Naturally, I received the seventh-floor clear rewards after clearing the floor.
────────────
[Medal of Transcendence]
A medal awarded to those who have reached the realm of transcendence.
────────────
Perhaps because I had achieved SSS-rank on the seventh floor as well, I received another Medal of Transcendence.
“What the hell is this?”
Since I had received it, I would keep it in my inventory for now, but I still had no idea what it was supposed to be used for.
There was nowhere else I could look for information, either. After all, an SSS-rank record had never been achieved anywhere in the world before, so there was no reason information about its reward would exist.
‘Well, it isn’t important right now.’
It was a special reward granted for achieving SSS-rank.
I might not know what it was for yet, but it was bound to have some use somewhere.
If there was one thing I knew about the Tower, it was that whatever else happened there, it always provided a proper reward for the price one paid.
‘More importantly……’
In any case, clearing the seventh floor had been easier than I expected.
No, to be frank, it had been almost anticlimactic.
‘At this rate, I shouldn’t have any trouble reaching the tenth floor.’
According to what I had researched, the sixth through tenth floors all featured similar environments and monsters, with the main differences being their types and numbers.
Since I had cleared the sixth and seventh floors literally in an instant, I should be able to clear up to the tenth floor without much difficulty.
‘No. Not just the tenth floor. I might be able to go much higher than that.’
An average stat value of 79.
And what if I continued accumulating experience points, then sold them to purchase even more stats?
Forget merely reaching the tenth floor.
Perhaps I could reach a floor no one else had ever set foot upon.
‘First, I need to prepare for the eighth floor.’
Climbing the Tower.
That was what I needed to do now.
The next day arrived.
I had already studied the information on the eighth floor through a Hunter information site, but I was nowhere near as nervous as I had been the day before.
According to Hunters who had cleared the eighth floor, there was not much difference between it and the seventh.
‘Then shall I go?’
There was no reason to hesitate.
“Enter the Tower.”
[Would you like to enter <Tower 8th Floor>?]
“Yes.”
[Entering <Tower 8th Floor>.]
[8th Floor Mission Overview]
-Eliminate 12 Kobolds.
-Completion Condition: Eliminate all Kobolds
-Failure Condition: Death
A forest similar to the ones I had seen on the sixth and seventh floors appeared before me.
I could sense more Kobolds as well.
But a few additional Kobolds were not going to change anything.
Who was I?
The holder of an SSS-rank record with an average stat value of 79.
Something like this was hardly difficult for me.
‘Maybe I should try something different this time.’
I had already used straight punches twice, so this time I simply raised my leg and stomped down on the ground.
RUMBLEEEE!!!
A violent earthquake erupted beneath me, overturning the earth and devastating the entire area.
The sight reminded me of the godlike display of power I had once glimpsed from an S-rank Hunter.
I might not have possessed any impressive skills, but when one lacked teeth, one used their gums.
At this point, even my ordinary movements produced effects comparable to high-ranking skills.
[You have cleared <Tower 8th Floor>.]
[All stats are ‘8’ or higher. Additional experience points will be awarded instead of stat increases.]
[You have achieved SSS-rank.]
[A special reward for achieving this rank will be granted.]
[You have broken the clear record for <Tower 8th Floor>.]
[Leaving the Tower.]
Just like that, clearing the eighth floor ended with ridiculous ease.
Once again, I achieved SSS-rank and received a special reward.
I was beginning to feel as though I could get used to this.
And then the next day came.
Once again, I climbed the Tower.
[Entering <Tower 9th Floor>.]
[9th Floor Mission Overview]
-Eliminate 15 Kobolds.
-Completion Condition: Eliminate all Kobolds
-Failure Condition: Death
By now, I was becoming quite familiar with the Kobold Forest that spanned the sixth through tenth floors.
Naturally, what I needed to do on the ninth floor was not much different from what I had done on the seventh and eighth.
“Hup.”
BOOOOOOM!!!
A tremendous gale erupted from a single satisfying punch and swept across the ninth floor.
That was the end of the ninth-floor challenge as well.
[You have cleared <Tower 9th Floor>.]
[All stats are ‘9’ or higher. Additional experience points will be awarded instead of stat increases.]
[You have achieved SSS-rank.]
[A special reward for achieving this rank will be granted.]
[You have broken the clear record for <Tower 9th Floor>.]
[Leaving the Tower.]
The familiar sight of my room appeared around me once again.
“Hmm.”
Was it really all right for this to be so easy?
The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but then I remembered that the power I had gained was the reward for all the hardship I had endured until now.
That made it easier to accept.
‘Come to think of it, the payment deadline is coming up.’
After clearing the ninth floor, I realized it was about time to sell the materials I had accumulated.
The deadline for my father’s surgery payment was just around the corner.
“Let’s see……”
A quick search on an information site showed that selling all the materials I had collected should at least be enough to cover the installment payment.
For the moment, that would put out the most urgent fire.
“I suppose I should go.”
It seemed it was time to visit the Market for the first time in a while.
***
After the Towers appeared in the world, items related to them were initially treated as state property.
They were strictly stockpiled as strategic resources for clearing Towers and responding to collapsed Towers.
However, even in an age of great upheaval, there were always people with an uncanny ability to smell money.
Several quick-witted corporations established guilds composed of Hunters, recruited powerful Hunters, and gradually expanded their influence.
As a result, the corporations operating those guilds eventually used extensive lobbying to change the law itself, successfully turning Tower items that had once been entirely under government control into commercial goods.
Thus, what became known as the Tower Market was born.
The place I was heading to was an official Market operated directly by the South Korean government.
Generally speaking, official Markets offered little advantage compared to Markets operated by private corporations or guilds when it came to commissions or prices.
However, as an F-rank Hunter, I had little connection to those places, so I did not have much of a choice.
Strictly speaking, it was not as though I had absolutely no connections if I truly wanted to rely on them……
‘But I can’t exactly go clinging to those people for help.’
I had been one of the first Awakened and had worked as a Hunter for an extremely long time.
Naturally, the Hunters I had known who had survived until now had all become major figures.
If anything, I was the unusual one for surviving this long while continuing to linger on the lower floors.
In any case, the distance between them and me had grown as vast as the difference in the Tower floors we had reached.
I had no intention of humiliating myself by desperately attaching myself to them.
I might have been short on money at the moment, but I had not thrown away my pride.
My destination was the Seoul Geumcheon Branch of the Government Official Market.
All I intended to sell were Kobold materials, so there was no reason to travel far.
More importantly, the Geumcheon Branch was the branch I had used for the longest time.
Trading here might not earn me any particular advantage, but at least I knew I would not be cheated.
The Market was quiet.
Part of it was the time of day, but more importantly, most Hunters preferred Markets operated by corporations or guilds rather than government-run ones.
As for me, I had consistently used the government Market ever since it first opened, so I was fairly familiar with the employees working there.
The employee on duty today was a young woman I knew.
I had heard that she had once been an F-rank Hunter like me, but after developing a fear of Hunter work, she had found employment at the Market as a public-sector employee.
“Hello.”
“Welcome, Hunter. How may I assist you?”
But for some reason, something felt strange.
The employee who ordinarily greeted me warmly seemed especially cold today.
More precisely, she was speaking to me with the impersonal professionalism she might use toward a complete stranger.
‘Maybe she’s having a bad day.’
That sort of thing happened all the time in customer service, so instead of exchanging our usual greetings, I simply stated my business.
“I’d like to sell some monster materials.”
“Yes. Could you place the materials you wish to sell here?”
I opened my inventory and placed the Kobold materials on the scanning platform.
The AI scanner automatically analyzed the monster materials I had brought.
“Eight Kobold Hides, three Tower-made wooden clubs, six Kobold Fangs, and 3.4 kilograms of Magic Crystals confirmed. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for confirming. The total sale price is 15,424,000 won. After deducting the 10.1% withholding tax, your payment will be 13,866,176 won. How would you like to receive the proceeds?”
“Deposit it into my account.”
“Certainly. Then please present your Hunter ID. I’ll transfer the payment to the linked account.”
“Here.”
As the employee scanned my Hunter ID, her eyes suddenly widened.
“Huh?”
“Is something wrong?”
“…Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk?”
“Yes. Why?”
She stared at me with wide eyes for quite some time.
“Are you really Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk?”
“…Yes.”
“You’re really him?”
“We’ve seen each other more times than I can count. Why are you acting like this?”
“No, but how in the world……”
Her reaction made absolutely no sense.
“What exactly is the problem?”
“N-No! What happened to you? You look about twenty years younger! I thought you were in your twenties!”
“What?”
What was she suddenly talking about?
“Come on. Don’t joke around. In my twenties, seriously……”
“I’m not joking! I really didn’t recognize you! What on earth is your secret?”
“You won’t get anything out of me by flattering me like that.”
I was thinking that her salesmanship had improved considerably since I had last seen her when she abruptly held out a mirror.
“Here, look!”
The face reflected in the mirror genuinely looked decades younger.
And on top of that……
‘…Did I get more handsome too?’
Come to think of it, high-ranking Hunters with elevated stats barely seemed to age compared to ordinary people, and most of them were remarkably attractive as well.
It was probably a secondary effect of possessing physical capabilities that far surpassed those of ordinary humans.
“I’ve seen Hunters’ appearances change before, but I’ve never seen anyone change this suddenly. What in the world happened to you?”
Perhaps because of the changes in my appearance, the young woman’s eyes were sparkling far more brightly than usual as she looked at me.
It occurred to me again that I had developed something resembling trauma when it came to that particular look in a woman’s eyes.
They reminded me of a predator staring at its prey.
That was the best way I could describe it.
“Well… I guess I just got lucky. Yes.”
There was no way I could go around telling people about selling experience points, so I gave her a vague answer.
“No wonder you brought in Kobold materials……. And with this amount, it doesn’t look like you’ve only cleared the sixth floor once or twice.”
In truth, I had already cleared up to the ninth floor, but there was no reason to tell her that.
I simply smiled.
“Something like that.”
“That’s incredible! If you can repeatedly clear the sixth floor this easily, you could probably take the D-rank promotion exam.”
“It’s nothing like that. I was just lucky.”
“You’re always so modest, Hunter Choi. With that much experience, I feel like any guild would want to recruit you……”
“Who would recruit a Scavenger who only clears the lower floors? Ha ha.”
“Do you think Challengers were Challengers from the very beginning? Most of them lived as Scavengers first and gradually climbed higher. You can do it too, Hunter Choi!”
“I appreciate you saying so.”
“Ah, another customer just came in. I’ll see you next time, then.”
“Yes. Take care.”
After exchanging farewells, I left the Market with a considerably healthier bank balance.
‘The D-rank promotion exam……’
It seemed I would have to visit the Awakened Management Agency sometime soon.