime to leave out meat.
I added perfectly grilled lamb chops and ribeye steak to my haul.
By the time I finished carrying the plates over, I had filled the entire table by myself.
Haha.
This was why eating alone was the best.
I got to use the whole table!
I began my solo mukbang, snapping on plastic gloves on both hands.
Crack! Snap!
The sound of snapping king crab legs was music to my ears.
As I cracked them open, I was suddenly reminded of the Sullae.
Would that guy turn red like this if I boiled him?
Chew, chew.
Wow.
The meat is so tender and sweet.
It literally melts in my mouth!
Chomp, chomp!
The lobster tasted completely different from the king crab.
The meat was much firmer and springier.
Oh, this was delicious.
It was going down so easily.
Gulp!
In between bites, I peeled the crab meat and placed it on top of the tamago sushi.
"Mmmph!"
Talk about a luxurious piece of egg sushi.
Placing the lobster meat on top of the shrimp sushi was also an absolute game-changer.
The sashimi was incredibly fresh too.
Even though I wasn't much of a drinker, I found myself craving a cold one.
"Phew."
Now that I had filled up on the lighter items, it was time to coat my stomach with some grease.
I didn't even bother cutting the lamb chops, choosing to rip the meat off the bone with my teeth.
The meat was so tender it practically fell off.
Mint sauce?
Definitely not my thing.
The grilled ribeye was delicious with just a pinch of salt.
Ah.
Eating all this made me crave white rice.
Not sushi rice, but plain white rice.
"Ah, I need some rice."
I stood up and went on another hunting trip to the buffet.
I returned with a bowl of white rice and hot beef seaweed soup.
"This is killer."
Not literally killer, of course.
I began to eat.
Wow, this really was killer.
I meant the taste, obviously.
The taste was to die for.
"Whew, I'm stuffed."
My appetite had definitely grown.
It felt like my stomach expanded every time I returned from the Tower.
Maybe I should pivot to becoming a mukbang streamer once I made some money?
Hahaha.
In any case, the food here was fantastic.
Hunter welfare was truly top-tier!
Come to think of it, I didn't really do much today.
In real-world time, I returned in ten minutes, and I spent way more time napping.
Hmm...
It's not like I got hurt anyway.
"Maybe I should just head back into the Tower tomorrow?"
I'm already level 10.
Should I just go for it?
"Hehehe..."
Well, there was no rush.
I'd get some good rest today and think about it tomorrow.
"...Is he out of his mind?"
Watching the elevator CCTV feed, the Team Leader of the Information Analysis Department couldn't help but let out a sigh.
The subject of his exasperation was none other than Lee Taepyeong, who had recently been registered as a high-priority individual.
What?
Maybe I should just head back into the Tower tomorrow?
Anyone listening would think he was talking about going to an amusement park.
The kid had balls of steel.
Actually, they were so big they were practically dragging on the floor.
No, he wondered if the kid even had a sense of fear at all!
"Going back to the Tower already..."
The official standing next to the Team Leader muttered in disbelief.
"He's a lunatic."
The Team Leader clicked his tongue.
He had already heard about him from the Talent Management Department.
He knew the kid was impressive, but he hadn't realized he was completely unhinged.
Of course, there were hunters who loved entering the Tower.
The so-called "Conqueror" faction.
The type of people who felt a sense of accomplishment just from clearing the Tower.
The 'Butcher', Ban Haeyeong, was a prime example.
But Lee Taepyeong didn't belong to that faction.
Rather than seeking accomplishment, his attitude seemed to stem purely from... finding it 'fun'.
Furthermore, no matter how obsessed a Conqueror was, no one was crazy enough to go back into the Tower just a day after returning.
For a hunter, proper rest was paramount.
The moment exhaustion set in, mistakes would happen.
And the moment a mistake was made, death followed.
That was the law of the Tower.
Those who ignored this rule and grew arrogant were eventually swallowed whole by the Tower.
But... what if he wasn't 'ignoring' it?
What if...
Lee Taepyeong was genuinely, purely enjoying himself?
"..."
Feeling a sudden chill run down his spine, the Team Leader looked over Lee Taepyeong's debriefing report once more.
Map: Hide-and-Seek
Target: Sullae (Killed)
Physical Damage: None
Mental Damage: None
Level: Increased to 10
Clear Time: 10 minutes (Real-world time)
"How is this even possible?"
A rookie who had just finished the tutorial and entered the Tower for the first time?
Of course, ten minutes in reality equated to roughly five hours inside the Tower.
But even five hours made no sense.
At least, not by 'human' standards.
A brief silence fell over the Information Analysis Department.
"We need to verify the truth of this."
"I was just thinking the same thing."
"In that case..."
"Yes."
The Team Leader raised his head, his glasses glinting in the light.
"Bring in the lie detector."
"..."
"Summon him."
"Understood."