First Place

“…Haaah. Somehow, I managed to survive.”

I ran back through everything that had just happened.

A ridiculously strong goblin had gone kraaang and scared me half to death. I’d used the Miracle skill while silently begging for that goblin to die — and then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning had come crashing down from the sky.

The goblin took the hit and died. I cleared the first floor of the Tower.

What a blessing. What a blessing—

“Ugh, this feels so awkward…”

Once my head had fully cleared, embarrassment hit me harder than joy. No one had been watching, but just remembering the spectacle I’d made of myself set my face on fire.

I’d cried and screamed that I was scared and run for my life. Especially a young girl’s dignity… ugh…

I regretted every time I’d ever said hunters had it easy. They’d all been risking their lives in places this terrifying, fighting tooth and nail.

Hunters, I’m sorry. From now on, I will respect you.

“Still, I’m glad I didn’t die.”

Anyway, surviving was what mattered. Thanks to Lord Lumen carrying me, it had somehow worked out.

That Miracle skill I’d used at the end had been far stronger than anything I’d expected. It had genuinely startled me.

“Ahh, thank you, Lord Lumen…. So you really were real after all.”

I offered a prayer of gratitude toward Lumen and checked my status window.

Of course I’d used it all up. I’d only had one point to begin with, so that was only natural.

“If I want to climb the Tower any further, I’ll have to gather more Miracles.”

I already knew how to stockpile them, so that wasn’t a problem. First, I needed to proselytize believers.

I could lure them in on the Hunter Gallery the way a cradle-faith convert might, or go out and preach on the street. In my old body I would’ve been written off as a cultist, but with Lucia’s face, winning people over — men, women, young, old — was almost trivial.

Or I could just drop by an orphanage, hand out candy, and reel the kids in.

The Lumen denomination was a religion in name only. No regular meetings, no tithes — just pray. And if that was enough to receive Lord Lumen’s protection, it wasn’t a bad deal for the believers either. For me, the Faith supply chain was simple, which I liked.

“If I make a name for myself as a hunter, will believers start multiplying on their own?”

Come to think of it, they’d said I’d set a world record on the first floor. Was there anything that might help my reputation?

There it was. This might actually help quite a bit.

Without a second of hesitation, I spoke the name I’d already decided on.

“Saintess of Lumen.”

Even if it was only the first floor, a shift in the world rankings would carry at least a little weight. I even held a small hope that someone desperate might see it and offer a prayer to Lord Lumen.

“Hweh?! I’m in first place among these people?”

The rankings were packed with names that got thrown around constantly on the Hunter Gallery. And among them was everyone’s big brother Super Soldier — the man who’d held first place on every single floor. Sitting right under me, no less.

“Is this real?”

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

My mouth corners kept climbing skyward at something I still couldn’t believe. “World number one” hadn’t felt real — but looking at the names beneath mine, I finally understood what had happened to me.

I’d been born with an ultra-rare diamond-spoon class clenched in my teeth.

Lumen, you really are a god!

“Thank you. Thank you….”

From this day forward, I shall serve Lord Lumen with even greater devotion.

Amen.

…Was I even allowed to say Amen to Lumen?

Anyway — next.

This was the moment I’d been waiting for most.

“Ooooh, that’s a lot of stuff.”

Magic Stones. Rocks saturated with mana. Their energy efficiency was excellent and they carried no environmental cost, so modern society had completely replaced fossil fuels with them. Thanks to Magic Stones, even an F-rank could sit on a pile of money just by awakening as a hunter.

Normally the first floor handed out low-grade Magic Stones — was this intermediate because of Extreme difficulty?

Jackpot. Hehe.

Next, fifty thousand G. Gold was the currency used in the Tower shop. You could buy skills and items, enhance gear, and spend it all over the place. I couldn’t use it right away, but money was always right — stash it and a useful purpose would turn up eventually.

“And next is Universal Currency?”

Universal Currency. The name made me pause. I’d been active on the Hunter Gallery for years and I’d never heard of it? That was not a good sign.

Heongael was the biggest hunter community in the country, but guild-affiliated rankers never leaked high-tier information. Which meant Universal Currency was one of those premium secrets they’d been sitting on.

And now this precious thing was in my hands?

Heh heh.

Jackpot.

“I might actually be able to swagger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around on Heongael now.”

Heongael rankers. An infuriating breed. Always acting like they knew something, always looking grave, always dropping bait posts that jacked up expectations — and never actually explaining a single useful thing. They’d shrug and say it was guild policy, like they had no choice. If that was the case, they shouldn’t have brought it up on Heongael in the first place. They were even worse than the usual blowhards.

Anyway.

I didn’t know how to use it yet, but currency was always right. Sit on the Universal Currency for a while and a good use would present itself.

Last of all — the skill book. The reward I’d been looking forward to most. Curse Removal, no less!

Alongside healing, status-ailment removal was a priest’s bread and butter. And this one was S-rank!

“I can finally become a proper priest…!”

I still didn’t have a healing skill, but that was a problem for later — climb the Tower, pick up a skill book, done. When that day came, I’d join a party full of strong hunters and ride the bus.

Too spineless for a rank-one? Healers are supposed to sit in the back and heal. Live according to how you were born.

Heart pounding, I opened the S-rank skill book.

“Excuse me?”

What is this supposed to mean.

Are you joking with me?

You gave me the skill book! Why can’t I use it!

What’s wrong with being a Saintess? Why can’t I learn Curse Removal? I’m going to lose my mind!

My first climb of the Tower had ended in the triumph of a world record — and a lingering sour aftertaste.

Republic of Korea, the Blue House.

Today was a rare day for a full Cabinet meeting.

Recently, South Korea had been battered by a string of gates classified as national disasters, and the country had been in considerable chaos. With the situation finally settling and national normalization underway, the Cabinet meeting had been broadcast live to demonstrate that Korea still stood strong.

The carefully prepared session was halted after a mere fifteen minutes.

The President, the ministers, and even the Hunter Association President — the people who held the Republic of Korea together — filed straight into the underground bunker and opened an emergency countermeasures meeting.

“Today, first place on the Tower’s first floor changed hands. And by an overwhelming margin. A score far beyond Super Soldier’s.”

The President spoke in a heavy voice.

One of the ministers answered, clearly not seeing the point.

“It’s remarkable, certainly, but is it grounds to scrap a Cabinet meeting and convene an emergency committee? You know how important today’s session was.”

The minister beside him nodded in agreement.

Watching them, the Hunter Association President snorted.

“My, my…. Our ministers still don’t grasp how serious this situation is.”

“What was that?”

“Then explain it, Association President. Is this really that big a deal?”

“If you insist.”

The Hunter Association President stared at a blank wall for a moment, casting his mind back.

“The early days of the Tower were pure chaos. Europe, which had outsourced its entire national defense to the United States, paid the heaviest price. They had no power to control their hunters.”

The ministers present already knew this story. Europe’s failure to control its hunters had plunged the continent into severe turmoil. Hunters had colluded with mafias, turned hostile toward their governments, and exploited civilians.

“But everything changed when a new first-place holder appeared on the first floor of the Tower — the Knight King. He climbed faster than anyone and stood at the apex of all hunters. Before long, he crushed Europe’s hunters by force and brought the crisis to an end.”

Britain’s Knight King. He had brought peace to Europe.

“Not long after, a new first place overtook the Knight King’s record — the Heavenly Demon. She walked a path opposite to his in every way.”

The Heavenly Demon. She had walked the road of upheaval.

Having watched Europe’s example, the Chinese Communist Party felt threatened by hunters and moved to suppress them. That decision had crossed the Heavenly Demon.

“The Chinese Communist Party aggressively pushed a policy of fitting every hunter with an explosive collar that could be detonated at any time. The Heavenly Demon did not stand by. She gathered her followers, founded the Heavenly Demon Sect, toppled the Communist Party, and became China’s new ruler.”

China had become the first nation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a hunter as its leader. The Heavenly Demon had subdued the continent by force.

“And then Super Soldier broke the Heavenly Demon’s record and took first place. Do I need to say much about that maniac?”

America’s Super Soldier. With overwhelming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠power, he had turned the entire world upside down. He was the man who had burned into every mind just how much influence a single individual could wield over the planet. Alone, he had nearly triggered World War III multiple times — barely contained only by the concerted effort of every nation on Earth.

South Korea was among the many countries that had suffered heavily at Super Soldier’s hands.

“Super Soldier… that lunatic.”

“Every time that bastard opens his mouth, it’s a national emergency.”

“What’s America doing? Putting a leash on a rabid dog shouldn’t be optional.”

“From what I hear, even if Super Soldier went to war with the entire U.S. military by himself, the outcome wouldn’t be guaranteed. Hunters have grown too strong for any nation to control.”

The more they talked about Super Soldier, the darker the ministers’ faces became. They finally understood what the Hunter Association President was driving at.

If another madman like that appeared, the Earth was finished.

“Then what about the Saintess of Lumen?”

The new first place on the Tower’s first floor. The weight of that name was crushing.

“After everything history has shown us, do you really think a Saintess will just pass by quietly? We may be looking at a nightmare worse than Super Soldier.”

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing hard echoed through the underground bunker. The minister who had spoken first sat with his head bowed, his face ashen.

“We have no idea what will happen. So we must prepare for whatever comes.”

Would the Saintess be humanity’s savior ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— or its calamity?

No one in that room could answer.