TLNHS 2
by Sylvie Hart 🪐Chapter 2
The hands of the presidential press corps inside the briefing room were busy.
The sound of fingers striking laptop keyboards filled the entire briefing room.
[South Korea is currently facing a national emergency due to the absence of top-tier Hunters.]
“An emergency…!”
“No way.”
But that “no way” turned out to be true.
The President’s voice came through, calm yet firm.
[Until the situation stabilizes, we will temporarily declare a state of national emergency and establish an emergency organization in accordance with the Emergency Preparedness Resources Management Act.]
“Ah, right! We had that!”
“It does qualify as an emergency.”
Perhaps because everyone gathered in the auditorium was a government official, most of them seemed to accept the President’s statement.
[We will establish the Hunter Management Agency under the Ministry of National Defense. After a pilot operation period, it will be promoted to an official government agency through the appropriate administrative procedures.]
“We did need something like this.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised it’s only being created now.”
The President lightened the atmosphere and continued in a somewhat brighter tone.
[The Hunter Management Agency will grow into South Korea’s representative organization for Hunter management. Accordingly, the Hunter Management Agency will be recruiting talented individuals from various fields.]
“That’s about you, Officer Lee.”
The team leader beside me smiled proudly and lightly patted my arm.
[Administration, taxation, science, research, engineering, combat… Any field is welcome. However, for the time being, recruitment will be limited to Awakened individuals, so we ask for your understanding.]
“What a shame!”
“I really want to do something, anything!”
“Officer Lee, you must be happy.”
Without meaning to, I had become the object of everyone’s envy in the auditorium.
[The purpose behind establishing the Hunter Management Agency is as follows.]
After pausing for a moment, the President spoke again in a serious voice.
[To strengthen Korea’s self-sufficiency and create a nation that does not have to rely on foreign powers. To protect the lives and safety of our citizens and prevent the collapse of the Towers.]
People reacted to the mention of Tower collapse.
Everyone had their own trauma from it.
South Korea’s first Tower.
It appeared on an uninhabited island near Baengnyeongdo.
On an island untouched by human footsteps, the Tower became a nesting ground for birds.
A year passed like that.
No one paid any attention to the one-story Tower that had already become a paradise for birds.
It was hardly noticeable in the first place.
Towers did not increase their number of floors until someone attempted to conquer them.
Then, at some point…
The Tower turned red.
The Tower swelled as if it were about to burst, and soon collapsed.
At the same time, a Gate erupted.
Distance was no obstacle to the monsters pouring out of the Gate.
They occupied Ganghwa Island in an instant.
Less than an hour later, every resident of Ganghwa Island had been slaughtered.
The monsters continued their advance toward the western coast, and the government barely managed to stop them by mobilizing Hunters from across the country.
After that, Hunters began periodically conquering not only Dungeons, but Towers as well.
[With the 15th anniversary of the Ganghwa Island Disaster now only two weeks away, the government feels a greater sense of responsibility than ever before. When a nation fails to function as a nation, such tragedies can happen again at any time.]
“Ah… Has it really been that long already?”
“That’s depressing.”
“Haah, what are we supposed to do?”
“They’re creating a new Hunter Management Agency, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I hope it works out.”
[We understand the anxiety and unrest that our citizens are experiencing now that we have lost the Hunters who stood on the front lines. However, my beloved citizens, the nation still exists as your shield. We will never retreat, no matter what circumstances we face.]
After a brief silence, the President continued.
[As part of that effort, the government promises that we will provide unwavering support to the Hunter Management Agency, which will stand on our front lines from this day forward.]
I could feel eyes turning toward me from all around the room.
[Because in order to control power, we need even greater power.]
Those were the President’s final words.
“Officer Lee, you’re set for a bright future now.”
“I’m jealous!”
“I wanna Awaken toooo!”
The team leader added his own comment.
“We’re going to have a hard time seeing you from now on. I bet your reassignment will come through as early as tomorrow.”
“Surely it won’t happen that quickly.”
But that “surely not” became reality.
The speed of the personnel transfer was unprecedented in government history.
It meant the President was pushing this matter with tremendous force.
“Good morning. I’m Lee Jihoo.”
My first day reporting to the Hunter Management Agency.
There were only two people in the entire ten-story building, which did not even have a sign yet.
A man who looked to be in his early forties asked me a question.
“What grade?”
“I’m Grade 7.”
“Oh. Starting today, you’re Grade 5.”
It was a shocking promotion.
Yet somehow, I felt dazed.
Is the job more dangerous than I thought?
Things were already looking unusual from the very beginning.
I had vaguely assumed that my work here would mostly involve handling administrative paperwork related to Hunters.
“Well, basically, yes. How about we see what you can do?”
“What I can do…?”
“Tomorrow, report to the Tower.”
As he said that, the man handed me a watch.
It was a black smartwatch with the President’s signature engraved on the side that touched the wrist.
“It automatically records the floors you reach, so wear this.”
“……”
“And this.”
“What is this…?”
The man handed me a black stone engraved with an unfamiliar symbol.
“That’s a Tower Escape Ticket. It’s worth about 200 million won… Anyway, if things look bad, use it and get out immediately. You can use it anywhere in the Tower as long as you’re not on the top floor.”
It seemed like a measure intended to ensure my safety.
But ultimately, I still had to conquer a Tower.
At this rate, there wasn’t much difference between me and a Hunter.
“By the way, what’s your class?”
“…Necromancer.”
That’s right.
I had Awakened as a Necromancer.
That was why I had started seeing ghosts again.
Just like when I was a child.
When I was young, I saw more ghosts than living people.
When I began confusing the living with the dead, my mother moved out of my maternal grandmother’s house with me.
In a way, it was only natural.
I had the blood of a shaman running through my veins.
And not just any shaman.
The blood of Kim Heekyung, once considered the greatest shaman in Korea.
She was my maternal grandmother.
My mother had been her only daughter.
My mother had refused to receive the divine calling and lived her entire life as an ordinary person until the very end.
Because of that, her life had been far from easy.
The gods tormented her so relentlessly that she could never even dream of holding a regular job, and she spent her entire life moving from one unstable day-labor job to another.
That was why, after I entered high school, I always worked part-time jobs.
The pay was small, but I did it to help cover our living expenses.
My mother had spent her entire life struggling like that before she eventually passed away.
And the date of her death happened to be the same day the results of my civil service examination were announced.
“My Jihoo, you worked so hard!”
On our way home after eating out, my mother held my hand and smiled happily.
Behind her back, I saw red flames.
Then came the sound of sirens and an air-raid warning.
<This is a real emergency! This is a real emergency!>
<A new Gate has appeared near Nakseongdae Station!>
<Access to Nakseongdae Station and the surrounding areas is being restricted!>
<Citizens are requested to evacuate immediately!>
It happened in an instant.
A monster appeared right beside us.
My mother shoved me away with superhuman strength.
And then—
Crunch─!
Her arm was torn off like a sheet of paper and sent flying through the air.
Bang! Bang─!
At that moment, bullets fired from somewhere made the monster stagger.
I couldn’t waste that opportunity.
I hoisted my mother onto my back and began running like a madman.
I don’t know how long I ran like that.
Then I heard the voices of rescue workers from inside Nakseongdae Station.
“This way!”
Just when I thought we had finally survived—
“You need to prepare yourself.”
A doctor inside the shelter examined my mother and spoke.
“She’s lost too much blood.”
That was the first time I learned just how pale a human being could become.
“I… protected you.”
“Mother…”
The smile on her face during the final moment of that exhausting life held many meanings.
My mother had truly saved my life.
But her final words weren’t referring only to something physical.
There was a reason my mother had refused to receive the divine calling until the very end.
She had been fiercely determined not to pass her own life on to me.
…And I thought that meant her blood had been diluted.
“A Necromancer, huh? Anyway, Officer Lee.”
In the span of one day, my title had changed from junior officer to senior officer.
“From now on, you can call me Director.”
“……”
A chilly breeze swept through the empty ten-story building.
The Hunter Management Agency consisted of only two people, yet we already had a director and an officer.
“Yes, understood, Director.”
He looked pleased with the title and folded his arms.
“Oh, and if you climb the Tower, the performance bonus is 200%.”
“You mean…?”
“Floors 1 through 5 give you 200% per floor. Floors 5 through 10 give you 400%. Floors 10 through 15 give you 600%… You get the idea by now, right?”
“……!”
My choice had been correct.
As expected, the early days were always the sweet spot, no matter what you did. Who knew what would happen once more people joined later?
After all, government salaries had a way of provoking public sentiment no matter what.
This was the perfect time to hand out performance bonuses without people complaining about a feast being held with taxpayers’ money.
“Climb the Tower, Officer Lee.”
The Director’s expression was quite serious.
And I felt the same way.
“Understood. I’ll prove myself through my performance.”
I put on the smartwatch bearing the President’s signature and reminded myself once again of my duty as a civil servant.
Protect the lives and safety of the people.
That was why I would climb the Tower.
The one who was happiest to hear this news was the ghost in my house.
[Let’s leave right now!]
“Tomorrow.”
[Why? Why!!!]
Why?
Because I had already finished work for today.
I would enter the Tower tomorrow, exactly at the time I was supposed to report to work.
[Still, you made the right decision!]
The ghost, who no longer had to worry about being kicked out of my house, looked several times happier than I did.
[Let’s do our best from now on!]
“Yeah.”
Since I had decided to climb the Tower anyway, I had no intention of refusing the help of a ghost who had once been ranked No. 1 among Hunters.
Besides, I was a Necromancer.
Ah, but before that.
“Are you, by any chance, an earthbound spirit?”
[What’s that?]
“I mean, are you unable to go anywhere else and forced to stay stuck in this room?”
[……??]
His face was completely innocent.
He genuinely seemed to have no idea.
“We’ll find out tomorrow. If you really are an earthbound spirit…”
[Then what happens?]
“I’ll send you somewhere nice. With an exorcism.”
The ghost in the corner of the room looked somewhat different after watching the video in the auditorium, but if he couldn’t even enter the Tower, then things would be very different.
His very reason for existing would disappear.
And naturally, for a ghost, going to the afterlife to prepare for his next life was a better option than wandering around the world of the living.
That would be the small repayment I could give Cha Junhyuk for protecting us all this time.
It was only right that I repay the kindness he had shown me.
If a soul wandered the world of the living for no particular reason, there was always a chance a grim reaper would grab it by the collar and drag it away.
[What?!]
The ghost looked genuinely startled.
Perhaps he was frightened, because he clung to the ceiling and had no intention of coming down.
[Earthbound spirit? Exorcism? What does that mean? Are you going to hold a memorial service for me? I’m actually pretty bad with occult stuff and Chinese characters. Haha!]
“……”
Ignorance was a sin.
The hopelessly naive ghost in the corner of the room, whose brain was apparently made of cotton candy, had no idea that tomorrow he would be walking the line between life and death.
There were currently three Towers in Korea.
One in Gangwon Province, one on Jeju Island, and one in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
No one knew when or where a Tower would appear.
That was why the first person to discover one received various benefits.
First of all, anyone who discovered a Tower would automatically Awaken.
There were no exceptions to this anywhere in the world.
Next came a buff granted when entering the Tower they had discovered.
It was a buff exclusive to the first discoverer, and it lasted for one week.
Those were the benefits provided by the system.
Each country also provided its own rewards, including prize money comparable to winning the lottery and even pensions.
After all, if a Tower collapsed, a national disaster would follow.
That was why an entire profession had even emerged dedicated to checking satellite maps around the world every single day.
Once a Tower had been discovered, it was registered in the system.
From then on, anyone belonging to that country could freely enter the Tower from anywhere in the country through their status window.
The same applied even if they were overseas.
Dungeons, however, were different from Towers.
You had to physically travel to the Dungeon itself.
In any case, since I had Awakened, I could now use the system too.
- Hwanseongul Tower (40 floors, 91d 05:31:05)
- Gwanaksan Tower (36 floors, 101d 20:54:17)
- Seopjikoji Tower (26 floors, 153d 07:22:34)
“Hwanseongul, Gwanaksan, Seopjikoji.”
I stared at the choices and pondered for a moment.
[Go to Gwanaksan!]
“Why?”
[It’s close.]
“……”
In any case, entering a Tower simply meant selecting it through the status window.
So did distance really matter?
But…
“Why?”
[There’s a back route when you come out.]
“A back route?”
That was the first time I’d heard of it.
But when I thought about it, it made sense.
If I could enter and exit only through the system window, then there was no reason for the Tower to physically exist in the first place.
“What about entering? Does it give you some kind of special buff when you go in?”
[Nothing like that. But when you come out…]
“When you come out?”
[The rewards are different!]
That changed things.
[If you pass through the back route, you come straight out of Gwanaksan Tower.]
So I would be transported outside while remaining in my current state?
I prepared my wallet, put on my shoes at the front door, and spoke.
“Select Gwanaksan Tower.”
<Affiliated country: Korea.
You are the first registered player.
Please enter your nickname.>
A keyboard-like keypad appeared in the system window.
This was something I had discussed with the Director beforehand.
“You need a nickname to climb the Tower. It’s basically a codename.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything you want to use?”
If it was something like that, there was a name that seemed fitting.
“How about Jack Rich?”
It was the codename of the protagonist in a spy movie I’d watched as a child.
“Perfect!”
And that was how the nickname Jack Rich was decided.
Jack Rich was already taken, so I added an underscore and 07 at the end.
<Player Jack Rich_07 is entering Floor 1 of Gwanaksan Tower.>
Then another notification appeared.
<Would you like to bind Cha Junhyuk as your affiliated spirit?>
“Bind him.”
Flash!
My field of vision changed in an instant.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in a forest.
But the moment I entered, I heard someone shouting in delight.
“This air! This sunlight! This feeling!”
A man was running around excitedly, touching various parts of his body.
He was a tall man who looked to be in his early thirties.
But there was something strangely familiar about his face.
When he saw me, he smiled brightly and spread his arms wide.
“Thank you!”
I wasn’t happy in the slightest.
I took several steps back as he approached.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Huh? You don’t recognize me? It’s me!”
…No way.
“The ghost in the corner?”
“What?? The corner? Anyway, I’m the ghost you live with! It’s me, me!”
Looking closely, I could see traces of the blurry image I’d seen at home.
And when I looked at his face, I was certain.
“Don’t tell me… Cha Junhyuk?”
“That’s right!!!”
Cha Junhyuk—the ghost—started jumping around excitedly again.
But I couldn’t understand what was happening at all.
Something physically impossible had just occurred.
“Why did you become human?”
The system had clearly said he was my affiliated spirit.
“Hmm… I don’t know either?”
What a thoroughly irresponsible and unhelpful answer.
The ghost scratched his head vigorously before speaking.
“If I had to guess why… I heard a voice right after I died.”
“A voice?”
“Yeah. It told me to go to the Tower. Said it wasn’t my time yet.”
As he spoke, he nodded repeatedly.
“Oh! And it said this too!”
“What did it say?”
“‘We will send you somewhere safe!’”
Somewhere safe?
“Something like, ‘Where the hands of the dead cannot reach.’”
The dead?
Was he talking about the grim reaper?
Cha Junhyuk then fell deep into thought.
“And my soul…”
“What happened to it?”
“Whoosh!”
Whoosh?
The ghost in the corner imitated a pitcher throwing a ball as hard as he could.
“Someone grabbed it like this and threw it!”
“Your soul?”
“Yep. My soul! And when I came to…”
After that, I could already guess what happened.
“It was my house.”
“Exactly! That’s it!”
The ghost clapped his hands together as though he’d just given the correct answer.
“Ahh, the Tower! It’s been so long~!”
He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Five goblins had appeared in front of us.
Cha Junhyuk looked at them and flashed a wide grin.
“I’ll finish this in three seconds.”
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