Chapter 31: Climbing Alone Together

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has used the Enhanced Ticket of Exile for national defense.]  

[All pro-Japanese factions within the territory of the Republic of Korea are expelled to Japan.]  

[This is an enhanced ticket. As an additional effect, those expelled are prohibited from setting foot on the territory of the Republic of Korea for 200 hours.]  

The message rang clearly in his ears.  

Ikeda Kaito was left speechless.  

“An enhanced ticket…?”  

The atmosphere was tense to the breaking point.  

Using a ticket in the current situation was expected.  

But it wasn’t just a regular ticket—it was an enhanced one.  

Thanks to it, all of Japan’s collaborators operating within Korea were expelled.  

And on top of that, they were barred from entering Korean territory for 200 hours.  

For Japan, who intended to stir things up internally, this was a serious blow.  

That’s why—  

“…Are you really going to leave it be?”  He spoke, looking straight ahead.  

He wasn’t alone.  

In front of him stood a man clad in a golden dragon robe, resembling an ancient emperor.  

Long black hair draped down, with slitted eyes barely revealing his pupils—this was Lu Hong of China.  

Leader of the Pacheon Guild, he was considered one of the top three Breakers alongside Ikeda Kaito.  

Though he seemed somewhat displeased to be grouped with Kaito, there was no doubt he was regarded as one of the world’s greatest Awakeners.  

“It’s certainly unpleasant.”  

His unreadable slitted eyes gazed eastward, towards the Republic of Korea.  

“It’s always an eyesore when Awakeners from a minor nation act up. But…”  

He fixed his gaze on Ikeda Kaito.  

“…I can’t accept suffering losses for that reason alone.”  

Their secret meeting had been arranged at Ikeda Kaito’s request.  

And it had to be an unexpected one.  

For they were sworn enemies.  

Lu Hong hated being lumped together with Kaito, and Kaito loathed how Lu looked down on him.  

But they had no choice but to meet.  

The purpose was clear: to aid Japan in restraining Korea—or more precisely, Kim Si-won.  

“Besides, a National Attack Ticket. No matter how small a nation, the backlash will be fierce…”  

He glanced around subtly.  

But no one spoke.  

Normally, Ikeda Kaito would have stood up and stormed off immediately, but his situation was dire.  

And that was an opportunity Lu Hong could not miss.  

“…So if there’s no proper compensation, I don’t think I’ll move.”  

Despite Lu Hong’s confident demeanor, Kaito had nothing to say.  

His pride was wounded, but he desperately needed Lu Hong’s help.  

Why could Kim Si-won be so effective?  

Because he was the only one to clear the Very Hard difficulty and obtain the tickets from it.  

Of course, Japan also had tickets earned from conquering floors beyond the 60th.  

Recently, with Ha Yeon Lee’s addition, they had been collecting even more tickets.  

But National Attack Tickets were limited resources.  

Moreover, Kim Si-won possessed tickets capable of defending the nation against such attacks.  

Previously, when attacked carelessly, they suffered a counterattack.  

Hence the need for caution when launching assaults.  

But they could not cower forever.  

The only variable in this war was Kim Si-won’s climb of the Tower.  

If he attempted Very Hard difficulty—rewards unknown—who could say what tickets he might obtain?  

Therefore, controlling his climb was Japan’s path to victory (or rather, victory without significant losses).  

To control the climb required a massive amount of tickets.  

A volume so great as to override the opponent’s defenses.  

Neither Oni Guild nor Japan alone could manage this.  

They needed outside help—especially from a top guild among the four great powers.  

Ikeda Kaito chose China’s Pacheon Guild, led by Lu Hong.  

“At first, you mentioned something about rewards…”  

“Tsk tsk. Why do you pretend not to understand? I’m talking about additional compensation.”  

For a moment—  

‘Damn pig.’  Kaito cursed inwardly.  

Lu Hong, nicknamed the glutton by some, reflected greed in his tiny slitted eyes.  

But Kaito wouldn’t be played so easily.  

“You won’t have many chances to use the National Attack Tickets anyway.”  

Though powerful, these tickets couldn’t be used lightly.  

They could trigger international conflicts—or even war.  

Even for the great powers among the four, reckless use was impossible.  

“Besides, isn’t this the perfect chance to control that rookie breathing down your neck? You seem to think this benefits only Japan, but…”  

Kaito cut off Lu Hong’s greed at an appropriate point.  

Of course, this was just the start of the negotiation.  

“Well then, consider the negotiation broken.”  

Without hesitation, Lu Hong stood up.  

“W-wait!”  

Startled by his sudden move, Ikeda Kaito quickly stood as well.  

A sly smile crept onto Lu Hong’s lips.  

Just from that expression, it was clear who held the upper hand—and who was more desperate in this deal.  

“I don’t have much time. So here’s a warning: if you try to be clever, only you’ll lose, Ikeda. Hope you realize that.”  

In negotiations, the desperate side always gets played in the psychological game.  

Lu Hong knew Kaito was desperate.  

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked his enemy for help.  

“Besides… what else do you want?”  

Realizing he was outmatched, Kaito conceded.  

“It’s nothing grand. We’ve seen some years, after all—I’m willing to concede some.”  

The man who claimed to concede was strangling Kaito in the psychological battle.  

Swearing rose within him, but he barely held it back.  

“The monthly rankings are approaching.”  

If there were weekly rankings, of course there were monthly rankings.  

Weekly rankings offered great rewards, but compared to monthly rankings, they were incomparable.  

That was why everyone was desperate to climb the monthly rankings—but the top spots were always fixed.  

For fifty years, America had never lost first place, followed by Russia, China, and Japan in that order.  

The fifth place fluctuated depending on the situation, and recently South Korea had been rapidly climbing.  

China barely maintained its precarious third place.  

Every time rankings were announced, they edged out Russia by a narrow margin.  

So this was their chance.  

“Ikeda Kaito. I need your strength—and that of your incredible Supporter.”  

China, boasting the largest population alongside India, naturally had the most Awakeners, but it had yet to reach the top spot.  

This was the result of failed draws for Awakeners.  

Or perhaps it was intentional.  

Even countries with smaller populations had at least a few outstanding Awakeners.  

Ikeda Kaito was one of them.  

And then—  

“Her name is Ha Yeon Lee, right? I heard with that incredible Supporter joining, climbing has become easier?”  

Truly impressive intelligence.  

Ha Yeon Lee’s joining had greatly strengthened Oni Guild’s recent momentum.  

A brief silence.  

‘It’s a bit unpleasant for China to succeed, but…’  

If the price for lending power without material gain was reasonable, it was worth considering.  

“This time, we must take down Russia.”  

China was in a hurry, too.  

They were attacking the 65th floor alongside Russia.  

Whoever conquered it first was likely to take second place in this month’s rankings.  

Therefore, with Ikeda Kaito and Ha Yeon Lee’s help, they planned to strike first and claim the 65th floor.  

“…I guess there’s no other way.”  

Finally, Ikeda Kaito extended his hand in agreement.  

“All right! Since you made a tough decision, I’ll help you firmly.”  

Their hands clasped.  

Thus, China and Japan secretly conspired to launch an attack on Korea.  

They had set things in motion, but they did not want war. 

*** 

If I had the strength to handle Japan alone, it would be different, but I did not.  

Unnecessary sacrifices would inevitably occur.  

So to avoid those casualties, I had to make Japan surrender on its own.  

To do that, the climb of the Tower was crucial.  

Suppressing war through the use of tickets.  

Hadn’t they already experienced this with the previous expulsion of pro-Japanese factions?  

The most notable point was—  

‘I never expected ticket combination would be possible.’  

The recently used ticket of exile was an enhanced one.  

It hadn’t been obtained from the Tower.  

It was created by combining two identical tickets of exile.  

By fusing two tickets of exile, they got an enhanced one, whose additional effect was the 200-hour territorial entry ban.  

It seemed likely that combining different tickets could yield new ones, but they dared not experiment.  

Since I obtained tickets mostly on my own, their numbers were limited.  

So except for the necessary enhancement of the ticket of exile, all tickets were being stored carefully.  

Japan or other nations might strike anytime.  

‘Before that, I climb the Tower.’  

What I had to do now was to climb the Tower and obtain more tickets before they could make a move.  

It was just as I was about to move toward the Tower that—  

[Ikeda Kaito of Japan has used the Attribute Weakening Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

[Ikeda Kaito of Japan has used the Trait Weakening Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

[Ikeda Kaito of Japan has used the Reward Reduction Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

The Tower’s messages came one after another.  

But—  

“Calm.”  

I was prepared for this.  

I was the only variable in the war against Japan.  

Stopping my climb was the best option Japan had.  

Of course, they used National Attack Tickets for that.  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea defended against Japan’s Attribute Weakening Ticket.]  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea defended against Japan’s Trait Weakening Ticket.]  

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea defended against Japan’s Reward Reduction Ticket.]  

I had defense tickets.  

Not so many as to be careless, but having climbed to the 20th floor, I had stored some to fend off his attacks smoothly.  

However—  

[Lu Hong of China has used the Attribute Weakening Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

[Lu Hong of China has used the Trait Weakening Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

[Lu Hong of China has used the Reward Reduction Ticket on the Republic of Korea.]  

Relentless attacks followed.  

And these weren’t only from Japan, but from China, too.  

‘They’re colluding.’  

At that moment, I instinctively understood.  

Japan, Ikeda Kaito, had made a bold move.  

And it was a shrewd one.  

The attacks from two nations, with tickets beyond expectations—  

[Current Attribute Weakening on the Republic of Korea: 30%.]  

[Current Trait Weakening on the Republic of Korea: 20%.]  

[Current Reward Reduction on the Republic of Korea: 25%.]  

The countless ticket attacks compounded their effects.  

Though limited to 72 hours, these numbers effectively stopped Korea’s Tower climb.  

Defense?  

Impossible.  

I was out of defense tickets.  

No matter how hard I climbed the Very Hard difficulty alone, it was impossible to compare to a guild or a nation.  

They had wealth accumulated over fifty years.  

The enormous penalty weighing on Korea’s Tower climb.  

As I briefly pondered this—  

“Driiiing—”  

The sudden ringing of a bell pulled me from my thoughts.  

I checked the caller.  

“…”  

I only had saved contacts for Chaun Kim, now a Minister, but the caller’s number was unknown.  

For now—  

“Who is it?”  

I answered the call.  

[Greetings.]  

It wasn’t Korean.  

That language sounded familiar—Russian.  

Likely they used a translation item, as the Russian was being interpreted into Korean.  

“What is your purpose?”  

How they got my number wasn’t important.  

Someone had contacted me, with some purpose in mind.  

[You’re calmer than expected. Well, you’re the world’s only Very Hard difficulty climber, so no surprise.]

The other side laughed at my composed response.  

[Let me introduce myself. I am Valentin Utkin of Russia.]

He assumed I knew who he was.  

“Skip the introductions. What’s your purpose?”  

Whoever he was, it didn’t matter to me.  

[…Hahaha.]  

A laugh mixed with slight anger and embarrassment.  

[Alright, I contacted you because I need you, so I’m willing to concede a bit. Judging by the situation, you’re struggling against attacks from China, right?]  

I said nothing.  

[Japan I might expect, but China’s involvement must be overwhelming, huh? So I think I can help you.]  

Russian aid.  

If someone wielding tickets temporarily naturalized in Korea and used defense tickets, I could overcome this crisis.  

“What’s the price?”  

[Straight to the point. Good. Of course, help must come with a price. We need to conquer the 65th floor, but China’s moves are getting serious. If they side with Japan, Ikeda Kaito and his powerful Supporter will join China to attack the 65th floor. We can’t just stand by. So we want your help.]  

China helping Japan.  

That meant Japan had promised them some kind of reward.  

And it wasn’t hard to guess what.  

Russia and China were fiercely contesting the 65th floor.  

To get ahead, they sought to temporarily naturalize a powerful Awakener like Ikeda Kaito.  

Kaito was considered one of the world’s top three Breakers.  

If he joined China, Russia might lose its long-held second place in the monthly rankings.  

That was why they contacted me.  

[Also, we want to share the method of conquering Very Hard difficulty…]

“No need.”   

I hung up immediately.  

“Driiiing!”  

The phone rang again.  

“Crack!!”  

I crushed my smartphone with my hand.  

I didn’t know how they got my number, but they weren’t careless enough to be easily found.  

Help?  

They were mistaken.  

Sure, climbing the Tower was difficult under current conditions.  

But that only applied to ordinary Awakeners.  

The Trait Weakening penalty everyone feared was useless to me—I didn’t use Traits.  

Reward reduction was only 25%.  

The reward increase from conquering Very Hard difficulty far outweighed that.  

The most significant was Attribute Weakening.  

Weakening physical ability itself was a strong penalty even for me.  

‘But it doesn’t matter.’  

That wasn’t even a penalty for me right now.  

I stepped beyond the Tower’s boundary.  

And with me appeared—  

“Chung!”  

“Chung!”  

Two knights clad in red and blue armor.  

“Shall we go?”  

Thanks to being able to climb the Tower with summoned beasts Blansia Bellamin and Agamemnon Saglayer.