First Move (1)

I'd already achieved everything I set out to do during my 3-day stay.

'I finally got some well-deserved rest and passed the hunter exam.'

Looking back at everything I did in one day made me feel pretty proud.

I had a suspicion that this might have been a waste of 500 points but…

Nothing of that sort even crossed my mind now.

'Things have been working out a little too well.'

I initially planned to get a leg up on everyone before the exam criteria changed…

But it looked like I'd be able to sell items right away.

This might be the best course of action considering the flood of low-rank items that would come.

The problem would be all the other challengers who'd be returning to Earth soon.

With this pattern, it shouldn't be too long before the other challengers reached the 8th floor.

'I need to use my time more efficiently.'

Even with that thought, I stopped by the corner store and bought a pack of bungeo-ppang*.

I thought about holding back, but things like this were the main reason I came back to Earth.

My bank balance was telling me no but—

'Eh, it'll be okay once I sell all the items I brought.'

No use in caring about money.

I grabbed some more snacks from the store and returned to my room with a full mouth.

Click.

"…This place is the same as usual."

The apartment looked exactly the same as when I left it.

It was funny to see that a life-changing event just happened in my room.

Yet seeing the same room made everything feel like a dream.

"…Come to think of it, I've been here for quite some time."

I received it from the government-funded player support program.

Since I'm officially a hunter, I should be able to receive a bigger apartment.

'That doesn't even matter though. I'm going back to the tower soon.'

I won't waste my time with useless shit.

Collapse.

"I'll get some rest for now."

I put my head on the pillow and took out my phone from my pocket.

I just wanted to get an update on everything as well as release some stress.

But.

'Nothing's changed.'

The world is still the same place.

I looked up 'Tower of Trials' to see if anyone's posted about it but it was to no avail.

The other challengers must not have gotten out yet.

500 isn't a luxury most players would be able to afford if they weren't on the top of the leaderboards.

'I probably wouldn't have come out without all the bonus rewards I've been getting.'

A couple of days might change the situation but…

I couldn't afford to be that patient.

'Let me first sell all the items that I need to take care of.'

It was time to say goodbye to some of my trusted friends.

Like the assassin's cloak and the obsidian dagger.

The cloak's bonus disappeared now that my agility had reached 50.

And the buffs on the dagger were falling behind some of the other equipment.

'Which ones should I sell…'

After pondering, I came to a conclusion.

I'd leave the cloak because agility was still my main stat, but the obsidian dagger and deadwood shield had to go.

Especially because the effect on the deadwood shield didn't match my fighting style anymore.

I did turn the tide of the battle with this effect before, but it was too risky.

Rather than taking damage for some extra buffs, I preferred to take them down with one swift strike.

'It's decided then.'

I'd stop by the hunter market tomorrow to take care of it.

After deciding, I realized that I had nothing left to do.

I was supposed to rest but…

"What was I supposed to do again?"

The only thing I did when I was home was train.

I had no hobbies or interests.

'Hm, should I pick up a game or something?'

I didn't really feel like it.

Ah, if this was the tower, I'd just train.

Catching myself mid-thought, I smiled.

"What's wrong with me?"

I came here because I wanted to take a break but…

I think I was more comfortable with training now.

Ironic.

It did mean that I'd adapted well to the tower.

'Funny.'

After the bowls of gukbap and some snacks, my cravings were satisfied.

With a nice warm shower, I was completely satisfied.

'I wasn't really the type to splurge even before the tower.'

My head was only filled with thoughts about training.

That's how I lived for the past 7 years.

'I'd essentially become addicted to it now.'

It allowed me to survive in the tower.

'I'll only get stronger the more I climb.'

I didn't know how many trials were left, but the rewards could only get better from here.

I'd learn more about the tower, and in turn, the new world we lived in.

'The questions, administrator, and rewards.'

The tower was much more generous than the dungeons.

They gave us access to all kinds of commands to extract information from.

But I had no intentions of using any of them at the moment.

'I need to wait until at least the 8th floor.'

It'd be the most efficient, seeing that a lot more things would be added to the system.

I had an intuition that there would be more to find out the higher I climbed the tower.

'But that's that.'

I cut myself off and closed my eyes.

I had to force myself to get some well-deserved mental rest.

'It'll be a while since I'll get this again…'

My senses slowly drifted away as my muscles relaxed.

I initially worried about not being able to sleep, but it was all for naught.

It was my first deep sleep in a long long time.

***

Vrrr, vrrr.

My eyes opened wide as I felt a vibration next to my head.

I blindly grasped for my phone a couple of times until I finally found it.

I fought the gravity of the comfy bed and got myself to sit up.

And—

「 11:30 AM 」

"…Huh?"

I stared into my screen, confused.

'If this it's 11:30 in the morning…'

It was around 8 pm when I went to sleep, so I slept for almost 15 hours.

"Damn, I slept for that long?"

The longest I slept before the tower was around 8 hours.

"I guess I was more tired than I thought…"

Crack!

I stood up and gave all my muscles a good stretch.

'I guess all that's left to do is get rid of these items.'

Seeing the items neatly arranged on the floor gave me a bittersweet feeling.

It wasn't a long time, but some of these items saved my life.

The sentimental value would be lost if I sold them but…

'That's not a good enough reason to not sell these.'

They could lose all of their value once an influx of items came in from new returners.

I put all the items in a bag and put on a hoodie and jeans to look inconspicuous.

Since this was a neighborhood designated for players, everything from the hunter association to the whole economy was related to hunters.

I didn't need to waste much time getting to the hunter market.

I was never qualified to be in here before but—

「 Please show your hunter license. 」

「 Hunter Han Sungyeun, confirmed. 」

Not anymore.

'Wow, hunters sure have it nice with all this space.'

I entered the lobby of the gigantic building, which must have been at least 10 stories tall.

The hunter market— a large mall where hunters go to buy and sell items.

There were stalls dedicated to repairing and strengthening equipment, as well as places that just displayed a myriad of weapons.

Of course…

'None of them are that good.'

The gallery was just filled with F to D-grade trash.

I walked past, as I had no use for it.

"Welcome, sir."

I stepped into the item sale office and a young woman approached me.

"What items are you looking to sell today?"

"Hm, just a shield and a dagger I happened upon."

"A shield and a dagger, two items. The grades are…"

"One D and one E."

"Oh, that's quite high."

"I got kind of lucky."

She didn't ask me for any further details.

"Okay. Can you show us the items here?"

I walked to the nearby table and displayed the contents of my bag.

The obsidian dagger and the deadwood shield.

The woman widened her eyes with surprise as I took them out.

"This kind of quality… you really want to sell these?"

It was as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll have any more use for it."

"…Ah, you were a high ranker."

She nodded at her insight while I opted to stay silent.

It wasn't accurate, but I had no intentions of correcting her.

"Hm, I'm estimating that the dagger would sell for $65,000 and the shield $100,000."

Shocked, I could barely ask my question.

"…Don't E-grade items usually go for like $40,000? The shield would also be worth like $55.000."

"No, not all of them. These are both high-quality items."

The woman shook her head at the tidbit of knowledge I had.

"They both have more effects than I thought and more qualities that aren't marked by the system."

"What do you mean by qualities that aren't marked by the system?"

"Just like the ingredient the dagger is made of and the origins of this shield."

'They must have seen some value in the explanation about the black steel and that the shield was made for a berserker.'

That completely went over my head.

I didn't really have any experience in this area, so I felt a little lacking.

'I should have done some research beforehand.'

The woman continued to talk.

"If you want, you can go ask other sales offices."

"…It's fine. I'll just take care of it here."

There's no real reason for me to go to a different office.

Unlike normal, markets where anyone can come and go, hunter markets were very restricted. Most trades were based on trust.

There was no need to make unnecessary enemies.

'Especially if they've mistaken you as a high ranker.'

No market in the world would try to grift a high ranker.

"Just write down your banking information. We'll wire you the money immediately."

My phone buzzed as soon as I gave them the info.

「 $165,000 has been deposited into your account. 」

「 Balance – $172,380 」

The bank notified me of my new balance.

The reality set in and my heart fluttered.

'…I finally feel like a real hunter.'

I was positive.

It was the right choice to use my precious points on this trip.

____