The Tower of Despair, 36th Floor.
Ssshhhh—.
Smoke billowed up from one side.
While Seira and Dark were busy beating monsters to a pulp, someone on the other side looked as if he were enjoying a sauna… No—correction.
He was absolutely not enjoying this. He just had no choice.
If I go home like this, I'll be a walking disaster.
After chugging far too many potions, foul, rotten-smelling fluids were oozing out of every pore of his body.
And tomorrow was moving day.
Tonight was his last night at Se-yeon's place, and there was no way he could walk in looking like this.
So he had come straight to the Tower of Despair.
To sweat out every last drop of contaminated fluid here.
"Momo! Water!"
"Okay!"
Momo, who was keeping far, far away, tossed him a bottle of water.
Kancho and Momo refused to come anywhere near him after what happened earlier.
Jinhyuk grabbed the cold water and chugged it down.
If he was going to purge everything, proper hydration was essential.
Elia approached, mask firmly in place.
"How's the potion that lets you withstand any amount of heat?"
"Excellent."
Jinhyuk wasn't wearing a single piece of heat-resistant gear.
Up until the 35th floor, he couldn't last even a moment without protection—now it was unbearably hot, but tolerable.
He still shouldn't touch lava or heated rocks, of course.
He dumped the rest of the water over his head like a makeshift shower.
Time to check the smell.
"Elia. Please."
"Master. I was thinking… this feels like too dreadful a job for an elder like me."
"I can't help it. Kancho and Momo won't even come close. Seira and Dark are fighting monsters. And my nose got used to the smell, so I can't tell anymore."
"…Fair enough. It can't be helped."
After a deep breath, Elia removed her mask.
She sniffed.
"Oh? Much better than before. Just a little more and you'll be fine."
Earlier she'd screamed, "My nose is dying!!" and slammed the mask back on.
Judging by her reaction now, it had definitely improved.
"Okay! Let's move somewhere hotter."
For the final sprint, Jinhyuk walked toward a lava-heated rock area.
He pulled out Ganjangmakya and began swinging it hard.
Sweating while moving seemed far better than sitting still.
Kwagagagak!
In the distance, Dark's glacier shot up.
Sorry, Seira, Dark. I'll fight properly from the next floor.
This really couldn't be helped.
His original plan had been to sweat while fighting.
But the stench pouring off him had made Seira and Dark recoil, so he was exiled to a corner.
He gripped Ganjangmakya in one hand and whipped it through the air.
The sword feels so light now.
It had been rough, but the payoff from the potion binge was undeniable.
He'd have to ask them to make it taste better next time—he never wanted to go through that again.
If I get another greatsword, maybe I should try dual-wielding.
One time, he had asked Seira if the Knights of the Black Sword all used two-handed greatswords.
— Of course not.
She had shaken her head.
The Knights of the Black Sword used various weapon types—their swordsmanship wasn't restricted by weapon class.
— If possible, Master should grow proficient with many kinds as well. The more weapons you can use, the more versatile your tactics.
Jinhyuk had sighed with relief.
He'd asked the question extremely cautiously, because…
His swordsmanship had just reached Beginner Level 5. Asking about dual-wielding when he couldn't even handle one greatsword properly felt embarrassingly cocky.
— I only use one sword because nothing compares to Tarkan.
Then she had picked up two wooden swords and demonstrated dual-wielding.
Her usual style was heavy and solid, but in that moment, she moved like a feather—impossibly fast.
Just changing the weapon had completely altered her style.
Learning that would be a huge advantage in real combat.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
With a thunderous blast, the lava centipede toppled.
[You have cleared the Tower of Despair, 36th Floor!]
A system message appeared.
Then… very few others followed.
Neither Jinhyuk nor the heroes had leveled up, so there were no large messages beyond experience gained.
But one more remained.
[A lava centipede that survived a hundred years in the molten region!
With scales harder than most armor!
You defeated it at an absurd speed!
Grade SSS+!]
[Your achievement gauge is full! A perk will be granted!]
The spinning slot stopped on two silhouettes.
Maybe a Trait Ticket?! Or a Blank Card – True?!
That moment of hope lasted only a second.
A new icon appeared—something he had never seen before.
[You have acquired a Tower of Despair Floor-30 Compression Ticket!]
[You have acquired a Tower of Despair Floor-40 Compression Ticket!]
What is this now?
He hurriedly opened his inventory to inspect the ticket.
[30-Floor Section Compression Ticket]
Compresses all uncleared floors within the designated section into a single floor.The player may choose how many floors to compress.Currently, you may compress Floors 37, 38, 39, and 40.The more floors you compress, the higher the difficulty. This applies to terrain and monsters alike.You have 1 attempt. If you fail, the compression is canceled!
"Oh-ho."
Compression tickets had appeared on the Tower site before.
More precisely, players called them "duds."
They weren't like automatic clears or skip tickets.
The difficulty skyrocketed depending on how many floors you compressed—and the player had to deal with that alone.
Most players could barely climb a single floor at a time.
And after clearing one, the norm was to rest for several days.
Raising the climb difficulty? No sane person would use that—even if it came free.
Of course…
Jinhyuk grinned.
His case was different.
He always regretted not being able to climb more floors each day—so this was perfect.
If he could clear it, he could reach the 50-floor section in just two days.
"Mhm!"
Jinhyuk nodded with deep satisfaction.
The climb through the Tower of Despair was about to speed up significantly.
As expected of a luxury officetel.
A private shower facility on the first floor—splendid.
Refreshingly clean.
After changing into the fresh clothes Momo had given him, he felt alive again.
The clothes he'd worn while drinking potions were dumped into the 36th-floor lava.
They were hazardous waste that should never exist in the normal world.
"How do I smell now, Kancho? Nothing, right?"
Sniff sniff sniff sniff!
"Perfect, sir! Not a whiff anymore!"
Jinhyuk pumped his fist.
At last, he was free from the short—but excruciating—era of stink-hell.
Kancho and Momo had finally stopped running away, too.
A tragic experience.
He would make sure to stay clean from now on.
"Boss! Shouldn't we give Grandma some chicken too?"
"That's an excellent suggestion. But let's save it for tomorrow."
Tonight was his last late-night meal with Cheon Se-yeon.
She'd just texted that she arrived home with a mountain of food.
"Okay! There's lots of yummy stuff besides chicken anyway!"
Kancho's eyes sparkled.
He was already excited about the late-night feast they'd soon receive.
"I'll bring it up as fast as I can. For now, grab a snack from Momo's bag."
"Okay!"
Momo's inventory was stocked with snacks, nuts, jerky—anything with a long shelf life.
And since she also had a shard of the Thousand-Year Glacier, she could always pull out a cold drink.
Ding-dong!
The elevator doors opened, and Se-yeon appeared in comfortable clothes.
"Um… you should dry your hair first."
"Ah."
He'd dried it way too carelessly.
His hair was still damp.
"But what were you doing? It wasn't raining."
"I did a light workout and showered."
"At home, you could've…"
"There were… unavoidable circumstances. For the sake of this home."
Se-yeon blinked and nodded.
Digging deeper would probably only cause a headache.
"I got a good variety. Sushi, sashimi, ribs, everything. I figured you'd snack again after I fall asleep, so I bought a ton."
"Thank you! Did the New Caliho situation wrap up well?"
"I finished my part, but the case itself will take a while. Too many inexplicable things. Why the sea suddenly froze, who protected the New Caliho before I arrived, and what that final explosion was that wiped out the enemy fleet… Ugh, just thinking about it makes my head hurt."
"Yeah. Strange things really do happen in this world."
A bead of sweat slid down his forehead.
Thankfully, his wet hair hid it.
"Jin Seo-hee looks like she knows something, but she won't say a word. And the West Sea Police and Hunter Bureau sent people home quickly—they seemed wary of Genex."
He'd need to thank her next time.
"Oh, and. Lucky you, Jinhyuk."
"…Why?"
Se-yeon narrowed her eyes with a mischievous smile.
"The influencers aboard the New Caliho were all looking for you. All of them women, of course."
"Oh."
"They said you protected them at the event hall with Jin Seo-hee, and that they wanted to thank you."
Jinhyuk glanced at his phone.
Since arriving home, he had zero new Cocotalk or Instragram friend requests.
"I told them I had no idea what they were talking about. I figured you wouldn't want your name dragged around. Why? Should I have told them?"
"Nah. It's not like I dream of becoming an influencer."
"But whether you want it or not, your name's gonna spread. Everyone on that ship had serious clout."
Jinhyuk scratched his head.
He'd tried to push all credit onto Jin Seo-hee, but erasing his name entirely was impossible.
"I feel bad for Team Leader Jin Yun-ho. He's been trying so hard to keep me hidden, but I drew too much attention."
"He said it's actually a good thing?"
"…Huh?"
"That video of you fighting Cho Kang-tae is still viral. Because of that. Even after seeing you fight, no one assumes the guy on the New Caliho was a Runner."
Ah.
He understood now.
In the worldwide video, he had used a chain.
But on the New Caliho, he used a sword.
The gap between those weapons was too big for anyone to think he used both.
It had unintentionally separated the identities of "the Runner" and "Yoo Jinhyuk."
"Well, what's done is done. Let's eat! Before it gets cold."
"Sounds good!"
"It's a little sad, though. Last night and all."
"We don't live far. We can eat together again."
Chattering as usual, they walked to the table.
The last night at Cheon Se-yeon's place.
Tomorrow, he would finally move.
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T/N:
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