Chapter 149

 

I decided to take on a Tower-related request, so I retrieved the new materials that had been piled up in one corner of the warehouse. 

Despite deliberately avoiding them until now, the new materials from the Tower completely captivated me. With their powerful magic and unexpected effects, I lost track of time just experimenting with them in various applications.

Not only did I give up my afternoon hours after the workshop closed for the day, but I also gave up my evening hours to focus on analyzing the materials. 

The more I focused, the more frighteningly fast the materials were consumed. Jin-myung gathered as many new materials as possible from the market, but even he couldn’t keep up with my pace.

The ‘Plering Fruit,’ which looked like a small stone emitting a soft light, dissolved and disappeared in the poison. When I reached out to add one more, feeling around beside me, there was nothing. Only then did I realize that the fruit I had just dissolved in the poison was the last one.

“I have used them all already.”

If only I had a little more… 

It was only seven o’clock, but having to stop now made me sigh with regret. I considered increasing the supply of materials, but it would be impossible for Jin-myeong, who was already struggling, to procure any more.

‘Maybe I should ask Da-in noona.’

I cleaned up my workspace and went upstairs. As soon as I entered the lobby, two little kids who had been sitting on the sofa ran to me.

“Ahjussi!!”

“What! When did you get here?”

“We came right after dinner. Ahjussi, I learned a skill!”

“We brought ice cream… it’s for you, boss.”

Jeong-hyuk, who was awkwardly standing up and smiling, was in the direction that little Ha-jeong’s finger was pointing

Recently, Yoon Ha-yan and Baek Da-in entered the Tower together for a quest. Thanks to that, Jeong-hyuk was left alone to take care of Da-hye and Ha-jeong, and now he’s practically become a kindergarten teacher.

“You should have called me when you arrived.”

“Boss. Hello. I heard you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you…”

“What disturbance? You can come and play anytime outside workshop hours.”

As I was pulled by both hands from the kids and seated on the sofa, I made eye contact with Seung-yeon who was just bringing in some dishes.

“Eui-jin nim? You finished early?”

“I ran out of materials, so I came up early. When did Jin-myeong say he’d be here?”

“He said before eight today… He should arrive soon.”

Seung-yeon joined us, and we all sat around eating the ice cream Jeong-hyuk had brought. Slime flavor, Mana Potion flavor, My Mom is S-rank flavor… 

I don’t know who picked them, but while tasting these strangely named ice creams, I listened to Baek Da-hye’s elaborate adventure story about learning her first skill and blasting away a mouse. After finishing her story, Da-hye proudly took out a stone smaller than a fingernail from her pocket.

“Look at this. It’s a magic stone from the monster I killed. My teacher said it’s rare to get magic stones from practice monsters.”

“Wow, Baek Da-hye, that’s amazing. I’ve never seen such a small, non-glowing magic stone before.”

“Tch, what does Mister know! Acting like you know when you don’t!”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I’m an S-rank, aren’t I? I handle materials every day as a Potion Master.”

“So what!”

“I’ll give you a potion for that. Let’s trade.”

Baek Da-hye puffed her cheeks grumpily and turned her head away.

“No way!”

“You’ll regret it~”

As I put the ice cream in my mouth with a grin, Dahye, who had been huffing, looked around and asked:

“Where’s Uncle Seo-jin?”

“Huh, why him all of a sudden?”

“I want to ask him something. He’s S-rank too.”

They didn’t even meet that often, so why were they so close? Scratching my head, I replied bluntly.

“He went somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. He must be busy with work at the center.”

In truth, he was under disciplinary action and laying low. After causing such a mess, it would’ve been weird not to get punished.

Once the center finally found out what really happened, they tried to apologize by sending someone. But of all people, it was Han Seo-hyun—who turned out to be Han Seo-jin’s cousin—who showed up.

She stared at me for a long moment and then said something suspicious like, “Now I understand why Seojin acted that way,” and left.

Understand, my ass. As if I would know.

‘I like you, hyung.’

Fuck. Seong San-ha, Han Seo-jin—every last one of them is just insanely weird.

At the same time, I couldn’t understand it but also felt curious. What does it even mean to like someone?

Come to think of it, I’ve never actually liked anyone—

Suddenly, the face of Sa-na, looking like a little angel, flashed through my mind.

Startled, I shook my head.

‘Get out of my head! No—leave!’

“Eui-jin nim. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just have a bit of a headache.”

“Maybe it’s from eating something cold too fast.”

Behind Seung-yeon’s worried voice, the rattling sound of a truck echoed. Jin-myeong had arrived right on time.

Perfect. Nothing beats research for shaking off useless thoughts. I quickly stood up and said,

“Seung-yeon ah, I’ll take care of the materials. You kids go play or something.”

“No! I’ll help too—”

“It’s fine. I’m planning to organize and check the new materials anyway.”

At my insistence, Seung-yeon sat back down. As I headed toward the back door, Baek Da-hye suddenly stuck her fist out in front of me.

“What is it?”

“Here. You take it, mister. I don’t care about it anymore.”

She opened her hand, and a tiny speck of a magic stone dropped into my palm. I let out a small laugh and slipped it into my pocket. I ruffled her little head, and she swatted at my arm, clearly annoyed.

“Stop that!”

“Alright. Thanks.”

***

When I came to my senses, the clock’s hands had already crept past midnight—it was now one in the morning. Piles of potions stacked like mountains surrounded me.

‘When did it get so late?’

Maybe because I’d burned through all my mana, I felt dizzy the moment I got up. I blinked, but my vision went dark, and I lost my footing. My body tilted and crashed right into a pile of boxes.

“Shit… that hurts like hell.”

I didn’t have the strength to get up, so I just lay there, raising an arm to cover my eyes.

‘Did I really collapse just from pushing myself a little too hard…?’

A lazy sigh escaped my lips, followed by a faint smile. My body was exhausted, but I felt good.

Even though I had nothing to show for it but failures, failure was a natural part of the path to success. Just thinking about the potion I’d complete someday gave me energy, even without food.

Letting my body relax, I felt like I could fall asleep right there.

But if I did, our squirrel would find me in the morning and probably faint. The nagging that would follow for days was just a bonus…

‘Should I just sleep? Or get up?’

Torn between the two, I finally forced myself up.

Once on my feet, I could see the lab was a disaster zone—empty material boxes, potion bottles, scribbled papers, and scattered tools everywhere. I turned away, pretending not to see it, but my foot nudged something small.

It was Baek Da-hye’s magic stone.

Seemed like it had fallen out of my pocket when I collapsed.

‘I can’t afford to lose this.’

I brushed off the dust and tucked it back into my pocket.

Small and ugly as it was, it was the first magic stone Baek Da-hye had ever gotten.

It probably meant a lot to a kid like her. I planned to have it crafted into a piece of gear or an accessory to mark her awakening and give it back to her as a gift.

‘Wonder if there’s a decent artisan around.’

I vaguely remembered storing business cards from local workshops at the counter…

The moment I stepped out of the basement and into the lobby, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

There, in the dim lobby lit only by moonlight, sat Seong San-ha—glowing faintly like something out of a dream.

The guy who should’ve been inside a dungeon was just… sitting there, in my workshop.

“We’re closed, you know.”

As if he’d been waiting for me to talk, Seong San-ha simply raised his head and looked at me.

“You’re working hard, even this late. Aren’t you overdoing it?”

It had been a month since Seong San-ha entered the Tower with Cheon Rang.

But the way he spoke—as if we’d seen each other just yesterday—was so calm it was unsettling.

“You’re back quick.”

I stared at his sleek face for a moment, then headed over to the counter and asked flatly.

“I thought you said you couldn’t leave in the middle. Don’t tell me you’re done already?”

“No. We’d been stuck on the 20th floor for a while, and then someone triggered a trap. Thanks to that, everyone inside the Tower got ejected. You should’ve seen it—thousands of people standing around with the dumbest looks on their faces.”

I paused my search for the business cards and looked up at Seong San-ha’s voice, full of dry self-mockery.

“Ejected? But isn’t the inside of the Tower still technically a dungeon?”

“Exactly. Just like I said—everyone got thrown out of the Tower in an instant.”

A dungeon that kicks people out… It sounded unbelievable.

Well, I guess the Tower’s very existence was already absurd from the start.

“When can you get back in?”

“Since there’s no precedent for this, the Association decided to run a full safety inspection first. We’ll be able to enter again in about a week.”

“Then prep properly before you go. Don’t get yourself warped out like an idiot again.”

“This time, you’re going too.”

“……What?”

Startled, I dropped the bundle of business cards I was holding. They scattered like snow across the counter.

Seong San-ha, still calm as ever, continued,

“I told you, didn’t I? That you’d have to enter someday.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it’d be now! I can’t go. What about the workshop? I have customers, you know.”

Even thinking about it again, it felt impossible. Absolutely out of the question. I shook my head, adamant—but Seong San-ha raised a brow and motioned with his fingers for me to come over.

When I didn’t move, he stood up and came toward me instead.

“I didn’t want to bring you unless it was really necessary. But…”

He paused.

“The door to the next floor… It has Hamal’s sigil carved on it.”

“…Are you sure?”

Seong San-ha nodded without hesitation. I bit down hard on my lip.

“Damn it… If that’s the situation, I can’t not go.”

Even if I prep all the potions in advance, what about the workshop?

And what about my customers—those who cross mountains and rivers and all kinds of dangers just to find me?

I was deep in thought, wearing a serious expression, when Seong San-ha, who had stopped in front of me, suddenly reached out and cupped my cheek.

Startled by the gentle touch lifting my face, I grabbed his arm in reflex.

“Yah, Seong San-ha. There’s a CCTV here…”

“This is just me worrying because you looked hurt… Wait, what did you just say?”

Seong San-ha’s eyes widened. He’d been looking at me with concern, but now his eyes curved into crescent moons, slowly curling into a smile. His whole face lit up with laughter.

I bit back a curse.

“…Shit.”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up CCTV? What were you imagining just now, Eui-jin?”