Listen closely.
This isn’t an excuse.
It’s not that I’m genuinely unintelligent and managed to shatter the floor of a paid dance studio.
For one, my raw strength isn’t yet enough to pulverize an intact floor.
However, I never anticipated that imbuing my strength with a bit of internal energy would completely decimate the floor to this extent.
‘Could it be that even the floors are incredibly sturdy within the Lunatic difficulty?’
On the very first day I received the Dragon Triple Set, I successfully cultivated the Azure Dragon Heart Sutra (TL Note: A martial arts technique focused on internal energy), gathering qi in my dantian and unlocking my internal energy stat.
I had even used it a few times inside the Tower, but it had never been this powerful.
Had my footprints begun to deeply indent the floor the moment I used it, I certainly wouldn’t have continued.
This leaves only one plausible hypothesis.
Even the dirt floors within the Tower must be incredibly resilient!
Otherwise, when superhumans ran wild, the ground would simply cave in, burying them underground and creating an utterly bizarre spectacle.
What appeared to be ordinary Earth soil had utterly shattered my perception!
‘The Tower deceived me! I’m nothing more than an innocent victim!’
Yet, the world was cruel; no miracle would erase what had happened simply because I was an unjustly wronged victim.
This utterly ruined floor was a primal sin I was undeniably bound to resolve.
‘Should I bolt?’
I longed to choose the alternative method of dealing with responsibility—flight—but in the CCTV Republic of Korea, I would undoubtedly be apprehended, and my fine would likely escalate due to the additional charge of ‘running away from responsibility’ (TL Note: ‘Gwaesim죄’ is a colloquial term for being punished more severely for attempting to evade responsibility).
I love you, safe nation, Republic of Korea.
I am truly proud of the safety that allows me to sleep soundly every night.
Provided one doesn’t become a criminal, there’s no greater sense of security.
But who would’ve thought I’d become a criminal?
‘I want to resolve this without informing my family.’
If I simply pay, there’s no inherent reason for my family to be informed, right?
If only I could pay.
Knock, knock, knock!
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly, someone pounded on the practice room door.
Despite being a dance studio with excellent soundproofing, even it couldn’t conceal the sound of an exploding bomb.
It seemed someone from the same building had rushed over, alerted by the floor shattering.
I opened the door just a crack, then, much like a scene from adult content, I subtly poked my upper body out to survey the person.
“There was an enormous noise; are you alright?”
“Of course I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.”
“No, I wasn’t asking if *you* were alright, customer. I was asking if the *building* was alright.”
Oh, dear.
I had mistaken her for a kind, temporary neighbor sharing the practice space.
But seeing her concern for the building, it seemed she was undoubtedly one of the nefarious landlord’s cronies.
I had let my guard down because she was a young, pretty woman.
I never thought she’d be old enough to be a building owner.
To think she was actually management!
“Open the door. I need to check inside.”
“Hahahahahahahahaha.”
“Stop laughing and open the door, please?”
Though I attempted to keep the door closed with a smile, she wasn’t some pathetic cuckolded man (TL Note: ‘NTR’ is a Japanese abbreviation for ‘Netorare,’ referring to a genre where one’s partner is stolen), who would simply glance at my upper body, say ‘Oh, you don’t look good,’ and turn away.
Realizing resistance was futile, I opened the door.
“My heavens. What is this?”
The woman who stepped into the room instantly covered her mouth upon seeing the floor.
I swiftly offered an explanation.
“A meteor fell from the sky.”
“There’s no hole in the ceiling, though?”
“It fell through the window.”
“This room doesn’t have a window, though?”
Damn it.
To ensure perfect soundproofing, it was a room equipped with ventilation systems instead of windows.
“Fine! I’m the culprit! Arrest me. *Ugh*. Is this the end of my life?”
“It’s hardly the end of your life. You just need to pay for the floor.”
So, I called a contractor, and the estimate for repairs came in at ten million won.
Even if I emptied all the unexpected money I’d acquired, along with my entire savings, it wouldn’t be enough.
“If you could grant me just a few days, I will certainly procure the money and compensate you.”
“You don’t have the money?”
“No.”
“Then how many Instagram followers do you have?”
“None.”
“What!?”
The woman, who hadn’t screamed even after seeing the utterly destroyed floor, shrieked upon hearing I had no social media accounts.
‘Is it really that big of a deal?’
Her expression shifted as if she had just encountered an incomprehensible sight, like a primitive savage.
Of course, everyone else had one, but I only ever hung out with Young-soo, so I never really needed one.
Those are for girls who love to doll themselves up and are obsessed with videos, or the kids who hang out with them.
Ah.
I suppose I’ve become one of those girls now.
“So, settling this with advertising fees won’t work.”
“Do practice rooms like this even use advertising fees?”
It wasn’t that I thought this practice room was shoddy; I simply questioned if advertising would be effective here.
Places like this are only frequented by a select few, after all.
“No, I run a shopping mall. Your face looks like it could easily garner hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. If that were the case, we could have settled this by having you promote a few products for me.”
‘Wait. The estimate is ten million won, and a few social media posts would suffice as settlement?’
‘What kind of lives do influencers even lead?’
This woman, who runs a shopping mall and owns the building, is no joke either.
“Are you, by any chance, a retired idol?”
“Oh! You finally recognize me?”
No.
I simply made an educated guess, as only a few possibilities came to mind for someone her age to possess such wealth.
Since this was a dance studio, I considered someone who might run such a place as a hobby, and a retired idol seemed like a fitting deduction.
‘Is that really the case?’
The moment I saw her, I didn’t get the overwhelming impression that she was so beautiful she *must* be a celebrity.
However, reflecting on it, my standards might have become excessively high from constantly seeing my own face in the mirror.
“I’m a fan.”
To curry favor, I decided to feign being a fan.
“What’s the name of my group?”
“Well, I’ll get to know it gradually from now on.”
However, I possessed absolutely no information to deceive her with.
‘Knowing your enemy and yourself ensures victory without peril’ (TL Note: A strategic principle from Sun Tzu’s ‘Art of War’)—was this proverb meant for moments like this?
“Wow, that’s really too much. Even so, I was on TV all the time.”
“I apologize.”
“Haven’t you heard this song? Hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.”
The owner hummed their group’s greatest hit, but it was a tune I didn’t recognize.
“Do you have no interest in popular music?”
“I apologize.
Attempt to curry favor: monumental failure!
It seemed I had actually incurred a negative impression.
“You don’t use Instagram, you don’t listen to music… what do you usually do with your life?”
“A student’s duty is to study, after all.”
“Oh, come on, you don’t look like someone who studies diligently.”
Well, I possess the Martial God’s Physique.
I suppose my face is far from that of a scholar.
“To have done this to the floor with your bare body, you must be a Hunter, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t you make a lot of money?”
“I have my reasons.”
Setting aside the option of selling the items I’d ‘pickpocketed’ (TL Note: ‘Somaeneoki’ refers to discreetly placing an item into someone’s pocket, often used humorously for items obtained unexpectedly or illicitly), there was the option of selling the magic stones dropped by monsters.
However, in Lunatic difficulty, advanced magic stones began dropping from the very first floor.
Meanwhile, in Hard difficulty, intermediate magic stones only started appearing past the 30th floor.
If I were to sell advanced magic stones, wouldn’t my suspicious nature be immediately exposed?
Thus, my inventory was brimming with advanced magic stones.
‘I have money, so why can’t I convert it into cash!’
“But, wow. Using a practice room as a training ground and then destroying it… that’s a rather novel kind of accident. This is the first time I’ve encountered something like this while running this place.”
The female owner gazed at me with pity.
Then, her expression shifted to one of understanding.
Her eyes seemed to say, ‘Yes, if someone is that beautiful, they must be lacking in intelligence. That’s how the world achieves fairness, isn’t it?’
“No, wait! This is unfair!”
I’m telling you, the world deceived me!
I am merely a victim.
Blaming the victim is secondary victimization.
Stop!
“Then how about this condition: twenty photoshoots at 500,000 won per day?”
“No matter how broke I am, risqué photos are a bit much.”
“What are you talking about? I meant as a shopping mall model.”
‘500,000 won for 20 sessions, over 20 days.’
A typical part-time job certainly wouldn’t offer such a high rate.
But isn’t 20 days far too long?
As if reading my mind, the owner presented a new proposal.
“If you manage to gain 100,000 Instagram followers, I’ll reduce it to ten sessions at 1,000,000 won per session.”
“But is it really possible to turn 100,000 people into my fans?”
“With a face like yours, it’s more than possible.”
The owner said, glancing at my chest.
‘No, that’s not my face.’
“Since we’re on the subject, should we start now? I’ll take the pictures for you.”
Thus, I created a social media account.
And I resolved to follow the owner’s instructions.
“This time, you mustn’t break the floor.”
‘This is an unexpected turn of events, isn’t it?’
“You’ll never reach 100,000 followers in a short time just by posting photos. These days, social media is all about videos, not just pictures.”
The owner’s explanation was as follows.
Gaining 100,000 followers by only uploading photos is incredibly difficult.
However, if one video goes viral, it’s entirely possible.
Since this is a practice room, she’s a former idol, and I possess stunning visuals, we should combine our strengths and film an idol dance cover.
“No, how can a person be like this? I’m feeling a sense of deprivation I didn’t even feel when I first saw my own face.”
And I possessed the Martial God’s Physique.
A talent capable of reaching truly divine heights.
I possessed the ability to perfectly mimic idol dances—the culmination of nearly a decade of effort for others—after seeing them just once.
Thanks to this, the photoshoot concluded far quicker than anyone could have imagined.
“This won’t just hit 100,000 followers; it’ll reach a million!”
“Surely not.”
It hit a million followers in a single day.
Thus, the promise to settle the floor repair cost with ten shopping mall model photoshoots if I surpassed 100,000 followers was drastically reduced to a single model photoshoot and one promotional post.
Fortunately, the owner was not a ‘black-haired beast’ (TL Note: A Korean idiom referring to a greedy person, often used for humans who exploit others) who would try to extort more simply because things went well; instead, she was a conscientious owner who believed in paying a higher price because of the success.
I had never intended to become famous.
The saying ‘an awl will pierce through a bag’ (TL Note: A Korean proverb meaning that exceptional talent or something significant will inevitably reveal itself) must be precisely for situations like this, wouldn’t it?
