UTC 10

Chapter 10

After awakening as a player, my daily life developed its own rhythm.

I’d wake up in the morning and climb the tower.

[Mission Complete!]

……

[Strategy Rating SSS Achieved!!]

[(Floors 6–10) One S-rank reward box has been added to your inventory.]

Then I would dispose of the items obtained that day.

“Just mana stones today, huh.”

No material boxes appeared, and no equipment dropped from the reward boxes.

Normally, this would mean heading to the Core Center to supply the mana stones.

“Did I pack everything I need?”

Today was a bit different.

I wasn’t going to Neia; I was preparing to go out.

“Almost two years, huh….”

I took a bus to Daejeon, where my parents lived.

[Geumhoru]

I arrived at the Chinese restaurant my parents ran and went inside.

The restaurant was crowded with customers around lunchtime.

It was famous locally, attracting people from outside the area, so this time of day was always busy.

Seeing my parents busy, I naturally helped out.

A delivery order came in, so I took it on their behalf.

My mother looked at me with a slightly surprised expression and quietly went to another task.

After the peak hours passed, the customers left.

Once things calmed down, my mother sat in the hall and spoke.

“What brings you here?”

My father came out from the kitchen and sat down as well.

I sat opposite them and replied naturally.

“I used to help you a lot, remember?”

“That’s true. You got paid for it too, though.”

Father spoke cheerfully but firmly.

“Sunwoo, I don’t have money. Even if things seem to be going well here, you know how much goes to Siwoo.”

Siwoo was my younger brother, eight years my junior.

He’d been playing baseball since he was little and was a money drain.

Hearing my father’s sigh, he asked cautiously.

“Why isn’t work going well? But at least you’re healthy, so that’s a relief.”

“Do you wish Sunwoo had gotten hurt?”

“When would I ever say that?”

Two years ago, I left for Seoul boldly, claiming I would become a player.

Coming back suddenly without contacting them must have caused them some worry.

“I didn’t come here for that today.”

“Then why did you come?”

“I just wanted to see you both.”

It wasn’t an empty phrase.

Now that I had established myself as a player, I felt like a salmon swimming upstream during spawning season, wanting to visit my parents.

Contrary to their worries, I handed them pocket money from the money I earned.

They were startled when they opened the envelopes containing a fairly large sum.

“Is it really okay to accept this?”

“Yes, it would feel even more rewarding if you accepted it happily.”

Father laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, I really did raise one good son.”

“Now you just need Siwoo to do well, huh?”

“That’s right, absolutely.”

Siwoo hadn’t been drafted after high school, so he went to college.

Now he was aiming for a professional career again.

“Use this if any money is needed for Siwoo.”

Father accepted it gratefully, though he still seemed a bit worried.

I gave 2 million won each to my mother and father, but I set aside double that—4 million won—for Siwoo.

Their reaction was unsurprising.

“Can you really spend it like this?”

“I’ve actually been doing quite well lately.”

There were only better things ahead.

Hearing me say it proudly, my father shared in the joy as if it were his own.

“Next time I go fishing, can I brag that my son is an amazing player?”

“Don’t overdo it.”

Bragging too much can have side effects. The chance was small, but it could create unnecessary trouble.

Father got up, put on a chef’s hat, and said,

“Wait, I’ll make a bowl of jjamppong fit for a future talented player. Hahaha!”

He must have been tired from working. I was about to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but my mother stopped me.

“It’s been a long time since I saw him this happy. Just let him be.”

Peeking into the kitchen, I saw him smiling even while working.

It felt somewhat heartwarming.

“Here, try it.”

A steaming bowl of jjamppong appeared.

“How is it?”

Spicy, hot, invigorating jjamppong.

With the first bite, my nose tingled strangely.

“Sniff… It’s delicious.”

Even a player would shed a tear for this taste.

In the evening, I headed back home.

My parents insisted I stay to see Siwoo too, but I only came to see their faces this time, promising to visit again soon.

Rather than feeling sad about the brief meeting, I was honestly happy.

I wanted to surprise them even more next time.

“But this isn’t selling well at all.”

On the bus back, with nothing else to do, I checked the sales post I uploaded to Lucid and immediately complained.

【Dense Winter Robe】

Even though I listed it at an average trading price, there were many similar items, so no one requested a trade.

It had been two days already.

“Should I just wear it myself?”

I didn’t need the skill, but I could wear it since there were no restrictions.

Selling it cheaply would work, but it felt like a loss, so I didn’t want to.

Someday, I might need winter gear, so keeping it as spare equipment wasn’t a bad idea.

Money wasn’t urgently needed anyway.

[Do you want to delete the post?]

I deleted the sales post and went into ‘Top Expert’.

I intended to delete my post there too, but the moment I entered, the place was noisy.

[Is Neia Korean…?]

[…I heard the one who dealt with Eclipse this time is Neia?]

[So Neia belongs to the Mir Guild?]

Until the morning, the community had been full of Eclipse discussions.

“Hmm…?”

Now posts about Neia, which had calmed down, were flooding the feed.

There were even specific speculations linking me to the Eclipse incident.

Curious why, I checked.

『The Association finally spoke: “Neia is indeed Korean.”』

『The Player Association is still struggling to identify Neia, please wait a little longer.』

『An Association official received a system mail from Neia; details cannot be disclosed.』

“I see….”

It seemed to be due to timely news articles.

Sending the system mail was Neia’s choice, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.

More importantly, my involvement in the Mir Guild incident was just inferred based on her mysterious persona, not actual knowledge.

“This much is fine…”

I wasn’t personally identified… I felt relieved.

I deleted the post as intended and opened Mitube to kill time.

Recently, videos by players were gaining popularity, and Mitube’s algorithm reflected that.

“Let’s see what people are saying.”

I clicked on a news video and checked the comments.

The comment section was flooding in real time.

ㄴ Is this for real?

ㄴ Neia restoring Eclipse.

ㄴ Follow-up article, hurry up!

ㄴ But couldn’t it not be Neia?

ㄴㄴ True, Neia would only be around level 10, right?

Each tower floor had a recommended level.

Floor 1: level 1, floor 10: level 10.

So Neia, who tackled floor 9, would be around level 10 at most.

“Lots of foreigners too.”

Not all commenters were Korean; many foreigners were present.

Even languages I had never seen were there.

ㄴ Where can I see Neia’s face? (Translated)

ㄴ Please reveal more specific information. We want it. (Translated)

ㄴ Is Mir Guild deeply connected to Neia? (Translated)

Specific information… surely the Mir Guild had it.

Security cameras and drone footage would exist.

Yet, the Mir Guild hadn’t disclosed anything.

Why keep it secret? Regardless…

“Then it’s good for me.”

The next morning.

I heated the sweet and sour pork my father packed in the air fryer and ate.

He was good at jjamppong, but also excellent at sweet and sour pork.

With my hunger satisfied, I headed back into the tower.

[Do you want to challenge Sky Tower Floor 10?]

“Already the 10th floor?”

Finally, the final chapter of the tutorial.

[Entering Sky Tower Floor 10.]

[Complete the mission within the time limit.]

[The protected zone will be lifted soon. Prepare for battle.]

[Mission: Monster Hunt – Blood Boar 0/1]

“Gate open.”

I checked the mission and summoned the drones.

Many drones came through the gate.

3 Hunter Drones.

2 Assault Drones.

3 Combat Drones.

1 Aegis.

Even the new additions made the squad feel sturdy.

“One thing I regret is…”

Aegis’ debut.

It was a shame there was no opportunity to test its abilities.

“Well, I’ll use it eventually.”

I assigned one Hunter Drone and one Combat Drone to defense, and the rest to hunt the Blood Boar.

Watching the moving drones, the forest had many boars.

“Need to find it fast…”

SSS-level strategy was required.

I hesitated to scatter the drones.

Once found, handling it would be quick.

Just as I decided to scatter them, a loud noise came through the camera.

Crackle.

A chilling memory resurfaced.

I quickly checked for damage.

“All safe…”

It had hit, but thanks to the Aegis shield, there was no damage.

I exhaled in relief and assessed the situation.

“What hit me?”

The camera showed a bright red boar.

A Blood Boar.

Watching closely, it buried its snout in a rock and then,

Snap.

It jerked its head up and threw the rock.

I had underestimated its anti-air capability; without Aegis, there could have been casualties.

“All drones, ascend and bombard.”

The higher they flew, the lower their accuracy.

Normally, I wouldn’t waste energy like this, but with so many attack resources, it was fine.

The Blood Boar was soon directly hit by the indiscriminate carpet bombing.

“Grrk…”

It groaned and closed its eyes.

Seeing the kill count rise, I recalled the drones.

Then alarms flooded in.

[Mission Complete!]

[New Record Achieved!]

……

[Strategy Rating SSS Achieved!]

……

[Level Up!]

[(Floors 6–10) One reward box granted.]

After checking each reward, one alert popped up.

[Do you want to enter Neutral Zone Peronta?]

Just after confirming the question about entering Peronta.

Flash—

A bright light appeared, and a card floated before my eyes.