Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: One is Better than Two? No, Three.
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Not one, but two... no, three.
The beginning was from the 16th floor.
A physical ability that had climbed another floor higher.
Kosak moved forward to receive the mission.
Joo-hyuk followed behind.
But then?
"Gobang! Why aren't you following?"
The Savage Meat Shield, Gobang, heard Kosak's words but just stood there, not even looking at him. He only stared intently at Joo-hyuk.
He's got quite a temper.
He seemed to know whose words to listen to as well.
"Follow us, Mr. Gobang."
"Understood. Gobang obeys the Summoner absolutely."
Only then did the Savage Warrior Gobang follow along. From now on, it seemed he'd need to give specific commands one by one. Even if it was a hassle.
16th Floor Mission
📍 Objective: Defeat 30 Goblin Scouts.
⏰ Time Limit: Within 5 hours.
🎯 Progress: Goblin Scouts 0/30
💀 Failure Conditions: Death or mission abandonment.
As soon as the mission appeared, the forest became restless.
Rustle, rustle.
Something was moving.
"Summoner Bong, activate your energy shield. You should also prepare to use the Shadow Step skill immediately, sir."
"Got it."
Right at that moment!
"Kehek!"
"Keeeeehk!"
Goblin Scouts that had appeared out of nowhere. Whether they were ambushing or not, there were a lot of them.
'Looks like far more than 50.'
Spit! Spee-pit!
Pitch-black, needle-like objects flew toward the three.
From the front, from behind, from the ground, from the treetops.
"Evade, sir!"
Tap, taptap,
"I'll cover you, sir!"
Kosak deflected the poison darts flying at Joo-hyuk with his dagger and charged into the forest.
But then?
'Huh?'
The Savage Warrior, standing still in place even after getting hit by the poison darts. They didn't even properly penetrate.
With one shake of his body, the darts clattered to the ground.
"Mr. Gobang? What are you doing? Don't just stand there getting hit, go out and sweep them all away."
In an instant!
The Savage Warrior's eyes flashed like a beast's.
"Hear order. Kill them all. Kill human assassin too."
"Except for Mr. Kosak."
"Except assassin."
A Summoned Being that required a lot of handling.
But,
Thudthudthudthud!
"Kuaaaaaaah!!!"
The Savage Warrior let out a roar and joined the battle.
The Goblin Scouts shot their poison darts, but they couldn't pierce his thick skin and bounced off.
Crunch!
As a scout's head was caught in his large grasp,
Crunch!
Squelch!
The Savage Warrior crushed it just like that.
"...What the,"
It was tremendous grip strength.
Was that even human?
Kosak dodged the poison darts nimbly and beheaded the goblins, but the Savage Warrior Gobang didn't bother with such things.
Whether poison darts or arrows flew at him, he just ran forward with terrifying speed, grabbed their heads, and crushed them.
Crunch! Squelch! Crunch!
Or he would grab their legs and smash them against the ground.
Whoosh! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
A fearsome, overwhelming force.
Amidst it all, the Savage looked at Joo-hyuk with an innocent expression, as if asking, Did I do well?
"Y-yeah, well done, Gobang!"
"I got praised by Summoner. I do better than assassin."
Well, it was true. At least in terms of combat.
'That Savage Warrior is only Rare grade?'
He deserved at least SR, no, SSR.
'Maybe he's Rare because he's dumb.'
That must be it. Being stupid was a fatal flaw.
Gobang was dominating the battlefield. Goblins were flying around. Not because they had wings, but because they were being thrown by the Savage Warrior.
Even large trees were uprooted and sent flying. Boulders the size of houses flew through the air. Goblins that failed to dodge were crushed one after another.
Kosak almost got crushed by a boulder himself.
"Hey, you son of a—,"
I picked a good one.
The Savage Warrior absorbed all the poison dart attacks of the Goblin Scouts with just his bare body. With all the aggro drawn to him, Kosak's attacks became even fiercer, freed from worry.
Joo-hyuk also pulled out a mace from his inventory.
The energy shield was already activated.
Ting! Tingtingtingting!
Poison darts collided with the shield and fell away.
'...Wow! What if I didn't have this shield?'
It's good, right?
'Testing the energy shield here.'
The special privilege rewards were indeed thorough. No wonder he couldn't give up the Platinum Badge.
'What about skills?'
He'd only practiced alone until now, but how would they be in actual combat?
'Let's try.'
Joo-hyuk took a step forward.
'Shadow Step.'
Shadow Step
Leaves an afterimage; enhances evasion.
Swish!
Joo-hyuk vanished in an instant, leaving an afterimage in his place. Poison darts hit the shadow and passed right through.
Pitpitpitpit!
Swish! Swissssh!
'This is the dream.'
Was there a better skill for running away?
There was a reason Kosak told him to learn this first.
He was getting more proficient. To the point where the poison darts weren't scary.
The scouts concentrated their darts on Joo-hyuk, but,
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish...,
They were just pointlessly toyed with by his fast movements and the confusing afterimages.
'This is fun.'
Much more than he thought!
'Do I... have talent?'
No way! That was nonsense.
In the end,
🎖️ Reward: Platinum Badge awarded.
Definitely, two was better than one.
No, was it three?
Seoul, Hannam-dong.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su and Team Leader Jeon Gwang-il were having a conversation over warm tea.
Player Bong Joo-hyuk, the S++ Rank Conquest record holder. They had even sold him equipment at a bargain price for his sake.
"Phew, that's a weight off my mind. Is Player Bong satisfied?"
"Yes, it seems so. He informed us he'd be climbing the 16th floor around this evening."
"Really? That's rewarding."
He really hoped the climb would start. And that records would be set along the way.
"By the way, should we leave Player Bong's affiliation as is? Or should we continue pretending not to know?"
"I think pretending not to know is the better method."
"Why?"
"First, we can hide the existence of the S++ Conquest record holder. Second, considering Player Bong's personality, this method is more efficient."
"Hmm."
"We just watch quietly, and if a need for support arises like this time, we solve it immediately."
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su also nodded. Honestly, he still didn't quite understand. They had offered benefits so aggressively, yet he didn't even bat an eye.
"Let's call it a day. What about you?"
"Since Player Bong said he'd conquer the 16th floor today, I'll check on that and then leave."
"Will it be possible this time too? Starting from the 16th floor things get really difficult."
"Who knows. Let's just wait a bit..."
Right at that moment!
Knock, knock.
A person opened the door to the Bureau Chief's office and entered. It was Lee Min-ah, a Player and a Section Chief at the Management Bureau.
"Oh, Section Chief Lee, what's the matter?"
"I-it just popped up."
"What... Oh! You don't mean?"
"Yes. A Tower 16th Floor S++ Rank Conquest record."
"Hoho."
He sells a few pieces of equipment cheaply, and he immediately conquers it?
"Consecutive S++ up to the 16th floor... Is that even possible?"
Section Chief Lee Min-ah answered.
"In baseball terms, it's like a single pitcher achieving a perfect game record for 16 consecutive matches."
"That's an insane record."
But it wasn't something to be purely happy about. At this level, would neighboring countries just sit still?
"We must thoroughly conceal the information. Especially keep an eye on movements from China or Japan."
"Yes."
They also needed to continue building a relationship of trust.
"Form a dedicated team. And include Player Bong and his family as support targets."
If they gave benefits not just to him but to his family as well? Perhaps it would be even more effective.
"But don't make it obvious."
"...If we're not obvious, they won't know it was us, will they?"
"Player Bong will figure it out. He's just timid, not stupid."
"Yes. I will take responsibility and push it forward."
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su now had a goal. During his remaining term, he would definitely get Player Bong Joo-hyuk to join the elite team.
Korea's Tower climbing record was the 65th floor. A joint world second place with Norway and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, fellow East Asian nations China and Japan were far below. In fact, information about each floor of the Tower was recognized as a public good shared by all humanity, so figuring out what appeared where and the types of missions wasn't difficult.
The problem was the Players.
Since a nation's fate depended on a single Player, securing capable Players was key. That's why fierce scouting wars sometimes broke out, or talented Players were classified as national assets and thoroughly protected.
Yu Cheol-min, who had single-handedly conquered the Korean Black Tower's 65th floor and was challenging the 66th, was a Player coveted by nations worldwide. Especially Japan and China's recruitment of Korean Players was extremely persistent. It was akin to a quiet war.
If Player Yu Cheol-min changed his nationality, that country would unconditionally charge up to the 65th floor.
China had a large population. Therefore, the number of Players was proportionally large as well. China's Tower climbing progress was barely at the 58th floor, challenging the 59th. It paled in comparison to Korea, which had completed the 65th and was challenging the 66th.
They had tried every method. Bestowing heroic titles to the first climbers, showering them with rewards... The magic stone production was enormous. As a result, the Chinese economy was thriving.
But the problem was the stagnant Tower climbing. The Black Tower erected near the metropolis of Shanghai, with only about two months left until the deadline for conquering the unclaimed upper floors. What if the collapse countdown began?
They couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Active countermeasures were needed. Namely, attracting excellent Players to their country through naturalization policies.
So where to pull talent from? The neighboring country, Korea. It was overflowing with talented Players. Even if they didn't recruit Korea's top Player, Yu Cheol-min, naturalizing just anyone from the elite team would eliminate worries about Tower collapse.
Popularity, pride? That didn't matter. Such things had crumbled long ago.
But news came from Korea. There was a player with 16 consecutive S++ Conquest records? So far, they had never heard of or experienced such a Player.
Could they just stay quiet? While there were hardly any pro-China factions in Korean politics, making under-the-table deals difficult, they still had something to rely on. Those of Korean nationality but of Chinese-Korean ethnicity. Of course, they were cooperative with China.
Even now, they were pouring all their effort into luring the elite team and gathering information on the S++ Conquest record holder.
Japan's case was more desperate than other countries. There was only one Tower, but its location was the problem. Japan's Black Tower was located west of Mt. Fuji. It was far from major cities, but there were observations that if the Tower collapsed, it would affect the seismic zone. An unprecedented Great Kanto earthquake could occur and lead to the Japanese archipelago sinking.
Furthermore, it was said even the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant wouldn't be safe, so a tragedy like Fukushima might repeat.
Korea was relatively fortunate. It wasn't near a major city or a seismic zone. So Japan was extremely jealous of Korea. Why was their Tower located in a seismic zone, while Korea's Tower was on a rural hill with few people? Why were Korean Players superior to Japanese Players? Wasn't Japan known as a gaming powerhouse, recognized by all?
When the Tower first appeared, Japan had been confident. Tower climbing was like a game system. With hikikomori who did nothing but stay holed up at home playing console games rampant in Japan... They thought if those people awakened as Players, Tower climbing would be easy.
But the result was miserable. Tower climbing progress: 56th floor. Dead last among the three countries of Korea, China, and Japan. Even if they somehow got past the 50s, what about when the 60s arrived? A tower collapse seemed as clear as day.
Japan's choice was the same as China's. Bring Korean elite team Players to Japan. Or invite the recent S++ Rank Conquest record holder making all the noise.
At least, there were many pro-Japan politicians stationed in Korean politics, so using them would soon yield good results.
The 16th-floor conquest was also an S++ success. Kosak said floors 17, 18, 19, and 20 would be no problem.
"Summoner Bong, sir, I almost shit myself, sir. To think you could make a dumb brute like that Savage Gobang into a useful human."
Joo-hyuk wanted to say, Honestly, wasn't he stronger than you, Mr. Kosak? But...
"Ah, come on! It was only possible because Mr. Kosak led the way."
"Hehehe, you flatter me, sir."
"Hahaha!"
Then, looking at the Savage Warrior.
"You bastard Gobang! Stop eating!"
"Kitchen tasty."
"Chicken! Is this a kitchen? Chicken!"
"Yeah, kitchen."
A party was standard after a conquest. So they ordered chicken. Thinking of the Savage Warrior's size, they ordered ten whole chickens, which were disappearing at an alarming rate. He'd just pick up a box and pour it into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch!
He even chewed the bones.
"Summoner good person. Give kitchen, I give my life."
"Chicken!"
"Right. Kitchen."
"Ugh, damn it!"
It was just chicken.
The 20th floor was now in sight. Assuming they all gave Platinum Badges,
'What could the special privilege rewards be?'
A skill? An item? A trait enhancement?
Anything was good if it meant safety.
During the 16th-floor Goblin Scout subjugation mission, he himself had been in danger. If he hadn't had Shadow Step and the energy shield, he definitely would have been hit by poison darts.
What if he had been bare-handed, without any skills?
Always be cautious. Complacency was absolutely forbidden.
Let's just get through from the 17th floor onward.