Hope for the F-Grade
Park Seon-woo was taken aback by the sudden mention of a Japanese player.
But that person was a summon?
“She doesn’t seem hostile……”
“Correct. She’s personnel dispatched by the Player Management Agency for support, but……”
The team leader trailed off uneasily.
“She appears to have quite a few peculiar traits.”
“What kind of person is she?”
“An S-grade summon who fled from Japan. A versatile player. She came here of her own volition.”
‘Not just any ordinary S-grade, either.’
She was an S-grade summon proficient in blessings, healing, talisman arts, illusion magic, barrier magic, exorcism, and archery.
An S-grade summon who would serve as Choi Junseok’s S-grade home security guard.
She had likely discovered Function through one of her many versatile abilities—tracking and detection. Her skills were on par with Oracle, the S-grade detection summon from the United States.
“It doesn’t look like I have a choice in the matter.”
“……Unfortunately, I tried to keep it hidden as much as possible, but there was no way to evade her tracking techniques.”
That was before the news that an S-grade summon would be moving into Park Seon-woo’s house.
Player Management Agency headquarters.
Director Mun Gwon-su was casually flipping through a newspaper.
The Director of the Player Management Agency set the newspaper down with a rustle.
Beyond the lowered paper stood Team Leader Kang Jinsu, hands clasped behind his back.
“So. You think Function will be difficult to control?”
“At the moment, yes. He won’t stop clearing at record speeds. Not when there are rewards involved.”
“True. I’d do the same. The rewards aren’t ordinary, after all. Because he has the ability.”
“I simply wanted him to provide a moderate smokescreen.”
“A smokescreen. A smokescreen, huh. No. That’s not it. He doesn’t want a smokescreen.”
“…Is that so?”
“If anything, it’s a massive smokescreen on the level of stage lighting equipment. No… perhaps not even that. He wants to become a cloud that everyone can see.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
He gestured toward the sofa, inviting him to sit.
Kang Jinsu bowed his head and took a seat. The Director continued.
“A transcendent being beyond the reach of the government and the Five Great Guilds. He wants recognition as an untouchable cloud.”
A cloud.
A cloud, huh.
That had a nice ring to it.
But of course, one could only be called a cloud after successfully ascending to the sky.
“Director. The Five Great Guilds have noticed that we’re trying to identify Function. If we assign guards out of concern, that’ll only give them an excuse to grab us by the tail.”
“Are you afraid we won’t be able to protect him?”
“Honestly, yes.”
Kang Jinsu had seen the darker side of the player world up close more than anyone.
It wasn’t uncommon for S-grade or A-grade players who fell out of favor with the Five Great Guilds to turn up as corpses.
“Didn’t you say he has summons nearby? Assassination types, I heard?”
“Nothing is confirmed, but that’s what’s being said. At the very least, they’re physical types.”
“Physical types. Not bad. Broad coverage. Though that’s not the important part. Do you think he’ll tell you the details if you ask?”
“He probably would. But I didn’t want to know. I understand that sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
The Player Management Agency was a rather cutthroat place.
Many had devoted themselves to the nation only to be discarded like old shoes.
Paradoxically, those who worked too hard and knew too much often ended up dead. Information about Choi Junseok was exactly that kind of thing.
He knew that ignorance was bliss.
“Have you been climbing towers lately?”
It sounded like a department head suggesting a hike to a new hire.
“…I’ve been too busy with work to go.”
“Is that so? Good work. Ah. The Indian players arrived safely and cleared the first floor immediately upon arrival.”
“I see.”
“Their record was faster than Supersonic Bunny’s previous one. Of course, it was a team effort, and the average level of those attempting the first floor was absurdly high.”
“…Seems like strong players came.”
“Indeed. If possible, I’d like to recruit them for naturalization. The higher-ups seem to want that too. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, Director.”
The countdown board still remained in the Director’s office, showing the time until the Magic Tower’s collapse.
Suseo Magic Tower Collapse: 192 days 13 hours 44 minutes 08 seconds
Once it dropped below 200 days, the pressure from above became relentless.
It felt as though the higher-ups’ entire workday began and ended with reports from the Player Management Agency.
Consequently, foreign workers had been hastily brought in to tackle the upper floors.
The plan was to deploy foreign players to install an “elevator” that would carry players up to the upper floors.
The target floors were from the 38th to the 50th, but whether it was possible remained uncertain.
“Do you think these Indian players will fulfill the contract diligently?”
“…We’ll have to hope for the best. With the Sword God gone, who else would step up to train the next generation?”
The paradox of player growth manifested here.
No matter how much combat training or drills one received in reality, it could never match the growth from gaining a single level inside a tower.
Because inside the Magic Tower, a human’s physical abilities received level corrections.
In other words, players could only grow inside the Magic Tower.
This was the fundamental difficulty preventing the government from nurturing players.
No amount of simulations, strategy videos, explanations, ability consulting, or mentoring could substitute for leveling up through tower clears.
“That’s true. However……”
“I understand your concerns. You had a rough time in Incheon as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Indian foreign worker mercenaries.
They had performed well when first deployed.
The problem was they did whatever they pleased.
These were the same people who had suffered during the Incheon Magic Tower incident after bringing in Indian players.
Korean female players who were supposed to be escorted to the upper floors had been sexually assaulted.
When the issue came to light, many took the money and disappeared without a trace.
In the end, there had been an uproar involving warrants and punishments for those involved, which only highlighted the Player Management Agency’s inadequate mercenary management capabilities.
As if in retaliation for the subsequent punishments, some Indian mercenaries caused trouble as if on strike.
The situation only calmed down after the Sword God, Yu Junhyeok, disguised himself as an elevator passenger and cut down a couple of players, forcing them to grovel.
They had bled from bringing in Indian players, but those same players had undeniably contributed to the monumental achievement of clearing the 100th floor.
“As you know, to prevent the collapse of the southeastern metropolitan area, we have no choice but to borrow even a cat’s paw. This time, many of them are Gurkha mercenary players.”
“Their professionalism should be solid.”
“Right. Last time the problem was players from back-alley thugs. This time they’re Gurkhas, aren’t they? It’s a formal contract. There shouldn’t be any issues.”
It meant they had been brought in at great expense.
This time as well, several Indian mercenaries had attempted the first floor alone, aiming for the hidden mission and rewards.
Of course, they all cleared it in the two-to-three-minute range.
They hadn’t even come close to Choi Junseok’s record of first place, nor had they surpassed Supersonic Bunny, Lee Jiyu’s previous record.
“In other words, even with a team of strong players from India and Nepal, they couldn’t break Function’s record.”
“Some floors might change.”
“Stop with the lip service. Do you really think that?”
“Honestly speaking, no.”
Function.
He had cleared every floor in four or five seconds, ten seconds at most.
‘There’s only one person capable of such an achievement—Function.’
It was strength comparable to an army of one.
At least, as far as had been proven so far.
‘The problem is the middle floors and above.’
Even regular raid parties composed of B-grade and A-grade players took two to three days to clear a single floor there.
“The number of newly awakened players has been decreasing sharply lately. Many are too terrified to register after awakening because of how many people die.”
Kang Jinsu was already aware of this.
“But things changed with Function’s appearance.”
“…?”
Kang Jinsu’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Registration of new D-grade and E-grade players centered around F-grade has increased significantly.”
“Are you saying it’s because of Function’s activities?”
“Exactly. He’s become hope for the lower-grade players who were looked down upon. He showed them what’s possible.”
The Director of the Player Management Agency grinned and patted Team Leader Kang’s shoulder.
“My expectations for him are high. The support we’ve given him includes that contribution. So don’t hold back on material support. I heard he was treated rather stingily at the VIP shop?”
“We gave him everything he said he needed. And it seems he’s requesting support without hesitation whenever necessary.”
“Hmm?”
“Today he bought a top-of-the-line TV and sofa.”
The Director chuckled and nodded.
That level of investment was necessary for talent.
The total number of players was estimated at around 500,000.
Officially registered players numbered just over 480,000.
Adding those who had awakened but not reported, or those operating in the shadows, the estimate was between 500,000 and 520,000.
‘Of those, active players number around 200,000.’
This excluded those who had no intention of climbing towers even if they died and came back to life, or those who had died, been injured, retired, or switched to related industries.
Looking at those 200,000:
Approximately 30,000 were F-grade.
120,000 were C to D-grade.
Of the remaining 50,000, 40,000 were B-grade.
Of the remaining 10,000, about 9,900 were A-grade.
And fewer than 100 were S-grade—the chosen ones.
In other words, the probability of a Korean citizen awakening an S-grade skill was 0.0002%.
An astronomically low chance comparable to winning the lottery.
Yet the current record had been set not by an S-grade, but by an F-grade.
‘Never thought I’d be this anxious over a single F-grade in my lifetime.’
The Director wore a genuinely pleased smile.
“So even if his tower climbing slows down, don’t rush him. He’s already a treasure to Korea. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“There’s a prediction that a Magic Tower will rise in the southern part of Kaesong, North Korea, north of Paju.”
Kang Jinsu’s eyes widened in shock.
“It’s still just a prediction, but the probability increases every day. It’s already exceeded 70%. It seems the North is also catching on and making moves.”
“If a Magic Tower rises in North Korea……”
“The silver lining is that it’ll rise within the range accessible to our players from north of Paju.”
“So that’s why you assigned S-grade Song Hana?”
“It was convenient timing. Partly because Song Hana already had curiosity about Function and went looking for him, and partly because Function needs to grow safely and quickly given the circumstances.”
“Indeed… she would be helpful.”
Song Hana.
The S-grade summon who had fled from Japan and was moving into the apartment below Choi Junseok’s.
“With Function… he could probably snatch all the rewards from the first floor of the Kaesong Magic Tower, couldn’t he? My expectations for him are high.”