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Seo Jun-Ho looked at each of his friends sitting on the sofa before speaking, “There are a total of 25,000 Players who went up to the 4th Floor. Every single one of them is a Ranker, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they are the most elite Players of the current era.”
His friends had questioning looks on their faces, wondering why he brought this up so randomly when they didn’t even ask.
Seo Jun-Ho continued, unbothered. “The Association has officially requested that we clear the 4th floor.”
At that, their expressions changed drastically. They didn’t seem scared or nervous. In fact, they looked excited.
“I can finally get a workout. I was getting tired of pummeling weak monsters, so good timing,” Rahmadat said.
“And I’ll be able to try some new magic experiments,” Skaya added.
“...”
Gilberto didn’t say anything and simply curled his hands into fists. Two months ago, Arthur and the Watchguards had gone up to the 4th floor.
Only Mio looked still. “Seeing how you suddenly brought this up, does that mean new information has come in?”
“I heard a few things from Wei Chun-Hak, the only one who has managed to come down from there.” Seo Jun-Ho held up two fingers. “First of all, there are two ways to come back down. Either you go to a Save Point, or the floor gets completely cleared.”
“It is like the videogames we used to play when we were younger,” Gilberto observed.
“That’s right. Wei Chun-Hak described it like that.”
Rahmadat crossed his arms.
“Then, what are the requirements to clear the game?” he asked.
“Clearing the final Quest. I think it’ll entail killing the final boss.”
“Hehe, it truly is like a game.” Rahmadat scratched his face, looking excited.
“Me, me. There’s something I want to know. Let me ask a question,” Skaya said, hand shooting into the air. “So, is Wei Chun-Hak the only person who has reached a Save Point in the past four months?”
“Not exactly. He said Shin Sung-Hyun arrived at a similar Save Point around the time he did.” There probably had been some circumstances that prevented Shin Sung-Hyun from coming back down.
“Hm, so that means it’s not so difficult that the Heavens can’t clear it.”
“At the very least, reaching a Save Point shouldn’t be that hard. This fucking System…It doesn’t expect you to do the impossible.”
Even if the sky fell down, the System would create a hole you could use to escape.
“One more question. Are we five the only ones who are going up to clear it?” Skaya asked.
“The six of us. I’m thinking of bringing Miss Cha Si-Eun, too.”
“Oh, good!” Skaya was pleased, as she was close to her. However, Gilberto looked unconvinced.
“Will it be alright? It may be difficult for a healer to keep up with us.”
“This will test if she can. I’ve always felt bad for relying on Skaya’s healing magic too,” Seo Jun-Ho explained.
Though Skaya’s magic skills were certainly impressive, she wasn’t better than an A-grade healing skill. Magic power wasn’t an unlimited resource either, so Seo Jun-Ho always felt sorry that Skaya had to carry such a large burden.
“I’ve hunted with the healer lady a few times before. I’m in favor. She was very good.” Rahmadat was more careful about these things than anyone else, but he acknowledged her skills. No one else really had any reservations about her joining them either. It was just as Seo Jun-Ho expected.
‘Even in the past, we never really rejected people.’
It was simply that there weren’t many people skilled enough to keep up with them.
“We’ll be leaving in four days. During that time, pack your bags and get ready,” he said.
“I could actually leave right now if needed, but…” Rahmadat stood up and grinned. “But these weaklings will need more time, so I shall generously allow it.”
As soon as the meeting ended, Rahmadat said his body was already starting to itch, so he left to go work out. And once Gilberto and Skaya left for the cafeteria to go eat, things felt a little awkward,
“...”
“...”
Now that he thought about it, Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t spoken with Mio alone after she returned.
‘Shoot, I haven’t paid her enough attention.’
Of course, he had his reasons. The Thunder God had died almost immediately after she woke up, after all. Then, Seo Jun-Ho made the decision to go hunt the fiends, so he simply didn’t have the time to do so.
‘But I bet she was really disappointed about it.’
Other than the first day, he hadn’t even been able to say a simple “welcome back” to her.
“Mm.” Mio took a sip of the green tea he made with her eyes closed. She rolled it around her mouth, savoring the taste. And then she slowly opened her eyes and smiled gently. “It is the same as always. You brewed the tea for too long, so it tastes bitter.”
“...Really? I thought I’d gotten a lot better.”
“Next time, I will teach you once more.”
As the sole daughter of a prestigious family with a rich history, there was nothing she couldn’t do. Seo Jun-Ho was envious, but there were just as many times when he felt bad for her.
‘A prestigious family…’
Seo Jun-Ho recalled her family.
“Mio, after you returned…” he started carefully.
“I have not gone,” she replied, sensing what he was about to ask. She looked down at the blameless cup of tea and laughed weakly. “Nor do I think they want to see me much.”
“...That can’t be. You’re their only daughter, after all.” He said so, but Seo Jun-Ho didn’t actually believe in his own words.
‘That man would do that and more.’
From what he remembered, the patriarch of the Tenmei clan did not have any blood or tears. He considered everything as either a profit or a loss. But frankly, Seo Jun-Ho was more surprised that he hadn’t contacted her after all this time.
‘If they show a touching reunion between father and daughter, it would improve the public image of the family and the Guild… But he hasn’t actually contacted her?’
In the past, he would have used her in every way possible to profit as much as he could. Considering that, Seo Jun-Ho wondered if that man had changed as a person.
“He might be feeling sorry for what he did to you,” he said.
Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.
“To me? That man? Wow, I’m tearing up. Your humor has improved greatly.” Mio shook her head as if the very prospect itself was ridiculous.
“He’s still your father. He might have realized what he did wrong after he lost you.”
“...”
Mio didn’t answer him. She simply took a long sip of tea with her eyes closed.
“...This is bitter. Very much so.”
***
[You have arrived at a Save Point.]
“Huff, huff…” Gong Ju-Ha wiped off the fat droplets of sweat. “Hot, it’s so hot. In-Ho, it’s hot.”
“Please don’t get close to me. I will also get hot,” he said resentfully, putting a distance between them.
Gong Ju-Ha looked at her subordinate with reproach. “So ungrateful, even though I raised you…”[1]
“My parents were the ones who raised me.”
Gong Ju-Ha wouldn’t hate him if he weren’t so witty, but because he was witty, she hated him even more.
She fanned her face with her hand. “Ugh, at least we’re around… halfway there.”
“The Save Point may not be the halfway point. There may be ten of them—”
There was suddenly bloodlust aimed at him after Ha In-Ho made his pragmatic remark, and he quickly closed his mouth. When he turned. He saw that his 161 cm tall (her words) boss was glaring at him with murderous intent.
“Wow, my dear In-Ho is lucky for being such a realist. You’re so smart. And I’m the dumb one, right?”
“...Not at all.”
While Gong Ju-Ha was nagging him, a subordinate approached them. “Princess, Master is looking for you.”
“Hey, I told you not to call me Princess here,” she said, glaring adorably at the subordinate. Because the Guild members were constantly calling her that, someone truly thought she was a foreign princess.
“Then… Gong Juh-nim.”[2]
“Don’t mess up the pronunciation like that!”
“Anyway, I’ve delivered Master’s message~” He ran away laughing after teasing his boss.
“Fucking—” She wanted to burn his hair off, but since he was bald, she decided to let it slide just this once.
Gong Ju-Ha straightened her clothes and followed the path they were on until they reached Shin Sung-Hyun. There was a large map at his temporary lodgings, and he was staring at it intently.
“You called for me, Master?”
“Yes,” he said, turning. He got to the point. “I heard that you arrived at a Save Point.”
“I did, just now.”
“Good. Then, you should go down to the 1st floor.”
“...Me?” Gong Ju-Ha blinked. If they waited for just a week or two, Vice Master Jang Kyung-Hoon would also arrive at a Save Point, so why should she go now?
“I’m curious about the outside world. And worried that the fiends may have seized the opportunity to commit nefarious deeds,” he explained.
“Didn’t Wei Chun-Hak say he would tell you in detail?” She asked.
“Certainly, he isn’t the type of man who would lie about that… But he isn’t one of my people.”
If he omitted any of the information he was supposed to relay to the 1st floor or to them, they would have no one to blame except themselves for being played for fools.
“I have to protect the Guild members here, so the only person I can send down right now is you,” Shin Sung-Hyun said.
“Well, if that’s the case…” Gong Ju-Ha nodded. However, she didn’t look very excited. “I’ll go. But to be honest, I don’t think much has changed down there.”
“Many things can change in the span of four months.”
“Come on, it’s four months, not ten years. What could possibly change?” She waved him off, laughing. “Don’t get your expectations too high. Things are probably the same, the same as always.”
***
There was no need for her to pack before going down. Whether it be Earth or Frontier, she had estates and villas she could stay in. She was rich, after all.
“When will you return?” Ha In-Ho asked.
“Master told me to keep an eye out for things for about four or five days.”
“Four or five days…” Ha In-Ho side-eyed her. “Then I suppose you’ll go to the Association?”
“...Probably? The President will want to see me.”
“Then that means you may be able to see Mr. Jun-Ho.”
“...”
Now that Ha In-Ho mentioned it, he was right.
Gong Ju-Ha’s face grew cloudy. She still had the crumpled restaurant coupons and the gem he had left behind.
‘I want to ask him when I see him…’
She wanted to ask her why he hadn’t kept his promise and why he ran away after only leaving those things. If he felt that uncomfortable with having a meal with her…
“I’m getting mad again just remembering it… I’m going to burn him when I see him…”
“...You cannot do that.”
Gong Ju-Ha accepted his insistent discouragement and pulled out a strange-looking crystal.
She shattered it and spoke, “Return to Earth.”
***
“Mm~” Gong Ju-Ha took in a deep breath. The air smelled mildly dirty. “I’m back.”
As she had expected, Earth—specifically Seoul hadn’t changed at all.
‘The tteokbokki restaurant and the bakery I always go to are still there too…’
There was no change at all.
Still, it felt nice to be back on Earth for the first time in a while.
“Goblin Guild company building.”
She took a self-driving taxi to her destination. As soon as she stepped inside, the receptionists’ eyes widened, and they shot up from their seats.
“Captain Ju-Ha!”
“Hi, how’ve you been?”
They waved cheerfully and fussed around her.
“You’ve returned!”
“Because Master kept nagging me. Nothing much happened while I was gone, right?”
She said this as a formality. That was all. Just as someone would say “It has been a while, how have you been?”
However, their reaction was the complete opposite of what she had expected.
“Nothing much? The world has changed!”
“So many things have happened.”
“Many decisions have been made, ones not even Master would have the power to decide!”
“You came at the perfect time. You should go up to your office for now.”
“I’ll contact the secretary's office. They’ll tell you everything that you missed.”
“...Huh?”
This wasn’t what she wanted. She had come down thinking it would be a vacation, but there was already so much work to do as soon as she arrived.
“What is it? Just what has changed so drastically while I was gone?” she asked with a long face.
When the employees explained, her eyes grew so large they bulged.
“...What? Say that one more time.”
1. The word for ‘raise’ is also used to refer to mentorship or sponsorship. ☜
2. The joke is that her surname and the first character of her given name means “princess” (gong-joo). He only pronounced the consonant of the second character, so it still sounds like gong-joo. ☜