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Chapter 3
Joohyun barely escaped the crisis by utilizing his cute appearance.
"Haa...... So we're going to the tower now?"
"Yeah. We have to test your Ability."
"That's true, but......."
Yuna hesitated and avoided his gaze. Joohyun stared at her blankly.
Yuna's eyes were wavering slightly. She wasn't showing it much, but she was definitely scared.
In a way, it was a natural reaction. It was obvious she would be afraid if someone who was a civilian until just recently was suddenly told to go to the tower and hunt monsters.
To soothe her, Joohyun jumped up and said,
"Don't be scared. I'm here! Trust in Kim Joohyun, the CEO of Gather Around Management!"
Honestly, it was Joohyun's first time in the tower too, but as a CEO in Management, he was more knowledgeable about it than anyone else.
Yuna looked Joohyun up and down, then let out a sigh.
"For some reason, I feel like my emotional burden just increased."
"W-What? Are you saying that to me?"
Joohyun snapped in anger and hopped toward Yuna's face, but he only looked adorable.
"You don't look like a Management CEO, but rather a Management CEO Mascot."
"Will you be quiet?!"
Joohyun yelled furiously, but Yuna just smiled.
"Haa...... Anyway, you know something about the tower, right?"
"Of course, I was an Accountant for Management, after all."
"Still, I'll explain it again. It's what you're originally told upon signing a contract."
Joohyun's explanation went like this.
One tower exists per country - each nation manages its own tower.
A national penalty occurs if a new floor isn't cleared every 3 months.
The tower can only be entered once a day.
Up to the 10th floor, only solo entry is permitted.
From the 11th floor onward, parties are allowed.
"Well, since you already know this, should I stop here?"
After finishing his words, he raised his head to look at Yuna.
"Zzz."
She was nodding off to sleep.
"You little!"
Joohyun jumped up and flicked Yuna's head with his soft paws.
Of course, Yuna only felt like something fluffy had touched her head.
Waking up to the soft sensation, Yuna let out a big yawn.
"As expected of our CEO. You're amazing at explaining things."
"Hey! Wipe the drool off your mouth before you speak!"
Joohyun shook his head as he looked at her.
"Haa...... Whatever. Get ready since we're going in!"
At Joohyun's words, Yuna's relaxed expression grew serious.
Joohyun let out a chuckle seeing Yuna stiffen with such a nervous look.
"Don't be so nervous. We're going in together, anyway."
"......I feel like my nerves would ease up if I could pet your fluffy fur, CEO."
"You can just stay nervous for the rest of your life."
Joohyun sighed and imagined entering the tower in his mind.
Then.
[Welcome.]
[The currently accessible floors are displayed.]
[1st Floor]
"Enter."
[Please select a Magical Girl to accompany you to the tower!]
[Lee Yuna]
'So I have to select and bring her along.'
Yuna was staring blankly at Joohyun.
"Lee Yuna."
As Joohyun said that, Yuna and Joohyun's bodies were enveloped in light.
[Moving to the 1st Floor!]
With that message appearing, the silhouettes of Joohyun and Yuna turned into light and vanished.
And when they opened their eyes again.
"Wow, is this inside the tower?"
Where Joohyun and Yuna opened their eyes, a sprawling green meadow was visible.
As the two stared blankly at the scenery that was hard to see in the city, a blue window popped up in front of them.
[A Magical Girl has descended upon the tower to protect justice! The Administrators of the tower welcome the Magical Girl.]
"Eh? It says they welcome me?"
"Yeah. I guess it's like a window that pops up when entering?"
Joohyun casually shrugged, closed the window, and looked ahead.
There.
Hop-!
It was a rabbit.
To be precise, there were monsters that looked like rabbits.
If you didn't look closely, they looked just like rabbits from Earth, but they had much larger feet than normal rabbits.
Those creatures were hopping around on the meadow.
[Defeat all the Raybits inside the tower! 0/15]
"I heard about them from the Awakeners, but they really do look cute, don't they?"
Yuna said as she pointed at a Raybit with her finger.
"Right. Looking at them like that, they're no different from ordinary rabbits. The problem is that their jumping ability is exceptionally good."
Just as Joohyun said, every time the Raybits took a leap, they cleared almost 50 meters.
"By the way, CEO. How do I use Magic?"
"Huh? Shouldn't you, the Magical Girl, know that?"
"I only just became a Magical Girl, though?"
Joohyun was at a loss for words at Yuna's confident expression.
'I'm sure that before Magicians use Magic.......'
Joohyun tried to recall his memories.
People who awakened with the Magician class chanted at length before using Magic.
That was the downside of a Magician. The power was immense, but the chanting time was far too long.
Therefore, it was common for other Awakeners in the Vanguard to buy time until the Magician finished reciting the entire incantation.
Because of that, the tutorial phase where solo play was mandatory was said to be the most hellish stage for Magicians.
After all, monsters wouldn't wait for them to finish chanting.
"Isn't there a chant or something listed in your Skill?"
"Hmm....... I don't see anything like that......."
"That's strange......."
"Wouldn't it just fire if I shout Fireball!?"
It was the moment Yuna said that.
In an instant, a red light gathered into a single point from the Old Tree Staff Yuna was holding.
Whoosh-!
With a sound like a bullet flying, a Fireball shot right past Joohyun's side.
Thump-!
The burning chunk of rock lodged into the ground with a heavy sound.
Since it happened in a flash, the two of them just stared at the cratered earth without saying a word.
Joohyun broke out in a cold sweat.
It was because the ball of fire had grazed right past his earlobe.
As proof of that, Joohyun's fur was slightly singed.
Joohyun jumped toward Yuna and yelled angrily.
"You, you just tried to kill me, didn't you? Right?"
"Ahaha....... I didn't think the Magic would actually fire either......."
Yuna laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her head.
Joohyun let out a sigh as he looked at her.
'But she can use Magic without chanting?'
Joohyun was a bit slow to notice due to the fact that he had almost died.
Yuna had used Magic immediately without an incantation.
It was something that should be impossible.
He had never heard of anyone being able to use Magic without a chant.
'I smell something here. The smell of money!'
Using Magic without needing a chant was a massive advantage.
A Magician's only weakness was their long chant time, so this meant that drawback was gone.
Realizing he could rake in the cash, Joohyun smiled a capitalistic smile.
Though to Yuna, Joohyun simply looked cute doing so.
"Alright! You know how to use it now, so try shooting it at the Raybits!"
"I'll give it a try."
Yuna immediately raised her staff toward a Raybit.
Even though it was a monster, she showed no hesitation in killing a living creature.
Taking a life was normally an act that civilians would be reluctant to do.
There was only one reason why she showed no hesitation.
'It must be because of this [Apostle of Justice!] Skill. After all, from a human's perspective, monsters are evil.'
Like she was shooting a gun, Yuna took a slight breath, exhaled, and held her breath.
And then.
"Fireball!"
Simultaneously with Yuna's shout, the red point once again condensed in front of the staff.
The flame that gathered into a single point while swallowing the surrounding air.
Whoosh-!
Soon materialized, and flew at lightning speed, burning the air in its path.
The Fireball that was flying toward the Raybit like that.
"Huh?"
It struck not the Raybit, but an innocent tree standing tall.
Thud-!
The tree was reduced to splinters, kicking up a thick cloud of dirt and dust.
The Raybits were startled by the sudden noise and busily scrambled in every direction.
"What are you doing hitting the tree! The Raybits are all riled up now!"
"I-I know that too! I'll aim properly this time!"
With that, Yuna raised her staff toward the running Raybits again.
"Fireball! Fireball!"
She continued to fire off Fireballs without resting.
Though, of course, she didn't hit a single one.
Joohyun shook his head as he watched her.
'So it wasn't the smell of money, but a burning smell. The smell of my tail burning!'
At some point, the tip of Joohyun's tail had caught on fire.
"Aargh! It's hot!"
Joohyun rolled around frantically on the ground to put out the fire.
But Yuna's Fireballs showed no signs of stopping.
"Hey! Hey! Stop! I'm going to die before the Raybits do!"
"No! I've got the feel for it now! I think I know what to do!"
After saying that, Yuna took a deep breath.
Then, she raised her staff toward a Raybit that was standing still, twitching its ears.
"Fireball!"
Once again, a ball of fire rushed toward the Raybit at a rapid speed.
The Raybit finally sensed something amiss and stared at the incoming Fireball, but,
It was already too late to dodge.
Squeak-!
Taking a direct hit from the fireball, the Raybit died, its entire body charred black.
[Defeat all the Raybits inside the tower. 1/15 ]
She had finally managed to catch one out of the 15.
"Oh! I hit it! How was that?! I told you I figured it out!"
"......Good job."
Yuna hopped up and down in joy.
Unlike her, Joohyun couldn't take his eyes off the dead Raybit.
'It died in one hit?'
He couldn't easily believe the situation unfolding before his eyes.
Even Choi Kanghyun, who was currently called the strongest Awakener in South Korea, supposedly had to hit a Raybit about three times when he first hunted one on the 1st floor.
No matter how good the grade of an Ability was, if its Level was low, its power was bound to be weak.
Even if low-floor monsters had low magic defense, to kill a Raybit in one hit was absurd.
"Alright, let's catch the rest of them too!"
Saying so, she diligently shot Fireballs at the Raybits.
As a result.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the 1st floor!]
[Basic reward for the Magical Girl: Raybit's Rabbit Headband (Cuteness becomes MAX! The wearer's jumping ability increases exponentially!)]
[Calculating grade.]
"Oh, I've never seen a reward like this before."
Joohyun examined the reward that came from the tower.
"How was that! Pretty good for my first time, right?"
Yuna's face was flushed, perhaps from the lingering heat of battle.
Joohyun could only stare blankly at Yuna.
'This is a total jackpot!'
It wasn't just limited to money. He had just quietly watched Yuna hunt monsters, but his Level went up.
Making money and leveling up without doing a single thing?
Could there be a better situation than this?
'I might even be able to just surpass someone like Choi Kanghyun.'
Feeling proud of her, Joohyun hopped up and climbed onto Yuna's shoulder.
And used his tail to pat her head.
"Well. This much is to be expected if you're my Contractor."
"Why are you talking like you're the amazing one, CEO?"
Yuna said, slightly puffing out her cheeks.
It was then.
[The Magical Girl has defeated the forces of evil! Encourage each other for your hard work with a hug! (Death upon failure!)]
"No, seriously, why is the penalty clause death!"
"I agree with you."
Saying that, the two quickly hugged each other.
"Ahaha...... G-Good job? Even though I feel like I did everything?"
"Yeah....... You almost killed me, but you did well?"
They exchanged praises while laughing awkwardly.
Then.
[Grade measurement is complete!]
[Congratulations on conquering the 1st floor! You have reached a new clear grade!]
[SSS Grade]
[A Magical Girl appearing in the tower with a Mascot! The Magical Girl has descended upon the tower to fight the forces of evil! The Magical Girl has defeated the forces of evil and cleared the tower. A global reward is given to everyone!]
[Reward: The mana concentration of the Mana Stones produced in South Korea's tower increases by 1%.]
Too many things happened in an instant, so Joohyun couldn't grasp the situation.
Yes.
He hadn't realized it yet.
That something had begun to change.