Chapter 12

The association chairman was waiting at the café.

Fortunately, thanks to the perception-blocking magic that had been in place since his visit to the convenience store, people didn’t recognize him.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Kim Namjoong.”

“Ah, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Haha, I’m fine. I may not look like much, but as the association chairman, I have the strength to take care of myself. I also have some hidden items. It was fun working part-time at the convenience store after so long.”

“Oh, did any customers come by?”

“One did. A customer wearing a beanie came in completely drunk and tried to take stuff without paying. I handled it well.”

Ah, that troublemaker.

The guy who always tried to steal something and then screamed, “What did I do wrong, you bastards?!”

For a second, I thought it was some kind of act because it was exactly like in the videos.

At least he’s consistent.

“More importantly, what about the contract?”

“Ah, yes. I prepared the contract in advance.”

Terms:

• Cash conversion of Top Points.

• Sharing news about the Tower.

• At least one Soul Condensation Elixir per year.

• Up to 10 items per elixir provided by the association upon request.

• Free rental of necessary items when climbing the Tower.

• A 1% commission fee per item provided.

• Complete confidentiality regarding my identity.

• The right to refuse item requests based on my discretion.

There were more details, but everything was exactly as I had initially demanded.

“Perfect.”

“A promise is a promise. Besides, even with these conditions, it’s not a loss for us. If we can secure items this easily, that is.”

Well, originally, when lending items, the fee charged to Hunters who cleared the Tower was 10% of the item’s value.

Taking just 1/10th of that wasn’t really a loss.

Moreover, if they used their influence to obtain elixirs, it wasn’t like they couldn’t get them.

Even influential politicians lobbied for elixirs, so getting one per year at a reasonable price was more than feasible.

From my perspective, simply receiving items and listing them in the shop would earn me both elixirs and a 1% commission—a win-win.

“But what’s this about ‘sharing news about the Tower’?”

“Ah, that’s because we’d like to receive updates about the Tower through your abilities. Tower news is surprisingly hard to come by.”

The only way to get news about the Tower was through Tower Mu.

Solo play was the default, and even in party play, once you left a floor, you wouldn’t see those faces again for a long time.

But once you cleared the Tower, you couldn’t re-enter Tower Mu, so the only way to get updates from the outside was to hear it from the most recent person who cleared it.

“Until now, we’ve interviewed those who cleared the Tower, but humans have their limits—memory gaps, distortions, and all.”

“Ah, so you want me to share information since I can freely enter and exit the Tower?”

“Exactly.”

“Then, what’s the compensation?”

This was my livelihood—I had to be clear about this.

“The initial contract didn’t include this. There should be a fee for sharing information, right?”

“Ah… Hahaha. Of course. I must’ve forgotten that.”

“Forgotten,” my foot. This guy had squeezed every advantage he could.

“Hey, don’t worry. I won’t ask for much in return.”

“What would you like?”

“Hmm, I’m not really into clothes, and I’ve been eating well lately—even had some beef. But there’s one thing I’m lacking.”

“Clothing, food… shelter?”

“Ah, yes. My monthly lease is about to end.”

…Did I go too far?

Even exploitation has its limits. Asking for a house outright might be too much, right?

I mean, have you seen Seoul housing prices lately?

He wouldn’t get mad if I kept it reasonable, right?

I glanced at his face—he didn’t look angry. If anything, he seemed relieved.

“Ah, that’s doable. I happen to have an unused penthouse.”

“An unused penthouse?!”

How does that even make sense?

But his next words made me understand immediately.

“Yes. It’s owned by the association. We originally bought it to give to Woojae.”

“Ah. But what if Woojae refused the contract?”

“We’d just give it to him. Who would be upset about receiving a penthouse as a gift, contract or not?”

“Fair point.”

But had it remained empty because Lee Woojae never left the Tower?

That… made a weird kind of sense.

“We planned to give it to the next S-Rank Hunter we contracted, but all the new S-Ranks signed with guilds instead…”

“Ah…”

Well, if you worked for a guild for a few years, you could buy a penthouse easily.

And most S-Ranks got high-end apartments sponsored by their guilds anyway.

“So, that penthouse was originally mine?”

“That’s right.”

“Somehow, that pisses me off.”

*”Hey, I heard Woojae’s 90th-floor residence is better than most penthouses.”*

“…Are you mocking me right now?”

No way.

“Now that housing is settled, regarding cash conversion—if you supply us with Magic Stones, the association will purchase them and pay you in coins.”

“That sounds safer.”

“Exactly.”

Since coins were often used for money laundering in the underworld, this method was better for hiding my identity.

“What about the profits from the earlier gate?”

“Ah, I was just about to bring that up… You’ve done something massive.”

Huh? Massive?

I just went and cleared a gate—what’s so big about that?

“The public reaction is insane. Look at this.”

Kang Seokgu’s phone showed a YouTube news clip.

It was footage of children on the verge of death, fleeing—and then a hero appearing out of nowhere, cutting down the monsters.

[In the midst of what could have been Korea’s worst gate disaster, a mysterious Hunter intervenes.]

After the anchor’s narration, the screen zoomed in on me saving a child and charging at the monsters.

[Hunter! What’s your name?]

[…V.]

Wait, how was this even filmed?

Was there a war correspondent or something?

I’d heard some Hunters worked as special reporters—was it one of them?

[The identity of V, the man who saved countless lives, remains unknown. This is Yoo Seoyoung, HBS News.]

The comments were even worse.

“This is why Korea is still worth living in. To think we have heroes like this.”

“I’m a student in Noryangjin—it was literal hell. I almost died, but this person saved me.”

“Holy shit, that’s so cool. ‘V.’ Feels like a movie.”

“This guy’s face must be insanely handsome too. His build, voice, and actions all scream ‘alpha male.’”

“A V fan café has been created! Fans, come join!”

“This is too cool TT_TT I’ve never been into Hunters before, but now I’m simping hard TT_TT Sorry, oppas.”

“But who is this? Must be A-Rank or higher, but I’ve never heard of them.”

*”Not A-Rank—probably S-Rank. They cleared a B-Rank gate in under 10 minutes. Even A-Ranks take a while against boss monsters.”*

“True. But S-Rank Hunters are usually registered in the association’s database—why isn’t this one?”

“Maybe they’re from a crime syndicate? Unregistered S-Ranks usually are.”

“Would a criminal save kids? They’d be too busy hiding their identity.”

“Could be a ‘good bastard.’”

“LMAO ‘good bastard.’”

“Probably an S-Rank secretly raised by the association. Saving people and clearing gates doesn’t fit the underworld profile. Plus, an association helicopter was spotted nearby.”

“So they’re with the association?”

“Finally, the association does something? They’ve been weak compared to guilds with only one S-Rank.”

“LOL We’ve got ‘V’ now.”

“Seems like big changes are coming to the Hunter world. Golden Chariot Midas, the new S-Rank V, and the sudden gate break. Feels like the calm before the storm.”

“Fr. The world’s getting dangerous, and heroes are rising to match.”

“The saying ‘heroes emerge in turbulent times’ holds true.”

I was speechless.

It was this big?

Strong Hunters were always popular, but I hadn’t expected it to blow up like this.

Kang Seokgu shook his turned-off phone and said,

“Reporters, guilds, even foreign Hunter associations—inquiries are flooding in. They want to know who V is, and if they’re not a secret association agent, whether they can be recruited.”

“Hmm…”

“So we’ll need to make a statement. How would you like it handled? Since you used ‘V’ instead of ‘Midas,’ it seems you want to be seen as a separate person. Should we just say you’re our secret agent?”

After some thought, I shook my head.

“People will assume V is under the association or a guild anyway, so just say V is an unknown Hunter.”

If both Midas and V were linked to the association, people would suspect they were the same person.

Besides, the “lonely genius” image was cooler.

Clearing the top five floors of the Tower as an S+-Rank might raise some eyebrows, but it wouldn’t be too suspicious.

‘Midas’ wouldn’t use force—he’d stay as the Tower’s merchant.

No one would think the guy who got slashed by a knife-wielding maniac in Majang-dong and then served premium beef was the same person as the cool-as-hell V.

“Understood.”

Kang Seokgu nodded reluctantly.

From the association’s perspective, announcing they had both the rising rookie Midas and V would boost their influence.

Even if they were the same person.

“In any case, let’s work well together, Midas-nim. We’ll deliver one elixir within a week. The gate rewards and loot will be converted to cash and deposited into your account.”

“Got it. Looking forward to working with you.”

“Ah, one more thing—how should we handle contracts with other guilds?”

Since I wasn’t officially part of the association, I could technically sign with other guilds.

But to protect my identity, we’d agreed that the association would act as my proxy.

“Same terms, or better if possible. But final approval is mine.”

“Understood. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Sure.”

It had been a tiring day, but a fulfilling one.

All I’d really done was work a convenience store shift and clear a gate in 10 minutes, but mentally, I was exhausted.

Still, getting a penthouse from a single contract? Not bad.

Maybe I should head there and catch up on sleep.

“Huuu… Slept well.”

“Mmm… Still sleepy.”

Wow, money really is amazing.

A powerful AC and a plush bed were an unbeatable combo.

It felt like the god of sleep himself had blessed me—I’d slept a full 12 hours straight.

Normally, I’d be getting ready for my part-time job, but after yesterday’s events, that wasn’t necessary anymore.

‘I’ll keep the store closed for about a week. Might as well treat it as a vacation. I’ll pay your salary in advance—you’ve worked hard.’

The owner, who usually worked day shifts, rarely took breaks.

Since the gate break meant business would be slow anyway, he decided to take a vacation.

What a positive guy.

“Now that I’m awake, let’s check the account.”

I opened my account to check both my salary and the gate clearance reward.

21.5 million KRW.

A 20 million won gate reward and a 1.5 million won convenience store paycheck.

“Tch, B-Rank gates are kinda stingy.”

Objectively, 20 million for clearing a single gate was huge.

Normally, a five-man party would split the profits, taking home about 4 million each.

But my brain was too desensitized to money at this point.

“This is my real base.”

With that, I entered the Tower.

Why bother with gate raids?

Just selling ramen inside the Tower could make me tens of millions.

“Let’s see how much I’ve earned.”

I opened the shop, and a flood of points unfolded before my eyes.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… Wow.”

All I sold was beef, beer, and cola, and this was the profit?

Money was literally cloning itself!

My skill was truly invincible—I was a god.

What kind of god?

The God of Wealth.