Chapter 23 - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

===================

Translated by Jinmu

Read more at hivetoons.org

===================

Player Nam Ga-eun commuted to the Awakening Management Agency every single day.

To make use of the gym inside the Agency.

Her pre-tower-climb routine consisted of strength training.

"Ugh!"

Starting off lightly with a 100kg deadlift.

"Hyah!"

One couldn't rely solely on their player level.

Having solid baseline physical fitness was essential to maximize the effect of level-based stat boosts inside the tower.

On top of that, she also needed to practice swinging her sword outside.

Her trait was Swordsman.

Whereas Yoo Chul-min had the All-Weapon trait, she could only use a sword.

Still, having achieved Trait Enhancement, the variety of skills she could use with a sword was fairly wide.

Thud!

She set down the barbell.

"Phew."

She was currently in the middle of climbing the 62nd floor.

It was a mentally exhausting stretch, having to face undead.

The 62nd floor was where Dark Zombies appeared.

The zombies' Dark Aura encroached on players with the power of darkness, corrupting them.

It restricted the flow of mana, weakened physical strength, ate away at the mind leaving one listless, and even induced suicidal impulses.

Dark Aura.

One had to endure this to overcome the undead stretch; it was anything but easy.

Especially for close-range classes who had to engage the undead in melee combat.

But Nam Ga-eun absolutely refused to give up.

If she'd been the type to despair here, she wouldn't have become a player in the first place.

Steeling her resolve, she unscrewed the lid of her tumbler filled with protein shake, downed it in long gulps, and thought to herself.

'Shall I go shower?'

She'd wash carefully and prepare for another challenge on the 62nd floor.

She was about to head to the shower room, her body drenched in sweat, when.

"Hm?"

Something felt unsettled.

She could hear footsteps, and shouting.

"What's going on?"

Stepping out into the hallway, she saw Agency employees moving about frantically, looking dazed.

Was there a fire?

'The fire alarm didn't go off though.'

At that moment, a familiar female employee was passing by.

"Unnie!"

Nam Ga-eun had a bright, outgoing personality and was on good terms with people throughout the Agency.

That went without saying for Section Chief Lee Min-ah.

"Unnie, Unnie!"

"...Hm? Oh, Ga-eun. Sorry, I'm a bit busy right now."

"Then tell me why everyone's so busy. Did something happen?"

Lee Min-ah avoided Ga-eun's gaze and hesitated.

"Um, well, that's..."

"Is it hard to answer? Between us?"

"......"

"Now I'm even more curious."

"Let's talk later. You're going to find out anyway."

"Then tell me now. Unnie, it's me, Nam Ga-eun, the Elite Team's Plan B."

"Sigh."

Lee Min-ah let out a deep sigh.

And then.

"Yoo Chul-min has gone missing."

"What? Why? ...Don't tell me he died inside the tower?"

"No, missing in the literal sense. He disappeared alone from a club last night while drinking. No one can reach him right now."

Disappeared alone?

How many close and long-range bodyguards were attached to the Elite Team's representative player?

"Could it be he got drunk at the club and entered a tower while hammered?"

Lee Min-ah shook her head in denial.

"Absolutely not. There's another reason."

"Hmm... Something's off. There's more to it. You know, don't you, Unnie?"

"Haah, the truth is... here's what happened..."

Section Chief Lee Min-ah's explanation followed.

Nam Ga-eun's eyes went wide.

"That rotten bastard!"

With the 66th floor deadline less than three months away, this was a massive problem.

* * *

The Awakening Management Agency was thrown into an uproar.

The disappearance of Player Yoo Chul-min, which had occurred the previous night.

In reality, it had been an intentional vanishing act.

How did they determine that?

The location where Yoo Chul-min had disappeared was a large club in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul.

It was a crowded place, but since it was somewhere he always frequented, the security detail hadn't been particularly suspicious.

After all, it was just the same old routine.

Then, in an instant, he vanished.

From the large private room where Yoo Chul-min had gathered people together to drink and party.

As if a ghost had spirited him away.

They hastily reviewed the club's CCTV footage.

"A disguise?"

"Yes, he'd changed his clothes, wore glasses, and even put on a wig. Since it was dim inside the club, we couldn't identify him, but here..."

"Damn it!"

Footage of Yoo Chul-min captured in a relatively well-lit area.

In it, the disguised figure could be seen being escorted by someone as he slipped out through the club's back door.

Upon close examination, it was unmistakable.

There wasn't the slightest hint of coercion.

He'd walked out in front, smirking, moving of his own accord.

"Voluntary."

"So it appears."

"Haah, worst case scenario."

It would've been better if he'd been kidnapped.

Director Park Kyung-soo suppressed his fury and asked Jeon Kwang-il.

"The NIS? What are they saying?"

Player Yoo Chul-min's security had been the responsibility of the National Intelligence Service, given his importance.

"They say they have no words to offer even if they had ten mouths..."

"Who asked for an excuse? They need to find out where he went. Even if they have to mobilize the entire NIS!"

"W-well, it's not just that Yoo Chul-min has disappeared."

"Who else?"

Jeon Kwang-il hesitated, then finally opened his mouth.

"Right after Yoo Chul-min vanished, they checked his family home as well, and his immediate family's whereabouts are also unknown."

"What about the police? Isn't the police force exclusively handling the family's protection?"

"Five protective police officers were overpowered by someone... they were hit with tasers, assaulted, bound with cable ties, and discovered on the rooftop of an apartment building. They're currently hospitalized."

"Good grief."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Was this really the best South Korea's NIS and police could do?

He had a bad feeling about this.

Yoo Chul-min's voluntary disappearance.

The family had vanished, and so had the officers protecting them.

'...Could this be what I think it is?'

Suddenly!

Buzz!

A call coming through on Jeon Kwang-il's phone.

"It's the NIS. Let me take this call."

"Go ahead."

Jeon Kwang-il took the call and exchanged words with someone.

His expression gradually turned sour.

"Are you certain? ...Sigh, yes, understood."

After hanging up.

"It's Japan."

"...What?"

"Circumstances have been confirmed that Yoo Chul-min and his family boarded a smuggling vessel headed for Tsushima Island, Japan, in the early hours of this morning. It seems..."

Jeon Kwang-il grimaced, seeming unable to continue.

At last.

"It, it appears to be for the purpose of naturalization."

"Son of a..."

Finally, the bomb had gone off.

This was potentially a national crisis worse than war.

"He fled to Japan?"

"It seems he didn't have confidence in clearing the 66th floor. If he operates in Japan, he can start from the 57th floor."

It seemed that way.

The Japanese Black Tower.

Even clearing just half a floor every six months, that would buy him four and a half years, fifty-four months of free sailing.

"That traitorous bastard!"

How much had they done for him?

For the purpose of supporting the 66th floor clear, they'd groveled and moaned in every direction to secure Light-attribute items.

They'd even fully activated diplomatic channels with their ally the United States to borrow Light-attribute items and know-how for clearing the 66th floor.

And now it had all been for nothing.

As a result of his naturalization, Yoo Chul-min's affiliation would soon change.

The Black Tower.

When the towers first appeared and the existence of status screens became known.

People had been puzzled.

The greatest question was the "affiliation" entry.

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (RUSSIA)

The name of a nation was planted squarely in the status screen.

Why was a country name necessary?

The reason was soon revealed.

A specific nation's tower could only be entered by players holding citizenship of that nation.

Koreans entered the Korean tower, Americans the American tower, Russians the Russian tower.

Then what if one changed their citizenship?

If a Russian player naturalized in America and obtained citizenship?

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (USA)

The affiliation on the status screen changed.

It didn't matter where the player was physically located.

Whether in Russia, Europe, Africa, wherever they entered a tower from, they would enter the tower corresponding to their status screen's national affiliation.

And soon, Yoo Chul-min's status screen would become...

[Name] : Yoo Chul-min

[Affiliation] : Black Tower (Japan)

[Level] : 66LV

It would change to this.

How serious was this?

It was the equivalent of a world-class Korean football player, who was both the national team's striker and had claimed the scoring title in the EPL.

Defecting to Japan right before the Korea-Japan World Cup qualifier second round.

"For now, summon all the Elite Team players. Some might have followed Yoo Chul-min to Japan."

* * *

Tokyo, Japan. Prime Minister's Official Residence.

It was packed with reporters.

A pre-announced press conference for Player Yoo Chul-min's naturalization into Japan.

In truth, the naturalization procedures could have been handled quietly.

Poaching a player from another country.

It wasn't something to boast about domestically, and it would hardly look good to trumpet it to the whole world as some great achievement.

But the Japanese government had boldly decided to make it public.

Because they wanted to watch South Korea descend into chaos.

How amusing would that be?

Complete mayhem, blame-shifting, and power struggles would all ignite.

At last, Player Yoo Chul-min entered the press conference room.

In a deliberately solemn voice.

"Today, I, Yoo Chul-min, have left South Korea and will be active as a Japanese player. In doing so..."

Click, click, click! Click, click!

Camera flashes erupted.

Korean public opinion and the media erupted as well.

* * *

Joo-hyuk was busy today too, diligently working through the 28th floor's repeatable mission.

"Get him. Kobang."

When Cossack pointed at a tree with his hand.

"ROAAAAR!"

Letting out a roar and straight-up charging the tree with a body slam, Barbarian Warrior Gobang.

Crash!

The tree shook wildly, like Joo-hyuk's reed-like heart.

"Watch your head, sir. Chestnuts be fallin'."

With Cossack's escort, Joo-hyuk charged toward the fallen chestnut burrs, or rather, the Jungle Trolls.

"Copious Falling Thunderstorms!"

Crash!

Crackle!

A bolt of lightning splitting into five branches.

One more time!

Crash!

Occasionally throwing in Falling Thunder Flash as well.

Jungle Trolls, living in trees, weren't all that large in body size.

Instead, they were nimble and quick.

But who could have known?

That Jungle Trolls would also have a day when they'd fall from the trees.

Well, calling this a clear was an overstatement.

It was just too easy.

"Oh! What a satisfying feeling!"

Bowing and rubbing his hands together, Cossack spoke up.

"Hehehe, are you satisfied, sir?"

"I finally feel a little better. It feels like my inner alpha is reviving, so I'm in a good mood."

"Oh my! You shouldn't be too alpha, sir. You need to restrain yourself, sir."

"Should I? Hahaha!"

"Hehehe."

Since it was a repeatable mission, there was no chance of getting an S++ rank, so they took their time with the clear.

One tree dealt with, then rest until mana was restored, then on to the next tree.

[You have succeeded in the 28th Floor Mission.]

[Reward : 2.8kg of Mana Stones]

The only reward was Mana Stones.

Good rewards rarely came from repeatable missions to begin with.

Still, the accumulated Mana Stones had crossed 30kg.

He'd earned 15 million won.

'What should I do with money?'

What else!

Buy land.

Buy buildings.

Then retire later and live comfortably.

"Let's have a team dinner, a team dinner."

But Cossack shook his head.

"You don't need to worry too much about the team dinner, sir."

"Why?"

"That pig Gobang eats way too much, sir."

"Aw, come on. He worked hard slamming into a tree with his body."

"That was his assigned mission to begin with, sir. Before too, he cried and cried fishing for sympathy, and now he's staring with big round eyes? How dare he stare at an SSR like that."

Bristling but saying his piece anyway, Gobang.

"I don't eat much. I eat little."

"Give me a break. How is that eating little? You eat a whole pizza like it's a snack cake."

Joo-hyuk had to step in.

"Now, now. No matter how much they eat, my account won't run dry. So..."

But then.

Ding!

A notification message arrived on Joo-hyuk's smartphone.

Figuring it was another loan advertisement or illegal gambling message, he glanced at it, and in that instant.

"...Ugh!"

Flustered, Joo-hyuk startled Cossack in turn.

"You startled me, sir! What is it, sir?"

"Th-that's..."

He showed Cossack the smartphone.

"Huh? A notice summoning all Elite Team players for a full meeting? Is this real, sir? And it's today, sir."

It seemed like an emergency meeting.

Looking at how it had been scheduled so abruptly.

"Haah, I hate meetings."

"...Beg pardon, sir?"

"Meetings mean I'll have to talk. In front of all those people."

"How many attendees would there be, sir?"

"Hmm, about 150, maybe?"

"Hmm, that is a problem, sir. A real problem."

"Is there any way to get out of attending?"

"I shall give it some thought, sir."

Both Joo-hyuk and Cossack fell deep in deliberation.

"Couldn't we call and say you're feeling ill, sir?"

"I'm not sure that'd work as an excuse. It's written here that attendance is mandatory without exception."

"In that case, I could go to the Awakening Management Agency and just set the place on fire, sir. That might stop the meeting."

"Are you out of your mind? Setting it on fire to avoid a meeting?"

"I won't actually do it, sir. Just enough to trigger the fire alarm by filling the place with a bit of smoke..."

"Oh..."

Right at that moment!

Buzz!

The smartphone rang.

"You have a call, sir."

"Shh!"

He silenced Cossack, then picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"This is Jeon Kwang-il. I have something to tell you."

Ah, he was probably calling to say he needed to attend the meeting.

"Oh, do I have to attend today's emergency..."

"You don't need to come, sir."

Oh?

What a relief.

No need to start a fire, then.

"But instead, I'd like to meet privately, just the two of us. Something rather serious has come up."

Meeting Team Leader Jeon Kwang-il was no problem; they'd met often enough to be familiar.

That said, something serious?

"What's serious?"

"I'm ashamed to say it myself, but you'll probably be able to confirm it on the TV shortly."

"Ah, yes, I see. Then I'll head over. Where?"

"I'm unable to leave my post, so I'll see you at the Agency. I'll send a car."

He didn't know what was happening, but while he was at the Agency anyway, he might as well sell the Mana Stones and items sitting in his inventory.

How much would the items fetch?

He was hoping for around 50 million won.

But what on earth was going on?

He'd said it might be on TV.

Click!

Joo-hyuk turned the TV on.

The news began.

It was a breaking news alert.

"...Huh?"

Was this real?

Not some movie or prank?

But no matter how long he kept watching, it was real.

Every channel had the same content.

The whole world was being turned upside down.

'Yoo Chul-min defected to Japan?'

What kind of absurd...

"That son of a... rotten, plague-pus kind of guy!"

Even if he himself was a low-key man, he'd never stoop to something like that.

"Traitor, turncoat, coward, worthless piece of trash."

Should he just send Cossack after him?

Give him a taste of what an SSR is made of?

You have no idea what a headband means, do you?