Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 013
Chapter Title: Got Anything to Eat?
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Sudden cooperation condition.
Well, when wasn't it sudden?
I never imagined two people would be tackling the tower.
Stay calm. It's not an excessive condition anyway.
I checked the condition once more.
It makes zero sense at first glance.
Maybe I'll get it now?
Before that, I took stock of the situation.
Mysterious appearance. I think I know who she is.
I'd been too flustered at first to realize.
Once I regained my composure, it clicked.
That woman was Japan's number one hunter.
I shouted her name.
"Kamiya Akane! Right?"
Her eyes went wide at my shout.
The woman who'd been poised to fight just moments ago.
Her wariness eased now that words were exchanged.
She relaxed her stance and stared my way.
"Is this the –5th floor?"
Her voice came through, translated by the tower.
Wow, even her voice is pretty.
I nodded.
Come to think of it, she can see what I look like here.
My true appearance exposed for the first time.
To the top hunter from another country, no less.
"Then you must be JYS."
"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you."
I'd been worried she might turn hostile at first.
Just a few weeks ago, I'd faced assassination threats.
I figured all foreign hunters were dangerous.
But no need to worry.
Akane wasn't treating me like an enemy.
She was too busy probing the situation.
She doesn't even belong to a guild in the first place.
No pro-Japan guild or anything high-ranking.
Lone Wolf. That's Kamiya Akane.
A force who grew strong solo, toppling powerhouses one by one.
Even without guild buffs, she's a monster.
"You're a face I don't remember. You really from Korea?"
Her voice echoes clearly even from afar.
Yet she's closing in.
I hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait! Hold up! Stop right there!"
"Huh? Something wrong...?"
"It's my special condition."
The translucent barrier only blocked crossing over.
It couldn't stop radiation.
Closer and she'd be in range.
Even maximally compressed, this was the limit.
"You might've been in serious trouble if you'd come nearer."
"Hmm. Seems there's some intangible force I can't detect."
Akane stroked her sharp chin.
Good thing she listened.
"They call you the world's strongest, so I suppose I should trust you."
Who's the world's strongest?
Oh. Me.
The vanguard of the Tower of Despair carries real weight.
Recognition from someone I'd only seen on TV.
Live long enough, you see it all.
"Anyway, it's a floor you can't leave without equality."
"Right. A button popped up in my room."
A small pillar and button that had appeared at some point.
Looks like pressing it kicks things off.
How to play this.
A foreign powerhouse has seen my face.
If she rats me out to her leaders?
Horrific futures flash by.
Composite sketch, they dig up my identity, uncover every detail about me and my family, hold them hostage to control me.
They might call me paranoid.
But worst case, it happens.
I've lived through assassination attempts.
I'm hypersensitive to anything minor now.
"This floor's meant to be cleared with another challenger on the same level, huh."
"Seems so. First off, sorry for the rudeness earlier."
Polite apology.
For the mistake of lunging to attack.
"No big deal. Nothing came of it. Anyway, no other challenger on this floor, so they summoned you from –4."
"Got it. Clearing this together—any benefit for me?"
Beats me.
The system helpfully clarified this one.
"Nominal... not even counting the clear. Sounds like a cheap payout from the wording."
Akane eyed the button on my side.
"Cooperation seems key anyway. You want me tackling this mission properly, JYS?"
"Well, that way we both get outta here smooth, yeah?"
Akane nodded.
She spoke up.
"Then I have a condition. Once we're out, spar with me?"
And there it is.
Reward's stingy, so she tacks on terms.
Spar once?
"Pass."
"Huh?"
A dumbfounded noise from her.
I know Kamiya Akane's a battle fiend.
Wanders the world challenging the strong.
Saw the hype back when it blew up.
But sparring me? Different story.
"Can't control my power."
"No issue. I'll dodge fine..."
"Nope."
Opinions not bridging.
Time's ticking all the while.
Chitchat's a luxury now.
"Dodge or not, you could straight-up die."
Warning delivered.
Won't cooperate without a spar?
Thought she was level-headed.
What's this, kid tantrum?
Did she pull this stubborn crap back home too?
No fight, no leaving?
Don't. Then.
Don't need to.
I slammed the button, no hesitation.
Bang!
Fist made it ring out.
Gates spawned in each separated room.
Yellow hue.
A-rank hunter territory.
But eight of 'em.
Monsters started spilling out.
"Whoa!"
Akane's shock was brief.
I dropped radiation control.
Instantly flooded the area.
Stopped just shy of her retreated spot.
Added 10 mana on top.
Keeeek!
Hundreds of monsters melted down.
Perfectly even.
All dropped dead simultaneous, no exceptions.
Tower's demand fulfilled.
Ring sucked up the corpses.
Sweet exp.
"Oh."
Progress ticked up.
This is the play.
Akane gawked at the slaughter I'd wrought.
That face—her gaping mouth's kinda cute.
"W-what the hell was that... I barely sensed any mana..."
She's trying to piece it together.
Keep at it. Won't figure it out anyway.
I popped a prepped mana stone like a pill.
Then hit the button again.
Kroooar!
More gates. Monster surge.
Roars twisted to screams.
Clawing at gates to retreat.
Melted anyway.
Next batch.
Urururung!
Next. And next.
Sa-save meeee!
Progress shot to 7.
"Wait! Hold on a sec!"
A woman perpetually blank-faced, aloof to the world.
Now? Cool shattered.
Yelling desperately, terrified it'd end.
Face flushed, urgency pouring off her.
Woman who idolizes strength, hunts only the mighty.
Japan's top hunter that way.
Now she fears.
Fears this strength vanishing before her eyes.
Fears never beholding it again.
"I overstepped."
So she drops to her knees.
Demure, hands clasped on the floor.
"Sorry for tacking on that foolish condition."
Deep, formal apology.
"Please... promise this isn't our last meeting?"
Not begging a spar anymore.
Just more encounters like this. Talking.
Akane dialed back her ask.
Why's she so strength-obsessed?
No clue yet.
But right now? Exactly what I wanted.
Someone on –5 I can meet anytime. Outside intel pipeline.
But priorities first.
"My turn for a condition."
Now I lay terms.
Akane eyed my hand drifting to the button.
Hic! Gulped, craning her neck.
Full rapt attention mode.
I pressed on.
"Never breathe a word about me outside. Nothing connected to me either."
Secrecy clause.
Akane nodded like duh.
"Swear it. Break it, I'll commit seppuku."
Seppuku? That serious?
Eh, she pledged that much.
People flip anytime.
But her? Nah.
That manic strong-chaser vibe.
Clear verdict.
"Deal. So, uh... got anything to eat?"
First words post-pact.
Her face? Total blank shock. Unforeseen.
Up close, her expressions are surprisingly rich.
"Something to eat?"
"Yeah. High-cal the better."
Got any? Spill quick.
"Was gonna clear just –4 today and bail. Only packed top-grade mana potions. If you need, this'll have to do..."
No dice, then.
I hit the button, talking.
"Next time, hook me up. Max high-cal food you can carry. Mana stones too—every grade, as many as possible. Radiation knowledge books. Oh! Natural uranium doable?"
"Y-yeah! G-got it!"
Time to study.
Gotta learn radiation basics.
Fundamentals first to weaponize.
External hookup secured. Leverage it.
Gaaaa!
Final wave kicked off mid-chat.
Two bosses from the red gate.
Same drill.
Split radiation even, half mana each.
Smart practicing mana control.
Grind pays dividends.
Rage King Turtle. Shell like armor plating.
S-rank infamous for tankiness.
Same-rank hunters struggle hard.
Plus mana resistance off the charts.
Top-tier hunters can't solo normally.
Kruluk...
Melted with a final gurgle.
Huge shell remnant.
"Whoa..."
Akane stared, mesmerized.
Eyes like lasers—would've burned holes.
"Paradise. The lofty peak beyond my grasp... it's you. The true powerhouse I've sought..."
Muttered something.
Then poof—gone.
Tower cleared.
Her gaze looked risky there.
Nah, imagination.
Clear done, barrier vanished.
Gazed at the empty spot where Akane had been.
She'll deliver proper, right?
Found my calorie lifeline.
Mana stone pipeline too.
Next meet, scratch that curiosity itch.
"Rewards first?"
A worn book dropped before me.
Plain compared to past drops.
Checked it—eyes bulged.
Ways to boost physical stats abound.
Baseline: mana.
Most stack mana to bulk up.
Can't leverage that—skip.
Consumables work too.
Issue: rarity.
Items are gold.
Auctions? Mostly C-grade scraps.
S-grade? Unicorn rare.
Heard one surfaced ages ago.
Auction frenzy worldwide.
Went for...?
500 billion? Yeah, around there.
This shabby book? 500 bil.
Hands shaking.
Calm. Effect's random.
What I need: physical durability.
Physicals split five: stamina, durability, speed, senses, strength.
Don't need the rest.
Durability only. That's it.
"Please!"
Yelled it aloud, activated the item.
Book vanished.
Alert popped.
Ah...
Letdown crashed in.
Separate from that, raw vitality flooded my body.
Power welled up naturally.
How much stronger?
No gauge.
No status readout for physical specs.
But ballpark feel.
This body now?
Like I'd rapid-digested 100k calories.
Permanent.
"Jackpot?"
Regret faded quick.
Power's always better.
Eyed the next reward.
Not buff, not item—debuff.
Tower of Despair quirk?
"Guild debuff from Tower of Trials? Never heard."
Here though.
I snagged first dibs.
Guild Debuff. Peeked it.
"Holy shit."
Mouth clamped. Effect to make Satan weep.
One thing certain: this debuff?
Destructive power eclipsing a nuke.