I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 84

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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 84
The moment I transformed into an EX-rank Hunter before his eyes, Richard Sterling’s blue eyes widened in shock.
The subtlety of my ambush was far from over.
After concentrating the Sword Saint’s mana to my fingertips.
Whoosh—!
I stepped through the void and materialized behind Richard Sterling in an instant.
I struck the acupoint at the base of his skull where his hair began—the Dumb Gate—and then the Jade Fountain acupoint beneath his chin, one after another.
The key was to channel mana into him as I struck, temporarily paralyzing his meridians and vital points.
“Ugh… ugh!!”
With his speech acupoint sealed, he could no longer speak.
…A technique from martial arts novels.
I had reinterpreted acupoint striking to suit my own style.
After countless clinical trials attempting to maximize the information that existed only in my mind—’acupoint striking’ and ‘sealing the mouth by striking the dumb gate’—I had finally developed this technique.
Tap.
Next, the Great Vertebra acupoint protruding below the base of his skull, and the Shoulder Well acupoint at the midpoint between his neck and shoulder.
Tap-tap-tap!
The Spine Gate. The Extreme Heaven. The Great Gateway. The Bend Middle. The Support Center. The Yang Mound Spring…
From the base of his skull to his shoulders, I struck the acupoints along the brachial plexus, solar plexus, and common peroneal nerve in rapid succession.
Once I did this.
“Huh…! Huh!”
His nerves temporarily deadened, rendering him immobile.
“Mm. Perfect.”
It had been a long time since I last used this technique, yet my body remembered.
Flawless execution.
I paused to admire my handiwork for a moment.
‘When I used inner force, it never broke until I released it myself.’
Inner force was a power only I possessed.
But now, outside the Tower, I couldn’t use inner force.
As a compromise, since I’d sealed his acupoints with mana, he could probably break free on his own eventually.
‘Well, this is enough to restrain him for now.’
I began searching through Richard Sterling’s belongings thoroughly.
[Agent. That is a space-expansion backpack.]
“This bracelet-like thing? Wow, you’ve got some nice gear.”
Mine now.
[That is a self-defense artifact. According to the database, it possesses the ability to reflect projectiles.]
“A counter to sniping? I should give this to Min Ji-hee.”
So this is the dignity of a superpower?
Richard Sterling was a golden goose.
I thoroughly stripped Richard Sterling of his artifacts.
And as I reached into his inner pocket one last time…
I discovered something quite peculiar.
‘…What is this?’
I knew what it was.
And it had no business existing in reality.
It appeared to be a magic stone on the surface…
But in truth, it was a horrifying instrument cradling the seeds of catastrophe.
‘An Outer God’s egg?’
…Why does something that only appears on the 90th Floor exist in reality?
‘This is insane.’
My mind went completely blank.
* * *
The central theme spanning the 90th Floor and beyond is the Outer God.
That doesn’t mean the Tower throws you into combat with an Outer God the moment you enter the 90th Floor.
Step by step, floor by floor, the Tower kindly teaches what an Outer God is, what to be cautious of, and what poses a threat.
It’s somewhat grotesque to call it “kind” given that failure means death.
Regardless.
From the 90th to the 93rd Floor, the concept was confronting ‘those who follow the Outer God.’
First come the lower-ranked followers you encounter.
Minions who received fragments of power from the Outer God.
And then there are the traitors called Apostles, who actively seek to annihilate humanity to gain greater power.
Just as the Tower blessed humanity and awakened them as Hunters.
The Outer God bestowed ‘Corruption’ upon humans, creating twisted Awakened ones—these are the Apostles.
And when these Apostles commit terrorism against humanity, they use this ‘Outer God’s egg.’
I’ve only encountered an Apostle once.
So I’ve only seen an ‘Outer God’s egg’ once.
The memory of that encounter in the 90th Floor range came back vividly.
The moment that creature shattered the egg on the ground.
Pitch-black mist erupted, twisting the entire surrounding ecosystem.
The sky turned blood-red, the solid earth rotted away, and grotesque tentacles spewed forth—a hellish scene of devastation.
‘The massacre that creature crawling from the egg unleashed was equally horrific.’
That experience had etched itself so deeply into my mind that the memory remained vivid even now.
The fact that this exists on Earth now…
Meant a crisis grave enough to destroy the nation if not resolved immediately.
* * *
The most troublesome thing right now is that the ‘Corrupted Entity’ sealed within the Outer God’s egg is absurdly powerful!
Before I unlocked the Sword Saint, I couldn’t have guaranteed victory!
Now?
I’ve unlocked the Sword Saint.
But the problem is that everyone gathered here at Hanam Fortress would become corpses in the battle that would unfold…
The problem is that everyone gathered here at Hanam Fortress will become corpses.
‘I thought, “Even if there was terrorism…”‘
I never imagined something this insane would exist on Earth, let alone in the Tower!
‘This is making me dizzy, seriously.’
And on top of that, the Hunter Association Chairman of the United States—supposedly Earth’s strongest—personally brought it here while his aggro radar was blaring away…?
“You bastard, you’re connected to the Apostle of the Outer God?”
Richard Sterling’s pupils, frozen in place by the pressure point, began to tremble.
This guy couldn’t be the Apostle of the Outer God itself.
From experience, finding an Apostle had always been harder than defeating one in combat.
This wasn’t the personality type to take such risks and appear in person.
Moreover, the power Richard Sterling possessed…
No matter how I looked at it, it was mana.
I didn’t see the twisted energy unique to Corrupted Entities.
Then Richard Sterling had to be classified at the lowest tier—a follower.
A pawn in the service of the Outer God.
Which meant the Apostle of the Outer God had already infiltrated Earth.
‘The head of Earth’s strongest nation is a follower of the Outer God, damn it.’
…It was rooted far deeper than I’d thought.
My head was pounding.
…I’d just prevented South Korea’s destruction once.
And now a catastrophe that could destroy the entire Earth had erupted?
What the hell was this?
“Sigh.”
I turned off synchronization to conserve Nopi’s battery and boarded a private helicopter heading straight for Incheon.
Of course, I brought Richard Sterling along, still paralyzed by the pressure point.
‘The synchronization is off, but the pressure point holds steady.’
It was fortunate that it didn’t hinder immediate movement.
Thump-thump-thump!
I arrived at the deserted open field where I’d once hunted Scathaha.
I tossed Richard Sterling aside roughly and carefully set the Outer God’s egg on the ground.
While scanning the field, something useful caught my eye.
“This will do nicely.”
I picked up a reasonably long, thin branch.
“From now on, your name is Mokdan.”
I simply replaced the first character of Sungdan with the character for wood.
At my level of mastery, the quality of a weapon hardly mattered anymore.
‘If I put any real force into it, a branch breaks just as easily as an artifact.’
The difference was that branches were free, while artifacts were hard to obtain and expensive.
So picking up a new Mokdan each time was far more efficient.
‘Since I’ve grown accustomed to Sungdan, I don’t even want to use another blade.’
Besides, Sungdan might get upset if I used a different weapon.
So Mokdan will suffice.
Click.
I activated synchronization.
The power of the Sword God returns to me.
“Phew.”
[Agent, I will provide support.]
Whitey conveniently displayed Nopi’s battery status in the corner of my vision at just the right moment.
[B:98%]
Nopi’s battery had been charged to 100% thanks to the robust power supply from the mana stone helicopter.
In other words, just activating synchronization and circulating mana once had already consumed 2%.
Ultimately, it was a problem with Nopi’s components.
If combat actually began, the operational duration wouldn’t even reach five minutes.
But.
“Five minutes is more than enough.”
Before Nopi’s battery depletes.
All I need to do is return with the enemy commander’s head.
I swung Mokdan lightly.
Crack—
The mana stone shattered.
* * *
As the man swung the branch lightly, yet at a speed invisible to the naked eye, the mana stone several paces away split cleanly into two pieces.
‘…It’s definitely just an ordinary branch?’
For a moment, an illusion flashed—the branch seeming to stretch and elongate.
[GUOOOOOH!]
The moment it split in two, a furious roar erupted.
Crackle—crackle crackle!
From the fractured surface of the mana stone, a dark, muddy aura began pouring forth.
That ominous energy swiftly coalesced and swelled, transforming into a colossal abomination bristling with dozens of grotesque crimson eyes and writhing tentacles.
​
[SHRIEEEEEEEK—!!!]
Crack! Snap!
​
As the creature roared, gravity across the open field intensified, and the earth fractured with violent cracks.
​
‘Gasp, gasp…!’
​
Richard, paralyzed by the acupuncture point strike and unable to move a single finger, felt the blood vessels in his eyes burst from the agonizing pressure of the descending gravity combined with that horrific shriek.
His instincts—the survival instinct honed throughout his lifetime as an S-rank Hunter—screamed warnings frantically.
​
‘Pandemonium, you insane bastards! What the hell did you give me!’
​
Though Richard Sterling had focused primarily on rear support and assistance, he was an S-rank Hunter who had traversed the Tower’s conquest and countless Break sites, hunting the beasts of the 70th Floor—a Hunter who had clawed his way to success.
Yet even to his eyes, that monster was something beyond standard classification.
A creature so grotesque that even gathering every climber from the 70th Floor would render them utterly powerless against it…!
Merely facing it shattered one’s spirit.
‘We’re dead. Before a monster like that, both he and I will be slaughtered!’
​
In that very instant, tears of despair began to trickle down Richard Sterling’s cheeks.
​
“Noisy.”
​
A man’s voice emerged—so remarkably serene.
​
Whoooosh—!
​
From the tip of the unremarkable twig held in the man’s hand, a piercing azure radiance began to coalesce.
It was unmistakably mana.
Yet its grade and density differed entirely from the ordinary mana Richard Sterling had witnessed throughout his lifetime.
​
‘In… in this world… what on earth is that…?’
​
The man gripped the twig, now wreathed in that piercing azure blade-light, and stepped forward.
[GRAAAAAAHHH!!!]
Boom!
​
Enraged by the provocation of this diminutive human, the Corrupted Entity unleashed hundreds of obsidian tentacles like a tidal wave.
A strike that surpassed the speed of sound itself.
The air tore asunder with a deafening shriek.
As a suffocating, razor-sharp wave crashed toward him, Richard Sterling’s body trembled reflexively.
‘Ugh…!’
Yet the man did not evade.
He merely flicked the twig he had been aiming—so lightly, so casually.
Slice—!
The result was astounding.
The hundreds of black tentacles pouring forth to fill the space, as if touching some invisible colossal line…
were severed cleanly in their entirety.
​
‘…?!’
​
Richard Sterling doubted his own eyes.
The severed tentacles turned to black ash and scattered in midair before they could even touch the ground.
​
[KIIIIEEEEEK!!!]
​
The Corrupted Entity shrieked in panic, releasing a grotesque cry.
The monster, which had been retreating hesitantly, now desperately compressed all its remaining energy into a single point.
A destructive sphere materialized, threatening to swallow the entire open field.
‘This is the end, then.’
Richard Sterling was about to squeeze his eyes shut in resignation when—
A languid smile played across the man’s lips instead.
​
“Won’t take even five minutes.”
​
The man twisted his wrist holding the peony branch lightly and lowered his stance.
In that instant, Richard Sterling could not breathe.
The mana erupting explosively from the man’s entire body crushed down upon him.
​
“Die.”
​
A calm pronouncement of judgment.
And then, a slash like lightning tore through the void.
​
Immediately after, a brilliant burst of light exploded, searing white across his vision.
Richard Sterling’s sight turned completely white in an instant.
Pssht…
Instead of a deafening roar, a profound silence descended—as if every sound in the world had been erased in a single moment.
​
When focus returned to Richard Sterling’s eyes, which had gone blind and rigid with shock—
​
“Ah….”
​
Richard Sterling’s jaw trembled uncontrollably.
​
The monster that had stood before him had vanished without a trace.
Not only the open field where the monster had stood, but even the sky stretching endlessly above—
​
Following the trajectory where the man had swung the branch, the world had been split in a straight line.
Through the gaping fissure, sunlight poured down across the man’s shoulders.
​
Whoooosh….
​
The twig the Apostle had been holding crumbled into fine ash, unable to withstand the shockwave of power.
​
“Peony Unit 1, well done.”
​
The man turned to face me.
The moment I met those indifferent eyes, I felt as though every principle I had built upon throughout my life was crumbling like a sandcastle.
​
‘…A force beyond all standards.’
​
An S-rank Hunter? The capital of the superpower United States? The power of Pandemonium?
I understood.
Compared to this man, all of it was nothing but dust.
This man was a walking catastrophe who could cleave the world in two with a single twig.
My entire body drenched in cold sweat.
Simultaneously, my mind raced with unprecedented clarity.
Facing the threat of death, my thoughts accelerated beyond anything I had ever experienced.
‘I must attach myself to this man.’
As the man approached and tapped near my neck, my frozen tongue loosened and I found my voice.
“Well then…”
“I shall become your stepping stone!!!”
And so I cried out loudly.
The man closed his mouth and began to stare at me intently.
…An abyss-like terror, as though gazing into the depths of oblivion.
An invisible hand seemed to grip my throat with crushing force, and I gasped, swallowing hard.
But if I fell silent here, my neck would surely be forfeit.
“We, we shall…”
I forced out the words.
“Surrender a portion of our stake in the 40th Floor mana stone mines. We will open our artifact warehouse as well—satellites? Intelligence networks? Points or gold? Whatever you require! We will offer everything you desire!”
And I must survive at all costs.
I raised my voice, veins straining in my neck.
“Please, if you spare my life, I will prove most useful going forward. I beg you, take me under your wing!”
Unable to move my body, I cast my eyes downward, displaying my submission.
‘Phew. That should do it.’
Surrendering a portion of the mana stone mines was tantamount to declaring South Korea a first-priority ally.
—South Korea remains under American protection.
Should this promise be made public, other nations would no longer dare to ignore this small country and would bow their heads.
A feat that tiny South Korea could never attempt alone.
Only the superpower United States possessed the authority and resources for such a display.
While my expression remained one of servility, inwardly I swallowed a haughty smirk.
‘This is my United States…!’
Even that monster of a man would snap up this offer.
“No.”
“Then, shall I prepare the contract…?”
‘Did I mishear?’
Did he just say NO?
“Ha, Mister. I believe there’s been a misunderstanding… What about this? I’ll dispatch America’s premier farming teams to you. We’ll provide free training to your nation’s Hunter Association…”
“No.”
“…I-I’ll offer every single Point I possess…”
“No.”
“….”
Richard Sterling fell silent.
As if struck by some inexplicable force, his voice simply vanished.
His heart hammered wildly at the ominous premonition that his neck might be severed at any moment, tears welling in his eyes.
“P-please… spare me.”
The man answered without expression.
“No.”

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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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