“Oppa! Oppa! What are you thinking?” Yoo-Jung asked loudly.

“Nothing much,” Gi-Gyu answered, coming out of his daydream. 

“Gosh, then just go home and sleep or something!” Yoo-Jung ordered him.

“Alright,” Gi-Gyu replied as he stood up. Then, turning toward his sister, he added, “Please take good care of Mother. I got this private ward partly for you too, so try to stay here as much as possible.”

“Okay,” Yoo-Jung answered. Because their home was located in an isolated and unsafe neighborhood, Gi-Gyu would always be worried about his little sister’s safety. So, when he decided to have his mother stay in a hospital, he got a private ward. The hospital was situated in a much safer area, so he urged Yoo-Jung to make this her new home. 

“I’ll be back later,” Gi-Gyu promised his sister before leaving the hospital.

“Stay safe! Being a player doesn’t mean you’re immune to danger!” Yoo-Jung warned her brother. 

***

There was only one thing in Gi-Gyu’s mind nowadays.

‘Solo gate hunting.’

But realistically speaking, this was impossible. It was one thing to get a permit, but dealing with the gatekeepers, aka the boss monsters, was also a serious problem. Talon appeared in all Guri City gates, and there wasn’t any clear battle strategy available for hunting it. It wasn’t overly strong; as the gatekeeper, it was almost as strong as the Tower’s floor guardians. This was why 10–15 players of the same class as the gate were normally required to fight this monster. 

Of course, players with grades higher than that of the gate were free to hunt alone. 

‘But I’m not quite there yet.’

Gi-Gyu was an objective judge when it came to his own skills. He certainly had been improving at a faster rate than many other players, making him a little stronger than your average rookies, but he knew he couldn’t call himself "strong." Gi-Gyu didn’t want to act adventurous and end up losing his life.

‘Still, there has to be something I can do.’

Was there a way for him to get stronger even faster? 

‘I guess there is only one thing I can do.’

***

The Player Association’s Seoul branch was a hive of activity today. An auction where players could trade expensive and rare items was underway inside the building. The auction house was always overcrowded; today, Gi-Gyu was also part of the crowd. 

‘I can’t find it anywhere.’

Just like Lou found El, or like the way he spotted El's light inside the gate, Gi-Gyu had been wondering if he could find more Egos out in the world. Sadly, what happened inside the F-Class Gate had yet to repeat itself. He rummaged through all the stalls that sold items and equipment relevant to players, but he couldn’t find anything special. He even took a second opinion from Lou and El, but even they couldn’t feel any other Egos inside the building. 

‘I guess I should’ve known that this wasn't going to be easy.’

This made perfect sense since finding Egos with powerful abilities couldn’t be that easy. Gi-Gyu had been hoping for a miracle, and the most prospective place he could think of was the auction house. 

“Would you like to register the Dagger of Paralysis for today's auction?” the registrar asked. 

“Yes,” Gi-Gyu replied.

“The starting price will be 30 million won. The start time is…” the registrar continued to explain the auction process. Gi-Gyu listened and nodded before heading toward the auction house. Since he never got the opportunity to sell the Dagger of Paralysis, he had it for a while now. He could’ve left it to the registrar and returned later to get paid whatever amount the item sold for. However, this was the very first quality item Gi-Gyu won, so he wanted to see it being sold in person. 

“Do you think something good will be auctioned off today?” a nearby player chatted with another player.

“I don’t know. If they knew, they would’ve sent out a notice,” his companion replied. 

“If something like a skull set is brought out like the last time, everyone’s going to go wild,” the first player commented. Because the auction hadn't started yet, the place was filled with loud chatter. Gi-Gyu heard people greeting each other and talking expectantly about what auction items might be available today. Finally, he found a quiet seat away from the other players and sat down. 

“The auction will now begin,” the auctioneer announced. Soon after, the offering began. Gi-Gyu decided to ask Lou and El to keep an eye out for useful items. ‘If you guys find something good, let me know.’

-Got it.

-Yes, Master.

Usually, auctions began with the vending of the lowest quality items. The main prize appeared in the middle or at the end. However, what Gi-Gyu wanted wasn’t something expensive; he was searching for an item that encased an Ego. The problem was, Gi-Gyu had no idea where an Ego might be hiding.

‘I’m afraid it will be inside something pricey based on where I found Lou and El.’

 -Not all Egos are in a sword-like form like us!

-We don’t know what other Egos might look like, Master.

‘That’s a relief.’

His relief stemmed from the fact that there was at least a possibility he wouldn’t have to buy something that looked as luxurious as Lou and El. 

The first auction item was a dull iron sword. But because it included an additional power stat, it sold at a decent price. Unfortunately, all the items that followed were also duds; i.e., Gi-Gyu and his Egos couldn’t feel anything on any of the items. Meanwhile, the auction continued as the auctioneer announced, “Now! The next object is the Dagger of Paralysis.”

Gi-Gyu’s Dagger of Paralysis was next in line. As soon as it appeared, the offering price went up quickly. 

‘Not bad, huh?’ 

The paralysis function was in high demand among players; consequently, the dagger was worth a lot despite being a low-level item. After a bout of intense bidding, the Dagger of Paralysis was finally sold for 100 million won. It actually went for twice what Gi-Gyu had expected.

Gi-Gyu tried his best to hide his joy and focus on the rest of the action. Gi-Gyu felt tired because nothing worth buying came up the whole time he was there. He was about to leave when suddenly, the auctioneer announced with excitement, “It’s finally time for today’s main item—the Bracelet for the Wounded!”

“Ohhh!” a player from the audience exclaimed. 

“I’ve been waiting for that!” another yelled excitedly.

“I hear its recovery power is amazing!” some player in the distance explained to his companion. This item bought excitement to not only the players present but even Gi-Gyu. However, the reason Gi-Gyu stared at the bracelet was different from that of the other players.

‘It’s an Ego.’

Gi-Gyu could see the blue light being emitted from the bracelet. 

-It’s an Ego!

-I think it’s a really powerful one too!

“Haa…" Gi-Gyu sighed silently.

-What’s wrong?

-Master?

This was exactly what Gi-Gyu had been searching for, but the Bracelet for the Wounded was the main item of today’s auction. There was no way he could afford to offer the winning bid. Shaking his head, Gi-Gyu left the building. 

‘But now I know an Ego can be found anywhere and not just in special places like the gates.’

This had been his secondary goal for visiting the auction house today. Now, Gi-Gyu knew he didn’t have to nearly die or smash a wall to get an Ego; he could get them just about anywhere. 

Suddenly, something dawned on Gi-Gyu, and his eyes widened, “Wait a second. That was 100 million won! My dagger went for 100 million won!!!” The Dagger of Paralysis was sold for 100 million won; only then did he realize the wealth he had struck. In his entire life, he hadn’t earned even a fraction of that, and he was just happy with having Lou and El in his possession. But now, he had 100,000,000 won too! It was the best news he could hope for.

“Hehehe,” Gi-Gyu giggled. Even if he deducted the 10% auction fee, he would still walk away with 90 million won. He whispered in excitement, “I’ll give you a kiss later, Lou and El.”

-Have you lost your mind?!

-Master…

***

In the end, Gi-Gyu gave up on buying or searching for other Egos. Instead, he returned to hunting. For an entire month after the auction, Gi-Gyu kept himself busy inside the Tower. In that time, he successfully ascended beyond the tenth floor; he was now heading toward the 13th floor. 

Gi-Gyu murmured, “I had no idea the test on the tenth floor was going to be that easy.”

-Hehe…

After a player passed the first test on the fifth floor, they had to take additional tests on the tenth floor and every ten floors after that. Only the players who passed these tests could ascend to the next floor. Gi-Gyu’s test on the tenth floor was to hunt an orc. 

“Why did the difficulty level of the tests on the fifth floor and the tenth floor drop for me?” he wondered out loud. All Gi-Gyu heard from the system was that he met a requirement, but he didn’t know what that requirement was. He could come up with many possible answers, but he couldn’t confirm any of his suspicions. 

“Well, who cares? It made my life easier, so I guess that’s all that matters.”

-Great attitude.

-Indeed, Master.

Gi-Gyu nodded in agreement. After sitting down, he asked, “Lou! You leveled up earlier, didn’t you?”

-Yup!

A while back, Gi-Gyu heard the system announcement about Lou leveling up, but he was so busy hunting he didn’t get a chance to check. It had been a long time since Lou leveled up, so he gripped Lou tightly as a blue status screen appeared in front of him. 

[Lou]

[Level 14]

[Power: 34]

[Speed: 38]

[Stamina: 44]

[Magic: 29]

[Available Skills]

[Accessory]

[Cannibalism: You can prey on the corpses to regain your stamina.]

There were huge changes to Lou's status screen. Firstly, Lou had already reached Level 14. But even more surprising were the changes in his abilities. After absorbing different monsters’ blood, Lou's growth accelerated beyond Gi-Gyu’s expectations. And consequently, Lou achieved stats beyond his level—his current stats matched a Level 30 player. So, Gi-Gyu was more than satisfied with Lou's growth.  

“By the way, about the cannibalism skill…” Gi-Gyu murmured.

Lou obtained this skill after killing Talon. Cannibalism allowed a player to regain their stamina by preying on a corpse; it wasn’t something Gi-Gyu could use. This was the first active skill he obtained, but it was useless to him. 

Gi-Gyu now had the strength of players in the 30’s levels, yet he was still hunting without any functional skills. 

Lately, Gi-Gyu had noticed how troubled El seemed to be, so he consoled, “Don’t feel bad, El.” 

-I apologize for not being helpful, Master.

“What are you talking about? You’re doing very well,” Gi-Gyu encouraged her. El’s depression seemed to be growing with each hunt. Her voice was usually void of any emotions, but he could still tell that El was disappointed in herself. He called up El's status screen.

[El]

[Level 11]

[Power: 11]

[Speed: 11]

[Stamina: 11]

[Magic: 11]

[Available Skills]

[Accessory]

El was growing at an ordinary speed. Apparently, the disparity in Lou and El’s growth rate depressed the latter to no end. This couldn’t be helped since El couldn’t absorb the monsters' blood. 

“I’m sure we’ll soon find a way to help you grow faster,” Gi-Gyu tried to console El, who didn’t reply. Gi-Gyu smiled bitterly and stood up. It was already very late; it was time to go home now.

***

On his way back, Gi-Gyu got a call from Yoo-Jung saying they were out of groceries. So, he dropped by the grocery store on his way back home. Now that he had saved some money, he could finally move to another neighborhood with his family. However, Yoo-Jung and their mother were staying at the hospital, so he didn’t think it was necessary right now. And it wasn’t like he went home much anyway.  

Gi-Gyu suddenly asked his Egos, “By the way, you guys really don’t know anything about the Tower?”

-I told you I can’t remember.

-Me neither, Master.

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu pondered. Lou and El had told him they lived inside the Tower for a long time, so he thought they might know some secret or special information about the mammoth structure. Unfortunately, it seemed that they didn’t know much. Gi-Gyu had chatted with his swords on multiple occasions, but he never came up with anything useful. 

“I wonder what happened to that devil in the F-Class Gate,” Gi-Gyu contemplated. He was referring to the creature El kept in bounds before he synced with her. After the gate perished, was the devil released to the world? But if that were true, why didn’t anyone notice it? Based on the size of those red eyes, it had to be pretty big. Yet, no one was talking about this devil. As time passed, the destruction of the Guri City gate was slowly forgotten. Everyone just chalked it up as another inexplicable strange phenomenon like the Tower, the gates, the monsters, the whole nine yards. 

-I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help, Master.

Gi-Gyu was lost in thought as he climbed the stairs to his home. Then, he came to an abrupt halt—the area above him on the stairs was becoming distorted.

“Is that a gate?” Gi-Gyu murmured in surprise. This was definitely a signal that a gate was forming. 

***

“Did you say your name is Kim Gi-Gyu?” the people from the association asked.

“Yes,” Gi-Gyu replied. It was late at night, but his neighborhood was noisy. Countless cars were coming and going, and some men in fancy suits were standing right in front of him. They were sent by the association, and they thanked Gi-Gyu, “Firstly, thank you for reporting the gate occurrence.”

Gi-Gyu was right about what he saw. The distortion was indeed a signal of a new gate forming. This was his first time seeing it up close, but Gi-Gyu remembered his player’s training. He immediately called the Player Association and the people who maintained the gates arrived soon after. Newly incepted gates weren’t dangerous to non-players. But, unlike the Tower, even non-players could enter the gates. Children or drunkards often ended up inside the gates by accident, so they needed to be monitored closely. 

“Based on its energy emission, this must be an F-Class Gate. You’ll have the priority hunting pass, Player Kim Gi-Gyu. What would you like to do?” one of the men from the association asked. If a player reported a newly incepted gate, they would be given the priority hunting pass to it. This gave the player the chance to clear the gate first. They also had the right to transfer this pass to anyone of their choice. 

Rewards for clearing a gate for the first time were great even considering the danger, so the priority hunting passes were often sold for a high price. In addition, if the gate turned out to be a sustained type rather than a single-shot, the founder could end up making a lot of money. 

But sadly, this was no longer the case nowadays. Because of the recent incidents involving the exceptional gates, the number of players wanting to enter newly formed gates has plummeted lately. Besides, Gi-Gyu didn’t think an F-Class Gate was going to bring him much money. 

However, the fact that he owned the priority pass meant he could enter the gate alone. After a short contemplation, Gi-Gyu asked, “Can I make a quick call?”

He took out his phone and walked away for a moment.