I've Become a Celebrity
Countless notification windows appeared before my eyes.
I checked the biggest and most noticeable ones first.
[Tower 1st Floor clear rewards are being calculated!]
- 5 Lowest-grade Magic Stones
- 2 Lowest-grade Health Recovery Potions
...
"Oh, jackpot."
Actually, I don't know anything besides the Magic Stones.
As the notification window disappeared, items dropped in front of me with a thud.
Shiny stones; those must be the Magic Stones.
And a potion similar to the one I received from that ajusshi earlier.
Other miscellaneous items. I'm sure I'll find a use for them somewhere.
Just then.
[Humanity's first sub-1-minute clear (1st floor) bonus is being applied!]
[All rewards are tripled!]
A new notification window appeared, and the items that had fallen earlier were enveloped in light.
When the light faded, there were three times as many items as before.
"Oh!!"
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
According to the sticky post by the gallery admin, rewards on the 1st floor of the Tower are stingy.
Since the 1st floor is basically a tutorial, even on Hard difficulty, the reward is just one lowest-grade Magic Stone.
But I ended up with a whopping 15 of them.
I don't know how much they're worth, but I know for sure that they're expensive.
And they even gave me potions and junk on top of that?
'What would I have done without the pottery I got from that ajusshi.'
I should go thank him next time.
I got on my knees and started putting the rewards into my cloth wrap one by one.
That's when I noticed the lower bodies of three Morning Goblins.
"What's that?"
I stared intently at the cut surface and saw something sparkling.
As I got closer, I saw a Magic Stone.
Ah, right, they said Magic Stones come out even when you catch monsters!
"So, Magic Stones come out even if you blow up the upper body."
Free Magic Stones, sweet!
Humming to myself, I put those Magic Stones into the cloth wrap as well.
I had gathered all the rewards, so I really, truly intended to go back.
"...Can I take that too?"
My eyes kept drifting to the Morning Star neatly placed next to the Morning Goblins.
There were three of them, but two had their ends blown off because they got caught in my magic.
There was one that looked intact.
'Wouldn't it be okay to take one?'
"Urgh, hnnng...!!"
But this thing, it's way heavier than I thought!!
I secured the cloth wrap tightly to my back and tried to lift it with both hands, but it was much heavier than I expected.
Still, it wasn't impossible to lift.
I barely managed to lift it with both hands.
"Phew, is that really everything now?"
Is it really?
Hmm, yeah, I've got everything.
"Alright, returning!"
When I shouted that out loud, a bright light enveloped me.
A moment later, when I opened my eyes again, I was in front of the Tower entrance.
But unlike before, there was almost no one around.
I guess they all went home.
'Going home should be easy.'
Just as I was carrying the cloth wrap with the rewards and dragging the Morning Star with both hands, I saw a familiar face in the distance.
'Isn't that the ajusshi?'
The ajusshi who gave me various equipment before I entered the Tower.
He was standing there with a nervous expression, biting his thumbnail.
'I should say thank you, right?'
I wanted to return the equipment and say thank you, but my feet wouldn't move.
Because the Morning Star was too heavy.
'...I'll leave this at home and go return it tomorrow.'
I moved in a direction where I wouldn't catch his eye and managed to return home safely.
Because it was so heavy, I called a taxi, which left my bank balance at 0 won, but I have a ton of Magic Stones.
I should look into how to trade those Magic Stones, too.
**
About 30 minutes later.
A notification was sent to all hunters around the world simultaneously.
[1st floor clear time has been shortened!]
A notification that a new record had been set on the 1st floor.
Of course, this notification itself wasn't anything special.
Every now and then, high-ranking hunters with nothing to do would do speedruns on the lower floors of the Tower.
People thought it was just that again.
Until they saw the next phrase that popped up.
[Humanity's first sub-1-minute clear has been achieved!]
[Clear time: 0 days 00 hours 00 minutes 10 seconds]
At that moment, the whole world turned upside down.
r/Tower
Title: Humanity's first 10-second clear. Who on earth is this person?
Previous world record: 15 minutes 42 seconds.
New world record: 10 seconds.
I do not think this is a bug in the Tower.
The Tower is accurate. It hasn't caused a single problem in the last 3 years.
If so, then who exactly is the owner of that record?
Not to mention the US, the country with the most and strongest hunters.
[What just popped up?]
Can the Tower even have bugs?
Even if it's the 1st floor, does a 10-second clear make sense?
ㄴ It's definitely a bug. There are at least 3 goblins, how can you clear that in 10 seconds?
ㄴ My point exactly.
ㄴ I lived long enough to see the Tower bug out, damn.
ㄴ But what happens if it's not a bug?
ㄴ What do you mean what happens. The hunter rankings have to be completely overhauled.
ㄴ Is it really that big of a deal?
ㄴ Are you a civilian?
ㄴ Yeah.
ㄴ Civilians use the Tower Gallery too. Anyway, it's f*cking huge. Even active A-ranks take at least 1 minute per goblin, 10-second clear? Not human, definitely.
Even though it was the middle of the night, the Tower Gallery started burning up with this topic.
Starting with posts speculating about who the hunter who set the new record was.
People even started fighting, divided into two camps: "The Tower causes bugs too" vs. "The Tower is omnipotent."
At that moment, the owner of the topic was.
"Hunyaaaa......."
Making a strange sound, he was fast asleep in bed.
**
At that time, Japan.
"...Yuzuru-nim. That is—."
"Quiet."
In the middle of a spacious room, a girl was meditating with her eyes closed.
At her single word, the servant attending to her felt their blood run cold.
'The sight of Yuzuru-nim being this agitated... it's the first time.'
How much time had passed?
Japan's S-class hunter, Yuzuru Kurose, opened her eyes.
And slowly, she read the notification window floating in front of her.
The notification that the 1st-floor record had been updated.
"...10 seconds, huh."
"Yuzuru-nim, there is a possibility of a bug, so don't worry—."
"I believe I told you to be quiet."
Her slender gaze turned toward the servant.
"Eek!!"
At the same time, the servant felt as if a sword was being held to their throat.
It was clearly an illusion. They knew that well themselves.
But the fear they were feeling right now was vivid and real.
Only when the servant bowed their head deeply did Yuzuru look away.
'...How did they do it?'
Yuzuru imagined the situation on the 1st floor in her mind.
10 goblins rushing in all at once.
Avoiding the goblins' annoying coordinated attacks, and cutting them down.
Clean, efficient movements.
The best record she had created after practice upon practice: 15 minutes 42 seconds.
She believed this record would never be broken in her lifetime.
But it was broken.
With an absurd record of 10 seconds.
Yuzuru was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"Find the person who cleared the 1st floor."
"Yes, yes! What should I do once I find them?"
"We will recruit them to our side."
Yuzuru is a person who thinks ahead.
A girl who doesn't obsess over personal achievements but knows how to see the big picture.
That is why Japan's strongest hunter, Yuzuru Kurose, made her choice.
"Interesting. If I meet them in person, I wonder how strong they'll be."
To make that person her ally.
And that wasn't just Japan's thought.
The US, China, Russia, Europe, etc.
Governments, hunter associations, and top hunters from all over the world started paying attention.
**
"Yawn, slept well......."
I stretched out.
Looking at the clock, it was already 10 AM.
'I seem to have become more sleepy since I got this body.'
It's a downside, but since I always sleep well, my brain was more active than ever.
Better than the other world where I lived sleeping 3 hours a day in a shed.
After jumping off the bed, I grabbed my old-fashioned phone and headed to the bathroom.
"Can't resist browsing the gallery while brushing my teeth."
I stepped onto the stool, squeezed toothpaste, and started brushing.
And the moment I entered the Tower Gallery.
"...Huh?"
I dropped the toothbrush I was holding.
[✪10-second guy is Korean?(3427)]
[✪Why 10-second guy is definitely Japanese(53)]
[✪Tower=Human theory possible?(214)]
[✪10 seconds isn't that much, don't overreact(21)]
...
All the best posts in the gallery were plastered with me.
I clicked on the one at the very top with the highest view count.
[✪10-second guy is Korean?]
The Korean Hunter Association just released an official statement.
It's not Japan, not China, not the US, and not an alien.
It's a hunter from the 'Republic of Korea'.
They even said that 10 seconds isn't a bug, it's an accurate record.
Here
(Image of the Taegeukgi waving)
Worship him.
ㄴ Dae-han-min-guk
ㄴ King God Korea
ㄴ King God Shin
ㄴ 10-second clear, how on earth did you do it?
ㄴ Seriously, the interest is this hot, can't you drop a guide video?
ㄴ Even if you're fast, it takes over 30 seconds per monster, but they killed them in one shot...
ㄴ Isn't this opening a new horizon for the hunter world?
ㄴ Not that big of a deal, don't overreact.
ㄴ It is that big, you idiot.
The reaction from the community is incredibly hot.
It seems to be a hot topic not only in Korea but also in Japan and the US.
But.
"10-second clear, is it really that much...?"
I feel like I could do a 1-second clear if I wanted to.
Isn't it just a matter of spamming Fireball the moment you enter?
But looking at people's reactions, I guess not.
Not just the niche community.
There are even rumors that major media outlets, and even the grandpas at Tapgol Park, are talking about this.
This brings up one question.
"Then how on earth are other hunters hunting?"
I guess I should look up how a normal hunter catches a goblin.
I finished brushing my teeth, washed my face, brushed my hair, and sat at my desk.
Turned on the computer and accessed YouTube.
"How to... hunt... goblins......."
When I searched, an official video uploaded by a large guild popped up at the top.
It has 30 million views, so it should be reliable.
When I played the video, a normal-looking hunter appeared.
"Hello, I'm Myth Man. Today, the monster that appears from the 1st floor is......."
"10-second skip."
The intro is too long.
I pressed the right arrow key a few times to skip to the part I wanted to see.
"...Now, let's start hunting. Hey, hold the camera straight."
After handing the camera to a colleague, the man who introduced himself as Myth Man stepped forward with a sword.
A goblin popped out shortly after.
And in the scene that followed.
"...What is that."
I couldn't help but be shocked.