I Conquered the Tower with the EX-Class Character That I Raised - Chapter 89

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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 89
Lee Hyung-je and Kang Hyo-jun dispersed to handle their respective tasks.
Min Ji-hee and I made our way toward the location of the mana stone helicopter.
“We’re short on time, so I’ll explain as we go.”
Min Ji-hee, who had been following close behind me, immediately pulled out her notepad.
“The Corrupted Entity cannot be killed with Earth’s current firepower.”
“…To that extent?”
“Nuclear weapons might work. But consider what the Outer God’s egg is disguised as.”
“A mana stone…”
The Outer God’s egg takes the form of a mana stone.
And mana stones are typically stored in places like power plants and large factories.
Drop a nuclear weapon just to eliminate one Corrupted Entity?
That would mean destroying the nation’s entire infrastructure with our own hands.
It’s essentially a trap-tier choice that should never be selected.
“The Corrupted Entity and all beings empowered by the Outer God possess tremendous physical resistance. Firearms are useless, naturally, and missiles below nuclear-grade won’t work either.”
“…Then how do we confront it?”
“Only Hunters—specifically S-rank or higher elemental magic-type Hunters—can stand against it.”
Physical-type Hunters could manage it if they’re at Mushin’s level of strength.
Anything below Mushin’s tier cannot defeat the Corrupted Entity.
And Mushin is an EX-rank Hunter, considered the pinnacle of physical-type combat.
Essentially, they can’t win.
I counted off on my fingers as I spoke.
“We need to assemble a raid team. S-rank or higher magic-type Hunters as damage dealers, a tank who can withstand the Corrupted Entity’s attacks, and a support member to keep that tank alive.”
In simpler terms, think of it as raiding a humanoid boss monster.
“Three people is the minimum viable number.”
“What about more than that?”
“Anyone below A-rank shouldn’t participate.”
Based on my experience with the Corrupted Entity in the Tower, that’s the reality.
“These creatures absorb the souls of those they kill and grow stronger.”
“….”
Min Ji-hee’s hand, which had been writing frantically, came to a stop.
Her mind was clearly racing through the implications.
“What’s the expected difficulty level…”
“….”
I paused to choose my words carefully.
‘Come to think of it, how strong are Earth’s S-rank Hunters actually?’
I’d only heard reports about them; I’d never actually seen them in action.
“If Han Seol-ah is the damage dealer—not EX-rank but S-rank—Jin Cheon-jin as the tank, and you as support, how many floors could your party clear?”
“We were actually able to subjugate bosses that appeared mixed in with monster waves on the 90th Floor. We managed the Break Boss with some difficulty. But once we encountered the Frost Dragon and enemies with ice resistance or immunity began appearing, it became impossible.”
“Considering Earth as a whole, where does your three-person party rank in terms of combat power?”
“First place.”
Min Ji-hee answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Large-scale raids or Tower climbing operations would be different, of course. But given your assumption of just the three of us.”
“If we’re measuring by the three of you as the standard…”
I ran a simulation through my mind.
“The win rate would be around 90%.”
That’s assuming none of you make mistakes and fight flawlessly.
Since humans who never make mistakes don’t exist, realistically it should be adjusted down to around 80%.
“So… formidable an opponent indeed.”
Even so, Min Ji-hee’s expression hardened.
Wasn’t this the strongest party on Earth, capable of subjugating the 90th Floor bosses?
But the truly despairing news was something else entirely.
“However, even in this case, killing the Corrupted Entity is impossible.”
“…!”
Min Ji-hee gasped sharply.
There’s something you absolutely must know when facing the Corrupted Entity and other entities blessed by the Outer God.
No matter how fatal a blow you inflict, they never reach true death.
“Even if you destroy them enough to stop their breath, they simply revert to the form of an Outer God’s egg.”
And the moment that egg awakens again… they resurrect in perfect condition without a single wound.
“Then… there’s no way to kill it…?”
“That’s not quite right. There’s just no one on Earth capable of it.”
There’s only one way to overcome this.
To sever the blessing itself that the Outer God granted—the ‘Corruption’ itself.
My sword energy and sword force were developed as abilities specialized for this, so I can do it, but…
Could Earth’s hunters manage it?
I didn’t think so.
“To summarize: be careful not to awaken the Corrupted Entity.”
“…Yes.”
“If you do awaken it, assemble a subjugation team centered around an S-rank elemental mage with a tank and support, then subjugate it.”
“Yes.”
“After successfully subjugating it and it reverts to egg form, be careful not to awaken the Corrupted Entity again.”
“…Yes.”
Min Ji-hee pressed her temples.
“If we’re just careful… it won’t awaken?”
I shrugged.
“No.”
* * *
“I’ll conduct an inspection of the Mana Stone Power Plant.”
James, who had become the interim Hunter Association chairman, made the Mana Stone Power Plant his first official visit.
‘Heh heh. Even if I just take one mana stone from there, how much would that be worth?’
The reason was simple.
I intended to pilfer the mana stones stacked in the Mana Stone Power Plant’s warehouse and sell them to the Black Market!
‘There’s no helping it because of that idiot brother!’
Richard Sterling—my brother—had monopolized every artifact the family had accumulated over the years.
But with this ‘accident,’ he’d gone to the afterlife, so those artifacts would be… nearly impossible to recover.
Then I must acquire high-grade artifacts equal to, or exceeding, those lost ones to protect myself.
That is work for the American Hunter Association, and for the great nation of the United States itself.
James genuinely believed this.
It was the moment he rationalized this and began to move forward.
“N-no, the Mana Stone Power Plant is off-limits. Vice-Chairman.”
The young man in a suit following behind turned pale and blocked his path.
“Vice? Chairman! You bastard. Have you lost your mind?”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The man crumpled to the ground after taking a blow to his shin.
“Off-limits? What do you mean off-limits? I’m the Chairman. You insolent bastard… Ptui!”
James spat at the man and strode out.
Inside the car heading to the Mana Stone Power Plant, James flipped through the catalog the Black Market had provided.
The top-priority highest-tier artifact he’d wanted—the ‘Spatial Expansion Backpack’—was already completely sold out.
‘Tsk. Without the backpack, I’ll have to settle for filling all ten fingers with rings.
He giggled, lost in fantasies of adorning both hands with jaw-droppingly expensive artifacts.
The car gradually slowed and came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Mm. Take me to the warehouse.”
Shortly after, James followed the Power Plant Director—who came rushing out to greet him—to the mana stone storage warehouse first.
“What’s the most expensive mana stone here?”
“We have S-rank mana stones imported from South Korea. However, those are currently being used for power generation…”
“That’s the country where sudden 90th Floor Gates appear frequently, isn’t it? Don’t you have anything else?”
“According to I-MAP, our turn won’t come around for some time…”
“Tsk.”
Even James’s small mind grasped the contents of the ‘pact.’
South Korea—a nation with pathetic national power, yet one that endlessly produced quality mana stones.
The unfair pact that powerful nations created to insert a straw into that nation and suck it dry was the ‘International Mana-stone Allocation Pact.’
In other words, ‘I-MAP.’
And the chairman of the ‘IMCC (International Mana-stone Control Commission)’—the organization that oversaw this pact’s smooth operation—was none other than the American Hunter Association Chairman.
A pact designed so that if nations began competing to purchase South Korean mana stones, prices would skyrocket; instead, it established a turn-based system allowing mana stone purchases at dirt-cheap prices!
It was also the most fatal unfair pact that South Korea had never been able to escape.
‘Now that I’m the IMCC chairman, I just need to arrange for my turn to come around more frequently.’
“Then, those S-rank mana stones currently being used for power generation—there’s no way to remove them, is there?”
“N-no, sir! If you remove those, not only will my head roll, but your position as Chairman could be forfeit entirely!”
Even the Power Plant Director that James had installed as a puppet turned ashen, blocking my path.
“That’s… all there is?”
James, whose self-preservation came first, stepped back with a dissatisfied expression, smacking his lips.
“What’s the next most expensive item?”
“It’s stored separately. This way, please.”
We passed through the general warehouse packed with mana stones from F-rank to B-rank, and upon reaching the end of the special management warehouse housing A-rank mana stones…
We arrived before a secret vault guarded by a thick security door.
‘The security here is incredibly thorough.’
I could barely remember how many security checkpoints we’d passed through to get here.
‘If I hadn’t installed the Director as a puppet, I never would’ve made it this far.’
After passing through the complex security procedures, the heavy door opened with a deep, grinding sound—
Inside lay two enormous mana stones.
“The United States possesses three S-rank mana stones. Two of them are stored here. You may take one of them. Hehe.”
“Hmm, let me see.”
James strutted into the warehouse.
He pressed his face close to the left mana stone, which was about the size of an adult’s head.
‘Khehe, how much is all this worth?’
It was the moment I was savoring its radiant glow.
“…Huh?”
“What’s wrong, sir?”
Within the center of what should have been a transparent mana stone, something dark like a blood vessel writhed and pulsed.
“There’s something inside this mana stone…?”
“Pardon?”
* * *
“It’s connected.”
Iransu, who had his eyes closed, smiled wickedly in the darkness.
Richard had failed three times.
Normally, he should have become a Corrupted Entity and paid the price, but since my master killed him, even that became impossible.
In compensation, I was about to detonate the ‘egg’ I had planted on American soil.
But that egg was locked away in a vault so thickly fortified and specially treated that ‘the Father’s voice’ couldn’t reach it.
Yet just now, the sturdy door opened.
“I don’t know what fool did this… but I’m very grateful.”
Through the gap in the barrier, ‘the Father’s voice’ finally reached the egg.
“Now, awaken.”
The egg sent to America was a special creation made from an A-rank hunter of American origin.
It would make for a most excellent companion.
* * *
Crack—
The mana stone split in half.
“Ahhh!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
The two men, who had been leaning in close to examine the mana stone, suddenly clutched each other and screamed.
That expensive mana stone!
An S-rank stone at that—reduced to nothing more than a worthless rock!
“Huh?”
Crack—crackle!
From the fractured surface of the split mana stone, a dark, muddy aura began pouring forth…
The sinister energy swirled and expanded in an instant, transforming into a colossal abomination bristling with dozens of grotesque crimson eyes and writhing tentacles.
“…?”
The two men, their minds gone blank with shock, stood frozen in place, too paralyzed even to consider fleeing.
In that defenseless moment.
The Corrupted Entity, freshly born from the mana stone, lashed out with a single tentacle, and the two hapless men were cleaved in half.
Squelch, squelch!
The Corrupted Entity drove its tentacles into the bisected corpses, and black energy surged up through them, draining away.
Splurt! Crack!
Gorging itself on their life force, it swelled grotesquely, and soon a thick new tentacle erupted from its body.
[Screeeeeech—!]
The Corrupted Entity unleashed a savage cry and hurled its tentacle skyward with tremendous force.
Boom!
In a single bound, it burst through the warehouse ceiling and erupted into the open air.
The monster, suspended in the sky, swept its dozens of crimson eyes across the surroundings, searching for concentrations of powerful life signatures.
It didn’t need to search far. Appetizing auras thrummed throughout the facility it had just torn through.
Satisfied, the Corrupted Entity dropped toward the ground.
Boom!
With that simple gesture, the power plant buckled inward.
Boom! Crash! Kaboom!
Explosions erupted.
Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties.
The epicenter of the blast was the San Francisco Bay Hunter Academy, a specialized training facility exclusively for American hunters.
Located in the heart of the compound, it was a place completely inaccessible to civilians.
“Unidentified monster detected!”
“Engaging immediately!”
The B-rank hunter team guarding the Mana Stone Power Plant detected the commotion and rushed to respond.
Upon spotting the grotesque form of the Corrupted Entity rising from the dust, they immediately shifted into combat formation.
“Stone Skin!”
The B-rank tank activated his skill first.
His entire body hardened to stone-like density as he stepped forward, gripping a massive shield.
Behind him came a melee damage dealer with a sword, two ranged damage dealers with bows, and a healer bringing up the rear—all cautiously closing the distance to the Corrupted Entity.
“Now!”
The moment the healer, their leader, gave the signal.
“Hiyah!”
“Kiai!”
The tank and melee damage dealer charged forward with ferocity.
The tank rushed straight at the Corrupted Entity to draw its attention, while the melee dealer sprinted diagonally to flank it.
Simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two arrows loosed at the same moment streaked toward the Corrupted Entity’s feet to bind it.
But.
Clang! Clang!
The arrows bounced off its skin without leaving so much as a scratch.
[Kehehehe.]
The Corrupted Entity gazed down at the prey rushing toward it and laughed with sinister delight.
Then it raised its tentacles high…
Whoooosh!
And lashed them out like a whip.
Boom!
With a sound that tore through the air, the tentacle swept across a vast 180-degree arc in an instant.
“Wha—”
That was all that remained of the five B-rank hunters’ final cries.
The tank in front, reinforced with skills and shield artifacts,
The healer at the rear had no time to dodge—their upper and lower body separated as they fell.
And the remaining three with weaker defenses.
The melee dealer and two ranged dealers couldn’t withstand the impact and burst apart in mid-air.
[Tsk, kukuku.]
The Corrupted Entity, having absorbed the dark energy from the five mangled corpses, laughed with grotesque satisfaction.
Just then, the sound of commotion echoed from afar as footsteps approached.
Multiple B-rank hunters in training and an A-rank hunter team serving as instructors were leisurely walking toward the Corrupted Entity.
“What is that thing with the tentacles?”
“I thought a dragon had emerged. Let’s just slice it up and collect the reward.”
Based solely on its appearance, they dismissed it as a common mutant monster, their faces brimming with confidence.
Watching the fearless A-rank hunter team approach and the B-rank hunters preparing support from the rear,
[Kukuhehe.]
Smack—
The Corrupted Entity smiled with satisfaction and licked its lips as if savoring a delicious meal.
* * *
I was just about to board the mana stone helicopter as I opened its door.
Beep! Beep!!
My smartwatch and Min Ji-hee’s terminal simultaneously blared with the highest-level disaster alert.
– San Francisco Bay Hunter Academy and Mana Stone Power Plant completely destroyed.
– Unidentified monster species detected (Designation: Unknown)
– ‘Unknown’, moving toward downtown San Francisco.
Beneath the crimson text displayed on the screen lay a blurry photograph of the ‘Unknown’—its grotesque tentacles writhing with an unsettling life of their own.
The color drained from Min Ji-hee’s face the moment she read the urgent alert.
“…Apostle.”
The terror had already begun.
“…What will you do?”
Min Ji-hee presented two options before me.
One: Change course and hunt down the Corrupted Entity in the United States.
Two: Continue forward and eliminate the Pandemonium Guild Master—the Outer God’s Apostle.
My choice?
It was already decided.

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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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