Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Part 5

Hwang Mungi scratched his head roughly.

But the other person did not seem to be trying to scam him.

After all, someone this strong had spared his life and was now asking for a deal.

“So, how much are you going to pay me?”

“I’ll pay you with an item.”

“An item? With the remaining five hundred million won and a commission from someone like you, it should be worth several billion...”

“Legendary.”

“...What?”

“I’ll give you a Legendary-rank item.”

“...”

At Yugeon’s curt words, Hwang Mungi’s jaw dropped in shock.

Legendary items were still extremely rare.

So hearing that Yugeon would give him one was enough to leave him stunned.

‘There’s a Legendary item that suits you perfectly.’

A useless Legendary item that Yugeon did not need and would not need for the future he had planned.

He intended to give that to Hwang Mungi.

“You really... have a Legendary item?”

Hwang Mungi looked at Yugeon as though he could not believe it.

There were not many Legendary items.

As far as he knew, there were around forty.

There were countless Awakened all over the world, yet only forty such items existed.

“You don’t really have any choice but to believe me, do you?”

“Hmm... That’s true.”

“You catch on quickly.”

“Haa... What kind of commission are you asking for?”

In the end, Hwang Mungi decided to trust Yugeon.

The fact that someone this strong had spared his life was already fortunate enough.

“It’s similar to what Lee Hyeoksu asked you to do.”

“You want me to find something?”

“Yeah.”

“What floor?”

“Floor 23, [Rock Canyon].”

“Are you crazy? No way.”

The moment he heard the twenty-third floor mentioned, Hwang Mungi immediately showed his reluctance.

That was because Floor 22, Cracked Earth, was mostly flat like a desert.

Thanks to that, it was easy enough to move around as long as one was careful.

But Floor 23, Rock Canyon, was impossible to traverse alone.

Every floor in the tower varied in size.

Some were extremely narrow, while others were almost as vast as an entire country.

Although Floor 23 covered a large area, there was only one rock canyon, so pinpointing its location was easy.

The problem lay elsewhere.

“I can’t do it with my abilities.”

“You should be able to. Stealth isn’t your only ability.”

Hwang Mungi possessed a stealth ability, but his true strength lay in movement skills.

Unrestricted movement and mobility.

That was Hwang Mungi’s real power.

If it was Hwang Mungi, he could move rapidly back and forth across the rock canyon.

“Just who the hell are you? How do you know so much about me?”

“So, are you doing it?”

“No. I told you I can’t. Moving around isn’t the problem. The monsters there are.”

The monsters that inhabited the canyon were gargoyles and rock monkeys.

And harpies.

“Because of the harpies roaming freely through the canyon, I can’t move between the cliffs.”

And traveling along the ground was no better, since it was crawling with rock monkeys.

From around the midpoint onward, gargoyles were hidden inside the walls as well.

“Floor 22 was fine because they were underground...”

Floor 23 was a completely different story.

How was he supposed to enter alone and search for something in a place that was absurdly difficult even with a full party?

“Don’t worry about that part. I’ll help you.”

“You’ll help me?”

“Finding the item is your job. I’ll deal with the monsters.”

“...”

Hwang Mungi was dumbfounded by Yugeon’s claim that he would deal with the monsters.

Did he even know how many monsters were on the twenty-third floor, yet he was saying he would eliminate all of them?

“I really will take care of the monsters, so don’t worry. You can move after they’re all gone.”

“Haa... Can you really deal with all the monsters?”

“Yeah.”

“If you can do that, why don’t we just search together?”

“It’ll take too long. Even for you, probably.”

That was precisely why he was asking Hwang Mungi.

If anything, it was fortunate that Hwang Mungi had come looking for him.

Thanks to that, he could obtain something he needed.

“What if other people come?”

Other people could enter the floor too.

If they saw there were no monsters, would they not interfere?

“If there are no monsters, they’ll just leave. They won’t bother you.”

“Ah... Yeah, I suppose that’s true.”

“Don’t kill any humans. Just find the item.”

“Wow, after killing all of Guseongpa, now you’re saying...”

“Let me correct myself. You can kill those who have abandoned their humanity, but leave ordinary Awakened alone.”

“...”

At Yugeon’s words, Hwang Mungi immediately understood his personality.

He could tell exactly where Yugeon had drawn his line.

“Sigh. Fine, I get it. I’ll accept the commission.”

“Good choice.”

“What exactly do I need to find?”

“A black stone buried somewhere in the canyon.”

“...Good lord!”

Hwang Mungi pressed a hand to his forehead.

Damn it.

Since Yugeon was offering a Legendary item and had already said it would take a long time, he had expected that it would not be an ordinary commission.

But now he was being told to dig through that enormous canyon.

“Is ‘a black stone’ seriously all you have? No more information?”

“It’s round and glossy like obsidian. Apparently, there aren’t any chunks of rock attached to it or anything, so they said you’ll recognize it immediately once you see it.”

“Ugh... You really are giving me a Legendary item.”

“Don’t worry. The Legendary item I’m giving you is easy to obtain.”

“Haa... A Legendary item that’s easy to obtain? Am I really supposed to believe that or not... Tch. So when are we going?”

“Tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock. Come to the tower.”

“Which one? The tower in Seoul?”

“Yeah. I’ll go early and clear out the monsters first.”

“Got it.”

Whoosh.

Once the conversation ended, Hwang Mungi lowered his head.

Then he walked off to buy pickaxes.

If he had to search that enormous place, he would probably need quite a few of them.

‘That worked out well.’

Watching Hwang Mungi walk away in the distance, Yugeon nodded.

__________

The next morning.

Step. Step.

“Looks like you made up your mind.”

Standing in front of the tower entrance, Yugeon gave a faint smile when he saw Cha Mincheol approaching.

He had gone home saying he wanted to think it over.

The fact that he had come to the tower entrance meant he had made his decision.

“To be honest, I thought about it all day yesterday.”

He still did not really know what kind of person Yugeon was.

And there was also what had happened with Lee Hyeoksu.

Still, he had decided to trust him.

If someone that strong wanted to kill him, he would simply kill him.

There was no reason to drag him around through lies.

On top of that, Yugeon had saved his mother.

“I’ll travel with you, Brother.”

His mother’s treatment.

And his own growth.

He intended to grab hold of the lifeline named Han Yugeon.

“Good decision. I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to working with you as well!”

Mincheol greeted Yugeon energetically.

___________

Area 3, Floor 23, [Rock Canyon].

“It’s been a while since you came here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. Other than when I cleared it, I’ve never come here.”

Mincheol looked around and nodded.

He had been here before because he ultimately had to clear Floor 23 in order to reach Floor 24.

“Other Awakened avoid Floor 23 too...”

“Because it’s difficult to fight here.”

There were rock monkeys on the ground.

And harpies flying through the sky.

The monkeys and harpies were not exactly friendly with each other.

Yet strangely enough, whenever humans appeared, the two species would begin attacking together.

That was why so many Awakened avoided this floor.

“It’s funny how these things cooperate even though they aren’t other races.”

The other races that climbed the tower alongside humans.

They had worlds of their own in other dimensions, and once they left the tower, they returned to those worlds.

Of course, they did not appear in the lower floors.

They only began appearing from Area 3 after one left Area 2.

“By the way, Brother, how far have you cleared?”

At present, Mincheol had climbed as far as Floor 44 in Area 5.

He had been preparing to clear Floor 45, but after learning Lee Hyeoksu’s true nature, he had given up.

“I reached Area 5 too.”

Of course, he had succeeded in climbing that far by joining a party.

‘Back then, I joined the party as a porter.’

In reality, he had not even possessed the skill to climb Floor 20.

But through sheer luck, he somehow managed to stay with one party for quite a long time.

Thanks to that, he had reached Area 5.

“Mincheol.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“First, I need to see your actual skill level.”

Swoosh.

Yugeon pointed down into the canyon.

A place swarming with black dots.

“Go fight them.”

“M-Me alone?”

“I’ll help if it gets dangerous, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes! Understood.”

Swoosh.

Clank.

Boom!

Cha Mincheol equipped the enormous shield on his back and held a huge hammer in one hand.

A large frame and a shield.

And an enormous hammer on top of that.

Anyone could tell at a glance that he looked like a tank.

‘I’ll need to change his weapon soon.’

An axe suited Cha Mincheol better than a hammer.

That was because the hidden Heavenly Slaughter Star trait within Cha Mincheol did not match well with a hammer.

Whoooosh!

Baaang!

“Come at me, you damn monkeys!!”

Cha Mincheol descended into the canyon in an instant and unleashed his roar skill.

A taunt skill that enraged monsters and forced them to attack.

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

The monsters’ eyes glowed red as they all charged toward Mincheol at once.

Boom!

Bzzzzzz.

‘Oh! He already had Indomitable Barrier at this point?’

As a translucent blue mana barrier spread out from Mincheol’s shield, Yugeon nodded.

Indomitable Barrier.

Countless Awakened who had failed to break through that barrier eventually became prey to Heavenly Slaughter Star and were slaughtered.

Rumbleeeee!

‘As expected!’

Watching him charge forward and bulldoze the monsters aside like a bulldozer naturally drew admiration from Yugeon.

Of course, part of it was because the level gap between Mincheol and the monsters was so large.

But Mincheol had always been skilled at gathering mobs like this.

‘Still, it should start getting difficult soon.’

Whoosh!

Whoooosh!

Fwoooooosh.

“Ghk!”

A sudden gust of wind made Mincheol furrow his brow and look upward.

Flap. Flap.

Harpies.

Countless harpies were beating their wings furiously, creating violent gusts.

Then.

Gape.

Kyaaaak!

“Ugh!”

When all the harpies opened their mouths wide and shrieked at once.

An intense high-frequency sound slammed violently into Mincheol’s eardrums.

‘Th-This is a little dangerous...?!’