Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 011
Chapter Title: Investment
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“G-Gah! St... Stats! My stats went up?! What the hell is going on right now?!”
Park Jin-ho shouted, gasping for breath as he collapsed onto the floor. His face lit up like he’d just hit the jackpot in the lottery.
“...Pardon? What do you...?”
“My Strength stat went up! The Strength stat that hasn’t budged even a single point in the past two years—it went up!”
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, rereading the system message floating before him over and over.
“...Whoa, it’s real.”
For the past two years, ever since his tower climbs ground to a halt, his growth had completely stalled.
Stat points could only be earned by climbing the tower, so if you couldn’t push to higher floors, you naturally didn’t gain any.
Sure, rare items dropped from the tower could boost stats too.
But those items? Priceless.
For a mere B-rank awakener like him, getting one on his own was next to impossible.
In an instant, Park Jin-ho’s eyes sharpened.
“It’s because of you, right? No, how rude... This has to be Teacher’s doing?”
“...Teacher?”
Han Jeong-woo couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the unfamiliar title.
Park Jin-ho pressed urgently.
“Then, uh, your age...?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Big Brother it is! I’m twenty-five! I’ll serve you as Big Brother from now on!”
Han Jeong-woo flinched in surprise once more.
“...Pardon? There’s no need... I don’t think we’ll meet again—”
“No! Big Brother!!”
Park Jin-ho crawled forward with the fervor of someone clutching at his sleeve.
His face teetered on the edge of tears. His voice dripped with desperation.
“I’m serious—for two years straight, I cleared the tower twice a day without fail, rushed to every gate the Agency called me to without a peep... I slaved away like a dog for two years and couldn’t afford even one stat-boosting item. But...!”
Park Jin-ho trailed off, his ecstatic expression leaving him at a loss for words.
“My stat went up while sparring with Big Brother! You did this, right? Right?!”
Han Jeong-woo stayed silent.
He needed time to cook up an excuse.
The guy seemed decent enough on the surface, but getting tangled up with him risked exposing his absurd ability to the world.
Besides, he hadn’t done this on purpose.
It was all the system’s doing. No reason to use gravity on him anymore...
‘Hold on.’
As Han Jeong-woo sorted his thoughts, his gaze snagged on a corner of the system window.
He’d thought he checked everything, but scrolled all the way down, there was one unread notification lingering at the bottom.
His eyes widened as he read the message.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your Mana stat has increased by 1. ‘Mana went up? ...Why?’
He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Gravity training put direct strain on the body, so stat gains made some sense in a stretch—
‘No, that’s not it.’
Han Jeong-woo shook his head hastily.
Gravity training boosting stats flew in the face of common sense from the get-go.
So, he’d just have to chalk it up to ‘that’s how it works.’
He turned his head, spotting Park Jin-ho still sprawled face-down on the floor.
In that moment, the man looked utterly transformed.
From a tiresome nuisance to a valuable stat fountain that could raise his Mana.
Han Jeong-woo’s expression shifted entirely as he spoke.
“...Mr. Park Jin-ho?”
Park Jin-ho snapped his head up, forehead still glued to the floor in full prostration.
“Yes! Big Brother! Just say the word! I’m ready for anything!”
He looked every bit the zealot who’d just witnessed a divine miracle.
Han Jeong-woo gazed down at him steadily.
“You want to get stronger, right?”
“Of course! Anything!”
“And you’re confident you can keep a secret?”
“Absolutely! I’ll stake my life on it!”
Han Jeong-woo looked down at his new devotee with satisfaction.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Team Leader, where are you headed?”
He gave a small nod instead of answering his subordinate.
“Where to, exactly?”
“Just a place I need to be.”
He couldn’t spill the destination.
The spot he was going to now? No one could know about it.
“Awakener Lee Hyuk-su requested an item loan.”
“What item?”
“Something that boosts mana regeneration.”
Choi Jin-il creased his brow faintly.
“Tell him no. That guy wrecked an item last time too.”
“He insists it’s crucial for tower climbing.”
“For the 42nd floor? He just wants to mooch high-end gear cheap. Say someone else has it.”
Dismissing it outright, Choi Jin-il hustled out of the office.
Time to the meetup was razor-thin.
Vroooom!
He slammed the accelerator and pulled up in a rundown one-room apartment block.
The same area that’d been buzzing lately from a gate outbreak.
Choi Jin-il halted before a door and hit the bell.
It swung open quick, Han Jeong-woo peering out.
“You made it? Right on the dot.”
“Ah, yeah! All good?”
Trailing Han Jeong-woo inside the cramped studio, Choi Jin-il sat on the floor, tension etched on his face.
‘Where to start.’
He had plenty to unload.
Good news first.
“You got the money, right?”
Gate conquest payout talk.
Money he wasn’t entitled to by the book, but the Director pulled strings once the full story came out.
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
“No thanks needed. Jeong-woo-ssi made that gate clear possible. And... check this out.”
Choi Jin-il handed over the prepped docs with deference.
“Apartments, villas, luxury homes... Didn’t know your style, so I grabbed options across the board. Browse at leisure and pick what clicks.”
Han Jeong-woo’s eyes lit up flipping through the hefty binder.
Gangnam’s ritziest condo towers, chaebol-only private villa enclaves, corporate tycoon retreats in the burbs.
It brimmed with elite pads he’d never even fantasized about.
“Uh... so many choices, gotta mull it over.”
Han Jeong-woo snapped the binder shut, head spinning maybe.
“I’m picky about homes. Like you said, I’ll take my time deciding.”
“Naturally. Whatever suits you.”
Spotting Han Jeong-woo’s buzz, a pleased grin tugged at Choi Jin-il’s mouth.
“Oh, right. Any other gear or items you need?”
Han Jeong-woo pondered briefly.
“Hmm... Mana potions, or mana regen boosters would be nice.”
Choi Jin-il logged it sharp in his head.
“Potions and regen items... I’ll rush them over ASAP.”
Prime time to hit the real meat. But the words stuck in his throat.
The tower secret from Director Jang Dong-seok.
And the burden on the Mutant’s shoulders.
Today, he had to drop that bombshell.
“Something on your mind?”
Han Jeong-woo clocked Choi Jin-il’s fidgeting and spoke up first.
Choi Jin-il kneaded his palms and forced it out.
“Rough guess—how long to hit the 55th floor?”
Han Jeong-woo blinked at the curveball.
“Didn’t we agree to steer clear of tower talk—”
“We did. We absolutely did.”
Choi Jin-il’s face soured bitterly.
“But Korea’s situation right now? It’s grim.”
He dropped his voice lower.
“Agency pegs Awakener Kim Hoon’s 55th-floor clear odds low.”
S-rank hero Kim Hoon failing? Unthinkable.
Han Jeong-woo masked shock while piecing the true visit’s purpose.
“...You want me to reach the 55th in a month.”
Choi Jin-il bowed deep.
“Sorry... yes.”
Stifling quiet choked the tiny room.
Choi Jin-il broke it first.
“And... there’s why you have to, Jeong-woo-ssi.”
He spilled the tale straight from Director Jang Dong-seok.
Top-secret intel even he, high up in the Agency, hadn’t known.
If this guy was Korea’s lone shot at salvation, he needed the truth.
“Know what happens if the tower falls?”
“Seoul goes boom, yeah?”
“That’s what I figured till lately. Seoul wiped—Korea’s nerve center. Catastrophe enough.”
Choi Jin-il swallowed hard, steeling himself.
“What comes next? National top secret.”
Secret perked Han Jeong-woo’s ears.
“Tower falls, Republic of Korea vanishes from the map.”
Han Jeong-woo’s features iced over.
“...What?”
“Tower’s pent-up mana detonates in one go, births a mana storm zone hundreds of klicks wide. Korea? Gulped whole.”
“Sounds far-fetched. Never heard a peep before.”
“Ironclad info lockdown. Even I was in the dark at the Agency. Leak this, chaos we can’t claw back from.”
Han Jeong-woo’s arms prickled with goosebumps.
Korea, gone.
Those swanky pads he’d been eyeing? Pointless.
Choi Jin-il’s tone turned raw with urgency.
“Kim Hoon’s flop looming... Agency’s only lifeline’s the Mutant—you, Jeong-woo-ssi.”
The marathon talk wrapped; Choi Jin-il departed.
Solo in the shoebox studio, Han Jeong-woo stewed deep.
Him, Korea’s savior?
Dust-caked construction grunt till days ago—he’d have snorted at that pitch.
“Interesting.”
He bolted upright from bed.
Choi Jin-il’s yarn packed a wallop.
But moping changed zilch.
One play now.
Just grind his job quiet-like.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Entering the 14th floor of the Republic of Korea Tower. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Whoa, Team Leader, Mutant’s climb records today are nuts.”
“Laid low past few days, now bulldozing like a tank.”
A whiteboard on one office wall live-updated the ‘Mutant’s’ climbs.
For staff sans system sight.
⚔ TOWER RANKINGS ⚔ Republic of Korea Tower 14th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 3 sec Republic of Korea Tower 15th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 4 sec Republic of Korea Tower 16th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 4 sec Republic of Korea Tower 17th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 6 sec Republic of Korea Tower 18th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 7 sec Republic of Korea Tower 19th Floor Ranking: Mutant (SSS) / 9 sec Back at the Agency, Choi Jin-il eyed the feats, fist clenching on reflex.
The pitch he’d laid on Han Jeong-woo.
Sincere core, sure—but laced with butter to snag buy-in.
Now, staring at these bonkers times firsthand, vague hope hardened to belief.
Korea’s ace might not be Kim Hoon. Maybe this ‘Mutant’ for real.
Staff chatter crackled with hype.
“This pace? He’ll smash 55 before Kim Hoon, no cap.”
“Bet he does. Clear times are straight bogus. S-rank for real?”
“Wh-what if... EX-rank? Korea finally scores an EX?”
“Fingers crossed. Could humble the US, China, Japan crews.”
“True. Sick of their ‘we got the muscle’ flex.”
Then a board-gawker staffer cocked his head.
“Speaking of, Mutant still ghosting?”
“Mutant’s a true lone wolf. All those ads, zero calls?”
Choi Jin-il and Baek Yoon-seok traded knowing glances, quick avert.
Agency’s Mutant deal? Locked to three insiders.
Choi Jin-il, Baek Yoon-seok, Director Jang Dong-seok.
Prime urge to broadcast, pump Agency cred.
Unavoidable holdback.
Han Jeong-woo hated identity leaks.
“Drop the Mutant fixation, nail your duties. Proxy Baek!”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“List mana potions, regen items. Pronto!”
Baek Yoon-seok twigged the recipient, hammering keys.
Then the earlier item-loan guy piped up.
“Team Leader, no loan for Lee Hyuk-su, right?”
“Yep, nada.”
“Then who gets all that?”
Choi Jin-il met his baffled sub’s gaze with a cryptic smile.
“Call it... an investment in tomorrow.”