Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Ramju Thunder Puts on a Stern Front to Discipline Its Junior
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"I wish for a skill level-up."
I made my choice without a second's hesitation.
This was a decision I'd already reached long ago, back when I fantasized about what I'd do if such an opportunity ever arose.
Of course, 'Random Skill Acquisition' or 'Random S-Rank Item Acquisition' would be amazing choices too.
Normally, getting a new skill is even rarer than leveling up an existing one.
Especially for me—I desperately needed an attack skill I could use myself.
And S-rank items? Whether I could use them or not, they'd fetch tens of billions at minimum.
I could cover my little sister's college tuition and give her plenty of pocket money.
We could move out of this cramped apartment we fled to after getting chased off for late payments on Mom and Dad's capsules, into something bigger and more comfortable.
But compared to those skills or billions in cash, I judged the value of this skill level-up to be far greater.
"Taming skill level-up."
On the surface, the Taming skill description hadn't changed at all.
But when I pulled up the Monster Guidebook to check, I broke into a satisfied grin.
"Just as I thought."
Leveling up Taming had increased my companion slots, exactly as expected.
It was the only skill I had related to companion capacity anyway.
"Chit, chit-chit!"
"You like that too?"
Thunder's eyes sparkled at the news of an extra companion slot.
Did this guy even grasp what that meant?
Even climbing the tower solo with just this one Ramju Thunder, I was shattering records left and right and raking in massive rewards.
What if I added another companion to the mix?
I could clear even faster and easier, claiming records and rewards with less effort.
Sure, there might come a floor that even a maxed-out, trained Thunder couldn't handle.
If so, I'd just add more companions and tackle it together.
And that was far from all.
I could cut down those weeks-long grinding sessions for levels.
With two companions, even if their levels were a bit low, I could still hit record times.
I'd climb even faster than now.
Sure, a new skill or S-rank item might make the next few floors a breeze right away.
But that was just a handful of floors.
Compared to the potential from training a new companion—or any skill, really—it was negligible.
That was how overpowered the Trainer class's companion ability truly was.
I'd felt it keenly while climbing with Thunder.
What? But wouldn't skills level up naturally as my Hunter level rises?
And who knows when I'd get a new skill or S-rank item anyway?
Fine, then even better.
Level-up for more companions + wish for more companions.
Doubling my companions.
The more companions, the better.
Strength in numbers.
No contest against some new skill or item.
Next time I collect all the Star Fragments, I'll pick skill level-up again, no question.
Fwash—!
Suddenly, the Star Fragment—fully powered by my wish—began to glow.
"What the...?"
The fragment on the ground had changed shape.
From a star to the tooth of a key.
No way...
It clicked perfectly into place.
Sure enough, the transformed fragment matched the key fragment I'd gotten as a reward from the secret floor.
"You want me to collect these too?"
Gather Star Fragments, complete the star piece, make a wish.
Then gather the leftover key fragments to complete the key.
Finishing this key would probably trigger something else.
"...Fine. You laid out the board, so I'll dance my heart out for you."
"Chit-chit!"
I clenched my fist, and Thunder mirrored me with its tiny squirrel paw, bumping fists in solidarity.
Even if all this was just some bastard's game, I didn't care.
It beat the hell out of those 1,000 days lying around, hopelessly waiting for someone to conquer the tower.
While Ji-woo was busy as ever, South Korea was in an uproar.
The cause? Ji-woo's relentless climbing certification posts, refusing to stop even amid the chaos.
After Floor 2, he'd shattered records on 3, 4, and now 5 in a row—stirring up major waves in mainstream media and politics.
The public and community sites were even more ablaze.
Most were celebrating with hopes for economic growth and national security boosts, but there were plenty of worried voices too.
This No. 3026 was a complete unknown—no identity, no whereabouts, no rumors or future plans. Nothing.
Why was that such a problem?
There was precedent.
Not quite on 3026's record-shattering level, but S-rank Summoner Choi Min-su—a promising star who'd cleared the entire Challenge Tower with S-ranks.
The moment he became a ranker, he defected to China.
Hunter Department negligence let the Communist Party snatch him up.
They'd secretly sent agents to strike a deal with him, and the Korean government didn't catch on until he boarded the plane.
Choi Min-su got branded a traitor and showered with abuse, but the government took equal heat from the public.
The Hunter Minister got pelted with rotten eggs at a press conference; the President issued a national apology.
Losing a homegrown promising Hunter was that sensitive an issue.
Especially with Choi Min-su's precedent fresh—the public was anxious about failing to track this 3026.
And this guy outshone that loser by miles: a historic prodigy breaking Han Su-ho's untouchable 3-year records.
If they lost a talent like this to foreigners... rotten eggs wouldn't be the end for the Hunter Minister's face.
Nor could the President just apologize his way out.
So who was sweating the most in this mess?
The President or Minister just mentioned?
Nah... the grunts always get the short end.
"You worthless bastards! Are you even human!? We gave you all that time... and you still have zero leads, not even a clue!? Does that make any sense?!"
"S-Sorry, sir!"
In the Trial Tower's 0th floor office, Section Chief Park Kwang-hyun was unleashing hell.
The entire staff stood ramrod straight against the wall, getting reamed.
"Do you know how cushy you have it? Huh? Sitting on your asses all day sipping coffee, sorting tower data, making reports, crunching stats, tracking Hunter updates... That's too hard for you? Huh?"
"N-No, sir..."
"If you don't wanna work, say so upfront! I'll ship you straight to Hunter Management!"
"N-No, sir! We'll work hard!"
The civil servants freaked at Park's words.
Tower Hunter Management.
Nicknamed the Hunter Department's graveyard.
Their job? Negotiating with top-tier Hunters—the absolute alphas of modern Hunter society.
Negotiating, my ass.
It was begging: "We'll handle everything, just don't defect abroad~ Please sell your rare resources and items here, not overseas~"
They haggled high-grade magic stone prices, coddled demanding divas for perks—you name it.
Hair loss from stress was standard; half the department quit within a year.
Compared to that, the Trial Tower office was paradise.
Once Park stormed out, Staff Officer Jo Jin-su and rookie Park Min-ah sighed in relief.
They hadn't been slacking, especially Min-ah, who'd been watching him since Floor 1.
"Goddamn, that Park asshole... Min-ah, any news on 3026?"
"We're still combing Hunter community intel, but... he's only posting climbing certs. Nothing else."
"Fucking hell... What kinda psycho does that!? That Choi Min-su prick bragged to Hunter Department right after S-ranks on Floor 3, milked all the support..."
"Han Su-ho didn't report his records to Hunter Department either, right?"
"He thinks he's Han Su-ho? ...Nah. Though 3026 is breaking records too. Still, things are different from Han Su-ho's debut three years ago."
Back when Han Su-ho first appeared, the brass weren't this paranoid about early Hunter trends.
This panic was all fallout from Choi Min-su's defection.
Min-ah, deep in thought, piped up.
"Oh! Senior, we know exactly how many magic stones you get per rank on Challenge Tower Floors 1 through 5, right?"
"Yeah? Challenge Tower data's detailed to hell."
"So, what if we query Hunters who've exchanged that exact amount from his climbing records?"
"Ooh... Smart. That'd narrow the suspects."
"Thanks! Handle it for me?"
With that, Min-ah grabbed her jacket.
"Wait, dumping it on me? What're you doing?"
"He posts certs daily at the same time. Means he climbs around then, right? I'll stake out the tower entrance!"
"Fair point, but... since when do we do fieldwork?"
"What're you saying? We're civil servants living off taxpayer money. Anyway, I'll be out on assignment for a bit."
"Uh, sure. Good luck..."
Min-ah bolted; Jin-su scratched his head.
Was she always this gung-ho...?
No way Jin-su could've known Min-ah—watching 3026 since way back—had developed an almost obsessive fixation.
Grateful for her taking the grunt work, he dove into data collection.
It wasn't easy; the volume was massive.
"Sigh... We're busting our asses here. Throw us a bone, Squirrel Enthusiast or whatever..."
Jin-su prayed to the heavens.
Of course, lowly civil servants' wishes weren't Ji-woo's problem.
The dry mechanical beep from the downtown magic stone exchanger.
My account showed the deposit.
But the amount was modest—deliberately so.
'They're obviously tracking me...'
With the whole country hunting for No. 3026, government and corps alike were sniffing for any trace.
So I exchanged only what I needed, not my full stash.
Cashing everything at once? The sum alone could expose me.
Sure, revealing myself would net Hunter Department perks.
But not yet.
Reason? My ability's sheer weirdness, as I said before.
What if I said I could tame tower monsters and let them loose in the real world?
Public panic. Government control freaks.
Normally, a prodigy like me holds all the cards, but this outlier ability? Government's reaction was a wild card.
"Yeah. Better stay hidden at least until I clear the Challenge Tower."
By then, who'd dare mess with me?
Hell, I could stay anonymous forever.
Government raid support? Irrelevant when I could grow infinitely solo.
"Haa... Still wanna cash in big though..."
Eat well, move to a nice place.
Send cash to Grandpa farming in the countryside.
Resisting instant rewards was torture.
I rolled a Mid-Grade Magic Stone from last time between my fingers.
Mid-grades were leagues above low-grades. This little purple pebble? Ten million won.
Thunder kept lunging to nom it—barely held the glutton back.
Even I wrestled temptation daily.
"Eh, back to work. No distractions."
Best cure for wandering thoughts: mindless grind.
Exchanged stones from home, then today's Challenge Tower Floor 5 repeat.
And...
"Kwoooaa... Guk!? Kwi! Kurururuk...!"
The Challenge Tower Floor 5 boss, Hob Goblin, wailed and clocked out five seconds after spawning—same as always.
The usual reward messages popped up.
But one oddity slipped in.
"Pass."
Now a Taming prompt popped every kill.
Seemed mandatory when slots were empty.
System belatedly explained: two ways to make companions with Taming.
One: Recruit.
Like this—invite defeated monsters myself.
The other: Submission.
Like Thunder—the monster volunteers to join me.
I could still refuse.
"Eh, a Hob Goblin could be decent if raised... but No. 2's gotta be chosen carefully."
Forced into the first one, so the second? Strategic pick.
Sturdy, high growth potential.
I fired up Tower Climbing Gallery posts and Challenge Tower Monster Guidebook.
"Hey, what about this one?"
"Chit, chit-chit."
"Nah? Okay, this?"
"Chit-chit."
Lately, flipping through the guide like a catalog, fantasizing over companions, was my life's joy.
Flying Wyvern? Or that fairy with all the buffs?
Higher floors for better picks, anyway.
Thunder hopped up, shadowboxing the air.
"Chit-chit, chit!"
"Haha, you maniac."