Cursed Preparations for the Illusory Dream
Villain weekend. It should have been a Saturday for resting, but unfortunately, club activities had me tied up.
Annoying.
Yawn. I let out a yawn as I eyed the cursed items. I'd picked ones with powerful curses over beneficial effects. If things got dicey, I could chuck them at the enemy to sow chaos.
"That's casual wear, but you really threw it together."
"...What's wrong with a hoodie?"
Erhil picked at me.
"It's more about the color coordination. Black jeans with a black hoodie...?"
I tuned her out appropriately. All-black was a solid fashion choice in its own right.
"Heading out?"
"Yeah, got a ticket into the tower from Yuhwa."
"The tower? You mean the Illusory Dream Tower?"
Erhil looked at me with eyes full of curiosity.
"Yep. England has one too, right? The Tower of Proof or something."
"Yeah, but that's only for High Grade or above."
"Wanna go?"
"Yes."
"Can't, though. This one's solo only."
I dangled the emblem Hong Yuhwa had given me. Erhil pouted.
"How about Sunday instead?"
"Sunday? Oh? Are you asking me on a date right now?"
She flashed a mischievous grin, full of playful mischief.
"Yeah, a date."
I nodded. Of course, the itinerary included the villain banquet.
As I nodded, Erhil's face went blank for a second.
"Y-you can't tease a lady like that."
I shrugged. She started it.
"So, when should I show up?"
"By 1 p.m. Angel's Hand coffee shop in Gangnam, Seoul."
The incident kicked off at 2, so plenty of buffer.
"See you tomorrow."
I waved to Erhil and headed to the next class over.
"Huh? What's up?"
"Want to borrow some stuff here."
I pulled out about ten cursed items.
"...I said you could borrow without hesitation, and you really went for it."
The club president chuckled, scribbling my name on the form before nodding.
"Just bring 'em back intact. They're all cursed, so if they get damaged, the curses could leak out."
"Got it, I'll be careful."
Though whether they'd come back pristine was another story.
With permission secured, I headed to the alchemy club room. The alchemy professor had mentioned a delivery yesterday.
Right.
On the way, I shot a text to Hong Yuhwa. She'd skipped club today for personal business.
She'd figure it out and bring what she needed.
Ding.
Reply came instantly.
Weird stunts? Puzzled, I texted back.
I checked my chat list after. Barely anyone there. Back in my old life, 300 contacts; now just four.
Erhil and Hong Yuhwa via club excuse. Kim Ara under training pretext. Kim Seohyeon same deal.
Would be nice to call Seo Gayeon too.
She hadn't awakened her mana yet, so no combat potential. Regrettable, but I looped in Kim Ara anyway. Same spot: Angel's Hand in Gangnam.
She's got a shy streak if you watch her.
I pocketed my phone. Team assembled. Erhil as backup, Hong Yuhwa and Kim Ara as heavy hitters. Add Kim Seohyeon, and we'd crush any ordinary villain.
Master... are you not precious about your life?
"...?"
I paused at the Black Heaven Demon Sword's words.
"My life's precious. That's why I'm prepping like this."
I said it while stuffing potions into my subspace bracelet in the alchemy room. The sword eyed me oddly.
The previous master was oblivious too, but weirdly popular with women. Despite being a woman herself... fate of the Heavenly Demon, maybe.
I ignored it and rummaged through the materials.
Not bad.
More than expected. Enough for plenty of emergency recovery potions. Grabbed paralysis poisons, antidotes for crises. Even botched recipes: extreme toxins and stat-boosting elixirs laced with extras.
Subspace bracelet kept the load light despite it all.
Check the bank.
Normally, gear would've left me under 50k won, but uploading recipes to the alchemy guild promised payoff.
"Whoa..."
I was speechless. Massive sum in the account.
235,014,571 won.
The scary part? Alchemy had ironclad copyrights, so this would snowball bigger over time. Guild had their work cut out.
I booted the corner computer. Logged into the alchemy guild—my recipes dominated the top of the board.
What comments...
Four-digit replies. Views over 100k already.
Curious, I clicked one.
Over-the-top praise everywhere.
Jealousy getting wrecked too.
DMs piled up: threats, pleas for tips.
The guild site was a novelty—not in the game.
Then a post caught my eye: [Question about Stamina Elixir].
Username hooked me: WannaGetOutOfTheLab. Future alchemy legend.
I clicked.
Harpy feathers, Griven claws, Dreamfruit, sky whale whiskers... something's off.
All mocking the OP. I dropped a quick reply.
Logged off. Time to head out.
Bzzz!
Phone buzzed. No one expected, but...
Checked—notifications exploding from the site.
Disabled app alerts, stepped outside.
Guro Station. A tower loomed in the center.
Towers. This world had them. Most famous: Korea Hero School's Trial Tower.
Trial Tower gave trials, cleared for rewards. That's towers.
Front inscription set the theme; clear for massive rewards. Difficulties varied.
Some endgame crushers. Some brute-forceable. Some riddles.
Several existed worldwide. Illusory Dream Tower in Seoul among them—high difficulty.
But perfect match for me. Pure illusions.
Mid-layers change things, though.
Lower layers had what I needed. Mids ate too much time—a month minimum.
Approached the guide near the tower.
"How can I help?"
"Want to enter the tower."
"Need mage tower recommendation or proof."
Mage tower owned it.
Mage tower's solid.
They nabbed sneaky villains, ensured safety.
Showed Hong Yuhwa's emblem.
"Red Tower mark."
Staff scanned it, nodded.
"Verified. Illusory Dream Tower access granted. For guidance, pay to hire a mage tower mage."
"Nah."
"Use that portal then."
"Sure."
Followed to a blue ring portal showing another space.
Ding.
Incoming message
Right before entry, phone rang. Checked.
Genuine worry. I smirked.
I'd avoid trouble if possible. But stumbling on a secret room, clearing it by chance for rewards? Unavoidable luck.