Preparation for Level Up
“So you’re saying… he really is F-Grade.”
And yet he walked right in here?
The bartender, who also doubled as a weapons merchant, couldn’t even bring himself to laugh. It was simply absurd.
Everyone who came to this bar was a player. Without exception. And not just any players, either.
This was a VIP-customized weapons shop. Only those recommended by the Player Management Agency or those who had carved out a solid position in one of the Five Great Guilds ever set foot inside.
Even among them, D-Grade customers were rare. F-Grade? There had never been one.
Hell, there hadn’t even been an E-Grade.
But the real kicker came with Kang Jinsu’s next words.
“Also, as usual, you’re not to breathe a word of this to anyone.”
“Of course not… I wouldn’t.”
‘Leak it? Are you insane? You think I have a death wish?’
The bartender had to summon every ounce of professionalism just to keep his expression under control.
‘Who in their right mind would ever repeat something like this?’
“…Understood.”
‘An F-Grade walks into my bar and demands every item on the shelves. Who the hell am I supposed to tell?’
His stomach churned. If word ever got out, the reputation this establishment had spent years building would collapse overnight.
‘I’d rather have a knife at my throat than admit this ever happened.’
“Sir, if you don’t mind, may I use an Appraisal skill?”
It was one of the few universal skills that worked outside the towers—[Appraisal]. Most players awakened with it.
Choi Junseok simply shrugged. He’d known the man would do it anyway.
The bartender met his eyes for a brief moment, then recoiled in shock, stumbling backward several steps. His body trembled as he wiped his face with a dry hand.
“He really is F-Grade… My apologies. I’m terribly sorry.”
‘For a second I thought he was about to curse me out.’
The bartender muttered under his breath before quickly composing himself. The way he treated mentioning F-Grade like some kind of grave offense only made Choi Junseok more uncomfortable.
“It’s fine. I am F-Grade. Being F-Grade isn’t a crime.”
The bartender glanced at Team Leader Kang, who simply closed his eyes and nodded in confirmation.
“Ah… um… We’ve never had a porter visit before, so… If your class is Porter, should I show you bags and such?”
Watching from the side, Kang Jinsu’s lips curled upward. He’d brought plenty of rankers here before, but this was the first time he’d ever seen the bartender this flustered.
No matter who walked through the door—even S-Grade players who dominated the news—the man had always maintained a perfectly professional demeanor while recommending custom gear.
“Well… a sword? I think a sword would be good.”
“Ah… You use a sword…”
Choi Junseok nearly snorted at the awkward phrasing.
‘Use a sword…? What kind of grammar is that?’
He could practically hear the unspoken follow-up: “What would a porter need a sword for?”
And sure enough—
“By sword, do you mean one for monster dismantling?”
“No. Obviously for cutting things.”
“Ah… I see. If I may ask, what’s your level?”
“Level 5.”
A heavy silence fell.
Only after Choi Junseok blinked twice with an utterly calm expression did the bartender manage a response.
“…Pardon?”
Even Kang Jinsu frowned and tilted his head.
“You’re serious?”
Choi Junseok checked his status window and nodded.
“Level 5. That’s correct.”
“Junseok-nim, are you really serious right now?”
“Oh. I get it. This is a hidden camera prank, right? Some kind of composure test? Haha! I was wondering why—Team Leader Kang, you really got me!”
“…Byeongho. This isn’t a test. He’s a real customer.”
And not just any customer. A top-tier one.
The bartender blinked several times in disbelief before continuing.
“You brought an F-Grade level 5 porter to the VIP weapons shop? Hyung-nim, is this person the Agency Director’s son or something?”
“No.”
“…Then why on earth—?”
“That’s classified. Just know that he’s being provided resources necessary for clearing the upper floors.”
And that was the truth.
Choi Junseok let out a sigh and took a seat at the bar.
“You can talk about me all you want, but if this is going to take a while, at least give me some water or a cocktail.”
The bartender forced his professionalism back into gear.
“My apologies. However, we don’t carry equipment suited to your level here.”
“That’s fine. Show me anyway.”
“…”
The bartender stepped aside, revealing the weapons displayed in the cabinet.
The moment Choi Junseok activated Appraisal, rows of Rare and Unique-grade equipment filled his vision.
The required levels averaged in the late thirties to forties—gear meant for players clearing the twentieth floors.
‘This is what they call VIP?’
“Where are you hiding the real VIP equipment?”
“You’ve been here before?”
“I can tell just by looking. And like I said earlier, from the far left all the way to the bottom right—give me everything. Doesn’t look that expensive.”
“…You mean all of it? That would be at least 13 billion won!”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
“W-What are you even going to do with all that?”
“Call it a porter’s instinct.”
“Excuse me?”
“When I see items, I feel the need to stuff them all into my inventory.”
“You won’t even be able to equip them.”
“Tsk. I’ll use them someday. Just hand them over.”
“…Understood.”
Choi Junseok immediately pulled several magic stones from his inventory.
They clattered onto the counter—tiny, low-grade stones that together might fetch a million won at most.
‘Is he trying to pay with these?’
The bartender’s expression finally cracked completely.
“Sir, this isn’t nearly enough.”
“The balance will be covered by the gentleman over there.”
Choi Junseok casually pointed his thumb at Kang Jinsu behind him. The team leader quietly closed his eyes and nodded in agreement.
“Give him everything. Open the VVIP section as well.”
Bartender Park Byeong-ryeol pressed a palm to his forehead. Either he had gone insane, or the Player Management Agency had.
“There’s one more important thing.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Do you have a laser pointer? Something extremely powerful—like a lightsaber.”
Classification: Equipment — Auxiliary Gear
Description: An ultra-high-output burning laser pointer. Used for igniting objects or designating targets.
Caution: Do not use on human eyes.
Normal → Special → Rare → Unique → Legendary → Mythic → Transcendent
In the end, the items he carried out were a single Unique-grade longsword usable at level 15, along with five or six Rare-grade weapons. He’d chosen throwing daggers and thrusting weapons, but there simply weren’t many worthwhile options that ignored level restrictions.
Five daggers launched with a rapid tudududuk—hardly a “thousand flowers raining down,” but it was something.
High-grade items without binding restrictions were rare to begin with. Legendary and Mythic items above them were almost always soul-bound upon acquisition. If someone else tried to use a bound item, it would either fail to activate or, in severe cases, shatter and respawn near its owner.
That was why unbound high-grade items were prized far more for their mere existence than for their price tag. Such items were usually taken straight to auction houses.
So there was no way a store like this would stock something capable of suppressing the aftereffects of summoning the Holy Sword. What mattered most in the VIP shop was something else entirely.
“Burning Laser Pointer!”
Choi Junseok proudly raised his new sidearm, but Lee Nayeon’s eyes instantly narrowed into a glare.
“What is that toy?”
It might look like a children’s toy, but it was a brilliant idea for farming experience on the lower floors.
“You underestimate this item’s potential.”
Lee Nayeon still looked unconvinced, but after seeing Choi Junseok’s confident expression, she reconsidered.
Back when she had climbed the tower as a supply porter, she had seen raid leaders use laser pointers. This wasn’t some cheap toy. It was a genuine high-powered laser that projected a visible beam.
‘Whenever the raid leader pointed it, the entire party focused fire in that direction.’
What had impressed her most, however, was when the leader aimed it directly at a monster’s eyes—inflicting status ailments like reduced vision or blindness.
Status ailments counted as attack judgments.
‘If the attack registers… maybe throwing a weapon afterward would still grant experience?’
It was a hypothesis worth testing.
Yu Junhyeok shared the same skeptical tone as Lee Nayeon.
—What the hell are you going to do with that?
—Heh. It inflicts status ailments.
The moment he explained, Yu Junhyeok immediately understood.
—Hah… You clever little bastard.
—Your petty schemes are the one thing I’ll acknowledge. They surpass even mine.
The idea was simple.
1. Blind the monster with the laser pointer.
2. Inflict blindness and burn status effects.
3. Summon and throw a weapon.
‘Since I applied a debuff, maybe I’ll still get experience no matter what finishes it off?’
Even partial credit might work—if other players on the same floor participated in the fight, experience was shared.
Of course, this was only a temporary measure with limits past the middle floors. But it would definitely work up to the twentieth floors.
It was still just a promising hypothesis, yet Yu Junhyeok’s reaction made it feel far more viable.
“You intend to inflict status ailments with that item to receive combat credit and gain experience.”
“Exactly. Ideally, you’d do the fighting for me, but…”
‘Until we build some rapport, summoning her to clear floors might backfire.’
Team Leader Kang had once given him advice:
- It’s best to maintain a good relationship with your summons.
- Why?
- Summons are usually bound not to harm their masters, right?
- Yeah, I guess.
- Humanoid summons are different. In America, there are too many cases of summons killing their masters to count on two hands. Some do it for freedom.
- …Really?
- So please, maintain a good relationship.
Choi Junseok turned to Lee Nayeon, who was stretching while watching TV with a blank expression.
“Want to get some fresh air?”
She tilted her head.
“Suddenly?”
“You’ve only seen the outside world through the TV, except for the towers. We should test out the sword we got from the shop, too. Can’t do that at home.”
Lee Nayeon looked up at him with sparkling eyes, then nodded as if she had been waiting for those exact words.
“Very well.”
A clear smile appeared on her usually expressionless face.