Choi Junseok looked down at the Seoul skyline through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
The busy traffic and an unnamed bridge over the Han River stretched out below.
The night view would surely be even more beautiful.
“So, including all the additional fees and acquisition taxes, it easily exceeds 6.5 billion won, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…”
Just the acquisition and registration taxes alone were almost 300 million won.
Choi Junseok swallowed dryly.
Expensive. Insanely, unbelievably, astronomically expensive.
He had only ever heard people say “Seoul housing prices are terrifying,” but the fact that even 6 billion won couldn’t buy a top-class apartment left him genuinely stunned.
“Junseok-ssi, who buys a house without a mortgage these days?”
At Lee Jiyu’s words, the real estate agent’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Then… you’re saying you’re buying it in full cash, no loan?”
The licensed agent blinked rapidly, staring at Choi Junseok with disbelief.
Paying several billion in cash…?
Who the hell is this guy? How can he throw around that kind of money in cash?
The agent’s shaky gaze quickly scanned Choi Junseok up and down.
His clothes were ordinary; no ultra-luxury brands.
Of course, you can’t judge a person by their clothes.
The woman who came with him was none other than Lee Jiyu, the player everyone in these agents already had memorized as one of the ultra-wealthy.
An S-rank two-digit ranker. The man who stepped out of her pink sports car with her.
Casual, comfortable clothes. But an extremely youthful face; early twenties at most.
If my guess is right… since he came with Lee Jiyu, he must be an S-rank player.
But there was no new face like this in the latest ranking evaluation.
Did he just barely break into the top 100?
If not, with that handsome face and tall, perfect frame, he could pass for some famous idol who just got a massive settlement payout.
But if he were that famous, he should be all over broadcasts… yet the agent had no memory of ever seeing him.
“Mortgages don’t exactly spit out tens of billions, do they?”
Lee Jiyu thought for a moment and answered, “It’ll come out, right?” though she didn’t sound completely sound sure.
If you take out more than half the price in housing loans, is it really your house? It’s the bank’s house.
Choi Junseok had no intention of doing that.
The agent finally realized.
This guy is seriously ready and able to buy.
He wasn’t just window-shopping.
The agent laughed brightly.
“Soon we’ll enter the era of 10-billion-won apartments in Seoul. Right now is the perfect time for investment, too. Thanks to the aftermath of the Suseo Magic Tower, prices across Seoul are still depressed. This unit used to go for up to 6.8 billion.”
No wonder.
If a magic tower suddenly sprouted nearby, a multi-billion-won investment could evaporate overnight.
In the worst case, you’d be drowning in debt.
As Lee Jiyu said, people who buy without loans are extremely rare.
“Even you can guess, sir; with these specs, this view, in the 6-billion range, it’s absolutely not expensive. Look; perfect Han River view with the river and the bridge, even the Second Lotte World and the Suseo Magic Tower visible in the distance. From the other room you can see Namsan Tower in the opposite direction. There’s nothing you can’t see. It’s literally a home that lets you look down on all of Seoul.”
The era of 10-billion-won apartments?
Choi Junseok now understood why some people said this country was insane for housing prices never dropping even when no one knew when the next tower might appear.
The towers weren’t the abnormal ones; the housing prices were.
What was shocking was that this apartment wasn’t even in Seoul’s absolute top-tier luxury line.
It was merely high-end.
“Who lives in places like this?”
“All kinds of people you’d expect; celebrities, famous players, third-generation chaebols, successful businesspeople, that sort.”
Choi Junseok pondered.
Lee Nayeon and Song Hana, who had come along, looked satisfied.
An indoor pool and fitness center for residents were, of course, standard.
“How much are the monthly management fees?”
“It’s hard to say exactly, but the fixed basic fixed fee per household is 1.3 million won.”
6.45 billion total so far.
He had earned more in the meantime, but he had already given that to his family for living expenses, so he was actually short more than 450 million won to buy this place.
450 million won.
Definitely not an amount anyone could gather overnight.
Yet Choi Junseok was confident he could collect it within days.
Just 450 million short, huh.
As if reading his mind, the agent spoke up.
“I’ll try talking to the owner about lowering the price. They’re already selling at a loss at this price, so it might be difficult, but…”
“That would be great if you could.”
Choi Junseok and Lee Jiyu followed the agent to a couple more similar high-end units.
But to both of their eyes, none matched the first one the agent had shown.
They were more expensive yet somehow felt dated inside.
Above all, once one place had already caught their eye, every flaw in the others stood out glaringly.
“Then that’s all the 6-billion-range listings currently available in central Seoul. I’ll contact you again if anything new comes up.”
High-end units rarely hit the market, so other agencies would likely say the same.
Assuming Choi Junseok wouldn’t sign the same day, the agent was about to see him off with a smile when Choi Junseok calmly replied.
“I’ll contact you as soon as I decide to sign.”
“…?!”
The agent’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
“The first one we saw. We could put down the deposit today, but there’s no rush, right?”
Choi Junseok made it clear he was seriously intending to buy.
In other words, he had kicked the ball back to the agent to negotiate the price down.
“I’d like to set a move-in date. You said the current owner is moving out next week? Seems they have a reason to leave quickly… I’m in no particular hurry.”
It was a bluff; he actually was in a hurry.
Well, if it really fell through, he could always stay in a hotel room for a bit or go to the house where his mom and little sister lived.
The agent, speechless, could only nod.
To show intent to buy a place like this immediately… just how loaded is he?
Normally people research meticulously and deliberate for days before dropping this kind of money, no matter how rich they are.
There are procedures; checking how much loan you can get, etc.
Yet here he was, ready to buy like grabbing instant ramen at a convenience store.
“If the terms work out, I’d like to move in as soon as possible. Please speak well with the owner.”
Ah… he must be a mercenary player who made a fortune overseas and just returned.
Making his own wild guess, the agent hurriedly bowed and escorted Choi Junseok out.
“I’ll try to coordinate directly with the owner; well, more like with their asset manager, actually.”
“Whatever works. Just let me know when there’s good news.”
“Of course, sir.”
Whoever was moving out of a place like this, the fact that even a multi-billion-won contract went through an asset manager was already telling.
Just how much wealth did they have to delegate something like this?
Anyway, Choi Junseok walked out feeling refreshed.
Sure, with taxes and fees it was a 6.5-billion-won apartment, but to him it felt like a 500-million-won place.
After all, the original 6 billion had basically fallen into his lap as free money.
Buy a place like that for just 500 million of “his own” money? There was no reason not to.
Still, if he could knock the price down further, he wasn’t going to slap down the deposit immediately.
The real problem was that he didn’t actually have that 500 million on hand right now, but that was fine.
He could earn it quickly. Worst case, he could take out a loan like Lee Jiyu suggested.
Even Lee Jiyu was taken aback by Choi Junseok’s drive.
The moment they entered a nearby café with no one else around, that was the first thing she asked.
“You said you had 6 billion, right? Looks like you’re still about 500 million short… so you’ve decided on a loan after all?”
“Nah. That kind of money? You just earn it.”
“You’re going to earn 500 million?”
“Yes.”
“In a few months?”
“About three days?” No, wait.
“Hah.”
Lee Jiyu blinked in disbelief.
“Not 5 million; 500 million?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
She pulled her cap down low and shook her head as if giving up on understanding.
“So how exactly did you gather 6 billion? You couldn’t have made that much climbing only the lower floors.”
“Don’t try to find out. You’ll get hurt.”
“Hmm…”
She took a sip of her iced coffee through the straw, nodded, and gave up.
Choi Junseok was becoming increasingly terrifying to her.
As a high ranker herself, she knew perfectly well it was impossible to earn 6 billion in less than a month from the lower floors alone.
“You know people are saying you might be the Function, right?”
“I know.”
“And you obviously know I’m not the one who started that rumor.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Every time that rumor circulates my neck feels cold.”
“The Player Management Office knows you’re not that reckless.”
“That’s a relief. Anyway, the ad I shot with Nayeon-ssi will be released soon… and we’ll be appearing together in front of players. So you’ve decided to step into the light completely?”
Choi Junseok nodded cautiously.
“To a certain extent. I figured I can’t stay in the shadows forever.”
“True. You can’t hide forever. You’ll need people’s help eventually. You’re past the 25th floor now, right?”
“Even if it’s just you climbing, it’s monstrous…” But
“Yes.”
“It’s hard to call it ‘just you’ anymore.”
“So what about the next few days; where will you stay? If you want, you can stay at my place. I have two empty guest rooms.”
“…Pardon?”
“You can’t make two girls sleep over for three days straight. They’d be uncomfortable. And we don’t really have luggage to move anyway, right?”
“We don’t have luggage, but…”
“And think about how uncomfortable those two girls must have felt living under you this whole time… No, we’re going right now. I have two guest rooms free anyway.”
Just what kind of place did she live in to have two spare guest rooms?
Choi Junseok could feel Lee Nayeon and Song Hana beaming with joy inside him.
“One of them was the room of the summoned being you stole, so you can use that one.”
It felt like a subtle jab, but Choi Junseok knew he had nothing to feel guilty about.
She was a pro player too; someone who had learned to live according to the laws of the tower.
For some reason it felt like he had to stay at her place if only for that last reason.
“Let’s go, then.”
On the way to her house in her car, Lee Jiyu asked,
“So, you said three days; how exactly do you plan to earn 500 million in three days?”
“Do I still have stuff I haven’t sold?”
“Well… I’m challenging the 30th floor today. I’ll figure something out.”
Lee Jiyu stared blankly at the traffic light, then nodded.
The moment it turned green she floored it.
VRRRROOOOOM—!
“Oh, right. You really are the Function.”
He was on a completely different level from other players who climbed two floors per day; the very person the nation considered more important than even the Sword God, the current rank 1.