Rachel probably still suspected something. Evandel also became excited after seeing Rachel and threw a huge tantrum for the first time. Blood truly was thicker than water.

It took 2 days to appease Evandel. I did my best to lighten her mood with Clancy Islet’s festival. Then I made her a beautiful bracelet with one of the jewels from Jain and promised her that I would eventually let her meet Rachel.

I wasn’t lying. I had to reveal her to the world someday, but not yet. Once I had the power to protect her and she had the power to protect herself.

It would be wrong to waste her talent because I wanted to protect her. Evandel had a peerless talent for stronghold defense in the original story. That shouldn’t have changed.

“You had fun today, right?”

“Uun.”

We finished touring England and returned to the underground training room I built for her. She created many spirit animals over the years and they currently flew around the room. Eagles, wolves, horses, hippos… a huge mystical army greeted us. Even at a glance, one could see over a thousand of them. Evandel commanded them with a single flick.

“Everyone, clickety-clack.”

She muttered strange noises.

“Squish, squoosh.”

Her spirits moved according to the different sounds.

“Chico, chico.”

She waved her arms like a conductor and commanded them to dance.

“Sparkly, sparkly!”

That one seemed to be an attack as they took an aggressive stance. Then they spread apart and charged forward at multiple angles.

“That’s enough. Perfect score! Well done.”

I praised Evandel and held her up as she smiled in my arms.

“I can command them even better with my magician hat and wand!”

“Oh, really?”

I made a mental note to upgrade her gear later and looked around the training room. However, I didn’t find any special spirits.

“Um, Evandel, where’s Fenrir?”

I couldn’t find Fenrir in the sea of monsters.

“Over there.”

She pointed to the corner as I followed her finger to a black wolf lying by the wall. Only he radiated an imposing aura.

“Little wolf.”

His eyes shot open and he quickly ran over with his tongue out. I left Fenrir with her since I knew the tower would treat him as equipment.

“He got smaller?”

“Un! Otherwise, he’s too big.”

“I see.”

I checked Fenrir’s stats.

[Ghost Wolf] [Servant] [High-intermediate rank] The first servant created by Evandel the witch. ▷Basic Stats [Strength 12.150] [Bite 12.850] [Stamina 8.635] [Speed 13.950] [Perception 13.950] [Vitality 8.850] [Magic Power 9.950]

Absurd didn’t even begin to describe him. He would crush me in a fight. I wouldn’t be surprised if he reached the real Fenrir’s level soon.

“Alright, Evandel. Can you play with your friends for a bit? I need to do something.”

“Okay!”

Evandel cheerfully nodded as I bent into a sitting posture. I didn’t have a chair, but aether automatically transformed into one.

I turned on my smartwatch and entered Violet Banquet.

[Welcome, Truth Agency’s administrator.] [You have 77 clients eagerly waiting to hear back.]

As expected, I received a huge backlog of requests and looked through the list. The ones that caught my attention came from Frost Sanctuary, Desolate Moon, and Essence of the Strait’s Yoo Yeonha.

I can tell Yoo Yeonha that I operate the Truth Agency, right?

I pondered as I checked her request.

[I hope you are doing well, Truth Agency. I am LadyU. I’ve contacted you once before. Today’s request is something purely to satisfy my curiosity. I will not take it to heart even if you decline knowing how busy you must be. I hope you do not think I am bothering you with trifling questions…]

She sounded quite serious. It must be because of my clause, [Being respectful and polite may quicken the response time].

As I read the main content of her request…

[Is Yun Seung-Ah from Creator’s Sacred Grace in a romantic relationship with Jeronimo Mercenary’s Kim Hajin?]

“Cough. W-What, is she crazy?”

I became so dumbfounded I choked on air. What strange fantasy did she have now? I quickly replied and made a mental note to look into it later.

[They are only neighbors.] [We will not require any payment for such a simple request.]

I went back to scrolling through the list.

“Eh?”

A certain name caught my attention.

[Hello, I am contacting you as the representative of Daehyun’s chairman, Chae Joochul the Immortal…]

***

Aileen returned to Earth for the first time. She felt like she had regained her missing honor and authority from the tower. Requests for interviews flooded in as news of her return spread. After all, Aileen stood at the peak of her generation and entered the tower with the first wave of heroes.

She enjoyed interviews and participated in a press conference. She even made it a huge event on the Tower of Heroes’ front lawn to showcase her rewards. Aileen reminded herself to keep one hand on her waist at all times.

Indeed, she became the main character for the first half, at least.

“We’ve been receiving reports that Pandemonium’s infamous terrorist, Black Lotus, has also entered the tower.”

“This man known as Black Lotus…”

“If there is anything you know about his identity…”

“Sir Vast Expanse also commented about him. We would like to hear Miss Aileen’s comment as well!”

However, their attention quickly turned to another player. Feeling sour, Aileen responded half-heartedly and sent them away. The seasoned reporters couldn’t raise any objections in front of her.

“I’m not Black Lotus, so why are you asking me? That’s it for the interview. Please go back.”

Please go back. With just three words, the reporters all packed their belongings and returned to their cars.

“Unni?”

Only one person resisted her Spirit Speech after the reporters left like cockroaches. Yun Seung-Ah approached her.

“What.”

Aileen glanced at Yun Seung-Ah holding a plastic bag with tofu.

“Congrats on leaving the tower. Welcome back.”

“Hmph, it’s not like I went to jail or anything.” [1]

She took the tofu despite grumbling.

“Unni, are you out for good or are you returning soon?”

“I’m going back tomorrow.”

At first, Aileen wanted to make an excuse and leave the tower halfway, but she decided to climb until the end after witnessing the mysterious power of skills. The tower also grew increasingly interesting.

“You’re here because you have something to say, right? Where do you want to go? My house or my office?” Aileen asked while intending to show off her skill.

“Mm, well… I don’t care either way.”

“Okay, let’s go to my office.”

Aileen grabbed her hand as Yun Seung-Ah grew flustered at the unusual action.

“W-Why are you grabbing my hand?”

Aileen didn’t respond. The world flipped 180 degrees as a new scenery greeted them. They found themselves in the office.

“W-W-What?”

“Huhu, how is it? As I thought, my skill seems even stronger outside the tower.”

Aileen looked perfectly calm as Yun Seung-Ah panicked. She had used the skill, teleport. Unlike blink, it needed some time before activation, which made it trickier to use in battle. However, it could transport up to 2 people. Of course, it required more magic power, but that didn’t affect Aileen outside the tower.

“A chantless teleportation spell that doesn’t require a magic circle?”

“I was shocked when I first learned it too.”

“Amazing…” Yun Seung-Ah looked jealous.

“Why don’t you enter the tower too? It’ll be a great opportunity.”

“You know why. I’m busy with my guild.”

“Why are you sacrificing yourself for a guild? Don’t be stupid.”

Yun Seung-Ah smiled bitterly.

“Anyways, why are you here?” Aileen spoke as she sat. Their height difference had been bothering her for a while.

“Well, I’m here to bribe you.”

“Bribe?”

“I’m close with two kids inside the tower. Unni’s one of the strongest in the tower, right?”

“Cough.”

Aileen leaned against her chair.

“I am the strongest.”

“Right, exactly.”

Aileen’s lips trembled. Compliments always made her weak.

“Alright, that much shouldn’t be hard. One should be Kim Suho, but who’s the other one?”

Yun Seung-Ah hesitated before continuing.

“Fenrir, Kim Hajin. Do you know him?”

“Fenrir? I do, but I haven’t run into him.”

“Treat him well if you happen to meet him. Help him too if he’s having trouble.”

Yun Seung-Ah sounded serious, so Aileen confidently replied, “I got it. Trust me.”

Then Aileen busily went around after their meeting. She enjoyed the attention and threw several media events, lectures, and conferences while Yi Yongha quietly rested at home with his wife.

Aileen returned to the tower after spending the night on Earth. However, shocking news confronted her before she could even recall Yun Seung-Ah’s request.

[A player has entered the 8th floor.] [An unknown player has cursed you!] [A bounty has been placed on your head!] [Anyone who defeats you will receive 5000 TP.]

Three seconds. Aileen stood in a daze for 3 seconds. Then she rubbed her eyes, but still couldn’t comprehend the system messages.

“What bullshit is this?”

Aileen spat out a curse.

***

[Tower of Wish, 8-3F Crevon Mainland]

I returned to the tower after a 5 day vacation. I ended up spending an extra day outside, but the tower didn’t experience any dramatic changes. Only the news of me reaching the 8th floor filled the public forum.

[The player on the 8th floor must be Black Lotus, right?]

— Almost certainly.

— Nah, it might not be him! I heard Black Lotus and Fenrir fought each other and the latter came out on top.

— What? Fenrir?

“What?”

A strange comment caught my attention as I light-heartedly looked through the public forum. The player’s ID read, [JiSUPERYoon]. She must’ve heard from Kim Suho.

“This girl…”

Was she in charge of spreading rumors? Well, it would be good if more people perceived Black Lotus and Fenrir as different people.

“You go, Yi Jiyoon!”

[JiSUPERYoon] posted another comment.

— Yep lol Fenrir is using a gun inside the tower. He entered with the black ticket lol and seemed to have brought a gun with it. He’s practically a grand general inside the tower.

“…”

I exited the public forum and stood in front of the [Ironblood Duchess’ Mansion].

“You know me, right?”

“Of course, welcome back! Our honored guest, Kim Hajin.”

“Thank you.”

I entered the mansion’s lobby after passing by the knights at the entrance and walking through a beautiful garden. First, I tried to locate Boss and aether responded to my thoughts.

[Aether Algorithm – Vision Improvement]

My vision instantly expanded and the thousand-mile eyes penetrated the walls. Aether displayed a clearer view of my target.

[Player Boss found.] [Vitality – 100/100] [Magic Power – 100/100] [Status – Reading a book] [Predicted Future Action – 99% chance of turning the page.]

It displayed all sorts of extraneous information. Interesting. I walked to the library upstairs.

“Boss.”

I called her with a smile.

“Oh.” She briefly glanced at me and nodded.

“You’re late.”

“I ended up staying another day.”

Boss seemed hurt for some reason. I examined her closely. As I thought, she had bruises under her left eye, above her collarbone, and near other parts of her body.

“Boss, did someone beat you up?”

“Mm.”

Boss snickered. “I’ve been sparring with the Ironblood Duchess recently.”

“Huh?”

My jaws dropped. Did that mean Tomer beat her up? Tomer wasn’t weak by any means, but she should be a few levels below Boss…

“Boss, how much of your stats have you recovered?”

“About 50~60%.”

It seemed Tomer had grown incredibly strong inside the tower.

“Keep up the good work. Crevon doesn’t have a hideout system, but it does have bonus stat boosts for sparring.”

Crevon contained many powerful NPCs. Naturally, many quests and events involved them. One could only fully reap this floor’s benefits through strength.

“I plan to spar for the next month. The Ironblood Duchess seems to enjoy sparring me too.”

“Yo.”

A voice suddenly called us. I turned and saw Tomer walking towards us with a grin.

“Here, it’s what you asked for. I got it ready while you went back to Earth.”

She trudged up and handed over a small crystal.

“Oh, already?”

[Lv.7 Location Crystal Stele]

I could teleport to the World’s End Bridge whenever I wanted by infusing this portable crystal stele with magic power. It would be much easier to prevent players from reaching the 9th floor now.

“You should be able to reach the eastern border with it. It was quite expensive, so don’t lose it. It cost 20-30 times the money I owed you.”

That meant this crystal was worth at least 6-9 billion won. I stored it away and tapped Tomer’s shoulders.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Also, you can only use it 5 times, so don’t forget. And here.”

Tomer handed me a box that seemed even more important than the crystal stele.

“What’s this?”

“Half a year ago, monsters began dropping strange pieces of paper. We threw them away at first, but it seemed fishy so I collected them all into this box.”

“Paper?”

A sudden thought flashed across my mind. Paper! This box might be the most precious treasure chest in the entire tower. I quickly opened it.

[Item Experience +50 Coupon x 11] [Item Experience +70 Coupon x 4] [Item Experience +100 Coupon x 4] [Lv.2 Consolidation Coupon] [Lv.4 Skill Consolidation Coupon x 3] [Lv.3 Skill Consolidation Coupon x 2] [Skill Experience +30 Coupon x 11] [Skill Experience +60 Coupon x 9]…

An absolute gold mine. I almost fainted from shock at the item windows.

“I can’t use these, but I figured the rest of you probably could.”

“…”

I felt so touched that my body automatically moved and hugged Tomer.

“H-Hey, are you crazy?”

“Thanks, friend.”

“It’s hot.”

She easily pushed me away like tossing aside a puppy clinging to her leg.

“Don’t squeeze me if you’re going to hug.”

“Well, you see, I’ve been needing these. I still can’t believe you have so many. How long did you collect them for again?”

“Six months.”

I suddenly felt a sharp gaze and turned around. Boss glared at us.

“Oh? Why are you glaring?” Tomer asked teasingly. I couldn’t understand what happened as Boss flinched and looked away.

“Cough. Duchess, would you like to spar again today?”

“A spar? Sure, I’d be happy to. Follow me.”

Boss went outside with Tomer. The way they left made Boss seem inferior.

***

The Guild Alliance quickly climbed the tower after news of a player reaching the 8th floor.

They attacked castle no.5 four days later. Even Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Yi Yongha participated this time. They thought Black Lotus might show up again, but he must’ve reached the 8th floor as the castle attack ended without anything special. Rachel greatly contributed as an elementalist like usual.

As expected, castle no.5 contained the crystal stele that led to the 6th floor along with the sun’s essence that Medea wanted. They climbed to the 6th floor after giving the sun’s essence to Medea and claiming the reward. Players needed [100,000] performance points to reach the 6th floor, but most Guild Alliance members already surpassed that.

[6F, Splendor]

A beautiful view immediately greeted them. Someone seemed to have hammered a wooden sign into the ground.

[Use this place to train.]

Was it some kind of a trap? Such a thought crossed everyone’s minds. The administrator arrived and allocated their time to them as they discussed the matter. Some received 6 hours and some received 100, but the average player received around 48 hours.

Essence of the Strait, Frost Sanctuary, Desolate Moon, and the English Royal Court guild decided to train. The rankers also chose the same while other guilds and the djinn alliances climbed up.

The ones who climbed to the 7th floor Game Center encountered an unbelievable sight.

“What?”

“How is this possible?”

“The hell! It’s SevenPoker again!”

Curses and cries of astonishment rang out throughout the Game Center. One person took first place for most of the virtual reality games. Players suspected SevenPoker was the floor administrator, but the letter P next to the ID signified a player.

“It looks like Black Lotus wiped this place clean!”

“Fucking hell, how can he be so greedy! Can’t we put a bounty on him?”

“We don’t know his nickname. Even if we did, who would dare challenge him?”

“I guess you’re right.”

A week went by and most players ran out of time on the 6th floor. They passed through the 7th floor’s Game Center and began to gather on floor 8-1, the Field of Trials.

“We just have to reach the end of this place?”

A warm breeze blew across the vast field.

“Looks like it, Lady Aileen.”

Aileen’s party consisted of Jin Seyeon, Aileen, Yi Yongha, and Shin Jonghak. They all stood at the starting line.

“Should we divide the task somehow?”

Kim Suho’s party consisted of Chae Nayun, Yi Yeonghan, Yi Jiyoon, and the Fermun siblings.

“We probably don’t need to. Just look around for any djinns nearby.”

“Djinns? Ah, right. Someone put a bounty on Lady Aileen.”

Jin Seyeon frowned when she thought about how someone dared to target Aileen.

“You be quiet. Like I care about some idiot putting a bounty on my… eh?”

Something caught Aileen’s attention. A cute squirrel appeared on the field. It looked a little bigger than usual, but Aileen loved cute things and didn’t suspect anything.

“Come here, little squirrel. I’ll give you treats.”

The squirrel stared at Aileen warily before scurrying up to her. However, it began acting strangely after arriving beside Aileen and rubbed its hands on her pocket.

“Haha, look! This squirrel is adorable.”

Aileen only found it to be cute and didn’t notice what was happening. -30 TP, -40 TP, -20 TP, -30 TP… Jain could transform into an animal now and ran to Aileen as soon as she spotted her from the forest.

“What are you doing here? Are you hungry? Do you want food?”

The grinning Aileen looked like an idiot.

Jain happily smiled.

“Look! This squirrel is smiling. It must like me a lot! Should I take it as a pet?”

Aileen kneeled and patted the squirrel’s head, unaware that it had robbed her in broad daylight.

1. It is a Korean tradition to eat tofu after leaving prison. ☜