After being worn out by excessive stress, Kang Ha-min took a brief nap and woke up.
The moment he saw that the money had been deposited, his eyes flew open.
An account in Baek Cheon-myeong’s name, but Kang Ha-min’s account in reality.
The balance displayed there was 330 million won.
He had never imagined that he would see that kind of money in his bank account in his life.
“Yeah, Mom. Right, that’s what happened. Okay. Don’t worry.”
So he promptly made an excuse to his mother and sent her the money.
He did not send a huge sum all at once, only as much as he had planned to deposit every month from now on.
Knowing his mother’s personality, she would surely cause a commotion if a large sum suddenly came in.
‘For now, it’s money coming into Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong’s account.’
I should keep a low profile and handle things carefully.
Perhaps it was because his granary was full of rice.
Kang Ha-min faced the day with a more relaxed expression than ever before.
Before long, however, he ran into another problem.
‘……What do I do now?’
His worries about money had vanished overnight.
Having gone to work day after day, Kang Ha-min had never really wanted anything in particular.
His life had consisted of going to work, coming home, eating, looking at his phone, and going to sleep.
Even normally, he had never particularly done anything.
It takes someone who knows how to spend money to spend it.
For someone who did not even know how to spend money, having it only felt daunting.
‘Have I really been living such a dull life?’
On top of that, even his only childhood friend had gone missing after being caught up in the Dimensional Break.
Once again, he realized just how boring a person he had been.
“Master, is it not about time to climb the Tower?”
At that moment, Baek Cheon-myeong informed him that it was time for the Tower to update.
For Baek Cheon-myeong, whose sole wish was to climb the Tower, every day was time spent waiting for it.
Kang Ha-min felt somewhat reluctant.
‘I’ve earned money, so is there any reason to climb the Tower any further?’
To be honest, after earning this much money, he could no longer feel the need for the Tower.
Even if he merely kept selling the herbs in his bag, he had enough to live on for the rest of his life.
Since money had been his reason for climbing the Tower in the first place, he could not help feeling reluctant.
Once a person has enough to eat and live on, they do not want to suffer.
It is the hungry who work.
“That expression tells me you are wondering whether you have a reason to climb the Tower.”
Baek Cheon-myeong’s instincts were remarkably sharp.
“Ahem. No, it is nothing.”
As Kang Ha-min cleared his throat with a guilty look, Baek Cheon-myeong pointed outside.
“Master, then let this body tell you one important fact.”
“An important fact?”
“If the Tower’s floors are not updated like this, this world will face the Second Trial two months from now.
“From what I saw, that bastard called Shin No-seop seemed to know about it as well.”
“Uh, what?”
What?
The Second Trial?
“While I am at it, this body will also tell you what the Second Trial entails.”
Baek Cheon-myeong pointed at the people moving around outside the window.
“Immediately after the sun goes out, one-third of humanity will become Dark Ghosts that steal the light of others.”
No, wait.
“However, Hunters are excluded from that.”
Uh, uh?
Kang Ha-min could not utter a single word, his face frozen.
No one knew who would be included.
But anyone could be included.
His parents, for instance.
“Floor 161. That is where your world’s ascent has been blocked. The Hunters who have climbed the Tower must have lacked the ability.”
How long had it been since the Tower was last updated?
He hurriedly turned on his phone and searched.
About half a year.
The Tower had stopped updating for half a year.
If no Hunter could update the Tower within half a year.
The world would face an irreversible catastrophe.
Baek Cheon-myeong merely conveyed the facts.
He made no further suggestion.
The choice had always belonged to Kang Ha-min, his master.
Kang Ha-min also remained standing there, stiff and unmoving.
Why had Shin No-seop been so deferential toward him?
He could understand it a little now.
“……Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong.”
“Speak.”
“……Can you update Floor 161 within six months?”
Half a year was roughly 182.5 days.
In other words, the Tower would need to be updated every single day without missing even one.
From Floor 100 onward, at the Tower Ascension point, the difficulty increased exponentially.
Could even Baek Cheon-myeong accomplish that?
However.
A sharp smile appeared on Baek Cheon-myeong’s lips.
It was an expression as though he had been waiting for Kang Ha-min to say precisely that.
“With this body, it can certainly be done.”
The decision was made.
Earth was a world Kang Ha-min had to live in as well.
Better safe than sorry. Safety first.
He could only hold to that principle while the world continued to exist.
He could not let this world be destroyed.
Kang Ha-min drew in a breath and raised his head.
“Let’s climb the Tower.”
Of course, Baek Cheon-myeong would be the one climbing it.
Still, Kang Ha-min’s attitude was more solemn than ever before.
***
Perhaps other Hunters would update the Tower.
It was not as though Kang Ha-min had never considered that possibility.
But there was only about half a year left to sit idle.
If the Tower was not updated during that time, the Second Trial would come in the end.
‘I do not exactly have any patriotism.’
He had been born a timid man who put safety first.
But Kang Ha-min had things he wanted to protect as well.
The parents who had raised him his entire life.
And the safe life of the modern world.
If the world ended, he would lose everything.
‘Honestly, it’s embarrassing to wonder whether a resolve like this even means anything, but.’
Climbing the Tower was Baek Cheon-myeong’s responsibility from the beginning.
There was not much Kang Ha-min could personally be involved in anyway.
All he could do was watch Baek Cheon-myeong climb and cheer him on.
That was what Kang Ha-min had been telling himself when—
“Master, it seems you are thinking about this incorrectly, so this body will say it once more.”
At some point, Baek Cheon-myeong had made another wooden sword and fastened it at his waist.
“Climbing the Tower is the Master’s will before it is this body’s will. This body ultimately cannot climb the Tower without the Master’s will.”
Baek Cheon-myeong smiled faintly.
“Bear in mind that this is not a case of this body climbing the Tower through its strength alone.”
It was a remark that gave him a sense of pride.
“Ahem.”
I’m a sucker for words like that.
They make my shoulders lift for no reason.
“Sounds good. Let’s go.”
Just then, it was time for the Tower to update.
“Hunter Kang Ha-min, I will enter the Tower.”
The moment he spoke, a door appeared before him.
THUD—
Tension rose just from looking at the door.
The higher one climbed the Tower, the more drastically its difficulty increased.
Considering how difficult Floor 1 had been, there was no telling how difficult Floor 2 would be.
“I will be back.”
Baek Cheon-myeong’s field of vision was added to Kang Ha-min’s sight.
It was a view he had adapted to somewhat better than on the first day.
Creeeak—
The door to Floor 2 opened.
Soon afterward, Baek Cheon-myeong stepped into the Tower.
Welcome to Floor 2 of the Tower, Hunter Kang Ha-min.
The entry of Hunter Kang Ha-min has been confirmed.
Floor 2’s difficulty has been set to ‘Hell.’
Rewards increase according to the increased difficulty.
Just as before, the Tower’s difficulty had risen sharply.
It was painful that the difficulty differed for every participant, but the rewards were just as certain.
THUD— THOOOM!
Countless monsters filled the battlefield, just as before.
While there had been many relatively small creatures before, this time their sizes varied widely.
Would it feel like that if whales walked on land?
He could see several monsters with massive bodies that made him feel as though he were looking up at mountains.
The Tower’s difficulty differed for every person, but it had certain common traits.
One of them was that the first tier, including Floors 1 through 10, primarily involved hunting monsters.
Normally, there was no way this many creatures would appear, but regardless.
As the floors rose, the monsters’ grades rose with them.
“It is still insufficient for a warm-up.”
However, the grade of Floor 2 was meaningless to Baek Cheon-myeong.
He drew his sword and swung it.
The world split in half, and every monster was swept away.
Where the storm of swords had struck, nothing remained except Baek Cheon-myeong.
Congratulations on clearing Floor 2!
You have cleared Floor 2 in the fastest time in the world.
[Record Time: 3 Seconds]
The Floor 2 Fastest Record Holder achievement has been registered.
The reward for clearing Floor 2 is awarded.
Hunter ‘Kang Ha-min’ has leveled up.
Three seconds.
It was longer than before because the larger creatures took more time to fall.
Even seeing it again, Baek Cheon-myeong’s ability was astonishing.
What did it take to become that strong?
‘Are other S Grade Hunters like this too?’
S Grade Hunters were not Mythic Grade, so probably not.
Still, judging by the majesty of the S Grade Hunters he occasionally saw online, they too were beyond the heavens.
The number of those watching you has increased.
At that moment, another window appeared.
He had clearly drawn the attention of the Gods of the Tower once again.
‘Ugh, my stress-induced gastritis.’
Suppressing his stomachache, he looked over the window.
Then his face froze.
The number of those watching you increases.
T█e number of those watching you increases.
The number of those watch█ng you increases.
███ ██████ ███ █████████.
“Uh, what is this? What’s happening?”
Windows suddenly kept appearing, popping up as though there were an error.
███ █████ ███ ███████.
At last, every letter broke apart.
Cold sweat began to form.
He could feel that something was terribly wrong.
V̸̜̓o̶͖̍█d̸̥̅ █̷̪̕█̸̝̈́█̵̩͌█̵̦͋█̵͈̋█ is watch█ng you.
Then, at last, the words appeared.
Unlike the text that had previously displayed properly, it was horribly distorted.
The word at the very front.
It was too warped to read properly, but if he somehow interpreted it.
‘Void?’
The Abyss?
The Abyss █̷̪̕█̸̝̈́█̵̩͌█̵̦͋█̵͈̋█ is watching me?
Ha
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
“AAAAAAAH!”
The moment he saw the continuing bursts of laughter, he closed the window.
Something.
Something was watching him.
And it was something he absolutely must not get close to.
He had always been weak against occult things.
After experiencing something like this, his vision turned white.
Something.
I need something to protect myself!
If I do not hold something in my hand, I feel like I am going to lose my mind!
As he frantically looked around, he spotted an umbrella by the entrance.
A folded umbrella.
It called to mind a sword of just the right size.
SHNK!
Kang Ha-min drew the umbrella, pressed himself tightly into a corner, and tensed up.
“Where are you? Go ahead and laugh some more! Come out!”
But do not actually come out!
Kang Ha-min shouted as he kept watch in every direction.
Then.
Tap—
The sound of something falling echoed through the room.
He was in an extreme state of tension.
He was at the point where even a single sound could make him lose control.
“AAAAAAAH!”
It was more than enough to make cowardly Kang Ha-min explode.
Without even knowing what kind of power had been imbued in the umbrella.
Driven solely by his instinct to survive, he swung the umbrella with all his strength.
THWACK—
At that exact moment, Baek Cheon-myeong finished in the Tower and walked out.
Upon seeing Kang Ha-min swinging the umbrella with all his strength, he sighed.
“Hmm. This is unfortunate.”
Then.
CRAAAAAASH!
The house was devastated.
The bookshelf toppled over, the sink split in half and its water line burst, and even the computer was smashed.
Inside the room where everything had been destroyed, not a single thing remained intact.
Kang Ha-min stood there blankly, holding the equally shattered umbrella in his hand.
Creeeak— THUD—!
As though the passing storm had been no illusion, the desk collapsed last.
“Master.”
Following the call, Kang Ha-min slowly turned his head.
“It seems this body neglected to tell you something about sharing souls.”
Even without being told, he had a vague idea of what it was.
“Sharing souls means that you come to know the other person’s realizations and outcomes as well.
“So, if you wish to imitate the person with whom you share a soul, you can.”
In other words, even if the power was not the same, he could use the technique.
“Of course, this body and the Master have a master-servant relationship, so this body cannot really use the Master’s power. But the Master is different.”
He looked around the room as though he pitied it.
“The Master may be able to use a portion of this body’s Star-Extinguishing Sword Style, so this body was about to warn you to be careful.”
But before Baek Cheon-myeong could say anything.
Kang Ha-min had wielded the Star-Extinguishing Sword Style on his own.
Inside his own house, no less.
“This body did not know the Master was interested in this body’s swordsmanship.”
Even so, Baek Cheon-myeong looked secretly pleased.
Naturally, Kang Ha-min had no interest in it whatsoever.
He had merely swung it because he wanted to live.
Sadness filled Kang Ha-min’s eyes.
You should have told me sooner.