Forming the Ascending Party (1)

The moment he opened the community, he checked the announcements tab.

A new one had shown up before the previous post-recommendation event had even finished running its course.

What now?

The operation was clearly different from how the Tower of Despair had been run back in the game days. Back then there hadn’t been so much as a scrap of a side event. Now they were just throwing them out left and right?

“……What?”

Hyun Si-woon shot to his feet.

“First come, first served?”

Ha. This was about to get genuinely complicated.

“Si-woon!”

“Did you see the notice?”

Crash, bang! The members who had been resting in their own rooms must have checked it too—they came running in a startled rush.

“Yeah. Just saw it.”

Si-woon pressed his fingers hard into the space between his brows as if a headache were already blooming.

Six people?

The plan had just collapsed. Originally he had intended for the four of them to clear the third floor at a measured pace. As they climbed higher, they would naturally start talking with talented people, and from among those he would take in anyone whose temperament fit. But now—

This is too rushed.

A team mattered. Take people in without vetting them and something would go wrong. Teamwork could break down; in the worst case, someone could put a knife in their backs. Especially for Si-woon—he planned to have them learn martial arts through Ha-wol, and to feed them the right ones among the countless hidden routes stored in his head.

Hand that kind of massive benefit out to just anyone?

But giving up doesn’t sit right either……

The item called the Party Assembly Horn was far too tempting. The effect was absurd. You could split up for scouting and regroup instantly in an emergency; on a dangerous trap stretch, the one who knew the path could go first and call the rest through. It was clearly an item with endless uses and real strategic value.

“What are we going to do?”

“We’re out of time. There are only a hundred team slots and the community is overflowing with Ascenders. The cutoff is a matter of minutes!”

Si-woon’s mind raced. Kang Si-a offered her own view.

“I think forming a team first is what matters. Even if it doesn’t work out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later and we have to disband, we should at least secure the reward. There might even be a function to remove members after we create it.”

“True. You’re not wrong. But we can’t just pull random strangers out of the community either.”

Si-woon looked around at all of them.

“Does anyone know an Ascender they actually trust?”

“I don’t.”

Baek Do-hee shook her head.

“Hmm. I know a few, but they’re all former streamers…… and they probably already have their own teams.”

Baek Yeon-ho didn’t have anyone suitable either.

Kang Si-a?

“If I had people like that…… wouldn’t I already be climbing with them?”

Ah. Fair enough. Given Si-a’s personality—the same girl who had boldly asked to join Si-woon—if she had trusted people, she would already have formed a team with them. She had ended up stuck with Yu Jae-jun’s lot precisely because she didn’t.

No choice, then?

Si-woon let out a thin sigh. No matter how much he wanted the reward, he could not take just anyone. Better to abandon the reward than do that. He had planned to go without it from the start anyway.

“If they don’t have to be people who already cleared the second floor, I do know a few.”

“You do?”

“There are some acquaintances ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I met at the athletes’ village and on the national team. Should I reach out?”

“I’d prefer spear and blunt weapon users, if possible.”

It wasn’t pure stubbornness about building a team with different roles. In the hidden routes that would come later, there were cases where each person’s weapon was necessary.

“I’ll ask around.”

“Alright. If nothing comes of it, we drop this event.”

“Yes.”

Kang Si-a moved to a corner and opened her friends window. For someone who had only called them acquaintances, she had still managed to register them as friends at some point.

There was one fact that Hyun Si-woon—who had spent his days shut indoors playing games—did not know.

An Ascender’s friends window was actually linked to real-world connections. In other words, if someone with whom you shared a real bond had also become an Ascender, their name would appear even without a friend request, tagged with a label that said they might be someone you know.

Kang Si-a had lived in the athletes’ village and had been a national team member. She had met countless people with physical talent, and as a result she had enough friends that she actually had to scroll. Of course, she had never contacted them first. Some of them were people she had barely exchanged faces with.

“Haa.”

Si-a rubbed her palms together and sighed. Against her natural temperament, she now had to make the first move. If that was what the team needed……

Swipe, swipe!

One by one she tapped names and sent messages. The content was roughly the same each time: there was a new event that had just gone up; did they happen to use a spear or a blunt weapon? She was looking for party members in a hurry—could they talk for a moment?

After sending them all out, the waiting was pure nerves. One minute, then two, ticked by. She could feel the eyes of Si-woon and the others on her. It was a little heavy. The team’s fate—and that coveted Party Assembly Horn—rested in her hands.

And then, in that exact moment—

Ding!

The first reply came from someone named Hwang Dae-un.

Hwang Dae-un.

An elite judo athlete the same age as Kang Si-a. A national team prospect who had been the ace of the youth squad.

“Haa.”

At that answer, the crease between Si-a’s brows eased a little.

At least we avoided the worst case?

After asking whether he was already on an active team, she checked the other messages as they arrived one by one. Unfortunately, the rest used different weapons.

And then—

“Ah!”

Jang Cha-yul unnie!

A former sports climbing athlete who had worked as a rehab support trainer for the national team.

Good impression, and she was famous for being kind.

This much she could trust enough to introduce.

“We’re good!”

Kang Si-a stood up with a bright shout and gave a quick rundown of the people who had replied.

“Okay.”

Si-woon, who had been looking over the Ascending Party tab, nodded.

“Let’s meet them first. To register an Ascending Party we have to gather in one place, so tell them to get here as fast as they can. We’re short on time. I’ll decide after I see them myself.”

Already thirty-two of the first-come one hundred teams had been filled. That many parties of six had already been ready to go!

“Yes! I’ll tell them to come right away!”

Not long after they had moved locations, a hearty voice rang out from the entrance.

“Si-a! I’m here!”

A young man with a massive build and a short sporty cut strode in—someone who looked like he had trained hard. In his hand he carried a mace that still seemed unfamiliar, but heavy. Hwang Dae-un.

His gaze went to Kang Si-a first, then swept over Si-woon and the others around them. And then—

“Hyun Si-woon hyeong-nim!”

He bowed at a perfect right angle.

“I heard about you from Kang Si-a. She said you’re an incredible powerhouse. If you’ll take me as a teammate, I’ll do everything you tell me to!”

Unexpected. Si-woon had expected someone a little rougher around the edges, but the man had manners. Maybe it was the athlete background?

“Good. Wait a moment.”

Si-woon returned the courtesy. He had a simple baseline for dealing with people: mirror them. If the other person showed respect, he showed respect back. If they acted like trash, he paid it back several times over.

He had barely finished speaking when another figure quietly stepped through the entrance. Unlike Hwang Dae-un, she was a woman with a calm, sharp impression. The long tied-back hair and balanced physique spoke of her history as a climber. A cloth-wrapped spear hung across her back. Jang Cha-yul.

She was not as loud as Hwang Dae-un, but she calmly scanned the surroundings as if taking the whole situation in. When her eyes met Si-woon’s, she gave a light bow and spoke first.

“Hello. I’m Jang Cha-yul. I came after Si-a contacted me.”

“Yes. Please sit over here.”

Both of them sat on the barrels that had been set out in advance. Neither of them gave a bad first impression.

And then—

— Hmm.

Ha-wol, floating above Si-woon, looked the two of them over with interest.

Seeing something?

He gave a slight nod—gesture enough that if she had something to say, she should say it.

— First, that young man. His frame is large, but the greenness has yet to leave him. His energy is not murky, yet his blood-qi runs far too hot—that is his flaw. He will need to be tempered well at someone’s side.

Ha-wol’s appraisal was cold.

— Still, he looks more talented than that Baek Yeon-ho fellow. His nature is the sort that follows the strong when he sees them, so you should have no trouble keeping him in hand.

Whoa.

She could tell that much just from a face? That was actually broken.

— ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As for that woman…… Hmm. Her will is straight and her energy is clean. She is not the type to waste time on petty schemes. Her talent is not quite on the level of that archer girl, but it shows well enough. At that level…… she will not become a real obstacle to your climb.

That was her judgment of Jang Cha-yul. Si-woon liked what he heard.

So she’s saying they’re trustworthy?

Lines like “her will is straight” and “not the type to waste time on petty schemes” were essentially a passing grade on reliability.

“Good.”

Si-woon made his decision. He would take them in.

“Both of you are welcome to join our team. We need to register the Ascending Party right now, so please cooperate. Everything else we can talk about after.”

“Yes, hyeong-nim!”

Hwang Dae-un answered with full energy.

“Yes.”

Jang Cha-yul nodded calmly in agreement. Watching them, Kang Si-a let out a breath of relief.

They opened the Ascending Party tab.

What—already.

Only thirty-two slots left.

Si-woon hurriedly hit the create button, confirmed his own ID in the leader slot, then asked for Baek Do-hee’s, Baek Yeon-ho’s, Kang Si-a’s, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hwang Dae-un’s, and Jang Cha-yul’s UIDs and entered them one after another to send invites. Six names filled the member list.

“Everyone accept!”

That was all it took.

Ding!

“We did it!”

“Whew, that was close!”

“Nice!”

Short breaths of relief and cheers broke out. Somehow, a perfect team of six had come together. Awkwardness and anticipation crossed in the air as Hyun Si-woon’s interview time began.