Chapter 90
Chapter 90
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: 36th Floor (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jeong Man-ho stared down at the black stone on the Go board.
Sitting across from him was a child clutching a white stone.
The daughter of the hunter next door, whose identity he still didn't know.
"...So that's what happened yesterday."
The child's eyes remained fixed on the Gomoku board.
The story he'd just heard left Jeong Man-ho flustered.
Helping someone she knew from an online community?
And from the sound of it, the help was something that happened inside a game.
'Is it that Roblox thing kids are into these days?'
The child still wouldn't meet his gaze.
She fiddled absently with the Go stones.
'...Why tell me this?'
The thought crossed Jeong Man-ho's mind for a moment.
Why share a story about making a friend in a game with him?
Wouldn't she tell her parents, or maybe that vice guild master?
Jeong Man-ho gazed quietly at the child's face.
She scratched her cheek shyly as she said the word "friend."
Suddenly, Jeong Man-ho thought of her parents again.
'...Strong hunters, but not good parents.'
They had to be incredibly powerful hunters, no doubt.
The kind who could seize Daejeon Tower in a flash and make even the guild master tremble.
But at the same time, he couldn't help thinking they weren't good parents.
How could they raise a child who was only now talking about her first friend?
'Sure, it's the modern world, but did they even send her to school?'
Come to think of it, he'd never once seen this child with her parents.
She was always alone.
Jeong Man-ho felt a little sorry for the kid in front of him.
"The truth is, I've never been to school either."
"What? Out of nowhere?"
As Jeong Man-ho's thoughts reached that point,
he realized there was no need to ask why she was telling him instead of her parents or the vice guild master.
'Asking something like that wouldn't make me a good adult.'
He knew it from the Geumjjoong correction program.
'Guess she's opened up to me a bit.'
Maybe the magical girl transformation belt he'd gifted her last time had worked.
Yeah, that was a good thing.
Even as Jeong Man-ho mulled it over inwardly, the child kept talking.
It was closer to talking to herself.
"Anyway, what can I say... It felt really good? Different from when I hit number one on the game rankings. Like I actually made a friend... Well, not a real friend, but..."
Jeong Man-ho decided to build some more rapport.
"Wow, that's awesome. You did great. Helping a friend is super cool..."
Fuck, even he thought this sounded like a horrific textbook recitation.
These words really didn't suit him at all.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice.
"...Really?"
"Yeah, totally."
Seeing her ask again with that innocent expression, Jeong Man-ho breathed a sigh of relief.
Watching Geumjjoong Teacher's broadcasts every week had definitely paid off.
Okay, just keep it up like this.
Gotta throw the Gomoku game too.
Jeong Man-ho was black, playing second. He placed his stone accordingly.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud.
The child immediately placed her white stone.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud.
Jeong Man-ho's turn again.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud.
"?"
The child looked at him with a puzzled expression.
But soon she picked up her white stone.
The Gomoku line continued.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud.
"...I think I won?"
Jeong Man-ho sighed dramatically, as if he'd been waiting for it.
"What? I lost? How did I miss that?"
Jeong Man-ho stood up, ruffled the child's hair, and showered her with praise.
"You're so smart! Aren't you a Gomoku genius?"
Jeong Man-ho figured she'd be thrilled.
Kids love praise, after all.
Geumjjoong Teacher had said to give unconditional compliments.
But the child's reaction was completely different from what he'd expected.
Far from happy, she just stared up at him coldly.
"......"
Silence fell.
Jeong Man-ho sensed something had gone wrong.
Then the child spoke.
"Uncle."
"Y-Yeah?"
"Do I look like a kindergartener to you right now?"
"N-No! Of course not! You're totally mature, like an adult!"
"Sigh..."
Jeong Man-ho broke out in a cold sweat.
Damn, what did Geumjjoong Teacher say in situations like this?
He couldn't remember.
"If you're gonna throw the game, at least make it close. What the hell was that..."
The child jumped to her feet.
Her mood completely soured.
"I'm done. Heading in now."
With that, she turned and marched back into the room.
Left alone in the empty living room, Jeong Man-ho.
Awkwardness washed over him.
He let out a sigh and headed to his parked car.
"Haa... Kids are way too hard."
Jeong Man-ho muttered as he hit the accelerator.
***
After Jeong Man-ho left, silence returned to the house.
I lay sprawled on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
My mood was totally killed.
I realized anew that playing along with adults isn't easy.
That's when it happened.
A familiar shape crawled out. It was Chohogi.
Without a word, it huffed and puffed as it picked up the Gomoku board and stone container I'd left in the corner of the living room.
Then it neatly set them down in front of me and looked up quietly.
I knew exactly what that meant without asking.
"...You wanna play too?"
I was dumbfounded.
Could this thing even understand the rules of Gomoku?
I never imagined it could enjoy such an intellectual pastime.
But I was still bored, and it was hard to ignore its persistent gaze.
"Fine. Just one game."
Reluctantly, I sat up.
Sure enough, the result was just as I'd predicted.
It lost miserably.
It seemed to grasp the rules at least...
Chohogi made a miserable face upon seeing my completed line of five.
I let out a deep sigh.
"One more time. You go first this time."
I decided to try something different.
I played the game exactly the way Jeong Man-ho had just done.
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ┼ ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ○ ● ┼
┼ ┼ ┼ ┼
Thud. Chohogi placed the fifth stone.
A completed line of Gomoku.
"......"
A brief silence.
Chohogi alternated its gaze between its stones and mine.
Soon, it seemed to realize it had won.
"...!"
Chohogi threw both arms up and started jumping around in place.
Not satisfied, it began circling me excitedly.
Its own little victory celebration.
Face like it had conquered the world.
Seeing it, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Man, is it that great?"
Its pure joy even felt a little cute.
Right then, Jeong Man-ho's face flashed through my mind.
That's when I got it.
Ah, so that's why he threw it on purpose in a situation like this.
"...In that uncle's eyes, do I look like this guy?"
Even with such an obvious loss, it could be thrilled like it owned the world?
Does he see me as that young?
My face suddenly burned.
"Sigh, guess I should head into the tower."
I'd rested plenty for the past few days.
Time to start climbing again.
It was about time for a level-up too.
***
[Entering Tower 36th Floor (EXTREME).]
The familiar message and shifting scenery.
Somehow, I'd reached the latter half of the 30s.
There might be some small or big change again.
"Waaaaaah—!"
Sure enough, the scenery was different from what I'd expected.
Cheers echoing from all directions.
The city packed with crowds.
And colorful flags and confetti too.
"What is this? A festival?"
I couldn't make sense of it.
No tension whatsoever, no matter where I looked.
Why was I in a place like this?
"Huh, that's..."
Then, a familiar emblem caught my eye.
Flags fluttering along the streets, massive banners on building walls, even the little hand flags kids were holding.
Everywhere bore a golden hourglass.
My emblem, as far as the eye could see.
"I heard the national flag changed, but this much?"
Of all places, I'd appeared in the center of the plaza.
An open stage-like space.
It was only a matter of time before eyes turned my way.
"Huh?"
"That's...!"
Someone in the crowd pointed at me.
The surrounding noise stopped.
A spreading silence.
Soon, thousands of eyes in the plaza turned to me in unison.
"I-It’s the Sage!"
"The Little Sage has returned!"
The silence shattered with enormous cheers.
My ears rang, and my body stiffened.
My heart started pounding like mad.
A scene I'd never witnessed in my life.
The pressure was worlds apart from hundreds of comments online.
Tens of thousands of eyes on me in real time.
'I can’t handle this stuff.'
As my mind went blank and I froze in place,
the crowd parted, opening a path.
Familiar faces approached.
The king in his ornate crown, guarded by Knight Commander Seymour, and Sharon, who looked even more mature now.
"Sage!"
Sharon was the first to run up to me.
Her face full of surprise and joy.
The king and Seymour looked moved too, but their positions made their demeanor more reserved.
"We knew you'd return. What an honor..."
The king's voice trembled faintly.
The young king bowed his head to me, who looked so much younger.
I wondered if a king should bow so freely.
But no one seemed shocked or tried to stop him.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"......"
As the king bowed, everyone in the plaza knelt in unison.
An utterly surreal sight.
I could feel my heart racing.
Sweat beaded on my palms from the tension.
'I really should take a photo of this. Total front-page news.'
Even amid the extreme anxiety, that thought crossed my mind.
A desire to somehow capture this moment.
I wanted to frame this scene and look at it over and over.
It felt truly bizarre.
A strange mix of panic, unease, and thrill all at once.
In complete contrast to me, Chohogi beside me was soaking it all in 100%.
It stood tall with a flag in hand, chest puffed out proudly.
Like it was the star of the show.
That thing definitely had narcissistic tendencies.
'Sigh, who the hell does it take after...'
As I sighed inwardly,
a strange sight caught my eye.
From the kneeling people.
From the fluttering hourglass flags everywhere.
Milky white light particles rose up.
Thousands of light clumps began converging on one spot.
Right toward the flag Chohogi was holding.
My flag resonated, emitting white light and absorbing every last bit of surrounding glow.
'This is?'