#1
Hwanung looked over the list Tete had given him.
After running a few towers, he had set about buying equipment.
A drone, a camera to mount on it, a computer for editing his videos, and so on.
According to Tete, his current computer was so old and underpowered that editing would take forever.
He had saved about ten million won so far.
The equipment she recommended cost around seven million.
Some might call that expensive, but she had convinced him that this much investment would spare him any worries about equipment for the next year or two.
[Your order is complete.]
Everything was ordered. All that remained was to wait.
Once he climbed the few remaining Sobaeksan-grade towers, he should be able to add another SR-rank summon to his roster.
He planned to finish up the Sobaeksan-grade towers and move on to Taebaeksan.
‘Perfect timing.’
There were so many towers left to conquer. He had to keep moving.
The more SR-rank summons he had, the stronger he would become.
And he still needed to equip every one of them.
“Maybe I’ll take tomorrow off.”
Climbing towers day after day lately had left him feeling mentally worn out.
Tomorrow, he would spend a day at home learning about streaming.
He had considered visiting his family home in Gapyeong, but decided to call and check in instead.
He could visit whenever he put his mind to it.
He would create a YouTube channel and put up a brief greeting in the community section.
After making his plans, Hwanung looked around his shabby room.
The thought that he could move somewhere better made his heart swell.
‘I’ll visit home in a month or so.’
He had no plans to find a girlfriend, and marriage was beyond his wildest dreams.
So if he earned a lot of money, he intended to spend it on his family and himself.
To repay his parents for raising him.
To thank his younger sibling for trusting and standing by him through the hard times.
And finally, a gift to himself for all he had endured.
It would all begin with setting up his YouTube channel.
Hwanung went to bed full of dreams.
Completely unaware of how far the ripples from today’s events would spread.
#2
“F*ck!”
“…”
“Eric, you expect me to clean up this mess after watching that video!?”
“I’m sorry.”
This was C.C.A’s Korean branch.
Eric had come from headquarters in the United States, but to the branch director, he was merely a sales representative sent on assignment.
After watching the footage Eric had recorded, the director erupted in fury.
A sales representative, speaking and behaving like that toward a prospective recruit?
Even sweet-talking him might not have been enough, yet Eric had flaunted the League’s prestige and ended up getting beaten instead.
By a single summon, at that!
The director stared out the window, fuming for a long while.
Nothing remotely pleasant would come out of their mouth right now.
“Whew…”
“Director, I’ll take responsibility and meet with him again.”
“That won’t be necessary. You’re a sales representative, Eric. You should know how much a person’s feelings can influence their decisions.”
“…”
There was nothing he could say.
He had let his petty pride get the better of him, and he had failed to recruit his target.
Was the problem that the North American League had grown too big?
That too many Climbers came running for its name alone?
Before any of that, though, the fault lay with Eric for misjudging Lord 93’s abilities.
He could never have imagined such extraordinary potential.
Lord 93—Hwanung—knew his own worth all too well and had punished Eric for belittling it.
What more was there to say?
“I’ll send someone else. Submit your report and return to headquarters.”
“Director, if you could give me just one more chance…”
“When has this market ever given anyone a second chance?”
“…”
Eric hung his head.
Then, with a sigh, he turned and left the room.
His standing would take quite a hit now.
The director rubbed their face with both hands and sighed again and again.
The North American League.
The largest League on Earth, and home to the greatest number of Climbing Clubs on the front lines of the assault on Everest.
Everest.
A tower with [Checkpoints], and one of the few towers humanity had yet to conquer.
“Whew… So our turn is over. Who’s next?”
The director mentally ran through the scouts from various Climbing Clubs and Leagues.
In terms of financial clout, China, followed by Russia and Britain, perhaps.
The Japanese and Korean Leagues couldn’t be ignored, either.
Their numbers might be smaller, but their actual results often outstripped North America’s.
A summoner was an avatar type never discovered before. One of a kind.
There was no telling how powerful his summons might be, or how many he could command… but he would certainly be valuable as a trophy.
‘Once he conquers Sobaeksan-grade towers… Taebaeksan next, is it?’
The best approach would probably be to establish contact through one of the Climbing Clubs under the director’s authority.
Through someone easygoing and personable, rather than an arrogant fool like Eric.
And they would have to offer something by way of apology.
Equipment? A skill?
Already anticipating a hefty expense, the director felt a headache coming on.
Meanwhile, stories of Lord 93’s exploits began spreading far and wide.
With each one, his price rose higher, and the scouts searching for him only grew busier.
#3
Today was Hwanung’s day off.
It was a shame to miss a chance to grow stronger, but he needed the occasional day to stop and take stock.
Besides, today was a momentous occasion.
The day he created Lord 93’s channel.
“Still, Lord 93 is a bit… No. Let’s just go with it.”
Lord 93, a nickname taken from his avatar code.
He had considered other names but decided to stick with this one.
Public perception wasn’t easily changed.
Even if he used a different nickname, wouldn’t everyone just call him Lord 93 anyway?
So Lord 93 it was.
If he picked up another nickname later, he could change it then.
The channel’s title was [Lord 93’s Summoning Journal].
He had chosen a name that made it abundantly clear he was a summoner.
“Oh, there we go. Now I just upload a video, right?”
Except he didn’t have any videos.
So he decided to mark the launch with a community post.
What should he write, and what tone should he use?
‘Everyone seems to have a concept or a persona these days.’
Since they appeared as avatars, people apparently built personas around their characters or skills.
He gave it some thought, but… nothing really came to mind.
The problem was that, as a summoner, Hwanung’s own avatar had no particularly distinctive traits.
He intended to let his summons’ personalities shine instead of his own.
So he would keep things as ordinary and straightforward as possible.
With that in mind, he slowly began typing.
[Hello! I’m Avatar 19930211, better known as Lord 93.]
[Please be aware that any accounts other than this one claiming to be me are impersonators. I’ll be using this channel to upload a variety of videos filmed with my summons. Thank you.]
He made sure to address impersonation, too.
Then he completed the verification by uploading his card with everything except his code name concealed.
He had heard that impersonation caused more harm than one might expect.
Tete had also told him to make his identity clear before he began streaming himself.
‘She said she’d give me all the donations from last time, too. How much was that again?’
He had appeared on her stream only briefly, but an enormous amount of money had poured in within moments.
She had promised him all the donations from the segment he appeared in.
According to her, it was around twenty million won?
After platform fees and taxes, she expected him to receive somewhere around fifteen million won.
It was more money than Hwanung had ever laid hands on.
He had lived his life without knowing where to spend that much money, or how to save it.
If he kept saving for now, he would figure it out eventually.
After posting his channel announcement and grabbing a quick meal, he heard the doorbell.
[Your order has arrived.]
An alert sounded on his phone at the same time.
His streaming equipment was finally here.
Referring to the instructions Tete had given him, Hwanung immediately began setting everything up.
[Drone configuration complete.]
[Binding drone to Avatar No. 19930211.]
[Please insert recording memory.]
[Memory inserted: 10 TB Magitech Memory.]
[Please attach a camcorder.]
[Camcorder attached.]
[The drone follows its bound user’s commands. Select a mode, and the drone will film accordingly.]
Made by an avatar, the drone could film autonomously and even choose its own camera angles.
It also came with a built-in function that turned it invisible inside towers.
By the time he finished setting up, it was late afternoon.
Maybe he could run one tower, even if it meant getting home late?
“Anything left that I can clear without too much trouble?”
He tried to avoid repeating towers whenever possible.
He couldn’t draw new summons in them, so it would be a waste of time.
That was something to do later, when he needed equipment.
For now, exploring new towers was the right choice.
So he decided to climb the last Sobaeksan-grade tower, which he had been saving.
[Farming Tower]
[A tower where you can farm Lux.]
[Stages: 3]
[Grade: Sobaeksan]
[A tower with few stages, structured as a treasure hunt.]
[Find hidden bosses and Objects to earn points.]
[The first person to reach 100 points wins.]
[Alternatively, the team with the most points when time runs out wins.]
There was no time limit, and victory depended entirely on luck, detection abilities, and information memorized in advance.
Failing that, eliminating everyone else in the session was another option.
Hwanung took his drone and headed for the tower.
It would be nice to pick up an SR-rank summon while he was there.
It would be the middle of the night by the time he finished, but at least he should get a video out of it.
And so Hwanung set off for the last remaining Sobaeksan-grade tower.
#4
The lobby of the Farming Tower, whose actual name was the [Forest Tower].
Conscious of the glances people kept stealing at him, Hwanung waited eagerly for the game to begin.
It was 5:55 p.m.
The game began on the hour, leaving about five minutes.
Hwanung operated his drone, adjusting the settings for filming.
As he fiddled with it, someone sidled up to him.
The unfamiliar avatar addressed Hwanung with curiosity and admiration in his eyes.
“Um… Are you Lord 93, by any chance?”
“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you.”
“Wow, nice to meet you! I’ve subscribed to your channel, too.”
The Climber’s avatar took the form of a small, slight boy.
He spoke proudly, looking at the app on his smartphone.
Did Hwanung already have enough subscribers to meet one like this?
It must be a coincidence.
With that thought, Hwanung gave the boy avatar a little fan service to show his appreciation.
They shook hands, then he took a photo with the drone and sent it over immediately.
The avatar’s eyes sparkled as he thanked Hwanung over and over, overcome with excitement.
“Thank you! I’ll frame it and treasure it!”
“Come visit the channel often.”
“I will!”
Hwanung waved his fan goodbye.
People waved to him first, looked at him with admiration, and offered him kindness without being asked.
Being treated so differently from his days as a Sherpa felt strange.
‘All the more reason to do better from now on.’
His life had already changed.
All that remained was to climb higher and higher.
[Press ‘Join Game’ to participate.]
The message that had turned his life from the worst into the best appeared.
Without hesitation, Hwanung pressed Join Game.
As his avatar touched down, countless Climbers came into view.
“Summon.”
Eyas, with her overwhelming power, appeared first, followed by his entire force.
Naturally, the other Climbers within his line of sight quietly looked away.
[10 seconds until the stage begins.]
[Prepare for the game.]
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