Chapter 07

Double Rewards

Jeongho savored the blessing he had earned for reaching first place on the fifth floor of the Tower of Trials.

[Reward for Rank 1 on Floor 5: You have obtained the Blessing of Abundance.]

– Blessing of Abundance: Your Luck stat increases by three grades, and you have a chance to receive additional rewards.

A chance to receive double rewards. What more could he ask for? Even if it was only a probability, it meant he could earn twice as much for every hour of work!

If he had it his way, he would have climbed even higher in the tower, but—

[You have used all your daily entries to the Tower of Trials.]

The Tower of Trials could only be entered once a day. It didn’t matter whether someone was repeating a previous floor or attempting a higher one, or whether they achieved an F-rank or an EX-rank clear.

Everyone played by the same rules.

‘What a waste. Wait a minute. There’s no restriction on this blessing, is there?’

While examining the Blessing of Abundance more closely, Jeongho noticed something strange.

The description didn’t say “inside the Tower of Trials.”

‘Could it work in Gates, too?’

The puzzle pieces fell into place in his mind on their own.

Now he understood why China had grown so prosperous in such a short time.

‘They’ve been collecting double rewards from Gates, too? Even a pig wouldn’t eat that much.’

‘Calm down. That might not be the case.’

Jeongho quickly regained his composure after getting carried away.

Just because it was a double-reward effect didn’t necessarily mean that every reward would be doubled.

[EX-Rank Special Reward: You have obtained 1 Proof of a Hero.]

Only one Proof of a Hero had appeared.

That meant the double-reward effect had a blind spot. Perhaps it only increased ordinary rewards, while special rewards remained unchanged.

‘But what exactly is a Proof of a Hero?’

What was so special about this thing that it didn’t even qualify for double rewards?

Jeongho opened his inventory. The moment his hand touched the neatly stacked bronze badges—

[You have collected 5 Proofs of a Hero.]

[You have obtained 1 Hero’s Proof Chest!]

Flash!

A pale green light burst forth.

The badges lost their glow, and in their place, a silver chest appeared in his inventory.

‘A chest? So the Proofs of a Hero were basically exchange tokens?’

– Hero’s Proof Chest: Power bestowed upon those who have proven themselves worthy of being heroes. You can obtain one random item of Unique grade or higher.

‘A guaranteed random draw of Unique grade or higher? That’s incredible. I can forgive it for not doubling this reward.’

There were five item grades in total: Common, Rare, Unique, Epic, and Legendary.

The higher the grade, the rarer the item. A Unique item would put someone in roughly the top ten percent of all items.

Getting a Unique item at his current stage, on the fifth floor of the Tower of Trials?

He could practically bulldoze his way through the tower with something like that.

The item’s useful lifespan depended on its type, of course, but if he got tired of using it, he could always sell it.

He could earn at least tens of millions of won, and a particularly valuable item might fetch as much as a billion won.

‘This is worthy of being an EX-rank special reward. Let’s open it right now.’

Jeongho opened the chest.

Click!

The light trapped inside poured out in a dazzling flood.

– Remote Gate Entry Ticket (Unique): Allows you to enter any Gate you know of immediately. Single-use item.

“Huh. A dud. It’s useful, sure, but what am I supposed to do with it?”

Jeongho muttered to himself without realizing it.

There were so many good Unique items out there. A single-use Remote Gate Entry Ticket felt like a waste.

A Gate would remain open for three days at most. It would either be cleared or explode after the hunters failed to conquer it.

No matter how powerful a hunter was, a Gate too far away was physically impossible to reach in time.

In that sense, a remote-entry ticket was useful. But it was only good for one use.

Compared with items that offered lasting benefits, such as skill books and elixirs, it was disappointing.

‘Where could I use this so that people would say I put it to good use? No, wait. I don’t want anyone talking about it.’

If word got out, Li Wei of the Black Dragon Guild might come after him.

For now, Jeongho decided to save it.

‘Right. Speaking of Li Wei, that reminds me.’

He had nearly forgotten while enjoying his blessing and opening the Hero’s Proof Chest.

Now, his priority was to steal the blessing on the Tower of Trials’ tenth floor, wasn’t it?

And so, the next day—

[You have cleared Floor 6 of the Tower of Trials!]

[Clear Time: 00:00:08.]

[Clear Rank: EX]

[EX-Rank Reward: You have obtained 29 Mana Stones.]

[EX-Rank Special Reward: You have obtained 1 Proof of a Hero.]

[Reclaimed Rank 1! New record established!]

Up through the fourth floor, he had received nineteen Mana Stones.

But after defeating a single boss, his reward had increased by ten, bringing the total to twenty-nine.

Not bad!

The following day—

[You have cleared Floor 7 of the Tower of Trials!]

[Clear Rank: EX]

[Reclaimed Rank 1! New record established!]

And the day after that—

[You have cleared Floor 8 of the Tower of Trials!]

[Clear Rank: EX]

[Reclaimed Rank 1! New record established!]

[The Blessing of Abundance has activated!]

[Additional Reward Obtained: 29 Mana Stones.]

‘Eight consecutive EX-rank clears, huh?’

It was an unprecedented record since the appearance of hunters.

He had also accumulated 270 Mana Stones over those eight days and collected another three Proofs of a Hero.

By now, Li Wei should have come to his senses a little, right?

[Record Updated! The owner of the blessing has changed.]

[Reward for Rank 1 on Floor 5: The Blessing of Abundance has been transferred from Li Wei to ???.]

A notification appeared on the enormous monitor in the Black Dragon Guild’s main hall.

The guild members stared in utter disbelief, their jaws practically hitting the floor.

Li Wei hurled the teacup he had been drinking from.

Boom!

The monitor exploded.

But just as one couldn’t cover the sky with one’s palm, destroying the monitor wouldn’t change what had already happened.

The owner of the blessing had changed.

“What the hell did I just see?”

Li Wei’s icy gaze swept across the guild members.

“M-Master, it must be a coincidence!”

“P-Please don’t be discouraged! It’s only the blessing from the fifth floor!”

“Even without that blessing, Master, you’re a g-god among hunters!”

The Black Dragon Guild members showered him with flattery.

Outside the guild, they were at least high-ranking B-rank hunters, if not A-rank hunters. But in front of Li Wei, they crawled like insects.

“Idiots. The blessing isn’t what’s important here.”

Despite being insulted, the guild members felt relieved.

Li Wei’s voice was as calm and cold as ever.

“This is a challenge from an EX-rank hunter. More than that, it’s a warning. He’s threatening me.”

The guild members stared at one another, dumbfounded.

“A warning? A threat? I’m afraid I don’t quite understand…”

“It’s a message telling us that unless we resume the supply of Mana Stones, he’ll take away every remaining blessing as well.”

Ryu Je remained composed, as though he had anticipated this development.

“An EX-rank hunter would obviously have the ability to do that. And now he’s directly demonstrated that he has the will to do it, too.”

“What? What kind of unfilial bastard doesn’t even recognize his own parents?!”

“What a vile, unforgivable piece of trash!”

“After receiving the kindness of our great nation, he repays us with enmity?!”

“They say you should never take in a beast with black fur!”

The Black Dragon Guild members grew furious.

They couldn’t exactly curse an unknown EX-rank hunter to his face, but they could certainly act tough in front of Ryu Je, who was standing right there.

“Enough! Ryu Je isn’t EX-rank. All of you, shut up. We’re only talking about the fifth floor. Don’t act rashly. Always remember to demonstrate the dignity of our great nation.”

The guild members fell silent again.

Li Wei let out a quiet sigh and muttered,

“All-Seeing Eye.”

[Skill Activated: All-Seeing Eye]

[You can see whatever you wish, in whatever form you wish, for as long as you wish.]

Li Wei’s eyes flashed blue for an instant before even his irises turned completely white.

He looked as though he were gazing at something beyond reality itself.

This was Li Wei’s unique skill: All-Seeing Eye.

He could pry into anything he wanted to know.

Where Gates would open or close. Who currently owned a particular item. The behavioral patterns and weaknesses of monsters. Even who would betray him.

He could use it to discover the identity of the bastard who had dared to steal a Tower of Trials blessing from him.

It was thanks to this skill that Li Wei had maintained his position as China’s number-one hunter and kept a firm monopoly on the Tower of Trials’ blessings.

However—

“EX-rank hunter.”

[Target cannot be found.]

The EX-rank hunter remained a mystery.

Li Wei could guess why.

It meant that no one knew the EX-rank hunter’s identity except the hunter himself.

The All-Seeing Eye was ultimately just an eye. It allowed him to see through the eyes of others.

It wasn’t mind reading. If something couldn’t be seen, then he couldn’t see it.

“If I can’t find him myself, then I’ll make the Koreans find him for me. Leak information that an A-rank Gate will open in Myeongdong, Seoul.”

The Black Dragon Guild members were once again bewildered.

Only Ryu Je, Chang Yao, and a few of the senior executives understood Li Wei’s true intentions.

“Myeongdong is a decoy. The real target is a C-rank Gate that will open in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, South Korea, an hour later. It’s an extremely small Gate with a time limit of one hour. The hunters will gather in Myeongdong, so they won’t be able to stop the Gate in Gangwon Province in time. It’ll explode.”

“If the Gate explodes, there will be heavy civilian casualties.”

At Ryu Je’s remark, Li Wei nodded.

“The enraged Koreans will blame the Hunter Management Bureau, and the fallout will eventually reach the EX-rank hunter. Koreans are famous for their strict moral standards. If they find the EX-rank hunter themselves, I’ll take care of him personally.”

Ryu Je remained silent, while the other guild members spoke in unison.

“As expected of Master! A hunter without equal!”

It was a plan that only Li Wei, the greatest detection-type hunter in the world, could execute.

He could predict where and when Gates would open, down to the hour.

No matter how powerful an EX-rank hunter was, there were still physical limitations.

Could someone travel from Myeongdong to Yeongwol in Gangwon Province and close a Gate within an hour?

‘Impossible. Unless he can teleport.’

Three days later.

Myeongdong’s streets were strangely crowded, yet devoid of life.

There were plenty of hunters hoping to make a fortune from the A-rank Gate, but ordinary citizens and shopkeepers had all packed up and evacuated.

“Something about this doesn’t sit right with me.”

Section Chief Oh Seungwoo of the Hunter Management Bureau muttered to himself before spotting a familiar face.

Kwon Mingi, who had been discharged from the hospital not long ago, noticed him too and approached.

“Isn’t that Section Chief Oh from the Management Bureau? I heard you’d retired from field duty.”

“Something seemed off, so I came to check it out. This information came from China’s Black Dragon Guild. They’ve got an ulterior motive. They’re not the sort to give information away for free.”

Section Chief Oh put a cigarette between his lips.

Hunter Kwon Mingi lit it with the tip of his index finger.

“Even if they do have an ulterior motive, what can we do? It’s right in the middle of Seoul, and it’s an A-rank Gate. Hunters from all over the country must have flocked here.”

“I see quite a few C-rank hunters and below, too.”

“They’re weak, after all. They probably want to join a raid alongside stronger hunters. If they’re lucky enough to catch someone’s eye, they might get recruited. And, of course, they’re hoping for some good items.”

Starting with A-rank Gates, Epic items entered the reward pool.

Epic items belonged to the top one percent of all items. While large corporations managed Unique items, Epic items and above were managed at the national level.

That’s how powerful they were.

“Did you come here hoping to get an Epic item, too, Hunter Kwon?”

“No. I’m looking for the hunter who used Inferno that day. Since this is an A-rank Gate, I figured that hunter might show up as well.”

“The Weeping Statue incident, right? Something about that case doesn’t add up. There’s no record of the Gate’s reward item ever being sold. So who exactly cleared it?”

“Who could it have been? I really want to find that person and make them my master.”

“Who knows? I just hope it wasn’t China’s Red Mage… But wait. It’s opening.”

Krrrraaaack!

A crack split the air.

A hole burst open, and the space behind it shattered like a broken window as a vortex swirled violently within.

[Emergency Disaster Alert: Gate Appearance Warning!]

[A Gate has appeared in the Myeongdong commercial district!]

[Estimated Rank: A. Primary monster type: Unknown. Citizens are advised to evacuate to safety until hunters arrive.]

Smartphones buzzed all around them.

The hunters were thinking of nothing but earning contribution points so they could claim their share of the rewards.

Then—

Bzzzzzz.

Section Chief Oh’s phone rang.

“Hold on. This is Section Chief Oh. Officer Kim, what is it?”

“Section Chief! We’ve got a major problem! A C-rank Gate has opened in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, and it’s extremely small!”

Large Gates were difficult, but they also had longer time limits.

Small Gates, on the other hand, were easier but had shorter time limits.

Which was more dangerous?

Nine times out of ten, it was the smaller Gate.

If no one discovered it in time, it would explode before anyone could even attempt a raid, releasing monsters into the surrounding area and causing civilian casualties.

“What? Extremely small?! How much time do we have?”

“W-We just discovered it, but there’s only about thirty-four minutes left…”

“Thirty-four minutes?! Don’t tell me… Damn it! The Black Dragon Guild played us!”

Every top hunter in the country had gathered in Myeongdong. Those who weren’t already there were on their way.

Who could they possibly send to Yeongwol now?

There were hunters stationed in government positions, but there was no way they’d be able to clear the Gate in time.

Skilled hunters either worked as freelancers or joined guilds. Working as a civil servant placed severe limits on both their growth and earning potential.

“Plan B! Assume the Gate will explode. Seal off the surrounding area and gather as many people as possible. Send another emergency disaster alert to the entire country! I’ll head there immediately!”

Section Chief Oh hung up and shouted at the crowd.

“Everyone, listen up! This is Section Chief Oh from the Korean Hunter Management Bureau! An extremely small C-rank Gate has opened in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province! It’s about to explode! We urgently need hunters to help!”

The hunters in Myeongdong merely blinked and glanced at one another.

Not a single person stepped forward.

“I said the Yeongwol Gate is going to explode! People are going to die!”

They continued to blink and exchange uneasy glances.

He understood why.

They wanted to become stronger. That was how they could climb the tower and close Gates.

The hunters gathered in Myeongdong would ignore Yeongwol.

This was an A-rank Gate, while the one in Yeongwol was only C-rank.

Who would abandon the chance to obtain an Epic item for a shot at a Unique one?

And even that opportunity would disappear soon enough.

There were no rewards for dealing with the aftermath of an exploded Gate. The only compensation came from the government.

They wouldn’t move.

Unless, of course, the Myeongdong Gate suddenly closed…

“L-Look over there! In the sky…!”

The world turned red.

Two crimson suns appeared in the sky.

The hunters froze like primitive men witnessing a solar eclipse for the first time.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A rain of fire came crashing down.

A young White Dragon that had just emerged from the Gate screamed as it was brutally torn apart.

“W-What the hell is that?!”

“Fire? Inferno?! Is Hunter Kwon Mingi here, too?!”

“No, doesn’t it look different? There are two fireballs…!”

Before the bewildered hunters could do anything, a Gate-clearance notification appeared before their eyes.

[Young White Dragon 1/1 Defeated]

[A-rank Gate Cleared!]

[Contribution: ??? (100%)]

“What in the world just happened…?”

Bzzzzzz!

Section Chief Oh’s smartphone rang again.

The moment he answered, Officer Kim Minjae spoke urgently.

“Section Chief! The Yeongwol Gate has been cleared!”

The Yeongwol Gate had been cleared?

What was that supposed to mean?

“Did a hunter stationed at the site take care of it?”

“No! When we arrived, the contribution record showed ??? at 100%!”

“That one, too?”

“That one, too? Wait, what about Myeongdong?”

Section Chief Oh slowly lowered his phone, dumbfounded.

Everyone was in shock.

Only Hunter Kwon Mingi spoke with eyes brimming with emotion.

“T-That’s the person! Section Chief! That’s the very person I’ve been looking for!”

“…You found them?”

“No. There were too many people, and I lost sight of them. But next time, I’ll definitely find them!”

Hunter Kwon Mingi clenched his fist.

A thought suddenly crossed Section Chief Oh’s mind.

‘Could that person be EX-rank?’

Two status windows appeared before Jeongho’s eyes.

[A-rank Gate Cleared!]

[Contribution: Son Jeongho (100%)]

[C-rank Gate Cleared!]

[Contribution: Son Jeongho (100%)]

“Wow. So it actually works.”

He had cleared the two Gates that had opened in Myeongdong and Yeongwol almost simultaneously, all by himself.

And on top of that—

[The Blessing of Abundance has activated!]

The blessing that gave him a random chance of receiving double rewards had activated, too.

Jeongho’s mouth began to water.

‘Just how much loot am I about to get?’