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TN: From now on, Necromancer summons will be called 'spectres,” and Animist summons will be called 'spirits,” in order to differentiate between the two.
Chapter 9
Kim Sangyoon is a Warrior.
I’ve heard that he was a judo player before formally becoming a Warrior User.
Just by looking at his imposing figure, his red-dyed hair and tough-looking face, one would think that his personality would be like a gangster’s. However, he had an image that was quite gentle compared to his appearance. Viewers loved how he closed his sharp eyes while giggling at their jokes, or how he stuttered with a red face at their teasing.
So, I thought when I saw him in the flesh….I really wanted to know what bastard theorized that Sangyoon would be pure and gentle offline.
His face and back were burned red from the sun. His forearms were full of tattoos and gold necklaces adorned his neck. On top of that were sharp sunglasses…No matter how you slice it, he’s totally a mobster, isn’t he? He certainly didn’t look like a judo player…
In addition, though he didn’t seem to be flexing his muscles much, the tendons sticking out of his large hands were quite threatening. Trembling, I put the already empty coffee cup to my lips. I was too nervous to make small talk, so I drank the last dredges at the bottom, every last drop.
It’s barely been 10 minutes since we met…
Why does he have to be so seemingly combative in person?
“So, I asked my teammates about this?” Sangyoon started.
“Ah, Yes!”
“Well, my crew thinks that it’ll be fun–that we’ll farm a lot of high-quality footage for broadcasting…”
“Ah! Yes, thank you, Hyung-nim!”
“But…you know, right? Originally, this wouldn’t make any sense.” Kim Sangyoon, who had been looking only at his cell phone without saying a word of acknowledgement, only spoke when I finished my cup of coffee.
…It’s our first time meeting and he’s speaking informally to me? 1
But, I couldn’t express my dissatisfaction, and I also had a rough idea of what he desired from his vague words….With the brightest smile I had in my repertoire, I pulled an envelope out of my bag.
“I…for you carrying me….., I wasn’t going to just receive all this help with no appreciation. It’s not much, but this is a small token of my sincerity…” I said.
“Well….”
Kim Sangyoon immediately snatched away the envelope and scanned its insides even while hedging empty refusals.
Yesterday, I had pulled out all the money I could prepare within a day. I thought it might be necessary during the meeting. It was only two million won, but….
“Hmmm…”
But his expression, while looking inside the envelope, was still flat.
I cursed inside, calling him exceedingly greedy, but still smiled obsequiously on the outside. “Oh, I was preparing in a rush yesterday…If you don’t mind, I’ll have another envelope, just like this one, prepared by the end of today.”
Only then did Kim Sangyoon’s thick cheeks twitch into a big smile. He immediately patted my shoulders.
“Haha! Now you’re speaking my language.”
“Ha ha ha……” I laughed, in slight pain.
“Here’s my business card. You see the email address on the back? Send me your ID and your e-User notification address as well. I’ll call you when the party is all registered. See you in front of the Dungeon, don’t be late!” Kim Sangyoon acted incredibly friendly as he shoved his business card into my hands.
“Yes!”
“My account is also listed on that business card.”
“Yes! I’ll deposit by the end of the day!”
“Alright, Nice working with you.” Sangyoon then stood up from his seat, mumbling. I barely held in a sigh until he disappeared into his sports car.
In fact, from the beginning I split the money into two two-million-won envelopes. I kept the second envelope as insurance–worried that the other would ask me to give more. As expected….
……Ha.
It turns out the average cost of a party carrying you through the <Tower of Command> dungeon is 4 million won; I suppose I found a cheaper deal. But…I was a little heartbroken to spend 2 million just for an ingredient and not a piece of the end-room final reward items.
Lackey, who had been hiding in my bag, stuck his head out and peered at his surroundings.
“Hey Lackey….When you evolve, you’ve got to pay me back for all my kindness, okay?”
[Clack Clack?]
Of course, Lackey didn’t understand me and tilted his head to one side. I just hoped that he would be effective as a contract-bound spirit when I pressed that “Evolve” button.
Like a Necromancer, an Animist also receives a low-level spectre at the very beginning. The spectre is low-grade and quite useless without resources, but it is famous for its evolutionary efficiency. An Animist’s mid-grade spectre cannot be compared to its low-grade pre-evolved form.
So I also, hesitantly, placed high expectations on my minion.
Please, I’m begging for another skill other than bite…. Ah, and I heard that mid-grade spirits are able to communicate well after evolution–they gain their own personality. Wouldn’t Lackey become even more intelligent, then? Of course, I have no complaints with how cute he is now…
The spirit also looks more impressive after it evolves… As a low-level spirit, its form is small and its voice chirps cutely. There was no sense of gravitas. After evolution, however, the summon matured with a sense of otherworldly beauty….
I thought about Lackey, and how it may gain beauty after evolution. But what’s there to improve–the base is already a skeleton. There’s nothing particularly aesthetic about the undead. Honestly, though, I’m not interested in beauty or looking *cool*….If he could just become powerful, I could become a confident User. That’s enough for me.
* * *
Time flew by, and it had already become the official grand opening of the <Tower of Command> Dungeon.
After checking on the stock of hard-earned intermediate-level potions in my inventory and placing Lackey within my system space, I left home. A mobile portal nearby would transport me to the entrance of the Dungeon.
The moment the magic runes on the portal glistened and shined, I immediately found myself at my destination. About 200 meters away, a 10-story building sporting purple crevices stood tall. Given the police tape in front of it, that building was probably the infamous tower.
""
Already, a dizzyingly large crowd had gathered. I wondered if all the Users that lived in the Hubs nearby had crawled out of the woodworks…
I looked towards the most crowded place, where people gathered in throngs. Rankers stood while reviewing plans, blinding eyes with the shine of their flashy items.
“Wow!”
“It’s Bae Jaemin!”
“So dope”
Suddenly the surroundings became noisy; a flurry of activity surrounded the portal. Bae Jaemin and his party members stepped through the residue of bright magical lights.
Bae Jaemin’s stature was more diminutive than I had imagined, but he commanded everyone’s attention with his bulky, black equipment. Before I knew it, I also stared at him with rapt attention.
*Ring~ Ring~*
The sound of my cell phone took me out of my reverie. Startled, I answered quickly–Berserker, Kim Sangyoon, was at the other end.
–Where are you?
“Ah, I….I just arrived.”
–Do you see NC11 among the banners? We’ll be there, so come quickly.
Click–
“Yes!” The call ended before I could properly answer….
However, I ran for NC11 without delay. The banner was in the exact opposite direction of Bae Jaemin.
“Oh, you came?” Sangyoon casually said.
“Hello!” I responded.
“…….”
“…….”
I immediately found Kim Sangyoon, as noticeable as he is in this crowd, from afar. Upon seeing him, I ran up and greeted him at 90 degrees.
Kim Sangyoon at least acknowledged me. The 15 or so men holding dark bags that surrounded the streamer only stared at me. Those men did not respond to my enthusiastic greeting.
‘Am I late?’ I thought, flustered, as I checked my watch. ‘No? I came 20 minutes before the scheduled time……’
I flushed red with embarrassment and settled near Kim Sangyoon. However, Kim Sangyoon did not introduce me to those around him, nor did the others say anything to me. Soon enough, everyone began chatting around me.
I  felt ignored and upset, but today’s goal wasn’t to build friendships but rather to obtain the important evolution ingredient…for that purpose, I had to endure.
Looking at Kim Sangyoon smoking and talking with various streamers, I vaguely settled back into a corner.
“Sangyoon-ah, I don’t think we can broadcast. They want us to clear away the cameras.”
“What?”
“There’s a ban on filming today.”
“What? Why?”
30 minutes before entering, a public service official suddenly gathered the party leaders and delivered the news; none of the listeners looked particularly happy.
Some complained, but the civil agent was adamant. From afar, I briefly wondered what would happen to me. The leader of our party, an assassin, had come back and said that filming was officially banned.
The party atmosphere rapidly deteriorated, perhaps because the members all earned a living off of making videos. I avoided their eyes, holding my breath, for fear of catching their eyes–I didn’t want to give them a reason to leave me behind. They had kept cursing, but eventually they had no choice but to leave the cameras to an outside friend and began to stand in line.
In the meantime, Kim Sangyoon took out his cellphone and updated his social media account, “I can’t broadcast due to filming regulations.” Soon afterwards, the officials came and began confiscating all cameras and cell phones…I too had to hand over my phone.
“Geez…Why can’t we film?”
“Apparently Bae Jaemin said we have to clear all cameras.”
“Bastard…Can’t we just forbid broadcasting of the hardcore route?”
“Apparently he said that there were overlapping sections in the routes. He mandated a blanket ban for everyone.”
“Crazy bastard.”
I overheard the conversation of the people lined up in front of me. Supposedly, the sudden regulation on filming was Bae Jaemin’s fault.
I had never been to such a high-ranking Dungeon before, so I wasn’t familiar with the scene. The people in front of me had an exasperated attitude, as if this had happened not once or twice, but many times before. Everyone seemed oddly familiar with Bae Jaemin’s strange commands…could one word from a man truly take away everyone’s cameras without serious protests?
I wanted to ask Kim Sangyoon, but he seemed to be in a serious discussion with the party leader.
After all filming equipment was confiscated, it took a while for the various parties to calm down. Soon, an old man took control of the microphone attached to a podium in front of the tower, and began his speech.