Chapter 11 : Graduation Conditions

[Title: The Reason for Cherishing]

When Do Yoon was first invited to the Boss Mob Gallery.

The moderator named PaperLover* had guided Do Yoon so.

That this place was where information about various tips related to ‘ejection’ was shared.

And now.

Only after coming this far was the inside story of the events about to be revealed.

[- Originally, I was going to tell you, but you seemed too rushed, so I helped with that first ㅇㅇ;]

[ㄴ (My Post) Then tell me now]

[ㄴ It’s obvious to us, keke]

[ㄴ So the newbie didn’t know because he lives outside the Tower]

[ㄴ Why did I only realize that now?]

[Title: Hoee…! It’s this lady’s turn to step up, de-arling…!]

[Nickname: AgedWine*]

[- Now that Newbie-jjang has entered my Tower!]

[- As the master of the Tower, I have the right to personally guide and support Newbie-jjang, de-arling…!]

[- Other moderators, don’t you dare covet it; just be envious of this lady’s right, de-arling…!]

[ㄴ PaperLover*) Is that right?]

[ㄴ WarGodGiant*) Beep-boop-bbo-bop!]

[ㄴ ShortEaredElf*) Doesn’t it matter who tells him~? In the end, it’s up to Newbie-kun to get stronger~]

[ㄴ Look at the moderators getting angry and rising up ]

[ㄴ Did you know there’s a moderator who hasn’t even participated yet?]

[ㄴ The returning moderators are bewildered ]

One of the Gallery’s moderators made such a claim.

Waiting a moment after that, posts soon began to appear.

[Title: Tower Initiation Tutorial for Newbie-jjang!]

[Nickname: WineIsAged*]

(TL: The author used a slight variation of AgedWine*’s name here . We’ll keep it as WineIsAged*

for this specific post title context if it’s intentional, or stick to AgedWine* if it’s a minor typo. Given the previous instructions and the fact the

character is the same, AgedWine* will be used in subsequent dialogue for consistency.)

[- I ask for your understanding that I might lose my usual composure for Newbie-jjang’s sake, de-arling…!]

[- Well then, I shall begin the explanation.]

[- Newbie.]

[- You have just become a Hunter.]

[- The Hunter’s cherished wish and goal is to conquer the Tower.]

[- And to do so, you must defeat the ‘Boss Monsters’ residing on each stage.]

[ㄴ What the.]

[ㄴ Is this the Wine-jwa I know?]

[ㄴ Why is her tone like this?]

[ㄴ I’m scared]

[ㄴ It’s because she’s been acting all familiar and conceptual until now, but Wine-jwa was originally like that]

[ㄴ Ever since she suddenly adopted that weird concept, she became an attention seeker ㅇㅇ;]

Up to this point, it was information Do Yoon already knew.

Because it was a fact he could discern even in his life as a newly made Hunter.

The facts he hadn’t known until now were about to begin.

[- If so, what do you think is the origin of these boss mobs?]

Wine-jwa continued her explanation.

Inside the Tower, monsters exist, and above them, Boss Monsters.

They are the masters of their stages, beings of a different caliber in terms of power.

But the reality was that, despite possessing such power, they were unstable beings.

There was a woman.

Her hair, imbued with the pale moonlight, was disheveled carelessly.

She rose blankly from her throne, unable to remember even who she was or where she came from.

“Hmph, this boss mob is a humanoid type, huh.”

“Let’s finish it quickly.”

“For a boss mob, she’s quite pretty, isn’t she?”

“What a waste.”

Opposite the awakened woman, unwelcome guests with greed-filled eyes were seated.

Challengers, Hunters, who had just broken through the stage and entered the boss room.

Their target was the woman’s neck.

As always, as a matter of course.

To Hunters, boss mobs were merely a process, a component to be naturally taken.

Instinct.

From that, which was connected to their very nature, she too received a lesson.

“What is this…!”

“F*ck, don’t come!”

“Don’t come, I said!!”

Desperate screams echoed several times in the vast cavern.

Of course, they were not the woman’s.

Standing aloof amidst a pool formed from the Hunters’ blood.

The woman, freed from the system’s constraints, blankly observed the situation.

She had killed.

All too naturally.

Fear of her was still etched onto the faces of those whose lives had departed.

Yet, she looked at them, completely unfazed.

Thus, time flowed.

Although it was by no means a short period, not a single one managed to land an attack on her.

Her prestige rose naturally, and before long, the woman had ascended to the position of the Tower’s master.

Jinjo.

(TL: (Jinjo) – Can mean Omen or True Ancestor. Here it’s an epithet she adopted.)

Sometime ago, a certain Hunter had exclaimed thus upon seeing her.

Because the nuance was better than monster, demon, or blood-crazy b*tch-

The woman accepted that epithet and decided to become the Hunters’ fear and the Jinjo.

‘It feels familiar.’

Perhaps it was an impression stemming from her forgotten past.

But there was nothing the woman could know.

Protecting the floor and blocking the ascending challengers was the only act permitted to her-

The woman simply spent her time waiting in an endlessly lonely place.

-Tiring!

The only time her body was allowed freedom.

In the boss room where she was left alone, a mysterious light flickered.

Turning her head, she saw a translucent window floating in mid-air.

[Boss Mob Gallery]

[Fck, tell those Hunter bstards to stop coming]

[How many raid points does everyone have?]

[Ah, I don’t want to be ejected, f*ck, please]

[So, does graduation actually exist?]

[Today’s feats of the top-floor Hunters.jpg]

Her connection with the Boss Mob Gallery, she who would later be called ‘AgedWine*’, began there.

There were many beings there in the same predicament as her.

Trapped on their floors, destined to face an endless stream of Hunters.

Through those in similar situations, the Jinjo was able to get a little closer to understanding the meaning of her own existence.

For a Boss Monster, ‘ejection’ meant death.

Upon reaching ‘certain conditions’, they would immediately enter a state of madness.

They would be chased out of the Tower, rampaging wildly.

Even their lives, which were infinite within the Tower, would be extinguished without revival once they entered the state of madness.

[-AgedWine*) Hoee….!]

[-That is what ‘ejection’ is, de-arling…!]

Hearing AgedWine*’s explanation, Do Yoon felt dizzy.

“Gate Break.”

The series of events they described through ejection, no matter how he thought about it, was undoubtedly ‘that’ which he had experienced.

Zzzt, his head throbbed.

To think such a background lay beneath his unfortunate past.

The dark emotions of that time, the longing for his family, had all disappeared due to the aftereffects-

Nevertheless, there were times when the emptiness, like a hole in his chest, was hard to bear.

Barely regaining his composure, Do Yoon wrote a post again.

[(My Post) Title: But what does that have to do with me?]

[-Whether you guys die in the Tower and revive, or get ejected.]

[-Ultimately, doesn’t it have nothing to do with me, a Hunter…?]

[ㄴ Why would it have nothing to do with you]

[ㄴ Ah fck, this smells so dmn sexy]

[ㄴ ShortEaredElf*) Hmm… Newbie-kun is underestimating himself too much~]

[Title: Newbie is just OP by existing;]

[Nickname: PaperLover*]

[-Unlike us who are trapped and just receiving Hunters, you, newbie, can move freely both inside and outside the Tower, can’t you?]

[-We can pass on information about the floors to the newbie.]

[-And the newbie can give us the ‘key to graduation’.]

[-That’s what this is.]

[ㄴ Just imagining it makes my mouth water ]

“Key?”

He still didn’t properly understand what they were talking about.

[-AgedWine*) In Newbie-jjang’s industry, they call it this, de-arling…!]

[-AgedWine*) “Hidden Piece”]

A familiar term he felt he had heard somewhere popped out.

[ㄴ PaperLover*) This is the reason we’re just helping you]

[ㄴ PaperLover*) We’ll help you, newbie, survive as a Hunter.]

[ㄴ PaperLover*) So newbie, you help us avoid ejection.]

The Gallery’s bait, the so-called operation to lure the newbie.

It was just about to begin.

Manager Choi Gun Woo walked through the Association’s interior with an expressionless face.

In his mind, the conversations he had just had with his assigned Hunters were replaying vividly.

A man who possessed an unbelievable adaptability, in addition to a skill called ‘Supporter’.

He, as a Hunter manager, understood best what this signified.

“Manager, this… is truly unbelievable.”

“You must mobilize all support for Mr. Do Yoon and unconditionally bring him up to our level.”

The two Hunters holding the highest levels in Korea had said so.

Han Ji Hyuk and Jo Ha Rin.

They had given such a generous evaluation while looking at a rookie Hunter they had only just met.

“Cleared the 1st-floor stage without difficulty.”

“Possesses outstanding adaptability and potential in combat.”

“In addition to that, he has a skill unprecedented even when compared to other Hunters.”

In the quiet room, a middle-aged man slowly read through the report.

Opposite him, Manager Choi Gun Woo stood waiting.

“A skill.”

“A skill is good.”

“Has a Hunter who will finally bring glory to our Korea appeared?”

“…If only an environment where he can grow smoothly is provided, his value will surely-“

The Republic of Korea is suffering from a lack of talent.

It was by no means the fault of the Hunters already active.

It was just, just that luck hadn’t been on their side.

The Tower that had risen in Korea showed significantly lower efficiency compared to other Towers, both in terms of difficulty and rewards.

It was a structure where the speed of growth was bound to differ.

“There’s no need to repeat a story we all know.”

“…I apologize.”

Choi Gun Woo, whose words were cut off, bowed his head.

He too was merely an employee before being a Hunter manager.

And the man seated before him possessed power and position within the Association that could by no means be ignored.

“Manager Choi Gun Woo, if you say so much, he must truly be a reliable talent.”

“If nothing else, you certainly distinguish between public and private matters, don’t you?”

Few knew the secret hidden behind that warm smile.

“I’ll be counting on you in the future as well.”

“And, I hope he can see the light as soon as possible.”

“The pressure from above is quite hard to bear.”

“I will do my best.”

“You know it too, don’t you?”

“That our Korean Hunters are very inexperienced compared to other countries.”

“…Yes.”

“That’s all I need to hear.”

“Good work.”

-Thud.

Choi Gun Woo came out of the office.

It was an answer that was practically an approval.

They would provide as much support as possible from their end, so he should strive for the Hunter’s growth.

And at the same time, it also meant that key figures in the Association had now clearly set their sights on Hunter Kim Do Yoon.

‘Hunter Kim Do Yoon.’

It felt like too heavy a burden was being placed on a rookie Hunter who hadn’t even properly matured yet.

But for him, who held the achievement of Potential Rank S, he was fully qualified to bear and enjoy such things.

‘I must help him spread his wings as soon as possible.’

And to do that.

The ‘level’, synonymous with a Hunter’s value, was more important than anything else.

‘At least before the exchange meet.’

Enough for him to protect himself from those monsters lurking in other nationalities-

Manager Choi Gun Woo.

Resolved to support Hunter Kim Do Yoon with all his might.