Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 44

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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 Administrator Climbing Mythic-Grade Tower (44)
In the parking lot near the tower, Moo-saeng was studying the people inside the van with sober intensity.
“You must follow my instructions without question. If possible, I’d prefer you not speak at all, even in the tower’s common lobby. From the moment we exit this vehicle until I tell you it’s safe to talk again—absolute silence.”
On the surface, it was a condition that might breed resentment.
Yet the five people in the van harbored no complaint whatsoever.
“So… if we just do that, you really will, truly let us climb the tower? Together? Even though on my own—”
A short, bespectacled man forced the words out with obvious difficulty.
Moo-saeng distributed several items to the group without a word.
A full set of Protective Gear apiece—the kind you’d wear riding a motorcycle.
Upon confirming this, the man wiped his glasses on his T-shirt and checked again.
“These are… all Metal Rhine-made, Grade A Artifacts…?”
Yet every single one bore the mark “Designed by METAL RHINE” and carried the Grade A designation.
Moo-saeng spoke to them with grave composure.
“I understand you still don’t fully trust me. It’s a matter of life and death, so that’s natural. But you do trust Metal Rhine, don’t you? Everyone put them on. Once you’re fully equipped, even a few hits from Cyclops won’t be fatal. Besides, I won’t let that situation arise in the first place.”
The atmosphere had shifted markedly from moments before.
Park Hyun-gu, who had already finished donning his Protective Gear, chuckled with barely contained amusement.
“Didn’t I tell you? We just climb quietly, rack up our records, and leave the tower safe so we can put it on our résumés. Oh, and since you’re lending these to us, don’t wipe them down afterward, okay? Let’s not make things awkward for each other! Shall we go, Moo-saeng?”
Moo-saeng nodded and opened the van door.
Kim Moo-saeng, Park Hyun-gu, and four additional climbers.
A single party of six total headed toward the tower’s common lobby.
For Moo-saeng, these lower floors were already thoroughly reconnoitered.
Even with the increased party size, he had already assessed how much the conditions on that floor would deteriorate.
Yet his expression bore no trace of complacency.
If anything, he was tense.
Was it because he bore responsibility for multiple lives?
Was it fear that the Contribution Rate would be divided among them, lowering his growth rate?
Neither of those.
[Kyakkyakkyak, you’ve gotten quite composed since seeing that female, haven’t you, Kim Moo-saeng?]
‘…No. I’ve got a long way to go. I nearly got cocky after climbing just a few floors, clearing a handful of hidden conditions.’
Wash was right.
The world was far vaster than he’d grasped. The road ahead remained impossibly distant.
He’d confirmed as much just yesterday.
[Hildegard Schmidt]
―Age: 20
―Awakening Ability: 〈Hand of Aetri (SR)〉
―Skills: 〈Blacksmith’s Authority〉, 〈Parallel Thought〉, 〈Advanced Mado Engineering〉, 〈Advanced Physical Chemistry〉, 〈Advanced Molecular Chemistry〉……
―Resistances: Lightning (A→SSR), Cold (B→SSR), Heat (B→SSR), Poison (C→SSR), Bleed (D→SSR), Confusion (E→SSR), Fear (E→SSR), Light (E→SR), Darkness (E→SR)
―Climbing Record: Highest Floor 70
‘The base resistances—even fear is equal to mine now, with equipment correction changing the grades. Fine, I can accept that. But those extraordinary skills…’
He’d finally been compelled to ask.
What was this Authority? The answer had been simple.
Aetri does it directly.
So absurd it was actually hard to comprehend.
And when she’d mentioned that 〈Parallel Thought〉 was ‘originally a specialty since childhood, and then it became a Skill—so up to seven threads is no problem,’ he’d had no idea how to respond.
Put bluntly, it meant Hilda could sit in some corner and operate six entirely separate remote-controlled suits of armor simultaneously, revealing herself through each one.
‘It’s as if she has seven brains.’
The countless other Skills she possessed barely warranted mention.
What truly astonished him was the note under Special Circumstances.
―Special Circumstances: Ability Correction Applied via Equipped Artifacts
Artifact Effect Application Multiplier +900%
.
.
.
Bonus damage against all monster types followed the same pattern.
Depending on which Artifact she wielded, additional offensive power, additional defensive power, and so forth applied.
‘The maximum she’s hit is three thousand percent… apparently. Insane.’
At that level, astonishment itself became impossible.
If anything, it bred resentment.
Moo-saeng, who had intended to mention only the dung-beetle clone and be done with it, ended up making an additional request after all.
One of those requests was the provision of equipment at Grade A level or higher, incorporating the functionality Moo-saeng desired.
Park Hyun-gu, watching from the sidelines, had even thought, ‘Moo-saeng, are you a mugger? You’re not just extorting money—what’s gotten into you?’ Yet Hildegard showed no sign of surprise.
She’d barely left the OmKim Corporation office when, just three hours later, the Artifacts Moo-saeng wanted were already being delivered to him.
A kind of deflation? Bewilderment?
“Phew.”
That had been yesterday’s feeling.
Moo-saeng was different now.
Because he’d confirmed one of the high points, he felt exhilaration instead—sharp, electric tension.
“Let’s go.”
And excitement.
Even someone like Hildegard probably wouldn’t have been able to exploit Geum Byeong-chul’s method of growth.
[Checking the subject’s climbing record.]
[Climbing record: Floor 11]
[Will you attempt Floor 12?]
[Party members: 6 (Kim Moo-saeng, Park Hyun-gu, Shin Hyun-dong, Kim Ji-yoon, Noh Ye-rang, Yoon Jeong-il)]
[Withdrawal midway is not permitted.]
So then, in addition to Metal Rhine’s equipment.
Geum Byeong-chul’s growth method and—
[Kekekeke, let’s go, Kim Moo-saeng.]
The Tower’s administrator itself.
Moo-saeng grinned.
* * *
[Floor 012]
[Cyclops Advance Forest]
[Eliminate the giants attempting to expand their territory.]
[Cyclops eliminated: 0/2]
[Time remaining: 00:30:00]
[Multi-person Climbing adjustment applied.]
[Contribution Rate calculation initiated.]
“We—we actually went in. We’re really on Floor 12 just the six of us—”
Before Shin Hyun-dong, a bespectacled man of slight build, could even finish his worry.
“External audio blocked. Group frequency adjusted, all channels to 3.”
Moo-saeng manipulated the equipment.
What he’d requested from Hildegard wasn’t just a simple helmet.
It had reliable noise-canceling capability and was also capable of short-range communication.
“Can everyone hear me?”
At least the party members needed to be able to communicate with one another.
If they got swept up in panic, fear, and confusion and bolted off in random directions, it would be a disaster.
“Yes, yes. Wow—Metal Rhine equipment really is different.”
“So this works on ‘every floor’? An item with this kind of function?”
“It’s an Artifact, so of course it would. It’s not like some ordinary electronic device.”
In that sense, Moo-saeng’s judgment was sound.
An A-rank Artifact from Metal Rhine—once everyone’s eyes turned toward it, it was clear.
This was also why Artifacts mattered so much in the Tower.
Ordinary equipment? Of course there were floors where it worked.
But it was random.
There was a possibility of operating in that floor while carrying it, but there was also a possibility it would vanish the moment you entered.
Electronic devices in particular disappeared almost one hundred percent of the time.
Therefore, Artifacts made from materials obtainable in dungeons were essential items for Awakeners, and the Phyton and Rope that Moo-saeng carried were treated as a kind of Artifact as well.
“Everyone gather up. We’ll be done in thirty minutes.”
Moo-saeng was off and running before his words could even finish.
The Chita Boots (B) accelerated his speed far beyond his normal pace.
His destination: the heavy, booming footsteps echoing through the forest.
A six-person or larger party play.
[Kekekeke, can you handle both within ten minutes, Kim Moo-saeng?]
There were two Cyclops.
On Floor 12 with no hidden conditions, there was an additional condition to meet.
And if that condition was to eliminate the Cyclops within ten minutes, and simply reaching their location would take an estimated three to five minutes—
The actual margin to dispatch them was seven minutes.
With Moo-saeng’s S-rank Artifact weapon, it was possible.
“Which is why I should’ve waited a bit longer before coming up.”
The problem is that he doesn’t have it.
Wasn’t this Moo-saeng, who ordinarily carried the Slayken’s Venom Fang wound up in the Slayken’s Husk?
Having already asked for replicas of the dung beetle and such, he’d handed over the Slayken’s Venom Fang asking that it be properly forged into a short blade form, and furthermore that additional functions of his own choosing be added to it!
Hummmmm, hummmmm…….
“We shouldn’t be anywhere near human territory yet.”
“It might be a scout. We should eat it.”
The Cyclops finally spotted Moo-saeng.
Its intelligence showed plainly.
The first thing it did was snap off a nearby branch.
Whoooooosh!
And hurl it.
Of course, to a Cyclops some seven meters tall, a “branch” meant something else entirely.
[Kim Moo-saeng!]
“I see it!”
Thwack! To Moo-saeng, it was like a siege log flying straight at him.
And not just one—two, three, four came in rapid succession.
Even a grazing blow would leave no bones intact.
Even if he survived, it would be impossible to clear while meeting the additional conditions.
“Quick reflexes.”
“There are certain kinds among humans. Throw stones.”
“Good thinking.”
Crack, crack-crack.
The Cyclopes rapidly gathered earth from around them and packed it into missiles.
“Damn it, so it really is a six-person party!?”
Where the first volley resembled javelin throws, this one would be more like a shotgun blast.
Not only had the number of Cyclopes increased—their attack patterns had evolved, and so had their sheer intelligence.
‘Lower, faster, maximum—.’
Moo-saeng gritted his teeth and tensed his thighs and calves.
The distance was now nine meters.
The gap had closed considerably, but it still wasn’t close enough for Moo-saeng to mount an attack.
If he circled around, that thing would fly at him one more time.
If he had to settle this head-on…….
“There’s no getting around one hit, is there?”
Auto Guard Ring (B)—automatic defense, one use. Cooldown: 24 hours.
One of the Artifacts he’d received as a gift(?) from Korea One-Way Group, and Moo-saeng gritted his teeth and launched himself forward.
“Foolish.”
Before the Cyclops could finish speaking, a resonant chime rang out.
A green aura bloomed briefly around Moo-saeng, then vanished.
All the Cyclops’s eyes widened at the sight.
“But our skin can’t be pierced by human weapons anyway—.”
They too had their confidence.
Ordinary human blades and spears couldn’t rend their incredibly tough hides.
The same held true for the Cyclops’s weak point—their eye—and the eyelid that protected it.
─────────────!
“Kyaaaaaah!?”
“Gaaaah, m-my eye, my eye!”
Which was precisely why Moo-saeng would be well aware of it.
He’d gotten close to the Cyclopes deliberately.
He’d launched himself at them deliberately. To crudely stab his blade in?
To attack their eyes? No, that wasn’t it.
At his current speed, he couldn’t reach them.
For all his formidable stats, his strength might not have been enough to tear open an eyelid in a direct clash.
But light was different.
[Kekekeke, so that’s why you didn’t ask for a weapon, Kim Moo-saeng!?]
“No matter how fast an eyelid blinks, it can’t outpace light. One blast from an ultra-high-output Laser Pointer is all it takes. And it only has the one eye.”
What Moo-saeng had requested from Hildegard for conquering Floor 12 was a Laser Pointer.
A pupil as large as the Cyclops’s massive eye; if he concentrated maximum light intensity onto a single point before that wide pupil could contract—!?
Moo-saeng’s strategy was simple: destroy the eye’s function before the spinal reflex could even blink.
“Innnnowwww, human!”
“I’ll kill you! Come out right now!”
Flailing about and kicking their legs?
It didn’t matter.
Moo-saeng had already achieved his objective and slipped between their legs—no amount of wild swinging at empty air would land a blow.
“Where are you, you arrogant—guhk!”
That left only one option.
Direct assault.
“Screeeee, aaaahhhhh! This damned, filthy, filthy bug, screeeee!”
How to dispatch the Cyclops.
While processing the Slayken’s Venom Fang, his temporary weapon was a Grade-A short sword.
One of its properties was vibration.
The primary goal was to cut away a wide swath with minimal effort and maximum speed.
“Comrade! What’s happening, why the screams? Comrade—.”
A deep, hollow roar echoed through the air.
One Cyclops fell.
As that tremendous sound still reverberated, another Cyclops’s face contorted.
Pain radiating from a place that should never hurt, spreading outward to consume everything!?
“—Screeeeeeeee!”
No matter how thick the hide.
No matter how developed the muscle.
There exists a hole that can never be sealed.
It was precisely what Moo-saeng would not overlook.
Driving the vibrating short sword into the anal cavity and obliterating the surrounding tissue in a single, devastating thrust.
Death brought on by shock before hemorrhage could claim it—a method cruel beyond measure.
“Phew… that was cutting it close, really.”
[Congratulations!]
[You have achieved the Clear condition.]
[Remaining time: 00:20:51]
[Calculating Contribution Rate.]
[Kim Moo-saeng: Contribution Rate 100%]
[Others: Contribution Rate 0%]
A nine-minute, nine-second Clear. At last, Moo-saeng had achieved his goal.
“Done, Wash! Six-person party Clear—.”
[You reek. Get away from me.]
The only issue was the slight price he’d have to pay for 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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