Chapter 100: Boss Supervision (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: Boss Supervision (1)
As promised, I was to give the Demon King two hours of free time a day.
After finishing the limit test, the Demon King moved to the 5th Floor.
While occupying my body, the Demon King could also use the Tower’s systems, such as using skills or entering and exiting the Tower.
‘Don’t show yourself to other people.’
The Demon King had no interest in the Climbers on the 5th Floor.
He rose into the sky and flew toward Zone 4—in stealth, of course.
For the record, I could still communicate with Diul even when I had handed over my body.
Diul seemed to intensely dislike the Demon King occupying my body, but it would still lend me its power if I asked.
‘Come to think of it, you use magic without any Mental Focus, Demon King.’
That’s what I observed watching the Demon King use his power.
Was the Mental Focus time just another restriction imposed by the Tower?
“Would I need to cast for such low-class magic?”
Apparently not.
It seemed even the Demon King needed to use Mental Focus for high-class magic.
Though, since he called all of this low-class, I had no idea what he considered high-class.
Fwoooosh—
We arrived in Zone 4, where a blizzard raged.
The Demon King flew around Zone 4 for a while before landing on the peak of a large mountain.
‘What are you going to do?’
I asked out of curiosity.
What was he planning to do here?
The Demon King looked around and said.
“First, I suppose I must build a palace.”
‘Excuse me?’
As the Demon King raised his hand…
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
The cold air coalesced, and massive blocks of ice began to rise from the ground.
Watching the scene unfold, I realized what the Demon King was trying to do.
Wait… is he really going to build a palace out of ice right now?
The ice began to take the shape of a structure from the ground up.
The scale was extraordinary; I couldn’t imagine how large a palace he intended to build.
‘…Wait a minute. I think you need to take it easy.’
I said urgently.
If he used too much power, my body would collapse.
And since we were on the 5th Floor, I couldn't clear a floor to recover if my body took on too much strain.
The Demon King snorted.
“Don’t make a fuss. I know what I’m doing.”
And with that, the Demon King began to erect a massive ice palace on the snowy mountaintop.
‘What are you going to do with a palace here?’
I asked, not understanding.
“I am a king. A king must have a palace. Why do you ask something so obvious?”
The Demon King retorted with such nonsense.
I cooperated for the time being, stopping time intermittently to replenish my Willpower whenever it ran low.
From the outside, it looked like not even 5% was complete when the Demon King stopped using his power.
The strain on my body was beginning to set in.
“Tsk, this damn body.”
The Demon King grumbled in dissatisfaction.
It seemed he planned to finish the castle here, working on it whenever my body recovered.
I wondered what the point of this useless endeavor was…
But in any case, our promise was that I would give him free time as long as he followed the conditions.
If he was just going to play around quietly building a castle here, then fine.
Once the strain on my body subsided, the Demon King began building the castle again, carefully controlling his power.
* * *
A secret military facility in Virginia, USA.
Shwaaaa…
Taylor stopped moving and caught her breath.
Various types of military equipment were arranged around her, some of which had been damaged during the recent experiment.
“Excellent work, Taylor.”
Staff members emerged from the observation room and approached her.
In attendance were military researchers, generals, and the chief of the Climbing Bureau.
The purpose of the experiment, conducted under the Department of Defense’s supervision, was simple.
To extract in-depth, multifaceted data on a Climber—specifically, a Climber at the highest level currently in existence.
Of course, it went without saying that “highest level” implicitly meant “excluding Saram123.”
“Truly incredible… Every category has exceeded our projections.”
Raymond, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), spoke.
Liam, the chief of the Climbing Bureau, nodded at his admiring words, but inwardly, he swallowed a feeling of annoyance.
The Pentagon had been the most thrilled when Taylor cleared the 6th Floor of Nightmare and reached level 60.
The military was the institution most wary of the superhumans known as Climbers, and they were always short on data.
In the midst of that, Taylor had pushed through to level 60 without giving up on or failing her Nightmare climb.
There were a few other American Climbers at a similar level, including Alex, but they were more aligned with the Association and not nearly as cooperative with the government.
Taylor, however, was a former soldier and intelligence agent with deep-seated patriotism. She actively cooperated with the military’s requests.
This was also why Liam, watching on, wasn't entirely pleased.
Climbers were originally under the jurisdiction of the Climbing Bureau, but he was thoroughly displeased that the military was taking a Climber and ordering her around for their experiments.
Of course, the intensity of the experiments was set with Taylor’s safety as the top priority. She was America’s treasure, after all.
He also understood the military’s position.
This was an era of upheaval. Even now, quite a few countries in Africa were in a state of chaos due to Climbers. It was the result of a nation’s power of deterrence failing to handle the strength of its Climbers.
It might have been a microcosm of a future that would unfold on a global scale.
Though not yet obvious, the balance of power was already teetering toward a precarious point.
So they were preparing. To further analyze the combat potential of Climbers and to develop the technology and countermeasures to deal with them.
“What do you think? Up to what level can our current military forces handle a Climber?”
At Liam’s question, Director Raymond answered.
“Looking at the rate of increase in a Climber’s physical durability relative to their level, it wouldn’t be impossible to kill even a level 100 Climber with conventional forces. But you’d have to accept catastrophic damage, so it’s a meaningless point.”
The US military had experience fighting a Stage 5 Fallen during the Fallen incident.
Based on that data, if one were to imagine a monster far stronger and more intelligent than a Stage 5 Fallen—a level 100 Climber, with the added variable of skills—rampaging through a city…
It would be a true disaster. No different from a war.
Subduing them would be difficult without being prepared to wipe the entire city off the map.
“Perhaps setting off a nuke would cause less damage,” Raymond said with a laugh.
It seemed like a bad joke, but the Pentagon had likely already run simulations on using nuclear weapons.
“Which is why we must strive to prevent such a disaster from ever occurring,” Liam said.
If the Department of Defense’s role was to prepare for a war against Climbers, then the Climbing Bureau’s role was to accommodate, persuade, and recruit more Climbers into a pro-government stance.
Raymond shook his head and said, “I wonder. Personally, I believe it’s an inevitable future. The human desire to unleash one’s power is bound to explode eventually.”
“Perhaps.”
Liam ended the rather unpleasant conversation and approached Taylor.
“You’ve worked hard, Taylor.”
Taylor seemed to be checking the Communication Window. She said, “I need to head to the 5th Floor for a moment. Mr. Alex is calling.”
Liam nodded.
Between fulfilling the military’s requests and going in and out of the Tower, Taylor was so busy she could have used several clones of herself.
Furthermore, Liam was not unaware that she was secretly hunting in Zone 5 of the 5th Floor.
Her will was so firm that there was no way to stop her, and for fear of needlessly provoking her, the Climbing Bureau could only watch on with frayed nerves.
“Is it about the Zone 3 Boss?”
“Yes.”
A more important event was just around the corner: the Zone 3 Boss.
Since Saram123 had soloed the Zone 3 Boss before, no other Climbers had been able to obtain the common rewards.
After almost two years, the gauge was nearly full, and the opportunity had returned. The opening of Zone 4 had also delayed things by splitting up the hunting efforts.
Of course, Taylor would also participate in the boss raid. She needed the rewards.
Liam silently prayed that this boss raid would end safely.
* * *
[Cheetah99: The Zone 3 Boss is spawning soon.]
[ProHyd: What’s gonna happen? Have the Security Force and Black Star Society made a statement?]
[Arrow: Seems like everyone’s in a cooperative mood this time.]
There was a sense that the Zone 3 and Zone 4 bosses had passed anticlimactically, as Saram123 had soloed both for the first clear.
But originally, a boss raid was a massive event for Climbers.
This returning Zone 3 boss raid was no different from an all-star game where all the highest-level Climbers would gather to fight.
[Zone 3 (99.0%)]
With the Zone 3 boss gauge at one percent remaining, the Security Force and the Black Star Society held their final meeting at the Drake Restaurant on the 5th Floor.
A preliminary agreement was already in place. They would cooperate to defeat the boss, without antagonizing or interfering with each other.
In front of many onlookers, Security Force Captain Alex and Black Star Society Head Li Zeyan shook hands.
After the Black Star Society members left, the Security Force members began to talk.
“Can we really trust those Black Star bastards?”
Even though a good amount of time had passed, the people involved still remembered the Wang Kai Incident.
Of course, the Black Star Society’s stance had changed completely these days, but an unsettling feeling was unavoidable.
Alex said, “We should be cautious, but there’s no need to worry too much. The Black Star Society has no reason to act rashly.”
Saram123 had already taken the first-clear reward, and for the common rewards, one only needed to achieve a certain amount of contribution.
Therefore, this boss raid was not a competition. There was no reason for them to fight each other.
More than that, Alex was thinking about Ye Chenwei.
The true hidden mastermind who held both China and the Black Star Society in his palm.
Although he had put forward the figurehead Li Zeyan for this meeting, Ye Chenwei would have no choice but to participate in the boss raid himself to get his rewards.
Alex was personally very curious about him.
Well, before that, he had to worry about whether they could even defeat the boss safely…
Alex let out a sigh.
“…Will Saram123 help?”
“Has there been no reply yet?”
The Security Force had sent a Whisper to Saram123, asking for help with the upcoming boss raid.
Of course, the Climbers’ overall strength had increased compared to two years ago, but the Zone 3 Boss was at least as strong as a level 60.
The only information they had was that it was a flying monster and that it used a fire-breathing attack.
Because Saram123 had one-shot it.
It was a bit shameless, but if they could get Saram123’s help—and by help, they didn’t mean participating directly in the battle, but watching over them.
Just as the Security Force executives supervised boss raids when low-level Climbers took on the Zone 1 and 2 bosses.
If Saram123 would just watch over the Zone 3 boss raid and step in only when it became dangerous, they would have far fewer worries.
“I’m sure he’ll help.”
Shin Su-jin said with conviction.
The Saram123 she knew was not the type of person to refuse such a request. He might have already been planning to help.
“But is Saram123 really that strong?”
A Security Force member asked with a curious smile.
It was Vince, a recent recruit to the Security Force.
A level 48 Climber from the 13th Floor of Hard Difficulty, he was young but his skills were recognized, and he had quickly risen to an executive position within the force.
Vice-Captain Justin said, “It’s not a matter of being strong or not. He’s on a completely different level.”
“I’ve only ever heard stories, I’ve never seen him in person. He’s still human, isn’t everyone exaggerating a bit?”
Justin shook his head. There was no point in explaining.
“More importantly, Vince, you be careful. Don’t get excited and go running off on your own again. This isn’t a regular hunt, it’s a boss raid. One wrong move and you’re dead.”
“Hey, I know, Vice-Captain. I’ll be careful.”
Justin clicked his tongue at Vince’s half-hearted reply.
He was talented and skilled, but perhaps because he was still young, he was immature. He often broke formation during normal hunts.
In any case, the day of the decisive battle was the day after tomorrow.
Tomorrow, as per the agreement, the Security Force and the Black Star Society would all hunt in Zone 3 to fill the gauge to 99.9%.
The day after, they would join forces, fill the remaining 0.1%, and immediately begin the boss raid.
Alex prayed that every member of the Security Force participating in the raid would return alive.