First, Survival
[The player's level is insufficient! Cannot engrave the corresponding skill!]
Jinhyuk squeezed his eyes shut.
Another rejection message.
He had no idea how many times this had happened now.
"Is it not working?"
"Yeah."
Jinhyuk nodded with a dejected expression.
The blank card—True, Double—which allowed him to select and copy two traits and skills from a chosen target.
Without hesitation, Jinhyuk had chosen Seira.
All to learn the pitch-black sword aura that had been unleashed across the battlefield just moments ago.
He pressed down firmly.
Once more, he tried pressing Seira's skill 'Black Moon Night.'
[The player's level, as well as ???, ???, ???, are insufficient! Cannot engrave!]
Not only did it fail to engrave, but three question marks that hadn't been there before now appeared.
It wasn't just a matter of level; it was a clear sign to give up and back off.
"Hoo."
Jinhyuk let out a deep sigh, as if the ground might cave in beneath him.
Seira's Black Moon Night was a skill dripping with romance and sheer coolness.
A pitch-black sword aura that vividly sliced through and slaughtered enemies.
Its overwhelming power was secondary; for a man like Yoo Jinhyuk, raised on comics and anime, it was utterly irresistible.
But now, it seemed he had to admit it.
'It was a bit shameless of me.'
He had only just begun learning the basics of swordsmanship.
It hadn't been long since he'd learned how to stand properly, and here he was trying to skip walking and running to learn how to fly. In a way, it was only natural.
"To be honest now, I wouldn't recommend learning Black Moon Night at this stage."
Seira spoke cautiously, lifting her sword.
"It might sound a bit cliché, but it's best not to advance until your fundamentals are perfectly solid. Swordsmanship is often compared to a sturdy tower. A tower whose foundation isn't built meticulously from the ground up is bound to collapse one day—no matter how splendid or tall it may seem."
"Your words ring true, Master. I'll diligently build my basics from the ground up."
Jinhyuk immediately accepted it, his face twisting into one of sincere remorse.
As he did, Seira quietly gazed at him.
During her time with the Black Knights, she had encountered countless geniuses.
Those who figured out how to run without ever being taught how to walk.
They fell into two broad categories.
The type that could run but chose not to progress further, instead turning back to methodically build step by step from standing.
And the type that sneered at such notions and charged ahead recklessly, swiftly mastering how to fly.
The latter had been called prodigies or geniuses from a young age.
They shone so brightly just by existing that they stood out anywhere, anytime, radiating light.
As adults, they became guild masters of renowned guilds or heads of powerful families.
Among the most successful, some even rose to become the kingdom's or empire's top knights.
The former, however, had to live with labels like dullard or eccentric from childhood.
They knew how to run—better than anyone, in fact—yet they only repeated sitting and standing, taking one cautious step at a time.
It was something no one but an eccentric could endure: tedious and outdated compared to running, utterly absurd.
Naturally, their talents went unrecognized amid the onslaught of other geniuses who pushed forward.
Buried under the brilliance of those geniuses, they couldn't even flicker with their own small spark.
They never became guild masters or top knights as adults.
Instead, from a certain point onward, they began to be known by names like this:
Those who far transcended human limits—Sword Saints or monsters.
They hadn't failed to ascend to those positions.
Power, fame, guilds, families, kingdoms, empires—
They simply had no interest in such things, which could scatter like dust with a single swing of their sword.
'My lord. No matter what mystical power you used to acquire it, you possess talent for the sword.'
The names of guild masters or top knights fade once their era ends.
But the names of Sword Saints and monsters are never forgotten, even after hundreds or thousands of years.
'I want you to become a being that surpasses those boundaries.'
Seira placed a hand on Jinhyuk's slumped shoulder.
"Even I couldn't grow as quickly as you, my lord. So there's no need to be impatient. You'll surely bloom more splendidly than I ever could."
Jinhyuk clamped a hand over his mouth.
For the ever-stoic Seira to say something like that.
She was a master among masters, a god among them.
Twitch twitch!
In the meantime, a pair of soft-looking ears entered his field of vision.
For some reason, Kancho was staring at Jinhyuk with sparkling eyes.
Catching the meaning, Jinhyuk stuck out his thumb.
It wasn't that he'd forgotten their excellent yodel ranger just because he was coveting Seira's traits and skills.
Seira leaned down, peering intently at Kancho.
"When it comes to mobility in complex terrain, the raccoon outshines even me. Its detection range for presences is superior to mine as well. For my lord's survival, it's a far better choice than I could be."
"That's right! I've never once been caught in hide-and-seek! No one could ever find me!"
Jinhyuk rubbed his chin.
He decided to admit it straightforwardly.
That he'd grown a bit arrogant lately from how smoothly things had gone in the tower.
Climbing the tower wasn't a game.
It was a place where, at any moment, anywhere, a sudden crisis could claim your life without anyone batting an eye.
Honing swordsmanship to kill foes was important, but Kancho's abilities would aid survival just as much—if not more.
He'd already been salivating over this choice in advance, so it didn't take long to decide.
Ding!
[Engraving Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho's trait 'Presence Detection' onto the blank card!]
If death came knocking, it would most likely be from an unseen ambush or trap.
No trait could catch and prepare for such dangers better than this.
'Oh, that's interesting.'
Information that had been unknowable moments ago began to flow in.
The way Konyu lay sprawled, scratching its belly; the huddled movements of the gnome tribesfolk; even the faint scent of orc blood drifting in on the air.
It wasn't just presence detection—it felt like all five senses had sharpened.
And finally.
[Engraving Kancho's skill 'Stealth' onto the blank card!]
He engraved something that would prove immensely useful, whether in the Tower of Despair or in reality.
A trump card that could even let him slip away from Hunter Agency Team Leader Jin Yunho on sight.
With this, the use of 'Blank Card—True, Double' was complete.
[While in stealth mode, mana decreases by 1 per second! You have acquired a skill that consumes mana! 'Mana' is added to the player's stats! Current total mana: 300.]
A small, cute amount of mana for now.
If possible, it might be good to snag an item that increased total mana.
"A truly excellent choice, sir! Just these two will skyrocket your survival rate! Now even the captain can take first in hide-and-seek! Well, I'd still be first, but I'll let you win!"
Kancho thrust out its thumb.
Jinhyuk roughly patted the beaming Kancho with both hands.
"Hehehehehe!"
As Kancho laughed delightedly, the surrounding space began to dissolve.
[Exiting the 20th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
In front of the basement villa where Jinhyuk had lived before moving.
Inside the car, Jin Yunho, who had been dozing off with his head bobbing, stretched.
"Yaaawn."
He let out a long, drawn-out yawn, then sighed deeply.
It was the first time since his detective days.
To spend more than a day holed up in a car like this.
"He told us to keep an eye on things just for a bit, and she couldn't hold out and fell asleep."
He clicked his tongue at Yun Miri, who had drifted off to dreamland.
But he couldn't really blame her.
She'd tagged along unnecessarily and ended up pulling an all-nighter without even getting home.
'Still no sign of him coming down.'
Jin Yunho checked his watch and narrowed his eyes.
The current time was 9:30 p.m.
The Honor Scroll Runner had ascended the tower right at midnight that day.
Yet here it was, nearly 24 hours later, and still no news.
Riiing ring ring ring.
"Oh, it's Jin Yunho."
Team Leader! Check the tower site! Hurry!
He didn't bother asking why.
Jin Yunho bolted upright and accessed the site.
"W-what's wrong?!"
Yun Miri, startled awake, rubbed her eyes and leaned over.
"Ha!"
Jin Yunho let out a hollow laugh.
Yun Miri, peering at the tablet alongside him, had no choice but to rub her eyes again.
The number was simply too unbelievable.
Tower of Despair 20th Floor, cleared in 20 minutes. SSS+ rank.
The average clear time for the floor was nearly 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Just the time for the respawned orc warriors to reach the village was 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Clearing such a floor in 20 minutes meant only one thing.
"This... he went out before they even arrived and swept them clean, right?"
"Probably."
"And SSS+ means he perfectly defended the village in the process?"
"Yeah."
With a curt reply, Jin Yunho stepped out of the car.
Even if it felt a bit forced, he needed to confirm Yu Jinhyuk's current clear floor.
Just because it had changed to 20 didn't definitively prove he was the Honor Scroll Runner, but it didn't matter.
Someone who had been on the 19th floor yesterday breaking through to the 20th in a single day.
That alone made him a talent worth watching.
Jin Yunho approached the door to the basement room and pressed the doorbell.
"Yu Jinhyuk? This is Hunter Agency Team Leader Jin Yunho, who greeted you yesterday. Sorry for the late hour, but would you have a moment?"
He knocked and called out several more times, but to no avail.
No response came.
For some reason, not even the slightest presence emanated from beyond the door.
Creak.
Before long, the sound of a door opening came—not from Jinhyuk's room.
An old woman poking her head out from the stairs above.
"Who's this so late at night? I'm the building owner."
"I'm sorry. I came looking for Yu Jinhyuk, who lives in this basement room, on urgent business."
"Oh, that young man in the basement? He left yesterday."
"Pardon? Left...?"
"What was so urgent? He just sent a text about his circumstances... Hmm?"
The old woman paused, eyeing Jin Yunho suspiciously.
"You folks didn't scare him off, did you? Who are you people? Loan sharks?"
"We're from the Player Hunter Agency."
Only after showing his ID did the old woman drop her suspicion and continue the story.
He'd left a thank-you message, cleaned up spotlessly, and moved out.
"Moved out. In the middle of the night."
Jin Yunho let out a hollow laugh and looked up.
Jinhyuk had never once come out through the villa's entrance.
He'd dozed off briefly just now, but Jinhyuk must have left much earlier.
"Could I take a quick look at the rooftop?"
"Of course. It's open."
Jin Yunho climbed to the rooftop and scanned the railings around him.
Then, seeing the clear footprints stamped on this side and the opposite building, he curled the corner of his mouth upward.
Yu Jinhyuk, who had chosen to move out via the rooftop instead of the perfectly fine front door.
"We got outplayed."
"Indeed. He's much sharper than we thought."
It wasn't for nothing that he'd moved in the dead of night.
Jinhyuk clearly hadn't been certain, but he'd at least considered the possibility.
That Jin Yunho had a way to check his floor progress.
"I'll put in a support request right now..."
"Don't."
"Pardon?"
"Don't tell anyone. This stays between you and me."
Information could leak from anywhere.
If it did, hyenas would come swarming.
They had to find him as quietly as possible, with minimal resources.
"Honor Scroll Runner, Yu Jinhyuk."
Murmuring to himself, Jin Yunho let out a low breath.
Impatience began to stir in his heart.
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T/N:
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