Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: No Intention of Hiding (1)
[Outside the Panama Canal.]
"Th-the tower...!"
"It's collapsing!!"
Those gathered near the tower clenched their fists at the shaking structure.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer1 Didn't I tell you! Master will succeed! — Viewer2 How can an S-Rank Tower be conquered this easily? It's not an amusement park! — Viewer3 Ah, I want to summon SSS-Rank beings like Master too! The people gathered near the canal weren't that many, but through the cameras broadcasting live on the scene, countless viewers worldwide were watching.
The collapsing tower.
A tower that never existed in reality, one that seemed ready to invade it only to vanish completely—now erased from Earth.
The tower collapses, the Panama Canal reopens, and all that's left is for the heroes who toppled it to emerge.
But.
Kwaaaang!!
Just like when it burst out of the Golden Gate Tower, Illinois smashes through the top of the tower and emerges.
Shattering the glass barrier like leaping out, Illinois charges triumphantly outward—
"Huh?"
Everyone who saw it froze in an instant.
The world was already full of surreal phenomena, but the sight floating upside down in the sky defied all common sense.
"Illinois... is upside down?"
"U-uwaaak?!"
Its belly was inverted.
The hunters clung desperately to Illinois's deck, and as the ship exited the tower fully flipped, it began slowly plummeting toward the canal.
No chance to right itself.
Perfectly rotated 180 degrees, it looked as if it had been sailing the sky like the sea before bursting out of the dungeon. Those nearby the canal began screaming.
"R-run away!!"
A battleship was falling.
Back at the Golden Gate, the sea had been there to catch Illinois, but not here.
A crowd, small but present, gathered in its path of descent—if it crashed like this, mass casualties were certain.
Unless.
Like in some movie or anime, a guy in blue tights and red panties shows up to hoist the plane and halt the crash.
"Uooo!"
The hunters dangling from the battleship started emitting mana downward one by one.
Realizing their dire straits, they blasted mana in their own ways to brake the descent.
But the inverted Illinois picked up speed under gravity, forcing everyone to squeeze their eyes shut.
Bracing for the horrific impact and terror—
Flash.
The moment they expected catastrophe, a brilliant blue light enveloped Illinois.
And then.
Splash, splash!
Only the limp sounds of hunters plopping into the Panama Canal or barely hitting the ground echoed—no grave catastrophe as imagined.
No blockbuster roars of crumbling buildings and destruction.
Nothing like that.
Not even for Illinois.
"Wh-what...?"
"Illinois... vanished...?"
Evaporated.
Or missing.
In the Panama Canal, focal point of the world's attention, Illinois disappeared.
"H-how did this...?"
"Hey, hey!!"
Before the stunned crowd could speak, reporters and streamers yelled urgently.
"The S-Rank Tower in Crater Lake National Park collapsed too!"
"What?! Who?! Who the hell could...?"
"And..."
Unbelievable.
But.
"Illinois showed up there...?"
"......What?"
That impossible event had actually occurred.
"The ship that burst from the Panama Canal suddenly appeared at Crater Lake?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I plunged it straight down.
Summoned Illinois right into the heart of Crater Lake National Park, smack in the center of the collapsing tower.
Precisely: unsummoned, then resummoned.
After bursting from the Panama Canal, just before it hit the ground while falling, I unsummoned Illinois and immediately resummoned it here with us.
"The hunters handled their landings okay, right?"
"They toughed out that bizarre dungeon fine. Since you unsummoned it fairly close to the ground out of consideration, Master, no major injuries."
As Elaine said, I unsummoned Illinois at a suitable height near the surface.
So the hunters dropped from roughly 50 meters, not the full 200.
If any got seriously hurt...
"Kiharu. If those guys end up in the hospital later, heal 'em up a bit."
"Falling from that height and getting messed up bad means they're dodgy hunters, nya?"
"That's exactly why—even the dodgy ones joined an S-Rank raid. But... ugh. This reeks."
I nearly retched from the stench saturating my body.
"That monster left this nightmare gift on its way out."
"Everyone's equally soaked, right? Just hold out till those folks with the big cameras finish snapping pics."
Dry subtly gestured toward the crowd and struck a pose.
Any onlooker would see it as a hunter casually flexing post-conquest. I let out a dry chuckle.
"You really gotta ham it up this much?"
"Otherwise, people misunderstand. Like we breezed through this S-Rank Tower no sweat."
Elaine brushed the plant sap off my shoulder.
Rafflesia sap, stinking like a corpse flower, but she wiped it away unfazed.
"If it's grossing you out, wash off in the lake there?"
"No can do. Can't barge in and out of a national park. Ruins the scenery and wrecks the ecosystem."
I moved gingerly to keep the gunk on me from dripping into Crater Lake.
As S-Rank boss goo, even a whiff in the water could stress the fish to flipping belly-up and dying.
The smell alone was durian-esque.
"But still, can't exactly climb down to Illinois's cabins to scrub. Smell'd stick."
"No issue. Illinois won't gripe about that."
"Hey, shouldn't we check inside quick? Flipping probably trashed everything~"
"...Pass."
I bundled off what slime I could in one spot, grabbed my least-gooey smartphone.
"Broken stuff? Reorder from Amazon. We'll chill here a week, watch how things play out."
"A week?"
"Surprising. Figured you'd wrap in three, four days tops, Master."
"Gotta give other hunters their shot."
This fight drove it home.
"We win where we show up, sure. But absent us, out of reach—what went down? Crater Lake's tower, maybe doable, but Panama Canal? No chance."
Luckily my unique battlefield gamification let me wall-run down that water gimmick—otherwise, proper conquest impossible.
Even if some special mechanic existed that I bulldozed my way through, US hunters—even multiples S-Ranks—wouldn't have found the boss room gate under the field.
"Hand some East Coast S-Rank Towers to US hunters. Can't raid for 'em forever; let 'em study and master S-Rank bosses here."
No experience means stagnation somewhere.
"Commander. Good news—the interior fittings held up better than expected?"
"Oh yeah?"
Music to my ears.
I waved at the boat chugging over from afar.
"Head in. Posed plenty for photos."
"Commander. Net's exploding already—your response?"
"To?"
"Teleporting Illinois from Panama here outta nowhere."
"Needs explaining?"
Dry grinned.
"EX-Rank user, they say. Nailed two S-Rank Towers at once; if he pulls this, just roll with it. Yeah?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Meanwhile, on the road to LAX Airport.]
"Gonna lose my mind. Completely."
En route to the airport, President Luigi stared at his smartphone, clucking his tongue nonstop.
"Conquering two towers at once. Ha. Golden Gate S-Rank fell just days ago, now three down. Insane."
President Luigi slumped in his seat.
"Patrick."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Congress griping on Panama?"
"Senator 'D' told his supporter channel: since America cleared the Canal, Panama owes massive gratitude fees."
"Bullshit. Tell him to shove it."
President Luigi fired off an F-bomb at his aide's report.
"Not to America—to the Summoner."
"Mr. President."
"Towers down, everyone's acting like party time—nope. Another S-Rank could pop West Coast anytime. Sky crawling with Babel-scale behemoths."
"...I'll steer it Master's way, no offense taken."
"Good. At minimum..."
President Luigi patted his suit over his heart.
"While I'm standing, make him a true ally. Hm... Hm?"
His phone buzzed mid-resolution.
Not Master's special tone—just standard pop.
He hesitated, then picked up.
"What's up?"
[Saw the feats.]
"And?"
[Wanna send a gift.]
"Gift? To who, what? Spit it out or click."
[Fine. Ahem. So, gift Master one of my private jets. Top-shelf, brand-new.]
"...Your angle?"
[Nada else. If slack allows, raid my hometown tower in Pennsylvania.]
"......Fancy lobbying."
President Luigi pinched his brow.
"If he wants it, greenlight."
[Hold up. Need Master's okay?]
"Duh. You're off-base."
He tapped his phone.
"He's surpassed vanilla S-Ranks. Deserves the perks. Me first."
[You're US President, Armstrong.]
"Exactly why I'm showing respect. Sets the tone for successors."
President Luigi brimmed with certainty.
"Dual S-Rank simuls weren't enough—teleports a battleship 7,500km as the crow flies."
[...Meters what?]
"Half-joking."
[That's...]
"We bend for him. Sole EX-Rank on Earth."
The president gazed skyward.
"The hero reclaiming our true heavens."