Antique wallpaper, a sofa, and a bed.

This was Room 1301—the Hope Repository where Ha Gangwoo’s younger sister lay sleeping.

True to the ten million won a month price tag, the facility was top-tier.

Ha Gangwoo stood at the center of the room, facing forward.

Through the transparent glass, a woman in white clothes—his younger sister, Ha Jiyeon.

Ha Gangwoo wore a bitter expression as he gazed at her face.

Her complexion was better than when she’d been hospitalized.

All thanks to the Artifact’s power.

Before his Awakening, he’d been too out of it to notice—but whoever developed this thing was ruthless.

‘She looks like she could open her eyes any second.’

Like she might sit up right now and speak to him warmly. Who could possibly give up hope looking at this?

Ha Gangwoo closed his eyes and felt for his dead sister’s energy.

‘….’

As expected—her heart wasn’t beating.

There wasn’t even that faint life-force an ordinary person carried.

The Artifact only preserved the dead body in peak condition. It had no function to revive.

Ha Gangwoo slowly opened his eyes—and a gleam lit them.

‘Now I start searching.’

From this moment on, he would search.

‘Jiyeon, wait for me.’

Leaving those words behind, Ha Gangwoo stepped out.

He slowly opened the door and looked ahead—a woman was standing right in front of him.

“Ah~! You scared me.”

The woman, holding a single sheet of A4 paper, made a fuss.

When Ha Gangwoo stared at her blankly, she handed him the A4 paper and spoke.

“I’m really sorry about earlier. I misunderstood for no reason… Could you maybe give me an autograph?”

The woman was Kim Hyojoo, who worked the front desk.

Ha Gangwoo scratched his cheek as he looked at the A4 paper she’d handed him.

‘I don’t even do autographs…’

The moment his face had appeared on TV, everything had moved like clockwork.

He’d never imagined his story would air. He’d left right after reporting to the Association—he never thought they’d gotten footage.

Ha Gangwoo frowned.

‘At least I had the mask on.’

Luckily, thanks to the Madness of Temperance, his lower face was covered.

Yet the woman across from him recognized him at a glance.

‘So hiding it was pointless after all…’

Not that he’d planned to hide it anyway. A few annoyances might come of it—he’d just have to watch for those.

Having finished his thought, Ha Gangwoo handed the A4 sheet back to Kim Hyojoo.

“Nothing needs signing. I’ll be going, then.”

As Gangwoo moved to leave, Kim Hyojoo called him back.

“Ah—! Just a moment… well then…”

A faint blush crept across Kim Hyojoo’s face as she trailed off.

“How about a phone number…”

“Huh?”

At first, a phone number? flashed through his mind, but understanding came quickly.

Come to think of it, hadn’t he tossed his phone away?

From the Hope Repository’s perspective, there’d been no way to contact him. And there would likely be matters of facility management ahead.

“I lost my phone. Once I get a new one, I’ll let you know right away.”

“Wow—! You promise?! Got it! I’ll be waiting!”

Kim Hyojoo clenched her fist with an excited voice, and Ha Gangwoo nodded.

‘So that’s why contacting me was so inconvenient. She’s that happy about it. Guess I’d better buy a phone first.’

Recalling the blunders he’d made, he turned to leave.

“I’ll be off, then.”

“Yes—!”

Kim Hyojoo saw him off with a flushed expression.

‘Eep—! He said he’ll tell me right away. Maybe he’s interested? Finally, I might get to be with a Player…’

Lost in happy fantasies, Kim Hyojoo watched Gangwoo’s retreating back.

***

Settling on a bench outside the hospital, Ha Gangwoo popped the candy Jo Seunghyun had given him into his mouth. The sweet grape flavor flooded his mouth.

Rolling the candy against his cheek, Gangwoo glanced at his Inventory.

[Gold Held: 48,525,310 Gold]

He had 48 million Gold remaining, having spent roughly 9.6 million on the Hope Repository’s maintenance fee.

‘So Gold can be used like cash too.’

That was new. Turns out, Gold worked just like currency.

That explained why he’d paid for a year’s upkeep in advance.

Pressing his back against the bench, Gangwoo looked up at the sky.

The blue sky and warm sunlight streamed through the clouds. The crisp breeze lifted his spirits, but his mind churned with complexity.

‘What to tackle first.’

With so much to do, he needed to sort priorities.

First, the urgent fire: his sister’s maintenance fee was handled.

Next, the thorny issues with Kim Ducheol and Choi Jangbok were resolved.

What remained was—

‘Growing stronger.’

Originally, finding a clue to a Resurrection skill would’ve been his priority, but now his face was fully exposed.

That made building power all the more urgent.

There was a lesson he’d learned in the Tower of Tutorial.

As you grow, everything else follows naturally.

Money, people, status—all of it.

So his plan was to prioritize growth while keeping an eye out for a Resurrection skill.

Ha Gangwoo rolled the candy around his mouth and adjusted his posture on the bench.

‘First, let me check the Quest.’

Quests were the fastest path to growth.

Ha Gangwoo opened the Quest window without delay.

Ding-

[Quest]

-[Start of the Story][Main]

Just as expected, a new Quest had been updated.

[Start of the Story][Main]

Description: The beginning of every story; set out to find the Scenario.

Reward: ???

(Pathfinding)

‘Scenario, huh…’

If the fragments of memory he’d dredged up held true, there were three Scenarios in total.

Among them, the last one—’Scenario 3’—was still mid-clearing, he’d heard.

Ha Gangwoo turned his head and gazed toward it.

Two pillars of light stabbed into the sky. Far beyond the Tower of Tutorial, another fierce column of light stood.

‘That’s where Scenario 1 is.’

For rapid growth, heading there seemed like the obvious choice.

‘Destination’s set. What about items?’

He had found a place to grow.

Now it was time to check his equipment.

Ha Gangwoo propped his chin on his hand and looked over his gear.

[Weapon]

-Decay Gloves-[Grade: E]

-Celeritra-[Grade: D]

-Steel Sword-[Grade: E]

[Armor]

-Chainmail Top-[Grade: E]

-Red Steel Top-[Grade: E]

-Red Steel Bottom-[Grade: E]

-Red Steel Boots-[Grade: E]

-Madness of Temperance-[Grade: A]

[Accessories]

-Lucifel’s Ring-[Grade: ???]

-Reins’ Armlet-[Grade: D]

-RuneTail’s Necklace-[Grade: D]

‘Hmm… Not bad.’

Back in the Tower, these items had looked incredible. Now that he was outside, they seemed a little underwhelming.

Most were D-Grade or lower. Even the ‘Madness of Temperance’, with its decent Grade, was a time-limited item—and it had already lost its luster.

‘Short on Gold, huh.’

Forty million Gold. He’d thought it was a huge fortune. But it wasn’t even enough to buy a single decent weapon.

‘Let me just make do with these for now.’

Buying items to boost his power didn’t seem feasible.

‘Or else…’

[DLC-Shop]

–

DLC-Book of Job Change: Blood Devil – 100,000,000 Gold

–

(Refresh)

‘Buy this and sell it?’

Right now, there were three main ways to get money.

1. Join a guild and collect a signing bonus.

2. Save up 100 million Gold and sell the Book of Job Change.

3. Hit Refresh and sell whatever DLC pops up.

Ha Gangwoo rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

No matter how he looked at it, there was only one answer.

‘Joining a guild is the cleanest option.’

Selling DLC products just didn’t sit right with him.

If the existence of the DLC got out, people would inevitably come gunning for him.

If he had the strength to defend it, selling off unnecessary DLC would be fine. But he didn’t.

‘Let’s join a guild.’

Ha Gangwoo chose Option 1. And Antero’s words aligned with that choice.

‘The Golden Ring.’

Antero had said it the moment he cut Ha Gangwoo’s neck.

[You’re truly remarkable. I’ll give you a gift.]

And the answer was that—the ‘Golden Ring.’

The meaning of the gift was singular.

—Is there a skill that can bring the dead back to life?

He’d given a hint toward the question he’d once asked.

‘Then…’

Antero’s answer, the Golden Ring. The moment he heard it, one person sprang to mind.

‘Chae Seohyun.’

The Angel Ring floating above her head—aside from that, nothing else clicked.

‘Find Chae Seohyun.’

Having made his decision, Ha Gangwoo immediately set off.

***

The Player Association.

As befitted a building of its size, plenty of people were using it. The busiest-looking spot was the Player Management Department.

A man in sunglasses wrinkled his brow and spoke.

“An L-Grade player—let’s look up his personal info. Give me his phone number.”

The employee, wearing a thoroughly exhausted expression, answered with a practiced business smile.

“I can’t disclose that per regulations.”

“Ah~! Seriously, you’re being so rigid. Isn’t this just the Association’s scheme to approach him first?”

The man throwing a tantrum was a Scouter. He seemed to want Ha Gangwoo L-Grade player’s phone number.

But from the employee’s standpoint, she couldn’t give it out.

They’d already sent away some thirty similar Scouters.

The employee was past tired and teetering on anger. Still, she swallowed her fury and pressed on.

“I’m sorry. If you cause any more trouble, I’ll call security.”

“Ah, seriously~! What a pile of crap.”

The Scouter grumbled and turned away at the employee’s firm handling.

The woman handling complaints, Han Seonghwa, clenched both fists.

“Ah~! How many times is that just today? I want to know the L-Grade player’s phone number too!”

Han Seonghwa, holding in her anger, finally burst out. At that, the colleague at the next desk patted her back in consolation.

“This isn’t the first or second time—just ignore it. But seriously, is he really L-Grade? You didn’t misrecord it, did you?”

The colleague doubted Ha Gangwoo’s L-Grade status. But that couldn’t be.

Just a ‘Player Search’ in the System showed the name Ha Gangwoo with his grade standing clear as day.

“Ah~ no way. Even the Team Leader made us promise to contact him if Player Ha Gangwoo ever shows up here. Why would they do that for nothing?”

An L-Grade player. That had been considered the exclusive grade of Rank 1 Cha Yuseong.

Yet here was a player who’d been graded L from the Tutorial stage—a spec anyone would covet.

Han Seonghwa, seeming a bit relieved, wiped her forehead and spoke in a low voice.

“I am curious about the L-Grade player. He was wearing a mask in the video, so I couldn’t see his face well.”

“From what I saw, he looked pretty ordinary. If you’re curious, take the complaints desk again next week.”

“No way~!”

While the employees bickered, a man approached Han Seonghwa’s desk.

Han Seonghwa steadied her breath, then stretched on a bright customer-service smile and opened her mouth.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

The man kept his face blank and said,

“I’m looking for a Player.”

The moment she heard that, a vein throbbed on Han Seonghwa’s forehead.

‘Can’t you sons of bitches take a hint and stop coming?’

She’d been hounded by Scouters until she was fit to burst.

She already knew what the man in front of her was about to ask.

Seonghwa couldn’t swallow the anger she’d been holding in so well. She blurted out first.

“I can’t give out Player information—it’s against regulations. And we don’t even have the phone number for L-Grade Player Ha Gangwoo here. So I think you can stop coming around.”

She was furious, but she had to show up for work tomorrow, so she answered as politely as she could.

The man in front of her rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

‘I spelled it out that clearly, and he doesn’t get it?!’

In that instant, Seonghwa’s reason snapped, and she was about to call security—

—when the man said quietly,

“Who’s been going around asking for my phone number?”

“Yes~! Just now some weird-looking Scouter was asking for your number— … Wait. Yes?”

In that moment, Seonghwa chewed over what the man had just said.

‘My phone number? That… come to think of it, he does kind of look like the guy in the video…’

Seonghwa, daring to hope, asked quietly,

“You-… you wouldn’t happen to be Player Ha Gangwoo, would you?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Ah-… No, ma’am! Oh my god. One moment.”

In that instant, Seonghwa grabbed her trembling hands and sank into thought.

‘What the hell? Is this real? Oh my god! Do I report to the Team Leader first?’

Feeling guilty for no good reason, she glanced around. She had the illusion that everyone nearby was sneaking peeks at her.

‘O-okay… let’s just play it cool!’

Having made her decision, Seonghwa gave an awkward smile and opened her mouth.

“What did you say you came here for?”

The employee clattered her keyboard and spoke to Ha Gangwoo.

“-Oh… oh my god~! The person in front of me right now is Player Ha Gangwoo!!! Get the Team Leader to contact me~!”

She’d sent a message to the colleague right beside her.

The colleague who saw the message flinched, then turned her head and blatantly stared at Ha Gangwoo.

‘Oh my god~! Oh my god~!’

Her face lit up as if she’d just seen a celebrity, and she contacted the Team Leader.

Ha Gangwoo felt every single gaze, but asked again easily,

“I’m looking for a Player.”

“Yes? Yes! Who are you looking for?”

Ordinarily it was something she couldn’t disclose by regulation, but the employee wasn’t in her right mind.

“Player Chae Seohyun. Could you tell me which guild she belongs to?”

“Ah~! One moment.”

Han Seonghwa toyed with her keyboard, thinking. Her head was a total mess.

‘If I play this right, it’s a guaranteed reward vacation! I’ve got to stall as long as possible.’

It’s just an affiliation, not a phone number. Telling me wouldn’t hurt, right?—the thought crossed her mind as Han Seonghwa finished her search and spoke.

“Player Chae Seohyun. You’re with the Association. Great~ If you have time, how about a coffee… huh?”

Mid-sentence, Seonghwa rubbed her eyes.

The man who’d been standing right in front of her had vanished, just like that.

“What… what the… where’d he go?!?”

While Seonghwa stood there bewildered,

the department head came sprinting over to the desk, breathless.

“Hah… hah… Player Ha Gangwoo?”

Seonghwa wiped her forehead and spoke in a low voice.

“Well… he… he just disappeared suddenly.”

“What… what?!?!”

Meanwhile, outside the Association building.

[MP insufficient.]

Ha Gangwoo’s body materialized with a soft shimmer.

‘I’ll need to buy some Mana items.’

He smacked his lips and started walking.

‘So she’s with the Association.’

He’d gotten the intel he wanted, more or less.

Now, only the choice remained.

‘Now what do I do.’

Ha Gangwoo sorted through his thoughts as he moved.