Chapter 17

I put the troublesome underground tower key aside and played with Myangmyang for a bit. Then, the Association President called me.

“Yes, hello?”

[Mr. Midas, we got a message from the Hoyeon Guild Leader.]

I expected this.

Even though Hoyeon Guild sent me a love call early—right after the Association—they kept delaying. And now I had already signed a contract with Kim Yooyeon.

No hunters have come out of the Tower yet, so Hoyeon Guild probably doesn’t know I made a deal with Kim Yooyeon. But they must have thought something was strange.

Of course they would…

[Kim Yooyeon was the first to clear the upper 95th floor with an S-grade.]
[Kim Yooyeon was the first to clear the upper 96th floor with an S-grade.]
[Kim Yooyeon was the first to clear the upper 97th floor with an S-grade.]
…
…

These messages were going out to the whole world.

Just like the system announcement said—she was the first to do this in the upper Tower.

No other S-rank hunter had cleared those floors with an S grade. Forget S+, they couldn’t even do S.

And that’s not all.

These announcements rang out six times in just one day.

Kim Yooyeon had already reached the final floor—the very top of the Tower.

<“High School Girl Hunter” Kim Yooyeon Close to S-Rank>
<Hunter Kim Yooyeon Clears Tower Floors 95–99 with S-Rank—Is a New Top Hunter Born?>
<Hoyeon Guild Will Have Two S-Rank Hunters If Kim Yooyeon Clears the Tower. Other Guilds Getting Worried.>
<America Shocked, Japan Jealous, China on Alert—Korea’s Hunter Kim Yooyeon.>

Of course Korea was in chaos.

This was a world-record level event.

My own record—clearing the highest Tower with S+—was just as shocking. But since I hadn’t made it public yet, hers was the top record for now.

Kim Yooyeon is still young, and when we chatted, she seemed like someone who liked attention. That’s probably why she shared her achievements.

Well, popular hunters do earn more money.

I answered the Association President.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

He paused after hearing how calm I sounded.

[Are you connected to this somehow? You sound like you expected it.]

As expected, he’s sharp.

No wonder he became Association President at a young age.

“It’s still a secret. It’s better for you to say you didn’t know anything.”

• Ah, I understand. If Hoyeon thinks I’m involved, things could get messy.

“So, what did Hoyeon say?”

• They’re asking why you delayed answering their offer. They’re wondering if it’s related to Kim Yooyeon.

As expected of a Guild Leader—he’s quick.

“There is a connection. But Kim Yooyeon came to me first, even before their offer. So, honestly, Hoyeon was just late.”

• Then I’ll explain it that way. Once Kim Yooyeon leaves the Tower, we’ll all know the details anyway.

“Yes, thank you.”

• No, I should thank you. You’ve done so much, even without a formal request.

“This time, I did it for myself. So don’t worry.”

• Still, I’ll make sure to send you the fee. Supporting such a promising hunter deserves payment.

“In that case, I’ll gladly accept.”

I liked this Association President.

Since it was a personal contract, he didn’t really have to pay me. But the fact that he wanted to support Korean hunters showed his good character.

So I replied nicely too.

“Since you’re giving me a fee, I’ll help one more time in the future. I’d hate to lose one of my ten chances just like that.”

• Hahaha! Thank you!

“Oh, and also…”

Now, this was the real topic.

I didn’t mention the random reward box I got for clearing the Tower. Instead, I explained that I happened to find a key to the underground Tower by chance.

• T-The underground key?

“Yes. They said it’s very dangerous, so I should be careful.”

• R-Really? That’s the first I’ve heard of such a thing. An underground Tower? And it’s dangerous?

“That’s what Woojae said too. Even when entering the highest Tower, no one ever said it was dangerous like this.”

• I think it’s best to hold off for now. If you go in and something happens, it would be a huge loss to humanity.

“I agree. I’m going to just keep it in my inventory for now.”

He sounded satisfied.

• Good decision. We’ll try investigating it secretly. Can you lend the key for research? Though I doubt we’ll get much from it.

“I think it’s better if I keep it for now. I don’t want too many people knowing about it.”

• I see. Understood.

For some reason, I felt like I had to be the one to keep it.

If others found out about the underground Tower, it felt like something terrible would happen.

We ended the call.

“Whew, I’m tired.”

I used all my energy hatching Myangmyang, playing with her, and then talking on the phone.

It was like heavy labor.

I wanted to rest, but I couldn’t.

Because—

Ding!
Ding!
Ding-ding-ding!
Dingdingdingdingding!

“Ugh, can I rest for one second?”

“Can’t you do something about that noise? Just block it.”

“Blocking costs 100,000 won. That’s too much… And I’ll be out of the Tower soon anyway.”

“I’ll pay. Just do it already…”

[Benefactor! Gandiva is amazing! So awesome!]

[Thanks to you, I cleared the 95th floor! With an S grade! I might have died without you.]

[Wow, why is this so good? The 96th floor was easy too. I might get out of the Tower today!]

[And the arrows are unlimited? What kind of bow is this? It’s way better than the Heavenly Bow! Not that I’ve tried that one.]

Attention? Please.

It’s loud and annoying.

I tried to ignore it, but it was too much. Time to say something.

[Hey, I read it.]
[Stop sending messages or I’ll take the item back.]
[Ah…….]

Huh? Was I too harsh?

She’s still young.

She’s a college-age student, but she was only 17 when she entered the Tower. Mentally, she’s probably still a teenager.

And the Tower doesn’t really teach you social skills.

I thought maybe I was too mean and was about to apologize when she replied:

[Hehe, did I talk too much? I’m just really happy. Sorry~]

So… she’s just a bit pure-minded.

Well, I gave her a warning, so she should be quiet now.

[Okay, then please calm down.]

[Ah! Wait! I just have one more question!]

[Yes?]

[C-Can I praise you on the news when I get out of the Tower?]

[……Please don’t.]

[Okay! I won’t! I’ll just praise you by myself! But I’ll still greet you once a day!]

[No, that’s real—]

[Nope! I have to say hello to you daily!]

“Woojae, give me 10 points right now.”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to block her?”

“I changed my mind. I think I need to block her until she leaves the Tower…”

You’re blocked.

Once she clears the Tower, she won’t be able to force-send messages anymore. So until then, I’m muting her.

What? She could just text me by phone?

Then I’ll block that too. Easy.

“Whew…”

It had been a while since he smoked.

One good thing about becoming a guild master was that he could turn a big office into his own private room.

He could smoke as much as he wanted. The ventilation was great, so the smell didn’t stick or spread.

For Hoyeon, who loved smoking, this was a big advantage.

“What the hell is going on?”

The world had suddenly become strange.

A person named Midas appeared and started making money by selling unlimited items from outside the Tower in the Tower’s auction house.

A huge rookie had appeared.

But Midas wasn’t the only one.

Suddenly, the Gate level increased, and for the first time since the Hunter Association was made 25 years ago, a Gate Break happened.

And a mysterious hunter called V stopped it instantly.

All of this had nothing to do with Hoyeon’s guild directly. The world was just moving on its own.

But recently, something happened that was very connected to his guild.

Kim Yuyeon suddenly started clearing the Tower like crazy.

“She said before that she couldn’t go up without support items.”

So, as soon as Midas showed up, Hoyeon tried hard to find him. When he saw Midas had a connection with the Association, he was the first to send a love call (offer).

It wasn’t just because of Kim Yuyeon—it was also for other people. But having two S-class hunters in a guild is very valuable, so he worked even harder.

But before he could even talk properly with Midas, Kim Yuyeon cleared 5 floors in just one day.

And she did it with S-rank.

“It must be because of Midas.”

He asked the Association, just in case. But Hoyeon was almost sure.

Before he sent the love call, Kim Yuyeon contacted Midas first, and Midas agreed with some kind of deal.

She had said she’d never move up without items.

Midas must have lent her those items.

Otherwise, there was no way she could clear the Tower that fast and with such a high rank.

‘What kind of item was it?’

Even if he gave her the Heavenly Bow and Heavenly Arrows she asked for, she couldn’t have cleared 5 floors in one day with S-rank.

So what did Midas give her? And under what condition?

“Yuyeon isn’t the type to act without thinking. I told her to check the terms carefully.”

If it was a double contract, they could sue and get her back.

If it was a fair contract, then it was a deal with Midas, which wasn’t a bad thing for the guild.

It was already the 100th floor.

Maybe she’d clear the 100th floor today. No—she will, Hoyeon thought.

$Awakened‘KimYuyeon’hasclearedtheAdvanced100thfloorforthefirsttimewithS-rank.Pleasewelcomeanewhunter.$

And it just happened.

She smashed through the last 6 floors of the advanced stage in one day, with S-rank. A monster like that just became a member of his guild.

Right then, his secretary came in.

“Guild Master! Hunter Kim Yuyeon is here—”

“Uncle! I’m here!”

“You came?”

She was still as lively as before.

“Yeah! I finally got out of that damn Tower. I almost wasted all my teen and twenties in there.”

“You blaming me for not lending you the Heavenly Bow?”

“Nope. You said you had no money, right? Then it couldn’t be helped. And it’s not like I never borrowed gear from you before.”

“You know that well. But how did you clear it so fast? You said you’d never go up without items.”

She smiled and took out her bow from her inventory.

It was clearly an amazing item.

The smooth curve of the bow, the engravings on the body, and even the wave of magical energy—it felt like the weapon was alive.

“That’s… is that a semi-mythic item?”

“No, it’s mythic-grade.”

“…What?”

Did she say it wrong?

There had never been a confirmed mythic item found in the world before.

And now one of his guild members had one?

How?

Hoyeon thought Midas was connected, but if it was mythic-grade, maybe that wasn’t it.

Even Midas shouldn’t have an item that rare. Maybe Kim Yuyeon found a hidden piece or something. That sounded more realistic.

“Yep, I made a deal with Midas-nim and borrowed it. For unlimited time.”

But his first guess was correct.

Midas was someone who could even lend out mythic items. He was beyond impressive.

Sure, “borrowed” was a bit concerning, but it wasn’t a bad deal.

Unlimited time meant she could keep using it. And it was mythic, after all.

Just getting to borrow something that rare was already amazing—unless the deal had some ridiculous catch.

So, Hoyeon asked happily:

“What’s Midas’s condition? Can our guild handle it?”

“Yeah, it’s an unlimited summon pass. Every time I get summoned, I’ll help Midas-nim.”

W-what?

Then what about our guild?

Hoyeon’s mouth dropped open in shock.