So Earthlings can hardly recognize external mana. Hoho, these primitive guy.

When am I going to use my special skills if its not this time?

I raised my index finger and put it to my mouth to tell him to be quiet.

Shh.

Of course, I had no intention of leaving Ahn Yoonseung in an awkward position for a long time.

Thats enough.

Yes?

About 30 seconds later.

I took my hand off the wall and looked somewhere.

I found the way to the top floor.

No, really, how? I cant even feel it!

Ahn Yoonseung jumped when he heard my words.

But my eyes were still focused on the elevator door. A sticker that says Do not lean on it stands out.

Yoonseung-ah, I have something to ask before that.

Yoonseung seemed confused by the sudden question

I dont know if I understand the structure correctly. If I want to leave the inside of the elevator door empty, can I send the elevator to a different floor?

You want the inside of the elevator door to be empty?

This is a vertical passage. Isnt there a vertical hole so the box can move?

Ah, yes. Right? You know it very well.

The answer came back without difficulty.

That was enough.

Okay. Wait a minute.

I called for an elevator right away.

Then go inside and press the button for the higher floor.

At the end, I slipped out again before the door closed.

Ahn Yoonseung stared blankly as the floor number displayed in red letters changed.

What are you doing now

At that time. A tremendous roar filled the empty hallway.

Bang!

Heuk!

This was because I kicked the elevator door as hard as I could with my left foot.

The bottom of the door, which was weak against the impact of being pushed, came off without any force and fell down into the vertical passage.

Ahn Yoonseung was shocked by this.

But I looked down into the dark space without any expression.

Lets go, Yoonseung-ah.

W, where?

I guess this rookie A-Class hunter still hasnt figured out the situation.

Is a long explanation really needed? Sometimes actions are better than words.

This is a gate where the floor connects to the top. Jump!

Aaargh! Kiryeo Hyung!

I purposefully fell down to the open elevator shaft.

A scream filled with fear followed, but it didnt bother me. It will come on its own when its ready.

***

Oh~

I came in by falling, but when I came out, it was horizontal.

I stumbled for a moment trying to adjust to the changed direction, but then quickly regained my posture and looked around.

Its connected directly to the representative office?

This is the scene in Kim Kiryeos mind.

A room with a large leather chair that often appears in movies and dramas.

Heuk! Ive jumped to more dangerous cliffs inside the gate, but why is this so scary?

Oh, are you here?

After waiting for a moment, Ahn Yoonseung soon shows his face as well.

But then.

Youve managed to come up to this place.

Voices can be heard from behind the shiny executive chair.

You are the first to pass through my maze. In addition, it is also the fastest time to pass. No, anyway its interesting. I never thought the hidden disaster evacuation route would be discovered. Its not meant to be used in times like this

A cheerful young womans voice.

Next, we met the creator of this maze and the awakened person who supports an axis of Korean society.

But thats as far as eating it raw. (t/n : /eating it raws means do something without making efforts.)

The leather chair turns half a turn. The other person has appeared.

She has good body proportions, which made me almost think she was tall. But if you look closely, you can see that she is a woman in her 20s with a small physique.

From now on, I, Esther of the Magic Tower, will be your opponent!

Representative of the Korea Magic Tower.

Full name is Esther.

Her drooping eyes were wide open as she welcomed us.

Is this the maze maker? As I heard, her personality seems quite unique.

I looked at Esther with interested eyes.

However, it seemed like I wasnt the only one curious about the other person.

Hunter Ahn Yoonseung, by the way, what is the name of the visitor there?

Esther looked this way with a thin smile.

Instead of standing like this, lets all sit down. Coffee is okay for drinks, right?

Not to the A-Class Hunter Ahn Yoonseung, but to me.

***

Earthlings often decorate their hair extravagantly.

Perm their straight hair or turn it purple with strong dye.

Although I still dont understand their aesthetic standards, at least the person sitting in front of me looked good.

This is probably because visual information has passed through Kim Kiryeos brain once.

I will introduce myself directly. My name is Kim Kiryeo. I look forward to your kind cooperation.

I looked at Esthers wavy hair and shook her hand. Then Esther raised the corner of her mouth and said.

You seem to be an appraiser, right?

Yes?

You cant get out of the labyrinth of towers with poor analysis skills. I set the level of difficulty high. Its because you solve it so easily.

The smiling face was as sweet as a well-fed cat.

I really like people with skills. Lets get along well with rare attributes like us.

But wait a minute.

Why did Esther make a statement here that puts me and her into one category?

Same rare attribute?

When I asked again, both Esther, who was shaking my hand, and Ahn Yoonseung, who had come with me, looked surprised.

Its really hard to pretend to be an Earthling.

Uhm? Of course, awakened people with analysis skills are rare, so wouldnt you be considered rare enough? And I.

Esther blinks her big eyes and explains as if whats the problem.

In the end, Ahn Yoonseung came forward late and solved the situation.

Hyung, Esther-ssi is a curse attribute hunter, one of only a few in the world.

Is that so?

Curse attribute!

Yeah. I also saw this while searching about this company.

An awakened person with a curse attribute who hunts monsters using status abnormalities such as weakening or slowing down.

That was Esther.

This world has just begun to gain magical power. Certainly, there are few people who use complicated techniques.

Im gradually gaining an understanding of the category of rare properties.

My guess is that most of the people on Earth are like Jung Haseong and Kang Changho, who have awakened to simple magic like lightning or fire and are growing stronger.

There are fewer people who have demonstrated defensive and recovery magic like Ahn Yoonseung.

There will be very few people with special abilities such as appraisers, curses, and brainwashing.

I understood. We are both rare attribute hunters.

I returned to the conversation immediately.

Im sorry I didnt recognize you right away. Im a bit dark about the news

I guess you were stuck in a small room and just worked? Oh my! Ive been working hard on broadcasts these days.

Esther said it was the first time in a long time that she had seen someone who didnt know she had a rare attribute. She shook her head and pretended to pout, but that only lasted a moment.

Anyway. Well, if an appraiser is as skilled as you, requests will come flooding in, so its no wonder youve been so busy?

Esther relaxed her expression and made eye contact with us.

Anyway, lets put off making friends for now. This is not your purpose, right?

This is the main point that finally comes.

I just checked my email again. Hunter Ahn Yoonseung, you said you had something to do at a certain gate owned by our magic tower, right?

Ah, yes!

Ahn Yoonseung nodded his head slowly.

Thats right. But Im not the one who exactly has something to do

He said this and turned his eyes toward me.

Well, it would be better for me to say this part.

Actually, Im the one who wants to get in the gate. Yoonseung just made an appointment for me.

Ah, really?

Because I was a very low-level awakened person, the staff did not respond to me.

Esther, who was quietly listening to the story, asked a question.

What rank are you?

Without saying a word, I took out my Hunter ID and showed it.

Then Esther reacted in a way that was natural, but a bit unfamiliar to me.

Aha, F-Class?

Esther didnt have any doubts about me being the lowest level hunter.

This is how all appraisers awakened. Although you are still particularly low.

I roughly nodded to Esthers words.

Its a little awkward because Ive been asked several times if Im actually an F-Class, but it didnt matter.

Didnt I go through the maze of the tower that Esther suggested anyway?

Hmm, so why do you want to enter this gate?

That

For your information, its difficult if youre going to gather material. The material that comes from the trees here is not even enough for me to use.

I will never touch the side where the trees are.

However, it looks like things wont be that easy.

Isnt fruit your purpose? Even so, it is difficult for me to give permission

Esther crossed her legs and tapped her feet.

Although she had a somewhat arrogant attitude, no one dared to point out her S-class status.

Why not?

But you know? Our appraiser. I dont know where you belong, but youre clearly from someone elses guild~

Since youre here with Ahn Yoonseung-ssi, are you from Neo Sisters? Well, anyway.

Tak.

Esther put her shaky feet on the floor and said with a strange smile.

How much money does it take to monopolize one gate? Its a privilege I worked hard for, but I dont want to use it to benefit someone elses guild for free.

Of course.

So, if you want to enter the gate, the hunter wont come directly like this.

In summary, is this what Esthers words mean?

I wish we could talk guild to guild. I am.

Bring in the real power of the company instead of low-level brat like you?

And I dont like seeing people bargaining for this or that. Would you like to tell the guild in advance? It would be a good idea to conscientiously calculate the entrance fee from the beginning.

It looks like the price will be high.

How on earth do you have so much value hidden in a D-Class dungeon at best that you are so brave?

In fact, not even half of the useful materials that are there

Do you need a lot of money, Hyung?

Yoonseung was flustered and rolled his eyes when he heard that she would charge an entrance fee, but I calmed him down.

Hunter Esther-nim.

First of all, I need to clear up a misunderstanding.

Im sorry, but I dont belong anywhere?

Yes?

Esthers eyes widened at those words.

Without missing this opportunity, Ahn Yoonseung also added.

Aah! Thats right! Kiryeo Hyung doesnt even have his own team, let alone a guild! He always goes alone!

Its somewhat embarrassing to say it out loud.

Youve been calling me an appraiser since a while ago Im only saying this now, but Ive never worked in that area.

What do you mean you werent an item appraiser?

Esther looked shocked, but I didnt stop explaining.

The only person I know in the industry is Ahn Yoonseung.

Hyung-nim!

Helping me will not fill other guilds pockets. This is truly a personal request.

Is that all?

I have never thought of going through a gate where someone else has paid money for free.

Heh, lets start bringing that up.

Of course, I prepared for the entrance fee!

I thought the only thing left to do was to present this tasty reward to the representative.

But then. I stopped talking for a moment.

Because Esther was looking this way earlier and swallowing dry saliva.

Huh.

What is this?

I havent mentioned anything good yet?