But after hearing what Noah said, it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.

– I had forgotten about it until I recently heard that you encountered a rift, Daphne. It was something I saw a really long time ago, and the other videos were too shocking. But it suddenly came to mind.

“…… So that’s why you came to meet me.”

– Why do you sound so disappointed? I really did come out to see your face, Daphne.

“I’m sorry if I made it sound that way.”

– Haha, I’m just joking. I guess… I should say I’m sorry?

“For what?”

– I watched the broadcast. Of you climbing the tower.

“…… I see.”

– It’s not easy to say. Watching you climb from the 1st to the 50th floor without even taking a breath, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Our generation of hunters really did a terrible thing to you, Daphne. I thought that dozens, hundreds of times.

For a very brief moment, the face of Noah whom she had met flashed before Suji’s eyes at that warm voice.

Although he felt completely foreign with his blond hair and blue eyes, he was just someone from a different country who could think the same thoughts and empathize.

Whenever she felt like she had hit a dead end, she could feel the warm perspective of those who had lived through an earlier era like this.

“How could that be the fault of you seniors. Please don’t say that. Everyone knows how much you all suffered.”

The ones at fault were the ‘Great Beings’.

She only mulled over the rest of the words inwardly.

Noah continued in a bright voice.

– Still, I couldn’t just dismiss it like that. I wondered how many times she must have climbed the tower to know so many gimmicks that I couldn’t even find. I felt sorry… and proud… I thought about what I could do to help.

“…… Noah.”

– That’s when I heard that you encountered a rift and entered the tower. I guessed that the rift wasn’t just an object of fear but of hatred for you, but am I being too meddlesome?

Suji shook her head, knowing the other person couldn’t see.

Noah, who had spent the same era as her mother, knew. Why Suji was so obsessed with the rift. How her mother had died.

“…… Please tell me everything you know.”

– Okay. That’s what I intend to do. That’s why I contacted you like this, right?

“Yes.”

– The Laurel I climbed was terrible. So much that I don’t even want to recall it ever again. There were many casualties too. And the videos I saw at the end were even worse.

His voice was calm but it was a heavy story.

Suji could fully understand Noah’s state of mind.

“What I saw was like that too.”

– Then did you see it too, Daphne? The scene of someone placing their hand on the wall and summoning a rift?

Her ears perked up.

– Laurels, rifts, Sage’s Towers, waves. The names humans call them may all be different, but their essence is not very different. They are entities created by borrowing someone’s power. Up to here. This is the limit of what I can tell you.

The words νόμος had said suddenly came to mind.

“Who… did you see who it was?”

– No, if I had seen that, I would have found them and done something by now. Do I seem that irresponsible to you?

“I was wondering if there might be any clues.”

– Not at all. Honestly, in that short video, it looked like a monster summoning a monster rather than a human. But it was only later that I remembered. That the mumbling voice belonged to a human. I must have seen it wrong in my shock.

Suji turned her head without realizing it.

In Yeong, who was tied up and left neglected on one side of the plane, immediately caught her eye.

The mention of a human who looked like a monster was a pretty big hint.

There weren’t many hunters whose specialty was transforming parts of their body to fight.

And one of them was right next to her.

In a normal situation, she wouldn’t have been able to recall it with just that small clue, but the moment she heard Noah’s words, she remembered that Nature had faced rifts twice.

– I’m sorry. I finally contacted you thinking it would be helpful. But as I’m talking, I’m just rambling incoherently.

As Suji listened to Noah talking gently, she objected as if it was absurd.

“What are you saying? It was really a huge help.”

– Really?

“I figured out right away who that person you’re talking about is.”

She heard Noah take a deep breath.

– …… Oh my, is that so? I should have said it sooner. I had completely forgotten about it. I’m sorry. I’m glad if it was helpful.

“Thank you, Noah.”

Suji expressed her sincere gratitude.

– Cheer up. I… gave up on everything because I thought I could see the end anyway. But people these days are saying that you suddenly changed, Daphne. Knowing the reason why, you seemed amazing and I was thankful. Ageha must feel the same way.

At the name that suddenly popped up, Suji’s eyes widened.

“Ageha? Why Ageha?”

She hadn’t heard anything about Ageha since meeting him in the Laurel.

– Ah…… I said something unnecessary.

“Pardon?”

– Anyway, I wish you the best. I think I took up too much of your time, so I’m sorry. I’ll hang up now.

“Okay……? Alright, I understand. You take care too, Noah.”

She could feel him noticeably glossing over it, but she had no intention of prying.

She had gained enough as it was.

Just as she was about to end the call, Suji put down the terminal and the ring on her right hand caught her eye.

Suddenly remembering something, Suji opened her mouth again.

“Wait a moment.”

– Hmm? What is it?

“Do you happen to know anything about the currency unit F?”

It was the currency used in the secret shop owned by the ‘Great Beings’. The place where Suji had practically seized a 10th tier item.

She wasn’t really expecting much by asking.

She just thought that a hunter as experienced as Noah would know more than her.

But the answer that came back was unexpected.

– Oh? That. That’s it.

“Pardon?”

– That… I thought it was a function that existed for who knows what reason. One time, while talking about something else, the system misunderstood and asked if I needed to exchange money.

“…… Are you talking about the hunter system?”

– Yeah. But since it was just changing the units, and I didn’t know where to use the exchanged money, I just left it at that….. Why? Where do you use it?

Suji smiled wryly.

She had been fooled more than once or twice by now, but she didn’t know.

The ‘Great Beings’ tricks were all like this.

Hiding hints under your nose, never telling you and just watching. Excitedly wondering what kind of reaction those toys will show.

They were truly the worst of the worst.

No matter how she thought about it, if there were angels and demons, the ‘Great Beings’ would be the demons.

Not that the ‘Messiah’ was an angel either.

“…… I really couldn’t have imagined.”

– Where do you use it?

“I’m not sure if it will work exactly, so I’ll let you know again in a bit. If it does work, I’ll make sure to repay you.”

– I look forward to your repayment, Daphne.

“I’ll contact you again.”

As soon as she hung up, Suji immediately shouted at the system window.

“Check assets.”

[380,990,810,020G] [Tower 50th floor save zone……]

“No, never mind the rest. I want to exchange that money.”

[It is possible. What unit would you like to exchange it to?]

“F.”

[It is possible.]

Really?

Suji tapped her forehead with her palm and asked again.

“What’s the exchange rate?”

[1F can be exchanged for 10,000,000G. A separate 10% exchange fee will be charged.]

‘This is crazy.’

She couldn’t help but think that.

With 10,000G, you could get a small house in Seoul. With about 400,000G, you could buy a couple of huge buildings with billboards.

But what the hell was that ridiculous exchange rate?

It definitely wasn’t a rate made for exchanging in the first place. Plus, a 10% fee.

They just made it to toy with people.

Since being a hunter itself cost a lot of money, it wasn’t an amount that hunters could usually gather.

Unless you were someone who had graduated from the Hunter Academy and then recklessly rushed to only climb the tower until you died.

Moreover, unless you were someone whose abilities were so good that you didn’t even need to purchase items and had lived receiving a lot of initial rewards.

“But, what to do. I saved money like crazy, so I have too much money.”

As Suji was gauging the amount to exchange while saying that, her head suddenly rang.

– Hey.

Even though she had been wearing the ring the whole time, it had been quiet, but it seemed it suddenly had business.

She laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“What?”

– ……I don’t know what you’re thinking of doing by exchanging that.

“You know. What I’m thinking of doing.”

– Look, human.

Suji firmly cut off the urgent, placating voice.

“If you’re thinking of spouting more nonsense again, forget it. You clearly said it then. That you left the shop door open so I could go in whenever I wanted. Remember this clearly.”

– When I said that then….. Ha.

“Am I wrong? Didn’t you say that with your own mouth?”

Even while conversing, she could see the log numbers rapidly increasing. As Suji unmuted, the reaction of the ‘Great Beings’ appeared before her eyes.