WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 43: 043
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After hanging up, I immediately called Han Seonga back.
“Han Seonga.”
“Yes, Hunter Baek Jiho.”
“I’m disappointed.”
“Pardon?”
“Please come to my house right away. We have a serious problem.”
I hung up.
Once again, Han Seonga arrived in less than ten minutes.
The moment she came in, I said without preamble,
“I got a call from the United States.”
“Pardon? What do you mean...?”
“The United States Climber Management Department called me. I think my information was leaked. They were probably trying to recruit me, right?”
“...”
Han Seonga didn’t answer.
Still, I could tell she was flustered.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
Clicking my tongue, I waved the phone at her.
“You said this was a secure phone. But I got a call from the United States within thirty minutes. What the hell happened?”
The information of this exalted Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter!
They leaked it in only thirty minutes!
How was security this terrible everywhere, from phone carriers to the National Intelligence Service?
They always made me install pointless security programs whenever I used online banking.
Then my information got leaked all the time anyway!
This country’s security capabilities were legendary.
Han Seonga spoke quietly.
“...It seems Hunter Baek Jiho’s information may have been leaked through the Office of the Third Deputy Director.”
“Office of the Third Deputy Director? What’s that?”
“The National Intelligence Service divides its duties among deputy directors. The Office of the First Deputy Director, which I belong to, handles foreign intelligence and counterintelligence. The Office of the Third Deputy Director handles science, technology, and cybersecurity. The smartphone we gave you was made in cooperation with that office. But...”
“So there was some kind of breach on their end.”
“That is highly likely. I apologize, Baek Jiho.”
It looked like they had screwed something up while cooperating with another department to give me a secure phone.
Did they have an insider?
Or had the United States hacked them with some insane ability?
Who knew?
Honestly, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Americans had stolen information somehow.
‘They have the CIA and NSA, after all.’
The CIA conducted movie-like espionage operations all over the world.
The NSA had the best electronic warfare capabilities in the world.
American intelligence agencies gathered every kind of information without caring about the means or methods.
If that was what the United States could do, stealing information from inside the National Intelligence Service would be nothing.
They hacked the phones of allied heads of state and wiretapped presidential offices. What couldn’t they do?
Anyway...
“Now that the United States knows I exist, I’m not in danger, am I?”
“They will likely only approach you for recruitment. They are an allied nation, after all.”
“Should I at least be relieved it wasn’t leaked to the Chinese or Russians...?”
“We cannot be certain of that. If this was not a simple hack but the work of an insider, China or Russia may have learned of it as well.”
“...That would be a problem.”
The United States?
Honestly, I wasn’t too concerned if they knew about me.
When America recruited Hunters from other countries, it preferred tempting them with money and privileges over using force.
They obviously wouldn’t know I was an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.
At most, they would wave thick bundles of dollars at me and try to persuade me to become an American citizen.
China and Russia were different.
Those bastards operated Point farms in an official and systematic manner.
They were absolutely fucking insane lunatics!
If they found out there was a fresh Hard-rank Hunter who had only reached the Middle Floors, it wouldn’t be strange for them to send a Hunter special operations unit to kidnap me.
High Floor superhumans could come flooding in with guns and swords to abduct me.
It looked like I needed to lie low for a while.
“First, we will increase your protection level. It also seems that we need to clean things up inside the National Intelligence Service.”
“Just handle it properly. The United States is one thing, but China and Russia can’t know about me. I don’t want to be dragged to Beijing, abducted, imprisoned, and forced to farm Points.”
“We will make up for this mistake without fail. Please trust us and leave it to us.”
Han Seonga said that with determined eyes.
It didn’t inspire any confidence.
No, after selling off my information in thirty minutes, what did it matter if she looked serious...
“And take this phone back. I don’t think I should use it.”
“...Understood. We will prepare another one without any issues...”
“No, don’t give me a new one. I don’t trust it. I’ll keep using my old phone. Who knows what they might have done to a replacement?”
I had been happy to get a new phone.
Now, though, I had no idea what might have been done to it.
What if it had some hacking chip attached to it, like in a spy movie?
It seemed better to keep using my old phone.
Han Seonga accepted the smartphone I handed back with an apologetic expression and spoke in a small voice.
“...Understood. We will not prepare a secure phone separately. However... you need a safe house. I will arrange a National Intelligence Service safe house. It would be best for you to stay there for a while.”
“No. I’m not going. I have a feeling that even if I move, my information will be stolen again right away.”
“...”
“Just increase the protection around me.”
Han Seonga suggested I stay in a safe house.
I rejected that without hesitation as well.
After seeing the National Intelligence Service’s level of security, I didn’t want to receive any services related to security.
What if I went to a safe house, only for Chinese or Russian bastards to pop out of the apartment next door?
After my information was stolen as soon as I received the phone, I simply couldn’t trust them.
‘The National Intelligence Service should just shower me with artifacts.’
If I entrusted anything else to them, I had a feeling they would keep making stupid blunders.
That was the instinct of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.
‘I may look like this, but I know all about hell. You can’t assume government agencies are competent.’
I remembered well how incompetent the government had been during the chaotic early days of the Tower.
That was why I could not easily trust the government’s way of handling things.
Anyway, I left the miscellaneous follow-up measures to the National Intelligence Service.
After Han Seonga returned home, I immediately prepared to clear Floor 17.
“First... increasing my combat power is the highest priority. I need to climb every day without taking a break.”
I had no idea when Chinese or Russian Hunter special operations units might come after me.
There was no way I would neglect building up my stats.
Whether it was security full of holes or a Hunter special operations unit that could attack at any moment...
In the end, wasn’t it enough for me to become insanely strong?
“Overwhelming power can rip apart and smash every trial and hardship!”
As long as I became stronger...
Every problem would be solved!
That was why I didn’t skip climbing the Tower today either.
I waited for Hyeji and the fairy.
[Entering Tower Floor 17.]
The assault on Floor 17 began.
* * *
Washington, D.C., United States.
United States Climber Management Department Central Headquarters.
Minister’s Office.
“So, have you tried recruiting him?”
A middle-aged white man with sharp features spoke in a low voice.
His name was Simon Scott.
He was the Minister of the United States Climber Management Department and one of the current President’s closest confidants.
A subordinate official answered his question.
“We tried. However, he hung up before even hearing our offer.”
“He hung up without even listening to the terms?”
“Yes. He seemed unsettled by our contact.”
“Or perhaps he is arrogant because he came from Hard-rank. Next time, send an agent to contact him in person instead of calling. By the way... Baek Ji-ho? Korean names really do not roll off the tongue.”
They were talking about Baek Jiho.
A sixth Hard-rank Hunter who had recently appeared in the Republic of Korea, a small Far Eastern nation facing destruction.
They had attempted to recruit him.
Click.
Minister Scott lit a cigarette with a Zippo lighter and asked,
“Has the profiling been completed?”
“Yes. Here is the information on Hunter Baek Jiho.”
The papers rustled as the official handed over a file.
It contained everything about Baek Jiho.
His upbringing, education, personality, daily habits, hobbies, relationships, financial records, internet activity...
All that information had been compiled.
Then experts had analyzed him, and their report was now on the Minister’s desk.
Minister Scott exhaled cigarette smoke as he reviewed the file.
“Hm... He has a strong desire to show off and acquire wealth. It appears we can recruit him by appealing to his desire for financial rewards and recognition... What about his abilities?”
“They are expected to be at the highest level in history. With the NSA’s cooperation, we hacked the Korean Climber Management Department database and confirmed records showing that he cleared one floor per day all the way through Floor 16.”
“...All the way through Floor 16? He cleared one floor per day?”
Minister Scott’s eyes stopped on the document.
It was too unbelievable.
His lips twisted into a smirk.
“Hmph. That is not even funny. Clearing a floor every day? That is impossible. It appears we acquired compromised information. Request the NSA’s cooperation again and have them gather accurate intelligence.”
“Well... they checked several times, but they say it is certain. His climbing records, Point income, and financial transaction records... every record supports that he succeeded in climbing one floor per day.”
“Could it be Korean disinformation?”
“It is not impossible.”
“Obviously. This is disinformation. They fabricated those idiotic records to screw with us. Those bastards. It is not as if they are teasing us... They are spreading ridiculous bullshit as disinformation. Coordinate with the NSA and CIA to obtain more accurate information.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sizzle.
The Minister crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray and spoke.
“Remember this. We must recruit as many Hard-rank Hunters as possible. Five of our country’s highest-ranked Hunters have died.”
That was the current situation in the United States.
About a week ago, they had attempted to clear Floor 50.
At the time, the United States had deployed ten top Hunters, including David, the world’s number one Hunter, to clear Floor 50.
The result had been disastrous.
Five of the ten Hunters who attempted Floor 50 had died.
The other five barely escaped with their lives.
It was an incredibly painful loss.
They had lost five of their top High Floor Hunters, people who earned millions of Points every month.
Their monthly Point income, which had totaled tens of millions, had vanished all at once.
The damage was great enough to affect America’s Point hegemony.
“China has reached Floor 48, Russia has reached Floor 47, and the Europeans cleared Floor 46 and are attempting Floor 47.”
“...”
“To preserve our hegemony, we need to recruit additional Hard-rank Hunters.”
The United States desperately needed more Hard-rank Hunters.
“The only place where we can recruit Hard-rank Hunters right now is Korea, which is on the verge of collapse.”
The United States Climber Management Department focused on the Republic of Korea.
Seven years had passed since the Tower appeared.
Recruiting Hard-rank Hunters who had already settled down was not easy.
The United States, China, Europe, Russia...
The great powers had already used every possible means to poach every Hard-rank Hunter worth taking.
The Hard-rank Hunters still remaining in each country were the ones who were truly difficult to recruit.
Whether it was patriotism, personal foundations, or power, only those with their own reasons for not leaving their homeland remained.
Then the destruction of the Republic of Korea drew near.
Even someone deeply attached to their homeland would not refuse to flee and stay aboard a sinking ship until the end.
The United States intended to recruit the Hard-rank Hunters fleeing Korea.
There were currently three Hard-rank Hunters in the Republic of Korea.
“Kim Taeseok, Choi Yejin... and now the newly discovered Baek Jiho.”
If they recruited those three Hard-rank Hunters...
No, if they could recruit even one or two of them, they could recover some of the losses from failing to clear Floor 50.
“China, Russia, and Europe are surely watching Korea closely as well. We must win the competition against them and secure the Hard-rank Hunters.”
“I will keep that in mind, Minister.”
“The President has promised every form of support for this. Do not care about the means or methods.”
The United States.
No, every great power in the world was watching the Republic of Korea as it stood on the brink of destruction.
It was the usual state of global affairs since the Tower appeared.
* * *
Flash!
The bright light faded.
I slowly looked around.
A familiar sight came into view.
A vast plain, mountain ranges rising in the distance, and clouds drifting leisurely through the sky.
I muttered quietly,
“I’m starting to get sick of this view too.”
I had seen it every time since entering the Orc Floors...
The scenery was starting to feel stale.
The first time I saw it, I felt like my chest had opened up.
Now I wanted to see a different map.
Once we reached Floor 21, we would be able to fight in a different environment.
The Golem Floors began at Floor 21.
As I looked around, Hyeji spoke with an uneasy expression.
“...Jiho, is that really true? The United States called you?”
Before entering the Tower, I had told her about America’s attempt to recruit me.
It seemed to be weighing on her mind.
I nodded.
“Yes. The United States somehow found out my information and called.”
“My goodness... Then what do we do?”
“What do we do?”
“Other countries might find out about you or me too! What if China or Russia really comes to capture us...?”
Hyeji was visibly anxious.
After all, Hyeji had become a Fairy Mage, just as I was an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.
She had gained special power compared to other Hunters.
Of course she would be worried about how other countries might react.
I shrugged.
“What we need to do is the same as always. Climb the Tower quickly and become stronger.”
As long as we became stronger, everything would be solved.
No matter what schemes the Chinese or Russians tried, overwhelming power would let us crush them all!
That was why I intended to climb the Tower diligently.
Of course, I did not intend to only climb the Tower.
I had my own plans too.
“And besides climbing the Tower, I need to improve my abilities. For example, I can practice new techniques...”
“New techniques?”
“I made a few new spells. I’m going to test them out this time.”
Footnotes:
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