The next day.
The world began to stir once again.
【Korea's First-Ever World Record Achievement! What's the Inside Story?】
【First World Record Update in Years! Who Is the Mystery Player?】
【An Ultra-Promising Rookie Appears in Korea!? Or a Ranker?】
【Korean National Team Headquarters Silent on Related Matters!? How Long Will This Go On?】
You could feel the hype just from the headlines. And rightly so—this was no small matter.
What made it especially shocking?
The breaking of a world record!
【First World Record in 18 Years Since Floor 38!】
【U.S. Government Keeping a Close Eye on the Incident...】
【Japan's Defense Ministry Has No Additional Comment on Korea's World Record Achievement.】
【An Achievement 18 Years in the Making—What Will the Reward Be?】
Some broadcasters even went as far as airing special programs, focusing intensely on Korea's first-ever world record.
"Many studies have been conducted over the years to achieve this world record. What are your thoughts?"
"Well~ What's most surprising is that it was accomplished on the 1st floor. This incident is..."
So-called experts appeared on TV, visibly excited and continuing their commentary.
And they weren't the only ones. Naturally, the general public was also paying close attention to the world record set by Korea.
└ Whoa! This is seriously no joke.
└ It actually showed up as a "World Record" in real time... I got chills.
└ I want to see it too. Come on, let me awaken already.
└ The previous world record was over 3 hours... and they broke it in 2 minutes? That's why it counted, right?
└ But wait, is this person even Korean? This seems fake.
└ Lol, and how exactly would they fake it?
Of course, there was plenty of chatter among people too.
└ Ooh... We finally have a world record holder too!!
└ It's only the 1st floor, what's the big deal? Why are you all making such a fuss? lol
└ If you don't know, you're out of the loop! Do you have any idea how huge this is...?
└ Do you know how hard the U.S. and Japan worked to get their records?
└ You sycophantic bastard! What do the U.S. and Japan have to do with anything! This is our record!
└ What the hell is wrong with you, man?
And, as always, the debate was anything but peaceful.
Very few countries hold this record. Every nation climbs the Tower, but only a handful have ever been recorded in the world rankings. That alone showed just how monumental this achievement was.
***
Somewhere in Gangnam, Seoul.
At a large hospital—that's where Ha-min had gone.
This place was the
Seoul Central Magic Poisoning Treatment Center.
The reason Ha-min came here was simple: to see his mother.
"Oppa? What brings you here without calling ahead...?"
Watching over their mother's hospital bed was Ha-min's younger sister, Ha-eun. As he stepped into the room, his mother's lying form came into view.
'Mom...'
Ha-min's mother had withered away compared to before. Noticeably more so than last time...
And all around her body, life-support machines continued their indifferent, rhythmic hum.
"Oppa? Did something happen?"
His sister asked, her voice laced with concern.
"Yeah. Uh, yeah... Oh. Today's the day for the hospital bill, right?"
Ha-min quickly made an excuse.
At that,
"Today? What are you talking about, Oppa. The bill isn't due until next week...?"
"Ah, right. Next week, huh? Haha... My mistake. Well, since I'm here anyway, I might as well pay it."
"???"
Ha-min was rambling incoherently. Ha-eun sensed something was off.
Currently, 90% of the hospital fees here were covered by government subsidies, and Ha-min paid the rest.
Well, it obviously came from his convenience store part-time job. At least with that much government support, they could just barely manage to get by.
Ha-min's family consisted of three people: his mother, Ha-min, and Ha-eun. Around the time Ha-min graduated from college, their family situation took a sudden turn for the worse—because his mother had collapsed out of nowhere.
The diagnosis?
「Severe Magic Poisoning.」
Ever since the 「Demon King's Tower」 suddenly appeared in the world, the concept of "magic power" had become a part of our reality. It lingered around people like the air they breathed, exerting its influence on the world.
The most representative example was humanity's awakening—gaining the power to fight against the Tower and the monsters.
But not everyone received that blessing. Even that awakening, which seemed like a gift, had a double-edged nature. Some people's bodies couldn't withstand the magic power, and they eventually collapsed.
Ha-min's mother was one of them. Ironically, the magic power was slowly killing her.
The government ultimately declared her condition incurable. After all, this was a type of illness that had never existed in this world before. Moreover, due to the nature of magic poisoning, even recovery-type healing skills were completely ineffective.
In other words, it was globally classified as an incurable disease.
Still, the one saving grace was that they had been selected for a government support program, allowing her to be hospitalized here. He'd heard that countless others hadn't even made it into a place like this.
But that didn't mean there was any improvement.
『She has two years at most. We recommend that you prepare yourself...』
Every doctor at this center said the same thing.
In the end, all they could do here for patients was provide basic life support.
That was already a year ago.
With about a year left until the deadline, time was running out.
He felt a burning anxiety inside.
‘Mom...’
Ha-min clearly remembered the last conversation he had with his mother, the day before she collapsed.
“Son, where are you?”
“Yes. I'm at a PC bang with my friends right now. Why?”
“Why? I just called because I missed you. Are you coming home by any chance?”
“Ah... I was planning to, but... Huh? Huh?”
“Hey, hey!! What are you doing? The enemies are coming in right now!”
“Oh. Mom! I'm sorry. I'm busy right now. I'll call you back later!”
Click!
Of course, he didn't call back after that.
A classic case of an immature son. Even now, that phone call still weighed heavily on his mind. He had never forgotten it, not even for a moment.
'Idiot! Fool! Trash! You bastard...'
Why hadn't he just answered the phone back then?
He regretted it so, so much.
Just then,
"Oppa? Did something happen?"
"Huh?"
"I called you a few times... but you suddenly went quiet..."
"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking for a moment..."
"You're not hiding something from me, are you?"
"Something like what... Anyway, Ha-eun."
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry about the hospital bills for a while."
"Why?"
"Oppa will take care of it."
...Ha-eun tilted her head.
"Are you sure nothing's going on?"
"I said it's nothing~"
Ha-min quietly sank into his own thoughts and recalled what had happened yesterday.
That was...
Information about the 「Purification Stone.」
Ding!
▶ Item Info
―Name: Purification Stone
―Grade: Mythic
One of the 「Philosopher's Stones」 created by the Great Sage Aurnia. Upon use, it can cure any illness.
"What the!!!"
The item information that entered Ha-min's eyes was truly astounding.
‘It can cure any illness???’
That meant it could be interpreted as being able to cure his mother.
Of course, there were acquisition conditions. A whopping 50 gold medals. In simple terms, that meant reaching the 50th floor of the Demon King's Tower and setting a world record there.
Wait... the 50th floor?
That was the very floor known to be guarded by that fearsome monster.
Clear that floor? And set a world record while doing it?
Was that even possible?
Truth be told, whether it was possible or not didn't matter right now. Whatever the case...
'No! I have to make it happen!'
Thump!
Ha-min's heart suddenly pounded. Seeing his mother lying there had snapped him back to his senses.
Clench!
He gripped his fist tightly.
'Yeah! I'll just try it first!!'
For now, that was enough.
Just then,
"Oppa!?"
"Huh? Uh?"
"What's wrong? I called you and you didn't even answer!"
Ha-eun wore a worried expression. Her brother was acting a bit strange today.
"Ha-eun! Oppa's leaving."
"What? Already? Wait, Oppa... Did you even eat?"
"Yeah. Don't worry!"
"Oppa!!"
Ha-min rushed out of the hospital as if fleeing. He couldn't explain things to Ha-eun right now—not that he had awakened as a Breaker, and not about their mother's treatment either.
No matter how you looked at it, the Tower was fundamentally a place where you put your life on the line. In other words, it was dangerous.
It was obvious Ha-eun would worry. There was no benefit in telling her now.
He desperately wanted to tell her that he'd found a way to cure their mother, but...
'Not yet!'
So he left without saying a word.
'Mom, Ha-eun. Just wait a little longer.'
Hope... had emerged.
Clear the 「Demon King's Tower.」 Level up. Climb higher. Earn gold medals. Level up again. Climb again. Earn more gold medals.
And at the end of it all, the 「Purification Stone.」
Finally, cure his mother.
'No complications. That's all there is to it.'
Of course, he didn't think it would be easy by any means.
***
"Waaaaaah!"
A cry like that of a young child echoed through the room.
This was Ha-min's studio apartment.
But—
"Keeeh~ keeeh~ keeeh!!"
Someone was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Uh, look... please calm down."
"WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
It was a downright wail of grief. Anyone watching would've thought he'd lost his country.
'Ugh, so loud... seriously!'
The source of that crying was none other than Bellamon.
Ha-min had summoned Bellamon as soon as he got back to his apartment. And he explained his plan—about his mother, the Tower climb, and the purification stone...
But after hearing the whole story, Bellamon had started crying out of nowhere.
"WAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Come on, there's no need to cry that much..."
"This is just too sad! WAAAAAAH!"
He was clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
Are you even a soldier?
"I'm actually deeply connected to Hamin-nim... Sob sob!!!"
Bellamon stammered between sobs.
"I can feel Hamin-nim's emotions as if they were my own. WAAAAAAH!"
"Ah. Is that so?"
He'd been wondering why Bellamon was being so over-the-top, but it seemed that summons were affected by their summoner's emotions. Thanks to that, though unintentionally, they seemed to have formed some level of connection.
In other words, they shared their hearts with each other.
Wait... hold on!
'Two guys sharing their hearts... isn't that even sadder? And besides, he's a demon despite how he looks.'
...That thought crossed his mind, and then—
'Hold on.'
Something felt off.
But do demons even cry?
Bellamon had cried so naturally that Ha-min almost let it slide, but...
Aren't you a demon?
Devil May Cry? Something about it felt very unnatural.
"Sob sob, demons have feelings too, sir."
"Sure, I guess that could be the case."
But this is just bizarre.
Once again, Ha-min realized that Bellamon was quite... no, very, very different from the demons he knew.
Well, since things had turned out this way, it actually worked out well.
"Bellamon-nim?"
"Private Bel! La! Mon! Reporting for duty, sir!"
"As you can see, this is my situation. So, what I'm asking is—would you help me?"
Thump!
Bellamon suddenly shot up from his seat!
"With! Plea! Sure! Of course I will, sir. The Demon King's Tower? I'll clear the whole thing for you!"
Heh—
Ha-min smiled.
It was a bit concerning, but at least it was a reliable answer.
He's Ha-min's summon, after all!
"I'll really give it my all. Please help me."
"Not at all, sir. I'm the one who'll work even harder."
And so, with their powerful agreement, a goal was set.
Clearing the 「Demon King's Tower」!
And—
The shared goal of the 「Purification Stone」...
That was when—
Ding!
【Demon Bellamon's Loyalty (+10) has increased.】
'Huh? What's this?'
There was a loyalty stat?
【Summon duration for Demon Bellamon has been extended by 1 hour. Total: 9 hours】
Oh wow, jackpot!
Something new had been added.