Chapter 36
Lee Hyunseo was a blessed person.
Many people thought so.
For starters, Hyunseo had been born with more than a silver spoon—he had a diamond one.
On top of that, Hyunseo was dearly loved by their grandfather, the chairman of the Cheonghwa Group.
With the Cheonghwa Group's favor as well, Hyunseo had no choice but to consider themself blessed.
That belief only grew stronger after awakening.
[—Mister! I-I awakened!]
[—You really did? Congratulations….]
[—And I have two Legendary-grade traits!!!]
[—What!!!!?]
Two Legendary-grade traits upon awakening.
That was enough to make even Hwang Hee-chan jump.
Hyunseo felt as if they had become the protagonist of this world.
That feeling remained unchanged as Hyunseo climbed the Tower.
[—Floor One? This is easy.]
Pilgrim's Tower's first floor had a clear rate of one percent.
Hyunseo cleared it without difficulty.
[—You asked whether Floor Two wasn't difficult? Hmm, I'm not sure.]
Floor Two, where the number of Floor One clearers was cut in half again.
Hyunseo cleared it without a care.
[—I cleared Floor Three, too! It took a little longer, but I managed it in the end!]
Hyunseo even conquered Floor Three, which no one in Korea besides Hwang Hee-chan had cleared.
It was only natural for Hyunseo to decide to head for Floor Four.
It was only much later that Hyunseo realized they shouldn't have.
'Why did I do that?'
In truth, looking back, clearing the previous floors hadn't been entirely smooth sailing.
They had definitely been dangerous.
Hyunseo had suffered several wounds that would have killed them if not for the potions fully supplied by the Cheonghwa Guild.
Even so, I should be fine.
I'd restocked my potions, and was decked out in good weapons, armor, and even artifacts.
So let's just break through Floor Four.
Blinded by vague confidence, it was only natural that the potions eventually ran out.
'No more potions…?'
The hundred recovery potions they'd brought.
Hyunseo used them all while clearing Floor 39.
No, even after that, their wounds remained, so Hyunseo used the potion from the Floor 39 clear reward as well.
That was the moment Awakener Lee Hyunseo's Tower climb came to an end.
What awaited Hyunseo afterward was hell.
'The food's starting to run out, too….'
The emergency rations they'd prepared in abundance were gone.
Bread and jerky they'd hated even putting in their mouth could only be swallowed without vomiting after they'd gone hungry for two full days.
'I can't even wash properly or do laundry.'
Hyunseo normally went around naked.
In the not-so-large cave, unable even to wear underwear, Hyunseo was overcome with self-loathing whenever they relieved themself in their filthy state.
After several months of that.
Hyunseo's pride was shattered to pieces.
Hope was still nowhere in sight.
'Maybe I should just….''
Challenge the boss and die.
Those were days when extreme thoughts surged up several times a day, but…
-Crack.
[—Hellooo!!!]
[—Hweh!!!?]
Then, one day.
A miracle occurred.
A ray of salvation shone on their faded hope.
[—It's braised pork ribs with kimchi.]
Hot food, for the first time in who knew how long.
It was delicious enough to bring tears to their eyes.
[—With this, clearing the Floor Four boss should be easy.]
The hidden piece he handed over.
It was no different from a lifeline.
-Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!!
[—The girl's…!!!]
And finally, the spar that took place.
Watching it, Hyunseo realized instinctively.
Baekrihyang possessed not only impressive stats but also fighting skills that surpassed them.
As Hwi-min had said, a Floor Four boss would clearly be easy for Baekrihyang to defeat,
'He's overwhelming Baekrihyang.'
The trait that increased swordsmanship proficiency, 'Sword Flower.'
Even with that, Hyunseo couldn't make sense of even a tenth of Hwi-min's swordsmanship.
Hwi-min's swordsmanship was truly in the realm of myth.
'So that's what a truly blessed person looks like.'
Hyunseo admitted it readily.
The protagonist of this world was someone like that.
Hyunseo's pride had been smashed long ago, so admitting it didn't hurt.
"Someone who goes around reeking of human waste…."
[……!!!?]
'Human waste? N-no way!!?'
…Since Hyunseo still couldn't bring themself to abandon their human dignity, Baekrihyang's final truth bomb did shake them a little. Anyway.
And so the twenty-minute possession ended.
The body that had been moving on its own came back under Hyunseo's control,
[Now that things have turned out this way, you, too, must henceforth do everything in your power to serve the divine one. Merely witnessing that sword would be an opportunity unlike any other in the world.]
Baekrihyang also took up residence within Hyunseo.
It was a little embarrassing, but it was a fascinating experience in its own way.
'So possession doesn't happen when I want it to, but when she wants it to….''
And then, a sidelong glance—
Hyunseo's gaze swept over what lay before them.
Hwi-min, wearing a mask and with his hood pulled low.
Hyunseo took in the sight of the person who was, to them, no different from a prince on a white horse.
It never even occurred to Hyunseo that Hwi-min might use Baekrihyang to control them.
'Once I make it back alive, I have to repay him. I'll do anything he asks. With everything the Cheonghwa Guild has!'
I will honor the contract two hundred percent.
Hyunseo made that resolve inwardly, but…
Hyunseo's expectations were shattered in spectacular fashion.
"Mr. Hyunseo. You've probably realized that I'm Cheol Gangmin."
Hwi-min's abrupt revelation.
He was Cheol Gangmin.
Hyunseo's eyes flew wide.
"……Gasp!!!!?"
'He's telling me this?!'
…In truth, Hyunseo had suspected it.
A mysterious Korean who would cut through even space to rescue them from the safe zone where they were trapped.
Honestly, who else could it be but Cheol Gangmin?
Naturally, Cheonghwa had reached the same conclusion after seeing the message Hyunseo left.
The nickname 'Yagada Worker' was based on 'Cheol Gangmin's Awakener Analysis 2.'
Even so, they had pretended not to know because they had roughly guessed Hwi-min's personality.
'I heard he really hates standing out?'
They could tell just from the terms of the deal he'd offered Hyunseo: having them purchase goods on his behalf.
He wasn't free of material desires, but he wasn't the type to seek fame.
A man who loved a peaceful daily life, a sort of ordinary citizen in some ways.
Yet he possessed noblesse oblige and used his abilities for good… a hero.
'That's why we didn't actively search for him, either.'
That was why the various guilds and the Administration Bureau had been dragging their feet in the search for Cheol Gangmin.
If they needlessly provoked him and he made them into another 'Arirang,' the loss would be enormous.
Worse, if he emigrated, they could receive a lifetime's worth of abuse in a single hour.
So Hyunseo—and by extension the Cheonghwa Guild—had planned to pretend they didn't know, even while knowing…
'He told me? Why?'
Why had he revealed his identity?
Hyunseo had no idea.
It hadn't even been part of Hwi-min's original plan.
'Well, he'd have figured it out anyway.'
The moment he crossed dimensions to rescue Hyunseo, it would be confirmed that Yagada Worker was Cheol Gangmin.
Anyone who wasn't an idiot would know.
But what could he do?
If he put on a poker face and denied it, the other party would have no choice but to accept his denial.
And anyway, all he had to do was keep his true identity—and his connection to Ryu Hwi-min—from being discovered.
That was what Hwi-min had thought as he came over, but
'Things are different now.'
According to what he'd confirmed with Dragon Eyes.
Once a day, Baekrihyang could 'arbitrarily' take over Hyunseo's body for twenty minutes.
Baekrihyang even obeyed his commands absolutely.
Officially, Hwi-min had taken the future strongest person in Korea hostage.
The moment he saw that, the professional freeloader decided to start siphoning off the benefits.
"From now on, I'd like Cheonghwa to cooperate with me unofficially."
"…Are you saying you'd like to become a guild member?"
"No. Let's call it a partnership."
Hwi-min's eyes flashed.
He intended to put on a suitably charismatic display.
Though speaking nasally to disguise his voice made him look rather ridiculous.
At least to Hyunseo, he looked incredibly cool.
"Ah, a partnership…!"
"……."
'Now that his hair's back to blond, he really does look like the sword freak. His hair's longer, though.'
Hyunseo's sparkling eyes made Hwi-min shudder with unease he couldn't explain. Anyway.
"I'm planning to clear gates from time to time. But individuals can't enter gates."
Hwi-min's demand was simple.
Secretly rent him gates.
Officially, Cheonghwa would record them as having conducted the subjugation, while in reality he would swoop in, clear them, and leave.
He intended to level up in his spare time with the 'Seed of Transcendence' trait.
"That would certainly be a favor to us, but…."
"But you must keep it absolutely secret. If this comes to light because of Cheonghwa, you understand what will happen, right?"
"I'd have to consult the guild as well, but if you're willing to do that, then certainly."
Hyunseo accepted readily, too.
Hwi-min was offering to subjugate gates in their place.
This was volunteer work.
"Then how would you like to receive payment for subjugating the gates? In cryptocurrency?"
"Can't that be traced?"
"…If you cash it out, the bank and the National Tax Service can trace it."
"I'm not interested."
Hwi-min even refused payment.
It sounded as though he was offering to clear, free of charge, gates whose subjugation the government paid enormous subsidies for.
Hwi-min could level up from gates too, so it wasn't a loss to him by any means…
"This would benefit Cheonghwa too much, wouldn't it? Let me get some help as well."
Hwi-min's eyes swept over Hyunseo.
Their neck, hidden by a choker. Their slender body.
It was easy to mistake Hyunseo's gender, but after seeing the sword freak, Hwi-min could only see them as a man.
"For starters, there's the military."
"…Yes?"
"Could you look into ways to get me assigned to full-time reserve duty or public service? Legally, of course."
The military—that was what Hwi-min brought up.
It was an utterly out-of-the-blue statement.
But he was serious about it.
'Even if I return after obtaining the Stigma, I'll probably have to maintain it periodically.'
His beloved younger sister, Ryu Serin, who wasn't related to him by blood but whom he cherished nonetheless.
He was going to become the cure for her Mana Overdisease, after all.
But if he enlisted in active duty?
He couldn't even imagine how serious his sister's condition might become while he was unable to take leave.
No, to begin with, he had never intended to enlist and leave her alone.
Solving his military-service problem was Hwi-min's biggest concern after obtaining the Stigma.
'Information-type traits could even counter it, so alternative service as an Awakener would… No, I can't claim to be from the Normal Tower now.'
In effect, civilian alternative service for Awakeners was impossible for him now, too.
It was a kind of special military exemption available to Awakeners from the Challenger's Tower and above.
It was impossible for Hwi-min, who outwardly appeared to be from the Beginner's Tower.
That was why he had specifically asked Hyunseo.
"I'm not asking for an exemption like yours. Just something like full-time reserve service, somehow. Hehe. We're both men, so you understand, right?"
"……What?"
Hyunseo stared blankly with their mouth agape.
Hyunseo looked at Hwi-min once.
Then Hyunseo lowered their gaze and looked once at their own flat chest.
The two looked back and forth between them, blinking.
"Huh?"
'What is he talking about? I'm a woman.'
'Well, my breasts are a little small.'
'On top of that, my name is gender-neutral, and my voice is low for a woman.'
'My clothes are loose, so I suppose he could mistake me for a man.'
But this was Hwi-min.
Their prince on a white horse saw them as a man.
For some reason, Hyunseo felt terribly indignant.
[Kyahaha!!! Child, did you hear that!? The divine one thinks you're a man!!]
"…Lady Baekrihyang, please be quiet!!"
[Isn't that because you go around reeking of human waste? To begin with, how could a woman not even wear undergarments….]
"Waaaaah!!!! Be quiet!!!!"
As if that weren't enough, Baekrihyang was attacking Hyunseo inside their head with 'You smell like poop.'
Hyunseo's face flushed bright red.
They wanted to crawl into a rat hole.
"……?"
'What kind of conversation was Hyunseo having with the sword freak?'
Hwi-min was left bewildered.
* * *
Hyunseo had made a scene over the military for a moment, but anyway.
"I'll look into that for you."
"Please do. Ah, I might ask you to run a few other errands as well, so let's call that even for the gate payment, okay?"
"Understood."
In the end, Hwi-min got a promise from Hyunseo.
Perhaps Hyunseo had realized they were being held hostage, because their attitude was a little cold,
'I trust they won't forget the favor of the kimchi jjim.'
The braised pork ribs with kimchi had cost 40,000 won, after all.
If he didn't give me my money's worth, I could make him stand in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square shouting, 'Gaeddongppudatwalkak, Oh My God!'
So tell him to behave himself.
"Then I'll be going. Possession has a 24-hour cooldown, so rest well for a day, warm up, and challenge the boss."
I rose to my feet.
I'd made the deal and effectively turned Cheonghwa into my lackey.
Now I planned to clear Floor Four and go home.
"W-wait!"
"…Hmm? What is it?"
But why?
Hyunseo suddenly stopped me.
The reason was absurd.
"I'm actually not exempt…!!"
"Huh? Then are you going to the army?"
"N-no. I won't, but."
"Dual citizenship?"
"Well… I am a dual citizen…."
"……."
This guy was really going to humblebrag right to the end.
Orphan-start builds are crying over here.
"Lucky you. I have family to support, so I really want to find a way out."
I answered vaguely and turned away.
And then, slice—!!
I cut through the Dimensional Wall again.
'Challenging the boss together could cause problems with the clear reward, so let's let Baekrihyang clear it herself.'
"Looks like we can't challenge the boss together, so I'll be going. Good luck!"
Whoosh.
I charged straight into the hole.
I was heading for my clean, comfortable safe zone, not that foul-smelling one.
"W-wait! What was that—."
Hyunseo called out something from behind me, but…
-Crack.
'That thing closes really fast.'
The Anywhere Door I'd made closed before he could even finish speaking.
Silence welcomed me.
"Ughhh~."
'Now that the contract is done, all I need is the Stigma.'
I lightly loosened up.
Then I gripped my sword tightly.
Before my eyes, a portal undulated ominously.
"Then, shall I go retrieve it?"
'The Floor Four Hard Boss summon.'