Shin Jungho studied Yoon Changdae’s expression.

It was the very picture of conviction, without a trace of playfulness.

Why on earth had his conclusion taken such a sharp turn?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

But though he had only observed the man for a short time.

Yoon Changdae didn’t seem like the type to spout baseless lies.

If anything, beneath that brazen exterior.

He seemed like the kind who constantly ran meticulous calculations in his head, probing his opponent’s reactions like a fox.

Which made it all the more difficult to answer carelessly.

The moment a person lies.

They avert their eyes, make unnecessary gestures, their tone shifts, they adopt defensive postures—a whole array of signals fires off.

And this hulking man named Yoon Changdae.

Jungho had a gut feeling that Changdae was watching for exactly those reactions.

But a question had been posed, and an answer was expected.

For now, he decided to gauge the other man’s intentions with the safest possible response.

“……Excuse me?”

Neither affirmation nor denial—a question.

He played as though he didn’t even understand the intent behind the question.

And that happened to be the right call.

Answering “yes” or “no” to such an out-of-nowhere question would have meant walking right into the other man’s trap.

Perhaps because it was the right answer.

Yoon Changdae tilted his head and asked again.

“You…… must be an Awakener, right?”

The questioning assault resumed.

Playing dumb a second time was no longer an option.

But if he were alone here, it might be a different story.

He still had one more card up his sleeve.

Instead of answering, Shin Jungho looked at Park Soyul with an expression of pure bewilderment.

His face might as well have had the words “Why is this man acting like this?” plastered across it in bold letters.

The truth was, Park Soyul was the wildcard here.

It would be fortunate if she played along as intended.

But her mischievous streak could just as easily kick in, and she might throw an equally awkward question his way.

Was this the right call?

Park Soyul’s lips curved upward in an enigmatic smile.

Deureureuk.

She rose from her seat, approached Shin Jungho, and let the words fall one by one.

“So…… is our Jungho…… an Awakener?”

Park Soyul leaned in, her face inches from his.

His stomach dropped inwardly.

But he kept it from showing as best he could.

He had been startled when Park Soyul unleashed lightning at Yoon Changdae, sure.

But honestly, that wasn’t nearly enough to make a dent in his fortified composure.

After witnessing that colossal meteor show a few times.

Even a sparrow’s tiny liver would harden into something worthy of a dragon’s.

Two superhumans.

And not just any two—the 2nd and 3rd ranked Rankers of Seoul Tower—had their burning gazes fixed on him.

Shin Jungho realized there was no escaping this.

Still, he had rehearsed this exact scenario countless times in front of a mirror.

Whether it would work on two Rankers was anyone’s guess, but stalling any longer would only breed suspicion.

Just as Shin Jungho was about to answer—

“……You thought I’d say that!”

Ppu-eok!

“Ku-eok!”

Kudangtangtang!

Caught off guard by Park Soyul’s devastating kick, Yoon Changdae toppled over his chair and tumbled across the floor.

“You crazy bitch! You stabbed me with your heel?”

As Yoon Changdae steadied himself and lunged at her, Park Soyul immediately unleashed a barrage of strikes.

Ppajijijik!

“Kut!”

Yoon Changdae swiftly activated his evasion skill, barely dodging the lightning.

Retreating toward the entrance, Yoon Changdae growled.

“Are you seriously trying to do this here?!”

Park Soyul beamed and let slip just one word.

“Yeah.”

A chill crawled up the back of Yoon Changdae’s neck.

That crazy bitch…… was actually going to do it……!

And if the two of them clashed here.

He would be at the disadvantage.

An assassin’s true worth could only shine when he erased his presence.

Having reached his conclusion, Yoon Changdae raised both hands in surrender and laughed in defeat.

Park Soyul flicked her chin slightly, pointing toward the door.

“Phew…… fine, fine. I’ll go, alright? But seriously, the coffee was abnormally good! Did you awaken and get a universal skill like hand drip or something?”

……So the reason he had pegged him as an Awakener was the taste of the coffee.

Shin Jungho listened to Yoon Changdae’s answer and gazed at the hulking man with a mixture of exasperation and pity.

Seeing Shin Jungho’s reaction, Yoon Changdae realized he had definitely picked the wrong person.

“Hm? He wasn’t? That definitely wasn’t coffee an ordinary person could brew, right? Am I wrong?”

Park Soyul reached her hand out instead of answering.

“Alright, alright! Sheesh, you and your temper, I swear!”

Yoon Changdae opened the door and slipped outside.

After the storm had passed.

Park Soyul wore a sympathetic expression and asked.

“Our Jungho, you must have been pretty startled, right?”

Shin Jungho placed his hand over his heart as before, checking his pulse and the intensity of his heartbeat, before answering.

“I don’t think I was that startled.”

Park Soyul, who had been grinning, widened her eyes as though she’d heard an unexpected answer.

“Oh my, why not?”

“Because you were right beside me, boss.”

The implication being: even if she attacked, she would go after the other person, not him.

And if interpreted another way.

It meant that Shin Jungho trusted Park Soyul that much.

Park Soyul’s face bloomed with a full smile as she savored the ticklish warmth welling up inside her.

This man, Shin Jungho.

Was he doing this on purpose, or what?

Soon, her mischievous streak kicking in, Park Soyul gently brushed her hand down Shin Jungho’s chest.

Then she whispered in his ear with a honeyed voice.

“Hehe. I didn’t know you thought of me that way, Jungho. Shall we have a…… deeper conversation somewhere quiet in the back? The storage room, perhaps?”

Shin Jungho spoke with a stiffly frozen face.

“Boss.”

His uncharacteristically awkward stiffness gave her a strange sense of accomplishment.

Park Soyul replied with a nasal, coquettish tone.

“Yees?”

Shin Jungho suddenly took a step back.

And looking Park Soyul straight in the eye, he said.

“Please stop sexually harassing me. That’s two strikes.”

Park Soyul went blank for a moment.

Then she burst into her usual hearty laughter.

“What? If it’s three strikes, are you going to report me?”

“No. I would just quit. How could I report you, boss.”

Park Soyul’s heart plummeted.

Quit……?

Here?

“Are you…… serious?”

“They say if the monk dislikes the temple, the monk should leave. If I’ve told you and nothing changes, then it’s only right that I go.”

Shin Jungho was dead serious.

And if Park Soyul crossed the line with physical contact one more time and got caught, that would be even better.

It would give him ample justification to quit.

And Park Soyul could clearly sense the sincerity behind his words.

“Ah, n-no, it was just a joke, a joke! Why do you get so serious over something like that, Jungho? Other men would take it as a reward!”

Shin Jungho dismantled her arguments one by one with cold logic.

“Bullies always claim it was just a joke, without any consideration for the victim’s feelings. And I wasn’t putting on a serious face—I was simply stating my honest position, as I always have. Lastly, lumping me into the same category as the other men you know is a fallacy of hasty generalization.”

For all that Park Soyul always lived life on her own terms.

In front of Shin Jungho, she had no choice but to yield a move, like a tiger caught by the scruff of the neck.

“Uh…… I was wrong. Would it be enough if I got on my knees and apologized?”

“Yes, I’ll accept your apology. But I really don’t appreciate that type of joke.”

Shin Jungho was so airtight you couldn’t find a gap for a single grain of sand to slip through.

“Yes, yes! I give up, I give! Look, I won’t touch you either, so please don’t ever say you’re quitting again. Got it?”

When Park Soyul asked with pleading eyes, Shin Jungho finally relaxed his stiff expression and answered.

“……As long as nothing else comes up, I’ll stay for at least eleven more months.”

“You really won’t yield an inch! I’m not the type who loses to anyone, but I’m only losing to you, Jungho…… you know that, right?”

At her expression demanding a definitive answer, Shin Jungho let out a light sigh and nodded.

“Yes, I know.”

Only then did Park Soyul’s racing heart settle.

And she was slightly surprised.

Ha! The great Electric Empress Park Soyul, hung up on a single man?

Countless men from the highest echelons of society had once lined up for a single date with her.

The reason that was all in the past was because.

Every time they met, she displayed her “elegant” (?) personality in full, and now no one dared to even dream of trying anymore.

A goddess who could be called every man’s ideal.

Being pushed around by a mere cafe part-timer!

And Park Soyul found that situation so……

Thrilling!

Yes, life really needed this kind of unexpected flavor!

“……Puhut! This is exactly why I can’t let you go, Jungho. I’ll be more careful from now on, so you be careful too.”

“Careful about what, exactly?”

“So that you don’t give off so many attractive pheromones that I lose my mind and pounce on you?”

After pondering for a moment, Shin Jungho offered an alternative.

“Should I just not wash for the five days I work?”

“Don’t take that part seriously either!”

Park Soyul had no choice but to throw in both hands and both feet.

……While chuckling to herself on the inside.

* * *

Every media outlet scrambled to cover Swordmaster Kim Taemin’s 62nd floor attempt.

“How is your condition today!”

“Could you tell us your estimated clear time for the 62nd floor!”

“What special preparations have you made for the Electric Cobra!”

“Please say a few words for the citizens cheering you on nationwide!”

Kim Taemin fielded the questions with measured grace before delivering his parting remarks.

“I, Swordmaster Kim Taemin, shall perfectly complete the 62nd floor of Seoul Tower and return safely, for the safety of Seoul and the peace of the Republic of Korea.”

Amid the cheers of a massive crowd, Kim Taemin moved to the designated spot.

Then, drawing his sword with the most magnificent form he had ever displayed, he vanished without a trace.

A day when the top floor of the Tower was being challenged was bound to command the attention of the entire nation.

So it was only natural that the Chat Room was ablaze with talk of Kim Taemin.

└ Soma, charging in! Go get ’em, Soma! The future of Korea rests on you!

└ That’s over the top lol He’s already fully prepared and gone lol

└ And even without Soma, there’s the Electric Empress, and he could get help from mercenaries too

└ Nah nah, the moment he gets mercenary help, it’s over. Seoul’s resident taxes would jump 100x from what they are now?

└ Right. There’s precedent for that.

└ Sigh. Is there really no superhuman who can catch up to Soma?

└ Yeah, why don’t you try high-speed climbing with your life on the line

From the 10th floor onward, abandoning first-clear attempts was the safer bet for survival.

Too many people had died pushing for first clears.

Besides, there were no special bonuses for first clears, so there was no reason to risk it.

So whenever superhumans challenged a new floor, there was one thing they always prepared.

Not how to defeat the new monsters.

But how to survive them.

Return Tickets were rare items, so most people focused their survival strategy on simply enduring until the time limit expired.

As the Tower’s floors rose higher, the difficulty increased proportionally.

The higher the floor, the more attempts were needed.

So recklessly climbing toward the top floor was, quite literally, throwing your life away.

└ Looking at it that way, the Three Emperors really are crazy, huh? Breaking through the 50th floors one by one in less than a week lol

└ And that’s why Seoul Tower is in this state tsk tsk Wouldn’t it have been better to climb leisurely like the Shanghai Tower?

└ Yeah, China is beneath our feet. Japan will be crushed soon too lol

└ tsk tsk tsk Ugh, clearing the top floor early doesn’t do any good anyway!

└ But I’m more curious about Mirinae’s 11th floor clear than Kim Taemin’s. Can he 5-second clear the 11th floor too?

└ Divine Explosion doesn’t work on the Minotaur lol

└ Nah nah, you never know. If he grinds the 10th floor and gets another OP skill, even a 1-second clear is possible

└ Keep writing fiction lol

Time passed.

As the four-hour mark that Kim Taemin had hinted to the press drew near.

Seupat!

Kim Taemin materialized, covered in black soot and bearing sizable wounds.

Had he succeeded in clearing the 62nd floor?

The answer came immediately through an announcement.

[Announcement: Swordmaster has cleared the 62nd floor of Tower 25 in the shortest time on record.]

Since it was the first clear anyway, it was naturally the shortest time as well.

But what was the clear time?

3 hours, 58 minutes, 42 seconds.

A staggering 30 minutes faster than the world record.

Amid a barrage of camera flashes, Kim Taemin, dripping blood, strained to hoist his sword high.

It was as if.

He was the very image of a noble hero returning victorious after a grueling battle.

The entire nation watched the majestic scene unfold via live broadcast.

And erupted in passionate cheers for him.