Mythic and Legendary Items Pour Forth

While North Korea fretted and South Korea looked on in bewilderment, the very man behind it all—Choi Junseok, the source of both "Function" and "Second Function"—was humming a tune as he casually hung up laundry.

The song came naturally. It was all thanks to the hidden reward from the first floor of the Kaesong Magic Tower.

The moment he acquired it, the effects on every item bound to him became extraordinary. It meant he could now transfer ownership of any item regardless of its previous bindings. In other words, the greatest obstacle players faced when climbing—the restriction of item setups—had vanished.

That wasn't all. Before challenging the upper floors, he could skip the tedious farming runs through the middle floors to repeat-farm good items. On top of that, the frustrating limit of only one floor per day had also been resolved.

So how could he not hum?

"You seem to be in a good mood."

Lee Nayeon, sprawled grotesquely across the sofa, asked the question. Her head hung upside down over the edge, yet she was somehow watching the TV perfectly fine.

"Yeah. Better than expected, even."

"I see."

"Isn't that position uncomfortable for watching TV?"

"Do you know something, my lord?"

"What?"

"From this angle, the enemy's screen-transition footwork looks twice as fascinating. The Kaesong Magic Tower appears as though it is hanging upside down."

"...Right. Sure."

What she was watching was the news. The moment midnight struck the previous day, the very Magic Tower that had emerged in Paju began to be discussed. The broadcast only covered the basics: regular tremors had been detected roughly twenty kilometers north of Paju several days earlier, identified as a precursor symptom of Magic Tower formation studied overseas. At 7:54 p.m. the previous evening, the tower had risen.

The following segment featured a discussion between the anchor and an expert.

The expert explained that this was the direct reason behind North Korea's threats of long-range missiles and sending trash balloons. The anchor asked if it meant "don't come." The expert confirmed, then added something strange: the moment the record at Suseo Magic Tower was broken that afternoon, North Korea's hostile military provocations had suddenly ceased.

The anchor looked puzzled. The expert continued, noting that while details were still being confirmed, it seemed North Korea was now searching every player within its borders and conducting a full census of residents near Kaesong. In short, the first-floor record had been reset to 0 seconds by an F-grade player. They had initially assumed it was South Korea's Function, but then Function had appeared at the eighth floor of Suseo Magic Tower that very afternoon—less than twenty-four hours later.

Both sides were completely misunderstanding the situation. North Korea had thought the F-grade who cleared the first floor of Kaesong Magic Tower in one second was obviously South Korea's Function. Yet the very person who should have used the entry ticket to clear Kaesong had instead gone on to set new records at Suseo. Roughly sixteen hours after clearing Kaesong.

Team Leader Kang, who knew the full story, naturally headed straight to Choi Junseok's house.

The message arrived, and Team Leader Kang showed up in under five minutes.

"...Come in."

"Thank you."

"Instead of Song Hana moving downstairs, maybe you should."

"...I'm seriously considering it."

Lee Nayeon sat up properly upon the outsider's arrival and continued watching TV, pretending disinterest while listening closely to their conversation.

"I'll be direct. You're the F-grade Function who cleared the eighth floor, aren't you, Junseok?"

"I am."

"And the one who cleared the first floor of Kaesong is also you."

"Correct."

Kang's brow furrowed instantly.

"How? Only sixteen hours have passed since you cleared Kaesong."

"You're asking how I cleared two floors?"

"Yes."

"Ah... I never told you about the hidden reward from the first floor of the North Korean tower."

Choi Junseok mixed in a bit of deception. There was no need to show all his cards, no matter how much trust had been built.

"I got an extra Magic Tower entry ticket and a mythic-grade item."

"An extra entry ticket... So that's how you managed two floors. Now it makes sense."

"Curious what the mythic item is?"

"...I'd rather not know unnecessary information. I'd like to live a long life."

"Still, you should probably hear it."

Seeing Choi Junseok insist this far, Team Leader Kang guessed there was a reason.

"If you have a reason, I'll listen."

"It unbinds item ownership. And it's not single-use."

Team Leader Kang's eyes widened as he covered his mouth with his hand. The sound was enough to wake anyone from drowsiness. Players instinctively understood the value of an item that could sever ownership bindings. As a player himself, Kang could easily imagine it.

It was truly worthy of the mythic grade.

"A terrifying item. If it had fallen into North Korean hands, it would have been a catastrophe."

Every item's binding would be released, allowing national-level redistribution. They would sever all player bindings and begin by confiscating items for the state. It wouldn't stop at North Korean items either. They could secretly approach South Korean players, unbind their items, and seize or purchase them. An underground market for exporting player items could flourish with North Korea at its center.

Team Leader Kang spoke with genuine gratitude.

"You've done a great service for the nation."

"Then the nation should do something great for me in return."

"...Of course. I'll do my best."

To an outsider it might not seem like much, but if the state managed this item, there were countless ways to dominate the black market and profit.

"I'll keep the fact that you obtained this item secret from my superiors as well."

"I'd appreciate that."

Team Leader Kang instinctively knew: the item Choi Junseok had acquired could deny and defy the Magic Tower system from its very roots. When such items appeared in reality, massive conflicts usually erupted. Something similar had happened during the Incheon Magic Tower incident—the entry ticket to Hephaestus's Blacksmith that the Sword God had possessed. Guilds had fought over the rights and shares to that forge, leading to armed conflict involving private soldiers, gangsters, and summons in broad daylight in Ilsan. It took only five hours for martial law to be declared and troops deployed. In those five hours, 782 people—including civilians and soldiers—had died. The injured numbered even more.

Choi Junseok's item wouldn't be limited to mere player infighting. It was a national-power-level item.

This must be hidden at all costs.

Team Leader Kang knew this better than anyone.

"Then please report it that way to your superiors... Ah, and while you're at it, could you compile a list of useless bound items at your discretion? Things like retired players' gear."

"Understood."

He was acting like a personal secretary, but in truth, that was exactly what Team Leader Kang had become—handling all support, reporting, and surveillance for Choi Junseok while stepping away from his other duties.

"I'll see to it."

Both men's gazes turned to the news Lee Nayeon was watching. Scenes showed residents from villages near Kaesong undergoing mass inspections, and North Korean frontline soldiers lining up to head somewhere.

"They're saying North Korea is delighted, claiming they've produced their own Function-level player. You've successfully sowed confusion with an appropriate disguise. Excellent work."

"Hope is the most terrifying thing of all."

Team Leader Kang smiled as he watched the news, clearly pleased.

"Will South Korean players continue clearing the North Korean tower?"

"Ah, yes. Thanks to you, the hidden reward on the first floor has been blocked. North Korea has reportedly recalled its S-grade and A-grade players from overseas deployments. It looks like they'll push through at the national level as well."

"...Which means..."

"Correct. A battle of pride over clearing the North Korean tower is about to begin. By the way, Junseok."

"Yes?"

"What are your plans for clearing the tenth floor of Suseo? It's divided into three paths... and requires a three-person raid."

Because everyone expected the tenth floor to be cleared in two days. Song Hana was supposed to arrive from downstairs, but while her identity had been secured in South Korea, she wasn't a registered player with an entry ticket. More importantly, she wasn't one of Choi Junseok's summons, so they still needed one more person for the tenth floor, which fundamentally required three raiders.

"As I mentioned before, each of the three paths on the tenth floor has a mid-boss. All three must be defeated simultaneously within one minute for the final boss to appear."

"Ah, I remember."

"If necessary, we can secretly provide disposable players."

Disposable players...? What a chilling expression.

"That's a bit grim to hear. Don't worry. I have a way."

"Understood. You must be tired, so I'll take my leave. Please contact me anytime if you need anything..."

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he was putting on his shoes, something seemed to occur to him.

"Ah, from now on, I'll try to reduce direct visits to your residence as much as possible."

"Because of North Korea?"

"Yes. We don't know where or how spies might have infiltrated. They're still assuming it could be South Korea's doing."

After Team Leader Kang left, Choi Junseok belatedly recalled two or three ways to use Lethe's Scissors.

"Heh heh heh..."

"D-don't tell me..."

At Choi Junseok's laughter, Sword God Yu Junhyeok, who immediately grasped his intent, swallowed dryly.

Among the items in the Sword God's leather bag, three had been unreadable:

"N-no, you brat!"

No way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in hell!

The moment he pressed the three unreadable items on the system window, a new prompt appeared.

Choi Junseok's answer was immediate.

"Use on all of them!"

"You were hiding items like these all this time?"

The items were substantial.

In short, it was a pet that helped with automatic looting.

The divine blacksmith? He didn't fully understand it yet. But his intuition told him it would be perfect for his ability, where item attack power was everything.

The final item was the Spatial Movement Summoning Magic Circle (Legendary).

This would be useful for the North Korean tower, key bases, or emergency escapes in the real world.

How had he hidden nothing but such excellent items?

"You're just taking everything, aren't you? Everything."

Ownership of the three items transferred to Choi Junseok.

"Don't be too upset. This is all to fulfill your dream of the Flying Sword Technique."

"...If you can't even say that properly. Fine. I was going to hand them over when the time came anyway. I was planning to give you the Fairy of Retrieval soon enough."

"Thank you."

And Choi Junseok knew there was still one more being whose binding he could sever.

Right on cue, that being was entering his house. Someone who opened the door as if it weren't locked at all.

It was Song Hana.

"May I come in?"

"Hana, usually you ask that... before coming in."

What was the point of asking after already entering and taking off her shoes?

"Eheh..."

Well, it worked out. He had been planning to test whether he could sever a summon's binding anyway.

And soon enough, the possibility was confirmed on the status window.

A status window indicating he could sever Song Hana's binding.