The director spoke as though something had just occurred to him.
“Ah, by the way, people have been saying lately that Strongest might possess a fixed-Stats Trait. Has that been confirmed?”
“Nothing has yet been confirmed regarding Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk’s Traits or Skills. However, since he was able to wield the Ogre’s Giant Hammer, it is true that there is a possibility he possesses a Strength-related fixed-Stats Trait.”
“…What? Then what do we do if he really does have a fixed-Stats Trait?”
“Even if he does, I do not believe it would change much. In any case, if he can wield the Ogre’s Giant Hammer, his Strength must be at least 50. With a value that high, even if it comes from a fixed-Stats Trait, it should still be more than sufficient to clear the 46th floor.”
He was right.
They did not know exactly what Traits and Skills Choi Kang Hyuk possessed, but there was no question that he could wield the Ogre’s Giant Hammer.
The Strength requirement for the Ogre’s Giant Hammer was an astonishing 50.
In terms of raw Stats alone, that was equivalent to the Stats of someone who had climbed to the 50th floor.
On top of that, he possessed enough capability to achieve SSS-Rank on every climb.
In other words, even if Choi Kang Hyuk possessed a fixed-Stats Trait, he still had more than enough ability to clear the 46th floor.
“Hmm… That is true.”
“However, we cannot be certain that Strongest will actually reach the 46th floor, so we should still make preparations of our own.”
“That is true. Which option do you think would be best?”
Park Gi-yong answered.
“Considering the various circumstances, the best option would naturally be the United States, since the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty remains in effect… However, it is possible that their attempt to approach Strongest this time is part of a calculation to demand Strongest in exchange for sending us a mercenary capable of clearing the 46th floor.”
The director stared at him in disbelief.
“We are supposed to accept something that outrageous? They clear the Tower once and simply take an SSS-Rank record holder for themselves?”
“You already know that we are the ones in a desperate position. If we cannot receive help from the United States, our next options would be to request assistance from Japan or China… and given public sentiment and the various circumstances involved, neither would be easy.”
“That is true.”
And it was not merely a matter of public sentiment.
In reality, both China and Japan were prepared to extend a helping hand to Korea at any moment while, behind the scenes, seizing every possible advantage and imposing their own demands.
The Korean government knew that all too well, which was precisely why it was trying so desperately to clear the Tower through its own efforts.
“…Nothing about this is easy. Not a single thing.”
“It never has been.”
“That is true. Perhaps that is why it feels even more exhausting lately.”
The director was not merely saying it for effect.
Even Deputy Director Park Gi-yong had recently begun to feel the weight of the Towers more heavily than before.
‘How much longer can we hold them back?’
Even now, somewhere in the world, Towers collapsed one by one every few years.
Had another front line not been created just last year when a Tower in Thailand collapsed?
Every time another Tower fell, the entire global order was shaken, and not only the financial markets but humanity’s very right to survival came under grave threat.
If the front lines expanded any further, could Korea endure?
No.
Could humanity endure?
Park Gi-yong did not know.
“In any case, if the United States has started moving, the other countries will only be a matter of time. We need to recruit Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk as quickly as possible.”
“That is actually why I wanted to speak with you… When we recruit Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk, I would like you to exert some influence on our behalf, Director.”
“Influence? What do you need my influence for?”
“If we want to recruit Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk, we need to offer him treatment befitting his value. I would like you to use your influence in that regard.”
“That much is obvious, but why would you need my influence specifically? Just what level of treatment are you asking for?”
“At minimum, treatment equal to or greater than Flying Sword’s.”
“…What?”
The director’s face stiffened in shock.
The treatment Flying Sword currently received was entirely befitting someone known as the savior of South Korea.
Even an economic powerhouse like South Korea could not afford to provide two people with compensation packages at that level.
And they were supposed to offer the same treatment to a Hunter who had only just reached D-Rank?
This was no longer a matter of whether the director was willing to use his influence.
It clearly exceeded the authority of the head of the Awakened Management Agency.
“…Are you confident?”
“We do not have any real alternative, do we?”
“What do you mean, no alternative? If necessary, we can hire mercenaries.”
“You know as well as I do that the moment we begin depending on mercenaries, the entire country effectively becomes a vassal state.”
The director knew that very well.
There had actually been countries in Africa that had been treated as little more than vassal states in that manner, until conflicts between them eventually escalated into war.
He was simply weighing which was the more rational choice: accepting treatment bordering on vassalage, or gambling on Choi Kang Hyuk.
“Whew…….”
The director took a cigarette from his desk drawer.
“Are you confident?”
“Well… if I am being truthful, I do not know.”
“Good grief.”
The director smoked in silence for a long while.
The smoke curling upward seemed almost like the embodiment of his deep sighs.
Only when the cigarette had nearly burned down to the filter did he finally crush it out and speak.
“Try it. I will do what I can on my end.”
“I will be counting on you, Director.”
“You certainly know how to put someone on the spot.”
The director and deputy director looked at each other and gave awkward smiles.
***
The 17th floor, the 18th floor, and then the 19th floor.
As news of Strongest’s consecutive Tower climbs continued to spread and everyone else celebrated, there was one man who could not bring himself to rejoice.
Kim Beom-gu, the recruitment manager of the White Tiger Guild.
‘…What is going on?’
Kim Beom-gu could not hide his confusion.
By now, he had expected Choi Kang Hyuk to contact him, yet there had been nothing.
Not even a single message.
When Choi Kang Hyuk had first taken the contract with him, Kim Beom-gu had believed he had all but won him over.
After all, how many Hunters could possibly reject a recruitment offer from the White Tiger Guild, which prided itself on being the best in Korea?
He had been certain of it…….
Yet Choi Kang Hyuk never contacted him.
And as reports continued to arrive of Strongest consecutively climbing the Tower and achieving SSS-Rank, Kim Beom-gu gradually began to feel uneasy.
‘Could someone else have contacted him?’
If the White Tiger Guild had managed to uncover Choi Kang Hyuk’s identity, then other guilds could easily have discovered him as well.
It was entirely possible.
‘Then… does that mean Choi Kang Hyuk really was Strongest?’
If Choi Kang Hyuk were not Strongest, there was no way a D-Rank Hunter could remain this composed after receiving a recruitment offer from the White Tiger Guild.
It was a reaction that only made sense if Choi Kang Hyuk truly was the SSS-Rank record holder.
‘He played me completely.’
Only then did Kim Beom-gu realize that Choi Kang Hyuk had been deliberately playing a game of push and pull with the White Tiger Guild.
If the White Tiger Guild gave in first, they would have to pay a considerable price exactly as Choi Kang Hyuk intended.
‘…Hmm.’
What sort of conditions were necessary to recruit an SSS-Rank record holder?
He could not say for certain, but they would have to offer at least A-Rank treatment.
Perhaps even more.
‘That is beyond my authority.’
There was only one way left for Kim Beom-gu to survive.
He had to go to the guild master, honestly report everything that had happened regarding Choi Kang Hyuk, and ask for his cooperation.
“…Tch.”
Of course, he would have had to discuss the issue with the guild master sooner or later.
Still, Kim Beom-gu was not particularly pleased by the prospect of meeting him alone.
There was no telling when that fiery temper of his might erupt.
Kim Beom-gu had once been a Hunter himself, but Baek Dae-hwan, who was considered one of the strongest even among A-Rank Hunters, existed on an entirely different level.
‘I really ought to quit this damned job…….’
Grumbling to himself, Kim Beom-gu knocked on the door of the guild master’s office.
KNOCK KNOCK—
“It is me, Guild Master.”
-Come in.
The moment he entered the guild master’s office, he felt the atmosphere change.
The overwhelming presence that the Flame Tiger ordinarily radiated had thoroughly permeated the room itself.
“What is it?”
“I have something to report regarding the recruitment of the SSS-Rank record holder.”
Kim Beom-gu explained everything that had happened between him and Choi Kang Hyuk.
He had offered Choi Kang Hyuk a contract promising the best treatment available to a D-Rank Hunter, yet Choi Kang Hyuk had conspicuously failed to contact him afterward.
That strongly suggested that Choi Kang Hyuk was indeed the SSS-Rank record holder and that Choi Kang Hyuk himself understood his own value perfectly well.
After hearing the entire story, Baek Dae-hwan’s tiger-like gaze bore down on Kim Beom-gu.
“But there is something I still do not understand. Are you certain Choi Kang Hyuk is really the SSS-Rank record holder? A man who accomplished nothing for twenty-five years?”
“To be truthful, I still cannot say with absolute certainty, but I believe he is.”
“You cannot be certain……. Since when did a member of the White Tiger Guild become someone who could say something like that?”
A ferocious pressure slowly began to spill from Baek Dae-hwan.
Kim Beom-gu felt as though he could hardly breathe.
But if he retreated clumsily here, it would truly be the end.
“I cannot say it with absolute certainty, but I have faith in my judgment. Choi Kang Hyuk is undoubtedly the SSS-Rank record holder.”
“So what exactly are you asking for?”
“When recruiting Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk, I would like the authority to promise him treatment equivalent to that of an A-Rank Hunter.”
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
It was not easy for Kim Beom-gu to answer, but he forced the words out.
Now that things had progressed this far, he effectively had no other choice.
“Yes.”
“Fine. You have my permission. Recruit him no matter what. Understood?”
“Of course.”
The guild master had given his approval.
Now Kim Beom-gu had no choice but to use every means available to recruit Choi Kang Hyuk.
Of course, Kim Beom-gu was confident.
No one in the world would turn down a recruitment offer from the White Tiger Guild.
‘Unless the White Tiger Guild had murdered his parents, I suppose.’
Not that such a thing could possibly be the case.
***
“…….”
For several hours, I stared at the egg that had now become the Seed of Calamity.
Perhaps because I had removed it from my body for a while, the egg had become completely still.
“Hmm…….”
The identity of the Mysterious Egg had finally been revealed.
More precisely, it felt as though it had never possessed an identity in the first place and had instead developed one because of me.
In any case, that was not what mattered right now.
“Seed of Calamity…….”
It was a name that made it sound as though something catastrophic would happen the instant the egg hatched.
Of all the names it could have received, why did it have to be Seed of Calamity?
‘How did something like this even happen?’
The most likely explanation was that the Mysterious Egg had been heavily influenced by Disaster Incarnate, the Trait possessed by me, its nurturer…….
If my guess was correct, then the name Seed of Calamity might simply have been given because it was influenced by Disaster Incarnate, meaning it could actually have little to do with a genuine calamity.
‘The problem is that I cannot be certain of that either.’
What if something truly catastrophic emerged when the egg hatched, exactly as its name suggested?
What was I supposed to do then?
‘…Should I really just destroy it?’
If I considered only the risks, destroying it immediately would be the correct decision.
Even so, the reason I could not bring myself to act was simple.
It would be such a waste.
Far too much of a waste.
The Mysterious Egg, now transformed into the Seed of Calamity, was an item I had received as my reward from the 15th floor.
And what was a 15th-floor reward?
It was considered one of the most important turning points in a Hunter’s career.
And this was not even an ordinary 15th-floor reward.
It had been enhanced three times.
No matter how much risk it posed, simply destroying it would be far too wasteful.
‘Besides, something incredible might come out of it.’
If it had been given a name as grand as calamity, just how extraordinary would whatever emerged from it be?
Truthfully, part of me was looking forward to finding out.
“What am I supposed to do with this…….”
Destroy it?
Keep it?
Should I simply give up on it entirely?
I spent several hours agonizing over the decision, and naturally ended up skipping a meal in the process.
Not that food mattered right now.
“Master, your Tower entry time will arrive in a few hours. Should you not begin preparing?”
One of my clones approached and spoke.
“…Right. I still have to go to the Tower.”
Climbing the Tower every day was the most important routine in my life.
It was something I had done for twenty-five years without fail, something I had to do regardless of what happened.
“…Wait. The Tower?”
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
If a calamity really occurred when this egg hatched…….
‘What if I hatch it while I am inside the Tower?’
Even in the worst-case scenario, if an actual calamity emerged, its effects should remain confined to the Tower.
‘This might actually be worth trying.’
No.
Seriously.