Chapter 6
A nationwide grimoire disappearance incident unfolded overnight.
Grimoires, which were even symbols of power for certain mage classes, all vanished.
The Hunters whose grimoires had been stolen all received the same notification.
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[The grimoires are being repossessed by order of the Basement Administrator.]
====
Though it was only a single line, the impact of that notification was enormous.
A valuable grimoire that could only be obtained by being chosen by a Constellation had been confiscated by the Basement Administrator?
This was the kind of major incident that could throw society into chaos.
They'd clawed their way up to Floor 40, pouring blood, sweat, and tears into currying favor with Constellations and enduring every hardship imaginable, only to finally get a single grimoire—and then have it taken away.
That was insane.
“I haven't even gotten to use it yet! How is this possible!? What about my three years? You took away the grimoire I spent three years of my life earning just like that? Basement Administrator!! I'll kill you!!!”
That was the typical reaction from Hunters whose grimoires had been stolen.
Put simply, it was no different from some nobody stealing every country's nuclear warheads!
“I never thought they'd pull something this absurd.”
“If they repossessed the grimoires, doesn't that mean they can issue them again?”
“We don't have to suck up to those damn Constellations anymore. If we can get our hands on the Basement Administrator...”
And that was how the rankers reacted.
They immediately grasped the heart of the matter.
That's right. If they got their hands on the Basement Administrator, the grimoires would come with them!
There were more than forty grimoires that had been repossessed, after all.
What if they could monopolize all of them?
The birth of the world's strongest magic powerhouse!
Everyone thought the same thing.
South Korea must not be allowed to monopolize the basement.
“South Korea must immediately reveal the identity of the person who opened the basement!”
“How can you confiscate our grimoires without even consulting us!”
“This is an outright act of hostility! South Korea must be dealt with immediately!”
Condemnation and criticism aimed at the South Korean government!
China and Japan were especially outraged, while the United States also raised objections.
“No! Why is this our fault!? For starters, there's no guarantee that the person who opened the basement is the Basement Administrator. They're just angry at us because some random bastard stole their stuff!”
“It can't be helped. We just have to take the heat. If they don't like it, they should raise the country's standing.”
“When is that person—the one who opened the basement, or the administrator, or whatever—going to show themselves?!”
Ji Cheonwoo still hadn't revealed themself.
In that situation, how could South Korea, which hadn't even conquered Floor 28, push back against their anger and complain?
Even if it pissed them off, they just had to take the abuse.
There's no helping it when you're a Tower backwater!
Of course you have to watch what the powerful countries think.
Of course, there was one person here who didn't care what anyone thought.
“Hey! Lee Hyeji! Over here!”
“W-who... are you?!”
After taking leave and coming out of the Tower, Cheonwoo called their friend, Lee Hyeji.
******
After restoring the library on Floor -3 and reclaiming all the books scattered around the world, I used one of my three remaining days of leave.
And the moment I got home, I arranged to meet my friend Hyeji!
I felt like I should at least let Hyeji, who must have been worried about me, know what had happened.
“So... you're Cheonwoo?”
“Yeah. Your friend Cheonwoo. It's me.”
“.....”
“What? What's with that look? Stop scowling.”
“You have to say something that makes sense if you expect me to believe you. Little girl, you shouldn't tell lies like that.”
“I'm not lying!”
No, it really is me!
Of course, I know it's hard to believe.
I know that.
But you have to believe me completely!
If you won't believe me, then I have no choice.
If you don't believe me, I'll have to reveal every embarrassing thing you've ever done.
Let's start with what happened on that MT trip...
“S-stop! Okay, I get it! I know you're Ji Cheonwoo.”
“You believe me now, huh? You little pooper.”
“Haaah. You little... No, how did this happen to you? You're just a girl now. What happened to the thing you had down there?”
“....Don't ask.”
It's gone, then. How awful.
How could she ask such a painful question?
Ugh... Yeah, it disappeared.
My gigantic Armstrong cannon is gone now!
But it's become one with my heart and will live on forever! Probably...
“That's how it is...”
“What do you mean, 'that's how it is'? So you're going to be a girl for the rest of your life now?”
“There's no way to bring back what's gone, Hyeji. That's life. Everything scatters away, fleetingly. I'm... a woman just like you now.”
“Oh. Th-then, we can take a bath together, right?”
This crazy woman!
What on earth was she talking about?
Asking me something like that out of nowhere is going to mess with my head!
I'm supposed to see the naked body of a girl who's been my friend for over seven years, ever since college?
O-oh my god... My brain's going to melt!
“Hey! What do you mean, take a bath together?!”
“Why not?! We're the same sex now! You said it's not there anymore, right? Then we can go to the bathhouse together, can't we? I've always wanted to go to a bathhouse with a friend!”
“Th-then go with one of your other female friends!”
“I don't have any friends. You know that.”
“....Oh.”
We were each other's only friend.
Damn... The loneliness of being a loser.
“Fine. Let's go to the bathhouse.”
“Really!? You mean it? Yay!!”
“But it's the women's bath...”
“Well, you're a woman now, so you have to go to the women's bath.”
I see.
Was I now legally allowed to walk right into the women's bath?
I'd never even imagined it.
The women's bath.
“Hey! It'd be illegal for you to go to the men's bath now. And from now on, you have to use the women's restroom, too. You have to pee sitting down. Got it?”
“.....”
Of course, I'd been peeing sitting down ever since I got dragged into the basement.
But thinking about having to use the women's restroom, too... somehow made me feel like I was doing something wrong.
The women's bath and the women's restroom.
Strange, bizarre, indecent words I'd never had any connection to in my life.
I don't know why, but my heart's pounding!
It felt like I'd gained access to a hidden location on the map.
The women's bath! I had to go into the women's bath to be legal!
Was this what being a woman meant?
“That's right. You're a 'little girl' now. You should dress modestly, okay? You can't just walk around in a sleeveless camisole and tiny dolphin shorts barely bigger than panties. You look like you're wearing pajamas. You're showing way too much skin.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! And you... Are you wearing a bra?”
“...?”
“Oh dear. You came out without one. I knew it. Haaah.”
A bra.
I didn't know anything about feminine things like that.
Come to think of it, Mom hadn't mentioned it. She must have been so panicked that her son had suddenly become a girl that she forgot.
“Let's go buy you some underwear first.”
“My chest is small, so I don't need one! A bra is embarrassing...”
“Hey! If you go around without one, you'll chafe and it might sting later!”
“I-is that true? I just put bandages on them.”
“What? Bandages? L-let me see.”
I took Hyeji to the bathroom, lifted up my clothes, and showed her the bandages.
I thought I could just walk around with these on.
“Well, the bandages should keep you from chafing. Still, no matter how small your chest is, a girl should at least wear a sports bra. It's just basic.”
“So that's how it is. Okay...”
And so, Hyeji and I went to buy underwear.
The details were far too indecent to dare speak of...
“I bought everything... I'm kind of exhausted...”
“How is it? Does it fit?”
“Yeah. It feels kind of secure? Maybe a little tight, too.”
“You have to overcome that tight feeling to become a true girl.”
“So that's how it is...!”
Hyeji, a veteran girl, was right.
Enduring this tight feeling was the path to becoming a girl...
“This seems like such a hard path. I don't think I want to be a girl after all...”
“Enough of that! Now let's go get mala tteokbokki together.”
“W-what!? Mala what?”
“Mala tteokbokki. You could say it's a symbol of girlhood.”
For the record, I absolutely hated mala tang and tteokbokki, but I guess I'm not a macho ma...n anymore.
Now I'd simply become a little girl.
Should I try mala tteokbokki?
Honestly, I was kind of curious.
“What is this! Why... why is it so good?”
“See? I told you it was delicious! You always stuffed your face with spicy pork and sundae-guk. What do you think? New, right? A fresh experience?”
“...Yeah. It's good.”
I felt embarrassed and ashamed.
I had to accept that this was who I was.
But honestly, mala tteokbokki was delicious.
How should I put it? It was the kind of food I'd hated before.
So why did it taste so perfect to me now?
“Next, let's go eat macarons.”
“If I let myself try those, too, I won't be able to hold on to who I am anymore...”
But Korean-style fatcarons looked so gorgeous.
The moment I saw them, some mysterious desire inside me ordered me to eat one.
Was this what they called the categorical imperative?
“What is this? I-it's delicious!!!”
“Hehe. I knew you'd like them.”
“What the heck, Lee Hyeji? Do you have a strategy guide for me?”
“It's not just you. Girls generally like them. That proves you're officially a girl now.”
“...Ugh.”
I had no choice but to admit it now.
My taste buds were completely those of a little girl!!!
I never thought I'd be so easily turned into a girl...
You terrifying woman, Lee Hyeji!
You kept singing about wanting a female friend, and you finally corrupted me!
“Next...”
“W-wait!”
“Huh? Why? Is there somewhere you want to go as a girl? Should we wear school uniforms and go to an amusement park together?”
“No... that's not it. I still haven't told you why I asked to meet today.”
“Huh? Didn't we meet so we could hang out?”
“No. It's for something much more important than that.”
If I let her drag me around any longer, I might spend the whole day just playing with Hyeji.
Honestly, I didn't exactly hate the idea of continuing to play at being girls with Hyeji, but anyway! I was an employee with limited leave.
Before today was over, I had to give this to Hyeji.
“What is it? Why did you ask me to come all the way to my house?”
“Your parents aren't home, right?”
“Yeah. They're on a business trip.”
“Phew...”
It's been a while since I was in Hyeji's room.
It was still as pink as ever.
“So, what was the present you wanted to give me? Did you bring it back from the Tower?”
“Yeah. But, um... just take a look first.”
I opened my bag and took out what was inside.
A bright-red sphere and three books.
“....What is this? It looks incredibly dangerous and valuable.”
“That's right. It's damn valuable and dangerous.”
The Heart of Agni.
An item that allows a climber to change their class to Avatar of Agni.
If someone who wasn't a climber obtained it...
“You could be chosen by the Tower and become a climber. Your class would be Avatar of Agni. It won't be an ordinary class.”
“Wow. I mean, are you sure you can just give this to me? Wouldn't it sell for hundreds of millions?”
“If you sold it, it'd 100% end up overseas, and they'd dig up all my information, too. I don't trust this country's Association, so you should take it and climb the Tower.”
The reason I was giving Hyeji a mythic-grade item.
This girl didn't look like she'd ever manage to get a job!
So you should come to the Tower, too!
This was a kind of investment. I'd support her, so she could become a ranker and do me favors now and then.
“I'll get you a job in the Tower!”
“Hey..! Ji Cheonwoo. You're my soulmate!”
“Kyahahah!”
Even if she cleared everything on the easiest difficulty, she could make money while picking her nose!
Getting a job is so hard! Climb the Tower and turn your life around!
This was what having a friend was all about.
“Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you. I just asked because you're my friend.”
“Hey! I'm definitely doing it. I can finally quit studying, which I'm sick to death of.”
“Good. Then take this, too!”
“What's this now?”
“Grimoires confiscated from the rankers!”
“What!? These are the grimoires? My god... They're so precious.”
Three grimoires.
One was the Grimoire of Crimson I took from a guy named Shen Zhao, another was the Grimoire of Azure Flame that a German ranker had, and the last one was...
“The Grimoire of Inferno?”
“Yeah. It belonged to some old British archmage. Anyway, these are the three most powerful fire grimoires. With these, you should be able to blast through Floor 28!”
The Basement would support you.
Become the world's strongest ranker.