A 50,000 Won Wallet Doesn't Feed You
"…Seol-ah? What the hell is this?"
The shopping results were so absurd that my voice came out colder and more accusatory than I'd intended.
Spread out on the bed were all sorts of clothes. Half of them were safe, everyday designs: a plain black T-shirt, a white hoodie, oversized denim shorts. But on the other side…
…were clothes that might fit my body but that my mind could never accept. Skinny jeans, a lace blouse, a tennis skirt… and a white off-shoulder frilly dress straight out of some ion drink ad.
No matter that my body was now female—I just couldn't wrap my head around wearing stuff like this.
"You told me to pick whatever I wanted, oppa."
"Haa…."
She had a point, even if her attitude was infuriating. I'd clearly said, 'Just pick whatever,' so who could I blame? It was my fault for losing my mind back there….
I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed deeply. Seol-ah scrunched up her face and roughly grabbed the white off-shoulder frilly dress with one hand, clutching its tag in the other.
"People who go back on their word deserve a little punishment, right?"
"Ah, no!"
Riiip.
"Ah."
Seol-ah's rampage didn't stop there. Confirming the tag was fully detached, she snatched up another piece of women's clothing and tore off its tag in a flash.
Riiip. Riiip. Riiiip!
Her rough movements and speed were insane, yet she didn't damage the clothes at all. There was a mad glint in her eye.
Staring at the women's clothes with their tags all ripped off made my head spin.
I-If she does that, we can't return them….
Of course no store would take back clothes without tags. My empty wallet couldn't afford this haul anyway, so these must all be on Seol-ah's dime.
If I owe her like this, who knows what she'll demand later…!
I had no idea—and that made it even scarier.
But Seol-ah acted like she couldn't care less, hanging all the clothes neatly in the closet on hangers. Among the row, that white dress stood out like it was on display, taunting me. It was overwhelmingly burdensome.
Sensing my mood, Seol-ah approached hesitantly, looking deflated, and spoke up.
"Sorry. They all looked like they'd suit you no matter what…."
Her earlier aggrieved tone was gone, replaced by a dejected one. She looked just like a sad retriever.
"Don't worry about the money— the cute ones are all on me."
Anyone who knew my wallet situation would get it instantly. But that wasn't the problem.
She might demand a photoshoot or twelve hours of tail-petting privileges. Urgh! I should've kept my wits about me…!!
"Haaa…."
To console myself over the grim future ahead, I let out a deep sigh from the pit of my stomach.
What was done was done—no taking it back now. Time to face the cold, hard reality: my bank balance.
Even if only a few pieces were on me, I needed to check how much I had left.
The banking app proudly displayed my balance the second I logged in: a whopping 52,340 won. Enough to live off forever.
If it lasted two days.
"Gasp."
Curious about what I was seeing, Seol-ah sidled over and peeked at my glorious balance.
"Oppa. So, what happened with your part-time job?"
"Took you long enough to ask. You seemed more interested in my tail than my story."
"No way! I was gonna ask from the start!"
"Obviously, I already quit."
It had been an awkward, uncomfortable moment.
—Store manager, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can keep working.
—Sorry for quitting so suddenly.
Even via text, I'd tried to be as polite as possible. That was the best manners I could muster in my current state.
But instead of a reply, my phone rang. Seeing 'Convenience Store Manager' on the screen, I hesitated.
Still, I couldn't just ignore it, so after a few rings, I picked up.
"H-Hello?"
The moment my voice went through, there was a brief silence on the other end.
"…Ah, you're Ha-neul's little sister? Can you put Ha-neul on?"
"Um. He's… not in a position to take calls right now…."
"Tch, haa…. That guy. Even if it's urgent, you at least pick up the phone…."
The manager's voice mixed irritation and disappointment. He had a point. No matter my excuses, it wasn't socially acceptable.
"I'm sorry. I'll pass the message on…."
All I could do was repeat 'I'm sorry.'
"Oppa?"
"Yeah?"
"Why're you spacing out all of a sudden? What if you tried acting?"
Acting? I blinked at Seol-ah, who was staring at me like I was some priceless artwork.
"Honestly, in your current state, agencies would be dying to sign you."
No, even if that were true, acting? I could picture myself being dragged around TV stations. Like it or not, my every move would end up on SNS. For a total social recluse like me, that was impossible.
And if they wanted photos, I'd have to just sit there….
No. That's impossible too.
"That's a bit… I think hunter suits me better."
Since I'd awakened as a dragon anyway, hunting made sense. It might be risky, but selling magistones would bring in way more cash.
Then a weird feeling hit me. I looked up at Seol-ah, who was tilting her head with a 'Hoo…?' expression, gazing down at me.
Why that look? It's creepy…?
"Wh-What."
Yoon Seol-ah strode toward me. Watching her approach slowly, I half-expected her to gaslight me into acting.
My brain screamed that whether I hunted or acted was my choice, but in reality, I was just backing away.
With the bed right behind me now, nowhere left to run, Seol-ah suddenly lunged and hugged me tight.
"Then this chubby cheek is mine!"
"Gyaah! What?!"
She pinned me in place and started stretching my cheeks.
Were cheeks always this stretchy…? She's dead set on making me an actor…!
I flailed in betrayed shock, but escape was a pipe dream.
…It was a while later, after things calmed down, that Seol-ah said something normal.
"Anyway, I'll help however I can. I'm a Hunter Association employee, after all."
"Yeah… Thanks…."
"So, starting with the White Tower?"
White Tower. As a hardcore Hunter Gallery lurker, I'd heard of it. The tower hunters treated like a tutorial. Fail to clear it, and you'd hear you shouldn't even set foot in towers.
Perfect for me—no real combat experience, no plans for hunter training academy.
"Obviously. Most towers require clearing the White Tower just to enter."
Not the tower system itself, but Hunter Association rules. Same difference unless you planned illegal runs. Probably to stop clueless newbies mangling themselves in high-difficulty towers. Safety rules were written in blood, after all.
"Leave your hunter registration card with me then. After all the healing I did, this is the least I can do!"
Seol-ah flashed a thumbs-up, eyes sparkling with confidence.
…What department was she even in to hack the database like that?
"So, when're you heading out?"
"Right now."
"R-Right now?"
A 50,000-won account had no future. I needed magistones ASAP to grow, no time to waste.
"Got it. Guess I'll head to the Association too. See ya next time!"
Seol-ah grabbed her handbag quick, snapped about ten pics of me waving goodbye, and left the apartment.
The noisy girl gone, the vibe turned quiet and cold in seconds.
"Alright. Time for some research."
I sat at my computer desk, stretched, and searched 'White Tower,' scraping info from galleries, blogs, whatever.
Arriving near the White Tower, the first thing that hit me was the disconnect. Right in central Seoul, yet nothing around the tower. A cleared space amid skyscrapers. Even a quick glance told you how much that land cost.
"Letting prime Seoul real estate sit empty…."
Wondering why they didn't just parcel it out, I approached the Hunter Association's barricade. Figured I'd sneak in if no one stopped me.
"Hey! Kid, hold up!"
Looking toward the voice, a man hurried over. He crouched to my level and spoke.
"Lost? Where are your parents?"
"Uh…? I'm a hunter."
"Got your registration card?"
Still treating me like a lost kid, his tone was all cutesy.
I awakened as a dragon, you know. And I'm not a little kid.
To prove it, I showed him the card Seol-ah gave me. Since it wasn't official channels, it had the common F-rank.
Seol-ah vouched for it, so no issues, but my hand trembled slightly, worried he'd reject it or call it fake.
He took it with a puzzled look, scanned it, then spoke.
"Ah, sorry. Lots of teens sneaking in lately. My mistake."
Awakened high schoolers could enter towers, right? Non-awakened kids trying it? Kids these days had no fear.
"Card checked. Be careful in there."
"Thanks."
Passing the barricade toward the tower, being a hunter started feeling real. And so did entering that ominous tower.
European-style stone arch entrance, but melted and dripping in spots like a candle burned too long. Eerie.
'Looks like a place you'd never wanna revisit, but I'll have to get used to it.'
Steeling myself, I placed my hand on the tower's sole door.
Welcome to the White Tower.
Please select difficulty.
[Easy][Normal][Hard]
A hologram like my status window. Guys who could tank falls might pick Hard for floors 1-3, but I'd cross-checked online info and decided already.
Skip Easy—too easy, stingy rewards. Hard needed B-stats or two D-rank hunters. Pass.
"Normal it is—goldilocks zone."
Just as my finger hovered over [Normal], a new hologram covered the buttons.
Mythical being detected.
Difficulty automatically set to 'Mystic' mode.
"Eh?"
Three seconds to read. One second to process.
Before I could react, I was sucked into the tower.