The S-Grade Obsession (2)
‘S-grade home security is pretty reliable.’
There was no S-grade player or anything of the sort. The moment she touched it, she was simply sealed inside ice.
For now, he carried the frozen Lee Jiyu back into the house.
He couldn’t just leave her like that.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, she had at least come wearing sturdy leather jacket and pants.
“What should we do now? Shall I cut her down?”
“No. For now… stand by.”
He stopped Lee Nayeon, who was ready to act without hesitation.
He didn’t want to kill anyone.
He couldn’t go around slaughtering everyone just to hide his identity.
‘Maybe I should move.’
Still, Lee Nayeon’s words before she froze kept bothering him.
She had said she didn’t come to fight.
If she had truly come to kill him, she wouldn’t have approached like that.
She would have thrown a grenade through the window or opened fire instead of greeting him.
There were also ways to kill him quietly without anyone knowing.
While Choi Junseok was deep in thought, Song Hana suddenly trembled in shock.
“H-Hiik! S! She’s an S-grade player! Wh… what do we do? Should I release the seal!”
She stamped her feet anxiously.
It seemed she had appraised the person trapped in ice as an S-grade player.
‘Why is she so surprised? She’s S-grade herself.’
Among the four people in Choi Junseok’s house, the only one who wasn’t S-grade was Choi Junseok himself.
“Release it for now. She really seems to have come to talk.”
“U-Understood!”
Killing her here would only make things worse.
Crack… crack!
Fine cracks spread across the ice surface before widening all at once.
At the same time, the block of ice shattered with a sharp sound, bursting into sparkling white powder.
From within, Lee Jiyu staggered forward a step, life returning to her eyes.
She seemed to remember grabbing the doorknob and her body suddenly freezing.
Startled, Lee Jiyu looked around.
She appraised the three people in an instant.
Yet Choi Junseok and Lee Nayeon’s profiles still showed as E-grade and D-grade due to their disguises.
The only surprising one was the small girl beside them.
‘S-grade? Is she Choi Junseok’s summon?’
The moment she realized that, she knew she had come to the right place.
“S-grade summon. …So it really was Function.”
However, she soon raised both hands as if that was enough confirmation.
As if to prove she held no hostility.
At the same time, she casually staggered toward the sofa, collapsed onto it, and continued speaking.
“My reward for being the first to clear the first floor alone. My summon had inherited Zhuge Liang’s soul. His name was Choi Byeong-ryeol.”
That was how her sudden story began.
Seated on the sofa, she went on.
Now that he looked again, she seemed somewhat drunk.
Her pronunciation was slurred, as if intoxicated.
“Before Choi Byeong-ryeol disappeared. In other words, the day before you revealed yourself as a player. He said something strange to me. That he would soon disappear.”
“…?”
It was an abrupt statement, but an interesting one.
‘He predicted my appearance?’
“He was always saying things that sounded like nonsense. Like some kind of Zen riddle. I thought it was the same that day, but it felt different. No wonder he suddenly suggested we drink together…”
She seemed to be reaching into the inner pocket of her leather jacket.
It was a cigarette.
“Is it okay to smoke inside?”
Click! Whoosh! The Zippo lighter flared brightly.
She sat with her long legs crossed, leisurely smoking.
“Don’t people usually ask before lighting up?”
“…Understand. This noona’s not exactly in her right mind right now. But why are you speaking informally to someone you just met, you little brat?”
“Weren’t you the one who started with informal speech?”
Lee Jiyu was older, after all.
She took a deep drag with a blank expression, nodding her head and toes at the same time.
“That’s true.”
There was no hostility in her eyes as she looked at Choi Junseok.
“Fine, let’s keep it casual. Still, seeing your face somehow makes me feel better.”
“Why did you come here? You didn’t come just to get drunk and complain, did you?”
“Didn’t I? I came to get drunk and complain.”
“Go home. Come back when you’re sober.”
Their conversation continued in a strange, one-sided manner.
“At first I wanted to kill you, but after a week… the anger just faded?”
Choi Junseok’s appearance and Choi Byeong-ryeol’s disappearance.
It wasn’t just losing half her combat power—attention from the Player Management Agency had also decreased.
Her value within the guild had been halved as well.
It was like watching a stock account crash by 40 to 50 percent.
But that feeling didn’t last long.
She soon realized her anger wasn’t about the loss of power itself, but about losing Choi Byeong-ryeol.
“I should just think of it as two months of fun. That’s how Magic Tower rewards work, right?”
Naturally, her anger toward Choi Junseok also faded.
Instead, curiosity about him grew.
The Function whose arrival Choi Byeong-ryeol had predicted before disappearing.
“I’ve rolled around enough as a player to know. Complaining about the Magic Tower’s rules is just kids throwing tantrums.”
“Lucky for me. So why did you bother coming here?”
“Conclusion! Let’s climb the tower together?”
“…I don’t know where that conclusion came from.”
“Because I feel like I’ll only be satisfied if I do. How… how did you clear the first floor so fast, alone, without any summons.”
Her voice carried a slight hint of tears.
“And because I need to confirm whether you’re worth anything.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Then… I’ll reveal to the world that you’re Function.”
Choi Junseok never lowered himself no matter who he faced.
Instead, he threatened her in return.
“Getting rid of you without a sound is nothing. As you might have guessed, the Player Management Agency is behind me.”
She merely shrugged as if to say “do what you want.”
She had a strong spirit and extraordinary nerve.
‘Someday the world will know I’m Function, but now is too soon.’
It meant his market value was still low.
At the very least, he needed to reach a point where he could exert the firepower and influence of a one-man guild.
‘For now, I should get through this without issues, then ask the Agency for protection and run away at dawn.’
“Fine. Let’s say I accept everything. But the moment we enter the Magic Tower, your power as a top-tier S-grade attacker returns, while I’m just a player who’s barely reached the tenth floor. What makes you think we can go in together?”
Her level, clearing the highest floors, was at least close to or over 200.
Her basic abilities were on a completely different level from his, who had barely passed 20.
As if she had expected this, she rummaged through her leather jacket’s inner pocket.
Lee Nayeon, wary it might be a gun, jumped in front of Choi Junseok to block her.
But what appeared in her hand was a pair of handcuffs that looked like a toy.
The ability-sealing handcuffs dangled playfully from her fingertips as she sat with her legs crossed.
Choi Junseok knew exactly what item it was.
“Ability-sealing handcuffs. While wearing these, your stats inside the Magic Tower won’t change from outside. They can seal players up to level 300. My level is 227, you can check if you want.”
It became clear.
Lee Jiyu had come for him with a plan.
‘She even brought the handcuffs and timed her visit for when the entry rights reset.’
She was a frightening woman.
As expected of someone who had risen to the upper ranks as an S-grade with business acumen, her judgment was sharp.
“You have the Inventory skill. I’ll wear this item, and I’ll give you the key to the handcuffs. Put it in your dimensional inventory. If you die in the Magic Tower, I might never find the key. That way, we’re both risking our lives, aren’t we?”
“You really just want to see me clear the Magic Tower.”
“That’s right. So I can accept it cleanly.”
Choi Junseok pushed further.
“Then what do I get in exchange for giving you that information?”
“Hm?”
“I’m asking what you’ll give me in return for the risk of revealing my information and skills.”
“…So you have something besides the Inventory skill?”
“That’s none of your business. Just answer the question.”
Lee Jiyu scratched her head messily with one hand, then smoothed her hair back.
She looked around his house and the walls as she spoke.
“This looks like a house provided by the government.”
“….”
“Aren’t you anxious living in a house you could be kicked out of at any time? I’ll help you earn money in reality. Achieving the dream of owning a home isn’t easy even for players, you know? It takes time to reach the middle floors, right?”
Choi Junseok pondered for a moment before nodding.
It was a signal to put on the handcuffs.
Lee Jiyu smiled brightly, satisfied, and cuffed her own hands.
Click.
At the same time, the key to unlock the handcuffs appeared in her hand.
The moment she handed it to Choi Junseok, a status window appeared.
The item ‘Ability-Sealing Handcuff Key - Lee Jiyu’ will bind upon acquisition. Acquire it? (Y/N)
The moment Choi Junseok clicked yes, the key scattered into light and entered his inventory.
Lee Jiyu’s eyes sparkled in slight surprise.
The Magic Tower entry window appeared before Lee Jiyu and Choi Junseok.
As Choi Junseok pressed to enter, he added,
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trusting you or climbing with you for any other reason.”
“…Then?”
“Your summon who disappeared. Choi Byeong-ryeol. I’m climbing with you out of respect for him.”
“…You’ve got an S-grade player’s way with words?”
As they entered the Magic Tower, her smiling face scattered into light.
‘Well, as long as she doesn’t pull out the key and beg to be saved, it’ll be fine.’
Lee Jiyu knew that achieving a new record on the tenth floor with only the strength of summons was impossible.
‘In the end, she’ll be crying and handing over the key, begging to be saved.’
The shortest clear time for the tenth floor was 1 minute and 22 seconds.
It was a record recently set by one of the upper-floor raid parties, and it had remained unbroken for over three weeks.
You have entered the 10th floor.
Time Limit: 5 hours 30 minutes.
10th Floor Clear Condition: Pass the three room trials simultaneously, then pass the final trial.
Three stone doors appeared before Choi Junseok and Lee Jiyu.
Without the slightest hesitation, Choi Junseok placed his hand on the left door—the Troll Warrior’s room.
Song Hana placed hers on the middle door—the Archmage’s room.
Lee Nayeon placed hers on the right door—the Archspirit’s room.
Moving to the next stage.
The moment the three of them moved to the next stage simultaneously, Lee Jiyu hesitated, unsure which door to follow.
But in the end, she placed her hand on the door Choi Junseok had chosen—the one she was most curious about.
“Troll Warrior. Not easy.”
Even she would be in danger if the troll’s aggro shifted to her while her hands were bound by the handcuffs.
But she had come prepared to take that risk.
For Choi Byeong-ryeol.
The moment she placed her hand on the door, her vision shifted to a room where a two-meter-tall Troll Warrior stood.
Choi Junseok didn’t move at all, merely watching the Troll Warrior from a distance.
In that instant, two lights flashed before him.
A sword and a shining arrow pierced the troll’s heart and severed its head in one strike.
It was Lee Nayeon’s sword and the power of Song Hana’s mana bow manifested from magic power.
Thud! Thunk!
‘What are those two… summons?’
Lee Nayeon, who had been registered as an E-grade player.
Her strength, far beyond E-grade, was impressive enough, but the way glowing orbs instantly gathered and took form—
Lee Jiyu knew all too well that was the summoning effect.
‘Coming here means they’ve already cleared the other two trials…’
The system window notification was faster than her thoughts.
The final trial begins.
The path behind the Troll Warrior opened, revealing the Troll Warlord’s room where three paths converged into one.
It resembled a circular arena.
The problem was that the outer edge of the arena was a pitch-black abyss.
A massive raid monster awaited the players in a floating circular space.
‘A shortest-time clear is impossible.’
Even reaching the Troll Warlord would take at least a minute of running.
Following the single path and entering the troll’s attack range on flat ground—
Even running at full speed, it would take several seconds. The distance was considerable.
But Choi Junseok didn’t move.
He was simply shooting something with a laser pointer.
The laser’s output was quite strong for a mere pointer.
It even made a high-pitched whirring sound.
‘What is he… doing? Did he give up on the record?’
The laser pointer accurately targeted the distant troll’s eye.
The boss raid-scale troll was enormous, so its eyes were massive.
Provoked by Choi Junseok’s playful action, it began stomping toward him.
Though over 800 meters away, it looked like a large limousine bus walking upright.
“Kroooooar!”
A roar echoed.
Thud, thud—footsteps followed, shaking the ground.
But something was strange.
The two summons in front of Choi Junseok were glowing yellow.
‘Summon release?!’
The boss monster was approaching, yet the two had turned into particles of light and dispersed.
‘Did the summons betray him…?’
Just as Lee Jiyu’s eyes widened in shock,
Choi Junseok grabbed her arm and pulled her behind his back as he spoke.
“Summon.”
‘…?’
While Lee Jiyu stood flustered behind him,
she witnessed it.
Far away, at the word “summon,” a single sword appeared above the Troll Warlord’s head.
With her long experience as a player, she instinctively knew.
That sword was no ordinary sword.
The scene that unfolded next left Lee Jiyu’s mouth agape.
The moment the sword split the troll’s crown, pierced through its body, and embedded itself into the ground without resistance—
BOOOOOOM!!
With a massive explosion, the tenth-floor boss collapsed along with the floor it stood on, vanishing into the darkness.
Congratulations!
You have cleared the 10th floor.
You have achieved the shortest clear time.
Clear Time: 36 seconds.
Would you like to register anonymously on the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)
Registered as Anonymous + 1 other.
The additional effect of ‘Recovery Fairy’ has activated.
A massive amount of experience has been acquired.
LV. 25 → LV. 30 ‘(NEW)’
Whoosh!
A delayed gust of wind brushed past Lee Jiyu’s hair as she sat dazed on the floor.
‘I’ve never seen or heard of strength like this.’
She looked up at Choi Junseok with fearful eyes.
‘This is… an F-grade porter? I can’t believe it.’
“You… who the hell are you?”