Now that I had obtained an incredible weapon, I resumed climbing the Tower.
I still needed to make money, and I had no intention of stopping yet.
‘And I can earn some Experience Points while I am at it.’
This was an age where strength decided everything.
I knew all too well the humiliation of suffering because I lacked strength, so I had to keep climbing the Tower.
“Enter the Tower.”
[Entering <Tower Floor 13>.]
The desert landscape, which had become familiar to me by now, came into view.
However, unlike the deserts I had seen on Floors 11 and 12, structures of various sizes had begun to appear here and there.
‘They said Floors 11 through 15 were supposed to be a journey toward the King of the Desert, who sleeps beneath the sands.’
Of course, that was merely the opinion of scholars. No one yet knew the true meaning behind the spaces within the Tower.
Humanity still knew next to nothing about the Tower.
Why had it appeared, and what purpose did it serve?
‘Well, setting that aside…….’
I checked the mission overview.
[Floor 13 Mission Overview]
-Defeat 10 Scorpions.
-Defeat 2 Thirst Lizards.
-Completion Condition: Defeat all Scorpions and Thirst Lizards
-Failure Condition: Death
Just as I had already known, the difficulty rose sharply starting from Floor 13.
It was no longer only a single species of monster, the Scorpion. Thirst Lizards, which supposedly sucked every drop of blood from a person’s body once they bit them, appeared as well.
Until now, even though I had achieved SSS-rank, I had received relatively little public attention.
But things would probably be different from this point onward.
‘I cannot hide it forever.’
The government had already all but discovered me, and it would not be long before the other guilds learned about me as well.
I needed time to prepare in several different areas.
Putting my personal combat strength aside, there were still many things I lacked.
“Inventory.”
[‘Ogre’s Giant Hammer’ has been withdrawn from the Inventory.]
The instant I gripped it, its tremendous weight pressed into my hands.
True to its minimum Strength requirement of 50, Ogre’s Giant Hammer was absurdly heavy.
The sand beneath my feet sank endlessly downward under its weight.
“…Hmm.”
At this rate, I felt as though I might end up buried in the middle of the desert, so I hoisted Ogre’s Giant Hammer upward.
For Floor 13, rather than using Clone, I intended to test the performance of Ogre’s Giant Hammer first.
Ogre’s Giant Hammer possessed a weapon-exclusive Skill.
Weapons with exclusive Skills were exceedingly rare, but fitting its demanding equipment requirement, Ogre’s Giant Hammer possessed one of its own.
Its exclusive Skill was Seismic Wave.
There was not much information available about it.
Unfortunately, my rank on the Hunter information site was not particularly high, so the information I could access was limited.
‘Shall I try it?’
There was no reason to hesitate.
I brought the hammer down.
[Activating the exclusive Skill, ‘Seismic Wave’.]
The moment Ogre’s Giant Hammer struck the ground—
BOOOOOOM───!!!
A colossal shockwave swept across the surrounding area as though a bomb had detonated.
[You have defeated a Scorpion Warrior!]
[You have defeated a Scorpion Assassin!]
[You have defeated a Thirst Lizard!]
[You have acquired Experience Points.]
Then, as though they had been waiting for their cue, notifications announcing my kills appeared one after another.
A single Skill.
That alone had annihilated every monster in the surrounding area.
“…Wow.”
When I had stomped the ground before, I had also created a shockwave powerful enough to overturn the desert.
But this shockwave was on an entirely different level.
If the shockwave I had produced back then was comparable to an ordinary tidal wave, the shockwave caused by Seismic Wave was practically a tsunami.
‘So this is… a Skill.’
Even though I had used it myself, its power was still difficult to believe.
More importantly, perhaps because it was a weapon-exclusive Skill, its Magic Power consumption was not especially high compared to its destructive force.
Numerically speaking, it was around 5?
My current Magic Power was 79, which meant that if I wanted to, I could unleash this kind of power more than ten times.
‘…If I had possessed this kind of strength back then.’
Memories of the past briefly flashed through my mind, but I soon shook my head.
Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
I needed to focus on what was in front of me.
[You have cleared <Tower Floor 13>.]
[All Stats are ‘13’ or higher. Additional Experience Points will be awarded instead of a Stats increase.]
[You have achieved SSS-rank.]
[A special reward for achieving the rank will be issued.]
[The clear record for <Tower Floor 13> has been updated.]
.
.
.
[You have accomplished the unbelievable feat of manifesting a natural disaster!]
[You have acquired the Trait, ‘Disaster Incarnate’.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
────────────
[Disaster Incarnate]
O you who incarnates disaster.
Trait Effect: The power and attack range of all Skills are greatly increased, and each Skill is granted a special effect appropriate to it.
────────────
***
-The world’s first SSS-rank record holder! Is the record holder none other than a Korean?
-Will South Korea finally see the rise of a future S-rank Hunter?
-Strongest—who is he?
-The government must devise measures to prevent domestic Awakened from leaving the country…….
The media was in an uproar.
Until now, the government, corporations, and guilds had worked together as though they were a single entity to suppress every article related to him.
But information about the SSS-rank record holder had now spread too widely to contain any longer.
It was inevitable.
Hunters who climbed Towers below Floor 10 rarely attracted public attention, no matter how impressive a record they achieved.
More precisely, even if rumors began to spread, the government, corporations, and guilds moved almost as one to swiftly erase them from both the media and social media.
The same was true of governments in other countries, which was why information about Hunters could be kept from spreading.
But things were different above Floor 10.
Records achieved below Floor 10 were often dismissed as the result of good fortune or the use of an unusual Trait or Skill.
Starting from Floor 10, however, the difficulty rose sharply. No matter how hard anyone tried to hide such achievements, people inevitably began to take notice.
-Someone suddenly achieved SSS-rank records from Floors 6 through 12?
-His nickname is even Strongest.
-Who is he?
-He really is the Strongest.
-An unbelievable rookie has appeared.
No matter how much anyone tried to conceal the existence of the SSS-rank record holder, the story was bound to spread eventually.
As a result, the existence of the SSS-rank record holder was no longer a secret.
Not only government agencies and guilds, but ordinary citizens as well had now become fully aware of him.
The Korean Awakened Management Agency was also watching the situation closely.
“What are you going to do now? The higher-ups are in an absolute uproar.”
Deputy Director Park Gi-yong answered the words of Kim Byeong-jae, the Director of the Awakened Management Agency.
“Those people always want to claim a share of the credit whenever something like this happens.”
“Even so, we cannot simply sit back and do nothing either. You know that, do you not?”
“Yes. I already met him once.”
“How was he?”
“It seemed that he did not want to attract attention for the time being.”
“That is a relief, at least. He is not causing trouble like the Flame King did.”
“He is not that kind of person.”
At Deputy Director Park Gi-yong’s words, Director Kim Byeong-jae spoke as though something had just occurred to him.
“Hmm? Ah, come to think of it, I heard that Hunter has been active for quite a long time.”
“Yes. He was one of the first Hunters.”
The director’s eyebrows rose at the words first Hunter.
The title carried tremendous significance in this profession.
“One of the first Hunters? Someone like that was still working as a Hunter?”
“Yes. He is an extraordinary man.”
“But are you certain? A Hunter with twenty-five years of experience suddenly resuming his climb and achieving SSS-rank does not sound believable.”
The director was right.
No one in the world would believe that a Hunter who had failed to rise beyond Scavenger for twenty-five years had suddenly climbed to a new floor and set an SSS-rank record.
But Park Gi-yong was certain.
It was not merely because he trusted the man. He had concrete evidence.
“We confirmed that he rented Ogre’s Giant Hammer from a Government Official Rental Shop this time. There is no doubt.”
“…He rented that?”
The director looked uneasy.
And understandably so. Ogre’s Giant Hammer was an unwanted piece of equipment that almost no one in the country could use.
If Choi Kang Hyuk had rented it, however, then it was practically certain that he was Strongest.
After all, Ogre’s Giant Hammer had the absurd equipment requirement of 50 Strength.
“What do you intend to do now?”
“I think we should observe him for the time being.”
“Observe him? Should we not recruit him as soon as possible? What if someone else takes him first?”
The director’s concern was reasonable.
However, Park Gi-yong wanted to approach this matter with greater caution.
“We have already taken the proper measures regarding every place where Strongest’s identity might be exposed. Of course, his identity will inevitably be discovered eventually, but he should be safe for the time being.”
“You know that is only a matter of time, do you not?”
“Yes. I do.”
The director took a cigarette from his drawer and lit it.
The common rule that smoking was prohibited inside the building did not apply to the director.
One way or another, the director was a man of an older generation, and he still followed the ways of the past.
“What is the plan?”
“For all these years, he has used only government-operated institutions for both the market and rental shops. Going forward, I intend to offer him certain benefits through those channels and gradually close the distance between us.”
“Do you think it will work?”
“He immediately used the pass I gave him at a Government Official Rental Shop, and he even used it to rent Ogre’s Giant Hammer. That makes it clear that he trusts the Awakened Management Agency to some degree. If he did not trust us, he would never have rented something like Ogre’s Giant Hammer.”
“Hmm. That is true.”
From Choi Kang Hyuk’s perspective, renting equipment like Ogre’s Giant Hammer was practically the same as admitting that he was the SSS-rank record holder.
The director took a deep drag from his cigarette before speaking.
“Remember this. Losing him to another guild would be regrettable, but it would not be a serious problem. If he leaves the country, however… that would be a genuine disaster. Understood?”
“I understand. I will pay particular attention to that.”
“I am sure you will handle it well… but if anything happens, report it immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Putting that aside…….”
The director stubbed out his cigarette as he continued.
“How are things with Flying Sword?”
In truth, this was the main reason the director had summoned Park Gi-yong.
Strongest was certainly an extraordinary rookie, but he was ultimately an investment in the future.
What they needed to discuss now was a very real problem in the present.
“He attempted the Floor 46 simulation again yesterday, but he failed.”
“Has there been any progress?”
“As far as we can determine, there has been no major progress. If he challenges Floor 46 in his current state, there is a 98% probability of failure.”
“Hmm…….”
Baek Seong-woo, the Challenger known as Flying Sword, was currently attempting the highest floor in Korea.
And it had already been quite some time since he had found himself blocked by the enormous wall known as Floor 46.
“You know we are beginning to enter dangerous territory, do you not?”
“Of course.”
“We need to hurry. In the worst-case scenario, we may have to request mercenaries from another country.”
“I will do everything possible.”
It was still not known precisely when or why a Tower collapsed.
However, based on everything discovered thus far, the most convincing hypothesis was that a Tower collapsed when no one managed to advance beyond its highest cleared floor for more than a year.
Every Tower that had collapsed thus far had gone for more than a year without its highest cleared floor being surpassed.
It had already been ten months since South Korea had cleared Floor 45.
That meant there was not much time left.
Not only the South Korean government, but corporations and guilds as well had no choice but to feel the pressure bearing down on them.
If the Tower collapsed, then everyone who had put down roots in South Korea would effectively die together.
“Damn Tower. How long are we supposed to keep dealing with this cursed nonsense……?”
“What choice do we have?”
The director and deputy director looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
Truly, nothing was ever easy.