Chapter 47: Contract(2)

Piles of paperwork were stacked throughout the offices in the White Silver guild.

“Hwooo.. Aghh, I’m so tired.”

The team leader of the newly formed ‘Challenger Supervision’ division, Lee Hayeon, let out a low sigh.

How could she not after seeing the unending pile of paperwork on her desk?

It had already been three days since she got out of the tower, but she didn’t seem to be faring any better.

‘Because I’ve been working non-stop since I got back.’

Most people would have been enjoying all the luxuries that they missed in the tower but..

Lee Hayeon chose to inform the White Silver guild of the Tower of Trials.

“We need a team to identify and recruit the ‘challengers’ that come home from the ‘Tower of Trials.’ They will bring about the next revolution.”

The team was created to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of this world.

Lee Hayeon didn’t consider the tower to be a disaster, but another opportunity.

The tower had a lot of risks associated with it, but the rewards were just as valuable.

And—

‘The tower isn’t a place for just hunters.’

Any normal civilian could be summoned there for no reason at all.

Since only the hunters’ abilities are reset upon the start of the trials, a normal person could see this as an opportunity to awaken..

‘If those people survived, they must have gotten a lot more powerful.’

There was no question that scouting them would benefit the guild greatly.

Same with hunters.

‘Since challengers receive rewards as they climb..’

Hunters could grow to be even stronger than they previously were.

No matter what happened, maintaining a friendly relationship with the challengers would prove to be a profitable investment.

So Lee Hayeon founded the ‘Challenger Supervision’ team and became its first leader.

She was currently doing all that she could to identify and reach out to those who came out of the tower.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“I know that they don’t want to be discovered but I didn’t realize how hard this would be..”

The challengers never outright revealed that they were from the tower.

‘It would be a lot easier if I could just do this when I’m back at the tower, but I still have some time left before I return..’

The problems kept accumulating the more she looked into it.

And..

Besides a handful of people, the number of thoughtful and cautious challengers she’d recruited was barely in the double digits.

Even worse, most of them were from the easy difficulty.

That wasn’t enough to effectively take advantage of this new world that was the Tower of Trials.

“..If only we had a single person from the hard difficulty.”

An ambitious enough challenger would be itching to keep climbing the tower if they had half a brain.

Just like that man Lee Hayeon saw on the 4th floor.

“I wonder what he’s up to now.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he single-handedly cleared the 4th trial.

Not even the more experienced hunters could do anything against his strength.

Too bad he hadn’t responded to any of my messages after adding me as a friend.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t very talkative post-murder but..

‘I also didn’t say much.’

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d already returned to Earth and gone back for the next trial.

‘He’s too much of a gem to miss though..’

His insane growth was just a part of it, but more than that, he was a trainee without any ties to big organizations.

“Should I have tried to recruit him when I had the chance..?”

And while she was swimming in regret—

Bzzzt!

“..?”

The facedown smartphone got Lee Hayeon’s attention.

‘What is it? I don’t think there’s anyone who’d contact me at this time.’

She reached out to see if it was another spam text and then—

“..Huh?”

When she saw who the message was from..

「 Hello, this is Han Sungyeun. We met on the 4th floor. Do you have time to meet with me if you’ve returned? 」

“..”

She almost forgot how to breathe.

***

I put my phone back in my pocket after sending the text.

There was no guarantee that she was back here on Earth or that she’d see the message but..

Well, it wasn’t something to think that hard about.

I already got my most pressing concern out of the way, and I could always think more about joining different organizations.

All I wanted to ask was if she knew of any place that may accept the terms that I came up with.

‘I guess it doesn’t matter if she ends up not responding.’

But..

As soon as I stepped out of the cafe.

Bzzzt!

“..?”

My phone rendered my concerns meaningless as it rang not a minute after my message had been sent.

“Wha-”

「 Of course! I can meet with you any time! 」

It might have been just me, but I got a cheerful vibe from the message.

But that wasn’t a bad thing.

「 So you’ve returned as well. Do you have time to meet sometime soon? I got the cheapest return stone, so I don’t have much time. 」

As soon as I was about to send that message—

Ding!

「 If you let me know where you are I’ll go as soon as I can! 」

I smiled at the fact that she responded to a message I hadn’t even sent.

‘I guess she’s in a rush too.’

I was wondering if she bought the same type of return stone as me but..

That wasn’t that important, so I erased the current message to send her a new response.

Not even a second later—

「 Alright. I’m heading there now. Please give me a second. 」

I told her my location and her messages stopped after saying she was on her way.

“Maybe she’s closer than I thought.”

Well, she didn’t tell me exactly when she was getting here but..

Judging by her text, I feel like it wouldn’t take that long.

I sat back down and leisurely sipped on a drink for maybe 10 minutes before—

Di-ring..

The doors to the cafe opened and a harsh gasping filled the room.

When I turned around to see who had entered, a beautiful lady in a black suit greeted me.

“Mister.. Huff.. Han..?”

It was Lee Hayeon.

“..When did you get back? I assumed that you returned early because you didn’t respond to my message.”

It was as though she didn’t believe that I’d still be here.

I could understand why she thought that though.

I made an erratic move of returning for three days on the 5th floor; there’s no way she could have predicted where I was.

‘Maybe if I responded to her message but I ended up ignoring that..’

She had the right to be a little surprised.

“I had to return for a bit on the 5th floor and just reached the 8th now. I actually only just returned today. And the message.. I’m sorry. I must have missed it.”

Of course, I knew about the message.

I was just never in a position to send a response.

“No, no. It’s nothing to apologize about. But why on the 5th..?”

“I can’t go into detail, but it was just some personal business.”

“..I see. Well, that’s not the important part. I’m glad that we both made it out of that tower alive.”

She started smiling but her face froze once she realized something.

“Does that mean you won’t be climbing the tower anymore?”

“No, it’s not that.”

I didn’t even hesitate to answer that question.

I’d already made my decision way before the 8th floor.

‘It’s too late to take it back.’

As soon as I felt the euphoria of winning and getting stronger..

I knew that choice had already been made for me.

“I’m planning to keep climbing the tower. Whatever it happens to be, it’s an enticing place for me. And that’s why I wanted to see you today.”

“..?”

“I don’t have too much time left before having to return so I’ll be direct. I need an organization.”

“What do you mean by..”

“Something that would help me go in and out of dungeons while still climbing the tower.”

“I was wondering if you knew of any guilds or had connections that would agree to my terms.”

“..”

She quieted down after hearing my request.

I couldn’t help but be disappointed after seeing her pause to think.

‘Was it too much?’

I thought I had more expectations of this meeting than I’d realized.

‘Hunter association hunters have no choice but to respond to emergencies, but guilds are different.’

Guilds are fantastic places where you can add as many arbitrary conditions as you’d like.

I wanted to ask Lee Hayeon if she could introduce me to a guild that may agree to my conditions but..

Looking at her reaction, that might not be possible.

‘What can I do?’

It was then.

“..So what you want is to be able to freely enter dungeons as well as the tower?”

She continued.

“I think I can assist with that.”

“Can you refer me to a guild?”

“Hmm, something like that.”

“..?”

“I’m currently the leader of the ‘Challenger Supervision’ team at the White Silver guild.”

“The challenger supervision team..?”

“Our goal is to recruit the challengers that have been summoned to the Tower of Trials.”

A challenger supervision team.

‘They already made something like that’

I hadn’t expected that.

Even the hunter association hadn’t figured out what they should be doing with the challengers as of now..

‘No, maybe this makes the most sense.’

This would be the prime time to recruit challengers since the association hasn’t figured out a good way to do so.

“If you join my team, I’ll be able to fulfill most of your conditions. Although I’m not sure what I can do about money..”

‘What shall I do..?’

I didn’t really care about the money.

I’d already made 1.2 million from selling that gate.

Plus, if I needed any more, I could sell some items from the tower.

So..

‘The conditions they’re willing to fulfill will make or break this deal.’

To what point would they accommodate me and if I’d be regretting it later.

‘And if neither requirements are met..’

I’d stop trying and just go back to climbing the tower.

No matter what happened, I’ll be able to prove my worth sooner or later.

‘I just don’t like waiting too much.’

Lee Hayeon carefully asked me the question as she sat down and stared at me.

“What do you think?”

“I..”

——