[No, no. I am telling you, a Han River view is not that great.]
[Lee Se-a, what do you mean, no? A symbol of wealth! A Han River view penthouse! Is that not obvious? Our household is rich now.]
[What are you saying? If you are rich, naturally, you live in a house!]
[I actually like houses too...!]
“......”
From weekend morning onward, the spirits were engaged in a heated debate while watching the real estate WeTube channel Cha Jun-hyeok had turned on with a click.
Every time they saw a decent-looking listing, they caused an uproar, saying we should move there.
[In any case, I am against the riverside. The glare hits your face every morning and burns you.]
[Really?]
[Yes. It is no joke. I lived there briefly too, then sold it right away.]
[A Han River view is our homeowner’s dream!]
[Hm? Whoa... Think again, homeowner.]
Cha Jun-hyeok shook his head firmly.
[If a man has made up his mind, he should at least cut something down! The one who rules the view rules the world. Homeowner, I believe in you!]
And so the room-corner ghosts all ended up staring at me with fierce eyes.
[Homeowner!]
[Let us go for a house! A house!]
[A house? This is why chaebols are like this! Do you think our ancestors will come and do the management for us? Do you have any idea how much work it takes? In Korea, an apartment is the way to go!]
While each of them was busy asserting their own opinion, I received a call from the Hunter Management Agency.
“Yes, remote work for one week starting next Monday. Understood.”
It was news that remodeling work would be carried out to strengthen internal security following the promotion to an official agency.
“Let us just go to the Tower.”
In any case, work had to be done.
[The Tower? Oh! Go, go!]
[La Vie en Rose, come here.]
[This time it is the 5th floor, right?]
<Player Jack Rich_07 will enter Gwanaksan Tower’s 5th floor.>
FLASH—!
But even after arriving at the Tower, the spirits’ real estate conversation did not stop.
“Do you know how much heating costs when there is no upstairs, downstairs, or next-door neighbor?”
SLASH!
A Sandworm was sliced cleanly apart by the sword Cha Jun-hyeok casually tossed with a flick.
“Cha Jun-hyeok, if you are going to calculate things like that, then what will you do about floor-to-floor noise and wall-to-wall noise? Apartments are completely a luck-based gacha game.”
WHIRR.
A gentle energy emerged from Lee Se-a’s hand.
The rampaging Sandworm instantly turned to ash and vanished.
[I vote for a house too! A white house on a hill! I really wanted to live in one.]
A white house on a hill...
Chae Seon-hwa casually threw a Sphere of Spiritual Energy.
The Sandworm that swallowed it whole rapidly expanded, then burst apart.
BOOM! SPLAT!
In any case, whatever else might be possible, a white house on a hill was not.
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 5th floor has been cleared.>
<Shortest time updated. Rank will be raised.>
<You have succeeded in the first S-Rank clear of Gwanaksan Tower.>
<Gwanaksan Tower’s highest-floor clear privilege period is active. Item drop rate increases by 10%.>
Basic Rewards: 110 F-Rank Magic Stones, 4 Essences of Earth.
First S-Rank Clear Rewards: 1 Time Delay Ticket, 11-slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, 2 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments>
Attack Power +5%, Defense +5%>
<Would you like to exit Gwanaksan Tower’s 5th floor?>
“Cancel.”
“Homeowner, choose! A convenient, state-of-the-art apartment where all you have to do is move your body in? Or an inconvenient house where you have to handle everything from beginning to end? Obviously, it is an apartment, right?”
“What are you saying? I told you, a house. Do you not know privacy? Privacy?”
[I vote for a house too!]
“You will freeze to death while looking for privacy! And who is going to pull the weeds? Lee Se-a, Chae Seon-hwa, are you going to pull them all?”
“Why pull the weeds?! Just cover everything with stone!”
[That is right! Or we can pour cement over it!]
“Wow! Seon-hwa, I think you are a genius!”
[Thank you, Sister.]
“What genius? What kind of house is it if there is no vegetable patch?”
“Do not make me laugh. A vegetable patch? Why not say that since it is a house, we should build a swimming pool too?”
“Lee Se-a, seeing you pick a fight for no reason, I suppose you have nothing left to say?”
“I am telling you, all of that is prejudice!”
“......”
If I left them alone, they looked ready to grab each other by the hair.
It was a sight I had seen in the district office civil complaint room every few years.
“From now on, real estate talk is prohibited.”
“What?”
“Why?”
Because it was noisy.
“Are you not buying a house?”
[Homeowner, are we not moving?]
“I plan to live as we are for the time being.”
There was still a year left on my Jeonse contract.
However, upon hearing my words, the spirits formed a strange misunderstanding.
“Oh! Homeowner! Is this because you are state power after all?”
“What was this called? Integrity? An upright official?”
[This is the kind of person our homeowner is!]
“Meow!”
“A figure who is not attached to material things. Very good!”
“He did not become a civil servant for nothing.”
[A bribe could never work on our homeowner!]
“......”
Somehow, in an instant, I had become the very embodiment of integrity.
“Absorption. Sandworm Number 1.”
<Absorbing Sandworm Number 1.>
SHWAAH—!
Up to 30% of the target’s stats can be absorbed.
Vitality: 60
Mana: 30
Strength: 40
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Digging: 50>
Digging?
What was this?
“Is the Digging stat good?”
“There is such a thing?”
“I have never heard of it.”
[Could it perhaps help with farming?]
In any case, it was clearly a stat that would be difficult to obtain elsewhere.
They said the best thing for a smooth life with retirement as secure as possible was to learn some kind of skill.
It was something I had once heard from the Civil Engineering Division Manager when I worked at the district office.
“Digging.”
<Stat absorption has been completed.>
With a single Absorption, my Digging stat increased by as much as 15.
And next.
Perhaps knowing whose turn it was, the spirits were already far away.
“Soul Collector.”
WHOOO—!
“Two Sandworms.”
<2 Sandworm souls have been collected. 32/200>
The moment the box closed, Cha Jun-hyeok sprang to his feet.
“Homeowner, the exit is here!”
Basic Rewards: 120 F-Rank Magic Stones, 5 Essences of Earth, 1 Time Delay Ticket, 12-slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, 3 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments>
I had returned home and was eating lunch when I suddenly received a call from the Commissioner.
[Section Officer Lee, what level are you right now?]
“I am Level 22.”
[Already? That is good. You will reach Gwanaksan Tower’s 10th floor next week, right?]
Tuesday and Wednesday were Gangwon-do and Jeju-do, so by that calculation, it would be seven days later.
“Yes. I think it will be possible on Saturday.”
[Okay. Starting from that day, you will be able to enter combat Dungeons. Since it is Level 20 or higher and the 10th floor of the Tower. The Nickname is separate from the Tower anyway.]
I heard later that this was why people usually set their Tower Nicknames as their real names or the aliases they originally used.
Apart from this, Towers and Dungeons were similar in many ways, yet different in others.
The greatest difference between the two was that their Gate generation methods were opposite.
Dungeons were created after a Gate burst open, but with Towers, if one failed to clear them and they collapsed, a Gate burst open.
Of course, the scale of the latter was dozens of times larger.
“Did something happen?”
[We received several A-Rank Dungeons from the Association this time. We made a deal with the Association over what happened in America.]
Was he referring to the time when the Association had mobilized even China to raid the hotel?
[It is not time yet. You understand what I mean, right?]
“Yes, Commissioner.”
[For now, since we are also under the Ministry of National Defense, we received Dungeons related to the Korean War first. But these are large-scale Dungeons, so they need managers.]
“Managers?”
[A role that checks the number of people inside the Dungeon, supplies necessary materials, and so on. Since the state is supporting it, it must be managed one way or another.]
In other words, taxes were going to be invested in Dungeon clears.
If so, management and supervision were essential.
[For now, we are accepting volunteers from among the Awakened in the agency. Let me see the Dungeon list...]
Rustle. I heard the sound of paper being turned.
[White Horse Hill is this week. Dabudong and Yanggu Dungeons are next week. The week after next is Gaemi Pass Dungeon. This one is in Sejong City. Would that be all right with you, Section Officer Lee?]
Gaemi Pass?
It was a location connected to the U.S. military quest.
“Yes, I will go.”
[Good. Then I will put it in the schedule. Come to the agency next week and hear the details.]
“Understood.”
[And I saw the alert earlier that you cleared Gwanaksan Tower’s 6th floor. You worked hard. It is the weekend, so do not push yourself too much. Work while resting properly, understood? Health is the most important thing.]
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
Click.
The moment the call ended, the spirits gathered around me.
[Homeowner, are you finally going to a Dungeon?]
[A Dungeon?]
[Where?]
“Gaemi Pass.”
[Huh? Gaemi Pass?]
[That is the place with no end of controversy.]
[What? Why?]
Unlike Chae Seon-hwa, who asked out of pure curiosity, Cha Jun-hyeok and Lee Se-a had serious expressions.
[...Ghosts appear there.]
Lee Se-a nodded meaningfully beside him.
[What?! Ghosts?]
“What is wrong with ghosts?”
[They are scary!]
[Do you know how creepy it is the moment you enter?]
[I-is it that bad?]
“......”
It was fascinating every time I saw it.
Why were they afraid of ghosts when they were ghosts themselves?
If they fought like they usually did when beating down Monsters, most minor ghosts would not even be able to come near them.
In any case, was that why Gaemi Pass Dungeon was one of the locations for carrying out the U.S. military quest?
“We are entering the week after next. For now, climbing the Tower comes first.”
[Ah, right! We have to reach the 10th floor!]
[Rank Measurement comes first, does it not?]
[I am excited!]
Thus began a period of storm-like Tower clears.
Sunday.
<Your level has increased.>
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 6th floor has been cleared.>
Monday.
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 7th floor has been cleared.>
Tuesday.
<Hwanseon Cave Tower’s 5th floor has been cleared.>
Wednesday.
<Your level has increased.>
<Seopjikoji Tower’s 3rd floor has been cleared.>
Thursday.
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 8th floor has been cleared.>
Friday.
<Gwanaksan Tower’s 9th floor has been cleared.>
Over those six days, I obtained 700 F-Rank Magic Stones, 28 Essences, 6 Time Delay Tickets, 70 Inventory Expansion slots, and 19 Skill Selection Ticket Fragments.
My Digging stat also increased by another 56.
In any case, the Essences I had steadily accumulated had already reached 77.
“Two sevens.”
[Why, homeowner?]
[What is?]
[Does it have some special meaning?]
Two of my favorite numbers were overlapping.
Even if it was a coincidence, when something like this happened, one had to do something important.
For instance, conducting an overall check in preparation for the Tutorial Boss Floor.
“Status Window.”
Class: Necromancer
Rank: Not Yet Measured
Nation: Korea
Title: Sealed
Stats: View Details
Skills: Summon Spirit 1(S), Exorcism 1(A), Materialization 1(A), Eye of Truth 1(A), Suppression 1(B), Absorption 1(B)
Skill Selection Ticket Fragments: 64>
Measurement Location: Tower’s 10th floor.
Evaluation will be made by comprehensively assessing the results of clearing the Tutorial Floors (1st to 10th floors), Title, potential, and other factors.>
S-Rank Sealed.
Collect information after killing the Tower’s 40th floor boss.
Perk after seal release:
You will have priority in all judgments related to spirits.
Death’s Oath applied.
Stage 2 Seed being generated: 0%
Stage 2 Quest in progress: View Details>
I inserted all 77 Essences I had into the Status Window.
<Stage 2 Seed being generated: 77%>
“This time, is it 1% each?”
[Usually, the higher the stage rises, the more it requires. Still, it is manageable for now, right?]
Why was she saying that?
“What is the next stage like?”
[When reaching Unique Stage 3, I think it was 0.1% each?]
That meant if one inserted ten, it went up by 1%.
“......”
It was true that this was still manageable.
Next were the Skill Selection Ticket Fragments.
Since I had never used them, 64 had already accumulated.
“Use Skill Selection Ticket Fragments.”
<Loading selectable skills.>
<Skill List>
Grants a Mark to the selected spirit. A spirit engraved with a Mark will be indicated by a purple arrow.
Condition: You must be in the same space.>
Automatically detects the energy of a spirit marked with a Mark.
Condition: You must be in the same country.>
There were Mark and Detection, which I had seen before.
And perhaps because my level had risen, new skills had also been added to the list.
Listen to the voices of spirits around the world.
Duration: 30 seconds.
Restriction: Can be used once per day.
Caution: Not everyone tells the truth.>
Read the memories of the land.
However, only memories related to spirits can be read.
Restriction: Can be used once per day.>
Exchange souls with a living target.
Your bodies will switch.
However, the other party’s consent must be obtained.
Duration: 3 hours.
Restriction: Can be used once every two weeks.>
The decision was whether to choose two B-Rank skills or one A-Rank skill.
Ordinarily, I would have chosen the latter.
[Let us use them as sacrifices for the Skill Exchange Ticket!]
[Quantity over quality!]
“Select Mark and Detection.”
<Skills have been added.>
And at last, Friday came.
The moment I entered Gwanaksan Tower’s 10th floor, a voice was heard.
【Player Jack Rich_07 has entered the Tutorial Boss Floor.】
“Oh! Homeowner, finally!”
“We came here when we truly knew nothing. This brings back memories.”
[What should we do now?]
Cha Jun-hyeok crossed his arms and spoke leisurely.
“Homeowner, you can just stand still here.”
[What about us?]
“As for us...”
【The first wave will begin.】
Cha Jun-hyeok drew his sword and said,
“Annihilation.”
SLASH—!
The sword extended in an instant.
Ten goblins collapsed at the same time, spraying blood.
【The first wave has ended.】
【Evaluation: S. Score Earned: 100 points.】
【The second wave will begin.】
This time, the number of goblins doubled.
Twenty goblins charged toward us.
“Reverse Regeneration!”
But in less than a second, they disappeared, leaving only ash behind.
【The second wave has ended.】
【Evaluation: S. Score Earned: 100 points.】
Lee Se-a asked Chae Seon-hwa with a relaxed face,
“Do you want some help?”
[No. I have pulled them all out!]
Before I knew it, Chae Seon-hwa had spheres of spiritual energy tucked between all ten of her fingers.
【The third wave will begin.】
At the same time as the announcement, the spheres of spiritual energy flew out.
BA-BA-BA-BA-BANG—!
【The third wave has ended.】
【Evaluation: S. Score Earned: 100 points.】
【The fourth wave will begin.】
Cha Jun-hyeok kicked off the ground and leapt up as he shouted,
“I will do this one!”
SLAAASH—!
A merciless Sword Dance unfolded in midair.
The goblins met their deaths without even knowing what had cut through their bodies.
【The fourth wave has ended.】
【Evaluation: S. Score Earned: 100 points.】
【The fifth wave will begin.】
The number of goblins increased several dozenfold.
“There are 100! Everyone take positions!”
This time, there was a Goblin Chief, Warriors, and even Mages.
The goblins were exultant with their unprecedented scale and momentum.
However.
BOOM—! BANG! SLASH—!
They were cleaned up in an instant.
【The fifth wave has ended.】
【Evaluation: S. Score Earned: 100 points.】
Cha Jun-hyeok smiled broadly with a proud expression.
“It is done!”
“It looks like you will get the highest rank.”
“Well, if it is the homeowner, should it not naturally be SS-Rank?”
[That is right!]
We waited for the final result like that for quite some time.
“Why is it not appearing?”
“True. It used to appear right away. Is it different these days?”
[It did? Then why...?]
At last, the System’s voice rang out.
【Adjusting difficulty.】
“Huh?!”
“What?”
[Why?]
However, the System did not answer.
【The sixth wave will begin.】