Chapter: 07
The Lottery Drawing
S-Rank Seal.
Collect information after defeating the Floor 40 boss.
Stage 1 – Seed of Growth
Effect: The owner’s growth speed increases by 100%.
Stage 1 Quest in Progress: Guide 1>
[Landlord! What did you get?]
“Seed of Growth. It says my growth speed increases by 100%?”
[What? Stage 1?? Are you kidding me?!!]
I inserted the remaining two Essences as well.
<Generating Stage 2 Seed: 10%>
Perhaps because the stage had increased, this time it only increased by 5% at a time.
[A growth buff?? No wonder the world rankings 1, 2, and 3 are all held by Legendary Title holders! The rich are innocent, the poor are guilty!!]
Cha Junhyuk, who looked terribly wronged for some reason, grabbed at his hair.
[Wasn’t something like this supposed to only appear when a new class was registered in the Tower!!]
[Because our Landlord is special.]
The female ghost nodded to herself before approaching and asking.
[Landlord, we’ve finished clearing it, so are we going straight home?]
“No.”
[Then what?]
Chae Seonhwa looked at me with eyes full of anticipation.
“We’re sightseeing.”
[Kyah!]
[Not bad.]
Cha Junhyuk sniffed as he said that.
He seemed pleased.
[Where should we go first?]
[Horse meat! Horse meat!]
“Sure, let’s go. Let’s go eat horse meat.”
Eating local specialties was a way to stimulate the local economy.
Therefore, it could be said that it was a very commendable thing for a civil servant to consume local specialties while on a business trip.
Sizzle—!
Gurgle, sizzle.
The horse meat was grilling to a delicious golden brown.
And there was horse meat yukhoe and soup as well.
The ghosts were already completely absorbed in their horse meat.
[The yukhoe just melts in my mouth!]
[Krrr! So refreshing~!]
Today, I ordered two bowls of rice separately as well.
When they were brought out with wooden chopsticks stuck into the top, the ghosts each took a chair and sat down.
There was one difference from last time.
“Excuse me….”
“Yes, please.”
Today, we were accompanied by the owner of the horse meat restaurant.
There was no private room here.
“Are you not going to eat that rice?”
The owner, who had been making horse meat rolls behind the counter, stopped and looked at me with concern.
“It’s for a memorial.”
“……Ah!”
After that, the owner didn’t say another word.
To break this atmosphere, ordering more food was the perfect solution.
In capitalist terminology, you could call it ice-breaking with money.
“I’d like to add yukhoe, shabu-shabu, and braised ribs.”
“Yes! Please wait a moment.”
As the owner set down more horse meat rolls in front of us, he also brought out two bowls of sticky rice as a complimentary service.
“I don’t know what happened, but… stay strong.”
Perhaps a song like ‘Mother Didn’t Like Horse Meat’ was playing in the owner’s head right now.
“Thank you.”
[Sticky rice!]
[It’s so chewy!]
Well, the ghosts liked it, so that was enough.
[The horse meat is up to my throat!]
[I can’t eat anymore!]
It was three hours after we entered the horse meat restaurant when the ghosts finally made this declaration.
Chapter 7 continued
[It’s starting!]
[The caramel popcorn is delicious!]
Today was Saturday.
And it was currently 8:38 p.m.
At last, the day had come.
[Of course, chicken and beer are the best on weekends!]
[What’s sprinkled on top of this chicken? It’s totally my style!]
The table in front of the sofa was properly loaded with chicken, pizza, pig’s feet, popcorn, and even ice cream.
[Landlord! Hold this!]
Cha Junhyuk pointed at the wine bottle.
“Why?”
[I’ll show you something amazing! Hurry!]
When I picked up the wine bottle, Cha Junhyuk somehow began gathering his strength.
[Haaap!]
Cha Junhyuk’s hand blade forcefully struck beneath 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 in a festive mood.
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 finished speaking, a famous television personality pressed the button with a hand wearing a golden glove.
<Regardless of the order in which the balls come out, you win as long as the numbers match. We’ll begin the drawing!>
The colorful balls began spinning brilliantly.
Numbers from 1 to 45 were clearly visible.
<We’ll now begin the 2,131st lottery drawing!>
[It’s starting! It’s starting!]
[I think they’re going to draw them now!]
Ta-ra-ra-ra-rak─!
<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 were 5, 6, 12, 23, 26, and 38.
I placed the three lottery tickets side by side in front of us and waited for the next number.
<Now, let’s find out the second number. Number 6!>
[Oh! Oh!]
[Wow!!]
So far, it was within expectations.
<The third lucky number is! Number 38!>
[It’s right! What do I do? My hands are shaking!]
[Take a Cheongsimhwan or something!]
I took out one of the Gongjindan I had been saving.
It had been given to me as a gift before, with the claim that it was good for the heart.
[It looks expensive…. Even the packaging is fancy. Are you really okay with giving it to me?]
[Hey! Hurry and swallow it! Breathe!]
[Hoo…! Ah! Hoo! Ah…!]
“…….”
Whatever was happening on our side, the broadcast continued.
<The next, fourth number is! Number 5!>
[What do we do!!! What do we do!]
[Hahahaha! Ahahahahaha! Are we moving into a mansion now?]
<The fifth lucky number is! Number 12!>
[Kyaaaaaaah!]
[We did it! This is it!!!!!!]
At this point, the past years of my life began flashing before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
Indeed.
It had been good 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.
After all, the most important thing in life, more than anything else, was stability.
And this was also a promise I had made to my mother.
From now on, I could comfortably save my salary bit by bit….
Just as I was making plans for the future, the long-awaited final number came rolling out.
<The sixth number is! Yes, congratulations!>
It was the moment 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 as she stared at the screen.
Then she quietly came over beside me and checked the lottery tickets lying in front of us.
[…Huh?]
That couldn’t be right.
That was clearly the expression on her face.
“…….”
[You really went all out! You really went all out! Wow, Chae Seonhwa! I never would’ve thought you were like this. You made such a big fuss and then this? Where’s your conscience? You’re completely conscience-less! Totally shameless!]
[Th-that, no, I mean…!]
“Gangwon Province Tower. We’re going next week too.”
[Of course! We have to! Let’s go! And on the way back….]
Cha Junhyuk clicked his tongue and looked at Chae Seonhwa with pity.
[Uh, no… wait! 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 wrong!]
“No.”
[…What? Why? Why isn’t it?]
The reason was provided by the TV.
<The second-prize bonus ball is! Number 11!>
[Bo…, bonus ball?]
[You didn’t know? You need to get all five numbers and the bonus ball right to get second prize.]
[What kind of rule is that!!!]
[Go over there and complain.]
[But still, I…!]
[How much do you get for third prize? Is it even one million won? Just the Korean beef you ate that day cost more than one million won!]
Chae Seonhwa, wearing an extremely aggrieved expression, whimpered in a voice that gradually became quieter.
[…B-but I still got them right…….]
[Got what?]
[The lottery numbers….]
[Huh?]
[Those are lottery numbers too! I didn’t get first or second place, but… still!]
The more Chae Seonhwa spoke, the more confident she became.
[Why do people only remember first place! Third place is a person too! Even last place is a person! Here! There are people here too! People came first and money came second, not the other way around!!!]
At this rate, she looked ready to start bringing up universal human morality.
“It would be better to go to Gangwon Province Tower first next week.”
[I agree.]
[What? G-Gangwon Province?! No! If you abandon me, I’ll become a Jibakryeong! I’ll stay attached to this house forever, and I’ll never, ever leave! I’m serious, I’m really serious!!!]
And with Chae Seonhwa’s screams, today’s festival came to an end.
Chapter 7 continued
[Landlord, you’re going to Ganghwa Island today?]
As I was leaving the house to attend the memorial ceremony, Cha Junhyuk blocked my way and asked.
“Yeah.”
[Then does that mean the Seed Quest will be finished today?]
“We’ll have to go and see.”
If I was lucky, it would be resolved in one go. Otherwise, I would have to come back again.
[If you need our help when you get there, enter the Tower immediately.]
[Ah! Right, there was that!]
Just as we had experimented with in Jeju Island before, if that theory held true, my room-corner ghosts would be summoned immediately upon entering.
Cha Junhyuk folded his arms with a satisfied expression.
[Anyway, Landlord, for the next 100 days, every Hunter in the Republic of Korea is going to worship you! The next time you enter a Tower, it’ll be complete chaos, you know?]
[For 100 days? Why?]
[Normally, whenever a new class is registered in a Tower in each country, a Tower buff appears, you know? A Growth Buff?]
[A Growth Buff?]
[Yeah. It’s similar to the Seed you obtained, but the effect is a little weaker. It increases growth by 50%.]
[Why does that matter?]
[It gets renewed when the owner of a Unique-grade or higher Title enters. But there’s a condition.]
“Do I perhaps have to generate a Seed?”
[Exactly! That’s it!]
[There’s something like that? Then Landlord, yours is 150%, right?]
[That’s right! The moment the Landlord enters the Tower, it activates immediately! So go ahead and brag as much as you want! If you don’t say anything, nobody will know!]
Leaving behind Cha Junhyuk laughing heartily and Chae Seonhwa clapping her hands, I left the house.
Those two ghosts surprisingly got along quite well.
Chapter 7 continued
August 21.
The day when Korea’s first Tower collapsed and the catastrophe occurred in which all the residents of Ganghwa Island were massacred.
Every year on August 21, a memorial ceremony was held in Ganghwa Island.
But now, the employees of the Hunter Management Agency were on an out-of-area business trip to the very uninhabited island where the Tower had collapsed.
We observed a moment of silence in front of the lowered national flag hanging from the flagpole.
After that came the Director’s instructions.
“Let’s see. There are six of us right now, so spread out and each dig up just three clumps of soil. Everyone got a hand trowel and ziplock bags, right?”
The Director spoke while looking at the employees on the uninhabited island.
“Yes!”
There were six people here: the Director, four field agents who had joined through special recruitment, and me.
The Hunter Management Agency’s organization was continuing to grow day by day.
As soon as the interior construction was finished, around a hundred civil servants from central government ministries who had been working in Sejong City were transferred here as if they had been waiting for it.
“They had already been designated before the announcement.”
The Director gave us a brief explanation.
That was why they hadn’t needed to recruit ordinary people during the President’s briefing.
And among the Awakened who had previously been working for the National Intelligence Service and the military, 32 had been transferred to the Hunter Management Agency.
According to the records, they had all transferred to the Hunter Management Agency on the same day I joined, but strangely, 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.
And now, Sua and I also had dual identities.
A few days ago, the Director had spoken up in Sua’s office.
“Officer Lee and Sua, for now, you belong to the Audit Office.”
“Yes, understood.”
<The Audit Office!>
“And you’re black agents.”
<Black agents?>
“Are those dual identities?”
It was a setup I had seen before in a British spy drama.
“That’s right, exactly. Officer Lee knows quite a bit.”
The Director looked at me with a pleased smile.
“You know, real treasures are usually hidden in plain sight. You strike from where they least expect it!”
To borrow the Director’s words, it was essentially the Bluebird Theory.
“Your performance bonuses and reward money will also initially be paid under your black-agent identities, so keep that in mind. They’ll be paid in cryptocurrency. Ah, and one more thing….”
The Director handed me a stack of documents.
“The price of mana stones has been crashing lately, and it seems the Association is probably the one manipulating the mana stones. So, about that….”
“Yes, please go on.”
“There’s something I’d like you to handle personally. I want you to visit a Dungeon. It’s called the Course Dungeon, and it’s in Samseong-dong.”
“Understood. Just leave it to me.”
“If you think it’s dangerous, absolutely do not get involved. Understand, Officer Lee?”
Of course.
I had intended to do exactly that.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
And so, Sua and I became the Hunter Management Agency’s new black agents.
The Director’s words continued as he stood in front of the flagpole on the uninhabited island.
“Good. Then let’s meet back here in 30 minutes. We also have to go to Ganghwa Island, so make sure you gather on time.”
The memorial ceremony was originally held in Ganghwa Island.
However, because of the procedure for collecting soil, we had deliberately come all the way to this uninhabited island.
In fact, the memorial ceremony had been an annual event organized by the Hunter Association under the name “Remembrance Ceremony.” But starting this year, our Hunter Management Agency had taken it over.
For the time being, we were simply following the procedure used by the Hunter Association.
“There’s no need to change everything starting from the first year. The bereaved families would find it unfamiliar, too.”
That was the Director’s policy.
It was an understandable decision.
The memorial ceremony had continued for more than ten years. If we suddenly held a shortened version, it might easily come across as insincere.
From the Hunter Management Agency’s perspective, there was no reason to take on that kind of risk right from the beginning.
Before scooping up the soil, I looked around the uninhabited island.
This island wasn’t simply a small rocky island.
It was larger than I had expected. There was even a river running across the island, and mountains could be seen in the distance.
It was simply an island where no one lived.
At this size, it made sense that a Tower had been established here.
I was looking toward the place where the Tower had once stood when—
‘What is that?’
An area that had been reduced to nothing but barren ruins.
In that place, where only a few stones were rolling around, there was a faintly glowing patch of ground.
‘Could it be?’
Could that be the trace of the collapsed Tower mentioned in the Seed Quest…?
