First Steps Together
"Mr. Lee Taepyeong, you are!"
The instructor's finger pointed directly at me.
"A truly outstanding hunter."
"Huh? I'm only level 10..."
The instructor smirked, looking as if he already knew everything.
"You are someone far greater than that."
Is... is that so?
"I've heard the rumors, of course."
"..."
"But I'm not just talking about that."
"Pardon? Then..."
"Do you know how many people I've seen while doing this job?"
"Uh..."
"I might not be a hunter myself, but my eye for people is incredibly accurate."
"Ah..."
"The attentiveness and diligence to attend even a basic lecture like this, which everyone else dismisses as trivial!"
Is... is that so? I only took it because I had time to kill...
"Just looking at that tells me exactly what kind of person you are, Mr. Lee Taepyeong."
Should I thank him for thinking so highly of me? While I hesitated, the instructor spoke again.
"However, the most important thing for a hunter is safety."
Safety...
That was true. Nothing mattered unless you were alive.
"Climbing the tower safely together with other hunters..."
Together...
"Making more money."
Money.
"Dating, too."
Dating?
"And starting a family."
A family?!
"Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"..."
Hmm. He was right. Not a single word was wrong. Though they were things that felt so distant I had never seriously considered them.
"...Well, I suppose so."
"Going solo is fine, but if you work together, you'll gain that much more."
"..."
"Please, keep my words in mind."
With that, the class ended. On my way back to the dormitory.
Dating...
Dating someone, huh...
Making money, too...
Family...
A family...
These were things I had never really thought about. Until now, I had been too busy just trying to survive on my own. A family was something I couldn't afford to have. Dating was out of the question.
Money? I earned it just to keep myself fed and clothed. I earned it to survive. Earning money for a happy life? I had never even dreamed of such a thing.
It was only natural. I was an orphan. I had spent my entire life just scraping by. Since graduating high school, I hadn't really had anyone I could call a friend. And someone like me was going to join a party?
"..."
I had to enter the tower anyway. Thanks to the Heavenly Slaughter Star, I might be able to get by easily for the time being. But for how long?
The higher you climb the tower, and the higher your level, a party becomes essential. The top hunters right now? None of them climb alone. They all climb in fixed parties. What did that mean? Simply put... you couldn't survive alone.
Of course, I had the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Star. But I still didn't fully understand that power. Which meant I wasn't invincible.
In that case, there was no reason to go out of my way to avoid parties. I could just explain the Heavenly Slaughter Star well enough. I might look crazy, but I'm not actually insane or in a state of chaos, so don't worry. Ahem.
Besides, wouldn't the government officials help me with the things I couldn't handle? They were the ones matching people up when they applied for parties anyway. What was there to agonize over? It wasn't like I had anything to lose.
"Alright."
Party play. Let's give it a shot. It's all experience, right?
Ding!
The elevator stopped.
Hmm. In the past, I would have agonized over this for a whole day. To make a decision in the time it took to ride an elevator... Was my trait changing my personality too? Well, I liked being decisive.
"Ah, I don't feel like going back out."
Today, instead of going to the cafeteria, I'd order chicken and pizza. Play some games, too! After a good rest, I'd submit a party request.
"...A party request has come in!"
"Whoa!"
The government officials stopped what they were doing and swarmed around. An application form was displayed right in the middle of the screen. It was the party request of Lee Taepyeong, the rookie who was currently the bureau's top person of interest.
"Thank goodness. I was worried he'd only apply for solo runs."
"Indeed. Doesn't seem like he's the lone wolf type."
"You never know. If he doesn't like the party, he might crawl back into solo play and stay there."
"To prevent that, we have to match him well!"
"That won't be an issue. We've already selected the candidates."
Indeed. Although Lee Taepyeong had never submitted a party request before, his potential party members were already prepared. Their skills matched, their compatibility was good, and even their personalities were taken into account.
Honestly, this was excessive treatment for a hunter who had just reached level 10. But Lee Taepyeong was no ordinary level 10 hunter. He was a super rookie who, if nurtured properly, could be matched with top-tier hunters. After all, he possessed the Heavenly Slaughter Star trait.
"Then let's contact the candidates and arrange a meeting for tomorrow."
The bureau began to move busily, all thanks to Lee Taepyeong, who was about to embark on his first party play.
I received a call early in the morning. They said a party had been matched. Normally, it was supposed to take at least two days to coordinate schedules and everything. So soon?
"Yawn..."
I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Since I was meeting people, I should at least take a shower.
When I arrived at the designated location, four people, including a government official, were waiting for me.
"Hello. I'm Lee Taepyeong!"
First impressions are crucial. And what is the most important part of a first impression? The greeting.
"Hello."
"...Hello."
"Greetings."
Two women and one man. The official briefly introduced everyone.
"I'm Cha Yerin. Nice to meet you."
She was a woman with a somewhat stiff impression. Age 24. A tank. Apparently, she became a hunter to buy a cure from the dungeon shop for her terminally ill younger sister. Her current level was 16. She had a decent amount of dungeon experience, meaning she wasn't the type of hunter to run away after climbing the tower once or twice.
"You look like a nice person. I'm Yu Inseok."
He was a plain-looking man wearing glasses. Age 26. A healer. He used to be an ordinary office worker, but after losing everything in a bad crypto investment, he became a hunter to make money. Like me, he was aiming for debt exemption. Of course, his case was crypto and mine was rental fraud, so our situations were different. In any case, he seemed to have luckily obtained a healer trait and was working hard to earn money. His current level was 14. While not as experienced as the tank, he also had a fair share of dungeon experience.
"I'm Kang Dagyeong. You can just call me Noona."
She was a woman who looked older than me. Age 34. A supporter. As the instructor had mentioned, she was a hunter with the 'porter' trait. The unusual thing about her was that she was missing her left arm. Whether she was born without it or lost it in the tower, she was working as a hunter to restore it. Her current level was 12. Although she had the lowest level among the three, she had the most dungeon experience.
If there was one thing these seemingly very different people had in common, it was desperation. Everyone had a tragic story. Ah, myself included, of course!
"I'm Lee Taepyeong."
Now it was my turn.
"I started working as a hunter because of rental fraud."
"Rental fraud?"
"Wow..."
"Scumbags."
Every hunter had their own reasons. Since very few people started this job because they actually wanted to, everyone seemed to sympathize.
"I just reached level 10. I still have a lot to learn, so I hope you can help me out."
I bowed. When you don't know how to wrap things up, just bow.
Clap, clap, clap.
They clapped as if welcoming a new recruit. How embarrassing. After finishing our brief self-introductions and listening to the explanation of the party, we all had lunch together since it was lunchtime.
"Taepyeong, do you know anything about crypto?"
"Ah, I don't really know much about crypto or stocks."
"Really? That's a shame. Lately, there's this good one..."
Yu Inseok went on and on about crypto, but I tuned out half of it. I didn't know much about it, and I had no intention of doing it anyway.
"What do you mean, crypto? You can make plenty of money just by running the tower properly," Kang Dagyeong, the 'Noona', chimed in, causing Yu Inseok to scratch the back of his head.
"That's because we can't keep running the tower forever."
"If you bust your ass for just a year or two, you can live off that for the rest of your life. As long as you don't touch that crypto crap."
"Ah, but..."
"Hey. Are you missing an arm like me, or a leg?"
"Are we talking about that again?"
"A guy with all his limbs intact should earn money fair and square, buy a house, and prepare for marriage."
"Why do you keep telling me to get married? I have no intention of getting married, you know."
"Is that why you do crypto?"
"Ah, Noona!"
Perhaps because they had worked together a few times, Yu Inseok and Kang Dagyeong seemed quite close.
"Taepyeong, don't listen to Noona. Busting your ass for a year or two doesn't mean you can play and eat for the rest of your life. If you consider inflation..."
"Do you think Taepyeong would believe you, who lost your entire life savings to crypto, or me?"
"No, I told you, that was a market manipulation scheme! I was scammed!"
They bickered back and forth. Still, they didn't seem to have a bad relationship. I just smiled and ate my food.
And in front of me, there was one more person who was just eating in silence. Cha Yerin. She didn't say much. Her face looked a bit gloomy.
Crypto crashes, physical disabilities... Everyone had their own story, but Cha Yerin's story felt especially heavy. Money could be earned by working hard, and a lost arm could eventually be restored with a tower item.
But a family member suffering from an incurable disease was a different story. Of course, one could obtain a potion like an Elixir. It could be acquired as a tower reward, or purchased from the shop. Eventually, that is.
The problem was time. The probability of getting it as a tower reward was too low, since all rewards were random. The floors where the Elixir was guaranteed to appear were in the upper sections, making it unrealistic for the level 16 Cha Yerin to challenge them.
Then the only answer was the shop. But buying it from the shop wasn't easy either, as it required a massive amount of points. To gather enough points to purchase an Elixir, no matter how hard she climbed the tower... wouldn't it take at least five years?
As I said, the problem was time. Whether her terminally ill younger sister could hold out for five years was the question.
Of course, since Cha Yerin was climbing the tower for the country, the government would probably look after her to some extent... but they wouldn't just hand over an Elixir for a mere level 16 tank. The Elixir was an item reserved for high-level hunters.
In situations like this, one shouldn't offer careless words of comfort. It could end up hurting them instead. Especially for someone like me, who had no family... I couldn't possibly understand that pain. So, I just focused on my food.
"Did you enjoy your meal?"
It was the official we had met earlier. Under his guidance, we entered the entry station. It was a different space from the solo climbing area. There were four massage chair-like devices used for entry.
"How about a light run on the lower floors to test your teamwork?"
A lower floor run. When entering as a party, the map was assigned based on the party's average level. Cha Yerin, Yu Inseok, and Kang Dagyeong were in their mid-teens, but since I had just reached level 10, a map suited for roughly level 13 would be assigned.
It was slightly high for me, but I wasn't particularly worried. Cha Yerin's level was already 16. Yu Inseok was level 14, and Kang Dagyeong was level 12. It was a safe bet. That was exactly what this party was designed for.
"Sounds good."
Strike while the iron is hot. Since we met up to clear the tower anyway, the sooner we entered, the better it was for me!