Chapter 8

[You have cleared the top-tier 1st floor with an S+ rank for the first time. You grow stronger in proportion to your achievement.]

[You’ve accomplished an unbelievable feat! You have received a random box.]

[Your achievement will be made public to the world.]

Is it really supposed to be this easy to climb the Tower?

All I did was watch the mission, and the goblin’s head exploded.

I didn’t even see what Lee Woo-jae did.

He just swoosh—cleared the Tower, and then I felt my body become stronger.

“…What was that?”

“My trait. Sword Saint.”

“I mean, yeah, I figured that much. But was that something like a formless sword? Or maybe a spiritual sword?”

“I need my real body to use those. Right now, I just used a regular sword draw to kill them all.”

Whoa, that was insanely cool.

For a second, I remembered that wall-slicing move from that anime I watched long ago.

Honestly, he looked even faster than that.

“But wait, wasn’t that the first-ever S+ clear? Didn’t you do that, Woo-jae?”

“Of course not. I wasn’t that strong from the start. The rank is based only on your first clear. Back then, I got B+.”

First time and B+? That means he cleared it without fully awakened powers or sufficient mana?

That’s basically genius-tier.

No wonder he made it to the 90th floor.

“What about the other rankers? Couldn’t they boost people like you did? Maybe by lending items?”

“I’m the only one with items that give S-rank Hunter-level strength and autonomous action. Even if they lend you S-rank items, you need skill to use them effectively.”

“Ah, got it.”

Come to think of it, even though Woo-jae is technically a “tool,” calling him an item is just insulting.

He’s on a completely different level of power. Even without the autonomy, he wouldn’t compare to ordinary items.

It’s not for nothing that he’s classified as quasi-mythical.

Honestly, you could probably argue he’s full-on myth-tier.

“But what’s with this random box? Is it supposed to drop an item or something?”

“I’m not sure either. I’ve never cleared with an S+ before. Since we’re clearing all the floors today with S+, maybe open them all at the end?”

“Good idea.”

Pulling gacha is always more satisfying in bulk than one by one.

I was getting excited wondering what kind of loot would drop from clearing a top-tier floor with S+.

“By the way, what’s with the message? ‘Your achievement will be made public to the world’?”

“Never seen that before either.”

“Really? But you’re this strong now, and you’ve never gotten S+ before?”

“Probably because it only counts on your first attempt. I got S.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Now that I think about it, I’d never heard of anyone clearing a floor with S+ before.

Not in top-tier, not even in high, mid, or low-tier Towers.

Even though the Tower’s been around for over 30 years, nobody’s ever gotten that rank.

Which just proves how ridiculously hard it is to obtain.

Especially considering even Lee Woo-jae, who completed a mission meant for a hundred people, didn’t get it.

“Huh. Didn’t expect the ‘achievement publicized to the world’ part.”

It felt weird since no such event had happened before.

Wouldn’t this interfere with my need to stay hidden?

“Actually, maybe it’s a good thing. Now people will know just how amazing Midas really is.”

“I mean, you’re the one who’s amazing… but yeah, you’re not wrong. I already exposed myself on TowerView anyway.”

Woo-jae had a point.

It was unexpected, but it worked in my favor.

If people see me breaking records like never before, the ones searching for me will go even crazier.

Besides, the announcement’s already out—it’s too late to hide now.

“So what’s the plan? Climb more today or call it quits?”

“Hmm… I’ve come this far, might as well go to floor 5. After that, we can grab something tasty.”

“Sounds good.”

Well, whatever happens, happens.

If I were alone, I’d be nervous. But I have an S-rank bodyguard at my side—what’s there to fear?

It’s not like they can find me anyway.

…They won’t actually find me, right?

Meanwhile…

“…What did you say?”

Secretary to Association President Kang Seok-gu was barely holding back a laugh.

He looked like someone seeing fire for the first time—mouth agape in disbelief.

To be fair, the secretary had made the same face when he first heard the report.

“Yes, sir. Midas publicly shared your phone number, and someone spread it online.”

“…Huh.”

Kang Seok-gu couldn’t even close his mouth.

So that’s why his phone had been ringing non-stop.

It had gotten so bad that the device was basically unusable.

“I can’t even begin to guess what he’s thinking.”

Was he planning to make the Association an enemy?

But what was the point?

There was nothing to gain.

Even if he had joined an underground organization, he could’ve just gone quietly.

There were only two possibilities:

He did it to prove his loyalty to a shady group by going against the Association.

Or, he had his own agenda.

“Should we terminate the recruitment plan for Midas?”

“…Hmm.”

What was the right answer here?

Yes, the guy had humiliated the Association, which pissed him off.

If it were any other Hunter, they’d not only scrap the recruitment—they’d file a lawsuit.

But this case was different.

“No. Keep the recruitment plan.”

“Are you sure? There’s pressure from the government too.”

“Ignore them. If things go well, they’ll take the credit. If not, I’ll get blamed anyway. Either way, if we fail to recruit him, I’m done.”

“…Understood.”

“And we don’t even know for sure if he’s really gone rogue.”

Even if Midas had joined an organization, it wasn’t confirmed.

And his powers were far too valuable to give up on without trying.

Especially after that strange string of messages that came in three days ago:

[Midas has cleared the top-tier 1st floor with S+ for the first time.]

[Midas has cleared the top-tier 2nd floor with S+ for the first time.]

[Midas has cleared the top-tier 3rd floor with S+ for the first time.]

[Midas has cleared the top-tier 4th floor with S+ for the first time.]

[Midas has cleared the top-tier 5th floor with S+ for the first time.]

Those messages made zero sense based on current Hunter standards.

And they’d all been posted in under 10 minutes.

That meant he cleared floors 1 through 5 in top-tier difficulty in less than 10 minutes.

There was no precedent for that.

Not even Lee Woo-jae, one of the strongest high-rankers, had done that.

And now this powerful person… had stopped climbing entirely.

As if saying he could climb any time he wanted—and didn’t need to, because his power was enough.

And they wanted him to give up on recruiting that?

No way.

“I feel like I’m grabbing at straws.”

“What if Midas has joined the enemy?”

“Then let’s just hope he hasn’t. If he has, we’ll have to mobilize everything the Association has to eliminate him… though I don’t know if that’s even possible.”

“So in the end, all we can do is pray.”

Kang Seok-gu nodded and sighed.

He’d worked relentlessly to reach the position of Association President at a relatively young age.

But this situation was a first.

He was powerless, forced to rely on luck.

That’s why he suddenly stood up.

“I can’t just sit here.”

“Where are you going?”

“To do what I can do.”

“Excuse me? You just said prayer is all we can do.”

“Exactly. I’m going to pray.”

“…What.”

The secretary was stunned speechless.

But it was in Kang’s nature to take action rather than sit and wait.

“If prayer’s all I’ve got, then I’ll pray. No need to prep the car. I’ll go alone.”

“Understood. Please be careful. Oh, and we’ll continue the search for Midas. If any new intel comes up, I’ll call you right away.”

“Good. Now… who do I even pray to? Hopefully it’s the god he believes in… Maybe I’ll try a cathedral first.”

Leaving the stunned secretary behind, Kang muttered as he stepped out.

He reached into his pocket for his car keys—and felt something unusual.

“…Huh? What’s this?”

A sensation—hard yet soft.

Paper?

“There’s no way I had a piece of paper in my pocket.”

Everything was digital these days.

He barely used paper, and never something this small.

Did someone give me a business card?

He pulled it out—it was a small note, about the size of a card.

—It’s Midas. Seoul, Dongjak-gu…

Huh?

An address?

He didn’t know how or why, but the address embedded itself in his mind instinctively.

And whoosh!

The paper burned away without a trace.

Midas had told him where he was.

Shocked, Kang stumbled toward the parking lot with jelly legs.

But he was… excited.

Later, at a convenience store…

Cool A/C.

Humming refrigerator.

And a slightly uncomfortable but manageable chair.

This is my home turf—my convenience store.

Ding!

“Welcome~”

I greeted the customer like a good part-timer.

At 3 a.m., a flustered middle-aged man came in looking around nervously.

Yep, that’s the Association President from the news.

“Looking for someone?”

“Oh, yes. I was supposed to meet someone here. You haven’t seen anyone else, have you—ah!”

He widened his eyes at me.

He must’ve realized I said someone rather than something.

He glanced around and, after seeing the place was empty, cautiously asked:

“Is it really… you?”

“Yes, uh, hello.”

It felt weird meeting someone I’d only seen on TV.

I’d considered using Woo-jae’s perception-blocking skill, but figured it might come off as shady.

Face-to-face was better for trust.

Hopefully, he didn’t bring any Hunters or escorts.

I didn’t want anyone else discovering my identity.

‘Eh, should be fine.’

Slurp.

Woo-jae was in the back, casually working through his fifth bowl of ramen.

Right. I had Woo-jae watching my back.

Even at 5% power, he’s stronger than an S-rank Hunter. I should be safe.

And worst case—I could always run into the Tower.

“Um, sorry, but… is there a way to prove it’s really you?”

The Association President still looked suspicious.

Fair, honestly.

There must’ve been tons of people pretending to be me just to get money.

“Wanna talk over some ramen and a triangle kimbap?”

“Oh, uh, sure. But isn’t there someone else back there…?”

“It’s fine. He’s my support.”

“Your support… who—!”

At that, he stared hard at Woo-jae.

And his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Well, can’t blame him. Woo-jae’s the last person you’d expect to find here.

“Hiya, Mr. Association President. Nice to meet ya.”

“…Huh.”

“This was the quietest time of day. Sorry for calling you out so late.”

Huh? Maybe I’ve got a talent for being the one in control?

I felt a brief rush of power, but came back to reality pretty quick.