Chapter 67

Chapter 17. The Tower (9)

Over the past month, Yeon-woo had been quite busy.

He waited for Gyes' eyes to be completed and retraced the steps of the road filled with his brother's memories, pondering the thoughts his brother might have had.

He also learned alchemy to repair the pocket watch.

However, there was another important reason for being outside the tower besides Gyes' eyes.

Planning the strategy for the tower's conquest.

"Jung-woo passed through the first ten floors in just ten days."

This was the reason Arthia first caught the tower's attention.

After the tutorial, he managed to pass through the beginner's area in just ten days.

Breaking through one floor per day.

It was a monumental event that had never happened in the thousands of years of the tower's history.

Thanks to this, many clans took an interest, and Jung-woo and Arthia were able to secure a certain share of power within the tower, riding on the momentum.

The record they set remained an unbreakable myth within the tower, even long after Arthia was disbanded.

Of course, what Yeon-woo desired was not simply a matter of pride.

"Jung-woo obtained the Key of Hades right after setting that record."

The Key of Hades, the second of the twelve materials needed to open the vault of Olympus.

The Key of Hades is a hidden piece given only to those who quickly pass through the floors from the 1st to the 10th, commonly known as the 'beginner's area.'

Just like the Key of Zeus, which is given to the one who ranks first in the tutorial.

The tower was once again demanding an impossible record.

After obtaining the Key of Hades without knowing anything, he later found out that the Key of Zeus could only be obtained in the tutorial, which made him feel a bit regretful.

If he had put in a little more effort, he might have aimed for first place. Although he eventually got the chance to enter the vault of Olympus, it would have been nice to enter a bit earlier.

To obtain the Key of Hades, he had to break the existing record, meaning he had to pass through all ten floors in less than ten days.

It seemed like it would be a bit challenging, but he didn't think it would be impossible.

He had already accumulated a significant amount of experience from the tutorial.

And for that, Gyes' eyes were also essential.

Then, Yeon-woo suddenly burst into a small laugh without realizing it.

"Come to think of it, in a way, this is a competition between brothers, isn't it?"

This thought made him feel a competitive spirit without him even realizing it.

As an older brother, he had his pride and couldn't show a weaker side to his younger brother.

Yeon-woo raised his head and turned his gaze to the window.

In the distance.

The tower, standing tall and piercing through the clouds, was visible.

* * *

"Damn brats. Ever since that guy came, there's been no peace."

After Yeon-woo and the Pant siblings left.

Hennoba, alone in the forge, puffed on his pipe and grumbled.

It had been quiet for years.

But in just a few days, too many things happened all at once.

How did it come to this?

No matter how much he shouted for them to be quiet, the brats didn't even pretend to listen.

It was all because of that masked guy.

"Come to think of it, what was his name...?"

Hennoba tried to recall Yeon-woo's name but realized he had only ever called him 'hey,' 'brat,' or 'damn guy,' without ever asking his name.

He felt a bit embarrassed and a little guilty.

He was grateful, too.

"No, no. The stress I've had because of that guy. Bah. Annoying brat."

Hennoba muttered to himself and glanced at the spot where Yeon-woo had sat.

Just a moment ago, the sound of hammers was loud, the molten metal was boiling, and the furnace was spewing red flames.

Yeon-woo was silently hammering, Pant was chattering away, and Edora was quietly reading a book.

The chaotic and hectic scene seemed to still linger.

It felt like it could come back to life at any moment.

And.

Other scenes overlapped in his mind.

"Master, Master. How about this? Isn't it cool?"

"Hey! You used that, right? We agreed not to use skills!"

"No, I didn't. No proof."

"There's no way that shape would come out without using it!"

"No proof. No proof."

"Look at that brat."

"Hey, hey. Stop talking. You're making it impossible to read."

"Heh. Stupid brats. That's why you're called dumb."

"Then go read outside, damn it!"

Indeed, it was noisy, chaotic, and hectic.

No matter how much he shouted for them to be quiet, kicked them out, or cursed them for coming here, they would brazenly reply, "It's our choice," and use the place as their own territory.

Why did he keep thinking about those brats?

He couldn't see those scenes again.

Sigh.

A long breath followed by white smoke filled the forge's ceiling.

"I'm getting old. Really."

Hennoba smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Bah. Damn brats."

He thought he should stop working for the day.

If he tried to hammer with a troubled mind, he'd only produce low-quality items.

"Come to think of it, this is almost complete. Has it been a month already? Sigh! I always feel time flies so fast."

He had been so busy that time seemed to pass faster than usual.

He had promised to complete the item in a few days.

Well, if it's a bit late, they can't say anything because it's because of those brats.

Hennoba extinguished the fire in the furnace and quietly stood up.

Then.

Creak.

"Excuse me."

The door suddenly opened.

"Business is closed for today. Come back tomorrow..."

Hennoba turned his head to chase away the unexpected visitor and froze.

There.

Was a face he had vowed never to see again.

A face from old memories.

"It's been a while, Master."

The man smiled slightly at Hennoba.

* * *

On a moonlit night.

Yeon-woo, as he had done over the past month, visited the cafe his brother often frequented and drank a hazelnut coffee.

Below, the city's night view sparkled beautifully.

It was a lively place, and he never got tired of looking at it every day, but today he was observing something else.

[Information cannot be viewed.]

[Emotion failed.]

[Information cannot be viewed.]

...

[Emotion succeeded.]

[???'s ??? Pocket Watch]

???. ??????.

'Alright.'

Yeon-woo nodded after examining the pocket watch several times with his Dragon Eye.

After a few days of working with metal, he had finally gained the permission to view it.

However, even though it opened, most of the content was still unreadable.

'I still have a long way to go.'

But the difference between not opening and opening was significant.

Once it opened, he just needed to accumulate more knowledge and experience to strengthen his Dragon Eye.

Feeling a slight smile on his lips as he thought about the progress,

"Are you doing something so pretentiously alone here...?"

He heard a sound from behind.

Yeon-woo put the pocket watch back in his pocket.

Meanwhile,

Pant and Edora plopped down in the seats next to him.

Pant still struggled with formal speech, but it was much better than before.

Edora sipped her Americano and smiled.

"Does Cain-oppa live as simply as you? He was probably organizing his thoughts for the upcoming strategy. Isn't that right?"

She smiled brightly, looking at Yeon-woo for confirmation.

Then,

"......?"

A question mark appeared on Yeon-woo's face.

"Oppa...?"

Pant frowned and tilted his head at his brother's unusual behavior.

But Edora's smile didn't fade.

"Since you call Pant-oppa 'hyungnim,' it's right to call me 'oppa.' Or should I call you differently?"

Pant flared up.

"Hey! Then you should call me 'oppa' too!"

"Why should I?"

Edora gave a light snort at Pant.

Her attitude was clearly different from when she dealt with Yeon-woo.

Pant looked at his sister with a disapproving expression, but Edora ignored him.

Yeon-woo also chuckled.

These two had accidentally become entangled with him.

He thought they would stop paying attention to him after the competition, as he had wanted.

But they kept following him.

At first, he just found it annoying and ignored them.

But as they continued to interact, he started to find them quite cute.

Especially when they bickered, it reminded him of someone.

Himself and his brother.

Kan and Doil.

'Brothers and sisters are the same everywhere, no matter the world.'

As he thought this, his smile deepened.

"Hyungnim."

Yeon-woo snapped back to reality at Pant's call.

The boy had a slightly strange expression.

"What?"

"I've been feeling it since this morning."

He glanced down at the terrace.

His eyes turned fierce, just like when they first met.

"Those tails, why are they following? It's annoying."

The 'tails' Pant was talking about were the people who had been following Yeon-woo.

They started following him after the rumor of his presence outside the tower spread.

They might have thought they were being discreet, but they couldn't escape Yeon-woo's enhanced senses.

But Yeon-woo didn't bother to chase them away.

Instead, he sometimes openly paraded, as if inviting them to follow.

Pant found this strange.

He couldn't tolerate someone stealthily following him.

Yeon-woo looked down.

"Leave them be."

"Huh? But..."

"..."

"Alright, alright. There's no need to glare at them so intensely."

Pant pouted and grumbled.

Yeon-woo ignored him and took another sip of his coffee.

He found it annoying to have tails following him too.

At first, he tried to shake them off.

But even if he did, they would stick to him like leeches.

So, it was much more peaceful to just let them be.

'There's no reason to cause a commotion here.'

Yeon-woo had no desire to spill blood in a place filled with his brother's memories.

Just then,

People started gathering and making noise below the cafe.

The tails who were watching Yeon-woo also seemed to have noticed something and started moving around.

"Hmm? What's happening?"

Pant, sensing something, narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the right, feeling a presence coming up.

Yeon-woo was already looking inside the terrace.

Soon, a neatly dressed man entered the terrace.

Pant frowned slightly.

He was very particular about people entering his territory without permission.

That's why he had intentionally spread the rumor that "the terrace of this cafe is rented by the Unicorns' siblings" to keep regulars away.

But the man seemed to disregard this and walked past Pant and Edora to stand in front of Yeon-woo.

He bowed politely.

"Are you Cain?"

"Who are you?"

Yeon-woo asked calmly, and the man smiled.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Raham from the clan 'Red West Wind.' I've come to scout you for our Red West Wind."