The Right to Disconnect
‘The right to disconnect.’
It refers to the right to not receive work-related communications outside of working hours.
However, Team Leader Oh Wontaek was currently within his working hours... and since he was in a situation where he couldn't claim the right to disconnect, he was instead desperately wishing for a radical and foolish scenario: How wonderful would it be if my phone just broke right now?
“Team Leader! You’ve got a call!”
“I know….”
He had ears, too; he knew.
With an expression as tragic as a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse, Team Leader Oh Wontaek pressed the call button.
“Yes. This is Oh Wontaek, Team Leader of the Talent Management Team at the Korea Awakened Association.”
While he spat out the formal response, his eyes remained glued to the computer screen.
Seo Ian, who had just broadcasted a global announcement.
The impossible achievement she had accomplished.
Given her personality—someone who loved to brag and was practically a permanent resident of the community forums—it was obvious that as soon as she stepped out of the Tower, she would flood the boards with posts showing off.
That was why Oh Wontaek was relentlessly hitting the refresh button, checking for new posts.
However.
“Yes. We are currently verifying.”
The Association President kept badgering him from the other end of the line. It took only a split second for his concentration to shatter.
So, he decided to use a ‘skill.’
He wasn't an Awakened, but because he wasn't an Awakened, there were skills in this world that only he could learn and use.
“Ah, President! It’s a catch-call! It seems I’m getting a call regarding Awakened Seo Ian!”
A skill to skillfully and swiftly end a phone call.
Oh Wontaek cast the skill, using an urgent tone of voice in place of mana or aura.
[Then get in touch with her quickly!]
-Click!
The skill was highly effective.
“As expected of our Team Leader! That was amazing!”
Yoon Jinki, who had watched the whole scene from start to finish, gave a thumbs-up.
“Don’t you dare try that on me! I’m the one who uses it, so I know it better than anyone!”
Oh Wontaek issued a preemptive warning, just in case.
He was about to put his phone down when—
-Ding!
The phone rang as if it had been waiting.
“Uh…?”
The content was something Oh Wontaek couldn't have imagined, something that wouldn't even appear in his dreams by mistake.
“Yoon Jinki!”
“Yes!”
“Come here and read this out loud!”
Yoon Jinki approached at Oh Wontaek’s urgent call.
“Team Leader! Could this be… a typo in the name?”
“That’s what I thought, right?”
“Still, it does seem like he recruited someone as a team member.”
“Should we call him?”
They exchanged subtle glances.
“I think that would be best!”
Yoon Jinki agreed vehemently.
Oh Wontaek pressed the call button without delay. But.
“……Why isn’t he picking up?”
19th Floor.
The House of the Ugly Ant.
Actually, there was a lower, more comfortable floor—the 12th—but I purposely stepped into the 19th.
Because the name of the person clearing the Tower was a very, very familiar one.
Hwang Gyubeom.
A sturdy-looking, good-natured middle-aged man who lived with his daughter.
He used to grind the 18th floor, but it seemed he’d grown since then; he was clearing the 19th now.
But.
“Awakened Hwang Gyubeooom!!”
I urgently called out his familiar name.
The semi-basement room where I once lived—or rather, where I lived until last week.
The uninvited guests who visited occasionally included house centipedes, earthworms, the occasional millipede, and the frequently appearing cockroach.
So, I had a higher tolerance for bugs than most people.
“Please, get rid of those things, I’m begging you!!”
My heart was pounding so hard I couldn't stand the sight of those ants.
Wait, it was called the ‘House of the Ugly Ant,’ right?
That wasn't just ‘ugly.’
The proportions were so distorted that they were completely broken. Even if you tried to design something to be creepy, could you really pull off something like that? And they were as big as a two-story house.
I couldn't bear to keep my eyes open, so I kept them almost shut while pointing at them and shouting at Hwang Gyubeom.
Hwang Gyubeom welcomed me, saying, “Haha! If it isn’t our Rabbit! Long time no see!” and cleared the path for me.
“Wow, ah. No.”
I was still so overwhelmed by the sight of them that I couldn't finish my sentence, and he suddenly started laughing heartily.
“I guess even a Wandering Merchant has things they’re afraid of!”
“It’s my first time entering the House of the Ugly Ant.”
Having regained some composure after seeing his cheerful demeanor, I acted as if my earlier panic attack hadn't happened and spoke calmly.
“Anyway, can I get some food today, too!”
“I have hamburger sets, sandwich sets, and gukbap sets.”
Earlier.
I had checked his stay time next to his name. It wasn't long, so I’d gone out and bought some food.
He used a greatsword, so his attack speed was slow, and his Tower clearing speed was equally sluggish. So, I figured he’d be climbing the Tower while hungry, just like last time.
“Oh! Gukbap set!”
Wow. This guy. He’s laughing just as loudly as when he showed me photos of his daughter.
He seemed very, very satisfied.
It was something I could tell even without using Hawk’s Eye.
“By the way, is this your first clear? Or a repeat run?”
I asked because if it were a first clear, I didn't intend to help him fight the boss.
Because of the records.
In a typical Tower, if you clear the boss in a party during your first clear, the record doesn't get engraved on the leaderboard.
In other words, it would make it obvious that I was a party member leeching off his contribution points.
Why do you think I’ve been struggling to act like a merchant NPC all this time?
It’s all to secretly share in the contribution points while pretending not to be a party member.
‘Back with Seo Ian, thanks to the unique nature of the hidden dungeon, her name luckily made it to the leaderboard, but isn't it still a bit risky?’
The moment a large number of Awakened realize that the Wandering Merchant Rabbit counts as a party member.
The moment they realize I’m taking a portion of their contribution points.
From their perspective, the Rabbit would no longer be a welcome helper.
They’d see me as a greedy parasite who showed up just to get a free ride.
Actually, before I came in today, I had checked the domestic 19th-floor clear rankings.
I scrolled all the way to the bottom and couldn't find Hwang Gyubeom’s name, but it was too early to conclude it was a first clear.
If the clear time is too slow, even a first clear gets pushed off the leaderboard, so you can't verify it through the status window.
That’s why I asked directly.
“It’s a repeat run! I’m thinking of challenging the 20th floor once my level gets a bit higher!”
He replied while digging into his gukbap with gusto.
At least it was definitely a repeat run.
Thank goodness. I’ll be able to leave quickly.
“By the way, Wandering Merchant! Do you happen to know an Awakened named Kim Uju?”
Why me again?
“You know, right? Unlike Tower Merchants, Wandering Merchants don't just handle one Awakened.”
The source was Rackcho.
“Which guild is that kid saying he’ll join?”
“Guild?”
Talk about me—the person in question—kept coming up in other people’s mouths.
I frowned slightly, feeling a strange sense of annoyance, and asked back.
Of course, Hwang Gyubeom couldn't have known I was frowning because it was hidden by the rabbit mask I’d just bought.
Maybe that’s why.
He laughed heartily, completely oblivious, and continued.
“Ah. Since you spend all your time inside the Tower, you might not know! It’s nothing else, but Seo Ian, Hong Jehun, and the Association are all burning with desire to recruit that young man into their own guilds!”
Seo Ian knows.
I just heard it from the person herself.
And why Hong Jehun?
He’d already recruited Seo Ian, so shouldn't his top priority for a new team member have changed to someone else?
Plus, the Association isn't a guild, it’s a TF team…
Ah, maybe the mainstream faction is trying to create a direct subsidiary guild instead.
That would be easier to manage than a privately owned guild.
So, perhaps Team Leader Oh Wontaek, who is part of the non-mainstream faction, is pushing for the TF team instead.
Cooperation with a subsidiary versus a direct branch—there’s a difference in freedom, isn't there?
“…The person in question doesn't seem to know about it?”
I gave a vague answer to Hwang Gyubeom’s words.
“Why wouldn't he know? Anyway, did you make this yourself?”
He asked, patting his stomach after scraping the gukbap bowl clean.
“I pick up the goods in the morning.”
I don't even know where from, but that’s what I’m told.
“No wonder! It tastes great! It’s a magnificent flavor you could never taste outside the Tower!”
Is this that placebo effect thing?
Like how fake medicine has an effect, is this the type where fake Tower food tastes better?
Regardless, my conscience pricked me.
I was afraid that if I kept talking about the gukbap, a question I didn't know the answer to might pop up, so I naturally changed the subject.
“Do you want me to help you catch the mobs, too?”
“I’d love that! But aren't you scared?”
He asked with concern, seemingly recalling how I’d been trembling earlier after seeing the ‘ugly’ ants.
Of course I’m scared.
No matter how I look at it, I can't get used to that ant’s face.
But just like how you can watch horror movies with your eyes open if you watch them enough times, as long as they don't rush at me, it’s fine.
It’s not like I’m the type to get up close and fight anyway.
“If you just do the tanking in the front, I can sweep them up to a certain extent.”
“Then I’ll take you up on that! What’s the cost?”
I charged him about double the price of the gukbap from earlier.
When he asked if I had anything else to sell, I sold him the Potency Increase Elixir—of which I always kept three in reserve—at the usual price. There were no other items I could sell.
Once I realized Hwang Gyubeom wasn't on a first clear, I’d decided to aim for sub-DPS effects, so I’d completely given up on gathering and synthesis.
As I said before, I’d used up all my energy in Seo Ian’s hidden dungeon today.
Therefore, I wanted to go home quickly and get some proper rest.
“There’s no charge for this. It’s still in the testing phase.”
And I decided not to charge him for helping him.
Should I call it a beta service stage for launching a ‘Mercenary Rabbit’ service instead of a ‘Wandering Merchant Rabbit’ service later on?
Actually, the above is a plausible excuse; it’s more accurate to say I couldn't charge him because I felt a prick of conscience, as if I were stealing contribution points with my sub-DPS effects.
No matter how much I increase the total reward by shortening the clear time, isn't this, in a way, righteous thievery without the person’s consent!
If Rackcho were a hedgehog with a red ribbon instead of a cat, I might have thought my trait was specialized for thievery.
“Oh, thank you! I’ll buy you a drink later!”
After that, it was smooth sailing.
Or so I thought.
“I can’t see anything?!”
“Ah, I’ll only lay it in the back! You handle the front, Hwang Gyubeom!”
‘Foggy’ Light Bowgun (feat. 3-star)
An effect attached to the weapon.
A dense fog spreads within a certain range and deals damage over time.
Even though the range wasn't that wide, it seemed it was enough to block the vision of Hwang Gyubeom, a melee dealer.
It looked like Hwang Gyubeom was trying to blow the fog away by swinging his greatsword like a fan.
And today, I learned firsthand that fog doesn't just blow away easily in the wind.
“I can see now!”
“That’s a relief!”
After that, it was smooth sailing.
We quickly arrived in front of the boss.
Hwang Gyubeom launched the boss into the air.
I moved to the boss’s rear and fired arrows.
It was a small consideration for him, since he had trouble securing vision due to the fog.
If I didn't lay the fog in the back, he wouldn't be able to see anything while he was up front swinging his sword.
And finally, Hwang Gyubeom smiled as white as something that would make you shout, “That’s the answer, Alchemist!”
Immediately after.
Floor clear complete.
-Ding!
The notification sound that the floor had been safely cleared echoed in my ears.
“Wandering Merchant! Thanks to you, I’ve broken my personal record! My goodness, it feels like I’m always in your debt!”
He gave me a thumbs-up, showing his teeth in a happy smile once again.
“Don’t mention it!”
I followed suit and gave him a thumbs-up as well.