The Unofficial No. 1 Hunter

"My son, you will become a hero."

Perhaps those were my father’s words. Or perhaps they came from someone who raised me. No, that couldn't be it—I raised myself, so maybe it was just something I wanted to tell myself.

I woke up, feeling the hard, cold floor beneath me. I had been lying there for about three hours. For a sleep cycle inside the Tower, that was plenty. I stood up, swaying, and threw my coat over my shoulders. A dull ache radiated from every muscle in my body, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I just needed to grab my only sword.

'The guild bastards will be here soon. I have to break through faster.'

It had been two days since I breached the front lines of the Tower. The leading groups would have noticed the irregularities by now, and they would be swarming toward my location soon.

"Let's go. If I don't clear this today..."

If I die, I die. I could hear the sounds of monsters rushing toward the scent of blood. It was time to get close to death once again.

"That bastard, the Lone Demon King... how on earth did he get through here?"

Hunter Park Chansik of the Seoul Guild rubbed his skin, which was covered in goosebumps. Cheon Hoseok of the Sky Guild, watching him, let out a long sigh.

"I know, right? The monsters seem to have gone completely berserk."

"Did he really pass through here alone? Seriously? Is that even humanly possible?"

"Well, luring, stealth, causing chaos, and assassination are the Lone Demon King's specialties. He must have just snuck past them. You don't think he actually killed them all, do you?"

Park Chansik stared at the sword marks carved into the walls and gasped. "Huu... and they say he's human...?"

"If he's still in the middle of the breakthrough, the rear guard has the advantage. We should be able to catch up soon."

At Cheon Hoseok’s words, Park Chansik roared, "Catch up? This is the final floor of the Tower! If we mess up, we all die!"

After venting his frustration, Park Chansik ruffled his hair wildly. "We can't go. One wrong move and it's total annihilation."

"...Hoo."

"Too many of our pursuit team are already injured. Any further is truly impossible."

Cheon Hoseok listened and let out a long breath. "We can catch up quickly. If the Lone Demon King has already broken through, only the stragglers will be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left."

Park Chansik smirked at Cheon Hoseok’s words. His speech was polite and his manners refined, but who knew what was going on inside? A greenhorn blinded by honor and greed. Or perhaps a psychopath weighing the casualties of the Sky and Seoul guilds against each other. That was just how the people who climbed to the high floors of the Tower were.

Park Chansik’s eyes turned cold. "Only the stragglers left? We're the ones who almost die a dozen times over against those 'stragglers'."

At Hunter Park Chansik’s pessimistic remark, Ye Eun of the Sky Guild chimed in. She was the only supporter in the joint pursuit team of Seoul and Sky.

"Even if they are 2nd-stringers, we should be able to handle the stragglers."

"Handle the stragglers? Listen here." Park Chansik’s eyebrows arched sharply. "This is the 60th floor! One mistake and your life is on the line!"

"I know. But if we slow down the pursuit now, the clear of the Tower of Heaven will become the Lone Demon King’s achievement alone."

"Son of a—" Park Chansik hung his head. His tapping foot betrayed his inner conflict. Clearing the final floor of the Tower meant something different from any other floor. The final boss was guaranteed to drop an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠EX-class reward. I didn't know what the final reward for the Tower of Heaven was, but I couldn't let another EX-class item fall into the hands of the Lone Demon King.

"You know Korea is the only country without an EX-class item right now."

"Yeah, and that bastard, the Lone Demon King or whatever, is probably hoarding them all."

The Lone Demon King. He was Korea’s unofficial No. 1 ranked hunter, yet no one knew his name or his face. Because there was so little information, rumors even circulated that he might be a foreigner or a North Korean agent.

Park Chansik swallowed hard, his throat dry, and gripped his longsword. Even if the situation was a mess, he couldn't just hand over an EX-class item. It was the last shred of his patriotism.

"Are we continuing?"

"Dammit, there’s too much riding on this raid. We have to."

At Park Chansik’s words, Cheon Hoseok and the other Sky Guild members raised their weapons one by one.

"We’ll push through to the front line and secure the area."

They were a scouting party clearing the path up to the already-conquered sections. Their job was to check for traps or variables in the areas that had supposedly been cleared. It sounded easy, but the problem was that this was the final floor of the Tower.

"Well, we have to do it even if it's impossible. The reward is 5 billion per person."

Just as Park Chansik muttered that and stood up, Cheon Hoseok shouted, "W-wait a second!"

The corridor was trembling, ever so slightly.

"Do you hear that?"

"Uh..."

"Don't tell me..."

The massive corridor in the middle of the final floor, the [Corridor of the Demon's Tournament]. A sinister vibration was being felt in this massive hall that should have been fully cleared.

"Something is coming."

"With a vibration like this, is it a Tremper?"

"Probably."

"...This is bullshit."

Despair washed over everyone’s faces. A heavy, beast-type monster with drill-like horns on its head. It was stupid and had plenty of known countermeasures, making it a relatively easy opponent—but the problem was meeting it in a corridor where you couldn't dodge or run.

"Tanks, move to the front! If we don't form a defensive line, we're wiped out!"

"That’s the strategy? To hold out against a Tremper? That’s suicide!"

"Dammit... a Tremper here?"

No sooner had the guild members started murmuring than a massive cloud of dust rose up from the front.

"Oh, God..."

"Fifteen Trempers in front!"

"F-fifteen? Not five?"

"Use long-range magic to slow their charge as much as possible!"

"Protection! Ye Eun! Protection spell!"

"Fifteen B-class monsters...? This is insane. The Lone Demon King went through a place like this alone...?"

"Han Ye Eun! Protection spell!!"

Park Jungsoo, the leader of the Joongang Guild, clicked his tongue as he looked at the Corridor of the Demon's Tournament. There were chunks of flesh mangled beyond recognition and pools of blood deep enough to wade in. Foul-smelling entrails were strewn across the hallway.

"Tsk. Wiped out?"

At Park Jungsoo’s words, Yeon Eun-ah nodded softly. "Well, if they had the ability to survive in this state, maybe they could have lived?"

"...That’s a horrifying thought in its own right."

Yeon Eun-ah poked at the chunks of flesh with her foot. Given the lack of reaction, they were definitely dead.

"Sky and Seoul, right?"

"Yes."

"Those crazy bastards. They threw their 2nd-stringers into the final floor?"

"Well, it must have been for data collection."

Meat shields. Or more accurately, meat detectors.

"To think they’d use their own guild hunters to check for variables on the final floor."

"Well, it’s the wise choice, in their own words..."

"..."

Park Jungsoo’s expression soured at Yeon Eun-ah’s words. It was cold, but she was right. It was 100 times better for the 2nd-stringers to be wiped out than for one member of the 1st-string to die. It was a twisted sentiment, but in the Tower, that was common sense. The gap between hunter ranks was that immense, and the value of a life was on a different dimension.

"So, did Sky and Seoul reach the boss room?"

"I don't think so yet."

"...Tsk."

"Are you feeling greedy? Should I start the pursuit, too?"

At Yeon Eun-ah’s stinging remark, Park Jungsoo shrugged. "Only an idiot wouldn't be greedy for an EX-class item. The problem is that I have no way to get it."

The fact that the Lone Demon King was moving meant that his data collection and raid design were already finished.

"Forget it. Inside the Tower, that bastard is basically a genius."

"Did you say he was a younger brother you knew?"

"No, a kindergarten classmate."

"..."

Yeon Eun-ah looked at Park Jungsoo with a disapproving expression. 'What does it matter if you were kindergarten classmates? In this country, isn't it all about school ties, regional ties, and blood ties?' That was the look in her eyes.

"Look, if I could have brought him in, I would have sucked up to him just to get him on my side."

Yeon Eun-ah frowned at Park Jungsoo’s words. Her eyes were filled with intense contempt. "...I can see very clearly why you couldn't bring him in."

"Is that so? Well, even if I did, he had his own problems, so we wouldn't have been able to work together anyway."

Yeon Eun-ah walked on in silence, avoiding the bloody remains, when she suddenly turned her head, curious.

"What is it? The reason."

At Yeon Eun-ah’s question, Park Jungsoo chuckled while picking up a discarded recovery potion. "Heh, that bastard. He’s lost his mind."

"...?"

"Well, I guess if you live in the Tower long enough, you stop being human."

A cryptic remark. Yeon Eun-ah regretted asking as she approached the front lines of the Tower of Heaven.

The sound of footsteps and screams was getting closer. The pursuit team would be here soon.

"Tch, did I enjoy myself too much?"

I shook the sword I was holding, flicking off the blood and flesh. "It should be around here."

I ran down the corridor and arrived at a massive lobby. In the lobby, which was the size of an indoor gymnasium, I saw a heavy bronze door.

"That door must be the boss room."

As soon as I arrived in front of the bronze door, I saw people entering the lobby. It was a razor-thin margin.

"There he is!"

"He's already in front of the boss room!"

"Heh heh, in the end, I was faster, you bastards."

I stopped in front of the door and downed a high-grade potion, slowly recovering my breath. The people who looked like the pursuit team were running toward me with expressions as if they were about to collapse.

"Lone Demon King, please!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

"Lone Demon King!! Let’s negotiate!"

I raised my middle finger at them and smiled brightly. "Take care."

Obviously, YES. Through my blurring vision, I saw the desperate expressions of the hunters. Once I entered the boss room, no one else could enter. And naturally, the latecomers wouldn't even get a chance.

In an instant, my vision shifted, and a new space appeared. I saw a flat rooftop of the Tower, a clear blue sky without a single cloud, and a shining sun.

"So, the end is the Tower of the Firmament, huh."

A tower rising high above the clouds. It meant that if I fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during the battle, I was dead, and there was barely enough oxygen to breathe.

"Is this how it ends?"

As I was changing my breathing pattern and setting up a strategy due to the lack of air, a sharp screech echoed—Kiyaaaaaaa!—and a harpy flew down from the firmament.

A massive monster reaching 4 meters in height. Its bizarre appearance—a human head on a bird’s body—made me frown instinctively.

"Anyway, the things in this Tower just keep getting more disgusting by the day."

Red light poured from its eyes toward me. My trembling limbs and stinging skin told me exactly what level this thing was. It meant I was the prey, and in the Tower’s terms, its stats were higher than mine.

"But I’m a little different."

I drew my sword with confidence. "I’m the type who doesn't get tied down by rules."

As I grinned, the sword of light I held glowed a deep, piercing blue.

I curled my lips at the harpy’s words. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"If it’s will you want, I’ve already pierced the heavens and then some, you bastard."

The sword of light pierced the creature’s neck. Crunch—the feeling of bones shattering and tough muscles snapping. The chilling sensation made my lips curl upward.

[Krrr-!]

"Is that all you’ve got?"

I swung the sword embedded in its neck, and the harpy’s head separated from its body and flew off. As the blood-soaked head rolled across the rooftop of the Tower, a clear, ringing bell sound echoed along with a bright light.

"Bastard. You were trickier than I thought."

I made eye contact with the rolling harpy head. "What are you staring at?"

I kicked the harpy’s head off the edge of the Tower. "Goodbye, bird-brain."

After saying my farewells, a terrible pain surged from my abdomen. "Ow, those claws are sharp. You pierced through an A-class item?"

My leather armor was torn, and blood was leaking from my stomach. "Ah, I really don't want to do this..."

I lay on the hard floor, took a deep breath, and then—

"Hoo, hoo."

I poured a high-grade potion onto the wound. "Kuuuugh!"

I shook my head violently and scratched at the ground a few times. "Gaaaah! Damn it! It hurts like hell. I can never get used to this. Never."

With a body-wrenching agony, the wound on my abdomen began to close. Since this was my last remaining potion, if I got stabbed one more time, I would have no choice but to die. As the pain subsided and my body relaxed, the thought that it was finally over washed over me.

"Haa. Is it finally over?"

I had only managed to clear the Tower of Heaven after turning thirty. It wasn't a difficulty that should have dragged on this long, but the sabotage from the Seoul and Sky guilds had delayed me.

"Tsk, the fate of Korea is at stake, and they’re only concerned with their own greed."

China and the US had already moved on to the next Tower, and there wasn't much time left to clear this one. Even if all the hunters in Korea joined forces, it would have been a struggle, yet they were blinded by their own profits.

"Tsk, who owns the EX-class item—is that really what’s important right now?"

Just as I was clicking my tongue, a bright notification window appeared.

"'New realm,' my foot. It’s just going to be another Tower, isn't it?"

I stared up at the bright blue sky. A terrain that you couldn't possibly believe was inside a building. A world filled with anomalies and mysteries. A passage connecting to other dimensions, a place where you could obtain minerals and materials you’d only ever seen in your imagination. And at the same time, a human slaughterhouse built in the capital of every nation.

"You kill everyone if they don't clear it in time, yet you talk about 'trials'."

I smiled bitterly and waited for the Tower to change.

"Yeah, yeah. That’s what the guild bastards were making such a fuss about. Give me something good."

China got an EX-class magic book, and the US got an EX-class necklace, didn't they?

"I heard the one the US got was a resurrection item."

It was just a rumor I heard from another hunter, so I wasn't sure. Anyway.

I sighed deeply at the notification window floating in the air. "I’m going to quit this job anyway and live outside the Tower. I’ll just sell it for retirement funds."

If it were a sword, I might be greedy, but I already had an EX-class sword.

"I bet my entire fortune on this raid. Please, just give me something good, okay?"

As I muttered to myself, my body suddenly began to glow.

"Huh? What? Physical enhancement?"

"?" A new body?

Countless notification windows poured out.

"What? Wait, wait a minute!"

Uh, what is this? It’s not an item? Then what about my retirement fund? My comfortable life after retirement?!

Along with the flood of notifications, my body began to glow.

"This isn't right!"

With that strange notification, my consciousness faded to black. And this... was the reason I ended up in this damn girl’s body.