Lord of Weapons (1)

"Nice to meet you. Name's Shin Sohee."

She had her jacket draped over her shoulders like a cape and extended her hand for a shake. I took her hand gently.

"I'm Kang Woojin."

"Huh. You look different from what your sister told me."

"Don't fall for him, now."

Shin Sohee snorted at Kang Yena's warning.

"Worried I'd seduce the new hire? That's not who I am, Manager Kang Yena. When I'm given a job, I see it through to the end. That's me."

"All right, enough chit-chat. We were supposed to start at nine in the morning, but someone here dug in her heels and pushed it to noon. We need to move fast. Let's start with equipment checks."

Kang Yena hurried us along and ordered the gear inspection. Helmet, bulletproof vest, sword. I ran my hands over each one, checking that the locking mechanisms held fast.

"A sword? So that's why they called me in."

"Absolute safety at the low floors. That's the goal this time."

"Leave it to me."

"And Woojin — what weapon popped up in your tutorial? It can't have been just the sword."

Ah. This was the anomaly I'd mentioned on the forum — the thing only I seemed to have. According to Blue, most people only got one or two.

"Should I list them all? People online seemed pretty shocked about it."

"You got a lot? Go ahead, tell me freely. So you're saying you can register plenty of weapons to your status window."

So that's what it meant. Did that mean I didn't have to stick to just the sword?

Shin Sohee added an explanation from the side.

"They're sub-weapons at best. Once you pick your main weapon, you're stuck with it for life."

"I see.... Off the top of my head, then. Rifle, pistol, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, flamethrower...."

"Whoa, hold on. Stop, stop. You got that many?"

Kang Yena slapped a hand over my mouth at lightning speed. Apparently the other hunters in the waiting room had overheard too, because a murmur began to spread through the room.

Shin Sohee's eyes went wide.

"Lord of Weapons...."

"What is that? Why are you so surprised?"

"Er — take this first, we'll talk on the way. Let's hit the shooting range before anything else."

Kang Yena handed me a holstered pistol. It looked like an automatic.

The range was in the basement. As we rode the elevator down, Kang Yena continued her explanation.

"The Lord of Weapons is someone who can wield a large number of sub-weapons. A talent freak among talent freaks. The system identifies every weapon you're capable of handling and pulls them out for you — meaning the system itself has recognized your potential as a hunter."

"So should I toss the sword? Because I really don't want to."

"It's your main weapon, so it won't go anywhere. Your skills will mostly unlock in relation to that main weapon, though. Once something's etched into your status window, it can never be erased. The upside is you'll be able to use weapons of every type suited to all kinds of environments."

Shin Sohee filled in more of the picture.

"There's a famous hunter who's a Lord of Weapons. The highest climber in the world. She's a distant relative of mine."

"Oh, so people like that exist. She must be strong, right?"

"Strong isn't the word for it. Which means you've got the talent too, Kang Woojin. When you swung that sword in your tutorial, what was it like?"

"I just swung it. And killed."

At my offhand answer, the two women traded a silent look.

At the range, I picked up the basics of pistol handling.

And I learned how to register weapons to my status window, too.

'Quite a few open slots, huh.'

"Okay, that's enough practice — let's move out. And these are spare magazines. Use them if things go sideways."

Three magazines slotted into the chest of my bulletproof vest. Inside each one, bullets glowed with a faint yellow shimmer.

"Stun rounds. Fire them point-blank and — zzap — the muscles lock right up."

They ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked fun, but I had no intention of using them.

I was the one who'd chosen the sword. One way or another, I would prove the sword's superiority.

We went back up, registered at the counter, and opened the portal.

"Please proceed to Portal Chamber 12."

Shin Sohee and I stepped inside, just the two of us. Outside the door, Kang Yena struck a fighting pose.

"Absolute safety. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Leave it to me."

The door slid shut. Two people, man and woman, sealed in a narrow space.

During the brief wait, I snuck a sideways glance at Shin Sohee — and her hourglass figure filled my vision. Especially with that tube top on, my eyes kept drifting to her chest.

It should've been rude to stare at a woman, but she only straightened her back and proudly bared the toned midriff beneath, two strips of abs carved into her stomach.

'Whoa. Abs. Actually moving.'

While I was admiring her confident profile, a rippling blue shimmer bloomed right in front of us.

"Whoa."

Space itself split apart, and the landscape on the other side came into view.

"Follow me. We start on Floor 1."

The world beyond the portal. A world far too vast to be mere tower interior was waiting for me.

An endless forest stretched in every direction, and the moisture-laden air dampened my nose.

"Every floor comes with its own world. And each one hands you a mission. If you enter a portal chamber together, you're recognized as one party and share a clear objective."

She drew the silver pistol from her holster and checked the cylinder. It looked like a revolver straight out of a Western movie, but it was something I didn't know the name of.

'Not one of those single-action whatchamacallits.'

It was the only Western gun I knew, and this one was longer.

"Our goal this week is up to Floor 5 at most. A boss appears on 5, so most people play it safe on 4. That's the target your sister requested, too. Today, we take it easy and stick to Floor 1."

"How far have you climbed, Sohee?"

"Floor 20."

"Is that high?"

"Hmm. For a solo climber, yeah."

Ah, right — Shin Sohee runs solo. The phrase "lone wolf" suited her to a tee.

She walked the dangerous places all by herself. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Impressed, I clapped my hands together in applause, and she gave an embarrassed little shrug.

"I'm nothing special."

"Why not? You seem like a hell of a fighter."

"You'll see soon enough. I've got a flaw."

Before she could even explain what that flaw was —

A rustle came from the brush.

Before I could react at all, her hand had already whipped the silver pistol from her hip.

Drawing it, thumbing the hammer back with her left hand, aiming with her right — all in one fluid motion.

Flame spat from the muzzle, and a goblin hiding in the undergrowth shrieked.

Pew!

'What the — that's not a gunshot.'

It wasn't the sound of an actual firearm at all; it was closer to a movie sound effect. The kind of noise you'd hear in some old spaghetti Western.

Pew!

She dispatched the next goblin just as effortlessly.

Before I could even spot where it was hiding, a hole had been drilled clean through its skull.

"Let me hunt a few too...."

"Next one's yours."

I drew my sword in advance and advanced, watching all four directions — me up front, Shin Sohee behind.

A huge tree appeared. As I scanned its upper reaches, I caught a small shadow shifting.

"Ah, there!"

Clamped to the trunk, the goblin aimed a long stick our way — the same pipe gun as before, in a slightly longer model.

Bang!

A sound like a birthday popper filled the air.

On pure reflex, I raised my sword to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guard my chest. Yet I felt no impact — not on the blade, not on my chest.

Pew!

I couldn't even process what had happened at first. Only belatedly, at the far edge of my vision, I saw a lump of lead arcing away in a long parabola.

'Did she just shoot a bullet... with a bullet?'

I marveled at Shin Sohee's almost supernatural marksmanship.

Sword still raised high, I leapt into the air. The goblin lurking on the branch took my blade through the shoulder and tumbled down.

As it sprawled across the ground, I drove my sword straight through its skull. Blood spattered, and the goblin's headless body crumpled. Its severed head, mottled and camouflaged like a painted face, rolled free.

The goblin dissolved into black powder and vanished.

"You said you cleared the tutorial with plain old catches?"

"Yes."

"That's seriously impressive."

"Really?"

She gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"That kind of thing isn't normal for a rookie."

Two goblins remained. We searched hard, but nothing showed itself.

Maybe Floor 1 was the tutorial on stubbornly hunting down every last one to the end — or maybe not.

"Phew, it's hot."

The humidity was the real culprit, more than the temperature. As Shin Sohee fanned her sweat-dampened top, I found myself sneaking a look at her cleavage.

Ah, even when I didn't want to look, my gaze kept sliding that way.

'It's a man's instinct, that's all.'

Shin Sohee must have caught my glance, because she smirked.

"For a guy, you sure seem to like the lewd stuff."

'Crap, busted.'

My face burned with embarrassment.

"W-well, that's.... Haha, sorry."

"It's fine. No need to apologize. I should thank you for looking."

She brushed it off like it was nothing and set off to comb the forest.

'She's grateful when people look? What a mentality.'

Maybe that's what a big chest did — it made the heart generous too.

The fourth goblin's whereabouts turned out to be underground.

I lunged in one burst of speed and skewered its head with the tip of my blade. It was no different from whacking a mole.

"It was digging a tunnel."

"The next one might be doing the same."

When we searched the ground with particular focus, sure enough, the last one was lying in wait in a burrow. I speared its head the same way and finished it off.

Something felt lacking. Probably because Shin Sohee had poached two of the goblins — I hadn't managed to level up.

5, 4, 3....

Poof.

We were back in the portal chamber.

About forty minutes, and we'd cruised through Floor 1 with ease.

"Having your help made it so easy."

"That's my job."

Stepping out through the door, we were greeted by Kang Yena.

"We'll process the coins through our office. Here — hold out your hand."

It was similar to opening a status window. When I murmured 'Inventory' in my head, a list appeared floating above my palm. I pulled out the coins, and five gold coins settled onto my hand.

Shin Sohee looked at the coins in my palm and gave my shoulder a pat.

"Since it's a rookie's first coins, I'll pass on my cut. Consider it a gift."

"Oh — are you sure?"

"Take them. Put it toward your gear."

I bowed my head deep in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thanks at her generosity. It was practically handing over the entire day's pay.

"It's industry custom, so you can accept."

Kang Yena nodded with a satisfied smile.

"What will you do with them?"

"Can I sell these to the Korean government?"

"The government does most of the buying. There's a market rate on private exchanges, but the government can't quite keep up with it."

Kang Yena offered her own advice.

"You lose money dealing with the government."

Roughly 100,000 won per coin, it seemed. The private exchanges that traded them globally were paying around 120,000 apiece.

'And even with all that budget pulled together, they still come up short, huh.'

Ah. The Korean government was strapped for cash.

Not only were the coins the climbing hunters brought out insufficient — the government buying those coins was short on money too.

In other words, selling to the government meant taking a financial hit.

"Sell all of them to the Korean government and convert them to cash, please."

Shin Sohee began studying my face intently.

"Seriously? You're losing money."

I gave a shrug.

"It's not like I'm in this to get rich."

More than anything, there was the sheer fun of experiencing the Tower firsthand — and keeping Korea alive.

Both mattered to me.

'Because I've grown fond of my new family.'

A casual stroll's worth of work for 500,000 won. Not bad pay at all.