Disaster-Level Player Is Too Good at Broadcasting-Chapter 70: « Quiet Motivations »
[Bonus Chapter for the Magic Castle by "Maurve" ~ refer to the Author’s Reward system.]
The night wind continued to move gently across the rooftop balcony as the group stared at the tower standing in the distance. No one spoke for a while after the words "Forty-eight hours." were said. It was not the kind of silence born from awkwardness but the quiet understanding shared among climbers who all knew what those hours truly meant. Two days. Two days before they would enter a ruin that had already destroyed one of Korea’s most powerful raid teams.
The rookie climber, Choi Minseok, swallowed quietly as he stared at the distant tower. From here it looked almost peaceful, a thin silhouette cutting through the night sky like an endless pillar. It didn’t look like the kind of place that devoured people.
But every climber knew the truth.
Someone finally exhaled.
"Well," one of the players said while stepping away from the railing, "no point staring at it all night."
Another nodded. "We’ll see it up close soon enough."
One by one they began leaving the balcony, exchanging brief farewells before heading toward the elevators. Some returned to their guild headquarters while others planned to spend the night in nearby hotels. No one tried to continue the heavy conversation from dinner. Each of them had their own thoughts to deal with.
Leonhardt Weiss lingered a moment longer before leaving the balcony. His eyes stayed on the tower until the doors closed behind him.
---
Morning came quietly over Seoul.
Sunlight reflected off the countless windows of skyscrapers, turning the city into a sea of pale gold. Traffic moved across the bridges over the Han River while people below hurried through their usual routines, many of them barely thinking about the massive structure looming somewhere beyond the skyline.
But for those preparing to climb it again, the morning felt different.
It was the day before the expedition.
---
Jung Hyeonwoo — Iron Aegis
The heavy impact echoed through the training hall.
CLANG.
A large shield absorbed the strike of a blunt practice weapon before the man holding it took a step back and adjusted his stance again.
Jung Hyeonwoo inhaled slowly through his nose as he reset his footing. The shield strapped to his left arm was thick and wide, designed to withstand powerful attacks without breaking. Its weight would have felt unbearable to most climbers, but to him it was familiar.
Comforting, even.
Across from him stood a mechanical training dummy designed for awakened combat practice. The machine’s arms moved in rigid patterns, striking forward with controlled force.
CLANG. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Another blow struck the shield.
Hyeonwoo shifted his weight and redirected the impact slightly to the side before stepping forward and pushing the dummy back.
His movements were precise and economical. There was no wasted motion in the way he handled the shield.
Most climbers trained for speed or power.
Hyeonwoo trained for survival.
The machine struck again.
He blocked.
Then again.
He blocked once more.
Sweat slowly gathered along his temples as he continued the rhythm of defense and counterbalance.
Defense first.
That had always been the philosophy of Iron Aegis.
Other guilds chased glory through devastating attacks and flashy combat abilities, but Iron Aegis had built its reputation on something far less glamorous. They protected others. Their shield users stood at the front of raid formations where monsters struck first and hardest.
It was a role many climbers avoided.
But someone had to do it.
The training machine swung again, faster this time.
Hyeonwoo stepped forward instead of retreating.
CLANG.
The shield absorbed the hit and he pushed the machine backward again.
His breathing stayed steady.
Blue Dragon’s elite team was wiped out.
The thought drifted through his mind quietly.
Even though he had never worked directly with that guild’s elite unit, everyone in the climbing community knew how strong they were. For them to be destroyed so completely meant the ruins on Floor 11 were far more dangerous than people originally expected.
Which means the expedition will need a solid frontline.
He lifted the shield again as the machine struck.
CLANG.
If something attacked them inside the ruins, someone would have to stand between it and the rest of the team.
That someone would likely be him.
Hyeonwoo stepped back and finally deactivated the machine after another minute of training. The mechanical arms lowered slowly before the device powered down.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a small towel hanging nearby and glanced around the practice hall.
A few other climbers were training in the distance, but none paid much attention to him.
He preferred it that way.
After storing the shield in a rack, he stepped out of the training room and walked toward the locker area.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
A message from his guild.
Iron Aegis HQ: Expedition confirmation received. Team departure tomorrow morning.
Hyeonwoo read the message once before putting the phone away.
"Tomorrow."
He said the word quietly to himself while tying the laces on his boots.
There was no fear in his voice.
Only calm acceptance.
After leaving the guild building, Hyeonwoo stepped into the busy streets of the city. He didn’t immediately return home. Instead he walked toward a shopping district nearby.
Climbing the tower paid well.
And he had always believed in maintaining his equipment carefully.
He entered a specialized gear store that catered to awakened players. The shelves inside displayed enchanted accessories, mana-stabilizing rings, reinforced gloves, and small charms designed to resist certain status effects.
The shopkeeper greeted him politely.
"Looking for anything specific today?"
Hyeonwoo glanced across the display cases before pointing at a simple metal ring.
"That one."
The shopkeeper brought it out.
"A mana-resistance ring," he explained. "It won’t block powerful magic, but it can reduce minor disruptions to your mana flow."
Hyeonwoo nodded and purchased it without hesitation.
As he stepped back onto the street afterward, he examined the ring briefly before sliding it onto his finger.
Not flashy.
But useful.
That was all he needed.
---
Leonhardt Weiss — The German Player
Leonhardt sat alone at a large wooden desk covered in papers.
Ancient diagrams and copied documents were spread across the surface, many of them showing strange symbols and structural layouts that resembled ruins discovered in various tower floors around the world.
A tablet computer sat beside them displaying a scanned map.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand as he studied one particular section.
"These markings again..."
He muttered the words to himself in quiet German before switching back to Korean.
"Interesting."
The map on the screen showed the approximate layout of Floor 11 according to the limited information gathered from previous scouting teams. One section had been circled several times in red digital ink.
The ruins.
Leonhardt zoomed in on the scanned drawing.
"Symbols carved into the stone structures..."
He pulled another document closer and compared the shapes carefully.
They weren’t identical.
But they were similar enough to catch his attention.
"In Prague tower ruins," he murmured to himself, "we found something like this."
He tapped one of the printed photographs.
The symbol looked ancient and unfamiliar, a curved design surrounding a small star-like shape.
Leonhardt leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.
"Ruins inside the tower are rarely random," he said quietly to himself. "They usually belong to civilizations that existed long before humans began climbing."
His eyes drifted toward the window of the small apartment he was staying in.
From here the tower was partially visible between the buildings.
"If those civilizations worshiped the stars..."
He paused.
"Then relics connected to them could carry star-based power."
That possibility was one of the main reasons he had accepted the invitation to join the Korean expedition. While his organization in Germany officially described his trip as an "observation mission," Leonhardt had his own personal interest in studying these ruins.
Artifacts tied to star entities were rare.
Dangerous.
But fascinating.
He stood from the desk and stretched his arms slightly before gathering the papers into a neat stack.
"Enough research for now."
Leonhardt grabbed his jacket and stepped outside the apartment building a few minutes later. Instead of heading toward any guild facilities or training halls, he walked into a nearby shopping street filled with small stores.
The smell of street food drifted through the air.
He paused beside one stall where a vendor was grilling skewers of marinated meat.
"Dakkochi," the vendor said with a friendly smile.
Leonhardt considered it briefly before purchasing one.
He tasted it while walking.
"Hmm."
His eyes brightened slightly.
"Korean food truly is dangerous."
He laughed quietly to himself as he finished the skewer.
After wandering through the street market for a while, Leonhardt eventually stopped in front of a small antique shop. The window displayed various decorative items—old coins, small sculptures, and several pieces of jewelry.
One item caught his attention.
A small pendant shaped like a star.
He stepped inside and examined it more closely.
The shop owner explained that it was simply a decorative silver pendant.
Not magical.
Not connected to the tower.
Just jewelry.
Leonhardt bought it anyway.
He slipped the pendant into his pocket before leaving the shop.
"Perhaps it will bring luck."
---
The Relic Seeker
The memorial site stood quietly at the edge of a park not far from the river.
Large stone slabs had been erected there over the years, each one engraved with the names of climbers who had died inside the tower. Some of the names belonged to famous rankers. Others were people few would remember.
A man walked slowly between the stones.
His steps were steady but unhurried as he scanned the engraved names.
Eventually he stopped in front of one particular slab.
He reached out and placed his hand gently on the carved letters.
The name was simple.
Han Yujin.
He didn’t speak.
Didn’t move for a long time.
The breeze shifted softly through the park while the man stood there, his fingers resting against the stone.
Memories flickered through his mind.
His younger sister laughing as they trained together.
Her stubborn determination to climb the tower faster than him.
The day she entered a dungeon without waiting for her team.
The silence afterward.
He closed his eyes.
"I’m still searching," he murmured quietly.
No one else in the park paid attention to him.
After a few minutes he finally lowered his hand from the stone and stepped back.
"I’ll reach the ruins tomorrow."
His voice remained calm.
"Just wait a little longer."
He turned and walked away from the memorial site without looking back.
Later that afternoon he visited a quiet bookstore near his apartment. It was a place he had been coming to for years whenever he needed time to think.
He browsed the shelves slowly before selecting a small notebook.
Not a magic artifact.
Just paper.
He purchased it and sat down at a nearby café afterward.
Opening the notebook, he wrote a single line on the first page.
Floor 11 — Ruins Expedition.
Then he closed it again.
---
Choi Minseok — Rookie Climber
The camera blinked red.
Recording.
Choi Minseok stood in front of it nervously while adjusting the collar of his jacket.
He took a deep breath.
"Hello everyone, my name is Choi Minseok and tomorrow I will be participating in the Floor 11 ruins expedition..."
He stopped.
His shoulders slumped.
"Ah, that sounded stupid."
He reached forward and stopped the recording before rubbing the back of his neck.
"Again."
The camera started recording once more.
"Hello everyone. I’m climber Choi Minseok and—"
He stopped again.
"No, no, that sounds too stiff."
Minseok groaned quietly and ran both hands through his hair.
The small apartment he lived in was messy with climbing gear scattered across the floor. His phone sat propped against a stack of books acting as the camera.
He started the recording again.
"Hello everyone! My name is Choi Minseok and I’ll be entering the Floor 11 ruins tomorrow!"
He tried smiling confidently.
But the moment he heard his own voice echo from the phone speaker he immediately cringed.
"That sounds fake..."
He stopped the recording again and sat down heavily on the bed.
For a moment he simply stared at the floor.
"I’m not ready," he whispered.
The words came out before he could stop them.
His hands trembled slightly.
Blue Dragon’s elite team had been destroyed.
Everyone knew that.
Even if people tried to sound confident during the dinner, the truth remained.
Floor 11 ruins were terrifying.
Minseok looked at the camera again.
Then he inhaled slowly and stood back up.
"No."
He shook his head firmly.
"If I survive this..."
"...people will know my name."
He started the recording again.
This time he didn’t stop halfway.
His voice still carried nervousness.
But he finished the introduction.
When the recording ended he stared at the screen for a moment.
Then he laughed quietly.
"Good enough."
Afterward he left his apartment and walked into the busy streets of Seoul. Instead of training or researching like the others, he wandered through a mall filled with bright lights and music.
Eventually he stopped in front of a small jewelry stand.
A silver bracelet caught his attention.
It wasn’t magical.
Just a simple accessory.
But he imagined wearing it during the expedition.
Something lucky.
He bought it.
As he stepped back outside the mall afterward, Minseok looked up at the sky.
Tomorrow they would enter the tower again.
"Ahh fuck...
Let’s just get this over with."
