The Price of Life
The Price of Life
Yeon-hwa's embrace after so long was incredibly warm. As her lingering body heat seeped into me, my body and mind unwound into a pleasant languor.
The colossal fatigue piled up over the week seemed to melt away all at once.
[Happy]
'This is... nice.'
"There, there. You've worked hard."
Yeon-hwa chuckled and stroked my head. I laughed along, and she tilted a water bottle to my lips.
Gulp, gulp. The water trickled into my mouth. A little of it spilled down my neck and mingled with the beads of sweat pooled on my collarbone.
"...I hope I'm not disturbing your training...?"
"It was just a warm-up, so it's fine. I was going to wrap up and head inside soon anyway."
"That's a relief."
[Relieved]
"You worry about everything, don't you."
Yeon-hwa smiled and brushed my cheek.
"You said you entered the Tower under the Contemplation theme?"
"Yep. When I'm going in alone, Contemplation is the best choice."
I could achieve sufficient growth on other floors too, sure. But my situation is a little different. Since I can meet other iterations, Contemplation is overwhelmingly more efficient.
'It was the same this time.'
I was still digesting and assimilating what I'd learned from the 8th Iteration, adjusting it into my own style. Growth that was vastly faster than wandering around on my own.
"...I see. But what came up in Contemplation?"
[Huh?]
"Huh?"
When I looked up, Yeon-hwa was staring down at me. Her gaze had something strange in it, and I tilted my head.
"It was the Contemplation theme. I came up."
"You mean Lee Ha-yul came up?"
"Yep, yep."
"Which Lee Ha-yul?"
A question that circled back persistently. I blinked. Why was she asking again?
'...Which Lee Ha-yul?'
That's a strange way to put it. Nobody normally asks that.
I rolled my eyes at the odd feeling of foreboding.
"...Me. I came up...?"
"Hmm..."
Yeon-hwa let out a strange hum. Her slightly narrowed eyes peered into me.
...I kept rolling my eyes and dodging her gaze, then gave up and buried my face back in her chest.
Her chest was always generous, and since it had grown even more since we first met, my whole face was swallowed up.
"This little... the moment things get tough, you bury your face in my chest, don't you."
— Smack.
"Eep!"
Yeon-hwa narrowed her eyes and brought her hand down. I flinched at the tap below my waist and hid myself even deeper against her.
Yeon-hwa swallowed a sigh and patted my back as if I were hopeless.
"Before we head home... it's been a while. Want to go eat somewhere outside first?"
"Yes, yes. Is there anything you want?" I bobbed my head up and down, afraid another question might slip out.
"Is there anything you want, Ha-yul?"
"Me? I want..."
Released from the interrogation, I peeked out and rolled my eyes. Yeon-hwa laughed and tousled my hair.
"Let's eat together outside first. I'll give Ha-yul a proper feeding once we're inside."
"Mm-hmm."
[Looking Forward]
.
.
.
A few more days went by, and the closing ceremony arrived.
The procedure was the same as last year.
Each grade took their seats in the enormous auditorium, and the Vice Headmaster presided over the ceremony from the dais.
Standard lectures and proceedings. Everyone's attention was focused on the very last part of the agenda.
[Ta-da!]
In the waiting room we gathered in after the ceremony, I beamed and held up the paper. All eyes snapped to it.
[122nd Cohort, 2nd Year, 1st Semester — Top Seat: Lee Ha-yul]
The top seat for the second year's first semester had been claimed by none other than me.
"I'm amazed you weren't the top seat until now."
Lee Ha-sol, who'd happened to come into the same waiting room, tilted her head.
For reference, the certificate in Lee Ha-sol's hand was also stamped with the words 'Top Seat'.
[Congrats on making top seat, Lee Ha-sol. Last year... my skills were a little lacking.]
"If I'd fought last year's you, I think I'd have gotten wrecked."
[There's no way I could've done it in the first semester...]
"Getting wrecked in the second semester is still about right."
Senior Daera pouted as she answered. She looked as sulky as a pufferfish. I glanced over at Senior Daera's certificate with Observation.
[Senior Daera's grade increase is way more insane than mine, anyway. You shot straight up to the upper ranks in one go.]
Senior Daera had climbed all the way into the top 10 in a single leap.
Her written exams were a little weak, but the credits from placing first in the practical exam and winning the tournament were massive. It was thanks to evaluation criteria that heavily weighted practical performance.
"Tch. Grades matter? Actual skill is what counts."
"Ahaha, if that's the case, I'm the top seat but I still lose to Daera in sparring, so what then."
"That's different from this."
But she still wasn't satisfied with second place, apparently, because she was grumbling to Lee Ha-sol with that sulky look.
"Congratulations on the top seat. I assumed it was only a matter of time, so you've finally usurped my position?"
Baek A-rin laughed and waved her certificate. The words 'Second Seat' stood out at the end of the long sentence printed on it.
Now that I'd taken the top seat, Baek A-rin had naturally dropped to second place.
"In contrast, Yeon-hwa..."
Baek A-rin's gaze swept backward. Hong Yeon-hwa, standing with her arms crossed, twitched an eyebrow.
"What. Why. What are you looking at?"
"Hm... Third place."
"You. You and me, right outside."
Baek A-rin had been the top seat, but got pushed down to second, and Yeon-hwa, who'd held second, also got shoved back a rank.
My feelings about that were a little complicated, but the smile lingering on my lips wouldn't fade.
[Uhehehe]
"Well, look at that. Are you really that happy about stealing my spot?"
I beamed at Baek A-rin as she poked my cheek. Of course I was happy. My worth had been proven, so how could I not be? Plus I could be praised by my master for this.
"Don't be too hard on him. When he's that happy, watching him from the side is pretty cute."
"Which is precisely why I want to tease him more, you know? Didn't we agree on this last time?"
"...I never agreed to that."
Lee Ji-yeon turned her head, making a peculiar face. In her hand was also a certificate with the word 'Top Seat' printed on it.
As expected, Lee Ji-yeon had kept her place as the third-year top seat. Meaning that the first, second, and third-year top seats had all gathered in this room.
"Ahem. Junior, have you packed everything?"
Lee Ji-yeon cleared her throat softly and asked me.
[Yes, yes. I packed it all beforehand, before entering the Tower. I can head out right away.]
"Glad to hear it."
Lee Ji-yeon smiled and nodded.
The break had started. That meant we needed to take the Gate Terminal outside... to the location where the Three Great Families' meeting would be held.
Due to circumstances, the meeting wouldn't happen right away, but we had to arrive early to prepare... and some other things.
'I should take Seo-yul sightseeing a bit, too.'
I bobbed my head to myself. Since I was bringing Seo-yul along anyway, I obviously had to show her the outside world.
"Anyway, Junior. Have you finished making all the undead?"
[Tickle]
Then it happened.
Lee Ji-yeon, having neatly folded up her certificate, whispered into my ear. A shiver ran through my body at the ticklish sensation, and I gave a small nod.
[Yes, I've made them all.]
Recently, I'd made a huge number of special undead with Lee Ji-yeon's help. Their functions were slightly inferior to the three undead I'd shown at the tournament... but in return, they were mass-producible, a way of increasing sheer quantity.
"Did you make those to use at the meeting?"
[Umm... yes. There'll be a verification process at the meeting itself, so it'll look good if I make quality ones and show them off.]
I bobbed my head at Lee Ji-yeon's question. I hadn't made them without that in mind.
'But my intention for mass-producing them right now is largely something else.'
I wiggled my fingers with a strange expression.
It wasn't my true body that moved, but a clone.
* * *
"Your complexion is clearer than I expected," Est teased.
Spada, who had been surveying the room, scowled. "The prison grub must be good."
"Certainly beats roasting monsters on the roadside."
Association Headquarters. They had just been released after a stint in the notorious detention facility beneath it. Contrary to their worries, the meals provided by the Association were far tastier than monster flesh.
There was a bed, and their sleeping hours were guaranteed. It was far better treatment than when they were hunters chasing monster bounties, constantly fleeing from Association pursuit.
'Well, our status as tools hasn't changed...'
Est raised a hand to their neck. They felt thick metal that was too heavy to be a necklace. It was a safety device installed for "containment" purposes. A tool designed for the handler's benefit, not Est's. A terrifying collar that would explode the moment any resistance was attempted.
Spada and Yang Yi-hwa wore the same ones. Of course, the new master's constraint clinging firmly to their souls was far more dangerous than any collar.
"You should be careful, Spada. The day you thoughtlessly draw your sword and bump the collar... ha ha."
"So I just burn and die? I can't even use my hedgehog tactics in a crisis, then."
"Tsk."
At Yang Yi-hwa's mockery, Spada, who had been glancing at the collar, scowled.
"However, may I ask why you've brought us out?"
Est turned their head as they spoke. Inside the empty room where they'd gathered, Lee Ha-yul, who had been stroking a mysterious staff in the center, replied.
—To deploy you on a dungeon expedition.
"I see."
Dungeon clearing and monster subjugation were the primary duties of a superhuman. Dungeons, especially, would unleash hordes of monsters upon the world when they rampaged.
Even at this very moment, dungeons were forming, expanding, and rampaging across the globe, but the number of superhumans was far from sufficient to match them. It was a fact Est, who was born and raised in the gray zones, knew all too well.
'Myself and these two morons are decent labor.'
The three of them, Est included, possessed rotten personalities, but their respective skills were among the highest of all superhumans. As long as they could be controlled, they were tools too valuable to be left to rust.
"I will give it my all."
But even the sharpest tools could be discarded at any time depending on the owner's whim. Est smiled brightly and bowed respectfully. Seeing this, Yang Yi-hwa clicked their tongue and sent a sound transmission.
—Wagging your tail for the new master already?
—Wouldn't it be better if you wagged yours too? A hundred times better than ending up on the chopping block for pointless defiance.
The moment Est offered that heartfelt advice, Lee Ha-yul tapped the floor with his staff.
—You two. I can hear every whisper you mutter through sound transmission. Stop wagging your tails in vain and get ready.
"......."
"......."
Est and Yang Yi-hwa froze at the sudden telepathic intrusion. Their eyes quivered slightly.
'He eavesdropped on a sound transmission?'
Sound transmission was the delivery of intent via mana. It couldn't convey thoughts as quickly or as much as the original flame-type unique abilities, but its security was absolute. That was the world's common sense, yet Lee Ha-yul had brazenly ignored it and listened in on their transmission.
How? The question rose, but they were too afraid to ask.
'Lucky we didn't try to talk behind his back.'
The old saying about watching your mouth in this industry wasn't coined for nothing. How many people in this world had met a miserable end because of their lips and tongue?
Est shut their mouth and nodded meekly.
—We're moving. Ready your mana.
Lee Ha-yul, who had been inspecting the Crystal Orb of Purification for a while, raised his arm.
- Thud, thud, thud...
As Purification rapped the floor three times in quick succession, the interior of the room rippled like a wave. The spatial fluctuation enveloped the three of them.
The jump felt a little long.
"Urgh..."
The moment their feet touched the ground, a churning nausea rose within them. It was a side effect of the Spatial Leap. Spada grimaced, lips pressed tightly together. The other two also looked pale. Only Lee Ha-yul, the caster, remained unruffled.
Est shook their head to dispel the unpleasant sensation and surveyed the area. It was a wasteland. Hardly any sign of people, even beyond the horizon. The only traces were the footprints left on the ground.
'One came on foot... and the other...'
Not on foot. They had appeared from the air and stepped onto the ground. Either by flying, or through a Spatial Leap, like now...
'I see. He visited beforehand to survey the area.'
It seemed that after finishing their reconnaissance, they had summoned their tools for the expedition. Having roughly grasped the situation, Est turned their head.
A vortex was visible quite a distance away.
"...Is that the dungeon we're entering?"
—Yes.
Lee Ha-yul nodded. Spada and Yang Yi-hwa had their eyes fixed on the vortex as well. A bead of cold sweat rolled down Est's forehead.
That vortex was the dungeon's entrance. It was enormous. The mana currents washing against their skin were remarkably fierce. Proof of the dungeon's high grade.
"Could we perhaps hear some information about this dungeon?"
—Its temporary designation is Clear Mirror. It's a Grade 1 Dungeon that appeared a few years ago.
Lee Ha-yul shrugged, still caressing the Crystal Orb of Purification.
Considering that Special-Grade Dungeons might only appear once or twice a decade, a Grade 1 Dungeon is generally the most dangerous type of dungeon one can face.
Est had cleared many dungeons. This meant they had experienced more than their fair share. They had even crawled into the Reverse Side, so what more was there to say?
'Grade 1?'
And thus, they understood.
The dungeon before their eyes was the kind that would vie for the top spot even among Grade 1 dungeons. Meaning its scale was such that if it erupted, it would effortlessly wipe a nation off the map...
—The objective is to locate an artifact inside the dungeon. I've narrowed down the internal layout, but be mindful that it shifts in real time. Also, once we enter, extraction is impossible until the dungeon is cleared.
"...And, the progress so far..."
—This will be the first expedition.
Meaning all the traps littering the dungeon were fully intact. Meaning the monsters potentially swarming inside remained at full strength.
—I'll handle detection, so don't worry excessively about traps. I'll also share the intel I've gathered in advance.
Detecting the inside of a dungeon from the outside was impossible... but Est didn't dare to object.
Lee Ha-yul tapped his smartwatch.
[Contact: Maxwell]
[▷Me: Entering now]
[▷Maxwell: Understood]
[▷Maxwell: Once you enter, I will deploy an Illusion Dream at the entrance and begin constant Observation]
Having finished his final check, Lee Ha-yul nodded. The raised Purification pointed toward the vortex.
—Alright, move in.
A Grade 1 Dungeon.
Normally, this was the kind of hazard that required detailed months-long surveys and analysis, with multiple advance parties deployed for preliminary subjugation.
After that, a main force of numerous top-grade superhumans backed by dozens of support personnel would be attached, and the expedition would need to be broken into generous schedules... that was the usual procedure for a dungeon of this danger level.
"...Are we seriously going in?"
—That's the price of your lives.
A single question was met with a chilling reply. Est silently readied their supplied staff and bow. Spada and Yang Yi-hwa, who had kept their mouths shut, drew their sword and spear with expressions of resignation.
'They preserved our immediate lives, but this owner handles us just as roughly...'
A shadow of gloom settled on Est's face.
* * *
[｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣ is consuming vitality... consuming...]
[The Tower Master of Harmonization suppresses ｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣]
...
[The Tower Master of Harmonization clutches their head]
[Grk... this damn curse, it partially applies to clones too...!]
* * *
