Chapter 18

Ju Hoyeon wanted to hold his head in frustration.

At first, he had been happy.

Kim Yooyeon had somehow cleared the 95th to 100th floors of the Tower in a single day, and with an S-rank rating.

He guessed that Midas was involved.

But he never expected such a crazy contract.

“Ha… What kind of contract did you make?”

“Um, why…?”

As soon as he showed anger, Kim Yooyeon became nervous.

She finally realized something was wrong.

“Are you mad, uncle? I’m sorry… I was just so excited to get out of the Tower after five years.”

“That’s not why I’m mad.”

Sure, she had been way too excited when they met after the Tower, but that was something he could overlook.

But the contract details were just too ridiculous.

Unlimited summons? And Midas gets help every time he’s summoned?

Even if it couldn’t happen inside a gate, it was like saying Midas owned half their guild.

Their guild had two S-rank hunters, but now it was like having only one and a half.

“Sigh, tell me about that ‘mythic item.’”

“Oh! It’s amazing! I couldn’t even reach A-rank before, but with this bow, my attack power and accuracy went way up! I cleared everything easily. The skills are also super strong.”

Kim Yooyeon started explaining the bow in detail.

She was trying to justify the ridiculous contract by showing how valuable the bow was.

From what she said, its base stats were over five times stronger than the old bow, and its wide-area skill was way better.

‘Wow, that really is amazing.’

Ju Hoyeon calmed down a bit.

The mythic item was even better than he imagined.

If it was powerful enough to let someone like Kim Yooyeon clear the Tower in one day, it made sense.

‘Still, there are more problems.’

Midas was smart. Very smart.

Even if he were Kim Yooyeon, he might have taken the deal too.

Why care about the guild, if you can get strong and escape the Tower quickly?

But it was still hard for the guild.

If they wanted to cancel the contract through legal action, they’d have to return the mythic item.

Plus, they’d ruin their relationship with Midas.

“What level is your fighting skill now, in your opinion?”

He asked seriously.

Yooyeon could be overly cheerful sometimes, but she wasn’t dumb.

She just acted bright to cover up her pain. Deep down, she was thoughtful.

“Maybe… I could beat you?”

She smiled confidently—not the fake smile she always showed, but a real one.

Ju Hoyeon chuckled too.

“You’re being arrogant.”

“It’s not arrogance, it’s the mythic item. Without it, I’d definitely lose to you.”

If she was that confident, it meant the item was truly worth it.

Actually, it was more like Midas gave her a gift.

Having the only known mythic item in the world—except for Midas—meant their guild was bound to succeed.

Plus, they could build a connection with Midas.

Even if they couldn’t find out who Midas really was because of a confidentiality contract, just having a connection with him was valuable.

It was a win-win.

Ju Hoyeon made up his mind and nodded.

“Alright, I’ll talk to the association president. Go meet Midas. I’m sure you thanked him inside the Tower, right?”

“Um, well…”

“Well?”

“I got too excited and caused a scene… so I got banned from the Tower…”

“Are you serious?!”

“S-sorry…”

“Get out!”

“I-I’ll apologize to Midas properly! I’m sorry!”

Starting with a mistake like this—it was a mess.

Ju Hoyeon frowned and held his forehead.

But even though his forehead was wrinkled, he was smiling a little.

“You’ve grown well… your daughter.”

It was his way of making peace.

His best friend had died six years ago in an S-rank gate.

Unlike him, who had no wife or girlfriend, his friend had a daughter.

Ju Hoyeon had always admired him—working hard to support his family.

Then his wife died young from illness, and he himself died during a dungeon raid.

‘What a guy with no luck…’

Sure, gate accidents were common, but his friend’s luck was terrible.

It was a maze-type gate, and he got separated from the team.

When Ju Hoyeon found him after clearing it, he was already dead.

All that was left was his cold body.

His friend, Hyunseok, left behind only one daughter in middle school.

‘You said you’d never die before your daughter…’

People don’t know when they’ll die.

Especially hunters, who risk their lives daily.

But it was still too soon.

Ju Hoyeon had even wished he’d died instead.

But what helped him overcome the pain was the message carved on the ground near Hyunseok’s body:

[Hoyeon, I’m sorry. Please take care of my daughter.]

The handwriting was shaky and rough, probably written while dying, but full of love.

That gave Ju Hoyeon the strength to raise Kim Yooyeon.

Even after her mother died, Yooyeon stayed bright.

But after her father died, she lost all emotion.

At 17, she insisted on entering the Tower.

‘Uncle, I want to go into the Tower.’

‘No.’

He refused right away.

It was the same gate that had killed her dad, but she wasn’t scared.

Her emotions, gone for a year, returned—this time burning with anger.

Still, Hoyeon didn’t allow it because she was unstable.

So she pretended to be cheerful for a month and waited for his guard to drop.

Then she disappeared into the Tower.

“You’re just like your dad—always doing what you want. Running off to the Tower, making weird contracts. You’re exactly like him.”

[Come on, I’m way more careful. She must take after her mom.]

“Yeah right. If you were careful, you wouldn’t have gotten separated in that dungeon.”

[Hahaha! Okay, maybe she is a bit like me.]

He could almost hear Hyunseok laughing.

But dead men don’t talk.

It was just a voice Hoyeon imagined.

“Anyway, I did my best. I kept my promise, right?”

[Yeah. Thanks for taking care of my wild daughter, man.]

Today of all days, he wished he had another glass of alcohol.

“Ah, should we cancel the contract?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Well… I want the slave contract, but I don’t want her next to me.”

“I totally agree.”

We were currently waiting for Kim Yu-yeon.
The topic of discussion was: Should we keep that contract or cancel it?

Of course, we could cancel it.
We were in the stronger position, and from the guild’s perspective, it was a very unfair deal, so they would be happy to cancel it.

But the problem was the myth-grade item.
If we canceled the contract and let her keep the item, that would be fine.
But if we took it back, that would cause trouble.
And honestly, it felt like we did charity work, which made it uncomfortable.

“How about we add a condition that she must stay silent every time she’s summoned?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Or maybe we can ban her from contacting us privately?”

“That also works.”

“Or… just cancel the whole thing?”

“That’s okay too… but we should take the myth item back.”

This is such a headache.

Is everyone in the tower crazy?
I thought Lee Woo-jae was insane for always trying to kill people, but compared to this, he seems totally normal.

While we were still thinking, a woman appeared in front of us.
She had black hair and a sharp, pretty face.
She carried a big bow case on her back.

It was Kim Yu-yeon.
That must be where the Gandiva was stored.
She had long arms and legs, and just by looking at her, she seemed like a skilled archer.

Gulp.
I swallowed nervously without even realizing it.
Please don’t be loud and over-excited like before…
For an introvert like me, that would be hard to handle.

“Uh, hello…”

“Huh?”

Huh? What’s this?

She’s totally different from what I imagined.
Not at all like how she acted in the chat.

“Is this your real personality?”

“Ah… not really. I’m usually cheerful, but I got too excited after coming out of the tower after 5 years…”

“Ah, I see.”

“I’m sorryyyy…”

Okay, that I could understand.
I couldn’t fully relate since I could enter and exit the tower freely, but Lee Woo-jae was kind of like her too.

He even cried the first time he ate grilled pork belly.

Thinking of that, I looked at Lee Woo-jae and saw him nodding with a kind, understanding face.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s understandable.”

Seeing him like that, I smiled and felt relieved, then asked her,

“So, you’re not going to act overly excited again, right?”

“Nope!”

“Then you can relax now.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“Wow, thank you, lifesaver!”

Wait—did she really just call me lifesaver out loud?
She already stands out, but now she’s bowing 90 degrees with full respect?

People nearby were staring at us even more.

If it wasn’t for Lee Woo-jae’s magic, we might’ve gotten into trouble.
They’d start thinking something weird if she kept calling me her savior.

“Nice to meet you! And thank you for lending me the myth-grade item!”

“You don’t have to thank me that much. Also… the item isn’t mine. It’s his.”

“His…? Gasp!”

She finally looked at Lee Woo-jae, who she had completely ignored until now.
She stared at him, and her eyes widened as she stepped back.

“W-Why is this old guy here?!”

“Old guy? Why am I just an old guy and he’s the lifesaver?”

“What else should I call you?! You look over 50!”

“…But I look like I’m in my early 20s.”

“Still an old guy! Just like how I can’t call myself a high school girl!”

She’s not wrong, but can you really talk like that to someone who owns over 10 myth-grade items?

Even Lee Woo-jae looked offended and whispered to me,

“I think we should cancel her contract.”

“Uh… You’re the real owner of the item, so your opinion matters…”

“Nooo! Mister! Your mental age isn’t in your 20s, right? Can’t you be more generous?”

“I really think canceling is the right choice.”

“Come on! Lifesaver! You’re not gonna cancel, right? Both of you benefit from the contract!”

“Well… that’s true…”

Honestly, I had considered canceling because of her overly excited behavior.
But I wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“I’ll do my best to help, so please don’t take it back!”

She looked like she was ready to kneel.
She dropped the silly tone and spoke sincerely, which made Lee Woo-jae nod.

“Hm. Fine. Do what the boss says.”

“Thank you! Thank you! If you want me to call you a lifesaver too, I’ll do it!”

“…Now I changed my mind again. Let’s cancel.”

“Ack!”

“Ahahaha!”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
Turns out, she’s actually kind of fun.