Chapter 21 - Leisure Over a Cup of Coffee (3)

2

-Lord Gongja! This guy has a straight. Fold, sir.

"Fold."

-Oh, Lord Gongja. This bastard's bluffing with one pair? Oh, man. What a joke. What a fucking joke. Call and finish him off.

"Call."

-Hey, he's got the same hand as our Lord Gongja. Two pair, just like you. But what's he going to do? Your two pair is higher! Damn, this is fun. Let's keep going until one of you drops dead, Lord Gongja!

"Raise."

-Whoa, this guy's going for a full house? Don't worry, Lord Gongja. I just stuck my nose under the table and took a little peek at the cards. He won't make a full house even after the last card's turned over. Trust me and go for it!

"All in."

We played about thirty hands of poker.

"..."

The middle-aged man sitting across from me was trembling. Viper. The one-eyed hunter's face alternated between red and livid.

"Fuck! This is cheating!"

Viper shot to his feet.

THUD!

The table shook. The other hunters lifted their coffee cups in unison, as though they'd seen this coming from a mile away. Thanks to them, the disaster of coffee spilling across the table was averted. Hmm. Excellent timing.

"This makes no sense! We've played over thirty hands, and this guy hasn't lost once. Bluffing doesn't work on him either. He's definitely cheating! Passive or whatever, he's using some fucking skill! He's cheating! Cheating!"

"Do you have any proof?"

I sipped my hot chocolate. It had gone completely cold by now, turning into a bland chocolate latte. It was tasty in its own way.

"Maybe I'm just an expert poker player. It's unfair to accuse me without any evidence. Cut me a little slack, sir."

"Hey, is this bastard really registered as an F-rank hunter?"

Viper shouted as he looked around.

"What about him looks F-rank? I'd sooner believe those Bureau bastards took a bribe to falsify his record. He's so slick, he has to be at least B-rank!"

"Wow, how did you know? That I'm not F-rank, I mean."

"Exactly! I knew it—"

"Actually, I just advanced to E-rank yesterday. I've been busy clearing the tenth floor since then, so I haven't had a chance to report it to the Bureau."

"..."

I smiled.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me. By the way, School Master, you're out of chips."

"Ugh..."

Viper turned away and trudged off, all the strength gone from his steps. To the sidelines. The eliminated players who had run out of chips were huddled there together.

"Welcome, Master of the Heavenly Martial School!"

The Inquisitor, who had been the first to go out, beamed.

"I thought it was about time you were eliminated, so I ordered another espresso! No need to be shy. Drink all you like."

"I don't like espresso..."

"Yes! I know. Being picky is bad for you, so overcome it!"

"Fucking religious nut..."

Looking miserable, Viper took a seat with the eliminated players.

Three hunters remained in the game: me, the witch of the Black Dragon Guild, and, surprisingly, the Paladin.

"Hmm."

The Paladin frowned down at her cards.

Deputy Guild Leader of the Vigilantes. A hunter renowned for being just and fair. The Vigilantes were a guild founded to maintain public safety in Babylon, the city on the Tower's first floor. In outside-world terms, the hunter before me was practically a police commissioner.

I'd heard she was so selfless that she'd donated her entire fortune to an orphanage.

"I lose."

The Paladin sighed and set down her cards.

"I was fairly confident in my poker face. Kim Gongja, do you happen to have a mind-reading skill?"

"Who knows? It might be mind reading, or it might be X-ray vision. Take a guess."

"... Newcomers these days really are formidable."

She smiled ruefully. After bowing her head to me, she walked over to the eliminated players.

"Hey! How could you give up that easily, you punk?"

Viper, already seated on the sidelines, snapped at her. He must have spilled some espresso while drinking, because his mouth was stained.

"Win or lose, you should stick to him like a hunting dog! Are you just going to let that cheat get away with it?"

"A cheat? That's a harsh thing to call our new hero."

"He's obviously using a skill right out in the open!"

The Paladin shrugged.

"I knew that from the start."

"Huh? What?"

"It would be strange not to know. Did you really think a newcomer would propose a poker game without any preparations, relying on pure luck? Challenging us to a game was itself a declaration: [I'm confident I can beat you without letting you catch me using my skill]. And we accepted that challenge."

Viper's mouth hung open blankly.

"Th-that's what this was?"

"School Master... Devoting yourself to martial arts is all well and good, but use your brain once in a while."

The Paladin looked down at him with genuine pity.

"We had nothing to lose in this game to begin with. Winning would have been a windfall, of course. But even if we lose... You heard what the newcomer said. He'll join every guild here. That's a decent outcome in its own right."

"B-but we have our pride! How can we put a wet-behind-the-ears kid on the same level as us—"

"Does pride put food on the table?"

Viper was struck speechless.

"I can put espresso on the table! Come now, School Master. Finish your drink!"

"Fucking hell..."

In the end, only two people remained: the second-ranked hunter, the Black Witch.

And me.

"..."

The witch gazed steadily at her cards before speaking.

"I'm relieved."

"About what?"

"That you're at least someone we can reason with."

She put down some chips. A raise. She had increased the stakes. Was she trying to provoke me?

"I'm from Ukraine. More precisely, from somewhere that used to be Ukraine. After losing my family in the civil war, I spent my life far from home. As you know, neither the Tower nor the outside world is a particularly good place for a woman living alone."

"True enough."

I gladly accepted her provocation. A reraise. I increased the stakes further.

"..."

She hesitated, then tapped the table twice.

TAP. TAP.

It meant she was accepting the challenge. The Count, who had volunteered to deal after being eliminated, laid out the cards.

"So what are you getting at?"

I stroked my chin, pretending to think.

"Among the people who entered the Tower, especially the first generation, it's harder to find someone without a story. I'm just an ordinary orphan myself."

My hand was one pair.

"... This Tower is as good as my homeland."

My opponent had a flush.

"In the Tower, no one asks where you're from. No—we made it a world where no one asks. That I'm from Ukraine. That the Heavenly Martial School's master is from China. That you're from Korea... None of that matters in our Tower."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Thanks to the Tower's blessing, we can understand one another. Here, we're equal challengers... At least, more so than in the outside world."

If we went to a showdown now, I would lose.

But I calmly raised the stakes.

"People outside treat this place like a garbage dump."

"Even in a garbage dump, roses bloom."

The witch firmly signaled a call.

"Kim Gongja, the moment the clock in the sky reads [00:00:00], the press will unleash a flood of articles about you. You'll begin a life completely different from the one you've known. I hope you'll handle it wisely."

"Sounds good."

Another card was turned faceup on the table.

"Not to brag, but I like attention. I want people to praise me, look up to me, and envy me. I mean it. Honestly, that's all there is to me."

My hand had now become two pair.

"... You're honest. Perhaps your personality is the exact opposite of the Sword Star's."

The witch still had a flush.

I was still at a considerable disadvantage, but...

"All in."

"..."

"I'm confident."

I looked up from my cards and met the witch's eyes.

"Let me tell all of you this while I have the chance. I'm not asking for your respect just because I cleared the tenth floor. I'm going to clear the twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth, fiftieth—all the way to the hundredth. No matter how long it takes, I will conquer the Tower."

"..."

"I understand that you cherish the Tower. I respect that. I have no intention of fighting you for no reason, either. But I will consider you my competitors."

Who would be the first to ascend the Tower?

Who most deserved to be hailed as a hero?

To be remembered, to be praised, to inspire jealousy and envy. To build a monument to my achievements that everyone would look up to.

"I'd rather see the world beyond the Tower than the world inside it."

And so I would climb the Tower.

"War refugees, food shortages... Honestly, I don't have time to concern myself with those things. If you need my name to solve those problems, use it. Use it as much as you like. But in return, support my climb up the Tower."

The feeling I'd experienced after clearing the tenth floor today. I wanted to feel that sensation of reaching the summit again. I'd only tasted it once so far... but I already seemed to be addicted.

It had been that incredible!

"... Haah."

After a long silence, the witch let out a sigh.

"I was wrong. You're not the exact opposite of the Sword Star. You're exactly like him."

She brought up both hands and pushed her chips forward.

CLATTER!

The mountain of chips collapsed into the center of the table.

All in.

"Is that a compliment?"

"No, it's an insult. You're both so greedy."

The last card was turned over.

My opponent's hand remained a flush.

Mine was... a full house.

"So it was a compliment after all."

I grinned.

"Thank you."

I had won.

"Then, as promised, I look forward to being treated as your equal."

"Can I expect you to shoulder duties equal to the rights you enjoy?"

"Huh? Isn't a hunter's duty to climb the Tower? Don't worry. I'll keep fulfilling my duty as a hunter."

"What a slippery newcomer..."

The witch smiled ruefully.

-Yeah, this Kim Zombie sure is slippery. If there were a skill called Being Slippery, he'd be S-rank.

'... You're really calling me Zombie again the second the game's over?'

-Of course, you Zombie bastard! Lord Gongja, my ass!

The attendant spirit swooped excitedly through the air.

-Zombie! Zombie! You Zombie bastard! Ah, who knew being unable to call a zombie a zombie would be so heartbreaking! Never again will I make a bet with that slippery little shit!

'Pathetic...'

How could someone called the emperor of swords be so pathetic?

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I stood up.

"Leaving already?"

"Yes. The eleventh floor opens soon. I need to start preparing now if I don't want to fall behind everyone else."

"How will you prepare when you don't even know what kind of area the eleventh floor will be?"

Hmm.

'Giving them a little hint here wouldn't be a bad idea.'

Now that I would be treated as their equal, having them owe me even a small favor would make things easier in the future.

I gathered my thoughts and spoke.

"[Role-playing]."

"Hm?"

"The theme of floors eleven through twenty is [Role-playing]."

Every hunter, including the witch, turned to look at me. Their eyes burned with intensity. Naturally. Even the tiniest hint could give them a head start over everyone else.

The information I was giving them was worth a fortune.

"When I cleared the tenth floor, I got a hint as a reward."

A lie, of course.

I hadn't received my reward for clearing the tenth floor yet. It would arrive when the clock in the sky reached 00:00:00. But I knew what was going to happen from here on out.

Knowledge of the future. There was no reason not to use it.

"That's all I know, though."

"... All right. Thank you for sharing that information."

The witch nodded.

"I'll be sure to repay this debt later."

Those words gave me something to look forward to.

3

After a good, long sleep at my lodgings, I went out to the square.

The city was already in a festive mood. The hunters were delighted that the tenth floor had finally been cleared after years of waiting. Some bars were handing out free beer, while anyone who fancied themselves a singer was doing their best to belt out a song in the square.

"But who actually cleared the tenth floor?"

Only one unanswered question was bothering everyone.

"There's still no official announcement..."

"Some people say they saw the guild leaders gathering in one place."

"Did you see the video of the Sword Star denying it? He was scowling like crazy. Said it definitely wasn't him."

"Then who the hell was it?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I could clearly hear the conversations people were having right beside me.

I kept fighting back a smile.

'I'm right here beside you.'

I was mingling with the crowd in the very heart of the festivities.

[00:02:09]

Before I knew it, nearly a day had passed since the tenth floor was cleared. The numbers on the clock in the sky ticked down slowly but steadily.

Some hunters held mugs of free beer. Others whispered about the unidentified hunter who had cleared the floor as they looked up at the sky.

Just like people in the outside world waiting to ring in the New Year.

[00:00:10]

"Ten!"

No one had told them to, but when the clock reached ten seconds, the hunters began shouting the numbers together.

[00:00:09]

"Nine!"

[00:00:08]

"Eight!"

The square resounded with countless hunters shouting in unison. Seven, six, five... It wasn't the New Year, but every face shone with anticipation of a new era.

[00:00:04]

"Four!"

I took out my smartphone and checked the news.

There were no articles about me yet. It seemed the embargo was still being honored.

[00:00:03]

"Three!"

That was when it happened.

Articles began appearing on Babylon's news websites, a few seconds apart. Perhaps they were eager to publish their scoop even a second before the competition.

[00:00:02]

"Two!"

I checked the articles.

-[Breaking] Hunter Who Cleared Tenth Floor Is an Unknown E-Rank Newcomer!

-[Breaking] Real Name Kim Gongja, Originally from Korea...

-[Breaking] Hunter Who Cleared Tenth Floor Reportedly Joins Major Guilds Simultaneously.

-[Breaking] Black Dragon Guild Issues Official Statement. Welcomes New Hero...

I smiled.

[00:00:01]

"One!"

It was the dawn of a new era.