Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Why Can't They Do This? (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Meanwhile, at a large facility on Jeju Island. A break room in the National Training Center.]
"Man, some guy rents out an entire five-star hotel in America, and here we are crashing in the National Training Center."
One A-Rank Hunter let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
On the break room TV, reporters were broadcasting live from afar, dramatically shouting to the nation, "Oh! A shadow just flitted past the curtains!"
"If we'd conquered the Jeju Tower, we could've thrown a party at a hotel like that too."
Another A-Rank Hunter replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Come on, show some sympathy. Don't hit me with facts like that. Huh?"
"Even if I wanted to sympathize, what's there to sympathize with? These guys who succeeded in conquering other places tried alongside us, but we got our asses handed to us without even fully clearing the tower. Who do you think the cheers are gonna go to?"
"You really wanna nitpick the facts?"
"Sarcasm won't change a damn thing."
The A-Rank Hunters gathered in the training center's break room had wildly different personalities, but their situation was the same.
"So, what are we supposed to do now? Huh?"
"What are you gonna do?"
"Thinking of taking a little trip to America first."
America. Trip.
"You gonna overstay and become an illegal?"
"Nah, I'll go raid an A-Rank Tower in America and never come back."
"And then a suspiciously similar Hunter named James Kim pops up in West Virginia?"
"I'm a Chicago Bulls fan."
"Figures."
If just those two words conjured up a whole story, it wouldn't be jumping to conclusions—it'd be reasonable inference.
"What about you? Wanna come to America with me?"
"I'm staying in Korea."
"What? Why?"
"Once all the S-Rank Towers are gone, only A-Rank ones will be left. No way that [Master] or [Maid] or whatever is gonna wipe them all out, so we've gotta tackle the remaining A-Rank Towers."
Does that make the ones who stay suckers?
It's not that simple—everyone's circumstances are different, so no blanket judgment.
"You think Blue Lightning or Iron Blood are gonna head to another country? Nah, they're staying in Korea. If another S-Rank Tower pops up, they'll raid it. Meanwhile, we're grinding A-Rank Towers to build up for S-Rank."
"True that. For experience, nothing beats A-Rank Hunters taking on A-Rank Towers. Lives on the line and all."
Just then, another clip played on the news.
"I'm gonna snag an S-Rank spot here and then bounce to another country."
"Heh, you got plans too, huh?"
"Obviously."
It was footage of an intense battle, uploaded to the government's official YouTube channel under the title "Jeju Island Raid Phase 1."
"Yo, you see the comments on that? They're freaking out that if Blue Lightning even grazed that sword once, he'd be sliced in half."
"Nobody worried about Iron Blood?"
"You a fan of Iron Blood?"
"Nah. Just worried that if no one's even pretending to care, that woman might snap and go berserk."
"Nope."
The two Hunters pulled out their smartphones and checked the video comments themselves.
"Gone, right?"
"Yeah. Keep refreshing while we wait."
Most comments praised the "Evasion Tank" for perfectly dodging enemy attacks in Phase 1, and gushed over Blue Lightning's moves.
-Where's Iron Blood?
-From the looks of it, the video starts mid-raid, so all the early footage of Iron Blood retiring got edited out~
-Iron Blood still on Jeju? If anyone's giving her tangerines, that guy's not a local, fr.
There were some Iron Blood mentions, but they vanished one by one with every refresh.
Some comments used slang like I.B. or Blood Iron to refer to her, but the A-Rank Hunters had no interest in digging through the malice.
Faith that Phase 1 failed, but Phase 2 would succeed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It's not like a game where you have to restart at full HP from scratch.
In reality, recover stamina and mana, regroup, and fight the boss again.
If there were spare S-Rank Hunters, they'd rotate in shifts like with lower-rank towers.
With three S-Ranks deployed, one from Seoul defense could've come down to fill Iron Blood's spot.
“Think the kid in Seoul will show?”
“Wants to, but can't. Perfect for VIP protection. You think the Yeouido bigshots will let him leave Yeouido?”
“Huh... yeah. Guess he'll be stuck in Yeouido forever.”
But Hunters have varying abilities, so some can't join S-Rank Tower raids for certain reasons.
The public excuse was “too young” or “minor,” but those in the know knew the real deal.
“That statue boss... think the kid could block it with [Absolute Barrier]?”
“Probably. But I'm not defending the Yeouido crew—no real need to drag him down here to fight the statue.”
“Why?”
“Recover mana in a week, raid again, take down the boss. That's why you, me, and everyone here's holed up in this training center.”
“Fair enough.”
Normally, they'd be bitching about their raid failures and going their separate ways, but at Blue Lightning's earnest request, the Hunters gathered at the center.
To recover mana as fast as possible, analyze combat footage, predict patterns, and prep countermeasures.
“Hey, Blue Lightning gonna step up as leader?”
“Dunno. Not his style, but they say the position makes the man.”
The Hunters voiced concerns about Blue Lightning's leadership in leading the raid party—his personality versus the role—but didn't dwell.
“He's S-Rank, we're A-Rank, and our pay's already different. What can we say?”
Blue Lightning was S-Rank; they were A-Rank, ultimately.
“Let's prep for Phase 2. Nail that, then plan our next move.”
All they could do was rest quietly, recover mana fast, wait for the raid's success to clear Korea's S-Rank Towers—including Jeju—and hope.
In Phase 2, carve out their role, earn medals, boost pensions, then leverage it for TV gigs, stories, appearance fees, or whatever hustle.
That's what they planned—
“Huh?”
“…What the?”
Outside.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
A woman's piercing scream tore through.
“The Jeju Tower...!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Five minutes earlier.]
"Commander, TV sync complete~"
Dry pointed at the 85-inch TV in the suite, gripping wires in both hands.
One hand held the HDMI cable linking her to the TV; the other, a C-to-C USB cable.
Like a converter-relay.
With Dry bridging my smartphone and the TV, it displayed our desired view on the massive screen.
[Elaine: Can you see me, Master?]
"Yeah. Clear as day."
Elaine's world.
Slipping out of the hotel unnoticed, she'd infiltrated Jeju's S-Rank Tower.
The government didn't know.
America didn't know.
President Luigi knew but stayed silent.
No point drawing aggro—if sharp eyes caught on, they'd think, "The Master's up to something, so this is a distraction!"
"Elaine. Any stealth intruders inside the tower?"
[Elaine: None detected. After entering, I sensed some Hunters at the entrance, but now at the boss room, nothing.]
Maybe because they caught wind of China's submarine stealth raid attempt.
The Korean government stationed surveillance Hunters to prevent foreign raids.
Unfortunately, not enough to detect Elaine's flawless infiltration.
[Elaine: Clear view?]
"Yeah. Perfect."
Elaine stepped onto the magic circle in the boss room.
A chill ran down my spine at the devastation—far worse than the government's Phase 1 footage.
"Brutal."
Blood splattered everywhere.
I knew some A-Rank Healers were there; imagining their ordeal made my stomach turn.
[Elaine: Master. Boss's status?]
I gripped my phone at her question.
Whirr.
Screen flipped. I dropped the phone at the full top bar.
"Full HP."
[Elaine: As expected. Real-world stamina differs from game HP. Understood.]
Elaine ignited aura on her sword and advanced.
[Elaine: Watch over me. My victory.]
"Of course."
Pop.
I cracked open a canned drink and sank into the sofa.
"Got faith in you, Elaine."
My only job.
"You can do it, right?"
[Elaine: Naturally, Master.]
Believe.
Moments later.
Jeju's Tower vanished.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And then.
Shortly after the Tower disappeared.
"So you're saying..."
A government office erupted in chaos.
"He said, 'I'm so frustrated, I'll conquer it myself'?"