After reaching a nearby park, I sat on a suitable bench and sipped the drink.
The lukewarm beverage from the box tasted absolutely dreadful.
“So Boss moved away....”
On the way here, I had called Boss again just in case.
Naturally, he had not answered, just as I expected.
Moving away.
It was entirely possible.
Boss had lived in that apartment for more than five years.
Therefore, I might not have found it particularly strange.
“Why would he move when he owned the place?”
That was, had the apartment not belonged to him.
When I entered the construction business immediately after becoming an adult, Boss had already owned a home in his name.
Although he had bought it with money borrowed from the bank, he carried heavy bags of cement every day to pay off the loan.
Even his investments in cryptocurrency had been made with money he saved from his food and fuel expenses, all so he could repay the debt faster.
He might have been even more relentless about saving money than I was.
Yet a man like that had given up his home and gone somewhere else.
“...Something is wrong.”
It was strange.
There should have been no reason for him to do that.
Even assuming there was, why was he not answering his phone?
Far too many details felt wrong.
‘He could not have failed to get down that day.’
When the building under construction suddenly began shaking, there was little chance that he had been unable to descend and had fallen.
There had been more than enough time to react.
More importantly, had Boss failed to escape and suffered an accident, the calls would not have gone through at all.
Yet the phone was ringing.
Boss was alive.
He simply was not answering.
That was why it felt so strange.
I had known Boss for five years.
He was not the sort of person who would ignore my calls for an entire week, let alone a day or two.
Even if he had entered the Tutorial Tower, Boss’s Wife should have been able to answer.
She knew my name as well.
‘Then why?’
Why were neither of them answering?
To someone without a family like me, Boss and his wife had been the closest thing I had to one.
Of everyone I knew, they were the warmest, most genuinely human people.
Yet they had vanished without leaving a trace.
No matter how hard I tried not to worry, I could not help it.
I needed to find them, but I had no idea how—
“....”
BZZZT.
A vibration came from the pocket opposite the one containing Cheori.
I reached inside and pulled out my phone.
The screen was brightly illuminated.
A message had arrived from a contact named ‘Strongest S-Rank Hunter Seong Yumi, Ma’am Ma’am Ma’am.’
[Strongest S-Rank Hunter Seong Yumi, Ma’am Ma’am Ma’am: Did you get home safely, Mr. Black Dragon? I felt bad because we only talked about our side of things today. The next time you visit, I will make sure you are treated perfectly as an honored guest, so please come see us someday~]
Ah, right.
I had her.
She was an Association Hunter, meaning she was a public servant of Korea.
Moreover, she was an S-Rank Hunter who occupied the second-highest position among them.
I had only just saved her contact information in my phone.
A small smile appeared on my face, and I immediately called Seong Yumi.
—Mr. Black Dragon? Why are you calling so suddenly?
The signal rang only once before her voice came through.
I cleared my throat and spoke to Seong Yumi over the phone.
“Hunter Seong Yumi. You told me to call if something happened, correct?”
—Y-Yes?
“I need help. Would you be able to assist me?”
—I think I should at least hear what happened first.
I nodded and explained the entire situation to her.
After listening, Seong Yumi said,
—...That certainly is strange. You have been unable to contact them for an entire week?
Fortunately, she seemed interested.
—Did ownership of the apartment transfer completely to the current tenant?
“I do not know that much, but I think it is probably likely.”
—I agree. You tried calling his wife too, correct?
“Of course.”
Before entering the Verdant Tower, I had also tried contacting Boss’s Wife when Boss did not answer.
However, neither of them had picked up.
—Could you tell me Boss’s name and age?
“His name is Shin Seonu. He is thirty.”
—Good. What about the address?
“I will send it to you by text.”
It would be better to send her the exact address I had written down.
I copied the saved address and sent it to Seong Yumi.
—I received it. Since this involves personal information, it may be difficult for me to give you the details unless I determine that something is clearly wrong.
“Understood.”
—However, if I find even the slightest trace or decide that anything seems suspicious, I will contact you immediately.
“I am counting on you.”
—Leave it to me. I should get back to work now. Take care, Mr. Black Dragon.
“You too, Hunter Seong Yumi.”
Click.
I ended the call and returned the phone to my pocket.
I had asked the person I could trust most under the current circumstances.
Now I had no choice but to wait for the results of Seong Yumi’s investigation.
“I should go home for now.”
The sun was already setting.
Perhaps because I had spent the entire day outside, my already exhausted body felt heavy and limp.
Cheori also seemed to have awakened when my phone vibrated. He was now biting at my padded jacket because he was hungry.
I was equally hungry, since I had consumed nothing but juice all day.
“Cheori.”
“Squeak!”
He was furious.
How could a creature without venom be so full of spite?
I casually pulled him away from my jacket, which he could not tear because he did not even have teeth, and looked at him.
“Would you like some fried chicken?”
“Squeak?”
He tilted his head as though asking what that was.
I chuckled at his reaction and rose from the bench.
“Come on. I will show you an entirely new world.”
I would give him a taste of something wondrous that mere minerals could never provide.
***
Munch, munch.
I tore into a chicken leg while watching Cheori.
He was locked in an intense battle of nerves with the golden-brown, market-style whole fried chicken before him.
I had even cut it into smaller pieces because I was worried it might be too large for him, yet how long did he intend to keep staring at it?
“It will not kill you. It tastes best while it is still warm, so hurry and try it.”
“Squeeeak....”
Cheori let out a quiet groan at my words, squeezed his eyes shut, and bit into the chicken.
Gulp.
The chicken breast slid down his throat.
A moment later, Cheori’s eyes flew open as he stared at the remaining chicken breast on the plate.
“S-Squeak...?!”
It tasted good, did it not?
I chuckled as Cheori plunged his head into the chicken breast and began devouring it.
“Here. Eat this too.”
“Squeak!”
Munch, munch, munch.
His plate had already become empty, so I tore off more chicken breast and gave it to him.
He happily accepted it and ate.
Pets were not supposed to eat seasoned food, but Cheori was a monster, so he would probably be fine.
I continued tearing off chicken breast for him while biting into another chicken leg.
‘This is delicious.’
When I worked construction, I only ate fried chicken on special occasions.
My goal had been to own an apartment overlooking the Han River.
Saving enough money to escape my semi-basement home had already been difficult enough. I had not had the luxury of buying fried chicken as well.
That was why I had saved so diligently.
However, today was a special day.
Was this not the first leisurely time I had enjoyed since Awakening as a Hunter?
‘When I came out of the Tutorial Tower, Black Dragon immediately started making trouble.’
How could he claim that killing a few Slimes was boring?
Still, perhaps because I had accepted his proposal, ‘Black Dragon’ had stopped complaining to me.
Thanks to that, I could enjoy my chicken in peace.
“Squeak! Squeak!”
“Ah, sorry.”
I had become lost in thought and forgotten to take care of Cheori.
I put down the chicken leg, tore off some chicken breast, and placed it on his small plate.
The moment it landed, Cheori eagerly lunged forward and devoured it.
I watched him with immense satisfaction.
“Is it good?”
“Squeak!”
I see.
That was excellent.
‘I hate chicken breast.’
Life was dry enough already. Why would I voluntarily eat something equally dry?
Whenever I ate fried chicken, I wanted a meal consisting entirely of chicken legs.
Of course, I had never done so because it would have been a waste of money.
‘To think I achieved it this way.’
Smiling brightly, I picked up a chicken leg from another whole chicken whose breast meat had completely disappeared.
Everyone benefited.
It was a moment of universal happiness.
Approximately thirty minutes later—
“Do I have a beggar living inside my stomach...?”
The chicken had not satisfied me, so I had even eaten every packed meal I had bought several days earlier.
Never in my life had I eaten this much.
“It is even more surprising that it all fit.”
Even now, I felt as though I could eat more.
I simply did not have enough energy left to go outside and buy additional food.
I patted my moderately full stomach and released a long yawn.
“I am sleepy....”
“Squeeeak....”
The moment my stomach became full, drowsiness suddenly washed over me.
“Perhaps I should take a short nap.”
It would take at least a day for the investigation results to arrive.
I might as well sleep until then.
I threw myself onto the bed.
Within a single second, I was asleep.
***
“Shin Seonu....”
Tap, tap.
Elegant fingers moved through a dark office.
Seong Yumi rapidly read through the results displayed on the computer screen, then frowned.
“...Why is there nothing?”
She had received all the information.
She had even been given a vivid personal account.
However, there was no information anywhere about a person named ‘Shin Seonu.’
“That should not be possible.”
She had intended to finish quickly and rest, but it did not seem as though this would end anytime soon.
Seong Yumi released a long sigh, decided to continue the next day, and shut down the computer.
Outside the tall windows of the Awakened Association, the moon had already reached the center of the sky.
***
“Ugh....”
Blink.
I opened my eyes in bed while rubbing them and stretched languidly.
“My entire body aches....”
CRACK, CRACKLE.
Sounds that should never have come from my back formed a harmonious chorus from a single stretch.
I patted my stiff lower back, climbed out of bed, trudged toward the refrigerator, and opened it.
“...I am thirsty.”
My throat felt completely parched.
I opened a bottle, pressed it directly to my lips, and gulped down the cold water.
I finally felt alive again.
After wiping my wet mouth with the back of my hand, I put the water back into the refrigerator and blinked.
“I feel as though... I slept extremely well.”
My body felt as light as a feather.
I twisted my torso lightly to stretch, then headed toward the bathroom with buoyant steps.
“Whew. That was refreshing.”
Steam billowed behind me as I emerged from the bathroom and shook the water from my hair.
After entering the bedroom, I changed into comfortable clothes.
Only then did I realize that I had forgotten something.
“Where is Cheori...? Where did he go?”
Before washing and falling asleep, I had seen Cheori settle beside the bed.
Yet when I woke up, he had suddenly disappeared—
“....”
“....”
Slurp, slurp.
My eyes met Cheori’s as he desperately tried to eat my phone.
Even after making eye contact with me, he casually ignored me and continued putting his full effort into devouring it.
“Hey, I told you that you cannot eat this.”
“Squeak!”
When I took the phone away from his mouth, Cheori bit my hand with a deeply offended cry.
It did not hurt because he had no teeth, so I did not particularly care.
Still, why was he so angry?
With Cheori dangling from my right index finger, I turned on the phone.
“Eight in the morning? I woke up earlier than I expected.”
My body felt so refreshed that I had assumed the sun would already be high in the sky.
As I muttered to myself, I noticed the date displayed on the phone and widened my eyes.
“What?”
Blink.
I stared at the date on the calendar and opened and closed my mouth.
“T-Today is the twenty-fourth?”
That was impossible.
How could a person sleep for three entire days...?
“SQUEEEEEAK!”
Cheori cried out with pent-up resentment.
His eyes looked exceptionally furious.
‘Come to think of it....’
When I woke up, I had been incredibly thirsty.
It had felt as though I had gone several days without drinking water.
“Hmm.”
Considering all the evidence, I truly had slept for three days.
Only then did I understand Cheori’s reaction.
I released a quiet sigh and detached him from my thumb.
“I-I am sorry. I did not know I would sleep for that long either.”
“Squeak!”
“I said I am sorry.”
I had certainly felt tired, but who could have predicted that I would sleep for so long?
I placed the furious Cheori on the floor and raised my phone.
[Strongest S-Rank Hunter Seong Yumi, Ma’am Ma’am Ma’am: Sorry, Mr. Black Dragon. I think it will take a little longer ㅠㅠ I know it is urgent, but could you wait patiently for me?]
The message had arrived two days ago, but I had only just seen it because I had slept through everything.
I immediately replied, ‘That is fine. Please continue the investigation.’
I had no complaints.
An S-Rank Hunter was bound to be busy, so something must have happened.
Honestly, I was grateful that she was investigating at all.
I stretched deeply, patted my shoulders, and looked at the thoroughly sulky Cheori.
“Cheori, get ready.”
“...Squeak!”
“We are going to the tower. Are you not coming?”
“...Squeak?”
Come to think of it, he did not understand when I called it the tower.
In that case....
“We are going to see the World Tree.”
“Squeak!”
Only then did he happily crawl up my leg.
Once he had settled comfortably on my shoulder, I whispered to him.
“I will find you some ore as soon as we enter, so endure it a little longer.”
“Squeak, squeak.”
He rumbled in his throat as though saying that was the least I should do.
I chuckled and picked up the bag I had taken with me when I first entered the Verdant Tower.
‘Surely she will not reply the moment I leave?’
Seong Yumi had asked me to wait patiently.
That probably meant the investigation could take anywhere from several days to several months.
Rather than sitting around waiting for an answer that might never come, climbing the Verdant Tower would be a far better use of my time.
‘From now on, I should eat inside the tower even when I am not hungry and sleep even when I am not tired.’
It seemed that I neither became hungry nor felt sleepy inside the tower.
However, the moment I left, all of it came rushing back at once.
There was no other explanation for why I had eaten so much and then slept for three days.
“My supplies... I can probably take the bag as it is.”
Once I entered the tower this time, I had no idea when I would be able to leave.
Therefore, bringing some basic necessities would be wise.
I had not removed anything except the packed meals, so it should be fine.
I slung the bag over one shoulder and activated the skill.
[Verdant Tower]
[Entering the fifth floor.]
SHAAAAA!
Light brightened beneath my feet.
A floating sensation enveloped me, and my vision flashed for an instant.
When my sight returned—
“SKREEEE!”
I was standing directly in front of a roaring Bloody Mantis.
This was outrageously unfair.