Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 12

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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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Cheater’s Admin Climbing the Mythic Tower (12)
At a café near the Tower, on its outdoor terrace, Mu Saeng and Geum Su-ah sat across from each other.
“Geumseong—. It’s Geum Su-ah!”
“What’s she doing here? Is Geumseong attempting the Tower today?”
“Geum Su-ah doesn’t move alone. The Strategy Headquarters… there don’t seem to be many people with her?”
Awakened Ones who recognized Geum Su-ah flinched in surprise as they passed, but she paid them no mind.
“Who’s the person sitting in front of her?”
“No idea. Her boyfriend?”
“Ha. As if someone like that.”
Had she genuinely tried to hide her identity, the meeting itself would have sparked strange rumors—so her indifference was only natural.
And Mu Saeng?
‘……The coffee’s sitting well. Seems my body’s caught up with me.’
Whatever the people around them muttered, he simply savored his cup.
From the first through the third floor, he’d accomplished every General Condition, Additional Condition, and Hidden Condition without pause.
If you counted from the moment he’d first entered the 15 Dungeon with Lee Eun-woo, it meant over fifty hours without sleep, maintaining a state of razor-sharp tension with virtually no rest.
‘I could collapse from exhaustion right now… but I need to hear what she has to say. Wonder what price she’s thinking?’
The reason he hadn’t dodged Geum Su-ah’s invitation was simple.
He could guess roughly why she’d sought him out.
Geumseong, Geum Su-ah—her reason for contacting Park Hyun-gu and finding him came down to one thing.
The only guild in South Korea to have cleared the 66th floor.
Naturally, it had to do with the 66 Dungeon.
The fact that she knew how the poison’s progression was developing and casually dropped that detail—that alone was proof.
And if she also understood its potency?
‘She wants to buy an Artifact. I’d say a minimum of a billion won to start. Then go to online auctions or the black market, pitch it on the basis of ‘Geumseong called a billion,’ and watch the price climb. Heh. Even just the shell alone would set me up nicely.’
Towers fundamentally don’t drop items.
It was completely natural for Geumseong, which had broken through the 66th floor, to want the boss’s possession from the 66 Dungeon for their preparations to tackle the 67th.
‘With the money I earn, I could buy more Artifacts… I’d be fine from the 4th floor onward. Yeah. For myself, and for Ye-rin too.’
“That was refreshing.”
“Pardon?”
Geum Su-ah suddenly spoke to Mu Saeng, who’d been lost in such thoughts.
A fresh smile crossed her face.
“Lee Eun-woo from One-Way—the executive director. Anyone who’s experienced him would want to throw a punch. It was absolutely satisfying.”
She’d brought up the incident where he’d sent Lee Eun-woo’s jaw flying.
Suddenly embarrassed, Mu Saeng simply nodded, letting out a faint “yes.”
Geum Su-ah observed his every reaction.
‘This man walked out of the 66 Dungeon alive… no one would believe it without proof.’
A bashful man, sipping his coffee.
His body seemed well-trained enough, but that was all.
The aura that radiates from those with high ambition, commanding presence, elevated stats, and overwhelming skills…
Such an impression was, for all intents and purposes, completely absent.
“How are you finding the Sherpa work?”
Geum Su-ah asked.
Mu Saeng nodded easily.
“It pays the bills.”
“You’re being modest. The name of Ace Sherpa Kim Mu Saeng is well-known even within Geumseong.”
“Still, I’m just a Sherpa. Compared to climbing the Tower, it’s… nothing. Everything that comes out of the Dungeon belongs to the client anyway.”
“Does everything really belong to the client?”
Geum Su-ah asked.
Mu Saeng wasn’t the type to miss the sharp glint in her eyes or what lay behind it.
The Artifact from the 66 Dungeon.
Shouldn’t that go to Lee Eun-woo if he’s still the client?
“Of course. As long as the contract holds.”
Mu Saeng answered.
Not a thing for a traitor to get his hands on.
Geum Su-ah smiled faintly.
“You’re thorough.”
“It’s a profession where you live and die by contract, isn’t it?”
The moment Mu Saeng finished speaking.
Geum Su-ah leaned forward smoothly.
And spoke with complete confidence.
“Then may I offer a proposal of my own?”
“Of course.”
“Omgim Company — we’d like to merge with you. We’re prepared to guarantee employment for your CEO Park Hyun-gu and all your staff.”
This was why she’d wanted to meet Mu Saeng.
“Fifteen billion won. That figure doesn’t derive from Omgim’s current revenue or operating profit alone. But we believe that your presence as a Sherpa, the intangible value you represent—”
A yawn struck him like a shockwave that would have left an ordinary person slack-jawed.
“Hrmmmmmm…… Oh, ah. I’m terribly sorry.”
Geum Su-ah’s carefully laid strategy crumbled in a single yawn.
Mu Saeng was genuinely apologetic.
“—…… It’s fine. I suppose I should be embarrassed for proposing such tedious terms.”
“No, no, that’s not it at all. I’m just—ahem—I’m honestly exhausted. Is this coffee decaf? Why can’t I stay awake?”
Tedious? Hardly.
The figure of fifteen billion had felt so dreamlike that the yawn had simply escaped him.
He was so utterly, desperately tired that he’d been holding it back, only for it to slip through at precisely that moment.
But Geum Su-ah had no way of knowing the truth of his exhaustion.
“All right. Regarding the merger—that’s certainly possible. But what if we proposed Subsidiary Incorporation instead? Fifty-fifty, or if you prefer, Omgim could retain an additional one percent.”
She’d pivoted straight to Plan B.
Mu Saeng found himself caught off guard once more.
“Um, well, so that is…… what exactly is—”
What’s the difference between a merger and subsidiary incorporation?
Here, now, in this very room—he couldn’t quite bring himself to ask outright.
He understood they were offering fifteen billion either way, but……
Dungeons, Sherpa work—he could navigate those blindfolded. But this economic talk? He was utterly lost, and so he merely fumbled.
Geum Su-ah analyzed the scene with practiced speed.
‘He’s reluctant about subsidiary incorporation too…… I thought he’d snatch at the offer in his confused state. The intel alone from Floor 66 would fetch over a billion to [JK] or [Future], and the method of escape is worth even more…… He’s evaluating his own value far more shrewdly than I gave him credit for.’
Whether that qualified as analysis was debatable.
But Geum Su-ah’s mind worked at full speed.
‘Regardless, we have to secure him first. At minimum, we can’t let Floor 66’s intelligence leak to another guild. So perhaps instead……’
She drew a breath.
Geum Su-ah steadied her breathing.
She’d offered fifteen billion without a flicker of hesitation, yet now she showed a hint of tension.
“If Subsidiary Incorporation doesn’t appeal to you either…… what if you worked with me as a Dungeon Sherpa?”
“Me? But Geumseong already has affiliated Sherpas on staff, doesn’t it? Surely I don’t need to explore dungeons with your new hires—”
“No, not the new hires. With me. Or more precisely…… with our Strategy Headquarters’ elite team.”
Geum Su-ah spoke.
Her voice quieter than before.
She opened her mouth again.
“…… I’m trusting you to keep this confidential. Off the record, then.”
She had to secure Mu Saeng.
To do so, Geum Su-ah had resolved to divulge a secret held as top-classified even within Geumseong itself.
“We’ve found it. Floor 67. The dungeon most strongly suspected to be Floor 67 among all gates of unconfirmed depth.”
[Underwater Space? Did something escape from there too? Their management is a complete mess.]
“I’m sorry, what did you just—”
“Huh? Yes?”
“What? Huh?”
Wa-shu had spoken.
Geum Su-ah had reacted.
Mu Saeng looked bewildered.
Geum Su-ah looked bewildered too.
[Why?]
Wa-shu had asked.
Two people and one entity fell silent all at once, their eyes blinking uselessly.
* * *
Crash!
“Argh!”
The vase shattered into fragments as it flew.
Spilled soil scattered, roots spayed, and blood poured from the forehead.
The floor of Korea One-Way Group’s Executive Director Lee Eun-woo’s secretary’s office became a ruin in an instant.
“So you just came back like this?”
Even after hurling the vase, the secretary’s temper remained untempered.
He hissed out a question.
“I—I’m sorry, Director.”
“But the Executive’s poison will neutralize itself in about fifteen days, they said…….”
In truth, when Mu Saeng had struck Lee Eun-woo, the amount of poison transferred was minuscule.
He’d coated his entire fist with less than half a drop from the Slaykhen’s Poison Fang, then landed a single punch using only part of that fist’s striking surface.
To put it plainly—and it was no exaggeration—the dose Mu Saeng himself had sensed was more like “one-sixteenth of one-sixteenth of a drop.”
And since it had only touched the outer layer of skin, its toxic potency would be even more diminished.
Geum Su-ah’s analysis, based solely on the report that Lee Eun-woo had been hospitalized, turned out to be correct.
The quantity was indeed the kind that would naturally neutralize in roughly two weeks.
Left alone, it would resolve itself.
“You morons!”
But that was a solution that gave no consideration whatsoever to the position of Korea One-Way, a mid-tier guild.
Lee Eun-woo’s dedicated secretary director, Jang Ha-guk, seized a thick black stack of authorized documents and lashed his secretaries with it.
They took hits on their stiff edges but didn’t even cry out, standing rigid in military at-ease posture.
“You should’ve grabbed that bastard—whether it’s Mu Saeng or dog-faced Mu Saeng—beaten it out of him, and heard it straight from his mouth! Instead you just listen to what Geum Su-ah says and relay it back here? What the hell do I need you for!? Are you a telephone? Are you Geumseong’s spokesman!?”
The internet was already swarming with rumors and gossip.
If Mu Saeng had said anything at all, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad—but precisely because he’d said nothing, the rumor mill’s imagination had run wild.
Lee Eun-woo’s reputation had plummeted.
For Awakened Ones who climbed towers and entered Dungeons, the most dangerous thing was an untrustworthy teammate—and there would be no one willing to work with Lee Eun-woo now.
Of course, the group had backing, so things might be manageable for a while—but what of the group’s own perception?
The chairman’s grandson in such a state was bound to damage the guild’s image.
Applications from Awakened Ones seeking to join Korea One-Way would drop off, and defections would rise.
And Lee Eun-woo would bear all that responsibility?
No.
Jang Ha-guk, Lee Eun-woo’s dedicated secretary director.
The blame fell on him for failing to manage Lee Eun-woo’s aftermath properly.
“Park Do-hyun. Manager Park.”
“Yes, Director.”
This couldn’t stand.
Jang Ha-guk moved forward, his eyes bloodshot.
Unlike the secretarial staff who’d each taken their beating, here stood an employee who was still unscathed.
Park Do-hyun and the others who’d escorted Lee Eun-woo through the fifteenth Dungeon.
“You broke through thirty-seven floors—you mean to tell me you’ve lost your minds?”
“No, sir.”
Park Do-hyun wasn’t technically part of the secretary’s office, but that hardly mattered now.
The rank difference between a secretary director and a mere manager.
Jang Ha-guk jabbed his finger hard into Park Do-hyun’s chest, once, twice. “Dig up everything on Mu Saeng. Understood? Don’t let your shit bubble up to me.”
“……I understand. I’ll do my best.”
Park Do-hyun had to endure it without even flinching.
Jang Ha-guk watched Park Do-hyun’s expression carefully, then whipped his head away.
“Let’s do this right. All of you. Park Do-hyun included.”
A simple “yes, sir” would have sufficed.
But one of the secretaries, still smarting from the unfairness of his beating, couldn’t help himself.
“But even if we dig into his background…… with his abilities it’s hard to use normal means, and Geumseong’s watching too, so kidnapping would be……—Agh!”
Jang Ha-guk’s fist drove straight into the man’s jaw.
Thump-crash—the secretary toppled, and the director’s fury only deepened. “You—are you even an Awakened One? There are Dungeons, you idiot! When does he enter a Dungeon? Which Dungeon? Who does he go with? Once you figure that out, you make your move! Enter the Dungeon, grab the Antidote and drag out a corpse—or rip out his tongue and bring him alive! Get me two things: the Antidote and Mu Saeng! Two! Do you understand, you incompetent fools!?”
“Yes, yes! We understand!”
Every secretary answered in unison.
Jang Ha-guk exhaled slowly through his nose and clenched his fists.
“Remember this……. If that dog-faced bastard isn’t captured before the Executive recovers, we all die. The moment he enters a Dungeon, we move.”
Mu Saeng had to be caught.
For their own survival.
The staff of Korea One-Way, the Korean guild branch of One-Way Group, began moving urgently.

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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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