NPC (5) S-Rank Climber. Choi Mi-na.
S-rank climber Choi Mi-na. She was a survivor from the brutal 1st generation, where only one in ten who entered made it out alive, and now she served as the guild master of her own guild.
That guild was called the Strongest Guild.
Its name was chosen with the vow to one day surpass Choi Kang-hyuk.
True to its name, the Strongest Guild was thriving among all the guilds out there. As the oldest guild, it boasted countless veterans and heaps of know-how, but above all, its climber support was on another level.
And, in a slightly somber note...
Their post-climb support was incredible.
The guild took full responsibility for the families of climbers who died on the job. Most guilds offered vague promises like a pension for a few years, but Choi Mi-na's Strongest Guild was different. They tapped into guild funds right from the contract signing bonus—if there were kids, they covered college; if there were parents, support until they passed. Practically unlimited aid.
That's why the Strongest Guild was always the one every climber dreamed of joining.
Even the Strongest Guild couldn't avoid casualties, though.
They'd taken heavy losses in the last tower raid—a few dead, several critically injured. The worst in a year. It even made big news, and wracked with guilt, Choi Mi-na personally visited the bereaved families to express her regrets.
Having shouldered all the blame herself, Choi Mi-na headed to the last survivor.
Potions were notoriously hard to come by, even for climbers on the brink of death. The guild had already burned through its entire stock.
No telling when—or if—more would come in. All unknowns.
If she couldn't save him, the least she could do as guild master was stay by his side in his final moments.
Beep—beep—beep—
The steady rhythm of the heart monitor echoed through the hospital room. Choi Mi-na listened quietly.
A guild mate she'd shared countless years with. A 5th-gen climber and team leader. A family man dad who'd turned several towers to dust—climber Park Kang-gu.
She'd come to the ICU herself to hear his final heartbeat.
"...Guild master."
"What?"
Kim Mi-hyun, the vice guild master—a 2nd-gen A-rank climber—approached Choi Mi-na, who had her eyes closed.
"Sorry, but could you check the Tower Gallery real quick?"
"...One of my guild members might be dying any second, and you want me to look at the gallery?"
"Yes. It looks like Choi Kang-hyuk secured a potion."
Potion!
A priceless rarity—you might shake down an entire tower and still not find one. Effects varied wildly, but even the lowest grade could keep a guild member's last breath from slipping away.
Choi Mi-na logged into the Tower Gallery immediately.
"...Galju?"
"Uh... The one who gave Choi Kang-hyuk the potion was an NPC, apparently."
"An NPC gave him a potion?"
"Yes. Just handed it over for free as a gift."
Choi Mi-na furrowed her brow, the words not computing.
An NPC with a potion?
NPCs—what were they? Beings that weren't truly alive, mimicking humans while burning away their pitiful lives for the tower.
Why call them NPCs? Because they stuck rigidly to scripted behavior. Shop NPCs never left their stores; quest NPCs never helped with anything outside their quests.
Just like in a game.
They looked human but reeked of nothing human, acting solely for the tower by the tower's design. And one of them gave away a potion for nothing?
That didn't add up.
Either the tower had gone mad, or the NPC had.
One or the other.
"...Analysts are still investigating the details."
"Whatever. The point is, we have a potion."
Why an NPC gave it wasn't Choi Mi-na's problem to solve.
The potion was what mattered. That it was now in Choi Kang-hyuk's hands.
Choi Mi-na dove straight into Choi Kang-hyuk's post to hit his calling bell.
No matter how many times she saw it, the blunt, rude, terrifying warning was the same—but Choi Mi-na could ring that bell freely.
They were 1st-gen comrades who'd crossed death's door together.
Choi Mi-na called out to Choi Kang-hyuk right away.
Choi Mi-na broke into a cold sweat.
Choi Kang-hyuk hated interruptions during climbs more than anything.
She knew it well—they'd climbed together countless times.
Breaking that unspoken rule meant she was on the defensive.
No room for bullshit with him. If his words didn't ring true, he'd ghost the gallery without mercy.
One second. Two seconds.
As Choi Mi-na trembled in anxiety—
Choi Mi-na accepted without hesitation.
Choi Kang-hyuk uploaded the potion, and Choi Mi-na hit trade immediately.
She pulled out the potion right away.
"...Guild master!"
Kim Mi-hyun cried out in awe.
"Yeah. Who do you think I am?"
The climber who'd cleared the first tower alongside Choi Kang-hyuk. No better connections existed.
Choi Mi-na strode confidently to Park Kang-gu's bedside. The doctors monitoring the ICU stepped back cautiously, clearing a path.
"Hey. Park Kang-gu, open your damn mouth."
Choi Kang-hyuk had said it might not even be a potion.
Choi Mi-na figured the same. It screamed potion from every angle—except that an NPC gave it, which made her wary.
But she shoved the worry aside for now.
Real or fake—it was a gamble worth taking for a dying man.
"Potion incoming."
"...Ah."
Park Kang-gu, barely clinging to life, mustered all his strength to part his lips. Barely enough for a finger.
"Don't spill a drop. Drink it all. This shit's precious."
Choi Mi-na uncapped the potion and slowly poured the red liquid into his mouth.
Drip drip drip.
The red fluid trickled in bit by bit. Park Kang-gu struggled to swallow, throat bobbing.
Once the last drop was down, Choi Mi-na stepped back quietly.
"Guild master."
And Park Kang-gu sat up.
The bandages wrapping his body shredded under surging muscles, and death vanished from his face.
Perfect recovery, no side effects.
Everyone watching was speechless.
"What the hell did you give him?"
"...Beats me."
Choi Mi-na gripped the empty potion bottle tight as she answered.
This was a potion.
More precisely, one of a kind the world had never seen.
Even the highest-grade known potions couldn't match this. Fully healing mortal wounds—bringing back the dying—was beyond any potion's power.
Choi Mi-na jumped back into the gallery.
Calling Choi Kang-hyuk twice was a hassle even for her, but this was bigger.
She'd barely posted on his calling bell when—
Come yourself.
A pain-in-the-ass response, but spot on.
To know the tower, you enter the tower.
That was truth.
Come to think of it, she'd overheard something in the gallery about DMZ tower applications.
"Kim Mi-hyun."
"Yes, guild master."
"You know which tower Choi Kang-hyuk entered, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"Tell the Association right now. Strongest Guild's Choi Mi-na is heading in."
Fire blazed in Choi Mi-na's eyes.
A one-of-a-kind miracle potion.
She had to meet the NPC who made it herself.
...
Choi Kang-hyuk gazed quietly down at Reina.
The "NPC Reina" text floating over her head confirmed it—she was an NPC.
She fidgeted nervously, but couldn't hide the curiosity in her eyes.
Choi Kang-hyuk had questions for her too.
"Reina."
"Eh... Yes? Sir?"
Evidently not expecting her name, her eyes went wide as saucers.
"Where'd the potion come from?"
The tower was stingy with potions. It handed out powerful gear and skills like candy but skimped on healing.
Healing skills popped up occasionally, but they sucked. Burn a full day's mana to fix a fracture, tops.
The Climber Association had tried training specialized healers, but it flopped with mediocre results.
Potions—instant heals—were extra lives for climbers.
How many had died from untreated fractures or bleeding in clutch moments?
The value of a potion? Beyond money.
And if... just if... there was a reliable way to get them regularly?
He'd seize it by any means.
"Ahaha... P-potion? That one's something I g-got by pure ch-chance way back... Don't have any more."
Reina stammered but enunciated clearly to sell the lie. Her eyes darted, hands fluttered, sweat beaded.
Even Choi Kang-hyuk, not the sharpest on social cues, clocked the obvious fib.
Anyone could see it, but pressing too hard might backfire.
As he decided to back off—
"Reina. You make potions here every day, don't you?"
The merchant behind dropped a bombshell.