Chapter 22

[Who’s the one who offered 100 billion won at the recent Hunter auction at The Hyundai Department Store?]

[Still unknown identity of Midas… Is it the Association’s incompetence or intentional concealment?]

[Suspected appearance of Midas at the auction. Just who is he?]

[Today again, Midas only placed five packs of ramen in the Tower… Is his monopoly really okay?]

The next day, just as expected, the news was full of articles about me.

They weren’t even sure it was Midas—just guessing because someone offered 100 billion at the auction—and yet it made huge headlines.

Every time this happens, I feel how popular I am.

And that makes sense. These days, even TV and YouTube ads are openly calling for me.

Not only Hunter-related companies and guilds, but even regular companies are looking for me.

Of course, there are also more negative articles about me.

“Wow, boss, you’re super popular. You might as well become a celebrity.”

“If it’s you, our savior, you could totally be a celebrity. You’ve got the looks and the personality.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Haha.”

“If you’re not gonna stick with it, then stop with the lame flattery…”

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud. I guess no one really hates compliments.

Of course, being a celebrity or famous person wasn’t something I cared about at all.

“Anyway, Yooyeon, shouldn’t you be going back to your guild soon?”

“…”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”

“Ah, haha. I’m on strike. If I go back now, all I’ll get is scolded by Mr. Hoyeon, so why go?”

“Is that really okay?”

“…Not really. Just 10 more minutes. I’ll leave after that.”

“Don’t be so scared. You’ll earn money again soon.”

“Wow, that sounded cool. As expected from our savior.”

Unlike those tired days before, I felt full of energy again.

I had the motivation to earn money now.

Turns out, spending is what makes people want to work.

“Hmm~ What should I sell to make more money?”

Midas’s golden cart (everyone calls it that) always sells best with instant food and alcohol.

Among those, alcohol is always the top seller.

Makes sense. People love drinking even when there’s nothing going on. In a war-like, harsh place, wouldn’t they want to drink even more?

There were so many people trying to brew alcohol in the Tower that even alcohol-making guidebooks were selling like crazy.

Thanks to that, I was making about 1 billion won a day just from alcohol.

A bottle of soju that costs 1,900 won in the real world was selling for 10 million won here—crazy.

“But this still isn’t enough.”

“What are you talking about? You’re making 10 billion a week.”

“True, but it’s because of Myangmyang’s food.”

“How much can that tiny thing even eat…?”

“At least 300 million won a day.”

Kim Yooyeon was left speechless, staring blankly like she was hypnotized.

I had 80 billion won in debt, and only 10 billion in assets. I still needed to earn about 70 billion more.

Technically, I didn’t have to pay it back—there was no deadline or interest. But I still had a conscience.

Since I could make around 10 billion a week, I could pay it all off in less than two months.

It was more than enough to take care of myself.

I wasn’t lacking money. In fact, I had too much.

At least, that’s how it looked.

“Your yearly food cost is probably more than my salary…”

“It’s fine for me. I can earn a whole month’s worth of food money in a week.”

“…Then why are you short on money? You can duplicate cash anyway.”

“I want to feed Myangmyang more. She’s growing too slowly.”

“Myang!”

Myangmyang meowed like she agreed.

Kim Yooyeon stared at her blankly, but when she heard I’d feed her more, she snapped out of it and yelled,

“Y-You’re feeding her 300 million won a day, that’s 10 billion a month! And now you want to give her more!?”

“Well, at this rate, she won’t be an adult until 2,000 years later. Don’t you think I should at least see her grow up before I die?”

“Myang!”

“Haha… As expected, our savior is on a different level.”

Of course, like Lee Woojae said before, feeding her more probably wouldn’t make her grow into an adult faster.

She was treated like an item, not a player, so she wouldn’t grow just by going up the Tower.

If that worked, her species wouldn’t have an average maturation time of 2,000 years.

Still, feeding her more definitely made her stronger.

Even as a newborn, she had A-rank-level mana. Once her awareness developed, she’d be even stronger.

And the mana stones I fed her early on would help too.

“Also, I don’t know how long I can keep earning like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a limit to selling food and booze from the outside world.”

So far, I had two income sources.

First, taking outside goods into the Tower and selling them at crazy prices.

Second, getting paid by the Association and guilds to hand over goods.

Just those two earned me more money than most billionaires—pure cash too.

Basically, I was a one-person company.

‘But this income won’t last forever.’

Eventually, when supply increases, prices go down.

I’m trying to control the supply, but prices are already starting to drop.

In fact, food prices are showing signs of declining.

Some articles are even starting to criticize me for charging such high prices.

‘Honestly, I’ve held out well. Others used to overcharge, but it was just tolerated until now.’

There were people selling 1-million-won tablets for tens of millions.

Stockpiling was considered normal because people could only enter the Tower once.

But I could stockpile forever, control the supply, and keep earning—so the criticism started coming my way.

I didn’t care what journalists or others thought, as long as I made money.

But the demand was definitely starting to decrease.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. I need to think it through slowly.”

Still, I was earning good money.

Unless I found another method, I’d keep this going for now.

For the time being, my income would likely keep increasing.

I had contracts with the Association and Hoyeon. The more people I lend to, the more I earn.

If it came to it, I could live just by renting out Hunter gear.

“Anyway, getting stronger myself is important too. That’s why I bought skill books and ores at the auction.”

“Exactly. Even in a world where money is everything, a Hunter’s strength still matters.”

“Speaking of which, Mr. Woojae, how about we climb the Tower again? I want to test the skill book.”

“Oh? You’re the one suggesting a Tower climb for once?”

“I want to see if the skill book was worth the money, and also… I want to shake off this darkness.”

No matter how awful the darkened state was, I’d have to use it someday.

Even with contracts with the Association and Hoyeon, my life wasn’t safe.

With this OP skill, people would come looking for me sooner or later.

Especially since Gate Breaks were happening more frequently all over the world.

Ironically, going into the Tower to grow stronger was the safest option.

Plus, I had someone who’d drive a luxury bus for me.

“Got it. Are we going now?”

“Yeah. I need to go before I change my mind.”

“W-Wait!”

Just as I was about to enter the Tower, Kim Yooyeon grabbed my sleeve.

“W-What about me?”

“Huh? You’re done with your job. Time to go back.”

“Can’t you take me too? I really don’t want to face Mr. Hoyeon!”

“You can’t enter. Mr. Woojae gets in because he’s treated as an item.”

“T-Then… can I just stay here for a while?”

“No. You’re an adult. Act like one.”

“N-No! Don’t go! Please!”

Of course, I wasn’t exactly adult-like myself…

“Enter Tower.”

Ignoring Kim Yooyeon’s desperate hands, we headed into the Tower.

Good luck, Yooyeon.

“Come to think of it, boss, did you know you can actually bring Kim Yooyeon in?”

“Huh? How?”

As soon as we entered, Lee Woojae said something random.

He and Myangmyang are allowed because they’re treated like items, but Yooyeon isn’t.

So how?

“Just use that inventory item.”

“Huh?”

“You bought it because it lets you bring even players and people, remember?”

“Wait… no way?”

“Yep. If you put Yooyeon into your inventory, you can bring her into the Tower.”

I always thought it was weird that a no-limit inventory cost 30 billion won—but this is why.

If that’s true, then it’s a priceless item.

It means I could form a raid party when I attack the Tower.

“How do you even know that works? You’ve tried it?”

“Yep. When I was stuck on the 90th floor for 24 years, I tried everything. I even succeeded in moving a living creature to another floor.”

“So, since each floor is a separate dimension, it’s the same as leaving the Tower, right?”

Exactly.

It’s just a rule that limits people in the Tower. Functionally, moving floors is the same as exiting.

I was just the only one who could go back and forth freely.

“Exactly what you guessed. My inventory only held one living creature, but this one? It has no time limit, unlimited space, and no lifeform restriction.”

“I thought it just had good features, but this is something else.”

“Well, technically I could leave too, but the aftereffects would destroy my soul the moment I exit. Too bad.”

“Well, the mana density out there must be crazy high.”

Actually, the features weren’t that impressive.

Unlimited space isn’t a big deal since most inventories are already huge, and the time flow and lifeform stuff—meh.

“But why didn’t you say this earlier? Yooyeon really wanted to come.”

“She’s loud.”

“Wow…”

That’s some next-level thinking.

Is this the wisdom of a man in his fifties?

He knew how valuable the item was from the start but kept it secret just so Yooyeon wouldn’t tag along.

How far back did he plan this?

“Anyway, we’ve got climbing to do, skills to train, ores to refine—lots to do. We’ll call her if we really need help.”

“Agreed.”

Yooyeon had a contract with Hoyeon Guild, and keeping her with us wasn’t helping them.

She might suffer a bit, but that’s the price of a myth-grade item.

“Alright, let’s climb the Tower and train these skills.”

“Okay.”

And with that, we headed to the 6th floor.