I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 45

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 45: 045

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Right after returning to reality.

I checked my status window out of habit.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 18)]

[19,260 Points]

“Now that I’m up to Floor 17, my Point income has risen to nearly 20,000 Points.”

I had earned around 14,000 Points on Floor 16.

This time, I had earned 19,000 Points.

That was an increase of 5,000 Points in a single Floor!

I felt proud.

“Hehe. Today, I saved 19,260 citizens of our country. Of course, an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter should earn at least ten thousand Points in the Middle Floors.”

I had earned a lot of Points.

I had also tested new magic.

Floor 17 had been a fruitful conquest in many ways.

Still, it hadn’t been perfect.

Glance.

I turned to look at Hyeji.

“Hyeji, how much loot did you collect?”

“Um... I think we got a little over half. Around 1.8 tons? It should be worth about 203.5 million won.”

“And if we had collected all the loot we missed?”

“Then the loot revenue would’ve been around 380 million won. You used that insanely strong magic and blew 180 million won.”

“Ghk...!”

My heart ached.

Because I had used magic that was too powerful and lost some of the loot.

I had failed to take every last scrap.

I had thrown away 180 million won!

“So this is what they mean by great power comes with great responsibility!”

If I got drunk on power and swung it around recklessly, I’d suffer losses.

180 million won had vanished into thin air...

What a sad, unfortunate, devastating tragedy!

Goodbye, my beautiful 180 million won.

I hope you’re happy wherever you are.

“...Is it really that upsetting that we couldn’t collect all the loot? You still made plenty of money. The Points and loot combined come to around 390 million won.”

“I was supposed to make 570 million won, but I only made 390 million. Ah...! My 180 million won...!”

“You make hundreds of millions every day, so what’s the big deal? Just forget it. You can earn more tomorrow.”

“Hyeji, you were born with a silver spoon, so you can’t understand the sorrow of a dirt spoon.”

Na Hyeji, who had received a luxury apartment from her parents as soon as she became independent, wouldn’t understand.

The frugal spirit of those without money...!

Sure, I had been making a lot of money lately.

But I had only been a Hunter for two weeks.

Two weeks ago, I had been nothing more than a convenience store part-timer who didn’t even make minimum wage.

Even if I had suddenly started making money, my attitude toward it wouldn’t change overnight.

I was still processing loot in ramen boxes because I hated wasting even a few tens of thousands of won.

I muttered quietly.

“Whew... It’s so sad that we couldn’t collect all the loot. I want some sincere comfort from others...”

In other words, I was going to post a lament on Hunter Gallery.

-Click!

I took a picture of the loot in the living room.

Then I quickly wrote a post.

[Post Title: A Newbie Hunter Cleared Floor 17...]

[Author: Blue Dot]

(A picture of ramen boxes full of loot piled up in the living room)

Newbie... Went to Floor 17 today.

Just like I heard, there was an Orc fortress.

It was much bigger and grander than the fortress I saw on Floor 12.

When I thought about a thousand Orcs packed inside...

I suddenly wanted to destroy it.

So I just smashed it T_T

Maybe the fortress was built really poorly.

I gave it one little hit, and it just came crashing down...

The Floor 12 fortress was like that too, and so was the Floor 17 fortress.

Why are all the buildings that appear in the Tower so flimsy...

Whether it’s reality or the Tower, shoddy construction seems to be a serious problem.

I hope the house I move into later is sturdy.

Anyway, I cleared Floor 17 that easily...

But there was a problem.

I made a mistake during demolition and lost some of the loot.

So it was impossible to bring back all of it.

I only brought back a little over half.

After calculating it, I lost 180 million won...

Ah...!

This is so miserable!

Give back my 180 million won.

180 million won, where did you go!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

Anyway, today’s income.

465 Orc axeheads.

43 pieces of Orc Warrior armor.

7 sets of Orc Shaman rings.

19,260 Points.

Total income: 396.1 million won...

Ah, I could’ve earned 570 million won.

Not being able to collect that 180 million won hurts so much.

My total earnings are even lower than yesterday...

Sigh.

I’m such an incompetent guy who only made 390 million won, so I can’t bring myself to eat anything delicious today.

I’ll just cook ramen...

I’m so depressed.

Everyone, please comfort me...!

└We’re more depressed for having to read this shit, you bastard.

└You’re throwing a fit with a new stunt again today.

└The Floor 17 illustrations make the Orc fortress look huge and sturdy as hell. How did you break it? In one hit, too?

└└For real lol. You’d need to stick a missile into that thing to destroy it.

└└Blue Dot: I am missile-level strong. I gave it one little hit and a mushroom cloud shot up lol. But I’m so strong that the loot disappears too, so I’ll hold back a little from now on...

└└Bullshit.

└Blue Dot: No, guys, I said I’m depressed;;; I lost 180 million won, so hurry up and comfort me, fellow Hunter Gallery bros...

└└Maybe what you lost wasn’t 180 million won, but your conscience and morality?

└└I don’t want to comfort you, but I can bring you down instead. Chahaha!

└└Ugh, that old-man joke is fucking unbearable. This guy is seriously the shame of Hunter Gallery. Get out.

└└Blue Dot: You heartless people, not one of you can say something warm. Are you incapable of empathizing with someone else’s sadness!

└└If anyone empathized with you, they’d just be insane.

...

After reading the comments, I muttered bitterly.

“Whew... There are too many heartless people. Nobody will comfort me... Is this the reality of cold modern society?”

Instead of warmly comforting someone who was sad and hurting, they mocked them and made them into entertainment...!

This was the reality of a harsh modern society.

No wonder people suffered from depression while living in such a desolate world!

Ah!

Where in the world could modern people receive sincere comfort and encouragement?!

As I sighed in sorrow.

-Iing.

Pat, pat.

Iing Iing came over and patted my shoulder.

My eyes welled up with tears.

“Are you comforting me, Iing Iing?”

-Ing.

“Th-thank you...! Iing Iing! I feel a little better thanks to you!”

I clenched my fist.

Yeah!

It had been my fault for expecting warm comfort from ordinary Hunter Gallery users.

I had such a cute and adorable fairy beside me.

There was no need to seek comfort from Hunter Gallery!

Iing Iing’s comfort improved my mood.

“Haah...”

“Why do you keep sighing, Hyeji?”

“I’m worried that Iing Iing might learn strange things from you, Jiho...”

“What are you talking about? Why would such a kind and admirable Iing Iing do that?”

-Ing ing ing.

“Sigh...”

I had no idea what she was so worried about.

Hyeji kept letting out deep sighs as she looked back and forth between Iing Iing and me.

Anyway.

I had safely completed Floor 17.

I had lost some loot...

But it had been a fairly good climb.

Tomorrow was Floor 18.

* * *

The next morning.

I went through my daily routine as usual.

I ate, processed loot, called Han Seonga to exchange Points, played games, and watched Shorts to melt my brain a little...

Since I was curious about how the world was doing, I also looked up the news for the first time in a while.

“Korea is smiling away on the verge of destruction again today.”

Maybe because the Republic of Korea’s destruction was drawing closer.

The country’s situation was not good at all.

-Next, the won-dollar exchange rate has exceeded 2,400, while consumer prices...

-Chinese warships have been spotted in succession in the West Sea. The military has announced heightened surveillance, while the presidential office has expressed strong regret to China...

-Ten weeks until Tower Points are depleted. The outflow of domestic Hunters is accelerating. This month alone, more than one hundred Middle Floors Hunters have emigrated...

-Protests demanding the repeal of the Hunter General Mobilization Order are spreading nationwide. The government maintains that repealing the Hunter General Mobilization Order is absolutely impossible...

I could feel the country gradually falling apart.

The exchange rate was rising like crazy.

Protests were breaking out all over the country.

The Chinese were rattling their military sabers to snatch up the territory after Korea’s destruction.

And unpatriotic Hunters had started emigrating.

I clicked my tongue.

“This country would’ve been doomed without me.”

There were no Points left.

The country had already sold everything it could sell, and it couldn’t expect support from other countries.

Anyone could see that the situation was hopeless, with destruction just around the corner.

But it was fine.

Because...

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll grow stronger quickly and save Korea.”

This very body, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter, was growing stronger by the day!

The amount of Points I gained was increasing exponentially with every Floor I climbed.

I was already earning 20,000 Points at a time.

Wouldn’t I earn at least hundreds of thousands of Points in the Upper Floors?

And if I went beyond the Upper Floors and reached the highest Floor...

Maybe I would earn millions of Points every day.

Then our country’s Point deficit would be solved in one stroke.

It might even rise as a Point superpower.

I muttered quietly.

“Korea. You should be grateful, praise me, and worship me for being born in this country.”

“Jiho, what are you doing, staring at your phone by yourself?”

“I was just realizing my greatness again. I’m the hero who’ll save this country on the brink of destruction... Isn’t that amazing?”

“...He’s been cooped up in his room so much lately that he’s losing his mind. Go outside sometimes, Jiho. I’m worried about you.”

My sister encouraged me to go out again today.

But she didn’t understand.

A wizard was supposed to lock himself away in a dark cave or dungeon.

An active wizard who wandered around outside was a heretic.

A proper, orthodox wizard like me needed to stay cooped up at home!

Anyway.

Glance.

I looked through the internet news articles.

[Chinese Warships Spotted Repeatedly in the West Sea... Military Strengthens Surveillance.]

[China’s Northern Theater Command Digs In Across Manchuria. Large-Scale Troop Movements Near the Korean Peninsula.]

[Chinese Warships Enter West Sea Amid China-Korea Maritime Border Tensions. What Is Their Intent?]

[President Expresses Strong Regret Over Chinese Military Movements. “We Cannot Tolerate Violations of Sovereignty.”]

The news that the Chinese military was making moves in the West Sea and Manchuria particularly caught my attention.

I clicked my tongue and muttered.

“Those Chinese bastards are disgustingly greedy.”

Why China was making threatening military moves as if surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

It was to swallow this territory whole after the Republic of Korea was destroyed.

‘Once every Point in the Tower disappears, this place will become completely empty land.’

When a country’s Tower Points reached zero.

Every citizen of that country died.

In other words, all land on the Korean Peninsula would become unoccupied territory.

If China brought in its military and occupied it immediately after the country vanished.

It could incorporate the territory without spilling a drop of blood.

That was why it wanted to mark its claim in advance.

It could swallow up every industrial foundation and piece of infrastructure in our country, an advanced nation and regional power.

It would also gain a military and trade hub of great importance.

How could it not be tempted?

Still, it was unexpected.

“The United States and Russia are quiet. Did they reach some agreement behind the scenes?”

That was probably likely.

Our country was right on China’s doorstep.

From the United States’ perspective, it might have seemed more reasonable to secure suitable interests and withdraw than to dispatch a huge force here and shed a great deal of blood.

Russia had no reason to clash with China when it needed to focus on competing with Europe.

They must have agreed to allow our country to fall into China’s hands.

Of course, it was a useless agreement.

I would save this country soon enough.

Korea is open for business as usual!!!

Anyway.

“Should I get going?”

Today, I headed to the Tower again.

I waited for my EX-rank Fairy Mage porter and Iing Iing.

[Entering Tower Floor 18.]

The conquest of Floor 18 began.

* * *