Chapter 22 — Word of Mouth (1)

After the fifth monster wave swept through, the wasteland was so dusty that it was hard to see anything ahead.

At this point… his condition probably wasn’t even “A-rank” anymore.

That meant stopping the sixth wave alone was impossible.

Chae Geundam knew that perfectly well, yet he forced his trembling legs to stay upright and tried to steady his breathing.

He had lost too many stats—just keeping balance was hard now.

The only reason he had survived this long was because of that wandering merchant “Ihye,” who appeared like the wind and told him about the hidden ability of his greatsword.

Just a little longer.

Gathering the last scraps of strength, Chae Geundam gritted his teeth and lifted his sword.

The main scenario had opened.
If he just held on a bit longer, his guildmates would handle the clear.

He slammed the greatsword vertically into the ground and gripped the handle hard enough to break it, drawing out all the mana he could.

But the shimmering white Guardian Field barely lasted a few seconds before flickering out.

“Haa…”

With a despairing sigh, Chae Geundam shut his eyes.

Is this the end…?

Then—

“Guild Leader!”

At first he thought it was a hallucination.

“Geundam hyung!”

…but the voices were too clear.

Very slowly, almost afraid to hope, Chae Geundam turned around.

“…”

They were crazy.

He knew his guildmates well, but he didn’t know they were this crazy.

One by one, familiar faces emerged through the dust, gathering in front of him.

Only when the deputy guild leader, Lee Minjung, stood before him did he finally manage to speak.

“W-What are you all doing…?”

“What do you mean? We came to back you up, of course.”

She said it casually, like it was completely normal.

But in Chae Geundam’s exhausted mind, it made no sense.

While the guild’s youngest healer, Han Bora, healed his injuries, Minjung added playfully:

“Hyunjun and Seolhee went to resolve the main scenario. It’s not a boss-kill scenario—it’s a sealing scenario. They’re infiltrating the palace to retrieve the sealing item. So we just have to hold the front line until they’re back.”

Chae Geundam frowned.

Sending only a healer and a mage on an infiltration mission was not something to take lightly.

The next monster wave would bring at least a thousand monsters.

That was just the average number he had calculated based on the last five waves.

And every wave had been stronger and more varied than the last—wave six would be brutal.

Knowing all that made the sight of his guildmates even more frustrating.

“Guild Leader, you must’ve been bored being alone for hours, right?”

…What?
Was he feeling guilty now for being secretly happy to see them?

Objectively, he should order them to leave him behind and go finish the main scenario.

But instead, he muttered softly:

“You idiots…”

Stupid, reckless idiots—
but they were the people he trusted his back to.

Han Bora brightened and chirped:

“Ihye-unnie said she had a dark mage friend! Thanks to her, we could even think about entering the palace!”

“Ihye…?”

The familiar-yet-strange name made Chae Geundam flinch.

A hunter who had a friend among the dark mages, and could freely enter the palace?

No matter how he looked at it, that was not normal.

“Yeah! She got all the sub-quest items for us too! And isn’t it funny that her name is Ihye, like a Plakon resident?”

“Since when did you start calling her unnie?”

“I asked her earlier if it was okay, and she said sure!”

“…Amazing. Truly amazing.”

Minjung and Bora chatted like they were on a picnic, not a battlefield.

Their complete lack of suspicion would’ve been shocking to anyone else.
Chae Geundam, however, quietly kept his mouth shut.

He had promised Ihye he would keep her identity as a hunter secret.

But still… how does a hunter even become friends with a dark mage?

As that thought crossed his mind—

“They’re coming.”

The air instantly turned cold.

Any trace of relaxation vanished.

The distant wasteland rumbled like thunder as the next wave approached.

But this time—

“Get ready.”

He wasn’t alone.

Chae Geundam fixed his stance, eyes sharp.

Even if their name wasn’t famous nationally, Wolf Fang (Wolpae) were comrades who had crossed the line of death many times together.

They were ready.

“Alright, you all know the drill. Dongyoon—buff in exactly 30 seconds.”

“Yes!”

“When Sunggyu puts up the shield, Kyungmin follows with AoE. Anything that gets past them, Hyeji and I will cut down. Anything we miss—Junho and Suhyeon cover from behind. Siyeon—buff me and Hyeji when we charge. Everyone else, support!”

“Yes!”

Cold, precise commands.
Immediate, unwavering responses.

Chae Geundam felt like even his empty stamina bar had magically refilled.

He had been ashamed of trying to handle this alone.

They were people who stood behind him and supported him without hesitation.

The rattling bone sounds of the monsters grew thunderously close.

Giving up on the broken Guardian Field, Chae Geundam shouted with all his strength, fueled by trust in his comrades:

“I trust you!”

And then—

***

Ssssshhh—

“…What?”

All the monsters froze in place.

As if someone had pressed a pause button.

Before the guild could even process what was happening, the monsters’ silhouettes flickered unnaturally.

Then—

They disintegrated into dust and scattered.

As if they had never existed.

And in the empty space, a long-awaited notification window appeared.

***

[■ Babel System > 49F Notice
— Main Scenario ‘Lord of Darkness’ has been completed.]

Everyone stared blankly at the air.

A brighter window appeared.

[■ Babel System: Guild ‘Wolf Fang’ has cleared Floor 49.]
[■ Babel System: Floor 50 ‘Midway Station’ is now open.]

The world outside the tower would be seeing these messages lighting up the sky.

“So… easily?”

“We—we cleared it!”

Countless guilds had failed at the 49th floor for more than seven months.

They never imagined they would be the ones to clear it.

Their cheers were unstoppable—especially since this was the first time the 49F raid had been cleared without any casualties.

As the guild celebrated and clapped each other on the back, Chae Geundam quietly wondered:

…Just who is this person named ‘Ihye’?

* * *

In front of the towering entrance of Babel Tower, crowds had gathered.

Everyone’s faces were flushed red under the scorching summer sun, but no one left.

Among them was Oh Taesik, the PD of the hunter news program Hunter Everyday.

Wiping sweat from his neck, he asked the writer next to him:

“Shouldn’t they be coming out soon?”

“Probably. The clear notice popped up around 7 or 8 a.m.”

Oh Taesik checked his phone.

1:12 p.m.

About five hours had passed since the message announcing the 49F clear.

Typically, hunters took about half a day to rest and sort the loot before returning.

“They should be coming now…”

The moment he said that—

“Oh! They’re coming!”

“They’re coming out!”

Thunderous cheers erupted.

Camera flashes fired nonstop.

Through the portal at Babel Tower’s entrance, the Wolf Fang guild walked out proudly.

Journalists surged forward.
Oh Taesik signaled his cameraman to film.

Hunter Everyday gathered daily hunter-related news.
A formal studio interview could be arranged later—but capturing the live return of the heroes who cleared the dreaded 49F was priceless.

Microphones stretched past the barrier.

Even before anyone approached to answer, reporters were already shouting:

“How many casualties occurred during this scenario?!”

“Did you completely open the 49th floor?!”

“Did you visit the newly opened 50th floor?!”

“What are your thoughts on clearing a floor every guild has failed?!”

Then the man leading the party walked forward—

Short sports-cut hair.
Broad-shouldered, sharp presence.

South Korea’s 7th S-rank hunter, and guild master of Wolf Fang:

Chae Geundam.

His aura was still razor-sharp from the fight, and reporters instinctively flinched.

He swept his short hair back and pointed at one reporter.

“I heard 15 of you took part. How many casualties?”

“Two injured. No deaths.”

Reporters’ eyes went wide.

The 49th floor was infamous—South Korea’s strongest guilds had failed repeatedly.

Yet today, the 49F was cleared.
South Korea had become the first in the world to reach the 50th floor.

“Did you visit the 50th floor after it opened?”

“Not yet. It has opened, but only the guild that cleared the floor can enter for the first week.”

His answer sounded negative, but it was exactly what everyone wanted to hear.

The 50F—Midway Station.

Last time a Midway Station opened at Floor 25, the world exploded with benefits:

• inter-floor travel unlocked
• awakened market accessible outside the tower
• brand-new unique items released

Whatever 50F brought would be even bigger.

At that moment, Chae Geundam pointed at Oh Taesik.

Startled but seizing the opportunity, Oh Taesik asked:

“How did you clear the 49th floor when everyone else failed?!”

Reporters’ eyes sparkled.

Had Wolf Fang suddenly grown stronger?
Were they hiding a re-awakener?
Did the scenario glitch?

Questions rained in from all sides.

Chae Geundam stroked his chin, thinking deeply.

“The reason we were able to clear the 49th floor safely is…”

Reporters leaned forward.
Microphones surrounded him.

The secret of the 49F clear—
the world held its breath.

Then Chae Geundam spoke with deep seriousness:

“Because of the Friendly Market.”

“…Sorry?”

“What did you say?”

They had never heard that name before.

Had he gone insane from exhaustion?

It was a reasonable suspicion.

But Chae Geundam wasn’t joking.

With solemn conviction, he repeated:

“Because of the ‘Friendly Market.’”