A week had passed.
“Student.”
“……Yes.”
“Thank you so∼ much! Take care of yourself from now on, all right?”
“……Yes, ma’am.”
My landlady—
No, now she was simply an older woman I knew—rubbed my hands several times before leaving without looking back.
“Wow…….”
I let out a hollow laugh and turned around.
A four-story apartment building.
Now completely empty.
“Is this really happening?”
Muttering something pointless, I headed toward my familiar rooftop room.
Compared to the cherry tomatoes that had borne fruit in a single day—
I realized that Tower Plants definitely grew much more slowly.
To think it had taken a full nine days just to bear fruit.
“Haha, finally.”
With trembling hands, I stroked the stem.
It had once grown straight up to my waist.
Now, it had curved inward until it resembled the shape of a birdcage.
And hanging in the center of that cage was a jewel.
“Wow…….”
As expected of a Tower Plant.
As though proving that it was no ordinary plant—
even its appearance was extraordinary.
If I had to describe it—
it looked like a small glass sphere filled with gently sloshing pale-blue liquid.
It was about the size of a melon.
“But this thing…… Is it really safe to chew?”
Its surface was so hard that even pressing it firmly with my finger did not make it burst.
I could probably eat it if I smashed it open with my teeth, but—
“……There isn’t any poison in it, right?”
It was an unidentified Tower Plant.
And on top of that, it was homegrown.
There were admittedly plenty of reasons to hesitate before putting it directly into my mouth.
‘……Information first.’
Now that it had borne fruit—
I should finally be able to see its information.
I focused on the fruit and reached out.
DING.
[Azure Breeze]
―Rank: SR (Super Rare)
―Freshness: Excellent
―Blessing Type: Mana
“It appeared!”
The ??? finally had a name.
“Azure……?”
I did not know what it meant.
But since it was a Tower Plant, I assumed an unusual name was only natural.
“Wait, but…… its Blessing Type is…….”
Something else caught my attention far more than its strange name.
Mana.
“Do not tell me…… eating this increases MP?”
My mouth fell open and refused to close.
A golden goose?
No.
Calling this a diamond would not be an exaggeration.
Nearly every buff that had appeared in the world so far enhanced some aspect of physical ability.
Not a single known buff had ever affected Mana.
Mana was something that could only be increased by climbing the Tower.
This fruit had the potential to shatter something everyone treated as common sense.
“If I put this on the market…….”
A high-ranking Mage who considered even a single point of Mana precious would probably pay an astronomical amount for it.
And would Mages really be the only ones desperate to obtain it?
Every Awakened used MP.
Every Awakened used Mana.
Entire countries might come looking for it.
“……Is something like this really supposed to be sitting on the rooftop of an ordinary apartment building?”
The more extravagant my imagination became, the more reality suddenly sank in.
A national-treasure-grade elixir had been created in a rooftop room.
I began remembering all the things my sister had warned me about.
“Kidnapping…… confinement…….”
Shiver.
Goosebumps rose across my skin.
“I-I should call Sis first.”
In the end, family was the most trustworthy.
This was not a world someone like me, with neither knowledge nor experience, should recklessly meddle in.
Riiing, riiing.
I immediately called her.
“Hey, Sis? Do you have a minute……?”
Click.
“Huh?”
The call ended.
Startled, I tapped at my phone.
Then—
“A message?”
A message had arrived from my sister.
It was short.
―Come to White Lotus.
Simple and direct.
Do not call.
Come in person.
But……
“……All the way to Seoul?”
That was far.
From this apartment neighborhood in Anseong all the way to Mangwon-dong in central Seoul.
Even if all the public transportation connections lined up perfectly, it would still take around two hours……
DING.
“Hm?”
I sighed and opened a public transportation app.
Then another notification arrived.
This time, it was not a message.
―Jeong Sohyeon has transferred 3,000,000₩.
―Take a taxi.
“……Wow.”
I worship you.
Awkward.
Was there any word that described my current feelings more perfectly?
“I’m his sister and his family! What’s wrong with worrying about him!?”
“I’m not saying worrying is wrong! I’m saying you’re taking your imagination way too far!”
BANG! RUMBLE! CRASH!
I could hear things collapsing and breaking.
Through the gap beneath the door, no less.
“……How am I supposed to go in there?”
I had arrived at White Lotus at my sister’s request.
A kind receptionist had guided me all the way to where my sister and the Guild Master were supposed to be.
And this was what I found.
“Anyway! I’m absolutely against it. Don’t even dream about it!”
“Whether you approve or not isn’t your decision! If we’re being completely technical, even family members are still separate people, aren’t they?”
“W-What did you say!?”
What was this, a married couple having a domestic dispute?
How had their argument still not ended after an entire hour?
Even crouching here in this awkward position was starting to hurt.
‘I can’t take this anymore…….’
“Ugh…….”
I shifted my posture slightly.
That alone made the pain in my lower back vanish as though it had never existed.
I settled back down in satisfaction.
‘Huh.’
Only then did I realize that the noise had abruptly stopped.
“……Sohyeok?”
“Ah, haha.”
This was awkward……
Baek Yulheon, Guild Master of White Lotus.
He was currently wrestling with a serious problem.
All because of one explosive statement from the face of his guild.
“‘I ate something my brother gave me and got stronger’…… Seriously, couldn’t she have explained it in a little more detail?”
Jeong Sohyeon had been steadily climbing the Tower when her progress suddenly stopped.
Twelve attempts.
Twelve months of stagnation.
Just when she had begun falling into despair—
Jeong Sohyeon had suddenly returned stronger than ever.
And according to her, the secret behind her growth was!?
―Cherry tomatoes.
“Argh!”
The situation genuinely defied ordinary common sense.
There had been no trickery involved, and it was an undeniable fact that Jeong Sohyeon had cleared the 50th Floor.
But—
“That damned explanation of hers……”
Whenever he tried asking a single question—
―I cannot tell you anything beyond this.
―It is for my brother’s sake.
Round and round they went.
Every different question received the exact same answer.
“‘I told you the entire truth’? Is she screwing with me……? If you’re going to talk, then tell me everything…….”
Haa……
Baek Yulheon let out a deep sigh.
Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed and let the matter slide.
The face of his guild had grown stronger and broken through her wall.
What did one or two secrets matter?
But the current situation was different.
If it had been the 40th Floor, there would have been no problem.
If it had been the 60th Floor, there would have been no problem either.
But the 50th Floor.
Of all possible floors, it had to be the one directly tied to the Major Guild Evaluation.
“What the hell am I supposed to tell them……?”
If Jeong Sohyeon continued keeping her mouth shut, their Major Guild Evaluation was as good as dead.
Even if she went on to clear the 51st and 52nd Floors, approval would never come.
And if that happened, White Lotus was finished.
“……That can’t happen.”
White Lotus was supposed to continue soaring higher.
And it was going to kneel here?
At nothing more than the Major Guild Evaluation?
For no reason other than being unable to prove something?
‘Then I have no choice.’
If Jeong Sohyeon herself refused to talk—
he would investigate this younger brother of hers directly.
“Secretary Yoo.”
“Yes.”
Baek Yulheon called out lightly.
Within seconds, a neatly dressed woman with her hair tied back entered the office.
“Sohyeon’s—no, Awakened Jeong Sohyeon’s younger brother. Dig up some information on him.”
“……Her younger brother?”
“Yeah. His…… What was his name again……?”
“Jeong Sohyeok.”
“Right! Anyway, find me something. Anything at all, no matter how trivial.”
“Understood, but…… if Ms. Jeong Sohyeon finds out about this…….”
Flinch.
At Secretary Yoo’s pointed remark, Baek Yulheon’s shoulders twitched.
“……Would that be dangerous?”
“Based on her usual behavior, she appears extremely reluctant to discuss anything concerning her brother. If we were not merely asking her but secretly investigating him without permission…….”
“If we did?”
“There is even a possibility that she would terminate her contract.”
SMACK!
Baek Yulheon slapped his broad forehead.
“……Bring Sohyeon here.”
“Yes.”
Contract termination was absolutely out of the question.
No matter how desperate the situation was—
White Lotus ultimately could not function without Jeong Sohyeon.
That left only one option.
“You called?”
“Bring your brother here.”
A three-way meeting.
“Oh, Sohyeok! Sorry you had to see something so embarrassing. Here, have a seat first.”
“Ah…… yes.”
As though everything I had witnessed moments ago had been a lie—
the Guild Master greeted me with an artificial smile, almost as though entertaining an important guest.
My sister, meanwhile, seemed dissatisfied about something and merely glared sharply at him.
The Guild Master apparently did not care in the slightest.
He hummed to himself as he brewed some tea.
“Have a cup and relax. We have plenty to discuss.”
“What is there to discuss……? Let’s just finish this quickly.”
“……Tsk.”
I felt like I had been trapped on the border between two hostile nations.
“Your sister appears to be in quite a foul mood, so shall we get straight to the point?”
“The point……?”
The friendly smile disappeared from the Guild Master’s face.
“Would you mind honestly telling me what you did to Awakened Jeong Sohyeon?”
“……!”
The instant I heard that—
my head automatically turned toward my sister.
‘Did they find out?’
She had told me herself.
If people discovered the truth, it would not end with something minor.
Yet my sister remained completely unchanged.
She let out a small sigh and muttered,
“……This isn’t the situation you’re imagining. Whether you tell him or not is up to you.”
“……It’s up to me?”
Fortunately, it seemed no one had discovered the truth independently.
Which meant—
my sister had told him herself.
‘After telling me not to tell anyone……!’
Well, she must have trusted him enough to say something.
Still, I could not help feeling bewildered.
As I remained silent and thought it over—
the Guild Master tried persuading me first.
“Sohyeok, you already know that your sister cleared the 50th Floor, correct?”
“……Yes.”
“Then do you know what new option becomes available when a key Awakened from a medium-sized guild clears the 50th Floor?”
“An option?”
I thought for a moment.
“……Major Guild status?”
“Correct. Exactly.”
A Major Guild.
Was that why they had called me here?
But……
“……I’m not even an Awakened belonging to White Lotus, and I’m not involved in the evaluation…… am I?”
Right.
There was no reason I should have anything to do with it.
Why would anyone care about an Awakened who had not even cleared the 1st Floor and therefore did not appear in the rankings?
“That’s…… not entirely true.”
“……Excuse me?”
The Guild Master produced a sheet of paper.
“Here. You can see what’s written there, right?”
“……Pending?”
“Exactly. Normally, you only ever see either rejection or approval, so ‘Pending’ is practically unheard of. Why do you think it’s written here?”
“Why?”
The Guild Master extended his index finger.
Straight toward me.
“Because they concluded that someone outside the guild intervened.”
“……Urgh.”
Someone’s intervention.
For me—
that was a secret that could never be exposed.
“The promotion evaluation is that strict? I saw on the news that guilds with shady backgrounds and all kinds of suspicious rumors still got promoted without a problem…….”
“Exactly!”
My aggrieved remark made my sister explode.
“They didn’t give a fuck when other guilds doped themselves through the underworld or hired mercenaries! So why the hell are they suddenly doing this only to us!?”
“Whoa…….”
I had never seen my sister this furious before.
She ranted so fiercely that red veins bulged across her forehead.
The Guild Master apparently agreed with her.
He scratched vigorously at his own forehead.
“Ugh!”
My sister grabbed the steaming tea that had been placed in front of me and drained it in one gulp.
Apparently somewhat calmer, she crossed her legs and dropped back into her seat.
She gnawed at her long thumbnail as she spoke.
“Well, it’s not like I have absolutely no idea why.”
“Huh?”
“A powerful new face—especially an unaffiliated Awakened—is someone everyone wants to get their hands on.”
As though adding to my sister’s explanation—
the Guild Master spoke quietly.
“Jeong Sohyeok. They’ve mistaken you for an unidentified S-Rank Awakened.”