Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Blockade (1)
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I checked my rewards with a pounding heart.
[Congratulations on clearing the 11th floor (EXTREME).]
[Ranking 1st bonus applied!]
[All stats +10]
"First, the all-stats boost came in normally...."
[First clear bonus applied!]
[Acquired World Tree's Seed.]
The familiar first line. And the line that followed, which I hadn't seen before.
The next moment, a blue-glowing orb floated above my palm.
Inside the orb, something like a small seed was faintly visible.
An item that looked more like an egg than a seed.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Just from the name, it seemed like no ordinary item.
But I had no idea what its exact purpose was.
"It's not something you grow, right...? Eh, I can just ask."
Without much hesitation, I decided to ask in the Mage Gallery.
The old-timers there would surely know.
The moment I got home, I wrote a post and uploaded it.
[Title: Cleared floor 11 and got this. What is it?]
Author: Anonymous (222.222)
(World Tree's Seed screenshot.jpg)
Just now. Item name is World Tree's Seed.
ㄴ Refrigerator: It's the Seed of Purification. An item exclusive to the 10th floor block that cleanses corruption.
ㄴ p Clearcut: If you equip it, the surrounding corruption level slowly decreases. The 10th floor block gets worse with swamps and jungles the higher you go, so you can't progress without it.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: You're lucky. Usually, you have to buy it for money. Around ten million won.
"What? Why is it so expensive?"
I didn't think I needed it.
Maybe I should just sell it and make some cash?
I could just bulldoze everything with desertification anyway.
Did I need terrain cleansing?
When I mentioned that in the gallery, I got baffled reactions.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: What's desertification?
Oh, right. I haven't talked about that yet.
I took the opportunity to record a video.
I crumpled up a cola can from home, then cast Desertification.
With a slight mana drain, the cola can turned into fine sand and scattered.
The moment I uploaded the video, comments poured in like knives.
ㄴ Refrigerator: What the hell? How is there such a cheat skill?
ㄴ p Clearcut: Luck OP tower sucks.... Relative deprivation hitting hard....
ㄴ Anonymous (A22.222): Everyone's got their own Rainbow while whining like babies.
ㄴ p Clearcut: You think there's a skill that turns whatever you touch into lightning?
"Huh, that does make sense when you put it like that."
ㄴ Anonymous (444.444): But it's not that cheat. Can't turn living things to sand. Plants eat a ton of mana.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: Wanna give this guy a good knuckle on the head.
ㄴ p Clearcut: Forward, reverse, perfect.
"Deception, my ass. I never even thought of that."
Still, good is good.
My lips kept curling up.
That's when Scarab left a concerning comment.
ㄴ Scarab: Just saw this. It's different from the Seed of Purification I know. It's blue. Should be red.
ㄴ p Clearcut: It's true. And you said the name is World Tree's Seed. Where'd you get this?
ㄴ Anonymous (888.88E): This is the EXTREME first clear reward.
ㄴ p Clearcut: So unfair. So unfair. Open EXTREME for me too.
"Hmm.... Guess selling it is off the table for now."
Who would've thought it was an EXTREME-exclusive hidden item.
It wouldn't end with just purification, then.
Sure enough, speculations about usage started popping up.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: This is something only I know.... You can unlock a hidden piece with the original Seed of Purification. Maybe the same method works here?
ㄴ p Clearcut: Ah! I know that too! Finally, a hidden piece I know about!
ㄴ Refrigerator: For the record, I know it too.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: (sulky corn)
p Clearcut was excitedly jumping around. But my interest was elsewhere.
Because Scarab had suddenly thrown out a random question.
ㄴ Scarab: Hey, newbie.
ㄴ Anonymous (11B.11D): ?
ㄴ Scarab: You're gonna keep climbing the tower at this pace, right?
A sudden question. I answered as if it were obvious.
ㄴ Anonymous (11B.11D): Yeah, obviously.
ㄴ Scarab: Hm.... Got it for now.
Why ask that?
I felt puzzled by Scarab's subtle reaction but didn't think too deeply.
I went back to digging for details on the hidden piece activation method.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment, in the National Assembly building of South Korea.
A heavy silence hung in a lawmaker's office.
Across from Kim Suho, who sat on the leather sofa with arms crossed.
A man in his 50s, dressed impeccably in a suit, spoke up with a troubled expression.
He was Park Jung-won, the chairman of the National Defense Committee overseeing hunter-related policies.
"Mr. Kim Suho, there's nothing we can do."
Fatigue weighed deeply in Assemblyman Park Jung-won's voice.
"China is pressuring us from all sides. And now even America is giving us side-eye."
Park paused for a moment before adding,
"It looks like they've already talked it over among themselves."
Kim Suho stared out the window without responding. At his silence, the assemblyman pressed further.
"Everyone thinks we're hiding that new ranker."
Park Jung-won cautiously eyed Kim Suho's profile.
"Mr. Kim Suho, be honest. You know something, don't you?"
The assemblyman was convinced.
"You're blocking our investigations.... You know who it is, right?"
Only then did Kim Suho turn his head. His eyes were colder than usual.
"I don't."
A short, firm answer.
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
The assemblyman's face hardened at his follow-up.
"Mr. Kim Suho! What the hell is wrong with you?"
The assemblyman's voice rose.
At that moment, Kim Suho stood up. For the first time, faint anger edged his voice.
"Since when did South Korean National Assembly members start acting as spokespeople for America and China?"
The office air froze.
"You're telling us to stomp out our own budding sprout just to save face with them."
Stunned by Kim Suho's outburst, the assemblyman fell silent for a moment.
But he soon countered with reality.
"Can you, Mr. Kim Suho, block all seven S-ranks from America and China?"
Silence flowed. The assemblyman's next words struck home.
"You're not the one who can protect this country from them, are you?"
Kim Suho shut his mouth again. It wasn't wrong.
Even an S-rank hunter couldn't face seven alone.
The assemblyman didn't miss the flicker in his eyes.
"Do you think I want to do this? You think I like this approach? But we have no choice."
Kim Suho understood the assemblyman's position.
But he couldn't accept it.
Accepting that because we lacked the power to protect, we had to sacrifice an unknown genius who hadn't even appeared yet.
It disgusted him.
"Think about it, Mr. Kim Suho. They know they're asking too much."
"...."
"We get what we can in return and secure the maximum concessions. That's the gain."
A long silence passed.
With a deep sigh, Kim Suho finally spoke.
His voice was filled with resignation.
"...Do as you wish."
Kim Suho closed his eyes.
"Seal the tower as they want."
"Really?"
Relief and joy lit the assemblyman's face.
Kim Suho quietly added,
"But I will do my utmost as well."
Kim Suho's eyes opened again. A new light gleamed within.
"I will carry out the justice I believe in. So you do your best from your position."
With that, Kim Suho left the office.
***
Today, too, I easily cleared the 12th floor and returned home.
Leveled the ground with desertification, followed by idyllic slaughter time.
As I opened the gallery to brag about today's gains and pondered what shitpost to make.
Something felt off.
The usual flood of weird fetish posts, regulars, hunter salary threads, and gossip were nowhere to be seen.
"No way the gallery is this clean?"
Something big had happened. A massive incident.
Puzzled, I scanned the post list.
And immediately understood why.
[Title: Tower control incoming? For real? ㄷㄷ]
[Title: Wait, if they're really controlling it, we're screwed?]
"What the...?"
A bigger event than I imagined had exploded.
I hurriedly clicked on a featured post.
[✪ Title: Official) Government Decides to Cooperate with Global Tower Access Control]
Author: Reporter Park
I'm a current reporter. Proof attached.
How does everyone know about this embargoed story??
We've been warned so many times that info control is life-or-death....
No idea who risked it all to leak first, but facts check out.
China's already under control.
Next week Europe, then Japan.
Korea last, I think.
Anyway, we've got some time.
Once blockade starts, they'll plaster surveillance forces around the tower to stop sneaky entries.
No one knows why the fuss.
Official reason is collapse prevention safety check or whatever, but total bullshit.
If they could do that, they'd have done it ages ago.
ㄴ Crazy government bastards screwing up again
ㄴ Wait, global control? What the hell is going on.
ㄴ Yeah, no clue what the intent is?
[✪ Title: You still gonna side with the government after this?]
Author: Anonymous (58.234)
You gonna keep obeying the government even now?
Harsh, so harsh....
Hunter strike... gotta join, right?
ㄴ But what about A-ranks and S-ranks? They okayed this control?
ㄴ Yeah, if they acted like kings before, shouldn't they step up now?
ㄴ Lol yeah, same as always—fold under foreign pressure? Blame government perfectly?
ㄴ [Deleted comment.]
ㄴ [Deleted comment.]
Freaking out, I quickly opened the Mage Gallery.
Maybe someone here knew the inside story.
[Title: Guys, what the hell is this?]
Author: Anonymous (D44.444)
Tower control? What bullshit is this?
To my urgent question, Scarab replied as if waiting.
ㄴ Scarab: It's all because Demigod's trying to catch you.
ㄴ Anonymous (D44.444): What?
ㄴ Scarab: Government's cooperating with other countries to seal the tower sequentially.
Still some time till Korea's turn. After US, Europe, Japan, Korea last.
Blockade per region maybe a week at most? He mentioned it a few days ago. Definitely Demigod's pressure.
Why the pointless crap?
I could just pause tower climbing?
My gut said there was some hidden reason.
I cautiously typed.