“Wow, amazing! Jungho, did you see the news?”

Park Soyul burst into the cafe, practically buzzing with excitement.

“Are you heading out to climb today too?”

The way Shin Jungho calmly asked back as if he knew nothing about it left her dumbfounded.

Seriously, he doesn’t know about an event this huge?

How could anyone be so oblivious to what’s happening in the world?

Well, that’s exactly what made dealing with this man so fun!

“Mirinae! Mirinae cleared floors 2 and 3 back-to-back! In just 5 seconds each!”

“Is that supposed to be impressive?”

Honestly, he was acting like someone who’d never even heard of tower climbing!

“It’s incredibly impressive! The previous world records were 18 minutes for floor 2 and 27 minutes for floor 3! He shattered both in just 5 seconds!”

Shin Jungho replied nonchalantly.

“Wouldn’t you be able to do the same, Superhuman Park Soyul?”

Park Soyul’s lips twitched briefly.

He had a talent for casually slipping in compliments while pretending to be indifferent, didn’t he?

Was he perhaps a Casanova in a past life?

“Well, sure, I could do it. 2 seconds? 1 second? Boom! And it’d be over. But that would be a re-clear, so it wouldn’t even count as a record. Mirinae, on the other hand, cleared it in 5 seconds on his very first attempt!”

The conversation had circled back to Mirinae again.

Shin Jungho listened with halfhearted nods as Park Soyul chattered on.

He’d already seen plenty of reactions to the clear times through the chat room, and he was well aware of the speculation that Divine Explosion might be a skill.

Was there no new information today?

Given the circumstances, Shin Jungho let a hint of curiosity slip through—unlike his usual self.

“Are you still searching for Mirinae, boss?”

Park Soyul suddenly wore the expression of a predator whose prey had just wandered into her net.

“Well, well, our Jungho is actually showing interest first? Could it be…?”

Park Soyul leaned in close, locking eyes with him as if trying to read his innermost thoughts.

…Had he made a mistake?

Shin Jungho maintained the most indifferent expression he could muster and waited for her next words.

As her face drew ever closer, he was about to bring up sexual harassment like he usually would—

When Park Soyul burst into laughter and pulled back.

“You’re not feeling jealous of Mirinae, are you? Did I talk about him too much and not pay enough attention to you?”

…Safe.

“…If you find Mirinae quickly, then I won’t have to keep hearing about him, right?”

“Come on, you’re so boring! All of Korea is buzzing about Mirinae these days!”

“I’m not particularly interested in celebrities.”

“Celebrity? Pfft! Well, I suppose Mirinae could be called a celebrity. Anyway, this Mirinae person seems to be quite cautious! I’ve shaken down everyone who recently quit their jobs, and nothing’s come up!”

“…Isn’t that a crime?”

“Come on! So innocent! What can’t money buy in Korea these days?”

“That’s… true.”

“Pfft, at least you admit it! Anyway, it seems like I’ve been looking in the wrong direction. So I had an idea! I’ll start by digging through cafe part-timers!”

Shin Jungho barely managed to swallow the cough that had risen to his throat and asked:

“…What’s the logic behind that?”

“Just a gut feeling that Mirinae might be a cafe part-timer?”

“…Wouldn’t most people think of convenience store workers first?”

“Come on, my instincts are telling me! Mirinae is a cafe part-timer!”

Those instincts.

What exactly were they based on?

When Shin Jungho couldn’t bring himself to argue back, Park Soyul laughed brightly.

“Why are you so flustered? I already shook you down before!”

“…Excuse me?”

What did she mean by that?

Shaken down…?

“The interview! The interview!”

Somehow it felt like it had been more than just an interview…

“Ah… right…”

Park Soyul grinned at his flat response, then frowned as if remembering someone.

“Still, I need to find him within 20 days. I intimidated that gorilla rat into agreeing that northern Seoul is my territory, so I said I’d search there last! But my instincts tell me Mirinae is definitely right here in northern Seoul!”

So what exactly were those instincts?

Shin Jungho fought the dryness in his throat and asked as casually as he could:

“If you find Mirinae… what do you plan to do?”

Park Soyul’s eyes gleamed like a predator that had found its prey.

“Hehe, Jungho… you’re quite interested in Mirinae, aren’t you?”

Shin Jungho delivered his prepared answer.

“Because my boss seems to be quite fond of him.”

Park Soyul’s fierce demeanor deflated instantly.

“Pfft! I keep telling you, you’re such a player! A good-looking guy who’s never dated once? No matter how I look at it, that’s suspicious.”

“You already shook me down, didn’t you?”

Park Soyul laughed brightly again.

“This is exactly why I like you, Jungho! Anyway! What would I do if I found Mirinae, you ask?”

Park Soyul suddenly leaned in to his ear and whispered:

“If you’re really that curious, how about you and I go see Mirinae together later, just the two of us? I know a very secret place where no one would hear a thing, no matter what moans might slip out.”

…He would have to decline, absolutely.

* * *

“Phew… Did I buy some time?”

Back home after finishing his cafe shift.

Shin Jungho carefully reviewed his plans going forward.

For now, the gorilla rat’s (?) search could be expected in about 20 days.

However, with Park Soyul combing through northern Seoul like a fine-toothed comb, he couldn’t exactly consider himself safe.

Above all, she had already thoroughly shaken him down about his personal details…

She’d called it an interview, but knowing Park Soyul’s personality, that was far from the end of it.

With Park Soyul’s random inspections potentially happening at any moment, he wasn’t about to celebrate having 20 days to spare.

“So my life is worth two Return Tickets.”

Shin Jungho pulled out five Return Tickets.

If he gave her all these Return Tickets, would Park Soyul come over to his side?

It was just a Summoning Stone—how could people treat a human life as cheaply as an ant…

Shin Jungho gazed at the red Summoning Stone.

And recalled Lea’s incredible prowess.

…Well, it was something, alright.

Anyway.

His course of action hadn’t changed.

He would simply continue climbing the upper floors.

Starting the next day, Shin Jungho summoned Lea and kicked his Tower climbing into high gear.

His climbing time was 10 PM.

He challenged a new floor every day, clearing each one in just 5 seconds with his Meteor Summoning skill.

Clear rewards increased by one Magic Stone each time.

Amazing Achievements yielded one Random Box.

Unboxing was, naturally, Lea’s self-appointed duty.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 6 Magic Stones.]

“I-I’m so sorry, my Lord…! To receive such a useless item…!”

“It’s fine. This is still money, after all.”

“But at present, it’s nothing more than something taking up space…!”

“…Someday it’ll be worth something.”

The next day, floor 5.

5 seconds.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 9 Magic Stones.]

“I-I have committed a capital offense, my Lord!”

“I said it’s fine. From now on, just don’t say anything when Magic Stones come out.”

The next day, floor 6.

6 seconds.

A little time was wasted selecting the meteorite.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 3 Magic Stones.]

“…!”

…At this point, even he felt a little bad.

Should he start passing the baton to her?

Watching her hands tremble like that, he worried she might develop a neurosis.

…It was a bonus reward—could it really be rigged?

The next day, floor 7.

5 seconds.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 1 Tower Entry Ticket.]

“Ooh! As expected of my Lord! The Random Boxes were merely a setup for your noble self!”

“You just improved the odds for me, that’s all.”

“Not at all! This result is entirely thanks to my Lord’s virtue!”

What would she do if a single Magic Stone came out after saying all that?

The next day, floor 8.

5 seconds.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 1 Free Summon Ticket.]

“I am truly in awe! This is the true grace of a Lord as wise as a sage king!”

Seeing her expression of pure joy…

She would never touch a Random Box again.

That said, after 7 random draws, something quite decent had finally come out.

[Free Summon Ticket]

– Summons a summoned being to a designated location.

It was an item that allowed him to summon Lea from any location without touching the Summoning Stone.

Which meant that in a truly urgent situation…

He could call in Lea as his fixer.

Of course, the risk of his identity being exposed through the Summoning Stone still remained.

Still, as long as he was aware of the risk, he could now survive at least one critical situation.

If only his item luck kept climbing at this rate…!

The next day, floor 9.

[You have entered Floor 9 of Tower 25.]

= Objective: Eliminate 10 Strong Large Zombies.

= Time Limit: 1:00:00

At least 2 meters tall, with bodies five times the size of an adult.

At this level, an ordinary person couldn’t take down even a single Strong Large Zombie even if they died and came back to life.

But those who climbed the Tower were superhumans.

They would have accumulated plenty of combat experience and skill proficiency, making superhuman combat techniques second nature.

A new monster was only difficult the first time.

On lower floors, if one wasn’t aiming for a first-clear, repeated attempts made for perfectly stable clears.

But all of that applied to ordinary, run-of-the-mill superhumans.

To reiterate.

Before a massive meteorite, everyone was equal—one hit and you were done.

“Meteor Summoning.”

He selected whatever caught his eye.

The black sky tore open, and a meteorite fell.

Its size…

Was far from ordinary.

“This…! I don’t think even 0.1 seconds will… be enough!”

…I can see that myself.

Kwaang!

A meteorite roughly the size of a detached house crashed down.

Unfortunately, while he’d aimed for the center of the zombie pack, the trajectory must have shifted slightly, as only the five in the back were caught beneath the meteorite.

Even if it had landed dead center, killing them all would have been difficult.

The remaining five were sent tumbling by the shockwave.

Still, true to their “Strong” descriptor, none of them died.

“Lea! Finish off the rest!”

“At once!”

Lea dashed forward like the wind.

Wait, weren’t Strong Large Zombies supposed to be tough to fight?

On the 1st floor, she’d carved them up like a butcher at a meat shop, but those had been ordinary zombies.

Since then, Lea hadn’t faced a single enemy, so the sudden jump in difficulty made him belatedly worry for her safety.

Shin Jungho gripped a Return Ticket in hand, preparing for the worst.

The Strong Large Zombies regained their footing and charged at Lea.

With a size difference of roughly tenfold, it was like watching moths dive into a furnace.

Before Lea’s sword strikes even flashed out—

Sseuk! Sseuk! Sseuk! Sseuk! Sseuk!

Five swings in total.

And five zombie heads went rolling across the ground.

Hmm…

Couldn’t he just seal the Meteor Summoning skill entirely?

Shin Jungho checked his clear time for floor 9.

[Tower 25 Fastest Clear Record]

# Floor 9: 59 seconds – Mirinae

Just under a minute.

Was this still within safe territory?

Upon returning from the Tower, a message immediately popped up.

[Announcement: Mirinae has cleared Floor 9 of Tower 25 in the fastest time.]

[Amazing Achievement accomplished!]

[As a reward for the Amazing Achievement, 1 Random Box has been provided.]

Fortunately, it seemed that anything under one minute still qualified as an Amazing Achievement.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I can only apologize for not dispatching them more quickly.”

He hadn’t seen her take a single hit during the fight, and there were no signs of injury now either.

After confirming Lea was unharmed, Shin Jungho unwrapped the Random Box floating in the air.

Ppyong!

[You have acquired 1 Magic Stone.]

Lea reflexively launched into a barrage of praise.

“As expected of my gracious Lord, so noble…!”

But upon seeing that only a single fist-sized black stone had dropped…

She hastily changed tack.

“…I am deeply humbled that an item… not… unworthy has emerged! This is all due to my own lack of virtue! Please rebuke me severely!”

It was just luck, he kept telling her.