I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 27

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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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Chapter 27
This watch was remarkably clever.
When it mentioned a false identity, I’d assumed it would simply create a new one for me.
Keeping my appearance and voice intact, just changing the name.
Of course, even that alone was extraordinary.
To possess an alias in South Korea, where everything is controlled by Big Brother’s gaze? It was almost unbelievable.
“Can I register with this face right now?”
[…I detect that you are wearing an artifact. Is this correct?]
“Interesting.”
It could even discern that?
[Shall I register you with your current face as is?]
“Yes.”
As for the name… well.
After long deliberation, I decided to keep it unchanged.
Why?
Because everyone who remembered my name had long since died or vanished.
Even if someone happened to recognize my name.
With a different face, would they connect the dots? They’d chalk it up to coincidence—a homonym.
And the most important reason.
I wanted to belong to my country under my own name.
‘The sorrow of a stateless existence—farewell as of today.’
Thus, I am Ha Sung-woon.
“Who am I?”
I ask, gazing into the mirror.
My reflection answers back.
“A hunter of South Korea, Ha Sung-woon.”
Ah.
What stirring words.
That I could become a citizen of South Korea.
The emotion was overwhelming.
[Agent, there is an important matter you have yet to confirm.]
As I stood gazing into the mirror for some time.
The watch called out to me.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
[I have a model designation: Snow White.]
“Calling you that every time would be cumbersome. Snow White… that’s like Snow White from the fairy tale? AIs don’t have gender anyway.”
[Correct.]
“From now on, your name is ‘Whitey.’ Since you’re white, after all.”
[…Understood.]
“So what’s this important matter?”
A hologram materialized once more.
[Agent Preferential Account – Operational Funds]
Interesting.
Numbers were displayed beneath it.
One zero, two zeros, three zeros…
[10,000,000C]
“Wow.”
A full ten million coins.
“That’s quite generous.”
It was enough to acquire a single S-rank Hunter’s main equipment piece.
‘This is like liquidating the Hunter Association’s entire foundation and going all-in on me as a stock.’
[We’ve prepared only perfectly clean funds for you to use freely, Agent.]
“The Korean Hunter Association is so notoriously broke that even I know about it—how did they scrape together this much?”
Modern nations clear the Tower and receive Artifacts as rewards.
They sell those Artifacts for enormous profits.
With those profits, they acquire better Artifacts.
The Artifacts accumulated this way are given to parties that assault the Tower—’Clearing Teams’ or ‘Climber’ parties.
Armed with superior equipment, those parties clear the Tower and obtain even better Artifacts.
Other nations prepare for the Tower through this virtuous cycle.
They’re also growing by selling byproducts obtained in this process at premium prices.
However, South Korea is the only nation that has endured without ever boarding this cycle.
Unable to clear the Tower, they cannot obtain Artifacts either.
This is why South Korea became a nation that produces no Artifacts.
That’s why South Korea is impoverished.
There’s nothing to sell.
All they manage is to dispatch troops to other nations’ emergencies and salvage a few pieces that way.
How did such a poor nation gather this much money?
[We understand it was funded through the personal assets of the Association’s executive leadership.]
“Those people had this much money?”
[…The three leaders’ accounts have been confirmed empty. More precisely, we believe Hunter Jang Ho-hyun, known as the ‘Silent Assassin,’ hastily liquidated a rare collection he’d accumulated while frequenting the Black Market.]
“Is… is that even allowed?”
[It appears the Hunter Association regards your importance very highly.]
I truly am grateful for this.
But.
“This won’t be enough.”
Regardless, I need to think pragmatically.
These coins must naturally be allocated toward preparing for the emergency situation of ‘Resonar’s appearance.’
I’ve already drawn heavily on Black Market points, but there are certainly Artifacts that can only be obtained through legitimate channels.
“Is there anything else I need to verify?”
[No.]
“Then…”
I rummaged through the computer.
I had a bucket list written down of things I wanted to do once I became a Hunter.
[1. Explore the Hunter Network]
The first item proudly claimed the top spot.
The official internet exclusive to Hunters!
Trying out the Hunter Network.
“Turn on the Hunter Network for me.”
* * *
Of course, when I added the Hunter Network to my bucket list, my intention was to mess around in the community and have some fun.
But I didn’t have the luxury for that right now.
Unfortunately.
“I need a Hunter profile report.”
Since this was my first time using the Hunter Network, I had no idea where to find it.
“How do I use this site?”
…Was this digital illiteracy?
Me, in my prime!
Me, who had nothing but a computer at home!
Struggling to navigate the internet!
[Would you like me to help?]
I had become like an elderly person wandering in front of a kiosk.
It felt like a kind young person had appeared to help me.
“Thanks, young one.”
[Not at all.]
The user interface was quite different from the Darknet. Right.
Kindly, Nebula activated a hologram for me.
[Regarding 2 S-rank Hunters belonging to South Korea…]
“Min Ji-hee and Jin Cheon-jin, right? I don’t need those two… Actually, let me check Min Ji-hee’s information.”
I needed to compare it with the compendium.
[Min Ji-hee] [S]
[Affiliation: Korean Hunter Association]
[Abilities: Classified]
“?”
What is this?
That’s it?
“…Let me check Han Seol-ah.”
[Han Seol-ah] [EX]
[Affiliation: Korean Hunter Association]
[Abilities: Frost Manifestation]
So that really is all there is.
“…Is there a difference in the quality of information available on the Hunter Network and what you’re showing me?”
[I’m displaying only the ‘surface-level information’ registered in the official database. Hunters tend to conceal their cards, after all.]
“…That’s problematic.”
The information was far more shallow than I’d anticipated.
[Agent. If you wish, shall I scrape the ‘hidden’ data?]
“Hidden?”
[Gossip from anonymous forums, deleted articles, mentions in private communities, even private posts from personal social media accounts.]
Snow White’s hologram flickered red.
[Snow White is an AI specialized in information gathering. If official channels are blocked, opening unofficial routes is my specialty.]
“Oh.”
I felt the corners of my mouth rise.
Right. This was Min Ji-hee’s creation—it couldn’t possibly be just an internet search engine.
“Do it. Start scraping now.”
[Understood. If you set the filters, I’ll find the jewels you desire within the garbage heap.]
“Filters, huh.”
‘I need to find a suitable host.’
After utilizing the [Compendium], something had been nagging at me.
Why were only Han Seol-ah, Min Ji-hee, and Jin Cheon-jin registered in the Compendium?
The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple.
Such systems were common in games, after all.
‘Affinity.’
If every hunter I knew were registered, there’s no way it would be just these three.
If it were every hunter I’d encountered, then all those hunters I’d met during my early days as an unawakened person would have been registered.
And if the distinction were simply whether they knew me or not… then Chul-soo next door and Kang Hyo-jun, the Black Market representative, should have their names here too.
But they don’t?
I was certain. An ‘affinity system’ of some kind definitely existed.
To find an appropriate host, identifying ‘latent potential’ through the Compendium was essential.
To be registered in the Compendium, I needed to build up ‘affinity’ first.
“What do you think?”
I posed this question to Snow White.
[I believe the possibility is high.]
“What other possibilities are there?”
[Perhaps a difference in perception?]
Smart one.
The alternative perspective Snow White suggested was quite intriguing.
Chul-soo next door was just ‘the neighbor,’ and Kang Hyo-jun was merely ‘the Black Market representative.’
In my perception, they were classified as extras or NPCs.
But Han Seol-ah and the other two—I perceived them as ‘key targets of conquest,’ deeply embedded in my awareness.
In other words, the condition for Compendium registration might not be mere encounters or affinity, but rather mutual ‘deep recognition’ or something like ‘fateful connection.’
‘Hmm.’
Anyway.
Fifteen days remained.
To accomplish sufficient favorability work or perception improvement during this period, I needed to prioritize and focus.
“First… I need a tank.”
That was the top priority.
“Someone who has been evaluated as a genius.”
[What if it was used mockingly?]
“Include those. I actually prefer it.”
What else could there be?
Latent ability EX.
Someone who helped in the Resonar subjugation battle.
Someone with the abilities necessary to clear the 94th Floor of the Tower.
The conditions to find such a “perfect tank.”
“…And…”
While I was formulating such specific conditions.
Ding-!
A Quest notification sounded from the minimized Lost Honor.
“What? Now? At this timing?”
Was the Resonar elimination Quest being given now?
No. Based on the pattern so far, the Epic Quest related to saving South Korea had been treated as “urgent.”
It should come around when there are about three days left.
I checked the notification with confusion.
[Sub Quest: Let’s Make a Friend]
“?”
What is this?
“Look at the Quest name?”
Is this bastard mocking me?
[Quest Objective: Become friends with S-rank Hunter Lee Ah-woon]
[Quest Reward]
[Codex: Lee Ah-woon Unlocked]
“…Who is that?”
I had no idea who Lee Ah-woon was.
If he were an S-rank Hunter, he should be quite famous.
There was another S-rank Hunter in South Korea besides the Hunter Association’s three?
“That can’t be right.”
If there were another S-rank Hunter, South Korea’s Hunter forces wouldn’t have developed so abnormally.
[Would you like me to help?]
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
[Name: Lee Ah-woon]
[Gender: Male / Age: 22]
[Rank: C]
“Huh?”
I examined the Quest window again.
It said to become friends with ‘S-Rank Hunter’ Lee Ah-woon.
What’s going on here?
Did the system make a mistake?
Or did Snow White mess up?
“It’s fine. I’ll do better next time.”
[There’s something rather unusual here.]
Snow White then displayed another window.
[Ability: (Censored)]
“…Censored?”
[Ah, does it display like that? Please wait a moment.]
Crack!
As if someone had punched it, the center of the holographic window crumpled inward from an invisible fist and wavered.
[Ability: Circu□(S)]
It felt like I was forcibly tearing out information I shouldn’t be seeing.
The section displaying the ability flickered uneasily.
Zzzt-
[This bastard’s saying… Oh, my apologies.]
Crackle! Pop!
After something shattered inside the hologram with a rather harsh noise.
The window, which had been glowing red, cleared as if nothing had happened and displayed calm text.
[Ability: Circulation (S)]
‘…So you could break through the censorship by beating it up?’
Quite impressive.
“The ability is S-Rank. But the current rank is C, huh.”
[In cases like this, it’s likely that the ability cannot be properly manifested. Shall we investigate further?]
“Yeah.”
Zzzt- Zzzt zzzt-
After the same noise as before.
New text began to inscribe itself in the section below the ability.
[Special Note: Suffering from Mana Backflow Syndrome]
Mana Backflow Syndrome?
“Isn’t that an extremely rare disease?”
[Correct. It’s a rare and incurable disease with only three sufferers in the entire world. Interestingly, two of them are in South Korea.]
Snow White’s explanation that followed matched the knowledge I already possessed.
A disease where mana flows in the reverse direction instead of the normal way.
“Circulation is an ability that rapidly cycles mana to enhance the body, right?”
[Yes.]
Mana Backflow.
A physical enhancement ability that exists in grades from S to D.
If this were S-grade Mana Backflow…
“The power circulating mana is too strong, but the body is too weak—it’s like an engine that’s blown apart. What a shame.”
This is a disease that exists in Lost Honor too. In the game, it’s called ‘Status Abnormality: Mana Reversal’.
The effect is a disgusting debuff where you take damage every time you use mana.
Once afflicted, even receiving healing causes massive damage, making it difficult to manage.
Even in the game, it wasn’t easy to cure.
There was only one way.
You had to take the cure for an extremely long time to resolve it… but the problem was that the cure was an elixir.
‘Red Elixir.’
It’s a low-grade elixir with just the most basic prefix ‘Red’ attached to the fundamental elixir…
But it’s still an elixir. It’s difficult to make, and even harder to obtain.
Of course, Nebula’s warehouse is stocked with plenty of it.
‘Bringing it from the game is practically impossible…’
“If I just had Moonlight Cry Grass, Rebirth’s Dew, and Time’s Root, I could make it.”
Lost Honor’s crafting system is structured very similarly to reality.
The only exception is ‘Blacksmithing,’ which creates Genesis-tier equipment items.
The ‘Alchemy’ skill for making elixirs like the Red Elixir is structured incredibly realistically.
How much you grind the materials, how much you simmer at what temperature, the ratios and so on.
If the materials for the ‘Red Elixir’ in the game existed in reality, I could make it myself.
[We have those.]
“Huh? Not from the warehouse.”
[Not the warehouse… but if you go into the Hunter Network, there’s a trading tab. You can find the materials you mentioned listed there.]
“What?”
Why would those exist?
Wasn’t South Korea a country where byproducts had dried up because we couldn’t properly conquer the Tower?
Puzzled, I immediately opened the Hunter Network to check.
They were really there.
‘If that’s the case…!’
[Quest Objective: Become friends with S-grade Hunter Lee Ah-woon]
I’ll be honest.
It’s an incredibly difficult mission for me.
My only friends are NPC friends.
I don’t even remember how to make friends.
Suppose there was someone who appeared like an angel to Lee Ah-woon, who suffered from a chronic illness, and cured his disease.
Hello. It’s nice to meet you. Oh, I see.
…Couldn’t we skip past that suffocating small talk and become friends right away?
No, not just friends. Something more than that. Wouldn’t he look at me like I’m a real angel?
After all, I’m the person who cured an incurable disease.
“It’s not evasion. It’s efficiency.”
Overwhelming capital. And a cure for an incurable disease that no one in the world knows about.
If I present both of these simultaneously, the game is over.
A pretty convincing plan, isn’t it?
The Quest didn’t come with a separate reward.
Just a single line.
[Possesses the potential to grow into an EX-rank Hunter]
‘…What a promising bastard.’
Is the developer some kind of angel?
I was racking my brains over how to choose the next vessel, and boom!
They hand me the answer.

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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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