The Maze Mist Tower Clear Footage
Su-gun, Jinwoo's summon, had not gone to Yur. He had come to Artem.
"Greetings, Master Artem."
"I have confirmed the message through my master."
Just as Yur had done, Artem had also contacted Jinwoo. And just as with Yur, they had struck a favorable deal.
In exchange for a steady supply of equipment, Jinwoo would receive first negotiating rights on any minerals Artem mined—and Su-gun would be allowed to dig alongside him.
Artem looked at Su-gun with fresh astonishment.
Jinwoo truly was no ordinary craftsman.
"Ahem. Right then, Suhaeng-won. What should I call you?"
"Please feel free to call me Su-gun."
After the introductions, Artem headed straight into the cave to work the ore veins.
A cavern deep beneath the sea.
Only the top-ranking miner users in the world were permitted to enter this place. The difficulty was extreme; without exceptional mining skill, you could not even extract the deposits.
"Only the absolute top rankers can set foot here, Su-gun. Mining is brutal, and the monsters that spawn are vicious. So if you lack the skill…"
In the middle of Artem's explanation, a figure appeared deeper inside.
Su-gun looked that way. Artem did as well.
The number of miner users who could even enter this place was limited.
Artem, who was already here—and
"Huh…?"
Yur.
Yur glanced over, then spotted Su-gun standing beside Artem.
"Su-gun…?"
Why was Su-gun with Artem?
Su-gun merely bowed his head in greeting.
That was all it took for both of them to understand.
A fleeting wistfulness entered Yur's eyes. Countless emotions flickered there—and then settled into acceptance.
"Right. Artem and I have different techniques. But…"
Their mining styles were similar, yet fundamentally different. That was precisely why both of them could aim for the top.
He had no intention of giving up. Su-gun was an outstanding mining partner. And his master was none other than Jinwoo!
So one day he would make them look his way again.
"With better technique. With better ore."
Su-gun bowed deeply.
"I am sorry…"
He was a skeleton burdened with many sins. But there was no other choice. Su-gun's sole purpose was to bring ever more extraordinary minerals back to his master, Jinwoo.
For that goal, he could not afford to be selective about people.
Besides, Artem had something of his own to offer.
"Such a precious… sob… such an incredible pickaxe that Master Jinwoo gifted us—let's start with a round of applause for him, Su-gun."
An advanced technique.
"…Applause skill… input."
Unit 2, who had been sent to Mire, was also hard at work.
"Unit 2, that isn't how you do it."
Of course, the training under Mire was far harsher than what Su-gun faced with Artem. Producing Elven City specialties like Silcriana and Sundust required exceptional handiwork.
"Still, not bad. As expected of Master Jinwoo's summon—you have solid foundational skill."
Mire's words were strict, yet Unit 2's craftsmanship already surpassed that of most elves in the city.
"I will work even harder!"
Unit 2 refused to be satisfied with "not bad."
He needed genuine praise. Only then could he deliver high-quality cloth to his master. That was Unit 2's greatest goal.
"By the way, is that equipment you're wearing something Master Jinwoo made?"
Mire glanced at Unit 2's gear and smiled faintly.
"Whoever his teacher was, the work is truly excellent."
Unit 2 looked at her.
Regrettably, Mire did not seem to possess any advanced techniques. If he wanted to rival Su-gun, he needed to polish those as well.
But only for a moment.
The house was filled with lush green plants—and suddenly every one of them burst into wild, exuberant bloom.
It was the power of a delighted Mire, leaking out unconsciously.
An advanced technique expressed in the most roundabout way. It meant Jinwoo's fabric armor was of such high quality that merely looking at it lifted one's spirits.
"A-advanced…"
An extraordinarily advanced technique.
"Learning it looks… extremely difficult…"
But if he could master it—
"I can surpass Senior Su."
Unit 2 clenched his fists. From this moment on, his goal was to learn everything Mire had to teach.
"PD Han, no matter how I look at it, this is a bad idea."
The director's office at JBS.
Director Yoo clicked his tongue at PD Han Ingu.
"Do you even know who the other networks have signed? Huge names. People who can single-handedly pull ratings and views. To go up against that, you need a user of an even higher tier. Am I wrong?"
"Yes, you're right."
Han Ingu nodded.
"You know that, and you're still doing this?"
"That's exactly why, Director. We've already tried everything. We've thrown more money at rankers than any other network. And what were the results?"
"That was…!"
He wanted to blame the program format itself, but other PDs had failed with the same material, and even the external production company they had contracted had flopped.
In the end, the problem was JBS.
"We took heavy losses from the low ratings, and our image only got worse."
The perception that their quality lagged behind the competition had taken root. Of course, if they had produced something overwhelmingly good, that perception could have been buried—but there had been limits.
"Fine, fine. So what's the plan?"
"First I intend to receive the footage. Once I have it, I'll build the program around it and…"
"He's a craftsman, isn't he? How exactly do you plan to weave crafting footage into the main scenario?"
"That is…"
The director was thoroughly pessimistic. And understandably so.
Their results were already poor. Where were they supposed to use footage of a craftsman who generated neither aggro nor interest?
"We're almost out of time."
On top of everything, the clock was ticking.
PD Han clenched his teeth.
"He is the most unconventional person among everyone we've approached. Once the footage arrives, I can lock in a clear editing direction and build the program."
He had anticipated this reaction completely.
But Han Ingu was confident. If the user he had chosen was Jinwoo—if it was truly Jinwoo—then everything would be different.
"This might be your last chance. The talk about you inside the company isn't good. They're saying you've lost your touch. This is the New Gene main scenario. If we collapse here, we may never catch up. This is a critical crossroads."
The director let out a long sigh.
He knew. Of course he knew.
That was exactly why he had taken the bold approach.
But PD Han Ingu held his tongue.
There was only one thing he could say.
"Please trust me just once more."
"Ingu. Remember this. This really is the last time. If the rough cut quality isn't there… kill it fast. Sign some other ranker."
"…Yes."
Leaving the director's office, Han Ingu exhaled heavily. He still had conviction. But when pressure came relentlessly from above and from the sides, even the firmest conviction began to crack.
"Did I really choose wrong? Is this actually a mistake?"
PD Han Ingu wanted a breakthrough for JBS. If the network was going to climb higher, it needed a truly radical move.
Choosing Jinwoo had been exactly that—radical.
"It does break the existing mold… just like the director said."
He sighed again.
"Huuuu."
Beep-!
His phone chimed.
Sending the video today, PD-nim.
"!"
A message from Jinwoo.
Han Ingu hurried to the editing room.
"Finally."
Yes. Please send it and I'll check the video right away!
PD Han typed another message.
What kind of video is it, by any chance? If you could give a brief description and a title, I can check it immediately and we can decide on the direction together!
"What did he craft this time?"
PD Han Ingu naturally assumed Jinwoo had sent crafting footage.
He sat in front of the computer and waited for Jinwoo's email.
"It's here."
Yes, PD-nim. It's the Maze Mist Tower clear footage.
"…?"
PD Han Ingu clicked the video in confusion.
"Maze… Mist Tower clear footage?"
What on earth did that mean?
"Not crafting footage?"
Uh… did you send the correct file?
Yes. I sent the right one.
"He cleared the tower…? The main scenario tower…?"
His thoughts refused to organize themselves.
Jinwoo was a craftsman.
So of course he had expected crafting footage. He had never imagined a tower-clear video would arrive instead.
"So he didn't film it alone?"
PD Han Ingu hit play at once. Watching would tell him everything.
Shaaaaa—.
No.
Jinwoo was alone.
"This is impossible. The title is clearly a tower clear log. That means he cleared it solo…"
The moment it began, the tower appeared.
Then the footage unfolded from a first-person view—Jinwoo's perspective.
Floor 1.
He crafted equipment on the spot and cleared the floor with his summons. Watching him hunt the tower's powerful monsters for materials and forge gear right there was nothing short of staggering.
"How is he crafting equipment inside the tower?"
And what were those summons?
"He was never just a craftsman!"
Then Floor 2.
On the second floor he created an entirely new summon and used it to push forward.
"Insane. This is insane."
Jinwoo was no mere craftsman.
He crafted—and then wielded everything he made with absolute mastery.
How was one even supposed to describe this?
"This is huge."
If he had to sum it up in a single word, that was the one that fit best.
"Solo… he actually cleared it completely alone."
The main scenario tower that even renowned guilds tackled with elite raid teams—he had conquered it by himself.
Using equipment he had forged with his own hands.
"Then… the Jinwoo who first cleared it and this craftsman Jinwoo are the same person?"
They were one and the same.
PD Han Ingu's body trembled violently. He forced himself to take a deep breath.
"I…"
He had grabbed a lifeline. And an extremely sturdy one at that.
"I have to start right now."
This was it.
The moment this went up, it would generate massive buzz without fail.
PD Han immediately messaged the writers and assistant PDs.
Everyone get in here. Now!
It was time to edit.
After sending the video, Jinwoo was riding the pin eastward.
"Dongwoo already stripped out everything that needed stripping, so editing shouldn't take them long."
Jinwoo had not sent the raw footage as-is.
There was no need to show everything.
"People say it can't be copied, but that doesn't mean I have to reveal every last detail."
So through Dongwoo he had carefully cut out the critical crafting sequences.
"It should be pretty entertaining. Even I can tell the video shows off my strengths perfectly."
From Floor 1 all the way to Floor 4.
This was bound to be a fun watch.
"KBC has been advertising nonstop that they'll drop on Netfelix soon."
Yet no one paid the slightest attention to JBS or Jinwoo.
"That's how it is for now. Once it opens, things will be different."
Jinwoo was confident.
At the very least, he was confident he would not fail.