Embrace (E)

Even as I gently stroked Meonji, the rewards for the tenth floor still had not appeared.

"That's strange… I've never seen it take this long before."

Maybe it was bundling whatever happened in that bizarre ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠space into the reward package?

Just then, someone came sprinting toward the Tower, calling my name.

"Hunter Han Doa~! Hunter Han Doa~ Are you here?!"

A woman who looked like she worked for the Association was shouting for me. The moment I stood up, she spotted me and hurried over.

"Ah! Hunter Han Doa! Do you have a moment? There's something I need to discuss with you."

I told her fine, and we headed into the Hunter Association Seoul Tower Branch. Following her lead, I ended up in a VIP room. The place felt familiar, so I settled into the seat as if it were mine by right.

A short while later, someone entered.

"Huh?"

A familiar face—except he looked even more thoroughly aged than he had on the video call. One eye was covered by a patch; the other sat under a heavy dark circle.

"President?"

I spoke first. Kim Rice, President of the Hunter Association, took the chair across from me and offered a polite greeting.

"A pleasure, S-rank Hunter Han Doa. You're not doubting me this time, I see."

After that last video call I had scoured the internet, yet not a single community post mentioned Kim Rice wearing a wig. He had hidden it that thoroughly, and even after being exposed he could still joke about it with a straight face… The man really was something else.

An elite always answers a joke with a joke!

"Hmm. I'm still not entirely sure. These days people disguise themselves, and some even have transformation skills. Haha."

I threw out a half-hearted WWE-style bluff of suspicion, but—

"Well then, shall I hop once for you? Hmm?"

With those words Kim Rice stood up and began bouncing in place like he was taking a UFC challenge.

"I'm sorry…"

Terrified the wig might fly off again, I kept my eyes locked on his head while apologizing.

"Hahahaha. No need."

Only after hearing the apology did Kim Rice sit back down with a bright expression. Apparently the previous video call had left quite the scar.

"There are actually two reasons I sought you out, Hunter Han Doa."

He wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, then held out a stack of documents.

"First of all, congratulations on clearing the tenth-floor boss."

"Eh? How did you know?"

"…Clear records for every hunter registered with the Association are transmitted to us the moment they happen."

The president gave me a quick once-over and moved on.

"But the more important matter comes next."

He waited patiently while I looked at the papers. They were stuffed with complicated legal jargon. I quit halfway through. I never read more than three lines of anything.

So I looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Hmm. So what's it about?"

Used to my brand of boldness by now, the president simply began explaining.

"In short… the government and the Hunter Association have covered the full cost of every building you destroyed while sealing that Gate."

His words were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a genuine relief. Hotel life had been so blissful that my demolished semi-basement and the ruined building around it had completely slipped my mind. Besides, I didn't have the money to pay for the damages myself right now.

"In exchange, however, we have a request for you, Hunter Han Doa."

His face turned serious.

I thought it was free…

Of course. In capitalist South Korea free lunches simply did not exist. And wasn't there a saying that if you chase freebies too hard you end up bald?

Wait—then just how much free stuff did the president used to love?

While I was lost in ridiculous thoughts, he continued.

"Well… most people still call it a glitch, but Hunter Han Doa, is it true you can climb two floors of the Tower in a single day?"

I hesitated.

Should I just tell the truth?

No hunter climbed two floors a day. As far as I knew, I was the only one. But if I admitted it, who knew what kind of trouble would follow? Telling everyone I could enter the Tower twice when everyone else only got one shot a day didn't seem like it would do me any favors. So I hemmed and hawed.

"You don't have to answer if you'd rather not. More importantly… would you be willing to take a little longer reaching the twentieth floor?"

The president brushed past the question as though it barely mattered and got to the point.

"Why?"

The request sounded odd, almost as if he were waiting for something.

"Something appears to be happening on the twentieth floor. At present, the only A-rank or higher hunter who has not yet passed that floor is you, Hunter Han Doa."

He leaned toward me.

"We would like to investigate further and then formally request your assistance with the matter. Would that be acceptable?"

Apparently the Association had decided the problem needed someone of at least A-rank. They still seemed to be piecing the situation together themselves.

"Understood."

The Association had taken care of my exploded home. In return they only asked me to slow my climb a little. That much I could do.

Kim Rice expressed his gratitude; I returned the courtesy. Then I walked out of the Association and finally caught a taxi back to my cozy hotel.

After a long, icy cold shower I flopped onto the bed with my skin still dewy and firm.

Maybe I'll just sleep like this tonight…

I had once read that sleeping naked improved sleep quality. Determined to put the theory into practice, I closed my eyes—and right then the rewards for clearing the tenth floor finally arrived.

"That's it…? And what the hell is Embrace?"

A welcome voice. I scooped up Meonji—who had been rolling around right beside me—and stroked it.

"You like me best, right? I like you best too. Better than any ninja. Mm-hmm."

A thought struck me. Every time those words ran through my head, the status window seemed to change afterward.

Status Window

"Embrace was a skill? And it's only E-rank…"

Ten low-grade Magic Stones were the standard reward for finishing the tenth-floor boss. That meant the skill "Embrace" had to be the prize for all the suffering I went through in the white space.

Gaining a brand-new skill was normally extremely difficult. The only real way was through rare skill books that dropped as Tower or Gate rewards. Yet this one was E-rank.

An awakener whose only skill was E-rank could barely function as a hunter no matter how aggressive their class. Even the same skill produced wildly different results depending on its grade.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠classic example was Clairvoyance. Clairvoyance (S) could see inside the Tower without ever entering it, while Clairvoyance (E) merely improved eyesight to about 1.5. Some Mongolians who received Clairvoyance (E) actually complained that their eyesight got worse.

So I stared at the status window with mild disappointment.

"Still, I should try it, right? It doesn't look dangerous."

Nothing about the word "embrace" suggested a combat skill that would explode in my face.

Embrace

The instant I whispered the skill name, strength drained from my body in a long, slow rush. As the power left me, the limp little fluffball of Meonji grew fluffier and fluffier.

"Ah. Wait a second…"

Every hunter carried mana in their body. Using a skill consumed it; a good rest restored it naturally. For summoners the biggest mana hog was, of course, the summon itself.

Community posts constantly complained that keeping a summon active drained mana so fast most summoners couldn't maintain one for long—one of the many reasons the class was considered trash.

My adorable Meonji, however, never used a single drop of my mana even while summoned. And since it stayed by my side constantly, I never needed to resummon it. In other words, I had almost never spent mana at all.

At first the sudden emptiness startled me, but I quickly recognized the sensation.

"My mana is flowing into Meonji…?"

Using Embrace really did leave me feeling hollowed out. In return Meonji swelled with new energy, its body fluffing and expanding like a well-fed cloud.

I finally checked the skill description.

The description was brutally simple. Feeling every last drop of mana being sucked out of me, I drifted straight into sleep.

This time Meonji's softness felt even more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pronounced. Fluffy little fur-balls pressed against every part of my body.

"Huh?"

I opened my eyes, lifted my head, and looked down at myself.

"A blanket…?"

A luxurious black quilt was draped cozily over my lower half. The moment I spoke, the "blanket" startled and bounced upward with a soft poof. In an instant the countless Meonjis scattered and began to vanish.

"This has to be a dream."

There was no way there could be that many of them. At most Meonji split into two, and even those were small enough to fit in my palms.

I rubbed my eyes again. Meonji was back to its usual size.

"Yep. Just a dream."

I threw my naked body back onto the plush bed. The slightly cool sheets kissed my skin; the chill felt wonderful. Since it was a dream, the only way to wake up properly was to go back to sleep.

The second I settled down, a loud ringing shattered the quiet. I groped around and found my smartphone.

"Yeah… hello…?"

I answered without even checking the number.

"You're Han Doa, right? I want to make a concept post—just one photo…"

An excited female voice spilled from the speaker. I hung up immediately.