A Place to Call Home
The apartment I returned to was surprisingly ordinary.
All my belongings were exactly as I had left them.
Perhaps it was because there was still some time left before the lease officially expired and I was kicked out onto the street.
It was a familiar space, but equally painful.
I collapsed onto the floor and stared blankly up at the ceiling.
My debt was gone. But that was it.
There was still absolutely nothing left in my hands.
I was penniless.
I had no debt, but I had no home either. I didn't even have enough money to rent a tiny room in a goshiwon.
All I had in my pocket was enough to scrape by for a day or two.
"..."
Should I start doing day labor?
No, if I'm going to resort to that, wouldn't it be better to just climb the Babel Tower?
The Bureau talked about the Heavenly Slaughter Star like it was some incredibly amazing trait.
I could feel it. The Hunter Administration Office desperately wanted to recruit me.
It was just my lingering, ordinary-citizen mindset that had made me hesitate to give them an answer.
Getting my debt cleared wasn't the end of it.
Back then, I had been too focused on ending my life to realize it. But now that I was back in reality, finishing the tutorial didn't change the fact that my future was completely bleak.
Let's look at this objectively.
I had escaped a life that practically begged for suicide, but it was still a dead-end existence.
Sure, my body had gotten into great shape after three months of training, but what was the point if I was just going to wear it down doing manual labor?
I'd rather...
"I'd be better off entering the tower."
I muttered the words without thinking, then startled myself. Better off entering the tower? When I could die in there?
But I didn't get a single scratch during the tutorial.
Two voices began to clash in my head.
One voice screamed, Are you okay with dying?
The other countered, Then do you call this living?
The one that resonated more with me right now was...
"Yeah. Do I call this living?"
It was overwhelmingly the latter.
It wasn't like I had to enter the tower every single day. I didn't have to climb to the highest floors every time, either.
Just three or four times.
I could just clear the lower floors a few times until I got some decent items, fulfill the tax exemption requirements, sell the items, and make some money.
Wouldn't my life be smooth sailing after that?
The moment my thoughts reached that point, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a business card.
Kang Mina.
It was the business card of the official from the Talent Management Team I had met earlier.
Ring...
The phone barely rang once before she picked up.
"Yes, this is Kang Mina from the Talent Management Team..."
Since we had already met, there was no need for introductions. I cut straight to the chase.
"I'll do it. The contract."
"P-Pardon?"
"I said I'll sign the contract. But I have a condition."
Find me a place to live.
"What a waste..."
"It's been a while since we had a rookie like him."
"Indeed..."
"Should I have pushed him a bit harder?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"But..."
"This is a job where people put their lives on the line. We must never force anyone."
"Tsk, even if he seems like a sure bet?"
"Forcing them always backfires. Absolutely not."
"I suppose so, but..."
Staring at the documents with a deeply disappointed expression, the woman hung her head.
He was a talent they couldn't afford to lose.
All he had to do was write his name!
But the team leader's stance was firm. Coercion was strictly out of the question.
"Still, he is definitely a talent we cannot let slip away."
"Right?"
"We have to find a way to persuade him somehow."
"Is it money, after all?"
"Well, someone of his caliber wouldn't move just for money."
"Then what?"
"First, we must show him our utmost sincerity."
"Sincerity!"
"Let's approach him with genuine care."
"Genuine care!"
But that was easier said than done. What on earth did sincerity and genuine care even mean in this context? How were they supposed to show that to him?
Just as the woman was about to tear her hair out in frustration—
Ring, ring.
A monotonous ringtone echoed through the office.
"Yes, this is Kang Mina from the Talent Management Team..."
The moment she heard the voice on the other end, her expression shifted instantly.
"P-Pardon?"
It was rare to see Kang Mina flustered. As her expression warped in surprise, the team leader stared at her with a grave look.
"Yes. Yes. Yes."
The call consisted of nothing but repeated affirmations.
"Yes. Of course. Absolutely. Whatever you need."
Kang Mina was shouting nothing but "yes."
"We will come to pick you up right away!"
The moment she hung up, Kang Mina began stuffing the scattered documents back into her bag.
"Team Leader!"
"Who was that?"
"Lee Taepyeong!"
"What?"
"He said he'll do it!"
"H-He will?"
"Yes!!"
The team leader jumped up, following Kang Mina's lead.
"Wait, what about the conditions? What are his terms?"
"Team Leader, the conditions aren't what's important right now!"
"What? Then what is?"
"First, he wants us to get him a room."
"A room?"
"Yes. Don't you remember? He's the one who got hit by rental fraud."
"Ah!"
The team leader's face, which had been painted with shock, quickly twisted into sheer bewilderment.
"...Is that really all he wants?"
He had been mentally preparing for all kinds of grand, extravagant demands. Yet, the kid just wanted a room. Not even a house, but a room.
And this was right before signing a Hunter contract.
It was the most absurd condition he had ever heard during his entire time in the Talent Management Team.
But to Kang Mina, that didn't seem to matter at all.
"Yes! So let's hurry up and go!" she urged, raising her voice to prompt the team leader.
"Right, right."
"This is our chance to show him! Our sincerity and genuine care!"
The dormitory dedicated to Babel Tower climbers.
Unlike the trainee dormitory inside the Hunter Administration Office, this was an entire building of its own.
The exterior looked like a rigid government office building, but the interior was decorated like a luxury hotel.
The only difference from a hotel was the incredibly tight security. Ordinary citizens couldn't even set foot inside.
Since I was still technically an ordinary citizen, I was accompanied by the Talent Management Team Leader and Ms. Kang Mina.
There wasn't much for me to do. The two officials were the ones busy running around.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot grant access to the Zero Section for a first-time resident."
"I know that. But this person is a special case."
"We have to follow the regulations as well..."
"I'm telling you, it has to be the Zero Section!" Ms. Kang Mina thumped her chest in frustration.
"...We can go up to the Second Section."
"The Second Section?! Are you kidding me right now—!"
After a few rounds of arguing, the administrator finally threw up his hands in defeat.
"Alright, alright. I will open up the First Section. However, I'll need the Team Leader's signature..."
"Of course he'll sign it!"
Despite the concession, Ms. Kang Mina still looked thoroughly dissatisfied.
"Um, I'm not going to stay that long anyway, so any room is fine..."
When I quietly spoke up, the Talent Management Team Leader shook his head with a stern expression.
"No. We cannot allow that."
"..."
"We must guide you to the absolute best facility."
"Ah, yes. Thank you..."
The absolute best? That was a bit burdensome.
Especially since I was planning to take the benefits and run...
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Ms. Kang Mina, who had been scowling just moments ago, returned holding a key card.
It was a glittering gold card.
"Ta-da! This is Lee Taepyeong's exclusive First Section card!"
"T-Thank you..."
I accepted the card awkwardly.
"It's a shame it's not the Zero Section, but I'm sure it won't be long before the Zero Section opens up for you, Mr. Taepyeong."
"Um, what is the Zero Section?"
"It's a space reserved for top-tier hunters."
As it turned out, the dormitory was divided into different tiers.
Third Section.
Second Section.
First Section.
Zero Section.
Four tiers in total.
The Third Section was open to all hunters. It contained private rooms, training facilities, and so on. It was where hunters who had just begun climbing the tower stayed.
The Second Section was one tier above that. It was open to active hunters who regularly cleared the tower. The quality of the private rooms was better, and they received various forms of support. Up to this point, it was relatively ordinary.
But from the First Section onward, it felt like a completely different world.
First of all, you were assigned a personal secretary to handle your administrative tasks. They said the biggest difference was that you could handle almost all of your business through them.
Honestly, it still hadn't sunk in. A secretary...
This feels a bit excessive.
Who was I? I wasn't even a webtoon author; I was just an assistant.
An assistant. I was far more used to assisting someone else. Being assisted by others felt completely foreign to me.
But...
If I said, "The First Section seems a bit too much," I doubted Ms. Kang Mina would let it slide. She looked ready to go pick a fight with the administrator again, shouting, "Of course! The Zero Section is what truly suits you, Mr. Taepyeong!"
To be honest, I would have been perfectly grateful for even the Third Section. The Second Section was already overkill, and the First Section was beyond my imagination.
Then what on earth was the Zero Section like?
I am a bit curious...
Though, contrary to Ms. Kang Mina's hopes, I was planning to take the First Section benefits and run.
Anyway.
Everything went smoothly after that.
While I listened to the contract terms and signed the papers, all the belongings from my rented apartment were moved to the dormitory. Not that I had much to move in the first place.
"Well then, please get some good rest today!"
"I hope you find it to your liking, Mr. Taepyeong."
Ms. Kang Mina and the Talent Management Team Leader left with bright smiles plastered across their faces.
First, let's check out the room.
I got into the elevator and tapped the gold card against the scanner.
⚡ FIRST SECTION ACCESS GRANTED ⚡
The elevator shot up rapidly.
Since the Zero Section was on the top floor and the First Section was right below it, I was going to be living pretty high up.
Finding the room wasn't difficult. My name was already printed on the door.
It was a gold nameplate.
Excessive, truly excessive...
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, my jaw dropped.
"This isn't a room, it's a whole house!"
Indeed. At most, I had expected something slightly better than the trainee dormitory. Since the trainee dorm felt like a newly built studio apartment, I figured this would be like a new two-room apartment.
But the sight before my eyes was completely different from my expectations.
It was a massive space that looked like something straight out of a movie.
Just walking from the entrance to the living room took ages. I couldn't even tell how many rooms there were.
"This is insane..."
The living room was the size of a playground. The bathroom was wider than my entire old room.
"Is this a dream?"
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the sofa, pinching my cheek.
It hurt.
"This is temporary lodging?"
Unbelievable. I could live here for the rest of my life.
After wandering around and exploring the place, I headed back out.
Because the apartment was so massive, it had taken me over an hour just to look around, and I had worked up an appetite.
First floor is the lobby, second floor is the cafeteria, third floor is...
Actually, anything from the third floor up didn't matter. What I needed right now was food.
I pressed the button for the second floor.
The elevator doors opened, and when I showed my gold card, a staff member guided me to a seat.
Technically, was this a cafeteria?
It was incredibly fancy for a cafeteria. It was buffet-style, and there even seemed to be a section where you could order specific dishes. They had everything.
And all of this was free?
This is heaven. Absolute heaven.
There was no need to walk on eggshells around anyone. I immediately began piling food onto my plate.
Since I didn't want to keep getting up, I decided to grab everything at once. Soon, five plates sat on my table, even though I was dining alone.
"Ahem."
I'd finish these and then get some more.
First, let's start with some eggs so my stomach wouldn't get shocked.
Just as I loaded a spoonful of crispy bacon and scrambled eggs into my mouth—
"Huh? Lee Taepyeong?"
Someone called my name.