The Sever-Cut Combo

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"*Gasp!*"

Revived by the Resurrection Herb, Tenjin bolted upright.

"H-how...?"

Tenjin looked around, asking in disbelief.

"I used a Resurrection Herb," I replied nonchalantly.

Tenjin's face warped with shock.

"W-why would you use such a precious item on someone like me?!"

"...Because I had one?"

"Surely, that was an item that would have saved your own life in the future...!"

"Tenjin."

I looked him dead in the eye with a serious expression.

"In Korea, we have a saying: 'If you save it too long, it turns to shit.'"

"...Shit?"

"Yes. Shit."

"Shit..."

Tenjin looked utterly bewildered.

Well, whatever. The important thing was that he was alive.

Sure, it might have come in handy later, just as he said, but that didn't mean I had to hoard it now. Who knows? I might pull another one from a gacha box later.

Besides, the saying was true. Hoarding things only led to waste.

"Weilin, please heal Tenjin."

"Ah, yes..."

Out of all the Chinese hunters, only the healers Weilin and Tenjin had survived.

Weilin spat out glowing spider silk, wrapping Tenjin's wounds. The silk began to emit a soft light, accelerating his recovery.

"Is everyone else okay?" I asked, turning toward Choi Muryeong and the other Korean hunters.

They all nodded. Ban Haeyeong was already chugging a potion.

My condition wasn't too bad either, but I downed a recovery potion just in case.

*Click.*

I opened the special reward box, which was glowing with a rainbow hue.

With a brilliant flash of light, the item revealed itself.

It was a small, round, black object.

"What is this?"

For something that came out of a special reward box, it looked incredibly plain.

Huh? The description was surprisingly simple.

Still, seeing that it mentioned the danjeon...

This will be useful.

My danjeon was already active thanks to the Deep Sleep Socks.

*Gulp.*

Without hesitation, I swallowed the Heavenly Demon Inner Qi Pill.

Immediately, the flow of my energy pathways began to shift rapidly.

I fought through a sudden wave of dizziness and regulated my breathing. Slowly, my danjeon stabilized once more.

And then...

"Oh..."

With every breath in and out, energy surged into my danjeon.

At the same time, the murky darkness clinging to the floor began to dissolve into nothingness.

Whoa.

I felt like a human air purifier.

"Phew..."

I breathed slowly until all the surrounding impurities were completely gone.

As my danjeon filled to the brim with energy, my natural recovery rate shot up as well.

Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I would have saved that recovery potion!

"Talk about an eco-friendly skill."

I chuckled to myself.

The tower was practically overflowing with killing intent and impurities. With this, I had an infinite refill station for my energy!

The rewards for clearing a special floor really were something else.

It looked like the others had received pretty good rewards too. It made sense, given it was a special floor.

However, none of their items seemed to match the caliber of my Heavenly Demon Inner Qi Pill.

Was it because I got the last hit?

"Hunter-nim," a voice called out.

While I was busy testing my new human air purifier function, Tenjin, now fully recovered, approached me.

"Tenjin, are you feeling alright?"

"Thanks to you..."

Tenjin offered a faint smile.

He stared at me for a moment before presenting something with both hands.

It was a black wooden plaque inscribed with Chinese characters that I couldn't decipher.

Huh? This was an incredibly good item.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because it does not belong to me."

"What? Didn't this come from your reward box?"

"I am a man who has already died once. Therefore, it is only right that this goes to the one who saved my life."

"Still..."

"Please, accept it."

Tenjin bowed deeply.

Caught off guard, I took the wooden plaque from his hands.

"...Thank you, Tenjin."

Instead of answering, Tenjin simply smiled and turned away.

I slipped the Plaque of the Phoenix's Rebirth into my pocket.

*Ahem.* Well, if he's giving it to me, who am I to refuse? Might as well take it.

"Are you alright?"

Choi Muryeong, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward.

I nodded.

"Yeah. How about you?"

"I am fine."

For someone claiming to be fine, his clothes were torn to shreds, and he was covered in cuts and bruises.

Well, he did throw himself into the fray and take a beating, so it was only natural.

"Thanks for earlier," I said, scratching the back of my head.

To be honest, if it hadn't been for Choi Muryeong, the Heavenly Demon might have taken my head off right then and there. It wasn't an exaggeration to say I survived because he risked his life to block the attack.

"I only did what was necessary."

Choi Muryeong's response was remarkably humble. No boasting, no gloating.

Tsk. Is this the dignity of the world's number three?

"If not for you, we would have been wiped out."

"Ah, come on, don't exaggerate."

"It is no exaggeration."

He was so deadpan serious it was almost embarrassing.

"Therefore, I ask you to please reconsider."

"Reconsider what?"

"Climbing the Babel Tower with me..."

Before Choi Muryeong could finish his sentence, Ban Haeyeong shouted from afar.

"Hey! Aren't we leaving yet?"

Well, we had been lingering around for quite a while after opening the boxes.

"Looks like we should head out," I said.

"..."

Choi Muryeong's face fell slightly. He was probably disappointed that his scouting attempt had been cut short again.

Hmm. Honestly, our synergy wasn't bad at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all.

"I'm actually interested in clearing the Babel Tower with you," I said.

"...Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

It was fun, and he was exceptionally good at it. It would be weirder if I wasn't interested.

However...

"If you really want to team up with me..."

I grinned at Choi Muryeong.

"Our supporter slot is currently vacant. Why don't you think about it?"

After our return, things became incredibly hectic.

We were bombarded with endless questions. What exactly was on the special floor? How did the Chinese hunters die? What happened to Jang Wonryong?

At first, the Chinese side suspected us.

They accused the Korean hunters of sacrificing Jang Wonryong and the others. Otherwise, they argued, how could every single Korean hunter have survived unscathed?

Fortunately, the testimonies of Weilin and Tenjin cleared us of all suspicion.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. We cleared the special floor and saved their skins, and their immediate reaction was to start bitching and moaning, accusing us of killing their hunters...

Of course, it was understandable why China was so bitter. They walked away empty-handed and lost the world's number eight hunter in the process.

But seriously, they should be glad we prevented a Demonic Outbreak.

At least Weilin and Tenjin stood up for us and gave clear testimonies, so we didn't run into any real trouble.

"Man, I'm exhausted..."

I thought we'd be able to head home right after the raid, but we ended up stuck there for a whole week before we could finally fly back to Korea.

Still...

*Click.*

"Hehehe..."

I couldn't help but grin. Getting my hands on Sever made the whole ordeal worth it.

Of course, it hadn't been easy. The furious Chinese officials had tried every excuse under the sun to avoid handing it over.

But the moment Choi Muryeong stepped in, they quietly shut up and surrendered Sever.

And now, Sever was finally in my hands!

With this, Sever and Cut were reunited. The Sever-Cut combo was complete!

I couldn't wait to get back, combine them, and test them out.

Even on the private charter flight back to Korea, I was busy fiddling with Sever.

Should I head straight to the 31st floor as soon as we land?

No, I had been neglecting my party members lately. I needed to check on them first.

Oh, and I also needed to start recruiting a supporter in earnest. A four-man party was definitely the most stable setup.

I wonder if I can find a decent supporter...

I had already asked Kang Mina to look for suitable candidates. Since some time had passed, she had probably found at least two or three options by now.

I'm looking forward to it.

A few hours later, I safely arrived in Korea.

"Wow, I seriously felt like I was going to die of kimchi stew withdrawal!"

My spoon was moving non-stop.

It was a rich kimchi stew packed with tuna, freshly prepared by Do Sangjin.

The food in China had been good, but nothing beat Korean food. Especially this kind of home-cooked meal!

*Munch, munch.*

Golden-brown grilled spam, fried eggs, and seasoned seaweed. With this, I wouldn't trade it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a royal feast.

After completely polishing off the spread Do Sangjin had prepared, I sat back and patted my full stomach.

*Ding-dong.*

Kang Mina arrived.

It wasn't for anything urgent; she just wanted to make sure I had returned safely and say hello.

"Congratulations on successfully clearing the special floor!"

She had even bought a cake. Talk about dedication.

"I heard you played a massive role this time too!"

"Eh, not really. I almost died."

"Oh, stop being so humble!"

"No, seriously, I almost died..."

I shrugged, taking a bite of the cake Do Sangjin had sliced for us.

"By the way, about the supporter I asked for..."

As I casually brought up the topic, Kang Mina perked up.

"Ah! Actually, I found a great candidate."

Oh? A great candidate?

"They recently returned to the Administration Office," Kang Mina said, handing over a folder.

"His name is Baek Harim. You might have heard of him."

Baek Harim?

"Isn't he a national athlete?"

"Oh, you know him! I didn't think you'd be interested in that kind of stuff!"

"Come on, any Korean who doesn't know Baek Harim must be a spy."

"True."

"I was a fan of his too."

Baek Harim. The ace of the South Korean national archery team.

Back in my student days, I had been a huge fan of his. Whenever he released the bowstring, the arrow would fly with a satisfying *thwack!* It was incredibly refreshing to watch.

"As you know, shortly after the Babel Tower appeared, the Olympics were suspended indefinitely."

"Right."

"A lot of athletes transitioned to being hunters back then."

"Ah."

I recalled hearing about that. Athletes with exceptional physical and mental capabilities often awakened great talents as hunters.

"Baek Harim was one of them."

"I see. But what do you mean by 'returned'?"

"Until recently, he was signed to a guild, not the Administration Office."

"Ah."

"But he left the guild recently and returned to the Administration Office's roster."

"He didn't leave because of a lack of skill, did he?"

"Of course not! Why would I recommend someone like that to you, Hunter-nim?"

Kang Mina waved her hands in denial.

"Baek Harim isn't your average supporter. He's more of a hybrid. He has excellent magical abilities as well as outstanding physical stats..."

Was it because he was a mage who used to be an athlete?

I flipped through the documents Kang Mina handed me. His profile was indeed impressive. Whether our synergy would be good was a different story, though.

"What do you think? Should we send him a party proposal?"

"Sure, why not."

If he had been in a guild until recently, his skills were guaranteed. He was also a much safer bet than a rookie ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunter. There was no reason to refuse.

"Set a date and let me know."

"Got it!"

Kang Mina asked a few more questions about the special floor and the newly acquired Sever before heading out. She practically begged me to tell her what would happen when Sever and Cut were combined.

She wanted to see it in person, but since I had no idea what might happen, I planned to test it alone inside the Babel Tower. I promised to let her know the results later.

"Nnnrgh!"

I stretched my arms wide.

Everything was going smoothly, and I had just eaten a delicious meal.

Now, it was time for a nice, long nap.