chapter 190
190 – Final Preparation (Complete)
Jeong Se-yeon, who had been listening to me silently, maintained her silence with a calm expression.
A brief but heavy silence slowly weighed on both of our shoulders.
She pursed her lips for a moment and then opened her mouth quietly.
“Conquering the top floor… … .”
Tap, tap, tap the coffee cup with a teaspoon.
“It’s definitely something that’s tempting. It’s also the goal and desire of all hunters.”
It is the wish of not only the Silk Hunters, but also of all mankind.
A tower known as the monster’s nest.
Many people turn on the hope circuit, believing that once they conquer the tower, monsters will no longer appear.
That is why so many people desperately hoped and hoped that the tower would be conquered quickly.
“As a hunter myself, I am also greedy. If I were to be the first to reach the top of the tower, it would be an unprecedented achievement. It would be an honorable accomplishment, and the rewards would be enormous.”
“Maybe it will be included in the textbook?”
That’s not all.
It will leave a huge mark on human history.
“I’m also curious to see if I can actually make a wish if I’m the first to clear the tower, and I’m definitely curious about Seojun’s suggestion.”
Jeong Se-yeon slowly trails off and smiles faintly.
By the way, why is the tongue so long?
If you’re going to reject, you should reject quickly.
“I’ll cut it short and tell you.”
“yes.”
I look at her with an indifferent expression.
It’s easy to predict what Jeong Se-yeon will say.
If you think about it logically, rejecting it is the right choice.
“I’m sorry, Seojun.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“I want to help if possible, but I think it’s dangerous to rush into the top ranks without any information.”
“I understand. As a clan leader, I can’t send my clan members to their deaths.”
“Thank you for understanding, Seojun.”
“Okay. Then that’s the end of the story.”
“yes?”
After downing the coffee in one gulp, I stood up from my seat without a shred of regret.
Jeong Se-yeon looks up at me with a slightly bewildered expression and makes a ‘Huh?’ expression for a moment. It looks like she didn’t expect me to back off so cleanly.
What’s wrong? Did you really think I could convince you in detail?
I’m sorry, but is that necessary?
It’s a waste to carry it around unnecessarily.
“I understand what you’re saying, Se-yeon. I’m sorry for taking up your time today.”
“No, that’s… … .”
“I’m going to go now. I enjoyed my coffee.”
I started walking with a gentle smile.
I walked slowly towards the office door.
One step at a time, then another step.
I reach the office door.
He quietly placed his hand on the doorknob and began to open the door.
The squeaking sound of hinges is heard loudly.
It’s about time we caught up.
Was it when the door was almost open?
“Just a moment, Seojun.”
Suddenly, Jeong Se-yeon’s voice catches my attention.
‘bingo.’
Yeah, that’s the way it has to be.
To begin with, Jeong Se-yeon was not in a position to easily refuse my request.
By providing a lot of information so far, a psychological relationship has been formed.
As for Jeong Se-yeon, who has benefited greatly, she has no choice but to watch my every move. If I change my mind and stop selling the information after sucking up the sweet honey, it will be difficult.
Jeong Se-yeon knew very well that if she simply refused my request, there was a high possibility that she would not receive any more information.
In fact, it was more like a request than a demand.
It goes without saying that if you don’t grant this request, you will suffer disadvantages.
It is highly likely that this put a lot of pressure on Jeong Se-yeon.
Therefore, unless it is a really big request, you need to at least pretend to listen.
But I don’t think he’ll just grant your request.
It is clear that by refusing a request once, he is trying to gain the upper hand in the conversation by emphasizing that it is a very unreasonable request and creating an atmosphere of debt.
Perhaps Jeong Se-yeon has noticed that I am not suggesting that we conquer the tower together without thinking.
I think you’ve used your foresight ability to obtain a lot of information and that you think it’s worth a try, so you’ve asked for this collaboration.
‘But why are you poking me like this? Anyway.’
I expressed my doubts with a somewhat natural expression on my face.
“Ah. Do you have anything to say?”
She noticed at a glance that he was pretending not to know even though he knew everything, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she soon calmed down and continued talking.
“Since Mr. Seojun made this suggestion, I guess he must have obtained information about the top level through his precognitive abilities?”
“Oh, yes. Of course. I don’t want to risk my life on something reckless.”
Jeong Se-yeon sighed for a moment.
“You should have told me earlier. Then I wouldn’t have refused like this.”
“Oh, I forgot.”
I turned around and sat down on the sofa again.
“I’m telling you this because I think you’ve changed your mind, but would you like to take a look at this first?”
I took an envelope out of my bosom and handed it to Jeong Se-yeon.
Jeong Se-yeon accepted the envelope with a puzzled look.
“What is this?”
“I thought it would be difficult for us to conquer the top tier on our own, so we asked for collaboration from other sides as well. This is a list of people we would like to collaborate with.”
“ah…….”
Jeong Se-yeon’s eyes trembled slightly as she glanced over the documents.
He looks a little surprised.
Well, that makes sense.
“Choi Ik-hwan, the 4th team leader of Ilseong Group, Lee Sol, a high ranker of Heuksanhoe, Seong Da-hyeon of the Seong family’s Cheonmu clan… How did all these members come together?”
Compared to the Sungcheon Church, the numbers may be quite small, but it will still be of considerable help.
“I’m glad everyone thinks positively of me. Doesn’t that mean there’s a lot of interest in the top tier?”
No way.
Simply because of their influence.
But for whatever reason, all of the representative clans of the Republic of Korea, except Sephiroth, gathered.
Jeong Se-yeon would also know what this fact means.
“… … .”
Her face hardened slightly.
What is Jeong Se-yeon thinking right now?
I can’t tell exactly, but I can feel her emotions.
It was just a feeling of nervousness, anxiety and discomfort.
“It wouldn’t have been easy to gather this many members… … ”
No, I told you it was easy to collect?
I just asked them and they promised to help me without much difficulty.
Since Hwaryeon and Yerin’s clan was a gangster organization and martial arts group based on obedience, there was an atmosphere of acceptance without much opposition.
“With this many members, there’s no need to ask us to collaborate, right?”
“They say that ubiquity is the key. In fact, I don’t think there’s a need for this many people to gather, but there are contingencies, and the competition will be fierce.”
“I see. Competition, definitely… … .”
The tower is connected to the world.
In other words, you may face hunters from other countries at the top.
And when hunters face each other on the tower, it often leads to armed conflict.
What happens inside the tower cannot be known from the outside, so there are quite a few hunters who occasionally come to the tower to satisfy their desires or to aim for achievements.
“Of course, even so, the chances of reaching the top of the tower first are very slim… … You know that, Se-yeon, right? We have a weapon that the other clans don’t have.”
“The ability to predict the future?”
“yes that’s right.”
I said in a confident voice.
“Actually, I figured out a strategy for conquering the top floor of the tower through future prediction this time.”
“……yes?”
“I was able to figure out almost all the types of monsters that would appear, traps, gimmicks, etc. That’s why I decided to try to conquer the top floor. I personally thought it was worth a try.”
“… … .”
Jeong Se-yeon, who has benefited greatly without any major crises thanks to the information I have provided so far, will not be able to easily deny what I say.
“But there are always contingencies. Other clans might bother you. There are many things to be anxious about.”
It is very likely that the Sungcheon Church will interfere rather than other clans.
But I have no intention of just letting this fact slip to Jeong Se-yeon.
Because given Jeong Se-yeon’s personality, it’s impossible for her to think positively.
“Still, I think it’s a pretty good opportunity.”
Of course, it is a good opportunity for me.
Not you, though.
“Would you like to be the first person to reach the top floor of the tower this time?”
Even if we conquer the tower together, will you be able to reach the end?
Well, honestly, I’m not sure.
I had no intention of harming Jeong Se-yeon on purpose, but I was thinking of using her as a meat shield if necessary.
“… … .”
Jeong Se-yeon is not responding at all.
It looks like he’s doing an abacus in his head.
Will Jeong Se-yeon follow my advice and collaborate or not? It was a bit risky, but it was definitely an opportunity.
I guess I’m pretty greedy, since my ability to predict the future has never been wrong before.
Because today, I deliberately provided only certain information in order to persuade Jeong Se-yeon.
“……hmm.”
Did you bounce the entire abacus?
Jeong Se-yeon let out a short sigh.
But the emotions she was feeling were quite positive. Oh, as expected. The representative clans are all united, so she doesn’t want to be left behind, right? With her ability to foresee the future and the representative clans uniting, she probably secretly sees a high possibility.
“I am worried about that.”
“Because it’s not a problem that can be decided easily.”
“I’m curious as to what Seojun saw with his precognitive abilities that makes him so confident, but I don’t think he’ll tell you even if I ask, right?”
“I’ll do it if you sign the contract.”
Jeong Se-yeon let out a sigh and glanced up at the ceiling.
And then I quietly mutter to myself.
“It’s the top floor of the tower, so if it’s an opportunity, it’s an opportunity. Even if you fail, you’ll have gained a lot of achievements while conquering, and since you’re working with the representative clans, the risk is lower, and you also have the ability to foresee the future… … .”
He talks to himself so that everyone can hear.
Are you telling me to listen on purpose?
“Huh… … Excuse me, but could you give me a little bit of your time? I think we need to have a meeting internally first.”
“Oh, yes. Please do.”
“Can I get an answer by next Monday?”
“yes.”
Jeong Se-yeon covered her eyes with her hands as if she was tired.
“I was curious as to what Seojun would ask for, but I never thought he would ask me to conquer the top floor of the tower. To be honest, I was a little surprised.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, really.”
Jeong Se-yeon smiles faintly with a tired face.
I watched her silently, then suddenly stood up from my seat.
“Then I guess I’ve said everything I wanted to say and it’s getting late… … I’ll go back.”
“Oh, yes. Come in, Seojun.”
“Please say hello to Mr. Kang Hanseong.”
“If it were you… … Ah, um. I will do that.”
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Kang Han-seong’s face lately.
I need to see it sometime.
Let that guy recharge his powers.
“I’m off now.”
I quietly left Jeong Se-yeon’s room.
Jeong Se-yeon would think that conquering the tower with me would be an opportunity, right?
But that’s something we don’t know.
Whether this was a good or bad choice for Jeong Se-yeon will be revealed later.