Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The World Takes Notice
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At the time, Joo-hyuk was at his family home.
He had stopped by on his way back from the Namyangju villa to his Cheongdam-dong apartment—a convenient visit. While they had talked on the phone frequently, it had been a long time since he'd seen their faces.
"I'm here. It's Joo-hyuk."
But...
"Oh, welcome. N-nothing special... No, I guess there is."
His father was watching Joo-hyuk's expression.
'Hmm.'
Was it difficult dealing with a son who had grown into the world's richest man?
'I guess that makes sense.'
He understood. A son being too successful could be a burden for parents too.
His younger brother Min-hyuk also came shuffling out of his room.
"Hyung? Are you okay? You're not thinking anything bad, right?"
What's with this punk now?
Bad thoughts, my foot.
His mother also spoke in a calm voice.
"Joo-hyuk, don't be too upset. You made a lot of money until now. No need to regret that it's broken. Maybe technology will advance and it can be repaired later."
Now he got it.
"Are you comforting me because the Holy Sword broke now?"
"Heh heh, so what if you're not the Holy Sword wielder? You can be a building owner. Use the money you saved up to buy a building."
"We've lived without greed until now, Hyung, it's okay. Everything will be fine."
"And the money you gave us before, we haven't spent a single penny of it. You can take it back."
Oh my, not a single penny spent? This damn ordinary family.
"I knew this would happen. I told you to spend it however you wanted. I have lots of money, okay? Mom, go luxury shopping at the department store, okay? Dad, buy a nice high-end car, okay? Min-hyuk, go buy the most expensive iPad at the Apple Store and get applauded by the staff, okay?"
Min-hyuk looked blank.
"...What are you talking about? Why would I get applauded?"
"That's a thing, you brat!"
There was no help for it.
He had planned to reveal the Holy Sword repair at a critical moment—to go, "Boom!" and blow their minds. He had coordinated with Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il, but...
"Sigh, Mother, Father, and Min-hyuk."
It was okay for his family to know. It wasn't some huge secret.
"The Holy Sword... I fixed it."
"...Fixed? It broke in two just three days ago."
"I reattached it. Perfectly. But it's a secret, so don't go blabbing about it anywhere."
"You, really?"
"Yes."
"You're not lying?"
"Hey, it's Joo-hyuk. My face gives it away when I lie, doesn't it?"
"Well..."
His father's eyes instantly sparkled.
"Then can I buy a car?"
"Go buy it right away. A good one. Just don't drive 50 km/h on the highway when you get it."
"Huh? Are there crazy people like that?"
"...Probably not anymore."
Still, he was grateful they worried about him.
"But aren't you going to give me food?"
"Wait a bit, I'm preparing it now,"
"Ah, I'm hungry. Hurry up...."
That's when it happened.
A world notification?
What was this now?
The family atmosphere also turned unusual.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and paused.
"D-demon? Is that a pork dish name?"
"Why are we hearing this?"
"Mom too?"
"Y-yes, it rang right in my ear."
"Why is Carnival Duke observing us?"
"Not Carnival, Kabalan."
"Right, Carnival copy."
It seemed everyone heard it.
Joo-hyuk realized.
World notification.
The recipients were literally the entire 'world.'
France's Black Tower, Floors 65, 66, 67, 68, 69—a continuous, non-stop conquest chain.
Because it was France's Black Tower, French players were the first to notice.
At first, it was just baffling.
Five floors conquered at once?
No, had the Black Tower gone mad?
Was it a system error?
Even the floor conquest times were spaced by just one second.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't normal.
And then the following message.
This time, it was a 'World Notification.'
Not just to French players, but to all players worldwide—no, to all people on Earth...
Everyone heard it.
The elderly couple walking hand-in-hand.
Elementary, middle, and high school students heading home after class.
The merchants selling goods at the market, the laborers at construction sites.
Politicians, civil servants, office workers, unemployed people at home... even newborn babies.
Of course, they wouldn't understand its meaning.
But perhaps at this moment, the world fell silent.
Demon Duke Kabalan?
Curse of the Average?
Match the 70th floor?
Why the 70th floor of all things?
The world fell into chaos. What on earth for?
After a period of uproar, people focused on France.
Because the first anomaly occurred there.
The event of five floors being conquered in five seconds, coupled with France's tower progression changing to the 70th floor overnight.
The French government couldn't hide it.
They had no choice but to disclose it.
The reason why this happened.
The clue was the death of top player Guillaume Levoir.
CCTV footage installed at his home to monitor Guillaume, who had been battling depression.
Guillaume entering the tower, and his corpse appearing right after the global and world notifications sounded.
Thus, one hypothesis was established.
"There is an item called Tower Jump Ticket. The reward probability is slim, but it actually exists."
Director Antonio reported to Minister of Homeland Security MacMillan with a stiff expression.
"I know. It's a damn useless item."
"Normally, the principle is for the government to collect and store them, but..."
"Guillaume was hiding it."
"Yes, that's how he could conquer five floors in one day. Demon Duke Kabalan is highly likely to be the boss of the 70th floor."
"Probability? It's certain."
The first sapient monster.
Moreover, spreading a curse outside the tower?
Curse of the Average.
Ten countries were selected.
South Africa, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, America (USA), Japan, Netherlands, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kazakhstan.
It was madness.
The United States was also included.
The selected countries needed to quickly conquer higher floors.
Because the time limit was gradually decreasing, as stated.
And indeed, it was decreasing.
For example, the tower progression status window showed:
But it started shrinking rapidly.
The speed was 'gradually' increasing.
Like a wrongly triggered countdown bomb timer, the time limit was decreasing incredibly fast.
Gradually, gradually, gradually, gaining acceleration...
The curse was real.
"To lift the curse, we need to match the average of the 70th floor, but is that possible?"
"Well, if enough time is given... it might be possible."
The number of towers on Earth was 145.
Not every country had a tower.
Some countries have towers, some don't.
The criteria were population and land area.
Towers weren't erected in countries with small territories or populations below 3 million.
Also, divided countries like North and South Korea had their towers unified into one.
Of course, some countries had multiple towers.
145 towers.
Assume all Black Towers on Earth reach an average of the 70th floor.
Excluding repeated conquests, re-conquests.
Only counting first-time climbs of unconquered higher floors.
If 145 towers average the 70th floor, the total needed is 10,150 floors.
But the current global average climbing floor was about 55.
The total sum of unconquered higher floors conquered so far was about 7,975.
10,150 minus 7,975 equals?
"Simple calculation shows that to reach an average of 70, the world needs to conquer 2,175 more unconquered higher floors."
"That's insane."
Not everyone needed to reach the 70th floor.
Just matching the average was enough.
But was that possible?
"Countries below the 60th floor need to strive and climb 10 floors or more..."
"Tsk, easier said than done."
"We need to apply pressure. Set tower conquest quotas too."
"You're talking nonsense. Would that work?"
Right.
Each country's tower conquest was purely decided by that country's players and government.
If you assigned quotas like, 'Your country must conquer the Black Tower to this floor,' would it work?
On the other hand, if countries not selected among the ten refuse cooperation, saying, "We weren't selected, so we won't hurry our climb," they'll face criticism from other nations.
That was the terrifying point of the Curse of the Average.
Countries falling short of the average, countries dragging down the average, were bound to become social outcasts.
It was creating seeds of conflict.
Carelessly, World War III might break out.
"War would be easier. How convenient would it be to conquer the world and make it one country?"
"...Wouldn't Earth be destroyed before that?"
"What about conquering Duke Kabalan?"
"Hard to say. The condition is to catch the original, not the copy. The Kabalan in France's Black Tower 70th floor is likely also a copy."
Then where do we find the original?
"Probably in one of the 145 towers' 70th floors. Ultimately, it means every country must conquer the 70th floor to lift the curse."
"Hahaha, we're screwed."
The future was clear.
Black Towers collapsing worldwide.
Earth was being punctured with holes left and right.
The world changed in an instant.
From now on, the landscape of tower conquest would change drastically.
Since the US was also among the ten selected countries, conquering the 67th floor was urgent.
But the biggest remaining problem...
"If only the Holy Sword hadn't broken..."
"Sigh,"
The Holy Sword.
With just the Holy Sword, reaching an average of the 70th floor wasn't an impossible goal.
Countries in the 50s could be solved by advanced countries through temporary naturalization, and countries in the 60s could climb upward using the Holy Sword.
"The key is the Holy Sword. If we can just repair the Holy Sword somehow, there's hope."
But would it be repaired?
Expert opinions were almost negative.
Repair was impossible.
Even if repaired, it wouldn't demonstrate its former effects fully.
"Should I inquire with the Korean government?"
"Again?"
"It's urgent."
"Let's just wait and see. They'll soon make a statement. We just need to pray and wait."
Saudi Arabia was in agony.
The condemnation from various countries was secondary.
They could just grit their teeth and endure it.
But Saudi Arabia's name was included among the ten selected countries urged to quickly conquer towers to achieve the average.
Among the ten countries, only the US and Saudi Arabia were in the 60s.
The remaining eight countries were all in the 50s.
Countries in the 50s had many methods.
Temporary naturalization was one of them right away.
Players above level 50 were quite common.
So they could climb sufficiently, but some countries were delaying to meet the time limit.
But countries in the 60s?
Were players above level 60 common?
With the Holy Sword broken too...
Originally, Saudi Arabia had the most time limit remaining.
Because they conquered most recently.
But upon being selected, the conquest time limit started decreasing noticeably.
Perhaps because they had the most left, it was decreasing the fastest.
King Ibn Bin Al-Wahid of Saudi Arabia asked Minister Majed.
"Can Nasser conquer the 67th floor within a month?"
"If he achieves Trait Enhancement one more time, maybe..."
"No need for vague assumptions. I need a definite answer."
"..."
Minister Majed couldn't answer.
In fact, they had already deployed Nasser to the 67th floor.
But he couldn't catch even a single Phantom Reaper.
It was on a different dimension from Specters.
Light attribute items were like trash.
In this situation, if he achieved Trait Enhancement one more time?
It wouldn't work.
In fact, when Nasser attempted the 66th floor conquest, he had already achieved Trait Enhancement before climbing.
Yet he failed.
He only succeeded by borrowing the Holy Sword. But the 67th floor?
"You're saying it's difficult."
"...M-my apologies."
"Sigh, if only the Holy Sword hadn't broken."
Broken?
He broke it, but King Al-Wahid of Saudi Arabia never admitted it until the end.
Japan was also in a tight spot.
The reality of tower collapse.
The conquest time limit falling like sand in an hourglass.
How to conquer the 58th floor?
There was only one method.
Prime Minister Kawaguchi shouted at the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"Quickly request Saudi Arabia. We made a tower collapse defense treaty, so ask them to fulfill it."
"We already requested."
"The response?"
"S-Saudi Arabia says their situation is difficult too now. And the defense treaty was only verbally agreed, so it has no legal effect..."
"What?"
It was true.
They only talked about making a treaty but didn't sign or stamp anything.
"Damn it!!!"
Who on earth would conquer Japan's 58th floor?
Real tower collapse was approaching before their eyes.
Korea Awakening Management Bureau.
There was also an uproar there, but the situation was relatively relaxed.
Because they had something to rely on.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su asked Deputy Chief Jeon Gwang-il, who had just finished a call.
"Did you call? What did Player Bong say?"
"Yes, he said it's okay to disclose it immediately. To quickly resume Holy Sword rentals."
"Whew, what about the rental fee?"
"He said to keep it the same. That now isn't the time to raise Holy Sword rental fees."
"Haha, as expected, a magnanimous person. He could take a hefty cut at a time like this."
"That's why he received the Holy Sword as a reward, right?"
Park Kyung-su nodded and continued.
"I wonder if people will know that gratitude."
"No way. Look at what Saudi Arabia is doing right now. They achieved the 66th floor conquest with the Holy Sword's power, broke it, and have the audacity to show up like that."
If they had just apologized once, they wouldn't have been this angry.
"What should we do? Japan is Japan, but we can't just leave Saudi Arabia alone."
"Don't worry. I have an idea."
"...What?"
Park Kyung-su smiled bitterly.
"If we disclose the repaired Holy Sword, Saudi Arabia will have no choice but to bow their heads, right?"
Of course.
To survive, they must do so.
"But a simple apology won't be enough."
If they accepted the apology meekly, they'd be no different from pushovers.
"They should at least crawl on all fours bringing something like a Trait Enhancement Rune, shouldn't they?"
Jeon Gwang-il also smiled, seemingly satisfied.
"Well said. An apology with mere words is meaningless. We should also have something to give Player Bong, right?"
Trait Enhancement Rune.
An item hard to obtain now.
Early in tower climbing, many flooded the market.
Because the reward probability was very high back then.
But as time passed, the probability gradually lowered, and now they hardly appeared.
The country that swept up runes when they flooded the market was Saudi Arabia.
They must have at least one.
"When roughly for the Holy Sword repair disclosure press conference?"
"Let's do it tomorrow right away."
"Will you do it personally?"
"I did it before, and it was quite thrilling."
"Hahaha, we'll prepare."
If you ranked the most shocking events in human history,
The first was the appearance of the Tower,
The second was the Mumbai Tower collapse,
The third was the Tower's World Notification.
Even ordinary people, who had been third parties until now, heard about Duke Kabalan—no, the curse laid by the Tower.
It was natural for the world to be in turmoil.
Strange, frightening, worrying, bewildering... beyond words.
Amidst this, a press conference was announced by the Korea Awakening Management Bureau.
Was it about Holy Sword repair?
Did they really repair it? Or did they fail?
If repaired, could it fully demonstrate its original performance?
If failed, would they transfer it to a country with stronger technology than Korea?
All media worldwide focused on Korea.
The Bureau's large auditorium was the press conference venue, packed to the brim.
Bureau Chief Park Kyung-su standing at the podium.
And Jeon Gwang-il standing beside him.
"First, let's watch a video."
A video?
The conference hall began buzzing.
A video played on the large screen.
Footage from a body camera.
A single Specter was descending from the sky to the ground.
Instantly!
Whoooosh!
A brilliant light filling the screen.
"Gasp!"
"Ah..."
"Th-that is?"
"My god!"
"Insane!"
It was the Holy Sword.
That Holy Sword seen in previous videos.
But the intensity of light, the radiance, was completely different.
If the previous radiance was firefly-level, the current radiance was a superpowered searchlight.
Swish, swish, swish.
With three slashes, one Specter burst into flames.
"The Holy Sword has been completely repaired."
Park Kyung-su continued speaking with a beaming smile.
"No, rather than repaired, it's more accurate to say reborn. Citizens, global citizens, you can rest assured about conquests in the 60s. Don't worry and focus on your livelihoods."
Silence flowed through the conference hall.
"The Holy Sword repair was done by the owner personally. Yes, the very person who first obtained the Holy Sword. Humanity should hold sincere gratitude towards that person. And then..."
Park Kyung-su's closing remark.
"We will accept Holy Sword rental reservations."
Simultaneously, the press conference hall exploded with cheers that seemed ready to take off.
And that was it?
Every scene with a TV installed was like that.
Even if not a perfect solution, they had passed a dangerous crisis.
Everyone was relieved.
Everyone was happy.
Everyone was thankful.
Of course, there were also countries that couldn't bring themselves to smile.
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