Bound for America (2)
The 20th floor of the Tower. Inside the 77 Building.
I held the line against the zombies alongside the Cheongryong Guild. A sense of camaraderie blossomed even in those dire conditions as we hunted the undead. The deeper we went, the stronger the zombies became, but it never felt truly overwhelming.
During one of our breaks, I opened the Trainer App. I agonized over whether I should summon Han Sora.
Maybe just a little longer?
She might be in the middle of fighting the 50th-floor boss monster. If I pulled her away at the wrong moment, it could cause serious trouble. So I decided to hold off.
Two days slipped by in a blur. The Cheongryong Guild’s raid was progressing smoothly. Thanks to the food supplies we’d claimed from the Haetae Guild, we were able to endure our situation with a little more comfort.
“Are you planning to let that bastard live?”
Shanks asked me, his voice thick with doubt. He clearly wanted Seong Jaeyun dead.
Two days is a long time to hold back.
Yi Cheongryong had to stare at the piece of trash who had tried to rape his daughter every single day. Each hour must have been torture. He had shown remarkable restraint.
“No?”
I answered Yi Cheongryong in a curt tone.
“There’s no way I’d let that son of a bitch live, Mister Shanks.”
“Then why make him do those things? Just kill him right now…”
Seong Jaeyun, his stats sealed by the Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger, was busy hauling the corpses of his former comrades.
“This is the Duty Game. A bet. We have to see how it ends.”
Every morning he chopped up the bodies of the dead Haetae Guild hunters and tossed the pieces to the zombies on the lower floors at night. He was carving away his own humanity just to survive another day.
The surviving Seong Jaeyun was living in hell. A hell I had created.
Stab. Stab.Slice. Slice.
He cut the corpses of his old comrades into sizes the zombies could easily devour. He must have been somewhat close to the raid members, yet his blade showed no mercy.
Yi Cheongryong shot me a look of pure disgust.
“Since you earned this victory, I’ll trust you to handle it as you see fit.”
“I’ll kill him before we clear the 20th floor. Don’t worry.”
“…Once the bet is truly over and the situation allows, may I be the one to kill him? I will never forget this favor.”
“Sure. Doesn’t matter who does it. I’ll make sure you get to finish him off like Shanks did in that final showdown.”
Yi Cheongryong smiled and nodded, as if grateful for my consideration.
Another two days passed.
I activated the Surveillance Talisman through the Trainer App. The view switched to Han Sora’s perspective.
She was standing inside what looked like a funeral hall. It felt more like a large-scale joint memorial service. Something must have happened to the Haetae Guild’s First Strike Team.
— Reach the top of the Tower’s 100th floor. I will grant your wish.
─ Sun… Masked Man.
Han Sora spoke to me. It was one-way communication. I couldn’t send my voice, only hear hers.
─ Summon me. Please summon me. I have something to tell you.
“Something to tell me?”
This was the first time Han Sora had ever asked to be summoned herself. Even when she was on the verge of death on the 50th floor, she had never requested it.
Must be important.
Did Yi Haewan die during the 50th-floor raid?!
I quickly put on the Mask of Perception Impairment and summoned Han Sora.
She appeared wearing a black suit. A neat, respectful outfit appropriate for mourning the dead.
The somewhat pretty Yi Seung-a from the Cheongryong Guild was ultimately just a 6. As for my ex-girlfriend Yoon Jeonghui, the 1, she wasn’t even worth mentioning.
After staring at women who barely qualified as females, seeing a real one like Han Sora felt different.
Even the scent wafting from her was extraordinary. It smelled like she was begging to be taken.
Someone’s death was obviously a tragic event that should be mourned. But my cock had no interest in restraint the moment it saw Han Sora. It sprang to full attention, visibly tenting my pants.
…Come to think of it, I haven’t properly relieved myself in four days.
Han Sora approached me with sharp clicks of her heels.
“Mmm…”
She looked me up and down and gave a sly smile.
“Your outfit looks exactly like someone I know… Masked Man.”
“……!”
Her whispered words made my heart drop.
Shit. I’m still wearing the same clothes!
I was currently on the 20th floor of the Tower. I had brought spare clothes, but there hadn’t been a good moment to change. Taking them off right before summoning felt awkward.
Last time I was in a rush and only put on the mask…
I tried to act unfazed.
“Miss Sora, why did you call me? If it’s a trivial reason, I’ll have to punish you.”
Turning the tables. I raised my voice and changed the subject, clearing the air.
“It’s not trivial. I cleared the 50th floor and… I obtained some very important information.”
She had cleared it. That was a relief.
…Did several people die during the clear, leading to the joint memorial?
They would probably milk the dead hunters’ sacrifice for all the emotion it was worth, painting them as heroes of Korea. That way people would keep challenging the Tower without giving up.
Did Yi Haewan survive?
I had to be the one to end him. After showing him everything I wanted to show, I would crush his trembling windpipe myself.
Han Sora stared at me intently.
“Have you cleared the 20th floor of the Tower, Masked Man?”
“…I have.”
Was this an interrogation? Or a necessary prerequisite before sharing her information?
Han Sora didn’t press deeper into my qualifications. She simply moved on as if it were a casual question.
“The moment a hunter clears the 20th floor, their goal completely changes. They receive a single message.”
“A message?”
“Yes. It tells them to reach the top of the Tower’s 100th floor, and their wish will be granted.”
“……!”
The Tower’s message about granting wishes. Only hunters who cleared the 20th floor ever saw it…
“The Tower has been giving us mysterious powers and opportunities all this time. Hunters believe that message and climb. It gives clear motivation to those who only cared about money and fame.”
“…I suppose so.”
If I were a skilled hunter, it would be a tempting offer.
I didn’t know the limits of the wish, but if I was going to become the strongest anyway, claiming a wish on top of that made sense. It was far better to keep it for myself than hand it over to some stranger.
Han Sora composed herself. Her eyes grew calmer and more serious than before.
“However… while clearing the 50th floor this time, I heard something strange.”
“Strange?”
“Yes. I casually asked a hunter I know who cleared the 50th floor in America earlier, but he didn’t seem to know anything about it.”
Information even America didn’t have? That was impossible.
America knew everything. At least when it came to hunters and the Tower, they were the undisputed leader. Yet Han Sora’s voice rang with certainty.
“One of my skills, Judgment of Radiance, also has a purification effect. I’ve never actually used it. It only activates when I stab something, and most monsters just die instantly.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. But this boss monster was different. When its brainwashing was lifted, it started saying strange things.”
Han Sora told me everything she had heard. The information was almost unbelievable.
…The Empress’s aquarium? Fishbowl? What the hell does that mean?
It was difficult to understand.
“In short, the Tower is bait. The wish it supposedly grants is a lie. Humans are being toyed with by a being called the Empress.”
Han Sora summarized it neatly. Only then did it click.
…Aliens? There were aliens?
An Empress who had invaded the planet Pandora had planted the Tower on Earth. The moment humans conquered the Tower, her army would begin its invasion of Earth.
“……”
It was hard to believe. But it was equally hard to disbelieve.
The very existence of the Tower had never made sense. Aliens fell within the realm of possibility.
World destruction.
The moment I heard Han Sora’s words, it felt like lightning struck my mind. I remembered what the other-dimensional Park Seonwoo who had given me the Trainer App had said.
Why did I forget that?
I had been so engrossed in enjoying the Trainer App. Like a kid at a buffet, I had been completely absorbed in choosing which pussy to eat next, acting like Earth’s safety was someone else’s problem.
“This is serious.”
We had to stop the aliens. Otherwise Earth would be destroyed. The Earth I was going to live on, ruined by some random alien’s hands…!
“I haven’t told anyone yet. I didn’t think they would believe me.”
“They’d think it was just political maneuvering. If a hunter from another country said something like that… I’d probably think the same.”
“That’s why I’m only telling you, Masked Man.”
Han Sora spoke with the same gravity I felt. No matter what, we were human. We couldn’t just hand Earth over to aliens.
“…We need to prepare somehow.”
I didn’t know how strong the aliens were, but I had no intention of going down quietly. The other-dimensional Park Seonwoo must have sent me the Trainer App for a reason.
“Thank you for the valuable information. It was worth fucking you after all.”
“…I hope it helps.”
Han Sora stared at me. Her eyes burned with an easily readable desire, as if she wanted something.
Her urges must have built up.
She was the kind of woman who would complain even when I called her every other day. Every time I summoned her for sex, she squeezed my balls dry.
Now, after being forcibly deprived for four days, it was perfectly natural for her to be sexually frustrated.
She can’t be satisfied by any other man, can she?
I had slept with Han Sora in the real world too. At that time, the erogenous zones registered in the Female Registry hadn’t activated. That meant the cervix-pounding, Portio orgasm sex created by the Trainer App was a pleasure only I could give her.
I’m never letting her have it again.
She had slept with another man. Even if that man was me, I couldn’t forgive it. Han Sora would have to pay the price.
“Since your business is finished, I’ll send you back.”
“…Don’t you have anything else? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you looking this… intact.”
“I don’t particularly feel like it right now.”
I deliberately pushed her away.
“You seem to have plenty of men. Why don’t you just relieve yourself with someone else?”
“No. I haven’t slept with any man except you, Masked Man.”
Han Sora hurriedly made excuses. She had clearly slept with me, yet she lied and said she hadn’t.
“Do you not trust me, Masked Man?”
She whined like she was disappointed that I didn’t believe her. But I knew exactly how lewd Han Sora was.
She might actually do it.
If I kept pushing her away, would she really leave?
But I can’t back down.
This was a battle of pride.
“I’ll allow it. Do whatever you want, Miss Sora. Whether you meet another man or not, I won’t ca─”
“Then can I go fuck Yi Haewan?”
Han Sora suddenly provoked me. It was a declaration of war: if I didn’t fuck her right now, she would go suck Yi Haewan’s dick.
“The Haetae Guild’s atmosphere is chaotic right now… but if I told that bastard I wanted to, he’d probably drop his pants in three seconds flat?”
The moment I heard those words, I took my own pants off first.
“Took me one second.”
“Good.”
Han Sora gave me a thumbs-up. Then she shrugged off her black suit in one smooth motion.
She walked over, grabbed my cock, and started stroking it.
“This is relieving my stress.”
“…My dick isn’t a toy.”
With a mischievous smile, Han Sora knelt in front of my crotch. She pressed her nose against it and inhaled deeply.
“Did you not wash properly? It smells awful.”
“…I did wash.”
“Hehe, really?”
She fondled it like it was a precious treasure, then looked up at me with a worried voice.
“Is it okay if I go all out right now?”
What did she mean? Was she underestimating my stamina?
I answered firmly.
“Yes, it should be fine.”
“Really? Then I can go seriously?”
“……”
Seriously?
“…Hey, you.”
Yi Cheongryong looked at Park Seonwoo and spoke.
“We’ll handle things ourselves today. Why don’t you go rest? Your complexion… your face looks like…”
Yi Cheongryong couldn’t find the right words. Then someone shouted from behind.
“Zombie! It’s a zombie! Park Seonwoo turned into a zombie!”
“Yeah, a zombie! Hunter Park Seonwoo’s face looks exactly like a zombie right now!”
Yi Cheongryong finally snapped his fingers as if the word had come to him. Skin and bones, a pitiful sight. Park Seonwoo’s face inspired nothing but sympathy.
“…Is it really okay for only me to rest?”
“I’d really appreciate it if you would…”
“…Then I won’t refuse.”
Park Seonwoo dragged his trembling legs toward the tent set up in the corner.