Gathering Materials
"Jinhyuk, you getting along well with your little sister? Don't go beating her up like you used to."
"Don't worry, Dad. We're talking just fine."
"Good."
Jinhyuk cautiously pressed his ear to the door.
It had been thirty minutes since he'd entered the room under the pretext of trying to talk Yujinhee out of climbing the Tower.
And exactly twenty-eight minutes ago, Yujinhee had gone into the Tower.
Sorry, Dad. She wasn't gonna listen anyway.
Rather than waste effort on something futile, Jinhyuk had chosen a path where both sides could win.
As he tapped his fingers while waiting, Yujinhee finally reappeared.
"Ugh, that path was a total pain in the ass. Took down the monsters quick, but finding the way took forever."
Ah, should've lent her the Yodel Compass.
He'd completely forgotten about it lately since he hadn't used it much.
"Good work, sis."
Jinhyuk rubbed his hands together.
Knowing full well what her brother wanted, Yujinhee pulled out the box without delay.
"How'd it go?"
"How'd it go? Like this."
Yujinhee opened the box.
Lava sat neatly contained in one of the material slots.
Thanks to the box's ability, it didn't spill even when she shook it side to side.
"Excellent. You did well..."?
Yujinhee pulled the box back.
"For free?"
Guess she really is my sister.
As Yujinhee twitched her eyebrow, Jinhyuk pulled out his phone.
"Check it out."
"One million won? Climbing the Tower's really broadened your horizons, huh."
Only then did Yujinhee hand over the box with a satisfied look.
He'd already told his sister about his awakening ahead of time.
Of course, he'd glossed over the details about his class and skills appropriately.
"But seriously, how the hell did that guy clear the sixth floor in ten seconds?"
"That guy?"
"The Runner of the Book of Honor."
That's me she's talking about.
"Is he using some game glitch or something? Otherwise, that record makes no sense. What do you think?"
"Could be a class specialized in pathfinding."
"And he takes down monsters like it's nothing?"
"Yeah, true."
Better not lend her the compass after all.
If she found out he was the Runner of the Book of Honor, he'd be hit with a barrage of annoying questions.
"Anyway, tell Dad we talked it out fine. I won't spill about your awakening either."
"Deal. So now you're gonna go to school and climb the Tower?"
"Yeah. It's not weird at all. There's over ten players in my class alone. They go in before bed. We talk Tower stuff during breaks all the time. There's even this subtle competition going on."
"Sounds like a good school."
He gave her a thumbs-up and slipped out of the room.
Seira had been cornered by his parents since dinnertime.
Kim Minji was still clutching Seira's hand, chattering away.
Seira, you've got it rough.
Vowing to grill some beef when they got home, Jinhyuk headed to the table.
"Dad, Mom. Your son's heading out."
"What? Already?"
"You haven't been home in ages—why not stay the night?"
"Got some business. I'll come by again soon."
Now that he'd awakened and was making money, he could visit with a much lighter heart than before.
"Aww, that's a shame. I wanted to talk more."
"Yeah, come play again soon? Okay?"
Now he saw it—the disappointment wasn't aimed at him at all.
It was still Seira, their hands clasped together.
"I'll come again."
"You better. You absolutely have to."
"Our door's always open, anytime."
Jinhyuk grabbed Kancho, who was rolling around in the corner, and headed out.
After one last round of goodbyes, Jinhyuk waved.
"I'm off."
"Take care! Jinhyuk."
"Yeah?"
"But why are you climbing over the wall? There's a perfectly good front gate."
"Don't wanna run into those suit guys."
"The Hunter Bureau folks are doing good work—why avoid them?"
"Let him be. He's got his reasons. Geez, always prying."
He shot his dad a thumbs-up.
"Then I'm really going!"
He hopped over the wall in one fluid motion.
Seira put on a show of struggling over it as much as she could, too.
"Kancho, go stealth. Seira, meet us behind that rice paddy from earlier."
"Got it."
He cloaked himself in stealth and started walking.
Was it because he'd seen his parents after so long and scored the lava to boot?
His steps felt lighter.
One down.
The moment he decided to head straight to Dongdaemun as soon as he got back to Seoul—
A eureka-worthy idea flashed through his mind.
Jinhyuk stopped and looked at Kancho, walking right beside him.
"What's up, boss?"
Come to think of it, he'd been right there the whole time.
The hottest yordle in the world, no less.
"Kancho, mind giving me some explosive clay?"
"Even if I do, no one but me can make it go boom."
"That's fine."
"Ptoo!"
"You could just give me some you've already made."
"'Cause you're the boss, I'll hook you up with the freshest batch."
Kancho handed over the clay he'd just spat out.
Jinhyuk took it and slotted it into the potion-making box.
The clay itself wasn't hot.
But as the main catalyst for explosions, its inherent property was explosion itself—that was the right way to see it.
Given the crafting box's nature of synthesizing based on an object's properties, there was definitely potential here.
Worth a shot.
Grinning, Jinhyuk resumed walking.
It was still a good while until midnight.
If luck was on his side, he might wrap this up tonight.
Dongdaemun Everything Shop.
"Lava-infused stone? Nope."
"Ah."
Jinhyuk closed his eyes.
He'd figured a place like Everything Shop would have at least one.
"Anything else? I'm looking for the hottest thing in the world. Doesn't have to be hot to the touch—the meaning or property it carries can be hot enough."
"Hmm. The hottest, huh."
O Jae-gap rubbed his chin.
He didn't ask why it was needed.
Asking or prying about nothing was the unspoken rule of the Everything Shop.
"There is something hotter than that."
"Oh! What is it?"
"The item's called Phoenix's Breath. You get it from a sudden quest from a Tower resident when you meet certain conditions. Of course, only available after the 31st floor, in the lava zone."
Jinhyuk's face fell immediately.
With absolute time constraints, going up to the 31st floor was an option he wanted to delay as much as possible.
Plus, the quest O Jae-gap mentioned only triggered if a bunch of conditions—like the player's class—lined up perfectly.
No guarantee he'd get it just by reaching that floor.
Gotta find a substitute. Just as he thought that, O Jae-gap, watching him, spoke up.
"I do know someone who has Phoenix's Breath..."
Jinhyuk's eyes lit up again.
"Of course, I can't just hand out info willy-nilly. Hang tight a sec. I'll ask."
"Thank you."
O Jae-gap exhaled a thick cloud of cigarette smoke and headed inside.
"Should I eavesdrop, boss?!"
Kancho, still in stealth, whispered.
"Nah. Let's wait."
After faint voices drifted out for a bit, O Jae-gap poked his head back in.
"They're asking out of the blue who wants to buy it? Mind if I give your name?"
"Of course."
Jinhyuk was the only climber of the Mythic Tower.
No real competition, so no need to hide his identity.
Less than thirty seconds later, O Jae-gap came back out.
"Just wait a bit. They're coming to sell it now."
"In person? It's not the Hunter Bureau team leader you just called, is it?"
"Nah. Kinda weird, though. They're a total homebody—rare for them to come out."
No reason to turn down someone not from the Bureau coming in person.
As he chatted with O Jae-gap about Tower climbs and such—
Twitch!
Kancho tugged at Jinhyuk's pants.
No need to ask why.
Jinhyuk, with his presence detection, was starting to sense it too.
What's with this aura?
Jinhyuk stared into the dim Dongdaemun alley.
He'd passed plenty of players on the way here, but nothing with an aura this massive.
"I'll drop the manifestation. Risk of getting spotted."
Kancho swiftly released his manifestation.
Seira had dropped hers when entering Dongdaemun, so no chance of her being detected.
The aura closed in in an instant.
Step.
Soon after, the source of it emerged from the alley.
Even with the hat pulled low and mask on, the silhouette felt oddly familiar.
Ah.
Jinhyuk broke out in a sweat the moment he realized why.
And the woman approaching him flashed a meaningful smile.
The owner of those 100 unread and ignored Cocoa Talks, plus 30 missed voice messages he'd pretended not to see.
"Long time no see, Yoo Jinhyuk."
Cheon Seyeon, one of Korea's famous rankers, greeted him with a bright yet chilling smile.
Cheon Seyeon and Yoo Jinhyuk left the Everything Shop and turned into the alley.
"You read the Kotok. Must've just now— the count was still there when I left home earlier."
"Whew, when did it pile up to a hundred... Haha."
"Good thing. I thought you'd blocked me. Figured I must've done something huge wrong in that short meeting."
"Blocked? No way, that's ridiculous."
"But ignoring unread is fine, I guess."
"That's not okay either. I'll read them properly from now on."
Sweat beaded on Jinhyuk's forehead.
Seeing it, Seyeon let out a soft chuckle.
The three syllables she'd heard over the phone—Yoo Jinhyuk.
The instant she heard them, Cheon Seyeon had flown from home to the Everything Shop.
"But we're heading the right way, right?"
"Yes. No need to worry."
After greetings, Seyeon had made a small request.
There was a tteokbokki place from her childhood nearby, full of memories, but it wasn't on any maps, so she couldn't find it.
As atonement for ignoring her Cocoa Talks, he'd agreed to track it down.
"We're here."
Guided by glances at the Yodel Compass, they arrived at the tteokbokki shop, Mi-young's Place.
Sure enough, the weathered sign gave off that authentic hole-in-the-wall vibe.
"Wow, you really found it."
Right after Seyeon spoke—
"Our little pup's here?"
An elderly woman with a gentle face appeared from inside the shop.
"Why you standin' there? Sit down already. Oh my? Seyoonie's all grown up. Bringing a boy with you now."
"Hey, Granny. I'm an adult—I can bring whoever I want anytime. Tteokbokki, sundae, and twigim, two servings each, please."
"Alrighty. Gimme a minute. Granny'll whip it up quick."
Seyeon guided Jinhyuk to a seat.
"This place is seriously good. One bite, and you'll be back tomorrow."
"Can't wait. I love tteokbokki."
"Glad to hear it."
A brief silence followed.
Then Seyeon suddenly put on a meaningful expression.
Leaning forward, she murmured softly.
"You're Yoo Jinhyuk, right? The Runner of the Book of Honor."
"Yes. That's me."
"Yes?"
Seyeon blinked in surprise, her face going slack.
She'd expected him to freak out big time—so why was he so nonchalant?
"You asked me to find a regular tteokbokki spot whose location I already knew, just to figure that out. Clearing the sixth floor in ten seconds requires killer pathfinding skills."
"Uh... yeah. So you knew and still didn't turn me down?"
"The world runs on give and take."
Jinhyuk flashed a relaxed smile and rubbed his hands.
"So, shall we talk about the Phoenix's Breath now?"
Seyeon let out a small, awkward laugh.
She'd known Yoo Jinhyuk was the Runner of the Book of Honor.
But why was this happening?
The curiosity that should've shrunk was starting to swell even more.
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T/N:
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