When a Hunter set a monumental record in the Tower, it was broadcasted to all other Hunters through a global announcement. The criteria for this was quite high, so all Hunters kept their ears open for these global announcements. So which country was it that wiped out the 1st floor goblins?
The announcement about the hunt of 10,231 goblins was no different. The moment that global announcement went out, Hunters and Guilds from every country in the world scrambled to find its protagonist. And then, the protagonist was revealed.
[Missions will no longer be issued on the 1st floor of the 251st Tower.]
The moment the designation ‘251st’ came out, everyone knew. - It’s Korea! Because the 251st Tower was none other than the one in South Korea. And, as was to be expected, the world was thrown into a state of shock the moment that announcement appeared. - Missions won't be issued anymore?
What kind of nonsense is this? ㄴ Does this mean South Korea has now conquered the 1st floor of the Tower? ㄴ The Tower was something that could be conquered? You can permanently end the Tower's missions, the very thing humanity fears most? The moment that which no one had ever imagined came to pass!
At that point, the first to move were none other than the presidents and prime ministers of various countries. They immediately contacted the president and prime minister of South Korea, or those in equivalent positions. And those calls eventually made their way to Kim Jeong-bin.
Kim Jeong-bin did not ignore these calls.
“Yes, Prime Minister. The Comet Guild is also looking into it right now. I will contact you as soon as we have any information.”
He handled each one.
He knew.
“I’ve also spoken with Michael, the U. S. Ambassador to Korea. You have nothing to worry about. We will report to the government first as soon as any information comes out.”
He knew that if he were to ignore the calls, it would be tantamount to confessing that the Comet Guild was responsible. The first time Kim Jeong-bin, who had been receiving calls without rest, paused a conversation was the moment he appeared before his eyes.
"Hello!"
Park Jin-soo, who had returned using a Return Ticket, waved his hand as if he had been waiting.
"Huh?"
Then he quickly stopped and raised his hand again. He was surrounded by perfectly armed men, reminiscent of special forces, with guns and bulletproof vests. And there weren't just one or two of them; their numbers were immense.
“Did I do something wrong?”
It was then.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Lee Ji-soo, who appeared a moment later, immediately exchanged a look with Kim Jeong-bin and nodded.
“We need to move to a safe location now.”
Lee Ji-soo understood the situation. Park Jin-soo had just done something that could change the world order, and it had even been specified as South Korea.
“It’s dangerous here.”
And she didn't know what kind of acts the countries that were envious and jealous of South Korea's good fortune might commit. 'The information was already leaked through Kim Jae-byeong.' At the very least, China knew the location from which Park Jin-soo and Lee Ji-soo had entered the Tower.
“Why is it dangerous here?”
“Someone could set off a bomb here.”
So, there could be a terrorist attack.
“A bomb?”
Park Jin-soo showed a surprised reaction to that fact.
“They’d set off a bomb just to kill me? Who would?”
“If a bomb were to go off now, it would most likely be China.”
“Ah, China.”
However, at the word ‘China,’ Park Jin-soo immediately understood.
“They would do something like that. Did you know? Behind all those criminals I killed, the gangsters and illegal gamblers, were all Chinese guys. I caught a few of them back then, chopped them up into little pieces, and threw them into the sea… Oops, my mistake.”
Then, Park Jin-soo quickly covered his mouth. Seeing this, Lee Ji-soo wore an expression of disbelief. Kim Jeong-bin, on the other hand, was different.
“It’s dangerous in many ways, so let’s move.”
If it had been an ordinary person with common sense, just convincing them would have been difficult, but Park Jin-soo was not that.
“We have a vehicle waiting outside.”
“A vehicle? Isn’t that dangerous? It’s not that hard to kill people in a car, you know? If you just ram it with something like a truck, they’re sitting ducks… Ah, I don’t mean I killed a criminal with a truck. I only planned it, I never actually did it. Things worked out well.”
Park Jin-soo threw out a small question about it, but that question didn't last long.
"Ah."
The moment he saw the prepared vehicle, Park Jin-soo understood.
“They won’t be able to touch this one.”
Because a vehicle with a diplomat's license plate was prepared.
"001DI77."
Furthermore, the first numbers on the diplomat's license plate indicated that it was a vehicle for a U. S. diplomat. Touching this vehicle was basically the same as provoking the United States, asking them, ‘You think you're so tough? See you on the roof!’
“But do they just lend these things out?”
“There’s nothing that can’t be borrowed. As long as the price is paid. More importantly, please get in quickly.”
"Yes!"
In any case, Park Jin-soo got into the prepared vehicle.
“Please take the back seat, not the passenger seat.”
“Huh? Me? Is that okay? Isn’t that too much of a seat of honor?”
“It’s fine.”
So Park Jin-soo, who had gotten out of the passenger seat, got into the back, and Kim Jeong-bin sat next to him. Finally, Lee Ji-soo took the passenger seat.
Vroooom!
The vehicle’s engine immediately let out a rough sound and began to drive. And with that, the conversation began.
“Can you report on the Floor King?”
At that question, Park Jin-soo nodded.
“So, when I went in, there was this well-built goblin that looked like it was pumped full of steroids. When I smacked its head with that hammer you lent me, it screamed and fell over.”
At that explanation, Kim Jeong-bin nodded and then looked at Lee Ji-soo.
“He used the Ticket to Challenge the Floor King, and Skull Breaker appeared right away. The moment it appeared, Mr. Park Jin-soo chose to engage. During the engagement, he precisely aimed only for Skull Breaker’s glabella, and on the sixth attack, he destroyed Skull Breaker’s skull, then destroyed its brain with a final blow. The engagement time was between about 40 to 45 seconds.”
She gave a more detailed explanation.
“Afterward, an announcement appeared along with the rewards. The announcement’s contents were: You have defeated the Floor King, you have conquered the floor, missions will no longer be issued. As a special reward, I was given a Yellow Egg. And Mr. Park Jin-soo received…”
“They gave me this.”
Park Jin-soo spoke and tapped his left chest once, then showed what he had received from his item window.
“Oh my god.”
And the moment he saw it, Kim Jeong-bin couldn’t help but express his feelings. It was an item worthy of such a reaction.
“A Blue Egg came out?”
“Oh, is this that amazing?”
“Yes, it is amazing. To date, the officially known number of Blue Eggs is less than ten.”
Now, five years after countless people have been tackling the Tower with national support, it was an item of which not even ten had appeared. But now, that very item was in the hands of Park Jin-soo, who had started tackling the Tower less than a week ago.
“So it is amazing. But why have only ten of these appeared? You can get it on the 1st floor, can’t you?”
On the other hand, from Park Jin-soo’s perspective, it was a point of confusion why something so amazing was so easily placed before him. To that, Kim Jeong-bin said.
“As I said before, it is because you have that much worth, Mr. Park Jin-soo.”
There, Kim Jeong-bin said.
“Mr. Park Jin-soo, could you eat that right now?”
“Right now?”
“There’s no good in letting the world know you have it. It’s better to eat it and get rid of it.”
“Ah, is that so?”
At that moment, Park Jin-soo immediately, without hesitation, pierced a hole in the Blue Egg with his canine tooth and slurped it down. Seeing this, Lee Ji-soo clicked her tongue. Even when eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant, people usually have some mental preparation or a certain posture, if not outright formality.
What’s more, even a Yellow Egg had a value greater than a 3-star Michelin restaurant, something that couldn't possibly be measured with money. But to finish off a Blue Egg, which was even better, in one go like drinking a raw egg for a sore throat? At the same time, she became curious.
'What will he get?' Usually, when one ate an egg, it wasn't always a talent of that color; sometimes, a talent of a higher grade would appear. It was just that the probability was extremely low.
In any case, Blue Grade talents or skills were that rare, so it was only natural to be curious.
“Oh, I got something.”
Just then, Park Jin-soo heard a notification. - Grade: Blue - Effect: When learning a skill, it is fixed at A-rank. And the moment he saw what he got, Park Jin-soo spoke.
“Jack-of-all-Trades? I got this. Is it any good?”
“What, what did you say?”
At that, Lee Ji-soo was horrified.
“You, you got Jack-of-all-Trades just now?”
“Huh? Yes. Is it something to be so surprised about? I think the Weakness Detection I got last time is better.”
“You have Weakness Detection?”
At the subsequent words ‘Weakness Detection,’ Lee Ji-soo was even more aghast.
“Then with Survival Instinct, you have three talents now?”
“It just kind of happened that way.”
At that, Lee Ji-soo was at a loss for words. It was the same for Kim Jeong-bin.
'Jack-of-all-Trades.'
The talent called Jack-of-all-Trades was so rare that only one Hunter was known to possess it so far.
“It is the talent of Walking Death.”
“Walking Death? Who’s that?”
“One of the top Hunters in America.”
“That’s strange, though. Why is it Walking Death and not Walking Dead?”
“He got that nickname because he kills everything he comes across. In any case, it’s not something you need to know right now. It is an amazing talent.”
Here, Kim Jeong-bin gave a brief explanation.
“Typically, when a skill is acquired, it is judged to take one year to raise it by one rank. The starting rank is F-rank. So, it would take five years to reach A-rank. Jack-of-all-Trades eliminates that period.”
“Wow, that’s awesome.”
Only then was Park Jin-soo impressed.
“But how do you get skills?”
“They usually come from eggs.”
“Really? Then I could get one from this too, right? I’ve only gotten talents so far.”
With his words, Park Jin-soo took out a Yellow Egg, and seeing it, Kim Jeong-bin wore a bitter smile. He felt a mix of emotions seeing Park Jin-soo pull out a Yellow Egg, something others couldn't get even after climbing to the 10th floor of the Tower, as if it were a common boiled egg sold at a convenience store.
Park Jin-soo ate that one as well.
“Oh! I got it! A skill came out! Man, there’s a real joy in cracking these open.”
And Park Jin-soo said.
“By the way, is the Psychokinesis skill any good?”
The moment that answer came out, Lee Ji-soo seemed to give up on thinking and buried her head in the passenger seat headrest, closing her eyes.
“... Yes, it is very good.”
Kim Jeong-bin also had a dazed look in his eyes.
“Wow, I’m getting good stuff one after another.”
“Are those all the eggs?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, this is all of them.”
At the subsequent answer, Kim Jeong-bin finally found some peace of mind. There would surely be no more surprises.
“Ah, right.”
At that moment, as if he had remembered something, Park Jin-soo once again took an item out of his item window.
“I’ll return this thing you lent me. I used it well.”
It was the Skull Breaker’s Hammer, and Kim Jeong-bin, who received it, smiled faintly.
“No, it’s fine. For the time being, you can use it as you please, Mr. Park Jin-soo. You can have it if you want.”
It was at that moment.
'Huh?'
Kim Jeong-bin felt that something was strange. 'The color of this gem?'
“Ah!”
Just then, Park Jin-soo said with a start.
“Sorry, I gave you the wrong one. They look similar. The one you originally gave me is this one. And the one I just gave you is what I got from killing that Skull Breaker guy this time.”
And then, Park Jin-soo took out another similar hammer from his item window.
“The one I got this time seems a little better, so I was planning on using that one.”
At those words, Kim Jeong-bin silently stared at the Skull Breaker’s Hammer in his hand, the hammer with the Green Gem embedded in it. It was then.
Woong!
Kim Jeong-bin’s smartphone rang, and after checking the caller, Kim Jeong-bin immediately answered the phone.
“Yes, I’m on my way now. I should arrive in about an hour.”
It was a short call, and the moment it ended, Park Jin-soo cautiously asked a question.
“By the way, where are we going?”
To that question, Kim Jeong-bin answered.
“We are on our way to the Ministry of Justice.”
“The Ministry of Justice?”
"Yes."
“Are we going there because of me?”
To the question that followed, Kim Jeong-bin nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
To a slightly wary Park Jin-soo, Kim Jeong-bin said with a smile.
“It’s the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
“You did well. Better than I thought, better than I ever expected, you did incredibly well. So, we must change the terms of our deal.”
“The terms of the deal?”
To that question, Kim Jeong-bin said.
“We are going to arrange for your pardon, Mr. Park Jin-soo.”