Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Why Won't You Believe Me?
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After the Tower was born, the world changed dramatically.
Climbers might return and just slaughter monsters, but that wasn't always the case.
They weren't causing just one or two incidents—crimes were hard to track with evidence, and so-called 'villains' emerged, posing massive threats.
This led to the creation of the Tower Management Bureau.
A catch-all department handling climbers entering the Tower, those exiting it, those committing crimes, and even those who turned villainous.
The Bureau was grappling with serious issues today as well.
High-ranking hunters fighting each other? Monsters pouring out? Villains launching terror attacks? All manageable.
They were experts at cleanup.
But this was a different problem altogether.
Ranking competition.
Higher floors meant greater rewards.
Korea usually sat comfortably at 6th place, which was satisfactory enough. But things had changed this time.
A sudden massive reward appeared.
Limited to the top 3.
Any nation in the top 3 gained the authority to summon climbers from inside the Tower.
Everyone had questions.
Rewards had always been consistent until now. This change was unprecedented.
It allowed briefly summoning climbers tackling Hard mode.
True to the term "summon," Hard climbers couldn't exit the Tower normally, but if they did, they'd wield power capable of upending international dynamics.
If they rampaged in the real world, it would be chaos.
So, they absolutely had to crack the top 3 this time.
Top 3 nations versus the rest would create an unbridgeable gap after this reward.
"But is it even possible?"
The problem was that Korea ranked 6th.
They trailed 3rd place by at least two floors.
No way to close that gap short-term, and Hard climbers would refuse anyway.
Thanks to this, Section Chief Lim Hyun-sik was losing hair by the day.
His balding scalp was starting to gleam under the lights.
"Chief, 3rd place is impossible."
"Find a way. Or at least show we tried something."
Everyone knew it was futile, so they aimed to leave traces of effort for excuses to the higher-ups.
As they brainstormed, one employee proposed a plausible idea.
"How about this?"
He pulled out a file.
Climber records, identity unknown.
Nickname: TOPKING. Height: 2 meters. Weight: 120kg. Age: estimated 20s-30s.
A portrait depicted a human weapon of pure muscle.
Unrealistic specs, but "Hell Floor 2" stood out.
"Whoa, intimidating. Heart would race facing him."
"The guy who one-punched the boss mob. Us normals can't even look."
Even Lim Hyun-sik knew him.
Hell Floor 2 boss kill made headlines.
But the Bureau hadn't contacted him yet.
Too early at Floor 2.
"So, TOPKING? Why him?"
"What if we push him a bit? If he reaches just Floor 10..."
"As if that's possible... Wait."
Lim realized it wasn't a bad idea.
Success: jackpot. Failure: "We tried hard."
Low floor meant minimal resource drain, unlike Hard top-floor pushers.
No reason not to.
"Sounds good. Proceed."
While I was filming my survival vlog and improvising a fishing rod to catch fish, a gallery post answered my curiosity.
For real, been replaying that scene. Total genius.
Won't this cause external drama? Nations fighting over reward change.
Bigger issue: No Yoojin if she leaves Tower.
"Oh."
Does that mean I can really go out?
Not a full escape, just a temporary outing, but nothing bad about it.
Way better than rotting here until death.
Playing dumb, I kept fishing.
Targeting Floor 10 as my life's biggest goal.
Time to report survival to parents, surf the net again—my fingers itched for it.
Clang-!
"Hup!"
A tug—I reeled in a plump fish instantly.
Then the alert sounded.
"Seems better at landing bigger, meatier ones."
Proficiency effect?
Fishing mastery too? My talents know no bounds.
Initially chalked it up to constellation sponsors, but now I'm impressed by my own gifts.
"What happens at higher fishing ranks?"
S-rank: giant carp hooks itself from thin air?
Curious, but who knows.
Anyway, fished out, gutted them.
Grilled 'em—cooking leveled fast.
Cooking's nearing max fast.
Three meals a day—slow progress would be weird.
Fishing just nets better fish; cooking has clearer perks.
Perfectly golden-brown fish.
Onlooker constellations swallowing hard.
Obvious—cooking proficiency exploding.
Crispy—crispy—
Felt like deep-fried.
No seasonings, yet delicious.
This cooking proficiency... better than expected?
"Kinda wasteful to use in combinations later."
Endless uses: cook for others, myself.
Grinning, devoured the fish. Grabbed sword to grind remaining proficiency.
Ding-
Alert popped—a system message.
Usually constellations, but...
This was different.
Curious, I replied.
Unexpected contact.
Figured it'd come eventually on Hell, but so soon?
Politely responded.
"Support, huh..."
Government aid? Great.
Even junk's useful.
Smiling, received the list. Admired the sheer volume—another message.
"Summons?"
Do they misunderstand?
From constellation chats, nations don't control summons—I initiate outings.
New reward confusion?
Past rewards went to nations, so makes sense.
"Not hard..."
Hesitated before sharing.
Climber gallery full of misconceptions about me.
Won't believe even with ID?
"No way, right?"
First minor summoned to Tower—clear evidence.
No reason not to believe.
"..."
Three hours post-name/address. No reply.
...They don't believe?
Really?
Section Chief Lim Hyun-sik frowned at the file.
"Basically refused ID disclosure. Any reason?"
"North Korean maybe?"
"North?"
North Korea's a wasteland now.
Collapsed in last monster wave.
No claimant: China (2nd rank) overwhelmed; Korea barely holding.
Post-return climbers reviving it? Doubtful.
North citizens auto-Korean, but complications abound—like pre-collapse climbers.
"Tricky if true."
"Also, girl from TOPKING's info? Missing."
"...Some big conspiracy?"
Chief suspected gravely.
If Seo Yoojin heard, she'd rage: the missing girl is me—believe it!
They'd never buy TOPKING as a 14-year-old girl.
"Dig deeper. Something's off."