Chapter 239: Episode 239

“What? I thought I was last?”

“You are. You’re up next.”

’…I’m doomed.’

Having to go on right after Na Daeyong had whipped the crowd into a frenzy suddenly made me nervous.

“Go knock ’em dead, Mr. Kim!”

With a playful lilt, Isabel Kim smacked me on the back. She had finished my styling right on cue.

“Thank you, Ms. Kim.”

“Oh my, I told you that makes me sound old!”

“Th-Thank you… Isabel.”

While I waited behind the stage, Na Daeyong slipped out the back. He clenched his fist and grinned.

“Master! Good luck!”

“…Thanks.”

With half my soul already gone, I walked up onto the platform. The MC’s voice rang out.

“Thank you to the passionate hunter Na Daeyong for his words! Now, for our next segment! This wasn’t on the original program, but we’ve invited a very special guest!”

The MC gave me a crisp hand signal.

“Unprecedented! The leading figure of the 21st-century magic revolution! The hero of the Labyrinth Dungeon and the liberator of Africa! A certified rank-2 hunter who is now challenging the World Guilds!”

The murmurs in the hall swelled into a roar on the verge of exploding.

’…The pressure just went up a hundredfold.’

“The Archmage—no, now the Tower Master! Please welcome hunter Kim Yusin, representative of Arcane!”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Resigned, I stepped forward.

“Is—Is this for real?”

“Is that really Kim Yusin?”

“Oooooooooh!”

“This is insane!”

“He’s so handsome!”

I gave a small wave toward the section where the “handsome” comment had come from. The reflexive “Eeeeee!” that erupted in response made me jump.

’What is with this reaction?’

“Kim Yusin! Kim Yusin! Kim Yusin! Kim Yusin!”

Everyone shot to their feet, chanting my name.

I knew I was popular among non-combat types, but I hadn’t realized it was to this extent.

I shot the MC a pleading look, silently asking her to calm them down, but she only smiled and shrugged.

“Ahem, ah-ah. I am Kim Yusin.”

The moment I spoke into the mic, the hall fell dead silent.

The eyes of the mage candidates sparkled with an intensity that was almost oppressive, as if they refused to miss a single word.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. But really, is all this necessary? Aren’t you sick of this face after watching it hundreds or thousands of times in the videos?”

Laughter broke out all over the place.

“Kim Yusin looks even better in person!”

“Thank you.”

I pointed in that direction and offered a direct thank you, then continued.

“To be honest, the two speakers before me already said everything that needed to be said, so I don’t have much left. President Shin Nara covered Arcane, and hunter Na Daeyong talked about perseverance and passion as a mage. As for tips on magic, they’re all in the lectures…”

I folded my arms and thought for a moment, then looked out at the audience.

“So I’ll take a look at something a bit more practical. Let me ask you: what’s the hardest part for you right now?”

“Hunting monsters!”

“There’s no space in the field dungeons!”

I nodded.

“Exactly. Magic can only be perfected when theory and practice go hand in hand, but there’s a severe shortage of basic hunting grounds for Ranks 1 through 4.”

With the world in an uproar over Catastrophes and Rifts, why were players complaining about a lack of hunting grounds?

To give a simple example, if there were a restricted zone where Rank 1–5 monsters appeared, the minimum entry requirement would be a certified rank-5 hunter capable of hunting Rank 5 monsters.

It was the same for Rift incidents and Catastrophe phases. These were Alliance guidelines and global regulations, with no exceptions.

Because of that, once you became a certified hunter and joined a guild, the problem wasn’t a lack of hunting grounds, but too much work.

Hunters who joined small and mid-sized guilds often worked to the bone and were forced into early retirement.

However, because there weren’t enough “safe Rank 1–4 hunting grounds” for hunter candidates, it was difficult to train trainee hunters.

This was a worldwide trend. It was just that in a tiny country like Korea, the problem was especially severe.

“For all of you in that situation, I’m going to reveal something here and now, for the first time in the world.”

I cleared my throat lightly and continued.

“The Magic Tower is currently preparing a new dungeon project for trainee players. I’d like to invite all of you here to that dungeon as testers, starting right now.”

The audience gasped in shock.

The buzz in the hall exploded.

“It’s a space rich in mana, making it an ideal place to learn magic. The only issue is your schedules…”

“I’ll clear mine!”

“There’s no way I’m missing this!”

The mages shouted, eyes shining.

“Are we going right now?”

“Yes, we’re going now.”

Someone in the very front row shot a hand up.

“Don’t we have to contact the Association and go through the entry procedures?”

“We’re not going to a domestic dungeon, so filing a simple notification is enough. The dungeon we’re heading to doesn’t exist in this world. We’ll be using warp magic to get there.”

At the words “doesn’t exist in this world,” a few people looked around nervously.

“The choice is yours. Since it’s still in the testing phase, I won’t deny that there may be dangers we haven’t anticipated. I have no intention of forcing anyone.”

“I’d like to hear more details about the dungeon.”

“Of course. The base layout is a cave type, and the monster distribution is subdivided by rank. And one more thing…”

I gestured behind me.

Cha Doyeon, Seo Shimhee, Kim Sarang, and Jo Yonghee stepped up in their hunter suits. Na Daeyong hurried to join them.

“The first-generation mages will be coming along to help you. If you have any questions about magic, feel free to ask them anything.”

“Oooooooooh!”

“For the specifics, Hunter Cha Doyeon here will explain.”

Meeting my eyes, Cha Doyeon nodded and stepped forward.

“The schedule will be two nights and three days. Just like a regular dungeon, you will undergo a simple blood pressure check and a warp test. Those who pass will receive a number tag and then use the Magic Tower’s warp gate to cross over to the dungeon in sequence. Lodging and meals will be provided by us. If you don’t have a trainee license…”

“Wow, she’s good.”

No wonder the Fourth Floor Team called her the “female Jeong Seojin.” Watching her work, I could see how meticulous she was with every last detail.

I left the rest of the explanation to them and stepped down from the stage.

“This is just like you, Hunter Kim—one surprise after another,” Shin Nara remarked with a smile as she waited backstage.

I smiled back. “Now that we’ve gone this far, this is guaranteed to blow up online, right? Something like, Arcane even offers benefits like this. That’s the kind of buzz I’m hoping for.”

“Of course, it’ll be a huge help! But I thought you were busy with the antidote, Hunter Kim.”

“I have some time on my hands right now. I’m trying to get a few things in order while I can.”

Official Rank 1, Albert.

Even if it was a surprise attack, I still lost to him.

I thought I could at least put up a fight, even if I couldn’t win. But he neutralized me with a straightforward attack that didn’t even seem special.

Before I focused on gathering mana for the Magic Tower, I needed to prepare myself.

* * *

More than two hundred people signed up for the mana mine tour.

Since it was a completely unannounced, spur-of-the-moment event, I had expected fifty at most, but the actual number blew past my estimate.

I had already prepared a way to move them. Instead of sending them through the warp gate on the 5th floor, I created a portal that connected directly to the mana cave’s internal warp gate. That way, we could also conserve the Magic Tower’s mana.

We got ready to move straight from the new headquarters to the mana mine. We crammed twenty people at a time through the gate and sent them off.

’Ugh, it’s cramped.’

I was one of those twenty.

A short while later, everyone who had confirmed their participation arrived safely in the mine.

“Whoa…!”

“It’s so beautiful!”

People looked around in awe, their heads swiveling in every direction.

“Alright, everyone, your attention please!”

Cha Doyeon clapped her hands, drawing the eyes of the two hundred people toward her.

“Let me emphasize this one more time: do not overdo it. It is crucial that you only hunt monsters appropriate for your current level. Those who plan to hunt Rank 1 or 2 monsters, please stay right here. Those who want to hunt Rank 3–4 monsters, follow me. We’ll be heading to Sector 2.”

At her words, the crowd quickly split into two groups.

“And let me repeat: the ore in this dungeon is the private property of the Magic Tower. You will pass through an inspection circle before you leave, and if any theft is discovered…”

I placed a hand on Cha Doyeon’s shoulder. She bowed politely and stepped back, letting me take over.

“I’ve read every story you submitted on your application forms.”

I waved the printed documents in my hand.

To attend the briefing, they had to submit an application that included a section explaining why they absolutely had to be there. Every single one of them had filled that space to the maximum character limit, cramming in as much as they could.

“I was moved by what you wrote, and I learned a great deal. I don’t know how many of you will end up joining Arcane, but as the Master of the Magic Tower, I consider all of you companions who will walk this path with me to the very end. Even if you don’t join Arcane, I am sure you will all go on to hold important positions in the world of magic.”

The area grew quiet, and I continued with a smile.

“To be honest, bringing you all here was a risk for me as well. The mana mine is still a dungeon that hasn’t been fully prepared, and there was a lot of opposition because of the ore theft issue. I had to work pretty hard to convince the executives. So just this once, I’m asking you to help me save face.”

I smiled as I spoke.

“I hope you will use this dungeon safely for the next three days. That’s all.”

Everyone broke into applause and cheers. I left the rest of the crowd control to Cha Doyeon.

-Impressive, Tower Master, Ea commented.

’What can I say?’

-You delivered that speech without your expression changing once, even though you didn’t actually read all of their stories. That part was especially impressive.

’…Cut me some slack. I only just heard about all this from President Shin after I got here.’

There were several reasons I had invited these rookies to the mana mine.

The primary goal was to restore the Magic Tower’s mana reserves. Just leaving the mana mine alone would slowly replenish our mana, but clearing out the monsters that lived here would raise it much faster.

Originally, I had planned to mobilize the golems or the Fourth Floor Team to sweep the place clean in one go, but I decided we might as well do some good at the same time.

These hunt-starved rookies would spend the next three days wiping out every last monster in this sector, and all of it would become mana for our Tower.

The second goal was to secure new talent. The Fourth Floor Team members who were here were acting as helpers for the rookies, but their real mission was to scout for talent.

We planned to identify anyone with potential and add them to a recruitment list.

There were only two positions I needed to fill immediately.

One was the manager of the 6th-floor mana mine, and the other was someone the Association President had asked me to find for the Magic Administration Department.

We had gathered the most gifted of the 1st-circle mages here, so I was hoping at least a few good candidates would turn up.

’It would be great if one of them had what it takes to manage the 6th floor.’

I could just pull someone from the Fourth Floor Team, but their chemistry was so good that I was reluctant to break them up.

The Fourth Floor Team shone brightest when they moved as a single unit rather than as individuals. If possible, I wanted to keep that team intact and bring in new people instead.

They themselves had said they would rather stay on the 4th floor than become managers and be split up.

-But where are you going, Tower Master? Ea asked.

’I’m heading to Sector 4. I need to do some buildup training before I face Albert again.’

If I faced Albert again as I am now, the result would be the same.

It wasn’t just these rookies who needed to grow; I needed a change of my own.

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