WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 22
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I left the private training room and headed straight for the chairman's office.
As I walked down the hallway, I could feel that the atmosphere was different from usual. Even the employees looked brighter.
The reason was obvious.
I had succeeded in solo-clearing not only the 26th floor but also the 27th. And I had not merely cleared the floor. I had defeated its Guardian and claimed its throne.
The timing was especially important. Recently, Raid Parties from various countries had begun seriously reaching the mid-to-late twenties, making thrones increasingly valuable as well.
And I had claimed the throne of one of those highly sought-after floors.
If another country wanted to challenge the Guardian, it ultimately had to go through the throne's owner.
It might not mean much when there were only one or two countries, but things changed as the number of challengers grew.
It was, quite literally, resources that came in while you sat still.
That was why the Association could not help being in a celebratory mood over resources that would increase automatically without them doing anything.
“Mr. Kang…”
Just as they smiled and tried to greet me.
Whoosh.
They noticed the green light around me.
And then.
“…Huh?”
It was not just one or two people.
“W-What is that?”
“Mr. Kang…?”
Everyone who saw me, or rather, the green light circling around me, stared with their eyes wide in shock.
It seemed like it would take a long time to explain, so I deliberately ignored them. Leaving the Association employees' greetings behind, I finally arrived at the chairman's office.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
When I opened it, Miller looked up from the documents he had been reading.
The moment he saw me.
“Oh my.”
His eyes widened behind his glasses.
“Isn't this the Guardian of the 27th floor?”
Miller made an exaggerated gesture.
“At this rate, I may have to pay a toll just to meet Mr. Kang.”
He made no attempt to hide his expression. He looked quite pleased.
“The mood seems good.”
“How could it not be?”
Miller leaned back in his chair.
“The number of countries that have recently entered the mid-to-late twenties has increased sharply.”
He tapped a stack of documents on his desk with his fingertip.
“And America holds a series of thrones along the path those countries will need to take from now on. It is not merely a matter of tolls. The approval authority itself becomes a bargaining chip.”
The corner of Miller's mouth rose.
“The higher they climb, the more valuable the assets we hold become.”
“Is that why the employees are so happy?”
“I believe they are expecting bonuses.”
“Will you give them one?”
“Mr. Kang.”
Miller spoke with a serious expression.
“If a few dollars can raise an organization's morale, it is an extremely cheap investment.”
“…”
That was such a Miller-like answer.
I headed for the sofa across from him.
“As it happens, I had something to tell you.”
“Good timing.”
Miller rose from his seat as well.
“I was also just about to ask you a few things…”
He suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence.
“…!”
His gaze passed over me.
More precisely, to the space behind me.
“…Mr. Kang.”
“Yes.”
“I have been lacking sleep lately, but…”
Miller narrowed his eyes.
“I do not think I am sleep-deprived enough to see hallucinations.”
Only then did I realize what he was looking at.
A green light floated up behind my shoulder.
Shaa.
As the light faded, a small figure appeared.
It was barely as tall as my palm.
A dark green mushroom cap, larger than its body, rested on its head.
Half-lidded eyes.
A tiny mouth pressed tightly shut.
A cloak woven from leaves hung from its back, while herb pouches and small bags of different sizes dangled from its waist. In one hand, it held a small wooden box.
For once, Miller was at a loss for words.
“This…”
His finger pointed at the spirit.
“…What exactly is that?”
I answered casually.
“A Herb Spirit.”
“…A herb.”
“Yes.”
“…Spirit?”
“That is correct.”
Miller looked between the spirit and me.
Normally, he would not so much as raise an eyebrow at most things, but he seemed fairly flustered this time.
“You could call it a reward for clearing the 27th floor.”
【Herb Spirit】
Rank: Arcane
Type: Contract Spirit
Contractor: Kang Seong-un
Primary Ability: Herb Gathering
Effect: It climbs the Tower alongside its contractor and independently attempts gathering activities on every floor.
Through gathering activities, it can discover and obtain various herbs found on that floor.
Trait (1): When entering a dangerous area, the chance of gathering rare herbs greatly increases.
The spirit I had contracted was a Herb Spirit.
I had originally thought it might be a combat-support spirit, like the spirits of fire, water, earth, and wind the Pixie Queen had commanded, but it was nothing of the sort.
“…Wait a moment.”
Miller raised a hand.
“Let me make sure I understand correctly.”
His gaze returned to the tiny spirit.
The Herb Spirit did not seem interested in Miller at all as it looked down at the potted plant on the desk.
Brush.
Then it touched one of the leaves with its fingertip.
“The soil is dead, it has been overwatered, and it lacks sunlight.”
Its voice was low and aged.
Miller's expression stiffened once more.
“At this rate, even grass would fall ill. Tsk, tsk.”
“…It can speak too?”
“As you can see.”
This time, the Herb Spirit glanced up at Miller.
“Whose is this?”
Miller slowly pointed to himself.
“Probably… mine?”
“You cannot even care for a single pot, yet you manage a large house.”
“…”
I turned my head.
It did not seem like I should laugh.
Miller stared at the spirit for a moment, then cleared his throat.
“It is quite a blunt spirit.”
The spirit shook its mushroom cap once, as though displeased.
I ignored it and sat on the sofa.
Miller took a seat across from me.
This time, there was less amusement in his expression.
“So.”
His gaze went to the spirit.
“What exactly can it do?”
“I have not checked everything yet.”
I briefly explained Arvelia's Medal.
It was a miracle-grade relic that allowed a single contract with a spirit.
And the being that had attached itself to me through that contract was the Herb Spirit.
Miller folded his arms.
“Herbs.”
“Although it was unexpected, I think it is an extremely useful ability. Not just anyone can gather materials, after all.”
“I know.”
Simply pulling grass from the ground was different from gathering recognized by the system.
Herbs.
Ore.
Mana-infused fruit.
Special monster hides and byproducts.
Among them, the Herb Spirit handled herbs.
Of course, Awakeners could gather them too.
The problem was.
“They do not have room to bring one along.”
Miller spoke first.
“It is difficult to give a spot to a specialized gatherer when even filling every position with combat-type Awakeners is not enough. Unless it is a lower-floor clear using a Retry Ticket, that is.”
“Right.”
Gatherers, miners, and butchers were all necessary personnel from a country's perspective, but taking them deep into the Tower was a considerable burden.
In the end, the rarer the materials found on higher floors, the harder it became to gather them properly.
Miller, who knew that fact all too well as the Association chairman, looked at the spirit differently.
“But that spirit can take over that role?”
“It appears to be capable of basic gathering, at least.”
“Basic?”
The spirit, which had been listening beside us, snorted.
“Herbs do not become medicinal herbs simply because they are plucked. Whether they become medicine or weeds depends on when they are gathered, where they are cut, and what they are stored in.”
Miller slowly looked at the spirit.
“Even if treasure lies underground, without the proper eye to recognize it, it is no different from a stone.”
“…Does that mean it can appraise them too?”
“What a foolish question. How can one properly gather something one cannot even recognize?”
Miller's expression changed completely.
I knew that look.
It was not the face of someone who had found money.
It was the face of someone who had found potential.
“What proportion of America's medicinal resources from the Tower is currently supplied directly by specialized gathering personnel?”
At my question, Miller thought for a moment.
“It differs by floor, but I cannot say it is high. That becomes even more true on the floors where the Vanguard operates.”
Naturally.
Giving one place in the Vanguard to a specialized gatherer meant giving up one combatant.
“Most are sent in after a clear, once the area has been secured.”
“Some of it must disappear in the meantime.”
“A great deal does.”
Miller answered briefly.
“Every day, I receive reports of plants that bloom only at certain times, spirit herbs that lose their medicinal properties if their gathering window is missed, and medicinal ingredients that wither once the surrounding mana is disturbed. There are many cases where they are right in front of us, yet we still lose them.”
He paused for a moment.
Then he looked at the Herb Spirit again.
“If.”
His voice lowered.
“If Mr. Kang can secure such resources while conducting frontline clears, the situation changes considerably.”
I thought the same.
America was already pouring enormous resources into research on potions and restorative medicines.
Equipment was important, but consumables were needed by every Awakener.
They healed injuries, removed status effects, and temporarily raised stats.
There were many cases where one good potion changed the success or failure of a clear.
However, there was a limit to the potions that could be obtained as finished products from the Tower.
Research always required materials.
And the most troublesome of those were rare specimens.
“What if it can find herbs that have never been discovered before?”
Miller stroked his chin at my words.
“Then this is not simply a matter of increasing the amount we gather.”
“Yes.”
One new herb.
It could become the ingredient for a new potion.
It could raise the effectiveness of an existing medicine by several levels, or make something that had previously been impossible to produce.
Miller asked.
“Does it also have the ability to find rare materials?”
“It seems to, though it is conditional.”
I answered honestly.
Then.
“Rare is a standard set by people.”
The Herb Spirit casually cut in.
Its half-lidded eyes narrowed further as it looked between us.
“Even a thousand-year-old spirit herb is nothing but rotten grass if its time is missed, while a weed by the roadside can save a life if one knows how to use it.”
Miller fell silent for a moment.
“…I see.”
“However.”
The spirit's mushroom cap lifted slightly.
“If there is a thousand-year-old one right in front of you, naturally you should gather that one first.”
“…”
I looked at the spirit.
Miller did as well.
The spirit, which had just been speaking as if posing a philosophical question, spoke with an obvious expression.
“Expensive things are expensive for a reason.”
The corner of Miller's mouth slowly rose.
“I like this spirit.”
“Already?”
“It is always a pleasure to work with an expert who understands reality.”
He lightly tapped the desk with his finger.
It was a different smile from the celebratory mood he had worn earlier.
The face of someone beginning his calculations.
“…”
Miller looked at the spirit for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“We should expand our support for the herb and potion fields a little further.”
“Isn't that decision too quick?”
“No.”
He firmly shook his head.
“If they are herbs Mr. Kang brings back from higher floors, there is a high chance they will be worth researching.”
His gaze turned to the Herb Spirit.
“And with a spirit alongside him, there is a high chance we will gain resources we have overlooked until now. Besides.”
He seemed to think of something.
“I understand that some rare herbs begin losing their medicinal properties immediately after gathering. If Mr. Kang goes through the trouble of gathering such a rare herb, only for it not to be handled in time, how regrettable would that be?”
He was not thinking only about herbs.
Gathering.
Classification.
Research.
And potion production.
With a single possibility before him, he already seemed to be mapping out the system that would follow.
“Tsk, tsk. To think I must entrust my precious herbs to people who do not even know how to handle medicinal ingredients.”
The Herb Spirit solemnly cut in from beside us.
Miller smiled.
“I will make sure that concern is properly conveyed.”
The atmosphere was good.
The throne of the 27th floor.
And the unexpected gain of a Herb Spirit.
From Miller's perspective, today alone was more than enough to be satisfying.
But now, it was time to bring up the main subject.
‘I need to settle this now.’
Now that a special being like the Herb Spirit had appeared, I could not delay any longer.
That was why.
“Actually.”
Miller looked back at me.
“I came to see you today because I had something else to tell you.”
His fingers stopped on the desk.
Only for a moment, so briefly that it would have been difficult to notice.
Then his usual relaxed expression returned.
“Since Mr. Kang has come in person to say he has something to discuss.”
He leaned deeply into his chair.
“This is making me nervous.”
His words were light.
But his expression was not.
The smile lingering around his eyes disappeared.
It happened quickly.
The man who had been exchanging jokes with me moments ago vanished in an instant.
In his place sat the chairman of the American Awakeners Association.
I looked at him and spoke.
“It concerns what I mentioned last time.”
Miller narrowed his eyes.
“Last time…?”
A brief silence.
Then.
“…You mean when you asked me to hold off on investing resources into the Vanguard.”
“That is right.”
“Will you tell me the reason now?”
“Yes.”
Miller waited.
Watching him, I slowly recalled four names.
Marcus Reed.
Eric Halvorsen.
Sofia Alvarez.
Mei Lin.
The four people America intended to raise as its next-generation Vanguard.
Miller intended to stake America's future on them.
But I knew what had happened before my regression.
The incident that had caused America to collapse outside the Tower.
“Is there a problem with those four people?”
As if he had guessed something, he asked.
“There is. A fatal one.”
“Will you tell me?”
“…”
This time, I did not answer immediately.
Miller's gaze rested calmly on me.
And beneath that gaze, I opened my mouth.
“The reason they came to America was not because they received an attractive offer of naturalization.”
“…?”
The air in the chairman's office grew heavy.
Even the Herb Spirit, which had been leisurely wandering around the desk until moments ago, looked in our direction.
“…”
Miller did not say anything.
His expression did not change either.
But the fingers resting on the desk had gone completely still.
I spoke the final words.
“All of them…”
I took a breath.
“…They are spies planted in America by their respective countries from the very beginning.”
Before my regression, this incident had dealt America a fatal blow that prevented it from ever rising as an Awakener superpower again.
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