Chapter 154
I swam down through the body of the dried-out giant sea anemone.
There was a large hole at the center of its body.
It seemed to be a passage leading to its mouth and digestive tract.
At the end of the straight tunnel, I could see fist-sized spheres packed tightly together.
“Eggs?”
Contents protected by a very thin membrane.
Just in case, I separated my arm and turned it into sand.
The sand arm carefully grasped one egg and gently peeled off its shell.
Immediately after, I knew this was poison.
Sssss!
The hand instantly blackened and melted away.
“Ugh!”
Even mental pain began to stab at my head.
I quickly let the sand arm collapse. Once the connection was severed, the pain subsided.
It was a potent poison.
“Still, I need to take it with me for now.”
It won't go into anyone's tea, but maybe it'll be useful someday. It might even sell for a high price.
Slowly regenerating the arm that had scattered into sand, I manipulated the surrounding sand.
A sand shield wrapped around each egg.
I transferred them one by one into my stomach pouch.
“Good, that’s everything.”
After finishing the collection, I moved my body back to the lower half and the heart I'd left behind in the belly.
My body turned into mist and flew away like a ghost.
Once I reached the heart, the sand gathered again and quickly returned to its original form. It felt like I'd become a combining robot or a slime.
It was my first time trying it, but it was cleaner than I expected.
“If even my heart turns to sand later, that might come in handy.”
By then, I might even be able to move my body around as if teleporting, leaving part of myself behind.
“Come to think of it, I feel like a black mage used a similar spell once...”
I was pondering possible uses when
[Congratulations on clearing the 47th Floor EXTREME difficulty.]
[The first-clear bonus is being applied!]
[The rank 1 bonus is being applied!]
As soon as I returned to the belly and regained my body, the familiar clear alert sounded.
I was about to go outside as usual, but I stopped for a moment.
“Ah, right.”
The first Tower I’d cleared after partially revealing my identity.
There was one thing I needed to change.
[Tower Management]
[Current Ruler Name: Jeong Manho, If This Keeps Up... Rider]
The nickname I’d been keeping up as a joke all this time.
I no longer had any reason to use it.
Without hesitation, I deleted that name and typed in three characters.
Tap tap.
[Current Ruler: Kim Hanbyeol]
My whole body filled with satisfaction.
At last, I’d engraved my name on the Daejeon Tower. Only now was my territory truly my own.
There was no need to hide or speak in riddles anymore.
With a pleased smile, I returned to reality outside the Tower.
***
It was right after I got home from the Tower.
Bzzt-.
My phone rang. I casually checked the screen, and it was an unknown number.
“Spam.”
I pressed the end button without hesitation.
Anyway, the people who’d call me would all have their numbers saved.
There were exactly three numbers saved right now: the Broker, Jeong Manho, and Kim Suho.
“… Three saved numbers is enough.”
Even in school, the box for your three closest friends had three slots.
Weren’t speed-dial buttons usually assigned to only three or four people?
If I’d had a mom, a dad, and a sibling, it would’ve been double that. Too bad.
…Should I get phones for Chohogi and the Sandworm too?
I shook my head and brushed away the stray thoughts.
“Anyway, if it's really important, it'll come by text... Oh, there it is?”
Ding!
As soon as I finished speaking, a text message flew in.
- Hunter Kim Hanbyeol, this is Park Jeongwon from the National Hunter Management Committee. Congratulations on climbing the 47th Floor! Would you be available for a call?
It was Chairman Park from the government.
I awkwardly answered the call when it came again.
“Hello?”
[Hunter Kim Hanbyeol! Hello, this is Park Jeongwon.]
The voice from the other end was, unlike before, impeccably courteous.
“What’s the matter?”
[Nothing in particular, but I’ve just received word that the 47th Floor has been cleared. And once again, you were ranked first. Congratulations!]
I still hadn't announced that I was ranked first. But after our last meeting, the Korean government already knew.
As expected of the government, the information came fast. They contacted me as soon as I came out.
Or maybe they had a special team assigned just to me.
I casually asked whether I had a dedicated team.
[Of course. I’m personally handling it. You’re one of only two S-rank Hunters in Korea.]
“Aren’t you busy?”
[We’re all busy assisting you, Hunter-nim.]
Chairman Park was a man well past my actual age.
It felt really awkward to have a balding man in his fifties speaking to me so respectfully.
And what about his position? I heard he was a minister-level official, no less.
Was I really worthy of being treated like this by someone so important?
‘Yeah, I guess I am.’
I nodded to myself.
It was a little awkward and burdensome to receive this kind of treatment for the first time, but it was a privilege I was more than entitled to enjoy.
Chairman Park went on.
[I also sent you a congratulatory gift.]
“A gift? What is it?”
[Just some small things. A premium hanwoo set, Hunter supplements, a department-store gift certificate....]
“Oh, hanwoo is nice.”
They’re exactly the kind of things I’d post on the gallery later to brag about.
I liked it.
[And aren’t you applying for Hunter gear? I mentioned it last time, but you haven't come by once.]
There was a note of caution in Chairman Park's voice.
[We’ve got top-grade gear piled up by the government. Take whatever you want. Normally A-grade gear has a rental fee, but for Hunter Kim Hanbyeol, it’s free. No time limit, either.]
“Ah, that...”
Come to think of it, I had been given the information in writing last time, too.
I had just skimmed the list, lost interest, and tossed it aside.
“To be honest, I think the stuff I already have is better.”
[I-I see. I’m sorry. It seems there wasn’t any equipment that caught your eye.... If there’s anything you need, please tell us. We’ll try to get it even now.]
“I don’t use anything unless it’s Legendary.”
Actually, I was already using the pendant just fine even though it was Unique grade, but if you go by rarity, it was basically Legendary.
It had also saved my life countless times without me even realizing it.
So in my heart, I decided to count it as quasi-Legendary.
[L-Legendary.... Y-yes, we’ll make sure to prepare one.]
A nervous voice came from the other end of the line.
Come to think of it, Chairman Park had firsthand experience with my gear last time.
So he would know this wasn't just empty boasting.
Honestly, I wasn't satisfied with an ordinary Legendary anymore, but demanding even that would be too cruel.
[...Still, if you ever have time, please stop by later. There may be some usable consumables or armor pieces.]
“Sure, well. I’ll stop by sometime later then.”
[And would it be all right if we put this 47th Floor clear on the news?]
“Of course, ah...!”
I was about to shout that it was totally fine, but I clamped my mouth shut.
It would’ve looked way too tacky.
I took a moment to catch my breath.
I should take a deep breath, counting from one to ten, before I answer.
One, two, three....
Ah, forget it, I can’t hold it.
“Y-yes! Please do that!”
Was I too excited? My voice shot up way too high.
I squeezed my eyes shut in embarrassment.
Fortunately, Chairman Park on the other end of the call seemed not to notice.
He asked for my opinion in that same cautious voice.
[Thank you. And how should we handle the title...?]
“J-just, you know, not too over the top.”
[Understood. I’ll do my best to make it work.]
Click.
As soon as I hung up, I let out a victorious cheer.
This was it. This was the one.
“Korea really is great. They do this much for me.”
Everything just fell into place on its own.
It felt like patriotism that hadn’t been there a second ago was suddenly growing like crazy.
In high spirits, I went down to the basement.
I still hadn’t checked today’s Tower-climbing rewards yet.
“Hmmm~ hmm-hmm~.”
[You seem to be in a good mood.]
“I just realized the world is too beautiful.”
[...Have you finally gone insane?]
The dark mage in the fish tank greeted me.
The mage suddenly started spouting insults, but I was feeling merciful today, so I decided to let it slide.
“Let’s sort things out.”
I took out the items from my pocket one by one.
Last in, first out.
The staff I’d put in last came out first, followed by the toxic sea anemone eggs, and finally the treasure box.
“Chohogi, come here.”
At my gesture, Chohogi trotted over and perched on the desk.
I opened the box and picked out the gems—mana-boosting stones that Tichi had diligently gathered through auto-hunting while I was away.
Last time, Chohogi ate one of these and another leaf sprouted.
Today, I planned to use these stones to make Chohogi grow one stage further and obtain a phoenix fruit.
“All right, let’s eat.”
I handed over the biggest, brightest stone first.
Crunch.
It bit down on it and munched like it was candy.
After it polished one off in an instant, I gave it another.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
It obediently gobbled them up as I kept handing them over.
I kept on giving more.
Then, at last, when nearly half of them had disappeared.
Chohogi rubbed its belly with a satisfied look.
“Huh?”
But the sprout on top of its head showed no sign of growing at all.
“You won’t eat any more?”
Shake-shake.
Chohogi shook its head. It seemed nothing else would go in.
“...This isn’t good.”
Half the gems were about to vanish into sand poop.
A different idea came to me almost immediately.
“Ah, my head shouldn't suddenly be working this well. This is bad.”
Come to think of it, lately my brain only seems to work when I’m in a crisis.
In other words, if my brain suddenly starts spinning like crazy, that means this really is a crisis.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I tried the first method that came to mind.
The incantation I’d already seen work before: Bal (拔).
“...No good?”
I poured mana into my throat and shouted the incantation with all my might, but the sprout still didn't budge.
“No, there’s no way it all turned into crap....”
I also cranked the power of my Insight Eye up to the max. My eyeballs hurt like they were about to pop out.
Soon I could see the flow inside Chohogi in detail.
The three cores located in its chest, head, and sprout.
Mana circulated between them like blood.
“It’s blocked here.”
Compared to the other two, the core in its chest was abnormally large.
Mana was moving sluggishly only there, as if a traffic jam had formed.
How was I supposed to get through that?
I was lost in thought when
[Heh-heh-heh. You look like you're in trouble.]
The black mage came out with a line as clichéd as they come.
I felt like I could even guess what he was going to say next.
“Just don’t tell me you’re about to say I need more power again.”
[Need power— how did you know?]
“Cut the nonsense and get to the point.”
[...The flow of mana is blocked. You suddenly force-fed it way too much, so of course. If you leave it alone, its belly will burst and it'll die.]
“What? Hey, I didn’t force-feed it!”
It was the one that had greedily kept eating on its own!
I only gave it as much as it asked for.
[Tsk, tsk. Have you never raised an animal? You’re not supposed to give it everything it asks for.]
“Th-that...”
I was stunned.
Chohogi’s belly bursting open and dying—I didn’t want to see such a horrifying sight.
Of course, it still had plenty of life stacks left, so even if it died once, it would probably revive... but if I saw that happen, I felt like my sanity would shatter.
“What should I do?”
[It’s simple. You just need to force the mana to circulate yourself.]
The black mage’s magic-lesson time had come around again.