Discomfort
"Hey, I already transferred the money. You should check your bank account before demanding payment... Huh??"
Hearing the knocking on the front door of my rooftop room, I naturally assumed it was the landlady.
Because for over five years, the only people who ever set foot in my rooftop room were me, Hyojeong, and the landlady coming to demand late rent.
However...
The person standing in front of the door right now was not the landlady.
"Section Chief Choi-nim, why are you... Huh?"
Behind Section Chief Choi, who was sweating buckets like someone holding in a dump, I caught sight of a face that made even less sense to be here.
"Director... Kim-nim?"
What is this?
Why is the Director of the Player Management Bureau standing in front of my front door... Ah...
They aren't fools either.
They must have caught wind of something weird and come to make the first move.
Phew...
When I gained insanely broken stat boosts and went around smashing through two floors of the tower with SS-ranks, I should have anticipated at least this much...
"What brings the two of you here?"
I feigned ignorance for now, playing innocent while bracing myself in an alert stance.
My bank account already held more than enough money to buy a flashy apartment in Seoul without a loan and move in right away.
However...
As the saying goes, only those used to spending money know how to spend it properly.
Even if 20 billion won suddenly landed in my account, where would my lifelong stingy habits go?
I resented myself for having toured seven Han River-view apartments through real estate agencies without even setting a moving date yet.
'Sigh... I should have just picked any random place and moved out early...'
Seeing that my expression wasn't particularly bright, Section Chief Choi tried to lighten the mood by striking up a conversation in an intentionally cheerful voice.
"Aigoo, our Player Kang Seojin-nim. I was just waiting for a chance, thinking I should visit sometime, and only now do I finally get to drop by. My, what a nice home! The air in this neighborhood is so clean... Now then, Director-nim is here too, so could we get a cup of tea? My, even the door feels so heavy and sturdy—"
Section Chief Choi spouted useless drivel as he naturally tried to push his way inside the door.
But not a chance.
"Didn't I ask what brings you two all the way here?"
Blocking the gap in the doorway, my cold questioning made Section Chief Choi's face twist violently.
"Hey now, guests are here, so shouldn't we at least go inside to talk—"
"Guests? I have zero recollection of inviting the two of you."
Ppat-jik
At my firm attitude, Section Chief Choi's eyebrows crumpled severely, but from my perspective, there was no reason to walk on eggshells around him.
In the past, he was my superior at work and an executive.
But aren't they just two neighborhood middle-aged guys now?
Showing up at someone else's house unannounced and acting so brazen was simply laughable to me.
"Ayy, don't be like that, Kang Seojin-i. We came to offer you a great proposal, so is it right to turn us away at the door like this? Director-nim is here too, so let's go inside first—ah... no! Didn't I say before that I'd buy you a lavish meal? Perfect. Let's just go out and talk over some delicious food. You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"I've already eaten."
Ppat-jik
Section Chief Choi forced a smile onto his face and spoke without giving up.
"Is that so...? Then, well... drinks! Let me buy you a drink at least. I know a fantastic pub nearby."
"Wasn't your promise to buy a meal obviously empty talk? In my five years at the Management Bureau, I have no memory of ever getting treated to food by you, Section Chief Choi-nim. Ah, five years ago when I brought the Stone of Time and was contemplating, you bought me one meal, right? That's right. So what are you trying to buy me food for today? You aren't someone who buys meals for no reason."
Ppat-jik
Veins bulged vividly on Section Chief Choi's forehead.
It almost looked like a heat haze was rising above his furious head...
Anyway, Section Chief Choi, who used to despise me so much, tried desperately to act close despite my blunt tone.
"Ayy, Kang Seojin-i, did you see me, Choi Seungpil, as only that kind of person? Wow, I'm really hurt here—"
"Answer."
"...Huh?"
"Stop spouting useless nonsense and answer why you came here."
Sseu-euk
Sensing that our conversation was not going smoothly, Director Kim squeezed in between Section Chief Choi and me and spoke.
"Player Kang Seojin-nim. I apologize for coming by suddenly without notice like this. Yes, setting aside all useless chatter, I will get straight to the point."
Indeed,
as expected of the Director, he was definitely cut from a different cloth than that unpleasant Section Chief Choi.
Director Kim, starting to speak with a sharp gleam in his eyes and a commanding air, displayed the dignity befitting someone in charge of an organization.
"Our Player Management Bureau believes that the clearer who conquered the 25th and 26th floors with SS-ranks is Player Kang Seojin-nim."
As expected.
Well, it would be weirder if they didn't know.
The fact that I was struggling on the 24th floor was something everyone on the Management Bureau's player management team knew.
Right after someone like me returned from pressing the 50-Year Button, a server-wide announcement popped up the next day about the 25th floor being cleared with an SS-rank.
It would be more suspicious if they didn't suspect me.
"Well, whatever the Management Bureau thinks is up to the Management Bureau, isn't it?"
Replying with a yes or no was meaningless at this point.
There was also the matter of the Sage's Necklace.
If I blindly denied it, I would only make a fool of myself.
"Player Kang Seojin-nim. The reason the two of us came to visit today is to offer Player Kang Seojin-nim a contract renewal."
Ha.
Contract renewal?
At my incredulous sigh, Director Kim continued.
"Of course, it will never be under the same conditions as the previous contract. The Bureau's treatment must change just as much as Player Kang Seojin-nim's stats have changed."
"I doubt I'm the only person who pressed the button?"
"Even if someone presses the button and sacrifices 50 years to gain a stat boost, not everyone possesses as immense a potential as Player Kang Seojin-nim. Player Kang Seojin-nim, if the contract renewal goes through, our Bureau will truly mobilize all systems and infrastructure to care for Player-nim. Once you finish climbing the lower floors and begin climbing the high floors in the 50s and 60s, a moment will surely come when you need the power of our Bureau. It was also our Bureau that nurtured the current rank 1 player, Kang Taeseok. So—"
"Why should I?"
"...Pardon?"
Hearing my question as if he had suddenly heard an alien language, bewilderment bloomed across Director Kim's face.
"I'm asking why I should climb the high floors."
"......"
Director Kim just blinked his eyes, unable to think of an answer.
The dignified appearance from just a moment ago had completely vanished, leaving behind only a dazed middle-aged man.
"Kang Seojin! If you're a player, of course you should aim to climb the high floors to prevent the collapse of the Tower of Trials! Didn't you press the button for that?"
Section Chief Choi, who had been listening silently from behind, couldn't contain himself any longer and burst in angrily.
"That's for people with a deep sense of duty. I just pressed the 50-Year Button. Just because. And right now, I'm basically a terminally ill patient who doesn't even know how much remaining lifespan I have left. Why would someone like me risk my life acting as a player?"
There was no need to mention that I had gone to press the button to die and ended up pressing it twice.
However,
not everything that came out of my mouth was a lie.
I was literally like a terminally ill patient who didn't know when he might die,
and I was in a frustrating state where I couldn't even unravel the secret of why I hadn't died yet despite having sacrificed 100 years of my lifespan, making me effectively 130 years old.
"Whether the Bureau considers me an SS-rank clearer or not is none of my business, but please stop barging in uninvited like this from now on. Honestly, it's not like seeing each other makes either of us happy, does it? Was it really that long ago when you walked all over me just for using a few potions when I was on the brink of death?"
Section Chief Choi rolled his eyes with a guilty expression, and Director Kim glared at him as if he wanted to kill him.
"...You must have many grievances against our Bureau. Of course, I understand that feeling completely. So, if you could just take a look at the contract terms we brought here—"
"I told you to leave. I'm not renewing the contract."
"Haaa..."
Director Kim placed his hand on his forehead with a pained expression.
My attitude seemed to be much more adamant and uncooperative than he had anticipated.
After pondering for a moment, he seemed to quickly adjust his goal.
"For now, let's discuss the contract renewal next time. Then, what about the Sage's Necklace that you rented to the Japanese side for two months? Can't you do something about just that item? Player-nim. Player Jeong Eunchae, the next-generation ace who is the hope of our Bureau... no, of our Republic of Korea, desperately needs that Sage's Necklace. If Player Kang Seojin-nim could show a little generosity, the Republic of Korea could be safe from the threat of the tower's collapse for several more years. Of course, we aren't asking to borrow it for free. We will also pay a sufficient rental fee just like Japan—"
"A sufficient rental fee from the Management Bureau that lowballed the Stone of Time? That's hard to believe... Isn't that right, Section Chief Choi-nim?"
Ppagak
"Aaaagh!... D-Director-nim...!"
Director Kim kicked Section Chief Choi in the shin without hesitation.
Based on my attitude, Director Kim had already picked up on the deep rift between me and Section Chief Choi, so this was an obviously calculated action on his part,
yet seeing Section Chief Choi writhe in pain didn't feel bad at all.
"I am truly... truly sorry, Player Kang Seojin-nim... Our Bureau will thoroughly reform itself. Even if Player Kang Seojin-nim does not renew the contract, our Bureau promises to support Player Kang Seojin-nim both materially and spiritually."
Hmmm...
So he's determined to grovel completely?
Sure enough, the Director is different,
but whether I could trust the Management Bureau again was a separate matter entirely.
"Would you like to appraise this? I'll give you a chance to prove that the Management Bureau has an eye for an item's value."
I opened my inventory in midair, pulled out a small piece of parchment, and handed it to Director Kim.
<Return Scroll>
Tearing the scroll teleports you to a designated spot.
Spot designation is available once per day, anywhere you have visited at least once in your life.
Usable anywhere inside or outside the tower.
The reward I received yesterday for clearing the 26th floor with an SS-rank was a bundle of 100 of these Return Scrolls.
I handed over one of them just now with the thought of getting an approximate market price for how much each would sell for individually.
Upon hearing the effect of the Return Scroll from me, both of their eyes widened as if they were about to pop out, looking back and forth between the scroll and me.
'I'm not selling it to the Management Bureau anyway. I'm just telling you bastards to appraise it so I can show off.'
Having no way of knowing my thoughts, the two simply headed back while carefully revering the scroll like a sacred relic, terrified that it might rip.