[The Tower of Wish has been the topic of interest all around the world. The first wave of players has learned that you may bring back one skill after staying inside for more than 1600 hours. These so-called skills allow even ordinary people without gifts to display supernatural power. The general public now treats these tickets like lottery tickets that could change their lives. Unfortunately, crimes targeting entrance tickets have also risen and dealing with players grows more problematic.]

Yoo Yeonha watched the news in her new office after being recently promoted to Chief Strategic Officer.

[Essence of the Strait Chief Strategic Officer, Yoo Yeonha]

The nameplate sparkled on her desk. She easily rose to the position thanks to the public’s attention on the tower. The media would’ve loved digging into the fact that she became Chief Strategic Officer in less than 3 years.

“Hmm…”

With this, she had built a strong foundation to become Essence of the Strait’s vice guild leader. Yoo Yeonha changed the channel with her chin in one hand.

[CH 11] [I Live Alone] 

— I’m wondering if I can also get a skill from the Tower of Wish, so I’m looking around auction houses.

[CH 12] [Accurate 19] 

— Accurate 19! Find out anything you want to know about the Tower of Wish!

[CH 13] [Tower of Wish Special]

— The strongest person in the tower is…

— Black Lotus? 

— Yes, his selfishness in blocking the path is earning the Hero Association’s wrath, but Black Lotus’ influence is insurmountable.

[CH 14] [Public Debate – Issues In The Tower]

— It’s not good that a third party group holds the most influence in the tower. It would’ve been much better if Essence of the Strait, Desolate Moon, or Frost Sanctuary took this spot. We also can’t say for sure that Black Lotus isn’t a djinn…

Every channel talked about the same thing. The media completely drowned in stories regarding the tower after they discovered that one could bring back a skill.

“Sigh… Don’t they get tired of it?”

Yoo Yeonha pondered. Is it worth it for me to go?

At first, she didn’t even consider it and wanted to avoid any needless stress after graduating from Cube.

However, the situation had changed. Essence of the Strait performed well inside the tower and she could scout for new talents there. Recruiting those with good skills seemed even more important now.

— Black Lotus demolished the Chinese Alliance of 67 people by himself. What was such a powerful person doing on Earth? Could he be a hermit training on the legendary Mount Everest?

Yoo Yeonha had no connections with Black Lotus and they would likely never meet on Earth. However, that would change if she entered the tower. He most likely belonged to the Chameleon Troupe, but it would be worth the risks to meet him.

“Hnnng…”

Yoo Yeonha agonized over her options. Of course, Essence of the Strait and its affiliate businesses needed her guidance. However, they didn’t need her that desperately and she could still take care of things from inside the tower. She even thought about just choosing the lowest difficulty tutorial. According to reports, players only needed to spend about 100 nights or 1600 hours inside to acquire a skill. Would it be a foolish or worthwhile gamble?

“I think there’s a skill related to intelligence too.”

Yoo Yeonha smacked her lips as she thought about what skill to bring back and how to utilize it in real life. At this point, she had already made up her mind and possessed a red entrance ticket that allowed her to bring a trustworthy companion.

“Who should I choose?”

Eventually, she came up with a list. Dad is busy. I hear red ticket users share a waiting room. I’d rather not share the same room with him during the tutorial.

Then a lightbulb went off in her head: the strongest summoner magician, Ah Hae-In. Ah Hae-In only focused on research after partnering with Essence of the Strait. Recently, she had been asking around for an entrance ticket. Choosing Ah Hae-In might also deepen their partnership.

“Huuu.”

After a deep breath, Yoo Yeonha organized her thoughts and picked up her smartwatch.

***

[8-3F, Crevon Mainland]

I passed the martial tournament’s preliminary round without much difficulty. I debated whether to use a bow or gun, but ended up using a simple dagger and wire. The Lv.6 NPC didn’t pose much of a threat.

“Boring.”

“I agree.”

Boss muttered as we left the arena. She also easily defeated her opponent and looked into the air as we walked. She seemed to have figured out how to block friends from viewing her system window as I couldn’t see what she read anymore. Well, she was probably reading a web novel.

“Is it fun, Boss?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s okay.”

After walking for about five minutes…

“Aah…”

Boss suddenly exclaimed with disappointment. It must’ve ended on a cliffhanger. Damn, the author even made someone audibly yelp in anticipation?

“Oh right, Hajin.” Boss turned to me.

“Yes?”

“Are you planning on getting first place?”

She asked a rather random question, but I nodded anyways. I had no reason to aim for anything else.

“If I can, then why not?”

“Is there an item you specifically want?”

“The first place rewards all sound great. There are four of them, after all.”

A hint of curiosity surfaced on Boss’ face. “The emotion potion too?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

The emotion potion would work perfectly on an NPC. It also worked on players, but only inside the tower. The effect would disappear once the player left.

“I see.”

Boss turned away as I nodded without much thought.

“It does seem nice if you want to form a good relationship with someone.”

Boss began talking to herself, but I didn’t say anything.

“If you feel a certain way about someone…”

“…?”

Boss’ murmuring didn’t stop. “You would need something like that to form a relationship, but who would you use it on? I wonder who he’s thinking about. The target of the potion…”

She repeated the same thing multiple times before I realized she wouldn’t stop until I answered.

“I’m going to use it on an NPC. It doesn’t work well on players anyways.”

“…”

Boss remained silent as if she hadn’t asked in the first place. She only made a faint sound like a kitten purring in joy.

“So, um, Boss… you’ve heard about the Sunrise Ceremony, right?”

Players somehow managed to find all the materials Medea asked for. Kim Suho probably found the rare shamrock plant.

“I do. Are you going?”

“Yes, the sun will give us a nice present.”

We arrived at a narrow alleyway between two shops. This kind of place would be littered with cigarettes back on Earth. Jin Yohan, Cheok Jungyeong, and Jain stood waiting for us there. However, they seemed a bit strange. Jin Yohan and Cheok Jungyeong spoke excitedly while Jain looked through the community without a care.

“We’re here.”

Jin Yohan and Cheok Jungyeong turned around at Boss’ voice. Their faces even looked red, so I couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s wrong?”

“He saw that weapon!” Cheok Jungyeong yelled in excitement.

I tilted my head in confusion when Jin Yohan raised his Serpent Spear with a smile. Jin Yohan entered the tower with a black ticket and brought along his signature weapon.

“It’s a weapon related to this one.”

“Ah.”

I realized who he might’ve seen. It shouldn’t be Zhang Fei, the Serpent Spear’s original owner, but another legendary general who would’ve fought Zhang Fei.

“Lü Bu?”

“Exactly. His level had question marks next to his name. Lü Bu, otherwise known as Fengxian. I got goosebumps when I saw him.”

Among NPCs, some wanted to show off their name and others hid theirs. Of course, I could see everything with my smartwatch.

“Hahaha, looks like the tower is starting to get fun!”

Cheok Jungyeong burst out into laughter. I tried provoking him a bit.

“It’ll be hard to fight him bare-handed, don’t you think?”

“Hm, maybe?”

Surprisingly, he took the time to think about it as Jain grew tired of them.

“Just tell me the plan already. I’m busy. I have a party to attend.”

She wore a fancy dress and wanted to cut to the chase, so I took out a card from my pocket.

[The Banquet of Honor for Crevon’s VIP nobles will be held in Krischen. The host is the noble, Phiunel.]

“Oooh, what’s this?” Jain’s eyes sparkled.

“A banquet…”

Boss also narrowed her eyes at the invitation. A banquet… a banquet… I explained as Boss murmured to herself.

“This is a banquet that’s also an auction. Almost all VIP nobles, including the royal prince and royal princess, will be there.”

Crevon’s nobles hosted the Banquet of Honor annually. It would begin like an ordinary banquet until the auction that sold precious objects excavated around Crevon. About 100-200 nobles would attend and they only sold the most precious items.

“Ah, I get it. You want to steal from this auction!”

Cheok Jungyeong heartily spoke, but I shook my head.

“No.”

Every noble would gather there, including the royal prince and princess with Lü Bu as their guard. Not even Cheok Jungyeong could fight Lü Bu head-on.

“It’s the opposite. We want to protect these items. Look at the back of the card.”

[Hiring outsiders as guards.] [Come to Phiunel’s mansion by the North River.] [A test will be held to determine your strength.]

The Spyren River divided Crevon’s regions into north and south.

“Protect? Guard?” Cheok Jungyeong frowned.

“Yep, it pays quite a lot. To be exact, 10000 TP per person.

“That’s boring.”

“No, it won’t be that boring. I’ve looked into it and demons threatened to attack the banquet.”

Crevon was about twice the size of Gyeonggi-do, but the entire 8-3 floor equaled South Korea. Demons lived in the west that partially turned into the demon realm and constantly looked for opportunities to topple Crevon.

“Demons? How come they’re popping up everywhere?” Cheok Jungyeong asked.

“They’re the villains inside the tower.”

“Mmm. Shouldn’t they just delay the banquet if demons will attack?” Jin Yohan asked.

“I don’t know. The nobles probably don’t want to give in to terrorist threats. Plus, Lü Bu might be able to stop them by himself.”

Honestly, I didn’t know how this would unfold. The future I knew had disappeared when I blocked the pathway to the 9th floor.

“Ah, they would lose face if they mobilized the army, so they brought Lü Bu instead.”

“Makes sense. Lü Bu would certainly do the job.”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Yohan nodded in agreement.

“Right, so think of our objective as guarding Crevon’s nobles. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“So you’re going to be the only one stealing?” Jain asked with a bright smile.

I nodded. Phiunel was actually a demon spy who planned to take all the precious treasures. It remained the same as in my abandoned setting and I had already confirmed it with the Book of Truth. The auction items would arrive after going through strict security measures and Phiunel would swap them out for fakes after the auction.

Then I would step in and steal them from the thief himself. I wanted one of the unique skill books.

“It’s almost time. Let’s get going.”

The job interview would begin in 30 minutes, so we headed towards Phiunel’s mansion.

***

[8-3F, Phiunel’s Mansion]

Phiunel finished explaining the guard mission to several players. The auction would start after the first half of the Banquet of Honor and players had to protect the auction house from potential demons.

“Any questions?”

Phiunel looked at the players as Kim Youngjin raised his hand.

“Will we be enough for such an important event?”

“You’re Team 1. There will be a Team 2 and 3 as well. Each team will be in charge of different areas, but you outsiders should be able to recognize each other, correct?”

Kim Youngjin nodded as Phiunel continued.

“Your job is very important. The royal prince and princess will also be attending this banquet. They are the fourth prince and the fifth princess.”

“Eh? So we need to protect them as well?” Chae Nayun asked. She glanced at Rachel next to her, who was also a princess. Her full name was Rachel Elizabeth Louise.

“No, they will be accompanied by two royal guards. Some nobles will arrive without guards out of respect for the royal court. Your duty will be to protect such nobles.”

“Oh, then who are the royal guards?”

Chae Nayun curiously asked as Phiunel smiled.

“One is Lancelot, Knight of the Sacred Lake.”

Rachel’s eyes immediately widened. Lancelot came from the legends of England. She couldn’t help but get her hopes up that he might recognize her.

“The other person… well, a knight’s title doesn’t fit him and I personally dislike him as well.”

Phiunel rubbed his beard. “His name is Lü Bu.”

The two characters instantly changed the room’s atmosphere. The name Lü Bu sounded much more familiar to the players. Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms exaggerated many things, but Lü Bu’s strength was undoubtedly real.

“Sounds fun.”

Kim Junwoo, the hunter from Vast Expanse, also spoke.

“I see.”

Phiunel smiled, but soon put on a solemn expression and clapped twice.

“As you may know, I will need to test your strength.”

Rachel felt a strange aura creeping from the walls. The others felt the same and clad themselves with magic power.

“I hope you understand. My life is on the line in this business and I’ll pay a hefty fee upfront if you pass.”

Phiunel left as the windows shattered and assassins in black showed up. The players all smiled bitterly at each other.

***

Chae Nayun left Phiunel’s mansion 20 minutes later after passing the test. Six other players also passed.

[Guard Team 1] laughed while discussing the test’s difficulty.

“It wasn’t that hard.”

“There were 27 assassins, but are demons that weak? Could it be that Lü Bu isn’t as strong as we think?”

“Don’t underestimate them. It shouldn’t be this easy to earn 10000 TP.”

While they chatted…

“Hm?”

Chae Nayun caught sight of 5 players entering the mansion with hooded robes. They gave her a strange feeling. To be exact, it came from just one person in that group.

“…?”

Chae Nayun could tell he was a man from his build. She couldn’t see anything else, but her intuition told her she had met him before. She suddenly felt a strange urge. Her intuition told her to run over and grab his shoulder, but she hesitated. She usually trusted her intuition because it was a special stat.

“That must be Team 2 or Team 3.”

Kim Junwoo said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. However, Chae Nayun didn’t reply. She watched as the group slowly grew farther away and felt complicated emotions constricting her. Then the wind suddenly blew.

It carried the group’s scent to her. The somewhat familiar smell made her dizzy. Her vision turned misty as she brought her hands to her eyes, but no tears came.

What’s wrong with me? Chae Nayun turned back to the group, but the mansion door had already closed before she could determine the source of that scent or the group’s identity.

“Ah…”

An unknown feeling of loneliness rose within her. She felt out of breath as though a huge rock had fallen on her chest. Then her eyes grew misty again. She wiped them and looked at her stained sleeve with faint droplets.

***

[8-3F, Crevon Duel Arena]

Jin Seyeon mulled over how to defeat Black Lotus at the World’s End Bridge. She felt like her group could win with the help of a single player. Her body and magic power continued moving on their own as she thought. Jin Seyeon distanced herself from Shin Jonghak and shot a magic arrow.

“Kuk!”

Shin Jonghak groaned as the arrow struck him. Prestige’s bonus focused on hunting, resting, and training while Crevon’s focused on sparring, dueling, and competing. Players began sparring all the time once they found out.

“One more time!”

Shin Jonghak charged again as Jin Seyeon pondered. A sharpshooter had to deal with another sharpshooter since warriors couldn’t fly. Walking across the sky was impossible without astounding magic power. Even so, Jin Seyeon had chosen Chae Nayun and Kim Suho as the first candidates in her Black Lotus hunting group. Even the community called those two magic power monsters. Chae Nayun possessed frightening magic power capacity and might be able to reach the sharpshooter. She could clad herself in magic power and detonate magic power behind her to fly like a bullet…

Jin Seyon’s thoughts suddenly stopped as her expression froze.

“Wait.”

“Yes?” Shin Jonghak abruptly paused. Bullet. Bullet. Bullet. Jin Seyeon seriously repeated this one word.

Stupid, why didn’t I think of this before?

Sharpshooting was a fight between distances and Jin Seyeon already knew someone who could snipe Black Lotus from an equal distance, if not farther.

The monster wolf, Fenrir.

The field of mercenaries highly praised his sniping skills. Supposedly, he could snipe a target 5 km away. Plus, Fenrir’s bullets could also pierce magic barriers. Jin Seyeon heard from Kim Suho that Fenrir used a black ticket to enter the tower and brought along his unique form-changing gun.

“Perfect.” Jin Seyeon finally opened her mouth.

“What do you mean?”

“I came up with a way to break through the World’s End Bridge.”

Jin Seyeon proudly smiled. Aileen watched their spar from the side and ran up to her.

“What, what? Tell me.”

“Before that…”

The key to finding Fenrir.

“Let’s go find Suho.”

Shin Jonghak frowned, but Jin Seyeon paid no mind to it. The perfect strategy unfolded in her mind where she and Fenrir would carefully strike at Black Lotus under Aileen’s protection while Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak snuck past to the 9th floor.