Chapter 11
After falling asleep from excessive stress and finally waking up,
Kang Ha-min's eyes shot wide open the moment he saw the money in the account.
It was officially Baek Cheon-myeong's bank account.
But in reality, it was Kang Ha-min's bank account.
And there it was.
330 million won.
He had never imagined seeing that much money in a bank account during his lifetime.
"Yeah, Mom. That's what happened. Okay. Don't worry about it."
So he quickly made up an explanation for his mother and transferred some money to her.
Since he planned to send her money every month from now on, he didn't send too much at once.
Knowing his mother's personality, she would definitely make a huge fuss if a massive amount suddenly appeared in her account.
For now, the money is technically going into Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong's account.
He needed to be careful and avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
Maybe it was because his storehouse was finally full of rice.
Kang Ha-min started the day looking more relaxed than ever before.
But it didn't take long for him to face another problem.
...What do I do now?
His money problems had disappeared overnight.
Kang Ha-min had spent every day going to work.
He never really had anything he wanted to do.
Go to work.
Come home.
Eat.
Look at his phone.
Sleep.
Even before this, he hadn't really done much with his free time.
You had to know how to spend money in order to spend it.
For someone who had no idea how to enjoy money, suddenly becoming rich only left him confused.
Was my life really this boring?
On top of that, his only childhood friend had disappeared during a Dimensional Break.
Only now did he realize just how boring a person he had become.
"Master, isn't it about time to climb the Tower?"
At that moment, Baek Cheon-myeong reminded him that the Tower's challenge time had reset.
Climbing the Tower was Baek Cheon-myeong's only wish.
For him, every day was simply time spent waiting until he could enter the Tower again.
Kang Ha-min felt a little awkward.
I already made money. Is there really any reason to keep climbing the Tower?
Honestly, after earning this much, he no longer felt much need for the Tower.
Just steadily selling the medicinal herbs still sitting in his bag would give him enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
Since money had been the main reason he entered the Tower in the first place, it was only natural for him to hesitate now.
Once people had enough to eat and live comfortably, they didn't want to suffer.
Hungry people were the ones who worked.
"That expression clearly says you're wondering whether there's any reason to keep climbing the Tower."
Baek Cheon-myeong's ability to read him was frighteningly accurate.
"Ahem, ahem. No, I'm not."
As Ha-min awkwardly cleared his throat, Baek Cheon-myeong pointed outside.
"Master, then allow me to tell you one important fact."
"An important fact?"
"If the Tower's highest floor continues to remain uncleared, the Second Trial will occur in this world two months from now."
"Judging by his reaction earlier, that fellow named Shin No-seop seems to know about it as well."
"Uh, what?"
What?
The Second Trial?
"While we're at it, I'll tell you what the Second Trial is."
Baek Cheon-myeong pointed toward the people walking outside the window.
"After the sun goes out, one-third of humanity will transform into Dark Wraiths that steal the light of others."
Wait.
What?
"Hunters, however, are excluded."
Uh.
Uh?
Kang Ha-min froze.
He couldn't say a single word.
There was no way to know who would be among that one-third.
But it could be anyone.
His parents included.
"The 161st Floor is where your world's progress has stopped. The Hunters who achieved Tower Ascension were probably not strong enough."
How long had it been since the Tower was last updated?
Ha-min hurriedly grabbed his phone and searched.
About six months.
The Tower had already remained unchanged for half a year.
If no Hunter managed to push the Tower forward within the remaining time,
the world would face an irreversible disaster.
Baek Cheon-myeong merely told him the truth.
He didn't make any further suggestion.
The choice always belonged to his master, Kang Ha-min.
Ha-min remained frozen in place.
Now he understood, at least a little,
why Shin No-seop had treated him with such extreme respect.
"...Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong."
"Speak."
"...Can you reach and clear the 161st Floor within half a year?"
Half a year was roughly 182 days.
That meant they would have to clear almost one floor every single day.
And from the 100th Floor onward, where Tower Ascension began, the difficulty increased dramatically.
Could even Baek Cheon-myeong really do that?
But then,
a terrifying smile spread across Baek Cheon-myeong's lips.
He looked as though he had been waiting for Ha-min to ask that exact question.
"If it is this body, then it is entirely possible."
Decision made.
Earth was also the world where Kang Ha-min had to live.
Safety first.
But even that principle only mattered if the world itself continued to exist.
He couldn't just let the world be destroyed.
Kang Ha-min took a deep breath and raised his head.
"Let's climb the Tower."
Of course, Baek Cheon-myeong would be the one actually climbing it.
Even so,
Kang Ha-min's attitude was far more serious than before.
Maybe other Hunters would eventually clear the Tower.
Kang Ha-min had considered that possibility too.
But only half a year remained.
If nobody managed to update the Tower within that time, the Second Trial would begin.
It's not like I'm especially patriotic.
He had been born as a timid man who always put safety first.
But even Kang Ha-min had things he wanted to protect.
His parents, who had raised him his entire life.
And the safe modern life he was used to.
If the world ended, he would lose all of it.
It's kind of embarrassing to act like I'm making some huge decision when you think about it.
After all,
Baek Cheon-myeong was the one who would actually climb the Tower.
There wasn't much Ha-min himself could even do.
He would probably just sit there watching Baek Cheon-myeong climb and cheer him on.
While Kang Ha-min was convincing himself of that,
"Master, it seems you're misunderstanding something, so I'll tell you one more time."
Baek Cheon-myeong had already created another wooden sword and attached it to his waist.
"Climbing the Tower may be this body's desire, but before that, it is Master's will."
"Without Master's will, this body cannot climb the Tower at all."
Baek Cheon-myeong gave a short laugh.
"Remember that this is not something this body is accomplishing through my strength alone."
He was trying to give Ha-min some pride.
"Ahem, hmm."
Ha-min was weak against words like that.
His shoulders were already rising a little.
"Sounds good. Let's go."
The Tower's challenge time had just reset.
"Hunter Kang Ha-min, I will enter the Tower."
The moment he spoke, a door appeared before him.
Thud.
Simply looking at the door made him nervous.
The higher someone climbed the Tower, the more wildly the difficulty increased.
Considering what the First Floor had looked like,
there was no way to know how difficult the Second Floor would be.
"I'll return."
Baek Cheon-myeong's vision overlapped with Kang Ha-min's.
Ha-min had become much more accustomed to the shared vision compared to the first day.
Creeeak.
The door to the Second Floor opened.
