Chapter 17

 

It wasn’t erased or lost.

To be precise, it had permeated into Suho’s left palm.

When he examined his hand, he saw a key-shaped mark, indicating he was the owner of the Subspace House, just as Jang Pyeong-ho had described.

The key-shaped mark soon disappeared.

According to Jang Pyeong-ho, it was usually invisible and only appeared when using the Subspace House.

Suho clenched his left hand tightly and thought,

‘Finally, I have my own fortress.’

Jang Pyeong-ho had referred to the Subspace House as a fortress because he had used it literally as a stronghold, especially for ‘smuggling.’

‘From drugs to national treasures and even people… there was nothing he didn’t handle.’

Indeed, with a Subspace House, any kind of smuggling was made easier.

To reiterate, unlike ordinary subspaces, the Subspace House could store living beings.

Moreover, as long as one’s magic stat was high enough, the space could be expanded infinitely.

So, Jang Pyeong-ho utilized his ability extensively for smuggling, earning new nicknames like ‘Smuggling King’ or ‘Drug Lord’.

But even someone like Jang Pyeong-ho eventually got caught.

Once he entered the Subspace House, he was virtually invincible, but conversely, he couldn’t come out.

So, the Hunter Association set up a perimeter the moment he was seen entering the Subspace House and maintained a 24-hour siege.

‘It took them over three years to catch him.’

He was a tenacious man.

He had set up the Subspace House so well that he managed to hold out alone for over three years.

Having obtained the Subspace House, Suho exited and headed straight to the next floor without any hesitation.

 

***

 

Meanwhile,

While Suho was climbing the Tower of Trials, minor commotions arose in the Hunter industry.

– The top scorer in this year’s Hunter exam is Hunter Ahn Suho.

– Who’s Hunter Ahn Suho?

These commotions were no different from the usual yearly buzz.

Every year, the top scorer in the Hunter exam attracted immense attention and was hailed as a rising star.

Therefore, various domestic guilds started preparing to recruit Suho.

The top scorer was expected to be more promising than any other rookie.

But then, a new article caused a major shock.

 

 

 

 

These articles were strategic promotional pieces released by Nexus Academy.

Guilds that saw the news begrudgingly backed out of the recruitment race.

A Nexus Academy graduate meant he was a highly promising talent nurtured by the third-ranked Nexus Guild.

Consequently, Hexagon and Prime, who had received the news late, were left reeling.

They had always thought their competition was solely between them, only to be blindsided by an unexpected third contender’s pleasant rebellion.

Kim Soo-ae couldn’t hide her smile as she saw the flood of inquiries to the academy.

‘That 300 million was worth it.’

Thanks to the results, not only were the academy’s achievements enhanced, but she also received praise from the Guild Master and Deputy Guild Master.

After all, producing a top scorer in the Hunter exam was the best achievement for an academy director.

But neither Kim Soo-ae nor Nexus Guild were content with this.

 

– Prime contacted him first? What does it matter? Spend whatever it takes to recruit him! We have plenty of money too!

 

Like many others, the Nexus Guild Master was a greedy person.

As a leader of a major organization, he didn’t want to miss out on such an opportunity.

Kim Soo-ae felt the same.

That’s why she had been quick to invite Suho to join the guild.

‘Though I failed then, this time I will definitely succeed…!’

This time, the order came directly from the guild master.

In other words, they were willing to offer even more benefits than before.

But then, an unexpected article was uploaded.

 

 

The source wasn’t from their own promotional efforts.

The article was published by Korea’s top player broadcasting network, PBS.

This made it even harder to believe.

It’s common knowledge that the top scorer in the Hunter exam typically receives the highest offers to become a private hunter, so why suddenly announce wanting to be a public official hunter?

Could it be a clickbait article?

No, PBS wasn’t the kind of yellow journalism outlet that would play such tricks.

But Suho had shown positive responses to her offer, hadn’t he?

Kim Soo-ae, puzzled, began reading the article.

Even after finishing it, she couldn’t understand Suho’s intentions.

‘Why?’

What could have changed in such a short time?

Could it be that the government made a secret offer without their knowledge?

Kim Soo-ae bit her lip and called the guild master.

She wasn’t about to give up on Suho without a fight.

 

***

 

 

 

How much time had passed?

By the time Suho had cleared another ten floors, he had officially broken the highest record in the Tower of Trials.

As he cleared the 29th floor, system notifications celebrating his new record flooded his vision.

 

 

Five bonus stats.

These would be awarded every time he set a new record.

It was a bit regretful.

If the previous highest record had been lower, he could have accumulated more additional stats.

After a brief hesitation, Suho shook his head.

Considering his desire for fame, revealing his name immediately was tempting, but he decided it would be better to challenge the next floor first and then reveal it.

‘Jo Jin-hwi, you’re probably watching this, right?’

Although he had acted tough, Suho knew that a journalist’s curiosity couldn’t be suppressed.

By now, he either would have come to Pangyo himself or was monitoring the area through a personal broadcast platform.

Suho wanted Jo Jin-hwi to remain in suspense as long as possible.

Having chosen anonymity, Suho stepped into the portal again.

 

***

 

 

 

Upon choosing anonymity, the Tower of Trials began broadcasting Suho’s progress outside the tower, as it had notified him earlier.

People who saw this immediately stopped what they were doing and began murmuring.

“30th floor?”

“Someone’s challenging the highest record?”

“Who is it this time?”

A challenge to the highest record in the Tower of Trials was always a hot topic among those climbing the tower.

Surprisingly, quite a few people had tried to reach the 30th floor.

After all, the 29th floor only had level 29 monsters, and by the time parties reached that floor, their average level usually exceeded 25.

However, the 30th floor was still considered insurmountable.

For one simple reason.

The 30th floor featured the tower’s first ‘Golem’.

“Which team is going to get crushed this time?”

“But why did they choose to remain anonymous?”

“Maybe they’re expecting to fail and don’t want the embarrassment.”

“Isn’t it an internal test run by a guild?”

“Could be.”

“It would still be better to reveal their name for a higher price.”

That was also true.

In the hunter industry, the more one proves their skills, the higher their value.

In that sense, the Tower of Trials was quite a good way to prove oneself.

While everyone was buzzing about the identity of the challenger, there was one person staring at the tower’s notification in disbelief.

It was Jo Jin-hwi.

After finishing his article, he had come to Pangyo just in case.

Surprisingly, a remarkable event was indeed happening at the Tower of Trials.

‘Ahn Suho… could it really be you?’

Ahn Suho, the solo conqueror of the Sindorim Station, the top scorer of the Hunter Exam, and currently the hottest topic in the industry.

But something felt off.

He had claimed to want fame, so why was he climbing the tower anonymously?

‘Could it be because of me?’

If that was the reason, then he was truly insane.

And if the anonymous player mentioned by the tower was indeed Ahn Suho…

Gulp.

Jo Jin-hwi swallowed dryly.

‘You and I are in this together for life.’

At the same time, Jo Jin-hwi’s eyes sparkled and a smile crept onto his face.

Just then…

 

 

A new notification from the tower.

Everyone, including Jo Jin-hwi, was wide-eyed in disbelief.

How could the 30th floor be cleared so soon after the 29th?

It wasn’t a mistake.

It was a fact.

The tower and the system clearly indicated the 30th floor had been cleared.

But the most surprising part was…

 

 

“…!”

Jo Jin-hwi’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

 

***

 

 

As soon as Suho set the record at the 30th floor, he announced his name to the world as planned.

The outside world went wild, and as Suho climbed higher, the excitement grew louder.

Especially for Kim Soo-ae, who was truly astonished.

“A…Ahn Suho Hunter is setting new records in real-time at the Tower of Trials?”

“Yes, Director! If you look at the news now, he’s still actively challenging it…!”

Nexus Guild Headquarters.

Kim Soo-ae had come to the headquarters to negotiate Ahn Suho’s recruitment conditions with the guild master and deputy guild master in an emergency meeting.

But with the unexpected urgent news, all their plans had to be scrapped.

The news was already broadcasting the real-time status of the Tower of Trials.

At that moment, the Nexus guild master, whose eyes were as wide as Kim Soo-ae’s, quietly removed his glasses and said,

“We… We might have to offer an unimaginable amount.”

All the executives present quietly nodded in agreement.