Let's Borrow Some Money (2)
“How on earth did an S-rank end up in a party with Choi Junseok?”
Park Suho looked completely baffled, but Choi Junseok simply shrugged.
“She happened to live in the apartment downstairs.”
“Happened to…? Can an S-rank really just run into someone like that?”
Once someone reached S-rank, their face, personal information, and even their activities were protected and classified by the government. They certainly didn’t live mixed in with ordinary people in some officetel. The moment someone awakened as an S-rank, the Player Management Agency was supposed to whisk them away for special management.
Even Park Suho, who was repeating the 30th floors as an A-rank, had never seen an S-rank up close. His cousin wasn’t a bad person after all. He had even brought a gift.
Up close, it was a player treatment kit made by Ohsung Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of the Ohsung Group. It wasn’t something useful inside a Magic Tower, but rather a high-end first-aid and medicine set for emergency treatment after returning alive. It wasn’t particularly valuable to them, but the items together were easily worth around a hundred thousand won.
“This is… a gift. I’m not sure if it’s right to give something you’d rather never have to use. Haha.”
“Thanks, hyung. We don’t have a car at home… Should we move to Mom’s room?”
“Nah. It’s fine. I don’t really feel comfortable seeing her face anyway. I’ll just say hi real quick when I leave later. By the way, I’m really sorry. Mom and Dad can be pretty overbearing. You know what Uncle’s like.”
“It’s fine. Three thousand isn’t a small amount. We should’ve at least paid interest, but you only took the principal, so I was actually surprised.”
Honestly, they had borrowed three thousand without interest for several years. Even between family, Choi Junseok believed money transactions should be handled properly. Of course, he hadn’t made the deal himself—it was his parents’ debt—but since they could repay it now, he thought they should pay fair interest. She had refused to accept any.
“By the way, where did the three hundred million come from…?”
This guy. How much had he already heard?
“…I received it as a kind of advance payment.”
It wasn’t a lie. Park Suho nodded as if he already knew.
“An advance payment. That’s nice. But think carefully. It’s better to go with a bigger organization if you can.”
He knew A-ranks would be flooded with offers from all directions. From his own experience, plenty of places offered contract fees in the hundred-million range for a one-year deal.
‘Still, three hundred million is a lot… Is he an A-rank healer-type awakener?’
“What’s your skill? You’re being pretty hostile toward your own cousin.”
Emotion-reading skills couldn’t see everything. Not unless there were supporting skills or items involved.
“I’m a dealer. Throwing-type ranged attacker.”
‘That’s the most common class, isn’t it? And they’re offering three hundred million for that?’
Attack-type awakeners made up seventy percent of all players who awakened, classified as dealers. Twenty percent were tanks, and the remaining ten percent were healers and support types.
“So which guild did you sign with? What a shame… If you joined Ohsung Guild, I could’ve helped you out to a certain extent…”
“Well… I went with a decent place.”
“What, you can’t even tell your cousin?”
“There was a confidentiality clause about which guild it was.”
“No way… What kind of place requires a confidentiality clause? Well, whatever. So how far have you cleared?”
“Floor 11.”
“…Floor 11.”
Information about Function, the hot topic among players, flashed through Park Suho’s mind.
‘No way.’
Function was also planning to clear the 11th floor. The two of them had set the fastest record on the 10th floor. Players who saw that record realized Function was under the complete management of the Player Management Agency. As a result, the player community interpreted it as a clear warning from the agency and withdrew all attempts to recruit him. The Eden Guild from the east, having confirmed that Lee Jiyu’s anger had subsided, felt the same.
The fact that they were spending “Magic Tower additional entry tickets,” each worth at least two hundred million, on Function made their intentions obvious. It meant the government was pushing him to the highest floors as quickly as possible. This level of preferential treatment wasn’t even given to most S-ranks. His treatment already exceeded that of ordinary S-ranks.
‘There’s no way.’
“You’re entering today, right? Let’s go together. I’ll look after you. Even though I’m a tank class, there’s a lot I can help with.”
“Want to check your equipment first?”
“Ah… I’m a mage class, so I don’t have separate equipment.”
“Aah, a ranged caster type. Okay. Then I just need to take care of myself.”
Park Suho nodded and glanced at Choi Junseok as if to say, “You’re really going in without any protective gear?”
“What about armor?”
“…I usually just wear regular clothes. Lee Nayeon-ssi handles the front line.”
“…I see.”
His voice sounded like he had swallowed the word “envious.”
Park Suho looked desperate to show off his abilities to the two women. An A-rank player who roamed between the 30th and 40th floors descending to the 11th floor? Even as a simple tank, sweeping everything would be natural.
“Are the other two not coming? If it’s okay, I could help check their equipment too?”
Stand by.
The two women, understanding Choi Junseok’s intent, shook their heads at the same time.
“Ah! W-we’re going to rest today! Our condition isn’t great.”
“Today’s schedule is combat rest.”
“…Ah, okay then.”
Park Suho’s disappointment was written all over his face. If all four went up together, there was a chance the clear record would be split between two people—a disaster. Of course, since they were going with Park Suho, the Holy Sword couldn’t be summoned, and there would be no chance of leaving their names in the Hall of Fame. His longing expression was too easy to read. He wanted to show off in front of the two beauties.
“Can’t I at least check your equipment?”
“A proper warrior manages their own weapon.”
‘Tsk.’
Park Suho clicked his tongue and made no effort to hide his disappointment.
“Come on, are you really not going? If you just stay behind me, you’ll clear it naturally. Opportunities to climb with an A-rank tank aren’t common, you know?”
“…It’s fine! We’re not going!”
“Combat rest is also an extension of combat.”
“…Well. It’s a shame I can’t help when I have the most experience and skill here.”
‘…I don’t think so?’
Lee Nayeon almost snapped that he was the weakest one but held back because Choi Junseok had stopped her.
Endure it, Lee Nayeon! Endure!
…Understood.
He had sensed that something strange was about to come out of her mouth the moment he saw her brows furrow. He had touched the reverse scale of someone who was already slightly sulky, thinking her combat power seemed lower compared to Song Hana lately. That was also why she had recently asked to summon the sword at all times.
“Still, if you ever need help, it doesn’t have to be today. Let’s climb together on a day off or maintenance day.”
“No… It’s fine.”
“Of course it’s fine. No need to feel burdened.”
Honestly, the way he kept trying to go together was basically synonymous with coming to see Lee Nayeon and Song Hana.
‘I really need to move or do something about this.’
They couldn’t let this kind of disaster keep happening. If they entered with Park Suho, they wouldn’t meet the prerequisites for the Magic Tower high-pass entry ticket.
“I left my stuff in the car. I’ll go down and get it real quick.”
“Shouldn’t we just move from the parking lot?”
Swallowing his disappointment, Park Suho stood up again and headed for the entrance with an “Oh well” attitude.
─┼
Once the women were out of sight, Park Suho’s demeanor took on a slightly more forceful air. Whether he intended it or not, there was a clear “player chaser” vibe coming from him.
“Listen, the 11th floor is on a completely different level from the 9th. You felt it when you saw the 10th floor, right? From now on, the tower starts properly testing climbers. You might want to give up on the idea of clearing it in one go every time.”
Park Suho had even taken time off for this climb with his cousin. They had come down together to retrieve the climbing gear he kept in the car trunk.
“Still, don’t worry too much. I can handle it alone.”
Thud.
He grunted as he pulled out a massive shield from the trunk. It was a Unique-grade shield with a level 80 equip requirement. He also took out a thigh storage band lying next to it and put it on. Around his waist, he wore a hip pouch that merchants used to carry thick stacks of cash. Two or three small bags of various sizes.
‘He really is a player who climbs the 30th–40th floors.’
With the eyes of someone who had once been a porter, Choi Junseok could roughly guess what was inside the bags. Potions and one emergency escape return scroll. Ready to be pulled out and torn at any moment. The corner of the return scroll peeking out from the hip pouch proved it.
‘The moment he pulls that, it’ll tear and send the player back to reality.’
It was designed so there was no need to tear it with both hands. His equipment didn’t stop there. He put on an X-shaped strap that seemed meant to secure the shield on his back, then lifted the shield and settled it into place with a clunk. It looked like a turtle shell. He had somehow managed to equip all those heavy-looking items on his limbs and back. Still, they were too heavy for an ordinary person to handle comfortably, and he looked eager to enter the Magic Tower as soon as possible.
“I will enter the 11th floor of the Magic Tower.”
A confirmation window for two-person entry to the 11th floor appeared before Choi Junseok and Park Suho. The two transformed into particles of light and disappeared.
You have entered the 11th floor.
Time Limit: 1 hour 40 minutes.
11th Floor Clear Condition: Defeat 100 skeletons guarding the castle.
A dark sky filled with blackish-purple storm clouds. The ground was also shrouded in black shadows, and the eerie, dark-red silhouette of a castle rose beyond the plain. The plain in front of the castle was littered with human bones, tattered flags, and various rusted cold weapons, as if a massive war had passed through decades ago. As they walked across this field, human bones would suddenly rise and turn into skeletons that charged at them.
“From the 11th to the 15th floor, it feels like you’re gradually approaching the castle. The boss on the 15th floor is killing the lord of that castle ahead. Up to the 12th floor, it’s a staircase that makes you feel like you’re getting closer to the castle.”
“…I see.”
Choi Junseok already knew this from having climbed before. Each floor maintained a certain concept as you progressed.
Rattle…
Five or six skeletons slowly closed the distance, their bones clicking together as they rose. At the same time, Park Suho instantly yanked the massive shield he had struggled to equip on his back in reality.
Thud!
The enormous shield struck the ground with a resounding boom.
─┼
“Summon!”
Whoosh! Thud! Thud!
“You’re pretty strong for someone challenging the 11th floor.”
“Thank you.”
“But you seem to be hiding your strength for an A-rank. Want to handle the remaining eleven yourself?”
He was sweating profusely while trying to act relaxed, but searching for skeletons here and there was never easy.
“By the way, that’s interesting. A skill that summons cold weapons and throws them.”
Its power was by no means weak. It could easily split a skeleton’s skull in two.
“I’ll finish this quickly.”
Ripples spread across the sky in the direction Choi Junseok pointed, as if the air itself was wavering. Weapons plunged vertically from between them.
BOOM!
Congratulations!
You have cleared the 11th floor.
Clear Time: 56 minutes 11 seconds.
This was the first time Choi Junseok had climbed a Magic Tower so slowly. At the same time, a new notification window appeared.
“Good work…!”
A hidden stage has been generated.
A red portal appeared before them. Park Suho’s eyes widened in shock.
“H-hidden portal.”
It was the first time he had seen a red portal.
“Junseok. That’s called a hidden portal… It appears with an extremely rare probability. It’s also a very dangerous anomaly of the Magic Tower…”
Yet even as he said this, he was walking toward the portal in a daze, his eyes glazed over.
“S-should the two of us really go in there?”
His desire for the Magic Tower’s once-in-a-lifetime fortune was stirring.
“Junseok, you… go back. I have a return scroll, so I can get out if things go wrong.”
He quickly stepped into the portal, as if afraid it might close.
Whoosh!
But there was something he didn’t know. Once you entered a hidden portal, return scrolls couldn’t be used. Hadn’t he himself called it “an anomaly of the tower”?
Choi Junseok scratched his head in annoyance and stepped into the red portal as well.