Chapter 18
“Miss Gru, you know there used to be something called the ‘Tower,’ right?”
Gru nodded.
The Great Cataclysm.
A time when monsters and dungeons never seen before appeared, and people with special powers emerged.
The Tower rose straight into the sky exactly two years after that chaos began to subside.
It could be seen in any country, and anyone could enter it from anywhere.
People called it the “Tower.”
Without giving humanity any time to properly understand what it was, the Tower began counting down toward mankind’s extinction.
At the time, neither awakenings nor dungeons were stabilized, making it an extremely chaotic era.
However, through the countless sacrifices of the first-generation awakened ones, the Tower was conquered in just three years. Now, the terrifying Tower had been reduced to a common subject in children’s fairy tales.
Yoon Seojun, a man experienced in raising two sons, gently soothed Gru as he continued explaining.
“Miss Gru, the Guild Master is actually a hero who fought terrifying monsters inside the Tower.”
A hero? Gru sniffed, drawing in her nose, and listened intently.
“Shall I show you?”
When Yoon Seojun raised his hand, pitch-black shadows gathered and scattered before their eyes, forming various shapes.
‘Waaah…’
Gru’s eyes widened, and Seojun smiled softly.
His shadows formed a large Tower and human figures, beginning a shadow puppet show.
The terrifying Tower had a hundred floors, and the first-generation hunters, including Jurim, endured brutal battles to reach the 99th floor.
Before their fallen comrades, Jurim’s puppet shouted:
‘Everyone, hang in there! We’re almost done clearing the Tower!’
But the monster guarding the 99th floor was stronger than all the demons of the Tower they had faced combined. It was impossible to defeat with their strength alone.
Still, they couldn’t retreat. They had to stand up for the world.
At that moment, Jurim chose to sacrifice himself. He sealed the master of the 99th floor within his own body.
‘Leave me behind and go to the 100th floor!’
At Jurim’s words, one of his comrades headed for the 100th floor.
The moment he stepped onto the 100th floor, the shadows scattered.
“And that’s why a terrifying power ended up dwelling in the Guild Master’s left hand. It eats away at his mana every day, and when he uses too much power, his mana drains all at once—so that’s why the Guild Master has fallen asleep now.”
After finishing the puppet show, Seojun wiped Gru’s runny nose with a handkerchief.
“Sniff… if mana runs out, you hafta sleep?”
“Yes. Sleeping is the fastest way to recover mana.”
Jurim, still asleep, was drenched in cold sweat as if suffering from a dreadful nightmare.
He looked to be in great pain.
“Then… what do we do?”
“He’ll get better if he rests well, so don’t worry. You should sleep too, Miss Gru. This has happened a few times before—he’ll wake up soon. Would you like me to read you a fairy tale in your room?”
Gru shook her head.
“I wanna stay here…”
She lay down beside Jurim’s pillow, curling her body into a small ball.
Seojun gave a bitter smile, brushed back Gru’s hair, and stood up.
“B-but, Manager-nim… how many nights do we gotta sleep before the Guild Master wakes up?”
Ah… that… He wet his lips.
The last time Jurim had removed his glove was a year ago, to stop a dungeon break—when monsters poured out of a dungeon.
He saved hundreds of thousands of lives, but Jurim slept for an entire month afterward.
Unable to tell the truth, Seojun avoided Gru’s gaze and answered haltingly.
“Probably… just two nights.”
Saying it was nap time and she should sleep, he quietly left.
Click—
As the door closed, Gru wriggled and snuggled deep into Jurim’s arms.
Seeing an adult suffer and hurt like this was something she’d never experienced before.
She was so worried, her chest aching, tears and snot streaming endlessly.
Wasn’t there anything Gru could do?
[Emergency quest triggered for an anxious child due to the absence of their primary guardian!]
[To awaken the mana-depleted primary guardian, the child’s touch is required!]
[Let’s show filial devotion to the primary guardian using your unique filial skill, “Gru’s Hands Are Healing Hands!”]
[Reward: Filial Piety Points 500]
‘…!’
Right—there was something like that!
Yoon Seojun picked up Gru’s kids’ phone from the living room and placed it on the table.
The matter of the master of the 99th floor was known to only a handful of people within the guild, including himself—but it was a story Gru needed to know.
Even the explanation he’d given her had been somewhat embellished. Jurim rarely spoke about that incident himself.
‘Has it already been five years…?’
Seojun sat on the sofa, gazing at the Han River as memories washed over him.
After the Tower was conquered, the joint funeral hall for the first-generation heroes was packed with people.
After bowing at the memorial altar, Jurim couldn’t even step outside the entrance. Countless reporters shoved cameras at him, as if they might devour him.
“Please say a word as the sole survivor!”
“What exactly happened in the Tower?”
Questions poured out so chaotically they were hard to even comprehend.
“For the sake of the bereaved families, please say something!”
Everyone thrust microphones toward him, desperate for a word from the only survivor, flashes firing nonstop to capture his face.
Jurim stared at them with eyes like clouded glass.
“We—no, I… did not reach the 100th floor.”
The crowd stirred.
“Hunter On Jurim! What do you mean by that—”
♪ With a bumpy, cool figure~ wearing red clothes~ a sweet-and-sour scent~ the stylish tomato~ ♪
A cute ringtone broke his thoughts, and Seojun let out a small laugh.
It was a call coming in on Gru’s kids’ phone.
The caller ID read: Awakened Registration Center.
“Center?”
Seojun glanced once toward Jurim’s room before answering in his stead.
“This is Yoon Seojun, Chief Manager and legal guardian of Han Gru. What seems to be the matter?”
The moment Jurim opened his eyes, he felt as though he were being tightly bound by something warm and squishy—like slime.
“…?”
He creakily turned his head toward the familiar scent of baby formula. Sure enough, something soft was clinging tightly to his arm.
“…Han Gru.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Can you let go of my arm for a second? I can’t get up.”
Instead, Gru squeezed him even tighter and shook her head.
Hmm. Jurim narrowed his eyes awkwardly. She was so small and soft that he couldn’t put any strength into his arm, afraid he might hurt her.
“….”
Helpless.
It felt unreal to be so completely immobilized by the harmless “violence” of a four-year-old.
And that wasn’t all. Seeing the tiny life sniffle and sob made him feel increasingly cornered.
“Were you worried?”
“V-very… very much…”
At her tearful answer, as if she might burst into tears any second, Jurim hurriedly peeled her off and sat her in front of him.
Her coral-colored eyes stared blankly at him. Sniff. She sucked in her nose again.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Handling a child—comforting one—was all completely unfamiliar territory.
Jurim dredged up every scrap of nonexistent experience he had and organized his options.
Give snacks.
Give food.
Give treats.
So narrow it was practically impoverished.
He erased all those options from his mind. It wasn’t like he was raising a pet.
Sigh. Hiding his embarrassment, he ran a hand through his hair.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve explained things to you properly too.”
“Sniff. The manager-nim told me. Sniff. He said the Guild Master leaks mana everywhere, and if he uses too much strength, he has to sleep…”
Sniff again.
“…He said I leak mana everywhere? Stop crying.”
“Yes… sniff.”
There she goes again. Jurim lightly pinched Gru’s tiny bean-sized nose.
“Stop crying. Your eyes are all swollen.”
As Jurim gently rubbed around her eyes, Gru buried her face into her hands.
Not knowing what else to do, his wandering hands finally pulled her into his arms, patting her back.
“Guild Master… I’m sorry. Gru will be good. Please don’t be sick.”
Jurim stopped breathing for a moment.
Even without a full explanation, the clever child seemed to have roughly understood why he was like this.
A heavy mix of sorrow and guilt settled deep in his chest.
