That Bear Suit Is Completely Ridiculous
Still the dark hours before dawn.
Director Lim Wanseop left his house.
He drove his own car into the Awakening Management Bureau parking lot, then almost immediately switched to another vehicle and pulled back out.
Where he was headed remained unclear.
East to west. West to south. Then north again.
He entered a tunnel in a sedan and emerged in an SUV. Sometimes he rode in the passenger seat; sometimes he wore an old-man disguise. Tracking how or where he was moving was nearly impossible.
He hadn't even told his staff the destination. He had only issued a few instructions: prepare vehicles at designated spots; wear specific clothes and hairstyles and drive the agreed routes. Measures to shake off any possible tail.
The place he finally reached was an alley in OO-dong. It had taken five hours. On a direct route the distance would have taken less than one.
Beep-beep—
He parked well away and walked into the alley he had already scouted.
Two capybaras waited at the meeting point.
Actual capybaras, that is. Or rather, two humans wearing capybara heads.
"Oh no."
The director felt as if he could already see his own future.
"Whoa, I almost didn't recognize you."
"You're telling me. What is that getup?"
"Hehe. I told you. Social Anxiety."
"And wearing this is supposed to help?"
"Who knows? It might make things a little better…?"
Yeah, right.
He was about to give a noncommittal answer and head into the building when Jin Sujin squeezed her eyes shut and blocked his path.
"You have to wear one too, Director."
"…Let's be careful with titles."
"Ah, yes sir."
"Just call me Mister."
A bear mascot head was shoved down over the careful disguise he had already put on.
"So all that effort was wasted."
"That's why we said we'd handle the costumes."
"How was I supposed to imagine it would be something like this?"
The mascot head was stiflingly hot.
"You have to endure it…!"
"I know."
They climbed the stairs.
In the narrow hallway of the villa: two capybaras and one bear, every pair of hands full of bags.
"We'll go in first. We need to give her a heads-up."
"Very well."
Creeeak—
Sounds of movement came from inside.
"We're here!"
"Don't come out yet, Hiki!"
"We'll call you when we're ready!"
"Whoa, what the—that's adorable."
"What? What?"
"I peeked. She's wearing a grasshopper suit."
"Insane. We can't take a picture, right?"
"Absolutely not."
Clack-clack—
There was also the sound of something being set up. His imagination ran wild. What kind of person was she? They said she was a child—would there be sides of her that didn't seem childlike at all?
"Come in!"
The residence was ordinary. Neither particularly shabby nor especially stylish—just a two-room place. Chairs had been arranged in the living room so they could sit facing each other, with a translucent partition between them. You could only see the other person through a small hole.
"And this is…?"
"This too…. Hoping it might make things a little easier."
"We'll wait outside."
"Understood."
"You can come out now, Hiki!"
One minute later, the bedroom door opened. A young girl edged out and sat opposite him. Through the screen he could make out a green silhouette. Smaller than he had expected. If this really was Hiki—how had a body this tiny ever thought of climbing the Tower?
"Are you Hiki?"
"…Yes."
He studied her through the small hole. The silver hair was unusual. Mixed heritage? Or a side effect of awakening? Everything else was ordinary—though "ordinary" was a stretch for looks that striking. Large eyes, a round face. Even frozen with tension, a certain cuteness shone through. She would have made a perfect child actress, he thought. Though given her personality, that would never happen.
Extreme Social Anxiety….
No point dragging the conversation out. He went straight to the point.
"How do you intend to prove that you are Hiki?"
"Under your feet."
Under his feet?
"When did this…."
Inside the mascot head, Lim Wanseop's eyes went wide. Wooden stems everywhere. They filled the floor and climbed all the way to his knees. Even more astonishing: he hadn't noticed until it had gotten this far.
"Impressive, I'll give you that…. Hm?"
He looked up again and startled. Will-o'-the-wisps drifted before his eyes, dancing like a drone show.
"Blackout."
A mass of water flew from beyond the partition, swallowed the will-o'-the-wisps, and vanished without a trace.
"Huh."
He was impressed. Flashy and precise. How many skills had she woven together? Summoning fire, water, and wood; operating them while slipping past mana detection; controlling everything with fine precision. He could not believe this was the work of a climber below the tenth floor. No magic awakener he knew could pull off a performance like this.
But it still wasn't enough for certainty.
Whether it has killing power is another matter.
The stems wrapped around his limbs didn't hurt, and the flames were tiny. This alone wouldn't earn a high score.
"What floor are you currently climbing?"
"N-ninth floor."
"Then you could reach the tenth today."
"Yes…."
He handed over a hunter body cam—equipment for combat feedback and tactical exchange among awakeners. The video files were encrypted so no editing was possible.
"Can you climb the tenth floor wearing this?"
A nod. The girl's head moved so slightly it was almost invisible.
"I'll go—quickly…."
"You can take your time."
"No. Being here is… uncomfortable……."
"…Then go."
The child took the body cam, muttered something, and vanished in a shimmer of mana. She had entered the Tower.
All that remained was waiting. If her clear time matched Hiki's, he would have no choice but to believe.
"Hwaah!"
Almost collapsed.
Once I was in the Tower, I could finally breathe. Felt like coming home for real. Home is supposed to be the place you can lie down and relax. If you can't, it isn't home.
And what was with that bear earlier.
The two capybaras had shown up in fluffy heads too? Seriously. Do they think I'm some elementary-school girl or what?
Ridiculous. Completely absurd.
Though, to be fair, it had made things a little more comfortable.
Anyway. Time to climb the tenth floor. And wear a body cam like the other hunters. Press the button and a red light comes on, they said.
Click-click—
Why isn't it working? Broken?
"Ah."
I was still wearing the sunglasses. The red light was already on. Recording.
"Ahem!"
I needed to watch what I said.
Musang, I can't talk to you today.
I couldn't let the whole country see me as some weird kid playing with a staff. Stick to the necessary lines only. Like a briefing. In the videos I'd watched, every hunter briefed before they started.
How did they do it again?
"Ahem, um, so…… ah."
Got it.
"Hellooo, uh, I'm Hiki."
Uh…
"This is hell."
No, not hell.
"This is Hell Nanido. Uuum, tenth-floor climb, gonna show you something."
Damn it, why is my pronunciation like this?
Should I reshoot?
Nah, forget it. It'll only come out weirder. Just go.
Fifth visit to the grassland map already. I followed the familiar path. Found the wolves quickly. Two enormous adult wolves, plus Wolf-boy and Wolf-girl and their eight siblings.
No. Stop imagining them as cute.
It makes me soft. Reset. Over there: a vicious gang of wolf bandits. Two that look like leaders and eight grunts. You bastards. Die.
"Musang."
I held the staff out toward the body cam. I'd planned to spin it a few times with a flourish, but—
Might drop it.
Restraint today.
Instead, let's make the magic as flashy as possible.
I had to show them I was Hiki so thoroughly they couldn't even argue. Full power.
Ssssss—
First I spread a mana pool over a wide area. Then projected mana into it. Far more than I'd used clearing the ninth floor. When the mana started to lap and ripple, I shifted the pool under the wolves—
"Wood Bind."
KWA-DUDUDUK—
Like snatching prey, the stems seized the wolves by the ankles.
And that's not all.
Today I'd prepared a support spell too, in case any of them tried to run.
Gurrrrrrr— Kugugu—
At the edge of the mana pool, thin stems wove together in a loose lattice. Line by line they gathered—vertical, horizontal, diagonal—building a tall fence. A dense wooden prison rose into place.
Feeling a little drained.
I'd used about half my internal mana. But every wolf was captured, leaders included. Today's clear was basically done.
"Fireball."
The mana I'd been circulating while building the fence—I pulled it all out at once.
Fwoosh—
Fireballs rose one by one around me. I sent them high into the sky so the camera would catch them clearly. Dropping them like this would guarantee a clear.
But we're not done yet!
Sharply carved chunks of ice went skyward too. Ice and fireballs spun in slow circles above the fence.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
I'd only planned this magic in my head, and it came out better than I'd imagined.
Capture it first.
I used both the body cam and the status window to record the scene. Authentication shot secured.
Now fall.
"Shooting Star."
KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG—!!!
Definitely not a wolf family—a pack of savage wolf thugs, wiped out in a single stroke!
The clear message arrived almost immediately.
You have cleared the 10th floor.
"Ah, the tenth-floor clear line just came up. Score is…."
"Eight thousand nine hundred forty! Whoa! I think that's my personal best."
All that effort paid off! SSS rank, of course, and global first place as well. Another climb finished on a high note.
I took the post-clear authentication shot and returned.
Ding—
Lim Wanseop's smartphone chimed. Over the flood of urgent messages hunting for him:
8940 points.
New global #1.
Eight thousand nine hundred forty. An absurd score. What on earth did you have to do to earn that?
"Now we just need the child to come back…."
Climb scores were announced with the clear. But climbers only returned after finishing cleanup—using fragments, farming, and the rest. At most five minutes or so, but there was always a slight lag.
Lim Wanseop waited for Hiki, restless.
"Please…. Please come back right now."
Then the mana around him rippled.
"C-could it be—!"
The bear mascot shot to its feet.
Poof—
The girl appeared in exactly the same spot as before.
"Hiki…! It really is Hiki! Hahahaha!"
Inside the head, his face split into a huge grin. It was done. Really done! She really was Hiki! He felt like he could fly. He wanted to throw his arms to the sky and jump up and down. He wanted to scoop the child up and spin her around. At the very least he wanted a firm handshake and a high-five. Without the information he had on Hiki—and without superhuman self-control—he would have done all of it.
"Ah—the footage…. May I check the footage?"
"Ah……. Yes."
The child pulled the memory card from the body cam and handed it over. Lim Wanseop plugged it into his laptop and watched.
— I'm Hiki…. This is hell. Hell Nanido….
"Ugh…."
Hiki shuddered. The director didn't notice; his eyes were locked on the screen. She found the path quickly, then the magic began. After that it was one shock after another. Magic even high-floor hunters wouldn't dare attempt unfolded in a continuous stream, and none of it looked like a strain. She almost seemed to be playing.
And then—
This easily….
This powerfully. This overwhelmingly. Clear.
He checked the timestamp under the video. It matched the public release of Hiki's record perfectly. And that soft muttering:
— 8940 points….
If that child wasn't Hiki, how could she have hit exactly 8940?! It couldn't be faked. It was impossible to fake! She had to be Hiki!!! Holy shit! It's Hiki, Hiki!
"Hiki—Hiki-nim!"
"Y-yes……."
"Would it be all right if we proceeded with registration immediately?"
"G-go ahead."
"And may we release the footage as well?"
After a brief hesitation, the child agreed. The director sent the video file straight to the Bureau, then called a subordinate.
— Director, where the hell are you righ—
"That's not important! I just sent you an email, yeah?"
— Sir?
"Check it right now. There's a video. It's the original of Hiki's tenth-floor clear—post it immediately!"
— Wha? Y-yes sir?
"Don't 'yes' me, just fucking do it!"
Through the receiver came the frantic clatter of a keyboard.
"And drop the Hiki registration announcement we prepared—make it official—and get a briefing ready. I'll deliver it myself."
— W-when should we—
"One hour. No—make it four hours from now."
The call ended. Only then did Lim Wanseop come back to himself.
"Ah—the swearing…. I apologize."
"It's fine…."
After that the bear composed itself. In front of Hiki he bowed at a full ninety degrees, utterly formal.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for choosing us."
A tear was running down his face inside the mascot head; Hiki would never know.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Aww, it's nothing…. You're welcome.
That was what Hiki thought as she gave a limp little wave. Thanks or no thanks, she just wanted to crawl under her blanket.
She sent Lim Wanseop on his way as quickly as she could, then went straight back to bed and fell asleep—completely unaware that the entire world had just been turned upside down.