Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Should I Try Eating This?
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A middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle caught the eye.
He puffed away at his cigarette with perfect posture.
A man of similar age fidgeted across from him.
He finally finished smoking it right down to the filter.
He placed the butt in the ashtray.
No telling how many he'd gone through.
The ashtray was overflowing with them.
"I believe justice exists."
His first words at last.
The man opposite straightened up in a fluster.
He wiped away his sweat.
"I agree completely. That's why we've always supported you, Minister Fujimoto."
The current Japanese Cabinet Minister, Fujimoto Kenichi.
He smiled faintly and pulled out a glass.
It filled with whiskey.
Kenichi handed it over.
"Sorry for taking so long. There have just been so many incidents lately. Especially in Korea. You know."
"Haha, I understand."
They clinked glasses.
Kenichi spoke up.
"Aoyama, turning crises into opportunities is a talent in itself. This Earth Quest is definitely our chance for the Great Japanese Empire to shine."
Japan's Hunter Management Bureau Director, Aoyama Ryutaro.
He nodded confidently.
"Of course. We've already laid the groundwork."
Every nation had its guilds.
Race and age didn't matter.
But nationality? They cared—a lot.
No way they could let benefits gained domestically leak out.
But everything happened in the shadows.
Mana stones, items, elixirs leaking away.
Sometimes they even took bribes to kill off guildmates from other nations.
Traitors serving foreign powers in their own land.
"I've already spoken to the pro-Japan hunters we've planted in Taesan and Yeokbalsan."
Korea's second-ranked guild, Taesan.
And fifth-ranked Yeokbalsan too.
Every plan was perfectly in place.
"Even China agrees with us this time. We're joining forces to check Korea. Their raid will fail fast."
They had to block Korea's growth somehow.
Every national leader lived with unease.
Stronger hunters.
The nation that possessed them.
Would their ambitions never reach other countries?
Power had to be balanced.
Or crushed outright.
All gains came from holding the superior position.
Kenichi believed that was justice.
"History repeats itself. I hope Korea realizes it this time—that the days under the Great Japanese Empire's rule were just and happy."
"Exactly! They'll get a glimpse today. They'll rush to request aid from Japan."
"Excellent. Ah, how's our side faring?"
He was envisioning a bright future.
Kenichi suddenly grew curious.
The Tower of Despair in Japan.
Top hunters had gathered there too.
"All eight S-Ranks have answered the summons, including Miss Kamiya Akane."
"Oh, splendid."
Who was Kamiya Akane?
A hunter preparing for the Tower of Despair's -2nd floor.
Japan's shining number one, the strongest.
With her leading, the raid was complete, they said.
Just hearing it was reassuring.
"Then Japan has no major issues. Korea's the one we need to focus on."
Kenichi made one assumption.
"JYS still hasn't appeared. But what if he shows up during this Earth Quest?"
"That's covered too. We've prepared a follow-up."
"You don't say?"
"Yes. We've sent Kurotsuki to Korea."
Japan's most vicious ninja clan, Kurotsuki.
Their guild stayed hidden from the world.
Even Kenichi had only just learned upon taking this seat.
Only the Cabinet Minister and Bureau Director knew.
"Three S-Rank assassin-type hunters. We didn't even call in the lower ninjas."
"Makes sense. It's a monster who cleared down to the -4th floor of the Tower of Despair, where even S-Ranks struggle."
Kurotsuki didn't mix in half-baked agents.
Only the strongest assassins headed to Korea.
Solely anticipating JYS's appearance.
"We don't expect a kill. The -5th floor. Our Great Japanese Empire must reach it first, no question."
"At minimum, he'll take serious wounds. Kurotsuki will succeed in their mission."
Ryutaro spoke with full confidence.
Kenichi wore a satisfied smile.
"Phew, the Tower of Trials had mysteries every five floors. Makes me wonder if the Tower of Despair does too."
"Reaching it and uncovering it will be the Great Japanese Empire's privilege."
The Tower of Trials had mysteries every five floors.
Floors 5, 10, 15, in order.
What they were varied each time.
But they all shared one trait.
Each mystery boasted tremendous power.
Would the Tower of Despair be the same?
If so, they had to block it.
Japan absolutely had to arrive first.
"Mysteries are one-of-a-kind. Possession is nine-tenths of the law."
Kenichi murmured softly and turned his gaze.
A clear blue sky.
The message etched there heightened the tension.
'It's coming soon.'
The raid was about to begin.
He stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, glass in hand.
The sprawling megacity of Tokyo lay in full view.
Beyond it loomed a massive tower.
Time passed like that.
The raid began.
Japan, with its thorough preparations,
as was entirely expected,
"Grrraaah...! Damn it!"
tasted bitter defeat.
Over half their S-Rank hunters seriously wounded.
Kamiya Akane, at the vanguard, rendered combat-incapable.
No nation had claimed a gate from within.
Every country endured a gate break.
Growing urban damage and personnel losses.
They had to swallow horrific damages.
And Korea?
"Aoyama. Aoyama!"
Kenichi bellowed roughly at the Bureau Director.
This wouldn't balance the scales.
Korea had to suffer too.
Even worse than us.
Absolutely!
Rewards distributed by contribution.
Korea knew nothing about Mana Eaters.
The other nations probably didn't either.
The beasts first appeared on the -4th floor.
Odd if anyone had countermeasures.
'They devour mana greedily. Your strength would fade right when you tried to strike.'
My solution was simple.
Chug mana potions like mad.
Or keep expensive mana batteries nearby to feed on.
Or go for ranged takedowns.
'Even that might miss—they're quick in the air.'
Anyway, Korea's raid ended.
I stared at the reward box dropping before me.
A chest radiating multicolored light.
Looked like something incredible inside.
"Whoa. Nice glow."
I snatched it up quick.
Stopped short as I went to open it.
This sight.
What if Mom and my little sister saw?
'Would they be happy?'
Their eldest son finally becoming the hunter he'd dreamed of, growing strong?
Who knows. Might smack my back.
Ask why I'd jump into something so dangerous.
Tell me to find a safe job.
"Heh. Too late for that."
I'd come too far in too short a time to turn back.
A walking radioactive disaster of a body.
Couldn't live normally without fixing that.
"I'll get back to normal soon and come see you."
I gazed toward the hospital and said it.
Standing on the same land again after so long, sharing greetings.
My heart ached pointlessly.
"Sniff."
I rubbed my nose and went to open the box.
Then felt puzzled.
Wait, doesn't the safe zone vanish when enemies die?
"Why's the safe zone still here?"
I knew the explanation.
Two things could stay in the safe zone.
Those summoned by Lee Ha-rin.
And those bearing hostility toward the summoned.
Which meant.
"Someone hostile to me is still inside?"
That's when it hit me.
"Gaaah!"
"Khehk!"
Gulping sounds came from both sides.
What the hell?
All-black attire.
Faces masked, only eyes visible.
Even those eyes bubbled and melted.
Radiation damage.
"Grk. Grrrk!"
Impossible for living beings to endure in the first place.
Humans especially.
I'd experienced it myself against tower monsters.
Whatever. Hostiles.
Before I could even question the culprits, both were dead.
"They were after me."
Unprovoked hostility closing in.
Me, ordinary until recently.
It hit fresh and shocking.
More than anything, my feared scenario had unfolded.
"People died because of this body."
I vanished the moment I murmured it.
The safe zone auto-deactivated with enemies gone.
Filling that void in an instant was.
"Tch!"
Lee Ha-rin.
Geon-gon Guild Leader. She hurriedly retreated.
"Might be poison! Everyone, hazmat gear up!"
She spotted the two corpses.
Her mind raced, assessing.
She'd only locked in JYS and the raid monster.
What were these guys?
'Hostile to JYS.'
Conclusion came quick.
She donned the hazmat suit from a guildmate.
Quickly sealed off the area.
Called in Kang Gut-geon right away.
"What happened? Hell... insane."
He gaped at the dead Mana Eater.
Even from the corpse, he could tell.
That piercing wound.
One-shot kill, no doubt.
"You gawking at JYS's blessing now?"
Blessing? What blessing?
Kang Gut-geon turned.
She, suited up, handed him one too.
"Something inside disrupted the raid. We need to hunt it down together."
"Those bodies same type?"
"Yes. JYS handled them and vanished."
Cause identified.
Corpses turned contamination sources.
Emitting intense radiation.
"Maybe they sensed things going south and suicided."
"Suicide by swallowing radioactive material?"
"Best guess for now... yes. We need to investigate. Contact the Bureau Director. Block all sea and air routes immediately, thoroughly screen raid participants."
Lee Ha-rin's sharp investigation kicked off.
Kang Gut-geon was stunned only briefly.
Then he joined in.
"Got nothing bigger? Too tight on me."
Changing into the suit first, of course.
Back.
Tower of Despair -4th floor.
Nothing had changed.
All I'd brought: one multicolored box.
Clutching it, I slumped down.
"Haa..."
I hadn't killed them directly.
Indirectly, sure—but still murder.
A trigger to reflect on my changed body.
'They were trying to kill me, anyway.'
The auto-defense was nice, but luck played in.
What if innocents?
My mind wouldn't have held.
'Steel yourself. It means my path is that outrageous.'
Time to reflect on my position.
One and only in the world.
Tower of Despair vanguard, record holder.
I knew the Tower of Trials conspiracies.
Media covered them plenty.
'Foreign powers assassinating top climbers who emerged. Or trying kidnaps. Plenty to infer.'
Things famous hunters faced—now me.
That settled it. Heart steeled.
Position crystal clear.
Envied by all.
Also, something others would rather destroy than yield.
Had to change. Hide even more.
For my family and my safety.
And solid allies to protect us.
Had to seize with current strength and the tower.
"Alright."
I pulled myself together, straightened up.
Time to move.
I opened the box.
Inside: a key.
A new item format.
"A key usable five times."
Matching pattern doors?
The design etched on the handle was bizarre.
A skull with a rose in its mouth.
Find doors with this pattern?
Felt daunting, but only briefly.
"Oh."
A faint pull from the key.
Let go, and it stood upright.
The tip pointed down.
"A door below, huh."
Got it.
Would show up descending, probably.
I pocketed the key and opened my status window.
Huge change from the sparse past.
Radiation Manipulation leveled up nicely.
But the standout shift was one.
'Calories dropped big time.'
One cause.
The skill like an ultimate move: Energy Release.
"High return, but the cost is brutal."
Nearly 20 trillion calories consumed.
One-shot kill power, sure.
But this was an emergency.
'How many more monsters need Energy Release ahead?'
Theoretically, 100 uses and done.
No thanks.
Calories were my power.
Without them, no tower clears.
Couldn't reach my goals then.
'Gotta keep conquering till I get a body fit for daily life.'
Plus, now I clearly knew external enemies lurked.
To protect family, grow stronger still.
"Prime calorie source. That's priority one."
That was the conclusion.
Needed food.
High-calorie stuff.
No, not even food.
This body digested uranium.
Anything calorie-rich would do.
'But nothing around.'
Recent discovery.
Monster corpses vanished after time.
Tried eating before gone.
Curiosity: shoved a Mana Eater in my ring into my mouth instead.
Tasted awful.
'No calorie gain either.'
So corpses went to the ring.
Meaning no food nearby.
Except scraps of emergency rations in my bag.
And.
"A pile of lowest-grade mana stones."
I swallowed dry.
No saliva, anyway.
"Should I try eating this?"
Pre-transformation me? Unthinkable.
I pondered seriously.