Chapter 177.

With Cheok Jungyeong, Jain, and Boss, I destroyed the east, west, and north control towers .

As other Players would destroy the south tower on their own, the gate to the 4th floor should be found within a week .

[Player ‘Extra7’ has made great contributions to Medea’s quest . ]

[The performance ranking for Medea’s quest has been updated . ]

[You gained the interest of the 3rd floor administrator, Medea . ]

[The remarkable power of your explosive unlocks an achievement . ]

「Terrorist」

—Destroy three or more buildings with a single explosion .

[You acquired a Trait!]

“…Oh?”

I got several system alerts, but I was most surprised with getting a Trait .

The Tower of Wish had unlockable achievements that gave bonus rewards for being the first one to complete it . Although it was rare for Players to meet the requirements for an achievement, it was even rarer for the reward to be a Trait .

I checked the Trait I received .

===

「Bomber」 [Low-intermediate rank] [Special attribute] [Static]

*Explosive Reinforcement

—Increases the power of explosives by 30% .

*Explosion

—‘Explosion attribute’ can be added to certain objects . The power of the explosion is dependent on the value of the object or its rank . The object will disappear on explosion .

===

It was quite a good Trait . In fact, I would have been happy with even a lowest-rank Trait . A Trait was equivalent to a Gift, meaning that I just received a free Gift .

“Oi, can I fight with those guys?”

While I was distracted by the Trait, Cheok Jungyeong cracked his knuckles and asked .

I looked out front .

Demons that survived from the Tower’s collapse were running over .

[Lv . 4 Demon Foot Soldier]

[Lv . 5 Demon Soldier]

[Lv . 6 Demon Centurion]

The Lv . 6 demon should be a bit tricky, but Boss and Cheok Jungyeong should have no trouble dealing with it .

“Do as you want . ”

As soon as I gave the okay, Cheok Jungyeong activated his skill, [Charging] . His already massive body became atrociously bigger .

Guooo— His magic power covered his body, making it seem as though he was on fire .

Cheok Jungyeong shouted at the demons .

“Come—!”

Although that was what he said, it was Cheok Jungyeong who impatiently charged towards them .

KOONG—!

The Lv . 6 demon centurion was sent flying backwards in one blow .

**

[Lv . 5 Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout]

—Your vitality recovers 30% faster .

—You can have sound rest while staying in this place .

—After waking up, your stats and skill proficiencies’ rates of increase will receive a 7% boost .

After working up a sweat, we returned to our hideout .

As for why our hideout suddenly jumped up to Lv . 5, though I don’t mean to brag, it was all thanks to me .

Unlike other Players who were renting their hideout buildings, I purchased ours entirely, expanded it, and put in several handmade furniture pieces .

There were four ‘masterpiece beds (made by Kim Hajin)’ and two ‘masterpiece couches (made by Kim Hajin)’ .

Furthermore, I also built a shower room and turned the entire basement into a training room . Jain even stole an air purifier from a noble’s castle .

I was confident that our hideout was the best hideout in all of Prestige .

“Ah~ my home~ I love the air here~”

Jain hopped on the couch, full of smiles . Boss sat down next to her and opened the Community .

Recently, Boss had taken a liking to browsing the Community . I couldn’t blame her, since there really wasn’t any form of entertainment in this place .

Other Players were having fun doing things like adventuring, finding quests, and learning skills, but Boss didn’t seem interested in any of them . In fact, she had yet to even learn any skills . She was even pickier than me .

Seeing Boss focused on the Community, I asked .

“Boss, aren’t you hungry?”

“…I already ate . ”

Boss replied shortly . Recently, Boss has been acting curtly around me . I still didn’t know why . Was it because of the Community?

I slowly sneaked up to her and peeked at her Community screen . Players could see what each other did once they friended, so naturally, I could see her Community screen as well .

===

[Returnee from a Ruined World – Chapter 19]

When I lost to him, I remembered my home . A world that no longer existed . Families and friends who lived there .

Suddenly, I was struck with sorrow . It felt like the weight of the heavens were pressing down on me .

…

…

…I will not die here . I will survive no matter what and pull him down from his throne . I will kill him with my own hands .

That’s why I lived .

“…Just you wait . ”

A voice carrying my soul rose up from the bottom of my heart .

[To be continued . ]

—5TP per chapter!

—I am aiming to have at least 10,000 characters per chapter!

—With my skill, ‘Story Imprint’, you will be able to have a more realistic reading experience!

—Readers who donate TP will be able to choose the name of a character!

===

“… . ”

Boss was reading a webnovel being serialized on some unknown Player’s personal profile .

I was slightly taken aback .

Of course, I did remember writing something like this in the original story .

[After contemplating on how to earn TP, Ordinary Players decided to do what they were best at, creating novels, manhwas, alcohol, and cooking . ]

However, I didn’t expect Boss to read a novel .

After finishing chapter 19, Boss pressed on the screen .

===

Would you like to donate 75TP to Player ‘Wallet’?

[Yes]

Player ‘Wallet’ gifts you a character name selection coupon!

===

…She was even donating to the guy .

I became a bit curious what name she would give to the character .

While I was looking at her screen curiously, Cheok Jungyeong suddenly asked .

“Oi, Newbie . ”

“…Yes?”

“What’s the most dangerous thing here?”

“Most dangerous thing?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for something or someone who’s worthy enough for me to fight with my life on the line . ”

Cheok Jungyeong was stretching his muscles . He still wanted to fight someone after battling the Lv . 6 demon centurion?

I pondered .

The most dangerous thing in Prestige…

“Other than the demon king, it should probably be the banshee . ”

“Banshee?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to deal with its curse . ”

The banshee’s curse led to death unless treated immediately . It wasn’t just a singular death, but a true death .

This curse prevented Players from leaving the Tower and caused them to slowly suffer for up to three months before dying .

Being able to revive didn’t mean anything . The curse wasn’t lifted upon death and even followed Players to their respawn locations .

“I see . ”

“If you get cursed by a banshee, you have to tell me immediately . ”

If the curse was only Lv . 1, I should be able to get rid of it with [Extraction] .

“Heh, you think I’d get done in by something like a curse?”

“Well… the same goes for Boss and Jain . If you get the banshee’s curse, just tell me immediately . ”

With that, I turned to Boss’ Community once again . However, Boss seemed to have submitted the character name already as she was browsing the public forum .

“Kuhum, then I’ll be going now . ”

When I got up, Cheok Jungyeong and Jain called out .

“Can you make some food before you go~? I’m hungry~ Hajin, you always only ask Boss~”

“You’re not going to train before you go?”

I could understand Jain asking me, but even Cheok Jungyeong expressed his regret .

It must be because I’ve been training with him recently . Although Cheok Jungyeong’s training was hellish enough to kill me, I barely held on with self-hypnosis .

‘I can still do it . ’

‘I don’t feel pain . ’

With these two hypnotic suggestions, I could barely keep up with Cheok Jungyeong .

“Do you want to come to Earth with me?”

“No, I like it here . It’s fun fighting with my strength restricted . ”

Cheok Jungyeong smiled as though he was truly having fun .

“…If you say so . ”

For Jain, I quickly walked over to the kitchen and made a boar steak .

[Lv . 3 Kim Hajin’s Boar Steak]

“Wow . How is it Lv . 3? It’s surprising no matter how many times I see it . ”

After smiling at Jain who was complimenting me, I teleported to my personal waiting room .

Once I was there, I stretched and took a deep breath . One good thing about the waiting room was that it had sunlight . Muninn’s egg was bathing under the warm light .

“…Wait . ”

I examined the egg closer .

“I knew it!”

The egg had gotten bigger .

Was it about to hatch? I smiled and sat down next to it .

I planned to go back immediately… but I decided to wait for 30 minutes . The egg surely needed its master’s love .

“Mm . ”

I held the egg in my embrace .

**

[Lv . ??? Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town]

The Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town had troubled many Players including Chae Nayun and Aileen and had gained quite a bit of notoriety outside the Tower .

Here, Kim Suho was currently leading a leisurely lifestyle .

Although he couldn’t avoid getting less than what he was promised from the mercenary missions, by being extremely frugal on a living space and food, he managed to gather the 1000TP needed to pass the tutorial .

It was all thanks to Kim Hajin’s tutorial guide book, which contained the best haggling price for various shops and inns .

But other than this, the guide book only gave general advices and told Kim Suho to look for things on his own . However, this actually led Kim Suho to find several hidden pieces .

“…?”

The first advice was [walk slow and steady to find hidden pieces . There’s no need to hurry . Direction is more important than speed . ]

Following this advice, Kim Suho carefully explored the outskirts of the town and encountered someone unexpected .

“… . ”

“… . ”

Kim Suho stood in a daze, while the girl he was facing was sitting on a bench like a thug .

They were both caught off guard by the unexpected encounter .

“…I’m in a bad mood, so screw off . ”

The girl broke the silence first . Kim Suho let out a dry cough .

“I had a feeling I’d meet you here . ”

“I said screw off . ”

Kim Suho observed Jin Sahyuk’s condition . Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were a mess, and her lips were swollen from stress . It was clear that she wasn’t having a good time .

“You don’t look… too good . ”

Kim Suho spoke honestly . Jin Sahyuk shot back at him sharply .

“Are you looking to die right now?”

“… . ”

Kim Suho didn’t react to her provocation and simply sighed .

He knew he was walking a completely different path than her . Still, he knew she was the only remaining person from his home world . Knowing the saying that ‘a battle can be won without fighting’, Kim Suho decided that talking things out would be better than fighting her to the death .

Kim Suho took out a beef jerky from his inventory, which he got from a boar that was terrorizing a farm .

“Do you want some?”

“…You can shove it up your ass . ”

Jin Sahyuk declined his offer then got up from her bench and glared at him . Her ferocious look was very Jin Sahyuk-esque .

“I want to kill you now if possible, but you’re far behind in line . ”

“Line?”

“That’s right . You got pushed back to rank 237 . You should thank everyone else . ”

“…There are 236 people in front of me?”

Kim Suho smiled bitterly .

However, it didn’t take him long to come to terms with it, as Jin Sahyuk had always been the center of trouble in his hometown . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say she had been one of the most well-known people .

“Even after I kill them all, you’ll only be rank 2, so don’t count your chickens before they hatch . ”

“…What?”

Kim Suho furrowed his brows . He couldn’t quite understand what she was saying . There was someone Jin Sahyuk wanted to kill more than him? Who could it… . Ah!

“…Are you talking about Kim Hajin?”

“Is that his name?”

Jin Sahyuk grinned .

Knowing fully well what this smile meant, Kim Suho’s expression stiffened .

“I wanted to kill him before I learned about his name . ”

Jin Sahyuk added apathetically .

Kim Suho placed his hand on his scabbard .

Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk instantly unleashed her magic power .

“You’ll die the moment you take it out . ”

“… . ”

Kim Suho faced off against Jin Sahyuk silently . His sword was shining inside the scabbard, and Jin Sahyuk’s magic power surged fiercely . Kim Suho’s hostility and Jin Sahyuk’s killing intent mixed together .

A cold and heavy atmosphere descended . But soon, Kim Suho gave up on attacking . It was because he realized he was worrying about the wrong person .

“Heh . ”

A small smile emerged on Kim Suho’s face . He remembered a past incident and knew what to say .

“Didn’t you already lose to him?”

“…What?”

Jin Sahyuk’s face instantly distorted .

“I didn’t see it clearly, but didn’t you get done in by a coin?”

“… . ”

“I bet the same thing will happen if you challenge him now . ”

Although Kim Suho was clearly provoking her, Jin Sahyuk didn’t say anything .

For some reason, she just had an odd feeling . It wasn’t because of rage . Rather, it was from finally finding out what the uneasy feeling that was bothering her was about .

However, Jin Sahyuk still didn’t know why she felt this way .

“Hajin is the same . ”

The tutorial guide book, a leather armor rivaling an intermediate-rank artifact, his career as ‘Fenrir’ .

With all these as basis, Kim Suho was certain that Kim Hajin was just as strong as him, if not stronger .

“…Screw off . ”

Jin Sahyuk shot back at Kim Suho . At that moment…

“Suho-ssi! This is where you were?”

Kim Suho’s companions found him . The Fermun brother and sister . They had first met half a year ago and decided to travel together after meeting in the tutorial .

Kim Suho put his hand down, and Jin Sahyuk also calmed down .

“What are you doing here? Yeonghan-ssi is looking for you~”

“Pft, I see that you still have annoying flies hovering around you . ”

“…Who’s this? I’m not like that!”

The older sister, Venessa Fermun, cut in .

“If anything, it’s natural for butterflies to be attracted to flowers . ”

Vanessa bashfully grabbed the hem of Kim Suho’s shirt .

Jin Sahyuk’s eyes narrowed immediately . It was as though she was looking at something so disappointing that she couldn’t find the words to describe it .

However, Vanessa tactlessly pointed her finger at Jin Sahyuk and laughed .

“From what I can see, you’re a butterfly too . ”

…Jin Sahyuk retorted quickly .

“Shut your trap if you don’t want to die, crazy bitch . ”

**

I came home . Four weeks had passed since the last time I was here . Thankfully, Evandel was doing just fine . She was the leader of a small group which included Hayang, Haeyeon, and a four-year-old kid that lived on the next block .

“…Mm, so you don’t want to go anywhere?”

“I like it here~”

Evandel replied and quickly went back into her tent .

“… . ”

Left alone, I was slightly flustered .

There was a tent sitting in the middle of the living room . It seemed to be something like a secret base . I did something similar when I was young, so it wasn’t too surprising . In a small, tight space, close friends would eat together, play games together, and tell scary stories .

“…Then I’m going out, okay?”

—Okay~

—See you later~

—Meow~

I could hear their voices from the tent . I felt a bit sad, but it was too cute for me to not smile .

Just like that, I left my apartment .

September was about to end, and the garden outside the apartment was decorated with beautiful autumn leaves .

I walked past the garden towards the local playground .

Soon, I saw a familiar figure . She was sitting on the swing and gliding back and forth .

I walked up to her silently and sat down next to her .

“…You didn’t take a limousine today?”

Kiik, kiik .

Her swing creaked until it came to a stop .

Ssss—

The leaves rustled from the blowing wind .

Yoo Yeonha looked up at the sky and sighed .

“Did something bad happen?”

“… . ”

When I asked, she finally turned and faced me .

She looked exhausted and troubled . Was something bothering her? I faced her empty gaze and asked softly .

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

Yoo Yeonha had called me here . Well, to be more precise, left a message, telling me to contact her when I was out of the Tower . I replied as soon as I saw her message, and Yoo Yeonha came here afterwards .

“…It’s about what you requested before . ”

“Oh, that’s done already?”

Yoo Yeonha nodded . I was surprised at the Falling Blossom guild’s information network . It seemed to have grown quicker than I originally anticipated .

“But…”

Yoo Yeonha looked down at the ground . Kicking the sand, she carefully continued .

“There are things I can and can’t tell you about…”

“…Huh? What’s that?”

Yoo Yeonha sighed and raised her head .

“You can choose . Do you want me to tell you everything? Or do you want me to tell you what I can . ”

She seemed to be nervous as her voice was trembling . Her serious face made me take this conversation seriously as well . Suddenly, I was a bit scared . Just how bad was Chundong’s past?

“Then… tell me what you can first . ”

The answer was easy . I didn’t want to force her to say what she didn’t want to .

“…Is that okay with you? You don’t know which details I’ll leave out . ”

“You can tell me the rest when you’re ready . ”

I smiled .

“I don’t know what you’re hiding from me, but I can wait . ”

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha bit her lips . Then, she moved her swing once again .

Kiik, kiik .

Her swing swayed, the wind blew, and leaves fell . Time passed until she was ready again…

“…Um . ”

“Yeah?”

Yoo Yeonha looked at me and asked .

“Have you heard of the Chameleon Troupe?”

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