The story from the Ministry of Justice was simple.
"A clear verification of Park Jin-soo's abilities will be conducted. The stage for the verification will be the 2nd floor, and the method will be to take a verification test in front of 8 Supervisors. The 8 Supervisors will be chosen by recommendation, two from each of the four Guilds.
The contents of the test will be revealed inside the Tower.” They said they would verify his skills to see if Park Jin-soo had truly defeated the Floor King. “If he passes this verification, we will organize a special pardon committee, and there, we will discuss a pardon for Park Jin-soo.”
Even then, it wasn't a promise to grant the pardon immediately. From Park Jin-soo's perspective, the terms were, in a way, absurd. I have to take all the risks, they won't even tell me the test details properly, and only if I pass all that will they 'discuss' a pardon?
“Wow, looks like you're really serious, huh?"
However, upon actually hearing the conditions, Park Jin-soo was surprised by the fact that they were conducting the verification so formally.
“Are you seriously trying to make a deal for a pardon with me? With a murderer who's killed over 20 people? Wow, the Ministry of Justice is making some bold moves these days. With such bold moves, can't you just execute all the death row inmate bastards at once? Ah, but then would I die too? Hmm, that gives me pause.”
Park Jin-soo knew the guys he killed were trash who deserved to die, but he had never thought of himself as some hero of justice or a revolutionary who would change the country. He had said it to the media several times.
I just killed those who deserved to be killed, it's not like I did it for some grand justice or values. But now, they're offering a pardon to such a historic murderer, a murderer who had only served a little over 5 years of his sentence?
Furthermore, if the pardon were to be granted, the one granting it would be none other than the President. It couldn't just be based on personal gain or judgment; various political calculations had to be involved.
“This will be the last chance to even discuss a pardon.”
That was why Kim Jeong-bin, uncharacteristically, had stepped forward so quickly and aggressively. “Because the President's term is about to end." The President even considering a pardon was only possible because it was a lame-duck government at the end of its term.
“From the perspective of a government whose popularity has already hit rock bottom, it's worth making a gamble here.”
Since a change in administration was already a certainty, the current government could grant Park Jin-soo a pardon and hope for something later, in other words, a 'to hell with it!' kind of gamble.
“A gamble? Me?"
“If Mr. Park Jin-soo is pardoned and later achieves great things, it would be a profitable deal if he just shows up and shakes hands with the current President's favored political party or candidate."
“Ah! That's no big deal! I can even dance in the background during the election campaign period! I'm a pretty good dancer!" "You don't need to go that far.”
In any case, the government had set the stage.
“So I will ask again.”
“I'll call.
There's no reason to refuse, is there?" And to that stage, Park Jin-soo willingly placed his hand. After seeing that, Kim Jeong-bin looked at Lee Ji-soo, who was beside him.
“Sigh.”
Lee Ji-soo let out a long sigh. It went without saying, but Kim Jeong-bin had no intention of pushing Park Jin-soo into this matter, which was clearly risky to anyone. 'To hell with it.
What could possibly happen?' However, Lee Ji-soo, who had been to the 2nd floor, said. 'There's no way any human can handle this guy.'
She said that the abilities Park Jin-soo displayed had reached a distant level, far beyond comparison to the 1st floor. He was doing the absurd feat of spinning two hammers, the Skull Breaker’s Hammer and The Hammer Containing the Soul of the Skull Breaker, with Psychokinesis, accurately aiming for and destroying only the Orcs' heads.
In fact, even just seeing that, Lee Ji-soo had been about to say, let's be a little more careful. 'Seriously, no matter how favorably I try to see him, he's a crazy psycho.'
However, the moment she saw him spinning the two hammers and blurting out, "Hey, Ms. Lee Ji-soo, do you know what the strongest class in Diablo 2 is? It's the Hammerdin! I've become a Hammerdin now!", Lee Ji-soo knew.
That stopping Park Jin-soo was not an option. If Kim Jeong-bin and Lee Ji-soo tried to stop him, Park Jin-soo would pretend to cooperate with a smile, then cause trouble at some point. 'It's better to just offer a sacrifice.'
In that case, it was better to just dangle bait in front of his eyes. Because then, Park Jin-soo would never do anything else until he had chewed that bait to bits. 'If the threat is coming anyway, it's better to eliminate it cleanly.'
Besides, even if he refused the stage here, there was no way China or any other country would lose interest in Park Jin-soo. Anyway, the answer was clear.
"Alright. Then let's prepare."
Hunter verification!
In an age where just becoming Awakened earned you noble treatment, conducting a Hunter verification might seem laughable, but surprisingly, there were many cases where Hunters were verified. This was for two main reasons. - Why do they verify Hunters? ㄴ Because there's no way to know if they're lying.
L ??? ㄴ If a guy who entered the Tower says, "Actually, I'm a nation-level SSS-rank Hunter who has regressed!" you have no choice but to believe him. First, no one other than the Hunters who entered together had any way of knowing what a Hunter did inside the Tower.
Things like, "I lost an item in here, so what are you going to do about it?" weren't actually that important. The important part was that Hunters were compensated according to their individual abilities. Even among Hunters who specialized in the 2nd floor, the treatment for specialists and that for mediocre Hunters were on completely different levels.
So how could they arbitrarily grant someone the title of specialist without knowing what the Hunters were doing inside? That's why Hunters who wanted to become specialists or receive special treatment always underwent verification. However, a case like this was a first.
“The details are simple. From now on, the 8 Supervisor Hunters from the four Guilds will conduct the verification.”
Four entire Guilds stepping up to verify a single person.
"To ensure a fair evaluation from the Supervisors, their identities will be hidden by masks.” Even hiding the Supervisors' identities was, in many ways, an unprecedented situation. “If you believe there is a problem, you may refuse even now."
"Oh, please, it's a matter handled by the Ministry of Justice, what problems could there be? Let's go right in!” "What?" “Everyone here is busy, no need to waste time, right? Ah, have you all eaten? Then should we eat, let it digest a bit, and then go?"
“......
What would you like to do?" But in the face of all that, Park Jin-soo moved to tear the Tower entrance Ticket without a hint of hesitation, and seeing this, the remaining Supervisors said.
“We will do as the applicant wishes.”
After that, everything proceeded quickly. 8 Supervisors, 5 2nd floor specialists chosen by the Comet Guild for Park Jin-soo, and on top of that, Lee Ji-soo. A total of 15 people tore their Tickets at the same time.
[You have entered the 2nd floor of the Tower.]
[A Return Mission has been issued.]
[Defeat 22 Orcs!]
The world changed and the mission was issued. However, no one was interested in its contents. One of the Supervisors opened his mouth.
“The test begins. There is one objective. Hunt 500 Orcs. And the entire process must be done by the applicant alone.”
He stated the test's contents, and the moment they heard it, the Comet Guild members showed a reaction of disbelief. “What, what kind of bullshit is this?" “Even 500 goblins wouldn't be easy, but 500 Orcs?
What are you trying to pull?"
"Alone? A-lone? Don't tell me this is your first time on the 2nd floor? Do you not know what an Orc is?"
As they were all 2nd floor specialists handpicked by Kim Jeong-bin, they knew just how ridiculous this mission was. First, one of the basic pieces of common knowledge given to 2nd floor Hunters was to never fight an Orc one-on-one. It was as important and fundamental as 'breathe if you want to live.'
But to hunt 500 of those Orcs alone?
“If you receive help from a comrade, the test will be canceled at that moment. However, the time limit is unlimited.”
At this point, it was basically a demand not to pass.
"Uh."
And at that demand, Park Jin-soo, who was also wearing a mask, spoke.
"Excuse me, can we talk for a moment?"
Instead of immediately saying okay, he gave Lee Ji-soo a look. Lee Ji-soo nodded, and the two carefully moved to one side to talk. At this, Lee Ji-soo thought.
“This is too ridiculous.”
I was prepared, but I never expected them to say something this absurd.
"Even for you to hear, Mr. Park Jin-soo, this doesn't seem worth considering, right?"
She thought that no matter how much of a walking, 120 percent pure madness Park Jin-soo, who feared nothing, was, even he couldn't say okay to this. Of course, that was a misjudgment. “Ah, the test is no big deal."
To Park Jin-soo, the test's contents didn't matter at all. There was nothing difficult about it. “I'm getting the chills right now."
Rather, what made Park Jin-soo's eyes narrow here was that there was something intense stimulating his Survival Instinct. In other words, here, there was. A presence with killing intent, aiming to kill Park Jin-soo.
“My heart feels cold, too.”
Moreover, among them existed a terrifying threat on par with the Skull Breaker. At that fact, Lee Ji-soo's gaze turned cold. She wasn't surprised.
“How many?" It was within the expected range. “Uh, quite a few.” "A lot? Is it perhaps more than three?”
At the words that followed, Lee Ji-soo tensed up. If it was more than three, that meant more than two Guilds were trying to kill Park Jin-soo! That was a rather serious matter.
“Ah, there's a bit more than that.”
“A bit more?”
At the following words, Lee Ji-soo's gaze changed.
'Five? Crazy!'
If it was five people, meaning more than three Guilds, this was not on the level of simply wanting to kill Park Jin-soo. It was a warning, on the level of openly saying, "We're going to screw over the Comet Guild, let's cross the Rubicon starting now!" At the same time, it was a very threatening level.
Although there were 7 Comet Guild Hunters, if more than 5 betrayed them, they would be numerically at a disadvantage. Above all, this was the Tower. There was an unpredictable variable called monsters.
'We just have to meet the return conditions and get out.' At this point, it was no longer time to be making calculations; it was better to quickly hunt 22 Orcs and leave.
“Ah, um." To that Lee Ji-soo, Park Jin-soo spoke cautiously. "About the Comet Guild. Ah, well. It's a bit awkward to say this, but.”
Very cautiously.
“Say it, don't beat around the bush.”
"Are things not going well for the Comet Guild these days?"
“What do you mean by that?" At the question, Park Jin-soo rolled his eyes a couple of times before speaking. “All of them.”
"What?"
“I said, all of them.” “What do you mean by that?” “Ah, well, including the Comet Guild members who came with us, all 13 of them are trying to kill me.”
At those words, Lee Ji-soo stared at Park Jin-soo with a look of disbelief, and Park Jin-soo scratched his head in response. Seeing that, Lee Ji-soo was certain.
‘It's true.’
That Park Jin-soo was definitely not saying this as a joke. In the first place, Park Jin-soo didn't have a personality that particularly liked joking around. It was just that his actions looked like he was joking.
And the moment she arrived at that fact, Lee Ji-soo felt a chill run down her spine.
'My god.’
To summarize, not only were four Guilds stepping up to crush the Comet Guild, but all the specialists within the Comet Guild, handpicked by Kim Jeong-bin, had been bought out? A truly unbelievable thing! At the same time, it was an extremely dangerous thing.
Because right now, out of the 15 people who entered, 13 were determined to kill Park Jin-soo. "I did talk about it with the Chief Secretary, but I didn't know it would really turn out like this.”
"What?"
However, at the words that followed, Lee Ji-soo's expression twisted. “Ah, Chief Secretary Kim Jeong-bin mentioned it at the end.
He said that he recruited specialists to protect me, but honestly, with the case of that guy... that son of a bitch who sold out the country... ah, anyway, with his case and all, there was no guarantee they wouldn't be traitors. So I made a suggestion."
“A suggestion?"
“That it would be more convenient to just pick out the bastards who would definitely betray us and send them.”
At those words, Lee Ji-soo had a blank expression for a moment, then spoke after a pause.
“What did you say?”
“Isn't that better than being uncertain? Whether they try to kill me or not, those traitorous bastards have to be cleaned up someday anyway, so I can rest easy even if I kill them by 'mistake', right? And it seems he picked and sent those kinds of guys. Confirmed sons of bitches.”
At that point, a smile hung on Park Jin-soo's lips, and the moment she saw that smile, Lee Ji-soo was certain. “So, with that said, I have a good plan. Would you like to hear it?"
That Park Jin-soo was enjoying this moment more than ever.