Just before Choi Junseok’s body fully entered the portal.
The moment his body touched the portal, Yoo Junhyuk spoke as if he sensed something.
“Stop!”
Yoo Junhyuk, who had been quiet, issued a stern warning to Choi Junseok.
“Turn back! There’s no need to take unnecessary risks. That guy has a return scroll, unlike you.”
However, Choi Junseok didn’t stop his steps.
“Is there something dangerous inside?”
“Yes. It might not be at a manageable level. That guy Park Suho might have to escape immediately.”
“Even so, I can’t just stand by and watch something dangerous happen.”
If things go wrong, I could really die.
No one could know which floor the hidden area was connected to.
A monster with the difficulty of the 90th floor could suddenly appear.
Or he might encounter an opportunity like the one he had.
After all, something completely unfamiliar, unlike anything in the Magic Tower, could emerge.
Usually, it’s best to avoid such terrain.
The old adage of tower climbing: the greedy ones die first.
Park Suho surely knew this.
It’s just that, as an A-rank player, his overconfidence made him unaware of his limits.
“Still, he’s family, isn’t he? If I can save him, I have to try.”
After all, if my cousin could have done it, he would have.
The moment he stepped through the portal, he saw a massive dragon’s maw.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a dragon but a giant Balrog.
The key difference was that it walked on two legs.
“ROOOOARRR!”
A protective barrier activated as Choi Junseok was pushed back with a WHOOSH.
Just its roar is enough to trigger the protective barrier?
Before he could even use Appraisal, a warning window appeared beside him.
<Warning!>
Attempting to detect a target with a significant level gap may result in death.
“Suho hyung!”
His right arm was severed.
His shield was long since crumpled.
He was sprawled on the ground, unclear if he was dead or alive.
It seemed he realized he was no match for it and tried to use a scroll, but his arm was cut off, stopping him, and he collapsed from the shock.
As the Balrog’s flaming sword swung toward Choi Junseok,
BOOM!
The holy sword Choi Junseok had summoned earlier pierced through the Balrog’s head and slammed into the ground.
“Skewer that Balrog, you bastard!”
The sword, driven vertically, pierced through the creature’s lower jaw and embedded into the floor.
Losing its balance in an instant, the Balrog began to collapse forward.
It was the first enemy that didn’t die from a single strike of the holy sword.
Though it was in a near-death state.
The holy sword had pierced straight through from its head to the upper spine.
However, the Balrog’s tough, durable skin and flesh didn’t burst apart from the sword’s impact.
As the unconscious creature fell forward, its massive flaming sword swept toward Choi Junseok like it would scrape the ground.
WHOOSH! The flaming greatsword drew closer.
At that moment, two beams of light shot down in front of Choi Junseok, summoning Song Hana and Lee Nayeon.
Song Hana spread her hands, focusing mana to create a barrier in front of them.
Lee Nayeon drew her sword toward the approaching Balrog’s blade.
KABOOM!
As the two swords and the barrier clashed, flames surged.
That was the creature’s final struggle.
DING!
[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared the hidden stage.]
[The additional effect of Fairy’s Harvest Dragon has been activated.]
[You have acquired a massive amount of experience points.]
[You have reached the maximum experience points obtainable in a single instance!]
A notification appeared as Choi Junseok was pushed back by the impact.
From his pushed-back position, Choi Junseok checked on Park Suho.
He wasn’t dead.
As Choi Junseok prepared to use a Perfect Healing Potion,
Song Hana hurriedly ran over and asked, “Hoi! Should I heal him?!”
“You can heal too?”
“Of course!”
“Please do it right away. And can I ask for one more thing?”
[You will be automatically returned in 10 minutes. Would you like to return now? (Y/N)]
Everything Choi Junseok asked of Song Hana was done.
Reattaching the severed arm, restoring vitality, and even manipulating memories.
Lee Nayeon, watching in awe and feeling a bit of joy, also felt a strange sense of unease deep down.
It was the thought of wanting to be as helpful in conquering the tower as Song Hana.
And then, Lee Nayeon recalled the conversation she had with Lee Jiyu during the roughly two hours while Choi Junseok and Park Suho were in the tower.
About two hours ago.
“Hoeeng… He’s coming back late today.”
Lee Nayeon nodded while wrestling with Kamdori over a dog chew.
“Seems like it. Since he’s not climbing alone, he’s probably slowing down for appearances.”
“Kyarr…”
As Lee Nayeon held the chew and shook it side to side, refusing to let go, Kamdori flapped its tiny wings, trying to pull back.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
“It’s Player Lee Jiyu.”
“Eek! What do we do?”
“He’s not someone who would just leave if told to.”
“Are you saying he’s here to kill us?!”
“No.”
Standing at the door, Lee Nayeon asked, “Is Junseok inside?”
Lee Nayeon answered Lee Jiyu’s calm question.
“What’s the purpose of your visit? Junseok is currently out.”
“Oh, is he? Perfect. I came to talk to you, Nayeon, not Junseok.”
“…You want to talk to me?”
“Yes. Could you open the door?”
“I refuse.”
“Don’t be so cold. Isn’t this better than me going to the house across the street where your mother lives?”
Lee Nayeon lightly bit her lip.
As expected of an S-rank player, she knew how to mix threats with negotiation.
She knows how to negotiate.
Lee Jiyu, aware of the protective device on the doorknob, didn’t touch it carelessly.
Considering Choi Junseok’s reaction, Lee Nayeon quietly opened the door.
“Come in.”
“Great.”
As she casually walked in and took off her shoes, she froze.
“Oh my…! What’s that adorable creature?”
Kamdori, rolling on the floor in a tussle with the dog chew, tilted its head at Lee Jiyu.
“Junseok wants to operate freely, away from the top five guilds or government affiliations, right?”
Lee Nayeon hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Choi Junseok was, nominally, her lord due to their summoner relationship, so wishing for his happiness and honor was tied to her own.
“That’s right.”
“Then this is perfect!”
She handed Lee Nayeon a document envelope.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the model contract we talked about last time.”
Lee Nayeon furrowed her brow, as if questioning how this would help her or Choi Junseok.
“I know what a model is from watching TV. It’s someone who promotes or advertises products. But how does this help Junseok-nim’s activities?”
“Oh my… Why is someone so smart acting like this? Think about it carefully. Isn’t Choi Junseok aiming to make a grand debut in the player society, like, ‘Ta-da! I was the key figure!’? It’s probably about time for him to dominate the mid-level floors alone.”
Song Hana, holding a blanket and Kamdori from a distance, focused on their conversation with a hint of fear.
Lee Nayeon nodded in a formal posture.
“Then, Choi Junseok’s dazzling debut is probably less than a month away. It seems the government is even supporting his entry tickets, letting him climb two floors a day.”
Lee Nayeon didn’t mention that the two-floor climb was due to an item, just nodding.
“Then, when Junseok goes, ‘Ta-da! I was the key figure!’ wouldn’t it shine brighter if he had supporters around him?”
Lee Jiyu continued her explanation.
“And when that time comes, even if the government doesn’t assign escorts or security, you’d need a significant amount of money to afford a house with equivalent protection. To do that… you’d need financial leeway.”
“I hate to say it myself, but a modeling job for a brand like Super Sonic would bring in a ton of money. In the short term, you might even earn more than Junseok.”
“And if Nayeon starts becoming famous…”
“How big is it?”
“Well, there’s some wishful thinking involved, but there’s been a lot of talk about who would become the face of the brand after me, the main model for Super Sonic.”
That was true.
Super Sonic’s popularity was boosted by an S-rank player, the Supersonic Bunny, modeling herself.
With her stunning looks, great figure, and self-made success as an S-rank player, she attracted not only male fans but also female ones, solidly supporting her brand.
While other S-rank female celebrities with healthy and athletic appeal were mentioned as the next Super Sonic model, the consensus was that they couldn’t match her image.
“Of course, there’ll be some backlash at first. But… in my opinion, you’re not just talk—you’re already visually complete.”
It wasn’t just flattery.
It wasn’t just because of her connection to Choi Junseok.
She was breathtakingly beautiful and exuded elegance.
If her own image was based on fresh charm, healthy appeal, and a physique that excited men,
Lee Nayeon had all that plus a Western sophistication and a touch of mystery, giving her a refined, high-class aura.
“I’m a player, but before that, I was a businesswoman. In this regard, I don’t let personal feelings interfere. I don’t bet on something that doesn’t seem promising.”
She pulled out a paper from the envelope and showed it to her.
It was a real contract, clearly outlining the model advertisement shoot, the draft ad image, and the duration of its use.
She was the one who could turn around the brand’s declining value.
In Lee Jiyu’s eyes, that was Lee Nayeon.
“What do you think? Think it over.”
At that moment, Lee Nayeon and Song Hana scattered into fragments of light.
Lee Jiyu immediately realized what it meant.
“What… so ‘out’ meant he was climbing?”
***
Park Suho opened his eyes in reality.
It was an underground parking lot.
Park Suho opened his eyes in reality.
An unpleasant, stinging sensation flashed through his mind, making him stagger.
His cousin supported him from the side.
“Phew, hyung. The gear’s heavy, huh?”
“Uh… the shield’s all crumpled?”
Why? There’s no reason the shield would get crumpled on the 11th floor.
Confused, he soon recalled.
“Damn… I used my charge skill on the shield when I fell.”
Choi Junseok thought, What, how was that manipulated? but he silently nodded.
In any case, Park Suho laughed it off as his own mistake, taking off his gear.
“By the way, you need a lot more practice. Your skills are still weak for an A-rank. But! Not bad. You’ve been steadily leveling up. You should be fine up to the 14th floor.”
“Yeah, I learned a lot thanks to you today.”
“Yep. Good work. I’ll head out first. Looks like I need more practice to join the top five guilds.”
Choi Junseok smirked inwardly and saw him off.
As Park Suho drove away,
Choi Junseok noticed a pink sports car parked in the corner.
Sure enough.
A slender beauty wearing a hat and mask, Lee Jiyu, casually waved at Choi Junseok near the underground parking lot’s elevator.
“Why are you here again?”
“It’s real business this time. I’m not here for you, so don’t get too full of yourself—that’s a disease.”
“If we’re done, I’ve got places to be.”
The forge of Hephaestus. He had an item worth showing him.
It was a drop item called the Balrog’s Flaming Sword, a never-before-seen “miscellaneous material,” stored in Kamdori’s body.
“I was going there anyway~ Well then, talk to Nayeon about it.”
“Nayeon?”
She smiled playfully, spinning past Choi Junseok.
“We’ll be seeing each other often now. Take care~”
Beep, the car door opened upward, and she boldly drove out of the parking lot.