I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 8

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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 8
“Wait, what? Wasn’t The One supposed to be in The Other World?”
[Think about it carefully. How were you able to come to The Other World when you’re on Earth?]
“…I don’t know?”
[….]
Han Seol-ah felt a bit embarrassed and added hastily.
“No, really. I received a message asking if I wanted to become EX-rank, and I answered yes. Right after that, I lost consciousness, and when I came to, I was there.”
[…The One must have used the power to transcend dimensions to summon you.]
“Power to transcend dimensions? Does such a power even exist?”
[Yes. For The One, there is no such thing as ‘impossible.’ That power is how they brought you there and even sent you back.]
Frozen’s voice was filled with infinite reverence.
[If they so desired, crossing over to this world directly would naturally be possible as well.]
“…That doesn’t make sense.”
[What doesn’t make sense?]
“If someone that powerful were to cross over, who knows what would happen to this world. …Causality and all that. Things like that would apply and….”
[INSOLENCE!!!]
“Kyaaah!!!”
At the sudden roar, Han Seol-ah clutched her head.
[How dare you doubt The One! Do you think The One wouldn’t be prepared for such things? Of course they’ve already found a way. Perhaps that’s why they even tested using your ‘Eternal Permafrost.’ The One would have no reason to adopt such an inferior ability.]
“Inferior….”
Han Seol-ah felt slightly dejected.
I’m Han Seol-ah.
I’m EX-rank…
Whirr whirr whirr!
Soon, boarding an unmanned helicopter that appeared with a loud noise, Han Seol-ah headed toward Pyongyang.
During the journey, Han Seol-ah briefly explained to Frozen about Earth’s situation and the ‘fake Frost Dragon.’
[Hmm. There’s a Frost Dragon here too?]
“Yes.”
[This is troublesome. The mana concentration in this world is far too low. With just your true body’s mana…]
“No, the Frost Dragon in this place isn’t Scathaha. It’s just a false title arbitrarily given by an organization in this world. Compared to the real Frost Dragon I saw there, it’s the difference between heaven and earth.”
[I see.]
“The tricky part is that it has strong resistance to ice magic….”
[Ha, who do you think I am? I am the pinnacle of the Frost realm. I can easily pierce through attribute immunity.]
“Right? I just need to trust in Frozen, don’t I?”
[Yes. That’s right. Trust in me. And trust in the Creator who brought me into being.]

The journey to Pyongyang was swift.
Han Seol-ah clutched the Eternal Permafrost tightly as she leaped from the sky.
‘The air is bitterly cold.’
Beneath my feet, the massive form of the Frost Dragon came into view.
The frigid aura radiating from it saturated the surroundings, and even with my body reinforced by Frozen Mana, I could feel the chill seeping through.
Whoooosh!
I descended rapidly, landing just before the Frost Dragon’s head.
—Grrrrr…
The Frost Dragon lay in deep slumber.
“Exhale.”
I breathed out gently and focused my mind.
I recalled the sensation from when I wielded the Eternal Permafrost under Frozen’s guidance.
The formidable Frozen Mana that had reached EX-rank began to awaken gradually.
[Sigh. That’s not how the Frozen Magic Circle is supposed to be used… No! That’s not it either. Simplify the mana circuit a bit more.]
Following Frozen’s advice echoing in my mind, I manipulated the mana with precision.
[The central axis of the magic circle is wavering. Besides, you don’t need to draw this many ‘patterns’ in the first place. Compress it.]
“Ugh….”
[That’s it. More, compress it further!]
The gem of the Eternal Permafrost resonated, forcefully wringing and correcting my scattered mana.
Whiiiiing—!
A pristine white sphere materialized before the staff, emanating such intense cold that it seemed to freeze the very air around it.
[I suppose I could give this about a 50 out of 100.]
“….”
I had no rebuttal.
The Eternal Permafrost I had created in ‘The Other World’ before Scathach had been a ‘dark blue sphere’ that seemed to devour light itself.
But what stood before me now was merely a hazy ‘white sphere’.
The density was entirely different.
Yet this would suffice.
“Eternal Permafrost.”
Whoooosh—!
The rotating sphere blazed with brilliant white light.
Kabooooom—!
A tremendous frozen explosion erupted.
Fsssssh—
Ding—
And the System Message appeared.
[Notification: ’94th Floor Tower Break Boss: Frost Dragon’ has been defeated.]
The same notification as always.
“Phew…”
[You did well. But the road ahead is still long.]
“Yes.”
Before Han Seol-ah, who had made that vow.
Beep— beep— beep—
A loud and ominous warning sound accompanied it.
A bright red System Message materialized.
[The difficulty of Tower Break is rapidly increasing]
“Huh?”
[Tower Break – 94th Floor]
[Tower Break Boss: Ancient Blue Dragon – Frost Dragon Scathach]
“…Scathach!”
The apex of dragons encountered in The Other World…!
‘Phew.’
For a moment, chills ran down my spine, but I quickly reassured myself.
The cold sensation felt through my hands.
I had the Eternal Permafrost, a Genesis-tier staff.
“Right?”
[What.]
“If Frozen is with me, Scathach won’t be a problem either.”
[That’s true. …But when’s the next Break?]
“Probably in thirty days. That’s the official Break cycle the system enforces.”
[That’s fortunate. That should give us enough time to prepare.]
Han Seol-ah questioned the oddly ominous word choice.
“…Fortunate? Enough time? Just like what happened there back then….”
[You…]
Frozen was momentarily at a loss for words.
[…What do you think Scathach is? I defeated her easily because I’m exceptionally powerful, but that creature is the apex dragon of all ice-binding realms. Don’t take it lightly. Even for me, breaking through her ‘ice immunity’ requires that much mana.]
“I see….”
[But your mana reserves are woefully insufficient, and your recovery speed is sluggish. Forcibly drawing from external sources is impossible—the mana concentration in this world’s atmosphere is abysmal. Thirty days is barely the minimum threshold.]
“You mean there’s no margin for error?”
[Right. You need to start accumulating mana immediately.]
“Hmm. But my mana core is already full… How do I gather more from here?”
[…? No. Storing it in your mana core defeats the purpose. Are you the one breaking through Scathach’s ice immunity?]
“What? Then?”
[You channel it into me.]
Ah.
Han Seol-ah understood belatedly.
‘I need to charge the Eternal Permafrost with mana.’
“For thirty days?”
[Every single day. Without missing once. Assuming your mana control ability develops.]
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
[That’s exactly the posture.]
Han Seol-ah’s grip tightened around the staff in her hand.
Thirty days ahead.
Whether long or short, the future of South Korea hinged upon how meaningfully I spent this preparation period.
‘I can’t afford to waste this…!’
Before Han Seol-ah, who had steeled herself with that resolve.
Beep— beep— beep—
“Huh?”
Accompanied by the repeated warning sounds, crimson messages cascaded across the screen.
[Alert: The Tower Break on the 94th floor has exceeded the clear count threshold]
[Alert: The Tower Break’s difficulty has been deemed inappropriate]
[Alert: The Tower Break’s intensity is becoming extremely powerful, and its cycle is drastically shortening]
“W-what?”
[5 days until commencement]
“…5 days?”
Beep—
[Ascend the Tower]
* * *
At the moment Han Seol-ah was inside the helicopter.
Jin Cheon-jin, the Hunter Association Chairman, clenched his teeth.
Without doing so, he feared he might destroy the phone in his grip.
A serpentine voice slithered through the receiver.
[Chairman, so you won’t accept it? We’re offering to help, you know?]
“Let’s be direct. This isn’t help—it’s plunder.”
[Haha. You’re a funny man. We save a nation on the brink of destruction, and in return, we take a life price. Why would that be plunder? That’s help.]
“….”
Jin Cheon-jin simply gritted his teeth.
[I know too. Han Seol-ah has disappeared, hasn’t she? Secret training, perhaps?]
“….”
[Tsk tsk, is there anyone foolish enough to genuinely believe that excuse? And I hear you haven’t found a single trace of her for days now?]
How did he know that.

‘I couldn’t even find a trace of Han Seol-ah. The investigation team’s report is classified at the highest level.’
[Hahaha. Chairman. You’re thinking something predictable like ‘how did you find out?’ right now, aren’t you? Do you think there are only one or two people reaching out for a lifeline when facing annihilation? Don’t expect information control to be working properly.]
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Through the phone came the sound of a tongue clicking—whether in pity or mockery, I couldn’t tell.
Even as Jin Cheon-jin clenched his teeth in silence, the voice continued relentlessly.
[Uncle, Chairman. The Frost Dragon’s specs only list ‘freeze damage halved,’ but it’s practically immune to freezing. I saw it myself—Han Seol-ah’s Eternal Permafrost, which she scraped together mana desperately to fire, didn’t even leave a scratch. So you think the third attempt will be different?]
“….”
[Even if Han Seol-ah somehow got stronger through some miracle and showed up. Could she even pierce through that extreme resistance? Absolutely not.]
“….”
[An ability that ignores immunity—something that would only exist in a game. That doesn’t exist in reality. Am I wrong?]
He wasn’t wrong.
No, if anything, it was painfully accurate.
It was a sharp observation that made Jin Cheon-jin’s breath catch.
An ability that ignores immunity doesn’t exist in this world.
[Well then, Chairman. I’ll wait just one more day. Of course, next time I’ll be charging a higher price for my life.~]
“…Min-seok.”
Jin Cheon-jin opened his mouth with a heavy voice.
“How could you… do something like this?”
[….]
Kim Min-seok.
Han Seol-ah. Jin Cheon-jin. Min Ji-hee. The man who followed as South Korea’s fourth-ranked Hunter…was.
And the coward who fled to the multinational mercenary alliance ‘Pandemonium’ right after the first Frost Dragon subjugation failure.
[The people who should live must live. Association Chairman.]
Click.
The call ended.
For the first time in a long while, Jin Cheon-jin put a cigarette between his lips.
‘…Must I accept those unfair treaties…?’
Jin Cheon-jin’s anguish deepened.
Ding—
Just as Jin Cheon-jin was about to light the cigarette, a System Message appeared before his eyes.
[Notification: ‘Floor 94 Tower Break Boss: Frost Dragon’ has been subjugated.]
‘…It’s been subjugated?’
Was I seeing things?
Jin Cheon-jin rubbed his eyes.
His eyes felt dry from days without sleep.
As he became aware of his physical state, exhaustion suddenly crashed over him.
Jin Cheon-jin sank deep into his chair.
‘It’s not a mistake.’
The message didn’t disappear even after rubbing his eyes and slapping his cheeks.
It wasn’t a hallucination.
The Frost Dragon had truly been subjugated.
‘If that’s the case, there’s no need to hear Kim Min-seok’s proposal any further.’
Jin Cheon-jin exhaled a heavy sigh, releasing the suffocating frustration that had been pressing deep within his chest.
‘Phew.’
His body, rigid with tension and rage, suddenly went limp.
What flooded in instead was relief.
Hope bloomed in Jin Cheon-jin’s heart.
The Frost Dragon had been slain.
Which meant—
‘Han Seol-ah has returned. With even greater power.’
South Korea’s guardian had grown stronger.
Strong enough to kill even her natural enemy.
“Hahaha.”
Just as Jin Cheon-jin was about to break into a hearty laugh—
Beep— beep— beep—
Ominous warning sounds erupted, followed by a torrent of crimson messages.
“…Scathach? Five days?!”
Immediately after.
Crash!
Vice-Chairman Min Ji-hee burst into the Chairman’s office.
“Chairman!”
“Ah, Vice-Chairman. This… message—what is it? The red one.”
“…An unprecedented crisis, sir.”
Min Ji-hee held up a single document.
Ominous mana emanated from the glossy black paper, manifesting as pristine white text.
There was only one such special document on this Earth.
“…A ‘Strategy Guide’ from Pandemonium.”
The document that allowed Pandemonium—merely a multinational mercenary corporation—to lord over the entire world.
A compendium containing the characteristics of every monster that appeared in the Tower and the Breaks; officially titled the ‘Bestiary,’ colloquially known as the ‘Strategy Guide.’
‘It shouldn’t be obtainable through normal means.’
“How did you…”
“I handled it myself, sir.”
Min Ji-hee spoke as though it were nothing.
But Jin Cheon-jin, too, was a formidable hunter at the tail end of S-rank.
His piercing gaze caught what Min Ji-hee had sacrificed—the earring that had once adorned her right ear was now gone.
‘…’
Yet Jin Cheon-jin chose not to voice it aloud.
He understood better than anyone the resolve it took to surrender her father’s keepsake—South Korea’s sole S-rank protective armament.
Thud.
Min Ji-hee set the Strategy Guide down before Jin Cheon-jin with an audible sound.
[Scathach]
[Ancient Blue Dragon]
[Official Title: ‘Frost Dragon’]
“…This entity… is the ‘true Frost Dragon’ that the system recognizes.”
Previously, the title ‘Frost Dragon’ that belonged to Frost Dragon was a name given by the Hunter Association.
“From what I heard when receiving the information… compared to this creature, the fake Frost Dragon would be nothing more than a worm.”
“….”
“Look at what’s below.”
[Traits]
[Complete Freeze Immunity]
“…Complete immunity? That’s something Frost Dragon also had….”
“That was our assumption based on seeing Han Seol-ah’s magic not working, but apparently it’s actually freeze resistance. It’s a trait that can’t even be compared to complete immunity.”
“…Then?”
It was fatal.
Han Seol-ah’s specialty was ultimately freeze magic.
I’d managed to deal with Frost Dragon, which possessed the ‘freeze resistance’ trait, but…
‘Complete immunity.’
“This cannot be stopped.”
A declaration of defeat finally escaped the lips of Min Ji-hee, renowned for her cold composure.
“…In five days, South Korea will disappear from the map.”
* * *
A heavy silence hung over the Hunter Association chairman’s office.
Breaking that silence, the door burst open.
“Chairman.”
It was Han Seol-ah.
“Seol-ah!”
Jin Cheon-jin and Min Ji-hee sprang to their feet and embraced Han Seol-ah tightly.
“What on earth… how did this happen? What happened….”
“I’ll explain everything. Please, calm down.”
Han Seol-ah methodically explained everything—from the mysterious golden message she’d witnessed at the Press Conference Hall, to the events she’d experienced in the Other World, her promotion to EX-rank, the existence of ‘The One’, and the Genesis-tier staff ‘Eternal Permafrost’.
“…That’s how it happened.”
“Hmm… I’m completely….”
Due to Han Seol-ah’s rather hopeless way of explaining, Jin Cheon-jin understood nothing.
“I see. You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”
Min Ji-hee, however, grasped everything perfectly.
“Ahem! Hmm! Ah, yes yes. I see. Right, absolutely.”
Jin Cheon-jin quickly softened his expression and nodded vigorously, reading the room.
‘Ji-hee will explain it to me later, right?’
“So… Seol-ah.”
“Yes.”
“…Is it possible?”
Min Ji-hee slid the strategy guide across the table toward me.
I skimmed through the contents and opened my mouth.
“It’s impossible.”
“Ah….”
Min Ji-hee sighed, but Jin Cheon-jin refused to give up. His gaze fixed on the Eternal Permafrost I held.
“I’ve heard that staff is a remarkable treasure. If it’s a divine artifact bestowed by the gods, wouldn’t it be able to overcome compatibility issues?”
[With the pathetic mana of this land, it’s utterly impossible.]
“…?!”
A strange voice suddenly echoed through the empty air.
Jin Cheon-jin and Min Ji-hee jumped in shock, glancing around frantically.
“W-who are you?!”
“It’s me. Or rather, my staff.”
I lifted the staff.
The blue gem at the end of the Eternal Permafrost glimmered, and a chilling male voice flowed out once more.
“Frozen, explain.”
[The mana concentration in this world’s atmosphere is garbage-tier. To manifest ‘Absolute Zero’ that pierces Scathaha’s immunity, you’d need at least 30 days just to accumulate it through natural recovery here.]
“30 days?!”
Jin Cheon-jin cried out.
“We only have 5 days left! If we can’t solve this in 5 days, we’re all dead!”
[That’s not my problem.]
“Y-you…!”
Just as Jin Cheon-jin was about to grab the back of his neck in frustration at the staff’s arrogant attitude, Frozen continued, tossing out the words.
[But it’s not like there’s no way at all.]
“…What is it?”
[If mana is lacking, you can borrow it. From an entity with nearly infinite mana.]
“Where could such an entity….”
I, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.
“There is one.”
[Right. My creator. Find ‘The One.’]
Min Ji-hee quickly asked back.
“The One? That… entity you met?”
“Yes. If it’s The One, it’s possible. No, only The One can do it.”
“…But you said The One is in the Other World. Not on Earth.”
“…The One is on Earth right now.”
“What?! Where exactly? If such a powerful entity appeared, the observers would surely have noticed….”
I closed my eyes.
I focused my mind and circulated my mana, but nothing registered in my senses.
Yet clearly, Frozen had spoken the truth.
—An incredibly powerful ice-attribute mana could be felt.
—It seems to be The One, my creator.
On the way back to the Hunter Association building.
There was only one location that Frozen had revealed through our conversation.
“Incheon.”
“Incheon…!”
A bolt of lightning struck Min Ji-hee’s mind.
‘That’s the place where the S-rank Gate was cleared without a sound earlier!’
The Ogre Big Boss had vanished.
And a mysterious scene where the mana scan had registered an “unmeasurable” frozen mana field!
“Get a helicopter in the air immediately! We’re heading to Incheon!”
Jin Cheon-jin shouted. The only lifeline that could save South Korea was there. Every second counted.
[Wait.]
Frozen stopped the people who were rushing to move.
[You plan to go empty-handed?]
“What?”
[My creator is merciful, possessing such a virtuous nature that he cannot stand by and watch the world’s destruction. That’s why he personally prevented the ruin of our world as well. However, he is not one to act without compensation. An offering to present to him is necessary.]
Jin Cheon-jin hesitated. That was true.
Synthesizing Han Seol-ah’s account, ‘The One’ was undoubtedly an extraordinary transcendent being.
Moreover, wasn’t he one who wielded powers that seemed granted only to ‘gods’—the ability to traverse worlds?
One couldn’t approach such an existence empty-handed.
“I’ll open the Hunter Association’s vault. We can gather the highest-grade mana stones and gold bars from there….”
[How pedestrian.]
Frozen’s gem flickered with a disapproving tsk-tsk sound.
[The One has no interest in such common treasures. What he favors are objects imbued with ‘stories’—unique items with history and significance woven into them.]
“Objects imbued with stories…?”
[Yes. A banner said to have been used by a clan’s founder. A wedding ring passed down from your grandmother’s grandmother… things like that.]
“You’re talking about antiques with sentimental value?”
[Especially the precious ones among them. For example…]
Whoosh.
The tip of the staff in Han Seol-ah’s hand pointed toward Jin Cheon-jin’s right hand.
[Like those gleaming gloves on the old man there.]
“…!”
Jin Cheon-jin instinctively hid his right hand behind his back.
The gloves he wore, ‘White Tiger’s Fang,’ were an artifact he had carried since the beginning as a first-generation Hunter—South Korea’s National Treasure Number One and an extension of his very soul.
“This is… as precious as my own soul….”
[Soul? Perfect. The One would appreciate that. And how arrogant. What good is that soul when the nation perishes?]
Frozen’s barrage of facts left Jin Cheon-jin speechless.
[Will you wear it in the afterlife after you all freeze to death in five days?]
“….”
[Choose. The gloves, or South Korea.]
Jin Cheon-jin removed his gloves without hesitation.
“Of course… South Korea.”
Jin Cheon-jin set the gloves down on the desk.
[An excellent choice. The Creator will be pleased.]
Frozen gleamed with satisfaction.
Han Seol-ah, who had picked up the gloves—White Tiger’s Fangs—declared:
“Let’s go. To Incheon.”
* * *
“Scathach is appearing?”
Well then, this should be easy.

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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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