Stepping into the Spotlight
The record holder for the fastest climb to the 30th floor of the Babel Tower.
The mysterious hunter who participated in China's special floor raid.
Choi Muryeong, Ban Haeyeong, Han Sion.
The emergence of a super rookie who would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with South Korea's strongest.
Click-click-click-click!
“Why did you only reveal your real name now?”
Click-click-click-click-click!
“Was there a reason you had to hide your identity?”
Click-click-click-click-click-click!
“What floor do you ultimately plan to climb to?!”
A barrage of questions poured in alongside the flashing lights.
Lee Taepyeong, who had been standing with a blank expression, quietly opened his mouth.
“Because there was no need to reveal it.”
The crowd murmured.
“There is no special reason at all.”
More whispering ensued.
“And I plan to climb as high as I can.”
“...”
At his final words, silence fell over the press conference room.
And after a long pause.
Someone raised their hand.
“...Does that mean you intend to fully clear the Babel Tower?”
The voice sounded incredulous.
Lee Taepyeong scratched his chin, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.
“Yes.”
Then, he grinned.
“Probably.”
South Korea was turned upside down.
...Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration?
Anyway, it was true that things went crazy after that interview.
• Another "Hidden Card" the Public Didn't Know About... Super Rookie Reveals His Identity
• Identity Finally Revealed! Hunter Administration Office Reviewing "Special Protection Measures"
• Babel Tower Special Floor... "Could it happen in our country too?"
• Identity Concealment Controversy... Did he hide it for "personal activities"? Public opinion divided
• Shift in the Babel Tower Raid Landscape... Large Guilds Begin "Under-the-Table Recruitment War"
• Even Special-Class Awakeners Couldn't Escape It... The Danger of "Rental Fraud"!
• A New Hero Emerges? Administration Office Entering a "Top 4" System
Not only news and newspapers, but YouTube and podcasts were flooded with stories about me every single day.
From what school I went to,
To being an orphan, living in an orphanage, working as a webtoon assistant...
And even the rental fraud I fell victim to.
Rental fraud is indeed dangerous...
I stared at the article about rental fraud, lost in thought.
...For now, the plan is a success.
By revealing the information myself before it leaked elsewhere, I had successfully seized control of the narrative.
My warning to Kim Jesik seemed to have worked too, as there were no useless interviews with old acquaintances.
The overall public opinion was favorable.
“...”
Well, I couldn't expect every single comment to be positive.
But the bully rumor was completely absurd.
So this is how fake rumors are made.
Tap, tap.
“...Sigh.”
It would be even weirder if I tried to defend myself by saying I was a loser.
I just tossed the tablet aside.
And,
Bzzzz.
Right on cue, my phone vibrated.
It was Kang Mina.
“Hello?”
—Hunter Lee! As you requested, I've set up a meeting for a week from now!
“Ah, thank you.”
—In the end, a total of five guilds decided to participate.
“Is the GR Guild included?”
I asked just in case.
Currently, the GR Guild was ranked 9th nationally, so they shouldn't have been able to make the cut for the top five.
—Yes, they are... Should we exclude them?
So they managed to get in.
They probably made a deal with the 5th-ranked guild to take their spot.
“No, there's no need to go that far.”
Since they went to all this trouble, I might as well make it a waste of their time.
—Then, shall we proceed as planned?
“Yes. Please take care of it.”
Thinking about it realistically,
It was impossible for me to deal with the giant guilds all on my own.
Which meant I still needed the Administration Office's help for now.
The Administration Office was also in a position where they couldn't afford to lose me.
Of course, Choi Muryeong, the strongest in South Korea, along with Ban Haeyeong and Han Sion, belonged to the Administration Office.
But looking at it another way, it meant they only had those three.
Naturally, the Administration Office would want to keep me, so they would cooperate with me.
That was the very reason they were hosting the meeting with the five guilds.
On the surface, it looked like I was the only one getting help,
But in reality, the Administration Office could use this to keep the other five guilds in check.
At the same time, they would gauge the atmosphere of the five guilds and draw up plans to bind me to them.
“Man, this is exhausting.”
I knew this would happen eventually, but the problem was that it happened a bit faster than I expected.
I wanted to take things easy for a while.
“Whatever. I don't care.”
I should take a nap first.
While Lee Taepyeong was leisurely taking a nap,
The five most powerful guilds in South Korea were in utter chaos.
Only one week left until the meeting.
They had to figure out everything about the man named Lee Taepyeong during this time to increase their chances of partnering with him.
China's special floor raid was not as simple as it sounded.
A total of ten hunters had been deployed, but only half of them, five, made it out alive.
Among the casualties was Jang Wonryong, ranked 8th in the world.
In short,
It was a floor where no ordinary hunter could possibly survive.
Which made the situation even more incomprehensible.
To clear a special floor, one needed the strength to clear floors in the 50s at the very least.
The recommended level was also between 40 and 50.
Yet,
At the time of the special floor raid, Lee Taepyeong was a level 20-something hunter who had barely cleared the 30s.
Of course, he held the record for the 'fastest climb,' but...
That alone couldn't explain his strength.
It made one wonder if the report on the special floor raid released by China had been fabricated.
However, there was no way China would write a favorable report about a Korean hunter, especially after losing Jang Wonryong.
If anything, they would have downplayed it.
We must get him, no matter what.
The deeper they dug into Lee Taepyeong, the more the five guilds came to a single consensus.
However.
Only one guild could partner with Lee Taepyeong.
Or perhaps, no one would be able to hold his hand.
After all, the Administration Office was backing him.
It was also the Administration Office that had controlled the information until now.
There was no way they would let Lee Taepyeong go.
They would surely try to keep him by any means necessary.
If so?
The guilds had to offer terms that surpassed those of the Administration Office.
Only then would they stand a chance of catching Lee Taepyeong's eye.
Thus, while all the guilds were squeezing their brains to come up with the best offers for Lee Taepyeong,
“Is this the guy?”
There was exactly one guild.
No, exactly one person.
“...I feel like we might speak the same language.”
A woman who wanted Lee Taepyeong to reject them all.
“How can we meet him first?”
The cherished daughter of the GR Group.
“Is it money, after all?”
Go Juhee.
“Whoa...”
I only meant to take a quick nap, but when I opened my eyes, it was 1:00 AM.
“I didn't even wear the Deep Sleep Socks, yet I slept this long...”
I must have been really exhausted.
I let out a massive yawn and sat up.
The room was pitch black.
Growl...
Well.
I skipped both lunch and dinner, so of course I'm hungry.
But it was 1:00 AM.
Do Sangjin had already gone home.
Of course, if I called him, he would rush over and prepare a feast,
But I didn't really want to go that far.
“...Should I just go to the convenience store?”
Kang Mina had warned me to be careful about going out for the time being,
But who would be out at this hour?
Besides, it's not like going to a convenience store would cause any trouble.
It wasn't as if an article would pop up saying, 'Lee Taepyeong ate sausages and ramen at a convenience store.'
I wasn't some kind of idol.
I pulled a hat low over my head,
And just in case, I put on a mask before heading out.
Of course,
I didn't just walk out blindly.
I told the guards on duty that I was stepping out to the convenience store for a moment.
If anything happened, the Administration Office would handle it immediately.
“Ugh, it's cold.”
Maybe I shouldn't have come out barefoot in slippers.
But it's only for a moment, so whatever.
“...”
I glanced around, but thankfully, there was no one.
It seemed the Administration Office was keeping the area clear.
I walked into a nearby convenience store.
Is eating here a bad idea?
I was technically a public figure now.
Normally, I would have thrown a triangular kimbap into the microwave immediately,
But for some reason, I held back.
“Ahem.”
I'll eat at home.
Boiling water isn't exactly hard work.
I picked out a spicy Gom-ramen, a tuna triangular kimbap, a giant sausage, and a banana milk, then walked up to the counter.
“Excuse me...”
“Yes, that's right.”
Did the convenience store clerk recognize me?
But the look in his eyes was a bit strange.
“...sticks.”
“Pardon?”
“The chopsticks are over there.”
“Huh?”
When I stared at him blankly, the clerk shook his head.
“Ah, ch-chopsticks...”
He hadn't recognized me.
Ah, how embarrassing.
“I don't need chopsticks...!”
I quickly grabbed my items and rushed out of the convenience store.
And then,
The window of a black car parked across the street rolled down slowly.
A woman peeked out, glancing in my direction.
“...”
Did she recognize me?
No, wait.
I'm just being self-conscious.
Even the convenience store clerk didn't recognize me just now.
Let's just go home!
I stuffed the banana milk, which was about to slip out of my pocket, back in and quickened my pace.
Before I could go far,
The sound of a car door opening echoed behind me.
“Mr. Lee Taepyeong?”
A voice pierced straight through the back of my head.
What?
Did someone actually recognize me this time?
Turning around with a slight expectation,
“Could we talk for a moment?”
A woman with a chic, short bob handed me a business card.