I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 13

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

Chapter 13
The Apostle raised his hand.
In that instant, a System Message materialized before Han Seol-ah’s eyes.
It was the same peculiar message she’d witnessed at the Press Conference Hall—written in golden letters that radiated an otherworldly power.
[The world is calling upon you…]
[Will you answer?]
[Yes] [No]
The content differed from before.
But the choices remained identical.
Han Seol-ah selected [Yes].
In that moment.
Pop!
Han Seol-ah vanished in an instant.
“!”
Min Ji-hee and Jin Cheon-jin jolted in shock.
“The disappearance that occurred at the Press Conference Hall…!”
“…So the Apostle was the one who summoned her back then as well.”
The Apostle nodded.
“I will return her in four days, at this same hour.”
“That would be when Scathaha makes her appearance.”
“It will not be late.”
The Apostle departed.
Only after his presence had completely vanished did Jin Cheon-jin and Min Ji-hee exhale the breath they’d been holding.
“…So he wasn’t threatening to kill her, but rather imposing trials for her growth. Our daughter was far wiser than we gave her credit for.”
“Indeed.”
Min Ji-hee, her maternal heart having aged ten years in those moments, wiped her chest and rose with a hardened expression.
“Let’s return as well.”
“…There will be much to prepare.”
“The subjugation operation will require the Association Chairman to oversee it.”
“Suddenly? You’re not going to handle it?”
“I have something I need to prepare.”
Min Ji-hee’s eyes gleamed with insight.
“He emphasized that this was a ‘first request,’ and instructed us to establish countermeasures so you could operate in this world without obstruction. What do you think that means?”
“…Wasn’t he simply telling us to prepare because it was necessary?”
“If the speaker were an ordinary person, perhaps. But our opponent is the Apostle—the agent of a transcendent being. We cannot afford such simplistic thinking.”
“Then?”
“He’s testing us. Whether we’re useful chess pieces, or merely incompetent luggage that can’t even follow instructions.”
“…Incompetent luggage?”
“From a transcendent’s perspective, there’s no use for an incompetent subordinate. So we must prove it—that we’re reasonably intelligent and worth employing.”
“So what do you intend to do?”
“I’ll show you and prove it. My worth, and ours.”
“….”
“Hehe. How delightful. A battle of wits against someone superior to me.”
‘…This is getting complicated.’
Leaving Min Ji-hee to her ominous laughter, Jin Cheon-jin quietly opened his phone.
There was one message.
[From: Kim Min-seok]
[Old man, your time runs out today. After that, no amount of crying or begging will help. Don’t regret it later—decide quickly.]
It was a threatening message from the traitor Kim Min-seok.
Under normal circumstances, Jin Cheon-jin would have smoked a cigarette and agonized over it.
Pfft.
But to the current Jin Cheon-jin, it was laughable nonsense.
Jin Cheon-jin replied with just a single character.
[middle finger]
And then he blocked Kim Min-seok’s number.
* * *
“…Has this old bastard lost his mind?”
Kim Min-seok’s head burned hot.
‘I was trying to look after him out of old loyalty, and he dares mock me?’
Grind.
His teeth clenched.
“Phew.”
But the heat subsided quickly.
He had to report this to the Guild Master now.
“Damn it.”
The multinational mercenary organization Pandemonium.
The name was something that might remind one of an immature middle schooler’s diary…
But its true nature was anything but cute.
Thud!
Someone roughly bumped into Kim Min-seok’s shoulder as he hurried down the corridor.
“Get out of the way, you idiot.”
The man who’d collided with him in the hallway was the one wanted on the news yesterday as a “family arsonist and murderer.” But in this place, criminals like him—mere “Class 3” offenders—were more common than rolling stones.
You had to be at least “Class 2,” an executive rank, to be a serial terrorist worthy of exchanging business cards among these madmen.
That was Pandemonium.
But… the being Kim Min-seok now had to face was on an entirely different level from them.
‘The Guild Master.’
He was a Class 1 criminal standing at the apex of those vicious offenders, and one of only three individuals on Earth marked for “immediate execution on sight, no questions asked.”
A living calamity—the “Black Label.”
As Kim Min-seok stood before the door where that monster breathed, his legs began to tremble of their own accord.
In exchange for granting Kim Min-seok asylum, Pandemonium demanded exactly two things.
First, make South Korea indebted to Pandemonium.
Second, recruit Han Seol-ah into Pandemonium.
The means didn’t matter. All that mattered was delivering results.
At first, Kim Min-seok didn’t think the conditions were particularly difficult.
After all, he possessed the Frost Dragon—a creature with perfect counter abilities against Han Seol-ah’s freeze immunity.
An enemy she could never defeat.
And humans inevitably break under insurmountable crises.
That was Kim Min-seok’s philosophy.
‘Damn it, damn it!’
When he first heard that Han Seol-ah had gone missing.
Kim Min-seok thought the moment had arrived.
He believed that Han Seol-ah, a hunter so righteous that one of her titles was “Guardian,” had finally had her spirit broken.
But Han Seol-ah returned.
Incomprehensibly, devastatingly stronger.
And with that power, she pierced through the freeze immunity and erased the Frost Dragon.
‘How on earth did she break through it…?’
But Kim Min-seok didn’t give up.
An alert had come to him as well, nominally still belonging to South Korea.
An alert that the true Frost Dragon, Scathaha, would appear in five days.
‘This time, she’ll definitely break. I’m certain. I haven’t failed yet!’
The Guild Master’s Chamber—where ten enter, five never return.
He would have to enter there now.
“Huff. Huff.”
Before the chamber door, he steadied himself several times.
Gulp.
The moment Kim Min-seok swallowed.
“Come in.”
A quiet voice came from beyond the door.
“Yes, sir.”
Kim Min-seok bowed at a ninety-degree angle and carefully stepped inside.
“Don’t stammer. That’s one.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Whether you stammer or hesitate. Don’t you understand the fundamental reason I find it displeasing? That’s two.”
“I will correct myself.”
Kim Min-seok’s nape instantly grew damp with sweat.
Counting numbers.
It was the Guild Master’s habit.
Whatever crime was committed.
Whatever transgression occurred.
The Guild Master would forgive the same mistake exactly twice—no exceptions.
And the moment he repeats that third mistake, I will kill him without fail.
*Gulp.*
Kim Min-seok straightened his back with an audible creak.
However, he kept his eyes lowered as much as possible, careful not to meet the Guild Master’s gaze.
“The report?”
“The Frost Dragon has been eliminated. Following that, the break period has been moved up to five days, and we’ve received word that an Ancient Blue Dragon—Scathaha—a superior variant of the Frost Dragon, will appear.”
“What about Han Seol-ah?”
“The reason for her sudden increase in power remains unknown, but our assessment suggests that defeating Scathaha will be impossible for her.”
“On what grounds?”
“This entire analysis comes from The Observer.”
*Hmm—*
A bored, dismissive snort.
“If that creature’s analysis says so, it’s probably correct. So?”
“Han Seol-ah will fail to protect South Korea, and her spirit will surely break soon after. When that moment comes, I will absolutely bring her into our fold.”
“This is your plan, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Let’s see. You failed to keep your word during the Frost Dragon incident, so that’s one strike.”
*…*
“If you fail this time, that makes two strikes, doesn’t it?”
*Keke.*
The Guild Master laughed as though amused.
The air in the room grew heavy. No—it actually became heavier.
*Creak—*
The ceiling and floor screamed under an invisible force, and a crushing weight like iron shackles descended upon Kim Min-seok’s shoulders.
In the pitch darkness, only the Guild Master’s eyes burned crimson, fixed upon him.
Like a predator toying with its prey.
“You know my nature, don’t you? I’m saying I’ll overlook failure this time.”
“Yes.”
“But I think you’ll fail this time anyway. Do you know why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because your plan is missing one very important element.”
With that, the Guild Master fell silent.
As though amused, as though delighted.
Only the chilling, crystalline laughter of a mischievous imp echoed intermittently.
*Gulp.*
“If you would tell me, I could supplement that aspect and devise a proper plan—”
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why should I do that?”
Sweat began to soak through Kim Min-seok’s waistband.
Cold sweat poured from my skin like water.
Kim Min-seok made an effort to keep his words measured, speaking slowly and deliberately.
“Han Seol-ah’s joining Pandemonium would be of great benefit as well···.”
“That’s not it, you idiot.”
Keke keke.
“You don’t even know why Han Seol-ah became stronger. Why she became stronger. Why she could pierce through the Frost Dragon’s ice reduction. Why. Exactly why. Do you know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then wouldn’t that same ‘why’ be at play in this Scathach incident as well?”
“The probability···.”
“How can you be certain that what’s already happened won’t happen again? Are you The Observer?”
“No, sir.”
Kim Min-seok squeezed his eyes shut.
A chill ran down the back of his neck.
“I think this time, even if it fails, it’ll be fine. It’s only been once so far, right?”
“···.”
“Instead, I’m changing the mission. Find out why Han Seol-ah became stronger.”
“Understood.”
“Go.”
Kim Min-seok bowed at lightning speed.
Then he backed away and rushed out of the room.
“Ah.”
Just before he could leave the room.
At the sound of that voice, Kim Min-seok’s hand froze on the door.
“You never did break your habit of cutting off your words, did you?”
“···.”
“What a waste.”
Hmm—
With that snort, Kim Min-seok slowly closed the door.
“Gasp. Gasp.”
And he slid down right there.
“Gasp. Huff.”
Kim Min-seok frantically touched his neck and waist.
The places where cold sweat had erupted.
Blood stained his hands as he wiped away the perspiration.
More precisely, the places where the Guild Master’s ‘ability’ had been targeting.
Weapons that would have burrowed in and torn my body apart the moment I made that ‘third’ mistake.
“Ugh. Grrgh.”
Just being aimed at was enough to leave me like this.
Me, who was once South Korea’s greatest tank. This body···!
“Ooh, Min-seok.”
The massive Black man approached Kim Min-seok, who had collapsed to the ground.
“F-f-fuck off, you bastard.”
“suck. I came looking for you because I was worried.”
“Huh….”
“You know my epithet too, suck?”
“···Yes. ‘The Observer.'”
“YES. Even the boss trusts my analysis. You saw it just now, right?”
A nod.
Kim Min-seok affirmed it.
Had this man not helped him, he would have failed to answer the Guild Master’s question.
After repeating foolish answers that failed to satisfy the Master, he would have been torn to death.
“I’ll give you one more piece of advice. That’s okay, suck?”
“···Yes.”
The Black man chuckled darkly.
“Don’t do it.”
“···What?”
“Don’t do that (Don’t do that). Literally, suck.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Tap tap.
The large, thick hand of the Black man patted Kim Min-seok’s shoulder with heavy thuds.
Kim Min-seok’s face contorted from the sudden pain.
“Tell the boss you failed. He overlooks it up to twice, you know? Got it?”
The Black man.
The man called ‘The Observer’ lowered his voice.
And he whispered quietly.
“‘That thing’ must not be touched.”
“···?”
The Black man chuckled once more, rose from his seat, and left.
Kim Min-seok’s face, left behind, was filled with confusion.
But he could not ignore The Observer’s words.
Who was The Observer?
The only one in the entire world who held the rank of ‘EX-grade’ despite his awakened ability remaining unknown—was he not a Hunter?
The only ability The Observer displayed was knowing everything about every demonic beast that emerged from the Tower.
He had earned the title of EX-grade with this single ability alone.
Literally every demonic beast.
Even if a demonic beast never before seen burst out during a Break, The Observer knew what it was.
As if he had seen it beforehand from somewhere.
That is why his epithet was ‘The One Who Observed—The Observer.’
Such a man had warned him to “not do it.” Ordinarily, the best course would be to tuck tail and flee.
But.
“What the hell am I supposed to do about this?”
Kim Min-seok wrapped his hands around his neck. The Guild Master’s killing intent still pricked at the nape of his neck.
‘If I don’t go, I die right now. What good is a warning about the future?’
The death looming before his eyes swallowed the uncertain terror of what lay ahead.
Kim Min-seok dialed with trembling hands.
“Yeah, it’s me. I need to get into South Korea urgently.”
* * *
Watching Han Seol-ah vanish, I rushed back home.
I teleported to the place where I’d first met Han Seol-ah, and sure enough, she was there waiting.
I immediately abducted her and brought her to the Safe House.
Perhaps because she’d already experienced this once, Han Seol-ah didn’t panic.
Rather, she seemed to be quietly steeling her resolve.
A face bearing an unbreakable will.
This was Han Seol-ah’s true self.
‘Impressive.’
I should live up to that determination.
Without any further discussion, I began the sparring match immediately.
With a thunderous sound, a flag flew in and planted itself.
[Exhale.]
Han Seol-ah began to focus as she breathed out.
The reason I’d staged it as if I had something special for Han Seol-ah—”I’ll kill you 200 times.”
It was because I intended to train her through sparring matches for all the remaining time we had.
But this sparring had a limit of 50 matches per day.
Four days remained.
Fifty times a day.
That’s why it came to 200 matches.
And I intended to win all 200 of these sparring matches.
Of course.
That doesn’t mean I’d win using the power of Nebula’s class, the Void Knight.
That wouldn’t constitute training at all.
I’d switched my class beforehand.
To the same ice-attribute magic user as Han Seol-ah.
A Frost Mage.
I pressed the hotkey and began casting.
[…Frost magic?]
I could see Han Seol-ah’s confusion.
A smirk escaped me.
It was simply amusing.
‘Surely she doesn’t think she can win against the same attribute?’
Nebula had transformed into a Frost Mage.
Even if Han Seol-ah has become EX-rank.
I will never lose within Lost Honor.
[Glacial Flash]
Click—I activated the spell.
Boom!
Han Seol-ah was dead.
[You have won the sparring match]
Once more.
“Focus, Han Seol-ah.”
Otherwise… you’ll simply die a meaningless death.

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