Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 97

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

Mythic Tower Climbing as a Cheating Administrator (97)
For Moo-saeng, it was a space worth casting a glance around — something he hadn’t found interesting in quite some time.
A bright, sunny day where sunlight glimmered: here lay the greatest city of the Rosal Kingdom, and its capital.
It was as if the best aspects of 17th and 18th century Europe had been transplanted wholesale and expanded into an entire world.
“Killing me.”
“After seeing nothing but barren wastelands—”
“The contrast really stands out since the last floor was a dark forest. Is this intentional, do you think?”
[Kekeke, of course. I didn’t design this floor’s layout myself, but!]
The vast streets were wide enough for three carriages to pass simultaneously, and especially in the district where the market had formed, the throngs of people practically vibrated with energy.
Since most of the stages from Floor 1 through 26 had emphasized natural environments, arriving suddenly at such a space made one’s head spin.
‘No one can hear anyway, so why is he spouting off like that. Sigh, well, at least we’re here now. Back when I was a Dungeon Sherpa, not many people sought this place out — I can’t even remember the last time I came.’
Moo-saeng dismissed Wash’s boastful chatter lightly and checked the system message once more.
[Persuade the king to prepare for the threat of a monster invasion.]
[Time remaining: 240:00:00]
Persuade the king within ten days.
‘That “persuasion” is actually a pretty delicate point.’
According to what was known, all one needed to do was instill in him the *resolve* to expand military preparations and strengthen defenses against the possibility of a large-scale monster invasion.
It wasn’t a matter of signing off on some document or treaty outright.
It wasn’t a matter of recruiting soldiers within ten days.
Just change the king’s attitude, his resolve?
“Even back when I was a Sherpa, hardly anyone would visit this place. Right, Moo-saeng?”
“That’s true. The siege at the fortress on Floor 11… all we need to do is confirm that actual combat took place there and that we barely managed to hold it. And by timeline standards, today is also ‘three days before the fortress gets attacked.'”
They already had the evidence lined up, practically speaking.
The siege at the fortress on Floor 11 — the very place where they had to hold out for fifteen days.
Floor 27’s “now” was three days before that time…!
Shin Hyun-dong tilted his head curiously and asked.
“So we just do nothing and it clears? Does the tower have something like that?”
“We can’t be completely idle, obviously — we did come here after experiencing Floor 11. The attack starts three days from now, and the Express Courier takes three days to reach here. In other words, six days from now, an urgent courier arrives before the king and requests reinforcements… at that point, the Clear condition usually gets satisfied just by explaining what scale the monster invasion is at, from nearby.”
Moo-saeng answered.
The strategy for Floor 27.
But Kim Ji-yoon tilted her head.
“…Isn’t that basically what Hyun-dong said? There’s nothing to do for six days anyway… and even if we miss the timing on day six, from the Floor 11 quest’s perspective, the reinforcements still arrived, didn’t they? Then that means the current king must have agreed to dispatch reinforcements.”
Either way, there was nothing to do.
Wasn’t it saying that if they simply enjoyed this place for six days, the floor would more or less clear itself?
“Exactly. Which is why in the Dungeon Sherpa industry, almost nobody comes to Floor 27 professionally. You all haven’t visited the 27th dungeon much, have you?”
Moo-saeng chuckled in agreement with the statement.
Therefore, Floor 27 required no Sherpa.
“I’ve come once just to see people, but… yeah, that’s right.”
Most Awakeners who were adept at gathering information treated Floor 27 as a “section where you could take it easy.”
Only one person — Park Hyun-gu — harbored doubts.
“But Moo-saeng, what about us—”
“Shh.”
The siege at the fortress on Floor 11 was normally cleared by holding out for fifteen days.
But what about them?
Only two people climbed Floor 11 — Moo-saeng and Park Hyun-gu.
If “this” was “that”…?
“Anyway! See that bed marker over there? That’s an inn building for Awakeners. Awakeners can order meals and alcohol for free, and rent rooms too. Just settle in and enjoy yourselves. Oh, and unlike the tents on Floor 11, regular NPCs come and go there, so be careful not to start trouble with anyone!”
Moo-saeng pointed to a three-story building on one side of the Commercial District.
Once he’d made everyone aware of their definite base of operations, Moo-saeng smoothly stepped back.
“Then everyone enjoy yourselves! Until the Clear message appears.”
“Moo-saeng, where are you going?”
Park Hyun-gu asked.
Moo-saeng grinned.
Clear automatically?
So it’s a section to take it easy because the odds were high?
“I have work to do.”
But Moo-saeng was not that kind of person.
* * *
“Citron Jam for sale, Citron Jam! Fresh-made, just put up!”
“Werewolf Exorcism Talismans right here! Essential gear for adventurers!”
“Shoes made from kobold leather, friend! Those kobolds are in heat these days, so the leather’s extra supple, don’t you know!?”
Listening to the hawking cries—whether solicitation or jest—Moo-saeng smiled to himself.
Certainly, when you found yourself in such a place amid modern material civilization, it was only natural that your breath would catch—that was his first impression.
‘And… now that I think of it, I’m beginning to understand Murometz’s feelings too.’
The second impression was: what on earth was the structure of this place?
What Murometz had negotiated with Moo-saeng through the Abyss Contract was the desire to leave the tower along with all the Giant Race.
Leave the tower? Was such a thing even possible?
Did that mean they had been ‘captured and dragged’ into the tower?
At the very least, it meant they were aware of what lay beyond the tower and harbored something like longing for that place?
If that were true, then what was this human kingdom now?
What kind of structure did this fantastical world truly possess?
[Every time I see it, what a primitive world it is. Kim Moo-saeng, surely you don’t expect to enjoy it?]
Wash clicked his tongue as he surveyed his surroundings.
There was one reason Moo-saeng hadn’t asked either Murometz or Wash about it.
Because there was no way to get a proper answer.
“Well, below Floor 30, there isn’t much else around, but… Floors 30 and 40 have plenty of them, don’t they? You’ll see all kinds of them soon enough—even quests about searching for new continents and sailing expeditions. No need to enjoy it right now.”
[True enough. Kekeke, besides, your purpose is to Clear this floor, not to enjoy yourself in the first place.]
“Exactly. So anyway, how do you think the Adjustment will work out?”
It was curious, but not critical information at the moment.
Moo-saeng quickly brushed away his wandering thoughts and focused.
Regarding the Clear of Floor 27, there were indeed clear variables to consider.
One: how the multi-party Adjustment would be applied.
Two: if this floor was linked to Floor 11, which Moo-saeng and Park Hyun-gu had Cleared, would the fact that they’d dismantled the monster coalition in just four days be taken into account?
Wash answered Moo-saeng’s question.
[The persuasion difficulty will go up. I don’t know exactly where the fifteen-person standard cuts off, but kekekeke! In the worst case, the king could treat an Express Courier as ‘false reporting.’]
“So you’re saying I might have to go there myself and come back? Gather physical evidence of the monsters and bring it back?”
Without clear proof, the king might suppress the report entirely.
In other words, there was a possibility they’d end up failing the quest and ultimately face ‘death’ if they simply sat idle.
Of course, what Moo-saeng was worried about now wasn’t failure.
[That would be one method. In that case, it might be wise to depart early, Kim Moo-saeng. The additional condition is persuading the king within five days.]
Complete the quest in five days instead of the allotted ten, and you receive bonus rewards.
Naturally, Moo-saeng wasn’t about to overlook that.
“…But if it comes to that, could I end up running into ‘myself’ who’s already there? No, that doesn’t make sense, does it? Even so, I’d be there alongside myself—”
[Kekekekeke! Of course. The invasion and your movements will all be displayed as they happened.]
“Really? Does that even make sense? So the me from the past… or should I say the me from the future? Anyway, the me who was clearing Floor 11—”
[A data fragment. By now. Not you.]
A simple clarification.
Wash cut through the confusion about time—a question that always muddied the waters—with ease.
Don’t overthink it; focus on the present.
“Hmm, regardless… you’re saying it’s possible, then.”
[Don’t you understand how the tower’s power works, Kim Moo-saeng? You saw what I could do in Dungeon 67, and still you doubt the tower?]
Time had rewound.
Moo-saeng himself had briefly been split into two.
And Wash had only just exceeded eighty percent.
Within a tower where other administrators operated at full capacity, there was nothing impossible.
Moo-saeng nodded and asked.
The additional condition was persuading the king within five days.
And?
“The hidden condition hasn’t changed, right?”
[Didn’t I tell you that was something you couldn’t achieve, Kim Moo-saeng?]
There was a hidden condition.
Wash had warned him not to get greedy about something impossible anyway.
Having lived as a Dungeon Sherpa, Moo-saeng had never even heard rumors of a Hidden Clear on Floor 27, but now…
“Hehe, so that’s the thing. Whether or not… well, we’ll have to see.”
Things were different now.
Moo-saeng grinned and fell silent.
Clang—! At that instant, two Halberds were thrust roughly to block the entrance.
“State your name and your business.”
Moo-saeng looked at the stern-faced guard and cleared his throat.
“I seek an audience with the king to deliver an urgent report. The matters I wish to address are an unprecedented coalition of monsters, preparations for invasion of the fortress located in Bottleneck Gorge, and…”
And then he spoke.
Information about the fortress siege he had cleared on Floor 11.
He mentioned an event that, by present reckoning, “had not yet occurred”—
“This is an emergency audience to identify traitors who have received this information from the home country, individuals from within the kingdom who would betray not only the realm but possibly all of humanity.”
Kim Moo-saeng’s strategy was to reveal that such a matter originated from someone within the kingdom itself.
The guards’ uncomfortable expressions lingered only briefly before a knight in resplendent armor approached.
“This hardly sounds like a matter for jest. How have you come by such knowledge? If you’ve brought forth this claim without a shred of evidence, you’ll face severe punishment—”
“I have evidence.”
Kim Moo-saeng quickly withdrew something from his Dungeon Sherpa pack.
He didn’t reveal it all, but the implication that “concrete proof” existed was enough.
The armored knight’s expression twisted further.
“I, that is… such judgment cannot fall to me… I am Sir Lark of the Royal Bodyguard. Who are you?”
With his white cloak billowing, the knight Lark, who commanded the palace sentries, posed the question.
Kim Moo-saeng bowed lightly with proper courtesy, then tugged at his tunic to reveal what lay beneath.
More precisely, not his bare flesh, but a thin, blue undergarment.
To be more specific—
“I am Kim Moo-saeng, Dragon Slayer.”
It was a protective suit woven from the scales of a Blue Dragon.
Lark’s eyes went wide.
[Dragon Slayer]
One who has slain a dragon.
Higher beings recognize those who have killed their own kind. Whether such recognition proves favorable or hostile depends on the Dragon Slayer’s conduct and choices. The name of every Dragon Slayer spreads throughout the human world.
“That is—ah, I understand! I shall report this at once—no, d-dragon Slayer, it is an honor to meet you!”
Lark’s cloak billowed as he dashed into the palace.
[Kekeke, you won’t get far with that alone… what are you thinking, Kim Moo-saeng?]
Even Wash couldn’t predict what he intended.
Kim Moo-saeng simply answered by drawing a V with his hand.

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