05. Deal with the Devil (11)

“I’m back.”

“Hello, Grandpa!”

“… Excuse me.”

“Heh heh. Did Lee Jin and his friends come? Come on in.”

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Grandpa didn’t even look surprised at the sudden visit from his friends. When I think of the first time I brought Yoon Seo-hee, it was a very different reaction. Now she seems to have gotten used to the fact that her grandchildren have friends to bring home.

I put down my bag and immediately started preparing dinner in the kitchen, and Yoon Seo-hee sat beside her grandfather more cordially than me, her own grandson, and chatted with her grandfather. The sight of her grandfather almost treating her own granddaughter made her tongue out at Yoon Seo-hee’s sociability.

Baek Ji-soo, who was the one who hosted the meeting, was sitting on a chair in the living room and shaking his feet back and forth as if he had no other choice but to eat. He sometimes even pricked his nose at the smell of rice that wafted into the living room.

A daily scene of sitting around the living room and enjoying dinner together made me forget all my worries at that time.

–

The meeting place was my room. It was because I couldn’t talk about secrets in the living room where my grandfather was.

I don’t know what my grandfather will think when he sees his grandson talking quietly in the room with two women, but… Fortunately, Grandpa didn’t say anything.

Anyway, there seems to be a strange belief that nothing will happen to me as long as I have a relationship with the opposite sex, including my grandfather.

“I’m going to tell you the next course of action soon.”

As if it was a satisfying meal, Baek Ji-soo, who had been making a happy expression all day, set the mood with a serious expression again.

“Before that… binary. How is Kertatus?”

“Still quiet. It’s time to wake up soon… I think the effect of the ring is better than I thought.”

“What order did you issue?”

“I ordered you to sleep. It seems to last for about a day, so wouldn’t it be okay in the future if I periodically issue orders?”

At my optimistic words, Baek Ji-soo shook his head slowly.

“There is no such thing as a perfect seal in magic. It may be fine for a while, but if you repeat any command, it will gradually become less effective. Pass out, get a good night’s sleep, and similar commands. It’s just buying time.”

“Then what should I do?”

“At least now you have the initiative. Did he ask for a contract? Rather than having a potential enemy inside you for the rest of your life, you’d better make a contract that gives you the best advantage in this situation. For the devil, contracts are absolute.”

It was a word worthy of a demon expert. Anyway, to make the contract as advantageous as possible. Does he mean to sign a slave contract?

“Be sure to check with me before signing a contract with the devil. They’re always cleverly tricked. I’ll help make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“… Yes. Anyway, if he’s asleep, we can talk in peace.”

It seems that Baek Ji-soo has been wary of Kertatus inside me and has not been able to share his future plans. After all, what I see and hear is transmitted to Kertatus as it is, so it is no different from having a spy planted in my body.

Certatus collaborating with other demons… I can’t imagine that much though.

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Jisoo Baek seemed to be slowly choosing words to know where to begin. Her appearance, which is rare for her, also heightened tension between me and Yoon Seo-hee.

Baek Ji-soo with future knowledge. Both the gate incident and the terrorism at the fair that she predicted so far were huge events that caused uproar in the area. What is the story that she has to hold her weight this far?

“One month later. We must attack the tower.”

“Eh.”

“What?”

I couldn’t hide my embarrassed expression at the words that didn’t feel real.

The tower… Attacking? It’s not just going in… Strategy?

The more people who know the dangers of gates and towers, the less likely they are to mention the name of strategy. Because I know how difficult it is and what it means.

Yoon Seo-hee, who was sitting on my bed and quietly listening to the story, opened her mouth.

“There is only one unexploited tower around here. Is it right where I thought it was?”

“Right. We will attack Eldoras Tower.”

“It won’t be easy… Why?”

“Because Manma-ryun succeeded in capturing the Eldoras Tower after a month.”

At those words, Yoon Seo-hee and I breathed in at the same time.

For an unexploited tower located in the middle of the metropolitan area to fall into the hands of a criminal organization… Because it was a story that was hard to accept with a sober mind.

To understand the danger, you need to know about the special features of the tower.

The inside of the tower is full of traps and all the monsters that appear there are dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that the tower only harms mankind. Manastones that come out when you kill monsters, and all kinds of rare equipment, items, and special materials inside the tower… Now, they are indispensable items in the development of mankind.

In addition, it would be painful to explain the power and importance of the master piece level equipment that can be obtained by first defeating the tower. Hunters with this equipment are literally out of class, to the extent that they are called master piece hunters. There are only three master piece hunters who are treated as strategic weapons even in Korea, which is famous as a hunter powerhouse.

However, even if you think about it without this symbolism, the benefits you can get when you attack the tower are enormous. This is because whoever captures the tower first acquires ownership of the tower.

The rights of the owner of the tower are enormous. You can manipulate whether or not a gate that opens to the outside of the tower appears, and you can also limit the number of people entering and exiting the tower. In extreme cases, it is also possible to adjust the authority so that no one except yourself can enter the tower.

So what happens? All industries related to the tower will perish. Hunters can’t enter, so you can’t mine magic stones, and equipment and special materials all go to hell. Since Hunter is unemployed, both companies and public officials who assist Hunter have nothing to do, and in the meantime, if you leave the gate open, of course the surrounding security will be ruined.

Of course, that kind of thing doesn’t happen anytime soon. In the case of towers attacked by the Mercury Guild, the magic stone industry is still active. It means that such a thing may happen if anti-government forces such as Manma-ryeon or devil worshipers take over the tower.

However, the Eldoras Tower was captured by Mannji. It was obvious what would happen after that. Around the Eldoras Tower area, the southern part of the metropolitan area is no different from being occupied by unknown external forces.

“… Serious.”

That kind of thing had to be stopped.

Yoon Seo-hee also spoke in a more serious tone, probably agreeing with me.

“How the hell did things get like that? There’s no way the special envoy will see such a thing, right?”

That’s right. The government is not an institution that just sits and eats popcorn. In order to prevent the tower from being handed over to such anti-government forces, government agents and guild personnel of A rank or higher are always resident around the unexploited tower, and the number of personnel is strictly controlled. This is one of the reasons why you can enter the tower only if you have a hunter license.

Also, not only entering the tower, but even organizing a raid by grabbing each one requires permission from the government. This is because the question of which guild attacks the tower is a very sensitive issue not only for guilds but also for the government. Usually, opportunities are given to target guilds in order of contribution to the country through social service and public support.

The Heukcheonmaeng seized the chance to attack and tried to forcefully attack, but in the end, the attack failed.

Anyway, the tower is not only difficult to enter easily, but it is also a place that is not easily attacked. How on earth do you find such a place?

“… I do not know.”

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Jisoo Baek closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“What I remember is that a month later, the entrance to the Eldoras Tower was suddenly locked, and the hunters inside were annihilated… Only Manma-ryun survived and succeeded in capturing it.”

Memories of an imperfect future. Baek Ji-soo, biting his lower lip and lowering his eyes, seemed to be nervous even if he felt frustrated himself.

“You have already changed many futures. The future that will happen in the future may have changed. Even so, I cannot stand still…. Would you like to come with me?”

Baek Ji-soo asked anxiously. I met Yoon Seo-hee’s gaze.

We both nodded at the same time.

“It’s nice to go, but how are you going to get in? If we just push in, we are criminals too.”

Baek Ji-soo’s expression was dyed in an instant. He was expressionless as usual, but I could read the small change in his expression.

“There is a way.”

“How?”

That’s right, there must have been several ways. Push with force or use hints of blank numbers. However, in that case, even if you solve the problem later, the problem will arise. The fact that we broke into the tower illegally doesn’t change.

“You have to officially enter the tower. By way of a field trip.”

“A field trip?”

“The academy chief and deputy chief can request a tour of the lower floors of the tower to the teacher in charge.”

Is there such a thing? I had always been crawling on the floor in the failing rank, let alone the top rank, so I had no idea that there was such a benefit for being in the top rank.

Wait, Baek Ji-soo and Yoon Seo-hee aside, then I….

“Binary. You should take the support and top positions in this midterm exam.”

Even if you can’t do it, you should be second, that’s what Baek Ji-soo has been saying.