Chapter 41
p깟쮸 threw out a new piece of bait.
ㄴ p깟쮸: Anyway! So now you're really going to clear the 20th floor, register with the Association, and become A-rank?
At her words, the gallery, which had been slowly quieting down, came alive again.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(124.48) : If you're going to do it, you might as well do it right away, right?
ㄴ 마법은화력: Right. There's a lot to gain from becoming A-rank. You could even stand on equal footing in dealings with the government.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : You could make a guild, too. And you’d even be able to claim ownership of the tower.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : There aren't any towers left in Korea, but honestly, most of those worms don't even plan to climb any higher anyway.... Just take it by force.
ㄴ 냉장고: (Strict Punishment meme)
ㄴ p깟쮸: Once you're A-rank, you won't need to hide your identity so much anymore, right? I feel like we could meet in real life at least once....
ㄴ 마법은화력 : You never showed up when I asked you to meet me, though?
ㄴ p깟쮸 : ? There's no need to meet anyone except the newbie.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : You're openly discriminating against people....
An A-rank Hunter.
The goal that had once seemed so far away was now truly right in front of me.
Could I really stop living as an unregistered, illegal Hunter?
But there were still problems.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555): But there are quite a few problems that need to be solved.
ㄴ 마법은화력: Problems? What problems?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555): If I clear the 20th floor, the ranking will get updated, right?
I calmly wrote down my thoughts.
Lately, things had been quiet for some reason, but there was still one guy trying to find me.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555) : If I register as A-rank the moment the 20th-floor rankings update, wouldn't everyone immediately know I'm a ranker?
At my concern, the gallery fell silent again.
It seemed to be something none of them had considered.
ㄴ 냉장고: Now that you mention it, you're right. Hmm, what do we do about this....
ㄴ p깟쮸: Even if you're not a demigod, once people find out you're a ranker, they definitely won't leave you alone.
ㄴ 냉장고 : Of course. Messages would pour in from all over the world at all hours.
ㄴ 마법은화력: So even after becoming A-rank, I'd have to keep hiding for a while? That's way too unfair, isn't it?
ㄴ 냉장고 : Maybe it would be better to keep not registering.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : No, I'm getting angry just watching this. You have power, but you're supposed to hide it?
Their worries were justified.
I still couldn't be free.
“If it weren't for that guy, I could plaster Hunter Gallery with my name for months....”
I let out a sigh.
Once with that rare mage certification.
And once more with the A-rank certification.
And then finish it off with first place in the rankings.
“And even get my face certified once in the middle....”
Wow, there was so much I could do.
Thinking about it like that really made me regret it.
I could've kept throwing fuel on the fire, tearing into one thing after another whenever I got bored.
Maybe a gallery named after me would have been created.
Still, I was a realist.
It was right to stay cautious until I felt I had a shot at taking on an S-rank.
“I don't even know how strong I am right now....”
Surely I was far above the average A-rank.
But when it came to whether I could beat an S-rank, caution came first.
To find that out, I'd have to go to the Hunter Association again....
The discussion was nowhere near over.
Then the beetle, who had silently been watching the conversation until now, spoke up.
ㄴ 풍뎅이: Then I think I'll need to step in a bit when you register with the Association.
At his words, all the mages focused their attention on him.
ㄴ 냉장고: You? What are you going to do?
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : If I use my authority, I can tweak the registration process a little. Altering the records is easy enough.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : We could register you as A-rank, but keep the announcement from going out....
An S-rank Hunter.
The weight that title carried was anything but light.
If he stepped in personally, it probably wouldn't be impossible.
ㄴ 마법은화력: Really? You'll go that far?
ㄴ 풍뎅이: Of course. Even if I do all that, the newbie will still have to meet me once. That's unavoidable.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Still, is that okay with you?
Beetle's suggestion was nothing short of perfect.
The only way to solve all the problems at once.
Of course, the part where I'd have to face him in person was a little unsettling.
But there really wasn't any other way.
By now, I'd also built at least some basic trust in Beetle.
If he had been trying to find me, he would have tracked me down when I first accidentally posted that verification shot.
More than anything, I had a feeling this direction would be fun too.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555) : Yeah, now that I think about it, this seems more fun.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Fun?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555) : If you go around bragging 'I'm A-rank,' it looks pathetic. Just get the certification secretly and then quietly reveal it when you need to.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Like Cooking Master Boy, right?
ㄴ 냉장고 : Old lady....
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(55H.555) : Yeah. Playing the hidden powerhouse is the most fun, after all.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Honestly, I don't really get that vibe.... Anyway, I'll take that as a yes.
That was when it happened.
Knock, knock-.
The sound of knocking at the front door broke the silence.
I frowned.
I have no friends or family.
There's no one who'd come visit at this hour, is there? A cult?
“Who is it?”
Without much thought, I got up from my seat and headed for the front door.
On the intercom screen stood a middle-aged man and a young man. They were both wearing police uniforms.
Police? What on earth?
Puzzled, I opened the door a crack.
“What seems to be the matter?”
The older officer looked at me and said with a slightly troubled expression.
“Little one, is there an adult in this house by any chance? We got a report from next door. They said some kind of vine came over through the window....”
What the hell is that nonsense?
I was bewildered for a moment, but then one likely culprit came to mind.
If it was a vine, there was only one possibility.
The officer glanced into the house over my shoulder.
His eyes widened at the glimpse of the house interior he caught through the crack in the front door.
“W-What is that? Why are there all these plants....”
At the young man's reaction, the middle-aged officer also peered inside, looking utterly disbelieving.
“Kid, would you mind if we went inside for a moment to check?”
Ah, I'm screwed.
I swallowed back a curse.
There was no choice. If I refused here, it would only make things worse.
Reluctantly, I opened the door wide.
“My goodness....”
The officers who stepped inside were left speechless in shock.
Vines and moss had blanketed the walls and ceiling.
Plants were strewn haphazardly across the floor. And a high-end PC sat all alone in the middle of the room.
For a moment, they stood wordless, staring blankly at the surreal scene.
Their gazes soon turned to me.
Their eyes were full of pity.
My childish appearance. The way I seemed to be living alone. The state of the house, which made no sense by any normal standard.
Everything must have looked like evidence of child neglect to them.
The older officer carefully crouched down in front of me and met my eyes.
“Little one, are you okay? Where are your parents, and why are you alone?”
“They're not home right now....”
“Where did they go?”
“Well....”
“And why is this house in this state?”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
If I answered wrong here, I'd definitely be dragged off to a child welfare facility.
How was I supposed to get out of this situation?
I desperately racked my brain.
Soon, one suitable method came to mind.
I knew the psychology of police officers well.
In this changed world, they generally didn't want to get mixed up with Hunters.
Especially if that Hunter was strong.
I put on a face like I was about to burst into tears and opened my mouth.
It was my first time faking tears, but that wasn't a problem.
I recalled the time I'd once been unfairly banned for 31 days.
My eyes quickly welled up with tears.
“My parents are... Hunters. They just went out saying they were heading to the tower....”
At my answer, the younger officer's expression turned even more sympathetic.
But the older officer's gaze wavered subtly.
After thinking for a moment, he gently tugged the younger officer's arm and whispered to him.
I heard every word.
“...If they're really Hunters, this'll be a hassle. Let's check it out first and come back.”
The older officer soon returned to a gentle expression and said to me.
“I see. All right. Then please tell your parents to contact the police station when they get home. We'll come by again later.”
He continued.
“And please tell your parents that those vines... need to be dealt with.”
I nodded vigorously like the most obedient child in the world.
“Yes!”
At my innocent appearance, a relieved smile appeared on the officer's face.
He ruffled my hair and said.
“Heh, you're quite the little trooper.”
“Hehe....”
I forced myself to smile like a little kid.
The police officers headed out through the front door.
The moment I heard the door close, the smile vanished from my face.
“Shit....”
I muttered a low curse with a sour expression.
Who would've thought I'd ever have to play act like a child in my life?
Humiliation made my fists tremble.
“I mean, what even happened for them to file a complaint?”
I grumbled as I stepped outside.
Anyway, people these days have no neighborly courtesy.
The moment anything happens, they call the police instead of talking.
I walked around the apartment building to the side opposite the entrance, where the windows were.
It was the side opposite the entrance, a view I normally never had any reason to see.
Soon, I was at a loss for words at the scene before me.
“This is insane....”
My room's balcony window was already completely covered by huge green vines.
And that wasn't the only problem.
The vines had spread in every direction, trying to invade not just the neighboring apartment, but even the balconies of the floors above and below.
The worst neighboring unit had already been overrun long ago.
The vines writhing along the concrete wall looked hideous beyond words.
I felt my head pounding and pressed a hand to my forehead.
“I need to get rid of the seed quickly.”
If I left it like this, the entire apartment complex would turn into a jungle.
Besides, I remembered the officer saying he'd come back again.
If it was still like this when they came next time, the lie that my parents were Hunters might not be enough to get me out of it.
“There's no answer. There's really no answer....”
I had dodged the immediate crisis, but this was only a temporary fix.
And there was no guarantee things like this wouldn't happen again.
Because all sorts of weird things could come out of the tower.
I might end up with another item that would be hard to keep at home.
In the end, I made up my mind.
“Looks like I'll have to move.”
Back home, I looked at the pile of mana stones I'd carelessly stacked in a corner of the room.
The spoils I'd collected while climbing the tower so far.
I roughly estimated the weight by eye.
“Hmm.... Maybe around 8 kilograms.”
If I converted that to cash, it'd probably come to around 150 million won.
And I already had about 550 million won in my bank account....
“Then I have about 700 million won.”
I didn't know how much houses in Daejeon cost these days, but this should be enough to get a decent one.
“A detached house near the tower would be nice....”
When the tower first appeared five years ago, the surrounding area was devastated.
As time passed, new buildings rose from those ruins.
A residential district made solely for Hunters.
Guild buildings, training facilities, equipment shops, and even other amenities.
The area around the tower had somehow become a luxury residential complex for Hunters.
Of course, that was a story for major cities like Seoul or Busan; Daejeon, where I live, is a quiet and slightly shabby place by comparison....
Still, it had the basic infrastructure for Hunters.
But I soon realized a fatal problem.
“Damn.... I don't have an identity.”
With my current body, this little girl's body, I couldn't do anything legally.
Not only did I have no ID, I wasn't even registered at birth.
That went for house contracts, of course, and A-rank Hunter registration as well.
Even if Beetle handled the Hunter registration secretly, not having any identity at all would look far too suspicious.
“Should I ask Beetle to get me an identity too?”
I immediately shook my head.
There's that saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Rather than asking one person for too much, it seemed better to look for someone else.
Just in case, I picked up my phone.
Then I sent a message to a familiar name, 'SSalDapam'.
A broker. He might know some way.
[Do you also sell ID cards?]
The reply came quickly.
[SSalDapam : I do, but.... I doubt you could do anything especially impressive with one?? At best, it's only good for getting past a convenience store's age check. Is that okay? ㅠ_ㅠ]
[SSalDapam : For now, I think it'd be best if we met and talked in person. I'll explain everything in detail.]
I accepted his offer.
Right now, the only person I could rely on was that rough-looking man.