He ran it nonstop, day and night.

The Arcane Forge.

Like playing one of the world’s three most diabolical gacha games for the very first time.

It had been ages since he’d lost himself so completely that he forgot to eat, forgot to sleep—just kept spinning the gacha over and over.

He’d always considered himself someone with strong self-control.

Turns out, he’d simply never encountered anything worth losing it over.

If it were just a matter of drawing lines and waiting, it would have been tedious work and nothing more.

But the Arcane Forge let him alter the path of the lines based on intuition—whether to sharpen attack power, bolster defense, and so on.

Since nothing was guaranteed until the process was complete, though, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down for a single moment until the work was finished.

He had originally planned to run it for just one day.

Somehow, he ended up pulling two all-nighters, completely absorbed.

One thing he learned during this time:

The crafting results fell into five tiers—[Great Failure], [Failure], [Success], [Great Success], and [Transcendence].

True to their names, a Failure mangled the existing options, while a Success yielded significantly better ones.

How many times had he rolled the gacha with that level-2 restricted dagger?

He finally achieved the magnificent feat of drawing the [Transcendence] tier.

Truth be told, even at [Great Success], the level-2 weapon already boasted impressive options.

If the Shadow Cutter before rolling the gacha was worth around 100 million won, a Great Success version could fetch around 500 million won.

Of course, getting there had consumed 78 Magic Stones.

A staggering 78 million won spent—a considerable investment.

Still, even rounding down to 100 million, he’d pocket 300 million in profit. Not bad for two all-nighters.

If money was what he wanted, he could have just bombarded the upper floors with meteors and watched it roll in effortlessly.

Especially with the Blessing of Growth active, the rewards were quite generous.

But in a way, maybe this was a journey to find meaning in life?

After all, a moth can’t help but chase the flame.

…Hm.

Guess the sleep deprivation was starting to make him ramble.

In any case, the Great Success had been a perfectly satisfying result.

But a certain instinct told him this wasn’t the end.

So he boldly rolled again with the 500-million-won item.

After oscillating between Success and Failure once more, he finally beheld those beautiful words: [Transcendence].

Shin Jungho gazed down at the newly reborn dagger in its radiant splendor and wore a satisfied smile.

Ah… that’s enough for today!

teolssuk.

* * *

The Korean Superhuman Management Agency found itself buried under yet another mountain of work—enough to paralyze operations entirely.

“Phew! Lately it feels like I’m practically living at the sauna next door rather than my own home!”

Commissioner Jung Woojin chuckled warmly at Vice Commissioner Han Donggeon’s theatrics and fired back.

“I’m pulling all-nighters right alongside you.”

“How can you compare yourself to me, Commissioner? You’re just using this as an excuse to avoid going home, aren’t you?”

“Hey now, say that loud enough and we’ll both be in trouble! I’m rolling up my sleeves and pitching in for the sake of you and the agency staff, aren’t I?”

Without a word, Han Donggeon pulled up a photo on his phone and showed it to him.

The photo showed Jung Woojin enjoying a game of Lineage at the PC cafe inside a sauna, captured in perfect clarity.

“…You weren’t asleep, were you?”

“Would it be alright if I sent this to your wife?”

“…What do you want?”

“Personnel, personnel, and massive amounts of personnel.”

“…I’ll double the staffing by the end of today, even if I have to drag people in by their collars.”

“It’s a promise.”

“…Then delete that photo.”

“I’ve already uploaded it to the cloud.”

“…How calculating.”

“I learned from the best, after all.”

The two men exchanged wry smiles and shifted the conversation.

In truth, staffing had already been significantly reinforced.

They had sold a Tower Affiliation Change Ticket to China for the staggering sum of 150 billion won.

With that kind of money, there was little they couldn’t accomplish.

However, the recent activation of the Blessing of Growth had more than doubled the volume of item trading, causing them to briefly stagger under the unexpected surge.

“By the way, still no Tower Affiliation Change Ticket?”

“Yes, that’s been a disappointment for me as well.”

The rewards being traded by superhumans had certainly improved compared to before, but no one had yet reported obtaining a Tower Affiliation Change Ticket.

It had only been three days, so perhaps they were being impatient—but given the precedent of selling one to China for 150 billion won, this was precisely the moment when a Tower Affiliation Change Ticket would command the highest price.

The Grace of Evasion had only about forty days remaining.

But the Blessing of Growth had been activated for another 100 days.

Even looking only at the items being traded by superhumans, the value of rewards had skyrocketed compared to before.

Rankers from around the world who needed high-level items were desperately waiting for the chance to change their affiliation to the Seoul Tower.

And right at this moment!

If a Tower 25 Affiliation Change Ticket appeared!

Just how enormous a budget could they secure?

It was at once thrilling and frustrating.

And in tandem with that, a discussion had emerged about whether the Seoul Tower should push through the 70th floor of the Intermediate Zone.

Once the Grace of Evasion expired, they would need to climb to the top floor once a month anyway.

If that was the case, the argument went, wouldn’t it be better to push through to the 70th floor now—while guaranteed safety was still available—and farm powerful equipment from the 70th-floor range?

That, too, made considerable sense, so the Superhuman Management Agency found itself in back-to-back meetings day after day.

buung—

Right then, Han Donggeon’s phone buzzed.

“Ah, it’s Mr. Shin Jungho.”

“Is it? Go ahead and take it, don’t mind me.”

“Yes, understood.”

He answered the phone and listened—it was the usual business regarding item collection.

But with the backlog of work piled so high lately, they had decided to suspend support for stealth superhumans for the time being, so he was about to politely decline.

“I’m sorry, but we have many urgent matters to handle lately… Yes? What was that? Ah, right away—no, no! I’ll definitely come by this evening! Yes? No, no, no matter how busy we are, this is far more important! Yes, yes, understood! I’ll see you around midnight!”

Sensing something unusual from Han Donggeon’s responses, Jung Woojin asked.

“Didn’t we agree to suspend support for stealth superhumans for now? What’s going on?”

Han Donggeon clenched both fists and answered.

“They’ve appeared! Tower Affiliation Change Tickets! Two of them!”

“What!”

Not just one, but two?

Jung Woojin’s mind was already painting a picture of himself dangling the Tower Affiliation Change Tickets enticingly before representatives from around the world, luring them in.

* * *

Han Donggeon, visiting Shin Jungho in secret, headed to his studio apartment, wondering just how many Magic Stones he’d have to haul this time.

But when he actually met the man, he was surprised to find there was far less to transport than expected.

“Will it be alright if I just dispose of these items for you?”

What Shin Jungho produced were the two Tower 25 Affiliation Change Tickets he had mentioned earlier.

And a single dagger that looked anything but ordinary.

“Yes… please do that…….”

His voice was thick and heavy with exhaustion.

True to form, his appearance was haggard—as though he hadn’t rested in three days while relentlessly climbing the tower.

Han Donggeon found himself genuinely impressed by Shin Jungho.

The news of the Blessing of Growth being activated had apparently sent him into a frenzy of high-floor climbing.

He couldn’t even begin to fathom how many floors the man had cleared in such a short span.

“Understood. As discussed, the Tower Affiliation Change Tickets will be deposited to your account after a 20% commission is deducted from the transaction. As you requested, if Source Stones or Skill Enhancement Tickets are available, we’ll make those our top-priority negotiation terms.”

In the past, the Superhuman Management Agency had purchased items in bulk.

But now, the value of a Tower Affiliation Change Ticket had skyrocketed to astronomical heights.

With unprecedented demand dominating the market, it was only fitting that the superhuman offering the item receive commensurate compensation.

“Yes… thank you…….”

Noticing his uncharacteristically listless demeanor, Han Donggeon expressed concern.

“Pushing yourself too hard could lead to mistakes. We’re truly grateful for everything you do for the country, but please take care of your health first, sir.”

“Right… can’t afford mistakes… haha.”

Han Donggeon decided to make a prompt exit so the man could get some rest.

“And I’ll have one of our agency’s superhumans verify this dagger before we determine the exact value.”

“Yes… please do.”

He’d said it was a level-2 dagger, hadn’t he?

Once again, the level restriction was low—but considering that Tiamat’s Staff had also been level 2, this dagger too might harbor some astonishing ability.

“Then please get some rest.”

“Yes, goodnight…….”

Departing Shin Jungho’s apartment with a lighter step than before, Han Donggeon summoned a superhuman first thing the next morning to verify the dagger.

“You want me to test this dagger?”

“Yes, I’d appreciate it, Mr. Cha Hyunsung.”

“Ooh, the blade looks incredibly sharp, doesn’t it? Just touching it with a finger and—”

seugeog.

“Ouch.”

Blood oozed slowly from the tip of Cha Hyunsung’s finger.

Han Donggeon let out a soft sigh and asked.

“Are you alright?”

“Nyahaha, this thing is seriously sharp, isn’t it?”

This man, with his somewhat casual speech and careless behavior—

—was the youngest member of the Superhuman Management Agency’s strategy team, going by the ill-fitting nickname Glass Mentality.

He was currently on the 20th floor.

When someone had once asked at a company dinner why he didn’t seem like a Glass Mentality at all, he had boldly declared with his own mouth that it was all a camouflage tactic to hide his Glass Mentality.

…Who knew which version was true.

“Could I ask you to check the option information first?”

“Ah, sure, I’ll read it out for you.”

[Shadow Cutter]

– Level Restriction: 2

– The blade is exceptionally sharp.

– Shadow Steps (30-min cooldown, 5-min duration): Reduces the sound of movement by 90%. Does not alert common monsters on floor 20 and below.

– Shadow Strike (10-min cooldown): Deals 3x damage on successful surprise attacks against unaware targets.

– Description: The sharp blade significantly enhances base attack power. Maximizing efficiency requires utilizing terrain for stealth and choosing the right moment to strike.

“That’s what it says.”

“Is that… good?”

The abilities of items like weapons and armor were fundamentally tower-exclusive, only activating within the Tower.

So aside from descriptions like sharpness and durability, there was no way to verify their abilities without testing them inside the Tower.

“Hmm… I’ll know once I try it out, right? I was about to tackle the 20th floor anyway, so I’ll give it a test run!”

Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the Shadow Cutter and dashed into the Tower.

He had done that on a whim before from time to time, so Han Donggeon took it in stride and got back to his own work.

About thirty minutes passed.

Cha Hyunsung showed up at his office, having somehow already exited the Tower.

Since the average clear time for the 20th floor was around an hour and thirty minutes, he must have used the Grace of Evasion to make an early exit.

“The dagger’s performance must not have been very good, I take it?”

Just as Han Donggeon was about to offer words of consolation, Cha Hyunsung gripped the Shadow Cutter tightly and shouted.

“Vice Vice Commissioner! This is abso-lutely insane! In-credible! I’m telling you, the minotaurs’ limbs got sliced off like tofu, snip snip! If you get the angle right, you can even cut through their weapons! Wow!”

Cha Hyunsung continued, practically vibrating with excitement.

“On top of that, as long as you stay out of their line of sight, the minotaurs don’t even notice you! I was practically pressed up against a rear guard, following right behind him for minutes, and he had no clue! Honestly, with just this one item, the minotaur floors in the teens would be a total breeze! Where on earth did you get an item this incredible?”

From Cha Hyunsung’s enthusiastic outburst, Han Donggeon instantly realized.

That the superhuman Shin Jungho—

—had handed over yet another weapon with monstrous performance, following Tiamat’s Staff.

And simultaneously, a dilemma crept in.

…Just how much should he price this at?