I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 170

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 170

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The next morning, I woke up with a frown.

There was a familiar feeling against my cheek.

“...Again?”

I reached up and picked up the thing stuck to my cheek.

A red ball the size of my fist.

It was the crystal ball that had come back with me from Floor 49.

Sitting up, I looked over at my desk.

The stand I’d hastily folded out of a cardboard box yesterday had been flattened.

I muttered under my breath.

“Why does this feel so familiar?”

I was pretty sure this had happened before.

I’d definitely left it on my desk before bed, only to wake up and find it beside my cheek.

And the stand always ended up broken.

Why couldn’t a single one of these crystal balls stay put?

I turned the crystal ball over in my hands.

Despite falling from the desk and rolling over to my bed, its surface was smooth and unscratched.

It had a satisfying weight, a shiny surface, and a beautiful glow scattered through its interior.

And...

“Why’s this thing so warm, though?”

It was positively toasty.

Not the kind of warmth it could have picked up from spending a little time under the covers.

The crystal ball itself was giving off heat!

When I wrapped my palms around it, warmth spread through my hands, which had grown cold overnight.

Hmm.

Now that I thought about it...

“Wouldn’t this make a perfect hand warmer?”

Exactly.

The weather had gotten pretty chilly lately.

Summer had slipped away, and autumn had arrived in full.

In weather like this, having a nice, warm crystal ball meant I could warm my hands just by touching it now and then!

I nodded in satisfaction.

“From now on, your name is Warmie.”

I’d carry it around as a hand warmer for a while.

Anyway, after washing up and changing my clothes, I got started on breakfast.

“Sluuuuuuuuuurp!!!”

“Jiho... You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Sis. Another bowl!”

“...All right.”

As I ate rice mixed into my sister’s soybean paste soup, I checked the news.

A lot of articles had gone up overnight.

[Blue Dot Becomes World’s First to Clear Floor 50. A “Floor 51 Hunter” Is Born.]

[100 Million Points in One Day... Worth 1 Trillion Won. “Unprecedented Earnings in Human History”]

[Ministry of Economy and Finance “Considering Supplementary Budget to Cash Out Blue Dot’s Points”]

[Overnight Festival at Gwanghwamun Square... Tens of Thousands Cheer as “51” Lights Up]

[US President Torumph Sends Congratulations: “A Fantastic Friend. See You in London”]

[Regular Meeting of the London Convention Opens Today... World Leaders Arrive in London]

[Public Petition to “Build a Statue of Blue Dot” Passes 100,000 Signatures Overnight]

...

“Hehe.”

As I browsed the news, the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward.

Number one in the world.

A trillion won.

An all-night festival and even a petition for a statue.

The whole country.

No, the whole world.

Everyone was praising yours truly!

I’d saved King Korea and gone on to become the world’s number one Tower climber.

Now everyone was celebrating my achievements!

My need to show off was being fully satisfied!

I muttered quietly.

“All of Korea is singing my praises. Feels like just yesterday I was working at a convenience store and getting cheated out of minimum wage... What a strange feeling.”

A sudden wave of emotion washed over me.

It was true...

My life had changed since I became an Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter.

Back in high school, I couldn’t even meet the bullies’ eyes.

I used to throw trash wherever I wanted and spit all over the place.

But after becoming an ELH Hunter, I’d started making an effort to maintain my dignity.

Just the other day, I’d heard Korea was going under, so I’d earned some Points and saved it.

Back in school, I couldn’t even look another loser in the eye, never mind a bully. Now I blasted monsters apart with huge spells, Kaboom! Kaboom!

I could even look a Dragon in the eye inside the Tower.

No matter how shitty something made me feel, I could stand alone in the shower and ask myself, “Who am I?”

“The Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter.”

Then I’d smile, and I’d feel better.

This must be why people said the position makes the person.

Just then, my sister spoke.

“Jiho. What are you thinking about that’s got you grinning like that?”

“Self-reflection.”

“...Over soybean paste soup?”

“A person can grow at any moment.”

“Good grief. Just eat. Your rice is going to get soggy.”

With a sigh, she set a plate of kimchi in front of me.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she spoke quietly.

“Jiho. Did you see the news?”

“The news praising me? Of course! Don’t you know I search my name every morning?”

“No, not that. You know those strange rumors going around lately? About monsters appearing in the real world.”

My sister glanced toward the TV with a worried look.

I looked down at my phone.

Among all the articles praising yours truly, there really were headlines like that.

[Videos of “Monsters Outside the Tower” Spread on Social Media... Debate Heats Up Over Whether Footage Is Real or Fake]

[Government “Still Verifying Facts... Public Urged to Remain Calm”]

[Similar Videos Continue to Emerge Overseas... Public Anxiety Grows]

It was what I’d seen on the Raid Team board last night.

Rumors of monsters appearing in the real world.

Stories like that had popped up online every now and then for a while...

But now they’d made the news.

I tapped a video attached to one of the articles.

-Ratatatatatatat!

-“Contact! Contact front! Orcs!”

-“Fuck! Kill ’em!”

-“They’re running! We need close air support, now!”

-Kaboooom!

The video showed soldiers fighting dozens of monsters.

A group of Orcs had appeared in a thickly wooded area.

Facing them were American troops.

The soldiers opened fire with their guns.

As the Orcs fled along a cliff, missiles rained down on them from an attack helicopter.

Hmm, wasn’t that an AH-64E Apache Guardian?

It was nice to see a fellow attack helicopter, an Apache, in action!

“When it comes to attack helicopters, nothing beats an Apache!”

“Jiho... Is that real? Are monsters really appearing in the real world? You’re a Hunter, so you’d know. Are those really the monsters from the Tower?”

“Hmm.”

I played the video again.

Bulging muscles, green skin, crude axes.

They looked exactly like the Orcs I’d killed until I was sick of them inside the Tower.

I nodded.

“Yeah. Looks like it might be real? They look exactly like the Orcs from Floors 10 through 19.”

“...Then what are we going to do?”

“What else?”

Slurp.

I took a mouthful of soybean paste soup, now cooled to just the right temperature, and spoke quietly.

“If monsters show up in the real world, I’ll just kill them. Your little brother’s number one in the world. Orcs? They’ll go down as easily as this cooled soybean paste soup!”

“...What kind of comparison is that?”

My sister let out a little laugh.

Maybe my confident bragging had worked.

Her face seemed a little more relaxed than before.

“Anyway... Don’t cause trouble in London today.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And don’t hit someone just because they pick a fight with you. Try to keep the weird comments to a minimum, too. People from all over the world will be there, so be on your best behavior...”

“Is it because I’m number one in the world? This soybean paste soup tastes even better today!”

“...Are you listening?”

“Got any more rice?”

“Oh, honestly...”

My sister let out a deep sigh.

I held out my soup bowl.

It was another peaceful morning.

* * *

After breakfast, it was time to cash out my Points.

Ms. Han Seonga came to our house.

“Good morning, Hunter Baek Jiho.”

“Welcome, Ms. Seonga. I’ve brought in something really big today.”

“Yes. I saw your post. Congratulations on clearing Floor 50.”

“I’ll transfer them right away.”

Grinning, I reached for the crystal ball.

It was the Point-transfer crystal ball Ms. Seonga had brought.

As soon as I placed my hand on that familiar object, a prompt appeared, just as always.

[Please specify the number of Points to transfer to the Republic of Korea.]

“All of them.”

[Transferring 100,000,000 Points to the Republic of Korea.]

A hundred million Points went to the Republic of Korea.

I stole a glance at Ms. Seonga’s face.

And there it was.

Her eyelashes trembled.

Such was the power of a hundred million Points.

They could even make Han Seonga’s eyelashes tremble!

She spoke quietly.

“Hunter Baek Jiho. I’ve confirmed receipt of one hundred million Points. One trillion won will be deposited into your designated account. The Republic of Korea will remember your dedication.”

“Do you have the budget for it?”

“...An emergency supplementary budget bill passed yesterday. Your payment will proceed without issue. However, some administrative processing is required, so it may be delayed by a few days...”

“Take your time. I’m not in a hurry.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Ms. Seonga bent into a right-angle bow.

Maybe it was thanks to the hundred million Points, but her bow was even deeper than usual.

I nodded in satisfaction.

Then I remembered the news I’d seen that morning.

“Oh. By the way, Ms. Seonga.”

“Yes?”

“I saw something on the news. About monsters appearing in the real world. Is that true?”

Her face immediately stiffened.

Her expression, flushed with excitement over receiving a hundred million Points just moments before, turned rigid again.

Well, that more or less answered my question.

She spoke quietly.

“...Yes. It’s true.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Monsters have been confirmed in former North Korean territory. We don’t know whether every video and photograph circulating online is genuine... But monsters have indeed been discovered in the real world.”

Well, well.

So it wasn’t just some wild rumor?

I tilted my head.

“Why are they appearing? Why are things that belong in the Tower wandering around outside?”

“The cause is still under investigation. We can’t say yet whether this is the effect of a particular artifact or whether some other problem has occurred.”

“Hmm.”

Cause unknown.

It might be some kind of artifact.

Or something else might be happening?

Apparently, even the National Intelligence Service didn’t really know yet.

“You are killing them, though, right?”

“Yes. Military special forces and the Hunter special operations unit have been deployed. Civilian Hunters who agreed to cooperate are also taking part. Search-and-destroy operations are currently underway in the northern region.”

“So that’s why people in the Raid Team got contacted.”

I remembered the posts I’d seen last night.

People saying the National Intelligence Service had contacted them, or asked them to help the Special Task Force with something.

It hadn’t been idle gossip. It was actually happening.

Then Ms. Seonga looked straight at me and spoke.

“Hunter Baek Jiho. The details of the operation are still classified. Please do not disclose what I’ve just told you.”

“You mean don’t post it on Hunter Gallery?”

“...Yes.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m some classified-information leaker. You think I’d post even this on Hunter Gallery?”

“...Yes. I trust you.”

“Come on, Ms. Seonga. What’s with that look?!”

Why did she keep looking at me so anxiously?

It wasn’t like I rushed straight to Hunter Gallery and crapped out a post every time I found something to write about.

Anyway!

Those real-world monster sightings I’d doubted were apparently real.

To think those monsters had finally started appearing outside the Tower...

What a frightening world.

Ever since the Tower appeared, it had been one crazy thing after another.

If I were just an ordinary person, I’d have been too scared to go outside much.

Of course, I’d have stayed shut in my room even in a perfectly normal society.

But, well.

I shrugged and spoke.

“Don’t worry too much, Ms. Seonga.”

“...Pardon?”

“Monsters or whatever, I’ll kill anything that shows up. I killed a Dragon yesterday. What difference will a few of those things crawling out make?”

“Of course, I’m aware of your abilities, but...”

“I’m the Extreme Lunatic Hell Patriotic Admiral Yi Hunter. I’m following in big bro Sun-sin’s footsteps! Whether hundreds or thousands of monsters come swarming in, I’ll get them all completely kimchi’d, so don’t worry! Your Majesty, I still have twelve shots of magic artillery!”

Yours truly would take responsibility for the lives and safety of King Korea’s citizens, so there was nothing to worry about!

As I thumped my chest, Thump, thump!, and declared as much...

“Pffft!”

I heard a laugh.

I stopped talking and looked at Ms. Seonga across from me.

She had clapped a hand over her mouth.

With her hand pressed to her lips, she had lowered her head slightly and was shaking!

I was stunned.

‘Huh? Did she just laugh?’

That ice queen, Han Seonga?

And so openly, too?

What part of my noble ambition and patriotic determination had she found funny?

“Ms. Seonga. Did you just laugh?”

“...My apologies.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. But what was so funny about my patriotism?”

“...”

Her face turned bright red.

Apparently, Ms. Seonga had a slightly unusual sense of humor.

Was she the type to burst out laughing when someone shared their serious ambitions?

“Ahem.”

She cleared her throat and straightened up.

Struggling to sound businesslike, she spoke.

“Moving on, Hunter Baek Jiho. Let me explain your departure schedule.”

“Oh, sure.”

“You’ll depart at two this afternoon from Seoul Airport in Seongnam. You’ll be traveling on the government delegation’s aircraft. Hunters Na Hyeji and Choi Yejin will join you at the airport. After arriving in London, you’ll go directly to your accommodation...”

Ms. Seonga scrolled through her tablet and rattled off the schedule.

I nodded, only half listening.

She and the National Intelligence Service would take care of everything anyway.

Only one thing mattered.

London, in Asshole Britain.

The place where the Blue Team’s leaders and Hunters from the Highest Floors would gather.

Today, yours truly, the world’s number one Hunter, would d e s c e n d upon that city!

The perfect chance to show the whole world my magnificence!

I raised my staff and shouted.

“It’s time for the Extreme Lunatic Hell Global-Debutante!”

That afternoon, the government delegation’s aircraft sped down the runway and rose into the sky.

Its destination was London.

* * *

Meanwhile, above the Atlantic Ocean.

A massive aircraft cut through the sky above the clouds.

It was none other than the US presidential aircraft.

Air Force One.

A brief report was underway in its onboard conference room.

“China and Russia’s movements are concerning.”

An aide brought photographs up on the screen.

They were satellite images of the same area, taken at different times.

The earlier images showed vehicles and personnel moving around.

In the most recent image, however, that area had become an indistinct blur.

“Observation was blocked immediately after we confirmed troop movements. We checked with other satellites, but the result was the same.”

“What’s causing it? Hacking? Some kind of unusual weather?”

“No. We believe they’re using an artifact. One that blocks observation.”

Donald Torumph studied the photographs.

It wasn’t just China.

Similar effects were appearing at some Russian bases as well.

Reconnaissance by satellite and drone was being blocked completely.

China and Russia were burning through large quantities of Points to prevent surveillance.

They were definitely preparing something.

Torumph asked quietly.

“Do we have any confirmed intelligence?”

“Only that more personnel and equipment than usual are being actively moved and redeployed. We haven’t yet established the scale or their destinations.”

“Hmm...”

Tap, tap, tap.

Torumph began tapping his fingers against the Diet Coke in his hand.

The aide continued the report.

“Reports of monster appearances are also increasing. We’re deploying response forces, but new sightings keep coming in.”

“And the media? What’s happening there?”

“We can’t keep it under control any longer. Footage from the scene is spreading too quickly. Some outlets have already begun special coverage. CMM in particular...”

“Those fake-news bastards at CMM. They just won’t stop getting on my nerves...! Horrible people!!!”

The bad news kept coming from his aides.

“Following Alaska, additional appearances have been confirmed in northern Canada. We’re also receiving sighting reports from Northern Europe.”

“The Japanese government has restricted access to parts of Hokkaido as well. There hasn’t been an official announcement yet.”

“We’ve also received intelligence that South Korea is conducting extermination operations in former North Korean territory.”

Monsters were appearing all over the world.

And China and Russia were making suspicious moves.

With each report, the atmosphere in the conference room grew a little heavier.

Tap, tap, tap.

Only the steady tapping against the Diet Coke can continued.

“...Mr. President.”

As the aides’ reports drew to an end, the Chief of Staff spoke cautiously.

“Perhaps you should reconsider attending the London meeting.”

Everyone in the room turned toward the Chief of Staff.

After a brief hesitation, the Chief of Staff continued slowly.

“We don’t know what China and Russia are preparing. On top of that, monsters are appearing in multiple regions. Having national leaders gather in one city at a time like this could be dangerous.”

“...”

“At the very least, we could shorten your schedule, or arrange for you to attend by video...”

Tap.

The finger tapping the can stopped.

“Cancel? Ha!”

Torumph snorted.

He set the Coke can on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“Tell me, Chief of Staff. Where do you think the safest place in the world is right now?”

“...Sir?”

Torumph didn’t wait for his aides to answer.

He simply picked up the tablet on the table.

On its screen was the attendance list for the Regular Meeting of the London Convention.