Chapter 7. The Lottery Drawing
S-Rank Seal.
Collect information after defeating the Floor 40 Boss.
Stage 1 – Seed of Growth
Effect: The owner’s growth rate increases by 100%.
Stage 1 Quest in Progress: Guide 1>
[Homeowner! What did you get?]
“The Seed of Growth. It says my growth rate increases by 100%.”
[What? At Stage 1?! That’s insane!!]
I put the remaining two Essences into the seal as well.
<Stage 2 Seed Generation: 10%>
Perhaps because the stage had increased, the percentage now only went up by 5% at a time.
[A growth buff?? No wonder the world’s top 1, 2, and 3 all have legendary titles! It’s all about who you’re born as and what privileges you get!!
Cha Junhyuk, looking extremely wronged, grabbed his hair and pulled at it.
[Isn’t something this good supposed to appear only when a new class is registered with the Tower?!]
[Our homeowner is special.]
The female ghost nodded to herself before coming closer and asking:
[Homeowner, we’ve finished the conquest. Are we going straight home?]
“No.”
[Then what are we doing?]
Chae Seonhwa looked at me with sparkling eyes full of anticipation.
“We’re sightseeing.”
[Yaaay!]
[Not bad.]
Cha Junhyuk rubbed his nose, looking pleased as well.
[Where do we go first?]
[Horse meat! Horse meat!]
“Sure. Let’s go eat horse meat.”
Eating local specialties was a way of helping stimulate the local economy.
Therefore, a civil servant consuming local specialties while on a business trip could be considered a very desirable public-service activity.
Sizzle—!
Crackle, crackle.
The horse meat was grilling beautifully.
There was also horse-meat yukhoe and soup.
The ghosts were already completely absorbed in their meal.
[The yukhoe just melts in my mouth!]
[Ahh! So refreshing~!]
Today, I ordered two separate bowls of rice again.
When the restaurant brought them out with wooden chopsticks stuck vertically into the rice, the ghosts each took a seat.
There was only one difference from before.
“Excuse me…”
“Yes, what is it?”
Today, the horse-meat restaurant’s owner was sitting with us.
There was no private room here.
“Are you not going to eat that rice?”
The owner had stopped making horse-meat rolls behind the counter and was looking at me with concern.
“It’s for paying respects.”
“…Ah!”
After that, the owner didn’t say another word.
To break this awkward atmosphere, there was only one perfect solution: order more food.
In capitalist terminology, you could call it ice-breaking with money.
“We’d also like some yukhoe, shabu-shabu, and braised ribs.”
“Yes! Please wait a moment.”
The owner placed the horse-meat rolls in front of us and also brought out two bowls of sticky rice as a complimentary service.
“I don’t know what your story is, but… stay strong.”
Perhaps some song about a mother who hated horse meat was playing in the owner’s head at that moment.
“Thank you.”
[Sticky rice!]
[It’s so chewy!]
Well, as long as our ghosts were happy, that was enough.
[I’m full of horse meat all the way up to my throat!]
[I can’t eat anymore!]
The hosts finally declared themselves full three hours after we entered the restaurant.
[It’s starting!]
[The caramel popcorn is delicious!]
Today was Saturday.
It was 8:38 p.m.
The day had finally arrived.
[Chicken and beer are perfect for weekends!]
[What’s this powder sprinkled on the chicken? I absolutely love it!
The table in front of the sofa was filled with food: chicken, pizza, jokbal, popcorn, and even ice cream.
[Homeowner! Hold this!]
Cha Junhyuk pointed at a bottle of wine.
“Why?”
[I’ll show you something amazing! Hurry!]
As soon as I picked up the wine bottle, Cha Junhyuk began gathering his energy.
[Haaap!]
His hand blade came down powerfully toward the bottom of the cork.
[I touched it!]
Pop!
The cork shot high into the air as if by magic.
[Wow! That’s amazing!]
[Pour it! Drink it! Cheers! Cheers!
Our house was practically a festival.
Even so, everyone’s eyes remained fixed on the TV in the living room.
The lottery drawing was about to begin.
<Please press the golden button!>
As soon as the MC said that, a famous actor wearing a golden glove pressed the button.
<The order in which the balls come out doesn’t matter. If your numbers match, you win. The drawing will now begin!>
The colorful balls began spinning rapidly.
The numbers from 1 to 45 were clearly visible.
<We will now begin the 2,131st lottery drawing! >
[It’s starting!]
[They’re going to draw the numbers!]
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
<Let’s find out the first lucky number. Number 23!>
[Oh!]
[Just as expected!]
It was a good start.
The numbers Chae Seonhwa had given me were 5, 6, 12, 23, 26, and 38.
I placed the three lottery tickets side by side and waited for the next number.
<Now let’s find out the second number. Number 6!>
[Oh! Oh!]
[Wow!!]
So far, everything was going according to plan.
<The third lucky number is… Number 38!>
[We got it! What do I do?! My hands are shaking!
[Take some heart medicine or something!]
I took out one of the expensive traditional herbal pills I had been saving. Someone had given it to me as a gift, saying it was good for the heart.
[It looks expensive… The packaging is so fancy. Are you really giving this to me?]
[Hey! Just swallow it! Breathe!]
[Hoo…! Ah! Hoo…! Ah…!]
“…”
Whatever was happening on our side, the broadcast continued.
<The fourth number is… Number 5!>
What do we do!!! What do we do?!]
[Hahaha! Ahahahaha! Are we moving into a huge house now?
<The fifth lucky number is… Number 12!>
[Aaaahhh!]
We did it! This is it!!!!!!]
At this point, the past years of my life began flashing before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
I was right not to give up on my dreams.
But even if I bought an apartment along the Han River, I would continue working as a civil servant.
Because the most important thing in life, above all else, was stability.
And this was also a promise I had made to my mother.
From now on, I could live comfortably and steadily save my salary…
While I was already planning out my future, the final number we had been waiting for rolled out.
<And the sixth number is Yes, congratulations! >
The ghosts grabbed each other’s hands and raised them high into the air.
<Today’s winning ball is… Number 1!>
[Huh?]
[…What?]
Chae Seonhwa blinked at the screen.
Then she slowly came over beside me and checked the lottery tickets lying in front of us.
[…Huh?]
Her expression clearly said the following:
That can’t be right.
“…”
[You really made a huge mistake! A huge one! Wow, Chae Seonhwa! You didn’t look like this kind of person. How could you be so confident after getting it wrong? Where’s your conscience? You have no conscience!
[I… No, that’s…!]
“Next week, we’re going to the Gangwon Province Tower again.”
[Right! We have to! And on the way back…]
Cha Junhyuk clicked his tongue and looked at Chae Seonhwa with pity.
[Wait… No, hold on! Just… just a moment!]
[Why? Do you have something to say? Is this your final defense?
[Second prize! It’s second prize! I only got one number wrong!
“No.”
[…What? Why? Why isn’t it?]
The TV gave us the answer.
<The second-prize bonus ball is number 11!>
[Bo… Bonus ball?]
[You didn’t know? To get second prize, you have to match all five numbers plus the bonus ball.
[What’s that supposed to mean!!!]
[Go complain to them.]
[But I still…!]
[How much is third prize? Is it even a million won? The beef you ate that day alone probably cost more than a million won!]
Chae Seonhwa looked extremely wronged and spoke in a tiny, tearful voice.
[…But I still got them right…]
[Got what right?]
[The lottery numbers…]
[Huh?]
[Those are lottery numbers too! I didn’t get first or second prize, but… still!
The more Chae Seonhwa spoke, the more confident she became.
[Why does everyone only remember first place?! Third place is still a person! Last place is still a person too! Look! There’s a person here too! People come before money, not money before people!!!
At this rate, she was about to start talking about universal human morality.
“Next week, we should go to the Gangwon Province Tower first.”
[I agree.]
[What? G-Gangwon Province?! No! If you abandon me, I’ll become an earthbound spirit! I’ll stay attached to this house forever and never, ever leave! I’m serious! I really am!!!]
And with Chae Seonhwa’s desperate cries, today’s festival came to an end.
[Homeowner, are you going to Ganghwa Island today?]
I was leaving the house to attend the memorial ceremony when Cha Junhyuk blocked my way.
“Yes.”
[Then will you finish the Seed Quest today?]
“We’ll have to go there and see.”
If I were lucky, I could finish it in one go.
Otherwise, I’d have to come back again.
[If you need our help while you’re there, enter the Tower immediately.]
[Ah! That’s right!]
Just like we had tested on Jeju Island, my bound spirits would be summoned immediately upon entering the tower.
Cha Junhyuk folded his arms with a satisfied expression.
[Anyway, homeowner, for the next 100 days, every Hunter in Korea is going to worship you! The next time you enter a Tower, it’ll be absolute chaos.
[For 100 days? Why?]
[Normally, whenever a new class is registered in a country’s Tower, a Tower buff appears. It’s called the Growth Buff.]
[The Growth Buff?]
[Yeah. It’s similar to the seed you obtained, but the effect is weaker. It increases growth by 50%.]
[Why does that matter?]
[It gets renewed when someone who possesses a unique grade or higher Title enters.]
“But there’s a condition.”
“Do I have to generate the seed?”
[Exactly! That’s it!]
[There’s something like that? Then our homeowner gets 150%, right?]
[Exactly! The moment the homeowner enters a tower, it activates. So go ahead and take all the credit! If you don’t tell anyone, nobody will know!]
I left the house, leaving Cha Junhyuk laughing loudly behind me and Chae Seonhwa clapping her hands.
The two ghosts surprisingly got along quite well.
August 21.
It was the day of the tragedy when Korea’s first tower collapsed and every resident of Ganghwa Island was killed.
Every year on August 21, a memorial ceremony was held on Ganghwa Island.
But this year, the employees of the Hunter Management Agency had come to the uninhabited island where the Tower had originally collapsed as part of an official business trip.
We observed a moment of silence in front of the lowered national flag hanging from the flagpole.
Afterward, the director gave us instructions.
“Let’s see. There are six of us right now, so spread out and each collect three pieces of soil. Everyone received a hand trowel and a ziplock bag, right?”
The director looked at the employees on the island.
“Yes!”
There were six of us here in total: the director, four field agents who had been specially recruited, and me.
The Hunter Management Agency’s organization was growing larger every day.
As soon as the interior construction was finished, about a hundred civil servants from central government agencies in Sejong City were transferred here as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.
“They had already been designated before the presidential address.”
The director had given us a simple explanation.
That was why the government hadn’t needed to recruit ordinary people during the presidential briefing.
In addition, 32 Awakened individuals who had previously been working for the National Intelligence Service and the military were transferred to the Hunter Management Agency.
According to official records, they transferred to the Hunter Management Agency on the same day I joined.
Interestingly, all of them had dual identities.
They were essentially black agents.
Perhaps because of that, they only showed their faces at the office about once a week.
Now, Ms. Sua and I also had dual identities.
A few days earlier, the director had spoken while we were in Ms. Sua’s office.
“For now, Officer Lee and Sua are assigned to the audit office.”
“Yes, understood.”
<The Audit Office! >
“And you’re also Black agents.”
<Black agents?>
“Does that mean we have dual identities?”
It was a setup I had seen in a British spy drama before.
“That’s right. Exactly. Officer Lee knows his stuff.”
The director smiled proudly at me.
“Real treasures are usually hidden in places where everyone can see them. You catch people off guard!”
According to the director, it was basically the bluebird theory.
“Your performance bonuses and rewards will also initially be paid under your black-agent identities, so keep that in mind. They’ll be paid in cryptocurrency coins. Ah, and one more thing…”
The director handed me a stack of documents.
“The price of magic stones has recently crashed. I think the association is manipulating the magic stone market somehow. So…”
“Yes, sir. Please tell me what you need.”
“There is something I’d like you to handle quietly. I want you to visit a dungeon. It’s called the Course Dungeon, and it’s in Samseong-dong.”
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
“If you think it’s dangerous, don’t get involved under any circumstances. Understand, Officer Lee?”
Of course.
That was exactly what I intended to do.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
And so, Ms. Sua and I became the Hunter Management Agency’s new Black agents.
Back on the uninhabited island, the director continued speaking in front of the flagpole.
“Good. We’ll meet back here in 30 minutes. We also have to go to Ganghwa Island, so make sure you aren’t late.”
The actual memorial ceremony was being held on Ganghwa Island.
However, we had come all the way to this uninhabited island because of the procedure for collecting soil.
The memorial ceremony had originally been called the Memorial of Remembrance and had been organized by the Hunter Association every year.
Starting this year, however, the Hunter Management Agency had taken over the event.
For now, we were simply following the same procedures the Hunter Association had used.
“There was no need to change everything in the first year. The bereaved families would find it unfamiliar too.”
That was the director’s policy.
It was understandable.
The memorial ceremony had been held for more than ten years. If we suddenly changed it into a simplified event, it might look as though we weren’t putting enough effort into it.
As a newly established hunter management agency, there was no reason for us to take on that kind of risk from the very beginning.
Before collecting the soil, I looked around the uninhabited island.
This wasn’t simply a tiny rocky island.
It was larger than I expected. There was even a river running across the island, and mountains could be seen in the distance.
It was simply an island where nobody lived.
It must have been large enough for a tower to appear here.
I was looking at the place where the Tower had once stood when something caught my eye.
What is that?
It was an area that had been reduced to nothing but barren ground.
Only a few stones were scattered around.
But there was a patch of ground that was faintly glowing.
Could it be?
Is that what the Seed Quest meant by the traces of a collapsed tower…?
