Chapter 06
A moment later, a reward list unfolded before my eyes.
[Reward measurement complete.]
[The loot obtained from this floor will be automatically stored.]
[Crafting Materials]
▶ Giant Saw Blade Fang (2)
▶ Swamp-Soaked Giant Leather (1)
▶ Green Leather Fragment (4)
▶ Bloodsucking Leech Fang (7)
▶ Small Bottle Containing Sticky Sap (2)
[Equipment]
▶ Old and Corroded Long Sword (Low Grade)
‘Automatic storage? That’s convenient. But is this really all?’
After making such a fuss about reward adjustments and all that, the rewards seemed a little disappointing…
Just as I was thinking that, the messages continued.
[Special Mission Completion Reward has been issued.]
▶ Reward: D-grade Shadow Engraving Slot
※ Only skills of D-rank or lower can be engraved into this slot.
[Excellent performance has been recorded. The highest achievement reward will be additionally granted.]
▶ Additional Reward: Endless Hunger
[You have conquered the ‘Unknown Floor’.]
[Basic stats will increase.]
[You have overcome the hidden trial.]
[Basic stats will increase additionally.]
I kept receiving things because the tower kept giving them, but I had no idea how valuable the things I received actually were.
Honestly, I was not that interested either.
‘Well, I survived somehow. That’s enough.’
Just as I waved my hand in the air and erased the annoying message windows…
“Mr. Si-hyeon! Mr. Jin-cheol! Did you two check your rewards too?!”
Park Jin-seong, who had been sitting on the ground with his legs giving out moments ago, approached us with a huge smile on his face.
I did not know what he received, but it seemed the rewards were not disappointing.
“Ah, yes. For now. But you look pretty happy?”
“Haha, of course! I have never received a reward like this since I awakened. Thanks to the two of you, I really hit the jackpot!”
He was not originally a stiff person, but he also was not someone who usually looked this bright.
It seemed the rewards really were generous.
“Oh, look at me. I got distracted. That wasn’t what I came to say.”
After excitedly talking for a while, Park Jin-seong came back to his senses and returned to his usual expression.
He bowed his head slightly and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you very much. If it weren’t for you two, I really… I would have died in the tower without even leaving a corpse behind. Thanks to you, I can return alive and well. I cannot express how grateful I am with words.”
“It’s nothing. Everyone worked hard together. As long as everyone survived safely, that’s enough.”
While I answered, Kim hyung added a word from the side.
“What did I even do? This bastard Si-hyeon did everything himself. Anyway, Mr. Jin-seong, you worked hard too.”
“Oh, no. Having Mr. Jin-cheol there made me feel incredibly reassured.”
Then Park Jin-seong smiled and added,
“Of course, Mr. Si-hyeon’s performance goes without saying.”
“If the two of you don’t mind, since this became such a connection, could I at least get your contact information…?”
A companion who crossed a life-or-death situation together.
I understood his feelings very well.
But the timing was bad.
“More importantly, look at your legs.”
“…My legs? My legs?”
Park Jin-seong naturally lowered his gaze toward his lower body.
His two legs were turning into faint particles of light and scattering away.
A clear order from the tower telling us that once our business was finished, we should leave.
A regretful smile appeared on his face.
“Ah… I guess I’m a little late.”
I smiled at him.
“Let’s meet again. If fate brings us together someday.”
Park Jin-seong slowly disappeared like smoke.
Perhaps he wanted to properly express his gratitude too, because Kim Min-ju, who had quietly waited beside him for her turn, hurriedly spoke before her time ran out.
“Thank you. Really.”
With an awkward smile, she waved goodbye with a hand that had already halfway disappeared.
“I’ll be going!”
I waved my hand back.
“Go.”
Kim hyung, who was still remaining, grinned.
“When we get out, grilled pork belly and soju?”
“Ah, of course. A promise is a promise.”
“Hehe, good. There’s a place nearby that has really good prices and tastes amazing—”
He disappeared before finishing his sentence.
Only I remained.
“Then I guess it’s my turn soon.”
After saying it, something felt strange.
My two feet were still firmly standing on the swamp ground.
Everyone else disappeared from below upward like wet cotton candy melting away, only differing in speed.
But I showed no signs of disappearing.
‘Is there something else?’
For example, maybe the tower still had something to say to me.
Or maybe it wanted to have a quiet conversation with me alone.
The messages that appeared afterward answered my question.
[Global Notice: Tower of Korea]
[The first EX-grade clear record has been confirmed on the ‘Unknown Floor’ of the Tower of Korea.]
[Due to the contribution of the awakened one who achieved this feat, a blessing has been bestowed upon the entire Tower of Korea.]
‘Ah, I understand.’
Among the message contents, the two letters ‘EX’ especially caught my attention, and a small smile escaped my lips.
So that was why I was the only one not being sent back.
The tower had not held me back for no reason.
[As a reward for achieving a great feat, you have been granted the right to choose a blessing. Select one option below. The blessing will be applied to the entire tower you belong to.]
“Wow… This was a bigger event than I thought.”
Underground Situation Room of the Tower Disaster Control Headquarters under the Tower Special Management Agency.
Large and small screens filled the entire front wall, constantly displaying various information about climbers inside the Tower of Korea.
Every single piece of information was a national secret.
However, even with such precious data in front of them, everyone sitting there was staring at only one place as if they had made an agreement beforehand.
[Until Tower Collapse | D – 25 | 14 : 12 : 51]
What they were staring at was nothing more than a digital clock.
The problem was the five words attached before the clock.
“Until Tower Collapse.”
Because of those five words, Tower Disaster Control Headquarters Director Jung Jin-hyeok could not take his eyes away.
He nervously tapped the table.
“…Not yet?”
“Yes, Director. They are still progressing with the clear inside the tower… Ah! The moment I said that, they have returned. We have received contact from Awakened Shin Yu-seong’s side.”
Everyone in the Tower Disaster Control Headquarters sighed.
“Ah…”
Shin Yu-seong had returned from the tower, but there was no announcement from the tower.
That meant one thing.
The clear had failed.
“Damn it…!”
He believed this time would be different.
But another failure.
Jung Jin-hyeok tightly closed his eyes.
“Ha…”
“Director?”
“Connect me.”
Soon, communication connected, and the face of a handsome young man appeared on the main monitor.
“You worked hard, Mr. Shin Yu-seong.”
He was Korea’s strongest awakened person and the highest-ranked climber in the country.
The face on the screen was exhausted.
― I’m back. The result is… everyone already knows, but we failed. I’m sorry. It was because I lacked ability.
“There is no need to say that. This time just wasn’t enough. We still have more than a month left, don’t we?”
Jung Jin-hyeok tried to comfort him.
However, even Jung Jin-hyeok could not stop his mouth from drying.
They had used their strongest card and still failed.
No.
They had used their strongest card multiple times and still failed.
There were no more cards left in their hands.
“We will review the clearing footage later… First, I want to ask. In the end… is it impossible without ‘that’?”
On the screen, Shin Yu-seong reluctantly nodded.
― Yes. Without the Frost Giant’s Heart… I cannot see a way.
Then Shin Yu-seong’s gaze moved toward his waist.
The same thought crossed both of their minds.
‘Who would have thought making the sword would become our mistake…’
A legendary sword made by Korea’s greatest craftsman after melting down the Frost Giant’s Heart.
“Create a weapon with the boss’s weakness attribute and give it to Shin Yu-seong.”
At the time, both Shin Yu-seong and the authorities believed that was the best choice.
A solution that had worked until now.
However, this time, it was not enough.
In the end, Shin Yu-seong’s foundation was a swordsman.
He was fundamentally different from the American water attribute awakened person who created a waterfall in a place without water, or the Chinese ice attribute awakened person who called himself the rightful successor of the Northern Ice Palace.
‘It should not have been something that lasted permanently. It needed to explode all at once. Like Japan.’
Just like the Korean peninsula, Japan’s strongest awakened person was also a swordsman.
And Japan had started climbing Korea’s tower one month later.
An awakened person with the same attribute on the same floor?
Whether Korea liked it or not, Korea became Japan’s guidebook for tower climbing.
Japan had used Korea’s progress as an answer sheet until now.
But this time, Japan found another path.
After seeing Korea struggle, somehow they discovered it.
‘We prepared the meal and gave it to the dog. Who would have thought they would make a potion out of something as precious as the Frost Giant’s Heart…’
It sounded insane.
But it was the answer.
Several days ago, Japan’s strongest awakened person drank that potion and cut down the Avatar of Flame, proving it.
In the end, Korea also returned to needing the Frost Giant’s Heart.
The problem was simple.
They could not hunt the Frost Giant.
Even if they wanted to.
A Frost Spirit needed time to grow through a golem and become a complete giant.
A considerable amount of time.
Even Shin Yu-seong could not accelerate the growth and development of a life form decided by the tower.
Therefore, it would take 29 more days.
Because entering the tower was limited to once per day, obtaining the necessary item and defeating the Avatar of Flame would require one more day.
Exactly 30 days.
Meaning they were short by exactly 5 days.
Five days.
Only five days, less than a week.
But that wall was impossibly high.
In the hopeless situation, Jung Jin-hyeok carefully asked.
“…If you could somehow obtain the heart within the time limit, what would you estimate the success rate to be?”
― If that were possible… 99%. No, 100%. I will do it. I will bet everything I have.
“Aah…”
It was practically a confirmation.
‘If Teacher Shin says something like that… then with only the heart, clearing the tower is basically guaranteed…’
The situation was cruel.
The person who needed to clear the tower was full of confidence.
But time was not on their side.
Jung Jin-hyeok pressed his temple and sighed.
‘Just because of five days…’
Because of those five days, the capital region with a population of 25 million was at risk of disappearing completely.
Just like Moscow in the past.
The mysterious powers of awakened people only worked inside the tower.
The miracle of cutting steel with a sword or creating flames from one’s hand disappeared like a mirage the moment they left the tower.
Outside, they became no different from ordinary people.
Russia tried to break that rule.
They attempted to turn awakened people into real-world weapons.
They tried to make the government own them.
Under state control, inhumane training, experiments, and oppression crushed the potential of Russian awakened people.
Many Russian awakened people fled overseas to escape.
Russia, having lost countless awakened talents including key figures, eventually faced the catastrophe of tower collapse.
‘When the tower first appeared on Earth, the entire world watched the first collapse.’
The tower did not collapse with a loud roar.
Instead, the opposite happened.
The tower quietly disappeared.
Leaving behind only a giant darkness that swallowed everything within a radius of dozens of kilometers.
‘Like a black hole.’
That was how the metropolis of Moscow, a city of ten million people, was completely erased.
Along with three million people who ignored evacuation warnings, thinking,
‘What could possibly happen?’
And now Seoul was about to follow.
‘Is there any way to buy time…’
Jung Jin-hyeok knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible.
The tower had never shown such an exception before.
Yet he wished for it because he wanted it so desperately.
‘Time… if only we had a little more time…!’
Jung Jin-hyeok’s expression twisted from helplessness.
Shin Yu-seong gave a bitter smile.
― Director. We should announce the failure and evacuate the residents of the capital area. Even if we cannot stop the tower collapse, shouldn’t we at least prevent casualties?
“Yes… We should.”
― We can continue the clear afterward. We still have 25 days left, don’t we? It will be difficult to obtain the Frost Giant’s Heart within that time… but I will do everything I can for these remaining 25 days. I will prevent the collapse somehow.
Even while discussing evacuation, Shin Yu-seong never abandoned his will to clear the tower.
Seeing that determination, Jung Jin-hyeok also made his decision.
“Yes. Leave the rest to me. I will make sure every single citizen can evacuate safely.”
It was the exact moment Korea decided to give up on protecting the capital region, the home of 25 million citizens.
Then—
[Global Notice: Tower of Korea]
[The first EX-grade clear record has been confirmed on the ‘Unknown Floor’ of the Tower of Korea.]
[Due to the contribution of the awakened one who achieved this feat, a blessing has been bestowed upon the Tower of Korea.]
[Abundance of the Swamp]
[All rewards from the tower become richer.]
▶ Loot acquisition rate increases by 1.5 times for 72 hours.
▶ The appearance rate of the lowest-grade loot decreases for 72 hours, and the reduced amount increases the chance of obtaining higher-grade loot.
▶ The time limit for conquering unexplored highest floors is extended by 7 days.
‘…What?!’
Before being the director of the Tower Disaster Control Headquarters, Jung Jin-hyeok was also an awakened person.
The tower’s global announcement appeared one after another before his eyes.
He jumped up from his seat.
Crash!
“…!”
He was not the only one surprised.
Shin Yu-seong on the screen also widened his eyes.
“D-Did you see it?”
― Yes. I saw it.
At that moment, someone in the situation room shouted with excitement.
“7… seven days extension! Director! It’s true! We checked, and the clear deadline has definitely increased to 32 days!”
The clear deadline had increased.
It was an unprecedented event.
Even the people who saw the message directly could not easily speak.
But that one sentence became the trigger.
The situation room exploded.
“We did it! Then the clear is possible…!”
Someone jumped up and shouted in joy.
Another person hugged a colleague and danced while repeatedly shouting,
“We did it!”
Amidst the chaos, Jung Jin-hyeok slowly sat back down where he had jumped up moments ago.
He let out a long sigh of relief.
‘A miracle… It’s a miracle.’
Literally a miracle.
They had been short by only five days and were about to abandon Seoul.
But like a lie, the deadline had increased.
And not just barely.
It was extended slightly more than they needed.
People living their peaceful lives, believing someone would somehow stop the tower collapse like always.
Could they ever imagine it?
That just moments ago, Korea had nearly abandoned Seoul.
‘They don’t know. No, they must not know. That is the reason we exist.’
But Jung Jin-hyeok knew.
Korea had just been saved by someone whose name and face nobody knew.
‘This is not the time. No, actually, this is exactly the time… but I cannot act like this.’
After his emotions settled, Jung Jin-hyeok quietly raised one hand.
“Everyone, pay attention.”
With that quiet voice, neither loud nor soft, the noise stopped instantly.
The celebration ended there.
Receiving everyone’s attention, Jung Jin-hyeok calmly looked over the room with cold eyes behind his frameless glasses.
“That’s enough. Return to work.”
Relief was not their role.
Making everyone else feel relieved was their role.
“Find this person’s location. From today until I announce otherwise, this is the top priority.”
And so, it began again.
A war that nobody knew about.
A war that they hoped nobody would ever know about.
