Not the Lottery — It Was Powerball (1)
Richard Lionheart.
She wore a tunic that evoked the Middle Ages.
Her expression didn’t look pleased.
Without reading the room, Yu Junhyeok spoke up.
“But wasn’t the Lionheart a man?”
“Historically, yes?”
Richard Lionheart narrowed her eyes and replied with a sulky tone.
“Then I’ll be taking my leave.”
Swish!
“Huh?”
Her body dissolved into tiny fragments of light and scattered away.
It happened in an instant, too fast to stop.
That curt, icy expression made it clear what kind of person she was.
She was the classic cold beauty type you’d see in anime.
“Wait! Hey! She looked pissed because of you!”
“What nonsense! It’s all because you said something unnecessary.”
“What did I even say?”
Yu Junhyeok sounded guilty as he muttered, “Ugh…”
Anyone who’d fused with a sword in the first place couldn’t be normal.
“Ahem! I know the Tower’s system far better than you. That one, based on my experience, is a humanoid summon that embodies the Lionheart’s pride, spirit, and dignity exactly as they were.”
“…Who doesn’t know that? Her face said it all. Didn’t you see how she frowned like she was swallowing a curse every time she said ‘Lord’?”
Yu Junhyeok just laughed it off.
“Not my problem.”
“You’re actually insane…”
“How dare you speak that way to your senior and the one who reached the pinnacle of the sword!”
“Ha… Fine, whatever.”
The Sword God’s voice continued, echoing as if a tiny speaker were embedded in Junseok’s chest.
“You would’ve been better off with an animal-type summon. You summoned the most difficult kind—humanoid—and immediately crushed the pride of one with sky-high self-esteem. You’ve botched the very first button.”
“So you’re the one who botched it, not me… Sigh. Forget it.”
What was the point of blaming him?
After all, it was thanks to Yu Junhyeok that he’d even been able to scratch this lottery ticket in the first place.
Even if Yu Junhyeok hadn’t said anything stupid, she probably would’ve left anyway.
She didn’t look like the type who’d stick around for conversation just because she’d been summoned.
Even if their first exchange had been perfect, her treatment of him would’ve been the same.
Her dissatisfaction was obvious without needing to ask.
She was the knight among knights, the king among kings, standing above all others.
She’d inherited that personality completely.
Once she saw that her master was a pathetic F-grade player, there was no way she’d be satisfied.
Actually, would anyone have been happy about it?
She wasn’t the kind of vessel meant to be someone’s summon in the first place.
With that personality, who would enjoy having to follow someone else’s orders?
It wasn’t hard to imagine.
What lifted his mood was the system window.
The skill ‘Summon Familiar’ acquired through the Summoning Ticket has been registered.
Choi Junseok, who had been heading toward the gukbap restaurant where his mother worked, came to an abrupt stop.
One fact from the system window had struck him like lightning.
“Hold on.”
‘That summon just now… it worked outside the Tower, didn’t it?’
A chill ran down his spine.
Every summoning-type skill he’d seen while climbing to the 34th floor as a porter had been usable only inside the Magic Tower.
‘No way!’
As expected.
Choi Junseok clenched his fist after checking his status window.
‘Insane.’
He’d thought it was just a slightly better stroke of luck than winning the lottery.
‘This… wasn’t a domestic lottery. It was a Powerball-level jackpot.’
The American lottery with the world’s largest payout—2.15 trillion won in Korean currency.
Not only that, there was no time limit on summoning.
He could even summon outside the Tower.
Universal Skills: Magic Tower Entry (1 time per day), Familiar Summon ‘(NEW)’
It was registered as a universal skill.
It seemed to fall under the concept of item summoning and usage.
Just like how he could take items out of his bag outside the Tower after storing them inside.
Please register the summon’s name.
‘…Name?’
If he registered her as Richard Lionheart, would he have to call out that long name every time?
‘Richard, so Lee. Lion… Lionheart… Nayeon. Lee Nayeon?’
“Register as Lee Nayeon.”
Summon Lee Nayeon has been registered.
─┼
The restaurant where Choi Junseok’s mother, Lee Jun-hui, worked fell into silence.
It was because of the 9 o’clock news.
Only two or three hours had passed since Junseok cleared the first floor.
Breaking news related to the Magic Tower kept coming in.
It was the hottest topic among the entire nation at this moment, warranting an emergency broadcast.
Even the kitchen staff who were working kept glancing at the news.
- To provide a more detailed explanation of the breaking news, we’ve invited Representative Gil Chan-gi of Cartographer, a consulting firm specializing in Magic Tower strategies. Please welcome him.
- Thank you for having me.
After brief greetings and introductions, the conversation naturally turned to Junseok’s first-floor record.
A subtitle appeared in the bottom right of the screen.
[Magic Tower Strategy Consultant. Former strategist from the Phoenix Guild.]
“Whoa… from the Phoenix Guild?”
Customers let out exclamations upon learning he was from one of Korea’s top five guilds.
While sipping soju and scooping hangover soup, everyone’s eyes stayed glued to the TV.
The gradual quieting of clinking spoons and slurping sounds was proof of how captivated they were.
- The anonymous player’s first-floor clear time that’s been making waves is 1 minute 27 seconds, shaving a full 21 seconds off the previous record of 1 minute 48 seconds.
- 21 seconds?
When the anchor asked with a “that’s all?” tone, Representative Gil Chan-gi continued excitedly.
- With a clear speed like this, they must have broken through the ‘Goblin’s Barrier.’ There’s no other way to interpret it.
- …This might be hard for non-player viewers to understand. Could you explain in detail?
- In short, it’s ‘impossible.’ Of course, higher-ranked…
Lee Jun-hui, Junseok’s mother, was also curious about the broadcast.
While washing dishes, she kept turning down the water pressure and straining to hear from the kitchen doorway.
It had been three months since her skin and muscles started necrotizing from magic stone infection after working at the refinery.
Several coworkers had complained of the same symptoms.
Even though the causal link was clear, no special compensation had been given.
She’d demanded compensation from the company, but it was rejected.
The lawsuit might drag on for years, and receiving medical fees or compensation in the meantime seemed hopeless.
- Could you bring up the reference footage? This is a detailed layout of the first floor I prepared to help with understanding.
A 3D model of the first floor appeared on screen.
He briefly explained the clear method and conditions for the first floor.
About the structure where you had to bypass traps on both sides, place your hand on the device, and wait for the barrier to be released.
- To break this barrier…
Since not much of the professional player world had been publicly revealed, viewers sat frozen with spoons halfway to their mouths, completely focused on the explanation.
“Whoa… people actually climb places like that?”
“I heard it wasn’t ordinary work, but it’s on this level?”
The kitchen staff felt the same.
“Oh my goodness, how amazing. Hey, Jun-hui! Can you take over for a bit? Okay?”
“…Yes.”
“Jun-hui, my work too!”
“Oh! Here, just scoop out the seasoning paste in advance and take out the boiled meat. It’ll only take a second.”
Lee Jun-hui gritted her teeth against the throbbing pain in her shoulder and quietly nodded.
At home, she had a son preparing for job exams and a high school daughter.
- In other words, while killing goblins isn’t difficult, bypassing the barrier to clear the floor was considered impossible… but now an anonymous someone has done it?
- That’s exactly right. Lee Jiyu, the player known as Supersonic Bunny, who transcends human speed, took 1 minute 48 seconds to run the course, deal with the goblins, and clear it.
The anchor tilted her head and asked.
- Then couldn’t we say another player appeared who can shave off about 21 seconds?
It was what every viewer was wondering, but the panelist firmly shook his head.
- Lee Jiyu’s speed is 7.62 seconds faster than teleportation awakeners. Someone faster than her? That’s highly unlikely.
- Teleportation means instantaneous movement, right? And you’re saying someone’s faster than a skill holder like that?
- That’s how it is with her.
- …Impressive.
The anchor continued asking various questions on behalf of the viewers.
The possibility of using an artifact that destroys barriers.
The possibility of foreign ultra-speed players being involved.
If not, how difficult destroying the barrier actually was, and so on.
- Someone once said that if Sword God Yu Junhyeok were still alive, he would’ve smashed through it in a single blow. The difficulty of breaking through the 60th floor that was just mentioned… if he were here… No, perhaps it’s not appropriate to say this.
Gil Chan-gi on TV clapped his hands and changed the subject.
- Setting all that aside, what’s really making waves is this person. They’re anonymous and, at the same time, an F-grade player.
- F-grade? Isn’t that the lowest rank?
- Correct. Statistically, it’s rarer than being judged as B-grade. So while the total numbers are small, many F-grades awaken but never report it themselves…
- Can an F-grade player clear the first floor this quickly on their own?
- Of course, a player of this level can’t possibly be F-grade, so either the system can’t measure them, or there’s another meaning…
Just then.
Crash! Clatter!
The sound of breaking dishes shook the restaurant.
It was the dishes Lee Jun-hui had dropped.
While moving the finished pots and bowls to the drying rack, the pain in her arm made her lose her grip.
It felt like a sharp dagger was being twisted deep into her bone.
The people who rushed into the kitchen saw dozens of broken dishes scattered everywhere.
Many of the pots were cracked or had chipped corners.
A shard of a plate was embedded in Lee Jun-hui’s slightly exposed ankle, blood flowing from the wound.
“Jun-hui!”
They burst in, startled—but not out of concern.
It was to scold her.
“How could you work like this!”
“Oh dear, oh dear… you’re making more work!”
“Jun-hui… is this your first time in the kitchen? Is it that hard?”
“Good grief, how much is all this worth?”
No one mentioned the shard in her ankle or the blood flowing from it.
They’d been waiting for a chance to haze the newcomer, and now they’d found one.
While they clicked their tongues and grumbled, the restaurant door opened with a jingle.
“I’m sorry… my hand slipped.”
“At this rate, even her hourly wage won’t cover the damages…?”
“She said her arm’s bad—how is she supposed to work properly like this?”
“Hey! Quiet down! We can’t hear the news!”
Just as the customers and staff were ganging up on her, a sturdy young man walked in through the sound of the TV.
- Whether this will be a blessing or a disaster for Korea’s player community, we’ll have to wait and see. Thank you.
“With our household finances… how are we supposed to pay for this?”
The buzz-cut owner clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“How much were those dishes?”
All eyes in the kitchen turned toward the unfamiliar voice.
Choi Junseok stood there.
“I can pay for them and still have plenty left. I won the lottery.”
And not just any lottery.
‘This isn’t just a regular first-place lottery win.’
Junseok could feel it.
A Powerball-level stroke of luck that would change his entire life had arrived.