I looked towards the far side of the cave. The voice belonged to someone I knew well. With a bobbed haircut and the red crystal spear, Chae Nayun nervously bit her lips as she wandered around the cave entrance.

“...”

I looked at her from a spot where she couldn’t see me. A bitter feeling rose from the deepest corner of my heart. Was it sorrow or guilt? An emotion that couldn’t be described.

— Hey, hey, come out.

Chae Nayun waved her spear around, suspicious of any traps. The way she moved her hand seemed somewhat strange.

— Is it empty?

She stepped into the cave, but I couldn’t let that happen. I took out the [Lv.6 Demon’s Cunning Speech] book I just acquired and infused it with stigma’s magic power. I wanted to activate the skill, deceitful quest.

[Assign a quest to the Player 478 m away.] [Quest Info] Rank — Intermediate, Summary — Warning! This cave is full of traps and Lv. 4 monsters. It is recommended you enter with at least 8 individuals. Detailed quest information will only be revealed with at least a group of 8. Reward ???

— Whoa!

Chae Nayun widened her eyes and blankly stared into the air.

— Yes! It’s a quest! I found a quest!

Then she quickly cupped her hands over her mouth and looked around.

— Hmm…

She slowly backed off after checking that nobody overheard her excited holler. Then her next actions seemed a bit strange. She began to gather large leaves and branches to cover up the cave entrance.

“…”

I bitterly smiled. At least she had grown a little smarter. I collected the item drops scattered throughout the cave while Chae Nayun ran around. I received a lot thanks to my high luck, but only a few could be used.

[Lv.1 Skill Consolidation Scroll] [Inventory Expansion Coupon] [Basic Skill Acquisition Book – Lv.0 Summon Skeleton] [Lv.3 Skeleton Warrior’s Bone Armor]

The skill consolidation scroll could be used to upgrade [Lv.1 Synthesis] and the rest could be sold.

— Mmm, perfect.

A voice echoed from the distance. Chae Nayun nodded in satisfaction at the completely hidden entrance before returning.

“Whew…”

I went back to what I needed to do after Chae Nayun left. I looked at the countless corpses on the ground. They had all increased my skill proficiency, but one problem remained.

“How am I going to get through all these?”

***

[Inventory] Lv.0 Skeleton Crystal x 123, Lv1. Zombie’s Vengeful Spirit x 121, Lv.1 Ghoul’s Evil Heart x 108

For 2 hours, I used extraction and permanent materialization on all the undead in the cave. Of the 400 corpses, I successfully converted 352. With my luck, extraction and permanent materialization had a success rate of almost 90%.

[Basic Skills (3/3)] [Lv.3 Extraction and Permanent Materialization (2 slots)] [Lv.2 Synthesis (1 slot)]

Extraction and permanent materialization grew to Lv.3, but I received an even better harvest.

[By repeatedly using skills, you have acquired the special stat, spirit power.] [Your status window will now display spirit power along with vitality and magic power. Spirit power will be consumed when using skills.] [You may now train spirit power.]

Skills required spirit power since they were considered the power of souls in this world. Skills required players to use their vitality before acquiring spirit power. That’s why I had to consume 13 health potions in the last 2 hours.

[TIP! Players can fuse magic power and spirit power.] [The fused spirit power will be stored in your heart.] [This is recommended for easier activation of skills.]

“No, that’s okay.”

Most players would opt to do what the system suggested since fusing it with magic power made it easier to wield.

Spirit power could only be obtained from the tower. I needed to make spirit power into my new weapon since I only had Master Sharpshooter and aether. However, I wouldn’t be able to use skills outside the tower if I fused spirit power with magic power.

[You have chosen not to fuse spirit power with magic power. Spirit power scatters in your bloodstream. Using it will require training to elaborately manipulate.] [An attribute has been assigned to your spirit power based on your current skills.] [Your spirit power has acquired the matter interference attribute.] [Skills of this attribute will rank up while skills of other attributes will have their efficiency lowered.]

Obvious attributes like water, wind, earth, and fire existed along with more unique ones like eternal resistance, which Kim Suho would gain, and reality manipulation, which Jin Sahyuk would gain.

“Matter interference…”

Mine sounded like an inferior version of reality manipulation. I wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad, but it seemed to suit me. I exited the cave and left behind a Lv.3 longsword from a random dice for Chae Nayun.

“Ah, I’m so tired.”

I walked through Prestige’s eternal darkness and returned to the city.

“Everyone! Look at this!”

However, the city seemed a bit louder than usual. A group of people held onto pickets and shouted.

“We have to join hands!”

I looked at their pickets.

[Looking for players of ordinary backgrounds to join our alliance!] [Ordinary players must join hands against the tyranny and information control of guilds!] [The Ordinary Player Alliance is waiting for you!]

“I guess it’s about time.”

An annoying group had begun to form. The Ordinary Player Alliance was no different from a cult that practiced pyramid schemes. On paper, they aimed to bring together players who weren’t heroes or djinns since guilds and Pandemonium formed cartels of their own. That sounded admirable, but they were incredibly corrupt and violent. I ignored them for now and walked to my shop.

[Riry Shop]

Soon, I spotted the shiny sign I made. A long line of players waited out front. Members of the Ordinary Player Alliance also stood among them.

“Everyone, ordinary players must unite! Guilds refuse to provide us with any information. They look down on us and ignore us!”

One particularly passionate man caught my attention. He screamed his lungs out to convince others around him.

“I, Zurahan, will help you! I will help carry your burden!”

He gave off a positive first impression, but was actually this floor’s main villain. Should I just kill him now or should I watch his foolishness play out more?

“Hmm.”

I decided to leave him alone for now. Killing him wouldn’t be too meaningful since he would just revive and a sudden attack would only increase his follower’s faith. I passed by the long line and entered through the back door. Many players roamed inside and I spotted Rachel among them. She looked at something with a serious face.

“This…”

She seemed to want the Lv.3 wrist protector. For a swordsman, a wrist protector was one of the most important pieces of equipment. However, she shook her head and turned to the potions.

“Berserker potion, external injury healing potion, mana recovery potion…”

She murmured about what to buy.

“Vice leader, you’ve been doing the same thing for the past 30 minutes.”

A guild member called out to her as the door opened and two familiar faces entered.

“Ay, don’t be too depressed Aileen. It happens. At least we don’t have to worry about food. We can even sell some of it.”

“…”

Aileen looked like she would cry as Yi Yongha consoled her.

“Now, let’s take a look. You wanted to see the magic amplification staff, right?”

“I don’t have any money, so I can’t buy it.”

Aileen muttered with a sorrowful voice. Yi Yongha scratched his head.

“Who knows, maybe it’s cheap.”

“It says it costs 2200 TP right there.”

[Lv.3 Magic Amplification Staff – 2200 TP] Aileen pointed to the staff inside a display case. Then she took a deep breath and turned around to hold back her tears. Rachel’s voice rang out.

“Owner, I’ll take 5 of these.”

She finally decided to buy some potions.

“I’m buying in bulk, so can you knock off 100 TP?”

Rachel tried to haggle, but…

“No.”

Kiri firmly rejected her.

***

I stood in front of Kiri and Henry after the shop closed. They seemed cheery and eager to tell me how much profit they made.

“How much did we make?”

“Look!”

“A lot!”

They opened the safe and showed me… 7000 TP. Players generally hesitated to use their money in the tower’s early stages, but they didn’t hesitate to buy potions that could save their lives. The player shop didn’t sell any potions, which greatly benefited me.

“Good, good.”

Now, I should use this money to buy more land. I already thought of a long-term solution for redistributing TP from players to NPCs. To do this properly…

“Here, take this.”

Henry and Kiri needed to grow, so I gave them a total of 4 books. Two would teach them how to read and write, one taught business management, and the other was a skill book called Law of Thinking.

“What are these?”

“They’re books you need to study. For one… no, two… no, whenever you’re free, study them.”

“We’re studying?”

“Wow!”

“Hmm?”

They quickly snatched the books and turned around. Their reactions surprised me since I thought they’d hate studying. Stomp, stomp— They ran up to the 2nd floor as though I would take the books back. I watched the two children with a proud smile.

“Study hard, okay?”

I murmured to myself and left. Now, I should buy the land I had been eyeing. I walked to an empty plot devoid of even a single grass.

“Um, I’d like to buy the land from here to way over there.”

[Would you like to purchase the following plot of land for 6000 TP?]

“Yes.”

This plot of land looked desolate for now, but that would change after 33 demons died. It would become the only fertile land outside the inner city and would produce a crazy amount of food with the magic power in the land. I planned to make a farm, selling cultivated crops to players and distributing them to NPCs. With this, Prestige would become habitable.

Kim Suho would surely change his mind that this place wasn’t a pit of despair where the administrators and players treated NPCs like second-class citizens. No matter how much effort I put in, Kim Suho was the real hero who would climb to the tower’s peak.

***

Outside the tower, Yun Seung-Ah called Kim Suho to her office. She needed to give him something with only a week left until the Tower of Wish’s second opening.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, guild leader.”

“Come sit.”

Yun Seung-Ah smiled as he sat in front of her. First, she placed a ticket on the table as his eyes widened.

“You know what this is, right? It’s a black ticket.”

“…”

Kim Suho stared at it in a daze before looking back at Yun Seung-Ah.

“H-How did you get this?”

“Huhu, I have my connections.”

Yun Seung-Ah proudly crossed her arms. Honestly, she practically begged her former master Yoo Sihyuk, saying it was her final wish. In front of her tears, Yoo Sihyuk had no choice but to ask his best friend, the famous Vast Expanse. Vast Expanse offered it for the cheap, discounted price of 3 billion won. Kim Hajin had more or less bought this ticket for her after he paid 20 billion won for her apartment. She finally had money to buy this ticket.

“Anyways, I got you the best ticket. I have high expectations for you.”

“Ah, but.” Kim Suho scratched his neck.

“What? Do you need something else?”

“No, it’s not that. You see, I found one too.”

“What?”

Kim Suho smiled bashfully and took out a green ticket. Yun Seung-Ah stared at it before smiling.

“A green ticket, it’s not bad. You can bring someone with you then.”

Kim Suho stared at Yun Seung-Ah.

“Except the guild leader and vice guild leader. We’re too busy.”

“Oh, I see. I understand.”

“As I said before, you don’t have to be so formal with me. Oh, also.”

Yun Seung-Ah took out a huge box from underneath her desk. It contained the leather armor Kim Hajin had made for Kim Suho.

“I was surprised too when I received this.”

Yun Seung-Ah wanted to know how Kim Hajin made this armor and had a professional analyzed it 7 times.

“It’s an armor rivaling an intermediate rank artifact.”

“Whoa, intermediate rank artifact?”

Kim Suho's expression brightened. He was unexpectedly a big fan of equipment.

“Yep, it’s made from the leather of a high-intermediate rank, grade 1 mountain tyrant.”

She opened the box as she explained. Kim Suho became lovestruck when he laid eyes on it.

“Amazing design, isn’t it?”

“Y-Yes, it’s fantastic.”

He nodded with his mouth open. The analyst who appraised it wanted to rate it as high-intermediate rank simply because of its design despite it being on the lower end of intermediate rank.

“Take this. It’s a manual written by the maker.”

“The maker? Who is it?”

“Kim Hajin.”

Kim Suho slightly flinched.

“Ha, Hajin?”

“Yep, apparently he received something from the tower that helps him craft items. Who knew he could make something so amazing?”

Kim Suho read the armor’s effects and looked at it once again.

“You don’t look too happy.”

“No, I am. It’s just that…”

Kim Suho pouted. “I’d rather he came to see me.”

“Pft.”

Yun Seung-Ah found his complaint adorable. “He’s busy too. Be understanding.”

“But guild leader, didn’t you meet him?”

“... That’s because we’re neighbors.”

Kim Hajin’s status had elevated to being a great benefactor, but she felt too embarrassed to explain. For the record, her apartment now belonged to Evandel.

“Tell him I said thanks if you see him again.”

“Okay. Oh, he left another gift too.”

“Another one?”

This time, Yun Seung-Ah took out a small notebook.

“This is?”

“Memorize it before you go. Hajin left it for you.”

The cover of the notebook contained the following title: [Tutorial Guide Book].

“He said he’ll be waiting for you.”

“Ah, I see.”

Kim Suho silently laughed after hearing this. Then he slowly opened the notebook. The first page was densely packed.

Hey, has it been 3 years already? Well, writing a greeting feels too awkward, so I’ll just skip it. I’m sure we don’t need it anyway. This notebook is a guide for the tutorial. I’m sure you can plow through any obstacles on your own, but I prepared it just in case. Don’t show this to anyone else. Don’t even tell anyone about it. I won’t be able to clear this tower, but it should be possible for you. I trust you. I made you an armor too, so don’t disappoint me.

“What a long introduction.”

Kim Suho grinned and began to read the rest. At times, he seemed expressionless and sometimes he snickered. Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t help but grow curious.

“W-What’s so funny?”

She stealthily reached out, but Kim Suho turned and rejected her. He didn’t change his mind even though she pouted and narrowed her eyes at him.

***

Another 2 weeks passed in Prestige. The new tutorial began 10 days ago and several factions appeared in Prestige.

Medea’s quest hadn’t progressed at all. I hindered everyone who tried to challenge any demon spire and borrowed Cheok Jungyeong or Boss’ power when I couldn’t do it alone.

An ill rumor began floating around the community because of it, but I couldn’t care less. First place would be mine and I had no intention of giving it up to anyone.

“By the way, are you sure those things will work?”

“Of course.”

Today, I finally left Prestige to destroy the control towers.

“They’re more than enough.”

I reaffirmed Cheok Jungyeong’s doubt and took out a grenade from my inventory.

[Lv.5 Cluster of Hundreds of Vengeful Spirits] Lv.5 Explosion

I made this cluster of vengeful spirits by synthesizing hundreds of undead crystals together. Simply hitting a demon spire should send it crumbling after I imbued this with an ignition attribute using stigma’s magic power.

“Just that tiny thing is enough?” Cheok Jungyeong doubtfully asked again.

“Yep. We’re going to destroy 1 tower every day for the next 3 days.”

“Mm, Boss?”

Jain turned to Boss and asked. Boss fiddled with a mosquito bite on her finger and quickly shoved her hand in her pocket.

“What?”

“We have to inscribe that.”

“That?”

“You know, Hajin’s signature.”

She meant the black lotus symbol.

“…”

Boss nodded and unleashed her magic power, which became a black lotus that inscribed itself on the ground.

“Is it okay to do this? Won’t people know it was us?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Boss firmly spoke. Well, now was around the time the Chameleon Troupe’s name and strength began to spread.

“Oh right, I’m returning to Earth for a bit after we knock down the 3 towers.”

“Earth? Again?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t have anything else to worry about and she would soon arrive as well.

“And I’m going back down to the 2nd floor when I come back.”

“2nd floor? Why?”

Boss curtly asked, but I only smiled.

“I need to do something, but it won’t take long. I’ll bring back some food too.”

“Always a secret.”

Boss stuck out her lips and grumbled, but didn’t dig any further.

“I’m throwing it now.” I raised my hand holding the grenade.

“Is that really enough? That tower looks real sturdy.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just barge in and destroy everything?”

Jain, Cheok Jungyeong, and even Boss doubtfully looked at me. I didn’t say anything. I made this vengeful spirit grenade by repeatedly using [Lv.2 Synthesis] and perfectly threw it like a baseball pitcher. Whiiiish— The grenade soared through the air towards the demon spire. My aim and form looked perfect thanks to Master Sharpshooter. Tk. The grenade landed, but nothing happened at first.

“Hey, kid. Nothing’s hap—”

As Cheok Jungyeong furrowed his brows… Booom— The grenade exploded and a shockwave pulsed out. KWAGWAGWAGWANG—! Then a heaven-shaking explosion followed.

“Oh?”

Cheok Jungyeong’s eyebrows jumped in surprise. It only took 3 seconds for a single grenade to destroy the tower. Fragments rained from the sky and a cloud of dust rose. Just like that, the grenade toppled the demon spire and I still had two left.