Chapter 43
“No, no, no. Hold on. What do you mean by that?”
President Kang Seok-gu sounded like he had just heard something unbelievable.
I couldn’t believe it either.
A mid-boss from the Top-Tier Tower?
Wasn’t the Tower and Earth supposed to be completely separate worlds?
I was probably the only person on Earth who could return without clearing the Tower.
> “Isn’t the Tower and gate essentially the same kind of space? Isn’t it not so strange for a monster from the Tower to show up here?”
He looked like he desperately wanted to be told he had seen it wrong.
But we all knew the truth.
If it had been a monster commonly seen in Towers or gates, Woo-jae wouldn’t have even mentioned it.
And it wasn’t just any Tower monster—it had been specifically identified as the mid-boss of the 15th floor.
> “No. That is precisely the cocoon of ‘Hailer,’ the Lich mid-boss from the 15th floor of the Top-Tier Tower. Its form and markings are distinct from ordinary Liches or cocoons.”
“Ah…”
Kang Seok-gu let out a heavy sigh.
This was the worst-case scenario.
I thought our country had been lucky not to get any S-rank gates, like a reward for some heroic act in a previous life—but now North Korea had something far worse.
He asked in a serious tone:
> “Are you saying the Tower and the Earth’s gates are somehow connected?”
> “I don’t know. But the odds are low. We haven’t seen any other monsters or artifacts from the Tower appear anywhere else but North Korea. And it’s not quite as dangerous as an S-rank gate.”
By then, Woo-jae had already scanned all the hundreds of monitors.
Kang Seok-gu exhaled in relief.
> “Whew… that’s a relief. If we were dealing with this on top of Breaks and S-rank gates, the world would be doomed. Though to be honest… it already kind of is.”
> “Still, we can’t be sure. The very fact that this showed up in North Korea is bizarre.”
“True. By the way, when will that cocoon hatch?”
> “In about two weeks.”
Two weeks—neither a long nor short amount of time.
Just enough to urgently prepare.
A sudden question crossed my mind.
> “But… why North Korea, of all places?”
> “What do you mean?”
> “Think about it. First, China sends Hunters. Then their Vice Chairman gets assassinated. Now this monster cocoon appears in North Korea. Isn’t that suspicious? Could it be the same person behind all of this?”
“Ah…!”
“You’re right. I had momentarily forgotten with all the chaos coming in.”
It was a simple deduction in hindsight.
Too many incidents were happening in East Asia—all seemingly centered around targeting me.
> “In that case, this is 100 percent a plan to capture you, boss.”
> “I agree. The timing is just too perfect.”
I nodded.
Just as that earlier deduction was obvious, so was this.
First, send five Chinese S-rank Hunters to capture me.
When they failed, kill the Vice Chairman to create political chaos.
And now?
Obviously, the next move would be aimed at capturing me directly.
Someone out there was absolutely desperate to catch me—and I had no idea why.
> “But if it’s just a 15th floor boss, shouldn’t it be easy to deal with? Why do you look so worried?”
That was the key question.
Sure, Woo-jae had said that things got harder after the 10th floor, but even so, up to that point was guaranteed S+ difficulty.
Which meant it could be wiped out instantly.
So why were they so concerned?
> “That’s part of it—but it’s not that simple. The reason I can guarantee S+ performance in the Tower is because it’s the Tower’s 11th floor.”
> “What do you mean by that?”
> “In the Tower, I know all the monsters’ weaknesses, the geography, and even the location of the undead’s mana cores.”
> “Ah… so when monsters appear on Earth, you lose all those advantages?”
> “Exactly. And there’s more. The fact that we’re dealing with undead is huge.”
> “So… this incident has already caused a massive number of deaths?”
> “Correct.”
In short, it was an ideal situation for the undead.
The more people died, the more energy the undead absorbed, growing stronger by feeding on the dead.
That was the fundamental principle of undead.
While South Korea had few casualties, North Korea and neighboring regions must have suffered massive soul losses.
> “Absolutely do not go. They are clearly setting a trap to kill you.”
Woo-jae spoke firmly.
I responded:
> “But if they’re trying to catch me, and I don’t show up… won’t they just keep killing people until I do?”
> “Doesn’t matter. Your life is more important to me.”
> “Still…”
> “Objectively speaking, your abilities are far more valuable than the lives of some civilians.”
“Mm…”
I had to admit, it was a tempting suggestion.
I never liked walking into a trap with both eyes open.
Every battle I’d fought so far had a near-zero chance of death. This… wasn’t the same.
I asked:
> “Then what if… you distribute your myth-grade weapons? Would that be enough to stop them?”
> “…Honestly? I can’t guarantee it. No matter how powerful the weapons are, undead aren’t easily killed. Plus, Liches bring lots of other undead. It would likely turn into a long war unless we find the mana core.”
> “Even with holy-power-infused items?”
> “There aren’t that many, and if a Lich is present, it increases durability against holy power.”
> “Then the longer it drags on, the more people die, and the stronger the undead become.”
> “…That’s right.”
The longer the fight lasted, the more disadvantaged we’d become.
> “Even if you joined, it wouldn’t help much, would it? Maybe even make things worse.”
V was certainly strong, but we had seen Woo-jae’s immense power already.
If Woo-jae fought openly, the enemy might target him using traps meant for me.
Then we’d lose our fastest route up the Tower—and my best protection.
I asked Kang Seok-gu:
> “What’s the chance other nations will send reinforcements for a drawn-out war?”
> “Almost zero. Everyone’s dealing with their own chaos. The U.S. might send troops, but only if you go with them.”
Right. The new U.S. president was very America-first.
They wouldn’t send forces unless I moved to the U.S., not just support them.
> “So if we can’t win fast and we can’t hold out long… what’s the plan? Just hiding won’t fix this.”
> “Still, walking into a trap is worse.”
> “So the best move is still to climb the Tower fast and get stronger…”
> “Yes. But if you do that, everyone will know Midas and V are the same person. Are you okay with that?”
> “Things will definitely get more dangerous, but there’s no other choice now.”
If I cleared the Tower quickly as Midas, and then V suddenly appeared stronger—people would connect the dots.
Even if my real identity (Kim Namjoong) got revealed eventually, this was on another level.
Still, it was now unavoidable.
At that moment, Chris raised his hand.
> “Aren’t there other weaknesses for undead besides holy power or mana cores?”
> “What do you mean?”
> “What if we erase the mana that sustains the undead entirely?”
“Uh?”
Was that possible?
Undead drew their power from death, gaining near-infinite mana.
How could you erase something like that?
> “Impossible.”
> “Why?”
> “You’re probably thinking of Haemang Stone, but it has limits. It can’t absorb all that mana.”
> “Then what if we use Haemang Stone to drain the mana, then follow it to the core and blow it up with holy power?”
> “…Wait, you can do that?”
Woo-jae looked shocked.
He clearly thought it was impossible—but Chris had shown some absurd ideas before.
In the Lich’s case, the core was outside the body. The theory was viable.
Kind of like a fuse—follow the mana pathway to the source and then detonate it.
In theory, it worked.
The problem was tracing the unformed mana routes and delivering the explosion to the core.
Chris looked at the President.
> “President Kang, do you have a whiteboard or something?”
> “We’ve got a large screen.”
A staff member rolled in a large touchscreen.
Chris started drawing diagrams and writing equations with a stylus.
> “Wow… this is pretty cool.”
> “Save the compliments. Explain.”
> “Sure. With 1g of Haemang Stone, we can absorb this much mana. Then we insert this catalyst to guide the energy. If we place a holy-power-infused mineral here…”
> “Whoa.”
The staff member who brought the screen gasped in awe.
Woo-jae looked amazed too.
As the formulas filled the screen, everyone was captivated.
> “The blast range would be this much, and detonation would happen two seconds after maximum absorption, once the path to the mana core is complete. That’s how the holy energy gets transmitted.”
> “President, who is this kid? A genius from overseas?”
The researcher practically clung to Kang in excitement.
> “Uh, well, he’s…”
> “Doesn’t matter! Let me work with him! I must collaborate with this genius!”
> “He’s supposed to help make a weapon, though…”
> “Then let me join that project! Just being part of it would be an honor!”
> “I’ll think about it. Go finish your work.”
> “Yes, sir! Please consider it!”
After the overexcited researcher left, Kang sighed.
> “He’s the director of our lab. I used the screen excuse to get him to stop hovering.”
> “It’s okay. I could tell it was impressive.”
> “Not just impressive.”
Woo-jae looked genuinely moved.
> “No one has ever figured out how to trace the Lich’s mana source. And he just casually solved it. That’s insane.”
> “Good thing I recruited him, huh?”
> “Absolutely. I should’ve found him sooner.”
> “It’s just because Haemang Stone makes mana flow easier to detect. And since we’re using bullets, the catalyst can be more precise.”
Chris stayed humble, but Woo-jae shook his head.
> “No, I didn’t even consider this. I just destroyed the whole city to kill the Lich and took the core with it.”
> “So you didn’t find it because you blew it up?”
Honestly, knowing Woo-jae, that sounded exactly like something he’d do out of laziness.
> “Anyway, since the lead researcher is impressed and Woo-jae approved, it looks like we’re good to go.”
> “Yes. I’ll make it fast and perfect.”
> “Please do.”
I couldn’t wait to see the new weapon.
A sniper rifle? That’s so badass.
> “So you won’t be acting as V this time?”
> “Exactly. A sniper should stay hidden. It’ll also reduce confusion and make it seem like a different Hunter.”
> “So… this will be Midas’s official debut.”
Instead of flashy V, I’d snipe quietly with stealth gear.
People would assume it was Midas—especially since no one snipes with guns, and anyone who cleared up to floor 20 of the Top-Tier Tower would clearly be S-rank or higher.
Woo-jae would keep drawing aggro as V, making people believe V and Midas were different.
> “It’s time we get to work, too.”
> “Of course.”
I was excited for the new weapon, but we couldn’t wait idly.
Two weeks wasn’t long.
I had to get stronger.
> “Let’s enter the Tower.”
Know yourself, know your enemy, and win every battle.
Now that the enemy had appeared in the world, it was time to meet them in the Tower.
The familiar hum of teleportation echoed—and a system message popped up.
[You have entered the Top-Tier Tower 11th Floor: ‘Land of the Dead Mage.’]
