Level 200 and Tomorrow's Outing
There was no rush.
Even though the name of Main Episode 2 was "Hidden Powers of Each Continent," acquiring those powers required a certain level of strength as a qualification.
Level 200 was the bare minimum benchmark in Mu-hyuk's mind.
Of course, he never imagined he'd hit level 200 in the Tower of Death.
"Whoa, insane. Did you just level up?"
"Yeah."
"Holy crap. Finally 200."
Mu-hyuk nodded.
"Man, that's impressive. Who would've thought you'd push it this far in the Tower of Death?"
"Right? Took longer than I expected."
"Heh, but we've made it to the 49th floor, so let's see it through to the end."
As they chatted, Yerin’s eyes widened—she'd spotted something.
"O-oppa."
"Yeah?"
"I just checked the rankings..."
"And?"
"You're in 3rd place right now."
"No way, really?"
Mu-hyuk opened the rankings window himself.
It was true. He'd climbed all the way to 3rd.
Fast climb.
1st place was still held by Dark.
Job: Dark Knight.
He was also the user growing the most in this Main Episode. Dark had seized most of the hidden powers on the continent.
Mu-hyuk didn't know what came after that. The latter half of Main Episode 2 marked the end of his memories. From here on, he'd have to play blind.
Might even be more fun that way.
There was no anxiety about lacking info. He'd pulled far ahead already. At this point, it wasn't an overstatement to say he wouldn't fall behind.
Besides, it wasn't over yet. He still had plenty of knowledge to leverage before Main Episode 2 ended.
Hidden powers.
He planned to claim most of them himself.
Sorry, Dark.
Truth be told, there was no reason to care about that.
"You're impressive too, but that Dark guy? Unreal."
"202 levels."
"How does he level so fast?"
"Good job class, probably. And you need talent for the game. Gotta be talent."
"So you're a genius too?"
"Nah, just lucky."
"Whoa, that's even more annoying."
"Is it?"
"Yeah, you've gotten kinda punchable lately."
"Kekeke."
Mu-hyuk burst out laughing at Sung Min-woo's teasing.
That's when Yerin squeezed between them.
"My oppa's not punchable."
Without even glancing at Sung Min-woo's reaction, she looked up at Mu-hyuk with sparkling eyes. He couldn't help but get drawn in.
"Oppa, didn't you fight that user in the tournament?"
"Yeah."
"And you won, right?"
"Right. I did."
"Hehe, so you're stronger than him?"
"Who knows? Got lucky back then."
Dark's main weapon had shattered in the semifinals, letting him barely clinch the win. Thanks to that prize item, he could still send skeletons to the Demon Realm.
"No telling now."
"Why?"
"Different job now. No clue on his skills."
"Oh, gotcha."
Of course, it was a lie. He roughly knew the Dark Knight skills.
Tough ones. Real tricky.
Not exact, but he remembered their utility being top-tier. If they fought 1v1 now, he couldn't guarantee a win.
"And it's not just Dark."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Plenty of hidden powerhouses out there. No idea how it'd go against them."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
Excluding Dark, there were countless hidden elites. Strength beyond jobs. Facing them head-on would give even Mu-hyuk trouble. He might even lose.
Though I'm confident...
Couldn't say for sure without clashing.
They'd show up soon enough.
Real monsters.
Silently grinding levels, honing through brutal trials.
Whatever. Focus on the Tower now.
He cleared his mind and turned to his companions.
"Enough about others. Time for the gacha."
"Okay!"
"Sweet!"
"Y-yes!"
They headed to the distant door.
Thud.
A massive chest appeared as they touched it.
"Who first?"
"Me!"
Yerin stepped up, slotted a gem, and pulled the lever.
Kiririk.
Junk. She ignored it and tried again.
Junk, junk again.
She burned through a ton of gems, all junk.
"Agh...!"
Her face twisted in frustration.
She swallowed it down—not wanting Mu-hyuk to see her like this.
Then Sung Min-woo sidled up from behind and nudged her shoulder.
"Move. Your luck sucks."
"..."
"Behold, as I, bearer of jackpot luck, pull the lever!"
He lightly patted her head.
"Begone, foul misfortune!"
His clowning finally broke her—she swung a fist.
Sung Min-woo yelped dramatically as it hit his gut, doubling over despite no pain.
"Ow...?"
"Stop messing around."
"Uh...?"
"Mess around and die."
"O-okay."
He nodded blankly. Yerin retreated with a satisfied smile.
Mu-hyuk stared at her, stunned, but she just grinned innocently and hooked her arm in his.
"Min-woo oppa's gonna whiff too. You draw the key next time, okay?"
Like nothing happened.
What the...?
He felt played but couldn't show it.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, eyeing her.
Women are scary.
Meanwhile, Sung Min-woo's gems ran dry.
"Sigh, all junk."
"Yeah? All used up?"
"Yep."
"My turn then."
Mu-hyuk stepped forward.
Using the known good rates...
All junk.
Damn...
As regret welled up, Kim Ji-yeon spoke.
"I-I'll give it a try."
"Ah, sure."
Mu-hyuk stepped aside. She inserted gems.
Kiririk.
A golden key appeared.
On the first pull.
"I-it came out! Jackpot...!"
"Whoa..."
Thus ended their 14 days on the 49th floor.
*
Tower of Death, final 50th floor.
The spectators watching Mu-hyuk and his party wildly typed.
Tap, clatter.
Typewriter sounds filled the space.
Similar sentiments all around.
As they chattered, Mu-hyuk and the group exited the tower. It was late.
"Good work, everyone. Ji-yeon, you too."
"N-no biggie."
"Kuh! When you nailed that key at the end? Felt so good. Ji-yeon, total legend!"
Sung Min-woo bounded over excitedly, but Kim Ji-yeon ducked her head bashfully.
"Th-thank you."
The mood turned awkward.
Sung Min-woo froze.
"No need to thank—"
Mu-hyuk shook his head watching.
"Jeez."
So hopeless.
Anyone could see they liked each other. How could they be this dense?
Yerin poked Mu-hyuk's side.
"Huh? What?"
"Help Min-woo oppa out."
"Wha? How?"
"Simple. Just get them to admit it."
Mu-hyuk looked utterly lost.
"Sigh, oppa too."
"..."
Nothing to say.
Why do I feel wronged?
Yerin ditched him and approached the pair.
"Oppa, unnie!"
"Yeah?"
"Wh-what...?"
"Off tomorrow?"
"For me, sure. Hunt if you guys do, rest otherwise."
"M-me too, fine."
"Then let's all hang out for once. Sound good?"
Hang out? Sounded sweet.
But Sung Min-woo and Kim Ji-yeon stared at Mu-hyuk instead. He was the unspoken party leader.
Yerin followed suit. Under their hot gazes, Mu-hyuk nodded unconsciously.
"Y-yeah. Been in the tower forever."
"Right? Super stuffy."
"Long break then?"
"Okey-dokey!"
"I-I'm in."
Yerin beamed.
"Cool, I pick the spot?"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Then early to Seoul tomorrow."
"Yeah?"
"Yep!"
"Seoul Station, 9 AM tomorrow."
They set it and parted.
"See you tomorrow!"
"Night."
Before logging out, Mu-hyuk checked Illusion TV.
Shocked, Mu-hyuk slammed the chat shut.
What the...?
The viewers' fierce backlash chased away his sleepiness.
Ah, crap.
No point lying in bed now. After agonizing, he decided to keep playing Illusion a bit longer.
But what?
Something he could do right now.
Baekho popped into mind.
Visit him?
He had high quest potential, so Mu-hyuk dropped by occasionally for hellos.
Just got traditional tea instead, though.
Worth a shot now?
Better check in person.
Yeah. Nothing else to do, sleep's gone—might as well kill time.
He mounted his warhorse and headed to Mawoori, the small town housing the Baekho family estate.