Chapter 18

Chapter 18

18. Those Who Began to Move

“This is our analysis of the D-Rank ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Equipment.’”

The Association employee handed over a report and continued.

“Our analysis suggests that even with only the full Squad Leader set equipped, a hunter may become at least twice, perhaps more than four times stronger than another hunter of the same rank.”

“You’re saying we should let our own citizens hold a battle royale against each other over some damn equipment?”

If hunters became stronger by climbing the Tower normally, the government would have actively encouraged it.

The number and rank of a nation’s hunters directly translated into national power.

But PvP was a completely different story.

However.

“Our analysis also indicates that if North Korea’s A-Rank hunters descend past the 38th parallel wearing Tower Knights Equipment, our hunters would be at a disadvantage.”

“What...!”

Of course, the chances of North Korea doing that were slim.

With its leader gone, North Korea had effectively entered a state of civil war.

South Korea and the United States were currently intervening under the pretext of protecting North Korean civilians and ending the chaos.

Still, it was a valid hypothetical.

More importantly.

‘What about China? Japan?’

Japan would undoubtedly keep quiet publicly while secretly raising powerful hunters internally.

And China?

‘They might openly support their top hunters at the national level so they can farm that equipment.’

Hunters of the same rank.

Yet foreign hunters could be twice, maybe even four times stronger?

That was a serious problem.

The report wasn’t over yet.

“And... hundreds of low-rank hunters were vaporized by red lasers on the 20th floor.”

“Red lasers? Don’t tell me.”

“Yes. With that kind of firepower, it must have been a Gatling Laser.”

“You’re saying one leaked out!”

“That is one possibility. But there is another.”

“...Divine One.”

The Association had already considered the possibility that ‘Divine One’ possessed a Gatling Laser.

He could have seized one when he crossed into North Korea.

Or received one as a clear reward.

“So he’s already started moving.”

“If so, then he has already realized how control of the Tower will shift from here on. He is no ordinary strategist.”

“Hmm...!”

Of course, there was still the possibility of a third party.

They had to consider every possibility.

At last, the Hunter Association President picked up the phone.

Riiing.

After a brief signal tone.

-What is it?

“Hunter Yoo Seorin.”

Yoo Seorin.

An S-Rank hunter regarded as the hope and beacon of the Republic of Korea.

She was also known by another name.

‘Sword.’

-I’m listening.

“Order inside the Tower is collapsing. There’s something I need you to handle.”

-Go on.

“Suppress indiscriminate PvP by the top rankers and establish at least a minimum level of order... while also preparing for contingencies. You’re the only one capable of handling this.”

Yoo Seorin was silent for a moment.

Then.

-Understood.

* * *

‘Me again.’

It was always like this.

Difficult work, dangerous work, work no one else would step up for.

In the end, it always became her responsibility.

Yoo Seorin soon received briefing materials from the Association.

Records of a rookie party that collapsed on the 20th floor without understanding why.

Blood-soaked traces throughout the 50th-floor range.

‘They weren’t even able to put up the slightest defense.’

Yoo Seorin’s gaze sank.

If this was left unchecked, the Tower would eventually become a place where the strong freely hunted the weak.

Someone had to cut it off before it hardened into a culture of its own.

‘Prepare for contingencies.’

The Association President’s final words carried weight.

A contingency?

It could be interpreted several ways.

‘Stop the rankers if they run wild?’

That was probably part of it.

But Yoo Seorin—no, ‘Sword’—understood the hidden meaning exactly.

‘He wants me at the forefront.’

As the true number one of the Tower.

For state authority to function, it ultimately needed a ‘blade.’

The Association intended to become the hand wielding that blade.

‘If I’m the one who has to do it.’

If she had to become evil for the sake of justice.

She was confident she could play the villain.

[Would you like to enter the Tower of Fate?]

She gripped her sword and entered the Tower.

* * *

My house.

[You have cleared the Tower of Fate 24th Floor.]

[You have slain ‘Low-Rank Soldier (x2,874).’]

[You have obtained Contribution Points (x287,400).]

“Good.”

A smile naturally spread across my face.

‘Why are there still Low-Rank Soldiers everywhere?’

At first it confused me, but now I’d stopped questioning it.

I guess from the 20th floor onward, monsters are just roughly labeled ‘Low-Rank Soldier.’

The 20th floor had kobold low-ranking soldiers.

Some floors had orc low-ranking soldiers.

Others had goblin low-ranking soldiers.

Something like that.

‘Then maybe Mid-Rank Soldiers appear starting from the 30th floor?’

Could be.

[You have been promoted to ‘Low-Rank NCO.’]

[You have been promoted to ‘Mid-Rank NCO.’]

“Hmm.”

Seems like Low-Rank NCO was around 100,000 accumulated Contribution Points.

Mid-Rank NCO at 250,000?

I hadn’t checked each promotion immediately, but that sounded about right.

Then what were my points?

[Current Contribution Points: 300,300]

[Accumulated Contribution Points: 350,300]

[Current Rank: Mid-Rank NCO]

Three hundred thousand points.

“Let’s see. Buy two earrings, maybe a piece of armor too? No. Maybe I should get the badge instead... Hmm.”

Accessories increased both damage dealt to and damage received from your own kind.

But the badge was different.

[Tower Knights Squad Leader Badge]

-Rank: D

-Damage dealt to your own kind increases by 10%.

-Equipping it activates the Tower Knights Squad Leader set effect.

‘Set effect activation’ meant exactly what it sounded like.

In other words, the set effect only activated if you had the badge.

Conversely, even if you had every other piece but no badge?

‘No set bonus.’

That made it extremely important.

But I pushed it down the priority list for now.

‘I’m not planning to run around doing PvP anyway.’

I didn’t need extra damage dealt immediately.

Then what about armor?

[Tower Knights Squad Leader Top]

-Rank: D

-Damage received from your own kind decreases by 5%.

‘Five percent damage reduction on one armor piece.’

There were five armor pieces: top, bottoms, gloves, boots, and helmet.

‘That’s twenty-five percent total damage reduction.’

Just filling out the armor set would give an enormous defensive boost.

‘Let’s finish accessories first.’

[You have obtained ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Earring (x2).’]

[You have obtained ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Necklace.’]

[You have obtained ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Bracelet.’]

‘Accessories are basically done.’

I still had nearly fifty thousand Contribution Points left.

Then.

[You have obtained ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Gloves.’]

There was always the possibility of an emergency, so I bought one armor piece too.

I’ll save the rest and buy the badge later.

‘Let’s calculate.’

Two rings.

Two earrings.

One necklace and one bracelet, but those increase both damage dealt and damage reduction by 5% each.

And finally, one pair of gloves.

That makes?

‘Twenty percent increased damage dealt and twenty-five percent reduced damage taken...!’

I hit twenty percent harder.

And when I get hit, the damage is reduced by twenty-five percent.

By simple math, I’m forty-five percent stronger than a hunter wearing equivalent gear.

Of course, by ‘equivalent gear,’ I mean ordinary equipment obtained from Tower clear rewards or trades, not Tower Knights Equipment.

The gear hunters commonly use right now.

‘That’s incredible...!’

A forty-five percent difference?

‘Could this maybe compete with B-Rank, perhaps even A-Rank gear?’

And only Squad Leader equipment had been released so far.

At this point, no one should be able to purchase anything above Squad Leader tier.

Though if you really think about it, A-Rank equipment was probably still stronger.

‘There’s rank scaling too.’

Of course, I didn’t know the exact formulas, so this was just a guess.

And I had no reason to fight other hunters anyway.

I had no reason to enter the Tower in the first place.

“Open the 25th-floor gate now.”

I had tried asking just in case, but requests like ‘open it right in front of the boss’ didn’t work.

Ever since I accidentally cheesed the 80th-floor boss, I felt like the Tower resented how easily I was getting through everything.

[Opening gate to Tower of Fate, 25th Floor ‘Endless Desert.’]

But?

Pewpewpewpewpew!

No matter how much I fired, no Contribution Points came in.

Same even after burning through an entire top-grade mana stone.

“Why!”

[The 25th Floor, ‘Endless Desert,’ is a concept floor with an extremely vast stage.]

In short, the area was so huge that the laser hadn’t hit any monsters.

“...This is a problem.”

My oil!

* * *

[Entering Tower of Fate 52nd Floor, ‘Goblin Shaman’s Forest.’]

“Haa.”

S-Rank Hunter Yoo Seorin.

No, ‘Sword,’ let out a short breath.

The place where conflicts most frequently occurred inside the Tower.

The 50th-floor range.

Even before the PvP update, bloody incidents often broke out throughout this range because it had many lucrative farming grounds.

The respawning monsters weren’t much of a threat to A- or B-Rank hunters.

And they frequently dropped valuable items.

Sure enough.

“Aaagh! W-Why are you hitting me?!”

Some hunter was being beaten by a group of three.

“W-Why won’t this bastard die?”

“He’s tough as hell.”

“Looks like a physical-enhancement ability.”

Even before, arguments over ‘spots’ were common.

But once people learned killing others no longer meant permanent death, restraint vanished from their attacks.

Shing.

‘Sword’ drew her gleaming blade.

‘No questions needed.’

She immediately swung at the group of three.

Or tried to.

Clang!

“Never thought I’d run into you here.”

Fwoosh!

A man’s fist, wrapped in energy like blazing fire, blocked ‘Sword’s’ blade head-on.

“...You?”

Yoo Seorin was a famous S-Rank hunter in Korea.

Famous enough that practically everyone knew her.

“Long time no see.”

But very few people knew her ‘nickname.’

“Sword.”

Not many.

‘Sword’ narrowed her eyes and uttered the man’s nickname.

“Fist...!”

“Or should I call you ‘Low-Rank Soldier’?”

“Low-Rank Soldier? What are you talking about?”

‘Fist’ glanced above ‘Sword’s’ head.

“It’s right above you.”

At those words, Sword instinctively looked up and saw the three clear words floating over her head.

‘Low-Rank Soldier.’

Only then did she notice the words over Fist’s head too.

[High-Rank Soldier]

At that moment.

“You shouldn’t look away.”

Fist’s punch came crashing toward Sword again.

“Coward!”

But true to her name, Sword raised her blade instantly and blocked.

“Well? How’s my fist?”

Sword and Fist were rivals.

Who was stronger between them had always been a hot topic on Hunven.

Recently, Sword had cleared the 75th floor and seemed to cement herself as the undisputed strongest.

‘Heavy. He’s stronger than before!’

Compared to their previous clash.

Only slightly.

But unmistakably, Sword was being pushed back.

‘How?’

Did he get some amazing drop?

Then Sword’s eyes caught sight of Fist’s fingers.

‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Rings!’

A glance showed another one on his opposite hand.

Two Squad Leader rings.

Five percent increased damage dealt.

Sword and Fist were almost perfectly matched, five-to-five.

And yet.

A single accessory setup.

Just that ‘five percent’ difference had tipped the scales.

Grit.

Sword clenched her teeth.

“You think you can beat me just because you put on a couple rings?”

“No.”

Fist answered curtly and leapt far backward.

What is he planning now?

As she wondered, Fist continued.

“That exchange just now confirmed something for me. I suppose I should thank you.”

“Confirmed what?”

“That it’s time for me to start moving. If I don’t want to fall behind.”

Whoosh-!

Leaving those words behind, Fist vanished in an instant.

“...”

Should she chase him?

‘No.’

Fist was right.

‘I don’t have time for this.’

Before it got any later.

Even one day sooner.

No, every minute and every second mattered.

‘I need to gather Contribution Points.’

Sword looked around again.

“Aaagh! Please spare me!”

“Damn it! When are you going to die?!”

The three attackers and the hunter they’d been beating were still at it.

‘Four Low-Rank Soldiers.’

Sword’s gaze turned cold as she looked at them.

Shing!

As Sword’s blade gleamed, all four pairs of eyes turned toward her.

“Huh?”

“Who are you?”

They don’t know me?

The thought occurred to her.

But it didn’t matter.

‘Should I do it.’

Now that their eyes met, she hesitated.

However.

‘No. Better that they don’t know me.’

Once she made a decision, she never hesitated.

That decisiveness was what had made Sword who she was today.

And then.

Slash!

Four screams rang out.

And Sword grew sharper.