WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 79: 079
──────
At that time.
Washington, United States.
The office of the Secretary of the Climber Management Department.
"These are the materials observed by our high-altitude UAV."
Rustle.
An official placed several stacks of documents on the desk.
They were records collected by the U.S. military's stealth high-altitude UAV, the RQ-180.
Events that had unfolded in Seoul, Republic of Korea, only dozens of minutes ago.
The United States had been watching in real time.
The official continued.
"Baek Jiho's abilities far exceeded our expectations."
"..."
"He eliminated them all. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service's Tier 1 Hunter special operations unit, the Zaslon Group, China's four Highest Floors Hunters known as the Committee Members, and even CIRO's Tier 3 Hunter special operations unit from Japan."
"..."
Simon Scott, Minister of the Climber Management Department, silently listened to the report.
He slowly removed the cigarette from his mouth, crushed it into the ashtray, and picked up the documents before him.
Several photographs were attached inside.
A blue trail shooting through the head and body of a Russian Hunter.
China's Highest Floors Hunter Committee Members being torn apart.
A massive explosion and lightning burning Japan's Hunter special operations unit alive.
Korea had no idea, but the United States was monitoring Seoul as perfectly as if it were looking at the palm of its hand.
There were countless reconnaissance satellites orbiting in low Earth orbit.
There was also the stealth high-altitude UAV hovering above Seoul.
Secretary Scott muttered quietly.
"Baek Jiho. I knew he was an extraordinary person. He faced dozens of High Floor Hunters while he was only in the Middle Floors."
"..."
"But... he killed four of China's Highest Floors Hunters too? This is absurd. I can hardly believe it even as I look at the evidence."
Scott had had his eye on Baek Jiho for some time.
Baek Jiho was a special Hunter.
While still in the Middle Floors, he had wiped out the Chinese Ministry of State Security's Tier 1 High Floor Hunter special operations unit.
He had also brought back dozens of Magic Stone Reactors from the Tower's floors in the twenties.
But Scott thought that was all.
No matter how impressive he was, Baek Jiho had only just entered the High Floors.
He might possess tremendous combat power, but Scott had expected him to be no more than strong compared to others on similar floors.
That was not the case.
The Highest Floors. The people who possessed humanity's greatest combat power.
China's Highest Floors Hunters, the Committee Members.
He had slaughtered four of them in one place?
Wasn't that strength clearly beyond common sense?
Then Scott recalled a piece of information.
"Bring me the analysis of the posts Baek Jiho has uploaded to the internet so far."
"Here it is."
Rustle.
The official promptly brought Scott the documents he had requested.
They were translations of the posts Baek Jiho had made on Hunter Gallery.
Scott had not paid much attention to them before.
Truth and lies were mixed together, so he had not considered them particularly trustworthy.
At most, profilers could use them to analyze Baek Jiho's personality.
But...
What if every single post was true?
[Post Title: Do You Guys Know Hard Isn't the End of Tutorial Difficulty?]
[Author: Blue Dot]
I recently did the Tutorial.
The enemies were a Goblin Warrior and a Goblin Shaman.
I got put into a difficulty harder than Hard;
But who am I?
A potential MAX rookie Hunter assigned to Extreme Lunatic Hell difficulty.
I blew up the Goblin Warrior and Shaman without so much as a scratch.
Honestly, I was scared at first.
But once I actually tried it, it wasn't that bad.
Taking questions.
...
This absurd post claiming there was a difficulty beyond Hard in the Tutorial.
What if it was truly real?
What if... an unprecedented difficulty called Extreme Lunatic Hell truly existed?
Secretary Scott gave a faint laugh.
"Director."
"Yes, Secretary."
"Don't you think the term Extreme Lunatic Hell is a rather strange name?"
"...?"
"If we bring him to the United States, we'll have to call it something else. For example... Very Hard, or Ultra, would be suitable."
Clack.
Secretary Scott rose from his seat.
"I suppose I'll have to visit the White House again."
Scott had realized that Baek Jiho came from a difficulty beyond Hard.
His abilities were impossible to explain any other way.
As he put on his coat, he said, "Baek Jiho. Why did he have to be born in Korea rather than the United States, and why did he have to be patriotic? It would have been nice if he had been satisfied with enough money and honor, like other Hunters..."
"..."
"We may have to interfere with our diplomatic strategy now. This is exhausting. Very exhausting..."
Now that he had reassessed Baek Jiho's value, Scott intended to recommend a bolder choice to the president than their previous recruitment strategy.
Plan One was the same as before, recruiting Baek Jiho to the United States.
They would offer massive privileges and compensation, then make him an American.
But if Plan One did not work, Plan Two was...
"If the United States cannot have Baek Jiho, then it can't be helped. As our next best option, we'll have to improve relations with the Korea that has Baek Jiho."
"Improve relations with Korea? Wouldn't it be easier to just kidnap him?"
"Baek Jiho, who is only at the beginning of the High Floors, effectively dealt with four of China's Highest Floors Hunters by himself. The risks of using force are too great. We should improve our relations and build goodwill first."
"..."
"Korea's destruction is not far off. If we build goodwill first, he'll come to the United States after Korea falls. And if Korea doesn't fall... that will benefit the United States as well. Damn it, we shouldn't have sent the SOG Team..."
Scott knew.
Baek Jiho.
His abilities were far more exceptional than expected.
Perhaps the power of a single person could exert a massive influence over the state of the world.
Perhaps he could truly "conquer" the Tower.
Despite only being at the beginning of the High Floors, he had already unilaterally exterminated four Highest Floors Hunters.
What would happen if he reached the latter half of the High Floors?
What if he entered the Highest Floors?
What if he surpassed the beginning of the Highest Floors and reached Floor 50, where David currently was?
Then... just how strong would he become?
It was difficult even to imagine.
It would be best to build goodwill in advance for when he grew stronger.
Secretary Scott clicked his tongue.
"I'm worried whether the president will listen to me."
"Secretary, what exactly are you planning to recommend to the president...?"
"I intend to recommend a visit to Korea."
"...?"
Having reassessed Baek Jiho's value, the United States began moving more aggressively.
It would begin with the U.S. president's visit to Korea.
* * *
Around noon the next day.
I woke up later than usual, devoured soybean paste soup, and looked through online news articles.
Just as Han Seonga had predicted, it seemed the government had transparently disclosed yesterday's events.
In other words, everything had been revealed.
The threats from neighboring countries.
The existence of this body, the sixth Hard-rank Hunter in King Korea.
I read the many news articles on my smartphone.
[President Issues Stern Warning to the United States, China, Russia, and Japan... "We Will No Longer Tolerate Armed Intervention"]
[Republic of Korea Announces Its Sixth Hard-rank Hunter. Formal Contract Underway.]
[Is Korea's Sixth Hard-rank Hunter a Supporter of the 'Extreme Lunatic Hell Development Plan'?]
[What Happened in Seoul That Day? A Timeline of Events.]
[United States Conveys Its Apology to Korea.]
[U.S. President Trump Signals Intent to Visit Korea. "To Discuss Improved Korea-U.S. Relations and Future Cooperation"]
[Japan and Russia Remain Silent Despite the President's Stern Warning. China Responds with Brazen Accusations.]
[Is the Republic of Korea's Sixth Hard-rank Hunter Addicted to the Internet? Who Is 'Blue Dot'?]
[Choi Yejin Drops Bombshell During Interview: "There's a Man I'm Interested in Lately." Who Is the Man Capturing the Hero's Attention?]
...
It really had been a major incident.
There had been so many articles posted overnight.
There was no helping it.
The United States, China, Japan, and Russia.
Four entire countries had intervened militarily on the Korean Peninsula.
And the existence of this body, the Extreme Lunatic Hell hero, had finally been revealed to the public.
Of course the whole nation would be interested.
Still...
"...This Choi Yejin person. Did she start dating or something? Why are articles like that coming out?"
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the last article.
It seemed that crazy bitch with the awful personality had finally started dating.
I didn't know who it was, but that was one pitiful person.
Of all people, they had gotten caught by a lunatic like her.
Anyway.
"Should I check Hunter Gallery?"
The government had acknowledged that a hero like me existed.
Hunter Gallery was surely packed with people praising this body!
Of course I had to see it.
So I opened Hunter Gallery.
[Great Blue Dot, Save the Republic of Korea!]
[How Strong Is Blue Dot? If He Killed Four Highest Floors Hunters, Isn't He Strong Even in the Latter Half of the Highest Floors?]
[Why Is the United States Suddenly Coming to Korea?]
[His First Post Said There Was a Difficulty Beyond Hard, Didn't It? Was That Actually Real?]
[Hey, Our Country Isn't Falling~~~]
[Our Country Is Open for Business!!!]
[So When Is Lord Blue Dot Revealing His Face??? When Is the Formal Contract? I Want to See That Guy's Face Already.]
[Is Something Wrong with Me, or Is the Government Announcement Wrong?]
[Chinks, Russkies, Japs, All Cut Down Lmao]
As expected, Hunter Gallery was in a festive mood.
The government had made an announcement, and the Hunter Gallery users who realized my posts were true were celebrating.
The appearance of a Hard-rank Hunter was welcome news in any country.
And I had dealt with military intervention from several countries and displayed overwhelming power.
Reactions like that were only natural.
I slowly read through the posts.
[Post Title: How Strong Is Blue Dot? If He Killed Four Highest Floors Hunters, Isn't He Strong Even in the Latter Half of the Highest Floors?]
The government announced the identities of the Chinese Highest Floors Hunters who died this time.
Zhang Lei, Floor 42.
Wang Feng, Floor 42.
Li Feng, Floor 43.
Chen Hai, Floor 45.
There were Hunters from the beginning of the Highest Floors and Hunters in the middle too.
And he killed them all.
Wouldn't that mean he has to be around the latter half of the Highest Floors?
Could Blue Dot actually be a latter-half Highest Floors Hunter on David's level?
Otherwise, it makes no sense.
└He'd need the combat power of at least Floor 47.
└Didn't Choi Yejin help him?
└└Choi Yejin is only on Floor 41. Even if she helped, I think fighting those four would be hard. Blue Dot is just insanely strong...
└Great Blue Dot, save the nation!!!
[Post Title: Why Is the United States Suddenly Coming to Korea?]
Didn't these American bastards abandon our country?
They said they would abandon half the Pacific and only protect their mainland, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.
They even slapped us with ridiculous tariffs.
So why are they suddenly coming to Korea?
It's weird enough that America put aside its pride and said sorry.
And now that arrogant Torumph guy says he wants to visit Korea too.
This doesn't feel like the America we knew after the Tower appeared.
└Yeah, why are they coming to Korea?
└They were trying to send a Hunter special operations unit just yesterday, so I'm curious why they suddenly changed their attitude.
└Are they coming to recruit Lord Great Blue Dot?
└└No way lol. No matter how much of a Hard-rank Hunter Blue Dot is, he isn't important enough for the president himself to come recruit him.
└└Anyway, I hope we get at least some Points out of this opportunity. It might let us last another month.
[Post Title: His First Post Said There Was a Difficulty Beyond Hard, Didn't It? Was That Actually Real?]
I was looking through Blue Dot's old posts.
His first post said that a Goblin Shaman and Goblin Warrior appeared in the Tutorial.
What if that was real?
What if Extreme Lunatic Hell difficulty actually exists?
And everyone assigned to it died.
Only the people assigned to Hard difficulty made it back alive.
So humanity never knew Extreme Lunatic Hell difficulty existed.
Then Blue Dot became the first person to clear that difficulty...
What do you think? Doesn't my deduction sound plausible?
└Nope.
└How would anyone kill a Goblin Shaman and Warrior on Floor 0 lol? Absolutely impossible.
└He's probably just overwhelmingly strong even among Hard-rank Hunters? There isn't even a way to kill a Goblin Shaman in the Tutorial...
└Is Blue Dot at David's level?
└└Judging by his growth rate, maybe he's above David's level? David is ranked first in the world, but it isn't like he has ever killed a Highest Floors Hunter while still in the High Floors.
└└At least David level. I predict there's a high chance his talent exceeds David's.
└└Anyway, this is fucking amazing. A David-level Hunter appeared in this small country... My national pride is overflowing!
...
There were all sorts of posts mentioning me.
I muttered quietly.
"Tsk tsk. There are still so many ordinary people who haven't realized that I'm an Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter. Open your eyes, you ordinary fools!"
They still thought I was an ordinary Hard-rank fool!
Just when did they intend to realize it?
The formal contract was coming up soon, so I hoped they would start recognizing my greatness already.
Anyway, I had lurked on Hunter Gallery enough.
I turned off my phone and muttered quietly.
"Starting today, I'll be clearing the High Floors..."
The High Floors.
Floors themed around the Ruined Magical Civilization.
As the name suggested, they were floors related to magic.
Their cities and villages were built with magic-punk aesthetics.
Since they had once been a magical civilization, many valuable spoils and artifacts were said to be found there.
There were all sorts of potions, including Reverse-Aging Potions, Complete Recovery Potions, and panaceas, along with useful artifacts such as Spatial Bags.
Even one-use spatial jump artifacts and Guardian Stones could be found from time to time.
That was why the High Floors were the floors I had looked forward to the most.
If the Ruined Magical Civilization was their setting, I might find a way to advance my magical knowledge.
And I hadn't forgotten something else.
"Sis!"
"Why?"
I suddenly shouted for my sister in the middle of eating.
My sister, who had been cleaning, turned to look at me.
I spoke quietly.
"Sis. You'll be thirty in a few months. You don't want your age to start with a three, right?"
"...What? Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Do you want to die?"
The moment I mentioned her age, killing intent filled my sister's eyes.
Twenty-nine.
The age when a woman was especially sensitive about getting older.
I had pressed my sister's berserk button.
But I confidently continued.
"Don't worry. You have a little brother who's an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter. I'll find you a Reverse-Aging Potion and give it to you. You'll live in your twenties forever!"
"..."
"This is the beginning of the Eternal Young Twenty Plan!"
My sister had suffered because of me.
I wouldn't let her grow old anymore.
Just wait, Sis!
I'll make you young again!!!
"Sigh..."
My sister quietly sighed.
I waited for Hyeji and Iing Iing.
And a short while later.
[Entering Tower Floor 31.]
The clearing of Floor 31 had begun.
My goal was to restore my sister's youth.
And to acquire new magical knowledge.
Footnotes:
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