Settling into the Chief's Chair

After Park Taemin became the department chief, about a fortnight passed before changes swept through the office. The employees, perpetually on edge and drained by life, started showing color in their cheeks.

During the brief rest after lunch, the break room buzzed with tales of hunts alongside Taemin.

"Why didn't a guy like him show up sooner? Just thinking about all the crap we put up with... aigoo."

"He's seriously impressive, right? Total opposite of that old Chief Choi."

"Ah, hope the next hunt rolls around quick."

"I'm swearing loyalty to the chief for life."

"For life? Isn't that a bit much?"

"Much? Dude, I hit six levels last hunt. Under Choi Jin-cheol? Would've taken half a damn year. Lazy ass made us hunt the highlands solo while he napped. And those things take thirty minutes each!"

"Fair point. Guess I'll hop on the loyalty train too."

Everyone had hunted with him at least once, so no one doubted his skills. As they chatted over coffee, Taemin appeared at the entrance.

"Chief!"

The woman who spotted him first called out. Taemin turned, gesturing with a quizzical look if she meant him.

"No hunt today?"

"Yeah. Got a pile of reviews to handle."

"Want me to brew you some coffee?"

"Nah, I'm good. You guys keep talking. Grabbed one downstairs."

He politely declined her offer and headed to his office to tackle the backlog. His all-or-nothing hunt style meant pulling all-nighters often, so work naturally piled up.

Finishing his reviews, Taemin propped his chin, lost in thought.

Time to switch hunting grounds? Sticking to the Kraken's making it inefficient. No items dropping either.

In those two weeks of hunting, Taemin had hit level 75. He'd leveled fast up to 70, but past that, EXP doubled, slowing his grind. To others, it wasn't slow at all—but for someone who'd always cleared top zones, barely scraping one level a day felt oddly stressful.

Anyway, gotta use this somewhere...

Muttering, he opened his skill window and stared at one he'd picked up a few days back.

A support skill paired with Red Eye, the one he'd long questioned. It let him snag any one item from an enemy's inventory. He'd already tested it on Yoon Ji-young with her okay.

Insanely useful skill... but no decent targets. Can't steal from the execs I eat with daily.

Muttering, his eyes shifted to another.

It summoned a literal clone of himself. Not a perfect copy, though—just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a translucent humanoid shape. Linked to his will, it moved but couldn't attack. Seemed useless at a glance, but with up to 4x his defense, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tanked better than most dedicated tanks.

Scanning his skills, his gaze dropped to the one skill without allocated points: Shield Smash.

Strategy team's director mentioned upper Chaos Tower mobs have shield-like barriers. Hunts are getting stale anyway—might hit the tower for gear. Best money-maker too.

Muttering, he closed the window and eyed the wall clock.

Too late to go now? Nah, since when do I care about time? Can't reach the top, but worth a look.

Gearing up, he stepped out with his escort team toward the Chaos Tower.

"Be careful out there, Chief. This place ain't messing around."

"Might be late—head back if it gets too tardy."

Leaving the lined-up escorts, Taemin stepped through the portal.

The Chaos Tower's interior resembled a pyramid chamber. Massive angled pillars propped the ceiling, torches lighting every corner. The space rivaled a school field. To the right, bizarre stone stairs pierced the ceiling.

Up those, I guess?

No monster signs anywhere, so he climbed. Endless stairs wore on; he activated Arrainba to boost speed.

How far up? Finally, the stairs ended, revealing the next floor.

Stepping onto floor 2, he soon spotted a monster in the chamber's center.

Hoo.

It resembled a skeleton from some ruin palace, but scaled up. Barely 2 meters there; this one neared 5.

This the floor 2 boss? Or floor 1 starts here? Either way.

Gripping his sword, Taemin activated Red Eye for stats.

Lower floors are easy, huh? Stats ain't much.

Swapping pendants, he charged, deploying Chaos Trap. Black space bloomed underfoot, dark fumes ensnaring the King Skeleton.

Setup done, he triggered Invisible and Ambush, leaping high. Plummeting, he slashed down—explosion scattering bones to dust.

Something shiny glinted amid the debris.

"Huh?"

Brushing powder aside, he picked it up.

"What is it? Magic stone?"

The glowing white lump mimicked ones he'd seen. Curious, he stowed it in inventory and checked.

Oh, so this is an enhancement stone.

He recalled web info: defense and weapon stones, tiered by level, success dropping higher up. This basic white one popped up often if you looked.

But cheap? Nah. Hunter Market buy: 3.3 billion, sell: 4 billion. Demand outstripped supply, prices volatile; most hunters dealt private for extra cash. Minimum 3 billion haul.

Nice start. Save for a good weapon.

Inventory shut, he headed up.

Next floor: "Lotte Lion," six-legged lion-head beast. Stats like the skeleton. Quick kill, stairs again.

Clearing floors, he hit floor 6—upper levels, uniques possible.

About time for one.

Five mobs down, only the stone dropped.

C'mon. Red Eye.

8k defense. Tougher than Kraken.

Strongest yet. But no sweat—Chaos Trap shaved 50%, Defensive Critical another 21%. 8k? Piece of cake.

Trap bind, Invisible/Ambush—down in one hit. Rifling debris, something had to drop.

His eyes lit up amid the sand.

This?

Tiny gold-ringed blue-gem band. Ring, obviously. Examining, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stowed and checked.

"Unique!"

Taemin shouted aloud without realizing. A real unique.

It actually dropped.

First unique ever—he couldn't wipe the grin. Uniques were pricey, but accessories? Near impossible to find, even with cash.

No wonder he beamed. Grabbing something this rare was huge.

This place is a goldmine. Enhancement stone plus unique ring... couple hundred billion? Three? More?

Savoring the windfall, he snapped back. Three floors above still.

Got this far—finish today.