CHSE 19

Chapter 19

[Clash at Heilongjiang Tower. Yongcheonmun reports: “Over ten hunters have fallen at the hands of Hunter X…”]

[Hunter X once again poses a threat to national security. Calls grow louder to classify him as a ‘terrorist.’]

[Master Chen Long enraged: “I will deal with him personally,” he declares.]

[Emergency Escape Scroll? Chinese Hunter Association shocked at the unprecedented item.]

It had been a day since I secured the Snowflake Elixir and escaped from Heilongjiang Tower.

China was in chaos—so much so that even Master Chen Long, one of the world’s heroes and one of only two Master-ranked hunters in the entire country, publicly voiced his stance against Hunter X.

<So we can’t go into Heilongjiang Tower anymore?>

“I wasn’t planning to anyway.”

I tossed the empty Cherry Pepper can into the trash and checked my monitor.

Perhaps it was because they were so upset about losing the Snowflake Elixir? Even Master Chen Long stepping forward was proof that Yongcheonmun was furious.

And not only that.

Even though the Tower was no longer in danger of corruption, the news reported that two army divisions were still surrounding Heilongjiang Tower.

The reason wasn’t given, but it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Obviously, because of me.”

Trying to re-enter Heilongjiang Tower in this situation would be suicide.

Unless I had another Emergency Escape Scroll—but I couldn’t use one again for another two days.

Korean media was also reporting negatively on Hunter X. As usual, they were wary of China.

[“Government officials”: Hunter X’s nationality unconfirmed. “Not our concern.”]

[Is Hunter X from Korea? China’s claim lacks evidence.]

There were small but growing whispers out of China, and Korea reacted nervously. After all, having a terrorist threatening world security turn out to be one of their citizens would be disastrous for the country’s image.

“On top of that…”

With no Master-ranked hunters at home, Korea was in no position to oppose China, which had not one but two Masters. They had no choice but to tread carefully.

“In a way, though, this works out for us.”

<Because you won’t be going back into Heilongjiang Tower?>

“Right. At least not for a long while.”

I’d need the power to face a Master-class hunter before even considering it.

With my current strength, if I ran into Chen Long—or even Chen Xi or Wu Lei—I’d have no choice but to run for my life. Especially since I’d humiliated them in the Snow Fairy Village by stealing their prize right under their noses.

‘For Wu Lei, Hunter X is now someone he cannot forgive as long as we both live.’

Still, with the Save Earth system at my disposal, buying time until I grew stronger wasn’t difficult.

There were still plenty of uncompleted achievements in the Towers back home, not to mention around the world. Stats were waiting everywhere. With that in mind, I moved my mouse and clicked on Busan Tower.

[‘Like a Salmon Swimming Against the Current’ {Incomplete}]

Swim for 1 hour in the frigid waterfall of Mount Cheonma, 65th floor.

Reward – Endurance +1.

One of the uncompleted achievements in Busan Tower.

Reaching the 65th floor wouldn’t be easy, but for such a valuable stat, it was well worth it.

<And you’ll rack up influence on the way, too.>

“Exactly.”

Even if the lower floors were crowded with mid-sized guild camps, the 51st floor—with Haeundae as its backdrop—still held elite monsters waiting to be hunted.

Of course, before heading out…

[Do you guys have a Tower raid scheduled today?]

I texted the question while scrolling through posts on the Hunter community board.

[Nope, nothing. Why?]

The reply came quickly from Choi Soo-jung, buzzing my phone on the desk. I fired back a quick answer and nodded.

“Perfect. That means I can head straight for the achievement.”

<Why?>

“Because there aren’t many guilds in Busan that can clear past the 51st floor.”

The most frequent among them was my old guild, the Giants.

But since they weren’t raiding today, the Tower wouldn’t be crowded with hunters.

From what I saw online, thanks to the Hunter X incident, most other top guilds had also canceled their raids for the day.

“In that case, I can go right away.”

A chance to grab two stats just by swimming for an hour?

Only a fool would pass that up.

BANG!

“You still haven’t found him?!”

A young woman slammed her hand on the desk and rose abruptly.

In her mid-twenties, her name was Chen Xi Yi. Daughter of Master Chen Long, she was a powerful hunter in her own right, having reached S-rank.

“S-sorry, we’re still searching, but—”

The scar-faced man bowed his head deeply before her. That was the only way to survive her notorious temper.

Maybe it worked, because Chen Xi Yi folded her arms with a sharp sigh.

“Damn bastard. Where the hell did he run off to?”

“We’ve formed a triple-layered perimeter around the Snow Fairy Village on the 61st floor.”

“That doesn’t bring back the stats he stole from me, does it?”

Chen Xi Yi exploded in anger, making the man quickly respond.

“We’ve mobilized our hunters to search for new achievements. We’ll have good news soon.”

“Certain?”

“We’re doing everything possible.”

“Tch…!”

Chen Xi Yi bit her lip.

She’d become an S-rank by completing solo-clear achievements.

But when she climbed Heilongjiang Tower to secure more, she found someone had gotten there first.

That interloper stole the achievements she had aimed for—and even swiped the rarest treasure, the Snowflake Elixir.

‘I absolutely had to get that elixir.’

Increasing mana was one thing, but the mana consumption reduction effect was priceless.

Research reports even claimed that with a few such items, a hunter could function not just as a dual-class but even a triple-class.

But the Snowflake Elixir was now gone—devoured by Hunter X. And the Snow Fairies had coldly declared they would not sell another for the foreseeable future.

Recalling the frosty expression of “Snowy” as she refused, Chen Xi Yi ground her teeth.

“Which Towers still have solo-clear achievements?”

“Jiaozhou, Shanzhou, Qingdao… in total, about seven Towers are suspected to contain them. However…”

“You mean there’s no guarantee?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, it’s possible even the Ice Dragon and the Frost Queen Hunter X killed didn’t have achievements attached?”

“Correct.”

“Hmmm…”

The thought brought a small smile to her lips.

When she’d met Hunter X on the 51st floor with the Ice Dragon, he had looked flustered when she mentioned achievements, then immediately fled upward.

‘Maybe he really didn’t know about achievements back then?’

In truth, Jinmin had gained 6 stats from slaying the Ice Dragon and 10 from the Frost Queen—but Chen Xi Yi and the other Chinese hunters had no way of knowing.

At any rate, she needed to secure the rewards before anyone else.

And among the monsters she could solo-clear…

“I’ll hit the one in Qingdao soon.”

“Say the word and we’ll prepare immediately.”

“Good. You may go.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The man hurriedly left.

Once his footsteps faded, Chen Xi Yi murmured to herself.

“I need more stats. Only then can I rise to Master level…”

That was the only way to succeed her father and dominate the hunter world of China.

Hunter X might have thrown a wrench into her plans, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t accomplish anything alone.

With that, she checked through the list of Towers under Yongcheonmun’s control and slowly rose to her feet.

<God, this is exhausting. Feels like a damn desert out here.>

“Well, yeah… but you’re flying, Tichi.”

<I meant you.>

“….”

I ignored his grin, shaking the sand from my eyes and mouth as I scanned my surroundings.

The 50th floors were as awful as ever.

The scorching desert terrain sucked at my legs, the smell of briny dust filling the air. But I had just the skill for this.

“Fly.”

I floated lightly above the sand.

With Fly, it was like walking on water—I could cross the shifting sands without sinking.

But the mana drain was constant. And worse…

<Something’s moving beneath you.>

“…Sand Worm.”

The monster lurked under the dunes, waiting to ambush.

I quickly dispelled Fly, planting my feet on the ground. A low tremor rippled beneath me. Something huge was stirring, surging toward me.

A thick, massive body erupted from the sand, its maw opening wide.

“SKREEEEEEE!”

Hooked jaws spun like sawblades, shrieking as they whirled.

Getting caught in there would mean serious injury at best.

But instead of retreating, I charged straight into its path.

It twisted, jaws lunging—but my blade was faster.

Vwooom!

Mana surged through my veins, fueling my strike.

SLASH!

The worm’s head split apart, spilling ichor across the sands.

“SKREEEE! KKRREEE!”

It writhed violently, but with Blessing and Power Up stacked onto my strike, it had no chance.

As it died, the system message appeared.

[You have slain all elite Sand Worms and 100 other monsters in the Haeundae map.

Achievement unlocked: ‘Pest Control in Haeundae.’]

Reward: Influence +50.

Enough to use the 3-step Tower Growth system once.

‘Worthless to other hunters—but for me, invaluable.’

Of course, only I could see this info through Save Earth.

With that, I advanced past the 50s into Mount Cheonma’s map on the 60th floors, heading straight for the 65th.

<Easier without clearing every floor.>

“I’ve been here before.”

<How far did you get?>

“72nd floor.”

That was two years ago. Even now, no one had cleared higher in Busan Tower.

After my injury, Soo-hyun had led multiple attempts, but none managed to defeat the 72nd floor gatekeeper.

Even Chen Long himself had tried—and failed.

The boss became known as “Radiant Wraith – Karas,” an upper B-rank nightmare still haunting Korean hunters.

‘One day… I’ll get my revenge on the monster that pierced my heart.’

But for now…

I braved the freezing waters of the waterfall on the 65th floor, shivering for nearly an hour until the system message appeared.

[You endured the icy torrent of Mount Cheonma’s waterfall for 1 hour.

Achievement unlocked: ‘Like a Salmon Swimming Against the Current.’

Reward: Endurance +1.]

Finally, I had secured the achievement that brought me here.

Using an Emergency Escape Scroll, I returned straight to my room—checked my computer—and froze at what I saw