Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 99

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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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Cheating Administrator’s Mythical Tower Climb (99)
The Royal Guard Commander’s expression darkened considerably.
“Even supposing that map did originate from human hands—and from a high-ranking official, no less!—how can you be certain it came from our own kingdom? Furthermore, we’ve yet to receive any report whatsoever concerning the fortress defenses in Bottleneck Canyon. For an invasion force of such magnitude to move, we would surely have detected signs of it by now, would we not?”
He fixed Kim Moo-saeng with a sharp gaze while speaking, all the while observing the reactions of those around him.
The person seated directly beside the Guard Commander was the one to answer him.
“You’re quite right, Guard Commander. No reports of unusual signs or reconnaissance findings have come in. Even if it weren’t Bottleneck Canyon’s fortress, a monster army of this scale would surely have been spotted by our observation towers throughout the realm.”
He was the Military Commander-in-Chief of the Rosal Kingdom’s regular forces.
Kim Moo-saeng answered.
“Then I’d like to ask both of you—are you admitting that foreign agents could obtain such detailed information about Bottleneck Canyon’s fortress defenses? Not only that, but information about the troop composition and numbers of the Rosal Kingdom’s major strongholds?”
Foreign personnel?
But the fortress that’s the immediate target of attack belongs to the Rosal Kingdom itself?
Is it even possible for foreign intelligence to extract such reliable information?
Of course, if you had a sufficiently skilled spy, it might be done.
“Uh, well, that is—”
“Ahem……”
But they couldn’t answer carelessly.
You let someone steal that information? A spy?
Isn’t it your job to prevent that?
A failure in counterintelligence.
Either way, someone would bear responsibility.
To say yes.
To say no was equally awkward.
“It would seem the information itself doesn’t contain particularly recent developments……. In that case, wouldn’t it be possible? That a map obtained by a secret agent was provided rather late……. Perhaps with the intent to sow internal discord in the Rosal Kingdom……. It would appear such intent could indeed be woven into this scenario.”
It was the Royal Palace’s chief mage who had rescued the two military officers.
The Royal Guard Commander immediately nodded in agreement.
“Yes, yes, quite so. Or rather, if they were diplomats, such information would certainly be within reach. The Dragon Slayer may not realize, but diplomacy, after all—”
“Quiet, quiet.”
King Phisya II calmed the increasingly heated atmosphere.
Only when everyone had fallen silent did the king speak.
He was not particularly sharp-minded.
“Still, I don’t think the Dragon Slayer would have failed to consider this far. To anticipate such turmoil, such a crisis……. Wouldn’t this emergency audience itself suggest he possesses even greater certainty than that?”
But his instincts were keen.
Kim Moo-saeng smiled slightly.
“Correct.”
Besides the rolled parchment—that is, the map—he had taken something else.
A blue mana stone.
The very object he’d taken from Odamara’s Tent because it seemed so out of place, and which at the time he couldn’t say precisely what it was or what it did.
Which meant Kim Moo-saeng would certainly have examined it.
* * *
When he brought his eyes close to the deep blue stone, patterns within it became visible.
“It’s like that feeling when we played marbles at the orphanage, but how did they carve patterns into this gem?”
[Cackle cackle cackle! Carve, you say. How barbarically crude your thinking remains, Kim Moo-saeng. They form naturally. The caster does—]
“No, I know well enough. This is a Mana Stone. A particularly high-grade one at that.”
[—Ahem, ahem!]
Mana Stone. Mana Amplification Stone. Mana Enhancement Stone.
The names varied slightly depending on who used them, but Kim Moo-saeng had no reason to be ignorant of their properties.
‘It’s certainly one of the essential artifacts for people with Attribute Magic Awakening Abilities.’
If someone possessed a Wind-type Awakening Ability?
The strength of their skills varied depending on how many Wind-attribute Mana Stones they possessed and at what level of quality they had acquired them.
In that sense, it was also why Attribute Magic Awakening Abilities received higher regard than Physical Enhancement types, which had no need for Mana Stones.
‘Most of them bear no patterns. And patterns, you see, are something like a fingerprint of whoever injected the mana.’
That was why it had felt so out of place.
Unlike ordinary Mana Stones—those that held mana in glass shards or marble-like objects—this was unmistakably close to the finest quality gemstone at first glance. The implication was that it possessed far greater mana-holding capacity.
And on top of that, it retained patterns.
The problem was that it had been in the tent of a mutant High Orc.
‘The creature couldn’t even use magic. Yet it wouldn’t make sense to give it to shaman trolls or other such beings……. Some kind of emergency reserve? No, more like—’
Evidence. Proof.
That was the correct interpretation.
When analyzed alongside the map, it became even clearer.
Why a High Orc incapable of casting magic had been given the finest Mana Stone.
No, perhaps……
‘He might have demanded it. As proof of betrayal, so to speak. He’d have told that collaborator to prove that handing over a Map wasn’t a trap. There had to be a threat element—that you could expose my identity at any time—so neither of us would stab the other in the back until the end.’
It was possible that Odamara, the mutant High Orc who’d been given the Map by someone inside the Rosal Kingdom, had demanded something in return.
How could anyone simply trust the detailed contents of a Map just because someone offered one?
What if it was a trap?
A high-intelligence mutant like Odamara, the sort born once a century if at all, couldn’t possibly have failed to think that far ahead.
Therefore, he would have demanded something from his partner—something that could ‘expose’ the other’s identity.
To use it as a kind of hostage.
“The problem is the marking though…… I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before. Wash, do you know whose marking this is?”
[Kekekeke! The one who gave this twisted it quite cunningly. The racial characteristics remain, but nothing specific enough to identify who exactly it is.]
Wash said.
“Racial characteristics—ah……. Ah!? That’s it! Right! There was something like that in the Kingdom quest on Floor 40 or 41, wasn’t there!?”
A place where, naturally enough, since it concerned the Kingdom, a Dungeon Sherpa’s knowledge and experience weren’t particularly necessary.
Therefore, Floor 40 was one of the dungeons Kim Moo-saeng hadn’t visited many times.
But he hadn’t never set foot there either.
Above all, he had his information network.
Since he could never know when or which dungeon a client would want to visit, it was his job to acquire information about every place accessible and do his utmost to guide them through it.
Therefore, Kim Moo-saeng remembered.
Floor 40, the general Clear conditions in that place themed around the Rosal Kingdom.
Slay the Kingdom’s traitor—a Dark Elf.
And the Dark Elf branded as a traitor was——!?
* * *
“What do you make of this, Master Tozka?”
The current Royal Palace Wizard of the Rosal Kingdom, Tozka.
A Dark Elf who had transformed into human form.
“I believe that if we investigate the energy contained within this Mana Stone, we can determine who’s plotting the Monster Alliance. Do you agree?”
Kim Moo-saeng carefully held out the Blue Mana Stone.
The Royal Palace Wizard Tozka looked between Kim Moo-saeng, the Mana Stone, and the King’s face in turn, then spoke sharply.
“Th-this is a ridiculous slander! How could that possibly have originated from a monster——”
“Why don’t we also examine the handwriting on the Map? The monsters’ movement routes were drawn by monsters themselves, but the information about each kingdom must have been written in by the person who gave the Map.”
Of course, Kim Moo-saeng wasn’t the sort to sit idle and listen.
He was already certain.
He’d already acquired on Floor 11 the intelligence elements that would only be revealed on Floor 40.
There was no escaping the plan Kim Moo-saeng had devised to Clear Floor 27!
“That’s also nonsense! At present, when the monsters’ invasion hasn’t even occurred! How can you claim such evidence would hold any weight!? No matter how renowned the Dragon Slayer is! And furthermore, the mere fact that you possess such a thing doesn’t make sense! If that were so, then how could such an absurd plan—monsters uniting to invade—possibly come to fruition!?”
Tozka’s face flushed as he poured out his words.
Even so, what he said held some logic.
One cannot punish someone for a crime not yet committed.
His words were right.
“Yes, which is why I’m proposing this. If Your Majesty would station someone trustworthy at the fortress in Bottleneck Canyon…… couldn’t we go and verify it directly together? If necessary, we could even capture the ringleader who’s gathered the monsters.”
And this was logic that Kim Moo-saeng must surely have already considered.
Because the incident would happen in three days regardless—that was already set.
[Kekekekeke! I swear, the way this fellow talks! You crude thing, you came and asked me about this specifically, didn’t you!? You were checking with me beforehand what would happen if we went to that fortress right now, what might occur there—is that right, Kim Moo-saeng!]
Hadn’t Kim Moo-saeng already asked Wash about it?
That the invasion would begin in three days.
Time Paradox, and whatever else—there was no need to worry about such things.
‘The invasion and my actions will both play out as shown, he said. I didn’t fully understand what he meant by data fragments and such, but in any case—the event will definitely happen. That’s what matters.’
Wash, the Tower’s administrator, had confirmed it.
That was the end of it.
The Map.
The Mana Stone with a marking left like a fingerprint.
The invasion that would actually begin in three days.
There was no way out for Tozka.
“Th-that’s——. That is…….”
“Can you explain how that came to be, Master Wizard?”
King Phisya II spoke.
The Prime Minister was already pressed against the King’s side, holding equipment related to protective magic.
“I don’t believe the Master Wizard would do such a thing…… but I’d ask that you remove your hand from that Wand. I recommend you avoid any action that might raise the slightest suspicion before His Majesty.”
The Royal Guard Commander was the same.
While seeming to calm Tozka as they faced each other, his footsteps were already beginning to shift incrementally.
A position that could shield the king while also remaining close enough to rush in and subdue him at a moment’s notice.
Tozka raised both hands.
In the posture of surrender, he muttered under his breath.
“……Odamara, that bastard……. I can’t fathom how this happened.”
His voice transformed mid-sentence.
The elderly man who appeared to be in his seventies was gone.
“A, a Dark Elf!? How-.”
“Wait, stop! I’m arresting you right now-.”
“You’re going to arrest me when you didn’t even know I was a Dark Elf? This is absurd.”
The Dark Elf, who appeared to be in his thirties, let out a dry chuckle.
In that instant, black energy coalesced in the Dark Elf’s hands.
Raising both hands had never been a gesture of surrender…….
“Your Highness! Protect His Highness, everyone!”
“You bastard! Dark-. Hack!?”
Whoooooosh─────────!
It was meant to blow off the ceiling of the Royal Palace!
The sheer backlash of the unleashed energy alone staggered the Royal Guard Commander who had been charging forward, and an overwhelming force stripped the “roof” clean off the palace.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…….
Amidst cascading debris and the chaos erupting before the throne as key figures, including the king himself, were shielded.
Tozka drifted upward, ascending rapidly into the open air.
“Archers! Archers! Target him! Summon the Royal Wizard Division! Issue attack orders on him immediately! Anyone who refuses will be considered an accomplice to treason!”
The Military Commander-in-Chief moved swiftly, but it was already too late.
Tozka, already risen into the sky, clicked his tongue and gazed down from above.
The Dark Elf Tozka looked at Kim Moo-saeng and spoke.
“Dragon Slayer, I’ll remember you. Once I’ve confirmed how this turns out, I’ll come for you again-. Huh!?”
And his expression twisted in an instant.
Tap───.
───Tap───.
──────Tap───.
“You think I’d just let you leave after hearing the same old line? Am I an idiot?”
Kim Moo-saeng, who had launched into the air in a heartbeat, closed the distance between himself and Tozka.
─────────Crack.
“What, how-. Hak……!”
A Short Dagger lodged itself in the Dark Elf’s shoulder.
Click, Kim Moo-saeng pressed the button on the dagger’s hilt.
The highly concentrated Slayken venom collected in the grip of the Doku-Sa (SR) was injected directly into the Dark Elf’s body.

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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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