CHSE 12

Chapter 12

‘Chen Xi Yi?!’
<You know her?>
‘Yes. She’s the daughter of China’s Master Chen Long.’

Master.
An honorable title given to the ten strongest hunters among all S-rank hunters.
Currently, China held two Masters, including Chen Long himself, and since the Towers appeared, the nation had produced a total of six Masters—truly a hunter superpower.

<Wow, impressive family. What about your country? Does Korea have a Master?>
‘……No.’

Unfortunately, while Korea had some S-rank hunters, the nation had never produced a Master-level hunter.
Though there was one hunter who had once come close.
That was me.

<That’s too bad. So what kind of person is she?>
‘……A rude bitch.’

Chen Xi Yi.
She was around my age, and since Korea and China often sent their representative hunters to events, we’d met several times during my days with the Giants.
But because she was the daughter of a Master, arrogance and insolence seemed ingrained in her very nature.

‘Especially when it came to anything that might harm her pride or cost her face—she hated that more than anything.’
<……..>

And she was ruthless.
I don’t quite remember the exact circumstances, but I once saw her slice off the arm of a lower-ranked hunter in an instant after he made a mistake.

Now, as her eyes scanned the area, she spotted me.
Her gaze sharpened like that of a predatory bird, and she drew a silver sword.

“Hunter X.”
“……”
“So it seems you took down the Frost Dragon, the ruler of the 51st floor. Alone, no less?”

As she spoke, murderous aura poured out from her blade.

<Looks like she thinks you stole what was hers.>

She looked ready to cut me down at any moment.

“If you really killed the Frost Dragon, then you must know about the achievements that come with it. So—how much did you get? Ah, a dragon like that… at most just +1?”

<Wrong. Both Strength and Agility increased by +1.>

Teech stuck his tongue out at Chen Xi Yi.
But since she couldn’t see Teech, her eyes remained locked solely on me.

‘Hmm… Getting two stats might be Save Earth’s special adjustment.’

Since I didn’t answer, she seemed to assume she was right, and smirked.

“Hmph! To dare interfere with the affairs of the Middle Kingdom…”

Then suddenly, she exploded with fury.

<Why’s she flipping out?>
‘Beats me.’

Her temperament was always erratic, though her skills were genuine.

“Ah! No need to answer. I’ll just peel the skin off your face and check for myself.”

Murderous intent radiated from her sword, vowing to cut me down on the spot.

<She’s pissed you stole the Frost Dragon achievement. So, what do you think? Can you take her?>
‘Nope.’

As expected of Master Chen Long’s daughter, Chen Xi Yi was already beyond S-rank.
Maybe long ago I might’ve had a chance, but now, even with Infinity’s help, she was on a completely unreachable level.

“I underestimated this. I thought you’d left the tower already… but you stayed in Heilongjiang.”

She muttered with a sharp glint in her eyes, while I carefully noted the staircase leading up to the next floor.

‘If we fight, I’ll definitely die.’

The 51st floor’s clear condition was survival.
In other words, surviving the Frost Dragon’s attacks for a set time would grant access to the next floor.

‘And Chen Xi Yi never cleared the 51st floor.’

That much I was sure of.
Whatever her personality, her strength was undeniable.
If she’d fought the Frost Dragon, she would have beaten it—unless she was aiming to defeat it solo for the achievement.
But I was the first to kill it.

So my conclusion was that Chen Xi Yi never fought the Frost Dragon at all.

‘Unless… she fought it with others. That would be the worst-case scenario.’

If that were the case, a direct clash with her was unavoidable.

‘Either way, staying here benefits me in no way.’

So I had to act before Chen Xi Yi made her move.

Having made my decision, I dashed toward the staircase.

“…You bastard?!”

As I sprinted away, even using mana like a movement technique, Chen Xi Yi faltered for a second before glaring like a demon and giving chase.

<Run, run, run!!! She’s right behind you!>

Teech’s panicked shouting pounded in my ears as the murderous intent from right behind me grew stronger.

‘Shit, the Agility gap!’

Her presence pressed down on me like a tiger chasing its prey—stopping meant death.

“Die—!”

But just before her blade could reach me, I stumbled onto the staircase to the next floor.

KWAANG!

Since Chen Xi Yi hadn’t cleared the 51st floor, her attack couldn’t touch me now that I’d ascended.

From below, her furious shout followed me.

“Hunter X! If you come back down now, I’ll spare your life!”
“Yeah, right. Even my pet Teech wouldn’t buy that.”

<???>

“Anyway, bye.”

I flipped her the middle finger.
“YOU BASTARD—I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

She raged, slashing at the staircase, but it was too late.

As I ascended to the 52nd floor, I asked Teech:

“How long until the Frost Dragon respawns?”
<As the floor ruler… hmm, probably three or four days.>
“Then we need to move fast.”

Honestly, I’d expected something like this might happen, but the thought of an S-rank hunter chasing me still made my heart pound.

“Floor 52, arrival!”
<Whew, you’re alive. You realize how close that was, right?>
“Yeah. What are the chances I’d run into Chen Xi Yi there?”

Talk about bad luck.

<But why didn’t you use the emergency escape scroll? You could’ve gone home instantly.>
“…Oh, right. I forgot I had that.”

Teech burst out laughing, holding his stomach.
I’d never used such an item before, so it completely slipped my mind.
Even after all my time playing Save Earth, having it overlap with reality like this just made me feel like an idiot.

“Anyway… those bastards. They knew about the achievements and hogged them all for themselves, huh?”

The Frost Dragon’s achievement and stat rewards… now it was clear why the hunter superpowers like the U.S. and China prevented others from tackling certain towers.
They’d been monopolizing all the achievements.

<Wait, you didn’t know?>
“…Nope.”

Sure, the game had achievements for soloing floor rulers, but I never thought they’d apply the same way in reality.

“Wait a sec. …Son of a bitch.”

A memory surfaced.
Back when I was just a rookie, Master Chen Long himself had come to support the Busan Tower.

There hadn’t been any particular danger, yet he’d announced he was there to raise Asia’s overall contribution score. Politicians and citizens alike showered him with praise.

“But now I see—that was all for show.”

I was certain he’d cleaned out all the achievements in the Busan Tower back then.

How did I know?
Because during my Giants days, I once soloed an E-rank named monster in that same tower… yet no achievement ever appeared.

“Disgusting.”

And now?
Just because I happened to snag one achievement, they want to kill me?

<Of course. You’ve disturbed the ‘world order.’>
“It’s not world order. It’s the order of the elites. They’re just hoarding information for themselves.”

Of course, I had no intention of revealing this truth to the world.
When would I?
Not until I’d claimed every last achievement the towers had to offer.

[Floor 52 Objective: Elite Monster Subjugation.
Condition: Find and defeat six elite monsters on the 52nd floor.]

The new floor’s objective appeared.
A subjugation-type mission.
Just had to find and kill elite monsters—an easy type of quest.

‘Easy for me, anyway.’

For ordinary hunters, hunting six elite monsters was no simple task.
On a floor as vast as the 52nd, around 22 square kilometers in size, it could take over a week just to locate them.
Not to mention countless other monsters roaming, waiting to ambush.

<Unless you wipe out the entire floor, of course.>
“Exactly. That’s why it’s a subjugation type.”

But I was different.

“Teech, pull up the map.”
<On it.>

The 52nd floor’s terrain unfolded before me as a hologram.
Brightly colored, with golden dots popping up here and there.

“Eight elite monsters total.”

Just need to take them out.
Though I planned to clear all monsters along the way to avoid pursuit.

But first…

“The Frost Dragon’s influence points—still got those?”
<Yeah, why?>
“Maybe we should swing by the Tower of Growth.”
<Not a bad idea. Today’s the Tower of Strength, right? Stage 3?>
“Hmmm. If I do Stage 2 twice, I get double the stats…”
<Then go for it.>

But with only 40% success odds, it was risky.
<Chicken?>
“…Yeah, fine. Let’s go Stage 3.”

I couldn’t afford to waste precious influence points, so I had no choice.

After a brief detour through the Tower of Growth, I grabbed some mid-grade candy, boosted my stats, and returned to check the lower floor.

“Empty.”

Looks like Chen Xi Yi had moved on elsewhere. The whole floor was deserted.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Back on the 52nd floor, I recalled my past experience.
Clearing 80% or more of the elites on a floor had once triggered an achievement.

‘So logically…’

If I wiped out every elite in this frozen lake region of the Heilongjiang Tower’s 50s, there was a high chance of earning another achievement.

Moments later—

FLASH!

The golden mana I’d released when slaying the Frost Dragon now surged again, rippling through the quiet 52nd floor like a giant tidal wave.

While I and Teech rampaged across the 52nd floor’s monsters,

down on the 51st floor, members of Master Chen Long’s guild Dragon Heaven Gate began to gather.

Clad in crimson-and-gold vests and lightweight armored trousers, every one of them bore the emblem of a golden dragon.

And before long, a man wearing a grand cloak emerged from the staircase below.

“Chen Xi Yi.”
“Senior Wu?! How did you get here?”
“Of course I had to come. They said an intruder entered our sect’s dungeon. So, Hunter X was real?”
“Yes. He wore a strange X mask on his face.”
“European?”
“No. He looked Asian.”

Wu Lei’s heavy gaze lingered on her before shifting around.

“…This floor had a ruler, didn’t it? What about the achievement?”
“Hunter X stole it. My mistake. I should’ve climbed Heilongjiang Tower sooner…”

Chen Xi Yi ground her teeth.
She’d assumed no one would interfere with this tower and had been focusing on others—but she hadn’t expected a villain like Hunter X to take the first-clear achievement.

“No need to blame yourself. The true villain here is Hunter X.”

Wu Lei’s eyes hardened.

“And where is he now?”
“He evaded my attack and escaped to the upper floor.”
“If he could dodge you, then the rumors are wrong. He’s no mere B-rank. At least A-rank, maybe higher.”

Wu Lei’s face grew grim.
Though not at Master level, Chen Xi Yi was widely acknowledged as a true S-rank hunter.
For anyone to slip past her meant Hunter X was, at minimum, A-rank.

“In any case, we’ll pursue him and scour every Asian guild.”
“You think the Wind Thunder Clan will sit still?”
“Of course they will. He stole an achievement. Even their young Master won’t dare protest.”

A cold smile spread across Wu Lei’s face.
But his eyes gleamed with nothing but icy cruelty.