S-Class Beauty (1)
It was eight in the evening. For any normal office worker, this was long past quitting time.
Of course, there were a few Awakeners who didn’t need sleep and practically lived at the office, but…
Cheon Hwaryen was a good guild master who actually cared about her subordinates.
If the guild leader stayed behind working until dawn, the rest of the team would feel awkward leaving first.
It was definitely not because she was lazy. That was what Cheon Hwaryen kept telling herself.
So after clocking out at a reasonable hour, what did she do?
“This little shit…”
Cheon Hwaryen immediately opened the comment section and started hammering the keyboard.
True to her reputation as an S-class Awakener, guild master of the Cheonhwa Guild, and a ranker who had cleared the 53rd floor, her fingers moved so fast they were practically invisible.
Tadadadadada—
“…”
“…”
The longer Cheon Hwaryen stared at the monitor, the more her expression hardened.
The moment she got heated and started typing every curse she knew, supportive comments began popping up below. Cheon Hwaryen bit her lower lip and slammed the backspace key.
“…Haah.”
Right.
I’m not free enough to waste my time on these brain-dead idiots.
“…”
A dark shadow fell across Cheon Hwaryen’s face as an old memory surfaced.
Outbreak. A massive catastrophe that occurred if a new floor wasn’t cleared within a certain time limit.
When it happened, only one thing followed.
The monsters from that floor poured out into the real world. Their numbers multiplied dozens, even hundreds of times, appearing all across the globe.
It was literal hell on earth.
Having witnessed it with her own eyes, she typed with trembling fingers as she recalled the despair, pain, and terror she had felt back then.
These days people had grown used to the Tower and built up some strength, so Outbreaks were rare.
But… before humanity had adapted to the Tower.
The very first Outbreak that occurred one month after the Tower first appeared.
Countless soldiers and civilians had died or been crippled.
“…Mom, Dad…”
Her father, a soldier, had died during that first disaster. Her mother had fallen ill after losing him and eventually passed away as well.
That was why she could never forgive the bastard hiding behind anonymity and posting garbage like that.
Anyone standing on the foundation of their sacrifice should at least know gratitude.
It was absolutely not because she got triggered by the word ajumma.
“Probably an S-class…”
PaCheon Sword Beauty. The one the gallery called Floating Sword Beauty.
For someone to get that kind of score in the tutorial, their potential had to be insane.
She had to bring the girl in before some other guild snatched her.
“…And while I’m at it, I’ll give her a little character education too.”
People tended to come to their senses after getting punched. She knew this from personal experience and from testing it on countless guild members.
“If she’s acting like that because she’s young, I can just teach her properly.”
Cheon Hwaryen stood up as she sensed a familiar presence. When she opened the dark door, warm light from the living room flooded in and struck her retinas.
“Ugh…!”
Beyond the bright light stood an old man with a deep scar across one eye.
He took off the fedora he was wearing, hung it on the coat rack, and looked at her with a gentle smile.
“You’re home early.”
“…You’re back, Grandpa?”
“Yes. Have you eaten?”
“…Not hungry.”
“That won’t do. Skipping meals is bad for you.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Tsk tsk…”
The old man knew from long experience that arguing further would be pointless.
“Fine, do as you like.”
He took off his coat and asked her,
“Hwaryen.”
“What?”
“Would you like to make a friend?”
“…Out of nowhere? Is it a guy? I told you I’m not interested in a boyfriend.”
He grinned at her question.
“It’s a girl. The prettiest child I’ve seen in all my years.”
Cheon Hwaryen stroked her chin for a moment, lost in thought. Then she slowly lifted her gaze to look up at her grandfather.
“…Prettier than me?”
“Do you want an honest answer?”
“I think I told you last time, Grandpa. There isn’t a single woman in the world who actually wants an honest answer.”
The old man burst out laughing.
“You’re better than your grandmother. She used to say she wanted honesty, but whenever I gave it to her she wouldn’t feed me for three days.”
He looked up at the ceiling with a nostalgic expression. Cheon Hwaryen’s cold, stiff voice pierced his ear.
“So what’s the answer?”
“Our Hwaryen is very pretty too.”
“…”
“Take a look for yourself.”
With a serious face, the old man pulled something from his pocket and held it out to her. It was a single sheet of paper folded in half.
“What is this?”
The moment Cheon Hwaryen unfolded it, she lost the ability to speak.
Printed on the paper was a photograph of a girl.
Silver hair that flowed like a waterfall. Eyes that sparkled like lakes reflecting starlight. Features so clear and beautiful they seemed personally sculpted by a god. Everything about her existed in perfect harmony, creating a beauty that transcended the mortal world.
She muttered without realizing it.
“…I concede.”
“Right?”
Even Cheon Hwaryen, who had never once considered herself unattractive, couldn’t even imagine comparing herself to this girl.
Saying otherwise would be an enormous insult to the woman in the photo.
Her eyes then fell on the note tucked between the folds.
“…And this?”
“The child said she wants to become friends with you.”
“With me? Why?”
“I don’t know. Ask her yourself later.”
“…I’ll call her right now.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Cheon Hwaryen dialed the number written on the note.
Tu-ru-ru-ru— The call tone continued, but unfortunately the other person never picked up.
“Hmm…”
“She must be sleeping. She just took the Awakener test, so she probably needs the rest.”
“…She took the test? You went there?”
“Yes. The Association is short on talent these days. I went to scout for promising candidates.”
“Hey, what grade did she get?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“It was a high grade, wasn’t it? B? A? Are you trying to kidnap her for the Association?”
“Now now, the Association doesn’t hand over player information. If I told you carelessly, this old man would get arrested.”
“Ugh…”
Cheon Hwaryen trembled with frustration, but there was nothing more she could do. It was truly a shame. She would just have to get close to the girl later and ask directly.
All she could do now was wait for morning to come.
As I scrolled through the post, a surge of satisfaction made the corners of my mouth rise on their own.
“Ahem.”
Today’s attention quota successfully charged.
I slipped my phone back into my inventory and looked up at the massive black structure towering before me.
The place people called the Tower of Trials.
“Why doesn’t the internet work inside the tower…”
Muttering to myself, I pulled a pure white mask out of my inventory and put it on.
It was a cheap plastic mask I’d bought on the street. It had no special effects whatsoever.
If someone asked why I bought something like this…
There was only one answer.
“A beautiful girl’s face is expensive.”
I can’t just show it to anyone.
With that thought, I placed my hand against the tower’s wall.
Will you enter the 1st floor of the ‘Tower of Trials’?
“Yes.”
The next instant, I found myself standing in the middle of a vast plaza bathed in moonlight.
“Looking for party members for Hard difficulty!”
“Hard difficulty bus service! Contact me!”
The noisy voices of people echoed all around me.
Piercing through that chatter came the voices of the constellations shining elegantly in the night sky.
The Constellation, ‘Lord of Cards and Chips’, greets you warmly!
The Constellation, ‘Goddess of War and Iron’, looks forward to your performance.
The Constellation, ‘Owner of the Solar Chariot’, observes you with great interest.
“…Heh.”
Receiving attention from Transcendents really hits different.
My body trembled and heat rushed to my face. I could feel the corners of my mouth curling up. Thank goodness I was wearing the mask. I couldn’t let anyone see an expression like this.
Extreme Difficulty Clear
📍 Content: Clear the 1st floor mission. (Difficulty will be fixed to Extreme.)
🎁 Reward: 1 Random Skill Book
“…Oh.”
One skill book for clearing the first floor.
But extreme difficulty was pretty tough. Would it be okay? The tutorial had already been pretty close. I recalled the moments when the general skeletons’ blades had nearly torn off my neck and limbs and continued thinking.
That was when it happened.
Tap tap—
Someone tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“Um… Would you like to party with us?”
“…?”
When I turned my head, I saw a narrow-eyed man wearing flashy equipment that practically screamed high quality.
…What? Was he even a first-floor climber? That gear looked like it came from around the 20th floor or higher.
“Hmm…”
Well, if he was offering to bus me, there wasn’t really anything to worry about.
“…Sure, sounds good.”
You have accepted the quest.
Your 1st floor mission difficulty has been fixed to ‘Extreme.’
Normally, when players who chose different difficulties partied together, the mission difficulty would average out. But now, no matter who I partied with or how many people joined…
Well, four people should be easier than going solo. They looked strong too.
If they died… well, that would be unfortunate.
They couldn’t have invited a beautiful girl to their party without at least that much resolve.
Thinking that, I walked briskly toward where they were standing.