Chapter 17
It was still dark, early in the morning.
Director Im Wan-seop left his house.
He drove his own car into the Awakened Management Bureau parking lot, then—
soon drove back out in a different car.
It wasn't clear where he was headed.
From east to west.
From west to south.
Then north again.
He entered a tunnel in a sedan, but emerged in an SUV.
Sometimes in the passenger seat, sometimes disguised as an old man.
It was almost impossible to tell where or how he was traveling.
He hadn't even told his employees his destination.
He'd only given them a few instructions.
Have a vehicle ready at the designated location.
Dress and style your hair a certain way, then drive along the agreed route.
And so on.
Precautions to evade any possible tail.
And so he arrived at an alley in OO-dong.
He'd arrived after five hours.
It would've taken less than an hour by the fastest route.
Beep-beep-
He parked far away.
Then walked to an alley he'd scoped out in advance.
Two capybaras were waiting at the meeting place.
In other words—
actual capybaras.
No, not actual capybaras, but two people wearing capybara costumes.
“Good grief.”
The Director could practically see his future.
“Whoa, that's amazing! I almost didn't recognize you.”
“That's what I should be saying. What on earth are you wearing?”
“Hehe, I told you. I have anthropophobia.”
“Does wearing that make it any better?”
“Who knows? But maybe it'll help a little…?”
As if.
He gave a noncommittal answer and was about to enter the building when—
Jin Su-jin squeezed her eyes shut and blocked his way.
“You have to wear one too, Director.”
“…Let's be careful about what we call each other.”
“Oh, yes!”
“Just call me mister.”
A bear costume was pulled over the disguise he'd painstakingly put together.
“All that effort went to waste.”
“We told you we'd prepare the disguise.”
“How was I supposed to imagine you'd do this?”
It was stifling inside the mascot suit.
“You have to endure it…!”
“I know.”
They climbed the stairs.
Inside the villa's narrow hallway—
two capybaras and one bear.
All three had their arms full of stuff.
“We'll go in first. We should let her know you're here.”
“Please do.”
Creak-
He heard movement inside.
“We're here!”
“Don't come out yet, Hikki-nim!”
“We'll call you when we're ready!”
“Whoa, what? She's so cute.”
“What, what?”
“I peeked, okay? She's wearing a grasshopper suit.”
“Oh my god. We can't take a picture, right?”
“Absolutely not.”
Clatter-clatter-
He could also hear them setting something up.
His imagination ran wild.
What kind of person was she, anyway?
They said she was a little kid, but did she have sides that weren't childlike?
“Come on in!”
The home was ordinary.
A two-bedroom apartment that was neither especially shabby nor particularly fancy.
Chairs had been set up in the living room so they could sit across from each other.
A semi-transparent partition stood between them.
They could only see each other through a small hole.
“What's this?”
“This too… We thought it might make things a little easier.”
“We'll wait outside now.”
“All right.”
“Hikki-nim, you can come out!”
One minute later.
The bedroom door opened.
A little girl emerged hesitantly and sat across from him.
A green silhouette appeared beyond the screen.
She was even smaller than he'd expected.
If she really was Hikki—
how had she planned to climb the Tower in such a tiny body?
“Are you Hikki?”
“…Yes.”
He peered through the small hole.
Her silver hair was unusual. Mixed-race? Or an effect of awakening?
Aside from that, she looked ordinary.
Though "ordinary" wasn't quite right, given how beautiful she was.
Big eyes and a round face.
Even stiff with tension, she had an adorable air about her.
She'd be perfect as a child actor.
Though with that personality, it would never happen.
‘Extreme anthropophobia….’
Better not drag out the conversation.
He got straight to the point.
“How will you prove that you're Hikki?”
“Look beneath your feet.”
Beneath my feet?
“When did all this…?”
Inside the bear costume, Im Wan-seop's eyes widened.
It was covered in tree trunks.
They filled the floor, and had climbed all the way up to his knees.
Even more surprising—
he hadn't noticed any of it until it had gotten this bad.
“You really are impressive… Hmm?”
This time, he looked up again and was startled.
Will-o'-the-wisps floated right before his eyes.
They danced as if putting on a drone show.
“Blackout.”
A blob of water shot over the partition.
It swallowed the will-o'-the-wisps, then vanished without a trace.
“Huh.”
He was impressed.
It was flashy and precise.
How many skills had she combined?
She'd summoned fire, water, and wood,
controlled them while evading magic detection,
and manipulated them with precision.
It was hard to believe this was the work of someone who hadn't climbed past Floor 10.
Not even any magic-type Awakened he knew could pull off such a performance.
But this wasn't enough to be certain.
‘Whether it has killing power is another matter.’
The vines wrapped around his limbs didn't hurt,
and the flames were tiny.
This level wouldn't earn a high score.
“What floor have you reached?”
“N-nine.”
“Then you can climb to Floor 10 today.”
“Yes….”
He handed her a Hunter body cam.
Equipment for combat feedback and tactical exchanges between Awakened.
The video file was encrypted, so it couldn't be edited in any way.
“Can you wear this and climb Floor 10?”
Nod.
The girl's head moved just enough to be seen.
“I'll… go and be back quickly….”
“You can take your time.”
“No, here, it's uncomfortable….”
“…Please go ahead.”
The girl mumbled as she took the body cam, then vanished amid swirling mana.
She'd entered the Tower.
All that remained was to wait.
If Hikki and that girl's climbing times were the same—
then he'd have no choice but to believe her.
***
“Haaah!”
I nearly collapsed.
I can at least breathe once I get into the Tower.
It feels like I've come home.
Home is supposed to be somewhere you can lie down and relax.
If you can't lie down, it's not home.
‘And what was with that bear just now?’
The Capybara duo came wearing fluffy costumes too, right?
Good grief.
What do they take me for, some elementary-school girl?
‘I'm totally baffled.’
Though I did feel a little more at ease thanks to them.
Anyway, now I have to climb Floor 10.
I have to wear a body cam like the other Hunters, too.
Apparently, a red light comes on when you press the button.
Press, press-
Why isn't it working? Is it broken?
“Ah.”
I was wearing sunglasses.
The red light's already on. That means it's recording.
“Ahem!”
I should probably say less.
‘Moo-sang, I can't talk to you today.’
I can't have the whole country seeing me as some weird kid playing with her staff.
I'll say only what I need to.
For example, a briefing.
In the videos I'd watched, all the Hunters gave a briefing before setting out.
How did they do it?
“Ahem, um, well… Ah.”
I remember.
“Helwo, um, I'm Hikki.”
Um…
“This is hell.”
No, not hell.
“This is Hell difficulty. Um, I'm climbing Floor 10, and I'll show you something…”
Jeez, why am I talking like this?
Should I record it again?
No, never mind. It'll probably come out even weirder.
Let's just go.
This was already my fifth visit to the prairie map. I walked along the familiar path.
I found the wolves quickly.
Two enormous adult wolves, and eight little wolf brothers and sisters.
‘No, stop imagining them as cute.’
It'll make me go soft.
Let's get this straight.
Over there is a pack of wicked wolf bandits.
Two that look like the leaders and eight lackeys.
You rotten bastards.
Die.
“Moo-sang.”
I held my staff up in front of the body cam.
I was originally planning to twirl it a few times—whiriririrl—
‘But I might drop it.’
I'll hold back today.
‘Instead, I'll make the magic as flashy as possible.’
I'll show them so clearly that no one can even deny I'm Hikki.
I'll go all out.
Srrrrr-
First, I spread out a wide pool of mana.
Then I projected mana.
I filled the pool with far more mana than when I cleared Floor 9.
When the mana started to slosh around—
I moved it beneath the wolves and—
“Tree Bind.”
KRRRUNCH─
Like snatching up prey, the vines grabbed the wolves by their ankles.
‘And that's not the end.’
I prepared a support spell today, too.
In case any of them tried to run away.
Grrrrrrr-
Rumble-
Thin branches tangled around the edges of the mana pool.
The lines gradually came together vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.
They formed a tall fence.
I'd built a tightly woven wooden cage.
‘I'm feeling a little tired.’
I think I've used about half my mana.
But I caught all the wolves….
Every last wolf was bound, including the alpha pair.
I can consider today's run complete.
“Fireball.”
The mana I'd been circulating while building the fence—
I drew it all out at once.
Fwoosh-
One by one, balls of fire floated up around me.
I sent them high into the sky so they'd show up well on camera.
Just dropping them like this would be enough to clear the floor.
‘But I'm not done yet!’
I sent chunks of sharpened ice high into the sky, too.
Ice and fireballs spun above the fence.
‘Cool, cool.’
I'd only planned the magic out in my head, but it turned out even better than I'd imagined.
‘Let's record this first.’
I captured the scene with both the body cam and the status window.
Now that I had plenty of proof shots—
fall.
“Meteor Shower.”
KA-BOOOOOM─!!!
Not a wolf family at all—
a gang of savage wolf thugs, wiped out in one fell swoop!
The floor-clear message arrived soon after.
[Floor 10 cleared.]
“Ah, there's the Floor 10 clear message. My score is….”
[8,940 points]
“8,940 points! Wow! I think that's my highest score.”
All that effort paid off!
Of course, I got SSS rank and first place globally.
Another satisfying climb completed today.
I took one last proof shot to mark today's climb as complete, then returned.
***
Ding-
Im Wan-seop's smartphone rang.
Above all the urgent messages from people looking for him—
─ Director, Hikki's Floor 10 clear record just came in.
─ 8,940 points.
─ New global No. 1.
8,940 points.
An astronomical score.
What on earth would you have to do to get a score like that?
“Now all that's left is for the girl to come back….”
The climbing score was announced along with the clear.
But climbers returned only after finishing up, including using fragments and farming.
It took five minutes at most,
but there was a slight delay.
Im Wan-seop waited anxiously for Hikki.
“Please…. Please come back right now.”
It was then.
The mana around them rippled.
“D-don't tell me…!”
The bear mascot stood up.
Pop-
The little girl appeared in the exact same spot as before.
“Hikki…! You really are Hikki! Hahaha!”
A broad grin spread across the face inside the costume.
It worked.
It really worked!
She really was Hikki!
He felt like he could fly.
He wanted to throw his arms in the air and jump for joy.
He wanted to hug the girl and spin around with her.
At the very least, he wanted to shake her hand and give her a high five.
If not for what he knew about Hikki and his superhuman patience,
he would have done it.
“Oh, right, the video…. May I check the footage?”
“Ah……. Yes.”
The girl took the memory card out of the body cam and handed it over.
Im Wan-seop plugged it into his laptop and watched.
─ I'm Hikki…. This is hell. Hell, difficulty….
“Ugh….”
Hikki shuddered.
The Director didn't notice, his gaze fixed on the video.
She quickly found her way, then began using magic.
After that, it was one surprise after another.
One spell after another, beyond what even high-floor Hunters would dare attempt.
She didn't look even slightly strained.
She looked like she was just playing around.
And—
‘So easily….’
So powerfully.
So overwhelmingly.
A clear.
He checked the timeline below the video.
It perfectly matched the time Hikki's record had been released.
And there was a faint mutter.
─ 8,940 points….
If that girl wasn't Hikki, how could she have scored 8,940 points?!
There was no way it was doctored.
It couldn't be doctored!
She had to be Hikki!!! Holy shit! It's Hikki, Hikki!
“Hikki, Hikki-nim!”
“Yes…….”
“Would it be all right if we started the registration process right away?”
“Go, ahead.”
“May we release the video, too?”
After a brief moment's hesitation, the girl agreed.
The Director immediately sent the video file to the Bureau.
Then he called one of his subordinates.
─ Director, where on earth are you ri—
“That's not important! I just sent you an email, okay?”
─ Pardon?
“Check it right now. The video should be there. It's the original footage of Hikki's Floor 10 clear, so post it immediately!”
─ Huh? Y-yes?
“Don't ‘yes’ me, just do it, damn it!”
A frantic clatter of typing came through the receiver.
“And officially announce Hikki's registration that we prepared, right now, and get a briefing ready. I'll make the announcement myself.”
─ When should we—
“Set it for one hour—no, four hours from now.”
The call ended.
Only then did Im Wan-seop come to his senses.
“Ah, I cursed…. I'm sorry.”
“It's okay….”
The bear straightened up.
He bowed at a perfect ninety degrees in front of Hikki.
“Thank you. We're truly grateful you chose us.”
Hikki would never know that a tear was rolling down inside the costume.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
‘Oh, it's nothing…. You're welcome.’
Hikki thought as she waved her hand.
More than anything, she just wanted to crawl into bed.
After quickly sending Im Wan-seop on his way—
Hikki went straight back to bed and fell asleep.
Without realizing the whole world had been turned upside down.