Reunion
I take back what I said about having nothing to do.
“I need to make money….”
The moment I saw the viciously high land prices, my eyes flew open.
1.5 billion.
One thousand five hundred per weapon sold.
‘…Should I raise the price?’
I knew the equipment I forged performed exceptionally. That was only natural.
Judging by how the ring had sold the instant it was listed in the Auction House, it seemed entirely possible, but….
“I really don’t want to….”
Yet my pride refused to allow it.
From the start, I hadn’t liked the idea of selling failure pieces for money, which was why I’d compromised with “no future transactions.” Raising the price on top of that was out of the question.
“Sigh….”
It simply didn’t sit right with me.
In that case, only one option remained.
“Let’s make a hundred.”
If I crafted them one by one, surely at least one piece would emerge that satisfied me, even if it didn’t reach the level of Sawol.
If I could feel even a fraction of that fulfillment again….
“I’ll do it.”
Muttering to myself, I quickened my pace and recalled everything I would need to produce a hundred pieces of equipment.
‘Above all… materials.’
While I was wondering where to obtain such a large quantity, the sound of metal clanging together drifted from a shopping bag carried by a passerby.
Pots, kitchen knives, ladles, and the like.
“…Those will do.”
Following the logo on the shopping bag, I stepped into the nearby store.
After climbing one floor, I reached the kitchenware section.
My wandering gaze landed on a massive pile of the very pots I had just seen.
“There are so many….”
Almost in a trance, I approached the mountain of pots, knelt, and picked one up.
— Clang!
When I tapped the bottom with my knuckle, a clear, resonant metallic ring filled the air.
‘This is far better than that dagger from before.’
It was quite suitable metal. While still lacking in some ways, the forging quality surpassed that of the dagger, and it held more value than the hunters’ gear I had seen at the tower entrance—items that were obviously slapped together at random.
“Who made this?”
Still holding the pot in one hand, I examined its surface.
Not a single maker’s name could be found anywhere.
“Hmm.”
That pleased me even more. A true blacksmith had no need to announce themselves.
Humming softly, I loaded the pots into the basket I had brought from the entrance.
“Not bad at all.”
One after another, every pot I picked up had identical quality. The next, and the next.
How could any forging feel so completely devoid of human heart?
It wasn’t to my taste, but the mindset itself deserved respect.
‘Quality naturally shifts with whatever emotion you hold at the time.’
The maker of these pots clearly possessed a mind as still and clear as a mirror.
‘With a little polishing of their technique, they could become great.’
Nodding to myself, I paid for the pots and left the store.
The interior of the tower was always filled with danger.
“Whoa….”
A B-class hunter concealed among dark-red rocks and trees let out a soft gasp as he stared at the scene before him.
He wasn’t admiring the sinister landscape.
What drew the exclamation was the striking sight of a beautiful woman with short brown hair flicking blood droplets from her blade with a precise snap of her wrist.
— Shing!
It was an exclamation for movement so disciplined it contained not a single wasted motion.
He had heard the description before.
Lee Daon.
A rookie hunter who had cleared the tutorial up to the fifth floor, reached the tenth, and arrived at the thirtieth floor—the gateway to the middle layers—in less than a month.
Despite her official D-class rank, every one of the dozens of monster corpses strewn behind her had been decapitated with surgical cleanliness.
“How is that D-class… The Association has lost its mind.”
“You can say that again.”
The party member beside him seemed to share the sentiment, muttering with clear reverence.
Even their party of three B-class hunters found the stretch from the twentieth to thirtieth floors grueling.
They had survived dozens of near-death encounters, earned countless bruises, and spent years climbing….
“She’s at least upper A-class.”
Yet she had shattered every previous record solo and broken through all those floors.
“I bet she’s S-class. Look at her clear times.”
“Come on… S-class is pushing it. There are only twenty of them in the whole world.”
While the heated debate continued, Daon finished checking her gear and advanced once more.
“Hey, we should move too…!”
The reason the party secretly trailed behind her was simple.
They were hoping for any scraps she might leave behind.
Unlike floors that isolated individuals or parties, the fields encountered every ten floors were shared among everyone who had entered at the same time.
Of course, each person’s chosen difficulty and randomly assigned objectives would differ, but….
‘Just in case.’
They might share the same goal.
The main objective currently displayed in their party status window was to subjugate the thirtieth-floor boss monster, the Abyssal Executor.
Subjugate the Abyssal Executor
📍 Floor: 30
🎁 Anticipated Reward: Massive EXP, rare materials
‘Doesn’t look like the mission is pure survival.’
She also hadn’t been seen collecting anything, which only increased their hopes.
‘Maybe I’ll finally clear the thirtieth floor too?’
After Daon sliced through yet another pack of monsters in a single stroke, she paused to catch her breath and lifted her phone.
“Aigoo……”
What a waste of time.
She clapped a hand over her mouth at the sigh that had slipped out unconsciously.
Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed.
‘Phew….’
The B-class hunter breathed in relief and looked forward again.
Daon was still fiddling with her phone.
There was no signal here, of course. Only one place allowed connection.
‘She must be checking the Auction House.’
The auction house app that the legendary American programmer and S-class hunter known as Architect, Aiden Clark, had spent over a decade linking to the system.
Anyone involved in the hunter world naturally had the program pinned in the corner of their phone screen.
As Daon slowly scrolled down with her finger, her pupils suddenly shook violently.
“Wha—huh???”
The gesture was utterly at odds with the overwhelming strength she had displayed earlier; now she finally looked her actual age.
Daon sprang to her feet and dashed off in a hurry.
“Ah, crap!”
The B-class party that had been watching from hiding quickly followed.
“Huff… why is she suddenly running like that…?”
Their ranks were higher, so their physical stats should have been superior.
“I’m telling you, she’s definitely not D-class….”
No matter how hard they pumped their legs or ran with everything they had, they simply could not catch up to her speed.
While they gasped for breath and their distrust of the Hunter Association grew, Daon’s shrinking figure suddenly grew larger again—though still half-hidden by the shade of the trees.
The hunters pushed through crimson bushes that clawed at their skin and trudged across dark mud that sucked at their feet until they finally secured a clear view.
“Haa… haa….”
Behind their ragged breathing, Daon’s form came into sharp focus.
The blood-red curved blade in her hand.
And….
“Ah.”
In that brief moment, the Abyssal Executor—already sliced cleanly in half—had turned into black ash and was vanishing.
At the party member’s involuntary gasp, Daon turned around.
“…Oh! Are you here to hunt the boss as well…?”
The tower could be exited by clearing a floor’s objective or by using the occasional escape gate.
According to the guide, the thirtieth-floor boss appeared for roughly one week.
“No, not at all. It was pure coincidence….”
It felt too embarrassing to admit they had followed her hoping for a free carry, so he answered confidently, but….
“Aha. Then I wish you good hunting!”
As Daon’s figure gradually faded into the distance, the entire party let out a collective sigh.
“……Let’s go find the exit.”
No one answered. Escaping as quickly as possible was now the top priority.
Daon sprinted down the street, phone clutched in one hand and her pounding heart gripped tightly in the other.
Even she didn’t know exactly where she was going.
She simply followed the place where Sawol rang out, chasing the powerful vibrations that pulled her forward.
“Faster…!”
A moment ago she had seen them.
The far-too-familiar names densely filling the Auction House.
The options attached to them were on an entirely different level as well.
The instant she saw them, the voice she had heard at the very end inside the forge brushed past her ear.
A voice she had never once forgotten.
Words she had always taken as mere comfort.
But.
‘You’re here…!’
With every step, the vibration traveling up her palm grew stronger.
Sawol.
The weapon that had forged her entire life.
Thanks to it she had grown strong.
She had built renown.
She had earned money.
Inside the forge she could only receive, but….
“Here, I can…!”
In this familiar place, she might finally be able to give something back.
Her heartbeat thundered ahead of her footsteps as she ran.
“…Huh?”
It was still the chilly tail end of winter.
White puffs of breath trailed after her labored gasps.
“E-excuse me…?”
Behind the scattered clouds of breath, a small silhouette overlapped with the scenery.
Pointed ears standing tall, a bushy tail sweeping across the dirt.
A human.
No—a beastperson child.
The appearance was quite different from her memory.
Yet she knew instinctively. She understood at the deepest level.
“Dan-nim…?”
That girl was undoubtedly her benefactor.
“Uh, wait a second.”
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t hoped for an emotional reunion.
But the reply that came back was casual and distracted.
Daon hesitated, then slowly approached Dan, who was clearly absorbed in something.
“Phew, all done.”
Only after the misty breaths cleared did Dan’s figure become fully visible.
“Um… what are you doing…?”
With clothes covered in dirt, the girl was carefully burying something beneath a tree stump, smiling with satisfaction.
