Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Something Too Big to See (3)
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The Tower crumbles.
I covered my smartphone with the seat cushion and lay back on the limousine chair.
Waaaaaah!!
Cheers erupted across the entire aircraft carrier.
This wasn't just the sound filtering through CCTV—it was cheers ringing out from the bridge to every corner of the carrier.
The fall of an S-Rank Tower.
Each one represented a catastrophe that could determine humanity's survival, so the disappearance of yet another meant humanity was that much closer to peace.
Knock knock knock knock!!
The knocking was rough.
Patrick was waiting for the window to open without bothering to use the door, so I slowly opened it. He thrust two thumbs up at me through the gap.
"As expected!!"
"...I didn't do anything."
I tested the waters once.
Just in case they might be able to control the information.
"Haha, like you didn’t do anything. Clearing the Tower… ahem."
Patrick started excitedly but cleared his throat and glanced around.
"Rest easy. What about Cosair...?"
"She'll return physically, so open the door when she arrives."
I shifted to the seat beside me and tapped the one closer to the door where I'd been sitting.
"Got it. Press that remote-like thing up front, and you can adjust the seat. It even turns into a bed, so relax and make yourself comfortable."
"......."
"What I'm saying is, feel free to sleep."
Patrick gave a subtle smile with his eyes and bowed his head.
I closed the window again, moved seats, and extended the chair into a recliner as he described.
"...Looks like you've seen it all, nya?"
"You're planning to go all out and make it obvious, huh?"
"Gotta subtly reveal my presence so they don't get any funny ideas."
Kiharu, who had been quietly in cat form, spoke in a human voice from my thigh.
"Even when Elaine's conquering dungeons inside, we need to plant the idea that someone's always by her side. Right, nya?"
"Fair point."
They've probably figured out my abilities by now, from the limo interior's CCTV or whatever else.
Summoning game entities into reality.
Since they've caught hints of other summons besides Elaine through the dryad, it wouldn't hurt to drop a hint now.
'And I've copied their servers too.'
Three S-Rank Towers conquered.
In a short span of just a few months.
Someone might say:
-I awakened during the Million Awakeners too, so why did that guy get such insane powers?!
-I'm a full-gear full-reset owner too, so why won't my characters summon?
Something like that.
'Can't help it.'
Since I ended up awakening that way.
Still, I need to be cautious.
If I flaunt it openly, the diehard gamers might not target me—they could go after regular players or the game company instead.
'If I say Elaine conquered Dokdo and Japan starts a boycott, it'll hit their sales.'
Overthinking it?
There are way too many people like that in this world.
Especially the inferiority—not inferiority—complex of the unawakened, the malice toward Awakeners. It's unspeakably ugly and powerful.
Knock knock.
A gentler knock this time.
"May I come in?"
"Come on in. Good work."
The door opened, and Elaine entered naturally.
She flinched at the empty seat but sat gracefully beside me when I pointed to it.
"Master, one moment."
Elaine took my hand.
She briefly channeled mana, then smiled faintly in relief.
"All set. Now we can talk comfortably."
"What did you do?"
"I spread a mana barrier over this small space so only you and I can converse. Even if there are listening devices, they won't pick it up, and lip-reading will be impossible."
"I'm here too, nya."
Kiharu revealed herself with a nyaang punch at Elaine, who casually blocked it with her hand.
"So, we conquered three S-Rank Towers with this. How's it feel?"
"The other Towers were tough too, but this one definitely couldn't have been cleared without you, Master."
Elaine mimed swinging her sword forward.
"If it wasn't just about whittling down HP, we might've had to slice up land as vast as Dokdo's seas."
"Probably. But it's not like we did it all on our own, right?"
I lightly tapped my smartphone.
"Decisive Battle Gear is a skill you unlocked through trials, but the game company made it possible for me to use it like this."
"Yes. In a way... they certainly contributed."
The gamification of battlefields.
Separate from my ability, how could I—a non-game dev—create the backdrop for Elaine's exploits?
"Before we leave Korea, let's clean up the rest so they can focus purely on game dev."
"Jeju Island... it's still there?"
".......Elaine."
I checked my watch.
"We cleared it too early."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ S-Rank Tower conquest.
Was desperate urgency the key?
Or was it possible only because every fiber of our bodies was tense in a situation where a single graze could mean death?
"Uwoooooh!!"
Blue Lightning roared as he dodged the attack.
He grazed past a dozen blades hurtling toward him.
Sometimes by jumping.
Sometimes by stepping on the blades.
Sometimes by turning his body into lightning to deflect them.
Blades even whistled right past his face at times, but Blue Lightning successfully evaded every attack.
He handled nearly ninety percent himself.
Calling it 'tanking' might be a stretch in the strict sense, but results are what matter, right?
In that light, this raid could be summed up as—
"Everyone dodged?! Then I'm out!!"
Half a success.
Blue Lightning pioneered a new tanking style—evasion tanking—through hundreds of life-risking tightropes. But excluding that gain, the raid itself wasn't a full success.
Kaaaaaaaack!
The giant statue bellowed.
Its sword arm behind it was nearly half-destroyed, its torso riddled with holes, one eye gone, and even its head looked cored out.
Yet it still swung its sword at those who had wrecked it, trying to eliminate them.
The conquest failed.
It yielded positive results for one S-Rank Hunter's position change, but an unforeseen problem exploded.
"Haa, ha."
Blue Lightning finally exited the boss room.
They'd retreated via a magic circle teleport, so the boss couldn't follow even if it wanted to—unless the dungeon broke.
"Everyone okay?"
"Okay-ish..."
The other Hunters replied with deathly pallor.
That was only possible because he was an A-Rank who'd shone brightest; the rest couldn't even speak—
Correction.
They just hung their heads in silence.
"......."
The two S-Rank Hunters who'd retreated early wouldn't even look at each other, turning their backs.
"...Well, I didn't expect a first-try clear."
Blue Lightning clapped to draw attention.
"I learned I have a talent for evasion tanking, so now we just need to figure out how to pour on enough firepower to kill the boss. Especially you mage-types."
"H-Hiiik..."
"No need to freak out. If it's nearly immune to physical damage, magic damage is the obvious counter. Right?"
"Th-That's true, but..."
The A-Rank glanced at the other S-Rank and Blue Lightning.
"Squirrel does magic DPS best..."
"The phrasing's weird, but what can we do."
Blue Lightning forced a grin, but his voice boiled like a cracking mask as he eyed someone.
"Physical fighters like us can't exactly DPS an S-Rank boss beyond pulling aggro."
"......."
Before the raid, they might've protested.
But with body cams recording everything, Iron Blood stayed silent.
"Alright. Time to head down. It's been hours... ugh, watch is busted. Anyone know how long we've been in?"
"About six hours."
"Six? Pretty long for a first clear. Let's eat downstairs. Good work, everyone."
"Um, Squirrel."
An A-Rank cautiously spoke up.
"What if, when we get down..."
"We'll celebrate."
"Huh?"
"Dokdo got cleared, right?"
The A-Ranks paled; Iron Blood's face twisted.
The other S-Rank didn't need mentioning.
"It's Dokdo, not somewhere else. Better than if Japan cleared it and called it 'Takeshima.' Right?"
"......."
"I'm beat, so let's wash up and rest. No matter what happens outside... I'll step up and handle it."
With that, Blue Lightning headed for the magic circle down to the Tower's entrance.
The failed raiders followed him out.
Click, click.
Fewer reporters than expected.
Their gazes screamed 'too late,' and the Hunters knew it.
Jeju's Tower stood pristine.
"What about Dokdo?"
Blue Lightning beat the reporter to the mic.
"D-Dokdo..."
"Cleared?"
"Y-Yes."
"...I see."
Blue Lightning shut his eyes briefly, then grabbed the mic with the reporter's permission.
"To the S-Rank who cleared Dokdo: I'll hand over my raid data, so on the promised day, please conquer this dungeon—"
"What are you—"
Bzzzzt!
Iron Blood reached for Blue Lightning's shoulder, but Blue Lightning sparked lightning and dodged.
"Even if you leave, please conquer this Tower."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Two S-Rank Towers conquered.
Dokdo. Clear time: 18 minutes 32 seconds. Success.
Jeju Island. Elapsed time: 5 hours 53 minutes.
Failure.
As a result...
"Cosair Master! Please, for this country!!"
"Aircraft carrier to Jeju!!"
"SSS-Rank—no, EX-Rank Hunter!! At least clear Jeju before you go!!"
"Can't we just give the taxes for Iron Blood to Cosair?"
Intense protests erupted, centered on Jeju Island.