After Yoon Changdae disappeared.

Maya held out two slips of paper.

“Please accept these, Your Highness.”

Two One-Time Skill Enhancement Tickets.

Items the assassin had been carrying.

They weren’t exactly incredible items, but…

Seeing such a tidy little reward drop, maybe that whole ordeal wasn’t such a terrible event after all…?

Even if temporarily enhancing a single skill for a single use was all they did.

These items had another use, too.

= Name: Shin Jungho

= Affiliation: Tower 25

= Level: 3

= Challenge Floor: 30

= Exclusive Skill: Meteor Summoning (2x/day), Quest Insight

= Universal Skill: Tower Entry (1x/day), Tower 25 Community Forum Access, Summoner’s Complete Healing (1x/day), Dimensional Room

Namely, checking the enhancement potential of the skills he already possessed.

He had planned to look into it once he acquired a proper Skill Enhancement Ticket, but since he had them on hand, why not check now?

[Would you like to enhance the Meteor Summoning skill?]

Oh.

He could enhance Meteor Summoning even further?

But…

He hadn’t even used the medium-sized meteors of Megastrum yet, let alone the large ones. If he enhanced it further here…

Well, it was a one-time use anyway, so he’d find out later when he tested it out.

Alright, next!

[Would you like to enhance the Quest Insight skill?]

This one works too?

What would happen if he enhanced it in its current state?

Would the map display in 3D?

[Would you like to enhance the Summoner’s Complete Healing skill?]

Right, well, this one.

It would probably increase the daily limit from once to twice.

[Would you like to enhance the Dimensional Room skill?]

…Wait, everything could be enhanced?

He couldn’t even fathom what enhancing this one would do.

Anyway, he’d think about what to test out later when he obtained a permanent Skill Enhancement Ticket.

He’d wrap things up here for today.

He needed to soothe his startled heart from the Russian assassin encounter with these One-Time Skill Enhancement Tickets.

A sudden thought struck Shin Jungho, and he asked Maya.

“Ah, what kind of binding spell did you cast on Mr. Changdae?”

“It is a tracking magic called the Mark of Wind. Should that slave take any insubordinate actions, I shall drag him back here.”

And then you’ll shove him into the Dimensional Room?

…Mr. Changdae.

Please don’t harbor any ill intentions!

I’m saying this for your own good!

* * *

Late at night.

The Commissioner’s Office of the Superhuman Management Agency.

Due to a recent explosion of paperwork, Commissioner Jung Woojin and Vice Commissioner Han Donggeon had been pulling all-nighters for days on end.

Taking advantage of a brief respite, Jung Woojin browsed through online news articles.

“Swordmaster Kim Taemin: Has He Ever Truly Drawn His Sword for the Citizenry? Kihaha! What a brilliantly crafted headline!”

No matter how grueling the overtime was, seeing headlines like this made his energy surge as if he had downed a stimulant tonic.

In contrast, Han Donggeon felt like he was turning into a zombie with each passing day.

“Commissioner… we need more personnel…”

“Personnel transfers have been issued, so just endure it a little longer, alright? You’ve always been good at enduring, haven’t you?”

At Jung Woojin’s joke, Han Donggeon abruptly held out his hand.

“Commissioner… could you lend me a pen?”

“Hm? Why do you need a pen?”

“I was thinking of drafting my resignation letter right here and submitting it immediately.”

Jung Woojin hastily tucked the pen he was about to pull out back into his pocket.

“Ahem, no matter how tough things get, you shouldn’t be making jokes like that!”

“…Did you think I was joking?”

Jung Woojin couldn’t bring himself to meet Han Donggeon’s hollow, sunken eyes.

Right on cue, a reinforcement arrived.

It was Lee Seoah, who was still lingering on the 50th floor.

Her daily routine consisted of honing herself in the training room late into the night.

“Commissioner, what about my weapon?”

If only he could quickly procure a custom weapon for someone as hardworking as Lee Seoah!

Jung Woojin replied with an awkward smile.

“That situation has become a bit complicated.”

Originally, he had planned to look into both purchasing and renting new weapons from Germany.

However, matters got tangled when high-level superhumans from around the world began requesting temporary affiliation transfers to the Seoul Tower in Korea.

Germany, realizing that the Korean Superhuman Management Agency needed special weapons, tried to use the opportunity to force them to take on two of their own superhumans in the deal.

Still, this temporary affiliation transfer was practically a guaranteed jackpot.

Even neighboring China demanded 30 billion won for one superhuman’s temporary affiliation transfer and 80 billion won for two.

Truly, the severe shortage of Tower Affiliation Change Tickets at a time like this was the regret of a lifetime.

None of the newly contracted stealth superhumans possessed any, so they still only had a total of three tickets.

Given the nature of the opportunity, even if they kept one in reserve and utilized the remaining two, it was still nowhere near enough.

“Isn’t there a weapon I could at least use temporarily?”

While she understood the circumstances, Lee Seoah’s urgency was just as pressing.

The boss of the 50th floor had the highest defense of any monster encountered thus far.

It wasn’t that she struggled to fight it, but the weapons she brought kept shattering, forcing her to abandon the raid midway through despite having the boss on the ropes.

Even so, she couldn’t just attack bare-handed without a weapon, could she?

This was a consequence of her skill’s side effects, after all.

Yet, without using that very skill, clearing the 50th floor became impossible, creating a completely unsolvable dilemma.

“Just give me a week—no, a few more days. I will definitely procure a weapon that you, Superhuman Lee Seoah, will be satisfied with!”

Lee Seoah was important, but bolstering their finances was equally crucial.

If their budget was flush, they could send not just Lee Seoah but other superhumans up to the 63rd floor as well.

Would it kill the current administration to just shoot over a few hundred billion won in supplementary budgets at a time like this?

In Korea, the voices of numerous interest groups were so loud that the Superhuman Management Agency struggled to assert its own power.

Taxi drivers advocated for taxi drivers, doctors for doctors, and regions for their own regions.

“Abandon Seoul and make Busan the primary capital!”

“Superhumans make plenty of money on their own, why should only they receive support!”

“Just hand over 10 million won from the national pension every month!”

With voices rising and pressure mounting from all sides like this, it was incredibly difficult to professionally care for superhumans the way the United States did.

Phew, what could they do?

They had to earn the money and spend it themselves!

“Commissioner! Vice Vice Commissioner! You need to come out here right now!”

The secretary burst through the door.

The fact that she had entered without knocking meant a critical situation had arisen, so Jung Woojin stiffened his expression and asked.

“What is it?”

“Iron Heart Yoon Changdae apparently arrived carrying the Russian assassin wrapped up in a black bag!”

…What?

* * *

[Emergency Evacuation Requested]

Receiving an urgent message, Kim Taemin hastily fled his hideout.

“God damn it!”

The news was that the assassin dispatched by Russia had arrived in front of the Superhuman Management Agency, carried in a black bag.

What kind of incompetent way was that to handle an operation?

Was Russia really this pathetic of a country?

He deeply regretted ever thinking about transferring his affiliation to the Moscow Tower.

However, there was no turning back now; he couldn’t jump out of a plane he had already boarded.

Whatever happened, he just needed to arrive in Moscow first.

Kim Taemin’s escape route to Russia was via the East Coast.

He planned to board a prepared fishing boat from the East Coast to Vladivostok, and then use other transportation from there.

Vrooooom!

Kim Taemin floored the accelerator of his sports car.

As he slipped out of Seoul, all his skills deactivated, and a sense of helplessness washed over him as he reverted to an ordinary civilian.

But if he stayed in Seoul, there was no telling when he might get shot dead.

If it were just one or two people shooting at him, that would be one thing.

If an entire strike team mobilized to hunt him down, even the rank 1 superhuman wouldn’t stand a chance of holding out.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

As he sped down the road in a fit of rage, a stream of profanity continuously poured from his mouth.

Nothing was going right.

Not a single thing!

What on earth had he done wrong to deserve accepting such an absurd situation?

The hero of South Korea, responsible for the lives of Seoul’s citizens!

How did someone like him end up walking down this path of ruin?

“…Mirinae.”

Clack!

Kim Taemin ground his teeth to dust as he chewed on that name.

That damn bastard who had stolen everything from him!

Even if he became a superhuman of Moscow.

I will absolutely kill you!

Kim Taemin exited the highway and navigated onto a winding mountain road.

The rendezvous point was deep in the remote mountains.

A pitch-black mountain road.

He was driving down a road without a single other car in sight when it happened.

“What!”

Illuminated by his headlights, sharp obstacles—a tire-deflation device—suddenly appeared on the road surface.

Pop pop pop pop!

All four tires blew out.

Screeeeech!

The sports car let out a long trail of sparks.

But that wasn’t the end.

Kaboooom!

“Ugh!”

A landmine planted on the road exploded, sending Kim Taemin’s sports car tumbling down the slope.

Crash crash crash!

In his hazy state of mind, Kim Taemin couldn’t grasp what had just happened.

Safety mechanisms like airbags had deployed properly, barely saving him from the brink of death, but he couldn’t properly control his body, unsure of the condition of his limbs.

Someone…

Help me…!

How long had he waited, pleading for help with a voiceless whisper to an unseen presence?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Perhaps his prayers to the heavens had been answered, as footsteps approached.

Was it his contact?

However, the person who appeared was entirely unexpected.

Wearing a tight-fitting red dress.

Unhesitatingly revealing her alluring figure.

The 2nd ranker of the Seoul Tower.

The Electric Empress, Park Soyul.

She stood before Kim Taemin with a chilling smile reminiscent of the Joker.

“You. You went and did something quite entertaining, didn’t you?”

Just like the smile painted on her face, her voice carried a blood-curdling edge that sent shivers down the listener’s spine.

Regaining a sliver of his senses, Kim Taemin hurriedly made an excuse.

“W-what are you talking about…”

“Heh. Why is the always confident Swordmaster Kim Taemin showing such a frail side of himself? Why… are you scared?”

Seeing the look in Park Soyul’s eyes, Kim Taemin realized.

Here.

There was no way out alive.

“…Kuhehehehe!”

That was why he let out a mocking laugh.

Even if the assassin had been killed by Yoon Changdae.

He must have at least killed that ordinary civilian, Shin Jungho, first.

What kind of expression would Park Soyul make when she learned that fact?

Even if he were to die right here.

He absolutely wanted to see her face twist in despair.

“Looks like you have something to be happy about.”

“Kuhahaha! Did you… did you really think I was only after you! Shin Jungho! I told him to kill that precious part-timer of yours too! He’s probably a cold corpse by now! Kuhahahaha!”

At that, Park Soyul tilted her head.

“So what?”

With an expression that seemed genuinely unbothered.

Kim Taemin felt a wave of confusion.

What’s wrong with this bitch?

She had been so fiercely obsessed with him… was that all just an act?

Or was she just a psycho?

“Did you… did you not actually care about that part-timer punk?”

Park Soyul suddenly flashed a bright, innocent smile and replied.

“Our Jungho? Of course I like him! He’s someone I absolutely adore, you see.”

…Crazy bitch.

Was this the reaction of someone hearing that the person they liked was dead?

Park Soyul chuckled inwardly at the sight of Kim Taemin’s bewildered face.

Then, she made a phone call on speakerphone.

The call connected immediately.

-What did you call about this time?

Park Soyul answered in a cheerful voice.

“Ah, there’s one thing I forgot to mention! The construction is taking a bit longer, so I think I’ll need to take another week off! Is that okay?”

-Isn’t that a matter for the boss to decide, not me?

“Come on, Jungho and I are of one mind and body, so we should share the same sentiments! I’ll even throw in three weeks’ worth of pay, so you absolutely have to come to the cafe on the fourth week, okay? You can’t go anywhere else in the meantime, right?”

-…You’re giving me paid leave, so I should work hard to earn it.

“Hehe. Jungho, you weren’t that easy of a man, were you? Is it okay for me to just start buying you over with money from now on?”

-The amount of money required will probably scale up at the rate of the Fibonacci sequence.

“Fibona… what?”

-The Fibonacci sequence.

Really, this man.

How could he always come up with such unexpected answers?

To Park Soyul, a man like Shin Jungho was an oasis in a scorching desert.

Everywhere around her, there were only jaded, lowly, and greedy gazes.

But only Shin Jungho looked at her not as the Electric Empress, but as an ordinary woman named Park Soyul.

That fact was so refreshing, so fascinating, and so endearing.

“Yes, yes, I’ll look into it later. Then sleep well, Jungho!”

-Have a peaceful night as well, Boss.

The call ended.

Kim Taemin, who had listened to the entire conversation right next to her.

Was engulfed in a despair far greater than losing his country.

Park Soyul looked down at him with the same venomous expression she had worn when she first appeared.

“We… have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

That was the last time Kim Taemin would be able to see the outside world.

It was his very last.