S-Grade Obsession (1)
“Good morning, Nayeon! You look like you’re in a great mood today, Junseok-nim!”
He was in a good mood.
Recently, he’d been racking up some seriously good rewards one after another.
“There’s good news, and it applies to you too, Hana.”
“Huh? Me? What is it? A present?”
“Not exactly a present… but close enough?”
If she had been summoned in Japan and then fled from there, she had either killed her original summoner or simply run away. Either way, this was the perfect item to sever that old binding contract.
Choi Junseok summoned a pair of scissors into his palm.
The mythic-grade item, Lethe’s Scissors. They glowed pink, as if carved from rose quartz.
The moment Song Hana saw them, she took two steps back.
“Hieeek!”
“W-why?”
“M-mythic-grade item…”
“So what if it’s mythic-grade?”
“Junseok-nim… you’re a scary person. Anyone who owns a mythic item has to be terrifying.”
It was a strange way of categorizing people, but when he thought about it, she wasn’t wrong. Even among the top ten rankers, there were stories of people who didn’t possess a single mythic item.
Just looking at his inventory list, this didn’t look like the belongings of someone about to clear the ninth floor.
1. Excalibur, Sword of the Promised King (Transcendent)
2. Perfect Healing Potion (Unique) x 11
3. Retrieval Fairy (Legendary)
4. Hephaestus’s Blacksmith Entry Ticket (Mythic)
5. Spatial Movement Summoning Magic Circle (Legendary)
6. Kim Chun-sik’s Longsword (Unique)
7. Magic Tower High-Pass Entry Ticket (Legendary)
8. Lethe’s Scissors (Mythic)
Even after filtering for only the important items, this was the result. On top of that, the Lionheart’s Gauntlet that had become one with Lee Nayeon was also mythic-grade. Various cold weapons he used as bullet substitutes were neatly stacked in his inventory as well. None of them were particularly bulky or heavy, so he still had plenty of carrying capacity left.
One Transcendent, three Mythic, three Legendary.
How was this the spec of a player who hadn’t even reached the tenth floor? It was closer to the loadout of a top-tier raid party clearing the 300th or 400th floor. Honestly, it was even better than that.
“You must have been born with an item pouch instead of a stomach! Is that because you used to be a porter?”
“…That’s a compliment, right?”
“Of course it is!”
Her bright voice continued with its usual innocent tone.
“So what’s the present?!”
“Didn’t you appraise the item already?”
“I did! It said it severs bindings. An item!”
“…An item.”
“Yes! An item!”
She tilted her head left and right like a rabbit, then nodded to herself. The way she smiled made it seem like she genuinely believed she was a normal human being.
“It’s about you.”
Song Hana blinked for a moment before realizing what he meant. Her expression turned gloomy as she nodded.
“If you need my talisman papers… I-I’ll give them to you!”
What she immediately pulled out was none other than a bundle of yellow talisman papers—the same ones she had drawn on the spot and torn off like receipts last time. It looked like a yellow paper notebook.
When he appraised it, the item’s name was the unexpected Infinite Talisman Papers, a legendary-grade item.
“That’s not what I meant. I was wondering if I could sever your binding contract. If you want, I can try.”
Song Hana’s already large eyes widened even further. At the same time, her eyelashes began to tremble.
Then she burst into tears.
“Uwaaaah! Uwaaaah!”
“W-why are you crying?”
“I-I’m just so grateful. I’m crying because I’m thankful.”
Still sobbing, she threw herself onto Lee Nayeon’s lap. Startled, Lee Nayeon glanced at Choi Junseok in confusion before carefully stroking Song Hana’s back.
Her attempt at comfort was characteristically blunt.
“Sadness is an unnecessary emotion on the battlefield.”
‘Yeah, that’s not comforting at all.’
Yet somehow, it worked.
“You’re right… I can’t just keep sniffling!”
After rubbing her face against Lee Nayeon’s leg and sniffling, Song Hana suddenly lifted her head.
Choi Junseok couldn’t quite understand the strange chemistry between the two of them.
“Please sever the binding contract right now!”
There was a strange intensity in Song Hana’s eyes.
“I’ve never used this outside my inventory before, so I might fumble a bit.”
The moment he gripped the scissors, a transparent thread became visible, stretching from the top of Song Hana’s head into the air.
“I guess I just cut that.”
When he brought the scissors up to her head, she flinched and hunched her shoulders. But the instant he tried to cut the thread, the scissors stopped, clamped around it.
“Huk! A status window popped up!”
“W-what does it say?”
“Hieeek! It’s asking if I want to sever the binding with Matsumoto Hirobumi! Y-yes, sever it right now!”
Snap!
The thread was severed in one clean cut. A powerful gust of wind whipped through the air in its wake.
Once the wind died down, Song Hana’s shoulders trembled as she bowed her head. Tears fell one by one, then faster, dripping onto the floor. She stared at her small palms, clenching and unclenching her fists.
“…Whoa.”
They were tears of joy. She was smiling.
Then she lunged forward and clung to Choi Junseok. Because of her small stature, the top of her head only reached his solar plexus, and it bobbed as she cried, tears dripping steadily.
“Even with talismans… I could never break it. It’s finally gone… Finally…”
He didn’t know the full story, but it was clearly a heavy one. Choi Junseok awkwardly patted the top of her head to calm her down.
After some time clinging to both Choi Junseok and then Lee Nayeon, Song Hana finally regained her composure. Returning to her usual expression, she grabbed Choi Junseok’s hand and looked up at him with sparkling, tear-filled eyes.
“Please form a contract with me!”
A new status window appeared before Choi Junseok’s eyes.
Would you like to register the summon “Song Hana”? (Y/N)
“I’ll protect you with all kinds of talismans and skills! I’ll be a huge help during climbs!”
He had already confirmed her capabilities in Kaesong Magic Tower. The clear conditions were simple, and the first floor’s layout was straightforward, so there was little to fear even when summoning her from afar. He had also verified the effectiveness of her protective talismans—though indirectly, by having Lee Nayeon test them. The talisman had burned up while creating a dome-shaped barrier around Lee Nayeon that lasted quite a while.
And that wasn’t all. She could also handle various protective measures in the real world using her talisman arts.
‘An S-grade all-rounder supporter summon?’
There was no reason to refuse.
“Register.”
At the same time, another status window appeared.
The universal skill “Summon Beast Summon” has gained the Song Hana summoning function.
‘This should significantly reduce the risk of summoning the Holy Sword.’
“Junseok-nim! How was the protective talisman’s effect?”
“Can you make more of them? I’d like as many as possible.”
“Hehe! Of course!”
Excited, she immediately spread out her talisman papers and began drawing protective talismans with her finger.
“Here’s one!”
Rip!
After finishing the first protective talisman, she started on the second—only to suddenly collapse forward, nose bleeding, straight into Choi Junseok’s arms.
Before she could reach him, Lee Nayeon snatched her mid-fall and lifted her up, laying her on the sofa in one swift motion.
Song Hana’s face had gone from pale to a sickly blue.
“Huh… I’m dizzy.”
“It might be because her level dropped,” Lee Nayeon observed.
“Ugh… I feel lightheaded…”
Lee Nayeon looked down at her with concern.
“It probably has nothing to do with her level. This skill was always exhausting…”
“Not completely unrelated. Your level dropped to 21, after all.”
A summon’s level was synchronized with their contractor’s. After clearing the first floor of Kaesong Magic Tower and the eighth floor of Suseo Magic Tower, his level had risen by three, reaching 21.
At the mention of 21, Song Hana blinked quietly.
“…Huh. You’re right.”
“What was it before?”
“I don’t remember exactly… 372? Somewhere around there. But the talismans I gave you should still work the same…”
Lee Nayeon asked calmly, “How many can you produce in a day?”
“…At this rate, maybe three at most? Two should be doable…”
Two protective talismans a day?
That was more than enough.
Around the same time.
Magic Tower Defense Headquarters—shortened to “Matapbang.”
The urgent meeting agenda was, of course, the Kaesong Magic Tower in North Korea and the emergence of the F-grade irregular known as “Function.”
“Does this mean it wasn’t an F-grade sent from South Korea?”
“We judged it to be an excessive provocation and didn’t go that far.”
“Weren’t rankers deployed?”
“Before the North Korean ‘Function’—that is, the F-grade irregular—appeared, the South Korean player held the record.”
“So you’re saying we don’t know their identity?”
“That’s correct.”
The Director of the Player Management Agency pretended not to know while knowing full well. Aside from Choi Junseok, Kang Jinsu, himself, and the President, everyone was kept in the dark about the fact that Choi Junseok had cleared the first floor of Kaesong Magic Tower.
The reason was simple. When weighing the pros and cons, this was far more advantageous.
Of course, the Director had already reported directly to the President that North Korea’s Function was the result of South Korea’s Function being dispatched. However, the other officials remained unaware.
The President had also agreed with the Agency’s judgment. It wasn’t a bad thing for North Korea to waste administrative resources searching for an unidentified F-grade within their own borders.
More importantly, if this information spread internally, it would be no different from informing North Korea directly. There was no telling how many internal spies might be involved.
Revealing that South Korea had sent a player to cause trouble on the first floor? That would be tantamount to admitting South Korea had launched a preemptive strike on North Korea. It was best to avoid giving North Korea any justification for further provocations or erratic behavior.
Additionally, from the Player Management Agency’s perspective, keeping Function’s existence hidden yielded enormous benefits.
‘The tension that North Korea might achieve economic development through the Magic Tower.’
That tension would translate directly into budget support and attention for the Agency.
“Have there been any cases of F-grade irregulars appearing worldwide?”
“No F-grade this powerful has been reported outside of South and North Korea, so other countries are also watching closely.”
“Russia has reportedly conducted a full investigation of all new F-grades.”
“It seems the Korean Function is under the Agency’s management? The news has gone quiet, and the prosecution’s investigation appears to have concluded.”
“I can only say that they are being secretly managed.”
“If everything is classified even in a Matapbang meeting, I wonder when and where you plan to disclose anything. This is ridiculous.”
The attendees each expressed their dissatisfaction by tapping their pens or clicking their tongues.
“So how do you plan to respond to North Korea’s Function?”
“The first floor of Kaesong Magic Tower has a very simple structure. Its difficulty is extremely low compared to Suseo.”
“And?”
“Many of North Korea’s players were already famous rankers abroad. If they returned and cleared the first floor, even a one-second clear would be possible…”
“It’s zero seconds! Zero seconds!”
Due to the Magic Tower’s system of truncating decimal points, Function’s record was listed as zero seconds. It was an absurd number.
“They cleared it before visual information even reached their eyes. That’s the level we’re talking about!”
The Director nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Doesn’t that sound impossible?”
“…?”
“That’s why we’ve reached an internal conclusion. There must be a player or item holder in North Korea capable of intentionally disrupting the tower’s system.”
“That’s just a hypothesis.”
“It’s the only explanation that makes sense. That’s our conclusion.”
“That doesn’t make any—”
The Director continued in a serious tone to the ministers from various departments.
“I apologize, but I’m not explaining this to each department. I’m reporting it.”
In other words, don’t question their work.
“So how is the upper-floor clear progressing?”
“We’ve consecutively cleared the 58th and 59th floors. We’re currently focused on reconnaissance and strategy for the 60th floor, the boss floor.”
The relevant officials naturally knew that Function had also cleared the eighth floor with a record time.
“When do you think Function will hit their limit?”
At that question, the Director genuinely smirked.
These people really didn’t know Function at all.
“A limit? Do you really think there is one?”
That night.
Exactly twenty-four hours after entering Kaesong Magic Tower.
After clearing the ninth floor in record time and confirming there were no issues with the protective talismans, Choi Junseok explained the tenth floor’s structure to his two summons.
“Every tenth floor is called a boss floor. Here, you have to defeat the mid-bosses in each of the three branching paths. Only then will the Troll Warlord, the clear condition, be summoned.”
“Junseok-nim. Can we win? The Troll Champion, Troll Archmage, Troll Spirit Master—which one will you fight?”
“I can beat any of them—”
Just as he was about to retort, Lee Nayeon raised a finger to signal silence.
Song Hana was trembling as she studied the tenth-floor map Choi Junseok had shown them, worrying about who they would have to fight.
Only after Lee Nayeon tapped her shoulder did she belatedly notice the intruder’s presence.
Lee Nayeon’s detection ability was superior.
“Choi Junseok! I know you’re in there! Come out right now!”
Choi Junseok immediately recognized the voice.
It was Lee Jiyu, the Supersonic Bunny, though her pronunciation was slightly slurred, as if she were drunk.
‘Did the Player Management Agency mess up the handling? How did she find out?’
He hesitated, wondering how to respond—whether to pretend he wasn’t there—when Lee Jiyu’s unexpected words followed.
“I have a favor to ask! I didn’t come here to fight! So open the door! If you don’t, I’ll expose to all five major guilds that you’re Function!”
What kind of development was this?
In just the past few days, S-grade players and summons had been showing up one after another.
‘Is the security here actually decent?’
Still, she didn’t seem hostile. If she had ill intentions, she wouldn’t have tried to negotiate with words first. She would have greeted him with guns, knives, and bombs right away.
‘She must have some other motive.’
Women kept showing up, which some might find appealing… but this time, the visitor was Lee Jiyu, an S-grade ranker who was both a successful businesswoman and a top celebrity. That made it far from ordinary.
More importantly, she probably saw him as the enemy who had taken her summon.
‘For now… I’ll pretend I’m not here and escape into the tower.’
When he tried to ignore her and enter the tenth floor, a warning window appeared.
Just as he was about to press Y—
Crack-crack-crack—
A sound of something freezing echoed.
It was obviously the sound of Lee Jiyu freezing the door with her hand.