I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 73

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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 73
I feel my body floating weightlessly.
* * *
Why does the Tower begin at different floors depending on the country?
Everyone in the world has wondered about this.
Some saw it as a blessing.
Others viewed it as a curse, or unfair treatment.
I know the answer.
And besides me, the thirteen others who qualify as ‘First Climbers’ likely know as well.
To explain this, one must first understand what a First Climber is.
Before the Tower even came into existence.
In other words, before its official launch.
The Tower selected fourteen humans from Earth as ‘beta testers’ or ‘trial participants’.
From America, from China, from Japan, from Italy, from India…
And from South Korea.
The fourteen First Climbers were suddenly summoned to the Tower one day, without the slightest warning.
And they were given the objective: ‘Climb the Tower’.
So everyone did exactly that.
They opened the Tower’s doors.
They cleared the tutorial on the first floor and proceeded to the second…
Most of them died there.
For example, the Italy Tower.
Laura, who had been summoned there, was a thirty-year-old lawyer.
The woman I met in the tutorial room was brave and spirited.
She said she trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a hobby.
She died without overcoming the second floor.
…And so Italy…
When the Tower first appeared, it began from the second floor.
This is the truth the world does not know.
In other words.
The reason the Korean Tower began from the 94th floor is…
Because the Korean Tower’s ‘First Climber’ could not overcome the 94th floor.
—I, Ha Sung-woon, was the Korean Tower’s ‘First Climber’.
I failed to clear the 94th floor and ‘escaped’.
…That is my ‘original sin’.
So when the Tower appeared across the entire globe.
I was inside the Tower.
Not on Earth.
And so I never received the Tower’s blessing, remaining as a body incapable of awakening.
That is the truth.
Of course, there’s one more truth hidden beneath the surface.
I didn’t ‘fail’ the 94th Floor clear.
I ‘suspended’ it.
…This difference is far more significant than one might think.
* * *
Though the spatial transfer lasted but a moment, it felt like an eternity—ten years of memories cascading through my consciousness in that single breath.
The familiar air of the Tower seeped deep into my lungs.
A peculiar scent of disinfectant lingered in the atmosphere.
And within it, pure mana lay dormant in crystalline silence.
…The Floor 94 Waiting Room.
The spatial transfer was complete.
As my feet touched solid ground, I opened my eyes.
“….”
An empty white chamber.
A spacious cubic room that could easily accommodate fifty people.
Light emanated from every wall surface, creating an eerie structure devoid of shadows.
‘…Everyone said prolonged exposure here would drive you mad.’
“Wh-where are we?”
“A waiting room, it seems. Extraordinarily spacious, though.”
Despite being from a lower floor, only Yereche, who had experience clearing the Italy Tower, recognized it immediately.
“A waiting room?”
Yereche answered Lee Ah-woon’s question.
“It’s a place where you can rest before challenging a floor. Normally, you’d accumulate plenty of the Tower’s mana while recovering properly, but….”
“We don’t have time.”
Han Seol-ah’s eyes burned with urgency and anxiety.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she gripped her staff.
“Time still passes outside even while we’re in here. Every moment counts….”
“Calm yourself.”
This wasn’t the composed and collected Han Seol-ah I knew.
The crisis facing South Korea had clearly heated her mind considerably.
Such an attitude would only hinder our strategy.
“If we challenge recklessly and get wiped out, it’s truly over. Don’t lose sight of priorities.”
My cold rebuke made Han Seol-ah’s shoulders stiffen.
She took a short, sharp breath to forcibly cool her emotions, then stopped trembling and replied.
“…Understood.”
Han Seol-ah bowed her head obediently.
‘Of course she’s anxious.’
I tapped the wall lightly.
[Do you wish to enter the 94th Floor?]
A notification window appeared for both me and the entire ‘party’.
Han Seol-ah, Lee Ah-woon, and Kim Chul-soo’s gazes snapped toward where the notification window had appeared.
Meanwhile, Yereche watched the party members staring into empty air with a bewildered expression, her eyes fixed solely on me as if asking, ‘What on earth are they looking at?’
I had deliberately refrained from sending Yereche a party invitation.
I needed to verify whether my ‘ability’ would function properly within the Tower.
‘It worked flawlessly outside the Tower, but whether synchronization and party functions would operate completely within the 94th Floor—governed by the Tower’s system—remains uncertain. If I discover variables too late, we’re annihilated.’
After entering the 94th Floor, I had no luxury to experiment and see what works.
It had to be now, without exception.
At that moment, my gaze landed on Yereche.
“….”
Outside, she had certainly been equipped with a mace and shield, dressed in her holy maiden’s vestments.
But now she stood before me in comfortable casual clothes, armed only with her bare hands.
The Tower forbade the entry of equipment or tools that failed to receive ‘Artifact’ classification.
‘So they weren’t Artifacts after all… this rice-eating Holy Maiden.’
Yereche’s face flushed crimson as she grasped the meaning behind my gaze.
She wrapped her empty arms around herself in embarrassment and offered an excuse.
“I-I’m just a pauper without a single Artifact, and now you’re looking down on me…!”
“No.”
“Suddenly speaking casually…! So I really am a beggar….”
“That’s not it.”
Leaving the aggrieved Yereche behind, I opened my bag and retrieved the creature sleeping peacefully within.
‘Phew.’
My notebook.
Nopi.
Fortunately, this device had also received proper Artifact classification and made it through without incident.
‘Whitey, though… is nowhere to be found.’
My AI secretary Whitey was not an Artifact.
So my wrist now sat empty.
I opened Nopi.
And logged into Lost Honor.
‘…Indeed.’
Watching Nopi load with trembling effort…
I swallowed hard.
If Lost Honor connects…
My theory is correct.
If it doesn’t?
I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Boom!
The majestic BGM of Lost Honor crashed against my eardrums.
“Phew.”
The connection had succeeded.
Before I activate synchronization, first…
[Party]
Click.
I tapped the party icon.
[Party] (4/5)
[Me]
[Han Seol-ah]
[Lee Ah-woon]
[Kim Chul-soo]
[Empty Slot]
[Party Invite]
[Party Leave]
It was functioning properly.
I entered Yereche in the party invite field.
“Oh!”
A transparent window suddenly materialized in the empty air, and Yereche’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Press yes, Yereche.”
Nod.
Yereche nodded decisively and tapped the empty air with her finger…
[Party] (5/5)
(…)
[Kim Chul-soo]
[Yereche]
‘Perfect.’
Yereche had joined the party.
And immediately after.
A quest completion message appeared.
[Hidden Quest: ‘Form a Party’ Complete]
[Reward]
[Unlocked: ‘Party Chat’]
“Done.”
Party chat had been unlocked.
And a full party of five members?
Given Lost Honor’s nature.
Filling all five slots was the condition for this hidden quest.
And considering that Lost Honor already had chat functions including ‘Party Chat’ prepared.
It was within expected parameters.
I typed immediately.
[/p If you can hear me, raise your right hand.]
Whoosh!
The three of them raised their right hands in perfect unison.
“Huh.”
Pat.
Yereche raised her hand a moment later.
I scrutinized her with hawk-like eyes to see if she was merely following the others.
“Did you hear it correctly and raise your hand?”
“Yes. Someone whispered suddenly, so I was startled and raised it a bit late.”
Confirmation complete.
“Phew.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief.
Half of the conquest was finished with this.
Nopi had been properly brought in.
Access to Lost Honor through Nopi was possible.
And I’d confirmed that the functions were operating normally.
Only one thing remained.
‘Synchronization.’
Click.
The ability I’d pre-activated through the Corridor was…
‘Frost Sorcery’.
The moment synchronization activated.
Whiiiing—!
Nopi began to tremble slightly, and…
“Huuuh.”
My entire body flooded with abundant EX-rank frost mana.
‘Perfect.’
This completed the final check as well.
The probability of conquest was… 99%.
I disconnected the synchronization to let Nopi rest and stuffed it into my bag.
“I’ll explain the strategy.”
As I tapped the wall again, a prompt appeared: [Will you enter the 94th Floor?]
This time, Yereche had properly confirmed it too, her gaze fixed on empty space.
“Look here.”
With a resonant hum, two Gates materialized on the previously white wall.
Both were pitch-black, emanating an ominous aura that screamed danger to anyone who dared enter.
The only difference was that from the left Gate, something strange—whether tentacles or roots—was creeping out sluggishly.
Lee Ah-woon turned his head away with a retching sound.
I briefly explained that I needed to conduct both ‘Defense’ and ‘Offense’ at each of these Gates respectively.
“The right Gate is where you four need to enter and execute the ‘Defense’.”
Fortunately, the right Gate was where the four of them—excluding me—needed to go.
Lee Ah-woon, staring at the grotesque entrance, asked cautiously.
“What about the left side?”
“I’m going in alone there.”
Han Seol-ah’s brow furrowed at my words.
“The 94th Floor Tower is dangerous. Going alone is….”
“I know.”
I met Han Seol-ah’s gaze directly.
The most dangerous variable—myself—had to be controlled by me alone.
Through my eyes, I conveyed an unwavering conviction that I would never die so meaninglessly.
Han Seol-ah held my gaze for a moment, then exhaled heavily and nodded in understanding.
It was an acceptance that would have been impossible without blind faith in the Apostle.
“I’ll handle the left side. You all focus on the right.”
“What exactly should we do?”
Yereche, having grasped the situation, stepped forward with her arms crossed.
“Once you enter….”
I paused to choose my words carefully.
“There will be… a fortress.”
“A fortress?”
Lee Ah-woon echoed the question.
If things had gone well… there would be one.
But there was a slim chance it might not exist.
Until I went and saw for myself, I couldn’t be certain either way.
Schrödinger’s fortress.
But what truly mattered wasn’t whether the fortress existed or not.
The defense team’s mission was crystal clear regardless.
“There will be a core at the center. You’ll recognize it the moment you see it. Your job is to protect it until I return.”
“So we’re to conduct a defensive siege using the fortress as our stronghold.”
Yereche nodded, placing her empty hands on her hips.
“That’s right. Probably.”
Perhaps it was her Tower experience.
Yereche’s comprehension was swift.
“How long will it take for you to return?”
“It won’t take long. And….”
I turned my gaze toward Chul-soo.
Chul-soo, who had stood in complete silence ever since we entered the Tower.
The boy, whose lips had been parched and whom I’d seen licking them nervously, suddenly snapped to attention at my stare.
‘….’
I hadn’t yet told Chul-soo that something would happen to him.
Chul-soo was perceptive enough that he’d likely make rough guesses based on what he’d experienced after being possessed by Lost Honor, but…
By all rights, I should offer Chul-soo as a sacrifice here.
But…
‘…The Immortal Ritual.’
The Genesis-tier item Chul-soo wore, the Immortal Ritual, and…
The power of ‘Cheon-kong’ obtained as compensation for failing the fall from grace, ‘Inverted Sanctity’.
With these two, it should be possible to overcome the gimmick.
But even this is merely a possibility.
What if it isn’t?
‘The scapegoat’—what if it’s not a gimmick but an absolute rule…?
Thoughts whirled through my mind.
A nod.
Watching me, Chul-soo silently nodded in agreement.
Out of sight of the others, he raised his thumb slightly…
Chul-soo giving me the gesture.
Even knowing he had to cross the threshold of death himself, his deeply sunken eyes held an unwavering resolve that rippled beneath the surface.
“…As time passes, the core will swell greatly, and a new Gate will be created.”
“Understood.”
Chul-soo answered firmly.
“…Kim Chul-soo, once you leap into that place, it’s over.”
“Understood.”
The briefing was complete.
I grasped Nopi firmly in my left hand, then turned my gaze toward Lee Ah-woon one final time.
The moment his rigid eyes met mine, hesitation vanished and his gaze hardened.
I met his eyes as if soothing the weighty responsibility that rested on his shoulders, then fixed my gaze forward.
“…Don’t die.”
I signaled the operation’s commencement.
And I hurled my body toward the Gate from which tentacles extended.
* * *
As the Apostle threw himself into the left Gate, the remaining four party members immediately hurled themselves toward the right Gate without hesitation.
Feeling her body lift, Yereche quickly organized her thoughts.
Guardian Han Seol-ah.
Lee Ah-woon.
Kim…Chul-soo?
She had briefly reviewed each of their specs.
And Yereche realized she would have to take the leader’s role in this ‘defense’ with these four.
Han Seol-ah was a hunter more than capable of being a leader.
But she lacked Tower conquest experience.
Lee Ah-woon was young, and…
Kim Chul-soo was B-rank to begin with. Frankly, outside the fighting force.
Leadership was familiar to her.
After all, the Italy Tower conquest had been conducted entirely under Yereche’s command.
Experience in defensive warfare?
Of course I tried.
And that was Yereche’s specialty.
‘Lee Ah-woon and his summoned creature handle defense. Kim Chul-soo provides backup… and once Han Seol-ah freezes and eliminates everything, it’s over.’
With an exceptional hunter like Han Seol-ah on their side, the 94th Floor might actually be easier than conquering the Italy Tower.
‘The 94th Floor—a hellish difficulty where not a single person in history has returned alive… but this time will be different.’
Special One. No, the Apostle.
Irritating as it was… their leader possessed abilities that transcended all standards.
The greatest danger in the Tower was the absence of information.
When entering the Tower through the waiting room, if you didn’t know what would happen, your success rate plummeted below fifty percent.
The 94th Floor had been called ‘hell’ for one fundamental reason: no one knew the strategy to clear it.
It was obvious.
Because no one who entered the 94th Floor had ever returned alive.
Yet somehow, the Apostle possessed a clear understanding of the 94th Floor’s conquest method.
And the strategic objective he had clearly designated was singular.
Endure until the Apostle returns!
‘I can do this. If it’s me!’
It wasn’t that I was fearless.
Even now, my chest tingled with terror and despair.
To be honest, if asked whether I trusted the Apostle one hundred percent, the answer was no.
I had merely believed in the miraculous feats he’d demonstrated and forcibly numbed my fear with that belief.
Yereche clenched her teeth.
‘If I just survive this crisis… hope will return to crumbling Italy!’
The artifact—holy water!
With just that, my homeland could live a different life.
I will survive. No matter what.
* * *
The moment they threw themselves into the Gate emanating ominous energy, the other party members were each recalling their own sense of duty.
Han Seol-ah quickly accepted that she was the one responsible for this party’s ‘offensive power’.
However, since this operation was about endurance rather than annihilation, she intended to actively utilize her newly awakened power—’Frost Bind’.
Achieving more efficient combat with less power.
Fear also resided within Han Seol-ah’s heart.
But she pushed it back with her absolute faith in the Apostle and her bond with her partner Frozen.
And finally, with the resolve to return before South Korea’s light extinguished, she drove forward.
So Han Seol-ah was now burning with fierce determination.
Lee Ah-woon trembled with fear so intense his body shook, but he endured with a blind resolve to be of help to his brother, and found courage in Rat-dol’s encouragement—[You can do it, vermin!]—which had somehow made its way into his pocket.
As for Kim Chul-soo…
he stopped thinking.
He would simply do his best with what was entrusted to him.
And so the transmission to the 94th Floor ended.
Thud.
Four feet touched the ground.
“Check the perimeter first!”
The moment everyone glanced around at Yereche’s command.
“…Huh?”
“What?”
“What is this?”
All four of them went rigid.
Contrary to the Apostle’s explanation that a fortress should exist…
There was nothing but a barren, desolate plain.
Thump—thump—!
No stone walls, no wooden palisades…
Not a single large boulder or barricade to hide behind.
Just a massive heart, pulsing a vivid crimson red, sitting alone in the middle of the wasteland…!
Kyaaaaa—!
A monster’s shriek echoed from the distance.
An ominous aura—the kind felt only when confronting an overwhelmingly powerful beast—surged from beyond the horizon like a tsunami of malice.
And not just one or two. Legions upon legions, too numerous to count.
Moreover…
“…Scathach?”
As Han Seol-ah’s murmur revealed.
That boss with ‘Frozen Immunity’—the very one that had nearly destroyed South Korea!
I could sense Scathach’s presence too!
Yet the surroundings offered no defensive walls, not even a single rock to hide behind. Just an empty wasteland.
“….”
Even S-rank hunter Yereche’s breath caught, her body freezing in place.
At that exact moment.
The Apostle’s party message reached my ears.
[There might not be a fortress. Just hold out however you can. I’ll be quick.]
“Damn it all.”
Yereche spat out a vicious curse.
Hold out, you say?
…Against that?

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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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