Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 021
Chapter Title: The Real and the Fake
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Entering the 55th floor of the Korean Tower.] [Mission: Survive the monster wave.] Clack, clack.
In the dark labyrinth, a man was fighting desperately amid the sound of bones rattling together.
"Get lost, get lost, you fucking bastards!!"
Kim Hoon swung his sword at the endless horde of skeletons surging toward him.
Even with a blade infused with holy power and potions that boosted his holy energy, it wasn't enough to handle the overwhelming numbers pouring in.
'This won't do. I need to create some distance.'
Kim Hoon hurriedly swapped his weapon.
His unique ability was All Weapon Master. A power that let him wield any weapon at a master's level.
Fwoosh-!
The sword in his hand vanished into his subspace bracelet, replaced by a long, sharp spear. He planned to leverage the spear's reach to keep the skeletons from even getting close.
Gripping the spear, Kim Hoon dashed into the narrow passageway of the labyrinth.
Whoooosh!
He swung the spear in the tight corridor, trying to secure a safe space, but there were just too many enemies.
And the bigger problem was that these weren't ordinary skeletons.
These ones, their entire bodies consumed by an ominous black aura, charged without a care for his holy power.
Those with shattered arms tried to bite with their teeth, and those with broken leg bones crawled forward anyway.
Normal skeletons would have fallen long ago.
"These... fucking monster bastards!"
Kim Hoon pushed his All Weapon Master ability to its limits.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
He swapped weapons nonstop from his subspace: pushing them back with the spear, slashing with the sword, smashing with the axe. He even threw mana bombs to clear a path, but it was all useless.
In the cramped labyrinth, the hundreds of approaching skeletons began to tighten around him, choking off his air.
The moment he slashed at the skeletons in front with his sword again...
A skeleton he thought was dead on the floor grabbed his ankle with its bony hand.
Losing his balance in that instant, a corrupted skeleton lunging from the side buried its sword deep into Kim Hoon's shoulder.
"Urk...!"
Dark red blood poured from the wound. The excruciating pain twisted his face naturally.
"At this rate...!"
I'm dead.
Already, a new pack of skeletons was swarming from behind.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Mission forfeited. Exiting the Tower.] In the end, Kim Hoon gritted his teeth and chose to withdraw.
Thud.
Back in his living room, Kim Hoon collapsed straight to the floor.
"Hoo, Hoon!"
His waiting manager, Yu Hyun-cheol, spotted him covered in blood and rushed over in a panic.
"P-Potion!! Hurry!!"
Clutching his blackened shoulder, Kim Hoon shouted urgently.
Yu Hyun-cheol grabbed the top-grade potion from the table, uncapped it, and poured it over Kim Hoon's shoulder.
Sizzle...!
The red liquid, worth tens of millions per bottle, seeped into the wound. Black smoke rose as the injury began to heal—ever so slowly.
"More, pour more!!"
At Kim Hoon's yell, Yu Hyun-cheol emptied every last drop he had.
"Urgh...!"
"Y-You okay?"
"Fuck... do I look okay right now?"
More humiliating than the pain in his shoulder was the fact that he'd failed the raid again.
His failure count had long passed ten. He'd even stopped counting.
'Why the hell can't I beat these damn skeletons?'
He'd thrown everything he had at them so far.
The mission was simple: endure for just 10 minutes.
He'd tried every offensive and defensive strategy, but they all failed.
All because of that damned corruption aura or whatever it was.
"The Agency... did you ask the Korea Awakener Management Agency about the elixir?"
Kim Hoon asked, catching his ragged breath.
"W-Well... they're trying to get it, but it's not easy..."
"So they couldn't get it... or they just don't want to."
Didn't matter which. They were incompetent either way.
"You know elixirs are always hard to come by..."
Yu Hyun-cheol offered weakly, but Kim Hoon just gave a bitter smile.
"That's... your problem, hyung. Not knowing what's wrong is the problem."
Kim Hoon's cold words left Yu Hyun-cheol puzzled.
"The country's in crisis, and they can't even get one lousy elixir? If I fail the 55th floor, Seoul gets obliterated... Seoul!"
"W-Well, sure..."
"And yet no elixir? This isn't 'can't get it'—it's 'won't provide it.' Are they discriminating because I'm not Agency-affiliated...?"
Yu Hyun-cheol looked incredulous at Kim Hoon's firm tone.
"N-No way! That can't be... You're Korea's top Awakener, Hoon..."
"Why not? There's another one besides me."
Yu Hyun-cheol unwittingly thought of the Mutant.
Kim Hoon's brows furrowed at the fleeting expression.
"See? Even you think so. Am I still the top Awakener?"
That sealed it for Kim Hoon.
Immigration. Or defection, by another name.
The Americans had secretly approached him recently, urging him to defect with a promise to share the method for clearing the 55th floor.
An offer too good to refuse.
Of course, no one knew about this yet—except him.
Not even Yu Hyun-cheol, who was staring at him dumbfounded right now.
At that moment, Kim Hoon's mind raced faster than ever.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Whoa!"
Han Jeong-woo suddenly emerged from the Tower, startling Park Jin-ho into a yelp.
"Already back, bro?"
Park Jin-ho quickly checked the rankings.
His respected big brother had undoubtedly hit SSS-rank, but what he really wanted to see was the clear time and floor progress.
"Holy crap... already at floor 35?"
The Mutant had only appeared less than a month ago, yet he'd already surpassed Park Jin-ho, who'd been an Awakener for nearly three years. He couldn't help but be impressed.
"You really planning to break through to the 55th during the Tower Climb Grace Period?"
"Probably."
Han Jeong-woo answered calmly, but he'd already made up his mind inside.
With S-rank Awakener Kim Hoon's failure on the 55th floor becoming inevitable, clearing it himself was the only way to protect his new home and Korea.
"You're probably the only one in Korea who could say that so casually, bro."
"Jin-ho, you think Kim Hoon will fail too?"
After a brief pause, Park Jin-ho nodded.
"Yeah... looks like it."
"Why?"
"Around now, he'd usually be working the media. 'Things are looking good, no need to worry, stay tuned'—that kinda thing."
Han Jeong-woo nodded, convinced. Looking back, Kim Hoon's press conferences were always big news. He'd been too busy to follow closely.
"No time for that means he's really struggling. Agency and guild support has limits, and high-floor strategies are all hush-hush—even foreigners won't share."
"You know more than I thought."
Park Jin-ho grinned bashfully at the praise.
"Heh heh. Gotta have some Awakener experience. Ask me anything you don't know."
"Then what's this, you think?"
Han Jeong-woo pulled out the black egg from his arms.
"That? Hmm... Whoa!!"
Curious, Park Jin-ho touched it and got zapped by a spark, just like Choi Jin-il, tumbling backward.
"B-Bro... what the hell is this? It just sparked— you're fine, though..."
"No idea."
"But it's no ordinary egg... Something monstrous hatching? It's all black and creepy— Argh!!"
Suddenly, the black egg flashed and shot a spark straight at Park Jin-ho.
He rolled aside in a panic to dodge.
"S-See? It understands people! It knew I was badmouthing it!"
"Yeah, why'd you diss our Kkangmangi?"
"K-Kkangmangi?"
"Yep, just named it. Felt like it needed one."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Kkangmangi is pleased with its name.] Han Jeong-woo smirked at the popup message.
Luckily, the impromptu name 'Kkangmangi' seemed to hit the mark.
"...But bro, you gonna keep carrying it?"
Park Jin-ho averted his eyes from Kkangmangi as he asked.
"Worried about sparks again?"
"Yeah... and your arms must hurt."
His arms were fine. The real issue was the constant mana drain while holding it.
Mana potions built tolerance the more you drank, dulling their effect.
The cooldown on tolerance was short, but you couldn't recover mana infinitely.
As Han Jeong-woo descended to the living room and carefully placed Kkangmangi on a shelf, Park Jin-ho followed and absentmindedly turned on the TV.
"Whoa, bro... this TV's huge, perfect for— Huh?"
Park Jin-ho's words cut off as he watched.
"Bro, Kim Hoon's doing a press conference."
Han Jeong-woo's gaze shifted to the screen. The camera was zooming in on Kim Hoon's pale face.
- But the important thing is, compared to some Awakener who's barely in the 30s—
"...Check out this guy's attitude."
Park Jin-ho froze at Kim Hoon's blatant jab, glancing nervously at Han Jeong-woo.
"Sh-Should I turn off the TV?"
But contrary to his worry, Han Jeong-woo just smirked.
"Interesting."
"R-Really...?"
"If they wanna play media games like that, I'll show 'em the real play."
Han Jeong-woo smiled coolly even as the press conference took shots at him.
Park Jin-ho suddenly felt like he finally understood the true meaning behind the 'Mutant' nickname.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The press room was packed with hundreds of reporters, no room to spare.
The 55th floor raid, with Korea's fate on the line.
All eyes were on S-rank Awakener Kim Hoon, its star.
Bathed in flashing cameras, Kim Hoon stood at the podium without a flicker. His suit was impeccable, but his face was deathly pale.
"Thank you all for coming despite your busy schedules..."
The noisy room fell silent the moment he spoke into the mic.
"I'm here today to give the public an honest update on the 55th floor progress."
Kim Hoon paused for breath. His wounded shoulder throbbed, but he showed no sign.
"To cut to the chase: the 55th floor is far more difficult than expected. The enemies... they're so powerful that our existing data makes it impossible to clear."
The room buzzed. 'Impossible to clear' from an S-rank's mouth for the first time.
"And... I'm fighting this battle essentially alone."
Reporters erupted with questions.
"Awakener Kim Hoon! Did you say 'alone'? Does that mean no support from the Korea Awakener Management Agency?"
Kim Hoon gave a wry smile and took the mic again.
"During the raid, I requested an elixir and other aid for my injuries and prep. Regrettably... I received zero support from the Agency."
"Unbelievable! You're Korea's top Awakener! Is support being funneled to that 'Mutant' who shot up out of nowhere?"
The sharp question was exactly what Kim Hoon wanted.
"I don't know if the Mutant has an official contract with the Agency. But... their recent moves do raise suspicions."
The room exploded again at his insinuating words.
Korea's top Awakener publicly sniping the Mutant. Reporters buzzed like they'd hit the jackpot, shutters clicking wildly.
Right on cue, Kim Hoon clutched his sore shoulder, grimacing in calculated pain.
Every expression was scripted to win public sympathy.
"But doesn't it make sense—common sense—to support me, bleeding on the front lines for the nation's survival, over some Awakener stuck in the 30s?"
A few more questions followed, but he stared down the cameras, signaling no more.
"I won't give up without Agency support. Clearing the 55th is my duty and destiny."
His voice carried grim resolve.
"My body's battered, support's cut off—but I'll head back in. I know failure means Seoul falls. So... please believe in me and watch. I'll do everything to succeed."
The room filled with applause mixed with pity and cheers.
He bowed as if enduring pain, but inwardly sneered coldly.
'Idiots. Too easy to manipulate.'
Public opinion would swing his way perfectly, per his script.
No matter how fast the Mutant climbed, he was still in the 30s. The wall between 30 and 40 was as thick as between 40 and 50.
The Mutant was human too... he'd hit that wall eventually. No way it'd be that easy—
As Kim Hoon savored his assured victory inwardly, a reporter shot up in shock.
"Awakener Kim Hoon!"
"Questions are over! No more!"
The moderator tried to stop him, but the reporter yelled into his mic.
"Breaking news: the Mutant just cleared the 40th floor in record time! Your thoughts?!"
"...What?"
That moment, Kim Hoon's genuine grimace beamed across the nation via camera.