Chapter: 04
Newcomer
[Just call me Mugunghwa One.]
The people of Korea didn’t know it, but Mugunghwa One—the current President of our country—was also an Awakened.
And it was certain that he, too, had heard the System alarm.
[You’ve done well.]
Even without saying who he was referring to or what he was talking about, it was obvious.
“Thank you!!!”
[There will be a reward coming soon.]
After the smartwatch abruptly disconnected at the end of those words, Kim Cheolho stared at it for quite some time with deeply moved eyes.
“Ha, seriously. Officer Lee Jihoo, this guy, really.”
The only words that came out of his mouth were “really, seriously, really,” but that was the highest praise Kim Cheolho could give at that moment.
“The Hunter Management Agency is already fulfilling its role. Congratulations, Your Excellency.”
At the Chief Secretary’s words, the President smiled.
“He’s doing better than I expected.”
The Chief Secretary’s expression brightened as well.
In truth, although the Hunter Management Agency had been established with remarkable speed this time, not everything had proceeded smoothly.
They had needed to meet with the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties and negotiate their opinions.
“I never imagined the Republican Party would change its position in just one day.”
In fact, as soon as Cha Junhyuk’s death became certain, everyone’s opinion had leaned toward creating the Hunter Management Agency.
However, when the main session was held the next day, these were the words that came out of the Republican Party leader’s mouth.
“We oppose the establishment of the Hunter Management Agency.”
Hunter Management Agency.
Originally, they had planned to establish the Hunter Management Institute rather than the Hunter Management Agency.
The idea had been to place the Hunter management organization directly under the President, much like the National Intelligence Service, and unify its chain of command.
However, during the main session, they faced fierce opposition from the Republican Party, the opposition party. In the end, the compromise they reached was to establish the Hunter management organization as the ‘Hunter Management Agency’ under the Ministry of National Defense.
“It’s unfortunate that we have a minority government.”
The President nodded at the Chief Secretary’s words.
He could have simply pushed it through, but despite calling it a state of emergency, it wasn’t wartime. As long as that was the case, he had no choice but to pay attention to the majority party.
And it wasn’t difficult to guess who was behind all of this.
“I imagine the Association must have exerted some influence.”
Under these circumstances, what the Hunter Management Agency had accomplished this time was extremely significant.
An S-rank Tower clear unlike anything anyone had heard of before.
Moreover, the reward was a Tower buff.
And not just a buff limited to a specific floor.
It was a buff applied to the entire Tower.
Anyone who challenged Gwanaksan Tower could receive the benefit.
In other words, the people who would enjoy the greatest benefit were the Hunters of South Korea.
With the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked Hunters disappearing overnight, this was practically the most ideal situation the current administration could have hoped for.
It was also closely aligned with the purpose behind establishing the Hunter Management Agency: strengthening Korea’s self-reliance, creating a nation that did not depend on foreign powers, and protecting the lives and safety of its citizens.
“Do not spare any support, understood?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. I’ll pay special attention to it.”
[Let’s go to Gangwon Province! Gangwon Province!]
The corner-of-the-room ghost had been chanting “Gangwon Province, Gangwon Province” since early morning.
“Why?”
[To set a new record!]
“I’m not going today.”
[What? Why not!]
Leaving the grumbling ghost behind, I left the house.
Today was the day I had to report to the Hunter Management Agency.
“Hey! Officer Lee Jihoo!”
I ran into the Director the moment I entered the first-floor lobby.
“You’ve done well!”
He didn’t say anything else, but it was immediately obvious that he was talking about the Gwanaksan Tower clear.
For the time being, that was the only work I had been assigned.
“Thank you.”
“Keep going just like that from now on!”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That reminds me… Officer Lee. How about the Gangwon Province Tower for your next clear?”
“The Gangwon Province Tower?”
“Yeah. Or the Jeju Island Tower would be fine too. The order doesn’t matter.”
If that was what he meant, I could guess why.
Yesterday, the System alarm had definitely said…
“Is this because of the Tower buff?”
“Exactly! I knew we’d understand each other!”
“I understand. In that case, I have one request as well.”
“What is it? Tell me anything. I’ll do everything I can within my authority.”
“Could I travel directly to the Tower?”
The Director looked surprised.
“Huh? Gangwon Province? All the way there?”
“Yes. There’s a reason I need to go in person. The rewards are different if I come out through the hidden exit.”
“The hidden exit?!”
“They say it’s information known only to a few rankers.”
“So there was a treasure trove like that! If it’s for your growth, I’ll support you as much as you need! I’ll take you off for about two days, so go without worrying.”
The Director’s words were true.
The moment I submitted my application for an official business trip outside the jurisdiction, it was approved.
It was practically instantaneous, a speed completely unlike the usual civil service approval process.
‘Well, there are only two of us.’
“Officer Lee, go home early today. You need to prepare for your business trip too. You need to climb the Tower in top condition.”
He was right.
Even if I didn’t need to worry about maintaining my physical condition, I still needed to prepare for the trip.
“I’ll submit an early-leave request in the attendance log.”
“Early leave? What do you mean, early leave? This is work too. Go on home!”
Was this really okay?
Still, being a civil servant was supposed to…
Perhaps he noticed my discomfort.
The Director lowered his voice solemnly.
“Officer Lee Jihoo.”
“Yes.”
“Remember just this.”
“What?”
“Protect the lives and safety of the citizens.”
“The citizens’…”
It was something the President had also announced in his address.
“From now on, that is the number one principle for you and me.”
“The number one principle?”
“That’s right. Nothing else matters.”
The Director continued in a serious voice.
“And I have enough authority to do this. I have a direct line to Mugunghwa One…”
He stopped mid-sentence and hurriedly shifted his eyes.
“…Anyway, that’s how it is. The Hunter Management Agency will be operated this way from now on. Just trust me and follow my lead.”
Was this the beginning of a civil servant’s ultimate express lane—with guaranteed job security, pension, and performance bonuses, while also skipping all those troublesome paperwork procedures?
“Understood.”
“You can go now. Have a good trip to Gangwon Province!”
“Yes. I’ll submit a report after I return.”
I bowed and headed home in the middle of the day.
The corner-of-the-room ghost was even happier than I was when he heard the news.
[When are we leaving? Right now? Tonight?]
“Tomorrow.”
[…That late?]
The ghost looked disappointed for a moment, but soon his expression changed and he began jumping around excitedly.
[Gangwon Province! This is exciting!]
What was even there?
[The goblin heads you get at Hwansungul are something else!]
So that was it.
Being able to genuinely enjoy one’s work was a blessing in itself.
[And I’ll get revenge too!]
“Revenge?”
[Yeah. I died there. The Gangwon Province Tower!]
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, the Hwansungul Tower was the one with a 40th floor.
Cha Junhyuk had said he died while challenging the boss on Floor 40.
[You seriously didn’t know I died in the Gangwon Province Tower?]
“You mean you died in the Hwansungul Tower. I’ll remember that from now on. May you rest in peace.”
[…Huh? I’m right here. Is that how it works?]
I didn’t know either.
But wasn’t that what people usually said to the deceased?
The ghost’s eyes became hollow as though he couldn’t accept it.
That is, his eyeballs disappeared, leaving only black eye sockets.
[I can’t die yet! I’m going to get revenge!!!]
No, you’re already dead.
Denying one’s current state was quite a tragic thing.
Anyway, after visiting the Tower with Cha Junhyuk, one change had occurred to me as well.
A book-shaped icon labeled had appeared in the upper-right corner of my status window.
“Spirit List.”
When I opened it, Cha Junhyuk’s profile appeared on the very first page.
<Name: Cha Junhyuk Lv. 67
Bound To: Lee Jihoo
Class: Swordsman
Rank: S-rank
Titles: Strongest in Korea (Attack Power +10%), Pioneer of the Back Route (Evasion +5%)
Stats: HP [25,140] MP [370] Mental Power [370] Strength [620] Attack Power [4,246(+10%)] Defense [1,557] Power [1,328] Agility [30] Intelligence [185] Evasion [30(+5%)]
Skills: Body Enhancement 2 (D), Iaido 3 (B), Sword Mastery 3 (A), Charge 3 (B), Cap Kick 4 (C), Counter Strike 1 (S), Sword Ghost 1 (S, Sealed)
Skill Selection Ticket Pieces: 57>
Just as I had a sealed title, Cha Junhyuk had a sealed skill.
“Why is this sealed?”
[Oh, Sword Ghost? It’s not complete yet.]
“Not complete?”
[I haven’t collected enough pieces.]
Ah, I understood what he meant.
Just like the Random Box Pieces, these also had to be collected.
[There are these things called Skill Selection Ticket Pieces…]
What he said next meant the same thing.
When I received Skill Selection Ticket Pieces, they would either be added directly to the skill I was already collecting, or I could gather the pieces and choose a new skill. The higher the skill level became, the more pieces were required.
[I’ve almost collected them all.]
“How many are left?”
[Three. I only need 60.]
Cha Junhyuk smacked his lips regretfully.
[Anyway, let’s hurry up and sleep so we can wake up early!]
As he said that, the ghost ‘clicked’ off the room light.
…What?
“You… just now.”
[What?]
“Can you touch that?”
[Huh?]
Cha Junhyuk blinked repeatedly.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
[Ah!]
Click click click click click click!
The ghost’s hands moved skillfully as he repeatedly turned the room light on and off without stopping.
“Stop.”
It was distracting.
[It works! It works! I can touch it! I can do it too!]
I left the ghost, who was spinning wildly around the ceiling in a frenzy, to himself and did what I needed to do.
In other words, I ate, washed up, packed my luggage for the business trip, and got into bed.
Ah, but before that.
“Inventory.”
I checked the inventory I had received as a reward earlier.
There were 22 slots in total.
When I put the suitcase I had prepared inside, three inventory slots were filled.
‘So I guess it depends on the size of the item.’
[It works! The switch! I can touch it! Ohhh! This works!]
Even in the middle of all this, the corner-of-the-room ghost continued his frantic game of turning the lights on and off.
[Did I get some kind of psychic power! Or am I becoming human again?]
But the only thing Cha Junhyuk could touch in this house was the light switch.
It was obvious from the fact that he had just tried to grab the doorknob and his hand simply passed through it.
[No… Why!]
I didn’t know either.
“I’m going to sleep.”
Something strange had definitely happened.
But more important than that was making it to my business trip on time tomorrow.
I simply turned off the light using the smartphone app.
[Why!!!]
“If you don’t stay quiet, I won’t take you tomorrow.”
The corner-of-the-room ghost, who had been chattering nonstop, immediately shut his mouth.
However, Cha Junhyuk’s eyes on the ceiling shone brilliantly like beacons in the pitch-black night.
“……”
Thinking that it would probably be better to lock him away somewhere in the storage room if I wanted to get a good night’s sleep, I closed my eyes for tomorrow.
I took the car to Gangwon Province as well, since I would need it when leaving after clearing the Tower.
I left at 5:30 in the morning.
Thanks to moving diligently, I was able to arrive at the Tower just before 9:00.
The Gangwon Province Tower stood towering at the location where Hwansungul had once been.
[Hwansungul. It’s inside here.]
According to Cha Junhyuk, the environment inside the Gangwon Province Tower was similar to the original Hwansungul.
“Let’s go.”
[Let’s go!]
But then.
Something moved near the foot of the Tower entrance.
It was moving at a speed that wasn’t human.
A speed practically comparable to light itself.
“A ghost…”
[Huh?!]
[Hey! You too?]
[Huh? Huh?!]
A female ghost who had encountered us opened her eyes wide in surprise.
[Can… you see me?]
[Yeah. I can see you perfectly.]
[No, I wasn’t talking about you. I meant this way.]
[Hey! Of course he can! Do you know what kind of person our house owner is?]
[…What kind of person is he?]
The female ghost nervously looked back and forth between Cha Junhyuk and me.
[State power!]
[State power?]
[That’s right! He’s a government official!]
Hmm.
The female ghost looked like this: ???
“…Let’s go in.”
Cha Junhyuk followed behind me with a proud expression, while the female ghost, still wearing a ??? expression, trailed along as well.
<Would you like to bind the spirit that entered with you as an affiliated spirit?>
[Huh? Something weird popped up. A contract? Binding?]
As she said that, the female ghost scribbled her signature onto something.
Without even reading the contents, she looked at me and asked.
[I just sign this, right?]
“……”
<The compatibility between Jack Reach_07 and the new spirit is 100%. Would you like to bind it as an affiliated spirit?>
It was definitely different from Cha Junhyuk.
Were the conditions for binding different for every spirit?
If our compatibility was that good, there was no reason to reject her.
“Bind.”
The moment I accepted, the scenery around us changed.
We had probably entered Floor 1 of the Hwansungul Tower.
“Hey! Why are you following us?”
[I came here with this person!]
Things had somehow become twice as noisy.
[Huh? But…]
“Why?”
[Why are you human?]
“Huh? Uh…? Why are you still a ghost?”
[What?? Isn’t that obvious?]
At that moment, goblins began emerging one after another from the puddles gathered on the cave floor.
“Keieek! Keruk! Kieeeek!”
“Kyaak! Kihek! Grrrrrrrr….”
“Kerrrrruk! Kyak!”
“Shut up!”
[You’re noisy!]
At the same time, a sword and a ball of spiritual energy flew forward.
Before the sword could even reach them, the ball of spiritual energy exploded underwater.
KWAANG─!
Six goblins were caught in the explosion at the same time.
“……Keek?!!”
The goblins died instantly without even being able to scream, leaving not even a single piece of bone behind.
<You have cleared Floor 1 of the Gangwon Province Tower.>
<Rewards will be distributed.
Basic Reward: 100 F-rank mana stones, 10-Slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, 3 Earth Essences.
First S-rank Clear Reward: 1 Time Delay Ticket, 10-Slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, 1 Skill Selection Ticket Piece>
<As a special reward for achieving the first S-rank clear, a buff will be applied to the Gangwon Province Tower for one week.
Attack Power +5%, Defense +5%>
<Would you like to exit Floor 1 of the Gangwon Province Tower?>
“Cancel.”
<Exit waiting time: 6 minutes.>
“Show us the way.”
“Yeah, follow me.”
[Huh? Where are we going?]
“Heh. What a novice. Such a novice.”
[What? Me?]
“Yeah. Who else?”
[Why am I a novice?!]
Whether the female ghost complained or not, Cha Junhyuk walked cheerfully through the stalactite cave.
“Here, house owner.”
This time, we were standing in front of a huge waterfall.
Around the middle of a bridge crossing the waterfall, Cha Junhyuk boldly shouted.
“Open the door!”
[…What are you doing?]
Yet, amazingly, a line appeared across the floor of the bridge, and a door emerged.
Then it slowly opened downward.
“Let’s go! House owner!”
“Yeah.”
[There’s a secret hole here…!]
“Tsk, tsk. What a novice. You really look like a Tower beginner.”
[What?!]
The moment we passed through the entrance, a sound rang out.
<You have discovered the hidden entrance to Floor 1 of the Gangwon Province Tower.
Rewards will be recalculated according to causality.>
Taratatatak─!
<Reward recalculation complete.
110 F-rank mana stones, 22-Slot Inventory Expansion Ticket, 1 Time Delay Ticket, 4 Earth Essences, 2 Skill Selection Ticket Pieces>
The rewards had been upgraded quite nicely this time as well.
I was even more satisfied because I had received twice as many Skill Selection Ticket Pieces.
[Now let’s go, house owner!]
[Where?]
[Where else? Home.]
[Huh? You have a home?]
[Of course! Isn’t that obvious? The house owner is human.]
[Ah…!]
The female ghost glanced at me.
[Must be nice….]
The female ghost didn’t go anywhere and followed us all the way to the parking lot, repeating the same words.
[Must be nice. You even have a house to keep the rain off you. Sleeping rough is so cold.]
A ghost could feel cold?
That couldn’t be.
[…She’s kind of pitiful.]
“……”
Trill trill trill trill─
Then the phone rang.
“Yes, Director.”
[Officer Lee! You’ve done well! You’ve done great!]
“Not at all. It was only natural.”
[Hahaha! This is why I like you. You’ve worked hard! Get plenty of rest tomorrow and come back!]
“Yes, thank you.”
[And there’s going to be a reward bonus for you.]
“A reward bonus?”
[That’s right. From now on, you’ll receive a reward bonus every time you achieve an S-rank clear. It was just approved!]
So both the performance bonus and the reward bonus would be paid?
[You and I can finally live comfortably now!]
Apparently, double payment really was the answer.
“It’s all thanks to you, Director.”
[What are you talking about? It’s all thanks to you. Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow. Take your time coming back, and be careful! Safety comes first and second!]
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The moment I hung up, Cha Junhyuk asked as though he had been waiting.
[They’re giving you more money? Then can we eat Korean beef?]
“How are you planning to eat it?”
[Well… you grill it and put it on the table. Then stick a pair of chopsticks into a bowl of rice.]
A pair of metal chopsticks stuck vertically into a bowl of white rice.
For some reason, the scene felt familiar.
“I can do that much.”
After all, I would be the one eating it anyway.
Though the taste would probably be a little worse since it was sacrificial food for an ancestral rite.
The female ghost, who had been quietly watching us as we looked for a restaurant, came closer.
Then she opened her mouth with a serious expression.
[5, 6, 12, 23, 26, 38]
[Huh?]
…No way.
These six numbers…
[They’re this week’s lottery numbers.]
