This Is Why I Can't Stop Coaching
"I'm home."
He was changing out of his work clothes when a message bloomed in front of his eyes.
Through the Master's counsel, your disciple has achieved a breakthrough.
You share in your disciple's achievement.
"Huh!?"
This is—!
Whoa. Music to his ears. Heavenly Exploding Strike — the carry skill that had turned Floor 1 into a three-minute cup of instant ramen — had just hit Level 2.
Jo Youchan's been putting in the work, huh.
Good. If Jo Youchan got stronger, the guild would do better too. And more than anything—
This is the high that makes coaching impossible to quit.
He felt downright proud. Time he put in some work of his own.
Enter!
He stepped into the Tower in high spirits.
He'd been thinking about the Tower all day at the office. It had been a long time since he'd felt a thrill like this.
Middle school. The first major patch drop for Hunter Management. This is exactly that feeling.
He'd spent entire days waiting for school to end, eyes glued to the clock instead of the blackboard.
And if maintenance got extended, I'd hit the community boards and absolutely roast the devs.
That first login after all the waiting — new content, finally live — had been genuinely, viscerally sweet. This was that feeling, right now.
Let's go!
He charged the skeleton. The moment he actually faced it, though, this one was holding a sword — unlike Floor 1.
"Whoa, whoa—!"
He slammed to a halt as it wound up to swing, and ended up punching nothing but empty air.
Heavenly Exploding Strike Lv.2
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
The shockwave obliterated a fan-shaped stretch of ground about two meters across.
Sword Skeleton slain — 1 / 10
"Whoa..."
Heavenly Exploding Strike, baby. At this rate he could just hit them from outside sword range.
After that, it was over in a flash. Thunder rolled across Floor 2 without a pause. This time, the clear didn't even take three minutes.
Sword Skeleton slain — 2 / 10
Sword Skeleton slain — 4 / 10
· · ·
Sword Skeleton slain — 10 / 10
Wait. I feel like I'm forgetting something... Ah. The mana stones!
Before leaving, he gathered the mana stones the skeletons had dropped.
All of this is money.
Mana stones were a hunter's primary source of income — the all-purpose resource of modern civilization. There wasn't a single industry they didn't touch. Energy, construction materials, new composites, textiles, medicine... the list went on forever.
Hold on. I never registered as a hunter.
So he couldn't sell them yet. And this was all worth how much?
Even just this pile is probably more than a Support Team salary.
Nothing he could do about it. He'd stash them at home for now. And just as he was about to leave the dungeon—
A Master Mark has been granted as a Master Clear special reward.
"Ah— you startled me."
He'd completely forgotten about rewards. The one from clearing Floor 1 last time had been so pathetic it hadn't even registered.
What even was this? Just give him mana stones. He had zero idea what the thing was even for.
Anyway. I'm a Floor 2 hunter now!
Just one number higher, and he was so happy he could fly.
So this is why hunters stake their lives on floor count?
It was just a single digit. But in modern society, that digit meant far more than swapping which university you'd graduated from. That number was a hunter's value and strength, printed in plain sight.
He left the Tower and went home.
Ah, whatever.
Originally, for his father's sake, he'd only meant to get a taste of climbing...
Straight to the next floor!
Tower entry is limited to once per day.
Ugh. You've gotta be kidding.
It wasn't like this in Hunter Management!
What a shame. Can't tomorrow get here already...
And tomorrow came.
Enter.
A skeleton hoisted an axe in a threatening arc.
"Whoa."
He flinched for a second. Then thunder struck.
KWA-KWA-KWAANG!
You have cleared Floor 3 of the Tower.
A Master Mark has been granted as a reward.
And the next day.
Wolf bones this time?
They looked fast. The teeth were sharp, too. Most dangerous-looking so far.
The Wolf Skeletons barked as they formed a pack — except all that came out was a dry clatter of bone.
They're not attacking right away?
Just like real wolves, they only threatened until the pack and the formation were set. And then all ten of them would rush you at once? Yeah. The fatality rate here was probably pretty high.
Before they could gather, he fired Heavenly Exploding Strike into the pack. A single fan-shaped shockwave shattered three or four of them to pieces.
KRRR-GUH-GOONG!
You have cleared Floor 4 of the Tower.
A Master Mark has been granted as a reward.
The next day was the same. Every floor spat out a different flavor of skeleton. Not a single pile of bones could withstand Heavenly Exploding Strike.
You have cleared Floor 5 of the Tower.
A Master Mark has been granted as a reward.
He climbed the Tower in a frenzy. And then—
"Huh!?"
Wait. If it was his awakened ability, then that meant—
Climbing the Tower was just too much fun. Maybe because the broken skill made it so easy.
A new ability had unlocked yesterday, too. Still no idea how to actually use it, but still.
This climbing thing... he could get addicted. Which was why waiting for the workday to end had become genuine torture. So he thought—
Why didn't I think of this sooner.
He could just clear the Tower at the office.
It only takes five minutes anyway.
No more sitting around waiting for the end of the day.
"Should I put this here?"
"Yes, set it down there."
He dropped a box packed with documents with a heavy thud. Dust billowed up through the archive.
"Cough, cough! Wow... Hyeonseok, how are you that strong? That's all paper, and those boxes are ridiculously heavy."
After clearing up through Floor 5, his physical stats had climbed a lot. He was well past the point where you could still call him an ordinary civilian. Of course, he couldn't just say that.
"My father's a strong man. I guess I take after him."
"Right. That's true, isn't it."
"Pardon?"
"Ah— it's nothing."
The archive organizing was done.
So the Support Team manages places like this, too.
Like Jo Youchan's special training data, the room held a mountain of hunter records. After a few days on the job, he'd realized the scope of "support" was far more comprehensive than he'd imagined. Everyone here was drowning in workload.
"Hah. Finally done."
"You worked hard."
"No, you're the one who did all the work, Hyeonseok. Let's go take a break."
"Ah, I'll stay behind and sweep the floor a bit. Moving all that paper kicked up a lot of dust."
You go on ahead so I can be alone. I'll be right there. Floor 6'll only take about three minutes anyway.
But his senior put on a faintly dazed expression.
"Wow... I thought I wasn't the type to fall for stereotypes. Turns out I was wrong."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing. Just do a quick job of it and come on."
"Will do."
He was left alone in the archive.
Enter!
Yep. I'll keep it moderate, sir.
This floor's monster was a Big Skeleton. True to the name, it was enormous — about three stories of apartment building, standing.
When they showed up huge in the game, I just went with it, but...
How was he supposed to kill that?
He approached first and fired Heavenly Exploding Strike at the ankle.
KWA-BOOM!
Once it lost its balance, he'd smash the head. Instead the bones just cascaded down, and it died on the spot. No follow-up needed.
Big Skeleton slain — 1 / 10
...It's weaker than it looks?
Well. It was only Floor 6. Did the people who died here get crushed under the bones? Better be careful.
Next Big Skeleton. This time, instead of the ankle, he simply punched the empty air around the hip joint. Heavenly Exploding Strike's shockwave shattered the bones to powder on the spot.
Big Skeleton slain — 2 / 10
Just watch out for the falling bones...
"Ow."
A bone clipped him in the head. Lighter than expected? How did anyone even die here? A Sword Skeleton would be more dangerous.
The Tower's actually pretty climbable, huh?
Every time thunder struck, another Big Skeleton came down.
KWA-KWA-KWAANG!
Ah. This feeling of getting stronger.
Honestly, stronger or not, it's a one-shot with Heavenly Exploding Strike.
Another happy climb. He gathered the mana stones and left the Tower. And then—
"Huh?"
"Uh?"
Jo Youchan was standing in the archive that was supposed to be empty.
What. Why are you here.
"You just appeared out of thin air... wait?"
Jo Youchan scanned the empty air the way a man reads text.
Before Jo Youchan and Hyeonseok came face to face, Jo Youchan hadn't been able to go find him right away.
...Did I act too full of myself?
Damn it. He'd never thought the guy would be the real deal. Should've been more polite. This temper of his.
Hunter or civilian. It doesn't matter anymore.
He had no choice but to admit it. Even as a civilian, Do Hyeonseok deserved to be called a master.
No awakened ability. Not a hunter's body. Couldn't kill a monster with martial arts. But when it came to theory, he was better than any master out there.
Come to think of it, wasn't that the same idea behind a guild's Support Team? Either way, Jo Youchan needed Hyeonseok.
I didn't leave a great first impression... but let's try to win him over somehow.
He was a civilian, after all. He'd be hurting for money and prestige. That was the angle.
I'll just climb the Tower for him!
Do Hyeonseok couldn't climb it himself. He'd teach Jo Youchan the theory. They'd split the profits and the fame.
Decision made, Jo Youchan went straight to find him — and in the hallway, ran into Hyeonseok's senior.
"Oh. You."
"......An Donghyeon. Support Team."
"Yeah, I know you're Support Team. More importantly — do you know where Mr. Do Hyeonseok is?"
An Donghyeon tilted his head at the odd feeling.
Did he just use honorifics?
No way. For Jo Youchan, that level of polite speech was deeply unnatural.
"He's in the archive over there. But it's staff only, so if you could wait here—"
"I'll get Dad's permission later."
He headed straight for the archive. An Donghyeon let out a small sigh.
Jo Youchan stepped inside.
He's not here?
A moment later, Hyeonseok appeared.
"Huh?"
"Ah."
What.
"You just suddenly appeared out of thin air... wait?"
A person. From thin air?
"Did you just come out of the Tower?"
"Uh..."
"No, wait. I'm certain you weren't registered as a hunter."
Hyeonseok agonized. Should he get on his knees right now? Please, just don't tell Father.
Jo Youchan was about to press further when a message appeared in midair, and his mouth stopped.
...Huh?
A powerful sense of wrongness brought his thoughts to a halt.
Master Clear? Of all times, now?
...Wait a second.
That guy just now. He definitely—
"Uh... uh...? UH!"
"Yes?"
Eyes wide enough to split, he pointed a finger at Hyeonseok.
Skill so exceptional it was suspicious. Master, appearing at the same time. And just now — the exact timing.
Good God...!
He wasn't a civilian. Jo Youchan understood.
The man standing in front of him was Master.