A Thorough Education
—Crack!
I slammed my fist right into Park Woojun's face.
"Keu-heok!"
Park Woojun groaned, blood immediately spraying from his nose.
—Thud!
—Bam!
—Smack!
—Crack!
Without giving him a single moment to breathe, I kept raining punches down on his face.
Until his nose broke, his cheekbones caved in, and blood poured down to soak his chin and neck.
"S-Stop..."
—Bam!
Before he could even finish the word, my fist buried itself into his face again.
Clatter...
Broken teeth scattered across the floor.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Ugh..."
"Why are you attacking people?"
"I-I'm... s-shorry..."
"Oh? Look at you talking. I guess your madness wore off?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Does madness usually get beaten out of someone?"
"Cough! Gasp!"
Park Woojun thrashed as I grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.
"I came here knowing all about your trait, you bastard."
"Ugh..."
"You're immune to status ailments, aren't you?"
"Y-Yes, t-that's r-right...!"
Shake, shake.
As I shook him by the collar, Park Woojun began to sob and gasp for air.
"You're supposed to hunt goblins, not people. What's wrong with you?"
"I-I w-was... w-wrong..."
—Crack!
"Wrong? You think a simple apology cuts it?"
"Ack...!"
"You're already backstabbing people just to steal their items."
"..."
"How many people almost died because of you?"
"..."
"Do you think the people risking their lives to climb this tower are a joke to you?"
Items could be obtained at any time. But people were different.
Just thinking that the people I cared about could have ended up partying with this trash made my blood boil.
Cha Yerin, Baek Harim, Kang Dagyeong, Yoo Inseok...
And especially Woo Jumin, who was still officially affiliated with the Administration Office.
—Smack!
Blood and tears streamed down Park Woojun's face.
He wasn't crying out of genuine remorse. He was just weeping like a child, completely overwhelmed by pure pain.
A guy who cried so desperately over his own pain had no problem pushing countless others into agony? How absurd.
—Bam!
With one more punch, Park Woojun's head went limp.
He hacked, coughing up blood-flecked spit.
"You..." he managed to wheeze out.
"You... if I g-go back... l-like this..."
He's going to pass out before he even finishes.
"No m-matter who you are... the Ad-Adminishtration..."
"No matter who I am, the Administration Office..."
"...won't l-let you get away with..."
"...won't let me get away with it?"
He nodded weakly.
Ha! I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Park Woojun was under a massive delusion right now.
The Administration Office wouldn't let me get away with it?
"Why would they care?"
"I'll r-report..."
"Report?"
He nodded again.
"You're going to report me, tip them off, and ruin my life?"
He nodded with his bloody face.
Park Woojun barely managed to nod with his bloody, swollen face.
"And what exactly are you going to report?"
"Huh...?"
"I asked, what are you going to report?"
"..."
Park Woojun stared at me in disbelief, as if asking if I couldn't see the state he was in.
His nose was broken, his teeth were shattered, and it would honestly be faster to count the bones that were not broken.
But. So. What?
"Sigh..." I let out a sigh and retrieved an item from my inventory.
A golden liquid contained in a round bottle.
[Elixir]
I had obtained it during the last raid. I gave the first one to Cha Yerin, but I wasn't sure what to do with this one. I rarely got hurt, and selling it felt like a waste.
"Man, I was wondering where I'd ever use this."
I gently swirled the Elixir in front of Park Woojun's face.
"But this is the perfect place for it."
"...!"
Park Woojun's eyes trembled.
"Do you know what this is?"
Of course, there was no way he would. The Elixir was an item you couldn't even catch a glimpse of in Silver-grade chests or lower.
"It's called an Elixir."
"...!!!"
"As long as you're not dead, it can heal absolutely anything."
"Ugh...!"
"Tower items are truly amazing, aren't they?"
Did he realize what was about to happen? Park Woojun began to thrash around like a madman.
"It's honestly a waste to use this on a piece of shit like you."
"Ugh!"
"But looking at it, I won't get another chance if I don't do it now."
"Uuuugh!"
—Crack!
He kept squirming, trying to reach for his dropped sword, so I slammed my fist into his face once more.
His once-decent face was now a complete mess. Well, it would all return to normal once he drank the Elixir anyway.
"From now on, Hyung is going to give you a proper attitude adjustment."
"Y-Yeth. I w-wash wrong..."
Kneeling politely on the ground, looking like he could collapse at any second, was none other than Park Woojun.
"The person in the hospital because of you is still unconscious, you bastard."
—Smack!
I gave the back of Park Woojun's head a crisp slap.
Drip, drip!
Nosebleed splattered onto the floor once again.
Park Woojun wept, rubbing his hands together in desperate supplication.
"I'm shorry! I'm shorry!"
"You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should be apologizing to them."
—Crack!
"I-I'll apologize to them as soon as I get out, I swear!"
His broken teeth made his pronunciation slur heavily.
"I'll never do it again!!!"
Now, Park Woojun was slamming his forehead flat against the ground.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Honestly, I didn't believe a word. Anyone could say anything when they were terrified.
He might be apologizing now because I beat him to a pulp, but it was in the nature of guys like Park Woojun to go right back to their old ways tomorrow.
Grab!
"Ack...!"
I grabbed Park Woojun by the jaw and uncorked the Elixir.
Once he drank this, he would recover completely without a trace. Simply put, it was destroying the evidence.
Glug, glug, glug!
I poured the Elixir straight down Park Woojun's throat.
*Gulp! Gulp!*
Tears streamed down Park Woojun's face, perhaps out of sheer relief that the beating was finally over.
Despite being on the verge of death, his body began to rapidly regenerate.
As expected, the Elixir is in a league of its own.
There was a reason people praised it so highly. Its effect was absolutely certain.
It was just a shame to waste it on a guy like him. Well, maybe not a complete waste?
If this made Park Woojun keep his head down, it would keep a lot of people safe.
"M-My teeth...!"
Even his shattered teeth had fully grown back.
—Smack!
I lightly slapped the back of his head, putting no real strength into it.
"Aaargh!"
"Stop exaggerating and get up, kid."
How could a guy be such a crybaby? He whined this much, yet he had no problem harming others.
"Thank you! Thank you, Hyung-nim!"
Fearing another blow, Park Woojun bowed repeatedly, shouting his gratitude.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and tossed the empty Elixir bottle aside.
Flinch!!!
Did he think I was throwing it at him? Park Woojun flinched in terror. What a coward...
"Park Woojun."
"Yes, Hyung-nim!"
Park Woojun answered vigorously. Even though I was just looking at him, sweat was pouring down his face.
"You stole that from the victim too, didn't you?"
"..."
"Not going to answer?"
When I raised my hand again, Park Woojun flinched and shielded his head.
"Y-Yes! Yes, that's right!"
"Return it to them the moment we get back."
"Yes, Hyung-nim! I'll return it immediately!"
Park Woojun nodded frantically.
He had no choice but to be obedient right now. He knew I could kill him at any moment.
Besides, there was no place to report crimes inside the tower... It was highly ironic, considering Park Woojun had exploited that very fact himself.
"Hmm..." I hesitated for a moment.
While Park Woojun was groveling here, there was no telling what he might do once we got outside.
As I said, anything could happen in the tower. It was the perfect crime scene for scum like him.
"I guess it's about time to head back..."
When I muttered that and glanced at him, Park Woojun's face lit up.
He was probably thinking he was finally escaping this hell.
Thud!
Right in front of Park Woojun, who was about to stand up, I drove his sword—no, the sword he had stolen—deep into the ground.
"H-Hyung-nim...!"
Park Woojun collapsed back down, his voice trembling violently. His face was filled with terror, as if he sensed his impending death.
"There's just one last thing I want to tell you."
I smiled as I looked down at him.
"You swore you wouldn't do anything bad from now on."
"Yes, yes! Absolutely nothing...!"
"But honestly, anything can happen in the tower."
"Yes, yes... Huh?"
"Accidents, I mean. Just like this one."
"Right?" I asked. Park Woojun nodded, his face turning pale.
"So here's the deal."
"Yes..."
"Every single tower climb you participate in from now on..."
"..."
"...I want to receive reports on all of them."
"What?"
He looked at me, completely bewildered. I grinned at him, just like he had grinned at me when we first met.
"If anyone dies during those climbs..."
"..."
Park Woojun's face grew paler by the second.
"...then you die too."
"What...?"
Park Woojun stared at me, his face a mix of terror and injustice.
"Even if you weren't the one who killed them."
*Gulp.*
"You're dead meat."
"..."
"You get what I mean, right, Woojun?"
Park Woojun's body shook like a leaf.
"Let's behave, okay?"
"...Yes, I understand."
"Good."
"I'm truly sorry, Hyung-nim. I've learned a lot today."
"You talk too much. Shut up."
"...Yes!"
I pulled the sword out of the ground. And then...
Squeeeak...
—Squish!
I plunged the sword straight into the heart of the goblin shaman, which was still barely breathing.
Flash!
You have cleared the 19th floor.
Park Woojun's was Bronze, and mine was only Silver. It was probably because we wasted so much time.
But still... I didn't regret it. It was well worth the time!
Maybe I actually have a talent for teaching...
Park Woojun became obedient so quickly and listened well. It was actually quite rewarding!
Not bad at all.
I returned, feeling an unexpected sense of pride in my chest.
"H-How on earth did you do it?"
"Hmm? Do what?"
"P-Park Woojun!"
"Park Woojun? Why? Did he cause another accident?"
"No, no, no, that's not it!"
Kang Mina waved her hands frantically. If he didn't cause an accident, then what?
"Park Woojun returned the item to the victim."
"Really?"
"Yes. He claimed he acquired it by 'mistake', but..."
"Hmm."
"He even paid for all of the victim's medical bills!"
"Oh."
Kang Mina's eyes narrowed sharply.
"What in the world happened...?"
"Nothing much."
"Liar!"
"I just had a nice, friendly chat with him as his senior."
"...Really?"
"Of course."
I grinned at Kang Mina.
"He was surprisingly easy to talk to."
Very easy.