“Huh.”
The Association President’s wrinkled face twisted.
Right. The Americans were pressuring him on the grounds that Giryeo was a fake S-rank. But what if, at a time like this, the very person at the center of their suspicions were to suddenly drop dead?
What could they possibly do then? Once an Awakened became a corpse, it was difficult to measure their mana by any means. The most crucial piece of evidence would disappear. All that would remain were the test results recorded while the hunter was still alive. As long as the figures stored in the system remained intact, everything else could be covered up with whatever excuse was necessary.
“Let’s see, it should be around here...”
President Go Byeongdo carefully pulled something from his pocket.
It was a notebook bound in luxurious leather.
The method he had just thought of might be difficult to put into action immediately, but even so, the fact that he had found a glimmer of hope for turning the situation around was something to be grateful for.
***
Various sounds drifted from the TV.
[...We are honored to have with us Seo Esther-ssi, the representative of one of Korea’s leading Hunter Guilds!]
Cheers. Applause. And the voices of two people.
[There’s a little story behind the name Korean Magic Tower, isn’t there? Originally, you wanted to keep the guild name simple, with just two characters, but back when the guild system was still underdeveloped, someone had already monopolized all the usable names, so you ended up having to change it.]
[That’s right. Ah, but I think the rules have changed now. If an actual guild isn’t established within thirty days, the claim to the name is automatically voided...]
[Although the name came about because of an unexpected incident, a lot of people say they actually like “Korean Magic Tower” because it makes it immediately clear that it’s a proud guild of South Korea.]
[Ahaha.]
[But I’ve heard the term “Magic Tower” itself is somewhat unfamiliar. Is it perhaps something from an online game?]
[Originally, it’s a term that appears in all kinds of creative works, but the place I borrowed it from was a game. Specifically, [SOM].]
[Oh, I know that game too! It was quite a sensation.]
[But I doubt anyone here had a higher level than I did. I was such a hardcore [SOM] addict that I even brought my in-game guild name into the real world.]
[Yeees?]
[I suppose “gaming addict” would be the more familiar term. Haha.]
“Haam.”
There was still plenty I needed to do before I could regain the power I had possessed in my prime...
But honestly, the world wasn’t going to end just because I took one day off.
“I’ve always wondered about that whole ‘Magic Tower’ thing. So it really was just a term borrowed from a game?”
Tossing and turning.
After finishing my verification of Blueshell, I decided to take some time off.
While killing time, I opened a video platform, and this happened to be the kind of broadcast that popped up...
‘An interview with the second S-rank and leader of a major guild.’
By now, this sort of content was hardly unusual, but among South Korea’s S-rank hunters, Seo Esther was by far the most active when it came to public appearances.
Official events. Public service advertisements.
On top of that, she frequently showed her candid, easygoing side on SNS, speaking without much pretense.
Surprisingly, this sorceress had succeeded in establishing herself as a fairly “approachable hunter” in the public eye.
It was something I could never have imagined.
I could somehow accept those monstrous Awakening stats, but how did a cursed sorcerer manage to win everyone’s affection?
‘That’s no easy feat. Whether because of the nature of the magic or the temperament of those who use it.’
Could this be happening because curse magic had yet to fully manifest on Earth?
I pondered the possibility for a moment before setting my phone down.
Actually, Esther’s public image wasn’t important right now.
After spending quite some time surfing the web today, I had discovered something very interesting.
After Dungeon Shock, Earthlings had developed an enormous interest in the newly emerged phenomenon of Awakening.
People were so fascinated by it that simply putting a high-level hunter in front of a camera was enough to draw viewers in droves.
“Oh.”
Naturally, broadcasting stations obsessed with ratings weren’t about to let such a gold mine slip through their fingers.
Eventually, even program directors began offering rookie hunters like Ahn Yoonseung, who hadn’t even been Awakened for a full year, appearance fees comparable to those of top-tier celebrities.
According to the laws of the market, the value of hunters had skyrocketed.
Appearance fees.
Seriously, who would have thought there was a way to make money like this?
‘You can earn tens of millions of won just by showing up and talking?’
I skimmed through the comments under Esther’s video, struggling to suppress my greed.
If what people were saying here was true, then a solo interview was practically a dream job.
All I had to do was sit across from an announcer, ramble a little about my personal life, and money would come pouring in?
That was certainly far easier than the brutal work of a hunter, where you had to deal with monster flesh and entrails up close.
‘Amazing!’
I want to do something like that too!
Why am I not getting any offers?
Just as that thought crossed my mind.
– Riiing. Riiing.
Before I knew it, the ringtone of my newly repaired phone echoed through the cramped apartment.
As usual, I checked the caller ID first.
‘Seo Esther?’
What a coincidence.
The name displayed on the screen was the very one I had just been seeing over and over again.
***
A few hours later, dressed to go out, I arrived at a certain place.
In a way, it was already familiar.
This high-rise building, which offered a sweeping view of the Seoul skyline, was somewhere I had visited several times before.
Knock knock.
“I’ll come in.”
A polite knock.
A brief pause.
Then the door before me swung wide open.
And immediately, a dreadful sight greeted me.
As though everything had been prepared in advance for a guest’s arrival, steaming drinks sat on the table inside the room.
I stared down at the coffee waiting to welcome me and paused for a moment.
‘Why on earth are these people so fond of drinking roasted bean water...’
Awakened people didn’t react particularly well to caffeine anyway. They could stand to cut back on the stuff.
“Hello, Hunter Esther.”
I concealed my complicated feelings and somehow managed to greet her.
At once, the woman seated at the head of the table rose from her chair.
“Ah! Welcome, Giryeo-ssi!”
Why had her voice suddenly gone up an octave?
“You must have had a hard time getting here, right? Thank you for making time for me. It’s such good news that I thought I should tell you as soon as possible, Giryeo-ssi. Of course, I also wanted to see you again after so long!”
Good news?
I tilted my head as I watched Esther arrange the sugar cubes beside the coffee.
When she had called earlier, all she had abruptly asked was whether I had any time today, so I still had no idea why she had summoned me.
Seeing me blink at her in silence, the Magic Tower’s cursed sorceress hurried to explain.
“Oh, right. Did I forget to get to the point? Actually, I wanted to talk to you today about building reinforcement materials.”
Reinforcement materials?
“Reinforcement materials?”
“It’s the sand you gave me, Giryeo-ssi. Surely you haven’t forgotten already, right? I still remember everything about our first meeting~”
Ah.
She meant the absorption powder I had given her as the entrance fee for the Gate back then.
I raised my eyebrows to show that I understood.
Seeing that, Esther continued chattering cheerfully.
“Anyway, it’s good news. The government recently approved the establishment of a new branch. So our Magic Tower has decided to build our final guild branch in Andong.”
“Aha.”
“And of course, we’ll be using the reinforcement material you gave us, Giryeo-ssi!”
After listening to her lengthy explanation, it seemed the Korean Magic Tower had quietly continued researching the absorbent all this time.
They had begun with simple structures such as individual walls and containers, and after thousands of experiments to determine the proper ratios, they had now reached the stage where they could actually construct buildings using the mixture they had developed.
‘They’re figuring out how to use it faster than I expected. If they’ve already reached this stage with the basics, maybe within five years we can expect them to develop a simple refinement method.’
Gulp.
The young S-rank hunter, who had been talking for quite some time, took a sip of the coffee on the table.
“Personally, I’m really looking forward to seeing the results. So far, every experiment has produced positive results.”
“Hmm.”
“Well, there are still plenty of things we need to verify. How it performs when applied to large-scale buildings, whether any unforeseen problems arise, things like that.”
“That’s true.”
“If we manage to patent it, it’ll take some time for the technology to stabilize, but it should eventually generate substantial profits. And of course, we’ve made sure that you’ll receive your share as well, Giryeo-ssi!”
Even then, unable to contain her excitement, Esther’s face remained flushed.