Artemis (2)
Bubbling—
White steam rose from the magical hot spring. The moment the steaming water wrapped around Jun’s shoulders and the back of his neck, the fatigue that had piled up over several days seemed to melt away as if snow were vanishing under a warm sun.
"Ah... now this is it. This is the life..."
Jun rested his arms on the edge of the spring and let out a deep sigh.
Then came the hiss of a bottle cap twisting free. A chilled glass of beer was set down on the marble table beside the hot spring.
"Here, big brother first."
Minsu grinned brightly as he handed it over.
When Jun took the cold glass, the difference between the hot spring water and the icy surface traveled straight through his fingertips.
Gulp.
With the first swallow, the cold beer ran cleanly down his throat.
"Aaaahhh...!"
The shout burst from Jun before he could stop it.
A cold beer drunk while soaking in a hot spring. Was there a more perfect combination in the world?
"Hngh, oof, ughhh~."
Beside him, Minsu was already groaning under the hot spring’s magical effect, utterly dazed.
"You're a pervert."
Jun snorted with a laugh.
"It’s just too good, big brother. It feels like my whole body’s melting. No, seriously—am I actually melting?"
Minsu lifted his arm and stared at it in fascination.
The waste accumulated throughout his mana circuits was being purified by the spring’s magic so thoroughly it was almost visible.
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
Their beer glasses touched with a clear, ringing sound.
Clink.
Gulp, gulp, gulp—
As the cold beer flowed down his throat, the hot spring’s warmth wrapped around his entire body.
The blissful moment born from two extremes colliding.
"Feels like I’m alive."
Jun murmured with beer foam clinging to his lips.
Moments like this, found at the end of a life-threatening climb through the tower, were sweeter than any reward.
Master.
What.
Let me out too.
No.
Why not.
You didn’t pay the fee.
Then take it out already.
It’s 10,000 coins. Ten thousand coins.
Am I worth less than that!?
...Tsk.
Unable to withstand Andras’s relentless whining, Jun finally summoned him.
「Diablo-Andras」
Puff—!
"Kihahahahahaha! Ohhhhhhh!!!"
The massive, hulking Andras appeared.
"Kihihihihihi, yes... this is good, this is good..."
"Uuugh~. Oooohhh~."
Minsu and Andras sat side by side, continuing to groan in tandem.
Two beings completely lost in the magical effects of the hot spring.
Then Minsu shifted to find a more comfortable position, and his shoulder brushed against Andras’s.
"Huh?"
Startled, Minsu turned to look at Andras.
More precisely, at Andras’s shoulder muscles.
Even though Minsu himself was a two-meter giant and a former bodybuilder who proudly boasted a sculpted, muscular frame, Andras’s shoulders were... different.
Less like a demon of flame and destruction, more like a demon of the gym—sharp, brutal, and violently defined.
Andras must have felt Minsu’s gaze as well, because he turned his head and gave Minsu’s build a once-over.
...
...
A brief silence.
The two muscular beings exchanged looks as though assessing each other.
Nod—
Both of them blushed and nodded at the same time.
What are these perverts?
Now that they’d scrubbed off the old grime, it was time to grow.
As Jun stepped out of the hot spring, he sorted out his plans in his head.
There were three major things he had to do in Artemis.
First: pets.
Starting from the 25th floor, the pet system was finally unlocked.
Could I find one again?
A smile crept over Jun’s face as he thought about it.
Pets were one of the most important factors in a hunter’s efficiency and survival rate.
From tiny orcs and goblins and the like all the way to ordinary cats and dogs—there were plenty of choices.
But the real treasures were elsewhere.
Rare pets.
Those that doubled their master’s mana.
Those that detected danger in advance and gave warning.
Pets with truly special abilities existed.
And even more important than that...
Automatic collection.
Until now, every time a monster was killed, he’d had to pick up the loot himself and stuff it into a subspace pouch. It had been absurdly tedious.
But with a pet? It would gather everything on its own.
That means I can focus only on fighting.
And pets could grow, which made them even more appealing.
As they leveled up, they directly increased the master’s strength, agility, intelligence, and other stats, and some especially powerful species could even join the battle themselves and tear into enemies.
The second was skill fusion.
Jun’s eyes sharpened.
Taking the skills he already had and blending them properly until they were reborn as something on a completely different level.
Or I could learn an entirely new skill.
He now possessed skills far stronger and more varied than he ever had before his regression.
If he could fuse them correctly, or obtain an even stronger skill...
Just imagining it sent a chill through him.
The third: mounts.
Jun already had Angel’s Wings from the heavens, and since he had awakened as a demon, demon wings had naturally manifested as well.
But the others don’t.
Minsu, Jia, Suin, and Seoyeon.
He still needed to get flying mounts for his companions too.
They had no way to fly yet.
The higher he climbed, the less flight was a convenience and the more it became a necessity.
Especially after the 30th floor, there were stretches where progress was impossible without the ability to fly.
I’ll need to get them mounts too.
Artemis offered a wide variety of flying mounts.
From pegasi to griffins, even magic carpets created by sorcery.
All he had to do was choose the right one for each class and temperament.
Jun fell into thought for a moment.
"What should I do first?"
He didn’t have to think about it for long. The highest priority was obvious.
The Magic Tower.
That was where he would go to claim a power on an entirely new level.
The Magic Tower rising from the center of Artemis was a work of art in itself.
Built from white marble, the tower spiraled toward the sky, each tier engraved with delicate reliefs and magic circles.
Golden streams of magic wrapped around it like a pulse, twisting and throbbing with mysterious light.
As he approached the entrance, a massive bronze door opened of its own accord.
Whirr—
Beyond the magically operated doorway lay an even more breathtaking interior.
A vast circular hall rose all the way to the ceiling. Countless spellbooks floated in loops along the rounded walls, while crystal stones sparkled in midair at the center like bits of starlight.
And in the middle of that fantastical scene...
"Hello, Hunter. Welcome to the Magic Tower."
A woman in an elegant robe bowed her head.
With silver hair and emerald eyes, she was one of the mages who managed the tower.
Is Adeline in charge of Jia?
Jun smiled and greeted her warmly.
"Hi, Olivia."
"Y-yes...?"
Olivia looked flustered.
How did this Hunter she’d never met know her name?
"How did you know my name...?"
"The entry fee is 100,000 coins, right?" Jun said with a smile.
Before Olivia could say another word, he had already reached for his coin pouch.
"Y-yes, that’s right, but..."
Olivia stared at him in disbelief.
Most hunters were startled or hesitant when they heard the 100,000-coin entrance fee, but this one looked as if he already knew everything.
"Hunter Kim Jun is an exception. I’ll give you a discount and make it 50,000 coins!"
"Why?"
"Because you protected Artemis!!"
There was genuine gratitude in Olivia’s voice.
There wasn’t a single resident of Artemis who didn’t know about the spectacular feats Jun had pulled off.
Name:Olivia
Race:Human, NPC
Grade:C
Level:51
Favorability:70 / 100 (+30)
Title:Magic Tower Administrator
It was 40 before.
Looking at Olivia’s status window, Jun murmured to himself.
Maybe the Authority of the Fallen Royal House had played a part, with its bonus of +30 initial favorability with all NPCs.
Either way.
"Thanks. Then I'll take the 50,000-coin rate."
Thup—
After taking the coins, Olivia pointed toward the center of the hall.
"There are two paths."
Following her gaze, Jun saw two doors deeper inside the hall.
On the left stood a beautiful sapphire door that reminded him of the blue sea.
Its surface was engraved with a magic circle showing two rings intertwining and becoming one.
On the right stood a ruby door that seemed to burn like the sun.
Across its face shimmered a pattern of countless stars converging into a single new star.
"The sapphire door leads to the Chamber of Harmony, where existing skills can be fused together," Olivia explained softly.
"And the ruby door leads to the Chamber of Creation, where entirely new skills can be created and learned."
Both doors radiated powerful magical energy.
They seemed to tempt him, to urge him into choosing.
Jun looked back and forth between the two doors, thinking it over.
Should I fuse the skills I already have, or create something new altogether?
A normal hunter would have agonized over that choice.
But Jun only tilted his head slightly.
"Should we start with the Chamber of Harmony?"
"S-start with it...?"
Jun intended to experience both the Chamber of Harmony and the Chamber of Creation.
He had already given his companions enough coins to use both as well.
Why?
Because Jun was filthy rich.
Even after renting out Olympus Paradise for an entire week, he still had that much left.
The profits from the tower climb had been absurdly high.
Most of it was from first-clear rewards.
"Th-then... that really is incredible."
Olivia said in admiration.
Most hunters flinched at the thought of spending even 10,000 coins, but this one was planning to use the tower’s services multiple times.
"Then I’ll guide you to the Chamber of Harmony first!"
With bright energy, Olivia opened the sapphire door.
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