Thread of Fate

"A golem? What a joke—it's not even a proper moving doll."

Han Yuseon fixed the rock pile with cold eyes.

Chunks of stone tumbled down.

Contempt.

That was the clear emotion in her red eyes.

Fear or awe—whatever it was, something had happened in that brief moment when it couldn't feel a thing.

"Haa…."

Han Yuseon let out a sigh and flicked her fingers.

Silver threads gathered at her fingertips.

'….'

I stared at her blankly for a moment.

Then Han Yuseon turned her head to look at me. She checked my condition and tilted her head.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"…Huh. You're strong."

I said it in a daze.

Han Yuseon puffed out her chest proudly again.

"Heh, I told you earlier. I'm the strongest."

That line made all my tension melt away.

I gave her an incredulous look.

To reiterate: I'd never seen a self-proclaimed "strongest" who actually made it big.

Bumsoo was a prime example.

'At least… she doesn't seem interested in attacking me.'

Unlike typical summons, this 'puppet' named Han Yuseon had a clear sense of self, making her hard to read.

She wasn't showing absolute loyalty, and she'd just dragged me straight through to Transcendent….

'No clue.'

With a gun, what matters is whose hands it's in.

At least for now… it's in mine.

'So….'

I was in the middle of sorting out my thoughts when—

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding….

Whoosh—!

The windows cluttering my view vanished in an instant, replaced by a few cards floating in their place.

"Skill… cards."

Permanent rewards for your first Tower clear.

And supposedly, another one on Floor 5.

I stared at the cards in a daze.

'Honestly, I have no fucking idea what just happened.'

After picking Transcendent, Han Yuseon suddenly wrecked it, and something insane went down.

My soul was completely checked out.

"Uh… uhhh?"

I lost the ability to speak properly from the shock.

Han Yuseon hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. Was my face that funny?

'What's this?'

Among the plain cards, one stood out—shiny and flashy.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Naturally, my eyes went to it, so I read it over.

Vague as hell for a description.

I glanced at the others.

'Why the hell is Hypnosis here? If I pick this, can I go full hentai mode?'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it—anthropophobia meant I couldn't even meet anyone to hypnotize anyway.

Honestly, Domination or Rebirth appealed to me.

As a Puppeteer, I'd be slacking off from the back lines, so defense or scouting skills would be clutch.

'Probably… Floor 4 is a field stage. Gotta know what's coming.'

Domination fit perfectly there—I'd spot anyone gunning for my head.

Hmm. I furrowed my brow in thought.

'The Tower only opens once a week anyway, right?'

Even grinding more achievements, looping just Floor 1 maxes at 100 points.

That's a hundred runs!

With two traits, it could be double—two hundred loops!

That's years without stepping outside, let alone seeing people.

No way. I'd have to conquer the higher floors no matter what.

'In that case….'

Domination might be better.

Snagging scouting power fast to grow beats some vague "Thread of Fate" bullshit.

Han Yuseon, arms crossed, spoke up. She'd been looking pretty serious for a while.

"I can see this too."

"Same as me? Like Thread of Fate?"

She nodded.

"Yes. Probably because it's a Tower reward. I cleared it too, after all…."

"What looks good? I'm leaning Domination."

"…Definitely the shiny one."

I expected agreement, but her answer was ridiculous.

"What?"

I stared at her in disbelief.

Han Yuseon looked wronged under my "are you serious?" gaze.

"I have my reasons."

"Like what?"

If it was nonsense, I'd smack her for real.

I jutted my chin, urging her on.

She looked confident. Like she had something solid.

The more she acted like that, the more suspicious it got.

"Think about it. That subculture game you logged into earlier for the roulette thing."

"Oh, that? Yeah?"

"The good rewards there—all shiny, right? So the shiny one here's gotta be best!"

She nodded to herself like she'd dropped some profound truth.

I was the one speechless at her smugness.

'This… is the strongest?'

I didn't buy it one bit.

I gave her a pitiful look.

"This is the Tower. Not like my games. You just like shiny shit, don't you?"

Han Yuseon winced.

"But those other skills? I can do 'em. Silver threads handle detection easy. Plus, stuff like that drains mental energy hard."

She raised her thumb impassively.

Like, leave it to me?

"Fuck! That logic pisses me off! If you'd spouted dumb shit, I'd have just picked Domination!"

I ruffled my hair wildly.

Headache. Choice paralysis was inevitable.

Hadn't I fucked up stats before and ended up unable to leave the house?

"And threads hold special meaning for puppets. That shiny card draws me in."

"Special meaning, huh."

Sounded like there was something to it.

I shrugged.

"I didn't clear it anyway—you carried me."

"Is that so?"

Han Yuseon smirked.

I picked the shiny card. Touched it lightly with a finger.

The dull cards disintegrated, leaving only "Thread of Fate."

The shiny card unraveled into golden threads—tens of thousands wrapping around me.

"Wha—?"

I flailed in panic, but they just bound tighter.

Up to there, it was fine.

"Huh? Tower Owner?"

My jaw dropped in shock. Something huge had just happened, right?

"What's that?"

Han Yuseon asked. She couldn't see the windows, obviously.

I creakily turned my head. Opened my mouth in a stupor.

"The Tower Owner's watching me?"

"Tower Owner?"

Han Yuseon blinked. Stared into space thinking, then—

"Ah."

The word slipped out that should never have.

"We're fucked."

Han Yuseon broke into a cold sweat.

'…Fuck.' I really shouldn't have trusted that bastard.