A Monster in the Making
"Huh? Lee Taepyeong?"
I turned my head to see an unexpected face.
A muscular beauty with a black ponytail. The Butcher, Ban Haeyeong.
She was Korea's best—and worst—battle maniac, famous for practically living in the tower.
I couldn't tell if she was just a dopamine addict or flat-out insane.
Currently, there were about a thousand surviving hunters in South Korea, the number constantly fluctuating in the high nine hundreds.
A thousand might sound like a lot, but in reality, fewer than a hundred were actively climbing the Babel Tower.
And when it came to the absolute top tier, her name was always on the list. Ban Haeyeong.
If she's top-tier, she must be loaded... Why is she staying in the Hunter Dormitory?
"Oh, you know who I am! Right?"
"Uh, ah, yes. I do..."
I stammered out a reply.
"Of course he recognizes you," the man beside her chided.
He had a cold impression, but he was strikingly handsome.
"Apologies for interrupting your meal," the man said politely.
It was Han Sion.
If Ban Haeyeong was a textbook warrior, Han Sion was a mage. An incredibly smart one, at that.
With these two as the core, along with a healer, a tank, and a supporter, they formed a balanced five-man party. They were essentially the pillars keeping the peace in South Korea.
"I heard you have the Heavenly Slaughter Star trait?" Ban Haeyeong asked, pulling out the chair opposite me and sitting down without hesitation.
"They said you slaughtered ratmen, killed lizardmen, and even ripped a vampire to shreds in the tutorial!"
Well, it was true. But I hadn't expected someone like Ban Haeyeong to know about it.
"How did you find out?" I asked, taken aback.
Ban Haeyeong burst into hearty laughter.
"The rumors are everywhere!"
"Rumors?"
Ban Haeyeong stared at me with sparkling eyes.
Han Sion answered in her stead.
"Yes. You're the first rookie we've had in half a year."
Ah, right. Usually, a new hunter cleared the tutorial every two months or so, but recently, no one had passed for about five months.
Not only did two people survive at the same time, but one of them had torn lizardmen and a vampire apart. It would have been stranger if rumors didn't spread.
Listening to Han Sion's explanation, I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly.
"Compared to you two, I don't think I've done much..."
It was the truth. Ban Haeyeong was a warrior who could take down hordes of orcs barehanded, and Han Sion was the Undead Slayer. To them, lizardmen and vampires were probably child's play.
"That's not true," Han Sion said, his expression turning serious as he looked at me.
"Displaying that level of skill in the tutorial is truly remarkable."
"Exactly! You have the potential to become an absolute monster, Taepyeong!"
Their eyes were dead serious. It didn't seem like empty flattery or exaggeration.
"If I had encountered a vampire during my tutorial, I never would have made it out alive," Han Sion admitted.
"Me neither, me neither!"
Their sheer intensity was making me uncomfortable.
As I kept scratching my head awkwardly, Ban Haeyeong let out another boisterous laugh.
"Hurry up and grow stronger so you can join our party! We're actually stuck on a floor right now."
"Come on, how could I possibly..."
"I'm not joking. Seriously. I'm dying of frustration here."
Ban Haeyeong thumped her chest.
Han Sion nodded in agreement.
"We've been attempting it for a month now. We need a new approach, and if it's you, Taepyeong..."
Before the mood could get any heavier, I cut in.
"Haha, I appreciate the offer, but I don't even know if I'll make it that far."
I laughed it off, and the two didn't press the matter further.
Though they looked disappointed, they seemed to know that pushing any harder would be counterproductive.
We chatted about trivial things for a bit, like what I used to do before becoming a hunter.
Ban Haeyeong asked for the title of the webtoon I had worked on, promising to read it, while Han Sion offered some comforting words, saying the Association would handle the rental fraud case.
Soon, they received a call and had to leave, allowing me to finally finish my meal in peace.
Maybe it was because I had talked more than expected, but I suddenly felt ravenous.
After emptying the plates I had piled high in the blink of an eye, I stood up again.
Time for round two.
I grabbed some truffle steak—or whatever it was called—and some stir-fried seafood noodles.
Oh, and I had to get dessert afterward. I saw some mango cake earlier. Finishing off with that and a cup of coffee would be perfect.
"Hum~ hum~ hum~"
A hum escaped my lips without me realizing.
Hunter welfare was way better than I thought.
The rules for using the Hunter Dormitory were incredibly simple.
Enter the tower at least once a year. As long as you met that condition, you could stay in the dormitory for a full year.
Everything provided was free.
It made sense. It was the price paid for risking one's life. Only those who put their lives on the line could enjoy these privileges.
My situation wasn't the worst, but many hunters were people who had hit rock bottom. That was why the government had set these conditions.
Just like in the tutorial, once you signed the contract, you had to enter the tower at least once a year.
You could slack off and eat for free for 364 days out of the 365.
However, you had to clear the tower just once to guarantee those 364 days.
In a way, it was a hand-to-mouth existence.
You were trading your life for a guaranteed year of comfort.
"Hmm..."
I read through the tower entry instructions on the tablet I had been issued.
Honestly, I could just slack off for 364 days and climb the tower on the very last day.
But that would feel like leaving summer vacation homework to the last minute—it would just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Besides, the tutorial had ended much easier than expected.
And the more I learned about the Heavenly Slaughter Star trait, the more confident I felt. I just had a feeling I could do it.
"If I have to do it anyway, it's better to get it over with."
Yeah. Let's just do it.
Then I can rest easy for the rest of the year!
I tapped the tower climb application button.
Another explanation popped up.
There were two types of climb applications: Solo, where you challenged it alone, and Party, where you challenged it with other hunters.
This choice was quite important.
Depending on whether you applied for a solo or party run, the type of dungeon that appeared would change. While it was fundamentally random, it branched into two major paths.
"A party..."
The faces of Ban Haeyeong and Han Sion from earlier flashed in my mind. They had told me to grow stronger quickly and join them.
"Hmm."
But I wasn't sure if I was cut out for party play.
Moreover, because of the Heavenly Slaughter Star trait, I didn't know if it was safe to group up with others.
What if I lost myself to bloodlust and attacked other people instead of monsters? That would be a massive headache.
Let's try solo first.
As soon as I made up my mind, I submitted the solo application.
In truth, you didn't even need to submit an application to climb the tower.
All you had to do was say "Enter Babel Tower" to be transported inside. It didn't require anyone's permission.
The only reason to submit an application was simple: even after clearing a tower dungeon, you could still die.
If you returned heavily injured, you needed immediate medical attention to survive.
Not everyone could party up with a healer, and healing potions weren't exactly common commodities—especially for a rookie like me.
If you submitted an application before entering, an emergency medical team would be on standby for you.
They were there to treat post-clear injuries or handle abnormal statuses like frenzy or confusion. It was similar to when I returned from the tutorial.
Few countries had such a well-established system. Should I consider myself lucky to have been born in South Korea?
I hope I can make it back safely this time too.
Honestly, I wasn't worried. If anything, I was looking forward to it. I couldn't wait to go in and start a festival of slaughter...
...Wait.
Did I just say "festival of slaughter"?
No way. Who in their right mind would look forward to a festival of slaughter when entering a dungeon? It was hard enough just keeping myself alive.
"Urghhh!"
I stretched to shake off the stray thoughts.
I had only submitted a single application, but reading so much text had made my body feel stiff.
After taking a quick look around my room, I went down to the second floor to eat again.
Then I loosened up my muscles in the training room on the third floor, went back down to the second floor to eat again, soaked in a hot bath, and thoroughly washed myself.
"Zzz..."
I fell asleep on a bed that was wider than my entire previous apartment.
The next morning.
Perhaps because I had submitted the application, I received a call early in the day. It was a confirmation call asking if I was truly planning to enter the tower.
Since most hunters only entered the tower out of sheer necessity after slacking off for a year, they probably thought I had submitted the application while drunk.
"Yes. I'm going."
Since my answer was so clean and direct, the caller had nothing left to say.
They simply explained how to get to the entry point in the basement and hung up.
I did some light stretching and headed down for breakfast.
Today's buffet was of incredible quality as well. Should I start light with some soup?
I piled a plate high with bread and filled a bowl the size of a cold noodle basin with soup.
Cream of mushroom soup. Eating it with bread that was rich with the aroma of butter was exquisite.
I couldn't skip the greens, so I grabbed plenty of fresh vegetables too.
Along with a cheese omelet and grilled sausages. Delicious!
But feeling like that wasn't quite enough, I ended up mixing a bowl of rice into a piping hot Hanwoo ox knee soup and wolfing it down.
Ah, now I finally felt like I had eaten.
Since I was already down there, I strolled around the lobby for a bit before heading to the tower entry point when the time came.
The entry point was located in the basement to prepare for various emergencies.
As soon as I walked in, a government official who had been waiting for me guided me forward.
"Mr. Lee Taepyeong, we have you confirmed for entry into the 1st floor today. Is that correct?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Since this is your first time entering the tower after returning from the tutorial..."
The official hesitated for a moment.
"Would you perhaps like to try joining a party first?"
Hm? A party all of a sudden?
Ah...
A memory from the training center came back to me.
Low-level hunters are highly encouraged to use the party matching system provided by the Association.
I had forgotten about it because I had been too busy focusing on the tutorial training back then.
Parties were recommended until you reached at least level 10. After all, solo runs had a much higher mortality rate.
Since the government was desperate to keep every single hunter alive, it was only natural for them to recommend parties.
But it was just a recommendation, not a requirement.
"No, I'm fine."
The official looked quite surprised.
For a low-level hunter, starting with a party was the obvious course of action.
But my thoughts were different.
Thinking back to the tutorial... in my case, solo was definitely the better choice.
"...Understood. Then I will guide you through the rest of the process."
I followed the official further inside.
It was a space similar to the one from the tutorial, but it felt a bit more comfortable. For one, there were no restraints on the chair.
Sitting in a plush, massage-chair-like seat, I listened to the entry instructions once more.
The precautions for returning were similar. An emergency team was on standby for various situations, and I could be subdued if I returned in a state of frenzy or confusion.
After hearing all the explanations, they asked for my final confirmation to enter.
Of course, my answer remained the same.
"Yes. I'm going in."