The World's Number One Arrives
"...So, you are saying a mere 'human' slaughtered the dark elves?"
At the Emperor's question, the silver-haired elf reporter bowed his head and answered once more.
"Yes..."
His voice trembled with fear.
"..."
The Emperor said nothing.
Was it because he was surprised? No. It was because he did not believe the reporter's words.
...A human defeated dark elves?
Even if they were only in their thirties, level-wise, the innate difference between their species was insurmountable.
Elves and dark elves. They were considered the absolute pinnacle among the races climbing the Tower.
On the other hand, what were humans? While an outstanding individual appeared once in a blue moon, they were rarer than an oasis in a desert.
Normally, they were nothing but bottom-feeders.
To the elves, humans were even more inferior than the orcs they despised so much.
And yet...
A human slaughtered dark elves?
According to the report, they hadn't just been killed. "Killed" was too mild a word. It was a slaughter. A massacre. A single human had butchered three dark elves.
Crack.
The crystal ball in the Emperor's hand shattered into pieces.
Blood began to drip from his palm, cut by the sharp shards, but the Emperor paid it no mind as he spoke again.
"And?"
"...Pardon?"
At the reporter's dazed response, the Emperor's brow furrowed.
"You do not think this is the first time, do you?"
"...!!!"
At the Emperor's words, cold sweat began to pour down the reporter's neck.
"T-that is..."
"I will ask you again."
"...!!!"
"Do you truly believe this 'slaughter' is the first of its kind?"
"N-no, it is..."
Thwack!
Before the reporter could finish his sentence, a shard of the shattered crystal ball embedded itself in his skull. Half of his head was instantly blown away.
Thud!
The reporter's corpse collapsed onto the floor.
"...Nothing but fools, the lot of them."
Grind.
The Emperor glared down at the corpse with cold, ruthless eyes.
Then, he commanded, "Find out everything you can about this 'human' who slaughtered the dark elves."
Rustle!
Dozens of elves dropped to their knees before the Emperor, shouting in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
"And."
"..."
"Bring him before me. Alive."
Scratch.
Ah, why are my ears itching so much?
"Hunter-nim?"
As I was digging in my ear while watching TV, Do Sangjin's voice echoed from the entryway.
I got up and walked over to find him holding a massive, heavy-looking grocery bag.
"Ah, you were home."
"Yeah. I'm planning to take a good rest today."
"That is a relief."
Huh? What's a relief?
"You haven't had a single day off lately."
"Ah, really?"
"Yes. Even last night, you returned late from a random floor."
True. I had been running around all over the place lately. No wonder I felt a bit exhausted; there was a reason for it.
"Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
At my reply, Do Sangjin beamed.
"Is there anything in particular you would like to eat?"
"Honestly, I've been craving pork belly since before I went to sleep."
Sizzling, crispy-grilled pork belly topped with a dollop of ssamjang, wrapped up and stuffed into my mouth with a spoonful of warm white rice... That was exactly what I wanted.
"But I doubt any places are open at this hour, right?"
"Do not worry. I will prepare it for you right away."
"Pork belly?"
"Yes. I happen to have the ingredients on hand."
"Ohh!"
"They were originally meant for braised pork belly, but I can slice and grill them instead."
"Ohhh!"
Leaving me with a polite "Please wait just a moment," Do Sangjin disappeared into the kitchen.
I thought about helping him carry the grocery bag to be nice, but he effortlessly carried the incredibly heavy load in one go.
Hmm. Maybe Do Sangjin really is stronger than me in pure physical strength. Well, they do say you need good physical strength to run a household.
Until Do Sangjin called me, I lay stretched out on the living room sofa, mindlessly watching the news.
The weather was this and that. The government was doing this and that. The Tower was doing whatever.
Same old, same old.
It was boring. If Woo Jumin were here, we could hang out, but he had recently started going to school, so only Do Sangjin was around during the day.
Click. Click.
Just as flipping through the channels was starting to lose its appeal,
"Hunter-nim, your meal is ready," Do Sangjin's voice called out from the kitchen.
"Oh!"
Pork belly! Pork belly!
I scrambled off the sofa and dashed over.
The TV babbled in the background, but to me, the sound of sizzling pork belly was infinitely louder and clearer.
"Whoa...!"
On the table sat glistening white rice, an assortment of fresh wrap vegetables, a bubbling pot of beef brisket soybean paste stew, and...
Sssssssss...
"No way, we have a tabletop grill at home?"
"I prepared it just in case."
Wow. He even prepared something like this?
"Usually, you would eat this kind of meal at a restaurant during a guild dinner..."
"Ah, right."
"But I thought there might be times when you would want to enjoy it at home."
Sssssssss...
Man, the smell was absolutely killer. I quickly picked up my chopsticks.
"Aren't you eating, Sangjin-ssi?"
"I have already eaten, so I am fine."
So he was going to stand by and grill it for me in real-time? This was basically a high-end Korean BBQ restaurant.
"Please, help yourself."
Gulp.
My mouth watered. It was thick-cut pork belly, grilled to a perfect, crispy golden-brown—exactly the way I liked it.
I dabbed a bit of ssamjang mixed with sesame oil and minced garlic onto a piece, and—chomp!
The pork belly was so savory it tasted almost sweet, perfectly complemented by the fragrant sesame oil, the sharp kick of the garlic, and the rich, deep flavor of the ssamjang.
Chew, chew.
It was deeply moving. The fact that I didn't have to grill it myself made it taste even better.
"Mmm..."
I quickly grabbed a lettuce leaf. I made a wrap with kimchi grilled in pork fat and took a bite. Then another wrap with sweet and sour seasoned scallions. And another with a spoonful of piping-hot rice.
Man, this really makes me want a drink...
I only held back because it was broad daylight. If the sun had set even a little, I would have popped open a bottle immediately. I had forgotten about it because we only ordered beef during our guild dinners, but was pork belly truly the ultimate classic?
Slurp.
Just when it started to feel a bit greasy, I took a spoonful of the beef brisket soybean paste stew, boiled extra spicy just the way I liked it.
"Ahhh..."
I really couldn't resist. I wanted to crack open a bottle of soju so bad!
"It is still the middle of the day, Hunter-nim," Do Sangjin said, shaking his head with a chuckle, as if reading my mind.
"Ah, right. It's still daytime."
Tsk. I had to endure.
Chew, chew.
Instead of alcohol, I devoured a massive amount of rice, washed it down with warm sungnyung, and topped it off with a sweet ice cream bar.
Almost immediately, a wave of drowsiness washed over me. Was this a food coma?
I guess even the Heavenly Slaughter Star can't defeat a food coma...
The urge to sleep was irresistible.
"You should go take a nap."
"Should I...?"
"Yes. I will clean up here."
Ugh... Cleaning up pork belly grease is a massive pain...
"I'll help..."
"It is quite alright."
Seeing how heavily my eyelids were drooping, Do Sangjin gently nudged me away.
Trudging over, I collapsed onto the living room sofa and immediately closed my eyes. Zzz...
And then,
A week later.
"I'm going to take Black for a walk."
For some reason, walking the dog had become a daily routine. Once after breakfast, once after dinner. Twice a day.
Even the show There Are No Bad Dogs in the World said dogs needed to be walked at least twice a day. Besides, I figured getting some fresh air was better for me than just rotting inside the house.
"The weather is nice."
It was peaceful. So peaceful that I wondered if I had ever experienced such tranquility in my entire life.
I had formed a stable party, the guild was running smoothly without a single hitch, and my relationship with the Hunter Administration Office was at an all-time high.
All that was left for me to do was diligently climb the Tower.
Clearing the 40s floors seemed like it would wrap up quickly...
Once we hit the 50s, flying monsters like wyverns would start to appear. The difficulty would spike dramatically. This was precisely why most guilds struggled so much in the 50s.
...It won't be easy for me either.
The only saving grace was that I had Baek Harim.
Ever since he started using his 'arrows' again, Baek Harim's skills had grown exponentially. He would undoubtedly be a massive help in dealing with airborne monsters.
Hmm. Should I look into getting some harpoons or something?
...Well, a solution will present itself when the time comes.
I hadn't even set foot on the 50th floor yet. What was the point of worrying about it now? For the time being, I just had to grind the 40s floors to death. If I kept grinding, something would turn up—whether it was a strategy, an item, or a skill.
Still, it might be a good idea to familiarize myself with the information on the 50s floors.
The Hunter Administration Office would have plenty of data. If I contacted Kang Mina, she would help me out.
I sent the texts first. Once I got there and skimmed through them, something would come to mind.
"Shall we go?"
Woof!
I headed toward the Administration Office with Black.
Chitter-chatter.
But even before I got close to the building, the streets were absolutely packed.
It wasn't just a regular crowd. ...Reporters? Indeed. While there were plenty of ordinary citizens, the number of reporters was staggering. Camera flashes were going off left and right.
"Is the president coming or something?"
I muttered to myself. A passerby overheard and replied, "Way bigger than the president!"
Just as I was about to ask who on earth it was, someone yelled, "Oh, he's here! He's here!!!" and the crowd surged forward.
Looking closely, a fleet of sleek black sedans was rolling in. It was clearly a high-profile convoy.
...Talk about bad timing.
This was going to be a pain.
Still, it didn't look like they were blocking entry to the building. Should I just slip inside quickly? Since the reporters were all camping outside, the interior would probably be empty.
"Let's go, Black."
I scooped Black up in my arms and began pushing my way through the crowd.
...Ah, I should have checked if there was a back door beforehand.
Since I always used the main entrance, I had no idea where any other doors were. Nothing I could do about it now. I'd just have to walk right through the front doors as usual.
I squeezed past the citizens and reporters toward the entrance. Fortunately, the security guard recognized my ID and let me pass the barricade in front of the main gate.
Right then, screeech.
The line of black cars came to a halt in front of the entrance. From a bright red sports car right in the middle, a foreigner stepped out.
Click-click-click-click!
A barrage of camera flashes erupted simultaneously.
"Over here! Look over here!"
"Please look this way!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Whoa, it's really him! It's him!"
Not just the reporters, but the crowd of onlookers began screaming in excitement.
Ugh, what a circus. Clutching Black tightly, I hurried toward the doors.
"Who the hell is that guy?"
"Get out of the way! Move!"
Maybe it was because I wasn't wearing a suit like I did during the press conference, but the reporters didn't recognize me at all.
They started swearing at me, probably because I was blocking their shots.
Goddamn trash reporters...
Is this the Administration Office or a red carpet?
Just as I was about to turn around and give them a piece of my mind, grab.
Someone caught me by the shoulder.
"Hey!"
A flashily dressed blond foreigner looked at me, slid off his sunglasses, and grinned widely. Before I could react, he threw his arms around me in a tight hug.
"Mr. Lee!"
...What the hell is this now?