Chapter 10 - The Named (Part 1)
'...I can't overuse it.'
Finally, when she uploaded a photo of herself pretending to sleep—eyes closed, lying on her side, just as the requester had asked—she watched their cheers and frenzy erupt, tension coiling inside her. It was strange, but these 'selfies' she took herself were undeniably a weapon in her arsenal. Yet this weapon lost its edge if abused. If she carelessly wielded it just because their ecstatic reactions felt good, its power would fade. So she had to regulate it carefully. This was tied to her own safety, after all.
'Tomorrow, I'll meet Shadis and snag that last trait. I need to test out the training she described, too.'
Even though she had far more experience now than in the past, she still felt a flicker of that old thrill from those early days. And this time, she had even more precise and vast information than her vague memories provided. If she followed it steadily, she could cut away the inefficiencies she'd been forced to accumulate before and reach higher realms faster and more accurately.
"You showed up as promised."
"What, you gonna report me if I didn't?"
The next morning, as she took a taxi to the meeting spot, Shadis was already there, leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets, a sullen look on her face. Her dissatisfied attitude hadn't changed, but she couldn't defy the order outright—she pulled her hands out curtly, glancing at Reina sidelong to gauge her mood.
Cute, though.
A natural smile tugged at her lips. She recalled the gallery users debating her tastes, citing her closeness to petite Kim Ji-eun as evidence. Their guesses were dead wrong, but based on appearances alone, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. At least she felt more at ease around women than men.
"I told you to come with minimal gear."
"Don't have money for that stuff."
But like yesterday, Shadis's outfit was too light. No armor, no weapons—just the same cropped hoodie and shorts, with sandals on bare feet.
"I'm bringing you along for other reasons, but things could get dangerous. I'll lend you some gear—put it on."
She opened her inventory in midair, pulling out a few miscellaneous items. Nothing fancy: just some protective gear and a dagger, her main weapon.
"S-Soul Storage..."
Shadis took them with wide eyes, murmuring blankly. It was a rare reward possessed by only a few, something Reina had strived hardest to obtain—and now she was stunned by it.
This is a ranker...
The inventory that opened before her eyes was beautiful and mystical, like space itself splitting apart. Sure, there were limits on what could go in or out, but even accounting for that, it was an incredibly rare and coveted reward everyone desired.
And the items casually pulled out and tossed her way? The gleaming metal with its blue sheen was no ordinary alloy, and even the simple shin guards were high-quality drops from the 30th floor main dungeon.
Shadis stared blankly at her as she accepted them. A silver-haired human woman over 170 cm tall, unlike her own petite, 300-year-old frame. She hid her looks under baggy sweats, a cap, and sunglasses, but even so, her presence shone through.
In truth, Shadis knew a bit about her already. Reina Frontier was unique even among rankers. Her current ranking was 15th, but her popularity and fame—factoring in her distinctive fighting style, strength, beauty, and character—put her in the top handful.
Even as Shadis had abandoned climbing for a life of crime, news of her kept filtering in.
They said she's cold, arrogant, merciless...
As she equipped the gear, Shadis swallowed dryly, glancing down at it. When she first realized the wallet's owner was her, it felt like the world had collapsed. Based on what she knew of Reina's temperament, a summary execution wouldn't have been surprising.
"I didn't expect you to kit me out like this."
"It's no big deal."
"On the 68th floor, didn't you execute the entire raid party's leadership for failing their mission?"
"That was because evidence and witnesses proved they'd conspired to sabotage the raid."
"And on the 97th, you castrated and executed 21 members of a crime syndicate for touching your stuff..."
"They went beyond touching my things—they tried drugging and raping me. That was payback."
But as Reina told Shadis, what she knew was just fragmented, exaggerated rumors. At a loss for words, Shadis shut her mouth and finished equipping everything. At least the merciless, arrogant noblewoman she'd imagined wasn't there.
It's been too long—feels awkward.
It had been nearly a year since she'd geared up. As long forgotten sensations returned, Shadis fiddled awkwardly with the dagger in her hand.
"The dungeon we're hitting is Collapsed Tower. Ruined buildings and their surroundings as the backdrop, infested with a swarm of mutant monster bats. That's the enemy."
"J-Just the two of us? That's a 12-man dungeon..."
"It's enough."
Reina naturally took the lead. Guiding a party through a dungeon was second nature after so many times. Unlike Shadis, whom she'd fully armed, Reina was still in her usual baggy sweats.
C-Can I even do this?
Unlike the nonchalant Reina, Shadis's breath quickened and her body trembled uncontrollably as the dungeon entrance neared. Over a year had passed, but the trauma she'd forcibly suppressed was stirring.
Despite her 300 years, before the tower, Shadis had been a simple dark elf seamstress in a village. Her comrades from the lower floors massacred before her eyes, their guts and blood splattering her as death loomed. The enemies, roaring with undisguised murderous intent, seemed invincible.
"Shadis... run... never come back..."
Her last comrade's dying words, half his body gone, urged her to escape this hell forever.
No. I can't.
After that, Shadis lost everything— even her will. Nightmares of those gruesome corpses still haunted her, freezing her body rigid.
"I've seen plenty like you."
In that moment, something warm caressed her stiffened cheek.
"Ah..."
Snapped back to reality, Shadis sighed at Reina's gaze, her face flushing. She'd borrowed gear and still shown such a pathetic side.
"Sorry. If I'd been right in the head, I wouldn't have stooped to theft..."
"That's not wrong."
Reina shook her head at Shadis's self-mocking words.
"Lots of people go through it. That's what this place is. Nothing wrong or weird about it."
"You..."
Shadis started to retort reflexively, then stopped. She'd nearly spat that a powerhouse like her couldn't understand—but realized it was her own prejudice. She still didn't know much about Reina.
"Just trying to encourage me? I've heard that plenty."
"Just stating facts. Don't drag me down in this dungeon—at least do your job."
She couldn't hold back the sarcasm, but Reina's response differed from expectations.
"Don't forget—this is you paying your debt."
Reina lifted Shadis's chin with her index finger, leaning in close, eyes glinting coldly over her sunglasses.
Ugh...
Speechless, Shadis nodded frantically. For a moment, she'd glimpsed the rumored ice queen—merciless, charismatic.
But the pounding in Shadis's chest wasn't pure fear.
Of course, Reina had no idea about those cheering the moment from afar.
With that, Reina and Shadis entered the dungeon—just the two of them.
The gallery users watched Reina's dungeon antics via real-time photos and clips from screenshotters, chattering excitedly. To them, it was a fun, familiar event. At its core, every tower challenger fought enemies and overcame trials.
Pure fans and point investors alike united in cheering her on during streams like this.
Reactions peaked when Reina, cloaked in radiant light, swiftly diced car-sized mutant bats swarming from all sides with single strokes. No one expected her to struggle in a mere 30th-floor dungeon, stats nerfed or not. That was the proof of her proven prowess.
Instead, they fixated on other things—like one user posting unique-angle shots of Reina.
It was natural for users to anticipate and crave that one—nickname ReverseStone.
"..."
And someone was quietly monitoring the growing mentions: Serpina, Reina's contracted constellation and gallery main manager.