I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 84

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 84: 084

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What kind of neighborhood was Hannam-dong?

Along with neighboring Itaewon-dong, it was where the largest number of Korea's corporate magnates lived.

That was why Hannam-dong had so many homes belonging to the owner families of major corporations.

S Group, H Group, SKK Group, L Group.

The homes of the heads of Korea's four largest conglomerates were all in Hannam-dong!

The wealthy part of Hannam-dong could practically be called a village of major corporate owner families.

We looked at a map of Hannam-dong as the realtor lady pointed at it and explained.

"Shall we start near the museum and hotel? From here to Itaewon-dong over here is an S Group family enclave. These houses scattered around the middle belong to the Longsim owner family. This side is L Group, and a little farther toward Itaewon over here is the former chairman of SKK Group's mansion. Most of these are available for purchase, by the way. Their owners put them up for sale and emigrated."

"Oh... All those names I'd occasionally seen in the news lived as neighbors? That's fascinating...!"

"It's fascinating for me too, hearing names I always saw on Volmberg terminals here."

"And a large H Group family enclave has formed around UN Village. This side is Dusan Group, this side is Hinjin Heavy Industries, this side is Gomho Asia..."

Back when I was reading modern fantasy novels all the time, I finally understood why the corporate chairmen were always described as meeting up to play baduk, drink tea, eat meals, and socialize like crazy.

So that was why they all lived in the same neighborhood!

Their neighborhood association meetings were practically gatherings of major corporate heads.

I suddenly spoke up.

"So where's the biggest and best house? Please recommend one."

"I knew it...! My eyes weren't wrong! Then how about Itaewon-dong over here? It's an S Group owner family enclave. One grand mansion was sold recently, but a few are still available."

"S Group! Change everything but the wife!!! It's a phone-burning ceremony!!!"

The first place the realtor lady showed us was a grand mansion in the enclave of S Group, Korea's number one conglomerate family.

Weren't they the people who made the Korean phone I used?

I was suddenly interested.

Since Korea's richest corporate family had lived there...

It had to be a nice house, right?

The realtor lady quietly added then.

"The building itself is excellent, and security is guaranteed. Hunter Choi Yejin lives right next door."

"...Hunter Choi Yejin?"

"Yes! That Hunter Choi Yejin! With Hunter Choi Yejin there, security will be perfect. The world is so dangerous these days, isn't it? Japan, China, Russia, they're all invading and... But with Hunter Choi Yejin there, you can rest easy."

"...Pass."

That crazy bitch Choi Yejin lived nearby.

Itaewon-dong was out.

I absolutely couldn't live there.

Still, that Choi Yejin bastard had bought a grand mansion in an S Group family enclave and lived there.

Come to think of it, her mansion had seemed enormous and majestic.

Who would've thought it was an S Group mansion...?

Anyway.

"Leave out Itaewon-dong and show me places in Hannam-dong."

"Hannam-dong instead of Itaewon-dong... Then how about the H Group family enclave near UN Village?"

"H Group...! Hey, have you tried it?!"

The next building the realtor lady pointed out was in the H Group family enclave.

The hope of Korea's domestic cars!

The company that made the super-overload-capable truck, the Futer-Technical!

The spirit of Jeong Juyeong!

She had pointed out one of the H Group family enclave's homes!

"For reference, security here is quite good too. Hunter Kim Taeseok's mansion was right next door. That's why housing prices had stayed fairly stable, at least until recently."

"Then what about now?"

"Well... they've fallen somewhat. Hunter Kim Taeseok has been stranded inside the Tower for over a month already... But I'm sure you'll love the building itself."

"Hmm."

An H Group family enclave.

It was tempting, but I felt a little reluctant about living in the same neighborhood as Hunter Kim Taeseok.

It seemed like it would be uncomfortable if multiple High Floor Hunters gathered too close together.

It felt like I was invading someone else's turf.

Somewhere without any notable Hunters nearby would probably be best.

It was a shame, but let's look elsewhere.

"Are there any other places?"

"Then how about this SKK chairman's mansion? It's also a very large and glamorous estate."

"Oh! It makes me want to pay two trillion won and change wives...! But no High Floor Hunters live around here too, right?"

"Ah! Hunter Park Gyu lives here. You know Park Gyu, right? He's the Hunter who reached Floor 38, the highest in Korea after Ms. Choi Yejin and Mr. Kim Taeseok! So you won't need to worry about security."

"Ugh... The poop guy... Why does that poop guy live here?"

"?"

Sadly.

The same kind of conversation continued.

"How about this building?"

"Ah! This is the honorary chairman of Longsim's property. Hunter Hwang Mingi, who will soon reach the High Floors, lives nearby."

"So the Marine Rairai Cha-cha-cha Hunter lives here... Then what about this building?"

"That is the former chairman of Dusan's home. Hunter Oh Sanghyeon lives nearby-"

"What about this one?"

"Hunter Yoon Geonwoo lives there-"

"And this side?"

"Hunter Kim Jihu lives there-"

The same sort of conversation repeated several times.

Every grand mansion with a large and magnificent plot had another High Floor Hunter living nearby.

Had those Raid Team bastards all bought mansions in Hannam-dong and Itaewon-dong the moment they made money?

Every place I picked had a High Floor Hunter nearby.

It seemed all sixty of Korea's High Floor Hunters had gathered in this area.

I was pissed off.

"You fucking High Floor Hunters! Just because you started Hunter life earlier, you all staked claims on the good mansions first?!"

"...?"

"I need to say something to them."

As expected of the nation of real estate.

They made a little money and all gathered in Itaewon-dong and Hannam-dong!

Why weren't they climbing the Tower instead of buying houses?!

I immediately opened the Raid Team board on my smartphone.

Then I quickly made a post.

[Post Title: You fucking bastards, why did you buy so many houses in Hannam-dong and Itaewon-dong?]

[Author: Baek Jiho (21)]

You fuckers.

I finally got some money and wanted to buy a house.

Why are you bastards near every place I look at?

Did you all buy mansions the moment you made money?

I want to live somewhere without Hunters nearby.

But you've planted yourselves everywhere like you cast a net over the whole city.

Fuck, this is pissing me off.

Get the hell out of Seoul, you bastards.

As expected of the nation of real estate.

└Park Dohu (31): Oh, what's this? Is Blue Dot finally moving? If you're coming to Hannam-dong, move near my place. It's nice here.

└Kim Jihu (37): A detached house with a big yard is convenient for handling loot, though. There are also lots of High Floor Hunters around, so it's easy to find party members.

└Yoon Geonwoo (33): UN Village... come... I'll buy you food...

└Park Gyu (38): lololol how can you resist a former corporate chairman's mansion when you have money? It's fucking huge, spacious, and luxurious, so you have to buy it right away lol. The toilets and bathroom facilities are also top-tier, so it feels great when you take a shit.

└Lee Hyunsu (28): If it's hard to find a mansion in Hannam-dong, luxury apartments are fine too. I live in Hannam The Hills, and it's nice here haha. You should come too, let's be neighbors.

└Choi Yejin (41): Come to Itaewon-dong. Let's see each other often.

└└Baek Jiho (21): Get lost.

└└Choi Yejin (41): Asshole.

...

I gritted my teeth as I read the comments.

It seemed that Hannam-dong and Itaewon-dong were something like the High Floor Hunters' hideout.

Once the corporate owners had all fled overseas, wealthy High Floor Hunters took over every mansion they put up for sale.

That was why present-day Hannam-dong and Itaewon-dong had become little more than Raid Team enclaves.

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue.

"Why are there Hunters everywhere I go...? I don't want to see people I know from the internet as neighbors in real life too."

"Um... Customer? Are you looking for a property without Hunters nearby?"

"Yes."

When I nodded, the realtor lady rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment.

Then she spoke cautiously.

"Well... There is one luxury house listing without any famous Hunters nearby."

"Oh. Really?"

"But it's on the far outskirts of Hannam-dong. It's a little lacking if you want to call it a true wealthy neighborhood. The plot is large and the garden is spacious, but the mansion itself is a little small. Of course, it is still a luxury home, so the quality is good. Would you like to see it?"

"Oho."

There seemed to be one property that met my requirements.

In other words, a luxury home with no notable Hunters nearby.

I considered it.

'As for the mansion's size... It'll only be my sister and me living there, so it doesn't need to be enormous. A large yard would be useful in a lot of ways. Besides, it's not like I'm obsessed with living in a wealthy neighborhood...'

There was no harm in checking it out.

I nodded.

"I'll take a look at that property. Please show us."

"Yes. I'll take you there right away!"

And so.

We headed to the outskirts of Hannam-dong.

* * *

On the outskirts of Hannam-dong.

At one corner of a block lined with luxury villas.

A detached house stood alone.

Tall outer walls surrounded the property.

There seemed to be a large garden inside, because countless trees peeked over the walls.

The realtor lady continued her explanation.

"The land area is 2,607 square meters. That's roughly 788 pyeong. The mansion has one basement level and two aboveground floors, with a total floor area of 399 square meters, or 120 pyeong."

"Whoa."

"It's an excellent location. The Han River is in front, and Namsan is behind it. It's a perfect feng shui site, with mountain at its back and water at its front! Of course, since it's on the outskirts of Hannam-dong, it's hard to call it the best wealthy neighborhood... But this is the only luxury house in Hannam-dong without famous Hunters living nearby."

More than seven hundred pyeong of land...

It was a fairly large plot.

There were high outer walls surrounding the property, a grand main gate, and a garage door.

Thanks to the tall walls, privacy seemed perfectly protected, and it looked like the Han River would be fully visible from the second floor.

There was also a large garden inside.

Sitting in that wide garden with a cup of coffee would let us enjoy a peaceful retreat in the middle of the city.

I was starting to like it.

"Could we look around?"

"Of course. I'll open the gate for you. Take your time looking around. I'll wait outside."

We opened the gate and went inside to look around.

Beyond the grand entrance was a large garden thick with trees, and past the garden stood a luxurious mansion.

So this was how the wealthy of Hannam-dong lived.

This was incredible.

"How is it, Hyeji?"

"...It's amazing. It's much bigger than our house back home."

"Hehe. Of course it should be bigger than your house. It's a two-story luxury home sitting on a seven-hundred-pyeong plot. Would it be a mansion if it were smaller than an apartment?"

"No, I mean... our family home. I thought my grandparents' house was fairly large too, but... this is bigger. It's amazing."

"?"

Something about that sounded suspicious.

Hmm... Could Hyeji actually be incredibly rich?

Like the descendant of an owner family in the financial industry, for example.

Nah, no way.

A mere Na Hyeji being from a major corporate owner family?

That couldn't be true!

There weren't any chaebols with the Na surname, as far as I knew.

Anyway.

"Iing Iing, come out."

-Iing!

Pop.

I opened Hyeji's handbag and let Iing Iing out.

Since the real estate employee was outside the property, we could let Iing Iing out without worrying about being seen.

-Iing! Iing iing!

Maybe she liked the garden.

Pop. Pop. Popopop.

Iing Iing flew around while scattering rainbow-colored light.

She had always been stuck in cramped semi-basements and apartments.

Now that she was in a spacious garden, she seemed excited.

It was nice to see Iing Iing enjoying herself.

As expected, children needed to run around in wide-open places for their bodies and minds to grow healthy.

But Iing Iing was still a baby, right?

It had not even been a month since she hatched from her egg.

Anyway.

I decided.

"I want to buy this place."

"You've decided already? Without looking through all the buildings? There must be many other places besides this one..."

"I just got a feeling."

For some reason, I had a feeling that no place would be better than this one.

I liked everything about it.

The quiet, peaceful surroundings tucked away in a remote corner.

The tall walls that perfectly protected our privacy.

The open view of the Han River from the second floor.

And the fact that there were no insane Hunter bastards nearby.

Everything passed.

"I've finally found my Extreme Lunatic Hell Premium Luxury Royal Imperial Majestic Elegance Noblesse Prestige High-End Flagship... Hah, Signature River Foret Suite Home...!"

"Jiho, aren't you out of breath?"

"Honestly, I am a little."

-Iing iing iing iing!!!

"Jiho. Iing Iing really likes it here. I think she likes being able to move around in a spacious place without worrying about other people's eyes."

"As expected, Iing Iing likes this place too."

I had to buy it!

Starting today, I would become the owner of a luxury house in Hannam-dong with a view of the Han River!

"Hehe. Once I finish moving, I need to take pictures of my Extreme Lunatic Hell Premium Luxury Royal... River Foret Suite Home and brag about it on Hunter Gallery."

"Jiho, you forgot the middle of the house name because it's too long, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Why did you make the name so long?"

"It's fashionable to give things long names these days. Look at the names of recently built apartments."

Apparently, it was fashionable among ordinary people these days to give apartment complexes long names.

And I was a new-generation Hunter who never fell behind trends!

There was no way I could refuse to join the long-name trend!

Anyway.

"Let's sign the contract right now, Sis! Get out the seal!!!"

My sister, who was also my manager, took out her seal.

We signed the contract and paid the remaining balance that very day.

The original owner had already emigrated, so a representative came to handle the contract.