The Tower of Babel

He had been turned down flat.

He had practically begged for help clearing a Legendary-grade ruin, only to be rejected without a second thought. Holding the dead receiver to his ear, Yoo Jeongtae stood frozen, staring blankly into space as a wave of cold despair washed over him.

What did I do wrong? Did I slip up somehow?

Had he been too direct in asking? In hindsight, he realized he had fallen into the trap of assuming that once Hunter Jeon Jaewoo resumed raiding, he would naturally conquer whichever ruins the government requested. Perhaps he had grown complacent simply because Jaewoo had acceded to every prior favor. But there was no legal mechanism to compel a transcendent awakened, nor any worldly force strong enough to threaten him.

No. Now isn't the time to wallow in self-pity.

Right now, the Republic of Korea had only one pillar to lean on: Hunter Jeon Jaewoo. Snapping out of his stupor, Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae gathered his wits, scrambled out of his office, and personally rushed over to Jaewoo's residence—armed with an armload of exorbitant gifts. Among them were vintages worth over a hundred million won a bottle, alongside high-end magitech timepieces whose bespoke enchantments pushed their price tags well into the billions.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Jaewoo looked at the lavish spread Yoo Jeongtae was hauling with visible discomfort.

"What... on earth is all this?"

"Haha! Well, Hunter-nim, the nation has benefited immensely from your extraordinary efforts, yet we've done so little for you in return. My conscience simply wouldn't let me rest. Please consider this a modest token of our profound gratitude."

"..."

It was painfully obvious that the commissioner had panicked the instant he heard Jaewoo had no intention of entering the ruin.

"I was merely paid the fair market price for my trade goods," Jaewoo said evenly. "There's no need to talk about who owes whom a favor."

"Aigoo, please don't say that! You simply must accept them. If not for you, Hunter-nim, our country would—"

Jaewoo set the gift boxes down on the floor, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Even with all this, I'm still not taking on the Legendary-grade ruin."

The commissioner's face crumpled in fresh defeat.

"M-May I at least ask... why?"

"I don't see any reason to burn through my limited clear counts on a Legendary-grade ruin."

To Jaewoo, Legendary-grade ruins no longer held much allure. The rewards simply were not worth the expenditure. If he had to burn an entry count anyway, he would much rather save it for an Ancient-grade ruin. Of course, from Yoo Jeongtae's perspective, hearing that Jaewoo was conserving his entries sounded maddeningly tone-deaf.

You held out until the very end in that Ancient-grade ruin, stacked a mountain of Extra Clear Tickets, and still have a dozen entries to spare... Yoo Jeongtae gnawed nervously on his lower lip.

"In that case, would you consider undertaking a new Ancient-grade ruin instead?"

"I told you, I need to take a break for the time being. The only reason I considered that Legendary ruin before was just to stretch my legs since the difficulty was manageable."

Yoo Jeongtae felt hot tears prickling the corners of his eyes. If he failed to clear a single Legendary-grade ruin this month and couldn't secure Jeon Jaewoo's cooperation, the public outcry would be vicious. He would be grilled alive by the press, stripped of his post, or banished to some bureaucratic wasteland. Losing his career was one thing, but the sheer strategic catastrophe South Korea would suffer without Jaewoo's intervention was what truly terrified him.

Watching the head of the nation's Hunter Bureau squirm like a chastised schoolboy was an oddly amusing sight. Jaewoo studied him for a beat, then cleared his throat and tossed out casually,

"Ahem. And even if I do decide to clear more Legendary or Ancient ruins down the line, I never promised I'd sell the spoils exclusively to the Korean Hunter Bureau."

"...?!"

The commissioner turned deathly pale and threw himself onto the floor, prostrating with desperate abandon.

"I'll do whatever you ask, Hunter-nim! Anything at all! Just please, I beg of you, don't say such terrifying things! Please!"

Seeing a man old enough to be his father on the verge of bawling on his living room floor gave Jaewoo a genuine fright. He hurried over to haul the commissioner back to his feet. Hearing a middle-aged man in his fifties pledge that he would do anything did not sound appealing in the slightest.

After nudging the sniffling bureau chief into an armchair and waiting for him to regain a semblance of composure, Jaewoo asked, "Is securing this Legendary-grade ruin really that critical?"

"When has a Legendary-grade ruin ever not been critical? It supplies the entire country's strategic energy reserves for a month..."

"Didn't the Bureau purchase a massive haul of high-grade magic crystals from the Legendary ruins I cleared recently?"

"Even with a massive volume, feeding the energy infrastructure of the entire nation burns through it in thirty days flat. Practically speaking, we need a fresh Legendary-grade ruin conquered every single month."

That explained why sovereign nations placed such existential weight on possessing an independent raid capability. In that arena, South Korea was distinctly behind the curve. Its neighbor China was an undisputed awakened superpower whose dominance was beyond question, while Japan routinely possessed the firepower to conquer at least one Legendary ruin each month without breaking a sweat.

"Would missing a single month really deal that devastating of a blow?"

"If it were truly just one month, we could weather it. The nightmare is that we have no guarantee we can clear the next one either."

It made Jaewoo wonder how the country had survived before his emergence.

"The truth is," Yoo Jeongtae murmured, "before you appeared, Hunter-nim, I took to the field myself."

"Oh. Really?" Having spent his youth completely detached from hunter society prior to awakening, Jaewoo had no idea.

"Yes. Back then, our frontline raid squad was anchored by three S-rank hunters: myself, Yumin, and Seongjae. We had enough collective firepower to remain globally competitive. But once my personal Clear Count Limit ran out, forcing me into administrative retirement, our vanguard suffered a crippling blow. Worse, both Yumin and Seongjae are teetering on the edge of their remaining entries as well."

Once Kim Yumin and Han Seongjae burned through their remaining allocations, the number of active S-rank combatants available to the Bureau would shrink to near zero.

Yoo Jeongtae drew a trembling breath. Though Jaewoo had rejected him moments ago, he was far from ready to surrender.

"If soloing the ruin is too taxing, would you consider leading a joint strike team with our Bureau forces?"

"I just told you. I have no desire to burn my limited clear counts on a Legendary run."

"If you agree to assist us, I will grant you the Extra Clear Ticket we secured from that last Ancient-grade ruin."

Jaewoo's eyes widened slightly.

Last month's endurance-type Ancient ruin, the Wall of Void. The Korean Hunter Bureau's elite vanguard had endured ten harrowing days within its desolate expanse, suffering horrific casualties just to extract a single Extra Clear Ticket. Sacrificing the entry limits of dozens of top-tier hunters for one ticket had been a brutal strategic loss, but if that ticket could replenish Jeon Jaewoo's reserves, the trade became infinitely worthwhile.

"Furthermore," Yoo Jeongtae pressed, seizing the opening, "we will surrender every single magic crystal harvest from the ruin directly to you!"

Now that's overkill. The market valuation of a full harvest from a Legendary-grade ruin was astronomical. Between his previous clearances, Jaewoo was already swimming in more wealth than he could spend in several lifetimes; money was hardly an incentive anymore.

Yet, after enduring the commissioner's tearful, relentless implorations, Jaewoo finally gave a reluctant nod.

"All right. If you're willing to part with the Extra Clear Ticket, I'll participate in the raid. But there's no need to hand over all the magic stones. Just pay me out according to my actual contribution."

Color flooded back into Yoo Jeongtae's gaunt cheeks, his expression blooming with profound relief.

"Thank you, Hunter-nim! Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

The suffocating terror and dread that had choked the commissioner for weeks vanished in a single breath, and he bowed repeatedly, his voice thick with gratitude.

"When would you like to deploy? Japan's vanguard is accelerating their reconnaissance pace, so time is of the essence..."

"We can go right now."

Yoo Jeongtae's eyes rounded in shock. "R-Right now?!"

"Hasn't the Bureau already completed basic reconnaissance on the ruin?"

"Well, yes, but... don't you require some preparation time?"

"If this were an Ancient-grade ruin, certainly. But for a Legendary one, anytime works fine for me. Let me know whenever the Bureau is ready, and I'll fall in immediately."

"..."

The moment his discussion with Jaewoo concluded, Yoo Jeongtae rushed straight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back to headquarters to mobilize the expedition force. Every second counted if they were to conquer the site before the Japanese vanguard swept the floor.

Under the commissioner's emergency directive, the Bureau's premier strike team was assembled within hours: several dozen of South Korea's finest combatants, spearheaded by S-rank sword specialist Kim Yumin. The nation's premier magic-type S-rank hunter, Han Seongjae, was unable to join due to severe internal mana circuit damage sustained during the raid on the Wall of Void. And anchoring the rearguard of this elite formation was the undeniable linchpin of the entire operation: Jeon Jaewoo.

It was, by any metric, the absolute pinnacle of South Korean awakened military power.

Hunters boasting at least B-grade traits or higher couldn't help casting furtive glances backward. Every pair of eyes inevitably settled on Jaewoo. Though his name had echoed through national headlines for weeks, the vast majority were seeing him in the flesh for the first time, their minds swirling with awe, awkwardness, and lingering skepticism.

Is that really Jeon Jaewoo?

His ambient mana feels... surprisingly normal.

What's with that weirdly cute slime he's cradling in his arms? Is he a tamer?

Among the gathered elites, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only the strike team's commander, Kim Yumin, stepped forward to break the ice.

"To be completely honest, I had my doubts you'd show up," she said, offering a wry smile. "When the commissioner claimed he convinced you, I took it with a grain of salt."

Jaewoo accepted her outstretched hand with a brief, firm handshake.

"I had zero intention of coming, but things worked out this way."

Living as direct neighbors, the two had exchanged pleasantries multiple times in passing. With both being top-tier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunters of similar age, Minister Lee Cheolsoo's unsubtle scheme to bridge the gap between them seemed to have worked; their rapport had grown genuinely comfortable.

"You were so adamant about staying out of it," she teased gently. "What changed your mind?"

"The commissioner offered to hand over the Extra Clear Ticket your team obtained last time."

"Ah. That ticket..."

The solitary Extra Clear Ticket they had bled for during the horrific meat grinder of the Ancient-grade ruin. Still, if it served to empower Jeon Jaewoo, there was no better strategic use for it in the nation.

"I'm counting on you," Yumin said with heartfelt sincerity. "Without your support, our odds of clearing this ruin were practically nonexistent."

"I'll do my best."

A moment later, Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae arrived to conduct the final pre-raid inspection. Yumin snapped to attention before him.

"Commissioner, the raid party is fully prepared."

"Good. Let's get this done."

His stern, bureaucratic demeanor instantly dissolved into warm deference the moment he faced Jaewoo. "Hunter-nim, the nation's fortunes are in your hands today."

"I'll see it through," Jaewoo promised.

The commissioner clasped Jaewoo's hands, bowing his head in repeated veneration—a display of humility from their notoriously proud chief that left the surrounding elite hunters utterly flabbergasted.

"Ahem. Well then, I pray for everyone's safe return. Commence the raid."

With the official authorization granted, Kim Yumin accessed the system interface in her capacity as raid commander and initiated the party entrance for the Legendary-grade ruin.

A translucent system window flickered into existence before Jaewoo's eyes, matching the prompts appearing before the rest of the strike force.

One by one, the hunters confirmed their participation. When Jaewoo registered his consent—

Vwoooom!

A deep, resonant spatial hum enveloped the chamber as the entire strike team was unmoored from reality, dematerializing into the dimensional gateway.

For Jaewoo, the sensation felt oddly novel. Having single-handedly conquered every ruin he had ever set foot in, crossing the threshold alongside human companions was an entirely uncharted experience.

Nothing should go wrong... right?

And so, alongside the elite vanguard of the Korean Hunter Bureau, Jeon Jaewoo took his first steps into his very first joint expedition.