Chapter: 42
“Are you seriously asking me to believe that?”
Lee Gi-seok asked with a look of disbelief.
A Tower.
Skills.
Monsters.
Items.
The apocalypse.
It all sounded like something straight out of a game or a fantasy novel.
And yet Eugene was talking about it with complete seriousness.
The whole thing was so absurd that Gi-seok couldn’t even laugh.
Under normal circumstances, he would have thrown Eugene out immediately for wasting his time.
But things were different now.
Because Eugene had already shown him something.
A single man armed with a melee weapon could never stand against modern soldiers equipped with firearms.
That was even more impossible if they were facing not just a few men, but an entire battalion.
Even if luck allowed him to take down a handful of soldiers, the price would be a hail of bullets.
He wouldn’t survive even a single second before being riddled with gunfire.
But Eugene was different.
He had single-handedly defeated forces exceeding the size of an entire battalion before coming here.
He had accomplished something that should have been possible only for superheroes in movies.
That alone gave considerable credibility to everything Eugene had said.
And then there was the Tower.
The black tower that had suddenly appeared across the world made it impossible to simply dismiss his words.
“I wasn’t asking you to believe me. You’ll have no choice but to believe it later anyway.”
Looking at the thoroughly bewildered Lee Gi-seok, Eugene simply shrugged.
His attitude suggested that he genuinely didn’t care whether the man believed him or not.
“Fine. Let’s assume, for now, that everything you’ve said is true.”
Organizing the chaos in his mind, Lee Gi-seok slowly spoke.
“Why did you come to see me?”
Eugene had said that once Players reached the fifth floor, they would be allowed to return to the outside world for one week.
The same applied to him.
A week wasn’t very long.
Naturally, there were countless things he wanted—and needed—to do.
So there had to be a specific reason he had come here instead.
I can’t figure it out.
Surely he hadn’t come merely to pass along information about the Tower and the Players.
It had to be something far more significant.
A grin spread across Eugene’s face.
It was as though he had been waiting for that very question.
“Because there’s something I need you to do.”
“Something I need to do?”
“Nothing too grand.”
Leaning forward from the sofa, Eugene lowered his voice.
“I need some support… and management. If we’re going to clear the Tower.”
Park Ji-hoo came to a stop.
He stood in front of the only place in the neighborhood where someone could actually be hospitalized.
Dongseong Clinic.
It was a small building.
Just as the sign indicated, it wasn’t really a hospital but a neighborhood clinic.
The facilities were old, and because it stood in a rather isolated area, the entire place had a gloomy atmosphere.
She should be here.
It was the only place the poor people living in this miserable neighborhood could rely on.
Besides, there was no way the man Ji-hoo had once called his father would have admitted Si-yeon to some fancy hospital.
Keeping a stern expression, Park Ji-hoo walked inside Dongseong Clinic.
Since it was already late, the building was dimly lit.
Only a few patients stepping outside for cigarettes could be seen here and there.
As if by habit, Ji-hoo headed for the staircase and climbed straight to the third floor.
This used to exhaust me.
Before being summoned to the Tower, Park Ji-hoo had been a frail boy.
He had barely eaten enough to survive, leaving him with nothing but sheer stubbornness.
His physical strength had been far below that of other boys his age.
Even climbing three flights of stairs had been exhausting.
But not anymore.
Now he felt like he could climb thirty floors.
Three hundred floors, even.
I don’t know if that’s something I should be grateful for.
Forcing away his gloomy thoughts, Ji-hoo opened the emergency stairwell door and stepped inside.
A brightly lit hallway stretched before him.
Since this was the ward with patient rooms, they had apparently left the lights on.
“Huh? How can I help you?”
Just then, a nurse who noticed Ji-hoo started walking toward him before immediately frowning.
He looked like a complete beggar.
The foul stench coming from him was enough to make her stop several meters away instead of approaching any closer.
“I… came to see my little sister.”
“Your sister? Oh, you’re here to visit. But I’m sorry—visiting hours are over. And even if they weren’t, we couldn’t let you in looking like that.”
Ever since the pandemic several years earlier, hospitals had become much stricter about visitation.
Places that once loosely enforced visiting hours now followed them to the letter, and many wouldn’t allow anyone in unless they were a registered guardian.
Considering Ji-hoo’s condition, there was no way they could let him inside.
Even if Dongseong Clinic was rundown and operated rather haphazardly, that much was unavoidable.
“…I see.”
Ji-hoo’s shoulders slumped.
He was furious and anxious.
But he wasn’t someone who lacked basic manners.
Nor was he oblivious enough not to realize how his appearance affected others.
Thinking he might only cause trouble for the other patients, he decided he should head back, wash up, and return later.
Then the nurse asked,
“What’s your sister’s name?”
“P-Park Si-yeon.”
“Si-yeon? You’re Si-yeon’s older brother?”
The nurse’s eyes widened.
“We were worried because no one had come to see her for days. So you’ve finally shown up.”
Giving Ji-hoo a rather pointed look, she turned around and said,
“Room 307. Just don’t make too much noise since there are other patients. And wash your hands before you go in.”
Was she… giving him permission?
The moment she learned he was Park Si-yeon’s brother, she reluctantly decided not to stop him.
“Room 307.”
Bowing gratefully toward her back, Ji-hoo headed for Room 307.
The clinic was so small that it took less than a minute to find it.
A six-person room.
The nameplate outside showed every bed was occupied.
Following the nurse’s instructions first, Ji-hoo entered the restroom and began washing every exposed part of his body with soap.
He was so filthy that it took quite a while.
When he looked into the mirror afterward, his face and neck were at least reasonably clean.
His hair was beyond saving for the moment, so he settled for that before returning to Room 307.
He carefully opened the door.
Only the quiet sound of sleeping breaths filled the dim room.
There.
Near the window.
Ji-hoo peeked behind the drawn curtain.
Soft, gentle breathing.
He saw his little sister.
Curled into herself like a shrimp, she was fast asleep.
At only thirteen years old, she was much smaller than children her own age.
Just like Ji-hoo himself.
Si-yeon…
Bruises and cuts covered her face.
His father had said she’d run into some thugs.
Ji-hoo slowly reached out with a trembling hand toward her sleeping face…
…then stopped.
He was afraid of waking her.
Creak.
Rage welled up inside him at the scars left on the body of such a small, fragile child.
It only grew stronger because he felt everything was his fault.
If I hadn’t been summoned to the Tower…
None of this would have happened.
He could have protected his little sister instead of leaving her with that worthless father and irresponsible mother.
This had happened because he had disappeared into the Tower.
That thought filled him with unbearable anger.
Ji-hoo quietly withdrew his hand.
He desperately wanted to wake her.
The older brother who had been her shelter had vanished overnight.
How frightened and lonely must this little girl have been?
He wanted to tell her not to worry anymore.
That her big brother had come back.
But he couldn’t.
He only had one week left.
After that, he would have no choice but to return to the Tower.
He didn’t want his sister to experience the pain of suddenly losing her brother all over again.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind during those brief moments.
In the end, however, Park Ji-hoo chose not to wake her.
He simply stood there for a long time, silently watching his sleeping sister before finally leaving the room.
“There isn’t much I can do for her.”
But at least…
There were still a few things he could do right now.
They said they were a bunch of thugs.
The moment his father had mentioned them, certain faces had immediately come to mind.
They were notorious throughout the neighborhood.
Everyone knew them.
They had tormented Ji-hoo without end.
There was a 99.9% chance it was those bastards.
Once their favorite punching bag disappeared, they had simply chosen Park Si-yeon as the replacement.
Though honestly…
Even if it wasn’t them, it didn’t matter.
The real culprits would surely be the same type of trash.
If he beat enough of them, he’d eventually find out the truth.
One week.
Not a very long time.
But…
“It’s enough.”
More than enough to make sure those bastards never saw daylight again.
Having made up his mind, Park Ji-hoo moved quickly.
He heard the nurse from earlier calling after him, but ignored her and hurried down the stairs to the first floor.
What time is it?
He looked up at the clock hanging above the reception desk.
2:00 a.m.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late.
There was still enough time to find them before sunrise.
Ji-hoo already knew where he needed to go first.
A park the city had built in hopes of improving the neighborhood.
Instead, it had become a haven for local delinquents and drifters.
A place that ordinary people avoided both day and night.
Without hesitation, Ji-hoo headed there.
It wasn’t far from Dongseong Clinic.
He arrived in less than ten minutes.
The flickering streetlight at the park entrance only deepened its sinister atmosphere.
It was somewhere the old Ji-hoo would never have dared enter.
Taking a quiet breath, he stepped inside.
The walking path, once neat and well maintained, was now covered with garbage and cigarette butts.
Crunch.
Trash crumpled beneath his feet with unpleasant sounds.
Ji-hoo never slowed down.
He walked straight toward the center of the park.
Toward the small pavilion.
“This bastard’s wasted.”
“How much did you even drink? You’re already drunk?”
“Ah, f***! You wanna die?”
Their loud laughter mixed with filthy curses echoed through the darkness.
Even from a distance, it was obvious they belonged to a gang of punks.
“Hey, are you really okay getting home this late? Didn’t your old man say he’d kill you if your half-dead little victim caused another problem?”
“That’s exactly why I’m so pissed off. Seriously, what the hell? I only smacked that brat around a few times.”
“Isn’t he mad because he had to pay that settlement? I heard he forked over a pretty decent amount to those beggars.”
“Like that little money matters. He’s acting like he’s gonna kill his own son over it. Makes me want to burn the damn house down.”
“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve beaten the kid until he couldn’t even talk. I went easy on him for nothing and ended up stepping in crap.”
“Next time we’ll stomp them even harder. So they won’t even dare mention compensation.”
It’s them.
It was definitely them.
The ones who had beaten and abused that young, helpless girl.
Park Ji-hoo didn’t hold back any longer.
Tap! Tap! Tap-tap-tap!
His steps grew faster until they turned into a full sprint.
Whoooosh!
The mana he unleashed surged like a raging storm, propelling his body forward.
“Huh?”
One of the punks blinked in confusion as he looked over.
He couldn’t tell whether what he was seeing was real…
…or just a drunken hallucination.
So Park Ji-hoo threw a punch.
To make absolutely certain he understood that this was reality.
KRAAAASH!!
He felt bones shatter beneath his fist.
And the warm spray of blood splattering across it.
