The Sword Emperor's Condition
"What do you mean by that?"
I stared at Kang Mina, my face blank with bewilderment.
"This is a request from South Korea's top hunter, after all. On top of that, China happens to be in a position where they desperately need our help."
"..."
"From where I stand, we have more than enough leverage to demand Jeol."
She spoke with such absolute confidence that I found myself wondering if she was right.
Actually, she makes a tempting point...
Looking at it objectively, there was absolutely no way for me to obtain Jeol on my own.
The Hunter Administration Office wasn't about to run around doing legwork to secure it for someone who wasn't even a high-ranking hunter.
And it was practically impossible for an individual like Lee Taepyeong to negotiate directly with a foreign government.
I had racked my brain trying to come up with a solution, but I'd been stuck at a dead end. Until now.
...But this might actually work.
Even in a world upended by the Babel Tower, the system, and monsters, society still ran on justification.
No, perhaps it was a world that required justification even more than before.
"..."
I fell into a brief silence, weighing the options.
If luck was on my side, I would get Jeol. Even if things went south, I would still walk away with plenty of benefits.
Honestly, no matter where I ended up, I couldn't see myself failing.
It wasn't arrogance. Anyone who had obtained a trait like mine would think the exact same thing.
So, why refuse?
"...Sounds good."
Besides, even without me, this raid would feature the absolute best hunters from both South Korea and China.
I didn't even need to pull my own weight. If I just tagged along and rode their coattails...
Jeol would be mine! It's practically a freebie.
"Then, my condition is..."
"Securing Jeol, right?"
Kang Mina smiled, brimming with confidence.
"Is that really negotiable?"
"Of course."
"I heard China wants Dan as well."
"That's true. But this time, they aren't in a position to refuse."
"Because of Hunter Choi Muryeong?"
"Exactly."
Kang Mina nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Out of China's top five hunters, only one was in the global top ten, and even then, they were ranked eighth.
The Chinese side knew better than anyone the massive gulf between their best and Choi Muryeong, the world's number three.
"Is it really okay for me to demand this, though?"
Kang Mina pondered for a moment before nodding.
"To be honest, the Chinese side doesn't know much about you, Hunter Lee..."
"Won't they think I'm overstepping my bounds?"
"If it came from you, they might. But if the higher-ups approve it, it will be presented as Hunter Choi Muryeong's demand."
"Really?"
"Yes, because he specifically handpicked you."
"Hmm."
"And they probably already expect you to set some conditions."
"In that case..."
"I'd say it's a guaranteed deal."
I agreed with her assessment.
If it was Choi Muryeong's demand—especially for an item like Jeol, which China had no way of utilizing anyway—they would have no choice but to accept, even if they knew I already possessed Dan.
They would console themselves with the fact that, at the very least, it wasn't falling into the hands of their rivals, the Japanese.
"Do you have any other conditions? Perhaps financial compensation..."
"No. Getting Jeol is more than enough for me."
"Are you sure? We could easily negotiate a substantial monetary reward..."
"It's fine. I'll get reward chests from the raid anyway, so that will suffice."
"You really have no greed..."
Was that so? I scratched the back of my head, looking at Kang Mina, who seemed strangely disappointed.
"Demanding Jeol might already be pushing it."
"But we don't know what might happen."
"That's exactly why I shouldn't ask for more. If the synergy between Dan and Jeol turns out to be too incredible..."
"..."
"...the Chinese side will definitely try to find a loophole or cause trouble."
"I suppose you have a point..."
"So, the simpler and cleaner the demand, the better."
Kang Mina nodded, convinced.
"Well then, I'll go deliver your terms..."
"Wait a moment."
I stopped her just as she was about to stand up.
"Did Hunter Choi Muryeong set any conditions for me?"
At my question, a look of hesitation crossed her face.
"Well, about that..."
What kind of condition could warrant that reaction?
After shifting her gaze nervously for a moment, she finally spoke.
"...He said he would tell you directly."
"In person?!"
The next day.
I headed out after receiving a summons from the Hunter Administration Office.
When I arrived at the conference room,
"Oh, Taepyeong!"
Ban Haeyeong welcomed me, alongside
"Hello, Hunter Lee Taepyeong,"
Han Sion, and...
"..."
Choi Muryeong.
The three of them were waiting for me.
"I have heard about your condition."
Oh. Skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point? I liked that.
I slumped into an empty chair and looked at Choi Muryeong.
"I will demand Jeol from the Chinese side."
That was music to my ears.
If Choi Muryeong was the one demanding it, China wouldn't be able to reject it outright.
They would pretend to agonize over it, negotiate a bit, and then agree the moment they felt the cost-benefit analysis tipped in their favor.
Honestly, considering Choi Muryeong's caliber, handing over Jeol was probably a small price to pay.
"That's a relief."
At my nonchalant reply, Choi Muryeong's eyebrow twitched.
It was so brief that I was likely the only one who noticed.
"If we complete the mission successfully..."
"..."
"...I will hand Jeol over to you."
Well, that was a given.
No matter how high-grade an S-rank weapon was, no one here had any use for Jeol.
It only held value if paired with Dan.
Besides, all three of them already possessed S-rank weapons of their own.
"However..."
Ah, here it comes.
"There is a condition."
The catch had finally arrived. What kind of condition was Choi Muryeong going to impose?
"I hear you are about to challenge the 20th floor."
He even knew about that? Talk about being overly interested in my business.
Is he going to say he'll take me along only if I clear the 20th floor in record time?
Or maybe they were offering to help me clear it faster?
"Before you participate in this mission..."
"..."
"...you must clear the 30th floor."
Wait. What?
"The 30th floor?"
I wasn't the only one caught off guard. Ban Haeyeong gasped in shock, and even Han Sion stared at Choi Muryeong with wide eyes.
"Your time limit is one month."
Only Choi Muryeong remained perfectly composed, his voice flat and dry.
What kind of bullshit is this?
The 30th floor? And in just one month?
That's impossible.
It wasn't that clearing the 30th floor itself was impossible, but the time limit made it so.
Because...
"If you fail to clear it within the time limit..."
"..."
"...I will keep Jeol for myself."
Wow. He really had a talent for talking absolute nonsense.
In that case...
"Go ahead."
I had no choice but to match his nonsense with my own, right?
The 20s were essentially a grinding zone. A tedious stretch populated by Orcs and Trolls.
The Babel Tower was structured that way from the beginning.
You got a feel for things fighting Goblins in the 10s, and then you grinded levels against Orcs and Trolls in the 20s.
In short, it was a zone where you just mindlessly slaughtered everything in sight.
It would be exhausting, but all I had to do was climb like a madman.
Grind, open chests, and break through the level stagnation.
Whether you could push through this section determined your entire future in the tower.
If you couldn't break past the 20s, you were doomed to hunt Goblins in the 10s forever or scrape by selling low-level items for pocket change.
But once you cleared the 30th floor, the Hunter Administration Office would officially start managing you.
Your quarters would be upgraded to the Second Section, and this was the point where various guilds would start throwing recruitment offers at you.
In Cha Yerin's case, her leveling speed had been so absurdly fast that she had received offers early on.
As for me, I had kept my information private to prevent anyone from contacting me.
Since I lived entirely within the Administration Office's facilities, guilds had no opportunity to approach me.
Consequently, I had received zero official offers.
Anyway, clearing the 30th floor wasn't technically impossible.
It would be tough, but I just had to climb like crazy.
Unlike most hunters who carefully managed their pace and floor progression, I had always intended to climb as fast as possible.
So there was nothing holding me back...
Except for the time limit.
From the 30th floor onward, undead monsters began to appear. This was another major hurdle where countless hunters dropped out.
Of course, since I already had an undead-related achievement, I wasn't worried about that part.
However...
The real problem lies elsewhere.
Indeed.
The Lich King.
The final boss of the 30s was none other than the Lich King. You didn't actually fight him until the 39th floor.
So why worry? Well...
I'm worried as hell.
Just like how the Goblin Shaman from the 19th floor had appeared to cast a curse when I cleared the 10th floor...
The Lich King from the 39th floor would manifest to cast a curse when I cleared the 30th floor.
And that curse was the problem.
If you were hit by the Lich King's curse, you would be consumed by madness and turn into his puppet.
A mindless slaughterer swinging a blade at ally and foe alike.
"..."
While this would be troublesome for anyone, it was a catastrophic scenario for me.
Who knew having the ability to kill everyone would become a liability...
If I went solo, I would lose my mind and never return. If I went in a party, I would lose my mind and slaughter all my teammates.
Either outcome was horrific.
This wasn't the plan.
My original plan was to take my time in the 20s, leveling up Cha Yerin and Woo Jumin while grinding until we obtained mental defense items.
Since we needed to level up and get gear anyway, I had intended to take a slow, steady approach.
But with a one-month deadline... That was out the window.
Which means...
To block the madness curse, a mental defense item was absolutely mandatory.
Alternatively, I needed a mage who could cast mental defense spells.
But mental defense items were astronomically expensive.
Actually, the price wasn't even the issue. The real problem was that you couldn't buy them even if you had the money. There was simply no supply.
This was a global shortage.
That left finding a mage capable of mental defense magic, which was just as rare as the items themselves.
Han Sion could probably do it. But would he actually help me?
In the first place, Choi Muryeong had set this up specifically to force me to ask for help.
To make me abandon my team and join theirs.
"..."
I'd rather die than do that. Unless Choi Muryeong was willing to join my team as a supporter, that is.
So what other options did I have? Resisting it through sheer, raw willpower.
But was that even possible?
...Honestly, I don't have the confidence.
Should I try to acquire a mental defense item through illegal channels?
Or should I ask Cha Yerin and Woo Jumin to grind two dungeon runs a day, every single day?
"..."
Neither option was viable.
The black market wouldn't have mental defense items either, or if they did, they'd come with severe side effects.
And if we grinded two runs a day, Cha Yerin and Woo Jumin would collapse from exhaustion.
"Sigh..."
I should have known things were going too smoothly. A heavy weight pressed down on my chest.
"...I'm going to go run some random solo queues."
I couldn't just sit here. I needed to go slice something up.