The Green Tower
“Fastest E-rank achievement ever, huh.”
Hard to believe. And on top of that, SSS-rank potential?
At this rate, won’t he hit S-rank too?
Kihihit, hahahaha!
“Why are you grinning like that?”
“Just because. You’re a cute little thing.”
Maybe it’s because I’m in a good mood?
Even the Hero kid’s constant grumbling looks adorable right now.
“What’s this?”
“Huh? When did you take that?”
The Hero had pulled my Hunter card out of my pocket and was examining it with interest.
“As expected, you’re an idiot, Hero. That human woman clearly said it was the mark of an E-rank Hunter.”
“Yeah. Lose that and you’re screwed.”
Reissuing it costs money, after all.
“Hmm. That bad?”
Look at this brat.
“Then the reissue fee’s coming out of your YouTube Premium cancellation.”
“S-sorry.”
You should’ve done that from the start.
“By the way, when are we going to make money?”
The Hero, who hadn’t been watching Magic Ranger for once, asked the question.
“Tomorrow. Why?”
“It’s… kinda scary.”
Where the Hero pointed, Nabi was sitting in the corner of the bed, baring her teeth at me.
“Food! Food! Hungry! Food!”
Aha.
“No, I already fed you today’s portion, remember? There’s no more meat left.”
Nabi’s appetite kept growing. Even after finishing a full meal, she was still growling hungrily.
I didn’t have money to buy more meat right now either.
“Haa… Let’s go tomorrow.”
Tomorrow I’d head to the Green Tower, earn some money, and buy Nabi more meat.
“I’ll make sure you eat until you’re full tomorrow.”
“Food, food, food, food, food, food, food!”
Man, my back’s gonna break at this rate.
“Have you decided which direction we’re heading?”
“More or less.”
There were several towers I could enter now that I was E-rank, but the one I’d chosen was…
“Well, the closest one, right?”
“……”
This is why I hate sharp-eyed brats.
“Yeah. We’re going to the Green Tower.”
The Green Tower in Daejeon.
It was the closest tower to where we were in Daegu.
“Huuung, do as you like.”
The Demon King showed no interest, slicing off tiny pieces of cake and eating them one by one.
“Demon King, are you stupid? Now’s not the time for that.”
“Hmph. If you’re going to spout nonsense again, I must eat my cake, so do not disturb me…”
“That place is the holy land of bread. You don’t know Sangsimdang?”
Hero, you bastard! How did you know that?!
“I saw a review video on YouTube. That fried soboro bread is no joke!”
No wonder he talked to the Demon King first—he was just waiting to say something unnecessary!
The culprit, the Hero, was smiling at me.
Revenge for earlier.
Petty little brat!
“What?! Tamer, why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”
As expected, the Demon King set down her cake and shot to her feet, rushing toward me.
Her eyes were slightly glazed. This was bad.
From experience, once the Demon King got like this, she wouldn’t listen to a single word until she got her bread.
Haa, no choice.
“If you help out properly in the Green Tower, I’ll buy you bread.”
“Fried soboro. One.”
The Demon King’s reply was short and to the point.
“Who’s gonna be satisfied with one? Make it two!”
The Hero chimed in, clearly showing off.
Haha, Hero, you little…
“Hero’s phone is confiscated for a week.”
“Are you insane? I oppose private sanctions! How am I supposed to go a whole week without my phone!”
“It’s my phone to begin with. Endure it with sheer willpower, Hero.”
You’re not getting away with this.
“Uwaaaah! Y-you… you crazy bastard! A week is impossible, I’m gonna dieeee!”
Time for the Hero to do a dopamine detox.
A clean one.
“Thanks. Overwhelming thanks…”
The Hero was sprawled on the floor, clutching the phone he’d gotten back after six hours, tears streaming down his face.
“Don’t forget what you promised.”
“Got it.”
The one thing I’d made them promise when I handed the phone over.
Work with the Demon King to defeat as many monsters as possible in record time.
“The more we hunt, the more drops we get. Got it, you brats?”
These two never say a word when they’re alone together, but the moment they’re ganging up on me, they’re perfectly in sync.
Well, at least they’re not trying to kill each other anymore. That’s progress, right?
Anyway.
If we were going to do this, we’d do it the strongest, most overwhelming way possible.
‘Maybe I can pull it off.’
If that happened, my empty wallet and the looks of contempt would all change.
Youngest S-rank Hunter? Jin Seah?
Move aside!
I’m Kang Hyunwoo, the first Tamer to reach S-rank.
Mmm. Just thinking about it gives me chills.
“Hey, look at the master’s face.”
“What kind of filthy fantasy is he having to make that expression… How disgusting.”
I ignored the two whispering and steeled my resolve.
“S-rank as a Tamer? Let’s do this!”
And so, we arrived at the Green Tower in Daejeon after taking the early morning train.
“But it’s not green, though?”
The Hero tilted his head as he looked up at the towering structure.
“The tower itself isn’t green. The monsters that come out of it are.”
“Ohhh!”
The information that Hunter Association noona gave me yesterday was surprisingly useful.
— The Green Tower is named that way because green-skinned monsters like goblins and orcs keep pouring out of it.
Was that it?
— There’s also a vicious guild inside the Green Tower that forces deathmatches on beginners!
— So you absolutely must go in a party! It’s really dangerous!
— Otherwise, you should join a guild!
“But I can’t get in.”
Before I could even try recruiting a party, the hunters were already sneering at me like I was trash.
‘Guild, my ass. I can’t even get a party.’
Obviously, if I tried to recruit, they’d just mock me and pick a fight. Those bastards.
“Let’s just go in alone, nice and easy~”
Technically, I was already in a party with my kin, so it didn’t matter, right?
Besides, my party members were all SSS-rank. What could possibly go wrong?
“Demon King! I already bought you the fried soboro bread, so keep your promise.”
“Munch munch…”
The Demon King, face full of bliss as she chewed her bread, stretched out her hand and waved me away.
Haa.
“Alright, let’s head in…”
“Kya! Look at that. He’s got a werewolf with him. Don’t tell me that bastard’s a Tamer?”
“Seems like it?”
Just as we were about to enter the tower, mocking voices came from behind.
“What?”
I turned around.
Three burly guys with bleached blonde hair and tattoos—straight out of a back-alley gang—were sneering at me.
‘Haa, damn it. I knew this would happen.’
I hadn’t even tried recruiting a party and they were already picking a fight. New record?
‘Ignore them. Just ignore.’
Wasting energy before even entering the tower would be stupid.
“This is a place for E-ranks, you Tamer bastard. Too dumb to know that?”
“Not the kind of place for trash like you with an avoided class.”
“You only brought a werewolf? What, you dragging those two brats along to beg for money? Kihihit.”
The blonde thugs blocked my path as I tried to walk past them, poking my shoulder and starting trouble.
These sons of bitches?
“Hey…”
I lowered my voice and took a step toward them.
“The Tamer bastard’s lost his mind. He’s even making eye contact.”
“We need to teach him some discipline.”
“Just come here. I’ll only break your arms and legs.”
The thugs approached with nasty grins.
Whatever. I was pissed too.
“Insulting my kin is…”
I clenched my fist, pouring all my strength into it.
One hit. Just one, then I’d back off.
“Whatever! But insulting me? I can’t let that slide!”
Wham!
I slammed my fist into the approaching thug’s cheek.
‘Kugh! My hand hurts!’
Maybe because he was a Hunter too? My hand hurt more than his face.
The thugs stared at me with wide eyes, clearly not expecting to get hit first.
“Why so surprised?”
‘My kin are SSS-rank. No need to be scared of E-rank Hunters.’
Kang Hyunwoo the Tamer doesn’t hold back anymore.
Of course, I immediately retreated behind my kin for safety.
No need to be reckless.
“Whoa, is his personality for real?”
“How impressive…”
Yeah, you guys are mad because your master got insulted too, right?
“You’re in big trouble now. You should quietly back off while you still can. My kin are really angry, you know?”
Or do you want to taste my SSS-rank kin?
— Murmur murmur
Hunters passing by stopped to watch us with interest.
“What’s going on?”
“That Tamer just slapped that guy’s face.”
“Eh? Against that party? A Tamer? They must’ve looked down on him.”
The blonde thugs’ pride was wounded by the murmurs. Killing intent flared around them.
“…Haa, this bastard!”
“The Tamer’s gone crazy.”
They raised their weapons and advanced toward me.
Hah. Did they think I’d be scared?
Kin Reinforcement
Stats enhanced according to each kin’s attributes.
[Nabi’s Agility stat has been enhanced.]
[Hero’s Strength stat has been enhanced.]
[Demon King’s Magic stat has been enhanced.]
Combat preparations complete.
“Go forth, my kin.”
Time to teach those thugs a lesson!
“Why should I go?”
“Kk kk kk kk. This is your own fault. Refused.”
My kin—actually, my freeloading brats—ignored their master’s crisis.
“…Hey? This isn’t what we agreed on.”
We were supposed to fight hard!
I even bought bread! I even gave the phone back!
I did everything!
“We said we’d fight hard ‘inside’ the tower. This is ‘outside’ the tower, isn’t it?”
“Agreed.”
The Hero’s lips curled up at the Demon King’s words.
…These bastards?! That’s how you’re playing it?
“Hey, I might actually die here. If I die, you die too, you know?”
“They won’t kill you, right? It’s ‘outside’ the tower. They’ll just beat you up a bit?”
The Hero said it with a smile.
You little shit! And you call yourself a Hero?
At that moment, the blonde thugs made a huge mistake.
“What’s so funny, you little bastard? Want to die?”
One of them kicked the phone the Hero was holding.
Wham!
The phone flew across the floor with a loud crash.
“Watching childish crap. Get out of the way, you little shit!”
They stomped on the screen that had been playing Power Rangers, crushing it.
Crack!
“Ah…”
That phone still had payments left on it…
“……Tamer.”
It was the first time I’d heard the Hero’s voice that low.
“Uh… yeah?”
“…Did you apply the buff?”
“Yeah… it’s on, right?”
“…Don’t stop me.”
“Uh… okay.”
Gently… go easy on them, okay?