The Price of Goodwill

"It's all right. I didn't save you hoping for something like this."

"Ah, of course. I know perfectly well this isn't enough. Once we're outside, I'll make it up to you with something much bigger—"

"No, no. You really don't have to give me anything."

I turned down his insistence on repaying me somehow.

"Oh, come on! I can't do that. You saved my life!"

"You don't need to feel that burdened. If I could have, I would have saved anyone."

"Pardon? ...Ah. Wait."

He stalled for a moment.

"No. There's no way..."

He kept building theories and knocking them down, all by himself.

"This is going to sound ridiculous, but... you haven't been coming into the Tower for very long, have you?"

How did he know?!

There shouldn't have been a single clue he could have caught.

"I knew it! So that's how it is. Ahh, Hunter, you still don't really get it. Nobody is going to throw themselves in to save someone the way you did."

"Isn't that a bit of a leap?"

If another hunter had been in a position to save him the way I was, they would have.

"I don't think so. Who risks their life for a stranger? A hunter, of all people."

His opinion of hunters was remarkably sour. I couldn't dismiss it outright, though. There had been those bastards picking fights with Sia and me, and a veteran like him had surely seen more than his share of people at their worst.

"Of course! I am absolutely not saying you did anything wrong. So please, take this."

He held out a pouch of precious metals and a small box that looked solid.

"If someone like you doesn't eat well and live well, how is the world supposed to keep turning the way it should? Send you off at a loss like this, and the whole thing just falls apart faster. You see?"

Another one of those leaps.

"Ugh. Maybe that zombie clipped me after all? My arm hurts..."

Nothing for it. If I didn't take at least this, he wasn't going to let it end.

"All right. If you really insist, I'll accept it. Thank you."

"Yes! Thank you for taking it! Haha!"

He passed the things over and broke into a beaming grin, genuinely delighted. Then he checked his phone.

"Oh! Hunter."

"Yes?"

"An exit just opened not far from here."

He turned the phone toward me.

"If you're extracting, shall we go together?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I still have things left to do."

"Ah, then. I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be on my way. I'm rather busy on the outside as well."

"Go ahead."

The puppets and I had already cleared the shopping district, so the way to the exit ought to be safe.

"I'm off. Extract safely, Hunter!"

"Yeah."

I saw him off like that, and cut the Puppetry link.

But what is this?

The small, sturdy-looking box. I opened it, and light poured out.

"An Energy Cube?!"

I never imagined an Energy Cube would be in there. I ran straight outside to look.

Already gone.

I'd taken something far bigger than I meant to. The precious metals were still reasonable; think of them as the price of a life, and they weren't that heavy. An Energy Cube, though.

Ah, forget it.

He was already gone. What was I supposed to do? Sell it and upgrade the puppets' gear. Why not? It would help the next time I ended up saving someone.

Not that I'm about to start roaming around looking for people in trouble.

Take a reward, and your thoughts start bending that way. This was exactly why I hadn't wanted to accept it.

Anyway, I don't have to go alone anymore.

The truth was, I'd been planning to head for Gangbuk Central Hospital by myself. That massive hospital. Bring back the cancer drugs, and Sia would have no more reason to enter the Tower. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The danger from her Vivid Presence Quirk would vanish with it.

I hadn't meant to charge in blind, either. Three days, slow and careful. But if I failed—

Still, I probably wouldn't die.

And even success wouldn't be some fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after. A wall would go up between me and Sia, no question. I'd asked her for time to find something I could apply to Puppetry, then turned around and taken a major hospital on alone. What was she supposed to think of that? She wouldn't simply be grateful. The weight in her heart, and the debt, would grind at her. She hadn't even said she'd stay with me to the end, and that was because she'd called it too dangerous.

But this solves all of it!

I could erase the Quirk penalty, and with Restoration I could keep Sia safe on top of that. We could lean on Adrenaline harder, too. Even if she got hurt, I could put her back together with Restoration. For her, this was an absurd advantage. The option of Sia entering alone behind my back was gone. I'd found something that could be applied to Puppetry, just as I'd promised, so there was nothing for her to catch and blow up over. All that was left was to get back as fast as I could and let the entry cooldown run out.

But before that.

The puppets. Restoration first.

I still had to collect the ones lying on the cold asphalt. Puppet 3, especially, still had Restoration on cooldown. I had to wait at least that long.

About two hours later, the city sank into silence. The zombies' frenzy had burned out faster than last time.

Because there was a clear target?

If they'd lost it, they would have run blind trying to find it, and a chain of frenzy would have started from there. This time, though, the target had been the puppets. And the puppets hadn't fled. They'd met that frenzy head-on. That was where it stopped.

I stepped carefully out to the roadside. The shattered road and the wrecked structures dragged the whole scene back. I checked where the puppets had been—a tucked corner of the ruined street, white plastic shards strewn in every direction, and a bronze statue missing its neck and its arms.

Thank you. I lived because of you. And I saved someone, too.

The surroundings had to be cleared first. Restoration could pull aggro while it worked. From the edges inward, one by one, I got rid of the ones that had fallen asleep.

And at last.

Restore.

The white fragments scattered across the pitch-black asphalt surged inward. The bronze head and arms I'd picked up from the middle of the road rose into the air and gathered to a single point. A flare of blue light, and they took shape.

A crisp little snap—mannequins throwing thumbs-up. And the instant one of them was restored, it struck a pose.

"Unbelievable. Heh. Good work, all of you."

Nod, nod.

"Back to base."

Now I only had to wait on Puppet 3.

"Huh? When did you get back?"

I returned to base to find the toy bouncing up and down to greet me.

Hmm. Come to think of it, I really ought to give them names.

I wasn't going to sever the link anyway, and it was awkward to keep calling it the toy.

That one, too.

The statue stared at me, blank.

Thumbs-up.

Cut that out.

It drooped.

This one needed a name first. At this rate, even chewing it out was a pain. Besides, when an idol debuts, you give them a cool stage name, don't you?

Hmm. What do I even call it? Bronze statue, Copper-copper, Raccoon, Bronze?

Something short that stuck to the tongue, like the mannequins.

Right! I'll call you B. How's that?

I took the initial from Bronze and put the question to it. It tilted its head.

Don't like it? Too bad. From now on, you're B.

Nod, nod.

B was settled. Then should I name the toy in English, too?

You're Toy. That all right?

Bounce, bounce. Toy waved its hands, pleased.

Settled.

So. Did you find anything?

At the question, it tried to say something with those tiny hands.

What is it even saying?

I dug a sketchbook and a pen out of my backpack and handed them over. Skritch, skritch—it drew. And yet.

What is this?

I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Something like a human shape, maybe. Frustrated, it pointed at my phone.

You want the map?

Nod, nod.

I showed it the map, and it tapped a point.

You want me to go here?

It drew an X with its hand.

Dangerous?

A nod.

How bad?

It jumped and jumped and drew an enormous circle.

Tier-2 zombies usually turned up at key points and landmarks—banks, police stations, fire stations. Deoksugung might be crawling with them.

A lot of tier-2 zombies?

Nod, nod.

Then we just go around it.

Nod, nod.

Still. Were there items? When we'd looted the bank and the police station, items had dropped.

Were there items there, by any chance?

Nod, nod.

Of course!

It was dangerous, so I wasn't going right this moment. Someday, though, it might be worth a try.

While the cooldown ticks, maybe I farm a little?

More than anything, we needed weapons. We'd lost the puppets' when the zombie tide swept us under.

At least I salvaged this much.

I'd found the baton because it caught the light. Broken, but a shop could repair it.

And there's a big general store right in front of us. Before we head out, I'll grab bags ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the sportswear shop.

Myeongdong's shops were packed shoulder to shoulder, which made it dangerous—but it was good ground for farming.

A crack. A crunch. A sharp whack, then another. Thud. Thud.

Clearing fell to me, B, Puppet 1, and Puppet 2. Lucky we'd at least kept the wooden bat and the wrench.

There's a lot worth taking, all right.

I'd come for weapons, and my hands kept drifting to junk.

If I don't farm now, when am I going to make time for it?

B. Come here.

I'd ripped off the reinforced soles, so they needed reinforcing again. Non-slip pads would kill far more noise than before. The farming went on.

They have these?!

Not quite knee guards, but they had cushion to them. Perfect material for reinforcing the protective gear.

That's enough junk.

I moved on to the tools corner.

Objective met. The moment I picked up the hammer, I assigned it to Puppet 3. The pipe wrench went to Puppet 4.

Light kit's covered.

Next was the street where the hardware shops clustered—one of the farming spots I'd marked before entering the Tower. Around Euljiro 3-ga Station, by Cheonggyecheon. A fair distance, but worth the trip. If luck held, I could pick up crowbars, sledgehammers, steel pipes, axes.

If I'm taking on a major hospital, I need at least this much preparation.

No point hesitating. I walked out of the general store.