CHSE 20

Chapter 20

*[“Like a salmon swimming against the river’s flow” {First Achievement – Han Ji-min (1 / 10)}

Swim for 1 hour at the Cheonmasan Waterfall on the 65th floor.

Reward – Endurance +1]*

“Huh?”
<What?>

Unlike other achievements, a number was written next to “First Achievement,” and it caught my attention.
I immediately moved the mouse.

After comparing it several times with other achievements I could see in Save Earth, I finally understood what the number meant.

“This must be an achievement where rewards are given to the first few people who clear it, right?”
<…Really? That’s a bit of a shame.>
“Why?”

Tichi, who was on his second can of Cherry Pepper, answered my question.

“Oh.”
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the thought.

“Ten whole points in Endurance…”

With that much, I might even be able to block the Frost Queen’s attacks head-on.

Anyway, the Cheonmasan swimming achievement was a first-come-first-served one, with a total of ten hunters able to claim it.

“So… what should I do about this?”

I stared at the monitor, deep in thought.

Stats were incredibly important to a hunter. Considering that the difference between grades A, B, C, etc. averaged about 10 stat points, it mattered even more.

“That’s why… if someone has to get it, I’d rather my friends be the ones.”

It wasn’t impossible.

All my fellow rookies from the Giants Guild were A-rank hunters, currently active around the 60th–70th floors of the Busan Tower. The 65th floor Cheonmasan Waterfall was well within their range.

But the problem was how to tell them about the achievement.

<Why not just tell them straight up?>
“They’d ask me where I got the info.”
<…Dream?>
“Yeah, right, like anyone’s gonna believe that.”

With Korea already in chaos because of Hunter X showing up in Heilongjiang, China, I didn’t want to give anyone a reason to misunderstand me.

Right now, whenever I acted as Hunter X, even my trademark blue sword aura had been changed to a golden glow.

Posting it on some online community to move my friends wasn’t an option either.

If anything…

If I did that, the Chinese—who knew about the achievement system—might move first.

“Headache.”

After thinking for a while, I decided to just put it off for later.

After all, I was the only one who knew about the Cheonmasan Waterfall achievement. Unless some crazy hunter spent a full hour swimming on the 65th floor by pure coincidence, it would stay secret as long as I kept my mouth shut.

So, clicking around the Busan Tower achievements, I checked my own character information on the screen.

[Strength – 36 (+8), Agility – 37 (+5), Stamina – 32 (+10), Endurance – 35 (+5), Luck – 12, Dexterity – 8, Mana – 57, …]

This was with full buffs active—Power Up and Blessing.

“Guess beating the Frozen Elderwood and those bugs really raised my stats.”

Just based on raw numbers, I was now slightly above B-rank hunter level. Adding my combat experience and the effect of Infinity, I could basically match an A-rank.

In fact, I had already overwhelmed A- and B-rank hunters inside the Heilongjiang Tower, and I’d soloed a rank-monster like the Frost Queen to unlock an achievement.

<Isn’t your growth a little too fast?>
“Heh. It’s just my body remembering my old skills.”

Compared to the past, where I had struggled on the lower floors with E-rank stats, this was a huge leap forward.

Especially since Infinity let me throw mana around without having to calculate usage—it felt like heaven.

Still, it’s frustrating…

My Stamina and Endurance were still low compared to other stats.

And I wanted to raise Agility past 50 without buffs. Reaching 60, the A-rank threshold, would be even better.

“Any achievements I can clear easily?”

Thanks to Save Earth, I could enter towers worldwide from my room—location wasn’t a problem.

And while others would struggle to figure out achievement conditions, I could check them with a few clicks.

<So you’re only going for Stamina and Endurance achievements?>
“Of course not. I’ll go for every achievement that raises stats.”

While I was chatting with Tichi, the door suddenly opened and I heard my mom’s voice.

“Ji-min, playing games again? At least eat first.”
“Oh? Okay! I’ll be out soon.”

Leaving behind my parents’ misunderstanding, I kept sipping Cherry Pepper with Tichi while digging deeper into Save Earth’s secrets.

The more achievements I got, the more stat rewards I’d stack.

With those, I wouldn’t have to fear Wu Lei, Chen Xiyi, or even threats from a Master-rank hunter like Chen Long.

That’s when it happened.

Bzzz!

[Han Ji-min, the old classmates are getting together today. You’re coming, right?]

As I stared at the monitor, a message popped up from Choi Su-jeong.

The message sounded casual enough, but when I opened the group chat, it was clear—if I didn’t show, they were ready to drag me there by force.

[Where are we meeting?]
[Same place as always.]
[Got it, I’ll be there.]

While replying, I suddenly felt a strange stare.

Turning my head, I found Tichi looking back and forth between me and my phone screen, eyes full of anticipation.

“…What?”
<You’re going out drinking?>
“….”
<I can come along, right?>

I suddenly pictured the tone-deaf teddy bear shouting drunken songs at the top of its lungs.

“Hey, you made it?”
“Oh—! Ji-min! How’ve you been?”

I waved at the friends greeting me.

Even after weeks apart, our reunion felt natural—like we’d been hanging out just yesterday. That warmth put me at ease.

“Sit here.”
“Thanks, thanks.”

As always, Su-jeong was quick to take care of others, handing me utensils as soon as I sat.

Right after, the server brought over cold beer. I took a sip, but I could feel Su-jeong staring at me.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”
“N-no. Hey, that ‘Support-type Mana Circuit Crystal’ you asked me for before—did you try it?”
“Oh… that.”

I pretended to drink more beer while choosing my words.

“Hmm…”

What should I say?

Back then, I’d asked her for it under the excuse of trying to “fix” my mana circuit by triggering dual awakening.

But I couldn’t exactly tell her it was because of Infinity.

So…

“It feels like I’ve gotten a little better.”
“Really?!”

Her eyes lit up at my answer.

Honestly, I wanted to say “I’m way stronger now,” but that wasn’t an option.

“What? Ji-min, you fixed your mana circuit?!”

O Min-seok, who’d been chatting with Seong-tae, shouted in surprise.

He even knocked over a cup in front of Seong-tae, though nobody paid it any mind.

With everyone’s eyes now on me, I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

“Not exactly. My mana did increase a bit, but since I now have two circuits, my sustain in battle is worse than before.”
“…Ah.”
“But if your mana went up, doesn’t that mean the circuit is running again? Wasn’t it completely shattered?”
“That’s true… but it only went up by 1. Sometimes it even drops back down to 0.”
“….”
“….”

My excuse deflated their excitement, leaving the mood heavy.

“Isn’t there a consumable that raises mana?”
“If there were, I’d have hogged it before giving it to him.”

Satisfied with my explanation, they moved on, tossing me words of comfort instead.

Amid the banter, Kim Su-hyeon, who had been quiet, looked at me.

“You’re still going into towers, huh?”
“Yeah, just for some pocket money. Better than working part-time jobs, right?”
“Actually, some people said they saw you in the 30s floors recently. Was that really you? Is it safe for you?”
“Safe enough. Don’t forget—I once made it to the 70s.”

I said it lightly, but inside I was uneasy.

I’d been careful to avoid drawing attention in the Busan Tower, yet apparently, people had still recognized me.

“What about you guys? How’s your tower raiding going lately?”
“Ugh…”
“Don’t even start.”
“Those damn Chin—no, those Chinese bastards.”

Their grumbling poured out once I changed the subject.

Turns out it was all because of Hunter X and the tension with China. Basically, China was venting its anger on us.

“Can’t you just ignore them?”
“And if we fail the 72nd floor raid?”
“….”
“I hate the Chinese antics as much as anyone, but we still have to prepare for the worst.”

The lack of a Master-rank hunter in Korea was the real problem.

If it comes to it, we’ll need a Master’s help.

Especially since towers came with a rule: within a few years, hunters had to clear at least one more floor.

Otherwise, a “timer” would appear, and when it reached zero, an Incursion would happen—monsters, including Named ones, would spill out.

Germany had been the first to learn this the hard way.

Specifically, the Berlin Tower incident.

The Berlin Tower had been cleared up to floor 74.

But during the battle against the 75th floor ruler, the frontline hunters were wiped out and progress stopped.

To avoid an Incursion, they kept sending only low-contribution hunters into the tower for nearly five years without attempting the upper floors.

But nine years ago, despite being nowhere near the timer limit, the tower suddenly released monsters. Many people died.

After that, the same thing happened in towers in Canada, the UK, and India.

The World Hunter Association eventually announced: if higher floors aren’t cleared for several years, the tower will release monsters.

“….”

Recalling that once-world-shaking event, I looked at Su-hyeon with a bitter expression.

“How long do we have left?”
“According to the Association’s estimates—about a year and a half.”
“That’s really not much time. Shouldn’t the media be handled carefully now?”

The Busan Tower, guarded by the Named monster Karas, was no exception.

“Actually, a reporter from Busan Daily just asked for an interview. Said it was about ‘hunters protecting the safety of the citizens,’ but…”
“No doubt they really want to ask about the Karas raid.”
“Exactly.”

At my reply, Su-hyeon sank into his chair, exhausted.

Seeing him like that, I felt sympathy.

He used to be the one leading the Giants’ raid team—until an injury forced him into retirement.

I knew better than anyone the burden he was carrying now.

“…You really won’t come back?”
“Do you think I can?”
“…Sigh.”

No wonder my friends kept bringing up my return whenever we met.

“Forget it. Let’s just drink.”
“Yeah! We still have over a year—plenty of time to rally and try again! Worst case, we can always butter up Uncle Sam.”

Min-seok raised his glass after Su-hyeon.

“What about China?”
“If they help, great, if not—screw ’em. They can sit out.”

The noisy, lively mood returned.

That’s when it happened—Su-jeong, cheeks flushed from fruit makgeolli, quietly spoke up.

“…Hey, have you guys ever heard of something called ‘achievements’?”

…What???