Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Using Cheat as an Administrator to Climb the Mythic Tower (105)
Moo-saeng watched four silhouettes moving swiftly across the rooftop, tracking every one of them.
Their speed and agility alone were enough to estimate their approximate level.
‘In terms of stats, they’d be below me, but… if I think of it as a standard Floor 27… ah, that’s probably because of the fifteen-point correction.’
Any ordinary Awakener wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
Park Hyun-gu and his group outside the Fog City?
Even a single one of those Heretic Inquisitors moving would slaughter them all.
Such overwhelming power. Such refined technique.
Whistle—
“Hup.”
The well-trained Heretic Inquisitors fired projectile weapons endlessly from a distance.
Bolts launched from small crossbows held in one hand—their lethality would be considerable.
‘No, the point is…’
Moo-saeng picked up one of the small bolts embedded in the ground.
The tip was coated with liquid.
Not merely moisture from the fog vapor.
Poison.
‘The caution in not approaching recklessly, the thoroughness of it all.’
Perhaps they kept their distance because they had such weapons at their disposal.
Having witnessed him dodge attacks several times, they might be wary as well.
Which meant Moo-saeng had reason to frown.
“It’s frustrating not to have ranged weapons or skills at times like this.”
The four of them had positioned themselves from different angles, encircling him.
And the subtle distance control between them…
It would be possible to burst out and catch one of them.
‘But the rest would scatter immediately. No—they wouldn’t just scatter.’
Then what about the Priest?
Given their primary mission, they wouldn’t rush in just because one comrade fell.
And he couldn’t just charge straight to the Central Temple and seize the Priest first.
‘If someone else is also lying in wait near the Priest.’
They could signal with something like a whistle, responding to his movements.
In this city, they were the only group with intelligence.
In a city filled only with zombies, there would be no need to read subtle signs.
[Kekeke! So you’ll just stay like a puppet forever, Kim Moo-saeng? You already made it harder to achieve the Hidden Condition by tipping your hand too early, didn’t you?]
Wash, too, seemed to have grasped the rough situation and chuckled with amusement.
Watching the tower’s administrator speak as though this were entertainment, Moo-saeng shrugged.
“That’s not possible. Can’t be. Whether it’s a power struggle in the shadows or not, all of it—they’re all after additional rewards, additional growth. I won’t make the mistake of turning things upside down.”
The Kayaku Empire?
The Baryshin Religion?
Their hidden power struggles?
Getting involved in their affairs or digging for information was all for his own growth.
He would never commit the foolish mistake of becoming fixated on the power dynamics of the world within the tower and missing opportunities.
[Then? Do you have some way?]
“Yes. Actually, I was already doing it.”
This meant he had taken precautions from the beginning.
The moment he drew the Poison Fang.
Moo-saeng was already subduing the four Heretic Inquisitors.
[Wheek? You were already doing it? Doing what?]
“To hide someone, you hide them in the city. Lucky that this is a city covered in fog.”
[Poison Water Defense-Offense Enhancement]
Like water mixed into water, like alcohol poured into alcohol.
1. You can extract multiple types of toxic substances from a poison. (However, extraction and classification are only possible when the poison to be extracted is a compound-action poison; the effects of single-component poisons cannot be altered)
2. You can adjust the intensity of poison. (However, it cannot be strengthened beyond its original effect)
3. You can vaporize poison into gas form.
The Poison Water Defense-Offense skill, enhanced through a blood fight with Lee Jeong-gi.
The Poison Fog that the seasoned fighter wielded was now something Moo-saeng could use as well.
Having already employed it in the Consciousness Separation Space with Isabel Green—or more precisely, with Jean Francois Hugo—there was no reason Moo-saeng wouldn’t use it now.
The moment he drew the Poison Fang, Moo-saeng extracted the poison and vaporized it, spreading it outward, outward, outward.
“Cough—”
And finally, starting with one figure, all four silhouettes that had been moving about frantically collapsed to the ground.
[This bastard. Doing something so audacious with such an unbothered expression…….]
Wash had reached the point where he couldn’t even speak.
Moo-saeng quickly approached the fallen Heretic Inquisitors and spoke.
“Whew, I was nervous too, you know. Given the distance, I had no idea when it’d reach……. At least I could see through the goggles that the poison was traveling well. I’m only human—how could I not be uneasy?”
[What if they’d had Poison Resistance? Kim Moo-saeng, the moment you realized your plan failed, you’d have run—.]
“Yeah, that’s why you saw it earlier. On the bolt tip. It was only A-grade.”
He’d confirmed that poison was smeared on the bolt fired at Moo-saeng.
But surely he wasn’t just watching and leaving it at that? Impossible.
He needed to know the damage intensity of the poison these men used.
Only then could he estimate their Poison Resistance or Poison Immunity.
“The hyphen still bothers me a bit, but for such a terrible name, the performance is rock-solid. Hildegard really outdid herself with this one.”
There was no way they’d have SR-grade Resistance while using A-grade poison.
Which meant they wouldn’t be able to withstand the Poison Fog extracted from the Poison Fang.
“One, two, three, four…… okay.”
After gathering four of the Heretic Inquisitors together, Moo-saeng bound them.
It took some time before they regained consciousness.
* * *
“Ha—ha—hah!?”
Ordo thrashed about.
He blinked, but saw only the same darkness.
He grasped it quickly enough.
That he was bound and his eyes were covered as well.
“Hhh, hhh, hhh—.”
Regulating his breathing.
Ordo swiftly assessed his condition.
‘Caught. By that monster of a man.’
Who the hell was he?
The plan had been perfect. He’d confirmed there was no outside interference.
But that man…….
‘He appeared out of nowhere. And his skill—far stronger than me, let alone all of us combined—.’
What was his identity?
No, his identity wasn’t the problem.
“Gah!?”
A sudden cold sensation on his cheek made Ordo cry out.
“Just answer. Any unnecessary noise, pointless questions, hidden answers, or lies will come with a price.”
Gulp.
But the voice was even colder than the sensation.
“Your purpose for being here.”
The flatly monotone question cut through the air.
Ordo swallowed dryly.
Did he hesitate for a second?
Probably not even that—maybe half.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
Ordo felt a sharp, icy pain boring through his thigh.
Simultaneously, a bizarre sensation spread across his entire body—poison.
“Kck, ck—.”
His jaw was forced open, and something rushed into his mouth along with water.
Even as he choked and spit, he swallowed.
The foreign sensation lingered in his throat before quickly fading.
“Huh, huh, huh…… Antidote—.”
“Answer.”
“—I, I don’t know the purpose. I was only ordered to protect the Priest.”
Ordo answered desperately.
This was a ruthless man.
Even when interrogating heretics himself, he usually allowed a moment’s respite.
But this? Piercing without hesitation, and the moment pain began, offering an antidote?
‘Even I, with Poison Resistance, was in agony. Whoever has such poison and an instant antidote capable of relieving it so quickly…… Where are they from? An elite unit directly under the Kayaku Empire’s emperor?’
Even so, Ordo tried to analyze the situation.
Feeling the cold sensation return to his thigh, Ordo instinctively flinched.
“A lie.”
“It’s not a lie—”
The accusation stings.
Ordo opened his mouth to protest, but the words came out twisted with pain.
“Cheche and Lurek have already answered.”
Yet when that unfamiliar voice spoke their names, he found his throat closing.
Two team members dispatched for this mission.
Betrayal?
No. It couldn’t be betrayal.
In the first place, Cheche and Lurek don’t know.
Only the team leader—Ordo himself—grasps what this mission truly entails.
So what could they have said?
Could they have revealed that he knows?
‘Damn.’
The moment Ordo’s thoughts reached that point, he bit down hard on his lower lip.
He should have been ready for this.
“You’re hiding something.”
Being caught in concealment was as good as a confession.
“No, wait—that’s not—AAAHHH!”
A blade slid slowly through his opposite thigh, cutting clean.
“Hggh, hnngh……”
He should have reacted faster.
He should have claimed ignorance.
Should have insisted he was merely following orders, that he couldn’t know what Cheche and Lurek said, that he understood nothing of substance.
But he’d paused to think.
Because the names were spoken aloud.
Hearing his teammates’ names, his mind had engaged.
In other words: time had passed.
‘This bastard… he knows the interrogation trade well enough. No ordinary operator. The fact alone that he extracted names from us—when concealment of identity is our cardinal rule—that much tells me everything.’
How much pain had Cheche and Lurek endured?
As Heretic Inquisitors, they were trained never to reveal their identities unless absolutely necessary, for exposure brought too many complications.
Had they already suffered that before he even woke?
Perhaps they were dead already.
Perhaps death would have been a mercy.
“Hggk, hghk—pphwah.”
His jaw was forced open again, and liquid—bitter medicine mixed with water—poured down his throat.
Swallow. Swallow. The pain receded the moment he drank.
This one would continue.
Without killing him.
Until the answers came.
“Can you… hggh… make me one promise?”
A cool sensation traced his calf—the blade settling there, deliberate and waiting.
A question or a proposition. He’d cut if the answer displeased him.
Still, he had to speak.
Because this one worked with such ruthless precision, Ordo could at least trust the terms offered.
He gritted his teeth and forced the words out.
“Spare me. Spare me and my team members. If you guarantee our lives—”
“I will spare you. Your purpose.”
The command fell like an axe blade.
At that moment, Ordo knew with certainty.
Even if released, he would be executed the moment he returned to the Sect.
This man understood the Sect’s structure too well; he wanted only the objective, nothing else.
“…We understood it to be the collection of experimental results.”
“The purpose of the experiment.”
“It’s… it’s related to Revival, but I only have fragments. I know very little.”
He had to escape.
Answer what he could, and once released, run.
“The target of the Revival.”
“No, that—I truly—I truly don’t know. You must understand: the Sect would never tell someone of my rank more than absolutely necessary. You must know this.”
His voice cracked, nearly a whimper.
“I swear it! If you’ve heard from Cheche and Lurek, they’ll have confirmed I speak truth. I truly know nothing beyond this—”
He continued speaking.
He might be stabbed again.
Before that happened, he’d show as much sincerity as he could.
Ordo made every effort to keep the words flowing without break.
He’d come only to protect the Priest.
Why this city was chosen? He had no idea.
He’d only received orders to guard the Priest with all his strength, since information related to Revival had to be gathered.
He spoke, and spoke again.
So it was strange that the unfamiliar interrogator offered no response.
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
Was he merely listening? To verify the truth?
Was he checking whether his words were consistent?
Why wasn’t he stabbing him? Did he believe he wasn’t lying?
Why, why……
Slip.
“Mm?”
Then, quite suddenly, he realized something.
The Rope binding his arms had gone slack at some point.
Ordo moved with utmost care, pulling his hands free.
Then the blindfold covering his eyes, he tore away in one swift motion——!
“…Huh?”
And as he did, he saw.
The inside of some building. Beside him, three of his team members lay motionless.
Their chests rose and fell, rose and fell… they were breathing.
There were no wounds on their bodies.
‘Signs of interrogation? No torture marks? Huh?’
Only his lower half bore puncture wounds, and beside him lay several empty bottles that seemed to have healed them instantly.
What was this? How had this happened? This wasn’t a prison—where was he?
Creeeeak…… Ordo carefully opened the window.
A three-story building in the heart of Fog City, shrouded in mist.
“What? What the…… What is this? How did this happen?”
He couldn’t see the silhouette moving beyond that fog.
Kim Moo-saeng, having obtained all the information he needed, was already heading toward the Central Temple.
[Kekekeke! You’re quite the liar, Kim Moo-saeng?]
“Liar? Call it acting, please.”
Who was that? Cheche? Lurek?
He didn’t know.
The only thing he’d seen was the name through Mage Maia’s Goggles.
In any case, Ordo, whose Poison Resistance was strongest, had woken first.
The other humans hadn’t woken at all.
[Kek! Right, acting. Though it’s not just acting. I didn’t expect you to know technique for extracting information so skillfully.]
“Technique…… Is there really such a thing worth calling technique? It’s just a simple Prisoner’s Dilemma, that’s all.”
Give them no time to think.
Administer certain pain a few times to establish a conditioned reflex.
After that, exploit the Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Then humans will speak the correct information.
[Even so, I thought you couldn’t directly stab someone like that.]
Wash spoke as if impressed.
To stab Ordo with the Poison Fang, then to detoxify and heal him in an instant using an antidote made from Slayken’s Husk and a Recovery Potion.
It wasn’t something you could accomplish with mere ‘acting.’
Yet when Moo-saeng heard Wash’s words, he simply laughed.
“Hm? Pffft, what a joke. If it’s necessary, you do it. I’m a Dungeon Sherpa, after all. If I confused objectives with priorities, I’d already be dead.”
Stabbing someone?
Ordo had attacked first.
A pang of conscience? There was no such thing.
Above all, Moo-saeng was a Dungeon Sherpa known as an ‘Ace.’
[Hm. So even those types speak of integrity.]
Efficiency, rationality, no hesitation when taking action to obtain necessary information.
Finding Wash’s gaze, eyes narrowed in judgment, burdensome, Moo-saeng quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, Revival…… I don’t know what you’re trying to revive, but I can already smell it, can’t I? This would work perfectly for achieving Hidden Conditions in some other Floor. Let’s go.”
From Odamara’s tent on Floor 11, I obtained a map and picked up a Mana Stone.
I used it to achieve the Hidden Condition on Floor 27.
Thanks to that, I gained a Skill called Water Hose and a special property called Elf’s Blessing.
This information too would become a stepping stone for my growth somewhere in the upper floors.
“A temple.”
Moo-saeng was certain of it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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