On my way back, I stopped by the hospital where my father was staying.
I was there to pay the entire remaining balance of his surgery expenses.
“Payment has been completed.”
At last, I had paid off the surgery costs that had tormented me for so long.
Even after settling the entire balance, I still had more than sixty million won left in my account.
Of course, my father would continue to incur medical expenses even after the surgery, so I could not afford to waste the money. Still, there was no denying that I could finally breathe a little easier.
After completing the payment, I entered my father’s hospital room, where a familiar face greeted me.
My younger sister, twelve years my junior, Choi Gi-jeong.
“…Hmm? Is that really you?”
“It is me.”
“No, what happened…? Did something good happen while I was not looking? Your face looks so much brighter… Actually, you look younger.”
“Hunters tend to look younger than their actual age.”
“…Do they?”
Gi-jeong seemed to find something strange about that, but soon nodded as though she had convinced herself.
My sister and I had never taken that much interest in one another.
They said that when siblings had this large an age gap, the eldest often practically raised the younger one like a child, but that had not been the case in our family.
I had barely been home when I was young because I was constantly working all kinds of part-time jobs, and the moment I turned twenty, I became a Hunter and headed straight to the front lines.
So despite the considerable age difference between us, our relationship was not particularly different from that of ordinary siblings.
“Where is Mother?”
“She looked tired, so I told her to go home and get some sleep. I said I would stay here and watch over Father.”
“You did well.”
She had been born much later than me and raised like the most precious child in the world, causing our parents no shortage of trouble.
Seeing her like this now made me feel rather proud of her.
“How is Father?”
“He fell asleep just a little while ago. He seems much better now. He is eating well too.”
“Really? That is a relief.”
“Ah, and I have been looking into taking out a loan for the surgery costs too. I think I will be able to get one soon.”
“Do not worry about that. The surgery expenses have already been paid in full.”
Gi-jeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…What? Really?”
“Yes.”
“How? Did you not say things were difficult for you lately?”
“I am a Hunter. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can make a large sum of money.”
“Sorry. I wanted to help pay too, but things have been a little tight for me…….”
“Forget it. What money would you have to spare?”
“As expected of our Hunter.”
And then silence fell.
“…….”
Like most siblings in the world, Gi-jeong and I were neither particularly close nor particularly distant.
We were simply somewhat awkward around each other.
Perhaps because of that, even though it had been a long time since we had last met, there was not much for us to talk about.
“How have you been lately?”
“With what?”
“Just… everything.”
“Same as always. Work, home. Work, home…….”
“I see.”
Gi-jeong opened her mouth as though something had just occurred to her.
“Hey, about that woman Kim Ja-young—”
More precisely, she was about to.
“Ah, right. Take this.”
I had a feeling an uncomfortable subject was about to come up, so I hurriedly handed my sister the cash I had withdrawn on my way to the hospital.
I had originally intended to give it to Mother for living expenses, but since she was not here, I decided to give it to my sister instead.
I could always transfer money to Mother separately.
“Hmm? What is this?”
“Use it as spending money.”
“Spending money?”
At the mention of money, Gi-jeong’s eyes widened, and she quickly pulled the cash from the envelope.
“Two, three, four, five… Wait, how much is all this?”
“About five million won.”
“Five million? Who gives someone five million won as spending money?”
“Just use it. Tell me if you need more.”
Gi-jeong narrowed her eyes at me.
“What has gotten into you? Were you not struggling recently? I heard you lost your house after the divorce.”
“…I did not lose everything.”
It was practically the same as losing everything, but I had no desire to tell my family that much.
“You did not? Well, that is a relief. Anyway, thanks. I will use it well.”
As expected of my sister.
She had just asked whether I was struggling, yet she accepted the money without the slightest hesitation.
“Then I am going.”
“Already? At least wait until Dad wakes up.”
“It is fine. You said he only just fell asleep.”
Besides, if Father saw me sitting around waiting for him to wake up, he would probably have shouted at me and asked what I thought I was doing.
That was simply the kind of man he was.
“All right. See you next time, then.”
“Yes. Call me immediately if anything happens.”
“Got it. It certainly feels reassuring having a Hunter in the family.”
“It has been a long time since you said that.”
“Hmm? Has it?”
When she was young, Gi-jeong had been extremely proud that I was a Hunter.
Once she grew old enough to understand the reality of an F-rank Hunter, however, she naturally stopped saying such things.
“Anyway, I am leaving.”
“All right. See you.”
As I left the hospital, I transferred ten million won to Mother’s account.
I included a message telling her to spend it wherever it was needed.
I had originally planned to give her five million, but since I had given my sister five million, Mother had to receive at least a little more.
Our mother might not look like the type, but she could become surprisingly sulky over things like that.
After generously spending money on my family, my mood improved for no particular reason.
Money really was wonderful.
‘I suppose I should work hard and earn more.’
And to earn that money—
It was time to start climbing the Tower again.
***
After finishing all the tasks I had been putting off, I returned home and immediately prepared to enter the Tower.
Of course, there was hardly anything elaborate about the preparations.
‘First, I need to decide where to invest my Experience Points.’
I currently had roughly twenty million Experience Points.
That was enough to increase two Stats or purchase two Random Skills.
“Hmm…….”
I did not deliberate for long.
I would purchase one Random Skill first.
If the Skill I received was disappointing, I could spend the remaining Experience Points on a Stat increase.
More importantly, who were we?
Were we not practically a nation of gacha enthusiasts?
“Purchase Random Skill.”
[Experience Points have been consumed to purchase a Random Skill.]
[Current Experience Points: 12,412,400]
Now then, what kind of Skill would I get?
I would be more than satisfied if I received something on the level of Clone, which I had obtained before…….
“Check Skill.”
I struggled to calm my racing heart as I checked the Skill.
[Magic Sword] [C]
Creates a sword from Magic Power.
Continuously consumes Magic Power while maintained.
“Hmm…….”
A C-rank Skill.
It was a lower rank than Clone, the B-rank Skill I had obtained before.
When I searched for the Skill on the Hunter community, the reviews were remarkably concise.
-Even a worthless weapon from a rental shop is stronger than this.
-Why does it continuously drain Magic Power just to keep it active? Almost anything else is stronger.
-I do not use it. It wastes too much Magic Power.
-A useless Skill.
“…….”
Once again, I was reminded of something.
Gambling was the fastest road to ruin.
‘I should have bought a Stat instead.’
For the first time, I truly understood how someone felt after buying a stock at its peak and becoming trapped in the position.
I should have bought then.
I should not have bought.
I should have sold then…….
‘Since I have already come this far, should I buy just one more Random Skill?’
If you lost money, you simply had to win it back.
Was that not one of our people’s most enduring gambling philosophies?
“Purchase Vitality Stat.”
…Of course, I did not actually have the courage to follow through with that.
If I received another useless Skill, my entire week of effort would effectively have gone to waste.
One could call this protecting myself against the worst possible outcome.
[Selling ‘10,000,000’ Experience Points to purchase a Stat.]
[Current Experience Points: 2,412,400]
[Vitality: 79 → 80]
There was a simple reason I chose to invest in Vitality first.
As its name suggested, the Vitality Stat affected an Awakened’s defensive ability, physical durability, natural recovery, and similar attributes.
Naturally, the higher one’s Vitality, the greater one’s chances of survival.
That made it useful not only as protection against the dangers encountered while climbing the Tower, but outside the Tower as well.
‘There are no monsters that pose much of a threat to me yet, but the Tower is still a dangerous place.’
Given that I was currently unable to obtain proper equipment, it was an entirely rational choice.
‘Then shall I get going?’
I had obtained a new Skill and increased one of my Stats.
For the past week, I had done nothing but repeatedly clear Floor 13, and I had confirmed that doing so would not grant me another Trait.
There was no longer any reason to remain fixated on Floor 13.
Strictly speaking, I could probably earn more than enough money simply by repeatedly clearing Floor 13.
More importantly, I would not need to risk my life doing so.
But I still wanted to climb higher.
Because now, I possessed more than enough strength to do it.
“Enter the Tower.”
[Would you like to enter <Tower Floor 14>?]
“Yes.”
[Entering <Tower Floor 14>.]
As I entered the Tower, a desert landscape appeared before me that was simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar.
Structures even larger than those I had seen on Floor 13 stood around a massive shape in the distance.
The structure in the center had to be the pyramid said to house the King of the Desert.
I checked the mission overview.
[Floor 14 Mission Overview]
-Defeat 15 Scorpions.
-Defeat 4 Thirst Lizards.
-Defeat 1 Desert King’s Royal Guard.
-Completion Condition: Defeat all Scorpions, Thirst Lizards, and the Desert King’s Royal Guard
-Failure Condition: Death
Looking at the mission overview, it was clear that starting from Floor 11, the difficulty rose steeply with every floor.
‘I suppose I should test Magic Sword first.’
No matter how poorly regarded the Skill was, I would need to use it myself before I could truly understand what it was capable of.
“Summon Magic Sword.”
[Summoning Magic Sword.]
At once, an intense mass of Magic Power surrounded by blue light flared to life from my right hand, taking the shape of a sword as though it were burning.
‘It does look rather impressive.’
Magic Sword was so poorly regarded that almost no Hunters used it in actual combat.
In other words, it was not a Skill one often saw in use.
Perhaps that was why the sight of the Magic Sword blazing upward looked surprisingly mysterious.
“Hmm.”
While I was examining the Magic Sword, the sand in the distance began to shift.
The monsters of Floor 14 were approaching me.
Scorpions, Thirst Lizards, and even a Royal Guard that protected the King of the Desert.
They were perfect opponents for testing Magic Sword’s performance.
‘Since it is called Magic Sword, perhaps it can at least perform a ranged attack?’
With that thought, I merely swung the Magic Sword lightly through the air.
But then…….
[Your Magic Power Stat has surpassed ‘50’. Activating the special Skill, ‘Magic Discharge’.]
RUMMMMMBLE!!!!
Starting from the Magic Sword, waves of Magic Power erupted in every direction, dyeing my entire field of vision in brilliant blue light.
It was as though the very color of the world had been replaced by another.
When that overwhelming spectacle finally passed, nothing remained where it had swept through.
WHOOOOOOSH─
Everything before me had vanished.
Yes.
Quite literally, everything.
[You have defeated a Scorpion Assassin!]
[You have defeated a Thirst Lizard!]
[You have defeated a Desert King’s Royal Guard!]
[You have acquired Experience Points.]
.
.
.
[You have cleared <Tower Floor 14>.]
[All Stats are ‘14’ or higher. Additional Experience Points will be awarded instead of a Stats increase.]
[You have achieved SSS-rank.]
[A special reward for achieving the rank will be issued.]
[The clear record for <Tower Floor 14> has been updated.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
‘…This is rather good.’
No.
It was not merely good.
It seemed far better than Ogre’s Giant Hammer.
Just as with Clone, my overwhelmingly high Stats had dramatically elevated the performance of a Skill that would normally have been mediocre.
‘More importantly, considering how quickly my Magic Power recovers, maintaining it almost constantly would not even be difficult.’
It seemed I had acquired a genuinely useful Skill after all.