74 – Climbing the Tower (Complete )

“Ha, ha! Oh, hello everyone!”

A few minutes had passed since Kang Hwa-ryun left.

It was around the time we were waiting for the last member of the party while chatting.

At that time, a woman was running from far away, carrying a bag on her back.

“Ha ha, ha, sin, sorry. Am I too late?”

The woman rolled her eyes as her chest thumped intermittently, unable to even catch her breath.

“It’s too late. You still have 30 minutes until your appointment time?”

I checked the time and answered indifferently.

It’s not that she’s late, it’s that we came too early.

There was absolutely no need to feel sorry for us.

But the woman just stared at her, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“No, but…… Everyone else is here, but I’m alone…….”

“It’s okay. Sister. Never mind.”

Yerin smiled and pretended to be friendly.

“As Yerin said, you don’t have to worry about it. Mr. Dayeon.”

That woman’s name is Dayeon Hong.

An F-rank hunter and hired as a porter for this tower climb.

Although he is in his late twenties, he has often failed in the E rank promotion test and is often discouraged.

Anyway, it seemed that the death rate of Hong Da-yeon’s party members was high.

“Thank you, Mr. Seojun.”

Dayeon Hong helped me when I first started working as a porter.

She is a senior porter and taught me a lot of things.

If it was a debt in its own way, it could be called a debt.

When I asked her why she helped me before, she replied that it was because she was like her little brother.

In fact, she had a younger brother who was ill.

Her younger brother’s hospital bills seemed to be a headache.

“Thank you for calling me a porter, Mr. Seojun. It was difficult because I have not been able to work lately.”

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I wouldn’t have been out of work.

It seemed like it was difficult to find suitable party members.

That’s also the case, since joining any party could be a disaster.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yes… ….”

Hong Da-yeon awkwardly scratched her cheek and answered.

“Anyway, I was surprised, Mr. Seojun.”

“What is it?”

“Yeah, I saw the news. He said he knocked down a tentacle?”

“I was lucky.”

“No. Seojun, I thought you had talent from a long time ago. Congratulation. At that level, he could be a D-rank soon.”

“I hope so.”

It was a bit envious.

Well, Dayeon Hong was F rank in her later years, so it was understandable that she was envious.

However, it was her own fault that she continued to stay in F rank.

It’s not that she didn’t try, she…… Hmm. Let’s just think this far.

“By the way, Mr. Dayeon.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you come running when you have plenty of time?”

“Just… ….”

She avoided her gaze and murmured softly, but Hong Da-yeon could understand why she was looking at her like that and she rushed over.

That’s probably because the porters weren’t treated well.

Regardless of the appointment time, if the porter arrives later than others, he will be criticized by stars and it is easy to get caught.

Because there are many hunters who think of porters as simple shidabari or manual labor.

It’s okay if you have a fixed party or belong to a clan, but most unaffiliated porters are nothing more than day laborers.

In the first place, most talented and capable hunters are carried away from the clan or invited to a party upon graduating from the academy.

Lack of any background is proof of incompetence, and it means that there are not many places to complain even if you are treated harshly.

There are quite a few cases where unaffiliated porters are used as bait or secretly killed by rude words.

Well, if you lose a party member unnecessarily, a penalty will be imposed, so it’s very bad for promotion.

Anyway, the value of an independent F-rank porter is very low.

‘Ah, it reminds me of the old days.’

I also worked as an independent porter, so I was well aware of the humiliation and absurdities experienced by porters.

Some Hunters with bad personalities treat porters like servants.

There were a lot of real f*ckers.

I thought they were masters.

‘Well, it’s a world where even apartment guards use power, so it’s scary.’

I clicked my tongue in my heart.

There are people everywhere in the world who say sh*t about useless things.

“Anyway, Mr. Dayeon. It’s the first time you’ve seen it in person with other party members, right? I will briefly introduce myself.”

“Oh, yes.”

Shall we stop thinking about useless things and start by introducing the kids?

“This is Yerin Ryu. As I explained the other day, I am a D-rank hunter, avant-garde, and dealer.”

“Hello, sister. I wish you a good day.”

Yerin greeted lightly with a subtle smile.

Dayeon Hong looked at Yerin’s face with a brief admiration.

It was a look of envy and surprise in his eyes.

You’ve seen it in pictures, but it’s the first time seeing it in person, maybe?

“And this is Jumina. Like Yerin, she is a D-rank hunter. This time, I will use a bow and sword to assist you from a distance.”

“…… Hello.”

Mina glanced at Dayeon Hong’s face and murmured in a low voice.

She was looking away with a rather uncomfortable expression.

Hong Dayeon seemed quite uncomfortable.

She knew very well why Mina, who is usually friendly and has a positive personality, was so uncomfortable with Da-yeon Hong.

It’s because I heard some information about Hong Dayeon from me in advance.

But even so, I shouldn’t have put it in her face like that.

Yerin seems to be good at acting, but Mina is not good at acting young.

“Minaya.”

“Oh, sorry.”

I put my hand on Mina’s shoulder.

Mina jerked her neck and she suddenly came to her senses.

“As expected, am I too late for the porter? Sorry.”

“No, it’s not like that. Something like that…….”

Mina, who swallowed her words behind her, shook her head with a bitter expression on her face. She seemed to have no intention of speaking any more.

“Mr. Dayeon.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Are you familiar with today’s schedule?”

“Of course.”

Dayeon Hong answered slowly.

There was nothing special about the schedule.

It was an exploration of the 4th floor.

Hong Da-yeon said that as she explored the fourth floor, she had to pack the by-products she encountered into her bag.

Because the large bag of beige color was treated with special magic, it was able to store more items.

Of course, it was not without limitations.

It is only possible to put three or four times more than the volume of the bag.

“Then, shall we go into the tower after making sure we are properly prepared? Have you left something behind or is someone feeling unwell? And is the equipment in good condition?”

I slowly looked over her companions and asked a question.

Yerin and Mina appear to be inspecting the equipment for a while, then answer calmly.

“No problem, sir.”

“Me too, oppa.”

“Yes, I’m fine too, Mr. Seojun.”

I nodded.

“Okay, then shall we go?”

“Oh, wait.”

The moment she was about to use the gate to enter the pagoda, Dayeon Hong quietly raised her hand.

“Huh? Why, Da-yeon? What’s wrong?”

“Yeah, that’s my distribution terms.”

“Distribution terms?”

Dayeon Hong hesitated.

The attitude of hesitation was evident.

However, she seems to have won her heart, and she sneaks up on her luck.

“Is it true that income is reduced to 1/N, and a certain amount is distributed when achievements are acquired?”

She scratched her temple slightly at her question.

In general, porters and combatants are paid differently.

If combatants are 100%, porters are 80-60%?

In addition, the product cannot be claimed.

Achievements refer to elixirs, artifacts, equipment, treasures, etc. Obtained from the tower. But porters do not distribute such things. That’s a common practice

“Yes. Of course. Dayeon is also part of our group.”

“Ah.”

“I won’t take a daily wage while catching pods like other places, so please rest your mind.”

“Thank you, Mr. Seojun… ….”

Dayeon Hong showed her gratitude.

There are a lot of bullies in the hunter industry, so there were a lot of guys who did trash by grabbing pods from porters.

There have also been cases where the payment of benefits has been delayed or reduced.

Of course, it was a problem that could be solved by reporting it. As a powerless porter, it would be quite embarrassing to buy a grudge against another clan or party for no reason, so most of the cases endured by crying and eating mustard.

That’s why when doing hunter work, there are many cases where only people you know form a party or join a clan.

Because if a novice hunter doesn’t have a background, it’s really good to be beaten.

“And what else do you know? Will you find any artifacts in this tower exploration?”

“That would be nice.”

It is rare to find artifacts inside the tower.

Of course, in order to acquire something like an artifact, you had to explore an uncommitted area that no one else had visited.

But we are going to the ruins of the fourth-tier golem.

It is a place that has already established itself as a hunting ground for numerous hunters.

In general, it was impossible to find artifacts.

Even if there were artifacts, other hunters must have already taken them.

But what if there are still undiscovered places?

And what if artifacts and treasures are sleeping in secret places?

‘…… It would be nice if there were really treasures left like in the dream.’

I replayed the dreams I had in the past.

Thanks to the future dream I had the other day, I was able to find out the location of a hidden treasure somewhere on the 4th floor.

If that dream is truly a dream of the future, then the treasures must still lie dormant.

‘I hope the contents of the dream are true.’

It’s not simply to claim the treasure, but because it can be a bit more reliable proof that the dreams I’ve had are memories of the future.

Because of the Seongcheon Church’s attack on the top floor of the tower recently, I had doubts about whether the contents of the dream were really memories of the future.

That way, future plans can go ahead without a hitch.

***

Four-level rock ruins.

This place was made of old rocks.

As the name suggests, it was quite grand.

Unknown hieroglyphs and huge golems.

It reminded me of ancient ruins that can only be seen in movies.

The types of golems that appear here are mud golems and rock golems.

The level of the mud golem is 1.

The level of the rock golem is 2.

We can deal with it easily with our party’s strength.

Of course, if you go a little deeper, level 3 steel golems, crystal golems, and guardian golems can pop out, so you have to be careful.

But now, even a level 3 golem is possible.

That’s because he’s fully armed, unlike when he suddenly fights with the ghost.

Actually, the tentacles belonged to the weak side among level 3 monsters.

It’s dangerous because of the numerous tentacles, but the actual durability of the body is quite weak.

But, what…… At that time, she had only a sword and a pistol without any special equipment.

“Huh? Teacher, what are you thinking so hard about?”

“No. Nothing.”

Suddenly Erin spoke to her.

I just woke up from my thoughts.

Yerin turned her head towards her.

The six golems we just defeated were lying on the ground.

The golems, made of solid rocks, were disassembled into pieces by Yerin’s sword and lay down on the ground without much resistance.

After that, Hong Da-yeon packed the golem’s power source in her bag.

The golem’s power source was traded reasonably well on the market.

The main source of income in the ruins area could be said to be the golem’s power source.

We waited for a while until Hong Dayeon got the golem power source.

Wait a little longer and Dayeon Hong will get all the golem power sources.

“Just…… I think you are good at it.”

“I told you. It will be more useful than the teacher thinks.”

Hee hee answered with a smile.

In the past, I was told that I hid my skills in case I felt inferior and kept away from them.

Yerin’s blade, which sliced through hard rocks like tofu, had considerable anticipation.

Although Yerin wasn’t skilled at cutting, it was possible to increase the cutting power and durability of her sword.

Because her Ye-rin’s ability was quite general in terms of her sword.

“Yes, I will.”

I smiled bitterly.

Actually, I once asked Jihyeon about Yerin’s abilities.

It was because Jihyun must have known Yerin’s abilities. She

Of course, she could have directly questioned Yerin, but since Yerin wanted to show her in real life, she kept it a secret from her and kept asking Yerin what her abilities were. Threw

After questioning a few more times, Jihyeon seemed unable to explain her Yerin’s ability.

I couldn’t help but be slightly surprised when I found out about Yerin’s abilities.

It’s more useful than you think…… No, because it was a great ability.

“Can I see your ability today?”

“Well?”

Yerin brushed her hair lightly and answered quietly as if in a whisper.

“Teacher, if Hong Da-yeon behaves as expected, wouldn’t my abilities be able to shine?”

She smiled faintly and glanced sideways at Dayeon Hong.

Dayeon Hong was diligently separating her power source from the golem’s body.

If you wait a little longer, you will be able to retrieve all power sources.

“Because my powers are more suited to humans than monsters.”

“… ….”

“Well, it seems that the teacher doesn’t want that to happen.”

“… ….”

Yerin grinned while fiddling with the handle of her sword.

“From a cursory glance, it seems that the teacher has noticed my abilities to some extent, is that right?”

“Is it obvious?”

“A little? Seeing Hong Da-yeon brought into the yard where Mina is, I can almost feel it. It must be possible because I have insurance.”

“I can’t deny it.”

I put on a bitter expression.

“Anyway, that’s kind of surprising. If she was a normal teacher, she wouldn’t have acted like this.”

“No, what. I need to be a little more determined. We also need to prepare for the future.”

“What preparation?”

At Yerin’s words, she slightly turned her head and looked up into the air at her.

“Prepare to climb the tower.”

After that, the word that Dayeon Hong had collected all of her golem power sources tapped in my ear, and Yerin and I turned our feet toward Dayeon Hong.

Yerin suddenly spoke quietly in her ear.

“Climb the tower, Ra. Okay sir.”

The red eyes shone brightly.

“I will take you to the top of the tower.”

She whispered, as if to affirm.