He's Not Doing This Just to Mess with Me, Is He?
"He's not doing this just to mess with me, is he?" Kim Se-hyeong stepped into the Magic Tower with a lingering sense of unease. He still couldn't quite believe that Tae-hyun was actually inside.
Once inside, the two of them naturally headed toward the beginner zone—the area designated for low-level mages newly admitted to the Magic Tower. As expected of a crowded area, it was incredibly noisy.
"Anyone here learned the Fireball spell? Where and what quest do I need to clear to get it?"
"What's the best way to cast a Beginner Mana Barrier?"
"Anyone want to join for the Hades quest? Need two more!"
But Tae-hyun was nowhere to be found.
"????"
[Jeong Su-hyeok]: I don't see you.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: I'm in the Black Mage zone.
The two turned their heads. Aspiring black mages were summoning undead and practicing curses on a plot of land that looked like a graveyard. Of course, Tae-hyun wasn't there either.
[Jeong Su-hyeok]: Sunbae-nim, you're not here...
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Where exactly are you looking?
[Jeong Su-hyeok]: Aren't you in the Black Mage section of the beginner zone?
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Not the beginner zone. Leave that area entirely and come to the actual Black Mage quarters. I'm in the room next to Chesia's.
"?????" Jeong Su-hyeok nodded, looking as though he had just seen a ghost. How and when did he manage to get all the way in there?
"Chesia... Chesia? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere..." Kim Se-hyeong, who had been listening in, answered absentmindedly. "Chesia is the name of the Archmage of the Black Magic School."
"Ah, so he's the Archmage of the Black Magic School... Wait, what? He says he's in the room right next to him!"
"What?!" Kim Se-hyeong gasped, even more shocked than before.
Even if you weren't a mage, you could eventually obtain an entry pass to the Magic Tower by learning a few magic skills and grinding through the miscellaneous quests in the surrounding area. But to be in the room next to Chesia? That was absolutely not a place a novice mage could set foot in! Kim Se-hyeong felt increasingly bewildered, as if caught in a bizarre dream.
"Let's go, quick!"
"You're here?"
"……."
The two stared at Tae-hyun, their mouths hanging wide open. It wasn't because Tae-hyun was wearing a robe exclusive to black mages, nor was it because he was holding a staff in his other hand. Honestly, they were past the point of being surprised by that kind of thing.
"Tae-hyun-nim, may we leave now?"
"Sure. You may go. From now on, make sure you keep in mind who the superior black mage is."
"Yes..."
"What's the point of being a black mage if you don't even respect the hierarchy? If you act like that, how are you any different from the mindless undead? That's exactly why mages from the other schools look down on us."
"Yes..."
Tae-hyun was unleashing a storm of nagging on the black mage NPCs! The NPCs couldn't even muster a retort, doing nothing but bowing their heads submissively.
What on earth happened here?
"Sunbae-nim...?"
"Hmm? Oh. These guys tried to pick a fight with me just because they got some recommendation letters from the outside."
The black mage NPCs quickly scurried away.
"Did you fight them?"
"No. I just told them I'd call Chesia, and they folded."
"……."
It was the pettiest threat in the world!
"H-how?"
"I literally just told you. I said I'd call Chesia."
"No... I don't mean that. I mean, how did you even get all the way in here..." Kim Se-hyeong stammered, unable to finish his sentence. He simply couldn't wrap his head around it. Seeing this, Tae-hyun whispered to Jeong Su-hyeok.
"Why did you bring him along? He doesn't look like he'll be of any help."
"Didn't you tell me to stick together, Sunbae-nim?"
"That's that, but you should've had the tact to ditch him in a situation like this."
"……."
Of course, he heard every single word. Kim Se-hyeong felt a surge of indignation.
"I can be helpful too!"
"Hmm? Of course you can. Who said you couldn't?"
Tae-hyun's shamelessness was reaching a level where it felt like the brass plate on his face was mutating into some indestructible new alloy.
"As for how I got here... First, I cornered a noble to shake him down for a recommendation letter. Once I got inside, I met the Archmage of the Black Magic School, passed his magic test, and here I am."
"How on earth did you pass an Archmage's magic test?!"
Countless mage players dreamed of earning the recognition of their respective school's Archmage. Once they accumulated a decent amount of contribution points, they would boldly attempt the test. Of course, players who actually passed were extremely rare. An Archmage wasn't called an Archmage for nothing!
"Huh? I just cast some magic and he passed me... Why?"
"That test is notoriously difficult to pass!"
"...Is it?"
Since Tae-hyun had passed the test through sheer brute force, he had been thinking, Maybe it's actually not that big of a deal. Maybe I should just use normal magic for the next test.
"Yes. It's so incredibly difficult that other players usually gather around to watch whenever someone takes it."
"……."
Tae-hyun's face crumpled. If that was the case, other players would definitely be watching his next test!
"As expected of you, Sunbae-nim! Your magic skills are truly—"
"All right, let's get back to the quest," Tae-hyun cut him off.
"There's an item I'm looking for, but I don't know its exact location within the Magic Tower. When I asked Chesia, he said there's a high probability it's hidden somewhere inside the Magic Tower Dungeon."
"The Magic Tower Dungeon is a bit..."
Having a good grasp of what the Magic Tower Dungeon was like, Jeong Su-hyeok and Kim Se-hyeong shook their heads with weary expressions.
The Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower Dungeon! It was a dungeon notorious for its bizarre map layout and atrocious difficulty. Normally, dungeons were balanced according to their target audience—beginner dungeons for beginners, expert dungeons for experts. However, in the Magic Tower Dungeon, taking a single wrong turn would suddenly teleport you to an entirely different area.
You could enter through the 1st-floor beginner entrance, only to be warped to a zone that was supposed to be accessed from the 18th-floor expert entrance! Or you could be fighting for your life right in the middle of the 14th-floor zone, only to be suddenly teleported to the exit of the 3rd-floor zone! The community boards were flooded with thousands of posts cursing the Magic Tower Dungeon.
Usually, when a new dungeon was released, strategy guides would pop up to help players conquer it. However, the guides for the Magic Tower Dungeon mostly read like this:
...Doing this will keep you as safe as possible. Honestly, though, it's better to just not go to the Magic Tower Dungeon at all.
...This area is dangerous, so it's best to avoid it. Then again, it's even better to just avoid the Magic Tower Dungeon entirely.
With the dungeon's conditions shifting every single time, very few players now attempted to clear the Magic Tower Dungeon in earnest. Most only entered in parties to complete material gathering quests, grind some quick EXP, or briefly test out a newly acquired magic skill before heading right back out. Since it was directly attached to the Magic Tower, it was highly accessible.
"Do you guys have any tips or know-how? The information on the Magic Tower Dungeon is so inconsistent that it's hard to make sense of it."
"I was taught that the best tip is simply not to enter."
"Useless. Hmm. There are mages crawling all over this place. Can't we drag some of them along to use as meat shiel—I mean, party members?"
"I doubt there's anyone willing to go deep into the Magic Tower Dungeon, Sunbae-nim."
Occasionally, there were brave souls who formed parties to venture deep inside, hoping to snag the expensive reward items hidden within. Whenever other players saw such parties, they would watch them with warm, pitying eyes.
If those parties were lucky, they would emerge from a different exit; if they were unlucky, they would be forced to log out and return to the respawn point.
"Let's look around first. There might be someone."
"Okay."
The three of them began wandering around the Magic Tower, scanning the players. But as expected, finding recruits was no easy task.
[Tae-hyun]: Want to go to the Magic Tower Dungeon?
[Mage A]: For a material quest?
[Tae-hyun]: No. Deep inside.
[Mage A]: Are you insane?
The mage players recoiled in disgust!
[Tae-hyun]: Would you like to go to the Magic Tower Dungeon?
[Mage B]: I actually wanted to test out a new magic skill I just learned... How deep are you planning to go?
[Tae-hyun]: We're going to keep pushing forward.
[Mage B]: Ah. I see.
The mage players backed away as if they had encountered a lunatic! Tae-hyun lamented.
"To think they lack such basic spirit of adventure!"
"The Magic Tower Dungeon isn't an adventure, it's just reckless self-destruction..."
Right at that moment, a voice echoed from behind them.
"Magic Tower Dungeon! Anyone want to enter from the 5th floor? We won't stop until we encounter a boss monster and get our rewards!"
"?!"
Both Jeong Su-hyeok and Kim Se-hyeong whipped their heads around.
No way!
There's actually someone else like Sunbae-nim?
The speakers were players wearing crimson robes adorned with flame patterns.
"They're mages on the Pyromancer path."
"Why would perfectly sane people do that..."
Hearing Kim Se-hyeong's mutterings, Tae-hyun asked, "Are you implying I'm not sane?"
"N-no! That's not what I meant at all..."
"Anyway, let's go! We need to join their party."
On the surface, Tae-hyun looked like a respectable mage himself, having thriftily equipped gear he had scavenged from the Black Mage quarters.
"Over here! We'll go too!"
"Ohhh! I knew there'd be someone!"
The Pyromancers also seemed surprised to see Tae-hyun's party. Both groups were staring at each other, wondering, Why on earth do they want to go in?
"But are you really planning to go deep inside?"
"Life is all about taking that one big shot!" the Pyromancer party leader said with a bright, refreshing smile.
Watching this, Jeong Su-hyeok thought to himself, He would fit right in at the Valley of Despair and Sorrow.
"Ah, by the way, all of us are over level 100. What about your group?"
"I've passed it," Jeong Su-hyeok replied.
"I've passed it as well," Kim Se-hyeong added.
Even Kim Se-hyeong, who was lower-level than Su-hyeok, was level 101. Since it was unheard of for a party leader to be the lowest level, the Pyromancer party leader assumed Tae-hyun was also over level 100 and didn't bother asking.
"Great. Shall we head in together, then?"
The Pyromancer party leader, Baha, was a fiery player, matching his elemental affinity.
"Life is all about that one big shot! Bwahahaha!" Baha laughed boisterously.
In reality, Baha was a middle-aged man—an ahjussi. He was attempting to conquer the Magic Tower Dungeon with his son and his son's friends!
Hearing this, Tae-hyun glanced at the other Pyromancer players. Their faces practically screamed, I don't want to go! One of them was already whispering to Kim Se-hyeong.
[Pyromancer Member]: Seriously, why do you guys want to go to the Magic Tower Dungeon? Just why?
[Kim Se-hyeong]: ...
"What are your names?"
"I'm Kim Deok-su," Tae-hyun replied, using Kain's real name as an alias without batting an eye!
"J-Jeong Su-hyeok."
"I'm Kim Se-hyeong."
Fortunately, no one recognized their identities upon hearing their names. Although Jeong Su-hyeok had made waves during the preliminaries, countless other players and legendary highlights had emerged since then. Very few people remembered every single face and name.
"Mr. Kim Deok-su. Hmm. Your name has a certain rustic charm to it. Are you an ahjussi like me by any chance?"
"No, I'm not," Tae-hyun replied with a deadpan expression. He could tolerate many things, but being lumped into the same category as Kim Tae-san was absolutely out of the question!
Baha backed off, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Ah, you're not? My mistake. Well, it doesn't matter, right? Looks like we have a Black Mage, a Lightning Mage, and an Elementalist on your side. When items drop, should we let whoever needs them take them, or should we roll dice? Rolling dice is the way to go, right? I mean, a real man rolls dice!"
Baha was clearly a man who loved betting and gambling. He preferred distributing dungeon loot by rolling dice, with the highest number taking the prize.
"...Let's go with dice!" Tae-hyun said with a bright smile.
At that moment, Tae-hyun gave Baha a very high rating. As a total sucker!
"Ah, seriously. Why is Dad doing this... No, really, why..."
The quiet grumbling of the Elf Pyromancer, Baher, drifted from behind. Normally, Tae-hyun would have thought, You're bringing bad luck to the dungeon run, you brat. Shut up and stay quiet or I'll use you as a meat shield. But this time, he didn't.
Mm-hmm. Exactly. It's so annoying when your dad follows you into a game!
And you're forced to do things you don't even want to do!
Tae-hyun was having thoughts that would make Kim Tae-san clutch the back of his neck and faint if he ever heard them.
Pat, pat. Tae-hyun tapped Baher on the shoulder.
"Hang in there."
"……?"
Baher had absolutely no idea. He had no clue that Tae-hyun, the very person he had cheered for so passionately during the tournament, was standing right next to him!