Min-hyeok, who thought he would only be able to enter after the same amount of time had passed for everyone else, stared blankly at the System Window before nodding his head.
Immediately, a door appeared and sucked Min-hyeok inside.
“Wow…”
The 10th Floor Min-hyeok had seen before was clearly a half-collapsed fortress. However, it was now completely transformed.
**[Please set the growth direction for the 10th Floor Base!]**
**[1. Safety First — Increase troops and expand the castle walls.]**
— Probability of enemy invasion decreases. (Required completion rate is low) —
— The Boundary Tower Safe Zone expands, and a Safe Zone is created on the 11th Floor —
**[2. Growth First — Increase shops and create production facilities.]**
— Probability of enemy invasion increases. (Required completion rate is high) —
— The Safe Zone on the 9th Floor expands, and a farm is created —
— You have subdued the Dairy Cows on the 9th Floor. If you select option 2, a ranch can be created in certain areas! —
Faced with two choices, Min-hyeok fell into deep thought. However, the information was too limited.
“Explain further.”
In response to Min-hyeok’s words, additional explanations from the System quickly appeared.
**[If you select option 1, the Safe Zone will gradually expand based on troop superiority.]**
— Devices to increase the completion rate for challengers will be added bit by bit over the long term. —
**[If you select option 2, troop training facilities and defense equipment production factories will be created.]**
— Equipment production and growth-promoting food that prevents the completion rate from dropping over the long term will be provided. —
Even after hearing the additional explanation, it was still ambiguous.
He continued to ask questions as if he were asking an AI, but the conclusion was whether he would risk danger to invest in growth or defend the base stably.
“To think the completion rate for the 10th Floor range must be raised by at least 10% more than it is now…”
Moreover, having to maintain that constantly would be no easy feat.
This was not the only thing he had to decide.
**[Please select the towers that will visit the base.]**
— ※ You can reset the visiting towers once every 10 days. —
He had to decide which towers would visit the Kingdom of Korea.
As Min-hyeok’s contemplation grew longer, a thought crossed his mind.
He remembered that because it was a Safe Zone, he could access Hunter Net.
On that whim, he immediately logged into Hunter Net and wrote a post.
— (Urgent) 10th Floor Development Plan! —
After writing down exactly what the System had provided, he even created a poll asking people to choose between option 1 and option 2.
Despite the post being uploaded hurriedly, which was unlike Min-hyeok, the view count rose rapidly.
— Isn’t option 1 the standard? We should go stably rather than having the base collapse for no reason.
ã„´ Option 1 is too slow. Expanding the Safe Zone is good, but honestly, we can just crush it with growth.
ã„´ I agree. That food is probably equivalent to an Elixir, so option 2 is a must for growth.
ã„´ What if the base is lost? Safety is the standard!
ã„´ The base grows too. We just have to make it grow!
As opinions clashed and a debate began, countless Hunters soon flocked to Min-hyeok’s post.
Everyone wrote their own opinions, and plausible ideas repeatedly rose and fell as the top-voted comments in an instant.
The vote was also split down the middle.
Right then, one comment quickly rose to the top.
— Can’t we just pick option 2 and limit temporary immigrants to 10th to 19th-floor Hunters? —
ã„´ This is it!
ã„´ Upvote this!
ã„´ Let’s push for this!
As the suggestion to accept immigrants from the 10th to 19th-floor Hunters became the top comment, the vote also began to tilt rapidly toward option 2.
Another top comment was posted that solidified this direction.
— If other Hunters reach Level 10 here, what happens then? —
ã„´ Huh? You’re right.
ã„´ Could it be possible?
ã„´ Oh? If that’s the case, shouldn’t we set the towers to countries with large populations?
ã„´ Then it’s definitely option 2…
Many people agreed with that one Hunter’s question, and the tide shifted even faster toward option 2.
Was it because information was coming in real-time?
The Hunter Management Bureau also became busy.
“Wasn’t he with us until just a moment ago?”
At Park Yeong-hwan’s question, Min-hye wore a bewildered expression.
It had been less than 1 hour since she had eaten with him, and now this had happened.
“Whew… So, where is Mr. Min-hyeok?”
“It seems he is inside the Tower.”
Park Min-hye, who had checked personally, answered Park Yeong-hwan’s question with a troubled look.
“This is crazy. It looks like we’ll have to make a decision before he comes out of the Tower.”
“Yes. It seems so.”
Park Yeong-hwan looked frustrated at her answer.
He wished he could talk to him face-to-face, but the situation was not ideal.
Since they didn’t even know how long he could stay in the Tower, he headed straight to the meeting room, deciding they needed to hold a conference first.
Major executives from the World Association and even the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Korea were already waiting there.
“I believe everyone has heard about the situation.”
The people on the screens nodded at Park Yeong-hwan’s words.
“After checking with the System, the number of temporary immigrant Hunters who can register for the Tower within this month is around 2,000.”
As he said that and looked to the side, the Minister of Foreign Affairs immediately spoke up.
— For now, we have blocked applications for temporary immigrants in the Hunter category. We are also considering limiting this month to Hunters between the 10th and 19th floors. —
“I don’t think we should stop there. We intend to select and accept only high-ranking Hunters among the temporary immigrants. We need the help of the World Association.”
As if they all empathized with Park Yeong-hwan’s words, they said they would help. Right then, the President of the World Hunter Association, who had been listening, threw out a question.
— How many more immigrant Hunters can you accept? —
These were long-term immigrants who had to stay in the Kingdom of Korea for at least 1 year, rather than just passing through.
These were handled separately.
“It is 4,000 people.”
— How about we limit them to levels 10 to 19 as well? —
Park Yeong-hwan made a troubled face at those words.
This was because there were many high-ranking Hunters who came for guilds or various business issues.
He couldn’t just suddenly tell them to come next month.
— The World Association will actively help. So, try to increase the number as much as possible. —
Everyone stared at William.
They were curious why he, who always remained neutral, was going this far.
Then, as if to satisfy their curiosity, William spoke his mind.
— I don’t think the base on the 10th Floor will end at that level. Perhaps as the 10th-floor base grows, the entire 10th-floor range could change. This was the common opinion of Werner, Sergei, and Mr. Weiss. —
Everyone’s jaws dropped at the three names that came out of William’s mouth.
SS-grade Magic Engineer Werner.
SS-grade Mage Sergei.
Weiss, the number one in the field of Tower ecology.
All of them were core figures of the World Association and were at the pinnacle of their respective fields.
— If the base grows quickly, perhaps by the time changes begin on the 20th-floor range, not just the Kingdom of Korea but the entire world could be affected. Therefore, if it’s related to Choi Min-hyuk, we must support it unconditionally. —
William insisted they must help for the sake of the world.
Since complaints often arose within the World Association that they were favoring the Kingdom of Korea too much, he spoke firmly.
“Sigh… Then what countries will you choose? Should we go by population order?”
The room buzzed at Park Yeong-hwan’s question.
If listed in order of population, the top five were India, China, the United States, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
The problem was that with a large population came many villains.
Especially in China’s case, it was the country where the headquarters of the Triads, the world’s largest Villain Union, was located.
In the case of Hunters from India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, they were famous for not following rules well.
When they couldn’t reach a decision easily, William stepped in again.
— It can’t be helped. This time, we just have to push with sheer numbers. —
It was impossible to monitor every villain that appeared.
As if pushing with numbers was the best option even if problems arose, everyone nodded at William’s words.
“Then I will relay these opinions immediately.”
Everyone nodded at Park Yeong-hwan’s statement.
While Min-hyeok was watching the message board update frantically, a post from the Hunter Management Bureau appeared, informing him of the World Association’s meeting results along with a sponsorship message.
— Tower selection is in order of population. We recommend choosing option 2. If you choose option 2, we plan to help as much as possible by matching temporary immigrants and long-term immigrants to levels 10 through 19, so please take that into account. —
Having made his final decision, Min-hyeok clicked option 2 and even set the five towers to visit as suggested by the Hunter Management Bureau.
**[You have selected option 2.]**
**[The towers of India, China, the United States, Indonesia, and Pakistan have been selected as the towers to temporarily visit the Kingdom of Korea’s Tower. Re-selection is possible in 10 days.]**
**[A farm and ranch are created on the 9th Floor.]**
**[A troop training center, inn, equipment shop, and restaurant are additionally created on the 10th Floor.]**
**[* Challengers from other towers can stay through the inn. After conquering lower floors, you must stop by the inn. You may be expelled if you do not follow the rules.]**
**[The 10th Floor changes from a complete Safe Zone to an incomplete Safe Zone.]**
**[The completion rate for the 11th to 15th floors must be at least 35%.]**
**[Achieve a completion rate of 60% or more for the 10th Floor.]**
**[Due to a shortage of troops, a Special Quest for the defense of the Boundary Tower is created.]**
Min-hyeok let out a small sigh after checking all the System Windows that appeared in a row.
Floors 11 through 15 were at a level that seemed doable, but the requirement for the 10th Floor was extremely high.
“It’s going to be a tough time.”
With that thought, he quietly looked at the 10th Floor.
The scenery, which had been frozen for a moment, began to change again, and something began to fill the empty lot.
Conversely, the construction equipment that was being additionally deployed near the Boundary Tower in the distance was being withdrawn.
Still, the silver lining was that the Boundary Tower was being maintained.
He would have to handle the Special Quest while somehow maintaining the 10th-floor completion rate at 60% for that place to remain.
Whether the hardships Min-hyeok had endured so far would go down the drain or not depended on whether he could endure it.
However, he had no regrets about choosing option 2.
Having risks meant that he could achieve even steeper growth if he succeeded.
“I just have to succeed.”
With that thought, he opened the door that had been created and returned to Earth.
Even though he hadn’t cleared anything, he felt more tired than ever, but there was no time to rest.
He couldn’t just stir up trouble and then wash his hands of it.
He needed to go to the Hunter Management Bureau and have a more in-depth discussion.
As Min-hyeok went to meet the director, small changes were taking place on Hunter Net.
— Has our time finally come? —
ã„´ It has been a long wait.
ã„´ Ha! The time has come for them to support us!
ã„´ Let’s go!
The support and leadership on Hunter Net, which had been almost monopolized by new Hunters, were beginning to shift to the 10th to 19th-floor Hunters.
Moreover, this time, even the entire world was rushing in to support them.
Perhaps because of that, the shoulders of the 10th to 19th-floor Hunters were held higher than ever before.
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