Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 18

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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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Admin with Cheats Climbing the Mythic Tower (18)
Mu Saeng studied the Southeast Asia One-Way Group’s data and came to understand Layer 58.
Layer 58 was atop a glacier in the polar region.
In unlimited time, climbers were given a quest to walk across a glacier as infinite as space itself, find the Boss, and kill it.
Monsters erupting through cracked ice, glaciers that could split and scatter at any moment, and absurd bitter cold plunging past seventy degrees below zero—and a Boss that could appear at any time.
Particularly, the records showed it was a hellish layer for Awakeners from Southeast Asia, who had weak tolerance for cold.
There was a passage that caught Mu Saeng’s eye.
It was noted in the Vietnam One-Way Group’s Climbing Record for Layer 58 under Special Observations.
An expression absent from the Thailand One-Way Group’s record—the one who had cleared Layer 58 and ascended before them.
[Bright red flowers bloomed covering the corpse of the monster.]
[Judging by their refusal to wilt even in the extreme environment, it is presumed to be the result of an Awakening Ability.]
[However, none of our party members possess the corresponding Awakening Ability, and there were no party members from outside our group.]
[We attempted to track down traces of the corresponding Awakening Ability, but we encountered a quest monster; subsequently, tracking became impossible.]
“Bright red flowers that don’t wilt even in seventy-degree cold…. There’s nothing about that in the Thailand One-Way Climbing Record.”
Mu Saeng looked toward Wash.
Then he turned to the rubber duck adjusting his black-framed Sunglasses and asked.
“Can the Instance of the tower ever break?”
The tower operated fundamentally as an Instance.
Yet the possibility existed that it could become tangled with ‘a stage a previous Awakener had passed through.’
Mu Saeng knew this all too well.
“Like dungeon Entanglement Phenomena…. Right?”
How Dungeon 66 had suddenly erupted from Dungeon 15.
He’d never heard of the tower becoming entangled, but it was a possibility he could understand.
Because you couldn’t retreat in the tower.
If something like that happened in a tower where escape and withdrawal were impossible—
All that remained was death. There was no way rumors could spread.
[If I’d been managing it, it wouldn’t have happened. It’s a bug that could exist.]
At that same moment, a possibility opened before Mu Saeng.
“Right. So Ye-rin might have cleared Layer 58 and moved on. Or—wait, if Layer 58 is the last recorded data, then she might still be on Layer 58 looking for the Boss!?”
Alive and still in the state of not yet cleared.
Ju Ye-rin might still be living.
No—the odds of her being alive had just gotten higher!
Mu Saeng quickly turned back to Wash.
“Wait, but if the Vietnam One-Way Group killed the Layer 58 Boss, would Ye-rin—who was tangled in it—have been cleared too? What do you think?”
[Squawk? You’re asking me?]
Wash let out a dry chuckle in response.
It was something he’d never encountered during his time as an administrator.
After that, he’d been continuously channeling Teleport into Mu Saeng’s body, so there was no way he could know of such things.
Rather, it was Wash who ought to be asking questions.
[Kim Mu Saeng, how do you know from just this data that it’s this Ju Ye-rin you’re looking for? I did say Layer 58 was the last location data, but she could have become tangled with someone else entirely—.]
“Florist. It’s the skill Ye-rin created.”
[Squawk?]
But Mu Saeng’s certainty had a clear foundation.
Ju Ye-rin’s Awakening Ability: Florist (E-Grade).
“Makes flowers bloom quickly and plants grow? Heh, how’s that so different from my Teleport (X)?”
“Don’t be like that. What does a plant need to grow?”
“What?”
“Roots. It needs to put down roots, doesn’t it?”
“…Right? Why does that matter?”
An E-Grade Awakening Ability—nothing particularly impressive.
Or so he’d thought. Even Mu Saeng had thought so.
“She scatters seeds on a monster indiscriminately, then makes them grow instantly…. There were plenty of plant-related Awakeners, but no one else wielded it this, well, effectively. Not until Ye-rin figured out how to use her ability—until she found that revolutionary way to deploy her skill.”
Before Ju Ye-rin discovered the innovative application of her own power.
Roots that pierce through and bore into the target’s surface in an instant.
With that deftness of dispatching monsters drained of all nutrients and sapped of their vitality.
“Isn’t that a bit too cruel?”
“You burn them to death, fry them to death, freeze them to death, pierce them to death…. This is far gentler! And look—covered in flowers like this, it’s beautiful to behold. Don’t you think? It’s like giving a departing monster a bouquet. Those usually are artificial flowers, right? But mine are real, so it’s far better, wouldn’t you say?”
“I…suppose if you put it that way, you could say that….”
[…Beyond savage—quite the formidable female.]
Even Wash, who’d been listening, could only shake his head in disbelief.
Unsettling yet destructive, and moreover, the beautiful versatility of her applications.
There was no way Mu Saeng could forget the charm of Ju Ye-rin saying such things so brazenly!
“Right, anyway, good. Layer 58 it is, okay. For certain.”
He had found Ju Ye-rin’s trace.
Of course, unresolved questions remained.
Was Ju Ye-rin still on Layer 58?
Could he trigger an Entanglement Phenomenon with Layer 58 where Ju Ye-rin was and weave them together?
Most importantly…….
‘Ye-rin’s disappearance came after attempting Layer 39.’
Mu Saeng had thought the trouble arose when she grew anxious before facing Layer 40.
But to actually confirm Ju Ye-rin’s trace on Layer 58.
‘Entangled from Layer 39 to Layer 58? An Entanglement Phenomenon……. And on top of that, an Entanglement Phenomenon from the Vietnam One-Way Group occurring together?’
Mu Saeng paused to think, then shook his head.
Even Wash, the administrator, wouldn’t know such a thing.
Speculation here wouldn’t accomplish anything.
“Wash.”
Squawk?
He would simply have to go and see for himself.
Whether Layer 39 or Layer 58.
Now that he’d cut free from the Korea One-Way Group.
“Starting tomorrow, let’s pick up the pace. Tower climbing.”
He focused on the tower.
Squawk, you’ve been waiting for that, Kim Mu Saeng.
Squawk—Wash’s eyes gleamed behind his horned-rimmed glasses as well.
* * *
Geumseong Guild Headquarters, the chairman’s office.
Kim Byung-chul was laughing, chuckling away.
But Yun Pyo, standing beside him, could not laugh.
“……Is that the vice-chairman’s final decision?”
“Yes! My eyes can no longer make a judgment. Therefore, as I reported last time, I’ll maintain the estimated value at 15 billion or above, and propose the immediate recruitment of Sherpa Kim Mu Saeng.”
Kim Su-ah answered with a bright face.
It was a far cry from her serious, weighty demeanor in the executive conference room before.
And for good reason.
“I don’t think that’s something to report with such a smile. Especially not to the chairman…….”
“I did the best I could. I saw it myself, and made my own judgment.”
Looking up at heaven, she had nothing of which to be ashamed.
Trying to understand the incomprehensible was not her job.
She accepts it with head and heart.
And she speaks it. That’s the end of it.
Kim Byung-chul was laughing at Kim Su-ah’s refreshingly clear report…….
“I don’t suspect the vice-chairman’s judgment was wrong, but are you certain of the contents of your report?”
Geumseong Guild Conquest Division Chief and Chairman’s Aide.
Yun Pyo’s position was entirely different.
The abnormal venom of snakes that appeared in Dungeon 22.
The situation where Escape Scrolls didn’t work.
And snakes that, no matter how many you killed, kept appearing endlessly?
“Yes. After helping Sherpa Kim Mu Saeng with his ‘personal matter’…… that night, I re-entered Dungeon 22. No abnormal phenomena occurred. I’m certain that everything I saw and experienced was caused by Sherpa Kim Mu Saeng.”
Kim Su-ah would never have failed to verify.
She had transported the personnel from the One-Way Group to the basement of a building that was under construction, and then re-entered Dungeon 22 without asking questions.
No abnormal phenomena occurred.
In other words, a neat conclusion: everything that happened before was created by Kim Mu Saeng.
“The vice-chairman’s concealment would be difficult even for me to detect easily.”
Yun Pyo pointed out another suspicious detail.
How intricate was the concealment of the Luminous skill?
Even as the Conquest Division Chief, he was sometimes unsure—Kim Su-ah’s skill was that exceptional.
“Yes, that’s correct, chief.”
And yet, she acknowledged that much and offered no other rebuttal?
Was she just casually admitting that the dungeon Sherpa’s detection ability was equal to or surpassed his own?
“……You shouldn’t just answer ‘correct’…….”
Yun Pyo rubbed his throbbing temples.
Then, abruptly, Kim Byung-chul opened his mouth.
“Pyo.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Yun Pyo bowed his head at once.
At least Kim Su-ah’s judgment had been accurate.
The founder of Geumseong Guild, who had laughed so hard he’d even removed his sunglasses.
Official Tower Climbing Record: Layer 65.
Every single clear completed solo.
Unquestionably, South Korea’s strongest Awakener.
He rubbed away the tears seeping from those pale, pale eyes—eyes without a trace of pupil.
Then he settled the sunglasses back on and spoke.
“Let me see that kid.”
Kim Byung-chul’s attention turned toward Mu Saeng.
“Yes, I’ll bring him as quickly as possible.”
Yun Pyo pulled out his smartphone.
* * *
―Don’t worry about the company, kid. What kind of guy obsessed with climbing the Tower frets over someone else like that?
“Come on, how’s my brother someone else? I’m the ace—if I’m not working, our company loses contracts. I know that perfectly well. That’s why I’m worried.”
Park Hyun-gu’s genuine concern came through the phone line.
Mu Saeng grinned and played along.
―Oh man, what, you think I’m useless or something? Come on—
“Pretty much, yeah.”
―What do you mean pretty much! Anyway, even though things got a little rocky with the One-Way Group, there are actually people who’ve taken a shine to you, and I’ve gotten requests about hiring new Sherpas and all that…. The company’ll run itself, so you just do what you want to do.
He hadn’t told Park Hyun-gu everything yet.
Not about the possibility that Ju Ye-rin might be on Layer 58.
If he’d mentioned that, good-hearted Park Hyun-gu would have abandoned his livelihood on the spot and insisted they rush into the Tower together.
“Thanks, hyung.”
Of course, there might come a day when he’d climb with Park Hyun-gu.
But not yet. Not now.
Not until he was more certain.
When his help was truly needed, they would climb together then.
―If you’re grateful, remember my severance later—
“Boss, if you don’t process the deposit properly, I’m reporting you.”
―Ah, wait—I’ve got another call. Anyway, I’ll throw you a proper retirement party, so be sure to reach out! Talk soon!
Park Hyun-gu hung up abruptly, and Mu Saeng smiled at his antics.
Wash, standing beside him, asked with a disgruntled expression.
[That’s it?]
“Come on, we weren’t even on the phone for five minutes. Don’t rush me like that.”
[You’re the one who said to hurry, Mu Saeng!]
“Which is exactly why I packed everything this carefully.”
In the Tower’s public lobby.
Mu Saeng shouldered the heavy duffel bag and let out a breath.
“A retirement party…. Wonder if I can make it in a few days.”
Once he went in, he had no intention of coming back out anytime soon.
At minimum, he was resolved to break through ten or more layers in a single run.
“Mu Saeng Kim, requesting Tower entry.”
[Verifying your Climbing Record.]
[Climbing Record: Layer 4]
[Will you challenge Layer 4?]
[Number of challengers: 1]
[Withdrawal is not permitted once commenced.]
Buzz—his smartphone hummed.
Regardless, Mu Saeng spoke.
“I accept.”
─────────────!
Light flashed.
[Layer 004]
[A mist-shrouded mountain toward the summit]
[Reach the summit of the mountain.]
[Time Remaining: 10:00:00]
Layer 4 of the tower: ascending a mist-shrouded mountain to reach its peak within a strict time limit of ten hours.
Ten hours, nothing more.
Layer 1 had been designed to teach evasion and the basics of movement and cover by forcing climbers to avoid goblins.
Layer 2 had introduced fundamental combat through encounters with a handful of kobolds, small but dangerous creatures.
And Layer 3, if the rumors held true, was where climbers faced a werewolf—something close to a Boss Monster—for the first time.
But now, with the tutorials behind him, everything came together: Layer 4 marked the true beginning of tower climbing, demanding he synthesize all his skills and reach the summit within the time constraint.
[Mu Saeng, you should—.]
Wash was about to explain how to navigate Layer 4.
“I know, I know.”
[—What?]
“Just tell me what the Hidden Condition is. My fastest time clearing Dungeon 22 here is two hours and twenty-seven minutes.”
After seventy-two clears of Dungeon 22, Mu Saeng had no need for basic advice.
[Two hours and twenty-seven minutes? Truly?]
Wash stared at him in disbelief.
Mu Saeng nodded in confirmation.
“Dungeon 22 has always been the most manageable for me. I even tested it solo once, without clients. Even accounting for that, it usually takes around four hours when I’m guiding others—. Wait. Don’t tell me…”
The realization struck him mid-sentence.
Why would Wash react like that?
[…Yes. That was the Hidden Condition. Reaching the summit in under three hours.]
Of course—it had to be, precisely because it was hidden.
Behind the black-framed spectacles, Wash’s expression shifted to something like ‘where do these monsters keep coming from?’, though Mu Saeng had already moved past that moment.
“Ha ha, all right then—let’s tackle this hike with some vigor.”
Speaking as casually as if they were scaling a neighborhood hill, Mu Saeng began to climb.

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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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