WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 19: 019
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"Baek Jiho. The sixth Hard-rank climber..."
The person listening to the director's report was Kim Hyeongtae, Vice Minister of the Climber Management Department.
He was a middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and a striking scar on his forehead. Leaning forward slowly, he asked,
"How capable do you think he is?"
"...I believe he may be the best we've ever seen."
"Are you certain? These internet posts look like nothing but boasting and exaggeration to me."
Glance.
Vice Minister Kim Hyeongtae's gaze shifted to the documents on his desk.
Posts Baek Jiho had written.
They all sounded absurdly casual, like blatant lies.
[I killed them all and took their daggers.]
[You need to reach at least Floor 20 to do that? Hunters in the teens are nothing special... It's not even that hard, how can't you do it?]
[I guess I'll become a High Floor Hunter in about a month?]
[I just kill everything I see.]
[Hmm... Is that all? Goblin Warriors really weren't anything special.]
[I just went deeper into the passage and killed them all T_T]
Those dizzying posts were true?
He had climbed from Floors 1 to 6 by practically slaughtering every enemy?
It was hard to believe.
The director continued.
"Certainly, the posts are full of unbelievable claims. It's only natural to assume they're lies. But..."
"But?"
"He's actually paying that many Points every day. His Tower loot sales records also show that he earned that much. We even looked into whether he might have received help from other Hunters, but... that wasn't the case. The only Hunter beside Baek Jiho is a reserve Hunter from the Lower Floors with five years of experience."
"Hmm."
"These posts may be exaggerated, but they're very likely based on the truth to some degree."
"..."
"He's a Hunter with potential so great that he could surpass every existing Hard-rank Hunter. We need to secure a budget and recruit him immediately. At this rate, we'll lose another Hard-rank Hunter to a foreign country!"
The director was arguing for Baek Jiho's recruitment.
In other words, he wanted Baek Jiho officially affiliated with the Republic of Korea's government.
Of the five Hard-rank Hunters, the Republic of Korea had already lost three.
Two had gone to the United States, one to Europe.
Two had been sold off because of a lack of Points, while one had abandoned the country after being tempted by overwhelming rewards.
That left only two Hard-rank Hunters in the Republic of Korea.
Kim Taeseok and Choi Yejin.
Even Kim Taeseok was apparently stranded on Floor 41.
In practice, Choi Yejin was the only active Hard-rank Hunter.
They had discovered a new Hard-rank Hunter in such a situation.
Of course they should recruit him immediately.
But Vice Minister Kim Hyeongtae shook his head.
"We can't officially recruit him yet."
"Why not?! We need to keep a firm hold on him before another country approaches him...!"
"You know what a mess this country is in these days."
Sigh.
Vice Minister Kim Hyeongtae let out a long breath.
Thinking of his country's reality made everything before him feel bleak.
"This is a doomed country that will disappear in three months. It's full of people poking into every corner, trying to squeeze out as much as they can until the end. The moment we submit a proposal to recruit him, the information will leak. Then every country will come running. The United States, Europe, China, Russia..."
Hard-rank Hunters possessed talent at the very peak of humanity.
They were considered people certain to reach the Upper Floors.
And this was a new Hunter displaying momentum that overwhelmingly surpassed even the existing Hard-rank Hunters.
A Hard-rank Hunter had appeared in the Republic of Korea, a country on the verge of destruction.
And he was still only on the weak Lower Floors?
Wasn't this the perfect chance to buy low?
"The United States and Europe will come carrying mountains of money, while China and Russia... who knows what insane things they'll do. It wouldn't surprise me if they brought in the military. Maybe they'll send special forces to kidnap him?"
"If we pay attention to security measures..."
"Security? Security only works when people want to keep it. Our minister is already selling information everywhere. Do you think security will hold?"
"..."
"I'll be honest. How many ministers and vice ministers in this country aren't selling out the nation? They're everywhere, selling anything they can for slightly better immigration terms."
That was the reality of the Republic of Korea, with destruction only three months away.
Ordinary citizens still had a little hope, so society was barely holding together...
But high-ranking figures in politics and business, people with access to more information, were convinced that the end was coming.
This was the result.
The country would be destroyed and disappear forever in three months anyway.
So what was wrong with selling it off a little?
Ministers, vice ministers, and senior officials were all selling the nation's treasury and information.
The upper class hurried to immigrate overseas with vast sums of money.
Very few people remained devoted to the Republic of Korea until the end.
Given the situation, the moment the Climber Management Department acted, countless small fry would swarm in and Baek Jiho's information would spread overseas.
What followed was obvious.
The United States, China, Europe, and Russia would all rush in to claim Baek Jiho.
As a result, Baek Jiho would be sold to another power.
The Republic of Korea, nearing its destruction, would helplessly lose its sixth Hard-rank Hunter.
"That's why we can't rashly submit an official proposal."
"...Then are we supposed to sit back and watch? Because we're afraid of information leaks and intervention from other countries?"
"No. We will recruit him. We simply need to prepare more thoroughly and act in secret."
Tap. Tap.
Vice Minister Kim Hyeongtae tapped the desk with his fingers as he thought.
'I suppose I'll have to ask First Deputy Director Han at the National Intelligence Service for a favor. That's the only place with a budget that won't be exposed...'
In the present-day Republic of Korea, high-ranking officials desperately struggled to escape the sinking ship.
Yet a small number of patriots still refused to abandon their country until the end.
Han Jiwon, First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service.
With his help, they could recruit Baek Jiho more discreetly and reliably.
Kim Hyeongtae gave the director an order.
"You said the Tower Record Keepers were the first to discover Baek Jiho?"
"That's correct."
"Coordinate with the National Intelligence Service and make sure they keep their mouths shut. Not just the Record Keepers. From department heads and lower-ranking officials to Branch employees. Everyone who knows about Baek Jiho must be silenced. Even if blood has to be spilled."
"I'll see to it."
"Maintain the administrative conveniences, identity protection, and secret security arrangements as they are."
Baek Jiho did not know it, but he was already under the management of a state organization.
The Republic of Korea.
The second biggest Big Brother society of the twenty-first century, after China.
No one had secrets before its dense administrative network, complete computerization, and powerful digital surveillance system.
"Remember. Security is the most important thing. Information about Baek Jiho must never leak to another country. Never."
* * *
Early in the morning, I went to the Climber Branch to check in again.
[Please specify the amount of Points to transfer to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]
"All of it."
[Transferring 928 Points to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]
"Hunter Baek Jiho. We have confirmed 928 Points. We will deposit 9.28 million won into the designated account. The Republic of Korea will remember Hunter Baek Jiho's devotion...!"
"Okay. Good work."
I left after hearing the familiar farewell from the familiar civil servant.
It was so ridiculous that I laughed.
"No, seriously. How long are they going to keep misunderstanding this...? Today, they weren't just polite. They looked completely tense."
The civil servant who had been quite polite when dealing with me before.
Today, they had been on edge.
They had been sweating strangely as they carefully watched my expression and mood.
Even North Korean soldiers meeting their fat ruler from the North probably weren't that tense.
How long did they plan to keep thinking I had connections with high-ranking officials?
'Whatever. They'll sort out the misunderstanding eventually.'
I dragged myself out of the Branch, got into my sister's car, and headed home.
"Sis. I think I kind of understand what it feels like to have connections with high-ranking officials."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing. More importantly, when's Hyeji coming?"
"Hyeji said this afternoon. We'll get another message before Hyeji comes, so we can get ready to enter the Tower then."
I was on the way home, having pointless conversations with my sister, when I suddenly looked at the passenger-side mirror.
'But that car... Doesn't it feel like it's following us? It's probably just my imagination.'
* * *
Once I got home, I immediately prepared to climb.
The floor I was heading to this time was Floor 7.
It was a floor that became a turning point in many ways.
"I'll finally get to fight outside in bright daylight."
The so-called large outdoor map trial version.
A stealth assassination floor.
Unlike the Tower's previous floors, all of which took place indoors or in caves, this was the first floor set in an open area.
Well, the open area was nothing more than a rocky mountain without a single tree.
'Still, having a sun is better than nothing, right?'
They said it was bright because there was sunlight, unlike the previous floors.
People who had always fought in dark caves and stuffy interiors could finally fight in a wide, bright outdoor area.
It was supposed to make your chest feel refreshingly open.
People really did need to see the sun to stay sane.
Anyway.
I looked up a strategy post for Floor 7.
[Post title: (Notice) Floor 7 Strategy Guide]
Everyone probably learned group combat techniques on Floor 5.
And you probably built teamwork on Floor 6.
Floor 7 focuses on stealthy team movement and long-distance travel.
Here's the guide.
When you start, you'll be halfway up a rocky mountain.
If you look up toward the top, you'll see a place packed with huts.
That's a huge Goblin Village.
First, let me emphasize this.
Never go near the Goblin Village!!!
There are around seven hundred Goblins in the village, including a hundred Goblin Warriors. Insane.
The moment they spot you and start ringing their bells, hundreds of Goblins will pour out and chase you until you die. Seriously, you will never survive.
You know Goblin Warriors are fast as hell, right?
A hundred of those Goblin Warriors will chase you, and there are two hundred archers too, so you'll never get away.
You'll either turn into a porcupine from arrows or get torn in half by Goblin Warriors.
Don't even look toward the Goblin Village.
Only think about clearing the floor.
The clear condition for Floor 7 is taking the Escape Portal on the other side of the rocky mountain.
Your starting point is south of the mountain, while the Escape Portal is to the north.
Goblin scout units are scattered around the area.
You need to assassinate or avoid the Goblin scout units one by one, then take the northern Escape Portal without being discovered.
The best route to the Escape Portal is to make a wide detour east.
Go east for a while, and you'll see a narrow, dark gorge. If you follow it, you can reach the other side of the mountain fairly easily.
Of course, there are many two-Goblin scout teams in the gorge too.
If they ring their bells, reinforcements will come from the village, so you have to kill them quietly before they can ring them or go around without being spotted.
Once you observe the scout teams and understand their routes, it won't be that hard to find a chance to kill or avoid them.
Keep following the gorge while taking out the scout units, and you'll reach a river.
Follow the river upstream and you'll see the Escape Portal.
Enter the Escape Portal and clear.
To sum it up.
1. Never approach the Goblin Village at the summit.
2. Follow the eastern gorge, quietly assassinating or avoiding every Goblin scout unit you encounter.
3. Leave the gorge and follow the river upstream to clear the floor.
The rewards on this floor aren't anything special.
All you can get is the few dozen Goblins you run into along the way.
The average clear time is over ten hours, so it barely even covers labor costs...
Still, clearing it lets you access the Floor 8 hunting ground, so clear it fast and let's go to Floor 8!
└Floor 7 sounds like some stealth assassination action game lol. You have to go around while taking out Goblin scout teams one at a time. But why does it take so long to clear? Ten hours? Is the map really that big?
└└It's huge as hell. The whole map is one rocky mountain.
└└The map is big, but you also have to carefully deal with the Goblin scout units one by one, so it's hard to move quickly... That's why it takes so long.
└This floor has awful value for money, damn it. Five of us killed thirty-two Goblin scout units and made 800,000 won, but split between us, that's only 150,000 won each. We were making millions on Floor 6, then only 150,000 won on Floor 7. The contrast is insane.
└└Still, once you get past Floor 7, you can go to the Floor 8 hunting ground. Have a drink and cheer up lol.
└└It's crazy that Floor 7 earns less than the cash-farming floor on Floor 4, and it takes ten hours too. Damn it.
└What resources are in the central village?
└└According to high-ranking Hunters who explored it, there are piles of ingots and hides. Something like 300 kilograms of ingots and 200 kilograms of hides?
└└It has a lot of resources for a huge village... Of course, unless you have a death wish, you'll never go there.
...
"As expected. Those Easy-rank, Normal-rank, and Hard-rank mediocrities are afraid of Floor 7."
It was a map where you had to go around an entire rocky mountain.
A map on a pretty large scale.
Starting from Floor 7, the Tower's scale grew exponentially.
That made clear times take longer.
But the profits were pathetic by comparison.
That was why Floor 7 drew so many complaints from Hunters.
But it was different for me, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.
"Seven hundred Goblins in the village, and hundreds of kilograms of ingots and hides... If I loot it all, I could make a fortune."
There was a Goblin Village like the one on Floor 4?
I'd go in and smash everything again before looting the place clean.
This would be quite profitable.
How much would I make, roughly?
I pulled out a calculator and did the math.
The result was shocking.
"I can get up to around 1,800 Points, and the loot would be around 47 million won after taxes... The expected profit is 65 million won?!"
The expected profit from wiping out the Floor 7 Goblin Village.
A whopping 65 million won.
I couldn't help being stunned.
'I've made a little over 50 million won so far.'
Yet I could make 65 million won in one run...!
More money than everything I had earned while climbing up to Floor 6.
All at once!
I shot up from my seat without thinking.
"One big score really is all it takes in life!"
Floor 7 of the Tower of Trials.
For others, it was only a shitty floor that took a long time and gave terrible returns...
But for me, who could wipe out the entire village, it was a gold mine among gold mines.
A floor where only this Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter could feast.
If I ground up seven hundred Goblins, 65 million won would fall into my hands. That was thirty-three months' worth of convenience store part-time wages.
I waited for the porter while looking forward to the enormous profit that would soon be mine.
[Entering Tower Floor 7.]
The Floor 7 raid had begun.
Footnotes:
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