Seyeon stepped into her home and pressed a hand to her forehead.
It was a strange headache—sort of painful, but not quite. The vague discomfort was somehow more irritating than a sharp ache.
"Why won't this thing charge?"
Today really was one of those days. Aside from running into that little fan earlier, nothing had gone right.
"Haaah!"
She flung herself onto the sofa with a deep sigh.
It had already been a week since she started attempting the 90th floor. She should be seeing some progress by now, but it was still proving tough.
Seyeon bolted upright and checked her phone. Still no sign of it turning on.
'Maybe I should just dip into the 90th floor real quick.'
From the 80th floor onward, even the Tower sites had limited info. In a world where climbing floors equated to power, countries controlled the data. Of course, even without that, individuals wouldn't share clear tips easily anyway.
Bottom line: to climb the Tower, you had to dive in and gather intel yourself.
'Please be on when I get back. If you don't want to end up in pieces.'
She issued her phone a final warning. If it wasn't working after, it was getting replaced.
Stretching, she headed to her dedicated climbing room.
Just a quick peek at the monster layouts... Crash!!!
Seyeon froze with her hand on the doorknob.
She stared at the utterly shattered balcony.
Did a bird crash into it? No, the hole was too big for a bird.
Something was curled up in a ball amid the broken glass shards.
Fist clenched, she approached it.
"Huh?"
Seyeon's mouth fell open. Confirming its identity made it even more surreal.
"Jinhyuk?"
"Oh?"
Jinhyuk stood up and brushed off his clothes.
He glanced around at the mess in the living room.
'Hmm, I hit it too hard.'
He could have forced the door open with strength.
But not knowing when Seyeon might enter the Tower, he'd been in a rush and just smashed through.
Seeing her completely stunned, he recalled Camella's words.
-Just knock her out first.
At the bold demand, he'd hesitated at first.
Not about whether it was okay to knock Seyeon out in her own home—he figured Camella had a reason.
The issue was how to do it.
Normally, he'd wait for her guard to drop and strike a pressure point.
If only his perfect strike in England hadn't failed.
-How to knock her out? That's easy.
Camella had solved his dilemma in one go.
Jinhyuk smiled as he approached Seyeon.
"Seyeon. Listen carefully from here on. This is super important."
"Uh... okay. But why come through the balcony instead of the door...?"
In her dazed state, she asked the most pressing question.
He'd used the balcony before when he lived here, but never by shattering it like this.
"Well, you weren't responding. Phone's off, no answer from the lobby call, doorbell silent."
"That can't be."
She'd been sprawled on the sofa, but not asleep. She should've heard it.
"Just lend me your ear. It's really urgent and confidential."
"Okay."
She didn't understand the situation, but she leaned in as requested.
Seizing the moment, Jinhyuk naturally moved close to her ear.
He placed his hand on her neck.
Snap!
Talisman attached.
He caught the limp Seyeon and laid her on the sofa.
She breathed softly in sleep.
Much cleaner and more peaceful than a pressure point strike—he was very satisfied.
Kancho, who'd been scouting in stealth, appeared at his side.
"Yodel Ranger Squad Leader Kancho! Scouting mission complete! No cameras! No recorders! Nothing!"
"Good. Camella, you can manifest."
Rustle.
Camella appeared in a yukata, flipping her trailing hair back.
She quietly lowered her gaze to the sleeping Seyeon.
"This is a curse."
"A curse? Like what shamans throw at each other?"
"It's a broad term for various things, but yeah, think of it as a hex. A nasty one clings to her."
Jinhyuk frowned.
Seyeon cursed? With her personality, she didn't make enemies like that.
The only possibility that came to mind: the ones who'd deliberately sabotaged her Tower climb last time.
He clicked his tongue and crouched down.
"How bad is it? What's the curse for?"
"Not something you'd use on a person lightly. More like for a mortal enemy. In short, it's meant to kill her."
Camella stroked Seyeon's cheek.
"She should've been dead by now. If not for the divine power in her body. And wow, that's a lot. Did she get a goddess's blessing or something?"
"She mentioned a hidden class in the cleric line."
"Hidden class? No idea what that is, but impressive."
"Camella, can you remove this curse? In movies and shows, it's always tricky, with tons of conditions."
"Usually, yeah. But no worries here. This one's fine."
Jinhyuk tilted his head in confusion, and Camella smiled like it was nothing.
"It's from some no-name scoundrel. I could snap my fingers and dispel it."
"Ooh...!"
Jinhyuk's eyes sparkled. Worthy of one called the All-Spirit.
"She's a cultist, but kinda cool."
Even Kancho gave a thumbs up this time.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Camella drummed her fingers before speaking.
"But better to leave it for now. Removing it would tip off the sender. Let's see..."
She stood and scanned the room.
"To send a curse this strong, they'd need a medium."
Her eyes glowed blue, as if activating spirit sight.
Seconds later, Camella's lips curled up.
"That's it."
She went to the table and picked up a bracelet.
Jinhyuk, following, stuck out his tongue in disgust.
It looked like a cute, dainty bead bracelet on the outside, but it was the curse medium.
"Want to see what kind of scoundrel it is?"
Camella lifted the bracelet and closed her eyes.
Then she opened her second eyelids, exclusive to spirit seers.
A trace thread flowed from the bracelet, stretching somewhere.
Camella's eyes followed it swiftly.
'As expected, a scoundrel.'
The weaker the spirit power, the closer they had to be.
Sure enough, not far.
Gulp!
Jinhyuk swallowed dryly, watching silently to avoid interrupting.
Soon, Camella opened her eyes.
"Not far. East, 4 kilometers. Sign says 'Amusement Mall'."
He quickly pulled out the yodel compass. Exactly 4,000 meters, as she said.
"Eighty-something old woman. Wearing a blood-soaked shaman robe. The stench will give her away."
"Got it. Camella, watch Seyeon. I'll be back."
Jinhyuk headed for the door but veered to the balcony instead.
Might as well use the dramatic entrance one more time.
He planted his foot on the balcony and leaped powerfully into the air.
Just wait a bit.
You scoundrel.
Underground in the nearby Amusement Mall.
Kurone stood after finishing her task.
"Tsk tsk... How did she find such a yin-filled spot?"
She'd thought the girl was just young, but this clean work explained why they'd hired Minako.
"Mmph...! Mmph!"
Muffled whimpers came from the corner.
Kids bound with talisman ropes, caged.
Kurone approached, smirking.
"Don't look at me like that. It brings bad vibes. Curses can spawn from the tiniest grudge. And take pride—you're sacrificing for your country, uprooting Korea's pillar."
Cursing required a price.
The more vicious the curse, the stronger the target, the steeper the cost.
If insufficient, it rebounds to the sender—that's how shamans die suddenly.
'This should be plenty.'
Over twenty kids, brimming with life force.
No matter how top-ranked in Korea, she couldn't surpass this price.
Ring ring.
"So impatient."
Tsking, Kurone answered.
How'd it go?
"Wait a little longer. She hasn't entered the Tower yet."
How long until she does?
"Does it matter? She dies either way. As long as she climbs eventually..."
Boom!!
A massive tremor shook her body.
Kurone barely steadied herself against the wall.
What was that? What noise?
Kurone scowled.
Someone had smashed through the underground wall.
A fresh-faced kid, barely twenty.
"A brat, huh. Who are you?"
Jinhyuk dusted off his clothes and turned.
"You're the grandma? The one who cursed Seyeon."
Kurone's eyebrow twitched.
Logically impossible—to detect her curse and trace it here.
Kurone! What's going on!
"I'll call back. Got a visitor."
Don't hang up! Expla...
Click.
Kurone set down the phone.
"Japanese, I see."
"Who are you, kid? How'd you trace my curse? I know it wasn't you."
Jinhyuk didn't answer.
Instead, he pinched his nose.
"The stench is overwhelming."
"No manners. Do you know who I am?"
"A scoundrel."
Kurone's face twisted.
"What?"
She couldn't believe her ears.
A word so far removed from her.
"Kid, you should've brought that friend. Lucky for you—they know the address? They can clean up your corpse."
She drew a red-glowing bell from her robe.
A relic tempered in infant blood for over twenty years.
Specialized for curses anyway.
Add her awakened class abilities?
It could kill even the healthiest human instantly.
"Got questions, but I'll ask your friend later when they come. Bye now."
Jingle.
A chilling bell rang out.
----------
T/N:
Just for being a free member, you'll get 5 advanced chapters every week!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:[email protected]//towerup