Chapter 64
Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Owner (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The battle ended in no time. I approached Super Goo.
“You’re pulling your own weight now, huh?”
As if responding to my praise, Super Goo stabbed his spear into the ground and puffed out his chest.
I shrank him back to his original size and perched him on my shoulder.
I looked around. Everything was over.
Then, an important fact flashed through my mind again.
This was the 28th floor. Uncle Jeong Man-ho’s record was 27 floors.
My heart started pounding.
“The Daejeon Tower... is mine now?”
I swallowed dryly without realizing it. Excitement mixed with a touch of tension washed over me.
I remembered what Beetle had said.
When the tower’s owner changes, a window might pop up to set a new nickname.
But it wasn’t certain.
What if the existing ranking nickname ‘??’ got stuck that way?
That would be a problem in so many ways.
The whole world would know I was in Daejeon.
I waited anxiously for the system message.
Beetle had to be right.
Soon, the translucent window I’d been waiting for appeared before my eyes.
[The 28th floor (EXTREME) of the tower has been cleared.]
[First clear bonus applied!]
[Ranking 1st place bonus applied!]
The usual familiar messages and rewards.
I skimmed them and waited for the next one.
Finally, the most important notification appeared.
[You have broken the highest climbing record of the Daejeon Tower in South Korea.]
[You can now record the tower ranking.]
[This name is set separately from the nickname used in floor-by-floor rankings.]
“...Phew.”
The moment I confirmed the last line, a sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily.
Beetle was right. I was safe.
Soon, a new window appeared before me.
[Enter the name to register for the regional tower ranking.]
[Name: _____]
The cursor blinked, waiting for my input.
I crossed my arms and pondered for a moment.
“What should I put...?”
‘??’ was obviously out. And I couldn’t use my official identity, Kim Han-byeol.
I needed something that hid who I was as much as possible, but still had impact for those in the know.
What name would work? I mulled it over.
Then, one idea suddenly came to mind.
Without hesitation, I reached out to the keyboard floating in the air.
I typed the name carefully, letter by letter.
[Register with this name?]
I hit ‘Yes’ without a second thought.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time. In the Iron Blood Guild’s conference room.
Jeong Man-ho, the ruler of the Daejeon Tower and an A-rank hunter, looked like death warmed over.
His aide was in the middle of a passionate presentation before him.
“The patterns of the 28th floor trash mobs can be analyzed into three types. The first is the electric laser pattern, where you must always step back one pace...”
Nothing got through to Jeong Man-ho’s ears.
He just rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the 3D model of the mechanical monster on the presentation screen.
‘I wanna go home....’
That thought filled his head completely.
The tower collapse countdown was right around the corner.
As the ruler of the Daejeon Tower, he had the duty to conquer it.
Plus, the association leading the strike didn’t really want the tower to collapse either.
Even they were starting to nudge him: shouldn’t you get ready now?
In the end, he’d been pushed into preparing for the 28th floor.
“Haa....”
The guild had poured resources into collecting other hunters’攻略 data and running simulations day and night. Everything was perfect.
But it all cost money.
Jeong Man-ho sincerely didn’t want to go.
‘Haa, if only I’d been born a mage or something....’
The honor of being an A-rank hunter, the position of guild master, the title of tower ruler. It was all great.
But the fact that he had to risk his life every time for it? He could never get used to that.
That’s when it happened. The conference room door opened cautiously, and the secretary poked her head in.
“Guild master, sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call. It’s Hwaryeon Guild’s Guild Master Jeong Tae-yeon.”
Jeong Man-ho’s brow furrowed deeply. Her name alone made his head throb.
“Ugh, fuck! Tell her I’m busy! Can’t she see I’m in a meeting?!”
His shout froze the air in the room. The aide stopped mid-sentence and awkwardly adjusted his posture.
Jeong Tae-yeon. That woman called every other day, nagging him about when he’d climb the tower.
“We’re both A-ranks! Is this how you treat a fellow guild master?!”
If he could, he’d run to court and complain about this injustice.
This was too much. It wasn’t how colleagues should treat each other.
But the secretary didn’t back down, looking troubled.
“She said you really need to take this...”
“Ah, seriously!”
Jeong Man-ho finally shot up from his seat.
He felt like he needed to unload a barrage of curses to feel better.
He practically snatched the phone from the secretary and hit the call button.
“Ah, I’m really going tomorrow! Just cut me some slack...!”
That’s when it happened, as Jeong Man-ho was about to vent his frustration.
From the receiver came a cheerful voice that completely threw him off.
[Man-ho? I just saw you climbed the tower? Congrats. I thought you’d hold out till the last day and get pushed into it. You made up your mind quicker than I expected? Good for you! If you’d just end the strike too, that’d be perfect....]
Praise poured down like a waterfall.
Jeong Man-ho was momentarily speechless. All his prepared curses and anger evaporated from his mind.
“Uh... huh?”
He could only make dumbfounded noises. Ignoring his reaction, Jeong Tae-yeon spoke sweetly, as if she’d said her piece.
[Anyway, you must be busy, so I’ll let you go. Good luck!]
Click.
The call ended. Jeong Man-ho stared blankly at his phone screen. Every eye in the conference room was on him.
‘What the? What did I do right?’
He couldn’t comprehend the situation at all. That’s when it happened.
Ding-dong-
A messenger notification rang from another phone in his pocket.
It was the official chat for A-rank hunters.
Jeong Man-ho instinctively pulled out his phone and checked the screen.
[Park Sang-cheol: The highest climbing record for South Korea’s Daejeon Tower has just been updated to the 28th floor. Sincere congratulations to Jeong Man-ho on your successful climb!]
“What the hell.”
Jeong Man-ho’s eyes widened. He read the message over and over. Something was seriously wrong.
He quickly scrolled through the chat history. It was all about him.
[Lee Hyun-woo: Congrats, Guild Master Jeong Man-ho!]
[Choi Su-jin: 🎉🥳👏]
[Kim Jeong-han: Congratulations! Nice witty new nickname too?]
[Park Sang-cheol: As you can see, our Hunter Association does not wish for South Korea’s collapse....]
Countless congratulatory messages directed at him.
Of course, he felt no joy whatsoever.
Everyone thought he’d cleared the 28th floor.
That’s why Jeong Tae-yeon had called.
But he’d clearly been in the conference room. So...
“Who cleared my tower? Who the hell?”
Jeong Man-ho’s hands trembled. He immediately logged into the Hunter Association site and checked the new top ranker’s nickname for the tower.
[Seoul Tower: Kim Su-ho (53rd Floor)]
...
[Daejeon Tower: Jeong Man-ho’s Neighbor Bracelet Thief (28th Floor)]
“Neighbor? Bracelet?”
In that instant, a certain kid’s face flashed through Jeong Man-ho’s mind. The little boy he’d met a few days ago when the house shook.
“No way....”
No, it wasn’t ‘no way.’
“That’s gotta be the kid’s parents! Damn, I knew something felt off from the start...!”
Jeong Man-ho jumped to that conclusion. There was no way that child was an A-rank hunter.
It had to be the parents, some unidentified A-rank.
They’d planned this from the move-in till now. The thought of their scheming viciousness made his teeth grind.
“End the meeting! Climbing’s canceled!”
Jeong Man-ho bellowed and stormed out of the conference room.
Leaving the bewildered executives behind, he headed straight to the warehouse.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a box he’d stored away. A box full of one-use defense artifacts.
Each one cost tens of millions of won, and the box was packed with them.
Tucking the box under his arm, Jeong Man-ho ran to the parking lot and threw himself into his black sedan.
“I’ve gotta sweet-talk them somehow into joining our guild.... No, at least form an alliance.”
Vrooom-!
With a roar, Jeong Man-ho’s sedan shot toward my house like an arrow.
***
Right after returning from the tower, I headed straight home.
There, I had a sign I’d prepared a few days ago.
I dug a hole in the ground, secured the sign firmly, and stepped back to admire my handiwork.
The sign had phrases I’d carefully painted on by hand.
[The home of the Daejeon Tower’s ruler.]
[This area is a child protection zone, so please maintain a speed limit of 20 km/h within 200m radius.]
[Warning: Speeding may result in tire punctures.]
Everything, down to the final warning, was perfect.
I patted the sign contentedly.
Now, this neighborhood kid’s safety to and from school was under my protection.
I’d just finished when—
Screeech-!
A harsh braking sound hit, followed by headlights blinding me.
A black luxury sedan screeched to a halt in front of my house.
It was Jeong Man-ho. I figured he’d show up.
Jeong Man-ho approached me, then spotted the sign I’d just installed and froze in place.
His face twitched as his gaze darted between the sign and me.
“What the hell is this?”
I glanced at the sign and smiled innocently, like a pure child who knew nothing.
“Oh, this? Mom and Dad’s errand.”
“Mom... and Dad?”
Jeong Man-ho’s face was full of bewilderment. He glanced around cautiously.
“Uh, uh.... Right. Where are your parents right now?”
“They’re not here.”
“What do you mean, not here?”
Jeong Man-ho’s face looked utterly confused.
I pointed at the shiny black sedan behind him to change the subject.
“Uncle’s car.”
“My car? You want my car?!”
Jeong Man-ho recoiled in horror.
Like a mother bird protecting her chick, he shielded the car with his body and wailed.
“N-No, not that! This is like my soul...!”
“No.... I just want a ride. Drive.”
I looked at him in exasperation.
At my words, Jeong Man-ho’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
He cleared his throat a few times, then reluctantly opened the back door.
“G-Get in.”
In the end, I successfully sat in Jeong Man-ho’s soul-bound sedan.
The plush leather seat felt great as I sank into it.
I wanted to ask to drive, but that was probably pushing it.
My short stature wouldn’t help anyway.
“Where to?”
Jeong Man-ho asked with an awkward smile. I punched in a familiar address on the navigation.
“Here, please.”
The car pulled away smoothly.
I pretended to watch the scenery out the window while sneaking glances at his expression.
Jeong Man-ho gripped the wheel, clearly fidgeting.
He was obviously looking for a chance to contact my “parents,” the new tower master.
Soon, the car stopped in front of a sleek new building.
‘One Star Management,’ the sign with a name I still wasn’t used to.
The rundown officetel I’d gone to before was gone now.
“Park here.”
As the car stopped, I pulled out my phone and called the broker.
“Uncle, it’s me. Come down for a sec.”
Seconds later, the glass door opened, and a familiar figure emerged.
I rolled down the window and beckoned him.
The broker looked puzzled, scanning around, then spotted me in the back seat of Jeong Man-ho’s car and his eyes went wide.
“Get in, uncle.”
The broker climbed into the passenger seat with a baffled look.
An awkward, tense air flowed between Jeong Man-ho in the driver’s seat and the broker beside him.
Jeong Man-ho spoke first, cautiously.
“Um... are you the guardian?”
“Ah, no. Wait, yes.”
The broker seemed flustered, denying then affirming.
“No, what I mean is, I’m the manager...”
“Manager?”
Disappointment and confusion crossed Jeong Man-ho’s face.
The world’s most awkward drive resumed.
Silence filled the car.
I enjoyed the uncomfortable vibe and deliberately said nothing.
Finally, unable to take it, Jeong Man-ho grunted and addressed the broker.
“Uh, manager. I have something to say. I’m Jeong Man-ho of Iron Blood.”
“I know. Aren’t you Daejeon’s ruler?”
“Not anymore. Anyway, I’d really like to meet this child’s parents... I mean, your representative. Could you arrange it?”
His voice was desperate. The broker glanced at me, then replied with a professional expression.
“Sorry, but that’s difficult. Our representative has no plans to show himself publicly for the time being.”
Raw disappointment flashed across Jeong Man-ho’s face. He pursed his lips, then sighed in resignation.
When we got back home, Jeong Man-ho got out, still not giving up.
He handed me the gift box he’d brought.
“Give this to your parents. Tell them it’s from me.”
The box was full of one-use defense artifacts. Pretty expensive stuff.
I accepted the gift readily.
Feeling bad for ignoring his desperation any longer, I handed him a business card.
It had ‘One Star Management’ and the broker’s contact info.
“Call this number if anything comes up.”
Jeong Man-ho took the card and hesitated.
“...Got it. Thanks for today.”
“Bye-bye~.”
He drove off. The heavy gift box in my hand felt quite satisfying.