The Sweet Fruits of Tenacity
It had been a truly tenacious battle.
And an utterly grueling fight.
Having endured those hours, he finally claimed the fruits of his labor.
"Ha, haha...."
Those fruits were deliciously sweet.
First came the achievement and the warp gate activation.
You have acquired Weibra Empire Contribution Points (300).
Warp Gate activated.
A whopping 300 contribution points.
He'd already checked out the warehouse, so he could already picture what items he might snag with them.
Even just one would leave him more than satisfied.
And with the warp gate now active, he could zip straight to the Weibra Empire temple.
On top of that, the title.
A title befitting the word "first."
It felt like all his efforts hadn't been in vain.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
He'd scored some extremely satisfying items too.
◈ Increases 1 stat of your choice.
Three Magic Orbs.
That was all?
◈ Acquire 1 item for the desired equipment slot.
He could only gasp in awe.
Desired slot!
"Whoa."
The time spent in the Red Tower had felt endless, but these rewards more than made up for it.
Sung Min-woo beside him—and even Yura, who had stuck it out to the bitter end—gaped in shock. What more was there to say?
"Um, excuse me...."
"Yeah?"
Yura approached.
"Did you get Magic Orbs and a Chest too?"
"Of course."
"Ah, ahh...."
It seemed like this was her first time scoring rewards like these.
Well, her level was high, but still.
Dungeons weren't easy to find.
And even if you stumbled on one, guilds would've already claimed the surrounding hunting grounds.
In the end, only a tiny fraction of players had ever experienced dungeon content.
Towers, at least, were more accessible to average users—no entry limits.
That's when Sung Min-woo grinned ear to ear.
"Dude, jackpot!"
"What?"
"I got an amazing item drop!"
"Nice?"
Mu-hyuk opened his own chest at those words.
Opening 'Magic Chest'.
Please select the desired slot.
After a moment's thought, he picked pants.
The chest began to spin.
Whoooosh.
A burst of light erupted, the spinning chest vanished, and leather pants appeared in its place.
Acquired 'Arankal's Leather Pants'.
The name alone screamed quality.
Arankal?
He checked the options right away.
Defense: 15
Vitality +5
Additional Defense +10
HP +250
Durability: 280/280
Requirements: Strength 40, Vitality 40
The options were outstanding.
Hoo.
And the requirements were reasonable too.
Inferior to his Exploding Steel Armor set, sure—but he doubted he'd find better pants for a good long while. Maybe ever.
They were that good.
Exactly what he wanted: vitality and defense-focused.
Unequip Raging Rapids Leggings.
Unequip 'Raging Rapids Leggings'?
[Yes/No]
He selected Yes, then equipped Arankal's Leather Pants.
Equipped Arankal's Leather Pants.
Grinning at his boosted HP and defense, he felt deeply satisfied.
"What're you smiling about?"
"Scored something good too."
"Those pants you just swapped into?"
"Yeah."
"Ugh, lucky. I don't have greaves."
"Greaves are solid. What about your orb?"
"Haven't used it. Still deciding. You?"
Mu-hyuk hadn't agonized over it.
No need to use it right away.
He'd decide after some more thought.
Who knew? He might get a perfect item ruined by a single requirement mismatch.
Save it for then.
"Gonna hold onto mine."
"Huh? Why?"
He explained, and Sung Min-woo nodded.
"Hmm, makes sense. Alright, I'll save mine too!"
"Then let's head out."
"Roger!"
He glanced at Yura nearby.
"Hey."
"Y-Yes...?"
"Time to go."
"Oh, right."
The three of them headed to the warp gate in the corner.
The moment they stepped onto the magic circle.
Warp Gate activating.
5, 4...
3, 2, 1.
As it hit zero, the world shifted. No more dingy hall—the bright, lively temple greeted them.
*
Illusion homepage.
User posts were exploding.
Lots of negativity, for sure.
So why were views on Mu-hyuk's post surging?
Of course, Mu-hyuk had no clue. He wasn't in a spot to check the homepage right now.
"Haa...."
His sigh was heavy.
With the Red Tower conquered, the plan was to hunt field monsters with Sung Min-woo and casually hit level 70.
By now, he should've been logged in, grinding mobs.
But why...!
Mu-hyuk looked up.
A beautiful woman sat before him.
"What're you staring at?"
It was Yura.
Me, alone in a cafe with her?
Mu-hyuk gave a wry smile.
"You called me out here, and now 'what're you staring at'? Kinda weird, no?"
"W-Well...."
"Anyway. Why'd you call me?"
"It's, um...."
Yura hesitated forever.
She'd been like this the whole time.
Haa, so frustrating.
About to check his phone from sheer boredom—
"Thank you."
The unexpected words froze him.
"Pardon?"
"Th-Thank you!"
Her face turned beet red, and in that moment, she looked utterly adorable.
Mu-hyuk flinched and shook his head hard.
What am I thinking?
Now he felt awkward.
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat pointlessly.
"Eh, no big deal. Don't sweat it."
"Still gotta say thanks."
"Then this coffee's your thanks, right?"
"Huh? Oh, no! Not like this counts...."
"Sure?"
"Yeah. I'll treat you properly later. You saved my life, and the rewards were insane."
Fine by him, if that's what she wanted.
No reason to refuse.
"Anyway."
"Yeah."
Her vibe shifted.
Leaning in slightly.
Eyes sharpening.
"How'd you know?"
"Know what?"
Cold sweat beaded, unbidden.
"Why'd you say not to target the eye on floor 7?"
Up to now, she'd been just another female player, here to say thanks.
Now? She was the pro MC of Illusion's World.
How did she switch like that in an instant?
Gulp.
Mu-hyuk swallowed despite himself and recited his prepared line.
"Nothing special. Dealt with a one-eyed monster before—it went berserk when its eye got hit. Just worried the floor 7 boss might be similar."
Felt like reading from a textbook.
"Hmm, really?"
"Yeah."
"What was that monster's name?"
"Gavero."
"Gavero...."
She nodded, pulled out her phone, and saved the name.
Watching that, Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed.
Feels like an interrogation.
He snapped to.
"This feels off."
"Huh?"
"Here to thank me? Or interrogate me?"
"N-No, that's not...."
"If you're thankful, just say so and done. No grilling me after."
"S-Sorry."
"Whatever. Got your thanks. I'm out."
Mu-hyuk stood and left the cafe.
"W-Wait!"
She chased after, but he ignored her.
Stick around longer, and he might get swept up, spill something dumb.
Like just now—he'd answered way too easily. Could've brushed it off.
The interrogator vibe woke him up late, but without it, he might've kept reciting textbook lines.
And if he slipped some secret info mid-ramble?
Better to bail now.
Whew, what a woman....
Maybe 'cause she's adored by the masses.
She had this magnetic pull on people's hearts.
*
Finally out of that stuffy space, into the field.
"Whoa, air's so fresh out here after the tower."
"Feels great."
Illusion's sky.
Endless plains.
Blowing wind.
Just taking it in healed the soul.
"Tower got old."
"Ugh, rewards were killer, leveled tons—but took forever."
He nodded automatically.
How many levels in the tower alone?
Started at 52, right?
Now? A solid 66.
Sung Min-woo at 64 showed how long they'd grinded there.
"Alright, time to enjoy some field freedom!"
"Sounds good."
Hunting ground wasn't far.
Ten minutes' walk from the small warp gate village.
"Here we are."
"This it?"
"Yeah."
"Open field."
Hardly any users in sight.
Maybe twenty in view?
Makes sense—level 69 monsters.
Tricky as hell for normies too.
"That's the guy."
"Eww, creepy."
Not far off, a Zabura—the local monster—slithered closer with its signature hiss.
Humanoid snake, you could say.
Like a were-wolf or were-tiger.
Anyway, this armored, spear-and-shield snake-faced Zabura had clones—a real pain.
"Summon."
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo called their summons.
Chiririk.
The Zabura closed in fast, thrusting its spear.
Two clones popped up front, leaping over summons to strike Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo directly.
He thrust his shield forward at the incoming spear.
Kang!
Took decent damage, but he commanded anyway.
Bone Sword, advance.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Sung Min-woo's spirit closed on the main body too.
Then the clones attacking them reappeared before the main body, shoving it back with a shield bash.
As the main body floated midair, the spirit and Bone Sword closed in—only to eat attacks from the replacement clones.
"Whoa, looks tricky just watching."
"We got summons. We're good."
"Even dodging like that?"
Mu-hyuk smiled faintly.
"Numbers win out."
With that, his precise commands began.