Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: I Already Attend a Church
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“Squeak!?”
Clunk clunk!
Kim Ji-woo's brain short-circuited from the visual overload of Foresight Eye, causing him to faint. Ramju Thunder and Fran jumped back in shock.
To them, it just looked like Ji-woo had blinked a few times and passed out—a complete mystery.
Thunder tried to slap Ji-woo's cheek to wake him, but Fran stopped him.
Clunk.
“Squeak? Squeak squeak.”
Clunk.
Fran knelt down first and checked that Ji-woo's breathing and pulse were normal.
Then, with Ramju Thunder's help, he removed Ji-woo's shirt, turned his body sideways to keep saliva or his tongue from blocking his airway, and ensured he could breathe comfortably.
“Squeak? Squeak squeak?”
Clunk….
Following those instructions, Thunder placed a water bottle and a bag of coffee peanuts next to the fainted Ji-woo.
It was utterly useless, but... if he pointed out the facts and crushed their efforts, what would happen to the face of his cute but clueless squirrel senior?
Thanks to Fran's perfect measures—which even considered his dimwitted senior—Ji-woo's breathing soon steadied, and he fell into a peaceful sleep.
Fran wiped his non-sweaty forehead in relief, then gently lifted Ji-woo and tucked him into bed with a blanket.
Thunder followed suit, placing the water bottle and coffee peanuts by the pillow again...
“...What the hell is all this?”
The entire farce had been witnessed by Ji-yeon, who had just returned home.
Clunk!?
“Squeak!?”
Fran immediately froze in place, plopping down to pretend he was just a big doll.
Thunder hurriedly tore open the coffee peanuts bag and stuffed his cheek pouches full.
Ji-yeon could only let out an exasperated chuckle.
“...You're not fooling anyone with that at this point.”
That was the full story of how the two monsters got caught red-handed.
There was no way to make excuses or lies now that Fran had been busted.
Ji-woo confessed everything to his little sister.
About recruiting Ramju Thunder and Frankenstein as companions, and that he was Hunter #3026.
He fetched the bag of magic stones he'd been hiding and poured them out onto the floor with a clatter. Ji-yeon's mouth fell open slightly.
Having climbed to the 15th floor yesterday and gotten more mid-grade stones, the value of his stash easily exceeded 100 million won.
But Ji-yeon seemed more bothered by the demurely seated Frankenstein golem than the stones.
“Uh... monsters as companions...?”
“It's fine. No need to be scared. Fran's a kind, smart golem. He would never hurt humans.”
“Well... yeah, I can tell that much from how he was nursing you...”
Ji-yeon glanced warily at Fran.
As their eyes met, Fran bowed his head in greeting with his usual smiling face ☺.
Clunk.
“Ah, y-yes... H-Hello...”
Ji-yeon awkwardly bowed back in response.
How do you even treat a golem that greets you like a person...? It was awkward.
Thunder at least looked like a squirrel on the outside, but Fran was blatantly a monster, making it even harder.
Clunk.
“—He says that?”
“No, it's just... hard right now. We're strangers...”
“Fair enough. But we're all living together now, so take it slow and get to know each other.”
“L-Living together!?”
What the heck was that?
“Where has he been staying until now? That... Mr. Frankenstein?”
“Call him Fran. It's a sub-space waiting room I can send him to, but... it's pretty uncomfortable, apparently. Thunder's been living comfortably at home, so it'd be unfair to leave Fran there alone.”
Poor thing... Ji-woo was treating the golem like a full human.
From how he'd nursed him or his current meek demeanor, he acted human enough...
“Living together...”
...Clunk.
“—He says?”
“N-No! It's not that I hate it or anything... It's just all so sudden... Of course it's fine living together! H-He's helping you climb the tower, right?”
“Helping? They're basically doing almost all of it.”
“Squeak!”
Clunk.
Thunder puffed out his chest confidently at Ji-woo's words, while Fran bashfully scratched his head.
Ji-yeon could only chuckle in disbelief.
She'd suspected something was up, but... she never imagined this. An unimaginable situation.
With such an absurdly unique ability, it made sense he'd hidden it from his own sister.
Who knew what chaos would erupt if word got out.
Anyway, from Ji-yeon's perspective, she'd suddenly gained some bizarre new housemates.
And they might increase even more.
“Anyway, Fran's living with us now, and we might get more companions... We'll probably have to move to a bigger place eventually.”
“Move...?”
“Yeah. I'm just collecting magic stones for now, but once I finish climbing Challenge Tower, I'll cash them all in for a fortune. We'll move before your exams this year? I can give you plenty of pocket money then. Sounds good?”
“...”
Ji-woo said it playfully with a grin, but Ji-yeon couldn't bring herself to smile back.
“...Oppa, you're really going to climb the tower, huh.”
“Yeah. If I clear all the towers, it might break Mom and Dad's seals.”
“...You said that three years ago too.”
“This time's different. I'm seriously going to climb. I can do it, no matter how long it takes.”
“...”
“Squeak?”
Ji-woo looked utterly convinced, but Ji-yeon couldn't lift her head.
She just stared down at the floor, stroking Thunder's head.
“They say the tower gets more dangerous the higher you go...”
“I've come back without a scratch so far. I'm getting way stronger, breaking shortest clear records left and right.”
“You can't predict what monsters will show up on the top floors...”
“It's fine. With my abilities, I can keep getting stronger until I can beat even the toughest ones with ease.”
“...”
Poke.
“H-Hey.”
“Please... don't die. Run if it's dangerous. It's okay to stop if it seems impossible... What am I supposed to do if I lose you too?”
“I won't die. Look, I've got them.”
As he hugged his trembling crybaby sister, Ji-woo pointed at Thunder and Fran.
“Squeak!”
Clunk!
Thunder thumped his chest, and Fran raised both arms high.
No translation needed—Ji-yeon knew exactly what they meant.
“Okay... Please protect Oppa. And don't get hurt yourselves...!”
“Squeak!”
Clunk.
It was the day a new family member joined the Kim household.
“Squeak!”
“Guh!”
Ramju Thunder's Tail Strike!
Direct hit on user's left arm!
From the perspective of an enemy, Thunder's attack was as fast and sharp as a charging hornet.
This was Thunder going easy—if he'd hit full force, my arm would be broken.
After a short break, I poured pre-mixed potions on my swollen and torn wounds here and there.
“Ow! That stings... Been a while since I took hits like this. Normally, I don't get hit climbing the tower.”
“Squeak!”
This was the pristine white space of Trial Tower's 1st floor—a place I thought I'd never return to.
I came here to train my new skill, Foresight Eye.
Too cramped at home, and training outside would make headlines about a man-eating monster squirrel sighting.
No other options, so I thought of this spot.
The summoned mountain squirrels still squeaked like NPCs, ignoring us completely.
“Even seeing attacks in advance... dodging isn't easy. Can't get used to it.”
Foresight Eye literally showed a few seconds into the future.
But the future isn't fixed—it changes moment by moment.
Left or right? Thumb or index finger? Countless branches create myriad futures.
Longer foresight overlaps even more possibilities, causing dizziness and inaccuracy.
I collapsed last time from delving too deep unconsciously, overwhelming my brain with visuals.
Luckily, the system let me cap Foresight Eye at 2 seconds max.
2 seconds might seem short, but it's the true limit. Normally, I'll adjust to about 1 second.
Even that 1-second foresight needs tons of training.
“Squeak?” “Squeak?”
“Ah... hold on. Don't move so fast. Gonna puke.”
My right eye saw Thunder now; left eye, 1 second ahead—like afterimages overlapping.
Like photographing a fast object for dynamic effect?
Thunder's current self seemed dragged toward his future position.
‘Present and future are mixing too much...’
I had to dodge Thunder's super-fast attacks by reading his future moves—but they blended with his current position...
Reading future Thunder in real-time to decide my move in that 1-second window was insanely tough.
This wasn't for the brain—hundreds of reps to ingrain in the body.
Problem: Daily grinding and tower climbs left little time...
Today: Repeated 15th floor, late-night Trial Tower 1F training.
Even with high level and stamina, mentally exhausting.
‘Do I even need Foresight Eye right now...?’
Thunder's faster than me as a sparring partner. Challenge Tower monsters are slower.
15th floor's baobab tree—famous for attack speed—but I dodged apple bombs and vine whips fine without it.
No faster enemies met...
‘...Ah, one person.’
A woman with beautiful golden eyes flashed in my mind.
Baek Yun-ha.
The mysterious masked woman from the secret floor.
I couldn't follow her movements at all.
Still couldn't now.
Even agile Thunder couldn't keep up.
Not just speed—her movement technique was on another level.
Level up more, use Foresight Eye, team with Thunder and Fran... any chance? Not sure.
Couldn't gauge her true strength yet.
“Baek Yun-ha...”
Lying sprawled on the white floor, I pulled out Golden Key Fragments from my inventory.
Two more from wishing on a Star Fragment, totaling four.
Key teeth and part of the handle assembled.
Visually, about half complete... 30th or 35th floor should finish it?
Revisiting my loss to Baek Yun-ha was because of this key.
The half-assembled key's size matched the keyhole of that unopenable secret floor door opposite.
Probably the key for there.
No hard evidence beyond size match... but gut feeling.
Trial Tower 10th is normal now, but completing this reopens the secret floor?
Unlock that door... meet Baek Yun-ha again?
If rematch possible, prepare fully.
Master Foresight Eye by then.
Finished training; outside was pitch-black night.
Text from little sis: When you coming home?
Need Foresight training, but full day of grinding, tower, training... body holds, but mind wears out first.
Time to tweak routine?
Can't skip tower, so pause grinding... or quit entirely.
About time to cash in more stones anyway.
Higher floors = more stones daily.
About 20% of Hunter #3026's estimated haul... enough for living without issues.
Lost in those thoughts, walking blankly—
Bump. Hit a woman coming the other way.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No... Ah!”
“Huh?”
Quick apology and pass, but the suited beauty stared wide-eyed at my face.
She approached slowly and said out of nowhere:
“Um... excuse me, but would you like to grab coffee at a cafe nearby and chat for a bit?”
At the sudden invite, I bowed politely.
“Sorry. I already attend a church.”
Of course, I was an atheist.