Chapter 24: Return
“Thank you for your cooperation. It must have been a tough ordeal. Please rest comfortably in the hospital for the day. The Association will cover all your medical expenses.”
After exiting the Tutorial, I was immediately transferred to a private room in a hospital run by the Association, where my injuries were treated, and I underwent a brief investigation.
Of course, just before being transferred, Seo Mina and I exchanged a silent agreement with a look. Neither of us breathed a word about the Hidden Stage.
It was only natural. This incident involved an entire Tutorial being completely shut down—a massive event. It was such a significant achievement that even the system described it as something that shocked the Abyss.
And if the reason turned out to be that we had cleared a Hidden Stage?
Immediately, the number of those aiming for the treasures we obtained in the Hidden Stage would multiply exponentially.
Of course, even with the treasures we gained, there was nothing they could take from us.
I drew out the energy of the sun that I could feel within my body and formed a small sun in my hand. The blazing mini sun contained a tremendous amount of energy within it.
It was the kind of energy—often called an energy stat—that over 70% of low-level hunters, trapped in F and E ranks, most desperately desired.
But here it was, resting in my hand as a mythical stat.
“Authority: Noon Sun, check.”
〚Authority: Noon Sun〛
〚Rank: Origin〛
〚Grade: Origin〛
〚Level: 1〛
Description: The power of the sun that rises the highest and shines the brightest, ruling over all creation from above. It is an absolute symbol and power that governs everything beneath it.
Abilities:
- Stat: Sun [Mythical] Blooming
- Absolute immunity to fire attribute
- Extreme affinity with fire attribute
- Level 2 unlocked at next stage
I put away the sun and picked up a lighter beside me, pressing my hand directly into its flame.
Ssssss!!
“…….”
There was a small sound as the flame touched my skin, but I felt no pain or any adverse effects. Instead, the warmth from the flame felt soothing against my skin.
“Amazing.”
I knew about resistance stats. If this were quantified, it would probably max out flame resistance.
“It’s definitely worthy of being called an Authority.”
I closed the status window and leaned back on the bed, but then I suddenly sprang up again.
“Come to think of it, there’s one more thing I need to check!”
Gulp.
I had almost forgotten the most important thing—the additional power I gained after securing over 10% ownership.
“Enter Golden Tower.”
At my command, a portal opened behind me, sucking me in. The sensation was similar to crossing a dungeon or Abyss portal, and my surroundings shifted dramatically. Where I arrived was… a cavern filled with countless white coins.
***
“Thank you for your statement. Please accept this as a small token of our appreciation.”
“Oh! Thank you so much!”
Click!
As the door closed and the last Tutorial Zone 7 entrant left, Park Seo-ha, the head of the Fifth Investigation Division, roughly loosened her tie and bit down on a cigarette.
“It’s a no-smoking area.”
Her subordinate snatched the cigarette and snapped it in half. Park Seo-ha shot her subordinate a brief glare before putting another cigarette in her mouth.
“So, what do you think happened here?”
“What do we even know about the Abyss? To be honest, the investigation we just conducted was purely procedural. With no leads or evidence, and the entire Tutorial vanishing… And two of the hunters who entered died.”
“Dammit, seriously. And what did the higher-ups say?”
“What else would they say? They’re demanding we come up with a reason or evidence immediately, even if we have to fabricate it. It’s a major incident, after all. Ever since the Abyss opened, a Tutorial disappearing like this has never happened before.”
Park Seo-ha let out a deep sigh, taking a long, unlit drag from the cigarette, closing her eyes as she retraced her thoughts.
“But… come to think of it, something feels off.”
“What now?”
Her subordinate, now exasperated, distanced himself from Park Seo-ha, looking visibly tired.
“If you’re planning on more reckless intimidation, torture, or secret investigations, count me out. I don’t want to face any more disciplinary action. All my peers have already become team leaders and are advancing while I got stuck here because I got paired with the wrong boss!”
“Gwak Chan! You little…! Hold on, I’m telling you something is strange!”
“What is it this time?”
“You know… the last two people who came out of the Abyss?”
Gwak Chan nodded and replied, “How could I forget? One of them is the precious princess of the Seo-hwa Group. The other was this year’s top student. What about them?”
“No matter how I think about it, the injuries on their bodies weren’t the kind that could have been caused by the monsters in the Tutorial. It looked like they had been brushed by something massive and powerful… but there’s no way such a large creature exists in the Tutorial…”
“Sigh, here we go again. Look, even if they were hiding something, it’s not like we have any grounds to investigate further. Even if they killed the two who didn’t make it back from the Tutorial, we can’t hold them accountable. We have no evidence or witnesses! Besides, we’re talking about the third generation of a conglomerate!”
Park Seo-ha, known as the “Crazy Dog” of the Hunter Investigation Department, shook her head as if sensing something off, despite her subordinate’s protests. She abruptly stood up from her seat and stormed out of the investigation room, heading somewhere.
Bang!!
After a long walk, she arrived at the Information Control Room—where all hunter records were stored in a database, a department boasting some of the country’s top five intelligence capabilities.
The staff, who typically strutted around with confidence, flaunting their position to others in different departments, immediately averted their eyes and lowered their heads when Park Seo-ha entered.
‘If you get involved with her, a mere report won’t be the end of it.’
‘Don’t make eye contact, don’t speak to her, just pretend she’s invisible!’
‘If someone has to take the fall, shouldn’t the team leader set an example?’
‘You idiot, do you know how badly I got chewed out by the Association President last time when I got involved?!’
To them, Park Seo-ha was like a walking time bomb.
“Senior!! Why are you here again?! Do you want another summons from the President?! You can’t just access these files!”
“Shut up, and let’s make this quick. Just one of you, step up and help me with a small request, and I’ll leave quietly. I’ll give you five seconds. Five, four, three…”
“What… can I do for you, Team Leader Park Seo-ha of the Fifth Investigation Division?”
Today, like every other time, the junior member who got the short end of the stick reluctantly stepped forward, looking like a pig being led to slaughter.
“Give me the data on two hunters.”
“All hunter information is classified, and without approval from an executive or higher… Who are you looking for?”
As he muttered excuses, Park Seo-ha raised her fist, prompting him to hurriedly sit down and start searching. She asked him to pull up information on Shin Juha and Seo Mina.
“Um… Miss Seo Mina has a Level 2 security clearance. This is truly beyond us. For Level 2, you need the codes from at least three executives.”
“Figures, she’s a princess after all. How about the other one?”
When the junior staff member began searching for Shin Juha’s name, his face went pale as he read the message that appeared on the screen.
Unable to believe his eyes, he repeatedly checked the name he had searched and the message on the screen, then shouted in disbelief.
“What is it?”
“Team… Team Leader!”
Ignoring Park Seo-ha’s curiosity, he urgently called over the head of the Information Division, who had been trying to avoid their interaction.
“You need to come here right away!”
“Ugh, what is it? What’s going on?”
The team leader, who had been deliberately ignoring the situation, rushed over upon hearing the junior’s desperate and panicked voice and checked the screen.
“This is insane!”
Seeing the message indicating a Zero (Zero) Grade security clearance on the screen, he almost fainted in shock and quickly unplugged the computer.
“Dammit! Park Seo-ha! You lunatic! Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”
“Are you crazy? Is that how you speak to me?”
Park Seo-ha tilted her head in confusion, wondering what was happening, then scowled as the Information Division chief suddenly hurled curses at her.
“We’re dead! We’re all dead! That person you just asked me to look up is a Zero-grade security target. Do you even know what Zero-grade means? It means even the Association President doesn’t have the authority to bypass that security! It requires unanimous approval from the nation’s highest-ranking officials, top-tier hunters, and the highest echelons of the Association just to access that information!”
“So what’s your point, damn it?”
Park Seo-ha raised her fist, her frustration evident, but this time, the Information Division chief refused to back down.
“If someone accesses Zero-grade security, the requestor is notified! You ignorant fool! Those people could call in a suppression team right now and shoot us all dead! We’ve learned things we should never have known!”
With those words, the Information Division chief collapsed, fainting on the spot, leaving Park Seo-ha bewildered and unable to fully grasp the gravity of the situation. All she could do was sigh in disbelief at the absurdity of it all.
“Sigh… This just makes me more determined.”
She muttered as she pulled out a cigarette, glancing at the dark monitor while lost in thought.
And barely a minute had passed when—
Click!
The door to the Information Division opened, and a suppression team armed with anti-Awakened rifles burst in.
“What the hell is this? What’s going on?”
“You’ll all need to come with us.”
Just for attempting to find out about someone they should never have touched or questioned, Park Seo-ha found herself detained in the same interrogation room where she had been questioning witnesses just minutes before.
***
A scene of white coins scattered across the ground unfolded before me, along with a massive crater that looked as if a bomb had gone off.
“So, it was a bomb I grabbed just before I died.”
Honestly, I didn’t know exactly what I grabbed in my desperate attempt to survive, but looking at this place, it seemed clear that it had been no ordinary bomb.
“So, those coins must have been left behind when the Golden Goblin died.”
Exactly 9,999 coins. With the six black coins I already had, I now possessed a total of 10,005 of those elusive black-and-white coins.
But I didn’t feel particularly moved. Though I couldn’t withdraw them right now, my inventory held a far greater quantity of resources.
“No, actually, this is something to be excited about!”
After all, I had the Zero-grade Merchant Summoning Ticket that I received as a reward for destroying the Tutorial.
These merchants, who wandered throughout the Abyss, were akin to NPCs or natives, offering quests or selling items.
Especially among the merchants, ranks ranged from 9th grade to Zero-grade. Naturally, Zero-grade merchants were rumored to be incredibly rare, even within the Abyss.
With a coupon to summon such a merchant and over ten thousand black-and-white coins…
‘I might be able to buy something really good.’
Satisfied, I tossed all the coins into my inventory and made my way forward. Passing through the cavern, the Golden Tower finally came into view.
“So this is what it looks like.”
It was a five-story tower, with lights only on the first and second floors. The size was smaller than I expected.
Roughly the height of an apartment building?
For a five-story building, it was enormous, but knowing just how much wealth and treasure lay within, even this seemed small to me.
Without hesitation, I entered the tower.
〚1st Floor Golden Treasure Vault – Zone 1〛
Upon entry, I found myself in Zone 1, surrounded by mountains of purple coins, vast fields of magic stones, and seas filled with potions.
It was like an ecosystem of limitless consumables, welcoming me with open arms.
“Looking at it this way, this Authority is totally overpowered.”
Honestly, I could live a luxurious life just by quitting as a hunter and selling these goods.
‘No, that’s not an option. Who knows what tricks that Curse of Misfortune might pull.’
I moved past Zone 1 and headed for Zone 2. Zone 2 was similar to Zone 1 in terms of the abundance of consumables, but there was one major difference. Most of the consumables had lost their color, appearing as stone-like sealed objects.
“Looks like these are still locked.”
How long did I wander through the tower?
After completing my exploration, I finally stepped out of the tower. That’s when something unexpected happened.
—Chirp!
Thunk!
A small, sparkling creature stabbed my thigh with a sharp dagger.
—
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