WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 97: 097

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Right after returning to reality, I opened my status window.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 37)]

[0 Points]

There it was.

0 Points.

That's right.

I hadn't earned even a single Point on this floor!

“Argh! Zero Points! I have zero Points like some commoner! Heavens!!!”

“You should've just killed the Black Mages...”

“Heavens!!!”

The reason I hadn't earned any Points on this floor was simple.

Something unusual had happened on this floor.

The people hadn't turned into Ghouls yet, and I hadn't killed the Black Mages either, so I hadn't earned any Points.

I'd played the Prophet, cleaned out all the loot, and immediately taken the Escape Portal outside the laboratory.

Of course I hadn't earned anything when I hadn't even fought once.

Well, I had gotten plenty of loot and other things instead...

Hyeji, who had been watching, muttered quietly.

“Why didn't you kill those Black Mages? If you'd defeated the ten Black Mages there, you would've earned at least ten thousand Points.”

“Does Hyeji have no heart?! How could I kill those pitiful people when they were looking at me with deer-like eyes full of boundless respect and faith? I'm not that much of a piece of trash!”

“But... they were Black Mages, weren't they? Aren't they the people who killed countless people and turned them into Ghouls? I think they deserve to die...”

Well, Hyeji was right.

Black Mages should be killed.

They were trash from the start.

They massacred hundreds, thousands of people, and turned them into Ghouls.

They were vicious war criminals who treated human lives like flies.

Killing them would be the proper thing to do.

But...

‘For some reason, I feel like leaving them alive might benefit me later.’

Hadn't I spared one Black Mage named Raphael or something on the previous floor, only for something unusual to happen on this floor?

Maybe if I left the ten Black Mages I met on this floor alive, something would change in a later clear and I might gain some benefit.

That faint intuition came to me.

Since I had left the Black Mages alive for now, I muttered quietly.

“I can only hope they come back as an awesome hidden piece later. If there isn't even one hidden piece, I don't know what I'll do when I get mad.”

“It is strange, though. I've never even heard of a previous floor's choices affecting a later floor... Is it because Jiho is special?”

“I don't know. Maybe I'm special like Hyeji says, or maybe it's just a coincidence.”

But when I thought about it, I did run into lucky opportunities in the Tower fairly often.

There was the time I found Iing Iing's egg, and now there was this floor changing the way it had today.

Was it because my Tutorial difficulty was special?

Or because I was a wizard?

I didn't know.

Still, one thing was certain.

“I think the Tower has some kind of secret.”

The Tower.

It had been seven years since it first appeared before humanity, yet it was still a mysterious structure shrouded in secrets.

Countless scholars and researchers had thrown themselves into investigating every inch of it, but they hadn't learned much about the Tower.

All they knew was that the Tower of Trials was something beyond the scientific laws and laws of the universe humanity understood, and that humanity had to struggle to survive its trials.

I thought to myself.

‘Then again... major powers like the United States seem to know something about the Tower's secret.’

I remembered what Rachel had told me before.

‘You are a Hunter who may one day completely conquer the Tower, Baek Jiho.’

‘The Tower has a secret. A very great secret.’

‘I'll give you one hint. The United States, China, Europe, Russia... there is a reason major powers with huge Point surpluses continue climbing the Tower so fiercely instead of selling their Points.’

The United States.

China.

Europe.

Russia.

Each power bloc had huge Point surpluses.

Even though selling their Points would bring enormous economic, industrial, military, and diplomatic benefits, they never exported them.

That had to be related to the Tower's secret.

But what exactly was that “secret”...?

Hmm.

It had been a while since I seriously thought about something, and my head hurt.

“Ah, whatever. I'll go on Hunter Gallery.”

“You were pretending to think seriously, and now you're on Hunter Gallery again?”

“Hunter Gallery is the best way to clear your head.”

“That Hunter Gallery obsession of yours...”

Ignoring Hyeji's chattering beside me...

-Click!

I took a picture of the loot piled up in the yard.

I had brought back so much loot from this floor that it formed several low heaps.

If I had still lived in the semi-basement, the living room would've actually burst...

It was lucky I'd moved into a house with a yard when I did.

Anyway, after taking the picture, I quickly wrote a post.

[Post Title: Newbie Hunter... went to Floor 36 today...]

[Author: Blue Dot]

(Heaps of potions, reagents, catalysts, Magic Stones, metal chunks, herbs, alchemical equipment, and biological tissue from unknown creatures filling the yard)

Newbie Hunter... went to Floor 36 today.

Like people said, there was a burning laboratory...

Except there wasn't;;;

For some reason, the laboratory I went to was completely fine;

It wasn't burning, and there were no Ghouls.

It was brand new.

But there were Black Mages...

I was about to kill them.

But somehow, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Heaven Hunter's holiness moved them, and they repented of their sins and said they would follow me?

So I just told them to clean out the loot for me...

The Black Mages brought me piles and piles of loot as offerings.

There was a ridiculous amount of it.

My Spatial Bag was so full it almost burst...

Should I get a few more ten-ton Spatial Bags?

Anyway, today's earnings!

Monsters defeated: 0...

The total was 0 Points...

Maybe because there were no Ghouls and I didn't kill the Black Mages.

I didn't earn any Points at all... T_T

But.

I brought back something else that's awesome!

I'm going to establish Extreme Lunatic Hell Pharmaceuticals soon.

I'll cure the illnesses of our country's people and crush all the global pharmaceutical companies.

My Extreme Lunatic Hell Group...

It can't stay in power generation forever.

So I'll follow the example of our country's major conglomerates, which expand into every field, and take an expansionist path!

The first expansion is biotech and medical!

First, I should make a complete Hair Loss Treatment.

The President's sparse crown looked kind of sad.

I should fix the President first.

The head of our country can't go around looking uncool and bald, can he?

Anyway, moving on!

I'm establishing Extreme Lunatic Hell Pharmaceuticals soon and releasing all kinds of medicine.

Please look forward to it!

└Pharmaceuticals are kind of out of nowhere. Wait, what are you making? A complete Hair Loss Treatment?

└I heard Floor 36 was the burning Laboratory Floor, but it wasn't burning? What is that... some kind of anomaly?

└Big Dot only signed a formal contract recently, and you're already writing another dizzying post. What is this nonsense about making Black Mages repent and work for you?

└Wait, what is this 0 Points thing? Is this really Blue Dot, who earns hundreds of thousands of Points every day?

└└Zero Points! Since Lord Blue Dot says I am no longer useful, what is the point of living any longer!

└└Are you Xun Yu? lol

└└But this is the first time I've seen Blue Dot write that he earned 0 Points... This actually feels more fake. It's strange seeing someone who earns hundreds of thousands of Points every day say he got zero.

└└If he says he brought back something awesome, it seems like he gave up Points to get a hidden piece.

└└A hidden piece? Does that mean our country can finally get a Unique-grade artifact? Holy shit.

└└It does seem likely to be a hidden piece... but every Unique-grade artifact has been found after Floor 41 so far. It might not be Unique-grade.

└If a hair-loss medicine comes out, can I stop taking Proppesia? I suffer from the side effects every day.

└└What side effects?

└└My dick doesn't get hard... And I get depressed...

└└??? What? Hair-loss medicine has side effects like that?? Your dick doesn't get hard? Is that real?;;;

└└It is... But going bald is worse than my dick not getting hard, so I keep taking it...

└└Oh... Stay strong...

└How the fuck are you going to make hair-loss medicine lol. Even for a concept, this is going too far, Blue Dot.

└└Blue Dot: Why do you think it can't be done?

└└Do global pharmaceutical giants look like a joke to you? They pour astronomical amounts of money into drug development every year just to barely make one or two new medicines. How can one person do that?;

└└Blue Dot: I can because I'm the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter. Don't compare commoners with an Extreme Lunatic Hell genius like me. Later.

└└No, Blue Dot, seriously, making a Hair Loss Treatment is impossible. Completely curing hair loss basically means messing with genes, and medicines like Proppesia only stop it from progressing by messing with hormones. The side effects are pretty serious because they affect hormones. The limp dick and depression people mentioned above are both because they affect hormones.

└└Blue Dot: That's because those are medicines made by commoners. My medicine is made by this body's Extreme Lunatic Hell pharmacist, so it has no shitty side effects. Later.

└└Blue Dot, I know you have money, but establishing a pharmaceutical company costs an astronomical amount, and it takes forever before you make a profit. You need to hire a ton of doctors, biotech researchers, chemists, and professor-level talent, and clinical trials cost a fortune too. You can't attempt it with ordinary money. Don't waste money just because you want to expand your business. You're our country's hero, so I'm worried you'll lose it all.

└└Blue Dot: Why would I hire professors? I'm making it alone. Making medicine isn't hard. You just do this and this, mix it up, and bam, medicine...

└└Ah, he's doing another weird concept. I completely understand.

└What the fuck are those jars full of monster organs, blood, and chunks of flesh piled in that yard? Fuck, that's disgusting. At least blur it, you bastard. I saw it at night and nearly had a heart attack.

└└Maybe I'm an emotionless psycho, but seeing things like this doesn't affect me at all. It actually makes me laugh. This is nothing lol. I'm a psychopath who's watched hundreds, thousands of uncensored gore videos lol. I smile while watching those videos, bleeeargh.

└└Look at him throwing up lol.

└└I looked in the corner of the picture, and it's really there. What the fuck, that's disgusting...

└└Why did he even bring that stuff home? lol

└Pharmaceuticals out of nowhere... What medicine are you making? Not absurd stuff like Hair Loss Treatment. Are you making vitamins or supplements or something?

└└Blue Dot: I'll start with Hair Loss Treatment. Then I'll try making a Weight-Loss Treatment, Mental Illness Treatment, and sleeping potion. Oh, and later I want to make cancer medicine too, but that looks a little difficult, so I think I'll need more skill first.

└└??? What? Is that real or fake?

└└I don't know about the others, but he does need Mental Illness Treatment. Make it and immediately test it on yourself. Please cure your mental illness.

└└Blue Dot: I'm fine, so why would I take Mental Illness Treatment?

└└Unbelievable.

...

The comments kept pouring in.

I muttered quietly.

“Hmm. Their expectations for the Extreme Lunatic Hell Pharmaceuticals I will establish aren't very high... These commoners with their eyes shut! After everything this body has shown them, they still can't trust my words!”

“Of course not, Jiho. Do you know how huge a deal it is to make medicine? It is an extremely technology-intensive industry. Patents are very strict too. The modern medical industry is structured in a way that makes it difficult for new pharmaceutical companies to emerge.”

“But I can do it. Because I am the Extreme Lunatic Hell Alchemist! I will make Extreme Lunatic Hell Hair Loss Treatment, Weight-Loss Treatment, Mental Illness Treatment, and sleeping potion, then clean out all the wealth in the world!”

Creating new medicine through existing science was difficult.

It required countless experts in chemistry, biotechnology, medicine, and pharmacology.

It required enormous capital, supercomputers, research equipment, and all kinds of resources.

There were also complicated procedures and legal issues involving clinical trials and so on.

You had to pour astronomical amounts of money and manpower into it just to barely produce one or two new medicines.

But I wasn't making medicine with science.

I was making it with magic.

More precisely, I was making it with alchemy!

Of course, I didn't know a damn thing about alchemy.

But every recipe I had brought back was a very beginner-level recipe.

It shouldn't be difficult to make them.

There were still annoying and complicated issues like clinical trials...

‘I'll just tell my sister to handle that.’

She was my manager, wasn't she?

On top of that, my sister was a gifted Korea University graduate and a versatile corporate employee!

Maybe not as intelligent as a wizard like me, but she had a fairly intellectual brain!

If I gave someone like her the position of vice chairman of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group, she would surely handle all the annoying, troublesome work herself.

“Soon, my sister and I should hold a chairman and vice chairman appointment ceremony. She will definitely be happy, right? She will be promoted from deputy director of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plant to vice chairman of the group. Hoo... My sister is rising through the ranks quickly because she has such an amazing younger brother...”

“Uh... Jiye will probably hate that. She already has a lot to worry about, like acquiring Magic Stones and managing Magic Stone Reactor rental fees. Are you planning to give Jiye even more work?”

“For the sake of me, who is saving King Korea, and our country's people who are desperately waiting for salvation, my sister must work hard!”

Just as I worked hard to save the people of King Korea, my sister had to stay busy assisting me.

As the vice chairman of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group, she had to manage the power plant, pharmaceutical company, and all the many businesses that would sprout up later!

That way, I could climb the Tower without a care!

Anyway, that was settled.

“Should I go to sleep now?”

I glanced out the window.

The garden outside had already grown dark.

It had been a very long day, with the formal contract and everything else.

Tomorrow was Floor 37.

The floor of the “Military Base.”

The floor where War Black Mages appeared.

* * *

Beijing, China.

Zhongnanhai.

The office of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

A video was playing on the television screen in the corner of that antique yet luxurious room.

“Mao Zedong massacred eighty million people, right? That is an impressive kill score. I only kill a few hundred monsters on each floor, maybe a few thousand at most... I can really feel the gap between us. Hoo... I still have a long way to go. When will I ever kill eighty million monsters...?”

“I have made Mao Zedong my rival and goal. One day, I will kill eighty million monsters inside the Tower and take responsibility for our country's Points! Surpassing Mao Zedong in massacre score. That is my dream!”

“One day, I will surpass Mao Zedong!”

The video playing on the television was footage from the live press conference broadcast in Korea just yesterday.

The formal contract coverage of Baek Jiho, a Hunter with a long history of bad blood with China, was playing on the television in the General Secretary's office.

“Watch over me from hell, Bro Zedong!!! I will follow in your footsteps and become a genius of massacre!”

“You have previously fought against Hunter special operations units from China, Russia, and Japan. What is your position on this?”

“If foreign bastards act up again, I'll kill them!”

“Uh... That is a very strong statement...”

The screen showed a man wrapped in a brilliant golden light, shouting and rampaging about.

Click.

An elderly man turned off the television with the remote control.

He spoke quietly.

“This is the situation. The dignity of our People's Republic of China has fallen through the floor and into the underground.”

“...”

“It is not a good situation. Not good at all. If a brat like that keeps running wild, how will others see our great People's Republic of China?”

The man who had just turned off the television was none other than Xi Jinping.

The President of the People's Republic of China.

The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

The Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China.

A member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

A member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

And a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.

Like Baek Jiho, he possessed countless titles.

He was China's current supreme leader.

Xi Jinping.

He had been watching the footage of Baek Jiho.

He spoke quietly.

“So... I ask the Committee Member comrades.”

Xi Jinping turned his gaze.

Several people sat on the guest sofa along one side of his office.

Every one of them radiated a vicious, sharp presence.

Xi Jinping lowered his head toward them and spoke.

“Please. Kill Baek Jiho, that Korean bastard.”

It was a scene that was hard to believe.

Xi Jinping, who possessed such absolute power, was bowing deeply as he made a request.

“Hmm. Sounds bothersome...”

“The dignity of our People's Republic of China is at stake. I ask you.”

“Should I or shouldn't I? Ah, I don't want to leave the woman I recently took as a slave... She is a Hard-origin Hunter from Eastern Europe, and I went to great trouble to acquire her.”

Even though China's top leader had bowed and asked them, they were still that arrogant.

But that was the reality of China.

Xi Jinping's power had long since passed into the hands of the “Committee Members,” the Hard-origin Hunters from the Highest Floors.

On the surface, Xi Jinping wielded absolute power and displayed tremendous authority.

But that was only an image for outsiders.

In truth, he had long been reduced to an obedient errand runner and servant for the Committee Member Hunters.

“Hmm. Baek Jiho. Baek Jiho...”

Tap, tap.

One of China's Committee Members swung his leg and muttered quietly.

He was one of China's strongest Hunters, having reached Floor 48.

Lin Chenhuo, leader of China's top Hunter team, spoke quietly.

“Well, it is annoying seeing that Korean bastard act so full of himself. Even if it is troublesome, I should just kill him.”

At his words, the team members with him casually added a comment or two.

“Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter? What a ridiculous idiot.”

“He is insane, so he must be spouting nonsense. Well, it has been a while since we took a trip to Korea.”

“It would be nice to bring back a few Korean bitches.”

The team members were confident they could kill Baek Jiho.

They had to be.

They were among humanity's strongest Hunters, having reached Floor 48.

They were certain they could easily kill a fledgling who had only been a Hunter for one month.

Even if he truly possessed extraordinary potential, there was no way he could do anything against people at the very top of humanity.

Yet Lin Chenhuo had different thoughts beneath his relaxed expression.

‘Baek Jiho. They say he one-sidedly slaughtered four early Highest Floors Committee Members. He is growing stronger frighteningly fast... It would not be a bad idea to kill him now, while he is still on the lower floors, and nip him in the bud.’

His relaxed appearance was only a display.

Lin Chenhuo was secretly wary of Baek Jiho's rapid growth, and he wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate a future rival.

And so, China's Committee Member Hunters began targeting Baek Jiho once again.

This time, they were elite Hunters who had climbed as high as Floor 48.

Footnotes:

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