Chapter 142
Translator: uly
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: #21 Daily Rest
Logging out of the Babel Tower, I found myself back in the same spot as when I entered—in my room at Kim Je-hyun's house.
Click.
As Yugeon opened the door and stepped out, Kim Je-hyun's voice rang out right away.
"Whoa! You've grown so much, Geon!"
He wasn't even surprised.
Of course, having watched Yugeon's growth through those two stages earlier, Kim Je-hyun already knew he wasn't your average kid.
Yugeon, thrilled to meet Kim Je-hyun outside the room, chattered away excitedly.
"I'm about twelve now, roughly."
"Whoa, you're heavy. If you grow any more, I won't be able to carry you. Hey, Yu Ga-hyun! To celebrate logging out of the Babel Tower, let's eat out..."
Setting Yugeon down, Kim Je-hyun rushed into my room and froze at the sight of the man beside me.
"Eek!"
"Oh, this is—"
"Lenox?!"
Lenox, who had been curiously scanning my room, glanced at Kim Je-hyun, who promptly covered his mouth and took a step back.
I started to introduce Lenox, figuring it must be his first time for Je-hyun, but I hesitated.
It felt like a blow to the back of my head.
"...How do you know that?"
"Because the Babel Tower's internal feed was broadcast live worldwide... But it cut off right after the mission ended, so I didn't think you'd actually bring him out..."
"..."
I fell into a brief shock hearing Kim Je-hyun's words.
All of it was broadcast live?
My mind grew instantly chaotic, but this wasn't the place for that discussion—it was something to hash out with the guild masters and hunters.
"What about Hellcannon?"
Glancing warily at Lenox, Kim Je-hyun turned to me.
"He hasn't come home?"
"...Right."
I'd half-expected it, but Hellcannon hadn't returned to the spot from his Babel Tower entry. He'd been reverse-summoned to Midgard instead.
The moment I logged out, I naturally summoned Hellcannon.
"Hellcannon."
I'd forcibly sent him away out of worry for his safety, and though it nagged at me a bit, I figured he wouldn't be too mad since it was to protect him from danger.
But Hellcannon's attitude upon summoning was somehow off from his usual self.
I flinched in confusion at his refusal to meet my eyes, as if some bad feelings lingered.
My heart sank. Hellcannon ignoring me?
"..."
A sudden wave of doubt crashed over me.
First Dart sulking and refusing to speak, and now this—what was going on?
Swallowing tears inwardly, I wondered if I'd been living my life wrong lately when Hellcannon glanced at the man beside me.
Having spent a short time in Midgard, Hellcannon—now dressed in otherworldly clothes—bit his lip hard and glared at Lenox. Lenox, intrigued by the outfit, gave it a quick once-over before calmly meeting the stare.
Excited, Kim Je-hyun whispered to me as if popping popcorn.
"What's this? A love triangle?"
"...Shut up."
Caught off guard by the ominous tension between Lenox and Hellcannon, I quickly sought forgiveness from my beloved favorite to avoid his resentment.
"Sorry for sending you away by force."
Hellcannon, who had been glaring at Lenox, flinched and looked at me.
Our eyes met; he bit his lip and averted his gaze, only to look back at me with a softened voice.
"No, my lady. I knew the situation was perilous and unavoidable... yet I couldn't help feeling hurt. I'm just relieved I haven't been a burden to you, Kaisha-nim."
"!"
Kim Je-hyun's jaw dropped at Hellcannon's words, while I clutched my sinking heart and gazed at him with trembling eyes.
This was insane.
Was that really dialogue a person could utter?
Oblivious to our awestruck faces—moved by his radiant character and beautifully woven words—Hellcannon eyed Lenox warily before asking me,
"Has this man become one of your bound heroes or an incarnation as well, Kaisha-nim?"
"No. Just a war prisoner."
I'd wanted to, but I ultimately failed to make Lenox a 'bound hero' or 'incarnation.'
Probably because his divinity outranked mine.
Once I surpass him, I'll try again.
For now, to prove his 'harmlessness' to me, Lenox had accepted far harsher and more powerful restrictions than before.
"Yugeon has a skill for managing war prisoners."
If Yugeon hadn't returned to me after a full day of city sightseeing with the guildmates at the end, Lenox's status would've been ambiguous.
I held out my hand to Lenox, and he obediently placed his on it.
Rolling up his sleeve revealed a black magic circle etched around his wrist like a tattoo, emanating an ominous aura that looked incredibly ominous at first glance.
"Lenox will be working with me from now on. That's part of the contract."
Truth be told, it was such a brutal prisoner constraint that even Lenox hesitated, but after I'd once refused his otherworld exile, he eventually relented in resignation.
Lenox listened to my words with a serious expression.
He was playing docile for now, but I had no idea what he was really thinking.
Naturally, I trusted Yugeon, not Lenox.
As a weapon optimized for constellation wars, Yugeon assured me he could perfectly subdue Lenox with this prisoner seal if needed.
Hellcannon's face grew complicated as he listened.
His red eyes sharpened with wariness and displeasure toward Lenox, but he soon looked away.
"...That's fortunate."
Hellcannon schooled his expression into a smile, wrapping up the conversation.
* * *
Not long after the mission ended, the feed cut off, and the Babel Tower rankings appeared.
『1st: Kaisha / Korea』
『2nd: Dart / Korea』
『3rd: Lugh / USA』
After the Babel Tower mission concluded, a 'Babel Tower' tab was patched into hunters' system windows worldwide.
The new ranking category on the Babel Tower's main screen displayed the overall hunter rankings, sending the world into a frenzy.
-Congrats! Kaisha claims #1 (lol
-This is it!!!
-Babel Tower's the real deal
-Finally a trustworthy ranking, agreed
-Kaisha and Dart as world top 2 for real? lololololol
-Kaisha #1 makes sense. She crushed the European Union too. Not even close in raw power rankings, but this seems accurate.
Korean netizens went wild over Kaisha's solid #1 spot.
-Lugh who got stabbed early by Dart at #3 means it's not XP from kills like a game.
-Based on combat power probably.
-Kaisha at #1 feels right. #7 was a joke lololol
With Lugh—who died pretty early to Dart—at #3 overall, the Babel Tower ranking was presumed to be based on combat prowess.
-But Abyss at #5 lmao, Abyss's ego must be raging
-Gilgamesh cracking world top 10 is the wildest. In Korea he got wrecked by Dart so much he felt like #7 at best.
-Half of world top 10 being Korean hunters is unreal.
-Don't let foreigners take it.
-Fr, protect God Kaisha at all costs.
The world top 10 as ranked by Babel Tower went like this:
『4th: Queen / UK』
『5th: Abyss / Korea』
『6th: Hao Rui / China』
『7th: Lilith / USA』
『8th: Hyun-woo / Korea』
『9th: Long Long / China』
『10th: Gilgamesh / Korea』
With Korean hunters claiming half the top 10, Korea cemented its status as the hunter superpower.
Rankings continued below that.
The rankings ignited a global frenzy, including Korea.
While the public buzzed excitedly over the Babel Tower rankings, world leaders eyed the resources from Korea's claimed lands and the shifting national power from these rankers.
The live broadcast of the Babel Tower world ranking war kept rippling outward.
Over time, 'Babel Tower World Ranking War' spread not just via global internet but through major broadcasts too.
Footage from the Babel Tower was meticulously compiled into high-quality edits, its unmatched realism outshining movies and captivating the world.
Rankers became stars blending human weapons, heroes, and celebrities, drowning in waves of public attention.
Amid the global uproar, Kaisha—now #1 and headline news worldwide—had no time to rest as hoped, swamped nonstop.
She visited injured guildmates from the Error Code fight, checked Abyss's debut prep, and more.
Of course, Space King's military conflicts, Babel Tower resource mining rights, and resource allocation needed guild leaders pooling ideas.
Meanwhile, interior work wrapped on the Gangnam building bought by Fullminak, and 'Fullminak Guild' officially emerged.
All this filled the week after exiting Babel Tower.
* * *
["Hello, viewers! This is God Gold, still marinating in national pride after that thrilling Babel Tower broadcast! Hope you're all splashing around in the hype too?!"]
["Hunters' real-time heroics have the whole world hooked on real heroes."]
["Korea's on another level right now."]
["Hero stories are fun enough as fiction, but real heroes? Unskippable epic."]
["Yup."]
God Gold's broadcast flashed articles in various languages.
["As expected, Korean rankers dominated Babel Tower rankings, drawing global eyes to Korean guilds."]
["They'll want those 1004-channel resources and poach the hunters too."]
A segment showed experts soon deploying to the otherworld for resource surveys.
Still ongoing, it passed quickly.
["Fullminak guildmates injured by Error Code are recovering naturally, good news."]
["Very fortunate."]
Footage aired of Kaisha laughing and chatting with guildmates.
Uploaded to Fullminak's YouTube too—they were ramping up content ahead of Abyss's debut to build their image.
["Kaisha-nim visiting personally, holding hands and all."]
["Families seem more thrilled seeing her than worried about injuries... kids got hurt but parents look stoked."]
["No severe cases, plus hefty compensation."]
["Makes sense."]
["Money isn't everything, but it sure expresses heart well?"]
["Kaisha-nim's vast love shines through. She's world-famous now, guild rep too—of course she'd make a good impression."]
["Networking matters."]
Hosts nodded, moving on.
["Lately I live for foreign reactions. Especially US bashing Dart... hurts my heart, can't hide it."]
Grinning lessened the conviction, but as fellow Koreans, the host took Dart's side verbally.
But briefly.
["Keep the hate coming, please."]
["Dude."]
Chuckles from hosts zipped by.
Screens showed US media on Dart and English net comments.
["Dart's actions in Babel Tower weren't toxic—just logical. True lesson for Lugh there."]
["No way, doubting my eyes. How do you shake hands with Dart?"]
["Right?"]
Unthinkable for Goldbunker—no, Korean users.
Hosts shook heads.
["US calling Dart a demon now. So tragic."]
["Realizing it now."]
["Did they seriously not know?"]
["Why'd you do it? We suffered watching—learned nothing? Bro warned you about that guy!"]
Hosts scolded Lugh with genuine pity.