Chapter 10 …
「Re-entry.
Clear rewards cannot be obtained.」
「Two entries per day.
Byproduct collection in the Tower is restricted.」
Lee Hyun immediately re-entered the 7th floor to try out the Poison Bullet.
As before, the goblin warriors and archers were arranged in formation, keeping watch.
However, there was no way for them to detect Lee Hyun, who was fully cloaked with the stealth mantle.
When he used the Poison Bullet, a faint green aura swirled at the muzzle of the gun.
It was a very dark, ominous green, distinctly different from the surrounding grass.
‘It activates upon impact, so I guess I can fire it at the ground.’
Lee Hyun aimed at the goblin in the middle of the group as much as possible and fired.
Thunk—!
The sound was more like a blunt grenade launch than a bullet.
Pah—!
The goblin hit in the chest had a large hole, but its upper body didn’t completely explode.
Still, the effect was undeniable.
Fwoooosh—!
The moment the projectile pierced through and hit the ground, thick green smoke erupted.
Kerreuh—? Kerreuh—?
The goblins panicked at the sudden situation, but soon the smoke engulfed them all.
Ke-e-e—
Cries of pain followed, then silence a few seconds later.
「All enemies eliminated.
You have cleared the 7th floor.」
“……Hm.”
It was over.
Truly a one-shot.
‘This is something I should only use inside the Tower.’
Of course, he had no intention of using it outside, but he made a firmer resolution: he would never use the Poison Bullet outdoors.
After a while, the smoke dispersed and completely vanished.
“Even now, it’s safe, right?”
Although the skill did no harm to the user, seeing the goblins disappear so quickly made him uneasy.
Lee Hyun cautiously approached the goblins’ bodies.
Naturally, because they were affected by poison, their condition seemed fine.
Their expressions and posture looked like they were in extreme pain, though.
When he reached out his hand:
「Collectable Byproduct
Goblin Bone.」
As expected, a notification popped up indicating he could collect the bones.
However, he couldn’t actually add them to his inventory.
「Two entries per day.」
As the warning stated, today was his second entry.
“Hmm. In that case……”
Lee Hyun hesitated for a moment.
Originally, tomorrow would be the day to challenge the 8th floor.
But looking at it carefully, entering the 7th floor a few more times seemed fine.
He could gain experience easily, and the ordinary goblin bones could still be useful.
And if not?
‘I can just contact Deokhoon… no, my little brother.’
Since there was a place to sell them anyway, there was no real loss.
The next day, Lee Hyun entered the 7th floor as planned.
Thunk—!
He wiped out the goblins with a single shot and collected all the bones from the poisoned goblins.
Twenty-three goblin bones went straight into his inventory in one go.
‘The yield’s good.’
Normally, warriors would collect bones with less than a 70% success rate.
If the bones were broken during battle, they couldn’t be gathered.
But thanks to the Poison Bullet, Lee Hyun had 100% collection.
Looking at the full inventory of bones, he tilted his head.
‘Wait a second.’
The mana stone gun had gained a skill from absorbing special bones.
So maybe it could also absorb ordinary bones?
There was no harm in trying.
Lee Hyun placed the bones into the gun just like yesterday.
Slurp—
“Wow, it’s eating well~”
As expected, it absorbed the bones perfectly.
Once he fed in enough for one goblin, the notification appeared:
「Item, ‘Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle’ has absorbed goblin bones.
Durability has been restored.
When durability is fully restored, Goblin Bone Ammo will be generated in the magazine.」
“……So it has durability, huh?”
Lee Hyun gently patted the gun with an apologetic look.
It was fragile and couldn’t even speak, yet it had gone through so much trouble alone.
‘This might get a bit dangerous.’
After feeding about six goblins’ bones, the gun’s durability was fully restored.
Then the magazine finally started to fill.
「Goblin Bone Ammo (F) *5
Bullet speed and rate of fire increased; firepower slightly reduced.
Cannot apply attributes to the bullets.
Bullet marks are limited to bullet size.
Does not consume mana.」
Five bullets per goblin—so 17 goblins would yield 85 rounds.
‘It’s a bit few, but catching them isn’t hard.’
Compared to the volume of bones used, it was a little disappointing.
Still, he was satisfied with the effect.
Firepower was already overkill.
Faster bullets and higher rate of fire made it perfect for clearing weak enemies like goblins.
‘Limiting bullet marks will also help with collecting byproducts.’
Most importantly, it didn’t consume mana.
In many ways, it was extremely useful to Lee Hyun.
For the next two days, Lee Hyun repeatedly entered the 7th floor, collected goblin bones, and converted them into bone ammo.
Talent Search Division, Administration Office
“Fuuuuuu……”
Manager Sung Yoon let out a deep sigh.
It was so profound that if a passerby heard it, they might have been justified in smacking him on the back of the head.
Inhale.
Then, after a pause:
Huuuuuuu…….
A deeper sigh.
He had been like this since yesterday.
Naturally, his subordinates were having a hard time.
Sung Yoon called the employee closest to him.
“Third day, right……?”
“Yes, Manager.”
Though it was just a question, everyone knew what it meant.
For three days now, Ilgyeok, who had set the record of consecutive S+ clears on the 7th floor, had not done any Tower activity.
“Why the hell……? Why would a hunter who climbed steadily once a day suddenly stop?”
Muttering to himself, Sung Yoon suddenly stood up and shouted:
“Why the hell!!!”
It looked serious to anyone watching, but the Talent Search Division and other teams didn’t respond.
They knew how much stress Sung Yoon was under.
One employee cautiously raised a hand.
“Maybe… he can’t clear with S+ anymore?”
The most rational guess.
In fact, the media occasionally suggested this possibility.
Even clearing the 7th floor consecutively was impressive; expecting more might have been greedy.
However, those familiar with the Tower dismissed that likelihood.
“If that were the case, he would have stopped at the 5th floor. He cleared the 5th and 7th—why suddenly fail on the 8th?”
Of course, humans can make mistakes.
Maybe he slipped on the 8th floor and couldn’t achieve S+.
Then the 9th floor?
Employees at the Talent Search Division were aware of this context and agreed with Sung Yoon.
Meanwhile, an employee who often claimed “Ilgyeok must have become a villain” raised his hand.
Sung Yoon frowned, clearly not wanting to hear it.
“Enough. If you’re going to say villain nonsense again, don’t even open your mouth.”
“No, this is different.”
“……Then speak.”
Sung Yoon allowed it, knowing a leader must hear opinions.
The employee nodded seriously.
“Maybe he moved abroad?”
“Shut up!!! Shut up forever!!!”
“Clerk, spit it out, spit it out!”
Sung Yoon and other employees sprang up like a hive, shouting.
The volume of bad news should be proportional, apparently.
‘Ah, I wish a nuclear bomb would explode’—some thoughts people muttered.
But since the Tower’s creation, immigration procedures had become incredibly complex.
Unless an Awakened had an extraordinary reason, immigration was almost impossible.
“If he moved, there would have been announcements in other countries’ Towers, you idiot!”
Sung Yoon, normally mild-mannered, swore vehemently.
A timid employee typed quickly on the keyboard.
“……Let go of the hand.”
“Ah.”
Sung Yoon tried to stop him, but the employee had already pressed Enter.
At the same time, this appeared in the Talent Search Division chat:
Could it still be in process?
The employee found a clever way to speak after being told to stay silent.
Sung Yoon, about to have a heart attack from stress, watched as others quickly searched the news and offered opinions.
“Maybe it’s a delay tactic to raise his ‘price’?”
“……What are you talking about?”
“He might be waiting a few days to contact us or other guilds and prepare a report……”
That was also a plausible guess.
If Ilgyeok was smart enough, he would act strategically.
However.
“Did he open his private messages?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then how would he make contact?”
“Hmm……”
“Still, good idea. Check with other guild contacts and make a report.”
“Understood, Manager.”
Thumbs-up gestures poured in for the employee who suggested the ransom theory.
The peace of the Talent Search Division was preserved!
Then:
“Huh!?!?”
“……I told you to stay quiet.”
The previously silenced employee suddenly turned pale and stood up.
Other employees tried desperately to get him to sit.
Please sit, please!
“Maybe he’s been kidnapped?!”
“Weren’t you saying he moved abroad earlier?”
“Then, as you said, he would have gone to another country’s Tower. If he were secretly kidnapped……”
“The NIS says no.”
“Ah?”
“???”
Everyone tilted their heads at Sung Yoon’s calm remark.
“How do you know that?”
“I met the NIS director recently.”
“Ah… I see.”
It probably wasn’t a pleasant meeting.
“But if the NIS knew, then it wouldn’t be a secret exit, right?”
“Anyway. They caught all illegal entries and exits within a month, but no Hunters or Awakened were found.”
Even though Talent Search Division couldn’t locate Ilgyeok, they weren’t just standing idle.
They were using all methods available but still couldn’t find him.
“Maybe he just got bored……”
“Come on, that’s impossible.”
“Why, after clearing the Tower seven times, what…….”
As employees continued chatting, suddenly:
Beep— Beep—!
Short warning sounds rang sporadically inside the administration office.
No one was particularly surprised.
If you worked in the administration office, it happened fairly often.
Sung Yoon asked:
“Where this time?”
“Um, nearby. Seongnae-gu, Gaechundong.”
“Grade?”
“E.”
The short warning usually indicated the appearance of a “Gate,” an instant Tower.
Unlike other instant Towers that required strategy, Gates just produced a doorway, and monsters would immediately appear.
Fortunately, no strong monsters appeared—at worst, an ogre.
However, having this in the city center was quite inconvenient.
The Gate Response Department next to the Talent Search Division went into action.
“Seongnae-gu! The nearest special unit is Cheongryong, right?!”
“Yes, Manager!”
“Request 5-minute standby there, and contact all Hunters nearby!”
“Hunters won’t cooperate if they don’t know the monsters……”
“It’s downtown Seoul! Who cares about cooperation?! Handle it however you want! Issue evacuation orders to the city hall, quickly!”
Following the manual, the response was executed in a flash.
The Gate Response Department manager, brushing his face, said:
“Damn, as long as Baek Sung Yoon is busy, that’s fine, but why Seoul of all places……”
Sung Yoon shot him a sharp glare.
That guy?
But both sides knew each other’s circumstances, so nothing could be said.
Sung Yoon thought over the news of the Gate.
E grade wasn’t particularly high, but the location was problematic.
‘……If only a Hunter from the Tower were nearby.’
No matter how fast the special forces responded, the ideal scenario would be for Ilgyeok to be present.
Sung Yoon shook his head.
After the past few days dealing with Ilgyeok, his thoughts were completely consumed by him.
Ilgyeok wasn’t a god—how could he just appear at the Gate?
