I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 42

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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 42
“Let me share some information first. I was the one who evaluated the new Numbers 1.”
It was a trump card of sorts.
But the voice on the other end of the line remained calm.
[···I had already suspected that he was the same person as the Apostle who killed Scathach. What intrigues me isn’t the items he’s submitted, but his very existence.]
‘Ah, she’d already seen through it. She’s no ordinary woman.’
As Kang Hyo-jun clicked his tongue, Min Ji-hee released a light sigh.
[Let’s stop probing each other and speak honestly. What do you think? About that person?]
The vice president, who would normally have haggled over conditions first, lowered her mask of her own accord.
It was the weight that the name Apostle carried.
“…He was frightening.”
As Kang Hyo-jun answered, he unconsciously brushed his arm.
Even now, merely recalling that man’s eyes sent chills down his spine.
The way he’d first appeared with the crimson elixir.
The way he’d casually spent hundreds of billions of gold, saying “from here to there, it’s all different.”
Watching him treat something so precious as if it were utterly worthless—there was something you could sense in that.
‘A feeling that he doesn’t belong to this world…’
“He seemed very…distant.”
[…Hmm]
“Not like the same person—I couldn’t even tell if he was human to begin with. There was no desire whatsoever in his gaze.”
[Ha, that’s unlike you. Your tongue’s gotten loose. You’re being emotional. Seems like your thoughts are scattered, no?]
“I’ll admit it honestly. I don’t know how to describe it.”
Kang Hyo-jun conceded readily.
He was a man who couldn’t be measured.
“What was your impression?”
[…What I felt was similar. That I can’t see the end of this person.]
“Is that all?”
[The vessel of each human differs. But generally, if I observe carefully and exchange a few words, I can gauge the measure of their vessel. You know how it is—people have habits because they’re people. Human qualities. I can read those things. But with the Apostle…]
“Hmm.”
[…those human elements don’t show. I can’t read them at all. From what height is he looking down that he won’t even let me presume? He seems like someone who’s never encountered another person in his entire life….]
A brief silence descended.
“Sigh.”
[Exhale.]
Both of them exhaled simultaneously.
An implicit gesture that the emotional discussion was over.
Min Ji-hee’s voice turned cold and analytical.
[So, what assistance is needed? The One’s request?]
“Similar, but slightly different.”
The Special One’s request was to purchase all the equipment he’d requested by tomorrow.
Under normal circumstances, various variables—the Market’s obstinacy, difficulties in sourcing materials—would have made the timeline extremely tight.
However, the Dimensional Merchant’s eyes had gone wild upon seeing the crimson elixir, allowing me to complete the mission swiftly.
“Whether it’s Special One or the Apostle—those sitting at the top all share a chronic habit, don’t they?”
[What habit?]
“Subordinates must handle things independently. Perfectly. Precisely. Cleanly. Thoughtfully. When one instruction is given, ten preparations must be made.”
[…That’s true.]
“I’m going to try being that clever myself.”
[Go ahead. I’ll help as much as I can.]
Kang Hyo-jun took a moment to organize his thoughts.
The impending catastrophe—Resonar’s descent.
The Apostle’s arrangement, the monopoly on tank artifacts.
The conclusion was simple.
It was necessary to stop Resonar.
But which artifact would be most efficient for which tank?
How should artifacts be distributed, and consumables allocated?
That required considerable time.
‘He seemed quite desperate, after all.’
So then.
“Could you assemble every C-rank or higher tank in the entire nation?”
Do it in advance.
To please him.
[Of course. Who do you think I am? What’s the reason?]
“There’s a gift. Let’s leave it at that.”
[A gift? Ah.]
‘…Ah? What’s that—as if you already know?’
[So that’s what you meant by handling things independently. Understood. Make sure you bring that gift properly.]
“…Of course.”
[When should they assemble? Tomorrow?]
“Right now. Immediately.”
[…By what time, and where should they gather?]
“In thirty minutes, in front of the Hunter Association.”
[…]
Click.
[Hyo-jun, did you take a bullet to the head?]
“I made a request, after all.”
Beep.
Kang Hyo-jun hung up the phone.
Snort.
A laugh escaped him.
“Finally got one past him.”
* * *
“Damn it, you arrogant bastard!”
“…Honey?”
Jin Cheon-jin asked carefully.
Min Ji-hee’s expression hardened completely.
“Get every available tank hunter on the line right now.”
“Right now? All of a sudden?”
“The Apostle apparently stopped by the Market. And this is his request.”
“Understood. I’ll issue the summons immediately.”
Jin Cheon-jin picked up the phone and stepped outside.
Click.
Min Ji-hee ground her teeth.
Knowing Kang Hyo-jun’s personality, he was essentially saying to gather them “as fast as possible.”
And “as fast as possible” in this context meant mobilizing every resource the Hunter Association had.
Realistically, it was impossible to summon hunters within thirty minutes.
But.
‘Let’s see about that.’
Now it was possible.
The hunters she’d assembled through the summons order.
They should have been sent home after the Scathach subjugation, but thanks to the Apostle’s request, she’d kept them stationed here.
‘That’s right, let me show you. Just how tightly South Korea’s hunters can band together.’
And Kang Hyo-jun arrived.
Exactly thirty minutes later.
“How many have assembled?”
‘This bastard…’
Min Ji-hee smiled while grinding her teeth.
How many had she gathered? This bastard had clearly made his move confident she couldn’t assemble them in time.
“All of them.”
“…All of them?”
Min Ji-hee’s lips twisted upward. Did this bastard think the Hunter Association was a pushover?
“You didn’t know? The tank hunters are currently stationed at positions where they can be mobilized immediately.”
“What about A-rank?”
“C-rank and B-rank are all assembled. A-rank are in the waiting room.”
A dangerous glint flickered across Min Ji-hee’s smiling face.
“You think elite hunters like that are dogs who’ll come running whenever you snap your fingers within thirty minutes? You think the Hunter Association is that easy, you bastard?”
“Yes.”
“You son of a—”
“J-Jin, calm yourself. Vice-Chairman.”
It was Jin Cheon-jin who stepped in.
“So, what’s this about?”
Kang Hyo-jun tilted his head.
“President. Your manner of speech has become quite antiquated since we last met.”
“Don’t be sarcastic. I changed it hastily because of criticism that the president’s dignity was lacking.”
“I see. Well, I think it would be sufficient if you simply kept your mouth shut.”
Regardless.
Kang Hyo-jun unfastened the backpack he’d been carrying on his shoulders.
He flipped it over.
Crash!
An enormous quantity of artifacts came pouring out from inside.
“!”
Jin Cheon-jin, Min Ji-hee, and the A-rank tankers who had stepped out of the waiting room to monitor the situation all widened their eyes simultaneously.
-Wait, isn’t that the ‘Soft Petal Shield’? It’s hard to obtain, but it’s the only equipment that absorbs impact when my skill barrier breaks!
-Brother, look at that. That’s ‘Chain Mail’.
-Sister, sister!! Wake up!!! That’s ‘Cellsword Armor’!!! Insane, why is a German Tower specialty here?
Someone found their own wish artifact—and that of an acquaintance—among the equipment beginning to pile up like a mountain.
-That shiny colored one… isn’t that ‘Stone Skin Potion’?
-No, sir. Stone Skin Potion has more gray tint to it. That’s ‘Ogre Skin Potion’.
-…Why is something so rare rolling around there?
-Sir, that’s not the important part right now. Look to the side. There’s ‘Brilliant Stone Skin Potion’ too. That’s a special blend that reduces joint strain when holding the front line. How did you manage to hit exactly every itch we had, like tweezers… who exactly planned this?!
Someone was particularly interested in consumables.
And Min Ji-hee calculated the ‘value’.
‘What, what is this. Is this a gift?’
It was extraordinary.
Impossible to calculate at a glance.
Moreover, it wasn’t merely expensive.
‘Cellsword Armor? A German Tower specialty—why is it here? And that’s… a Mithril Full Plate Armor. That which can only be obtained from the British Tower…’
Even regional Tower ‘specialties’ that couldn’t be obtained regardless of money were included.
‘Huh.’
And what was even more astonishing was…
The quantity of consumables.
‘Ogre Skin Potion, the superior version of Stone Skin Potion. Troll’s blood.’
Monster potions that could only be created through special manufacturing methods, using raw materials that rarely dropped from hunting magical beasts in the Tower.
‘That color… and looking at the glass bottle, that’s definitely ‘Experimental Sample No. 9′, the imitation elixir created by the legendary alchemist Paracelsus!’
There was even one of the ‘knockoff elixirs’ from Paracelsus, the greatest alchemist who made creating an elixir his lifelong aspiration.
While it couldn’t match the effects that a true elixir supposedly possessed, it was an ultra-rare item whose efficacy differed fundamentally from other mass-produced potions.
Beyond that, there were countless other consumables.
Notably, there were almost no ‘Recovery Potions’ that actually healed wounds.
Potions that hardened the body. Potions that nullified fatal wounds…
The direction of the consumables was clear.
After all, if you get hit by a boss, you die instantly without time to recover.
‘I won’t fix you if you get hurt’—rather, ‘I’ll make absolutely certain you don’t die in a single hit, no matter what’—a relentless arrangement for survival…
Min Ji-hee gazed at Kang Hyo-jun with trembling eyes.
Kang Hyo-jun stood with an expressionless face.
“What on earth is this?”
“A gift.”
“…How much?”
Gulp.
‘I’m broke from scraping together funds for the Apostle’s activities… but I can’t give up this equipment and supplies.’
These were items that money alone couldn’t procure.
If I missed this opportunity, it was clear I’d never find them again.
‘Should I squeeze Jang Ho-hyun more? No, that’s impossible. Installments maybe…?’
Min Ji-hee’s mind spun frantically.
“I’ll take all of this.”
“On installment… what?”
“The price has already been paid.”
“…Huh?”
Kang Hyo-jun smirked.
“Special One. In hunter terms, the Apostle. A gift from The One.”
“…”
Min Ji-hee’s face went blank.
The sharp, cold edge that always gleamed in her eyes softened, and her firmly pressed lips parted slightly.
The meticulous calculator in her mind, which had been weighing countless advantages, came to a complete white halt.
‘Min Ji-hee, I didn’t know you could make a face like that.’
Pfft.
Kang Hyo-jun savored that exhilarating expression and, almost without thinking, drove the wedge deeper with an amused smile.
“It’s free.”
Suffocating silence.
A breathless stillness, as if even heartbeats had ceased, dominated the empty space.
But it lasted only a moment.
“Uwaaaahhhhh!!”
Like a dam bursting, a bestial roar erupted.
An artifact non-production zone. Nothing to sell, and you get gouged when you buy. South Korea.
The insane difficulty of the 94th Floor. The tanks who die first to the oversized bosses that emerge there.
The region that needed artifacts most, with the job class that needed them most.
Yet obtaining a good artifact was nearly an impossible dream.
But now, that dream had come true.
Special One?
I don’t know who that is.
But every tank gathered here was genuinely grateful.
“Sniff, sniff. Thank you, thank you so much!”
“He’s a god!!!”
While everyone else was swept up in emotion,
Min Ji-hee found herself lost in thought.
What occupied her mind was something from not long ago.
It was from the Apostle’s ‘strategy lecture’ that had lasted roughly an hour.
The Apostle had said:
Offensive power is sufficient. The problem is defensive power.
During the subjugation of Resonar, the nation’s infrastructure could be destroyed.
To prevent that destruction, overwhelming defensive power is essential, but it’s currently lacking.
Instead of asking why defensive power was so critical, Min Ji-hee had asked what the solution was.
The Apostle answered simply:
—I’ll handle it.
“….”
So that method was to unlock unlimited funds and distribute artifacts to the tanks?
Min Ji-hee was bewildered.
‘Why go this far? What else could he possibly want from us… No, someone with this much financial power—what could he possibly desire in South Korea?’
Her calculating mind grew cold.
Only one conclusion remained.
The Apostle simply wanted to protect this land without asking for anything in return.
‘I was so shallow… Thank you. Truly….’
Tears welled up in Min Ji-hee’s eyes.
* * *
[But why are you going this far?]
“What do you mean.”
[Giving unconditionally like this···]
“Giving? Me?”
Whitey.
How naive.
“It’s an investment.”
Just watch.
It’ll come back several times over.

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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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