A Ticket to the Tower of Chaos

I set the bone armaments, still hot from the forge, onto the anvil and hammered them hard.

Clang! Claaang!

"You're the only person who'd repair weapons right inside a gate, hyung-nim."

"Sounds like an insult."

"Ehh, no way. That's pure admiration."

Seongsu shook his head vigorously from side to side.

In two days we had cleared five gates in total. Maybe it was because we had fought so many battles in such a short span—my servants' weapons were wearing out faster than usual. Bone armaments were great in every way except one: their durability was low and they couldn't take heavy impacts.

"I might have to keep making them steadily whenever I have time."

Clang!

Thank goodness I had packed a portable forge into the subspace carrier. We had nearly run out of weapons mid-clear.

"With me at your side, what is there to fear?"

"Your weapons are all worn out too, you know?"

The Serimis magic swords I had looted from the mage soldiers. I sharpened the edges whenever I could, but they were still in rough shape. Next time I should ask apprentice Nam Jinwoo for tips on blade repair. Or maybe learn a skill that cut down on repair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time.

"Even if the edge is a little damaged, I need only pour Aura into it. Worry not."

"Then you'll just burn through all your mana, you iron-headed fool."

"Gah!"

…Anyway, the gate clears themselves ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had gone smoothly.

Magic stones worth 2.5 million won each were multiplying like photocopies. Was making money always this easy? Two hundred fifty million per haul. And that didn't even count the monster by-products, items, or skill books. Including the one we just finished, we had cleared six C-class gates in two days. That meant more than a billion won from SSS-grade clear rewards alone.

"You've worked hard again today."

Boss Baek handed me an iced americano. Kraaah. An iced americano after hard labor was absolute truth.

"I'll leave the cleanup to you."

"There is something I need to pass along."

"Yes?"

"Executive Director Sophia of GGG is leaving the country the day after tomorrow."

"Ah. So she's finally heading out."

"She contacted us saying she would like to see Hunter Park once more before she returns home."

I had heard the negotiations over the cooperative organization were already being handled by the working-level staff. Someone of Executive Director Sophia's rank only needed to show her face, apparently. In any case, no practical business ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would come up during the meeting.

"I already left everything to you, Boss."

"I simply wanted to assure you there is nothing you need to worry about in the meeting itself."

"Do you think I should take the meeting?"

"Yes. I do."

This was the man who always said time was money. He must have seen some benefit worth accepting the invitation.

"Then set up the appointment."

"Are you not curious about the reason?"

"Would Boss Baek ever do something that hurt me?"

"I am grateful for your trust."

Don't mention it. Just keep working hard for me, all right? If I want an easier life, I need the boss putting in that support.

The Rift Bureau building never went dark. Gate-related incidents did not care about day or night, so every division except Personnel always had staff on duty. The workload was that heavy. Even Jeong Seungil, head of the Counter-Abnormal Bureau, frequently pulled all-nighters or overnight shifts.

Knock-knock—

"Coming in."

Commissioner Choi Jiung of the Rift Bureau pushed the door open lightly, a coffee in each hand. Jeong Seungil sat there in the same clothes as yesterday.

"Another all-nighter?"

"There was a dispatch."

"For heaven's sake. Once you make director, you're supposed to sit back with your hands behind your back."

Choi Jiung held out a coffee cup.

"I prefer cocoa over coffee."

"After an all-nighter, it's coffee."

"My tastes have not changed in thirty years."

"Wow. You get mad if I call you 'senior,' yet you still pull rank like this?"

The voice was thick with teasing. Jeong Seungil let out a short sigh and took a sip of coffee.

"What brings you here?"

"I heard our Counter-Abnormal Bureau director pulled an all-nighter, so I came to check on his face."

"A commissioner is not so idle a post."

"Don't be so stiff. At this rate I can't even joke around."

That was rich coming from the man who had just spent the whole conversation joking, but Jeong Seungil chose not to point it out and simply drank his coffee in silence.

"Have you heard the rumor that C-class gates have dried up lately?"

"I have not heard any reports that gate manifestations themselves have decreased."

"No, not that. The story is that someone has been clearing so many C-class gates that the supply has shrunk."

Slurp—

Director Jeong Seungil finished his sip and fixed Commissioner Choi Jiung with a steady look. The silent pressure said, Get to the point already. Choi Jiung gave a dry laugh.

"I can't tell if I came to check on a subordinate or if I'm living under a superior."

After a brief grumble, he got to business.

"The hunter you pushed is clearing three C-class gates a day."

"You mean Hunter Park Minho?"

"Yes. That kid."

"I do not believe I did anything that could be called pushing him."

"Oh, come on, senior. When you said he was a future SS-class, that was an open endorsement."

Jeong Seungil's eyebrow twitched at the word "senior."

"When the Executioner himself says something like that, the hunter industry must be remarkably quiet."

"I merely raised my voice so that other nations would not snatch away promising talent."

"Of course you did."

Choi Jiung wiped the smile from his face.

"Sen—no. The friend you pushed has made contact with GGG."

"Yujung Kim, the master of GGG, is a decent man."

Passion! And grit! A boisterous fellow who wore those two words on his sleeve.

"If it were Yujung Kim, he would not scheme anything underhanded."

"The one who came to Korea is Executive Director Sophia."

"Ah. That is a bit more concerning."

"The pretext is that they want a cooperative organization in East Asia."

While in Korea, Sophia had held meetings with the domestic Big Five and various other groups. Both Mir and Chilseong had shown active interest, so the Rift Bureau had been watching her visit closely.

"Commissioner, do you believe Hunter Park is the real target?"

"Yes."

"He will be fine. That friend."

Jeong Seungil recalled the man he had met at the gopchang restaurant. A fierce desire to grow stronger. And yet a clear moral compass that refused to cross certain lines. A diligence that refused to rest on raw talent alone and kept working. A person like that did not cast aside trust lightly.

"As long as we do not make the first move against him, Hunter Park can be trusted."

"Are you taking responsibility for that, Director Jeong?"

"If you ask me to take responsibility, then I shall."

Choi Jiung swallowed the words "I can't even joke around" and kept them to himself. Jeong Seungil finished his coffee, let out a short "Ah," and spoke again.

"Is the China side all right?"

"When has it ever been all right?"

After Minho had been ambushed by Turang, the Korean government had officially leveled harsh criticism at China. Naturally the Chinese Communist Party denied Turang's existence and got angry in return, locking both sides into a hard-line standoff. Commissioner Choi Jiung snorted.

"I heard they were making noise about declaring a ban on Korean culture."

"For all that talk, it has been quiet."

"Once we told them to try handling the Great Rift by themselves, they couldn't press any further."

The hell on earth opened in Manchuria—the Great Rift. The monsters that poured out of it were A-class at minimum. China's own superhuman (hunter) forces alone could not contain it, so East Asian and Southeast Asian nations regularly dispatched hunters. Korea sent the largest number of any foreign country. Pulling a card like a cultural ban would severely hinder management of the Great Rift.

"When a wave hits, China takes the heaviest damage, doesn't it?"

Commissioner Choi Jiung grinned. Beijing, China's capital, and the Great Rift were only about five hundred kilometers apart in a straight line. If the monsters that emerged from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Great Rift began a proper march, the Chinese government would suffer considerable losses.

"Our country would not escape damage entirely either."

"Wouldn't the northern half of the peninsula cushion us to some degree?"

Less than five years after the Great Cataclysm, the nation that had once succeeded in three generations of hereditary rule—North Korea—had vanished down history's back alley. Awakened hunters within the military had risen up in every region. The northern half of the peninsula had fractured into countless warlord territories.

Even if something went wrong at the Great Rift, cold calculation said Korea's damage would not be large. Director Jeong Seungil let out a thoughtful "Hmm."

"Using the Great Rift as a hostage does not sit well with me."

"They brought it on themselves."

Choi Jiung spoke firmly. The Chinese government's hunter recruitment had gone far beyond the line. They had even poached Jeong Shinho, once the most promising candidate for the next S-class.

"Come to think of it, the promotion exam is soon."

"Yes. Once Jeong Shinho rises to S-class, things will get noisy."

Truly. When the report came in that Turang had attacked Minho, the sky had turned yellow. How much abuse had the Rift Bureau taken over Jeong Shinho's defection to China? People could not criticize his former employer, the Chilseong Guild, so they tore into the convenient government agency instead. If Minho left for China as well, the Rift Bureau's pride would have taken a scar that never healed.

"By the way, senior."

"Call me Director."

"Has the Society been quiet lately?"

A chilling murderous intent flickered in Jeong Seungil's eyes.

"I do not know."

"That is not an answer worthy of the Counter-Abnormal Bureau director."

"Lately it has been quiet. I cannot even find traces."

Another reason Jeong Seungil remained in the director's seat of the Counter-Abnormal Bureau was to keep in check the organization that operated in the shadows—the so-called Society. Choi Jiung crunched the ice in his cup.

"If there is any change, report it."

"Understood."

The meeting place was the same as two weeks ago. A large café overlooking the coastline. They must have rented the whole place again today—there was not a single other customer in sight.

"We meet again."

"Thank you for the invitation."

I bowed lightly.

"Talent and character both—Korea's hunter industry truly has a bright future."

Hmm. One greeting and she was already overrating me this much. I sat across from Sophia and ordered coffee.

"I am truly glad I could see Mr. Park before returning home."

"Glad?"

"I had a gift for you."

Sophia placed a white envelope on the table. Boss Baek nudged me lightly with his elbow—a gesture telling me to check the contents right away. I had always heard you weren't supposed to open a gift the moment you received it. Was American etiquette different? Without much thought I opened the envelope and checked what was inside.

Huh?

"Th-the Tower of Chaos?!"

The dazed words left my mouth on their own. Whoa. Why was this showing up here?

"What is that ticket, that it startles you so greatly?"

Sir Isra, standing behind me as my escort, wore a puzzled look.

Uhhh. Well, you see… the Tower of Chaos is…