Retribution (4)
“What happened?”
The reply came after a brief pause. Though calling it a reply might be a stretch.
—I'll come there myself and explain in person.
It wouldn't take long, he said, and Yun-seok told him to come ahead. Sure enough, he arrived at the hotel in under ten minutes.
“It's an honor to see you again, Challenger Choi Yun-seok.”
Tall and sharp-featured in a crisp black suit, the white man looked every bit the successful businessman. His name was Liam Turner. If Eshton handled Tower affairs like a personal secretary, Turner managed Earth-side operations. They'd only exchanged greetings since Yun-seok's first return, so their relationship was still quite new.
“Yeah. But 'Challenger' feels off... Loosen up a bit. It's awkward.”
“...Then may I call you Mr. Choi Yun-seok?”
“Sure. Eshton does the same.”
“Understood.”
Perhaps hearing that Eshton did too put him at ease; Turner nodded with a slightly relaxed expression.
However...
“So, can I hear about that 'incident' you mentioned?”
As Yun-seok cut to the chase, Turner's face darkened again. But knowing this wasn't something he could dodge, he carefully summed it up in one sentence.
“Two hours ago, there was an assassination attempt targeting your family members, Mr. Choi.”
Assassination attempt. In other words, someone had tried to kill his family...
The unexpected words hardened Yun-seok's mouth. Of course, with his mask on, Turner couldn't detect the change. But he could sense the air grow heavy in an instant.
“You said 'attempt,' so it failed, right?”
Yun-seok asked calmly. Yet watching him, Turner felt a chill crawl up his skin. He'd heard Yun-seok doted on his family. This reaction was worlds apart from what he'd braced for on the way here. Turner swallowed hard, responding like a fresh recruit.
“Yes! Of course! One of our agents was injured, but your family emerged unscathed. They didn't even notice the attempt.”
After his rapid explanation, a sigh of relief escaped.
Ironically, it came from Turner, not Yun-seok. He was genuinely glad it had ended as a mere blip. Even without the stacks of reports he'd reviewed upon taking charge of Yun-seok, he knew one thing for sure: if this man truly flew into a rage, no one could stop him.
“I see. Thank you. Is there anything I can do to compensate the injured agent?”
He didn't ask about the assassin's identity or whether they'd caught him. Curious as he was, Yun-seok offered thanks first. That was the proper order.
Feeling the sincerity, Turner waved it off vigorously.
“No, no. It was just an on-duty injury, and nothing serious from what I heard. We'll cover compensation anyway, so no need to worry. But if you like, I can pass on that Mr. Choi Yun-seok is deeply grateful. He'd probably be thrilled to hear it.”
Yun-seok nodded without pressing further. At the same time, he felt reassured they hadn't deliberately hidden the incident. With it happening just two hours ago, even Eshton in the Tower wouldn't know.
Now Yun-seok probed for details.
“So, who was it?”
No guesses came to mind. Frankly, he was a bit shocked. After that broadcast footage, he hadn't thought anyone bold enough would remain to target him.
Turner's answer was utterly unexpected.
“Someone you know well, Mr. Choi.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Your messy history with him is already infamous around here.”
“No way...”
“Kang Hyung-woo, the eldest son of JC Group. He's the culprit.”
What he least expected was, of course, what happened.
* * *
“......”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Hearing of the assassination attempt, he'd assumed some political motive. Only high-ranking officials knew Yun-seok's true identity. A personal grudge? That didn't compute.
“Didn't you say an agent was injured?”
His family's guards were all 8th-floor challengers—valuable assets on Earth. Not Duel Trial types, but far beyond ordinary humans. No way could a part-time boxer like Kang Hyung-woo harm them. Even back when Yun-seok was barely at the 3rd floor, he'd crushed him effortlessly.
Yet an agent got hurt blocking the attempt? The contradiction sparked a sudden realization.
“...That bastard became a challenger too.”
“Yes. Our investigation estimates about three months ago.”
He'd suspected as much when Kang Hyung-woo vanished. Maybe summoned to the Tower? But even if so, he couldn't go after him, nor did he see the point. Bluntly, three months in the Tower wouldn't change a thing. And reality proved him right: even after all that time, the guy couldn't breach basic family security.
“Could you detail what happened?”
At Yun-seok's request, Turner recounted the events from two hours ago, adding Kang Hyung-woo's power level, likely Trial, and his hunch it was pure personal grudge with no backers.
Adventure Trial, probably hasn't cleared the 5th floor yet...
Not all confirmed, but Turner explained his reasoning: use of Adventure-exclusive skills, attempting solo assassination suggesting ignorance of Yun-seok's connections, and more.
It made sense to Yun-seok. Impressively compiled in just two hours. But they'd missed the key point: letting Kang Hyung-woo escape.
“How the hell did he get away?”
Not accusatory—just genuine curiosity. Turner answered more freely.
“Overwhelming skill gap made capture easy, but he vanished without a trace in under ten minutes.”
“Teleportation skill?”
“No. We think his return timer expired, sending him back to the Tower. Probably planned to strike fast and flee there.”
Made sense once explained. A shame they hadn't killed him outright, but they had procedures.
“He won't return, but... we've stationed agents at the disappearance site. Your orders on next steps?”
Eliminate immediately.
No hesitation from Yun-seok. Turner agreed without objection, even offering more.
“If you want, we can send a tracking team into the Tower.”
“Tracking team?”
“Yes. Same floor in Adventure Trial allows interaction among challengers. Unless he's holed up in his waiting room forever, we'll nab him quick.”
Recalling Adventure's open-world nature, Yun-seok saw the potential. Challengers entered simulated worlds, mingled with adventurers and NPCs, completed quests. No failure except death, infinite time till success, return items possible—but floors took forever.
“I'd appreciate that.”
Yun-seok accepted without qualms. More work for them, but Turner seemed pleased—maybe a chance to save face.
“We'll mobilize our agents from 3rd to 6th floors. If he's not glued to his waiting room, he's done.”
Yun-seok wrapped it up, glad for the alliance. No need to worry about Kang Hyung-woo anymore—a cornered rat.
“One more thing before we move on?”
“Right, this wasn't why you returned. What is it?”
Yun-seok asked for a challenger at the integrated plaza to inquire about Murim news for Geom-ma Jeong Dae-un. Turner made a call and secured one fast—ten minutes tops. Impressively efficient.
“America's got a lot of 10th-floor-plus challengers, huh.”
“Not hordes, but more than before. Your emergence raised the bar overall.”
Turner credited Yun-seok's inspiration, but money, fame, power drove most. Yun-seok heard Tower updates from Eshton often. Post-public reveal, challengers got massive budgets, hero worship. They risked lives for wealth and glory.
Heard plenty, but seeing beats hearing.
Curious about changes, Yun-seok asked for casual clothes. Time before Tower return—he'd tour the city.
But...
“Just in case, we stocked basics in the dressing room. You haven't checked?”
Yun-seok got why people chased fame and status. Being treated as VIP fueled primal competition.
He changed, stowing old clothes in his subspace bag from the last mission. About to add his sword...
Turner, unaware of the bag, advised.
“If carrying the sword's inconvenient, you can go out with it. Mask too.”
“Pardon?”
“The world's changed a lot.”
Yun-seok kept only his Judge Sword at his waist and exited with Turner. He'd brought it to grind Retribution data, but... Is this really okay?
Pre-Tower, strolling armed? Instant reports of a maniac. But no issues.
Hotel staff and lobby-goers glanced, but positively.
“Mister! Thank you!”
A girl approached, bowed, and scampered back. Her parents patted her head, nodding thanks. Like Americans honoring soldiers—Yun-seok felt the shift.
“It's really changed...”
“Yes. First time since then, so expect more surprises.”
True. Seoul had transformed. Swordsmen patrolled often.
“Patrol squads. Invader frequency up, so they standby to minimize civilian harm.”
“They're masked too?”
“Many challengers prefer anonymity.”
More changes: collapsed buildings, claw-marked walls, scorched concrete. Battle scars everywhere, but people passed unfazed, no photos.
Feels like the world's flipped in months.
Seoul native Yun-seok, getting a tour from a foreigner. Ironic, but Turner prevented confusion.
“No charge for heroes at our place.”
He hit restaurants,
“Challengers are the root of evil! They'll vanish with them!”
protests,
“Our Savior paves our path with blood...”
and peeked at a Salvation Cult service. Dusk fell.
Then Turner, who'd attended him all day, took a call and relayed urgently.
“Plaza challenger got info. Meet now?”
“Yeah, was heading back anyway. No issues?”
“Geom-ma responded well when mentioned by you.”
“Good.”
“Oh, and great news.”
Turner beamed.
“Caught Kang Hyung-woo.”
“...?”
“Agent said they considered killing but he complied meekly to threats, used an item to return to Earth right away.”
In just twelve hours... Yun-seok's jaw dropped. Their efficiency stunned, but more so how insignificant Kang Hyung-woo seemed now. Once towering, now pathetic.
Maybe that's why—a pointless pang of pity.