Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

On my long-awaited day off, Seoul Station was bustling despite the early hour. But that wasn’t my destination.

“Well, I suppose this is Seoul Station too, in a way.”

The old Seoul Station building reclaimed its original role after the World Tower appeared. A gate connecting to the World Tower was installed there.

The already crowded area around Seoul Station became even busier, but it was still better than France, where the gate was installed in front of the Louvre, or China, where the gate was in the outskirts of Beijing with inconvenient transportation.

Given its prime location, the accessibility was overwhelmingly good. Posts praising Korea’s gate frequently appeared on Towers.com.

“Mom, it’s the World Tower, the real World Tower!”

A child holding his mother’s hand pointed at the red brick building to the right of Seoul Station, or more precisely, at the shimmering form above it.

That tower stretching endlessly upward was the World Tower. Though it was just a mirage with the background clearly visible through it, its presence was imposing.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if it became real soon.”

The World Tower, which was initially shrouded in a hazy mist when it first appeared, seemed somehow clearer than before.

“Nah, must be my imagination.”

Scratching the back of my head, I entered the old Seoul Station building to enter the real World Tower.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Player! Thank you so much!”

As soon as I entered the 33rd floor, Charlotte greeted me. The clover basket she always carried was nowhere to be seen.

It must have been resolved well!

“Charlotte, have you been well?”

Charlotte nodded vigorously. Well, with someone like Kallos helping, it couldn’t have been done poorly.

Just as I was about to say goodbye, thinking it was time to leave, Charlotte grabbed the hem of my sleeve.

“Mother wants to meet you! If you’re not busy, would you come to our house?”

“Hmm… what should I do? I have somewhere to go right now.”

“Uncle Kallos is at our house too! At least come say hello!”

Kallos is here? I almost missed him.

“In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Yes, just follow me.”

Charlotte shared various news as she guided me. The most surprising news was that they had built a house in the clover field.

Given that they built a new house in such a short time, it seemed Kallos had worked some kind of magic.

“Originally, we had a house way back in the alley. But Uncle Kallos said we couldn’t recover from illness living in such a place, so he built us a new house!”

That sounded like my master.

As we approached the familiar clover field, the shape of the house came into view. The red-roofed house peeking out among the green hills resembled Kallos’s house in Romane Village.

A large shadow flickered outside the window. It must be Kallos!

“Master!”

Excited to see him, I rushed towards Kallos as soon as I opened the door.

Wait a minute. This person isn’t Kallos.

“Why is that person here…”

An unfamiliar yet somehow familiar man stared at me. His eyes also held questions, as if he hadn’t expected to meet me in such a place.

“Guild Master?”

“Master?”

Choi Kwon-young, the guild master of Hwangya and one of the top-ranked hunters in our country.

Why was Choi Kwon-young, who had reportedly vanished, here? Moreover, he looked quite at home in Kallos’s house.

“Hunter Yun Gaho, what brings you here?”

“I could ask you the same, Guild Master…”

“What’s all this commotion about?”

Just as I was about to demand why he was here, Kallos sauntered in.

Kallos frowned as soon as he spotted me. He even took two or three steps back.

Come on, Master. I know I’m troublesome, but there’s no need for that.

Charlotte, who had been behind me, suddenly sprang forward and clung to Kallos’s leg. Kallos stroked Charlotte’s peach-colored hair. It was a warm gaze, quite different from how he looked at me.

“I brought the Player!”

“Ah- Charlotte, you brought her? Why?”

“Mom’s been curious about her! And she’s also our benefactor who helped us meet.”

“Of all times, why now…”

Kallos rubbed his forehead. He reluctantly seated me on the sofa.

A conversation along the lines of “Why did you come all the way here” and “Master, that’s too much!” ensued.

Meanwhile, Choi Kwon-young kept staring at me intently. I inched closer to Kallos, unnerved by his persistent gaze. There was no reason to avoid Choi Kwon-young, in fact I had been looking for him, but his staring made me uncomfortable.

‘He usually doesn’t even glance at C-ranks like me…’

If Gyeon Ji-woon, whom I met recently, was the oddball among oddballs, then Choi Kwon-young was the rebel among rebels.

The general consensus was that if it weren’t for Kim Ji-hwa, he would have run wild without belonging to any organization.

Charitably put, he was free-spirited; uncharitably, he was someone who ignored others’ opinions and pursued only his own interests.

Why would such a person be interested in me?

“You came earlier than expected. You brought the item properly, right?”

“Why don’t you check for yourself?”

Only when Choi Kwon-young shifted his attention to Kallos did I feel I could breathe again. As I caught my breath, Charlotte approached me carrying something.

It was the clover basket. You kept it safe. Charlotte took out a five-leaf clover from the basket and placed it on my palm.

“Thank you, Player.”

A five-leaf clover, symbolizing miracles on the 33rd floor.

Knowing how Charlotte had collected the clovers, I vowed to cherish this one.

Soon after, Charlotte ducked into the house and came out with Violetta.

A woman with light pink hair, just like Charlotte’s, extended her hand to me.

“I finally meet the Player Charlotte talks about every day. Hello, I’m Violetta.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. Please call me Gaho.”

When Violetta appeared, Kallos noticeably started paying attention to our side. His furtive glances were uncharacteristic of him. Violetta smiled slightly, noticing Kallos’s behavior.

“Thank you for delivering the letter. I kept putting it off because I couldn’t muster the courage.”

“It’s nothing. Charlotte did all the hard work, not me.”

“How modest. Oh my, look at me. I should offer you something…”

“Violetta! Leave that fellow be and go rest in your room.”

“Kallos, I’m fine now, I tell you.”

“I told you you’re not fully recovered yet. I’ve expressed enough gratitude, so there’s no need for hospitality. Go on in, will you?”

As Violetta lingered, seemingly reluctant, Kallos gently pushed her back towards the room. Unsure of Kallos’s words, Violetta gave me a subtle look.

“Master is right. Violetta, I’ve already received more than enough in return.”

Only after I backed up Kallos did Violetta seem to accept it, nodding her head.

In truth, I’m the one who should be grateful. Didn’t I get an S-rank trait for a simple delivery quest?

I should be the one repaying Charlotte.

Violetta, yielding to Kallos’s urging, headed towards the room. Charlotte, who had been hovering around her mother, clung to Violetta’s skirt and followed her.

Kallos seated me, who was standing awkwardly, on the sofa again.

“Sit down, you’re making me nervous.”

“Ah, Master!”

“Just eat this.”

Kallos, though certainly not a relative of Doraemon, produced snacks from somewhere and tossed them onto my lap.

“Ah, these are my favorites.”

There was much to question, but since he offered, I might as well taste them. The crunchy nuts still perfectly matched my taste.

As I sat quietly and started eating the snacks, Kallos moved back to the window where Choi Kwon-young was.

The two handsome men standing side by side made for a nice picture. Just a picture, mind you.

“Kallos, do you know Hunter Yun Gaho?”

Kallos stood askew and held out his hand. Despite being blatantly ignored, Choi Kwon-young didn’t seem to mind. Leaning against the window, he handed an unidentified package to Kallos.

Kallos untied the string closing the pouch and checked its contents. It seemed to be some kind of medicine bottle. After closing the pouch again, Kallos looked back and forth between us.

“You, what’s your relationship with that fellow?”

“She’s my subordinate.”

Kallos suddenly approached me and whacked my head. Though it seemed he controlled his strength to avoid hurting me, I felt wronged at being hit out of the blue.

“Why are you hitting someone who’s just sitting here!”

My protest fell on deaf ears. Kallos shoved a cookie into my mouth to silence me and started scolding.

“Why would you work under someone like him?”

“Mmph umph…”

“Finish eating before you talk.”

“It seems Hunter Yun Gaho doesn’t know anything.”

“That’s right, I got to know him without any connection to you.”

‘How do these two know each other? And what is it that I don’t know?’

Eager to ask many questions, I hurriedly chewed and swallowed the cookie. Kallos watched me and sighed deeply.

“…Originally, I was going to give a different reward.”

“I know it’s an unreasonable request. But isn’t there any way?”

“That’s not the issue.”

It was an uncharacteristically humble attitude for Choi Kwon-young.

What could make him act like this? The image of Ji-hwa telling me about S-ranks’ obsession with weapons flashed through my mind. Could he be asking for equipment to be made?

Seeing him plead like that, it must be S-rank? No, maybe even SS-rank.

“We who belong to the World Tower can’t leave our assigned floors. You know that, right?”

“I said I’d procure all the necessary materials for the 33rd floor.”

“That’s not enough. To create what you’re asking for, I need top-rank materials. Materials of that caliber are tricky. Most need special processing as soon as they drop.”

The expressions of both men grew increasingly serious. Hey, you two. Could you explain the situation to me as well?

I wished someone would resolve the question marks in my head. I looked at them with fervent eyes, but Kallos and Choi Kwon-young didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“This is troublesome. If it’s top-rank materials, we’d barely be able to gather them from all over the World Tower.”

“…There was no way, but now there is. Who would have thought you two knew each other.”

Kallos pointed at me with his chin as he mentioned a way.

Am I that way?

As I pointed at myself with my index finger, Kallos nodded.

“Yes, you. Gaho.”

“Pardon?”