Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 014
Chapter Title: The Test
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"We're currently in the Tower Climb Grace Period for Korea's Tower."
A large number appeared on the screen at the front of the conference room.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [D-29 Days 18 Hours 36 Minutes 21 Seconds] The eyes of all the executives gathered in the conference room were fixed on the red countdown numbers on the screen.
Just ten minutes ago, the front row had clearly shown '28'.
"As you can see, the grace period has just... extended by another day."
The voice of the situation room chief making the announcement trembled in disbelief.
The conference room buzzed with murmurs before falling silent in an instant.
It was because Director Jang Dong-seok, who had been sitting quietly at the head of the table listening to the report, finally showed signs of speaking.
"Situation room chief."
"...Yes, Director."
"As far as I know, this is the first time it's ever happened worldwide, correct?"
"Yes, that's right. It's the first time in the entire world."
The situation room chief adjusted his sweat-soaked glasses as he replied.
Jang Dong-seok wore a troubled expression.
"Of course, you haven't figured out why the period was extended."
This was an unprecedented event.
The Tower's system changing.
And in a way that was favorable to humanity, no less.
"There is speculation that it might be due to an Awakener's influence... but nothing's confirmed. As you know, there are no prior cases, and the Tower itself is so far beyond common sense..."
Jang Dong-seok gave a small nod to the cautious opinion from one of the executives.
The most ideal scenario would be if this incident was caused by the power of a Korean Awakener.
If so, Korea—long treated as a backwater by the international community—might suddenly step onto center stage.
"Just a moment ago, we received contact from the U.S. Embassy. They're demanding an immediate official statement on the truth behind this incident."
"China, Japan, and the European nations are all saying the same thing."
At the follow-up reports, Director Jang Dong-seok's face crumpled.
"These bloodsucking leeches... When we asked for Awakener assistance, they acted like it was none of their business and completely ignored us."
No one in the room could easily open their mouth at Jang Dong-seok's boiling rage.
"Just say we don't know and stonewall them!"
"...Understood."
Jang Dong-seok let out a rough breath to calm his anger.
"Hoo... Anyway, what about the Gates? Why are they occurring so frequently? Weren't they only happening once every two or three months just a few months ago?"
The situation room chief was once again at a loss for words under Jang Dong-seok's sharp question.
"You don't know that either?"
"...Yes, that phenomenon is too irregular as well. My apologies."
The situation room chief bowed his head deeply.
The director frustratingly tapped his fingers on the innocent desk.
"Then this meeting is pointless too."
Jang Dong-seok lifted his head and scanned the faces of the executives one by one.
Every single one of them looked troubled, avoiding his gaze and burying their heads in their desks.
Except for one person.
Only Strategic Talent Management Team Leader Choi Jin-il met his eyes directly, looking like he had something to say.
Spotting this, Jang Dong-seok quickly wrapped up the meeting.
"We don't know anything, and we have no solutions, so let's end the meeting here. Everyone, get out."
As soon as the words fell, the executives rose en masse and hurried out of the conference room.
As everyone left, Choi Jin-il approached the director.
Jang Dong-seok looked at him with satisfaction.
"Alright, Team Leader Choi. You look like you know something."
Choi Jin-il waited until the conference room door fully closed before lowering his voice.
"It seems this incident is related to the Mutant."
"...The Mutant?"
Jang Dong-seok's eyebrow twitched.
"Yes. All three recent Gates occurred exactly where the Mutant was present."
Jang Dong-seok's expression hardened coldly at the unexpected report.
"Are you saying... that he's artificially creating Gates?"
"That's not confirmed. But the circumstances strongly suggest a connection."
Choi Jin-il took a breath, organized his thoughts, and continued.
"I don't think he's doing it for terrorism. It's more reasonable to assume it's a natural side effect of his abilities."
It was a valid point.
If the Mutant truly intended terrorism, there would have been casualties from the Gates.
"And for whatever reason, it resulted in the Tower Climb Grace Period extending by another day."
Jang Dong-seok slapped his knee in agreement with Choi Jin-il's hypothesis.
"That seems highly likely. Just as you said, it's definitely the Mutant—his power."
"In that case, the Mutant becomes even more crucial. Far beyond comparison with other S-rank Awakeners."
"Indeed..."
Director Jang Dong-seok's eyes flashed sharply.
"From this moment, drop all other duties and focus solely on managing the Mutant. We'll reallocate resources from elsewhere if needed—the entire agency's plans will be readjusted with him as the top priority. You understand?"
"...Yes, I understand."
Choi Jin-il nodded with a resolute expression.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ About ten minutes before the Korea Awakener Management Agency's emergency meeting convened.
Han Jeong-woo and Park Jin-ho had just stepped out of the Awakener shop on the first floor.
"...B-Big Brother!"
Park Jin-ho's urgent voice.
Han Jeong-woo whipped his head to the side, and something familiar yet unfamiliar entered his view.
"...A Gate? Why is it here?"
There was no time for questions.
The Gate began spewing something out even before citizens screamed or disaster alerts sounded.
"T-That's...!"
Park Jin-ho pointed with a trembling finger.
BOOM! BOOM!
With earth-shaking roars, something massive emerged from the Gate.
It was the Adamantium Turtle, the 30th-floor boss monster that Park Jin-ho had barely survived fighting just hours earlier.
A colossal turtle over five meters long, its shell studded with sharp spines. No doubt about it.
But once fully out of the Gate, this one was subtly different from the Adamantium Turtle Park Jin-ho knew. Its shell was a deeper black-iron color, and its eyes blazed red.
"Whoa! Big Brother! It's a special variant!"
Special variant, or elite monster.
A term for mutants with unique abilities or vastly superior stats compared to regular monsters.
"B-Big Brother! I'll go back inside and grab a weapon—"
Park Jin-ho realized he was unarmed and turned to rush back into the shop.
At that exact moment, the elite Adamantium Turtle gaped its maw wide.
A red fireball began to form inside.
Fortunately, nearby citizens had already evacuated, but if this continued, the shop buildings would burn to the ground.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravitational Pull Target's Gravitational Pull enhanced 30x
Han Jeong-woo hurled the hefty Adamantium Dagger he'd just received as a gift at the elite turtle.
WHOOSH!
The dagger tore through the air with a heavy whoosh that dwarfed even his Ruler's Silver Trident.
"Kreeeech!"
Sensing danger, the elite turtle snapped its mouth shut and reflexively ducked into its shell.
It twisted its body, as if to deflect the dagger with its insanely tough shell.
But.
CLANG! CRACK!
A deafening crack like splitting bedrock echoed as the dagger shattered the shell and pulverized the turtle's hidden head.
"Guh!"
Park Jin-ho, witnessing it all in real time, held his breath without realizing.
The Adamantium Turtle he couldn't even scratch over two years—now effortlessly slain, and an elite variant at that.
He'd seen it with his own eyes, yet it was unbelievable.
'Someone like Big Brother is just an A-rank Awakener?'
No way.
'At least S-rank. No, beyond that.'
If his eyes weren't lying, Big Brother was definitely an S-rank—or higher—hiding his true identity.
A name flashed in Park Jin-ho's mind.
Mutant.
The mysterious Awakener presumed S-rank or above who had Korea in an uproar lately.
Among unidentified Awakeners, only the Mutant could dispatch a monster like that in the blink of an eye.
"...Big Brother."
"Yeah?"
Park Jin-ho's lips twitched several times, but the words wouldn't come.
'Should I tell him I figured out he's the Mutant?'
He racked his brain for a moment.
Someone who faked his Awakener ID to hide his identity wouldn't let someone like me, who knows, walk free.
That realization hit like lightning: he couldn't say it.
Park Jin-ho cleared his throat awkwardly and forced a smile.
"N-Nah, nothing. Just... good work. Haha..."
"What, boring."
Park Jin-ho scratched the back of his neck and averted his eyes.
Seeing his unnatural behavior, Han Jeong-woo smirked.
'This guy's onto me.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The two left the cleanup to the agency staff who arrived on site and returned to the one-room apartment.
One on the bed, one on the floor.
Back in their spots, but an awkward silence hung in the air.
Breaking it abruptly, Park Jin-ho launched into unsolicited self-promotion.
"Big Brother, you know something?"
"...?"
"My lips are sealed tight, for real."
Han Jeong-woo turned his head briefly, giving him a look that said, 'And?'
"Back in school, they called me the Independence Fighter. Once I hear a secret, no matter what, it never leaves my mouth—that's why my friends named me that."
Park Jin-ho pounded his chest with his fist, ranting passionately.
"Yeah? Funny."
Han Jeong-woo replied soullessly and went back to his phone.
Undeterred by whether his respected Big Brother was paying attention, Park Jin-ho kept babbling.
"And Big Brother, do you know how much I admire you?"
Gulp, gulp.
Ignoring him, Han Jeong-woo downed a mana potion from beside the bed.
To replenish the mana drained from maintaining double gravity.
And also... to test Park Jin-ho.
"I was seriously shocked earlier. Taking down an elite Adamantium Turtle that easily? No one could do th—"
As Park Jin-ho excitedly continued, Han Jeong-woo set down the potion bottle and shot up from the bed. Park Jin-ho flinched and stopped talking.
"W-What's up?"
Han Jeong-woo looked down at him matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean? It's time for today's training."
"Tr-Training? Oh, right. Training...!"
A sly smile curled on Han Jeong-woo's lips.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravity Control Target's gravity enhanced 10x
As the skill activated, Park Jin-ho—who'd been sitting fine—toppled flat to the floor.
"Grahhh! B-Big Brother! Today's intensity is... way too mu—"
"Jin-ho. You figured it out, didn't you?"
In the crushing pain wracking his body, Park Jin-ho realized the implication and snapped alert.
"Keh... W-What? Wh-What do you... mean..."
"You figured out who I am."
Han Jeong-woo added in a cold voice.
"So... I need to nip this anxiety in the bud."
In truth, Park Jin-ho was quite important to Han Jeong-woo in many ways.
From their first meeting, he'd shown unprovoked goodwill and never took Han Jeong-woo's favors for granted, always trying to repay them somehow.
Plus, he was an excellent source of mana stats, hard to find elsewhere.
But if he'd figured out his identity, that changed things.
If he blabbed about it somewhere, that would be a real problem.
Even if it felt unpleasant, he had to eliminate that possibility from the start.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravity Control Target's gravity enhanced 11x
Han Jeong-woo gradually increased the gravity's intensity.
Park Jin-ho could barely breathe under the crushing pressure on his lungs.
"Spill everything you know about me."
"...I d-don't... know... anything...!"
"No, you do. I can tell from your eyes."
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravity Control Target's gravity enhanced 12x
Pinned to the floor, Park Jin-ho writhed and screamed before barely squeezing out words.
"R-Really... don't... p-please... spare me..."
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravity Control Target's gravity returned to normal
In an instant, the pressure crushing Park Jin-ho vanished like a lie.
Satisfaction mixed with a hint of apology crossed Han Jeong-woo's face.
"Good. You pass, Jin-ho. You okay?"
"Gahhh!"
Face-down on the floor, Park Jin-ho exhaled the breath he'd held violently.
"...Huh? P-Pass? What...?"
"You've got what it takes to be the Mutant’s little brother."
Fortunately, Park Jin-ho passed the test.
A test to see if the guy who boasted about being an "Independence Fighter" really kept his mouth shut, or if threats would loosen his tongue.
"I told you my lips are sealed... ughhh..."
Han Jeong-woo patted the sobbing Park Jin-ho's back.
"There, all done crying? Now, back to training!"
"Hic... Training?"
Park Jin-ho jerked up his tear-and-snot-streaked face.
Today's training wasn't over?
"Of course! You wanna get strong, right? Jin-ho, from today, let's go hardcore."
As Han Jeong-woo grinned wickedly at the sprawled Park Jin-ho,
His phone on the bed rang.
A call from Strategic Talent Management Team Leader Choi Jin-il.
'Team Leader Choi? Perfect timing. I've even picked a new place.'
Han Jeong-woo left the terrified Park Jin-ho and answered the call.
After the short conversation, his gaze returned to the floor.
"Jin-ho, looks like I gotta head out today. Someone's coming over."
At that moment, Park Jin-ho's mouth corners shot up uncontrollably.