Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Solo Party Play (4)
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[Late evening, road near Ganghwa Island Dolmen Ruins S-Rank Tower.]
"...That was the news, from Lee Yun-mi."
The reporter delivered her closing line, and the camera light flicked off as the cameraman signaled the feed had cut.
"Phew."
"Good work out there, sunbae."
"Good work, my foot. You're the one who got dragged all the way out here to an S-Rank Tower with no name attached."
"Ha, haha..."
The bearded cameraman, his cap pulled low over his eyes, gave an awkward laugh at the reporter Lee Yun-mi's words.
Both of them were civilians, but the cameraman had been summoned along with the explicit order: "Protect the sunbae reporter if anything happens near the S-Rank Tower."
"If the dungeon breaks and monsters come pouring out or whatever, don't you dare step up to save me. Got it?"
"Aw, come on, sunbae. You think a break's really gonna happen?"
"I'm saying it just in case. If there wasn't a scoop on the line from upstairs, I wouldn't be here."
The reporter pointed at the towering spire that evoked the ancient dolmens from the Bronze Age era, piercing straight toward the sky.
"Who knows when a monster might come bursting out of there to kill us."
"But everything except the boss mob's already been wiped out, right?"
"You don't know that. For all we know, the boss could be laying eggs, building a hatchery, mass-producing monsters while we're in the dark. And it's not like we get an exact clearance percentage readout."
"True, but..."
"If the execs at the station want the scoop that bad, they should come film it themselves..."
"They sent their star reporter for the 7 PM news slot—the prettiest face in viewers' eyes."
"What, you hitting on me? Forget a woman like me and go charm those girls over there."
The reporter pointed toward the checkpoint guarded by the military unit, where groups of people were clustered, snapping photos with their smartphones.
"The ones causing a cosplay commotion to get a glimpse of the Cosplay Maid."
"Yeah, you said it earlier. This place is buzzing with people waiting for that S-Rank Hunter."
"Exactly."
The reporter gestured at the throng of people filling the road near the checkpoint.
"Girls who came dressed in cosplay hoping to see the Cosplay Maid up close... People who think hanging around an S-Rank Tower in similar getups might awaken them somehow... Folks like me, sent by the bosses on the off chance an S-Rank Hunter shows up for an interview or a photo op. Ha, what a mess."
"You think she'll really show here? The Cosplay Maid?"
"No clue. But this is the most likely spot. Unless she's swimming to Jeju or Dokdo, or hopping a plane overseas from the airport."
Tap, tap-tap.
The reporter nudged the ground with her foot.
"At least you can walk here. With an S-Rank Hunter's physical specs, they could bike or run right up no problem."
"S-Ranks are pretty exceptional in that department, yeah. But..."
"But?"
"If the Korean government hired the Cosplay Maid, what do you think her going rate would be? 200 million a month like some? Or 200 mil a year?"
"Care to specify if that's won or dollars, and exactly how much?"
"Come on, obviously billions. Ramju Thunder pulls 20 billion a month."
"That's 'cause he's a special case."
The reporter pointed at her smartphone battery.
"He's a walking power plant who erased Korea Electric Power's deficits and slashed everyone's bills by 50%. Gather up all those savings, and yeah, 200 billion a year in the bank makes sense."
"Fair point. And he's a top-tier dealer as a hunter too..."
"S-Rank Hunters aren't just about clearing S-Rank Towers. It's how well they apply their abilities in the real world that counts. Where else you gonna find a patriot like Blue Lightning contributing to the national economy with his powers?"
"Patriot..."
"What's that look for?"
"Nothing. Just some nonsense popped into my head. Not the kind of thing to say in front of you, sunbae."
"Oh, that?"
The reporter smirked, twisting her lips.
"That guy who said, 'If you're not gonna climb the Towers, at least pop out an Awakener kid—that's patriotism'? The one who quit last time?"
"Y-Yeah."
"That's the average Yeouido suit talking. Bet they've got even worse ideas. If you're making kids for patriotism anyway, the father should be... Hold up. Hey, camera! Camera!"
The reporter signaled the cameraman, who immediately adjusted the camera on his shoulder and hit record.
"Excuse me, this is NVC reporter Lee Yun-mi. If it's not too much trouble, could we get a quick interview?"
She thrust the mic forward.
Toward the woman in a black suit, black sunglasses perched on her nose, her black hair framing her face.
In one hand, she clutched a briefcase bulging with thick documents—her demeanor stood out sharply from the casual clusters nearby.
"...Live broadcast?"
"Oh, no, not at all. Studio, you getting the signal...? One sec."
⚙ STUDIO LINK ⚙ [Lee Yun-mi on scene, patching you through now. Lee Yun-mi?] "Yes, this is the entrance checkpoint to the Ganghwa Island S-Rank Tower. Right now, a diverse crowd of citizens has gathered nearby..."
"Hey there. Live on air right now?"
As the reporter turned to the camera to chat with the studio anchor, the woman in black gripped her shoulder and stepped forward.
⚙ STUDIO LINK ⚙ [Ah, ahem. Looks like quite the crowd on scene. Director Jung Cheol-gwang, currently—] "I'm about to raid this place starting now, but I figured I'd give a heads-up first before going in."
"Pardon?"
⚙ STUDIO LINK ⚙ [Pardon?] The reporter and the studio anchor spoke in unison.
"Over there...?"
"With this many people around, seemed like I should say something before heading in."
A blatant broadcast mishap.
But somehow, the cameraman found himself framing the shot perfectly as the woman lowered her sunglasses with the hand that had patted the reporter's shoulder.
"Just in case—no one else follow me into the Tower. It's dangerous."
"Y-You, c-could you be...?"
The reporter's eyes trembled wildly as she swallowed hard and asked.
"The Cosplay Maid...?"
"........."
The woman in black slipped her sunglasses back on.
Thud—whoosh.
In a single bound, she vaulted over the crowd from a standstill, landing on the roof of the soldiers' checkpoint four meters up.
Silence.
The onlookers near the checkpoint all sensed it instinctively from her impossible leap—covering fifty meters in the blink of an eye, then scaling the outpost.
Soldiers, reporters, cyber reckoners alike.
"An S-Rank Hunter!!!"
With that cry, the black-haired woman—who'd previously worn a maid outfit—sprinted toward the S-Rank Tower and vanished inside in an instant.
"Whoa... insane..."
The cameraman's mesmerized mutter broadcast worldwide, but no one could complain.
"Th-This is the front checkpoint of Ganghwa Island S-Rank Tower!! Moments ago, the S-Rank Hunter presumed to have cleared the Mungyeong Saejae Tower suddenly appeared here and...!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hunter
Appearance
Normally, raiding a Tower as a hunter follows procedure.
You report to the government for pre-approval.
That means submitting ID, of course, plus filing a full "raid plan."
And it doesn't end there.
Government approval is required before entry.
Go in without permission, and you're on your own in that lawless Tower zone—the government disclaims all responsibility.
But does getting approval mean they take full liability? Nah.
Tower experts say it's just strict access control, but plenty of hunters hate the hassle of showing ID or getting permits.
Towers exist to fight world-threatening monsters—why micromanage climbing them?
Some call it protecting newly Awakened hunters; others say it's about controlling them.
To me right now, it's the latter.
If it were the former, I wouldn't need to expose Elaine's ID.
'Resident registration numbers on IDs or hunter licenses—hackers snatch that data left and right.'
The moment Elaine submits hers, hacking starts.
Truth be told, internal leaks from officials worry me more.
One of those bureaucrats pocketing bribes from some red-suited suit to hand over Elaine's info? Way too likely. That's why I planned this style of entry.
Skip the procedures, hide the info, but declare it loud enough for the whole world.
Beep-beep.
An SNS alert pinged on my smartphone.
A video from U.S. President Aizen A. Luigi.
The short clip—barely twenty seconds—showed the suited president staring seriously straight at the camera.
"My old friend, 'that one' from West Virginia, just messaged me five minutes ago." He continued: "He's going to raid Korea's Ganghwa Island S-Rank Tower. I wish him the best of luck. May God bless you." "...We did talk yesterday, but still."
Now the world would know.
Whether Cosplay Maid or her master, this was someone even the U.S. President got mere "notification" from—a hegemon of the skies.
Soon, word would spread to leaders worldwide about Luigi.
He'd respond accordingly.
That he'd just gotten the notice himself.
That he wasn't in a position to command me.
-Rest easy, my friend. As per your request, no U.S. government agency will know you're raiding Ganghwa.
Only the one who gave me the black card knew, along with his closest aides who'd met me face-to-face.
-To show even America can't control you, we'll deploy agents to other S-Rank Towers, not Ganghwa. Let Korea or anyone else misunderstand.
A force even the U.S. government could only predict, not control.
Then his own people would grill the President.
Why didn't you know ahead, if he's a friend?
-Oh, don't worry about political attacks on me. For your freedom, I can take all the 'incompetent' jabs from my rivals. For my friend.
President Luigi was cheering me on.
Hegemon of the skies.
The whole world would know.
The Summoner—me.
Sending summons wherever I damn well please.
"Alice. Link to PC."
Through the jack connecting phone to PC, light seemed to flow, and the game screen on the monitor sharpened into focus.
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] Ready, Master. [Kiharu] This one's all set too. In the game, Elaine—in her black suit—stepped onto the massive circular elevator ascending to the boss room.
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] Clearance deadline: 10 minutes. If 7 minutes pass and I haven't taken down "Storm Dragon Shahabut"... Elaine drew her sword, settling into her combat stance.
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] The rest is up to you, Master. "Anytime."
10 minutes.
Any longer, and the vultures would swoop in for the finisher.
"Let's wrap it up before the kill-stealers arrive."
If this failed after all that, it'd be a disaster.
"Clear this S-Rank Tower, and no one can touch us."
Success meant living by our rules, no matter the pressure.
"Alright then..."
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] Entering. Boss Room.
Entry.
The elevator halted at the Tower's peak.
From the sky, a green dragon dozens of meters long uncoiled from the air, descending toward the rooftop.
"Elaine. If—"
Heh.
A faint chuckle escaped Elaine, barely audible.
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] I'll take it down in 3 minutes, Master. Just handle the timing. "Timing?"
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] Yes. I'll dodge and slash—you use us at the perfect moment. Clank.
💬 SUMMON CHAT 💬 [Elaine] At the most flawless timing.