Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: An Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Method
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Joo-hyuk visited his family home.
He had called ahead to say he was coming today.
*Ring.*
He opened the door and went in.
'Hmm.'
His father, mother, and younger brother were sitting quietly in the living room.
But it felt chilly.
A heavy, oppressive air hung over the entire house.
Staying calm for now,
"...I'm here."
"Come over here and sit down."
"Yes."
A low, subdued voice from his mother.
He didn't know what it was about.... Should he run?
Anyway, as he sat down,
*Thump.* A bankbook thrown on the living room floor.
'So it's because of this.'
The amount written at the very bottom.
A whopping 10 billion, depositor: Bong Joo-hyuk.
"What is this money?"
"It's, it's just an allowance. It's the amount after all gift taxes have been processed, so you can use it with peace of mind..."
"We know you make good money because you're an elite player. We've always been proud of you."
That's right.
He made good money.
He could earn 10 billion just by mining ore for a few days.
"But are you telling us to live in luxury with money you earned risking your life? Are you trying to make your parents shameless, ungrateful people?"
"It's, it's not exactly money I risked my life for."
I didn't even move.
They wouldn't let me hunt monsters even if I want to.
There were people who handle everything for me and a cute little worker.
"The money you earned should be spent on yourself. You've been through a lot. We don't need it. Take it back. We already feel bad enough about receiving a big house."
"It's, it's not that big of a house either."
The penthouse he lived in was at least three times bigger than this house.
Do you know how many rooms it has?
There was no other way. He had to come clean.
"Hey, Mom, have you heard of the Holy Sword?"
"...Huh?"
His father and brother also,
"I know, there's a saying that above a building owner is a Holy Sword owner."
"I heard it costs 10 billion just to borrow it."
Exactly ten million dollars.
Over 13 billion.
"I am the owner of the Holy Sword. I picked it up in the Tower. It was a lucky find."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone had expressions asking what this sudden nonsense was.
"Bro, if you keep lying, it'll become a habit. Even if fraud between parents and children isn't legally established, morally..."
"Here, look!"
Joo-hyuk opened his smartphone banking app and showed them his account.
"See here? Holy Sword rental fee 26.8 billion, deposited by the Management Office."
Min-hyuk's eyes went wide as he stared at the phone screen.
His father also leaned in close.
"Huh? It's real. Wait a second, the circled number, uh...?"
"Let me see, where where? One, two, three, four.... Hah! Y-you rascal! So you're rich."
He began to chuckle,
"You only realized that now? I could live well just renting out the Holy Sword without even climbing the Tower."
"Oh my, my dear son, in this humble place,"
"Hey, Bong Min-hyuk! I pledge my complete loyalty to you, brother!"
"..."
His mother also seemed quite shocked.
She alternated between looking at the smartphone account and Joo-hyuk's face for a long time before.
"Aigoo, you gullible fool! Do you feel good giving away the money you worked so hard for?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
So what if he was gullible?
That's how ordinary guys were.
It was much better than being a psychopath.
What was the fun in earning money and using it alone?
It was also a joyful thing when the money you worked hard for was happily used by your beloved family.
Somewhere in Seoul.
Deputy Chief Xiao Jun checked the operation plan.
At first, Xiao Jun, who had been sent to Korea almost as if being pushed out, was at a loss for what to do.
Bring Korea's S++ grade conquest record holder?
How?
Even if they knew who it was, it would be a difficult task.
The Chinese government also knew it was impossible.
Yet they sent him anyway, which meant?
'They want me to at least try something.'
He had to show something.
His loyalty to China.
Korea's arrogance was at its peak.
They were strutting around, calling themselves a Tower climbing advanced nation—even now, anger boiled up inside him.
'How dare a small country like this.'
China couldn't even conquer the 59th floor and had to practically beg Russia.
Moreover, there was no visible possibility of conquering the 60th floor.
Korea was guaranteed to conquer even the 67th floor.
No, they would probably reach the 70th floor without breaking a sweat.
The gap would only widen.
While China fretted over the Tower's collapse, Korea would hold its head high as a Tower climbing advanced nation and boast.
Xiao Jun couldn't bear to see that sight.
Punishment was necessary.
Just like the player terror incident that happened in the United Arab Emirates.
And then, an opportunity came.
He received information that a fashion company's showcase would be held at the HG Hotel in a few days.
Rumors said elite players were scheduled to attend.
How could he stay still?
He'd wipe them all out and make Korea taste the despair of a Tower collapse too.
If China's Tower collapsed, Korea should suffer the same fate.
Was he underestimating the National Intelligence Service and the Korean government?
Well, are they gods?
Even the CIA, called the world's top intelligence agency, maked mistakes.
Just type keywords like 'CIA intelligence agency humiliation, failure, mistake' into an internet search engine, and related stories pop up one after another.
Getting caught wiretapping, getting exposed trying to assassinate foreign government figures, even having their own agent lists leaked leading to arrests or mass expulsions.
The Russian intelligence agency?
It had been a laughingstock of the world for a long time.
When such things happened, some people usually said this.
They're too sloppy.
The nation's top intelligence agency can't prepare for something like this? Even a novel would fail with this kind of probability.
What nonsense.
Where in the world was there anything perfect?
The real world was a mess, to a horrifying degree.
Worse than movies or novels.
No matter how thorough the security, holes were bound to appear.
Because it was done by humans.
And right now, they didn't even know that we've entered Korea.
Special intelligence team members infiltrated Korea from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia.
"This is war. We must not hesitate."
"Yes, sir!"
In truth, no matter how meticulously you planned, things rarely went perfectly, because unexpected variables always cropped up.
The important thing was bold execution.
Doing without hesitation what others thought was going too far.
That was the key to success.
This time would naturally be the same.
Joo-hyuk finally made a decision.
To conquer the un-conquered upper floor, the 61st floor.
After visiting home, he had continued searching for fragments through repeated Tower missions.
While also skinning basilisks, skinning wyverns, and mining ore.
He mainly ran floors in the 50s, and also floors in the 40s for basilisk hides, but there was little gain.
The items that dropped were at trash level; he didn't even get runes or ticket fragments.
"It's because the floors are low. We must go to the 61st floor or above."
Was Kosak's opinion.
"And even if we find items on low floors, they likely won't be useful. I feel sorry for the deceased, but would items carried by low-level players be of any use?"
He was right.
Conquering un-conquered upper floors was essential.
However, he planned to stop at the 66th floor.
He couldn't just conquer floors recklessly.
What if some talented, crazy player suddenly conquered the 67th, 68th, 69th floors... in a matter of days?
The world would be doomed.
The nation couldn't know when, where, or which floor a player would conquer.
They couldn't block entry either.
And if the limit of Tower climbing arrived, the result would fall entirely on the nation's shoulders.
From the 67th floor, he had to match the collapse deadline.
In step with the government's plan.
Joo-hyuk went down to the underground parking garage.
There was something he needed to pick up.
For the ever-changing car, this time Team Leader Lee Min-ah,
"A Norwegian player just conquered the 66th floor and left the country."
"Ah, really?"
"He asked me to convey his thanks to the real owner..."
"Yes, yes. That's good."
What thanks.
Just deposit the rental fee on time.
"Here..."
*Whoosh!*
The Holy Sword emerged from Team Leader Lee Min-ah's inventory.
As he received it, he also checked the item info.
Tower-Exclusive Roland Holy Kingdom Paladin Captain's Holy Sword
"Until the next reservation... I'll return it to you."
"Player Bong."
"Yes?"
"Conquer the 61st floor safely too, without a scratch on you! Fighting!"
What was this?
It was embarrassing.
Min-ah seemed to have more to say.
"Oh! Are you coming to the showcase event tomorrow?"
"...I haven't decided yet."
"Okay, call me anytime. A bodyguard will come pick you up. Other elite players move around like that too."
Since it was an event jointly hosted by HG Fashion and the Awakening Management Bureau, she said other elite players were coming.
Should he go or not?
Honestly, he was curious.
How such an event would proceed.
In his 25 years, he'd never even been to a common concert.
Sometimes people needed to have a social life too.
It was not every day you got to see celebrities in person.
Joo-hyuk went back up to the penthouse.
The summoned beings were waiting for him.
"Ta-da!"
He took out the Holy Sword from his inventory and showed it.
"The Holy Sword? Why does it look more worn than before? The patterns might get erased at this rate."
Tsk,
He just took it out and he's already nitpicking.
"What? Did you miss seeing it?"
"Hmph!"
As he gently placed the Holy Sword on the floor,
*Swish!*
Razix took out a large magnifying glass from his subspace backpack.
'He had a magnifying glass in there too?'
Razix meticulously examined the patterns engraved on the Holy Sword with the magnifying glass.
"Hoooh…"
Then, *rustle*, he took something else out of his backpack.
'A book?'
It was a thick book, about half his own body size.
'What a mysterious backpack.'
Cleaning tools came out, a pickaxe came out, tongs, a magnifying glass, and even a book.
*Flutter flutter, flutter, flutter flutter.*
He quickly flipped through the pages,
"Huh? Hoooh…"
Razix was lost in thought.
He made sounds to himself, then gently closed his eyes, then rolled around here and there.
"Hoh! I can fix this."
What?
"...You can fix it?"
"I need materials. If I find them, I can fix it. Ho-hoh."
"Uh, what kind of materials?"
"Hoo, gotta look."
"If there are no materials, you can't fix it?"
"Ho, yes."
"Can the materials be obtained in the Tower?"
"Yes."
It wasn't a definitive statement.
He might be able to fix it, or he might not.
Just having the possibility was something, right?
'If the Holy Sword's effect gets better.... I should be able to charge a higher rental fee, right?'
He had to search diligently.
Starting from the 61st floor.
"Let's go in."
The start of the Undead section.
Joo-hyuk held the Holy Sword.
That was the safest.
'Now that I think about it, even though I'm the Holy Sword's owner, this is the first time I'm using it inside the Tower.'
Ooooooh...
A faint white radiance enveloped his entire body.
He felt confidence.
A feeling that the radiance was protecting him.
A mission appeared.
Dark Mummies.
The weakest undead.
Therefore, their Dark Aura was also very faint.
"Groo…"
"Kaaack!"
"Grrrrr"
They walked slowly.
Corpses clad in tattered rags that seemed ready to rot and drip away at any moment.
Gaunt bodies that looked like they would shatter if you just tapped them with a fist, if not for the Dark Aura.
But underestimating them would be a big mistake.
Merely touching the Dark Aura would corrupt a player's mind.
Actually, something more curious than the Holy Sword's effect.
How could the shaman Gyeon Dal-rae neutralize this Dark Aura?
"Generally speaking, Dark Aura is the coalescence of the grudges, hatred, and malice that humans held in life into a tangible energy."
Gyeon Dal-rae stepped forward lightly.
"If the Holy Sword's efficacy is to suppress and subdue the Dark Aura with the power of strong divine energy, the maiden's method differs in principle."
She took out a portable speaker from her bosom and placed it down.
"Do you know, young master, what was the first ritual the maiden learned from her master?"
How would he know.
And it wasn't a question expecting an answer anyway.
"It was the cleansing ritual."
Cleansing ritual?
"A ritual for the deceased, also called the ogu ritual. It is a mugwa (shamanic song) that soothes and coaxes the pitiful souls wandering the nine heavens, unable to resolve their lingering regrets from this world, and prays for their rebirth in paradise."
Dal-rae gently held her skirt with both hands and took a step forward with her socked feet.
Soon, the sound of a drum was heard,
*Doom, doo-doong, doo-doo-doong, doong, doo-doong, doo-doo-doong.*
It was a very slow rhythm.
Matching that rhythm, Dal-rae flitted among the Dark Mummies with a light, fluttering dance.
Her posture was noble, solemn, and sublime to the point of being unapproachable.
Lightly shaking the bells *jingle jangle*, a plaintive melody flowed from her mouth.
"This turbid and painful saha world, life is already gone, only the soul remains, with nowhere to go. Let go of your lingering regrets, cross the Samdo Stream, and go to the flower fields of the Western Paradise. Go quickly, go quickly."
The Dark Mummies seemed affected by Gyeon Dal-rae's song and dance, shrinking back considerably.
Ah!
It was beautiful.
Sacred.
The cleansing ritual of the Celestial Empire's foremost shaman, warmly consoling the deceased.
Joo-hyuk was speechless.
All the summoned beings were the same.
The dance of the cleansing ritual.
And the song that pierced the heart.
The energy of the Dark Aura emanating from the mummies' bodies was visibly weakening.
In that moment!
*Whoosh!*
Gobang, who had enlarged his body,
Stepped forward.
*Wham!*
He swung his fist.
*Crunch!*
A Dark Mummy turned to dust and scattered.
Only then did Kosak and Veronica snap out of it and rush into the battlefield following Gobang.
Joo-hyuk also moved.
This time, no one stopped him.
*Crunch! Crunch-crunch! Crunch!*
Skills weren't even necessary.
Just swinging made the Dark Mummies crumble and disappear.
Would he even need the Holy Sword like this?
It seemed like it wouldn't matter even if he didn't fix it.
But since it wasn't a Holy Sword for him to use anyway,
'It's better to get it repaired, right?'
And so, the first conquest was,
It ended much faster than expected.
Followed by the second conquest.
Only one Dark Mummy was left alive.
Now it was Razix's time.
Under Gobang's escort.
"Hoh!"
*Roll roll, knock knock knock knock!*
"Huh?"
*Roll roll, knock knock knock knock!*
"Hoooh!"
Search results.
Fallen-off ???..., Rune (2/7)
One rune fragment attached.
Two ticket fragments also attached.
Hard-to-read ???.... Ticket (2/8)
Half-torn ???... Usage Ticket (3/5)
It was better than expected.
Clearly, the higher the floor, the better the gains.
'Hmm.'
But he had a guess about one of the tickets.
'It's a multinational Tower usage ticket.'
This would also be good once completed.
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