Likey Likey Function Guild (1)
Team Leader Kang of the Player Management Agency felt an unfamiliar sense of unease for the first time in a long while.
It was because Function’s summon, Lee Nayeon, had revealed herself to the public. And in an incredibly flashy manner at that.
She had suddenly shot straight into stardom.
Up to that point, it might even have helped Function gradually enter player society and form a guild—if one were being extremely generous.
‘But that’s not the real problem.’
The real issue was that rumors had already spread claiming Lee Nayeon was an SS-grade powerhouse.
The eldest son of the SG Group had apparently taken an interest in her.
On top of that, the SG Group chairman had personally contacted the Director of the Player Management Agency after hearing the rumors, subtly probing for information about the SS-grade player.
The Director had immediately summoned him.
“Have you ever met… a summon and a person together?”
“……Director?”
“No, I’m just asking. Just asking. For now, she’s registered as a player and a Korean national, after all.”
The newspaper Director Mun Gwon-su had set down featured a small photo of the SS-grade player Lee Nayeon during her Supersonic model shoot.
Just from the headline, it was obvious why the world was paying attention to her.
The combination of her being an SS-grade player who had never been publicly revealed in Korea and her striking appearance—suggesting mixed heritage—along with her overwhelming figure had created massive buzz.
It was already well known that top-ranked players had been gathered under the pretext of protecting players until North Korea’s provocations were resolved.
“Given how things have turned out… it seems we’ll have to proceed with Choi Junseok’s debut, which we’ve been preparing in secret.”
One of the Player Management Agency’s duties included approving the establishment of player guilds.
Business registrations were handled as special cases, reviewed and processed directly by the Agency.
If a player who had cleared the 30th floor gathered five or more people to form a guild, there was no particular reason to obstruct them.
“Function probably couldn’t gather five people, right?”
“Including me, we’d have five.”
“You too?”
“It was a joke.”
“Well… putting a name on the list doesn’t really matter, but that would still only make four: you, Function, Lee Nayeon, and Song Hana.”
“I believe Lee Jiyu will likely join as well.”
“Lee Jiyu?”
The S-grade player known as Supersonic Bunny was someone everyone recognized.
“Right. She just had a huge success using Lee Nayeon as a model.”
“That’s correct.”
Team Leader Kang glanced at the Director’s expression, worried that Lee Jiyu might know Function’s true identity and cause trouble, but Director Mun Gwon-su seemed indifferent.
“The problem is how to shake off that leech, the SG Group’s eldest son. As you know, the Agency has various reasons why it’s difficult to speak harshly to them.”
Currently, the SG Group’s influence in the player world was noticeably weaker than in the early days of the Magic Towers, as their monopoly and market share had been deliberately dispersed among other energy companies and large guild-affiliated corporations.
Even so, their pervasive influence throughout player society couldn’t be denied.
“While rumors that Lee Nayeon is a government-managed player have improved the Agency’s public image, there are downsides like this as well.”
“For now, we’ll stick to pretending we don’t know anything. Function’s entry into the player world was expected anyway.”
You have entered the 31st floor.
Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes.
31st Floor Clear Condition: Defeat thirty Black-Clad Individuals.
Choi Junseok, Song Hana, and Lee Nayeon had returned after brilliantly clearing the 31st floor.
While Choi Junseok hesitated because the enemies had human-like appearances, Lee Nayeon had charged forward in an instant, cutting down, slashing, and slaughtering the figures dressed in martial arts attire with single strokes.
Not a single drop of blood had splattered on her.
It was a relentless, one-sided massacre, as if she were venting stress accumulated in the Magic Tower.
In truth, if she had unleashed her full power, she could have sliced through three or four at once, but for some reason she was controlling her strength.
‘She’s taking out her anger…’
It was obvious. Having watched her closely for nearly a month, Choi Junseok understood.
She was currently using the Magic Tower to vent the frustration from earlier that day.
Watching her mercilessly cut down people, Choi Junseok swallowed dryly.
Congratulations!
You have cleared the 31st floor.
Clear Time: 57 seconds.
Would you like to register anonymously on the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)
The Recovery Fairy Dragon’s additional effect has activated.
Mid-floor clear rewards have been distributed.
Even so, it hadn’t taken even a single minute.
The warning Team Leader Kang had given shortly after their first meeting flashed through Choi Junseok’s mind once again.
- It would be best to maintain a good relationship with her.
- There have been many reported cases overseas of summons killing their summoners.
Gulp.
Avoiding Lee Nayeon’s gaze, Choi Junseok quietly announced their return to reality.
After returning to reality, Choi Junseok gathered everyone with a determined expression after receiving Team Leader Kang’s call.
From the moment he ended the call with a resolute look, both Song Hana and Lee Jiyu had been cautiously watching him.
“Everyone, pay attention. I have an important announcement.”
Lee Jiyu grew unnecessarily tense, Lee Nayeon remained calm, and Song Hana looked frightened as she hugged Kkamdori tightly.
What came out of Choi Junseok’s mouth was:
“We’re forming a guild.”
Lee Jiyu let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
“Alright. So we need to decide on a guild name. Any suggestions?”
The predecessor of guild culture had been private gatherings of players, similar to climbing clubs.
While some used corporate names, guilds were usually named through consensus among members when formed—just as game culture had seeped into the Magic Tower, which resembled a game system.
“If no one has any ideas, should I suggest one? Function Guild?”
Lee Jiyu let out a snort of laughter.
“You’re really going to make it that obvious?”
“There are already some.”
“……What?”
“Quite a few, actually.”
Choi Junseok showed his phone screen to Lee Nayeon, Song Hana, and Lee Jiyu.
It was the guild status search page on the Player Management Agency’s website.
A kind of player-exclusive job board created for safer climbing, collaboration, and team formation.
Players could apply to guilds that matched their position, abilities, rank, and level.
Guilds, in turn, posted desired skills, target floor numbers, and rewards.
Of course, one could search by guild name, and there were already 74 guilds containing “Function” in their name.
“Why are there so many?”
“Exactly.”
“Are they all Function Church people……?”
“Some of them probably are. But there are also ones made as jokes.”
“The Agency actually approved these? They’re slacking off.”
“They might have even let them through on purpose…… There’s no real grounds to reject them anyway.”
“That’s true, but still.”
Even the first registered Function Church Guild had a significant number of members.
It also generated decent revenue from climbing and related businesses……
“Surprisingly, it’s a pretty solid guild.”
The guild description was written quite normally as well, but clicking the link revealed a strong Function Church vibe.
It seemed they were even running bizarre climbs, like forming an all-F-grade climbing party.
“Wow…… This guild cleared the 10th floor with twenty F-grade members. Is that even possible?”
“Are you looking down on F-grades? This F-grade is feeling hurt.”
“Oh. Right. You were F-grade too.”
The fact that they’d gathered twenty F-grades was impressive in itself.
“How on earth did they gather twenty F-grades?”
In terms of rarity, it wasn’t much different from gathering twenty S-grades.
That was a skill in its own right.
“Apparently, anyone who’s F-grade gets accepted. They say they’ll help anyone who wants to climb grow……”
Choi Junseok felt his forehead growing hot.
“Those guys…… It was actually a good guild.”
Choi Junseok knew better than anyone how socially ostracized F-grades were.
Hadn’t he climbed the Magic Tower himself, enduring all sorts of humiliation as an F-grade porter?
“Can’t be helped. Since guild names can’t overlap, I’ll give up on Function Church.”
“Wait, were you seriously considering taking that one?”
“Yeah. If it was some half-baked place, I was going to talk to the Agency and snatch it. But if they’re this sincere…… I should acknowledge the name Function Guild.”
As long as no one suddenly pops up claiming to be Function, that is.
“So, does anyone else have other ideas?”
“Me! Function Function Super Guild!”
“……Rejected!”
After Song Hana’s cheerful suggestion was casually shot down—
“Kkamdori Guild!”
“For Kkamdori Guild!”
“Kkamdori Is Cute Guild!”
Song Hana began shouting all sorts of names.
“Stop. All rejected!”
When Choi Junseok naturally turned to Lee Nayeon, she narrowed her eyes as if to say, Why are you looking at me?
“One idea each. Next is you, Lee Jiyu. Be ready.”
“Me too?”
Lee Nayeon pondered for a long time.
“……Hwaiting…… Function Guild.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Nayeon turned her gaze away, her face faintly flushed.
“Next?”
When he looked at Lee Jiyu, she spoke.
“……Likey Likey Function Guild?”
“Jot-Jot-Ham?!”
Choi Junseok nodded at Lee Jiyu’s words.
The sound of it had struck a chord with him.
“That’s not bad.”
The small-guild sensibility and cheap feel of it had completely won him over.
“Okay. The guild name is ‘Likey Likey Function Guild’!”
It was the kind of guild name that would be embarrassing to say out loud anywhere.
The three women stared at him as if asking whether he was serious, but what could they do? Guild names were decided by the one making them.
Now they could climb while receiving various tax benefits.
- You’re saying the guild name is ‘Likey Likey Function Guild’?
“Yes.”
- Including ‘Function’…… shouldn’t be a problem. There are already so many.
“Right. It’s for camouflage.”
- But is there really a need to include ‘Function’ like that?
“Wouldn’t it make for a plausible preliminary step toward eventually revealing that I’m Function?”
- But if rumors spread that Lee Nayeon, Choi Junseok, and Song Hana are included, people will flock to it immediately. Wouldn’t including ‘Function’ just create unnecessary misunderstandings?
It was a legitimate concern.
However, with Function holding the 0th rank in the player rankings, praising Function among players had become a kind of meme.
“They’ll just think we’re riding the meme.”
- …….
Once a guild was established, it had an obligation to recruit and train new members through interviews and evaluations whenever people applied.
If they didn’t grow beyond five members, it would become a problem.
Furthermore, the guild’s clear records and challenge stages would also be an issue.
- Well…… I can help with disguising the official Magic Tower clear floors by releasing different information, but helping with the lack of member growth is difficult beyond a certain point.
That made sense. No matter how much they claimed to be an elite small group that only recruited a tiny number of people—
If rumors spread that Lee Jiyu was in the guild, upper-ranked male players might consider transferring regardless of money.
That was what being on the same team as Lee Nayeon meant.
- In any case, I’ll approve it. I wish the Likey Likey…… Function Guild safe climbing.
“Now the only thing left is me.”
It meant she had to notify the Eastern Eden Guild—one of Korea’s five major guilds—of her withdrawal and transfer.
Lee Jiyu had embarked on a difficult path.