Is This For Real? (3)
I stared blankly into empty space.
It just didn’t feel real.
After spacing out for a long while, I suddenly realized I’d missed something important.
I’d gone into the Tower because I needed money, yet all I’d gotten was a skill. I hadn’t picked up a single mana stone.
“…What now?”
I let out a sigh. No matter how I thought about it, there was only one answer.
Nothing I could do. I’d just have to wait until midnight.
With that decided, I settled onto a nearby bench and pulled up the Heroine Gallery in the air.
Inside the gallery, the heroines from the first playthrough were still chattering about me nonstop.
The Archmage kept calling me an idiot who didn’t even understand the efficiency of basic magic, while Cheonma was going on and on about the path of nothingness, giving me her usual unsolicited advice.
I spent a good while scrolling through the gallery, chuckling at their comments, until the sky had darkened completely.
I glanced down at my smartphone.
The clock at the top read 11:59 PM.
00:00
Humming a little tune, I headed toward the Tower entrance.
This was the first time the Tower’s once-per-day entry rule had ever felt so agonizingly slow.
It used to be nothing but despair and terror. But now? It was just a farming spot.
I stood at the entrance and looked at the message floating before me.
Would you like to enter the Tower?
[ YES / NO ]
I casually selected YES. The scenery changed in an instant.
A forest came into view. Then another message appeared.
You have entered the 6th floor of the Tower.
Remaining attempts: 5 / 5
Time limit: 00:30:00
Begin?
[ YES / NO ]
The monster on the sixth floor was already set in stone anyway.
In a lighthearted mood, I pressed YES. Right in the middle of the forest, a kobold appeared with an unpleasant cry.
The moment it spotted me and bared its teeth—
I chanted the spell as easily as breathing.
“Lightning Bolt.”
A streak of lightning shot forward.
It flew in a straight line and blew the kobold’s head clean off.
It didn’t even get to scream.
6th Floor Cleared!
Clear Time: 00:00:02
An incredible achievement! You have set a new world record for the fastest clear of this floor!
As a reward for the new record, all stats permanently increased by +1.
“…This is fucking easy.”
I lightly shook off the lingering sparks at my fingertips and looked at the kobold’s corpse.
I stuffed the stone into my pocket and left the stage without a second thought.
Then I headed straight for the Association.
At the Hunter Association’s purchasing desk, I handed the mana stone to the appraiser.
The employee looked it over with a bored expression and gave me the buyout price.
10g mana stone — 1 million won.
I nodded, pretending it was no big deal.
A little later, I checked the amount deposited into my phone. Exactly one million won.
A thick, uncontrollable smile refused to leave my face.
One click and a hundred grand. Just like that.
From that day on, my daily life revolved entirely around the Tower.
While eating, before falling asleep, even before washing up—I kept glancing at the Tower through the window.
I wanted to go in again. As soon as possible. As often as possible.
The next day, the moment midnight struck, I headed for the Tower again.
7th Floor Cleared!
Clear Time: 00:00:04
An incredible achievement! You have set a new world record for the fastest clear of this floor!
As a reward for the new record, all stats permanently increased by +1.
7th Floor Clear Reward: Mana Stone 10g acquired.
The day after that, too.
8th Floor Cleared!
Clear Time: 00:00:06
An incredible achievement! You have set a new world record for the fastest clear of this floor!
As a reward for the new record, all stats permanently increased by +1.
8th Floor Clear Reward: Mana Stone 10g acquired.
“…Hell yeah!”
One hundred thousand won a day. I was grinning ear to ear as I reached out to grab the mana stone—
Ding—
A cheerful notification sound rang out, followed by a system message.
“Level up?”
Oh, right. There was a level system.
Back when I was stuck at F-class, I couldn’t progress any further, so I’d completely forgotten about it.
While I was thinking, a golden-glowing card slowly materialized in the air.
The skill you get from a level-up is also random.
I figured it would be another gold card. But the moment I thought that—
The card spun and began to darken, turning pitch black.
“…No way.”
A black card finally revealed itself.
I swallowed hard and carefully selected it.
Memorize
Skill Description: You can store specific spells (skills) in an independent space within your mana core. Stored spells can be instantly cast at any desired coordinate within your line of sight without any casting time or gestures.
Maximum Storage: 2 times (2 stacks)
Penalty: Each stack has a 5-hour cooldown.
“Memorize…?”
I tilted my head slightly and read the full skill description.
After reading it all, the only thing I could do was suck in a sharp breath.
I stood there frozen in place.
“This is a fucking broken cheat skill.”
My heart was pounding like crazy. It was literally racing out of control.
The only spell I had right now was Lightning Bolt.
That meant I could only store one Lightning Bolt for now.
But as I cleared more floors, I’d gain more spells, and the more I grew, the more insanely versatile this skill would become.
Plus, a five-hour cooldown per stack meant that in a single day, both stacks would be fully available again.
Since you could only enter the Tower once per day, the penalty was practically nonexistent.
In other words, it was basically a cheat key for a mage.
I burst out laughing like a madman, cackling uncontrollably.
Even after leaving the stage, even after exiting the Tower, I couldn’t stop giggling from the overwhelming joy.
That was how I returned to the motel.
The moment I opened the door, the musty hallway was filled with the scent of perfume tickling my nose.
And there stood a woman in a neat business suit.
“Mr. Baek Woobin.”
It was none other than Lee Chaeyeon.
We moved to a quiet nearby café.
As soon as she sat down, she downed a glass of cold water in one go and spoke in a low voice.
“Mr. Baek Woobin. I’ll get straight to the point. I want to strongly recommend you for Aegis.”
I rested my chin on my hand at an angle and stared at her with a bored expression.
For some reason, something about her words and attitude felt off.
“You’ve got the face of someone who’s about to say ‘but,’ don’t you?”
Lee Chaeyeon gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct. The upper management and committee still demand solid verification regarding you, Mr. Baek Woobin. Your official rank is still listed as F-class, after all. So… even though I know it’s unreasonable, they’ve attached one condition.”
“And what is it?”
“If you clear the Tower, the committee has decided they will immediately register you as an official Aegis member without any further procedures.”
After hearing her, I stared at her face in a daze for a moment, wondering if I’d misunderstood Korean.
Clear? Clear the Tower?
An uncontrollable snort of disbelief escaped me.
“Are you joking?”
I didn’t even bother hiding my dumbfounded expression as I glared at her.
If I clear the Tower, they’ll register me for Aegis?
“Look, Ms. Lee Chaeyeon. If someone actually clears the Tower all the way to the end, it should be the Association begging them to join Aegis. Even without becoming some measly Aegis member, every corner of the world would be calling for me.”
“…”
“Why the hell should I act all grateful and say I’ll become an Aegis member after clearing the Tower?”
“T-That’s…”
Lee Chaeyeon’s pupils shook violently.
“It’s meant to be a symbolic gesture from the committee, promising full physical and financial support…”
“Can you stop barking like a dog?”
“…”
“I don’t know how stupid you think I am or how much you’re looking down on me, but let’s get one thing straight. F-class? I can just get re-measured whenever I feel like it. You’re throwing out a mission to clear the Tower while offering zero actual benefits, and the moment I succeed, you’re trying to prevent me from joining another guild. Isn’t that it?”
Lee Chaeyeon could only open and close her mouth like a mute who’d eaten honey.
Of course she had nothing to say.
“I’ll cleanly give up on the Aegis registration.”
With that, I stood up without hesitation.
There really wasn’t any merit to it. This wasn’t a joke.
I was walking toward the café exit when—
“W-Wait! Mr. Baek Woobin!”
A panicked Lee Chaeyeon shot up from her seat and desperately grabbed my sleeve.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
“Then… the 50th floor! If you clear at least the 50th floor, I will persuade the committee to register you as an Aegis member immediately!”
Only then did I stop walking.
The 50th floor. It was impossible right now, but with about forty days of effort, it was definitely achievable.
A much more realistic compromise.
I removed her hand from my sleeve, slowly turned around, and looked down into her eyes.
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“Go persuade them, then.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t change your words again. Go persuade them and come back. Bring the contract. I’ll read it with my own two eyes and then decide.”
Lee Chaeyeon stood there with a dazed expression for a moment before bowing deeply at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Understood…! I’ll prepare everything as quickly as possible.”
I watched her hurriedly leave the café, nodded once, and headed back to the motel.
Then, to shake off the gloomy feeling, I posted about the Memorize skill in the Heroine Gallery before falling asleep.