In truth, I had never had much of a connection with the White Tiger Guild.
How could an F-rank Hunter like me possibly have any ties to such an enormous guild in the first place?
Of course, I had been a Hunter for a long time, so I happened to know a few people in the White Tiger Guild here and there.
But that was all.
It would have been difficult to say that I had any real connection to the guild.
It would have been better if things had ended there.
Yes.
If only they had ended there.
Relatively recently, something had happened that left me with a rather unpleasant impression of the White Tiger Guild.
It was less that I had directly experienced trouble with the White Tiger Guild and more that I had developed a one-sided resentment toward it.
Why?
Because…….
Kim Chang-su.
The man who had been having an affair with my wife.
That bastard was a member of the White Tiger Guild.
The reason I had been unable to say a word to Kim Chang-su was partly because he was a C-rank Hunter.
But the greatest reason was that he belonged to the White Tiger Guild.
He was stronger than me and had a far more powerful organization behind him.
Faced with an opponent so overwhelmingly superior that I could not even begin to compare myself to him, I had no choice but to back down.
And now someone as important as the Personnel Manager of that same White Tiger Guild had contacted me.
Just what was I supposed to make of that?
‘Is this about Kim Chang-su? No… that cannot be it. There is nothing left between Kim Chang-su and me anymore.’
I was divorced, and my ex-wife had left.
What could possibly remain between Kim Chang-su and me now?
Especially when I had been the one who suffered because of him.
‘Should I just ignore it?’
I soon shook my head.
I knew all too well how absurd it was to think that one could simply escape the reach of a major guild in a country as small as South Korea.
‘I would rather confront it directly.’
I was not the man I used to be.
Even if the other party was a major guild, there was no reason for me to shrink back before anything had even happened.
Once I finished thinking it through, I immediately pressed the call button.
Things like this only became harder to face the longer they were delayed, so it was better to act the moment I made up my mind.
RING…….
The call connected after only a few rings.
Almost as though he had been waiting for me to call.
“…Hello.”
[“Ah, you called. Hello. My name is Kim Beom-gu, Personnel Manager of the White Tiger Guild. Am I speaking with Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk?”]
“Yes, that is me. Why did you call?”
[“Ah, it is a pleasure to speak with you. If you do not mind, would it be possible to meet in person? I would like to make you a very attractive proposal.”]
“A proposal?”
[“Yes. It is not really something I should discuss over the phone. If you are willing, I would like to visit you personally. When would be convenient for you?”]
Kim Beom-gu, the Personnel Manager of the White Tiger Guild, made it abundantly clear that he wanted to meet me.
It seemed less likely that this had anything to do with Kim Chang-su and more likely that there was some other reason.
‘I expected information about me to start spreading eventually… but even so, this is remarkably fast.’
It was not as though the Awakened Management Agency had been sitting idly by.
For my information to leak this quickly despite their efforts meant that the White Tiger Guild’s intelligence network was extraordinarily capable.
As expected of a major guild.
“I am sorry, but could you at least give me a general idea of what kind of proposal this is?”
[“Ah, I suppose I was getting ahead of myself. To put it plainly, the White Tiger Guild would like to formally recruit you, Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk. Naturally, we are prepared to offer you the best treatment in the industry.”]
I had asked just in case, but it seemed they truly had contacted me because they suspected I was Strongest.
“Why me all of a sudden?”
[“Ah, we recently confirmed through the Awakened Management Agency that you were promoted to D-rank. The White Tiger Guild greatly respects experienced Hunters such as yourself, and we would like to offer you treatment befitting that experience.”]
Anyone could tell without thinking deeply about it that those words were empty flattery.
Unless one intended to spend their entire career as a Scavenger, experience meant almost nothing to a Hunter.
Perhaps experience mattered somewhat on battlefronts outside the Tower, but I had never heard of a guild recruiting a Hunter for that reason.
From a guild’s perspective, the purpose of a Hunter was ultimately to enter the Tower and return with monster materials and Magic Crystals.
“Thank you for the kind words, but I do not think I am qualified to join a major guild like the White Tiger Guild.”
[“Not at all! There is no possibility that someone as accomplished as you could be unqualified. If anything, it is the White Tiger Guild that falls short. I would still like to visit you personally and explain everything in detail. When would you be available?”]
He was going so far out of his way that openly refusing him felt somewhat awkward.
I was also curious about what kind of offer could possibly make him this persistent.
So I answered.
“I should be available tomorrow evening.”
[“Then I would like to visit you personally at around six tomorrow evening. Where would be a convenient place to meet?”]
“There is a small café at the intersection nearby. Let us meet there. I will text you the address.”
[“Yes, understood. Then I will see you tomorrow, Hunter.”]
“Yes.”
The call ended.
It felt as though a storm had just passed through.
“…….”
I stared blankly at the darkened smartphone screen for a moment before eventually rising from my seat.
My feelings were still somewhat complicated, but I would know more once I spoke with him tomorrow.
More importantly, the unexpected call had left me distracted, but I could not postpone what I needed to do.
I still had to check the special reward from Tower Floor 15.
‘The reward was enhanced three times.’
From what I had found, even having a reward enhanced once was considered an incredible stroke of fortune.
Mine had been enhanced three times.
And some of those enhancements had even included modifiers such as ‘greatly’ and ‘tremendously.’
Just what kind of reward would it be?
I would be lying if I said I was not excited.
“Let us see…….”
I immediately checked the reward.
────────────
[Mysterious Egg]
An egg of unknown origin.
Perhaps it can be hatched……?
────────────
The moment I checked the reward, a black-patterned egg appeared before me.
“…What is this?”
I had completed three levels of reward enhancement, something no one had apparently ever seen before, so I had expected an extraordinary reward.
Yet what I received was exactly what the name suggested.
A mysterious egg.
And it said that perhaps it could be hatched?
‘Does something come out of it?’
But how was I supposed to hatch it?
Was I supposed to sit on it like a chicken?
‘I should put it away for now.’
Whatever it was, I had no idea what it could be used for, so putting it away again seemed like the safest option.
Its shell looked sturdy, but if I accidentally broke it, that would be disastrous.
“Inventory.”
Just as I tried to place the Mysterious Egg into my Inventory—
[It cannot be placed in the Inventory.]
“…Hmm?”
No matter how many times I tried, the Mysterious Egg refused to go back inside.
“What is this supposed to…….”
At that moment, the egg moved slightly.
“W-what?!”
I tensed in case something suddenly burst out of it, but nothing happened.
‘Wait. Come to think of it…….’
Living creatures could not be placed inside the Inventory.
Perhaps the egg itself was already considered alive, which was why I could not put it inside.
“Hmm…….”
I wondered what I should do with it, then called over my Clone.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Sit on this.”
“Excuse me?”
“Keep it warm. Like a chicken.”
For the first time, the face of my Clone, which normally never showed any emotion, twisted dramatically.
***
The news that Strongest had achieved SSS-rank on Floor 15 was both expected and astonishing at the same time.
The reason was simple.
The Tower contained several unusual floors, including Floor 15, which were known as Special Floors.
Special Floors were not places where a Hunter could achieve a good record through strength alone.
Most Special Floors contained unique gimmicks suited to the floor, and overcoming them required not only power, but quick thinking, sound judgment, and various other abilities.
Even Jeff, who had once been regarded as the greatest Hunter in the world, had struggled on Special Floors.
Of course, Floor 15 itself was not particularly difficult to clear for someone with sufficient ability, since detailed strategies for it had already spread far and wide.
The real question was whether Strongest could achieve SSS-rank yet again.
-No matter how strong Strongest is, Special Floors should be difficult for him, should they not?
-I think this one might be difficult too.
-The strategies for Special Floors have been public knowledge for years. Someone like Strongest will probably set another SSS-rank record immediately.
Opinions in the community were divided almost evenly.
That only drew even more attention, and no sooner had Strongest returned by clearing Floor 14 than the media began pouring out articles about his next challenge.
-Strongest’s New Challenge: Can He Achieve SSS-Rank on the Floor 15 Special Floor?
-The First SSS-Rank Record Holder in History Challenges Tower Floor 15.
-Nothing Is Impossible! Strongest Takes on the Floor 15 Special Floor.
Then, amid everyone’s attention, news finally arrived that Strongest had cleared Floor 15.
-The Floor 15 rankings have been updated!
-It really happened!
[Tower Floor 15 Records]
1st: Strongest
2nd: Anupam
3rd: Mei <B+>
.
.
.
The result was shocking.
Strongest had actually achieved the SSS-rank on Floor 15 that everyone had been uncertain about.
-This is completely insane.
-Unbelievable.
-He actually succeeded...?
-From now on, anyone who doubts Strongest is a fool.
-SSS-rank all the way through Floor 15. This is far beyond rookie level.
The Awakened Management Agency was also paying extremely close attention.
“Ha, ha ha! What did I tell you? I said he would do it, did I not?”
Park Gi-yong remembered perfectly well that the director had previously said, ‘Even for him, would Floor 15 not be difficult?’
He chose not to mention it.
Of course, Park Gi-yong himself had also wondered whether this attempt might prove difficult.
‘And yet he still did it.’
It was not merely that he was powerful.
Perhaps he possessed both exceptional strength and intelligence.
Of course, in the case of the Floor 15 Special Floor, the strategy had already spread so widely that clearing it would not be difficult as long as one understood the method and possessed enough ability.
But SSS-rank?
Considering that the previous world record for Floor 15 had been only A-rank, not even S-rank, this was an astonishing achievement.
“With results like this, should we not hurry as well? The guilds will start moving soon.”
“We have already received information that the White Tiger Guild has recently begun investigating Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk.”
“…What? Then what are we going to do?”
“I do not believe you need to worry about that.”
“On what basis?”
Deputy Director Park Gi-yong smiled lightly.
“You may not know this, but Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk was divorced recently.”
“Really? That is unfortunate. But what does that have to do with this? Do not tell me his ex-wife belongs to the White Tiger Guild.”
“Not his ex-wife. The man she was having an affair with belongs to the White Tiger Guild.”
“Oh.”
Only then did the director understand why Park Gi-yong looked so relaxed.