Becoming Humanity's Hope from My Bedroom

At the exact moment Lee Haram cleared the 3rd floor, the eyes of the entire world were glued to their television screens.

The absolute, undisputed rank #1 hunter in the world—the Empress—was visiting South Korea. The news of her official press conference had captured global attention.

It had been years since the Empress last visited South Korea. Although she had not officially stated the purpose of her visit, everyone was absolutely certain of her reasons.

In the waiting room behind the bustling press conference hall, a brown-haired woman rushed toward a blue-haired woman.

"Guild Leader Ji Ye-eun!"

"Yes?"

"Here! This is the S-rank Gate you'll be clearing with the Empress after the press conference. It includes the status of the support units and the distribution method for the acquired byproducts..."

"Where is Seo-ah unni? Why did you bring this?"

South Korea's rank #1 hunter, Ji Ye-eun, asked with a blunt, expressionless face.

"Ah, about that..."

Cheon Seo-ah was the one who usually handled all of the guild's administrative affairs, big and small. She was the savior who organized everything so that Ji Ye-eun could focus entirely on shooting her bow. But today, she was nowhere to be seen.

"It seems Teacher Haram entered the Tower, so she's waiting for her to come out."

"Huh? Why is Seo-ah unni waiting for that?"

"Ah, well..."

Where should she even begin to explain? Ji Ye-eun had been away from the guild headquarters since last month to defend the DMZ against a severe monster wave.

Because of that, she had no idea that Haram had recently left the guild, nor did she know that Cheon Seo-ah had gone to Haram's house.

"Well, you see..."

"Anyway, Seo-ah unni wrote this report, right?"

"Ah, yes!"

"Then go ahead with it. If there's a problem, I'll take responsibility."

Usually, the most common issues when clearing Gates arose from the distribution of rewards.

If worst comes to worst, I'll just give up my days off.

If a problem occurred with the reward distribution, she could simply sacrifice her vacation days to make up for the loss. Pushing the complex administrative issues aside for later, Ji Ye-eun went back to maintaining her bow.

A moment later, the waiting room door opened, and a man in a black suit stepped inside.

"Empress, everything is ready."

"Good. Let us depart."

With long, straight green hair and a height taller than most men, the Empress rose from her seat.

"I shall return."

"Ah, yes!"

"Have a safe trip, May unni," Ji Ye-eun said, waving her hand as the brown-haired staff member bowed.

I don't know how May unni stands going to those things. Isn't it exhausting?

Ji Ye-eun, who absolutely detested public attention, could not comprehend why the Empress stood before the public so often. But the Empress simply walked toward the press conference hall in silence.

As the Empress entered the hall, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the deafening click of camera shutters filled the room.

"What is the purpose of your visit to South Korea?!"

"Are you planning to clear the S-rank Gate in Daejeon?!"

"Is it true that you sent a love call to the climber of the Impossible difficulty?!"

"If the Impossible difficulty climber comes forward, what do you plan to offer them?!"

Amidst the barrage of questions, the Empress quietly raised her hand.

"This visit is..."

In an instant, absolute silence fell over the press conference hall.

"I will take your questions in due time. But before that..."

Camera flashes continued to burst, and reporters opened and closed their mouths in anticipation, but only the Empress's voice echoed through the hall.

"To you, who are currently clearing the Impossible difficulty in South Korea—I have a message."

"Twenty years ago, after the first Gates and Awakeners appeared, humanity lost eighty percent of its territory to monsters."

"For the past twenty years, our domain has shrunk every year, and our population has steadily declined."

When Gates appeared alongside Awakeners, they had to be cleared. If left alone for too long, the Gates would collapse, and monsters would pour out into the world. Inside the Gates, modern weapons were useless, but on Earth, the story was different.

The powerful nations of the world poured bombs onto the collapsed Gate areas to wipe out the monsters. For a brief moment, humanity foolishly believed they had triumphed through the great power of science.

However, monsters began to pour out of the collapsed Gates in endless, inexhaustible numbers. When monsters began to swarm even from the polar regions where humanity could not easily reach, mankind was ultimately forced to abandon vast swathes of territory.

"If you consider the humanity living on this same Earth as your compatriots, and if you have the heart to protect them..."

"I, the Empress, promise to give you everything I possess."

"I will become the shield that blocks all enemies targeting you. I will be your most reliable supporter as you conquer the Tower."

"Even if you choose to join another guild, it matters not. I am prepared to give you everything."

The Empress paused to catch her breath, her gaze resolute.

"Please, become the hope of humanity."

As her speech concluded, the heavy, commanding aura that had gripped the hall dissipated.

"By supporting everything, do you mean you will provide the treasures held in the Forbidden City?!"

"Of course. Whether it is the Green Dragon Crescent Blade or the Sky Piercer, I will give you anything. If you require the treasures of other nations, I will acquire them through trade."

"How do you plan to meet the Impossible difficulty climber?"

"It will be difficult to meet unless they seek me out first. After clearing the abandoned S-rank Gate in Daejeon today, I intend to wait at the Association of Awakeners headquarters for a week."

"In that case, what about your scheduled visit to Vietnam ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in three days..."

The Q&A session between the Empress and the reporters continued, but the public's attention was entirely focused on the bombshell declaration she had just dropped.

"Woof."

"Huh? What's wrong, Poppy?"

Poppy, who had been browsing the community forums alongside me, barked.

"Woof!"

"You can protect me? You're a weakling who couldn't even beat a mini kraken."

"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!!!!!"

Perhaps his pride had been wounded by the Empress's claim that she would protect me. I calmed the agitated Poppy and closed the community window.

"Alright, alright. I wasn't planning on going to meet her anyway."

"Woof."

Back when I worked for the Cheongung Guild, I had met the Empress several times. She was a truly selfless absolute power who genuinely cared for others and ground her own body to dust for the sake of humanity. The Cheongung Guild, including myself, had received her help on numerous occasions.

"It's not that I doubt the Empress... but it's still too early to meet."

Everything the Empress had said during the press conference was undoubtedly sincere. However, even so, there were too many problems if I were to seek her out.

"There's no need to take unnecessary risks. For both me and the Empress."

If I met the Empress now, countless people would find out that I was the climber of the Impossible difficulty. That would completely defeat the purpose of hiding my identity in Ansan.

And while the Empress was indeed the strongest person under heaven...

"Even the Empress isn't invincible, right? She might be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fine alone, but she won't be able to run wild like before if she's dragging a piece of dead weight around."

The Empress's true strength came from her freedom—the fact that she had nothing to protect. If a burden like me were added to the equation, there was no telling what variables might arise.

"Until I grow stronger, the Empress needs to hold the line. The least I can do is not become a burden, even if I can't help her yet."

During my time at the Cheongung Guild, I had confirmed that the forces lurking in the shadows of the Awakener world were far more formidable than most realized.

From Awakener supremacists who believed they should rule over all ordinary humans, to cults worshipping bizarre gods, and even organizations that revered the Gates and monsters themselves.

South Korea, with the Cheongung Guild holding the reins, was relatively safe from these threats. But there were many countries that had fallen into complete anarchy.

"At the very least, I need to become stronger than the Empress."

"Woof."

"I'm sorry, but even if there were a hundred thousand of you using Gigantification, you still couldn't beat the Empress."

"Woof, woof, woof!!!"

Since I was only on the 3rd floor, it didn't feel real yet, but the rewards from the Tower grew exponentially as one climbed to the higher floors. This aspect was even more pronounced in the Hard difficulty.

It was to the point where some low-rank Awakeners lamented that those who cleared Easy or Normal difficulty, or those below the 30th floor of Hard difficulty, were practically no different from ordinary humans.

Of course, actual ordinary humans would foam at the mouth and ask what kind of nonsense that was.

"Well, let's stop talking about things that don't concern us and open our 3rd-floor rewards, shall we?"

I comforted the sulking Poppy and opened my status window.

"What, is this a jackpot?"

The number of points was somewhat absurd. Unfortunately, it didn't trigger a hidden achievement or anything of the sort.

"Ah, the Tower has no sense of humor. It's not even giving me a hidden achievement for this?"

"Woof?"

"Hand it over."

As I stood there with my arms crossed, waiting, a new message appeared before my eyes.

"..."

Now that the beautiful symmetry was ruined, my mood suddenly soured.

Setting that aside, it was once again clear that the Tower was watching me. What exactly did the Tower want from me?

Pondering it now wouldn't yield any answers. The only thing I could do was climb the Tower as quickly as possible and grow stronger. I accessed the Point Shop.

The next floor was a defense map where I had to hold out until reinforcements arrived from the city. I had been blindsided on the 2nd floor, thinking it was a simple village defense mission, but the 4th floor was a mission to protect a massive city ruled by a count.

"Surely a city with a population of over ten thousand hasn't been completely overrun, right?"

"Woof!"

Since the 4th floor was a crucial stepping stone leading to the 5th-floor boss stage, both the transcendents and I agreed that there wouldn't be any massive plot twists like on the 2nd floor.

And if it was a defense map, preparing defense towers was only natural.

"Well, let's see. No matter how many tens of thousands of them come, let's devour them all."

"Roar!"

No matter what kind of unfair bullshit came our way, the legion would never be defeated.