I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 172

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Chapter 172
I jolted upright on the bed.
I had considerable interest in why monsters were appearing outside The Tower.
So I immediately sent a text asking for a detailed explanation.
A reply came back right away.
―Would it be alright if I explained in person? It’s a matter of security importance. If you don’t mind, I’ll visit you within 15 minutes.
I replied that it was fine.
After finishing my exchange with Baek Jin-woo, I rose from the sofa and headed to the kitchen.
I planned to grab a meal while waiting.
I wasn’t going to cook anything elaborate—I simply pulled out something from the refrigerator that only needed microwaving, set it running, and began eating immediately.
With my other hand, I turned on my phone and opened the internet.
“Hmm.”
The first thing I checked was the news section.
But there was nothing particularly noteworthy there.
There were articles about monster appearances in foreign countries from before, but they were all things I already knew about.
There was nothing new.
They were probably deliberately controlling the information.
After all, Baek Jin-woo himself said he’d come in person to explain due to security concerns.
So I stopped digging through the news and entered the Community.
The largest Awakeners community in Korea—TowerNet.
I used to visit frequently in the past to gather information, but it had been quite a while since my last visit.
Most of the information posted on TowerNet was extremely basic, so there wasn’t much point in checking it.
But after such a long absence, something caught my eye.
‘Anonymous. Anonymous. Unknown…’
I knew what these names referred to—they were calling me.
When I posted records, I hadn’t written down a specific name, so it just displayed as ‘Anonymous,’ and that nickname eventually stuck.
‘I haven’t been hiding it recently, though.’
Rather than using my full name, I simply introduced myself as ‘Han’ for convenience.
But I still couldn’t find any mention of that on TowerNet.
Considering the people I’ve revealed my name to so far, it wasn’t particularly strange.
Most of them were either from different dimensions or people very close to me.
In any case, I was well aware that my posts appeared frequently.
But while scanning through the post titles, I discovered something new.
“Korea ranking record broken?”
I tilted my head and clicked on the post.
The content was very straightforward.
―Anonymous left surpassed the 89th floor and achieved a new Korean record.
That I had reached Floor 89. And that it was Korea’s new record.
Below were a stream of shocked comments.
└Wait, wasn’t he in the 70s last week?
└Surprising fact: I was on Floor 83 before I went to sleep
└?You went from Floor 83 to Floor 89 in just one day?
He’s just crazy.
Jung Han-sung read that far and then opened another browser window. He typed “Korea Tower records” into the search bar, and results immediately flooded the screen.
“So the previous top record was… Ah. The team disbanded at Floor 88.”
First.
The former number one team in Korea’s rankings, they had reached the highest floor in Korea before Jung Han-sung.
Jung Han-sung had seen a member of First before—the red-haired woman he’d encountered in the Neutral Zone.
There seemed to be other members present at the time, but he couldn’t quite recall them.
The woman, however, had left quite an impression.
Her hair rippled like living flames, which was certainly striking, but what was more impressive was her attitude.
Despite having reached such a high floor, she still looked upward with ambition.
‘And her skills seemed quite formidable too.’
Of course, Jung Han-sung had only been in the 40s back then, so he couldn’t have accurately assessed her true abilities.
Either way, they chose to disband, making further record progression impossible.
Watching that unfold, Jung Han-sung felt a peculiar emotion.
‘I’m ranked first.’
Just a few months ago, he had lived a life completely unrelated to the Tower.
Yet now he had become Korea’s number one ranked climber.
This ranking was ultimately based only on the floors cleared, but the feeling was still strange.
But that sentiment didn’t last long.
“Still, when you consider other countries, I’ve got a long way to go.”
Korea’s progress through the Tower was actually quite slow compared to other nations.
More than three countries had surpassed Floor 100, and some had even broken through Floor 120.
Korea, meanwhile, hadn’t yet overcome the barrier of the 90s.
But that was ancient history now.
Jung Han-sung planned to rest sufficiently and then challenge Floor 90 immediately.
Click—
After quickly checking the internet, Jung Han-sung placed his finished dishes into the dishwasher and turned away.
Ding dong—
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Good afternoon.”
Jung Han-sung went to the entrance and opened the door to find Baek Jin-woo standing there.
Baek Jin-woo greeted him respectfully and asked cautiously.
“Would it be possible to come inside and talk?”
“Of course.”
Jung Han-sung entered his home with him. After offering a seat and sitting across from him, he asked directly.
“You’ve obtained reliable information?”
“Yes, I have.”
Baek Jin-woo nodded immediately and spoke.
“Let me start with what you’re most curious about. The appearance of monsters outside The Tower is related to The Tower’s conquest progress.”
“The Tower’s conquest progress?”
“Yes. I mentioned several theories before, and at that time I suggested it might be related to insufficient progress in conquering The Tower.”
“That’s right.”
“As predicted, all the locations where monsters appeared failed to meet the conditions required for conquest.”
He spoke thus and pulled out documents he had prepared in advance, spreading them across the table.
“For The Towers located in those countries, the maximum conquest floors reached were only 49th Floor and 43rd Floor, I’m told.”
“What? Is that even possible?”
Jung Han-sung’s expression turned puzzled. 43rd Floor, 49th Floor?
Of course, those weren’t particularly low floors. In fact, reaching those levels alone was considered quite respectable.
But the fact that the highest record in countries with those Towers was in the 40s didn’t make sense to me.
Even Korea, which was falling behind compared to other nations, had climbed to the late 80s, hadn’t it?
Japan and China next door had reached even higher floors.
To that question, Baek Jin-woo smiled bitterly and spoke.
“Actually, Korea ranks among the top tier globally.”
“Is that so?”
Jung Han-sung asked with genuine curiosity, as this was something he hadn’t known.
Baek Jin-woo then pointed to one of the documents and spoke.
“Yes. Among over 190 countries worldwide, Korea ranks within the top 20.”
“Ah. Then it certainly is among the top tier.”
Simply saying top 20 doesn’t sound that impressive, but when you say top 20 out of 190 countries, it suddenly sounds much higher.
“Exactly. In fact, Korea is underestimated because it’s surrounded by so many powerful nations. Russia. China. Japan. And even the United States, which feels distant yet close. Excluding the United States, all the other countries are among the world’s absolute top tier.”
Baek Jin-woo pointed to another spot on the document.
“Even famous European nations with well-known names instantly become last place when they come near this East Asian region.”
“I see. So there are many countries that haven’t reached 50th Floor?”
“Yes. Quite a lot. To be specific, roughly half of the world’s nations haven’t reached 50th Floor. For reference, there’s even a country whose highest record is 9th Floor.”
“I see…”
Jung Han-sung nodded at these newly learned facts, then suddenly a thought occurred to him and he spoke again.
“Wait. If roughly half the countries haven’t reached 50th Floor, does that mean monsters will appear in all their Towers too?”
“That’s not necessarily the case.”
Baek Jin-woo shook his head.
“To be precise, it won’t happen all at once.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You could say that monster appearances are random.”
“So just because a country hasn’t reached the required progress doesn’t mean monsters will definitely appear. It’s random.”
“Correct. Any country that falls short of the conditions faces the risk of monsters appearing.”
True enough. If that weren’t the case, monsters would have burst forth first from the country whose highest record was 9th Floor.
But hearing it explained this way made it feel even more serious.
Doesn’t “random” mean it’s difficult to prepare for?
Yet on the other hand, there was something reassuring in a corner of my mind.
If the threshold is the 50th Floor, then Korea is far outside that threat zone, isn’t it?
But such thoughts didn’t last long.
“The bigger problem comes after that.”
“After that?”
“Yes. Our analysis shows these conditions will gradually intensify.”
Baek Jin-woo pointed to another document with his finger.
“The first threshold is the 50th Floor, but the next will be the 100th Floor. Monsters will spawn randomly in all nations below the 100th Floor. And.”
His expression grew even more grave.
“In Towers below the 50th Floor, monster spawn rates will increase further. For reference, this pattern repeats every 50 Floors.”
“You’re saying the threshold could eventually rise to the 150th Floor?”
“Correct.”
Hearing that much, I felt the true gravity of the situation.
“How much time are we given?”
“We estimate a cycle of approximately 2 years.”
“Two years… A 2-year cycle?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I blinked.
“So the threshold rises to the 100th Floor in 2 years?”
“Correct.”
“…Then the 150th Floor would be 4 years from now?”
“Yes.”
Four years…
‘That should give us enough time, shouldn’t it?’
My thoughts immediately showed on my face, and Baek Jin-woo smiled faintly at the sight before speaking.
“In fact, we believe Korea’s safety is assured as long as you continue to remain in Korea. You possess that level of ability, after all.”
Before I could respond to the sudden praise, Baek Jin-woo produced a new document.
“So after the meeting, we concluded it was best to prepare new terms, which is why I’ve brought this contract.”
“You want to make a new contract?”
“We’re not changing the existing conditions. We’re only modifying the duration and compensation.”
Baek Jin-woo said this while opening directly to the final page of the document.
There, the differences from the existing contract were laid out simply.
Contract renewal on a yearly basis.
Base compensation increased by 300%.
Special bonus payments for every 10 Floors cleared.
The key lay in that final condition.
The special bonus was extraordinarily generous even by my current standards.
“Wouldn’t this amount of money be a burden on the Association?”
“We concluded it’s better to actively support you than to distribute resources among many ordinary individuals.”
In other words, they were consolidating support that would have gone to multiple people and directing it all toward me.
The urgency of the Association was certainly evident in the terms themselves.
It was understandable.
Conquering The Tower was no longer merely a matter of personal gain—it had become inextricably tied to the nation’s very survival.
Baek Jin-woo bowed respectfully to Jung Han-sung as he spoke.
“I sincerely hope you will consider this proposal favorably.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————