*
Tears welled up in her pale coral-colored eyes.
They had gathered beneath her eyelids, just on the verge of rolling down.
[Child protection system activated by (Unknown Title).]
[Emergency quest generated!]
[A child whose heart hurts needs the warmth of a hug. Let’s hug your fluffy friends!]
Geuru sniffled.
‘Emergency quest?’
The fluffy familiar friends mentioned in the quest were huddled in front of Geuru, flustered and at a loss as to what was happening.
Even Yurian had leapt up onto the desk, wondering what was going on.
Before her tears could roll down, Geuru hugged her familiars tightly.
The familiars warmly hugged Geuru back, and Yurian let out a choking sound before soon licking Geuru’s cheek.
Warm body heat surrounded her. It felt as though her chest were filling up with cotton candy.
The comfort that came from that cotton candy settled her turbulent heart.
[Due to the influence of (Unknown Title), a skill will be forcibly unlocked.]
[Viewing skill: “Deep-Rooted Attachment.”]
The bonds Geuru had built until now unfurled before her eyes.
Starting with her primary caregiver, On Jurim, then Sin Nayeon, Gidan, Serhi, Jin Siwon, Kazuki…
Chuen and Sheier, the caregiver candidates, also flickered there.
Seeing the faces of her precious people, Geuru opened her mouth in a small, dazed smile.
They were all Geuru’s caregivers. Not blood relatives whose faces she did not even know, but people who loved Geuru simply because she was Geuru.
Geuru wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and looked at each of their faces again.
Just seeing them like this seemed to make the loneliness she had been unable to endure quietly disappear.
Had the “Unknown Title” shown her this to comfort her?
As Geuru wondered,
[Caregiver Quest]
[Attachment is a very important source of nourishment for a growing child. That is because attachment helps a child grow into a stable and strong Supreme. Cherish the bonds you have formed, build even more bonds, and gather enough attachment points!]
[Reward: Unlocking the sealed “Title”]
Beneath the quest window stood a young sapling, stretching two branches out wide to either side.
‘Title…’
Sniffling as her chin crumpled like a walnut, Geuru opened her status window.
Name: On Geuru
Title: ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■(Cannot be viewed)
Right beneath the name “On Geuru” was a sealed title.
Titles could appear for all sorts of reasons, but everyone had said they had never heard of one being sealed like Geuru’s.
Geuru wiped away the tiny tears that had escaped with the back of her hand.
‘I want to know.’
What kind of title had been left to Geuru. Why it was sealed. For what reason it soothed Geuru and helped her.
Geuru hugged her familiars even more tightly and rested her cheek against their soft fur.
She felt Mephisto’s cheek rubbing against hers.
Luxifer’s front paw fiddling with her chin, and Beilak quietly pressing his forehead to hers, too.
Yurian, pinned beneath them all, seemed to loathe his situation terribly, trembling all over, yet he stayed still and obedient without making a peep.
Geuru realized that this was what bonds and attachment were.
Something that lessened sorrow and made the heart swell. Something that swallowed up cold loneliness and warmed the body.
Precious nourishment that helped a little sapling grow its roots so it could become a great tree.
‘Deep-Rooted Attachment.’
Geuru slowly murmured the name of the skill and closed the “G” folder.
When Geuru said she would not look for her parents, Jurim had told her that whenever she wanted, he would help her find them.
After that, it seemed he had searched for them behind her back.
In truth, perhaps it had not yet been time for Geuru to know.
Because only Chuen’s voice had been left in the “G” folder.
For now, nothing was clear. It was too early to make assumptions.
That must have been why Jurim had not told Geuru anything either.
She did not yet know what kind of data would accumulate in the “G” folder after this.
Geuru shut down the laptop completely and rose from her seat.
For now, it was time to raise her attachment points so she could become a proper Supreme tree.
*
On a snowy field reeking of blood, Chuen gripped her sleeve tightly.
If it was the 99th floor…
“…The Tower?”
“Correct.”
“You made a Tower?”
“So far, it’s been going smoothly.”
“You’re insane!”
The man, who had been quietly gazing at Chuen as she spoke with her face twisted, smiled faintly.
At that gentle face, heat surged all the way to the top of Chuen’s head.
Chuen spoke again, enunciating each syllable.
“You’re insane.”
At that, the man merely shrugged.
Grinding her teeth, Chuen bit her lip.
“…Why did you seek me out?”
Surely he did not intend to use her to create the Tower?
‘What should I do?’
She had known from the moment she faced him that she could not defeat him.
‘Can I escape?’
Chuen’s goldfish seethed inside her body as if they might burst out at any moment.
In contrast, the man was calm. He slowly tilted his head to the side.
“Rage said you were good at finding people. I was just having trouble because a lot of people have been disappearing lately.”
Contrary to his plan, which was progressing smoothly, his people had been vanishing one by one.
It was not something he could easily understand. Just what was happening to them?
Even the “Eye of Gnosis” could not see it. As though something were obstructing his sight.
Just as he was thinking that, at this rate, none of those who were meant to become the masters of the Tower would remain, he had thought of Chuen.
After saying that, the man moved his lips and added quietly,
“And while we’re at it, I want to find a child.”
In truth, the possibility had remained in him like a hangnail all this time.
It might be a vain hope. She had not wanted a child.
But even if he had to face a painful truth, he wanted to know for certain.
As the triquetra of Gnosis shone within the man’s coral-colored eyes, Chuen’s shoulders flinched.
The goldfish thrashed their tails fiercely, trying to wake her, but her consciousness helplessly grew hazy.
“You can help me, can’t you?”
At the man’s words, Chuen slowly nodded.
It went against her will, yet it felt as though an invisible force were controlling her consciousness.
“Kh…”
Chuen let out a groan and furrowed her brow.
If only she could spit in that lunatic’s face, she might feel better.
When the man began walking, Chuen followed behind him. Stepping across the snowfield, she lowered her eyes.
The “snowfield of the 99th floor” was widely known.
After On Jurim descended from the 99th floor, even if the other floors were another matter, the 99th floor of the Tower had become an unprecedented subject of interest for everyone.
The tale of the endless snowfield and the mighty master of the 99th floor, whom no one seemed capable of defeating, had even been made into a children’s book.
The heroes who climbed the Tower struggled greatly to reach the 99th floor and finally faced its master.
But because the master of the 99th floor possessed the power of every Tower Lord they had fought until then, the heroes fell like leaves in an autumn wind.
It was known that the one who put an end to the assault of that master of the 99th floor was On Ijo. With his power, he had rendered the master of the 99th floor unable to move a finger.
Afterward, On Ijo left behind his exhausted younger brother and headed to the 100th floor alone.
Crunch, crunch. Stepping on the snow, Chuen opened her mouth.
“…It seems you couldn’t make the 100th floor.”
Her voice was calm, but it was filled with sarcasm.
Of course he did not know, and that was why he had made the 99th floor. Nothing at all was known about the 100th floor.
Some people said the 100th floor was hell, and others said it must have been heaven.
Since everything until then had been faced through strength, perhaps the 100th floor bewitched people so they could not leave.
It was a laughable story.
Crunch—
At that moment, the man walking through the snow looked back.
The remark asking whether he had been unable to make the 100th floor had been meant to scratch at the insides of this madman who claimed to be making the Tower again.
It was mockery aimed at a man who had never even managed to become a hero like On Ijo.
Chuen lifted her head toward the man who stopped walking in front of her.
Their eyes met, and the man smiled sweetly. Pretty dimples appeared in his cheeks.
“The 100th floor is—”
He raised his index finger.
“—right here.”
Tap, tap. On Ijo pointed to his own head.
End of Part 2
[Character Introduction]
On Geuru
An S-rank production type. Also known as “Jjap-Sso.”
She is the second Hunter in the world to successfully create an S+ rank item, but she is actually hiding the fact that she is a kindergartener.
Through the “G” folder on On Jurim’s laptop, she learns that the person who brought her to the orphanage has already died.
Geuru’s list of caregivers
- On Jurim
- Mephisto
- Sin Nayeon
- Gidan
- Serhi
- Jin Siwon (Yevgeny Markov)
- Amakusa Kazuki
- Chuen (caregiver candidate)
- Sheier (caregiver candidate)
On Jurim
Geuru’s adoptive father.
The guildmaster of Hyeonak, he has sealed Sheier, the master of the 99th floor, in his left hand.
He was entrusted with Chloe by his older brother, On Ijo, with whom he climbed the Tower, but he did not remember it.
On Ijo
The one and only being who saved humanity.
Now, he has become the leader of Gnosis and is operating under the name “Han Roun” while hiding his identity.
His goal is to recreate the Tower he once conquered.
Currently, he is using Chuen to search for Chloe’s child.
Chloe Han
A researcher on “Wilderness,” a joint Korean-American project that attempted to artificially recreate On Ijo’s power in preparation for his death.
Mephisto
A caregiver and system administrator whom Geuru created by extracting him from a dungeon core.
Beilak
An SSS-rank monster trapped in a human vessel. Geuru rescued him and made him her familiar.
Luxifer
A familiar rabbit Geuru made from snow. It has an elixir leaf on its head.
Yurian
A member of Gnosis.
Originally, he was a dog, but after undergoing experiments together with a German girl named Lea, he now has a human appearance identical to Lea’s.
He is currently avoiding Lea, who is searching for him.
Chuen
From Kowloon Walled City. An S-rank information broker famous in the underworld.
She informed Jurim that the person who sent Geuru to the orphanage had died, and she is currently being controlled by On Ijo to search for Chloe’s child.