WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Upbeat Newbie the Infinite Regressors Are Obsessed With ◈
Chapter 18: What Matters Is Always One Thing
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The Management Bureau Director, Kwon Dojun, was receiving a report from the agent who had made contact with the Infinity Difficulty challenger.
“Is that true?”
“Yes! Just as Lee Geon-woo, an Awakened, was about to use force against us, that person stopped him! If they hadn’t been there, we might really have lost our lives.”
“Good grief... I’m truly glad you returned safely. What about that bastard?”
“His major muscles were all severed, leaving him half-crippled, but we put special-alloy restraints on him and imprisoned him just in case.”
“Well done. You did very well.”
The relief that a young person who had devoted themself to the country had returned safely was brief.
Kwon Dojun became confused.
How was this supposed to be explained?
“By the way, how could this be?”
Did it not feel as though they had known the future and acted first?
How could it make sense that they had been waiting at the exact place where the Awakened and the agent would clash?
They had even prepared a costume that covered their entire body. It was almost as if they had predicted this situation would occur.
“Well, I don’t know either. When I came to my senses, that person was already there.”
Tap. Tap tap.
Lost in thought, Kwon Dojun tapped the table in the director’s office.
“A coincidence? Was it a coincidence?”
“I-I don’t know that much.”
“No, no. This is far too suspicious to be a coincidence. It was inevitable.”
“...!”
The agent looked into Kwon Dojun’s eyes.
That uniquely charismatic gaze.
The insight befitting the head of the Management Bureau.
Kwon Dojun thought.
The Infinity Difficulty challenger was undoubtedly a superhuman unlike any other.
Not merely a superhuman in the sense that they had Awakened.
They had likely been extraordinary even before Awakening.
Otherwise, this situation could not be explained.
“They’re on our level.”
“...?”
“I mean their information-gathering ability is on the same level as our Management Bureau.”
“Y-yes?!”
The agent’s eyes widened.
An individual’s ability to gather information was equal to that of the Management Bureau?
No matter what the Director said, that was difficult to accept.
The Management Bureau had literally been granted every authority above the law.
How could anyone stand on equal footing with it?
“The confidential list of Awakening suspects. Even my name. It hasn’t even been three days since our Management Bureau was established, yet it has already leaked.”
“...!”
“More importantly, their profiling ability surpasses ours.”
Thud!
Kwon Dojun placed Lee Geon-woo’s file on the table.
“We classified him as a dangerous individual, but we never expected him to be so radical, much less attempt murder so casually. Yet that person must have anticipated this situation to some extent.”
“Then that means...”
“There are two possibilities. Either they’re an unimaginably influential figure in political or business circles, or a genius hacker capable of evading and hacking the national system.”
The agent swallowed dryly.
Either way, it meant this was someone wielding tremendous power.
And now that person had acquired the absurd power of an Infinity Difficulty challenger as well.
This was no joke. An individual could manipulate world affairs.
Yet the actions of the Infinity Difficulty challenger, someone who wielded absolute power above all others, were exceedingly strange.
“...How curious.”
Kwon Dojun’s eyes turned to an evidence photograph.
The message the Infinity Difficulty challenger had carved into the asphalt.
The asphalt had since been neatly resurfaced, but the message had naturally been recorded.
- I will continue climbing the Tower, so do not make any attempt to find me. Also, instead of seeking out Awakening suspects one by one, release the information and recruit publicly. That way, you will not get hurt.
They would simply climb the Tower without demanding anything in return.
So there was no need to find them.
And that was not the only unusual thing.
The attack that had happened today.
To prevent such an unfortunate incident, they wanted the information released and Awakened recruited publicly.
“That way, we won’t get hurt, huh.”
“...”
Kwon Dojun felt as though they had caught a glimpse of just how vast a picture the Infinity Difficulty challenger was seeing within that short message.
Tap. Tap.
Kwon Dojun continued while tapping the evidence photograph.
“It’s as though that person is telling us this.”
“What could they possibly...?”
“The age of superhumans is only a matter of time. Society will face enormous chaos.”
Tap. Tap.
“So move faster than anyone else. Don’t make petty attempts to control information and contact Awakening suspects. It means we should throw our doors wide open first.”
“B-but! Wasn’t this already decided? If we failed to secure the Infinity Difficulty Awakened, we would secure a minimum number of Awakened first, then release the information to the public.”
The agent was worried.
Even the agents had gone through tremendous confusion before accepting the existence of the Tower and Awakened.
It took immense mental fortitude simply to overcome the fear brought on by the threat of extinction.
And these were trained agents.
How much worse would it be for ordinary people?
There was a reason they had controlled information while approaching Awakening suspects.
Releasing information that would create chaos before they were prepared would accomplish neither goal.
The Management Bureau’s first mission after its establishment was securing the Infinity Difficulty Awakened.
But rather than cooperating with the Management Bureau, the Infinity Difficulty Awakened had chosen to go completely solo.
Moreover, judging from how they hid their identity, even the agent could tell that person had no intention of stepping into the spotlight.
Trying to dig up their information and force contact now would be the worst possible move.
In other words, the Management Bureau’s first mission had effectively failed.
Then came Plan B.
They would release the information only after establishing the safeguard of having secured a minimum number of Awakened.
That way, Awakened cooperating with the Management Bureau could take the lead in quickly stabilizing society.
That had certainly been the decision.
“Why are we securing Awakened?”
“T-to prevent social disorder, of course...”
“Exactly. Isn’t it to assure people that we can gather fifty thousand points a week? Then there’s no need to worry.”
“Pardon?”
Kwon Dojun’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Wouldn’t it be enough for that person to climb the Tower? No matter how many Awakened gather, is there any safeguard more certain than an immediate reset of the Extinction Timer?”
“B-but...”
“I know what you want to say. You mean there’s no guarantee that person will keep climbing the Tower.”
Tap. Tap.
Kwon Dojun tapped the part of the message that said they would not get hurt.
“What do you think this means? Is it simply a message written because they have a righteous personality? Or out of sympathy?”
“...”
“No. Not at all. This is neither righteousness nor cheap sympathy.”
Kwon Dojun grinned.
“That person needs us.”
“!”
Tap. Tap.
Kwon Dojun did not stop there.
The second message left by the Infinity Difficulty challenger.
“What do you think it means when they say they’ll visit the Management Bureau when the opportunity arises?”
“Could it be!”
“Yes. That person believes they’ll need the power of our Management Bureau someday.”
Slide. Tap. Tap.
Kwon Dojun carefully gathered the two evidence photographs.
“If they didn’t intend to climb the Tower, they’d have no need for us.”
Kwon Dojun was certain.
If they did not plan to climb the Tower, there was no reason to need the Management Bureau.
“Does that put your mind at ease?”
“D-Director, I’d like to ask just one more thing.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“If, just if, the worst happens. According to the experts, if the difficulty keeps...”
Kwon Dojun coldly cut the agent off.
“Enough. I only received reports, so I didn’t see it myself, but you did. Do you think that person looks like someone who would die while climbing the Tower?”
The agent recalled that moment.
That person had not shown the slightest tremor or hesitation before an Awakened monster whose physical strength far surpassed human limits.
Honestly, when they vanished in time with the flickering streetlamp, it had been difficult to imagine them failing.
“I don’t think that’ll happen, but...”
“You only think it won’t happen?”
“Pardon?”
“It isn’t enough to think it won’t happen.”
The Management Bureau Director, Kwon Dojun, continued with an expression that said the agent still had a long way to go.
“We must make sure it can’t happen.”
“!”
The agent looked at Kwon Dojun with moved eyes.
“From now on, our Management Bureau will neither search for nor bother that person. And! We’ll support them as much as possible, both openly and behind the scenes. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Snap!
The agent gave a perfectly precise salute.
Kwon Dojun smiled in satisfaction and issued the remaining orders.
“Destroy the entire list of Awakening suspects and shift to releasing all information about the Tower and Awakened. Set up a press conference. Admit that we’ve been controlling information until now, then recruit Awakened.”
Management Bureau Director Kwon Dojun.
Once Kwon Dojun made a decision, there was no hesitation.
Of course, in the previous Run that Kwon Dojun could not remember, that personality had led to the extreme act of kidnapping Awakening suspects in public.
Still, what mattered was the current route.
“Outwardly, we’ll recruit Awakened and find climbers for the Tower, but there’s one thing we must never forget.”
“I’m listening!”
“We must not create any reason for that person to concern themself with Awakened crime. The Management Bureau’s true goal is to create the optimal environment for that person to climb the Tower. Therefore, we will treat Awakened as favorably as possible while putting even greater effort into eliminating Awakened crime.”
At that moment, the purpose of the Management Bureau, an organization with authority above the law, changed completely.
* * *
After the Management Bureau released all information and held a press conference, society fell into great confusion.
The retirement announcement of Lee Han-gyeol, the superstar of the professional gaming scene, was swept away without a sound, like something caught in a tidal wave.
Every online community overflowed with talk of Awakened, the Tower, and the Infinity Difficulty Player.
There was even a growing atmosphere of intelligence agencies from other countries criticizing Korea’s Management Bureau.
Simply because the Infinity Difficulty challenger was Korean, Korea’s Management Bureau had broken an unspoken rule and released the information first.
Kwon Dojun received much criticism in the process, but did not budge.
There was faith that the chaos would subside as long as the Infinity Difficulty challenger kept climbing the Tower.
And there was one person who had not the slightest interest in that chaos.
The Infinite Regressor Lee Han-gyeol, who had caused this whole situation.
“When is the Monolith maintenance going to be over, damn it!”
There was always only one thing that mattered to him.
The Monolith.
Footnotes:
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