82 How to Get to the 6th Floor

Right now, the Tower is facing unprecedented chaos.

Cyber City’s lockdown.

The Tower elevator that goes up to the 6th floor has stopped working.

Even the Administration Bureau couldn’t figure out why.

It had also turned out that the urban legend about Cyber City seeking a way to sever its ties with other floors after the inter-floor war was true.

[As you can see, people who couldn’t go up are staying inside the Tower, and it is presumed that people who couldn’t come down from the 6th floor are also staying there-.]

On the TV in Meracle’s lobby, the news showed people sheltering in the Tower like refugees.

They used their suitcases as pillows, or even pulled out bedding and lay down.

They were supposed to go up, but since they couldn’t, they were staying in the Tower.

[Relief supplies are being delivered, but a practical solution is-.]

“Sigh. What on earth is going on?”

Reneca, who had been cleaning, let out a sigh while leaning on the mop.

“The environment on the 6th floor is unpleasant enough, but how can one fathom the heart of someone who cannot return to their homeland?”

“……”

“At least it’s fortunate that there’s a decent place to stay. There’s a roof, and it keeps out the wind!”

To a race that flopped down the moment they saw a tree, the inside of the Tower must look like some sort of luxury hotel.

Anyway.

I returned to my daily life.

I said I’d help more, but Yoo Yena clearly drew the line.

‘It’s okay now, Juseon. From here on, I’ll handle it.’

‘You just need to go back to being the president of a marriage agency. Back to your everyday life.’

Three days had passed since she said that and went back.

Meracle was almost absurdly peaceful.

If I put it nicely, it was peaceful; honestly, it was just quiet.

With Aranchino’s death, the Yeoeum Society was in chaos. Meracle, which had recently been living off Yeoeum Society business, was now seeing no customers at all.

“They say life has its ups and downs, but this is ridiculous. How can it just stop so abruptly?”

It wasn’t just that new members had stopped coming in— even the members who had signed up were refusing to meet right now.

So most of the work had stopped.

The important thing was that even ordinary members had begun to stay away a little because of the Yeoeum Society.

“Ah... I’m glad I didn’t buy a car.”

Just as I was relieved that I’d almost entered hard mode, Reneca shouted proudly.

“Look at this! When I speak, even rice cakes appear in your sleep!”

“A living idiom, as expected.”

We gain wisdom through our ancestors’ lives, but this one is an ancestor herself.

Just a walking lump of wisdom.

Come to think of it, the old sayings we know might actually have been said by some neighborhood kid called Gaeddongi living next door to Reneca.

Kim Yang, offering instant coffee and sitting beside me, asked hopefully.

“B-but. Y-you have money, right?”

“I do have money. Don’t worry, I’m not a boss whose employees’ pay gets delayed like in the old days.”

It was fortunate that Yoo Yena had given me 200 million won in cash.

No, maybe I should say it was fortunate I’d even thought about buying a car.

If I had taken that 200 million as seed money and put it into crypto or stocks, the losses would’ve been no joke.

Because of the 6th floor, stocks were in a general slump right now.

Still, there was a lot of talk that once the 6th-floor situation was resolved, things would return to normal, so I’d parked the money for now.

The problem was that nobody knew when that normal would come.

“Sigh. In a situation like this, I guess I just have to accept it if there are no customers.”

The empty lobby.

It was so quiet that there was no need to stay in the 3rd-floor office, so I was sitting on the 2nd-floor sofa and watching TV.

The diligent Raichen had been sitting in the lobby since earlier, texting away.

Looks like things with Ms. Kim Dajeong were going absurdly well.

“It’s not just us, right?”

“N-no way.”

“Everywhere else must be the same!”

Kim Yang and Reneca had comforted me, but I still pulled out my phone and contacted Taphon just in case.

Taphon’s CEO, Yoo Jihye, answered quickly.

- Hello?

“Hello, this is Kim Juseon.”

- What’s the occasion?

“Just because. I’m calling to check in on a senior in the industry and see how you’ve been doing lately.”

- Ah-huh? Sounds like you’re pretty free right now.

I was caught immediately.

“Ahem. How’s Taphon doing right now?”

- We’re about the same. People only date when they have room to spare. When things are this chaotic, you just sit still and endure while spending as little money as possible.

“...That’s a useful tip.”

- Well, the existing clients haven’t disappeared, though. I hear Meracle made a killing off Yeoeum Society guests.

“Ahem.”

- If you overeat just because it tastes good, you’ll get indigestion. Just like now.

She was right, so I had nothing to say.

We had made a ton of money from the Yeoeum Society, but that had made Meracle’s image a little strange.

“Even so... our Meracle motto is that we never turn away customers who come to us.”

- ...Juseon, if Meracle ever stops doing well, come to Taphon anytime. We’ll always have a seat for you.

“Thank you just for saying that.”

- I mean it.

After talking that far, I hung up. Well, there had definitely been a harvest.

Now it was clear that we weren’t the only ones having a hard time.

“I feel much better. It’s a relief that I’m not the only one sinking.”

“Who is that woman to tell the boss to come to her company!”

Perhaps because she had sharp ears and caught the whole call, Reneca grumbled.

TV news was showing a view of Cyber City that had been filmed earlier.

Even though the caption saying we might never see it again was just the station’s usual melodrama.

“……”

As I looked at that place, the conversations I’d had with Axis flashed through my mind like an ending credit roll.

A story I no longer needed to be involved in.

Even though I had already done all I could.

- It is Axis’s wish.

That answer had left behind a strange lingering feeling.

“Reneca.”

“Hm?”

I asked her, since she had run out of places to clean and was getting bored.

“Do you have a wish?”

“Me? All of a sudden?”

“Yes, suddenly. I was just curious.”

At my question, Reneca answered cheerfully.

“Marriage! I want to fall in love with a super handsome man!”

“Who was it then? Chaun-.”

“No, he’s not my type anymore. Someone like Park Bugyeom!”

Her taste sure changes easily.

A cheerful answer.

This time, my gaze went to Raichen over there.

“What about you, Raichen? Anything you wish for?”

At my question, Raichen came striding over. She could have answered while sitting in the lobby, but it seemed she was showing proper respect because I was the boss.

“Ultimately, I want to become a great mage, one who surpasses my master. But for now, my goal is... to learn about people.”

“I think you’re learning well.”

At Reneca’s muttering, Raichen didn’t deny it.

She really was doing well in her own way.

“Then what about Kim Yang?”

When I asked Kim Yang, who was looking at her phone beside me, she thought for a moment.

“...A hot spring?”

A somewhat out-of-the-blue desire.

“Why a hot spring?”

“J-just. T-the weather’s getting warmer.”

“So you want to go to a hot spring before it gets warm?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Hmm...”

A pretty trivial wish.

I nodded and stretched.

“Grrr! Then once this is over, how about we all go to a hot spring or on a vacation together? Something like a workshop?”

“R-really?”

“Ooooooh?! Really?!”

“……”

The three of them showed interest.

Surprisingly, their reactions were good.

“We don’t have any customers anyway. It’ll take some time for the Yeoeum Society to cool off. Might as well think of it as a vacation and go.”

These days, indoor water parks often had hot springs attached, so I figured somewhere like that would work.

“Hot spring-! Hot spriing!”

An excited Kim Yang grabbed my arm and shook it hard.

“Really?! You’re not teasing me, are you?!”

“Ow, you’re making me dizzy. Why would I lie?”

“Workshop! T-the boss is paying?”

“...Yeah.”

I had gotten 200 million won from Yoo Yena, so I could afford that much.

“Waaah! I wanted to go too! Waaah!”

Reneca jumped around with her hand raised, making a mess of what she’d just cleaned again.

And behind her was Raichen, hesitating. Since it was obvious what she was thinking, I reassured her.

“Bring Dajeong too. But you’re the one who has to take care of her.”

“Ah! Thank you, boss.”

Raichen stood there flustered with her head bowed deeply. When I motioned for her to hurry up and contact her, she went back to the lobby and started texting Ms. Dajeong.

“All right, let’s go.”

Meracle should rest when it’s time to rest.

“Once this is over.”

Muttering softly, I sent Yena a text.

* * *

Tower Administration Bureau.

The meeting room lights had stayed on, bright, for three days and nights.

The screens symbolizing each floor’s representative were lit, but only the 6th floor, [AXIS], was dark.

“Haa...”

Director Mekclen let out a sigh heavy with a lament.

The Tower’s gate was firmly shut, and there was no way to cross over to the 6th floor.

This wasn’t a problem whose fallout would end simply because the 6th floor was sealed off.

The citizens of Cyber City were still there like refugees, and there was no telling when the 6th floor might come down again under the pretext of an inter-floor war.

If only they could send power to the 6th floor, the problem could be solved.

But since that was impossible, they were stuck unable to do anything.

‘How on earth did they block passage?’

The Tower itself had only one other floor where passage was prohibited.

It was the same as the 7th floor.

The 7th floor was also not a place you could move around in carelessly.

This 6th floor had likewise been closed off.

- ...Mekclen, Director.

At that moment, the screen showing clouds and holy emblems lit up. It was the Pope of the Lajesta Continent.

- There’s nothing to be done. The inter-floor war has now reached an unavoidable stage.

“Your Holiness...”

- If we just sit still like this, we’re only giving Cyber City time to wage an all-out war.

- Cyber City is already deeply involved in the lives of citizens on other floors.

- Rather...

The representative of the 5th floor took over the Pope’s hesitant words.

- We have to use Kim Juseon. Even if we can’t go up directly, we can take him to the 7th floor and from there go down to the 6th floor.

The shadow behind the folding screen on the screen of the Old Murim declared firmly.

With the sound of a folding fan snapping shut, he asserted there was no better scheme than this.

Yoo Yena, who had been listening silently, refused again without the slightest compromise.

“He has already contributed greatly to this incident. If he goes up to the 7th floor, his presence will definitely be exposed.”

- Then are we just supposed to stand by and watch this situation?

Grit.

Yoo Yena bit her lip and had no rebuttal.

Because she couldn’t see any way to get up to the 6th floor besides that.

‘I’m sorry... truly.’

I said I’d protect you.

And I failed again like this.

The moment Yoo Yena swallowed that self-reproach inwardly—.

Vrrt!

Yoo Yena’s phone vibrated briefly.

- Kim Juseon -

With her heart sinking, Yoo Yena checked his text with trembling fingers.

“...There is!”

Her eyes widening, she shouted urgently.

The moment everyone in the conference room turned their attention to her, Yoo Yena clenched her fist and shouted.

“There is a way to reach the 6th floor without passing through the 7th floor...!”

* * *

Koo-ruuumble! Koo-ruuumble!

The sky above Cyber City crackled with thunder.

Hiding himself in a high-rise building in Helaite, Ryu Seoram stared blankly at the sky and let out a sigh.

“How much longer do I have to stay here?”

It had already been several days since he’d shaken off his pursuers thanks to Namgung Yeon and Jessica’s help.

During that time, there had been plenty of incidents, but the communications had completely gone down and he was now unable to leave the 6th floor.

The Tower elevator had been completely sealed off, guarded by military weapons.

The military had taken control and was being run like a sort of dictatorship.

Right now, just going outside meant identity checks and bag inspections.

And not even by people—by drones, no less.

“Is it frustrating?”

Jessica approached and stood beside him.

She, too, was being swept along without knowing the full details of what was happening in Cyber City right now.

“It is... I’ve already missed several of our team’s matches.”

Tsk. She clicked her tongue, but still tried to keep the mood light.

Jessica snickered and looked out at the scenery outside as well.

The dark sky filled with storm clouds.

The neon city where thunder was crashing down.

“Huh?”

Jessica, who had been looking at the sky absentmindedly, let out a brief murmur of surprise.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Um... well, Cyber City also has some control over the weather.”

“I know.”

So it always snowed at Christmas, and rainy days were fixed too.

“But we can’t make lightning strike, though?”

“Hm? Well, I guess that’d be natural. What’s weird abo—”

KRRRAAAAGH!

A gigantic roar that shook the earth.

Ryu Seoram’s eyes flashed as he looked back up at the sky beyond the glass wall.

“Ah.”

There it was.

He had heard this roar before.

With a jolt of electric chills, Ryu Seoram hurriedly put on his coat and shouted.

“It’s here! It’s here!”

“Huh? W-what?”

“A monster that can ignore the Tower’s floor count and skip across them!”

A being called a god, one whose mere appearance had nearly brought all of Seoul’s city center crashing down.

KRRRAAAAGH!

Responding to Ryu Seoram, it let out a roar.

The space beyond the storm clouds tore apart.

One of the gods of the Old Murim descended upon the neon city together with his daughter.