Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chosen.

Literally, it referred to those selected by the Tower to climb it.

It was not originally the official name.

As time passed, the term Chosen had naturally settled in, but now and then there was another expression ordinary people used to call them.

Saviors.

Those who saved the world from the Tower.

That was the meaning it contained.

Some said it out of respect for heroes.

Others said it out of cult-like faith.

Their wishes might differ, but it was an expression they could use because they trusted the Chosen.

And yet.

‘They’re not saviors. They look like they need to go get saved somewhere.’

That was my impression after watching the Chosen fight.

To be blunt, it was so bad I could hardly bear to watch.

Charging blindly at monsters and falling into traps was an everyday occurrence.

Because they failed to communicate, their routes tangled up with one another too.

Seen this way, they were no different from a disorderly mob.

And they had practically no knowledge of the Tower or Dungeons.

“Excuse me. You said your name was Seo-rin, right?”

“Y-Yes… yes! D-Did you call me?! Ow… I bit my tongue.”

When I spoke to her, Seo-rin jumped as if she had seen a ghost.

I felt wronged.

Anyone watching would think I had done something terrible to her.

Anyway, that was not the important part.

“With the skill level of the Chosen over there, where would they rank among the lower end?”

“Pardon? What kind of joke is that…? At this level, they are actually fighting pretty well. They would probably be upper-middle among the groups participating in this subjugation. If things go well, we might even discover the boss first.”

What came back was a rather shocking answer.

Wait, those disorderly mobs were fighting well?

How?

I could not grasp it at all.

Whether or not she knew what I thought, Seo-rin only beamed.

“Hehe, that’s good news. If we find the boss first, even us porters get a small incentive. Ah… Pingkk… no, Mr. Ha-jin, I suppose it would just be pocket change to you.”

“Hold on. There’s an incentive?”

That was the first I had heard of it.

There was no one to tell me these things.

“How much is that incentive?”

“Just a moment. Even if it gets deposited, there are a few things deducted in the middle. Let’s see, after tax deductions, withholding tax, porter association dues, and then the share that goes to the guild side….”

‘……?’

At first, she had started counting on one hand, but before long, even both hands were not enough.

No, if that much was being deducted, it was not something you could call a little.

It was practically a highway robbery.

As they said, the people who already had money were always the worst.

“After all those deductions and so on, about one sheet?”

A hundred thousand won?

Now that I had heard it, I was dumbfounded.

From a porter’s perspective, meeting the boss was no different from risking your life.

‘And they only value your life at a hundred thousand won?’

That would not even be enough for fare to the afterlife.

“That’s not much….”

“A hundred.”

“What did you just say?”

“One million won.”

Damn it, she should have said that first.

If I received that incentive, I could pay back half of this month’s interest.

Thanks to that, I felt motivated.

Just then, Goblins sprang out from every direction.

They looked as if they had been waiting for us to come out.

It was an ambush.

“Damn it, why here of all places…. What about an escape route?”

“No good. It’s a dead end. We’ll have to break through.”

The Chosen immediately showed their panic.

Unbelievable.

Anyone watching would think they had run into a Boss Monster.

Overreacting over Goblins.

“Fight back!”

The Chosen immediately counterattacked.

Unlike my expectation that they would shake the Goblins off easily, it took them a fair amount of time.

“Fire….”

“What are you doing, mage! Are you trying to get us all killed? Why would you use fire magic in an enclosed space?! Don’t you have any other magic?”

“Um, I’m not particularly skilled at anything other than fire magic….”

“Why did we pick deadweight like this?!”

‘This is a shitshow.’

It was because the Chosen’s skills were worse than I had expected.

The more time dragged on, the more they were driven into a corner.

Then unease began to bloom even among the porters watching them.

“M-Mr. Ha-jin, we are not all going to die like this, are we?”

Quit whining.

And yet, for some reason, I did not think she was exaggerating.

After all, with skill no better than a disorderly mob on display, it was hard to see any chance of victory.

Ha, is there no choice?

“Ah, that’s not how you fight.”

A whole one million won was riding on this job.

I could not tolerate losing my money because of those bastards, even with a knife at my throat.

I extended my Wand forward and activated magic.

“Static Electricity.”

The Dungeon itself was a dry environment, so I could not expect much power.

But that did not matter.

This much was enough.

A spark popped against the back of a Goblin’s head as it faced off against a Chosen.

The Goblin’s movement jerked to a halt.

Seizing the opening that appeared in that fleeting instant, I shouted.

“Now!”

“Huh…? Ah, got it!”

At my shout, the Chosen swung his sword with a bewildered look on his face.

Perhaps because he had caught the timing well, the Goblin dropped dead in a single blow.

Of course it did. Who do you think supported him?

Even so, we could not let our guard down.

Out of dozens of them.

We had only killed one.

We were still a long way from breaking through this situation.

‘This is driving me insane.’

Ha, do I have to step in?

If I do not, we are all going to die.

So, let’s show them what I can do.

Just a tiny bit.

I snatched the spare Wand I had kept at my waist.

Then I gripped one in each hand.

“Static Electricity, Static Electricity, Static Electricity…….”

I fired Static Electricity magic indiscriminately.

Crackle, crackle-crackle!

As sparks popped from every direction, the Goblins’ movements stopped here and there.

I had sniped their joints and controlled their movement.

It looked simple, but it was an absurd feat.

After all, I had to capture each of their movements one by one, then snipe them.

Among the sharper-eyed Chosen, a stir arose.

“What…. What is that?!”

“What’s going on? Wasn’t that bastard a porter?”

The Chosen’s eyes went wide.

Tsk, this is why I hate bastards who are quick on the uptake.

Would it kill them to pretend not to notice?

Of course, I knew it too.

My performance was far too overwhelming for them to simply pretend not to notice and move on.

“Focus. Unless you want to die here.”

“Ah. Got it!”

At my shout, the Chosen drew up their will once more.

Along with that.

Once I added fire support at the right time in the right place, it did not take long to seize the advantage.

To begin with, the enemies were Goblins.

Getting bogged down in a place like this was absurd.

Immediately after the battle with the Goblins ended.

The Chosen approached with wary eyes.

After glancing around a few times, one suddenly asked.

“What the hell are you?”

What the hell am I?

Had they still not figured it out after traveling with me all this time?

I had something prepared for moments like this.

[Porter License]

-In accordance with Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Porter Act, the above person’s porter qualifications are recognized.

The only certificate the state had recognized me with since I fell into this damn world.

“What else? I’m a porter of the Republic of Korea.”

“…….?”

“…Huh?”

“No… you’re answering with that right now… huh? Hm… it’s real.”

“That from earlier was a porter? What kind of….”

Faced with evidence far too certain, everyone was left speechless.

Why are they staring at me like that?

Have they never seen a porter before?

***

On the path leading into the Dungeon.

Choi Gyu-nam lit his cigarette and let out a deep sigh.

White smoke rose in wisps along with a harsh smell.

‘Hoo….’

His face was full of worry.

Because of an unexpected offer.

-Team Leader, are you not a Chosen too? Haha… You were once called the Goblin Slayer. How long do you intend to remain at a porter company? If you only promise to transfer to our guild, we will guarantee you exceptional support. Yes, of course, an offer like this is not made to just anyone. We are only bringing it up because it is you, Team Leader.

On a day like this, he wanted to knock back exactly one glass of whisky.

If the alcohol took effect, his heart might feel lighter even through drunkenness.

-We have already confirmed the Boss Monster’s location, so all you have to do is defeat it yourself. Haha, reporters? Do not worry. What was it again? We will prepare everything like a red carpet on our side. Just go and make your move. Just make your move.

He had also received an expensive bottle of whisky under the table.

Originally, he should not have.

But it did not matter.

Just like a tycoon receiving laundered money,

whisky, once inside the stomach, would be washed cleanly away by the next day and erased even from memory.

In this world, as long as you did not get caught, you won.

Moreover, the expensive whisky was not the only help he had received.

-We checked, and the Boss Monster of this Dungeon is apparently a Goblin General. It is nothing special, so it will become a flashy comeback match. Ah, right, think of the MVP reward as a small gift from us. Once you know the Boss Monster’s location, taking it down will be quick anyway, will it not?

The table had been laid out perfectly for him to eat.

All he had to do was set his spoon on it.

Something like this was as easy as eating cold porridge.

Leaving that aside.

There was someone who had been irritating him lately.

Sung Ha-jin, one of the porters under him.

He had no idea what had led them to become close, but Seo-rin, that girl, was stuck right to Sung Ha-jin’s side.

Who had feelings first? How dare he butt in halfway?

As a man, his pride would not allow it.

“Sung Ha-jin, that bastard has gotten bold.”

A puppy barely a day old did not know to fear a tiger.

Sss, haaa.

Ash dropped from the burning tip of his cigarette.

On top of that.

The look in Sung Ha-jin’s eyes when they had met just before had been no ordinary look.

Compared to his attitude when they had met only a few weeks ago, it was completely different.

In the past, he could not even make a peep if their eyes met, but he had changed one hundred and eighty degrees.

As if the thing inside him had changed.

‘This isn’t some TV drama.’

Well, whether the thing inside him had changed or not, it did not matter.

Because once this subjugation ended successfully.

He planned to trample him thoroughly so he could never crawl up again.

***

Chosen were largely divided into two categories.

First, those who climbed the Tower.

They were said to be a minority among the Chosen, and they climbed the Tower while risking their lives.

There was the risk that they might lose their lives.

But if they only survived in the Tower, they could rake in wealth and honor.

And the second category, where the majority of Chosen belonged, was….

“Is there really a Boss Monster here? It’s too quiet.”

The man at the front muttered while maintaining formation.

It had been that way ever since we drove off the Goblins’ attack.

We still had not run into a single monster.

You might think that was something to be happy about.

From another perspective, however, it was not purely positive.

Not being able to face enemies meant one thing.

Our performance numbers were in free fall.

I learned that for the first time too.

Because Seo-rin, who was trailing along at my side, gave me a hint.

“Not all Chosen climb the Tower. There are also Chosen who focus on running Dungeons instead of the Tower.”

“Dungeons?”

“Yes, well… for starters, inside the Tower is dangerous…. you know?”

Seo-rin said this while watching my reaction.

“Dangerous?”

What is? The Tower?

…..Why?

I could not understand it at all.

Of course, once you passed the middle floors and reached the depths, sure.

But before that, it was not.

Around the time I was thinking that.

Seo-rin clapped her hands with a CLAP! and refreshed the mood.

“Anyway! Where there is demand, there has to be supply! There are also Chosen who mainly explore Dungeons. The representative example is everyone here.”

Ah, so they were something like cleaners.

No wonder they seemed too weak for Chosen.

I had wondered why people who claimed to climb the Tower were struggling so badly against Goblins.

I had never dreamed there was a reason behind it.

From what I heard.

Compared to climbing the Tower, the profits from only picking and running Dungeons were as small as a rat’s tail, but even those small profits were apparently incomparable to what ordinary people earned.

No wonder none of the many Chosen here had any exploration abilities.

‘Tsk, what a shame.’

If Poing had been with me, maybe it could have found the Boss Monster quickly.

While holding that thought, I was walking and keeping watch in all four directions.

Then one Chosen who had been scouting ahead returned, his face ashen.

“F-Fuck! Run… run away! It’s the Boss Monster!”

Someone’s scream.

I almost could not hold back a cheer.

We finally found it.

“My million won!!”