I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 114

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 114: 114

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I activated a defensive spell.

The spell I chose was an air-based Protective Aura.

It was the defensive spell I could activate the fastest.

-Vwooooom...!

A translucent wall of compressed air enveloped my sister and me.

Then the bullets came rushing in.

-Kwaaaaang⸻!

"Aaaah!"

The bullets shattered the car windows and struck the barrier.

Glass shards flew everywhere.

A metal bullet barely stopped just inches from my sister's face.

-Kwaaaaang⸻!

The second and third shots came flying in.

The compressed-air wall burst apart again and again, and each time, I quickly cast another defensive spell.

Thanks to that, my sister and I were safe.

But...

The Protective Aura I'd thrown up in a hurry could only cover my sister and me.

I didn't have the leeway to protect the entire vehicle.

-Crunch!

-Crack!

A deflected bullet pierced the hood and burst the left tire.

The car lost control.

It suddenly spun off course.

-Kuuuung!

The car slammed into the guardrail.

The airbags deployed from the impact, and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the car.

"Sis! Are you okay?! Sis!"

I hurriedly checked on my sister.

Thank God.

She didn't seem seriously hurt.

"Ugh... J-Jiho, what's going on...?"

She looked confused, but there were no obvious injuries.

Still, both hands gripping the steering wheel were trembling faintly.

I cast a healing spell on her.

"We're under attack."

"An attack? Who the hell-"

"China or Russia, probably. Those fucking bastards."

Vwooooom...

Golden radiance flowed into my sister's body.

Just then, she looked around the wrecked interior of the car and spoke quietly.

"Ah. Our little squeaker... It's wrecked."

"You're worried about the car at a time like this?!"

"You gave it to me as soon as you started making money. Do you know how precious this is to me?"

"..."

My sister said it like a joke.

But she couldn't fool me.

Her face was still pale.

And the hands gripping the steering wheel were still shaking.

She was probably trying to hide her fear by pretending everything was fine, even now.

It was exactly the same expression she'd worn when our father died.

I clenched my teeth.

"Sis."

"Yeah?"

"Stay in the car. I'll finish this quickly."

I wrapped my sister and the half-destroyed car in a defensive spell.

Then I forced open the dented door and stepped outside.

Slowly, I steadied my breathing.

'At least Sis isn't hurt.'

Because I'd blocked it at the last second.

But...

What if?

It was a possibility I didn't even want to imagine...

What if I'd reacted even a little later?

What if activating my defensive spell had been delayed by even an instant?

"Jiho."

"..."

"Be careful."

My sister, sitting in the driver's seat and looking at me with concern...

She would have been sitting there as a corpse, bleeding profusely.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, something inside me snapped.

* * *

"Hmm."

On a rooftop, Lin Chenhuo peered through binoculars.

A tunnel came into view.

It was Namsan No. 1 Tunnel.

And in front of it sat a half-destroyed car.

It was the car their target, Baek Jiho, should have been riding in.

A subordinate holding an anti-Hunter large-caliber sniper rifle spoke.

"The sniping mission is complete, Team Leader."

"Is he dead?"

"The shot was enhanced by a Grade 1 piercing artifact. There's a high chance he's dead."

"I hope so."

Lin Chenhuo continued looking through his binoculars, then clicked his tongue.

"I have a feeling he's alive."

"It was a Grade 1 piercing artifact. Wouldn't surviving that attack be difficult? Even those on the Highest Floors would die if they weren't properly prepared for it."

"Well, I just don't think he'd go down that easily."

Lin Chenhuo's intuition was right.

-Clunk.

The dented car door opened.

A figure stepped out, completely unharmed.

Lin Chenhuo curled his lips into a sneer.

"Just as I thought. He's alive."

"H-how...?!"

"Send in the close-combat team."

The subordinate holding the sniper rifle stared in shock.

Lin Chenhuo calmly picked up his radio and gave the order.

The real battle had begun.

* * *

After crawling out of the car, I heightened my senses.

My spiritual waves swept through the area.

Unfortunately, since this wasn't the Tower, I could only sense a few dozen meters away.

But that was enough.

-Rustle. Rustle.

-Shff.

Had they been lying in ambush here from the start?

Several presences lurked in the bushes beyond the guardrail.

There were six in total.

I drew up the mana within my body.

'Fucking bastards. I'll kill every last one of you, one by one.'

They'd nearly killed my sister.

I wanted to rain area-of-effect magic down on this entire place and wipe it off the map, but...

I couldn't.

This was Seoul.

A hot heart, a cold head.

A wizard had to remain calm anywhere, at any time.

I forced myself to breathe and regain my composure.

My eyes narrowed.

-Rustle.

One by one, they came into view.

They climbed over the guardrail or emerged from behind structures, gripping spears and swords.

Every one of them looked East Asian.

Those Chinese bastards, then.

It wasn't particularly surprising.

I'd had a feeling it was them.

I prepared a spell.

-Crack! Crack! Crackle!

Brilliant electric light drove away the darkness.

Naturally, the spell I prepared was Railgun.

It was the most useful anti-personnel spell in my arsenal.

The men approaching me suddenly stopped.

"He's activated an artifact."

"He hasn't spotted us."

"The invisibility remains active. Attack from all sides at once."

They muttered in Chinese and exchanged hand signals.

Why were they moving like that?

'Could it be an invisibility artifact?'

They moved like they assumed I couldn't see them.

I knew immediately.

It was an invisibility artifact.

It seemed they didn't know invisibility artifacts didn't work on me.

Idiots.

I aimed my staff.

"Die."

Railgun activated.

-Kwaang⸻!

A bright flash flared.

A metal projectile ripped through the air.

A blue trail cut across nighttime Seoul.

-Splat.

One Chinese Hunter's head exploded.

Fragments of skull and brain matter scattered through the air.

The Hunter collapsed limply.

"What...?!"

"He can see us? How-"

They cried out in confusion.

I aimed my staff and fired at them one after another.

-Kwaang⸻!

Every time the sonic boom rang out, a Chinese Hunter's head or chest burst apart.

A mist of blood sprayed into the air.

They died quickly.

"...! He's spotted us! He has a detection artifact!"

"What is that insane firepower?! Retreat now!"

They finally realized something was wrong and fled as if diving away.

They were incredibly fast.

Too fast to call human.

But...

-Kwaang⸻!

They weren't faster than Railgun.

No matter whether they were High Floor Hunters or even stronger, escaping Railgun's trajectory was impossible.

-Kwaang⸻!

"Urk...!"

Thud.

The last Hunter fell with a hole blown through their chest.

A fist-sized hole had opened where their heart should have been, spilling blood in heavy gushes.

After dealing with all six Hunters in an instant, I turned toward a building.

"I saw something like a scope reflection glinting from that rooftop."

They had probably targeted my sister and me from that rooftop.

I had to go kill the rest.

Step.

Without a word, I headed toward the building.

* * *

"What...?!"

Lin Chenhuo was looking through his binoculars.

He couldn't help letting out a shocked cry.

The scene before him was too unbelievable.

'...He killed all six of my team members without a struggle?!'

His subordinates had died absurdly easily.

The target who'd stepped out of the car, Baek Jiho, raised his staff.

Then he aimed it at Lin Chenhuo's subordinates.

A blue trail streaked through the air.

Terrifying sonic booms thundered out.

Each time, his subordinates' heads and chests were blown through without any chance to resist.

It was as if he were firing some laser weapon from a movie.

Every time a roar rang out and a blue trail appeared, a subordinate's head or chest was pierced, and they died helplessly.

It made no sense.

'Crazy...! They're all Hunters who reached Floor 48! How the hell...?!'

Floor 48.

His subordinates had reached the pinnacle of Hunters and were among China's strongest combatants.

How could Baek Jiho slaughter them so one-sidedly?

Countless questions swirled through Lin Chenhuo's mind.

How had he seen through the invisibility artifact?

The Republic of Korea shouldn't have any detection artifacts.

What was that insane blue trail?

No Grade 1 artifact could produce that much destructive force.

Could it be Unique-grade?

No. That was impossible. A weak country like Korea couldn't possess a Unique-grade artifact.

And...

Was that man truly...

A High Floor Hunter?

Lin Chenhuo could think no further.

"Team Leader! He's coming this way!"

"...!"

After dealing with the six subordinates, Baek Jiho began walking toward them.

His steps were far too casual, as if this much wasn't even a battle.

Lin Chenhuo hurriedly gave an order.

"What about the piercing rounds?! Are they ready?!"

"The charge isn't complete yet! You know bullet enchantment can only be done once every ten minutes, Team Leader!"

"Fuck...! We have no choice. Fire the regular rounds!"

-Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

Three snipers began firing at Baek Jiho.

Explosions rang out in rapid succession.

Spent casings flew upward, trailing smoke.

Each muzzle flash kicked up clouds of dust and blocked their vision.

The anti-Hunter large-caliber sniper rifles fired semi-automatically.

-Screeech! Screech! Screech!

A barrage of 14.5 mm rounds tore through the air.

They were powerful enough to sever a person's limbs in an instant and disable even armored vehicles.

But they didn't work on Baek Jiho.

-Crack! Crunch! Crack!

Every bullet was deflected and crushed by the violent current of high-pressure liquid wrapped around his body.

Lin Chenhuo ground his teeth.

"That madman...! How many artifacts does he have, damn it?!"

A detection artifact that could see through invisibility.

An attack artifact that killed allies in one blow.

And now, a defensive artifact that blocked even large-caliber rounds...!

How many high-grade artifacts could Baek Jiho possibly control?

Lin Chenhuo bit down on his lip.

Then...

-Kwaaaaang⸻!

Blue electrical radiance flashed.

A thunderous roar erupted.

And then...

-Splat!

"Li Xiao!"

The subordinate's head exploded.

Their skull shattered apart.

Eyes and brain matter sprayed in every direction.

Splatter.

Lin Chenhuo was covered in head fragments, and his clothes were stained red.

-Kwaaaaang⸻!

More thunderous blasts rang out.

Splat! Crunch!

The other two snipers were shot through the head as well, dying instantly.

Silence descended in an instant.

Lin Chenhuo looked around.

"..."

The three snipers who had been beside him all had their heads blown off.

Nothing remained above their necks.

In place of their heads, there were only scattered fragments of human bodies strewn across the rooftop.

He turned and looked outside the building.

"..."

Baek Jiho was still walking toward him at an unhurried pace.

Only about a hundred meters remained.

For Hunters, it was close enough to easily read each other's expressions.

In Lin Chenhuo's view, Baek Jiho stared directly at him with a blank expression.

Suddenly, Lin Chenhuo realized something.

'If I run, I'll definitely die.'

There was no chance he would leave this place alive.

The only reason he wasn't dead yet was because Baek Jiho had deliberately left him alive.

-Tremble...

His hands shook.

The fear of death rose from the depths of his heart.

Seven years had passed since the age of the Tower began and he became a Hunter.

Even after reaching Floor 48, this was the first time he had ever felt such pressure and terror.

He forced his trembling hand to move and picked up a phone.

It was a satellite phone connected to mainland China.

-Ring. Ring. Click.

"President Xi. It's me."

The person on the other end was none other than Xi Jinping.

The President of the People's Republic of China, its nominal supreme leader.

And now, a puppet who had lost most of his power to the Committee Member Hunters.

Lin Chenhuo spoke.

"Send reinforcements here immediately! Use the one-use spatial jump artifacts keyed to Seoul! There must be at least a dozen of them!"

-...

"Xi Jinping! Can you hear me?!"

There was a reason Lin Chenhuo had called Xi Jinping.

He wanted reinforcements.

There were one-use spatial transfer artifacts stored in Beijing.

Many of them had been keyed to Seoul.

If they used them all, they could gather at least a dozen Highest Floors Hunters here.

They were so rare and expensive that it was difficult to use them casually, but...

To save his own life, he didn't care about the cost.

If he was lucky, they might corner Baek Jiho.

Even if that was impossible, they could at least buy him time to escape.

But what he heard through the receiver was completely unexpected.

-I watched the battle by satellite. Baek Jiho's combat ability truly exceeded my expectations. To think he would wipe out an entire Floor 48 Hunter team so one-sidedly.

"...Stop wasting time and send reinforcements now!"

-I'd hoped you would both destroy each other, but Baek Jiho's combat ability seems too great after all. It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. I suppose I'll have to be satisfied with letting one enemy deal with another.

"President Xi. You bastard! Don't tell me...!"

-I was able to assess Baek Jiho's combat ability fairly accurately. Thank you, Lin Chenhuo. Thanks to you, it will be easier to plan my next moves.

"Xi Jinping!"

Click.

The call ended.

Lin Chenhuo stared blankly at the satellite phone in his hand.

He muttered quietly.

"Destroy each other, let one enemy deal with another...! Xi Jinping, you son of a bitch...!"

At that moment, he had no choice but to realize it.

Xi Jinping had known in advance that Baek Jiho's combat ability was no joke.

He had known that, despite being nominally a High Floor Hunter, Baek Jiho's actual combat power was at least on the level of the Highest Floors.

Even so, he had hidden Baek Jiho's true capabilities.

Then he had pushed Lin Chenhuo to carry out the assassination.

"To get rid of me...!"

The Hunters of China had taken Xi Jinping's power from him.

To eliminate Lin Chenhuo, a core member of that faction.

And if possible, to eliminate Baek Jiho as well, China's troublesome enemy.

Xi Jinping had concealed accurate information about Baek Jiho and sent Lin Chenhuo here.

As Lin Chenhuo trembled from the sense of betrayal...

Step. Step. Step.

Footsteps approached.

* * *

I silently walked toward the building.

I didn't run.

I didn't even hurry.

Was it because I looked down on them?

No.

'If my emotions get even a little out of control, I feel like I'll start firing area-of-effect magic without realizing it.'

I was trying to suppress the emotions boiling up inside me.

If I let my guard down for even a moment, it felt like I might destroy everything within several kilometers without realizing it.

I gripped my staff tightly and desperately suppressed my anger.

I muttered quietly.

"I can't lose my mind and go on a rampage in the middle of Seoul."

It would be ridiculous for the man meant to save the Republic of Korea to destroy Seoul himself.

I absolutely couldn't let that happen.

So I barely managed to calm the surging anger and kept walking toward the building.

Fortunately, the man didn't run before I reached the rooftop.

"...!"

He couldn't run or fight back.

He only stared at me with terrified eyes.

He had realized it too.

The moment he took even one step off this rooftop, my magic would pierce his head.

When I approached, he spoke in a frightened voice.

"S-spare me!"

"..."

"I am Lin Chenhuo! A Floor 48 Hunter of the People's Republic of China! You've heard my name, haven't you?! If you spare me and let me return to China, I will give you a great reward-"

He babbled on about something.

I couldn't understand him.

Because I didn't know Chinese.

He was being noisy, so I blew off one of his arms.

-Kwaaaaang⸻!

Railgun fired.

Splat!

His right arm exploded.

"Aaaaaaaagh!"

He screamed in pain.

He was being noisy, so I blew off his left arm too.

Kwaang⸻!

"Aaaaaaaargh!!!"

He screamed in pain again.

Just as I was about to blow off his right leg because he was being noisy...

"Urgh! Urgh! Uuugh...!"

Maybe he realized that his limbs disappeared whenever he screamed.

He desperately swallowed his cries.

Much better.

I was already pissed off, and he was even launching a noise attack.

I almost lost my mind.

Phew.

I let out a sigh.

Then I raised my smartphone.

-Ring. Click.

The call connected after a single ring.

Naturally, Han Seonga was on the other end.

-Baek Jiho! I heard you were attacked! I'll dispatch forces there immediately! Choi Yejin has already left, and David from America is heading there as well! So please just wait a little-

"It's all over. Nine are dead, and I captured one alive."

-...What?

"But this guy's face looks familiar. I think I've seen him a few times somewhere. Could you check who he is? Hold on. I'll take a picture and send it to you."

-Click!

I took a picture of the Chinese Hunter, who was lying on the ground with both arms blown off, bleeding and feebly writhing, then sent it to Han Seonga.

Immediately afterward, a shocked cry came through the phone.

-Th-this is Lin Chenhuo!

"Lin Chenhuo? Who's that?"

-China's number one Floor 48 Hunter! N-no...! Why is one of China's strongest Hunters...?!

"..."

Hmm. His face had seemed familiar.

I must have seen him in the news.

He seemed stronger than the others, so I'd figured he was pretty capable.

I never expected him to be China's number one Hunter.

Anyway.

"Han Seonga, hurry over. Both of this guy's arms are gone, so I think he might die of blood loss soon. Or maybe not? He's a Highest Floors Hunter, so perhaps he can hold out for quite a while? I don't really know..."

-What?

"If he's China's number one Hunter, he should know a lot, right? There must be plenty of information we can squeeze out of him. And..."

I stopped speaking for a moment and thought.

Those Chinese bastards.

They'd targeted me several times already.

The first time, they tried to kidnap me.

The second time, they tried to kill me.

And now, the third time...

They'd even tried to kill my sister.

They had begun targeting not only me, but the people around me as well.

My patience had finally reached its limit.

I spoke quietly into the phone.