Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 50
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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 Admin Climbing the Mythic Tower (50)
There was only one thing Moo Saeng needed to say to Hildegard Schmidt about Mage Maia’s insectoid guardian.
“It’s identical.”
Of course, the explanation continued for quite some time after that.
How many high-grade Dungeon materials had gone into creating the replica, how the material yield was poor enough that far more was wasted than used, making it an extravagantly wasteful undertaking, and that if size had been no constraint, simply making it larger would have been far more efficient, plus the fact that without the original she could never have made the copy at all, and so on and so forth…….
“I just realized how remarkable Maia is. Even though I have the Magical Engineering skill myself.”
But what mattered more than all that explanation was this.
“If it weren’t for you, there’s no way I could operate it. Not even I could.”
Hildegard Schmidt’s Magical Engineering-related skills were merely the understanding of knowledge, making the analysis of Magical Engineering materials easier.
Unlike Moo Saeng’s acquired Mage Maia’s Magical Engineering, which came with overwhelming applications.
“Hm, the only thing is I can’t operate it. If I’d wanted to make something better suited to your temperament, I would have. Wouldn’t I?”
“That’s not entirely wrong, but—hey! That sword is what really matters!”
Moo Saeng took out the short blade he’d received from Hildegard and examined it.
The grip fit snugly in his palm—there was no missing that.
And the smooth, finished blade? It was on another level entirely.
Compared to when he’d crudely wrapped Slayken’s Molt around massive fangs, the finishing was simply different in scale.
Most curious of all was the button-like object on the back of the grip…….
“You stab, and then press it.”
“……A syringe?”
“Something like that concept. The fangs generate poison on their own, and it’d be wasteful to have it dripping everywhere as you move. And yet it’s inefficient to simply collect it as-is……when I see such inefficiency, it makes my blood boil. So I created a separate reservoir. Fundamentally, impurities including moisture will be removed from Slayken’s poison as it’s collected. And in that reservoir, hyaluronidase and vasodilation and anticoagulation enzymes are automatically generated, continuously mixing with Slayken’s poison—.”
Moo Saeng raised his hand smoothly, stopping her mid-sentence.
In summary, it was one thing.
“Don’t use complicated words. Put it simply……it got stronger. Right?”
A blade-shaped weapon with syringe functionality built in, optimized for stabbing.
It meant he’d acquired a weapon he could use without issue at least through the 50th floor.
“Yes. The poison is refined and concentrated, far more potent, and will spread much faster and act more lethally than before.”
Moo Saeng’s current Poison Resistance was S-rank.
In other words, it meant that even stabbing himself with this blade would produce a poisoning effect.
Even as Moo Saeng thought that he’d need to be careful with the Poison User’s Workshop, he couldn’t shake a lingering unease.
His existing Slayken’s Fangs—S-rank.
And the short blade he was holding now.
Doku-Sa, SR-rank.
“But isn’t the name a bit odd? Now that I think about it, Chi-Ta Boots were like that too, and Doku-Sa? Who decides these names?”
The Whatever Pocket had something subtly off about it as well, didn’t it.
Designed by METAL RHINE—what was with this dubiously subtle product naming?
Metal Rhine’s mysterious naming sense had occasionally become a topic on internet communities.
“I do.”
“Then why did you put a hyphen in the middle? Just Doku-Sa. Clean and simple.”
“Isn’t a hyphen cute?”
“……In all my life, I’ve never heard anyone say a hyphen is cute.”
Moo Saeng had come to realize this was due to Hildegard Schmidt’s devilish sense of style.
Watching Moo Saeng’s dumbfounded expression.
“Um, would it be alright if I asked you for something?”
Hildegard cautiously broached the main subject.
What she wanted was simple.
“What is it?”
“……Would it perhaps be okay if I called you Wash as well?”
Since entering the 58th Dungeon, Hildegard had not missed a single move by Moo Saeng and Wash.
She remembered that name too—the one Moo Saeng had called out only once.
‘Even Mage Maia was at such an astonishing level, but the Administrator possesses skills beyond that……techniques I could never hope to reach.’
It showed how shocked she was. How much she admired him.
And also how much she wanted to make a good impression on Moo Saeng, how much she wanted to befriend Wash.
Though Wash himself was taken aback.
[Female, why are you asking him? When you’re asking about calling me—.]
“Sure. Go ahead and call me that.”
[Kwaaaah!? W-w-Moo Saeng! Why are you allowing that—.]
“Thank you! Wash! Let me introduce myself again! I’m Hildegard Schmidt! I was planning to give a proper greeting soon, but since things have turned out this way, I couldn’t wait until ‘then’—.”
[Q-q-quiet, female! Moo Saeng, respond!]
Wash griping and squeaking while Hildegard stuck close to him, building favor.
And in that commotion, Moo Saeng himself let out a quiet laugh.
Of course, his thoughts were running cold and clear through it all.
‘I can’t let myself waver just because I caught sight of Ye-rin. I need to climb methodically, wringing out every last bit of value.’
Impatience was a luxury he couldn’t afford.
That monster Hildegard had dispatched in her Black Armor—the one she’d erased in an instant.
Moo Saeng doubted he could take it down as he was now.
If that was true, then blindly charging up through the floors made no sense at all.
He needed to solidify the framework of his growth, certain and steady.
As efficiently as possible.
Watching Hildegard chatter away, Moo Saeng quietly broached yet another matter.
“Oh, you’re based in Europe, aren’t you? So you might know something about this?”
“Know what?”
“Raffaella.”
To put it a touch melodramatically, she was the kind who could heal even the dead—the sole healer among Eight Seconds. Her Awakening ability was Saint, ranked SSR.
Hildegard muttered something reluctant.
“Ah… that loud Italian woman… Well, I know of her, sure. Just not well acquainted or anything.”
That was enough for now.
As long as he could get a proper introduction, the rest would fall into place.
“Okay… excellent.”
The rest he could weave together himself.
* * *
Parting ways with Hildegard and returning to the hotel owned by Geum Sung wasn’t difficult at all.
What helped was that even the sub-guild master from Future Guild had come out to meet with the Metal Rhine representative, and given that he couldn’t refuse such hospitality, Moo Saeng and Hildegard were able to part naturally, as if strangers.
Moo Saeng threw himself onto the bed and asked a question.
“Wash, is there a fixed compensation rate for party play? Is there an optimal party size, after which efficiency starts to drop?”
[If you’re talking about marginal utility, sure, there’s something to that. Kekeke, but that’s efficiency in the pure sense. I’ll tell you straight—the more participants, the higher the difficulty and the better the rewards, that much is certain, Moo Saeng.]
Wash had a point.
But Moo Saeng couldn’t simply wait around for the sake of optimal growth.
“…I get that, but.”
There was no way to gather ninety-nine people at a time, or eight hundred and thirty, who had no interest in Contribution Degree and only wanted to climb higher floors.
Even with unlimited time, it couldn’t be done.
Everyone involved in the party had to coordinate schedules perfectly.
You’d have to control them all flawlessly.
‘That’s like dreaming. Even Chairman Geum Byeong Chul couldn’t pull that off. Fundamentally, as long as we’re human, it’s impossible.’
Even money had its limits in bending things to your will.
‘Not all of humanity’ could enter the Tower.
You had to have undergone Awakening.
The proportion of Awakened among humanity, their nations, their affiliations, and moreover the constraint that you couldn’t just recruit anyone at all…
And sure, in the lower floors, people might think ‘This guy will carry us through with artifacts and everything,’ and that confidence might take root.
But at the 30s, the 40s, the 50s?
With their lives on the line, how many would stay put for a little pocket money?
‘All things considered, probably around twenty at most. More likely less than that.’
At absolute maximum, a party of around fifteen was likely the sweet spot for the highest returns through pure Contribution Degree hoarding.
Under normal circumstances, maybe six to ten people…
Having done it once, Moo Saeng understood the practical constraints involved.
Once you thought it through that far, it became clear: this was a method anyone could conceive of, but no one could actually execute.
[The conference wraps up in two days, correct?]
[That’s right. We’ve had discussions on diverse and valuable topics today, and notably, not just domestic guilds but guilds across Asia have been expressing their willingness to lend support, which is a particularly distinctive aspect—.]
“Two days…”
On the television he’d left on some random channel, the Geum Sung conference was still streaming.
It wasn’t a topic that particularly interested Moo Saeng anyway.
The real purpose lay not in the conference itself, but in whatever dealings, contracts, or agreements between Geum Byeong Chul, Eight Seconds, and those who’d come to Korea.
‘To be precise, it’s about me—or rather, about Wash. Though their attitude is rather curious.’
So what were they scheming to do with Wash?
What was the real aim behind their apparent effort to scout him?
‘In Hildegard’s case, it’s straightforward—they asked for cooperation in analyzing the Tower’s technology and Wash’s abilities—.’line>
But the others, the various factions…
Buzz—!
“Hm?”
Moo Saeng’s smartphone vibrated as he was collecting his thoughts.
Who could be contacting him this evening?
If it were Park Hyun Gu, he would’ve called rather than sent a message. The thought crossed his mind even as—
something surfaced in Moo Saeng’s head.
And on his smartphone screen.
A notification appeared.
[Director acting alone. Southeast Asia contact, persuasion successful.]
“……Ah, a persistent bastard I can’t stand the sight of.”
The sender was Jang Ha Guk.
Word had come that Lee Eun Woo had begun acting recklessly, seizing the moment when the Awakened of the One Way Group from Southeast Asia had entered Korea.
[Tail warning. Geum Sung hotel]
Another vibration.
Moo Saeng’s brow furrowed as he read the message, typos and all.
It meant they’d already located his lodgings and were waiting nearby.
[Is that the same bastard who faltered even against that insect’s poison?]
“Yeah.”
[Kekekeke, how savage humans are. Primitive in every sense, yet so thoroughly vicious.]
“For what it’s worth, I agree this time. But honestly, there’s nothing to do about it. The Tower’s close by. I’ll just sync up schedules with Hyun Gu and the others and head into the Tower Lobby—what are they going to do then?”
[You won’t pull them into a Dungeon to face them?]
“I could, but… there’s no need. Hah, besides, this is a hotel owned by Geum Sung Guild, right? For them to rampage recklessly? For a fool with so little sense—”
And then he had to learn.
What an eighteen-year-old chaebol heir, raised with no restraint and clinging only to his pride,
could do when that very pride was trampled.
[Fire. Director’s gone mad]
What he might do.
How far he might go.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep———————……!!!!
[Fire alarm! Fire alarm! This is a real emergency! Guests, please remain calm and exit your rooms slowly, proceeding to the nearest emergency exit! I repeat: this is a real emergency—.]
“You insane bastard!”
Fire erupted in Geum Sung’s hotel.
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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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